What Cao Cao said is very thought-provoking.

He is also very clear about his position.

He and Yuan Shao jointly elected Liu Zhuan, the king of the East China Sea, as emperor. He was regarded as a hero from the dragon. In terms of power, Cao Cao was actually not much worse than Yuan Shao. He joined as a prince.

If Yuan Shao is the largest shareholder of the Yecheng court, there is no doubt that Cao Cao is the second largest shareholder, because the overall size of the Cao family is there, and it cannot be hidden.

Yuan Shao and Cao Cao have a deep relationship. The two can work together to avoid conflicts, but can Yuan Shao's descendants and Cao Cao's descendants do what they do?

Not necessarily.

As the saying goes, there is no room for others to sleep soundly on the side of the bed. Yuan Shao's descendants and the local forces of the Jizhou clan were no less hostile to Cao Cao than they were to Yuan Tan.

Even if Cao Cao doesn't come to see Yuan Tan, can he guarantee that these people will not deal with him in the future?

impossible.

Because they have conflicts in their fundamental interests. This cannot be changed by what Cao Cao does. It is an objective fact.

Instead of carefully avoiding these open and hidden arrows, it is better to do what you need to do openly, with soldiers coming to block you, and water coming and earth covering you up.

After the two people sat down, Cao Cao said to Yuan Tan very naturally: "Xiansi, in fact, Cao does not approve of Benchu's actions. In Cao's view, Yuan Sanlang is too young and his childishness has not gone away.

No one knows what he will look like in the future. The risk of appointing him as the successor in such a hasty manner now is unknown... On the contrary, it shows that you have both ability and merit, and you are still the legitimate eldest son... The original waste of the elder

It is really unwise to raise a young child!"

Yuan Tan bit his lip, seemingly moved by Cao Cao's words.

After a while, he said: "Uncle, the matter has come to this, what else can Yuan Tan do?"

Cao Cao shook his head: "You must not be discouraged by a temporary setback. In Cao's view, I didn't really want to destroy you at first, but was forced by current events, so I could only do this. Now the main force of the Southern Huns has passed Yanmen Pass.

The Three Kings are stationed outside Lulong Village. How can we join forces with them without the help of prominent families in Hebei? This is also a last resort method to deal with Liu Qi."

Yuan Tan said with a straight face: "Even if it is a last resort, I will use it after all."

"But it may not always be like this. Don't forget that we and Liu Qi can't always avoid each other. Sooner or later, the two sides will inevitably have a war, and during this war, it is your chance to regain power.

"

Yuan Tan smiled bitterly and said: "Uncle, what you want is for me to make military achievements and regain power? I'm afraid it won't be that easy. No matter how many achievements I make, I will always be inferior to Yuan Shang..."

"Boy, are you really confused or are you pretending to be confused? It is true that your Yuan family established this court, but the surname of this court is not Yuan!"

Cao Cao's words suddenly awakened Yuan Tan.

He seemed to have thought of something and looked at Cao Cao in surprise. He opened his mouth to say something, but he didn't know where to start.

Cao Cao looked at Yuan Tan with a half-smile but said: "Yuan Shang has inherited the foundation, but the official position in the imperial court is not inherited by your family, nor is it whoever the prominent families in Hebei say is... We have the emperor above us,

Don’t you, the Yuan family, take the emperor too seriously? Isn’t it okay for you to achieve military exploits and become a minister of the imperial court? This matter is not inconsistent with who should be the father of the Yuan family and inherit the original foundation, right?

"

Yuan Tan's hands hidden in his sleeves had begun to tremble slightly.

He swallowed softly and suppressed the excitement in his heart.

"It's just that the power in the court is controlled by my father after all..."

"Power can be transferred, but it does not necessarily have to be transferred to the hands of the Yuan family father-in-law. Your father was not the head of the clan in Luoyang back then. Your uncle Yuan Ji and your uncle Yuan Shu were both stronger than your father in terms of status.

But it happened that your father came to power in the end and became a role model for the world, and he became the one with the highest achievements among the Yuan family."

Yuan Tan suddenly realized what he said.

He hurriedly circled his arms and saluted Cao Cao solemnly, and said: "Uncle, please remind me. If it weren't for my uncle, Tan would have almost made a mistake. It's just..."

"Just what?"

"Well, it's just that Yuan Tan has no power in the court now, and the people in Hebei are still deliberately suppressing me. Even if I fight against Liu Qi later, I'm afraid there will be no place for me to stand in the army."

When Cao Cao heard this, he raised his head and laughed, looking as confident as possible.

"The people in Hebei are making things difficult for you. How about I, Cao Cao, support you? Although I am not as powerful as your father in the court, if Cao stomps his feet, the court will be shaken, even if it is your father.

, you have to sell me three points of thin noodles."

When Cao Cao said these words, Yuan Tan immediately felt relieved.

Yes, although Cao Cao is not as important as Yuan Shao, he is undoubtedly the second most important person in the court and army after Yuan Shao.

If he comes forward forcefully, even if Yuan Tan cannot lead an army alone, there is still no problem in letting him serve as a general under Cao Cao.

Moreover, Yuan Shao felt sorry for Yuan Tan and would not deliberately refuse.

"In that case, it's up to Uncle Lao."

Seeing Yuan Tan's statement, Cao Cao smiled with satisfaction.

…

At the same time, in Luoyang, after Liu Qi sent Liu Cong to Xiliang, he brought Liu Cong's two female relatives back to Luoyang.

He first sent someone to ask Liu Biao how to resolve the matter.

Although Liu Biao was angry with Liu Cong, he was still relatively clear on human relations and principles.

He sent someone to tell Liu Qi, "After all, she is the wife of the Liu family and a descendant of the Liu family. Although she is a maid and a concubine, she should be treated well."

Liu Qi took Liu Biao's orders and sent someone to take good care of Li Ji and the fetus in his belly.

After Liu Cong's matter was settled, Liu Qi summoned Sun Ce.

At the same time, Zhou Yu was summoned by Liu Qi together with Sun Ce.

…

Two young heroes stood under the palace and saluted Liu Qi.

Liu Qi glanced back and forth between Zhou Yu and Sun Ce, and finally laid his eyes on Sun Ce's face.

"Have you figured it out?" After a while, Liu Qi slowly said.

When Sun Ce heard this, he raised his eyebrows, then immediately knelt down on one knee and worshiped: "Ce does not know the power of heaven and has repeatedly offended His Majesty. He is punishable by death!"

Liu Qi said lightly: "If you really deserved to die, you wouldn't really be alive until now... Why did you suddenly figure it out?"

"Ce was originally dissatisfied with your majesty because your majesty and I are of the same age, and we were both the sons of a pastor in the past. However, due to luck, your majesty became an emperor with thousands of miles of land. Ce was really jealous of him. When he arrived in Luoyang,

I couldn't figure it out for a while, but over the past few days, Ce has been watching His Majesty's administration in Luoyang, and seeing the prosperity and well-being of the soldiers and civilians in Luoyang. I am really shocked, and I know that Your Majesty is a man of destiny, and Ce

How can you be dissatisfied? How dare you be dissatisfied? The great man cannot live without His Majesty, and all the people cannot live without Your Majesty!"

Liu Qi smiled when he heard this: "That's nice to say, but I don't know whether you mean it or not, I can't figure it out!"

When he finished speaking, he saw Sun Ce put his left index finger in his mouth and bit it hard.

Then, he was seen sprinkling blood drop by drop on the main hall.
Chapter completed!