Cao Cao pressed his saber and paced back and forth at the palace gate, looking up at the palace gate from time to time.

Chang'an is ruined, the palace is also dilapidated, although Wang Yun and Yang Biao have spent a lot of effort to repair, but Chang'an's manpower and material resources are limited, and they can only barely ensure that the palace of the Son of Heaven is barely like it, and other buildings can not be taken care of, and the entire palace gate is not as tall as the gate of the Cao family in Luoyang City, and the mansion like the Yuan family cannot be compared.

Today's imperial court is like these palace walls, showing decay everywhere, and people can't raise a trace of awe. After the matter of summoning the princes of Kwantung was over, this feeling became more and more obvious, and for a long time, the Son of Heaven did not go to the court, let alone issue an edict. Cao Cao was reluctant to come to the palace if he had nothing to do, preferring to stay in the barracks.

Only in the barracks did he feel safe.

I came to the palace today, not to see the driver, but to see Xun Yu. After Xun Yu came to Chang'an, he met and talked with the Son of Heaven several times, and the Son of Heaven admired him very much. Situ Wang Yun and Sikong Yang Biao also liked him very much, and there were almost no accidents, so he became a waiter, and within a few days, he turned to Shangshu Ling. Although the official position is not high, it is very important, and all the decrees of the imperial court need to be issued by him, which can be described as the mouthpiece of the imperial court, and everyone does not call him by name, but Xun Lingjun.

Cao Cao and Xun Yu have met several times, and he also admires this Xun Lingjun with his own fragrance. Not to mention anything else, it is not easy for him to gain the trust of Wang Yun and Yang Biao at the same time. In the whirlpool, Cao Cao knew too well how many contradictions there were between Wang Yun and Yang Biao.

A figure outside the palace gate walked out, and when he saw Cao Cao, the man stopped and shouted, "Meng De, are you coming to me?" ”

Cao Cao looked up and saw that it was Ding Chong, so he hurriedly greeted him. "Youyang, what a coincidence, as soon as I arrived at the door, you came out." He pulled Ding Chong aside and said in a low voice, "How is the matter of sending troops to Nanyang discussed?" Youyang, this is a national hatred and a family feud, and I can't help but repay it. ”

Ding Chong glanced at him. "It's not that I don't want to, but I can't. At present, Chang'an is rough and poor, and if you want to send troops, the imperial court will not have money and food at all. ”

"How so? Isn't it just the autumn harvest, and you can't even supply grain and grass for 10,000 or 20,000 horses? ”

"You should ask Wang Situ about this."

Cao Cao smacked his lips and rubbed his hands. "Youyang, let me say this, it's not that I'm belligerent, but I have to fight. As the saying goes, raising a soldier is like training a dog, and you can't be too idle. It is useless to practice in the barracks every day, and it must be a real battle. We can still stabilize the situation in Chang'an now because Hu Zhen was defeated by us, and Ma Teng and Han Sui couldn't figure out the details of us for a while, so they didn't dare to act rashly. After a long time, the envoys came and went, and when they found out the situation, they would definitely be ready to move, and the soldiers who had not gone through actual combat would not be able to stop them. ”

"If that's the case, then I advise you to attack Han Sui and Ma Teng directly."

"What does this mean?"

"Han Sui and Ma Sui are not weak, after all, there is still a chance to win. Against Sun Ce, do you have a chance to win? Don't fold the tens of thousands of people who have been trained so easily. ”

Cao Cao was embarrassed, looked at Ding Chong sadly, and couldn't say a word.

Ding Chong raised his hand. "Okay, Mengde, I'm not saying you're incompetent, but Sun Ce is too cunning. Even Xu Rong and 20,000 Xiliang soldiers were folded in his hands, what can you do with these 20,000 recruits? It's better to practice with Han Sui and Ma Teng. ”

"Youyang, the army is not profitable, even if we defeat Han Sui and Ma Teng, what can we gain? The reward is not enough. Nanyang has developed rapidly in the past two years, and it is possible to solve our money and grain crisis by invading Nanyang. Nanyang is the emperor's hometown, if you can conquer Nanyang, it is better for the Son of Heaven to move to Nanyang than to stay in Chang'an. ”

"It's useless for you to tell me this, let's talk to Wang Situ, he will definitely be willing to take your suggestion."

"That'...... Have you seen Xun Wenruo? Wang Situ refuses to see me now, if Xun Lingjun is allowed to speak, maybe he can listen. ”

A hint of anger flashed across Ding Chong's slender face. He was silent for a moment. "Xun Lingjun was summoned by the Son of Heaven to ask the right question, I don't know when it will end, if you are willing to wait, you can wait here."

Cao Cao knew that Ding Chong was in a bad mood, but he still had to ask. "Son of Heaven...... Summoned Xun Lingjun again and asked right? ”

Ding Chong nodded, he was not in the mood to say more, flicked his sleeves, and strode away. Cao Cao sighed secretly. He knew that Ding Chong was dissatisfied with him, and Mrs. Ding had not been able to have children, but the Bian family of Tana gave birth to two sons one after another, and soon after arriving in Chang'an, he gave birth to a third son. Now that Mrs. Ding and Cao Ang are staying in Yanzhou, he is in Chang'an, and the Cao family bets on both sides, and if his side wins, his title is likely to be left to Cao Pi of Bian's life. Ding Chong was suspicious that he had abandoned Cao Ang.

This is really a big wrong, Ding Chong is completely unreasonable. As long as anyone with a discerning eye can see that the Han Dynasty will be gone, Yuan Shao's change of dynasty is a foregone conclusion, Cao Ang is more hopeful to follow Yuan Shao, and he is a dead end if he follows the court. He chose the road of death by himself and left the way of life to his son, but Ding Chong still felt that he was not doing it right, which could not be explained.

Cao Cao sighed for a long time, and was depressed, and another person walked out of it, it was Zhong Xuan. Zhong Xuan's face is full of Chinese characters, thick eyebrows and big eyes, the bridge of the nose is straight, the big mouth is square, and a thick beard is black and bright, which looks like a temple. He was a head taller than Cao Cao, walked up to Cao Cao, stopped three or four steps away, and bowed.

"Zhong Xuan has seen the general."

Cao Cao hurriedly returned the salute. "Brother Yuan Chang, I won't see you for a few days, don't come unharmed."

"Thank you for your concern." Zhong Miao smiled and said, "The general is here, is he waiting for Xun Lingjun?" ”

"Exactly, I just heard Ding Youyang say that Xun Lingjun asked right in front of the Son of Heaven?"

Zhong Xuan looked around and lowered his voice. "The Son of Heaven has summoned Xun Lingjun one after another in the past few days to ask the right, it is very secretive, and I don't know what they say. However, Ling Jun asked me to come to the palace gate often to check, and if I saw you, I would say to you, please wait in the camp with peace of mind, and put your troops and horses in order, and once the conditions are ripe, he will try his best to facilitate your expedition. ”

Cao Cao understood, nodded again and again, bowed to Zhong Xuan, but did not leave immediately, took Zhong Xuan's hand, and said affectionately: "When will Yuan Chang take a break, come to the camp and sit." I heard that your nephews Guo Yuan and Guo Wu are rare warriors, if you don't dislike it, it's better to let him help me. ”

Zhong Xuan smiled, but smiled bitterly. "General, you're too late, those two shafts have already returned to their hometowns."

Cao Cao was disappointed. "He's going to vote for Sun Ce?"

"Alas, who let their clan brother Guo Jia now listen to orders under Sun Ce's account, my uncle is useless, he is just a Huangmen squire so far, and he can't lead him into the ranks, so he has to go to his clan brother."

Cao Cao looked up at the palace gate behind Zhong Xuan, feeling even more defeated, and he couldn't help but sigh. "It's all at this time, and I haven't forgotten the dispute between Confucianism and Law, Yuan Chang, I'm very worried."

Zhong Xuan's eyes flashed slightly, and he nodded quietly.