At the end of May, Liu Bei received the news of Cao Cao's massacre of Licheng, and immediately sent the newly appointed Wu Meng to go to Licheng to call a halt. But as time went by, it was too late. All Chen Dao saw were the ruins turned into torches and the piles of bones left after the fire.
In Licheng, which has a population of more than 60,000, there are now less than 5,000 people serving as slaves in the army, and most of them are women who work as camp prostitutes. According to the usual practice, there are probably not more than 3,000 people who can survive to the end. people.
Chen Dao was deeply moved when he saw this situation. He immediately went to the camp and asked Cao Cao: "It's enough to kill the soldiers and capture the prisoners. Why can't we leave the old, young, sick and weak a way to live? It's too ruthless. You are the strategist. Thousands of people died with just a wave of their hands, but they are sitting in the tent and there are no dead people! You should go to the execution ground in person and see what each person looks like and what they say? Why are they each? He died of convulsions! You actually still have the heart to play with the wife and daughter of the deceased. How can you eliminate this resentment between heaven and earth? "
He added: "I heard from people that when they were burying people, an old woman was holding a five or six-year-old girl. She was lying in the pit and was killed by your army. The executioners dug up earth and buried it, but the girl obviously didn't know she was dead. When the time came, he said to the old woman, "Grandma, the sand is blinding you!" The old woman comforted her and said, "It doesn't matter, you won't be blinding in a while!" After hearing this, who wouldn't feel sad?"
Cao Cao was unmoved and replied: "The envoy said it lightly, but if we don't kill all the thieves in the city, how can we join the general? Are we going to let them cause trouble and chaos in the city? Military and national affairs cannot be tolerated. Selfishness. What's more, these people who have no father and no king, just kill them, what's the pity? The messenger should rest first. In a few days, I will lead the troops eastward and join forces with the general to approach Zi. I will meet with the general. The general will tell you separately."
When Chen Dao saw Cao Cao's indifference, he was even more angry. When he saw Zhu Hao, he said: "The saint regards the world as his subjects, so he is convinced by all the people. Now that the world is uncertain, Cao Mengde only wants to vent his anger and kill people. How can it be done?"
Zhu Hao advised him: "After all, we are the governor of a state, and we have not violated the laws of the imperial court. What can you and I do with words? A gentleman should keep his mind straight and keep a low profile." At this point, he whispered to Chen Gong and others' plan was informed to Chen Dao, and Chen Dao was asked to report back to Liu Bei. Chen Dao was overjoyed and said with a smile: "If this can really be done, it will be a blessing for the people." But he turned around and sighed: "But those in the army Women must also find ways to save them."
That night, he rode back to Linzi and reported the matter to Liu Bei. When Liu Bei heard that Licheng had been destroyed and all the people were dead, he couldn't help sighing. He blamed himself and said, "If I had known this, I might as well have led my troops north and asked Meng Den to come down south to attack Linzi. How could we have ended up like this? It's me. The arrangement was not well arranged. When future generations talk about this matter, will they compare it to Wu Han who used Guangwu?" After that, he drew his sword and cut a blood stain on his arm as a warning that he was responsible for the power of Licheng. lose.
But when he heard about Chen Gong's plan from Chen everywhere, he was not happy either. He thought carefully and said: "I am not familiar with Chen Gongtai, and I don't know the truth of what he said, so it is even more difficult to judge whether it will come true. This is a crime. It's taboo in the temple." But he couldn't think of a better way for the moment, so he finally agreed temporarily and let Chen Gong handle it first.
However, it is still too early to talk about deposing Cao Cao. After all, Linzi has not yet been captured, and Beihai and Donglai have not yet been pacified. If Qingzhou cannot be pacified this year, I am afraid that I will be at a disadvantage in the competition with Yuan Shao. By then Yuan Shao Going south to cross the river, I'm afraid I still have to rely on Cao Cao to defend the enemy. At that time, it would be ridiculous to talk about dismissal from office.
But Liu Bei still felt heartbroken when he thought of the news that Licheng was massacred. He thought that if his surname was not Liu and he wanted to have a better future, he might have no choice but to follow the Yellow Turban.
It can be seen that right and wrong mostly vary from person to person. He really couldn't criticize the people as harshly as Cao Cao, but he had to accept the reality that he had to capture Linzi. He knew that if the news reached Linzi in a few days, the resistance would probably become even more tenacious, and he must not lose.
At this time when Liu Bei was thinking a lot, Guan Cheng was patrolling the Linzi city wall. He didn't have the time or energy to think about these things. Licheng's grain reserves are not much, and Linzi is not much better. There are still 150,000 hu of grain in the city, which seems like a lot, but for the 200,000 people in the city, it is only one month. Just use it. Successive years of wars and defeats have already depleted Qidi's savings, and they only had a slight respite in the past. But this year, under the siege of the Han army, the harvest of the whole year may be wasted again. For Guan Cheng, what is urgent now is how to use one month's worth of food to hold on until Bafu retreats.
To this end, Guan Cheng had ordered that all the cattle and horses in the city be killed, and the bacon should be cured with salt. He also ordered some soldiers to go fishing on the Zi River at night, but this made the soldiers even more exhausted. , but not much more to eat. And the dawn of victory has not appeared for a long time. Instead, the situation has become more and more corrupt.
In the past few days, news of the massacres of Fenggao and Licheng had also come, but the people of Linzi were not as angry as Liu Bei expected. After many years of fighting, Qi people's tears have long since dried up, and death has long become a matter of course. They will no longer be sad about these things, but will think about how many of their friends and relatives have died. , if you can see them again when you die, then death will not be a happy thing. Holding on to the city alive became a kind of torture.
While Guan Cheng was inspecting the ships at Shuimen, a military commander suddenly came to him and said that since Licheng was lost, Cao's army would soon come to encircle it. The two armies would attack from the north and the south, and the capital would be in a state of death. If you don't plan ahead and lead the army eastward before Cao's army comes, you can always buy some time by charging and killing the Han army.
Guan Cheng looked over after hearing the words, and suddenly felt that his vision was blurry, his limbs were weak, and he almost fell to the ground. The guards beside him quickly lifted his shoulders, and the soldiers around him also made a noise, and they couldn't help but worry about the health of the commander. Guan Cheng sat on the ground for a while and felt better, but as soon as he opened his eyes, everyone kneeling in front of him could see the bloodshot eyes on his eyes.
He looked at the person who had just spoken and found that it was Guan Zhen who spoke. Guan Zhen, whose surname is Niu, is only in his early twenties, and his face has the unique vitality of young people. Guan Cheng remembered that his parents died early, so he accepted him as a personal soldier, so he changed his surname to Guan. In the past few years, Guan Zhen fought bravely and had many military exploits. Guan Cheng had already regarded him as a fake. Unexpectedly, he suddenly spoke out and wanted to fight alone.
Guan Cheng looked at his young man's face and said slowly: "Guan Laohu and Chang Danhu are guarding the east of the city. They are both first-rate warriors. Can you charge?"
Guan Zhen smiled and said: "No matter whether we can win or not, there is always some hope of winning when we go to war. Even if we lose, there will be fewer mouths to eat in the city."
As soon as these words came out, everyone around him was silent. Guan Cheng said: "This is not what you should say. Even if a person is about to die, he cannot die for such a reason. Otherwise, even if my soul reaches Jiuquan and I can face it, My brother will only rebuke me." He thought for a moment and waved Guan Zhen to go down, "I will choose another person to fight. You are still young. Even if the city is destroyed, you should try to survive. We When we came out to rebel, we originally wanted to beg for life, not for death."
Unexpectedly, Guan Zhen gave Guan Cheng an unexpected reply: "Ming Gong, Guan Zhen thanks you for your kindness, but it is impossible for me to be an ordinary citizen again in this life."
"Why?"
"Ming Gong, as the saying goes, even if there are high mountains and high mountains, no matter how difficult it is to be in trouble. I have listened to the teachings of the great and wise masters too much, and I have developed a disposition to hate evil as much as hatred. There are so many injustices in the world, and I still want to be like before. I would rather die than accept such resignation. Besides, I have been fighting on the battlefield for nearly ten years, and I have killed no less than a hundred officials with my own hands. The court hated me with all my heart. How could I place my future destiny on someone who has always been there? Above the unfaithful court? Not to mention there are countless enemies, and I can't guard against them."
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Guan Zhen continued: "When I was fourteen years old, I had no father or mother. I listened to the words of our congregation, saying that everyone is as close as a brother, so I voted for our Yellow Turban. Although the commanders later became intrigues and caused great chaos in Linzi, This makes me very disappointed, but I don’t regret it. Now that Linzi is about to be encircled and Taipingdao is about to be destroyed, I see this very clearly. A few months ago, I also had this idea: leave Linzi and live in seclusion in In an inaccessible deep mountain and wild valley, I collect fruits for food and hunt for a living. But after all, I am in Linzi, getting along with everyone day and night, and teaching friends in the army have long been my relatives, so I am willing to use my life to Come and extend some vitality to Linzi."
His words were like thunder exploding in the sky, and everyone present couldn't help but look at him sideways. Guan Zhen's words were far less literary and elegant than those of famous nobles, but they spoke from the bottom of their hearts.
Guan Zhen stood up again and said to the crowd: "Fellow fellows, we may not be able to win this battle, but does this prove that we are on the wrong path? No! The time when Taiping Road will prosper is likely to be These past ten years have been such a vigorous and brilliant decade!" A sincere smile broke out on the young man's dark and thin face, and he fell into fond memories, "I once represented my father and fellow villagers. In pursuit of my wish, I killed dozens of local tyrants and evil gentry who were extremely angry with the people. I also personally distributed hundreds of thousands of kilograms of grain. Looking at the ragged old people with gray hair and the skinny people who were on the verge of starving to death. Children, when you took the life-saving grain from my hands, do you know how happy I was at that time? I have also personally distributed tens of thousands of acres of fields to farmers without land and soil, and shared farming with them. The greatest happiness for people. I galloped on the battlefield thousands of times, killing the soldiers until they cried like ghosts and howled like wolves, and ran away with their heads in their hands. All the brothers gave me a thumbs up and praised me as a hero."
"I heard someone say that more than two hundred years ago, a man named Sima Qian said that everyone is destined to die, which may be heavier than Mount Tai or lighter than a feather. It can be seen that people's life in the world does not depend on the length of their lifespan. Some People live a hundred years mediocrely, and some people don’t live long, but they live vigorously.”
"In my opinion, a vigorous ten years is far more than a mediocre hundred years. In this life, I have gained happiness and happiness that many people cannot get, and these are all because of joining Taiping Dao. To live in a lively and colorful life and to die in a mighty manner is the meaning of a man's life. In the past ten years or so, I have lived in a lively and colorful life, truly like a human being, and I feel the meaning of life. Today I am going out to fight in the city because I want to be mighty and mighty. Takechi's death brings the last bit of light to my life."
Having said this, he turned to Guan Cheng and said, "Ming Gong, let me go. I want to show Guan Laohu that our Taiping Dao heroes did not die in Surabaya!"
Guan Cheng couldn't say anything against it. He could only watch Guan Zhen lead the last hundred people in the city to ride out of the city, and fight with people under the banner of Guan Zi in the distance. Smoke and dust were everywhere, drums were beating loudly, and he was killing people on the opposite side. Two moments later, he died in battle.
However, he left a scar on Guan Yu's face and asked Guan Yu to write down his name.
