"Bo Chang, you hurt me."
Sun Qian sighed and reminded softly.
Zhang Han: "..."
He slowly withdrew his hand and stopped patting Sun Qian's shoulder casually. At the same time, he said seriously: "We have already conquered Pengcheng and implemented the policy of recuperating the people. Many refugees who have lost their land and homes can only move and have no choice but to move." All the slaves in Denghu were transferred to Yanzhou, and there were not many villagers and merchants left."
"This city should belong to our lord, but Gongyou said before that Tao Gong will definitely return it and will only give up Pei State, right? This sentence sounds very strange, as if we are about to be defeated and expelled from Xuzhou generally."
"Oh, that's not the case," Sun Qian quickly explained with a smile, "Bo Chang doesn't need to be so tit-for-tat. What I mean is that Pengcheng and Xiapi are both barriers to Tan County. I am willing to pay heavy rewards to the troops in exchange for a stable defense. Otherwise, military orders will be issued in the future. , government orders are inconsistent, causing much inconvenience."
After hearing this, Sun Qian roughly understood what Zhang Han had just said. What Cao Cao really wanted was Xuzhou. After all, occupying Pengcheng was equivalent to having half a foot in front of Tancheng.
In the future, when you rest and reorganize your military strength, accumulate food and armaments, and then attack Xuzhou, you will get twice the result with half the effort.
Thinking of this, he felt a lot disappointed. After all, he had expected Cao Cao to be different from the other princes. Now it seems that the so-called benevolence and virtue are just to pave the way for plundering territory.
In this case, it is even more important to keep your word and try your best to protect Pengcheng. Cao Cao does not dare to fight for a long time and is worried about changes in the rear of Yanzhou, so he will not get too entangled.
The bottom line he gave Zhang Han must be given up as soon as he got it right.
Here Zhang Han and Sun Qian continue to deal with Pengcheng.
On the other side, Xi Zhicai and Chen Yuanlong were also chatting happily. Chen Deng curiously asked about Zhang Han's origin, training, and achievements.
After all, Zhang Han looks very young, a few years younger than Chen Deng. I originally thought that he was already the leader among young talents, but I didn't expect to meet Zhang Han today, who is not very young, but has already become the chief bookkeeper. young people.
Xi Zhicai said with a smile: "Bo Chang proposed a plan to settle the millions of refugees from Qingzhou. At the same time, he used this as a basis to recruit tens of thousands of elite soldiers from Qingzhou."
"Qingzhou soldiers and villagers live in the same place. Those with families can make meritorious deeds and benefit each other. Those without families can record their merits and start a family in the future, and divide their fields to settle down. Do you think this result is worse than being defeated and killed by the army? How much better?"
Chen Deng suddenly realized that it was his plan to designate millions of people as camp residents, who were better than refugees but worse than local people.
Moreover, families, relatives and friends should be separated, and they should not threaten each other to cause chaos. They can only work hard in exchange for peace.
He also selected the so-called elite soldiers of Qingzhou, who were followed by dead soldiers. They could lead the way during battles and preserve Cao's own elite children. Therefore, although there were many casualties, they could not touch his roots.
From this point of view, the move to Yanzhou this time just helped Cao Cao reduce the pressure on many soldiers. Moreover, during this battle, many new recruits were baptized in bloody battles and thus transformed into elites.
Now they have to give a large amount of money and food to Cao Cao to withdraw his troops. After the retreat, they also want to thank Cao Cao for coming to Xuzhou to help defeat the thieves.
We have suffered countless losses and have been accused of poor governance. Why do we still want to say "thank you" to Cao Cao?
Just sad.
"Jiu Jiu, this time the misunderstanding between you and me has been resolved through this peace negotiation, and what does Mr. Cao really want that Master Zhang mentioned just now?"
Chen Deng was very curious now, but during the dinner and wine, he did not reveal anything. Zhang Han only talked about people's livelihood and internal governance, and only shared their experiences.
This seemed to be making friends rather than negotiating peace. After going back and forth, Chen Deng became a little anxious. He, Chen Deng, always had a cheerful personality and would not stick to one thing too much, but this time things were different from usual.
Both Xuzhou and Yanzhou knew that it was impossible to fight to the end in a bloody battle, because the reasons were untenable. If anyone acted forcefully, they would cause more trouble in the future and be blamed.
Maybe, the letters from the various princes urging them to stop are already on their way. If Er Yuan sent them a letter urging them to stop, how could he not give them face?
Therefore, it is better to end this matter early, so that we can take care of the fields in summer and wait for the autumn harvest. Otherwise, once famine strikes, disaster will be rampant.
"Both of you have been thinking about this?!" Zhang Han heard Chen Deng's words and suddenly turned around in a loud voice, attracting the attention of both Chen Deng and Sun Qian.
"I originally planned to say it slowly at the banquet to comply with the step-by-step process. Since you two are so anxious, it would be better for me to say it first."
"Please tell me!" Chen Deng looked curious and looked expectant.
This has been going on for a long time. Just tell me what you want.
Zhang Han and Xi Zhicai looked at each other, then turned to Chen Deng and smiled: "Of course I want to make friends with high scholars."
"If someone else comes to ask for this Pengcheng, they will definitely not give it up. This is what my soldiers fought for. Of course, there are people with both talent and virtue to govern it. But if it is you two, we can discuss it. Please go back and inform Mr. Tao. , If you ask Yuan Long to be the governor of Pengcheng County, you can retreat."
"What?" Chen Deng looked at Zhang Han in disbelief.
"You said, is this what Duke Cao really wants?"
"That's right," Zhang Han nodded and said, "Can Yuan Long enjoy his feast in peace now?"
After hearing this, Chen Deng immediately understood what Zhang Han meant.
Cao Gong can give up Pengcheng, but he must use Pengcheng to make friends with Chen and leave a good talk. Of course, in his opinion, this is a good talk to make the city a good man, but for Chen, it is not that simple.
This move is equivalent to embedding a sharp thorn in Tao Qian's heart, which will sting his heart at any time, making him afraid to entrust all internal and external political affairs to Chen.
"Bo Chang, your words make me even more afraid to enjoy the feast in peace." Chen Deng smiled bitterly. There was no mediocre person present. Since Zhang Han said this, he must have been instructed by Cao Cao.
Cao Cao is interested in making friends. If he wants to calm down the war as soon as possible, he can only agree. As for the lord, we can have more in-depth talks in the future.
I went around a long way just to leave a debt of gratitude to Chen, waiting to be repaid in the future.
This was a reverse investment by the princes in the nobles, so the purpose couldn't be simpler. Cao Cao had more plans.
The significance is not unimportant.
In the end, after weighing it again and again, Chen Deng drank the wine at the banquet. That night, Chen Deng, Zhang Han and Xi Zhong talked about Confucian classics, evaluated ancient and modern texts, and talked about his experience in internal governance and political orders. In order to build the Pipi, water was diverted to irrigate the farmland.
After talking about this, he truly believed that Zhang Han was a talented and learned man, and the military garrison strategy he presented was indeed in line with the current situation in Yanzhou.
Although many people will die due to strain, more people can be saved.
This night, many literary chapters were produced. Of course, they were circulated among each other and did not leak out to the military camp or even outside the military tent.
Dian Wei was on duty outside the military tent. He listened to it all night but didn't feel anything touched.
The next day, Chen Deng met with Cao Cao and determined the conditions for withdrawing from Pengcheng, which was quite harmonious.
In the afternoon, Sun Qian and Chen Deng set off to leave. Tao Qian had already prepared cloth, horses, people, money and food.
In this battle, they finally stopped their troops. Cao Cao gave up Pengcheng, but garrisoned Xiaopei. Although he could threaten Xuzhou, he always took the initiative, and also won the reputation of supporting Han.
When Cao Cao's squadron returned, he still maintained a serious and solemn demeanor while driving. It was not until he was approaching Dongjun after marching for four days and three nights that he called Zhang Hanjin to have a secret conversation in the carriage.
"Bo Chang, there is a strategy for the current situation. How to make progress next? Let me know in advance before we get to Dongjun."
Cao Cao leaned against the side wall of the carriage and closed his eyes to meditate. His face was tired and his eye sockets were sunken.
It is difficult to determine whether the gains from this trip to Xuzhou are profits or losses, but the situation has stabilized decently, which will gain opportunities for the next autumn harvest, and Cao Cao is also tired.
Really, I'm tired of pretending.
