After more than a year, Cao Cao returned to his hometown of Guandu. Although a long time had passed, the battlefield was still littered with bones, and no one had restrained himself. There seemed to be countless dead souls sobbing, screaming, and wailing in the wind...
Cao Cao's heart was full of pity, but he did not regret his original choice. Even if he had to do it all over again, he would still not hesitate to order all the more than 70,000 Yuan soldiers to be killed.
Yuan Shao's power in Guandu was great, and all directions collapsed for a while. Looking from far and near, only Yingchuan County was loyal to its duties, with strong young men and strong soldiers, and the old and weak were burdened with food.
However, Yingchuan alone was not enough to feed the entire army. Before the surprise attack on Wuchao, there was only one month's food left in the army. He could hardly feed his own army, and suddenly there were more than 70,000 mouths. He wanted to
Just thinking about it makes people shudder. He had no choice but to kill him.
Cao Cao sighed deeply, and then ordered his sergeants to collect the battlefield remains and bury them together.
In the Battle of Guandu, Cao Cao almost wiped out Yuan Shao's 100,000-strong army, but he was not as victorious as advertised. He also suffered heavy casualties and was severely damaged.
After the war, he has been busy wiping out the remnants of Yuan's army. The following year, he first entered Chenliu, defeated Yuan Shaocangting's army, and drove all Yuan's army back to Hebei. He then conquered Runan, attacked Liu Bei and the remnants of the Yellow Turbans, and completely drove Liu Bei out of Runan.
Starting from the first month of this year, Cao Cao first stationed his troops in Qiao County, Peiguo County, his hometown, then went north to Chenliu Junyi, and finally west to Yinzhongmou, Henan Province. In the past three months, he traveled all over Yuzhou, Yanzhou, and Sili, clearing out bandits and deterring unruly people, and Suning.
place. At this point, the impact of the Battle of Guandu has been completely eliminated.
Even though he still won, Cao Cao really couldn't imagine what would happen to him if he lost the battle of Guandu.
Cao Cao was extremely afraid of Yuan Shao and was still not ready to march into Jizhou. However, recently there was news from the north. After Yuan Shao was defeated and returned to Hebei, he often felt angry. This year he even fell ill and vomited blood. Maybe this is the reason.
There is no way to know whether you will be sick or not.
The good news for Cao Cao does not stop there. Liu Biao in the south has recently been besieged by Liu Jing and Sun Quan. He was besieged internally and externally. He had to change his past hostile attitude and sent envoys to express his submission to him.
One north and one south, two serious troubles appeared at the same time. Cao Cao's originally rugged road suddenly became brighter. It seemed that it was just around the corner to cut off the group of Jies and reorganize the mountains and rivers.
Just when Cao Cao believed in the horse's rein and was lost in thought, an extremely deep voice suddenly came from behind: "Ming Gong, someone from Zhongmu has come to report, Liu Biao's envoy has arrived..."
The person who spoke was more than eight feet long, with a waist that was ten inches wide, and a majestic appearance. He was Xu Chu, the tiger general who traveled with Cao Cao and never left his side.
Cao Cao came back to his senses and said: "I heard from Wen Ruo that Liu Biao's envoy is Han Song Han Degao of Nanyang. This man has always been known for his integrity and is a very virtuous man. He is famous for his Han Dynasty, Mian, and is the hope of the Chu Kingdom."
Then he laughed and said: "Wen Ruo's letter just arrived, and Han Song came after him. It seems that the situation in Jingzhou is indeed not good. Since we are here, let's go back and see him."
"Promise." Xu Chu responded with clasped fists.
Cao Cao immediately abandoned his horse and took a carriage, returned to Zhongmou, and met Han Song in the county temple. In addition to Xun You, Guo Jia, Jia Xu, Dong Zhao and other close advisers, there were also Sili Colonel Zhong Yao, Henan Yinxia Houdun and others.
.
Han Song'er wore a crown with big sleeves and an elegant temperament. He calmly saluted and said: "Han Song, who is working as a lieutenant in the General's Mansion in Nanzhen, is here to pay his respects to Duke Ming."
Cao Cao did not give Han Song any good looks, and immediately accused Liu Biao: "The Yuan brothers, one has his seal in the north, and the other has the title in Huainan, are both great thieves of the country! As a member of the clan, Liu Jingsheng does not want to serve the country.
, instead accepted Yuan Benchu as the leader of the alliance and had repeatedly made enemies of the country. Now they were attacked by Liu Anyuan and Sun Tuilu. They were attacked from the front and back, besieged internally and externally, and were in danger. They were also afraid that they would lead the six armies southward and destroy their foundation, so they pretended to send enough troops to pay tribute.
"
Cao Cao sneered and said, "Do you think I will agree to Liu Jingsheng's request?"
Han Song looked calm and authentic: "When Liu Zhennan formed an alliance with Yuan Benchu, Ming Gong was also ordered by Yuan Benchu. Although Liu Zhennan refused to betray the alliance, he did not abolish his duties and tribute, and he never lost his faith."
Cao Cao was exposed by Han Song in front of him, and he almost became angry, but Han Song kept a calm face and continued: "In the past, when Duke Huan of Qi held a meeting in Guanze, he was worried about China, so he came without being summoned by several countries, including Caiqiu.
Self-respecting and traitorous to the Nine Kingdoms. People's hearts only focus on Taoism and righteousness. How can we not learn from the merits of the Ming Dynasty in serving the emperor, establishing hegemony, and inheriting Huan?"
Cao Cao's face brightened slightly when he heard this.
Han Song added: "Although Liu Zhennan and Ming Gong had disputes in the past, I sent you here today out of sincerity. If Ming Gong refuses, I am afraid that I will disappoint everyone and chill people from far away."
Cao Cao laughed and said: "Oh? According to my wishes, I have to accept Liu Jingsheng's 'good intentions'?"
Han Song shook his head and said: "I'm just saying what I think in my heart. How to choose is up to you."
Cao Cao was not in a hurry to make a decision. Instead, he asked Han Song about Wang Jun, who was hiding in Jingzhou, "By the way, do you know Wang Junziwen of Runan?"
Cao Cao was short in appearance and was an eunuch, so he was not valued by scholars when he was young. For this reason, he went to Runan to see Xu Shao in order to gain "appraisal", but Xu Shao did not like him.
, repeatedly turned him away. Cao Cao was so angry that he "waited for opportunities to threaten", so Xu Shaocai was afraid and gave a comment: "The son is a capable minister in the world, and a traitor in troubled times."
The difficulty of his situation can be seen from this. Wang Xi and Taiwei Qiao Xuan were among the few people who looked at Cao Cao in a different light.
Times have changed, Cao Cao has now become the overlord who dominates the Central Plains, while Wang Xi is over sixty years old, and Qiao Xuan has been dead for many years. Two months ago, when Cao Cao led his army to pass through Qiao Xuan's hometown of Liang, he sent
The envoy offered sacrifices to Qiao Xuan with the ritual of Tai Lao.
Seeing that Cao Cao was talking about him, Han Song knew that it was useless to be anxious, so he replied: "How can we not recognize that Wang Jun is a famous figure in China and a role model for our generation? Wang Jun has lived in Wuling for a long time, and he had many correspondences with us before.
, but after Liu Zhongda captured Wuling last year, we lost contact."
Cao Cao couldn't help but sigh: "The emperor once sent an envoy to the south to conquer the king as his minister. Unfortunately, the king had no intention of pursuing an official career and was suffering from illness, so he did not respond. I don't know if we will see him again in the future!"
Han Song was silent. He thought of his friend Deng Xi, who was from the same country. He was dissatisfied with Liu Biao's alliance with Yuan to fight against Cao, so he moved his family to Jiangdong in anger. His whereabouts and life and death are still unknown.
Cao Cao then asked a few old friends and asked Han Song to go back to the library to rest temporarily on the grounds that he had been working hard in the distance.