Chapter 338 I also want to learn from Liu Bei, I also want to make progress! Don't just sit there and do nothing, give up your position!
Cao Cao was shocked.

Not only Cao Cao, but also Cao Hong, Xun You and other generals and counselors were all horrified.

Even Guo Jia, who was not so optimistic before, was shocked by the urgent news sent by Cao Xiu.

He had already determined in his heart that Yuan Shao was no match for Liu Bei, and that Yuan Shao would not be able to hold out for more than a year or two.

He even conservatively estimated that Yuan Shao could only hold out for about five to six months at most.

Guo Jia did not expect that he was still too conservative.

Yuan Shao couldn't even hold out for a month, let alone five to six months. His entire line collapsed and he fled to Hebei in a panic!

Is it that Yuan Shao is too useless, or is Liu Bei too strong?

Inside the big tent, there was a moment of dead silence, and then there was an uproar.

Cao Cao, awakened by the shock, jumped up, snatched the urgent report without waiting for Cao Xiu to present it, and couldn't wait to unfold it and read it.

"Yuan Shao controls two states. Even if he loses 100,000 soldiers, he shouldn't be unable to defend Henan, right?"

"It's only been a little over a month, and Yuan Shao couldn't even hold Xuchang and was completely defeated?"

"Also, didn't that big-eared thief go to war with Yuan Shao? Why did he attack our Luoyang?"

Cao Hong jumped up and questioned in a trembling voice, as if he was emotionally stimulated and obviously too excited.

There was a lot of discussion in the tent, and everyone was in disbelief.

Cao Cao's hands, holding the silk book, began to tremble slightly, his mouth gradually opened wide, and his expression changed from horrified questioning to astonished shock.

"He actually thought of passing through Luoyang, cutting off the two rivers, and using this as a lure to defeat Yuan Tan and capture Xuchang?"

"He actually imitated Han Xin to defeat Long Ju, flood Yuan Shang, and wipe out his 20,000 troops without a single soldier?"

"This Xiao Fang, really is, really is..."

Cao Cao's voice was shaking. He was so shocked that he couldn't make any comment, and a chill ran down his spine.

When everyone heard the name "Xiao Fang", they involuntarily quieted down and looked at Cao Cao fearfully.

In the eyes of Cao's ministers, astonishment had been replaced by fear.

After a long time.

Cao Cao threw the silk book on the table and sighed:

"Feng Xiao was right after all. With Xiao Fang here, nothing is impossible!"

"Yuan Benchu, ah Yuan Benchu, you finally understand the pain I felt when I fought Liu Bei."

There was both sarcasm and a bit of bitter self-mockery in Cao Cao's sigh.

Everyone was in an uproar again. They rushed forward to pick up the information on the silk book and vied with each other to look. They were eager to know why Yuan Shao lost Henan so quickly.

The truth came out.

The surprised discussion turned into silence, and the big tent was dead silent again, with only the sound of people gasping for air.

"This...this Xiao Fang, can he be so cunning... so cunning?"

Cao Hong's forehead was soaked with sweat, and his embarrassed expression was mixed with incredible confusion.

Cao Cao sighed and smiled bitterly:
"Zi Lian, isn't that how the country folks scheme all the time?"

"Have you forgotten all the losses we suffered at his hands?"

"It's just that we retreated to Guanzhong and haven't fought Liu Bei for a long time. Maybe we have really forgotten his methods."

Cao Hong was startled and fell silent.

Inside the big tent, an atmosphere of fear was quietly spreading.

"No matter what, Yuan Shao's defeat and retreat to Hebei, and Liu Bei's seizure of the Central Plains are a foregone conclusion."

"After Liu Bei conquered Henan, he controlled the five states of Jing, Yang, Yan, Yu and Xu. His strength overwhelmed Yuan Shao and he became the strongest in the world."

"Especially after Liu Bei took Luoyang, he had the possibility of marching westward and attacking Guanzhong."

"At this time, it is obviously unwise for us to be trapped in Yizhou and go to war with Liu Zhang."

"Sikong, it's time to return to Chang'an to guard against Liu Bei's invasion."

Guo Jia was the first to regain his composure, and reminded with a serious look.

Cao Cao stood up and paced in the tent, weighing the pros and cons.

Shu is a land of dangerous mountains and rivers. Liu Zhang has nearly 80,000 armored soldiers under his command. It is definitely unrealistic to take over Shu in a short period of time.

Although Liu Bei had just conquered the Central Plains, in theory he should have first calmed the people's hearts and rested his soldiers before deciding whether to march north or west.

However, it cannot be ruled out that Liu Bei would take advantage of the fact that he was trapped in Shu and Guanzhong had a lack of military forces to forcibly send troops westward.

It is really unknown whether Xiahou Dun, Cao Ren and other generals who stayed behind in Guanzhong can withstand the attack of Liu Bei, which is several times larger than his.

"Forget it, let's do as Feng Xiao said, be more cautious and return to Guanzhong."

After weighing the pros and cons, Cao Cao had no choice but to reluctantly choose to return.

No one had any objection. They all shook their heads and sighed, feeling regretful that they could not take advantage of the situation to wipe out Liu Zhang and take over all of Shu.

"Sikong, it would be a wise choice for us to let Liu Bei go for the time being."

“But Hong believes that Sikong first conquered Liangzhou and then Hanzhong. This expedition is still a great victory and a great achievement for the country.”

"After returning to Chang'an with such an unparalleled achievement, Hong thought that Sikong had a top priority that he had to do!"

Cao Hong stood up again, and his tone suddenly became excited.

"Top priority? Zilian, what do you mean?"

"Carry is king!"

Cao Hong said four words with absolute certainty.

As soon as these words were spoken, the tent became boiling again, and everyone's emotions were immediately aroused.

Guo Jia, Cheng Yu and others looked at each other and immediately understood Cao Hong's motives.

This relative of the Cao family is going to take the lead in persuading Cao Cao to learn from Yuan Shao and Liu Bei, and establish a country and become king.

"Zi Lian, you—"

Cao Cao was also surprised. He had not expected Cao Hong to make such a suggestion, and for a moment he did not know how to respond. "Sikong, General Zilian is right!"

"Sikong pacified Xiliang and Hanzhong, and his contributions were great to the country. If he is not promoted to the position of king, his achievements cannot be highlighted."

"Besides, Liu Bei has now seized the Central Plains. His power has expanded to the point where it has surpassed Yuan Shao and shocked the whole world. In addition, he is a relative of the Liu clan and has been given the title of King of Chu. The heroes of the Central Plains will surely return in fear."

"Even our people in Guanlong will be restless, and the number of people who intend to surrender to Liu Bei will surely increase day by day!"

"Only if Sikong establishes a country and becomes king can he have a position equal to Liu Bei, compete with Liu Bei for popularity, and stabilize the people's hearts in Guanlong."

Guo Jia also stood up decisively, explained the interests involved, and urged Cao Cao to become king.

What this means is that you, Cao Cao, must hurry up and become king. Only when you establish a country and become king can those of us who follow you be able to rise in official rank and status.

After all, the allure of the emperor's flag has been greatly reduced and is far less valuable than before.

Of course, we follow you and fight to the death because of your personal charm, but most of us do it for the bright future of being granted a title of nobility.

Everyone wants to pursue progress, but if you don’t think about making progress, how can we make progress with you?

Cao Hong and Guo Jia, one a military official and the other a civil official, took the lead. The others immediately understood the situation and stood up to urge Cao Cao to become king.

Cao Cao looked at the people who were trying to persuade him to ascend the throne, and listened to their words of persuasion. His originally shocked expression gradually calmed down.

However, beneath that calm appearance, the heart was like a lake hit by a huge rock, causing huge waves.

"Yuan Shao dared to call himself a king, and Liu Bei, a weaver and shoe seller, dared to call himself a king. These two thieves did not contribute an ounce to the Han Dynasty. They were both traitors who caused chaos in the country, yet they both called themselves kings."

"I, Cao Cao, have toiled for half my life to support the Han Dynasty, and have survived many deaths. I am a loyal minister of the Han Dynasty!"

"They, a bunch of traitors, can claim the throne. Why should I, Cao Cao, be inferior to them?"

"This king, if they can do it, why can't I do it?"

Cao Cao's thoughts were churning, and the more he thought about it, the more he felt wronged and unfair.

When he suddenly turned around and looked at his ministers again, his eyes were filled with iron determination.

...

Yecheng, the royal palace.

Inside the bedroom, Yuan Shao was still unconscious, lying on the cold imperial couch.

Queen Liu sat beside the imperial couch, her eyes as sharp as knives as she stared at the beauties kneeling in front of the couch.

Those beauties were all Yuan Shao’s concubines, each of them was gorgeous and beautiful.

But at this moment, these beauties were all trembling with fear, their faces full of nervousness and anxiety.

"You evil-hearted seductresses, if you hadn't seduced the king into indulging in wine and sex, how could the king's body be exhausted and become so ill?"

Liu's face was filled with anger, and she pointed at the beauties and cursed.

The beauties looked at each other, all with a look of grievance on their faces.

Everyone knows that Yuan Shao was injured in the battle with Liu Bei, and because of repeated anger, he became unconscious. What does it have to do with them?
This Queen of Wei is really a false accusation.

The beauties all felt aggrieved, but they dared not speak out, not even daring to breathe a single breath.

After Liu finished scolding the beauties, she leaned over to Yuan Shao's mouth and asked softly:
"Your Majesty, these vixen are bringing disaster to the country and the people. I want to execute them all. Do you agree?"

Yuan Shao was unconscious, so how could he hear what she said, or answer her?

Liu's pretense was just a formality, pretending that he was not acting on his own but was just receiving an order from Yuan Shao.

So she put her ear to Yuan Shao's mouth, pretended to listen for a while, then nodded heavily and said seriously: "I understand."

Then he slowly stood up, shot a cold and ferocious look at the beauties, waved his hand and shouted:

"The king has ordered that these vixens be dragged down, their hearts be gouged out, their hair be cut off, their faces be completely destroyed, and then thrown into the mass grave outside the city to be fed to wild dogs!"

The concubines were horrified and collapsed to the ground in fear.

They never expected that Liu would take advantage of Yuan Shao's coma and falsely issue an imperial decree to kill them.

Not only will they be killed, but their hair will also be cut off and their faces disfigured!

Suddenly, cries of grief and pleas for mercy were heard.

Liu, however, remained indifferent and watched coldly as the guards dragged the concubines away.

The jealousy that had accumulated in her heart was finally vented, and Liu was satisfied and couldn't help laughing triumphantly.

Just as he was laughing triumphantly, the guard came to report that a group of important officials from Hebei, including Shen Pei and Wen Chou, wanted to meet Yuan Shao and Liu.

Liu quickly put away her pride, straightened her clothes and looked dignified again, then she ordered all the ministers to come in.

After a while.

More than ten important officials including Shen Pei and Wen Chou entered the palace one after another.

Looking at the overwhelming crowd and not seeing her son Yuan Shang present, Liu couldn't help but get nervous. She thought that the ministers had learned that she had killed Yuan Shao's concubines and had come together to call her to task.

"My dear ministers, why do so many of you come to see the king?"

Liu's palms were sweating as she asked calmly.

Everyone remained silent, and all eyes were focused on Shen Pei.

Tian Feng was aloof and Ju Su was upright. Although they were highly respected in Hebei, they disdained to take part in party struggles.

Therefore, the scholars in Hebei now all follow Shen Pei's lead.

Shen Pei took a deep breath, clasped his hands and said loudly:

"Reporting to the queen, now that Henan has fallen, the people in Wei are in turmoil, and outside, Liu Bei has his horse drinking from the Yellow River. I don't know when he will lead his troops across the river and invade the heartland of Hebei!"

"Our Great Wei is now facing internal and external troubles, and is in a critical situation of survival!"

"But at this critical moment, the king is sick and lying on his bed, unable to take care of affairs, unable to appease the people, and even more unable to lead our Wei soldiers to resist the invasion of the false Chu."

"Therefore, we, the ministers, would like to write a joint letter to ask the king to put the great Wei country first and pass the throne to the third son Yuan Shang!"

"Only when the Third Young Master takes charge of Wei can we reassure the people at home and defend against foreign invaders!"

"Only our Great Wei can turn danger into safety!"

(End of this chapter)