Wang Yan's troops marched into Gaoyang, expanded the territory 200 miles, and forced Yuan Shao's actions, which soon came to fruition. In May, Kong Rong surrendered and Yuan Shao annexed Qingzhou.
Kong Rong also had to surrender. He could still maintain his independence before, but now Yuan Shao has become violent. The letter clearly stated that if he did not surrender, an army of 300,000 men would be mobilized to attack him. Under such circumstances, no matter how close he was to Cao Cao, it would be in vain. After all, Cao Cao was not about to fall out with Yuan Shao yet, and Kong Rong's own hard power could not defeat Yuan Shao, so he had to surrender.
After that, Yuan Shao arranged for Kong Rong to stay in Jizhou, so he stayed in Gaoyi and became a member of the people below during the discussion, which was basically the end of the game.
The fact is that losers should stay away from the core of power, and there are not many descendants of Confucius. Although the Kong family has some strength, it is not the family of the hereditary Yan Shenggong.
Cao Cao still fought the original Battle of Kuangting, pushing back the expanding Yuan Shu and occupying most of Yuzhou.
At this time, Sun Ce started to think about it. He knew about the grudge between his father and Yuan Shu, and also knew that his father was almost played to death by Yuan Shu. But he was not mature enough before and had to work under Yuan Shu. Now that Yuan Shu was beaten by Cao Cao and Liu Biao, and they didn't think much of him, and with the northern thief eyeing the Central Plains, he also felt a sense of urgency, and he didn't even want to work for Yuan Shu.
So a year ahead of schedule, he took out the imperial seal left to him by his biological father, asked Yuan Shu for three thousand troops, crossed the Yangtze River to attack Wu County, and started his entrepreneurial journey...
Because Yuan Shao annexed Qingzhou, Cao Cao also had Yan and Yu states, so he wanted to welcome his biological father back.
This time it will definitely not happen that Zhang Kai killed Cao Cao's whole family, robbed the money and went away to enjoy happiness, because it was only then that Cao Cao knew that Yuan Shao had taken his father to Gaoyi. It was after Cao Cao withdrew his troops that Yuan Shao sent a special letter I mean, it was the winter of 1933.
After Kong Rong surrendered, Yuan Shao was eager to expand, so he captured Langya and invited Cao Song and others to Gaoyi. Yuan Shao was now forced to become more ruthless, and he was very wary of Cao Cao's current strength. Taking down Langya would also be beneficial to the subsequent attack on Cao Cao. There is Mount Tai in Langya territory, which is dangerous and dangerous. It is condescending and occupies a favorable position.
Lao Cao was very angry, but there was nothing he could do. He also wanted to capture Yuan's people, but they were all killed by Dong Zhuo, and the remaining people could not pose any threat to Yuan Shao.
Therefore, Lao Cao could only get angry and launched an attack on Xuzhou in the spring of 1944.
There are so many reasons and excuses, but Tao Qian occupies so much space, it is really an eyesore. If someone were to take Lao Cao's position, they would still have to fight against Xuzhou. Unless you surrender, go to Lao Cao and take a job as a sinecure.
However, Lao Cao is different. Even if he is idle, even if he doesn't cause trouble, after a while Lao Cao doesn't like people and will find a reason to kill them, nipping the possible danger in the bud.
Relatively speaking, Lao Cao is very murderous. He can massacre cities and wealthy families, and he can be ruthless. But even so, his reputation is better than Wang Yan. It was because Old Cao killed few wealthy people, so Wang Yan specifically caught and killed the wealthy people. As for the remaining hundreds of thousands of people slaughtered by Cao Cao, no one cares.
If I had to give Lao Cao a reason, it would be that Langya was under the jurisdiction of Xuzhou and Tao Qian failed to protect his father and was kidnapped by Yuan Shao...
Liu Bei was a little troubled. In fact, in 193, Cao Cao sent troops to attack Xuzhou, but they were repulsed by Liu Bei and others. Cao Cao was aggressively attacking Yuan Shu again, so he didn't pay much attention to him. Now that Yuan Shu has been driven away, it is time to concentrate his efforts. Cao Cao personally leads an army of 150,000 to attack Xuzhou.
"Why……"
In Pengcheng (Xuzhou City), Liu Bei sighed helplessly, sighing at Cao Cao's power.
Zhang Fei, who was sitting drinking below, slammed his wine bottle on the table in displeasure and shouted: "I'm just a thief Cao, brother, why should I sigh and destroy my morale? Today, the thief Cao is marching in three directions, taking Donghai and Xiapi. Brother is in the middle." , My second brother and I split our troops into two groups, so what if we have an army of 150,000? The Cao thieves who are destined to be killed will turn on their backs and take the heads of the Cao thieves."
Mi Zhu was a little tired. Didn't he say that he had studied under Wang Yan? According to his understanding, Wang Yan's generals were more intelligent than the last, and their combat effectiveness was not bad at all. Why didn't Zhang Fei learn a thing or two? Look at Guan Yu, stroking his beard and squinting his eyes, not in a hurry to speak. How wonderful this is.
He waved his hand and said: "Third general, the terrain of Xuzhou is flat and there are no dangers. We only have 50,000 soldiers and horses under our command. Cao's thieves have three times as many troops as me. If we divide our troops to attack them, Cao's thieves will use their troops well and have strategies." Instead of taking advantage of the opportunity. Our current plan is to defend the city and look for good opportunities to defeat the enemy."
"If 50,000 troops gather together, Cao's thieves will easily capture Xuzhou, and then trap me like a lonely city. What will happen then?" Zhang Fei was dissatisfied and retorted.
After saying this, Mi Zhu nodded. Although Mang was a bit reckless, he still had some brains.
"Three generals, don't be impatient. The people have all moved south, so what's the use of Cao Cao occupying the land? If he divides his troops to attack, there will be gaps, and there will definitely be a good opportunity to defeat him."
Jian Yong on the side bowed his hands to Liu Bei and said, "My lord, the most urgent task is to find Yuan Shu to unite to fight against Cao Cao. We are dependent on each other, but our lips and teeth are cold. It is better to write a letter to Yuan Shu and let him attack Yuzhou north. We will fight to the death, and Cao Cao will not die for a long time." If it cannot be attacked, it will retreat."
Jian Yong, courtesy name Xianhe, was born in Zhuojun. He had known Liu Bei in his early years and was Liu Bei's old teammate. When Liu Bei took refuge in Liaodong, Jian Yong also returned to Zhuojun. Later, when the princes were suing Dong and Liu Bei decided to go to Xuzhou to settle down, he also wrote to Jian Yong, asking him to come and work together to achieve great things. Youzhou was already under Wang Yan's control at that time, and Jian Yong was lucky enough not to be killed.
This man was very self-centered and did not pay much attention to his appearance. He was no older or younger than Liu Bei and had no habits at all. When Zhuge Liang first came out of the mountain, when everyone was discussing things, he would lie down and talk to everyone. Later, Zhuge Liang was really awesome and he accepted it, and then he gave Zhuge Liang some thin noodles. However, although this man was egotistical and somewhat wild, he never harmed the people. His family was a small landowner, so they confiscated the excess land and that was all.
Liu Bei wrote directly to Wang Yan. He knew that it was difficult to get in and out under Wang Yan's rule, so he wrote to Wang Yan and asked to let Jian Yong go south.
Wang Yan was still very considerate and did not stop him, nor was it necessary. Not to mention Jian Yong, even if Zhuge Liang were here, he would not be short of this person. What he lacks is a large number of grassroots officials and teachers. No matter how good Zhuge Liang is, he will never be able to overcome such a large staff gap even if he is exhausted...
"That's all it has to be..." Liu Bei nodded.
What they said is right. The troops are not as strong as they are. If we divide our troops any further, we will be courting death. But if the troops are concentrated, Cao Cao will capture other areas of Xuzhou and eventually surround them, which will also lead to failure.
Cao Cao is not a mediocre person. He can truly be called a war in the south and in the north. He will definitely not be able to win a head-on conflict. They can only look for external forces and find solutions elsewhere. Looking around, Yuan Shu is the only one left.
And Yuan Shu must fight, he and Cao Cao are both stupid. Liu Biao was far away from Yuan Shao and constantly attacked Yuan Shu in the west. Cao Cao still attacked Yuan Shu in the north. Why didn't Cao Cao send out all his troops this time? Some stayed in Yanzhou, and some stayed in Yuzhou. Yanzhou was to protect the family, and Yuzhou was to guard against Yuan Shu.
Now Cao Cao went to attack Xuzhou, which was wavering before, and dispatched an army of 150,000. How could Yuan Shu sit back and watch such a good opportunity? It's just that the information Yuan Shu has received may not be accurate at present, so he is waiting and watching.
He also had this understanding. There was no need to send his subordinates to lobby. Yuan Shu was definitely more proactive than anyone else. Liu Bei personally wrote a letter, describing the situation in detail, stating the war intention, and sent people to rush to deliver the letter to Yuan Shu.
Now Liu Bei is almost the de facto Xuzhou Mu. Tao Qian's health is getting worse. In addition, with the support of local wealthy families such as Mi Zhu, no one objects and even welcomes him. It has been in operation for three years, which is far from the same period when Liu Bei came to put out the fire.
But delivering the letter will take time after all, and Liu Bei and others still have to face Cao Cao's violent attacks.
Liu Bei dismissed Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, and asked the two good brothers to command 15,000 troops each, stationed in Liu County (southeast of Peixian County, Xuzhou) and Xiao County, and they were at the horns of each other with Pengcheng. Many scouts were sent out to spy on the news, and Liu Bei responded to the attack and tried his best to resist.
The current terrain is also not good, and there are no key passes to resist the enemy. We can only use constant military dispatch to find loopholes for the enemy to mobilize troops, create a time difference, win on local battlefields, and gain advantages bit by bit.
Of course Liu Bei has military talent, but if he had nothing, he wouldn't be able to dominate one-third of the world. And he also studied under Wang Yan. That was real training. After all, he was working in the General's Mansion and was in a position with access to core secrets.
The Governor's Mansion has specialized martial arts and has opened many classes to teach people how to fight. When you reach the position of deputy general, you can participate in training, and you can reach the rank of captain. Compared with the courses offered by each army, the Military Governor's Mansion is obviously more professional. General Wang personally teaches the courses.
Therefore, Liu Bei also learned a lot and made a lot of progress.
But correspondingly, Cao Cao really didn't give it for free, not to mention that Cao Cao's military strength was three times that of Liu Bei.
Therefore, during the battle, they were attacked twice at night, and the two fierce generals Guan Yu and Zhang Fei relied on their personal bravery to drive the bravery of the sergeants under their command, hitting them with less and causing more damage, and then Guan Yu and Zhang Fei were on the grassland. Having learned the guerrilla tactics in depth from Liao Hua, they each brought more than a thousand elite cavalry to harass the various units sent by Cao Cao, causing serious damage.
After Lao Cao took precautions, Liu Bei's night attack was thwarted, and he suffered more defeats with fewer attacks. Basically, he was suppressed by Lao Cao. Only Guan Yu and Zhang Fei continued to fight guerrillas with their cavalry outside, constantly targeting small groups of troops and destroying Cao Cao's logistics. This was able to barely maintain the situation.
The same is true. Cao Cao did not dare to attack the city with all his strength, and he could not defeat it. If the troops were divided too much, Liu Bei and the others went out to fight. But the troops were divided too little, and there was not enough for the brothers Guan Yu and Zhang Fei to kill. It's awkward here.
Of course, Liu Bei does not have all the troops and horses in Xuzhou, but most of them are in his hands. He still has more than 20,000 troops hoarded in Xiapi. The common people and wealthy families are there to protect their safety. This is a very correct decision. arrange.
Although there are not many 20,000 people, Cao Cao wants to send 20,000 people to conquer Xiapi. Without anyone to surrender, it is basically impossible to do so. If he sends more people, Liu Bei will leave the city, and may even counterattack Yuzhou, advance to Yanzhou, and change his family to the extreme.
So the two sides came to a stalemate and fought from March to April. At this time, Yuan Shu, who had been driven away by Cao Cao, lived up to expectations and raised 100,000 troops to attack Runan.
To make matters worse, when Cao Cao was preparing to withdraw his troops, news came that made Cao Cao's eyes split open, that is, Zhang Miao and others welcomed Yuan Shao to take over Yanzhou.
The pace of development has not stopped, and various interests are mixed, making many things inevitable. For example, Cao Cao's attack on Xuzhou was inevitable for expansion. For example, Lu Bu's original sneak attack and his attempt to capture Yanzhou were inevitable for expansion. Then Zhang Miao and other representatives of Yanzhou's wealthy families and officials welcomed Yuan Shao into Yanzhou, which was also inevitable for Yuan Shao's development.
The main reason is that the Yanzhou wealthy people are dissatisfied with Lao Cao. Lao Cao's skills are too powerful, and the Yanzhou wealthy people cannot beat Lao Cao. This is not the happiness they want. At this time, Yuan Shao was forced to go south by Wang Yan, and Cao Cao led troops to attack Xuzhou, and his rear defense was empty. So he took advantage of the Yuan family's old history and sent envoys over to lobby for it, and Lang Youqing and his concubine fell in love. It became natural for Yuan Shao to seize Yanzhou.
At night, Cao Cao failed to achieve success in Xuzhou. On the way back to the army, Cao Cao felt not very good.
In the military tent, Cao Cao read the autograph letter sent by Yuan Shao word by word. He wrote another letter with a smile, kept the secret key, put it in his bag, and walked step by step to some places. In front of the trembling messenger, he patted the messenger on the shoulder.
Said: "Please leave my trust in the hands of the original."
The messenger nodded in response and spoke tremblingly. There is no way not to tremble, this is a job that will lead to death, and the furious Cao Cao can't deal with him too much.
Putting the kit into the courier's chest, Bangbang patted the courier's chest twice, gently and gently: "Go, have a good meal and receive the reward today, and set off to see Benchu tomorrow."
Seeing the messenger leave quickly, Cao Cao turned around and sat down at the top, drank a bottle of wine, slammed the bottle on the table, and rubbed his head in pain.
"I just sent a letter to ask my father to come to my side. Now that Yuan Shao has captured Yanzhou, we have no choice but to surrender to the land of Yuzhou, and Yuan Shu is even more desperate to attack us. And since Yuan Shao has shown his intention to devour us, he will definitely not let us settle in Yuzhou, what do you think I should do..."
Lao Cao's words were full of exhaustion, and he was indeed tired. Before, the two brothers were fine, but later he tied up his father, and now he has taken away the land. Yuan Shao is not a son of a man, and he is bullying others too much. Lao Cao had a terrible headache, his heart was so tired, and he suddenly lost all energy.
After he finished speaking, he buried himself in drinking again.
"My lord, for the current plan, we should defeat Yuan Shu as soon as possible, stabilize the foundation, connect with Liu Bei, and then attack Yuan Shao."
The person who spoke was Cao Ren, a brother of Lao Cao. In his early years, he gathered people and horses to swim between the Huaihe River and Sishui River. Later, he defected to Cao Cao. He was the first member of Cao Cao's team and a good and trusted partner of Lao Cao.
Of course, what he said was basically bullshit, and he was only capable of connecting with Liu Bei. After all, they are marching back in a hurry, not because they want to fight Yuan Shu, needless to say.
Lao Cao asked about the future, long-term planning, and the next big strategy. Therefore, the statement "connecting with Liu Bei" is correct. Liu Bei was in Xuzhou, bordering Yanzhou and Qingzhou. If there are too many, there is no need to go north to attack Langya instead of Cao Cao, which will play a major role.
Glancing at Cao Ren, Cao Cao responded with a hum and continued drinking.
Cao Ren smiled bitterly, knowing that he was talking nonsense, and sat back to drink. He saw that Lao Cao was not in good condition, so he wanted to be more active. But obviously, Lao Cao's condition was really bad and he couldn't be active. There are no young women during this march and war...
Among the civil servants on the other side, everyone exchanged glances, and it was Xun Yu who raised his hand. Xun Yu was a veteran, with sufficient strategic awareness and strong business ability. He also attracted many talents to Cao Cao. Guo Jia, who had already defected to General Wang, was recommended by this guy. The policy of coercing the emperor to order the princes came from him.
He said: "My lord, what Zixiao said makes sense, and it is necessary to contact Liu Bei. I heard that Tao Qian was seriously ill and was sad for this year, so he always wanted to give way to Xuzhou. Liu Bei has great ambitions and is a hero of the world. He conquers Xuzhou The hearts and minds of the people must clearly understand the key to uniting us.
However, even with Liu Bei and Yuan Shao's power, they would not be able to stop him. In addition, there are Yuan Shu in Huainan and Liu Biao in Jingzhou. I have lost Yanzhou and cannot attack Yuan Shao with all my strength. If Yuan Shao is taught to run Yanzhou for a long time, we will definitely lose.
At this time, there is only one strategy that can resolve the crisis. "
Cao Cao looked at Xun Yu and raised his head: "Wen Ruo, don't have any worries, just speak clearly."
Xun Yu raised his hand again and said: "Now we are in great danger, our survival depends on the day and night, the only way is to unite with Wang Yan of Youzhou to make it..."
Before Xun Yu could continue, Lao Cao's eyes flashed, and then he shook his head repeatedly, interrupting Xun Yu's words: "If Wen Ruo doesn't say any more, he will eat the salary of the Han and become a minister of the Han. Wang Yan is also a rebel. How can I ally with the rebels for my own benefit?"
After that, he shook his head again and continued to drink.
Seeing that Lao Cao stopped rubbing his head, Xun Yu knew what he was saying and continued: "What the Lord said is wrong. Yu Zhigong is a loyal minister of the Han Dynasty. However, the survival of the Lord is uncertain now. He will be destroyed by Yuan's thieves. If the big thing cannot be accomplished, what can we do?" The great Han is loyal to the Han Dynasty? He should be reserved for a useful person to restore Yanzhou's foundation. When he comes, he will kill the king's thief and be loyal to the Han Dynasty. Today's association with the king's thief is just a expedient to preserve his life.
The fourth generation of the Yuan family and the third Duke, their food and salary were even more than that of the Duke. However, they rejected Jizhou and were adjacent to Youzhou. They did not want to kill the thieves to serve the country, but instead captured Yanzhou. They fought with the Duke's Han ministers with swords and swords, and they had always been friendly with the Duke. Can this be considered disloyal and unjust? Therefore, Yuan Shao should be regarded as a Han traitor and must be punished. What crime do you have if you rebel against the traitors of the Han Dynasty and obey the law of heaven? "
Xun Yu's words are just the beginning. No one here knows what kind of conduct Lao Cao is. If you really disagree, you should bang the table and say it loudly. It's like this now, my head doesn't hurt anymore, I can feel the taste of drinking, one bite after another...
So as Xun Yu's words fell, Xun You, Cheng Yu, Cao Ren, Cao Hong and other civil servants and generals below were highly unified in their opinions. They were all persuading Cao Cao, listing various benefits and excusing the sin of allying with the rebels.
Cao Cao looked embarrassed. After a while, he took a sip of wine and said, "You all want to unite with the king and the thief, but you are thinking about me. In that case, as you said, unite with the king and the thief!"
"My lord is wise!"
Lao Cao laughed and said: "All the princes said that they would unite with the king's thieves, but they were in the north, and they used their troops carefully and never rushed forward. In order to attack Yuan Shao, he must make a lot of money. However, he has good governance and abundant products. What should he do? Are you trying to induce them to send troops? Please give me a try."
After setting the tone, the atmosphere immediately became lively. Everyone was talking about what should be given to Wang Yan to beat Yuan Shao...
I would like to express my daily gratitude to the good brothers who vote monthly for their support.
Thank you to all the brothers who recommended me for your support,
Thanks to the big brothers who read silently for their support.
(End of chapter)
