Following the death of Zeng Suo and the sight of the Zeng Family Mansion blazing into flames, the Baodings who went out to fight no longer had the will to fight and knelt down one after another to beg for surrender.
Cao Cao went straight into Zengtou City, and made every house closed and locked up. No one was seen on the streets. Originally, there were still two thousand soldiers who could fight. Seeing the situation like this, who is willing to die? They all abandoned their uniforms and hid in their homes and acted as common people.
On the top of the city, the assistant teacher Su Ding could not withstand the fierce attack of the four generals. In a hurry, regardless of height, he only jumped down to the city and landed right next to Niu Gao. Niu Gao was taken aback and knocked down Su Ding with his mace. When the mace was thrust forward, Su Ding couldn't keep his footing and fell down.
Yang Lin from the city stood out and shouted: "Don't worry he's gone, he is the teacher of the Zeng family, Su Ding!"
When Niu Gao heard this, he jumped off his horse, put his foot on Su Ding's chest, clasped his fingers and said happily: "First I killed a general with Brother Xiao Yi, and then I killed another general with Brother Fan Rui. I captured Shi Wengong first." , captured this Su Ding again... ah, it's amazing, he has two teachers and five tigers, but four of the seven ruthless people fell into the hands of me, Heifenghu? Isn't this a great achievement that shakes the master? "
Xu Guanzhong passed by him. When he heard the words, he stopped and said in surprise: "Brother Niu, how can you achieve such great success and shock the Lord?"
Niu Gao said proudly: "Don't you understand this? When I repay this great contribution to my brother, my brother will definitely be shocked: ah, brother Niu Gao, you are worthy of it. If it were another person, it would be extremely difficult for him to achieve such great achievements." also!"
Xu Guanzhong laughed, patted him and said, "You really know what my brother is thinking. It's expected to be the case."
Cao Cao didn't know the farce behind him and was walking forward. Suddenly, Shi Qian jumped up and down from the building next to him and said happily: "Brother, the Zeng Family Mansion was ordered by the younger brother. The old man Zeng and several of his grandchildren were eaten by the younger brother and killed. Now, There is no leader in Zengtou City, only my brother makes the decision!"
Cao Cao was overjoyed, dismounted, stroked his back, and praised: "Wise brother, foolish brother, with your help, can win against three thousand soldiers!"
After hearing this, Shi Qian's face suddenly glowed, and his chest stood high. Seeing Cao Cao trying to pull him forward, he suddenly came back to his senses and said, "Ah, you can't go here. There are traps for crossbows. Let's go from here, brother." .”
After leading Cao Cao and others to the bottom of the Zeng Family Mansion, Cao Cao looked up at the situation and nodded: "It is indeed an easy-to-defend but difficult-to-attack place! Go call the people and put out the fire quickly."
Shi Qian chuckled and said, "I lit more than ten fires, I'm afraid it will be difficult to save. If my brother wants to discuss something, there is a restaurant there, which is quite spacious."
Cao Cao asked people to make arrangements to put out the fire. He took everyone to the restaurant and issued five military orders in succession——
In the first step, Lu Fang and Guo Sheng were ordered to lead a hundred people each to guard the two city gates, allowing people to enter but not leaving.
In the second step, Yan Qing and Li Kui were ordered to lead a hundred people to patrol the entire city. Anyone who took advantage of the chaos to plunder wealth, rape women, or rob homes and homes would be beheaded without asking the reason or origin.
The third order was to order Li Yun and Yu Baosi, escorting the housekeeper of the Zeng Mansion, to invite all the leading figures in Zengtou City here.
In the fourth route, Ling Shiqian and Zheng Tianshou led a hundred caravan crewmen to inspect the assets of the Zeng family.
Fifth, Xu Guanzhong was ordered to write a notice to calm the people, strictly stating that the Zeng family was the first to provoke, and this time they came to fight, they would only destroy the Zeng family and their remnants, without disturbing the people. After writing it, I found someone to copy it and posted it everywhere.
Five orders were promulgated, and everyone in the group followed the order and left.
Cao Cao then sent people to the back kitchen, and brought out all the wine from the storehouse. When it was hot, he gave it to the troops first, then to the generals, and taught everyone how to drink it to drive away the cold and build up strength.
Half an hour later, more than ten prominent figures from Zengtou City came to see Cao Cao tremblingly.
Cao Cao looked majestic and did not talk to them much. He only said three things and told everyone to go back to their homes.
What three things?
First, the Zeng family was rude in the first place, which led to this revenge. Now that all the men in the Zeng family are dead, this matter has been wiped away.
Secondly, the original business of the Tseng family was taken over by Tongque Trading Company. Among them, those related to everyone here will remain unchanged according to the old rules for the time being. If there are any unreasonable things, adjustments will be made after one year.
Thirdly, all the original business and channels of Tongque Trading Company are shared with Zengtou City. If anyone in the family has capable children, they can also recommend them and use them according to their talents.
Although his three points seemed to be practical, they were more reassuring than those empty words of comfort. Those people praised him endlessly, and they all left with gratitude.
When it got dark, Yan Qing and Li Kui returned first and reported that they had killed seventeen people in total. Three of them were Yanggu soldiers who broke into other people's houses and were caught trying to commit adultery. The rest were local scoundrels.
Cao Cao nodded and said: "Cut off the heads of all these people and hang them in the square to teach everyone what I mean. If there are family members of the three of us in the army, they will be given money as a pension, and they will be no different from brothers who died in battle. There is no need to mention their crimes."
After a while, Shi Qian and Zheng Tianshou also returned, both with disgraced faces. They reported that the fire in Zeng's house had been extinguished. They opened the cellar and took inventory. They found 70,000 taels of gold, 600,000 taels of silver, and more than two million taels of copper coins. They also found finely cast coins. There are some armors and weapons, more than ten boxes of various gems and curios, some land deeds, and some real estate.
He also said that the Zeng family had two granaries, a small granary located in the Zeng family's mansion that had been burned down, and a large granary located in the south of the city, which had received 300,000 shi of grain. As for the fodder, it is piled up like a mountain and it is difficult to count.
In addition, nearly 3,000 war horses in the Zeng family's stable were also included in the bag.
After hearing this, Cao Cao burst into laughter, made some calculations in his mind, and ordered: "The armors and weapons he has hidden must be of the highest quality. Brothers, you may wish to choose any of them. If the mount is not to your liking, get a better one." "
He also said: "Take 500,000 guan and divide it into two parts. In one part, each of our Yanggu army and horses will be rewarded with 100 guan, and the deceased will be compensated with 500 guan. The surrendered troops in Zengtou City will also be rewarded with 500 guan." If there are family members of those who were killed as bailouts, their families will be given one hundred guan to support their young and old. If there are still more, all the money will be given to the local widows and poor households. In addition, each family will give him Ten shi of grain is our meeting gift, so that everyone can have a good year."
Xu Guanzhong said happily: "Last night and today, more than two thousand Baodings were killed, most of whom were natives of this town. This blood debt is not a trivial matter. Now that we have this money and food, we can resolve the hatred of the people. I will write another notice to tell all the evildoers of the Zeng family's alien clan." Nian, by stating my brother's good intentions and kindness, will direct the people's hatred towards the Zeng family, so that my brother can run this place without any worries. But the court must also cover it up."
Cao Cao smiled and said: "Guan Zhong's words are deeply in line with my wishes."
He said: "Brother Shi Qian, after a day's rest, take another five hundred thousand guan, bring a box of jewelry and curios, load it into a cart, and ask Zheng Tianshou, Li Yun, and Yang Lin to protect you and bring a hundred people with you. Take him to Bianjing as soon as possible and take him to Gao Taiwei's house in the dark to make a New Year's gift. And talk to him about two things - "
"First, Gao Yameni is having fun every day now and doesn't want to return home for the time being; second, the troops and horses from the four states are all unavailable. In order to conquer Liangshan, we financed the purchase of horses from Zengtou City. Unexpectedly, he had colluded with Liangshan. To kill people and seize wealth, we attacked this place in a sneak attack and asked the Taiwei to give us a title so that we can occupy this horse market and get a steady stream of horses. We can conquer Liangshan one day and contribute some small force."
Xu Guanzhong smiled and said: "Wonderful, wonderful, that Gao Qiu is a trustworthy person, and he was granted the title of military attaché, so he took over this place by the way."
Cao Cao said happily: "Cunning Rabbit has three caves. The terrain of Zengtou City is extraordinary, connecting Shandong and Hebei. We occupy this place, and together with Yanggu and Sizhou, it forms the three legs of the tripod. Isn't it unstable?"
There was no words to say that night.
The next day, Shi Wengong brought the surrendered troops and Zhou Tong back. Cao Cao ordered the rewards to be distributed. Yanggu's army was naturally happy. The Baodings in Zengtou City were also quite surprised and secretly felt grateful.
When the new notices written by Xu Guanzhong were posted everywhere, and the pensions were distributed to the families of Baoding who died in the battle, the whole city suddenly burst into tears, but few people blamed Cao Cao, and they all scolded the Zeng family for causing disaster, causing their son to die Before the damage.
On the other side, Cao Cao asked people to prepare wine and meat, rewarded the troops, and held a banquet in a restaurant to entertain Shi Wengong and Zhou Tong.
During the dinner, Niu Gao talked about his capture of Su Ding. Cao Cao suddenly remembered this person and ordered him to be brought to the front of the hall. He was tied up and kneeling on the ground dejectedly, bowing his head and saying nothing.
Seeing this, Shi Wengong couldn't bear it, so he stood up and begged for mercy: "Brother, this Su Ding, like my younger brother, has relied on his martial arts skills to earn a living. Now that the Zeng family has been destroyed, and there is no deep hatred for each other, why not forgive him?"
Hearing this, Cao Cao nodded and asked: "Coach Su, before we all fought, each was his own master. Brother Shi Xian said it right. There was no deep enmity between us. Now that the Zeng family has been destroyed, are you willing to follow me?" Doing something earth-shattering together, wouldn’t your martial arts be in vain?”
When Su Ding heard this, he smiled bitterly and said something.
There are different teachings: The cunning rabbit has three holes, and the heroes have one mind since ancient times. If you respect your master and follow his instructions, you will be rewarded by your brother pouring his own wine.
(End of chapter)
