Tao Qian was well aware of the consequences of using this as his name. At first, the people of Xuzhou might resist, feeling that Cao Cao was invading Xuzhou territory, and they were boycotted and spurned by the scholars.
But when he captured most of it and the overall situation was decided, this pretty good reason came in handy.
It will become a step, and all the famous people from high-ranking families will come down.
They will say: You have made great achievements in suppressing the rebellion, and the people in all cities in Xuzhou are indebted to your kindness. You should go up to the table to show your merits, and the people of the city will be entrusted to you.
Because these big families with decades or centuries of history would choose winners to defect to them, and then gain the trust of the princes by recommending officials and gradually gain status, so that they could survive in troubled times and the family would survive the chaos.
Therefore, there is not much difference between Tao Qian and Cao Cao for them. It is just that during the battle, they have to judge which of them has the ability to go further.
The aristocratic family also has a name for this kind of secret observation and betting on investment: good birds choose trees to roost in.
It has been passed down from Zuo to this day and has far-reaching influence.
This had to make Tao Qian anxious. He was afraid that if he went back too late, Pengcheng and Xiapi in Xuzhou would all fall into Cao Cao's hands. Wouldn't he be able to recruit them at that time?
If everyone in the family comes into contact with Cao Cao and favors him regardless of his background, then he will gradually become a rebel and lose his support.
We can no longer continue to expand Yanzhou's territory. If the stalemate continues like this, the gains outweigh the losses.
Therefore, Tao Qian made a decisive decision and ordered his generals to retreat immediately. He slowly withdrew from Yanzhou, gradually opened up the city, and finally withdrew from Yanzhou and quickly returned to Juntan County.
But things went counterproductive.
After retreating for three consecutive days, all of them were entangled by Bao Xin and his men. Suddenly, many sword-and-shield infantrymen appeared in Jibei. The swords were crude iron blades, and the shields were rough-cut thick wooden round shields. The equipment was not well-equipped, but The best is in numbers.
Judging by the accent and the fighting style, they must be Qingzhou bandits. They are all angry and march forward one after another.
Tao Qian's soldiers and horses were entangled and refused to retreat calmly. They kept pounced on and fought in the wild, just like the prey of a pack of wolves. Even if the prey wanted to retreat and run away, it would bite it hard several times.
When faced with being stalked by a pack of wolves, it is best not to turn around and run away desperately, because this will expose your back, causing the hungry wolf to pounce desperately.
Since then, Tao Qian has been afraid of rats.
For seven days, only half of the troops and horses were withdrawn, and the rest were still at the rear. His generals were actually somewhat confused, and were in a dilemma.
On the mountain road, Tao Qian, who was riding a white horse, sighed deeply. Now he finally returned to Langya territory under the protection of many generals. Although there were not many dangers along the way, the frequent reports of good news from various ministries made his mind tired. .
On the fourteenth day, when Tao Qian hurried back to Tan County to prepare for a battle with Cao Cao, news came that Pengcheng had been lost.
He fell into an extremely angry mood as his energy and blood attacked his heart, and then he was extremely angry and angry for several days.
…
End of June.
Tao Qian led his army to fight with Cao Cao in Xiapi. Cao Cao continued to attack for three days and nights. He also had Pengcheng as his base and constantly replenished his manpower. He used Qingzhou soldiers as his base to attack the city, while his own elite waited for work at the back until Xuzhou soldiers were exhausted. When you are trapped, attack the city in one fell swoop.
By this time, both sides were so furious that they couldn't even remember why they started the war in the first place or what the reasons were for launching the attack.
Until Xiapi City was about to be lost and Tao Qian was about to return to Tan County, he quickly remembered that the reason for sending the army in the first place was not a blood feud, but just to defeat the thieves!
Even so, why do we have to fight to the end in Xiapi? Neither Cao Cao nor I are thieves, we are both Han officials! We should share the same hatred of the enemy!
"Cao Cao invaded my territory in Xuzhou in the name of pacifying thieves and eliminating chaos. This incident was indeed caused by my pursuit of Que Xuan's old troops. Can I use this to talk to Cao Cao, express his achievements, give him military rations, and free the people of Xuzhou?" , to end this chaos?"
During the discussion, Tao Qian expressed this intention to many of his advisers and generals.
Wen and Wu, who were standing next to each other, looked at each other and understood that their lord had already begun to think about retreating. He was not the only one in Xiapi City who thought so.
The rest of the civil and military forces and the common people were unwilling to fight anymore, especially after the common people understood the cause of the war after rumors spread from various places.
Just because the people are uneducated does not mean that they are unreasonable. Under the guidance of conscious or unconscious, most people understand that Tao Qian knows that Yanzhou is still in the early stages of pacifying the riots, and they are not reconciled to the fact that he did not make a breakthrough in pacifying Qingzhou when Xuzhou was in chaos. Thieves, thus chasing into other people's territory.
It looks like it's counterinsurgency, but it's actually taking advantage of the chaos and trying to make some profit.
Cao Cao's response was also simple: Well, if he puts down the rebellion, I will put down the rebellion too.
You enter my city, I will enter yours, Pengcheng, or even Xiapi.
This world is full of thieves and bandits, and you can defeat thieves wherever you go.
Anyway, Dongping, Rencheng and other places in Yanzhou have not yet begun to rebuild, and they are the areas hardest hit by bandits. However, Pengcheng is different from Xiapi, and even Peiguo on the border is a cultural and prosperous place, no matter how you change it. Losing money.
The key is that Cao Cao is ruthless, and for some reason the Qingzhou soldiers are willing to sacrifice their lives for him. They pounce on him like wolves and tigers, sacrificing their lives for victory.
After fighting for more than half a month, not many of Cao Cao's elite were killed. They were all Qingzhou soldiers paving the way. Moreover, his military morale was extremely strong. What does this mean? It shows that the Qingzhou soldiers rushed forward voluntarily to be the dead soldiers.
So just when Tao Qian relented, the civil servants and generals immediately nodded in agreement.
"I believe that the emperor was deceived by Chang'an. Now it is important to welcome the emperor back and strengthen the people with a prosperous interior. Internal strife among neighboring countries is not an option. Mr. Cao should also understand this." A young man in blue shirt stood up. , bowed deeply to Tao Qian.
When he spoke, everyone else fell silent and stopped whispering to each other.
Although this man is not very old, he already has the air of a distinguished civil servant. When he speaks, he speaks slowly and calmly, and the surrounding voices give way to him.
This person, Chen Deng, whose courtesy name is Yuanlong.
Among Xuzhou officials, he is one of the few officials who is famous for his internal management of farming. He has actually solved many farming issues and increased grain production.
From a certain perspective, it is not too much to call him "Xuzhou Xiao Zhang Han".
"If the fighting continues, Cao's army will suffer heavy losses, and we in Xuzhou will be raided and plundered by the Yellow Turban bandits again. The people's hearts will be shaken in all directions, which is not a long-term solution."
"Only when the people's hearts are stable can we plan for the long term. As long as Duke Cao knows this principle, my lord can try to talk about it. Although our army cannot win this battle, Cao's army will become a beautiful tree in the forest."
Tao Qian's beard drooped on his cheeks. He stretched out his hand to stroke it. At the same time, he took a deep look at Chen Deng. Although there was pain in his heart, Chen Deng's words suddenly reached his heart.
What a beautiful sentence about the beautiful trees in the forest.
This sentence means that after this battle, Cao Cao will completely become famous in Yanzhou. The powerful enemies around him will not miss the opportunity to suppress him. Maybe the next time they fight, they can all make progress together.
"Yuanlong, since you are a famous scholar in Xuzhou, how about I send you and Gongyou to pay homage to Cao Cao?"
Chen Deng's expression froze and he frowned slightly.
At the same time, behind him, a gray-robed Confucian scholar stood up, bowed down with a smile on his face, and said softly: "Wei."
After hearing this, Chen Deng quickly bowed and accepted the order, but at this time he felt a little unhappy in his heart.
Sun Qian, Sun Gongyou.
This Tao Xuzhou was still a talented and learned man who was determined to support the common people. He just wanted to win over the common people to follow his command, so that he could disperse the family lineage of the noble clan with his confidants.
Tao Qian is also very scheming and likes to use checks and balances.
…
Pengcheng.
Cao Cao was wearing armor and sitting in the tent, listening to Cheng Yu's report on the current war gains.
There were many armors and weapons, and hundreds of war horses.
But if you don't plunder the city, you won't be able to replenish the food supply, so if you want to fight for a long time, the wear and tear will be huge. Moreover, if you don't plunder the city, the military supplies of the army officers and soldiers will not be enough to make up for the harvest they worked hard for. They will definitely have to work hard after returning. Yes, another large amount of money.
After all, soldiers who fight with feelings are only a minority.
Cao Cao rubbed his forehead with a look of discomfort on his face: "It's so damn tiring to follow the path of benevolence and righteousness."
After saying that, he secretly glared at Zhang Han.
"We still have enough military rations for seven days. The follow-up food collection from Pengcheng has very poor results. It seems that if we want to capture Xiapi, we only need these few days."
After Cao Cao finished speaking, he looked directly at Zhang Han.
The implication is: If we can't attack anymore, I either have to retreat, or I can only... start looting.
Anyway, people in the city don't run around much now.
Zhang Han looked down at the sandy land for a while and exclaimed: "Tsk, I think it's time to send a letter of persuasion to surrender."
"We set out in the name of counterinsurgency, and we must make good use of this name."
Cao Cao and Xi Zhicai looked at each other for a moment, then looked at Zhang Han curiously and urged: "Sure."
