Dissatisfied with 055

  When the troops advanced west to Mei County, Gao Shun and Cao Cao encountered the soldiers and horses retreating from Chen Cang. Dong Zhuo's 30,000 soldiers were called back by Huangfu Song, and the original soldiers who retreated from Liangzhou were also transferred away, leaving only Fu Xie, Ge Xuan and 2,000 soldiers to guard Chen Cang and assist Gao Shun and Cao Cao in making a show of force.

  All the way, Cao Pi actively chatted with Cao Cao. During their conversation, Cao Pi found that Wei's ancestor was indeed a great person with unique insights into things. Cao Cao, who is currently the General of Breaking the Barbarians, also has a deep dislike for the Ten Eunuchs. In his early years as the North Commandant of Luoyang, he had offended the interests of the Ten Eunuchs by not showing favor to the nobles and punishing those who committed crimes. As a result, he was transferred to the east to serve as the Magistrate of Dunqiu in Dongjun Prefecture. Fortunately, Cao Cao's family background is good. His grandfather, Cao Teng, was once a powerful eunuch, and his father, Cao Song, was a wealthy man who had bought the position of Grand Commandant, although he only held it for three months. Nevertheless, he was one of the Three Dukes. Moreover, Cao Cao is an upwardly mobile person. When the Yellow Turbans rebelled, he was immediately appointed as the Cavalry General and began to suppress the Yellow Turban bandits, earning him the title of General of Breaking the Barbarians.

  As they marched, it was dull and uneventful. Cao Cao turned to Xiahou Dun, who was walking alongside him, and said: "I've heard that the troops led by General Huangfu are all elite soldiers from the suppression of the Yellow Turbans in Yingchuan and Nanyang. The court has even mobilized eight top generals to quell the rebellion in Liangzhou. I'm not well-informed, but apart from Dong Zhuo, Eastern Middle Lang General, Bao Hong, Southern Middle Lang General, and Brother Meng De, I don't know the other five. Can you enlighten me, Brother Meng?"

  Cao Cao's face was expressionless, perhaps due to the cold wind numbing him. He stretched out his hand to his mouth and exhaled a breath, then rubbed his hands together, looking like he was freezing. After doing this, he slowly said: "The others are also famous figures of their time, mostly those who made contributions in pacifying the Yellow Turbans. They include Left Central Lang General Sun Jian, Tiger Guard Central Lang General Yuan Shu, Right Central Lang General Liu Biao, and Bandit-Suppressing General Zhou Shen."

  After listening, Gao Fei felt that this time the rebel army was indeed extraordinary, and almost all of them were warlords who would dominate various towns in the future. There were Sun Jian, Yuan Shu, Liu Biao, Dong Zhuo, and Cao Cao. Under Huangfu Song's command, there were several lords who dominated one side each. It seemed that this time, suppressing the Liangzhou rebellion would become a whetstone for these lords to try their blades, and the good show of competing for merit would surely be performed frequently.

  He heard Zhou Shen's name and got angry, this guy who ruined his trip to Liaodong, he must get revenge when they meet again. Anger returned to anger, but thinking again that Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei were still in Zhou Shen's army, and they would meet soon, a strange excitement appeared on his face.

  He chuckled twice, but after careful consideration, it seemed that one of the people Cao Cao mentioned was missing, so he asked: "Brother Meng De, you seem to have left out one person, shouldn't there be another general?"

  Cao Cao's mouth curled up slightly as he said faintly, "Far away in the heavens, near at hand, doesn't the illustrious General Who Quells Rebellion, Marquis of a District, count as one?"

  "Me?" Gao Fei felt very surprised, never expecting that he was also one of the eight strong warriors in the Ping Fan army.

  Cao Cao nodded, turned his head to look at Gao Fei, and saw that Gao Fei was dignified in appearance, with an air of grandeur, and his armor made him look even more majestic. His gaze revealed a hint of unusualness, but it passed instantly without anyone noticing. He then said: "General Gao first pacified the Yellow Turbans in northern Hebei, then beheaded the governor of Liangzhou who colluded with the Qiang Hu rebels in Liangzhou, and safely relocated more than 600,000 civilians from Liangzhou to the Chang'an area, avoiding the slaughter of innocent people. Later, he also blocked the 100,000-strong rebel army at Chen Cang. Such merits are known throughout the land. Is General Gao's current reputation still not enough to serve as a high-ranking general?"

  Gao Feng suddenly felt that his reputation had grown so big after listening to Cao Cao's words. In ancient times, having a great reputation brought many benefits, and once he recruited soldiers and bought horses, talented ministers and generals would flock to him. He didn't become arrogant because of the high hat Cao Cao gave him, nor did he look down on others because of his many achievements. He wasn't concerned with these empty names; what he wanted was a piece of land, a piece that belonged only to himself, which was much more substantial than those empty names.

  "Brother Meng De is overpraising me, these are just what a younger brother should do, being loyal to the great Han and thinking of its people, there's nothing to say." Gao Fei said humbly, but in his mind, he quickly flashed back to the image of Liu Bei with big ears, and turned his head to ask, "Brother Meng De, do you know Liu Bei?"

  "Liu Bei?" Cao Cao felt a slight surprise, seeming to take some interest, and asked in return, "Does General Gao also know Liu Bei?"

  Gao Fei nodded and said: "Hearing Brother Meng De say this, should also be familiar with Liu Bei?"

  Cao Cao murmured and gazed ahead, saying no more. After a long while, he asked softly, "How did General Gao and Liu Bei get to know each other?"

  "In the past, when I was in Hebei putting down the Yellow Turban Rebellion, that's when I got to know him. At the time, Liu Bei and his two brothers brought three hundred villagers to join the imperial army, but the Imperial General didn't accept them. It was only after I strongly recommended them that they were incorporated into my army. After that, we fought side by side and killed the Yellow Turbans. Later, after pacifying Hebei's Yellow Turbans, Your Majesty appointed me as Marquis of Douchang and Magistrate of Chenliu, so I had Liu Bei follow General Zhou Sheng to Yanzhou to put down the Yellow Turbans, while I brought my personal guards to take up office in Chenliu. From then on, I never saw him again, nor do I know how he fared in General Zhou's army. When there's a chance later, I'll definitely go see him." Gao Fei slowly explained his relationship with Liu Bei, and a hint of sadness seeped into his words. After all, he had never been able to subdue Liu Bei, which meant he couldn't control Guan Yu or Zhang Fei either.

  Cao Cao let out a soft sigh and said, "General Xiahou's friendship with Liu Bei is indeed deeper than mine. It's just a pity that you won't be able to meet Liu Bei in Liangzhou."

  "Why is that?" Gao Fei hastily asked back.

  Cao Cao said: "Does General Gao not know?"

  "What's wrong?" Gao Fei saw Cao Cao's solemn expression and continued to ask.

  "Liu Bei, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei have been dismissed from their official positions for beating up Zhou Shan. The three of them have already left the Han army, I don't know where they've gone to either. What a pity about these three good men!"

  "Beat up Zhou Zhen? That must be what Zhou Zhen provoked, otherwise how would Liu Bei easily take action? Brother Meng De, I suppose you are clear about the situation, what exactly happened?"

  Cao Cao said: "What can you do even if you know? You can't go and kill Zhou Shen, can you? Unauthorized killing of court officials is a capital offense!"

  "Zhou Shen!" Gao Fei gritted his teeth and forced out these two words from between his teeth.

  Cao Cao saw the situation and consoled him, saying: "General Gao, it's all in the past now. Thinking about it again is useless. Zhou Shen is a treacherous person who framed Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei for stealing military rations and pay. Although Liu Bei has a good temper, his subordinates Guan Yu and Zhang Fei are not to be trifled with. In a fit of rage, they beat up Zhou Shen. With the backing of the ten eunuchs, what wouldn't he dare do? Originally, he wanted to kill Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei, but fortunately, I arrived in time to stop him. Actually... the reason why the three of them were treated this way is because of you..."

  "Me?" Gao Fei suddenly remembered that before he left, he had asked Zhou Shen to promote Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei well. Zhou Shen was jealous of him and harbored hatred, but unexpectedly involved innocent people, venting his anger on Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei. After thinking this through, Gao Fei secretly made up his mind that one day he would make Zhou Shen pay back all the spiritual losses he had suffered!

  Afterwards, on the road, Cao Cao and Guo Fei didn't say much, but the two people had an added layer of closeness. Perhaps it was because of Liu Bei, or perhaps it was because both people mutually appreciated each other, or even more so, it was due to their deep hatred for Zhou Cang and the Ten Eunuchs. At this moment, silence was better than words.

  The cold wind howled, and the snowflakes danced in the air. Gao Feng, Cao Cao, and all the generals who were marching through the wind and snow, wore a layer of white clothes, with white eyebrows. Gao Feng felt that this short distance was as long as the Red Army's old grandfather climbing the snowy mountain and crossing the grassland. It wasn't until three days later that they finally arrived at Chen Cang, where Fu Shuo and Ge Xun had already returned. As soon as they heard that Gao Feng and Cao Cao were back with their troops, they immediately set up a banquet.

  At the banquet, Gao Feng, Cao Cao, Fu Xie and Ge Xun raised their cups to each other, downing the warm wine in one gulp. The spicy and numbing effect of the liquor immediately warmed their bodies, making them feel hot-blooded. As they drank, they chatted, mostly about their hatred for the Ten Eunuchs. Although Cao Cao's grandfather, Cao Teng, was also a eunuch, he was a good one. Cao Teng held great power but worked selflessly for the country and received high praise at the time. Unfortunately, people like Zhang Rang and Zhao Zhong were now bringing disaster to the nation.

  Gao Feng did not express any opinion, he was not a man of this era, and his hatred for the Ten Eunuchs was not as strong as that of Fu Shou, Gai Xun, and Cao Cao. The Eastern Han Dynasty in history was almost an alternating rotation between the imperial relatives and eunuchs, while in the corrupt politics of the late Eastern Han Dynasty, it was concentrated in the eunuchs' interference with government affairs. As people close to the emperor, eunuchs easily manipulated public opinion, killed imperial relatives, repeatedly started factional struggles, attacked officials and scholars, "twenty years of darkness within the borders", their sons and brothers were everywhere in the provinces, doing evil and oppressing the common people.

  This extreme darkness of despotism stirred up the storm of Yellow Turban Rebellion, although the Yellow Turban Rebellion was soon put down, but Emperor Ling of Han still reused eunuchs, intensifying the contradictions within the ruling class of Eastern Han. In such a large context, it is inevitable that some people with vision and ambition will expand their power, and the warlords' struggle for hegemony must also enter this historical inevitability stage.

  Gao Feng listened to Cao Cao, Fu Xie and Gai Xun's conversation while slowly drinking his wine. Later on, Fu Xie and Gai Xun fell drunk, Cao Cao's face turned red as he burped, his mouth reeking of alcohol.

  "Someone come and help Fu Xue and Gai Xun into the room to rest!" Gao Fei shouted out the door.

  Ma Jiu led several yamen runners and walked in, supporting Fu Shuo and Gai Xun as they left the main hall, leaving behind only Cao Cao who was still pouring wine by himself and Gao Fei standing at the edge of the table.

  Gao Feng saw that Cao Cao was already drunk and shook his head, saying: "Brother Meng De, let me help you back to your room?"

  Cao Cao suddenly stood up, staggering east and west, saying: "I myself... go back to the house, don't need you... to support..."

  Suddenly Cao Cao stumbled and fell to the ground, unable to get up no matter how hard he tried, covering his armor in dust.

  Gao Fei smiled and thought to himself: "Who would have thought that the majestic and powerful Emperor Taizu of Wei, after getting drunk, would be like this?"

  He walked forward, helped Cao Cao up and said in a low voice: "Brother Meng De, you've had too much to drink, I'll help you back to your room to rest!"

  Cao Cao did not lose his true nature, and as soon as he heard about resting, he immediately asked: "Are there any prostitutes in the city?"

  "This sentence sounds familiar to Cao Mengde, who looks a bit ugly. He shook his head and said: 'Drunkard's lust is not allowed, there are no prostitutes, only hens, do you want one?'"

  Cao Cao seemed to have misheard, and his legs were also not nimble. As he walked out of the hall, he heard Gao Feng's reply and said: "It's okay if it's a prostitute!"

  Gao Feng smiled and personally escorted Cao Cao back to his room, then left and closed the door behind him. He teased: "I didn't expect Cao Mengde to be so lustful, truly one of a kind in the world!"