Chapter 375: The Heart of the King and His Subjects

Cao Cao took Dong Cheng to the front and saw thousands of people lined up outside the city, as if facing a powerful enemy, and they were fighting under the flag of the Baibo Army.

Cao Cao turned to Dong Cheng and asked, "General, what's going on?"

Dong Cheng cursed inwardly, what else could be going on? He instantly figured it out, the Baibo Army was deliberately letting him out of the city and not letting him come back!

If Cao Cao fails to break into the city this time, he will never be able to return to the emperor again!

Thinking of this, he was filled with righteous indignation and said, "Lord Cao, the Baibo Army has evil intentions and has already taken action to hold the emperor hostage!"

"Please ask Cao Gong to calm down the chaos!"

Cao Cao sneered in his heart. Dong Cheng wanted him to have a fight with the Baibo bandits. What a wishful thinking!

Even if he defeated the Baibo bandits, he would be seriously injured. There are Li Jue, Guo Si and the Youzhou army behind him. Would he be the one to reap the benefits?

At this time, whoever can't help but take action first will lose!

Thinking of this, he smiled to Dong Cheng and said, "I think the Baibo bandits are not completely unreasonable. If the two sides fight, I am afraid that the collision will scare the emperor."

"How about General Lao Lao go there and tell him that I am only going into the city to protect the emperor and have no intention of becoming an enemy of the Baibo Army?"

Dong Cheng suddenly broke out in a cold sweat. The Baibo Army was already on bad terms with him, so wasn't this just asking him to die?

He laughed dryly and said, "Sir, there are many conflicts between Cheng and the Baibo Army. If the other side takes the opportunity to attack, this..."

Cao Cao laughed and said, "Since you are afraid, General, then I will go!"

He rode his horse straight to the front of the battle line and ordered his men to shout, "Yanzhou Governor Cao Mengde has received the order to welcome the emperor. Why are you blocking the way?"

After a while, a man on horseback stood out from the Baibo army, followed closely by a general. When several generals in Cao's camp saw this, they were afraid of any harm, so they all rode their horses to Cao Cao's side to protect him.

This move made the other party hesitate. Seeing this, Cao Cao said to the person behind him, "It's okay!"

He rode forward a dozen steps, and when he was several dozen feet away from the enemy, he faced the enemy from a distance and bowed, saying, "Cao Cao, Cao Mengde, may I ask who is coming?"

When the first person saw this, he said to the generals behind him: "This General Cao is really brave!"

He cupped his hands and said, "I am General Yang Feng of Xingyi. I have been escorting the emperor back east since leaving Chang'an."

"Now the envoy has come with a large army, and the officials do not know the envoy's intention, so we are the ones who are leading the troops to attack you!"

Cao Cao pulled out the emperor's edict from his bosom, displayed it in front of him, and said, "This is the emperor's handwritten edict, ordering me to enter the city!"

"If the general suspects that it is a fake, he should bring it back and present it to the emperor to verify its authenticity!"

Yang Feng knew that the edict was most likely true, but the purpose of his stationing troops outside the city was to find an excuse to prevent Cao Cao from entering the city.

Now the Baibo Army in the city has gained an absolute advantage and is about to defeat Dong Cheng's faction. At this time, Cao Cao shows up to disrupt the situation. Who would be willing to hand over the benefits to others?

Therefore, Yang Feng's appearance this time was to delay time so that other Baibo generals in the city could reorganize their defenses in case Cao Cao launched an attack.

He winked at the general behind him and said, "Gongming, go and get the imperial edict."

The general behind him was Xu Huang. Hearing this, he rode his horse slowly towards Cao Cao. When he was about ten steps away, he saw a man as big as an iron tower among the Cao army's generals. He held a pair of large iron halberds and galloped towards him, shouting, "Stop!"

Xu Huang saw that the man was coming at him aggressively and was obviously trying to intimidate him, so he drew his axe and went to meet him.

The general who led the battle from Cao's camp was Dian Wei. When he saw that Xu Huang dared to accept the challenge, he let out a wild roar, tensed the muscles in his arms, and swung his iron halberd like a wheel, rushing towards Xu Huang like a splash of wind!

Seeing two shining blades coming towards him, Xu Huang did not dare to be negligent. When Dian Wei got close to him, he immediately poked and twisted the center of the opponent's arm with his long axe.

There was a loud bang, and the two men's weapons collided, sparks flew, and both felt a huge force coming over them.

Xu Huang's body shook violently and he was shocked that the opponent was so powerful!

Dian Wei took advantage of the momentum and advanced instead of retreating, stabbing Xu Huang in the face with his other iron halberd!

Xu Huang's long axe swung out and he had no time to retract it, so he turned the axe handle and blocked the iron halberd. This was exactly what Dian Wei wanted. He laughed wildly, exerted force with his arm, and hooked it back violently, trying to hook Xu Huang's long axe over!

Unexpectedly, Xu Huang let go, and Dian Wei's halberd hook missed, and the halberd hook slid out along the axe handle. He used too much strength and almost fell off the horse, so he quickly steadied himself.

Xu Huang reached out again and took the long axe in his hand. This move was extremely clever, and he also took advantage of Dian Wei's weakness in riding. Even the generals in Cao's camp praised him.

Dian Wei was furious when he heard this, and rushed forward again waving his double halberds, and a battle broke out between the two sides.

When the fighting outside the city was in full swing, Liu Xie in the city learned of the confrontation between troops outside the city and summoned someone privately.

Taiwei Yang Biao.

This was the person Liu Xie trusted the most in private, and his status was even much higher than Kong Rong.

Yang Biao, whose name was Wenxian, was born into the Hongnong Yang family. His great-grandfather Yang Zhen, grandfather Yang Bing, and father Yang Ci all served as Taiwei and were all famous for their loyalty and integrity.

The Yang family of Hongnong has studied "Ouyang Shangshu" for generations, and is as famous as the Yuan family of Runan.

Yang Biao was initially recommended as a filial and incorrupt official, and the state recommended him as an outstanding talent. He was recruited by the government, but he refused all the appointments. Later, he was recruited as a palace attendant, and successively served as the General of the Five Officials, the Prefect of Yingchuan, the Prefect of Nanyang, the Junior Treasurer of Yongle, the Grand Coachman, the Weiwei, the Prefect of Jingzhao, the Guanglu Xun, the Sikong, the Situ, and the Taiwei. It can be said that he held almost all the official positions, big and small.

He was a loyal and upright person. He refuted and contradicted Li Jue and Guo Si several times in person and was almost killed. He also protected Liu Xie several times when the emperor was returning east and almost died. Therefore, he was highly trusted by Liu Xie.

Liu Xie asked Yang Biao to sit down and said, "There are several forces inside and outside the city. Which one do you think is the most trustworthy?"

Yang Biao heard this and said, "The royal family refers to Cao Cao, Wen Hou, and Yuan Xi, right?"

"Forgive me for saying this, but none of these three parties can be fully trusted."

"Although the Cao family followed Huang-Lao, Cao Teng started the chaos of eunuchs' monopoly of power, and since then the Han Dynasty has gradually declined."

"Although Marquis Wen is brave, he once abandoned Your Majesty and fled, which shows that he is not loyal to death and is not completely reliable."

"The Yuan family has already intended to establish itself. Yuan Xi is known as the fierce tiger of the Yuan family. As a member of the Yuan family, his intentions are unpredictable and we must be on guard against him."

"The three of them claimed to be welcoming the emperor, but in fact they all had other intentions."

After hearing this, Liu Xie sighed and said, "The Grand Commandant still wins my heart!"

"So what should we do?"

Yang Biao thought about it and said, "It would be best if we can use the three parties to defeat Li Jue and Guo Si and drive away the Baibo bandits."

"But I am worried that if these three people join hands and intend to control Your Majesty, what difference will they make from the White Wave Bandits?"

Liu Xie listened and agreed deeply, saying, "Your words are very much in line with my opinion."

"This is what I am most worried about."

"Is it best if I try to make them fight and attack each other?"

"By the way, how about two peaches to kill three warriors?"

"I have issued an edict with the title of general and marquis. Whoever kills Li Jue and Guo Si will be granted the title!"

"This method can help them deal with Li Jue and Guo Si, and also allow them to weaken each other and fight!"

When he said these words, his pride was evident on his face, and he felt that he was slowly learning how to use strategies!

Unexpectedly, Yang Biao knelt down and kowtowed, saying: "What I said just now caused Your Majesty to misunderstand. It is my fault."

"Just now I said that the three of them cannot be fully trusted, but that doesn't mean they necessarily have ill intentions."

"If Your Majesty still has the same idea as before and uses this method to deal with ministers, you will lose the help of loyal ministers like Duan Wei, just like before. This is really a taboo for a monarch."

Liu Xie was shocked when he heard this, and hurriedly stood up and said, "I really don't understand what you are saying, my dear minister. Please give me some advice!"

Yang Biao said sternly: "Your Majesty was born in the deep palace and raised by women. No one taught you how to be a king. This is not your Majesty's fault."

What Yang Biao said was actually a veiled criticism of Empress Dowager Dong. Liu Xie naturally heard it. If it were him a few years ago, he would have been furious on the spot, and would have driven Yang Biao out and never trusted him again.

Now that Liu Xie was growing up and seeing more things, he slowly realized that although Queen Dowager Dong, who raised him, was very good to him, she had done some bad things for the world.

Emperor Ling of Han was greedy and cruel. He exploited the blood and sweat of the people, amassed a large amount of land and money, sold official positions and titles, causing the people to live in misery, and turned a blind eye when the world suffered natural disasters. This was an important cause of the Yellow Turban Rebellion.

During this process, Empress Dowager Dong not only failed to fulfill her responsibility of advising the emperor, but instead assisted him in his atrocities, sold official positions for goods, amassed wealth, and interfered in state affairs, causing the world to lose confidence in the Han court.

It can be said that in addition to Emperor Ling of Han, Empress Dowager Dong should bear a large part of the responsibility for the mess Liu Xie faced.

Now Yang Biao almost explicitly reminded Liu Xie of this. Liu Xie was a little angry at first, but then he suppressed his anger and began to ponder.

Yang Biao is a man of unquestionable loyalty. He could have avoided bringing up such a disgraceful matter in such an occasion, but since he did, there must be a hidden meaning behind it.

Liu Xie thought for a while and raised his head. "My dear, do you mean that no one is perfect?"

Yang Biao showed a trace of relief on his face, "Your Majesty is intelligent. If you give him time, he will surely be able to restore the Han Dynasty."

"When water is too clear, there will be no fish; when a person is too careful, there will be no followers. How many saints are there in the world today?"

"Although Cao Cao's grandfather was in power, he also worked for the emperor. Although Wen Hou abandoned Your Majesty, he had no choice. Although Yuan Jia Xionghu is a descendant of the Yuan family, he may have his heart set on Your Majesty."

"These three are all helpful in solving the current predicament. Your Majesty should think more about how to make them serve you willingly, instead of thinking about calculating against them in advance before the enemy is eliminated. This is really unworthy of an emperor."

"Your Majesty, please be able to appreciate the strengths of your subjects and tolerate their shortcomings. This is the way to be a king."

"Like former Minister Wang, who was too strict and unacceptable to the world, and thus brought about his own death, it is truly a pity."

"Of course, you should not be on guard against others. Your Majesty needs to listen to what they say, observe what they do, and know what's going on."

Liu Xie believed it and was moved. He stepped forward, shook Yang Biao's hand and said, "I'll take note of what you said, Grand Commandant!"