The Sixteen Kingdoms of the Eastern Jin Dynasty: The Competition in the Central Plains

"So what does Mr. Zheng have to say when he comes to Xiangguo this time? Shi Le asked. Zheng Lin said:"Master Cao Yi has nothing else to ask for. He just hopes that the Yellow River will be the boundary with King Zhao." Non-interference and non-aggression. If King Zhao needs it in the future, Master Cao can help."

Shi Le looked at Zhang Bin, meaning to ask for his opinion. Seeing Zhang Bin nod, Shi Le said:"What Mr. Cao said is reasonable and reasonable. From now on, we will not violate the river. Seeing that Shi

Le agreed without much hesitation, Zheng Lin bowed his hands and saluted:"Thank you, King Zhao, for agreeing!""

After Zheng Lin finished speaking, he asked the fifty soldiers who came with him to unload the local specialties and say goodbye to Shi Le. The soldiers drove six carriages back to Guanggu City to report the news to Cao Yi.

Send Zheng Lin off, Shi Le and Zhang Bin, Shi Hu and others discussed related matters. Zhang Bin said:"The reason why Cao Yi sent these gifts is because he was afraid that King Zhao would attack him. After accepting Cao Yi's local specialties, of course, you can no longer attack others. But we can attack Cao Yi’s neighbor Shao Xu. Compared with Cao Yi, who was mercurial and wavering, Shao Xu was more difficult to deal with."

Zheng Lin returned to Guanggu City and reported to Cao Yi how he went to Xiangguo to meet Shi Le. After listening to Zheng Lin's words, Cao Yi said with a smile:"The arrogant Shi Le will not come to attack Qingzhou for the time being, but another Su Jun, a little-known figure, was given a toast instead of eating it and was given a fine drink"

"What do you say, sir? Zheng Lin asked. Cao Yi said:"After the Yongjia Rebellion, Su Jun, a native of Ye County, Changguang County, gathered thousands of men and horses, built a camp in Ye County, stored grass and stored grain, and became thisThe refugee is handsome. I intend to recruit him as my subordinate and make Su Jun the magistrate of Ye County. But Su Jun refused to accept the appointment and sent someone to Jiankang to submit a letter to Emperor Sima Rui."

"So what position did His Majesty the Emperor give Su Jun?"Zheng Lin asked. Cao Ni said:"Your Majesty appointed Su Jun as General Yingyang, appointed the internal history of Huailing, and led the minister of Lanling."

"This Su Jun is also a figure. His father Su Mo once served as the prime minister of Anle. Su Jun was erudite and talented when he was young. He first served as the chief registrar of Changguang County, and later promoted Xiaolian to the official position. Aren't you also loyal to the Jiangnan court? Why are you still willing to recruit Su Jun?" Zheng Lin said

"For me, although I am loyal to the imperial court in my heart, I have no choice but to face hardships. No matter it is me or the court, there is nothing we can do to help each other. And Shi Le's threat is right in front of me. In order to protect myself, I had to send my husband to give gifts to Shi Le."Cao Yi said

"For Shi Le, attacking Shao Xu or the adults is not a big war. The real battle was between Shi Le and Zu Ti. However, Shi Le had not long been proclaimed King of Zhao in Xiang State, so it was impossible for him to lead his army southward to attack Zu Ti in Yuzhou. I estimate that Shi Le’s first target is Shao Xu, and the second one is you, sir. You have to guard against him!"Zheng Lin analyzed

"What the gentleman said is absolutely true. AlthoughPeng gave me Donglai County, and I had more territory and more people. But compared with Shi Le's men, there is still no guarantee of victory. In addition, conflicts with Shao Xu from time to time will also consume strength."Cao Ni said.

A few days later, the soldiers at the gate of the government office came in and reported:"Sir, King Shile of Zhao of Xiang Kingdom sent envoys to Guanggu City, and they are now waiting outside the government office. Cao

Yi smiled, and he and Zheng Lin, Xu Miao and other generals said:"A few days after I sent Mr. Zheng to give gifts to Shi Le, Shi Le sent someone here. Please ask King Zhao to come quickly!""

Cao Yi said, and his men came to the gate of the government office to greet him. Shi Le's envoy, accompanied by two followers, saw several people coming out of the government office. He saluted and said,"See you, Mr. Cao Yi!"

"Please come in!"Cao Ni said, and let the envoy into the government office. When he arrived at the government office, the envoy introduced himself:"I am Xuxian, a member of Shangdang, and I am now the law school of King Zhao."

"It turns out to be Mr. Xu Xian, please take a seat!"Cao Yi said very politely. Then Cao Yi ordered people to serve tea. Xu Xian did not take a seat, but took out a piece of cloth and unfolded it. Xu Xian said:"Master Cao was originally the governor of Qingzhou in the Han Dynasty. King Zhao issued an edict to re-confer the reward. grown ups!"

When Cao Ni heard that Shi Le wanted to reward him, he hesitated for a moment, and then knelt down to accept the edict. Xu Xian glanced at Cao Ni who was kneeling on the ground, and began to read out Shi Le's edict:

The King of Zhao has issued an edict, and this award is presented to Cao, the governor of Qingzhou. Yi is the general of Dongzhou and the herdsman of Qingzhou, and is granted the title of Langya Gong. I hope that the two families will form an alliance from now on, exchange what they have, and not attack each other.

"Thank you King Zhao for his thousand years!"Cao Ni said. Xu Xian pulled Cao Ni up and handed the edict to Cao Ni. Cao Ni asked Zheng Lin to collect the edict, and then said to Xu Xian:"Master Xu Xian has come from afar, please taste the food and wine of Qingzhou. , how about returning to Xiangguo?"

"Thank you Duke Langya for your kind words. King Zhao is still waiting for a reply, so I won’t delay."After Xu Xian finished speaking, he bowed his hands and saluted and returned to the state of Xiang. Cao Ni and others were sent outside the government office and returned to the government office to discuss the matter with his men. Cao Ni said with a smile:"Fellow ministers and generals, what have you said before? His Majesty the Emperor of Tianjiangnan sent Lord Kongtan to convey the edict, and he has been named General Pingdong, Governor of Qingzhou, and Marquis of Guangrao. Today, Shi Le's envoy came to offer rewards again. What did he want?"

Xu Miao said:"Sir, the world is in chaos now, heroes from all walks of life are rising together, one is declining and the other is growing. When Shi Le first established the Kingdom of Zhao, he was trying to win over people from all over the world to show his great ambition.

Gao Liang said:"Rewards and gifts, the more the better!" Anyway, it's much better than attacking and conquering. Whoever we submit to in name will be polite to us! Cao

Yi laughed and said:"Since the independence, I have been the governor of Qingzhou under Liu Cong of the Han Dynasty. I was granted a title by the Jiangnan court a few days ago, and now I am granted a title by Shi Le." With so many awards and gifts, I really don’t know whether they are a blessing or a curse!"

"As the saying goes, those who understand current affairs are heroes. In this troubled world, the relatively weak party will be eaten instead of becoming the enemy of the powerful party. It means becoming an ally of a powerful party and being used. They say they are allies at first, but in fact they are vassals of the powerful. This is the way to survive and protect yourself, there is no other way." Zheng Lin said

"What Mr. Zheng said makes sense. Now that we have Shi Le's amulet, Shao Xu will not dare to attack us easily. In name, he became Shi Le's minister, which was nothing more than sending him some gifts and offerings every year. We can recharge our batteries and be ready to go."Cao Yi said

"However, this was just Shi Le's appeasement and delaying strategy, in order to eliminate Shao Xu in Fuping first. Once Shi Le kills Shao Xu, your Excellency may be in danger."Zheng Lin reminded

"We must always be on guard against Shi Le, a Hu tribe."Cao Yi said.

Xu Xian returned to the state of Xiang and was just in time to catch up with Shi Le and the ministers for a meeting. When Xu Xian came to the court, he knelt down and bowed to Shi Le first:"I have completed my mission and come back to see your majesty!"