May is the hottest time of the year, but for Cao Cao, his heart is as cold as ice.
Now he is sitting in the military camp in Yangping. There is a flag hanging in front of the camp gate. The words on the flag were written by him personally last year, "The army is always weak, and it shrinks and follows the enemy." The eight characters are written in dense characters. Qiu, showing the extreme heroism when writing. It's just that due to the wind and rain of more than half a year, the spring breeze's pride and arrogance that originally filled the lines have become vaguely different.
Since Cao Cao took office as the commander-in-chief of Dongjun at the beginning of the second year of Chuping, he first fought against the Black Mountain Army going south. There were six large and small battles, and he defeated about 40,000 people from the Du Chang, Tao Sheng, and Yu Du tribes with 6,000 people, and was later elected as the commander-in-chief. Governor of Dongjun. Later, at the invitation of Zhang Miao, he resisted the 20,000 troops of Sun Bi and Xu Kun who were heading north. These 20,000 people were the strong force left by Sun Jian, but they could not conquer Chenliu. After a stalemate for three months, they had to return to Yuzhou. The successive victories made everyone in Yanzhou look at Cao Cao with admiration. Gradually, there were signs that Cao Cao was respected in everything in the state, while Liu Dai, the former governor of Yanzhou, was ignored. Presumably if this continues for a period of time, all military and political power in Yanzhou will fall into Cao Cao's hands. However, just this year, things have changed dramatically.
Liu Dai was unwilling to have his power taken away from him, and forcefully ordered him to stick to Dongjun. At the same time, he summoned the main forces of the prefectures and counties to gather in Jibei. On one side, he monitored Jibei Prime Minister Bao Xin to prevent him from contacting Cao Cao, and on the other side, he started to attack Qingzhou. The Yellow Turbans tried to strengthen their authority. It happened that the Qingzhou Yellow Turbans were consecrating Mount Tai again, so Liu Dai led his troops to try to regain Mount Tai. He followed Chang Shi's strategy and divided his troops into two groups. He confronted the enemy at Liangfu, and tried to bypass Youlai Mountain to attack the enemy's back, but was defeated. They collided with Guan Hai's troops who came for reinforcements and suffered a huge defeat. Liu Dai died on the spot. Yanzhou's 60,000 troops lost 40,000 in this battle.
After Liu Dai died, Cao Cao was temporarily elected as the new governor of Yanzhou with the support of Chen Gong, Zhang Miao and others. However, the situation was very bad at this time. The Yellow Turbans took advantage of the opportunity and captured half of Yanzhou. Cao Cao only had 10,000 troops at his disposal.
He first ordered Xiahou Dun, Cao Ren and others to garrison in Dingtao and Chengwu, where they contained the main force of the Gengcang army attacking the city. He then led three thousand troops to Yangping, crossed the Yellow River and repeatedly attacked the rear of the Gengcang army. Once the Gengcang army sent troops to pursue him, he crossed the Yellow River and returned to Yangping. After several attempts, the Gengcang army failed to cross the river to pursue him, so they simply retracted their defense line and retreated to Kangfu Shouzhang area. Cao Cao was able to temporarily regain Shanyang County. But Gengcang's army still had no intention of retreating, and announced that they would go from Pingyuan County to Hebei and fight Cao Cao in Dong County.
This couldn't help Cao Cao being careless. Dongjun was his base camp. Once Dongjun was lost, the hearts of the other counties would probably be shaken. It was hard to say whether he could stay in Yanzhou.
He had no choice but to ask Guan Yu and Yuan Shao for help. In his letter to Yuan Shao, he suggested that Yuan Shao negotiate peace with Gongsun Zan first, and then work together to repel the Gengcang army. Otherwise, the Gengcang army would become more powerful in capturing Yanzhou, fearing that the generals in the world would be defeated. Uncontrollable.
The letter to Guan Yu was much simpler. Cao Cao only said that he was in many difficulties at the moment and hoped that Guan Yu would come to resist the Geng Cang army since they were both Han ministers.
But within five days, he received replies from both.
Yuan Shao's intention was for him to shrink his troops, abandon the counties in Henan, and focus on defending the Gengcang Army in East County. The war in Hebei has reached a critical juncture. He is about to capture Xiang Kingdom. After capturing Xiang Kingdom, he will negotiate peace with Gongsun Zan. It won't be too late, by then, he will lead his army south to come to support, and order Cao Cao to defend Dongjun. There was neither the strength nor the time for reinforcements. The words seemed to be Cao Cao's master rather than his friend, which greatly disgusted Cao Cao.
Guan Yu's reply was simpler than Cao Cao's letter. He replied: "We are already ordering troops, please wait a moment." On the fourth day after the letter was sent, Guan Yu led 30,000 sergeants stationed in Henan across the river bridge. , arrived at Dunqiu via Hanoi, and will arrive at Yangping soon. This news made Cao Cao breathe a sigh of relief, but Cao Cao was not sure how much effect it would have on the overall situation.
"Ming Gong?"
"Oh, why are Wen Ruo here?"
While Cao Cao was lost in thought, the guards led someone in. He is about thirty years old, with a handsome appearance and a body as slender as a pine. His whole body exudes a refreshing fragrance, so that as soon as he enters the tent, there seems to be a breeze flowing inside. This is Xun Yu and Xun Wenruo, the current patriarch of the Xun clan in Yingchuan, and the later leader recognized by the party members.
Since the Luoyang coup, he first escaped from Luoyang with his seal, and then moved his family to Jizhou for refuge. Last year, when Cao Cao became famous in Yanzhou, Xun Yu left Yuan Shao again and came to seek refuge with Cao Cao. Cao Cao actually held a contemptuous attitude toward ordinary party members, especially those like Xun Yu who liked to dress up, which reflected Cao Cao's short and ugly appearance. However, he sincerely admired Xun Yu and often treated his staff. Said: There are very few people in the world who can live up to their reputation. Xun Wenruo is known as the most talented king, but he is worthy of his name. So he was appointed Sima of the other departments. Now he was promoted to the governor of Yanzhou, and he also promoted Xun Yu to serve as a commander.
Xun Yu was a sincere man. Even if there were no outsiders around, he would lift up his clothes and pay homage to Cao Cao respectfully.
Cao Cao smiled, lifted him up, and said, "Why should Wen Ruo be so polite?" Seeing Xun Yu holding a bamboo slip in his hand, he patted his forehead and said, "Wen Ruo, you came to me, do you have any information?" In the year since Xun Yu arrived in Yanzhou, in addition to sorting out various personnel under Cao Cao's government, he also organized the construction of an intelligence system to collect military and political information from all over the world. Cao Cao relied on this to be unfavorable in Henan.
Xun Yu handed the bamboo slips in his hand to Cao Cao, and then stood aside silently. After Cao Cao read it, he said, "Xizhong and I have already checked. The rebels have gathered their armies in Mount Tai and Jinan. The rebels in the plain area are collecting boats and claim that they will cross the river in the near future. These news are absolutely true. But I feel something is wrong."
Cao Cao put the bamboo slips on the table aside and asked, "Wen Ruo, what do you think is wrong?"
"The rebels pretended to be crossing the river, but they didn't see any military supplies and baggage crossing the river. Isn't it strange?"
Cao Cao paced back and forth and said slowly: "Wen Ruo is right. Since ancient times, water transportation has been the top priority and land transportation has been the second priority. However, the rebel army has gathered in the Taishan and Jinan areas. It can be seen that the military supplies are also here. Any abnormality must be a deception! In my opinion, the rebels' attack on Dongjun must be false. They probably want to take advantage of me to send troops to take over Shanyang, so they can attack again!"
Unexpectedly, Xun Yu shook his head slightly and said: "Ming Gong, it is natural for the rebels to attack Dongjun, but they may not want to attack me."
This was beyond Cao Cao's expectation. He asked, "What's Wen Ruo's advice?"
"The rebels can be called Zhi Yuan, which shows that there must be an expert among the thieves to plan, and Ming Gong should not be ignored by petty thieves. Now the rebels first broke Liu Gongshan, and then occupied four counties. Even though there are more than 100,000 troops, although they are many, Its power is also exhausted. And our army has new reinforcements from Guanfujun. Although their troops are few, their strength is also strong. In addition, the weather is extremely hot, and the attackers will not be able to fight for a long time. It can be said that the right time, place and people are on our side. If the rebel army is wise , now it’s time to tidy up the new soil and wait for next year.”
Cao Cao understood what Xun Yu meant: "Wen Ruo said that the rebels are bluffing and want to intimidate me. If I am timid, I will naturally surrender to him. Even if I still have the will to fight, I can only defend the city and dare not act arrogantly." Go out and fight.”
Seeing Xun Yu nod, Cao Cao thought for a moment and said: "This idea is quite shrewd. Logically speaking, if he wants to end the war, not only should I not make a truce, but I should take the initiative. But now I see through his plan, But it is even more difficult to regain Rencheng and Dongping. If the rebels have any other plans, our situation will be too passive."
Speaking of this, he had a flash of inspiration and thought of a strategy that might change the situation. But the details still needed to be polished, so he left Xun Yu to eat in the camp. The two of them ate soup cakes while discussing the next military plan. As a result, the two of them were so absorbed in the discussion that they put dinner aside, and the discussion did not end for nearly half an hour.
At this moment, a rush of footsteps came and stopped not far in front of the camp.
Cao Cao was still immersed in his own imagination and was unaware of it. But Xun Yu was keen on etiquette and looked up calmly. It was Cao Cao's brother-in-law Qin Shao who came. He looked anxious and winked several times in succession. Xun Yu knew in his heart that Qin Shao must have something urgent to report, so he didn't rush. After Cao Cao finished explaining his idea, he coughed at the right time and said: "Ming Gong, I have to send someone again for this matter." Determine the location in Pingyuan, wait until I receive the news, and then report it to Duke Ming!"
Cao Cao was interrupted by this, but he was not in a hurry to speak. He went through the plan in his mind again, and then said: "Then there will be Lao Wenruo." His eyes turned slightly, and then he found Qin Shao, and he sank. With a look on his face, he said to his wife's brother: "Bo Nan, didn't I tell you not to disturb Wen Ruo and I when we were talking! What's the matter with you?"
Qin Shao hurriedly came up and handed a letter, saying: "I'm coming from the west to report urgently!"
Cao Cao unfolded it, couldn't see a few lines, and stood up suddenly. Xun Yu was startled, and he quickly stood up from his chair and stood aside. A thousand words are worth less than a moment of silence. He was surprised in his heart, but he didn't ask any questions. Cao Cao turned around, looked at it carefully twice, paced back and forth in the camp, and sighed: "Dong Zhuo is so heroic, but he was burned to death like this!"
Without waiting for Xun Yu to inquire, he took the initiative to hand over the letter and said: "Situ Wang Yungong and Lu Bu suddenly launched a rebellion and actually attacked and killed the Dong thief. Now the court is free again!"
"Wang Situ?"
It has been two years since the world was in chaos. Xun Yu has not heard any news from the Chang'an court for a long time. More news is from the attacks of the governors from various places. Almost everyone agrees that in the current situation, the court's prestige has been ruined. , if not, how could the Yellow Turban system be changed to Yuan Dynasty?
"If what I have predicted is correct, Wang Situ's execution of the Dong thieves this time is just the beginning. Dong Zhuo has been in power for three years and has more than 100,000 soldiers under his command, distributed throughout Guanzhong. There must be some unwilling ones among them. But there is no leader, and the court has With great justice in hand, the situation is still under control."
"Ming Gong is saying that Wang Situ can appease the people? Not necessarily."
"If Wen Ruo doesn't know, I once worked with Dong Zhuo in the shogunate. Most of Dong Zhuo's subordinates were warriors who were good at fighting but not good at controlling people. The only ones who can be called wise are Li Ru, Xu Rong, Duan Xuan, Jia Xu, and Yang Ding. Now. Now. Li Ru and Yang Ding are both dead, Xu Rong is from Liao, Jia Xu cannot be reused, Duan Xuan is cautious, as long as Situ comforts and promotes him a little, they will not cause any trouble."
After speaking, Cao Cao laughed, and Xun Yu also smiled. Cao Cao continued: "As long as Wang Situ appeases the rest of the people, and then spreads the edict to the world, we will jointly suppress the Linzi rebels. The world will encircle and suppress the rebels, and the rebels will be defeated, especially the imperial court. As! We in Yanzhou can take a breath!"
When he was happy, he turned back to look at Xun Yu. Unexpectedly, Xun Yu's smile disappeared, and he turned to look sad. He thought carefully and said: "Ming Gong can be said to have made up his mind about Dong Zhuo, but he doesn't understand." Situ."
"Situ?" Cao Cao was puzzled.
"I have been in contact with Situ for a long time, and I am very familiar with him. When he succumbed to being a thief, he could still be tolerant for a while, but Situ was narrow-minded, overly cautious, and could not tolerate a petty thing in his eyes. When the emperor is here, he still can't tolerate it. But as a loyal and upright Lord, if he were to serve as an auxiliary minister, he would definitely be among the best in Liang and Ji!"
Liang Ji was obsessed with corruption and corruption, so he both dethroned the emperor and murdered virtuous ministers. Xun Yu compared Wang Yun to Liang Ji, which was obviously an exaggeration. The morals of the two were not the same, but this was obviously a reminder to Cao Cao. , Wang Yun governs as he pleases and does not consider the overall situation. Therefore, according to Xun Yu's opinion, Dong Zhuo's remaining troops will rebel, and there will be war in Guanzhong.
After Cao Cao realized this, his face turned livid, and he whispered: "Guanzhong is about to be in chaos again, but Guandong is unable to intervene. Do we have to sit back and watch the opportunity to revitalize the Han Dynasty be lost again?"
He suddenly thought of Liu Bei and Chen Chong. He had already received news. How could they not have news when they were in Bingzhou? Looking at the world, the only ones who can intervene in the situation in Guanzhong now are probably their side. Although Bingzhou's military strength was far inferior to that of Guanzhong, when he thought of them, Cao Cao's uneasiness quickly disappeared. He believed that they would succeed, but instead, he felt a sense of sadness that his beloved things had been taken away.
He looked to the west from his tent and said: "The clouds are moving in the sky, and the waves are moving in the river."
For a moment, his chest was agitated, and he actually drew his sword and danced it in public. The sound of gold and iron in his chest turned into the stern murderous intent of the sword tip. The guards beside him felt that it was too much, shuddered, and quietly took a few steps back.
When Cao Cao swung his sword three times, it stopped again. He turned to test the edge of the sword with his fingers. He was so generous and passionate that he was emotionally moved by the scene, and a bit of poetry came out of him, causing him to recite in a low voice: "Drinking Horses Crossing Wen" Water, water is cold, a strong man's sword. Especially when fighting in the plains, it is dark and gloomy." Xun Yu heard that his poem was talking about Liu Daiwen's defeat in the water battle, but what he was thinking about was how he would overcome the ups and downs he faced. .
Unexpectedly, Cao Cao suddenly changed his mind: "In the past, Qianqiu happened, and it was said that the Holy Dynasty would be restored. The bones are piled up in this and ancient times..." He was recalling the Qianqiu Pavilion massacre. At that time, it was said that the Yellow Turbans were extinct, so that they changed to Yuan Zhongping, but Unexpectedly, the war is getting worse now, bones are still lying in the wild, and the grief has become too much. When Cao Cao thought of this, he took away his finger and slashed with his knife. With a bang, the table broke into two pieces. He turned excited and concluded to himself: "Swing on the wings!"
Xun Yu took in his decisive gesture of reciting poems and thought in his heart: "Only such a person can end the troubled times."
