Chapter 194: Cao and Liu negotiate, the old ones are still the best The news that Liu Bei had captured Nandun completely put an end to Cao Cao's idea of ​​seizing the State of Chen. Even if Lao Cao was extremely angry, he couldn't change the current situation. With Zheng Xuan's appearance, the righteous side was occupied by Liu Bei. If the fighting continued, it would make Master Zheng unhappy. I am afraid that after Zheng Xuan entered the court, Cao Cao would become more passive. In terms of military affairs, Liu Bei's occupation of Nandun was telling him to either give up the fight between the two families in Nanyang or withdraw his troops. Otherwise, Cheng Yu would be blocked in Liang State by Xu Shu and unable to go south, and he and Cao Ren would be cut into two! Once they mobilize their troops, Liu Bei can join forces with Liu Ye to resist their forces. If Cao Ren is mobilized, Cao Ren's troops will face a pincer attack from Liu Bei and Guan Yu! Such a situation made the State of Chen become like Hanzhong, where there was no meat to eat and it would be a pity to abandon it. So, under Xun You's suggestion, Cao Cao led his troops to retreat to the city of Chen County and sent someone to the south to invite Liu Bei to the north for talks. On the other hand, Liu Bei had kept his troops in place since he captured Nandun.

It was not until Cao Cao's messenger arrived that he ordered Zhang Xun to lead 4,000 troops to defend Nandun, while he personally led his troops north to meet Cao Cao! Then it was late April of the third year of Jian'an, and Cao Cao finally met Liu Bei again after half a year! This meeting was more serious than the previous ones, after all, the last one was to celebrate the success. But this time, the two families were negotiating and preparing to demarcate the border. The key to whether we can live in peace lies in this meeting. However, although this is what they said, under the witness of Zheng Xuan as the middleman, both sides need to be more reserved. Even when dividing the spoils, it must be done fairly and in accordance with etiquette. Lao Cao first said that Liu Bei reacted promptly this time and defeated Yuan Shu, preventing the State of Chen from suffering too much damage. This was a great achievement and he should commend Liu Bei. Then he directly said that the State of Chen was originally the fiefdom of Liu Chong, and now that Liu Chong is dead, the court should take it back! That’s right, Liu Chong eventually passed away! Speaking of this matter, we naturally have to mention Hua Tuo, who has never been found. In fact, when Liu Chong was assassinated, Hua Tuo was practicing medicine in Pengcheng, Xuzhou. As the people sent by Liu Ye to search for him arrived, they heard that King Chen had been poisoned and was unconscious, so Hua Tuo hurriedly set off and headed towards the State of Chen. Unfortunately, transportation in that era was very backward, and Liu Chong died in Xinping City before Hua Tuo arrived. It is said that when Liu Chong died, he woke up for a while. When I just woke up, I didn't care about the situation of the State of Chen or my family, I just wanted to eat. When everyone saw that he could eat, they were naturally happy and thought that Liu Chong could recover. As a result, after finishing the meal, Liu Chong fell asleep immediately. In the middle of the night, he vomited out everything in his stomach, which was mixed with black blood. He eventually died of suffocation. His death was extremely horrifying. When Hua Tuo arrived at the mansion and heard the symptoms, he sighed: "The poison that King Chen was poisoned with was taken from a poisonous mushroom!" "This thing is good at destroying a person's internal organs. When the arrow hits you, you should cut out the flesh and let the blood flow!"

"Then nourish him with something that replenishes his Qi and blood, and transfuse him with blood from others. This way he may be saved!" "It's a pity that the doctor didn't know how to deal with it, causing the poison to enter the five internal organs, and then used strong medicine to attack it, causing King Chen's stomach to fester." "When you are able to eat, it is already the last stage of life, and it is difficult for doctors to cure it!" Everyone was shocked when they heard his medical methods, but Qin Zhen secretly thought that Hua Tuo was indeed a master of surgery. This set of treatment methods is a fusion of Chinese and Western medicine in later generations. If I keep this, I won't be afraid of being stabbed or poisoned in the future. So he asked someone to keep Hua Tuo first, and planned to take him back after the work was done. Originally, Hua Tuo would leave after treating the disease. Fortunately, Zheng Xuan was old, and had been frightened and bumpy during this period, which made him feel a little unwell. Hua Tuo stayed in Xinping to help Zheng Xuan regulate his body. On the other hand, he heard that Qin Zhen's wife Cai Yan was pregnant, so he was prepared to go and see her. Although Hua Tuo was a wandering man, he had to bow his head in front of the powerful and wealthy. He then accepted Qin Zhen's request and prepared to follow Liu Bei's army to Shouchun! Of course, these are all off-topic remarks. Anyway, Liu Chong is now dead, and Cao Cao wants to take back Liu Chong's fiefdom. According to his original words: "Ever since Emperor Wu issued the decree to extend favors to all, our Han dynasty has been a family of relatives all over the country." "But today, the powerful have emerged in the world. It seems that all the kings are not allowed to leave their territories, but they all have soldiers and horses. Although they are useful in defending the land, they are of no benefit to the country." "So we should take back the power and return it all to the imperial court, so that we can help quell the rebellion and put an end to the chaos in the world as soon as possible!" "It is like the land of Chen State, located next to the capital, just like the land of Jingzhao in Luoyang in the past!" "I see that Liu Chong's son Liu Xian is weak and cannot defend his country, so I should take him into the court, keep his fiefdom, and divide the state into Yingchuan, Chenguo, Runan, and Chenliu, making them the new important places for the capital!" Military means are an extension of politics. Since military means don’t work, Cao Cao will naturally resort to political means. Since you, Liu Bei, are the governor of Yuzhou and have the right to interfere in the military affairs of the State of Chen, I will establish a new state. Not only the State of Chen was included in it, but also Chenliu and Runan were included as important places to protect the capital. This would instantly eliminate Liu Bei's legal basis. As long as he submitted a petition to the court to appoint a new governor, Liu Bei would lose his righteousness. Liu Bei was naturally unwilling to do so, but he did not know how to respond, so Qin Zhen responded: "What Sikong said is not wrong. In fact, our army also wishes the same!" "However, the issue of dividing the states concerns the national system, so we should first report it to the emperor before making a decision!" "However, since Sikong wants to leave the country and stay in the county, why not take Liang State with him?" "Lands like those are all part of Yuzhou, so let our army take over their management." "After the emperor issues an edict and Xinzhou is established, our army will withdraw to Liang State and will not let Sikong have any trouble at all!" Qin Zhen has always been good at talking. He directly said that he could divide the state, and he would take all the soldiers, money and food with him, and he would also use the Liang State under your command in exchange! If you want to get something for nothing, then just wait! When Cao Cao heard this, he was naturally very annoyed, thinking that Qin Zhen had always been stingy.

If Liang State were to be used in exchange for Chen State, I'm afraid Chen State would be emptied out directly! In that case, even if he conquered the State of Chen, it would be a wasteland. On the contrary, once Liu Bei conquered Liang State, he would be able to double-team Chen State, and he would lose no matter how he changed! Thinking of this, Cao Cao simply avoided the topic and directly turned the conversation to the matter of Liu Bei's capture of Nandun: "I heard that Xuande mobilized his troops to attack our army in Nandun. I wonder why?" Liu Bei could answer this question, and he said to Cao Cao directly: "It's because the remnants of Yuan Shu have fled westwards to Nandun!" "I was ordered by the emperor to be the governor of Yuzhou. I should protect the territory and the people and prevent the land from being invaded by the bandits, so I went to chase them away!" He did give Cao Cao a reason, but he did not mention a word about whether the city should be returned. Cao Cao saw that the two were more shameless than each other and felt helpless. He sighed to Zheng Xuan: "Xu County is the residence of the emperor, and it must be protected. What do you think about the matter of the State of Chen?" He had no choice but to express his opinion to Zheng Xuan: This is not for my own selfish reasons, but for the country. I don't care if you take sides, but you can't leave the capital without any outer defense! After he said this, Zheng Xuan thought for a while, then said in a deep voice: "Don't think I'm old and ignorant. Your argument here is nothing more than one more city or one less city!" "I also know that the world is in chaos nowadays, and you need to use troops, money and food to quell the rebellion, so we must discuss the ownership of the city here!" "According to my opinion, since neither family wants the State of Chen to fall into the hands of the other, why not let Liu Xian inherit the throne of King of Chen and no longer appoint a prime minister for the State of Chen!" "Meng De is responsible for the administration of the five counties of Chen County, Changping County, Yangxia County, Fule County, and Xinping County. Xuan De is responsible for the administration of the four counties of Tuo County, Ningping County, Wuping County, and Ku County." "This time Xuande has made great contributions, but gained little. Meng Deru will give up Pingyu to Xuande." "In this way, the two families will each get five counties, Meng De will exchange Pingyu for Chen County, and the areas to be managed will be demarcated. The two families can reconcile. Why bother to involve the righteousness of the court here?" When one reaches Zheng Xuan's age, he would have already seen through the affairs of the world and would be able to understand what the two families were thinking. Although he did not like Cao Cao, it was undeniable that Cao Cao was indeed working for the court. Similarly, Liu Bei, as a relative of the Han royal family, was also part of the imperial court. They all want to support the Han Dynasty, there is no need to fight here. The reason why the two families are arguing here is simply because they don't trust each other. Therefore, in his opinion, the two families might as well divide the State of Chen! Don't you, Cao Cao, want to defend this land? Then just take over Chen County. But Liu Bei would naturally not be willing to give up Chen County for no reason, so he simply exchanged it for Pingyu, the capital of Runan County. In this way, you, Cao Cao, will have the land you want to defend, and Liu Bei will no longer be unwilling to give up an inch after he gets the seat of Runan County. Both families will get what they need, and there is no need to continue arguing here! The reason why Cao Cao and Liu Bei were interacting with each other at this time was because they were concerned about Zheng Xuan's opinion. Unexpectedly, Master Zheng was more insightful than they imagined. At least they still took the court's face into consideration, but Zheng Xuan directly stated that the two families should divide the property equally. Such behavior made the two heroes feel a little at a loss.

But think about it, Master Zheng is very knowledgeable. If he didn't have a thorough understanding, how could he integrate the past and the present and be proficient in all schools of thought! While thinking, the two also considered the pros and cons. Cao Cao was considering whether it was worthwhile to exchange Pingyu for Chen County, and Liu Bei was also considering whether to replace the county seat of Chen State with Pingyu. After all, this concerns the future defense line, and both of them are a little unsure. Seeing that the two of them were silent, Zheng Xuan waved his hand and said: "If you guys act like this, you must go back and discuss it." "Well, let's stop here today and make a decision after you discuss it!" "But I have only one thing to tell you. Do not attack each other privately anymore." "Otherwise, both families will be guilty. After I enter the court, I will report to the emperor about your private fight!" Faced with Zheng Xuan's "threat", Cao Cao and Liu Bei could only smile bitterly. Everyone was thinking that they just wanted to find a middleman to negotiate, but unexpectedly they found a referee for themselves! Now, there’s no need to talk about it anymore, Master Zheng has already made the decision! Anyone who is unwilling can wait to be reported to the emperor by Zheng Xuan. Cao Cao was naturally a little wary of this, and felt that inviting Zheng Xuan here would only bring him trouble. Kong Rong was already enough of a headache for him, and now with Zheng Xuan coming, his life would probably be even more difficult. Although Liu Bei was not afraid of Zheng Xuan's rebuke, he had always treated Zheng Xuan as a teacher and naturally would not disobey him. After discussing with Qin Zhen, he agreed to Zheng Xuan's proposal. Anyway, Chen County and Xinping were in their hands. Even if they retreated, they could take away soldiers, money, food and some civilians. They made a huge profit by exchanging Chen County for the strategically important Pingyu City. However, on the basis of agreement, Qin Zhen put forward another condition. That is, Chen County can be given to Cao, but the court needs to issue an edict, ordering Liu Biao to join them in attacking Sun Ce. This proposal was naturally intended to prepare for the attack on Sun Ce. Zheng Xuan also knew that Sun Ce was causing trouble in the south, so he directly stated: "I heard that Sun Ce killed too many people in Jiangdong and disobeyed the king's orders. We should attack him. I will help you report this matter!" As soon as Liu Bei agreed, the pressure naturally fell on Cao Cao. After discussing with Xun You and Guo Jia, he realized that the situation had been controlled by Zheng Xuan. If they don't agree now, first of all, they will have trouble in public opinion, and secondly, they will have trouble in military terms. Only by agreeing to this proposal can they achieve their goal! Although it costs the city of Pingyu, after obtaining Chen County, Chen County can form a new line of defense together with Ruyang, Dingying and other cities. The battle line has indeed shrunk a lot, but it is more controllable than when the State of Chen was independent. Similarly, after Liu Bei occupied Nandun, he could also form a new line of defense with Pingyu. The two families will form a confrontation and will not easily go to war again, and Zheng Xuan's wish to quell the war between the two families will also be fulfilled!

After thinking this through, Cao Cao stroked his beard and pondered for a long time before he said with emotion: "People always say that Zheng Kangcheng is a Confucian master. This was not the case in the past, but now it is clear that he is a mature and patriotic man!" Even though he was scolded by Zheng Xuan, he had to admire Zheng Xuan's shrewdness. Although he seemed to be making suggestions in accordance with the situation, he was actually quietly controlling the situation and forcing him and Liu Bei to obey. It turns out that old ginger is still spicy! I really can't help but admit it! After sighing like this, he no longer hesitated and agreed to Zheng Xuan's distribution plan. (End of this chapter)