Chapter 337 Boss Xuzhou
We are brothers, why should we be close by flesh and blood? ----------"Miscellaneous Poems" by Tao Yuanming of Wei and Jin Dynasties
It is said that Cao Cao took Qingzhou easily, and the situation suddenly became complicated. Yanzhou Xun Wenruo was resourceful and good at defense, and with Qingzhou as a rear area to escape from, Chen Long no longer had the desire to attack by force, nor the ambition to complete his victory in one battle. It seems that it will take time and long-term planning to destroy Cao Cao. At least he has gained a strong stronghold in Puyang.
Guo Jia's only worry is that Cao Cao did not lose too much strength in Qingzhou. At the military meeting where Chen Long was preparing to withdraw his troops from Dong'e County, Guo Jia said worriedly: "Tao Qian in Xuzhou is in danger." The Black Mountain Army was blocked by Xun Wenruo in Yanzhou, and it was indeed difficult to hold back Cao Mengde's troops. If the Qingzhou troops were reorganized , it is inevitable to go south to Xuzhou.
Tao Qian, courtesy name Gongzu, was a native of Danyang County, Xuzhou. He was already seventy years old. He had sons Tao Shang and Tao Ying, both of whom had a laid-back personality and had not entered official careers. Tao Qian himself initially served in a prefecture and county, was promoted as a talented person, and served successively as magistrates of Shu and Lu, governor of Youzhou, and Yilang. He had a strong character and great ambitions. Later, he followed the Zuo chariot general Huangfu Song to fight against Beigong Boyu and was appointed Yangwu captain. Later, he followed Zhang Wen to conquer Han Sui and Bian Zhang.
In the official history, in the fifth year of Zhongping, the Yellow Turbans rose in Xuzhou. Tao Qian was appointed as the governor of Xuzhou by the imperial court. He defeated the Yellow Turbans in Xuzhou, promoted farming, and restored production. Later, he followed the advice of Wang Lang and Zhao Yu and sent envoys to Beijing to pay tribute. He was granted the title of General Anton and Xuzhou Mu, and was granted the title of Marquis of Liyang. In his later years, due to Cao Cao's defeat in the war, most of Xuzhou was almost destroyed by military disasters, and he died of overwork at the age of sixty-three.
Tao Qian's father once served as the county magistrate of Yuyao. Tao Qian's father died when he was young. He was famous in the county for his wild character when he was young. When he was fourteen, he used cloth as a battle flag and rode a bamboo horse to play with the children in the village. His fellow countryman and former governor of Cangwu, Gan Gong, met Tao Qian when he went out. Seeing Tao Qian's extraordinary appearance, he called him in the car to talk to him. He was very happy and married his daughter to Tao Qian. The Duke's wife was very angry about this, but Duke Gan said to his wife: "This child has a strange appearance and will become a great person when he grows up." Tao Qian later liked to study. He first passed the examination and became an official in the state and county, and later He was promoted to Maocai, paid homage to Shangshu Lang, and served successively as the magistrate of Shu County and Lu County. Later, he moved to Youzhou to serve as governor and was worshiped as Yilang.
In March of the second year of Zhongping, Beigong Boyu and others led the Qiang and Hu to invade Sanfu. Emperor Ling sent Zuo Chaqi General Huangfu Song to lead an army to attack. Huangfu Song asked the military generals to accompany him and summoned Tao Qian to join him as the captain of Yangwu. , defeating the rebels. In July, Huangfu Song was demoted and demoted due to their slander because he had offended Zhao Zhong and Zhang Rang.
The imperial court also appointed Sikong Zhang Wen as a general of chariots and cavalry to go on a crusade. Zhang Wen invited Tao Qian to join the army and received a warm welcome. However, Tao Qian had always despised Zhang Wen's actions and was dissatisfied. Later, when the army returned to the court, Tao Qian openly humiliated Zhang Wen at a banquet of hundreds of officials. Zhang Wen was furious and planned to move Tao Qian to the border. Only after others' persuasion did he take Tao Qian back. Zhang Wen greeted Tao Qian at the palace gate. Tao Qian did not appreciate it, but Zhang Wen was still as good to Tao Qian as before.
In October of the fifth year of Zhongping, the Yellow Turbans in Qing and Xu prefectures rose up again and attacked counties. The imperial court appointed Tao Qian as the governor of Xuzhou to suppress the Yellow Turban Army. As soon as Tao Qian arrived in Xuzhou, he appointed Zang Ba, a native of Taishan who fled to the East China Sea, and his compatriot Sun Guan as generals. As a result, the Yellow Turban Army was defeated in one battle, and the remaining Yellow Turban Army were forced to flee Xuzhou. After the Yellow Turbans left, Tao Qian worshiped Zang Ba and Sun Guan as cavalry captains, and ordered them to garrison Langya County in Kaiyang and garrison in the north of Xuzhou.
In the first month of the first year of Chuping, the governor of Guandong supported Yuan Shao as the leader of the alliance and pointed his finger at Dong Zhuo in Luoyang. At that time, counties and counties all over the country responded and organized a large-scale volunteer army. However, Tao Qian did not join the military campaign in Guandong to denounce Dong Zhuo.
In the second year of Chuping, the famous general Zhu Jun was stationed in Zhongmu County and sent letters to various states and counties, summoning troops to attack Dong Zhuo. When Tao Qian learned of this, he immediately sent 3,000 elite troops. Other states and counties only sent a few troops. Tao Qian also petitioned Zhu Jun to act as Chariot and Cavalry General.
In April of the third year of Chuping, Wang Yun and Lu Bu killed Dong Zhuo. Later, Li Jue, Guo Si and others rebelled, captured Chang'an, and took control of the government. Zhu Jun was still in Zhongmou at that time. Tao Qian believed that Zhu Jun was a famous minister and general who had made many military exploits and could be entrusted with a big task, so he joined forces with Zhou Qian, the former governor of Yangzhou, Yin De, the prime minister of Langye, Liu Kui, the prime minister of Donghai, and Pengcheng, the prime minister. Ji Lian, Beihai Prime Minister Kong Rong, Pei Prime Minister Yuan Zhong, Taishan Prefect Ying Shao, Runan Prefect Xu Qiu, former Jiujiang Prefect Fu Qian, Dr. Zheng Xuan and others jointly invited Zhu Jun to be the Grand Master, moved to the Mubo, and challenged Li Jue waits to welcome the emperor. In December, Li Jue used a trick to summon Zhu Jun to the court. Zhu Jun thanked Tao Qian and accepted the call, but Tao Qian had no choice but to give up. In the fourth year of Chuping's reign, at the suggestion of Wang Lang and his companion Zhao Yu, Tao Qian sent Zhao Yu to pay tribute to Emperor Xian to show his support for the Han Dynasty. After receiving Tao Qian's memorial, Emperor Xian praised Tao Qian and promoted Tao Qian to Xuzhou Mu. , General Anton; Zhao Yu was appointed as the prefect of Guangling, and Wang Lang was appointed as the prefect of Kuaiji. In the same year, Quexuan from Xiapi gathered thousands of people and claimed to be the emperor. Tao Qian sent troops to kill him.
At that time, Cao Cao's father and former Taiwei Cao Song was hiding from the war in Langye. Cao Cao ordered Taishan Taishou Yingshao to welcome Cao Song to Yanzhou. Cao Song was carrying more than 100 carriages of baggage. Tao Qian sent his general Zhang Kai to escort Cao Song, but Zhang Kai was greedy for Cao Song's assets and killed him.
In the autumn of the fourth year of Chuping, Cao Cao launched an army to attack Tao Qian on the pretext of avenging his father. At that time, Yuan Shao also sent his general Zhu Ling to supervise the third battalion of troops to help. Cao Cao's army successively captured more than ten cities. Cao Yujin captured Guangwei and followed the Si River to Pengcheng. Another forward, Cao Ren, attacked Tao Qian's general Lu You. After defeating the enemy, he joined forces with Cao Cao. Tao Qian led his army to attack, but was severely defeated. He had to flee Pengcheng and retreat to Tancheng in the East China Sea. Cao Cao took the opportunity to attack Pengcheng and Fu Yang again. At first, refugees from all over the country relied on Tao Qian, mostly in Pengcheng. When they met Cao Cao's army this time, they were all killed. Tens of thousands of people were driven into the Sishui River and drowned. Their corpses blocked the river, preventing the river from flowing.
Later, Cao Cao moved northeast to attack Feixian, Huaxian, Jimo, and Kaiyang. Tao Qian sent his generals to Tancheng to rescue the counties besieged by Cao's army, and at the same time appealed to Tian Kai, the governor of Qingzhou. Cao Cao besieged Tan County and failed to capture it, so he turned to attack Lu, Suiling, and Xiaqiu counties. Everyone in his path was slaughtered, no chickens or dogs were left, and no one walked on the ruins of the old city. At this time, Tian Kai and Liu Bei led an army to rescue him, but Cao Cao finally had to retreat because he ran out of supplies. Tao Qian appointed Liu Bei as the governor of Yuzhou and settled in Xiaopei.
In April of the first year of Xingping, Cao Cao once again led his army to attack Xuzhou southward. He first captured five cities and then captured territory as far as Langye and Donghai. When the returning army passed through Tancheng, Xuzhou generals Cao Bao and Liu Bei stationed troops in Tandong and invited Cao Cao to attack, but they were defeated. Cao Cao then moved westward to Xiangben, killing many people wherever they passed. Seeing the end of the day and the road running out, Tao Qian planned to escape back to his hometown of Danyang. At this moment, Zhang Miao, the governor of Chenliu, betrayed Cao Cao, and he and his brother Zhang Chao, the former governor of Guangling, welcomed Lu Bu into Yanzhou. Cao Cao had to return to his army to put down the rebellion. In the same year, Tao Qian died of illness at the age of sixty-three.
When Tao Qian was appointed as the governor of Xuzhou, Xuzhou was suffering from famine and starvation after the war. Tao Qian recommended Chen Deng, a native of Xiapi, as the Dian Nong Xiaowei to carry out farming in Xuzhou. When Chen Deng took office, it was "advisable to inspect the soil and fields and make full use of the benefits of irrigation." With the efforts of Tao Qian and Chen Deng, Xuzhou's agricultural production was restored and developed, and "japonica rice was harvested."
When Tao Qian was the governor of Xuzhou, the Yellow Turbans in Qingzhou and Yanzhou in the north were rising one after another, but Xuzhou was relatively peaceful, the people were prosperous, the granaries were full of grain, and refugees from Qingzhou, Yuzhou and other places (such as Zheng Xuan, Xu Shao, etc.) also flocked there Xuzhou. At that time, Tao Qian appointed Xiapi Xiang Zuorong from the same county as him to supervise the transportation of grain in Guangling, Xiapi, and Pengcheng. He used the grain in his hands to build the Great Buddha Temple, which could accommodate more than 3,000 people to study Buddhist scriptures. He also called on people to believe in Buddhism and be exempted from military service, attracting more than 5,000 households. "Every time the Buddha is bathed, more food and wine are set up, and mats are spread on the road. After dozens of miles, tens of thousands of people come to watch and eat."
When Tao Qian was the governor of Xuzhou, he appointed Mi Zhu, a wealthy businessman from Xuzhou, as his assistant, and appointed Zuo Rong from the same county as himself to supervise the transportation of grain in Guangling, Xiapi, and Pengcheng. He also appointed Zhao Yu from Langya and Wang Lang from Donghai. Engaged in driving and governing. Official history also said that Tao Qian "alienated wise men and appointed villains."
After Chen Long returned to Puyang, Puyang, Juancheng, Baima, Mengjin, Shangdang, and Anyang were connected to create water and land transportation. People and horses were dispatched back and forth, and supplies continued to flow. However, no one could have calculated that Lu Bu was bewitched by the white butterfly and abandoned the alliance. He sent out troops from multiple directions and cut off all water and land transportation. Zang Ba, Wei Xu, Hou Cheng, and Song Xian besieged Juancheng and Baima, several fierce battles failed to determine the outcome, and the shipping at Baima Ferry was temporarily cut off.
Zhang Liao drilled his navy near Chenliu and cut off the Yellow River water transport from Guandu. Lü Bu led the army across the river with a few other capable generals, and the white butterflies naturally followed Lü Bu. However, Chen Gong asked for the job of guarding Chen Liu. Seeing that he was determined, Lu Bu had no choice but to let him go, but he felt very unhappy.
If you want to know what happens next, listen to the explanation next time.
