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

Chang'an was in decline and the palace was also dilapidated. Although Wang Yun and Yang Biao spent a lot of effort to repair it, Chang'an's manpower and material resources were limited, so he could only barely ensure that the hall where the emperor went to court was barely like the other buildings, and he could not take care of other buildings. The entire palace gate was not as tall as the Cao family in Luoyang City, and it was even more incomparable to the luxury houses like the Yuan family.

Nowadays, the court is like these palace walls, showing signs of decline everywhere, making people unable to raise a sense of awe. After summoning the princes of Guandong to serve the king, this feeling became more and more obvious. For a long time, the emperor did not attend court, and no edict was issued. Cao Cao was not willing to come to the palace without any trouble, and would rather stay in the military camp.

Only in the military camp can he feel safe.

Today, I came to the palace not to meet the emperor, but to meet Xun Yu. After Xun Yu came to Chang'an, he met with the emperor several times, and the emperor admired him very much. Situ Wang Yun and Sikong Yang Biao also liked him very much. He became the Minister of State and was transferred to the Minister of State within a few days. Although the official position is not high, it is very important. All the imperial decrees of the court need to be issued by him. It can be said that everyone's mouthpiece was not called his name, but called him Xun Lingjun.

Cao Cao met Xun Yu several times, and he admired Xun Lingjun, who had his own fragrance. Not to mention anything else, it would be difficult for him to get the trust of Wang Yun and Yang Biao at the same time. In the whirlpool, Cao Cao knew very well how many conflicts there were between Wang Yun and Yang Biao.

A figure walked out outside the palace gate. When he saw Cao Cao, the man stopped and shouted: "Meng De, are you here to find me?"

Cao Cao looked up and saw that it was Ding Chong, so he hurriedly met him. "Youyang, what a coincidence. You came out as soon as I arrived at the door." He pulled Ding Chong aside and whispered: "How is the discussion on sending troops to Nanyang? Youyang, this is national hatred and family hatred, and we must not fail to revenge it."

Ding Chong glanced at him. "It's not that I don't want it, but that I can't. Chang'an is now rough and has poor financial resources. If I want to send troops, the court will have no money and food supply at all."

"How could this happen? Isn't it just now that the autumn harvest was just now, and I couldn't even supply the food and grass for 10,000 or 20,000 people?"

"You should ask Wang Situ for this sentence."

Cao Cao smacked his lips and rubbed his hands. "Youyang, let me say this, it's not that I'm wary, but that I have to fight. As the saying goes, raising soldiers is like training dogs, and you can't be too idle. It's useless to practice in the military camp every day, you must fight in practice. We can still stabilize the situation in Chang'an because Hu Zhen was defeated by us. Ma Teng and Han Sui couldn't figure out our background for a while and dared not act rashly. Over time, messengers came and went, and when they figured out the situation, they would definitely be ready to move. The soldiers who had not experienced actual combat could not stop them."

"If this is the case, then I advise you to attack Han Sui and Ma Teng directly."

"What does Youyang mean?"

"Han Sui, Ma Sui is not weak. After all, there is still a chance to win. Do you have a chance to win against Sun Ce? Don't turn the tens of thousands of people that have been trained easily into it."

Cao Cao was embarrassed and looked at Ding Chong sadly, unable to say a word.

Ding Chong raised his hand. "Okay, Meng De, I'm not saying you are incompetent, but Sun Ce is too cunning. Even Xu Rong and 20,000 Xiliang soldiers were in his hands. What's the use of these 20,000 new recruits? Why not use Han Sui and Ma Teng to practice his skills."

"Youyang, the army cannot do without profit. Even if we defeat Han Sui and Ma Teng, what can we get? The income is not even rewarded. Nanyang has developed rapidly in the past two years, and invading Nanyang can solve our money and food crisis. Nanyang is an imperial town. If Nanyang can conquer Nanyang, it would be better to move to Nanyang than to stay in Chang'an."

"You told me that these are useless, so let's talk to Wang Situ. He will definitely be willing to adopt your suggestion."

"Then... have you seen Xun Wenruo? Wang Situ is unwilling to see me now. If Xun Lingjun asked him to speak, maybe he could listen."

A trace of anger flashed across Ding Chong's thin face. He was silent for a moment. "Xun Lingjun was summoned by the emperor 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. "The emperor... summoned Xun Lingjun again to ask?"

Ding Chong nodded, was in a bad mood to say anything, shook his sleeves, and walked away with a meteor. Cao Cao sighed secretly. He knew that Ding Chong was dissatisfied with him, and Mrs. Ding had never been able to give birth. However, Bian, whom he accepted, gave birth to two sons in succession, and soon he went to Chang'an, he gave birth to a third son. Now Mrs. Ding and Cao Ang stayed in Yanzhou, and he was betting on both sides of the Cao family. If he won, his title would probably be left to Cao Pi, who was born to Bian. Ding Chong suspected that he had abandoned Cao Ang.

This is really a huge injustice, Ding Chong was completely unreasonable. Anyone with a discerning eye could see that the Han Dynasty was in a state of vain. Yuan Shao's change of dynasty was a foregone conclusion. Cao Ang had more hope of following Yuan Shao. He followed the court to his death. He chose the dead end and left his life to his son, but Ding Chong still felt that he was doing something wrong, so there was no way to explain it.

Cao Cao sighed and was depressed. Another person walked out of it. It was Zhong Yao. Zhong Yao had a national face, thick eyebrows and big eyes, a straight nose, a big mouth and a square chin. His thick beard was black and shiny, and he looked like a temple. He was one head taller than Cao Cao. When he walked to Cao Cao, he stopped three or four steps away, bowed and bowed.

"Zhong Yao has met the general."

Cao Cao quickly returned the greeting. "Brother Yuan Chang, I haven't seen you for several days, so I'm fine."

"Thank you for your concern, General." Zhong Yao smiled and said, "Are you waiting for Xun Lingjun here?"

"That's right, I just heard Ding Youyang say that Xun Lingjun asked in front of the emperor?"

Zhong Yao looked around and lowered his voice. "The emperor summoned Xun Lingjun to ask about it these days, but I don't know what they said. But Lingjun asked me to come to the palace gate often to check it. If you see you, I will say to you, please wait in the camp and rectify the troops. Once the conditions are ripe, he will do his best to promote your war."

Cao Cao understood, nodded repeatedly, bowed to Zhong Yao, but did not leave immediately. He held Zhong Yao's hand and said affectionately: "When will Yuan Chang rest and come to sit in the camp? I heard that your nephew Guo Yuan and Guo Wu are all rare warriors. If you don't dislike him, you might as well let him help me."

Zhong Yao laughed, but he smiled bitterly. "General, you said too late. Those two men have already returned to their hometown."

Cao Cao was very disappointed. "He went to vote for Sun Ce?"

"Oh, who made their clan brother Guo Jia obey orders now under Sun Ce's account? My uncle is useless. He is still a yellow sect minister and cannot lead him into the officialdom. He has to go to his clan brother."

Cao Cao looked up at the palace gate behind Zhong Yao, feeling even more decayed, and he couldn't help but sigh. "It's now, and I still don't forget the dispute between Confucianism and Law. Yuan Chang, why am I worried?"

Zhong Yao's eyes flashed slightly and he nodded quietly.
Chapter completed!