Hidden Needle in Cotton

Cao Hong, General of Wei Hussar.

Cao Hong's uncle Cao Ding was a minister and ordered Cao Hong to serve as the governor of Qichun. Cao Cao launched an army to attack Dong Zhuo, but was defeated by Xu Rong in Xingyang. At that time, Cao Cao lost his horse, and the pursuers were in a hurry. His life was hanging by a thread. Cao Hong dismounted and

He helped Cao Cao mount his horse and said: The world cannot be without floods, but it cannot be without a king.

They fought on foot and fought all the way to Bianshui.

At that time, the water was deep and difficult to cross, but Cao Hongyi got a boat in the water and protected Cao Cao from danger.

Later, Cao Cao went on an expedition to Xuzhou and encountered a great famine. Cao Hong led his troops forward and seized Fanyang in Dongping, gathering local grain and grass to supply Cao Cao.

The emperor moved the capital to Xu County, and Cao Hong paid homage to the officials.

At the beginning of the year, he conquered Liu Biao, defeated Wuyin, Ye County, Duyang, and Bowang, and was named General Li Feng and Marquis Guoming Ting.

The person that Cao Peng likes the most is Cao Hong. The reason is simply because Cao Hong attaches great importance to money.

History books say that his family was rich but stingy.

In other words, this man is Grandet's kind of person.

Cao Cao was extremely obsessed with money, which made Cao Cao feel very at ease with him. Although in the eyes of many people, Cao Hong was not a big shot, in Cao Cao's heart, Cao Hong was undoubtedly the most trustworthy person. I am not afraid that you are wrong, but I am afraid that you are too good.

A person without shortcomings often has unusual ambitions. The most obvious one is Wang Mang, the emperor of the New Dynasty who usurped the Han Dynasty.

Therefore, the more greedy Cao Hong is, the more assured Cao Cao is about him.

According to historical records, Cao Hong did not get rid of this problem in his later years.

After Cao Pi ascended the throne, Cao Pi's wife, Queen Guo, was very dissatisfied with Cao Hong and even had murderous intentions. The civil and military officials of the entire dynasty were helpless. Cao Pi's biological mother, Queen Mother Bian, directly told Queen Guo: If you dare to kill Cao Hong, I will go to the ancestors tomorrow.

Worship in the temple, after the emperor was deposed.

In the end, Cao Hong was spared and was dismissed from his official position.

However, after the death of Cao Pi, Emperor Ming of Wei ascended the throne and immediately worshiped Cao Hong as his general and the marquis of Lecheng. Later, he was named a hussar general and was given the posthumous title after his death.

It can be said that Cao Hong survived three dynasties without falling, which is enough to show his importance in Cao Wei.

As far as the current situation is concerned, Cao Hong is the best candidate to come forward to solve all problems. Moreover, Cao Peng has no plans to start a career in Xudu. He is aiming at Luoyang. Based on the relationship between the Cao family and the Xiahou family,

Cao Peng believes that there is no problem that cannot be solved.

The key is, who will lobby Cao Hong?

Cao Zhen took the initiative to propose it, and it naturally fell on Cao Zhen.

Cao Peng was not greedy and said to Cao Zhen: "This gambling house will be run in the name of Uncle Zi Lian. Uncle Zi Lian will get 50% of the income. You and I will each get 25%, what do you think?"

Cao Zhen shook his head, "How is that possible? Uncle Zi Lian contributes to your idea, and it is half and half between you and me. It is a bit unfair. You have 30%, and I have 20%. Uncle Zi Lian's 50% is not enough, so don't make any more ideas. If there is no

50% profit, he will definitely not help."

"What 20%, what 30%?"

Xu Yi asked doubtfully.

"It's none of your business, let's play your cards!"

Cao Zhen slapped Xu Yi on the head.

You really can't get too many people involved in this kind of thing, otherwise it will cause unnecessary trouble.

Cao Peng also knew what Cao Zhen was thinking. In fact, according to his thinking, why not hope to win over more people? If Xu Yi and Dianman could be brought over, plus the Cao clan members, a huge interest group could be formed.

But the question is, once this happens, can Cao Cao tolerate it? Even if Cao Cao can tolerate Cao Hong, he may not be able to tolerate Cao Peng, the instigator.

Therefore, Cao Peng did not say anything further.

If the interest group is large, it will have big benefits; if it is small, it will also have small conveniences.

Having too many people may not make it easy to get things done. Favors can be gathered slowly. If this violates Cao Cao's taboo, it will be more than gain.

"Also, to build a gambling house, you need people from all walks of life."

Cao Zhen thought for a while, "Then what are your ideas?"

"We have to find someone who is familiar with the situation in Luoyang, and it is best for this person not to hold a position in the imperial court. He has the means and ability... and also has some knowledge of gambling houses. It is best if he can speak on all aspects.

Save us a lot of trouble."

Running a gambling house is not that easy.

Cao Peng could use all the gambling methods of later generations, but he still needed someone who could control the situation.

Cao Zhen pondered for a moment and said softly: "I really know such a person, but if you want him to join, Ah Fu, I'm afraid you will have to sacrifice 10% of your profits."

"who?"

"It is the swordsmanship training of Cao Pi, the second son of the lord."

"Who is that?"

"Shi Ah!"

At this time, Zhu Zan also roughly understood what Cao Zhen and Cao Peng were discussing. From the bottom of his heart, he was not too disgusted with it. To be honest, his family background was not very good, and he was not rich. He had talent and learning.

He is not stubborn at the same time and is the best candidate...

"Shi'a's words are indeed appropriate." Zhu Zan said: "He studied under Wang Yue, the master of swordsmanship, and is also a master of contemporary swordsmanship. He has a wide range of people. He can speak to everyone from princes and nobles to traffickers and pawns. Moreover, he has a wide range of people.

He once opened the Hero Building in Luoyang back then, and is very familiar with the situation in Luoyang... Ah Fu, Zi Dan is right, if we ask Shi A to take action, we will probably share 10% of the profits."

Why does it sound like a gang leader?

Cao Peng pondered for a moment, nodded and said, "It would be really troublesome if we didn't have people like Shi A standing in front of us to do this kind of thing.

Well... 10% profit is 10% profit, no big deal. Once this prosperous gambling house is opened, it will definitely make a lot of money every day. Just 10% profit, in exchange for long-term stability, is a good deal no matter how you calculate it. Brother, this person is very suitable.

, we must bring him in. With him helping us run the business in Luoyang, we don’t need to spend any thought, and we can just worry about our future when the time comes."

Although I don’t know how much profit there will be at the end of the day.

But Cao Zhen had already seen a lot of wealth from the blueprint drawn by Cao Peng.

Cao Zhen was also very satisfied with Cao Peng's magnanimity.

Without such magnanimity, how could we accomplish great things...

"In this case, we will contact Shi A after we get out."

Cao Peng could finally breathe a sigh of relief! From the moment he arrived in Xudu, he began to rack his brains to think about the future... building momentum for his father Cao Ji and planning for his brother-in-law! But everything seemed like a castle built on the beach.

, it may collapse at any time.

Now, with Cao Zhen and Cao Hong...

Although I don't know how much power Shi'a has, he serves as Cao Pi's swordsmanship instructor, and this relationship alone is enough.

A small interest group has been planning and taking shape in the prison of Xudu.——

Before I knew it, it was already late summer.

In June of the second year of Jian'an, Cao Cao's army returned to Xudu.

Seeing that the scorching heat is about to go away, the crisp autumn season is coming. In Longshan near Xudu, it has been cool all autumn, but in Xudu, autumn tigers are wandering outside, keeping the temperature high. Sitting in the house

It's also unbearably hot here.

In the room, there are five huge bronze tripods placed in sequence.

The green dragon, white tiger, red bird, Xuanwu and Qilin are respectively carved on it, representing the five divine beasts. It takes four or five people to hold the tripod together, but it contains huge ice cubes. Wisps of cold air come from the hollow gaps in the bronze tripod cover.

Float out and spread throughout the room.

Sitting in the room, not only will you not feel hot, but you will feel cool.

Cao Cao was wearing a bright yellow brocade with a slanted lapel. He was sitting on the bed, holding a scroll in one hand and gently twirling his long beard with the other...

"Fengxiao, what do you think about Fujun?"

Guo Jia wore a moon-white gown and sat down at the bottom with a relaxed expression.

Hearing Cao Cao's question, he smiled and said, "Now my lord has moved his capital to Xu County, and is serving the emperor as an order for the princes to attack the unconquered ministers. On the surface, my lord seems to have unlimited glory, but in fact he is hiding in danger."

"oh?"

"Although my lord is famous, he cannot compare with the fourth and third princes of Yuan Benchu.

Although the lord supports the emperor, he cannot convince the public. Especially those who come from Chang'an, I am afraid it is even more so... There is great chaos today. Although the lord is sitting in the three states of Qing, Yan and Henan, he is surrounded by enemies on all sides.

.As a result, the civil and military officials in the DPRK were often disloyal, and even today they may not be able to trust their lord. In the past, the five hegemons Huan Gong respected the king and resisted the barbarians, and then the Kuiqiu Alliance achieved hegemony.

Chao Cuo conquered the outside world first to pacify the inside, cut down the feudal vassals and centralize power, and only then could Emperor Wu achieve great martial arts...

If the Lord wants to support the Han Dynasty, at present, Xu Du can only have one voice, and that is your voice, Lord.

If the sound is too messy, the people will not know why. People say that Huo Guang is domineering, but without Huo Guang, how could the Han Dynasty be revived? The situation that the Lord is facing now is even worse than that of Huo Guang back then. Therefore, there is only one tyrannical method to suppress all abnormal movements, then

There is hope for the revival of the Han Dynasty."

Although Guo Jia did not express any opinions, he made his attitude clear.
To be continued...