Chapter 48: The New Governor of Satsuma

  The Huang family's stirring up trouble is nothing more than a mantis trying to stop a chariot, they don't really control this army, there are just a few captains in the army who are from the Huang family, they use benefits to lure some low-ranking officers and cause chaos.

  "Gentlemen, please do not panic, it's just a minor disturbance. I'll take care of it with a small plan and it will be settled immediately!" Li Yu said calmly to Zhang Mai and Zhang Chao who were getting restless; "What plan?" the Zhang brothers asked.

  Li Yu and Zang Hong exchanged a smile, saying in unison: "Remove the fire from under the cauldron!"

  "This matter is still left to us! Tianwei! Hurry up and find Manchester, you two lead the troops to surround Huangfu's house!" Li Yu said with a smile, "Yes!", Tianwei nodded his head, picked up his double halberd and walked away in big strides;

  "Then...! The two gentlemen, shall we go and welcome Lord Cao?", said Li Yu.

  The Huang family, who were afraid of being caught in the act, immediately stopped their rebellion. The chaotic Chenliu city returned to calmness, and Cao Cao also brought his own men to the Chenliu Prefectural Office.

  "Wooh...! That was close, that was close! Fortunately, it didn't disappoint!", Li Yu wiped away a cold sweat and whispered to Cao Cao;

  "I will never forget your contribution to having this place for rest and recovery, sir! Please accept my bow!" Cao Cao bowed his head in respect, but was stopped by Li Yu.

  "Thanks to your cooperation and planning, I wouldn't have succeeded otherwise! Ah yes! Zhang Miao and Zhang Chao are mediocre, but the person by his side is a genius! His talent surpasses mine tenfold! It's just that he's extremely loyal to Zhang Chao! You must grasp the measure well, if it weren't for him, I would've succeeded long ago!", Li Yu said with a slight flattery, secretly pointing at Zang Hong.

  "Ten times better than you? Impossible! What's his name, anyway?", Cao Cao's face was filled with disbelief. The ability and intelligence that Li Yu, this swindler, had shown had already formed a definition in his mind - he was a great talent! Were there really so many great talents in the world?

  "Zang Hong, Zang Zi Yuan! His talent is really not to be underestimated! To surpass me tenfold is no idle talk!" Li Yu firmly supported Zang Hong. Why? With this man around, Li Yu could speak less, do less and think less, so as not to exhaust his limited ink, therefore he wholeheartedly supported Zang Hong;

  "Impossible!", Cao Cao said even more firmly: "In my heart, you are the best!", I'm speechless! Why does this sound so homoerotic?!

  The rest is easy, can't Cao Cao handle the Zhang brothers with his wrist?

  What is the best place for conversation? Of course, it's at the wine table! After some persuasion, Cao Cao sat in the main seat, which also meant he became the new master of Chenliu City. At this time, Cao Cao was emotionally excited, as he had previously served as the governor of Jibei, managing a place not smaller than Chenliu, but that was an appointment by the imperial court, legitimate, and not as thrilling as now! This is the territory they "fought" for!

  "Brother Meng Zhuo! Brother Meng Xian! Mr. Zi Yuan! Come! First, let me drink this cup with you! This cup I toast to your deep understanding of righteousness!", Cao Cao raised his cup and drank it all in one gulp. Zhang Miao and Zhang Chao were originally still a bit uneasy, but seeing Cao Cao treating them like old friends as before, they also happily drank together. Zang Hong carefully observed Cao Cao, hoping to see something...

  "This cup! I toast you for not forgetting our old friendship and lending me a helping hand in my time of need!"

  "This cup! We will drink it together! I hope that from now on we can work together with one heart and one strength to create a great career!"

  After three cups, the atmosphere also improved, and the embarrassment was much less. Zang Hong took the opportunity to ask: "I dare to ask Cao Gong how he will govern the people in the future?" This is Zang Hong's test of Cao Cao. Every talented person will not easily determine who they want to assist. Zhang Chao is now considered one of Cao Cao's subordinates, but Zang Hong is not.

  "'Your Majesty?'", Cao Cao might have been too excited, somewhat stunned. Astonished, he said. "'I will do my best to protect the people under me...'", Zang Hong furrowed his brow, this answer seemed not very satisfactory.

  Li Yu looked at Zang Hong's face and naturally knew that Zang Hong was not very satisfied, fortunately he still understood something. He said: "Rites are used to govern the people; reins are used to control horses. I have never heard of anyone being able to govern a country without rites... Your way of governing the people is like riding a runaway horse and carrying heavy loads on thin ice..."

  Zang Hong asked again: "I don't know what Cao Gong's ambition is?"

  Cao Cao said with great passion, "A great man should have the ambition to bring peace to the world. Now that the world is in chaos, I am not afraid even though I am just one person and my power is weak. My ambition is to be the General of the Western Expedition of the Great Han!"

  Zang Hong remained silent, weighing the differences between Cao Cao and Yuan Shao in his mind. He began to feel that Cao Cao was not much worse than Yuan Shao. Going to Yuan Shao's side would mean intense competition in the industry, whereas Cao Cao's side only had Li Hui De, making it relatively easier to gain attention. Moreover, his own brother Zhang Chao was also there. After some thought, Zang Hong decided to stay for now and observe before making a decision.

  divider line

  This day was March 2, AD 191, the original Chenliu Taishou Zhang Miao resigned and recommended Cao Cao to take over as Chenliu Taishou. The Cao family took a solid step forward and occupied Chenliu.

  Chenliu Commandery, also known as Chenliu State, is not big or small (now Henan Kaifeng County Chenliu). It governs 17 counties: Chenliu, Yongqiu, Weishi, Fugou, Yuxian, Xiangyi, Jiwu, Kaocheng, Waihuang, Jiyin, Donghun, Xiaohuang, Junyi, Fengqiu, Pingqiu, Changyuan, Suanyi.

  Originally, Fengqiu, which was temporarily used as the residence of Cao's army, was also a subordinate county of Chenliu. The Zuozhao where the princes gathered for an alliance was also within the territory of Chenliu. Due to the influence of the Yellow Turban Rebellion and the princes' campaign against Dong, this place had more than 500,000 people during the time of Emperor Ling of Han, but now there are less than 200,000 people. The land is not fertile and the population is not large, which is a factor in restricting development.

  The Cao family group that had been drinking almost all night was still snoring loudly, only Li Yu and Cao Cao who hadn't slept for a night were still discussing something...

  "Haide, what's our next move?", Cao Cao didn't become sluggish due to the late night, but instead was full of energy and spirit;

  Li Yu yawned and said, "Prepare for the battle of Qingzhou Yellow Turbans! I told you so! However, it's still better to stabilize the situation in Chenliu first. We can't let the Zhang brothers know the number of our troops outside the city! Once they find out we're deceiving them, who knows what unexpected things might happen!"

  "The army should not enter the city for now, or only send in a portion of it. First, reorganize their troops and wait until we have complete control over them. Then they won't be able to stir up any more trouble!"

  "Hmm! That makes sense! But there must be some reason, right? Give me an idea!", Cao Cao smiled and looked at Li Yu, expecting this old brother to give him some advice;

  "Hey, hey! You're the boss, aren't you? This kind of thing should be handled by you! You can do it! Huh?", Li Yu walked calmly towards the bedroom and fell asleep as soon as he lay down, completely ignoring Cao Cao.

  In fact, Cao Cao's cleverness is not to be underestimated. He just thinks that with ready-made strategists around him, it would be a waste of his brain cells to think of ideas himself, so he becomes very lazy. Since Li Yu doesn't give him any advice, he can't ask others either, and has no choice but to think for himself.

  PS: Thanks for Yu Shizhi's reward and also thanks to Brother Jibu for his daily support, encouragement and advice. I would like to express my gratitude here!