Chapter 117 The thing about wife and children

"The road in Xichuan is dangerous. Liu Zhang and his son have been operating for dozens of generations. How come they were defeated by Zhao Feng and Zhang Fei in less than two months?" After reading the military newspaper handed to him by Laozi, Cao Pi was very surprised. This military newspaper is too brief, and many things are unknown. After Xia Houyuan in Guanzhong learned of the loss of Xichuan, he just sent first-hand news as soon as possible.

"Sword Gate Pass, Jianmeng Pass are all the world's heroes, and Zhao Botao was asked to take it easily?" Zhong Yao has been in the gate for many years, and he has a certain understanding of the terrain of Jianmen Pass and Jianmeng Pass, and he feels that this matter is a little strange. After listening to their words, Jia Xu on the side thought for a moment before saying, "Xichuan is mountainous. Maybe Zhao Botao found a mountain road and took a detour to avoid these two Xiongguan, or the general surrendered?"

"It's possible!" After listening to this, most people feel that the surname may not be small. Cao ordered people to take the most detailed map of Xichuan and check it carefully. Unfortunately, the Yinping Pass plank road is not marked on this map, and Cao can't get it for a while.

"The key now is not how Zhao Botao got Xichuan, but once he wins Xichuan, how should we deal with it?" Cao Shen could afford to let it go. Seeing that Xichuan was no longer in his hands, Suo's surname would no longer summarize the lesson of failure for Liu Zhang. Let's wait until we get accurate information.

"Zhao Botao is new to Xichuan, but the people in Xichuan are very xenophobic. If you want to consolidate the land of Xichuan and Hanzhong, there is no one who can't do it for two or three years. Therefore, it is best for the lord to march south to Jingxiang in two or three years. After occupying Jingxiang, Liu Bei's army will not take care of the beginning and tail! If the soldiers of Xichuan can also go north to the mirror, I'm afraid that there will be no peace at night in Guanzhong!" After a long time, Guo Jia put forward the most realistic strategy.

"I've been wanting to take Jingxiang for a long time. I don't know what good strategy you have?" Cao Qian also agreed with Guo Jia's strategy and hurriedly asked everyone the most realistic questions. There are different opinions. Some say they want to march into Nanyang from Guanzhong, and some say they want to march into Wancheng from Xuchang. All kinds of statements, each of which sounds beautiful, is still a long way from the specific implementation.

"King of Wei, Yi has a plan, which may help the lord to easily go south to Jingxiang!" At this time, Sima Yi, who had been silent, suddenly said. A glimmer of light flashed in Cao's eyes when he heard the words. Since the end of the six-way army, although Sima Yi added his main book and was later promoted to a long history, he has always been unknown and did not see any ideas. At this time, he suddenly volunteered again, and he was so sure that there was something wrong with him.

"Zhongda has something to say!" Cao Qian motioned to Sima Yi but said it was okay. Sima Yi nodded and said, "Master, in fact, compared with Liu Bei, the biggest advantage of the master is that the master has a huge and brave cavalry. The battle in the plains is very beneficial to the infantry with cavalry. Therefore, you only need to lure Liu Bei's army to the plains, and the lord will fight with other cavalry with tiger and leopard horses, and then there is a great chance of victory.

"This is true, but I don't know what Zhongda has, which can lure Liu Bei's main force to the plains." It was not Cao Qian who asked, but Cheng Yu, who was well-behaved. The tone was very bad. It seemed that what Sima Yi said before was nonsense.

Although Cheng Yu's tone is not good, Sima Yi is not annoyed. At present, Sima Yi smiled faintly and said, "The lord forgot this person. If this person is asked to lure Liu Bei to attack, Liu Bei will certainly not be able to resist. Once his army leaves Jingxiang, and the lord breaks his way back with a tiger and a leopard, the big deal will be settled!" Then Sima Yi explained his plan in detail. After listening to it, Cao Jian and others felt very novel, but it was difficult to say whether it was good or bad.

"Zhong Da said that it's not impossible. Anyway, this person is idle. It's better to use his waste!" After a long time, Cao Pi was the first to speak, and he obviously agreed with Sima Yi. Cao Qian looked at Jia Xu and Guo Jia, but saw that these people were also frowned and did not say anything.

"How about filial piety?" Cao Wei didn't want them to be silent all the time, so he asked his own questions. For a long time, Guo Jiacai slowly said, "Zhongda's plan is very good, but there are many resourceful people around Liu Bei. It is very difficult for this person to deceive Liu Bei."

"Then filial piety doesn't approve of this plan?" Cao Qian didn't seem to be too confident when he heard Guo Jia's words, so he asked quickly. Guo Jia was silent when he heard the words, and finally said, "If this plan is successful, it is enough to make Liu Bei lose his elite, and he will not recover his vitality within five years. It's just that if you want to, you still need to supplement it with other tricks to deceive Liu Bei.

"Fengxiao's words are not bad. At that time, the lord can use the pretext of crusade against Yuan Tan in Liaodong and pretend to lead the army to Youzhou, so that Liu Bei may be tricked!" Cheng Yu thought for a while. Cao Yan nodded repeatedly when he heard the words, and secretly calculated in his heart.

"Master, the fourth son is back!" At this time, the waiter suddenly came to report. Oh? Zhier went to Zhanghe to supervise the construction of Tongquetai on behalf of me. She came back so soon? Cao said happily, and his tone was full of love for his son. When Cao Pi heard the words, he couldn't help but look a little gloomy. At this moment, he felt that his sleeve robe was gently pulled. Looking back, it was Sima Yi who gave him a look. Cao Pi immediately woke up and smiled happily and praised his brother without mentioning it.

"Zhong Da, as you can see, my father is now more and more fond of Xin Zijian. I think he is an heir, but I'm afraid he can't be a son or a son!" After the discussion, Cao Pi and Sima Yi left together, and the former suddenly felt a little sad. No wonder no one will be happy now.

Cao Yan has been the king of Wei for half a year. In the past six months, Cao Yan has not established an heir. People with discerning eyes can see what Cao Yan means. At present, among Cao's sons, only Cao Pi, Cao Zhang and Cao Zhi are over 15 years old. Cao Pidun was filial and kind to others. The clan generals and his third brother Cao Zhang were kind to him. Logically speaking, he is the only one who is the son of the world, but Cao Wei obviously has other scruples.

His scruples are Cao Zhi.

Cao Zhi, who is only 16 years old this year, is already a talented person in the world. In the past two years, no less than a hundred famous poems written by him have been widely circulated. At the beginning of the year, Tongquetai was built, and his article "Tongquetai Fu" won applause from the whole house and won him a lot of prestige among scholars. In the face of such a smart son, Cao Shen will have some ideas anyway. It is no exaggeration to say that if Cao Pi hadn't been pretending deep enough, I'm afraid that Cao Yan would have made Cao Zhi his heir.

"Don't worry, the second prince. Although the fourth prince is famous all over the world, he has been abandoned since ancient times, and there have been countless disasters. The king of Wei will not ignore it. In addition, the second son is filial and benevolent, and his virtue is noble, but the fourth son is unrestrained and has no good wine. The importance of virtue is more important than talent, and the lord will not take this into account. Today, when the fourth prince returns to Yecheng, he is bound to drink and sing with the literati of the Ding Yi brothers. Why don't the second son go and have a look? Sima Yi smiled, and a pair of wolf's eyes were full of wisdom.

"It makes sense!" Cao Pi was about to go with great joy, but he saw Sima Yi pulling him and said, "Sir, wait a minute. You still need to go with the third prince or General Zidan to be a witness!"

"Zhong Da, you really have an idea!" Cao Pi was overjoyed when he heard the words, and then patted Sima Yi on the shoulder and sighed, "Although I am kind to the elders of the clan, you are the only one among the ministers. Zhong Da came out of the world. If I can inherit my father's foundation, I will use it with you!"

"The second son's words are heavy!" Sima Yi said respectfully, and a trace of light flashed from the depths of his eyes.

So this afternoon, Cao Zhang and Cao Zhen, who were asking Xu Chu to teach martial arts, met Cao Pi who came to find them. Cao Pi said that when he heard that Cao Zhi had come back, his brothers had not seen each other for months. During this period, he was supervising in Tongquetai, which was very hard. It was better to go to his house to see him. Cao Zhang and Cao Zhen had nothing to do, so Cao Qian's two sons and a boy went to Cao Zhi's house together.

"Second son, third son, General Zidan!" Seeing that it was the three of them, the doorman quickly saluted.

"Where's Zijian?" Cao Zhang was a little surprised to see that it was not Cao Zhi himself who greeted him. The man hesitated for a long time, and finally said, "The three of them don't know anything. The fourth son is drunk, and now he is lying on his back and unconscious in the hall."

"Ah, are you drunk again?" Cao Zhang was also shocked when he heard the words. His younger brother had always been drunk, and he didn't want to get drunk again today. At this time, Cao Pi said, "I haven't seen many brothers, but now I just want to have a look. Since Zijian was drunk, it was inconvenient for us not to disturb him to rest. It's just that it's early autumn now. I'm drunk and lying on my back in the hall. What if I get infected with wind and cold? Why don't you take your son to the bed in the room to rest!"

"Yes, yes, yes!" The waiter hurried to the hall and carried Cao Zhi, who was drunk, back to the room. Cao Zhang and Cao Zhen couldn't help frowning when they looked at Cao Zhi, who was indifferent. At this moment, Cao Zhi, who was in a coma, suddenly spit out, spitting out all over the ground, and a lot of splashes on Cao Pi who came forward to check him.

"You boy!" Cao Zhang was also angry when he saw that Cao Zhi was so drunk. Just as he was about to scold him, Cao Pi had already pulled him and said, "Forget it, the third brother. If the fourth brother is drunk, I won't care about him." It's just that if he drinks so much at such a young age, he will definitely hurt himself later!"

"It's all right. Tell your father later and let him take care of his fourth brother!" Cao Zhang arrived with some discommity. Because Cao Zhi had been unconscious, the three of them were disappointed, but they didn't expect to meet Cao at the door.

"Father!" The three of them hurriedly saluted Cao. Cao Xun nodded and looked at the three people in front of him. He couldn't help frowning and asking, "Zihuan, your clothes are not clean. Why are you like this?" The tone is very unhappy.

"This!" Cao Pi smiled awkwardly. Cao Zhang beside him couldn't help saying, "My father didn't know anything. Zijian was drunk in the supine hall. The second brother was afraid that he would be infected with the wind and cold, so he was carried into the room. I didn't want Zijian to vomit, so I stained my second brother's clothes.

"Why, Zijian is drunk again?" Cao Yan couldn't help frowning when he heard the words.

"Except it is!" Cao Zhang said angrily, and Cao Zhen beside him also nodded and said yes. How did they know that Cao Pi had already bribed the people around Cao Yan. They knew that Cao Yan would come to Cao Zhi this afternoon, so they took them to play a good play of caring for their brothers to Cao Wei.

"Well, I'll go back first. Zihuan will go back home to change his pullover so as not to lose his honor!" Cao looked at the three people and finally sighed. When he looked at Cao Pi, there was also a complicated look in the corners of his eyes.

That night, Cao Jian returned to his Wei palace, but he was a little restless. When it was time for dinner, someone came to report that General Xiahou Dun and Zhendong General Cao Ren had something to report. Cao Yan hurriedly ordered the two of them to come in, but it was Cao Ren who reported the progress of this year's recruit training, and Xiahou Dun reported the confrontation with Yuan Tan in Youzhou.

"Okay, okay!" Cao Zhen saw that everything was smooth sailing and he was overjoyed. Looking at Xiahou Dun and Cao Ren in front of him, Cao Yan suddenly said with emotion, "Zi Xiao, Yuan Rang, it has been more than ten years since we left Chen, right?"

"It's been 16 years!" Cao Ren was also quite emotional.

"You and I are called kings and ministers, and we are brothers. If it hadn't been for your help, I, Cao, wouldn't have taken this step today!" Cao said with a little emotion. Sugging the two not to be modest, Cao said again, "At present, I have something difficult to decide. I hope you can give me some advice."

"Lord, please speak!" The two of them didn't dare to say anything, so they let Cao Yan speak out.

"The number of children born alone has their own strengths. From the perspective of the two of you, who can be the heir of Zihuan, Zihe and Zijian? Cao Yiyi pointed out something. Xiahou Dun and Cao Ren looked at each other. Although they were generals, they also knew that this kind of succession was not easy to talk about. Once they stood in the wrong team, it was hard to say. But now Cao Hen took the initiative to ask and mentioned the brotherhood with them. He really couldn't avoid it.

"The lord has been an heir since ancient times. Now the son, Duke Huan, is filial and benevolent, and just inherits the throne." Cao Ren said without thinking. Xiahou Dun's only remaining one turned around a few times, and finally said, "Master, Mr. Huan has always been kind to others. His surname is generous, and he is a good choice for his heir."

Cao Tai, the son of Cao Ren, and Xia Hou Shang, the son of Xia Hou Dun, are all friends of Cao Pi. On this issue, they did not hesitate to stand on Cao Pi's side. Cao Yan nodded when he heard the words, but he didn't say anything more. He just pulled them to discuss some of the military issues.

Compared with Cao Jian's hesitation, Liu Bei doesn't have so many scruples. After all, he only has only one seven-year-old son, Liu Feng, and no one fights with him. Under the guidance of Sun Qian, a disciple of a generation of Confucian Zheng Xuan, this child is still smart.

But Liu Bei is a little upset now, not because of his son, but because of his wife. Meng Da and Fa Zheng, the ministers of Yizhou who had just come to Shouchun, brought him a troublesome thing. At this time, someone came to report that Pang Tong asked to see him.

"Quick announcement!" Liu Bei quickly motioned Pang Tong to come in. I've seen the Lord!" After Pang Tong's salute, Liu Bei also asked eagerly, "Shi Yuan came just in time. I have a dilemma here. Please ask Shi Yuan to solve my puzzles!"

"What's the matter with the main office?" Pang Tong seemed to expect something and asked quickly.

"Alas, Fa Xiaozhi and Mencius just proposed to me to marry Wu Ziyu's girl. What do you think of this?" Liu Bei sighed. When Pang Tong heard the words, he smiled and said, "The Lord is the Duke of Qi, and it is common for three wives and four concubines. Now there are only two wives and one concubine in the master's house. What does it have to do with marrying another one?

"This matter is not so simple. Mrs. Wu is a widow!" Liu Bei sighed. In fact, this Mrs. Wu can't be regarded as a widow. She just made a marriage contract with Liu Mao, Liu Zhang's eldest son, but Liu Mao died young, but she has never been married so far and is still a virgin.

What Liu Bei is afraid of is that if he marries Mrs. Wu now, the people of the Yizhou faction can feel at ease, but the Xuzhou faction and the Jingzhou faction are a little difficult to feel at ease. Pang Tong was naturally aware of the stake in it. At the moment, he smiled strangely and said, "What's wrong with the master? There is a plan that the master can do everything!"

(to be continued)