In the distance, Shen Chen was on a hillside. It wasn't actually a hillside, it was just a dirt bag, less than two meters above the ground. Riding on horseback, the field of view would be slightly wider. Then he ordered the soldiers to form an array and slowly Press forward slowly.
Then he saw a middle-aged man with flowing robes riding a horse from Ren Jun's army in the distance. After a while, he arrived on the other side of the ditch, less than a hundred meters away from his army.
This distance is already within the maximum range of the arrow, and it can be said that the person is already in an extremely dangerous category.
"Go and have a look."
Shen Chen asked Shen Tao to check the situation.
Shen Tao immediately rode over and shouted, "Who are you?"
Xun Yu cupped his hands and said, "I'm Xun Yu. Tian is the minister, and I would like to see General Shen."
Shangshu Ling?
Shen Tao knew him, looked him up and down, smiled, turned around and went back to report.
After a while, Shen Chen was surprised to learn that Xun Yu had come to the battle in person, but he thought that no scholar would have to be afraid of him, so he rode over and the two sides were separated by a ditch, about seven or eight meters away.
"Xun Lingjun?"
Shen Chen looked at Xun Yu. He was wearing a long black robe and a side crown. He had an elegant face and was looking at him with a smile.
"General Shen."
Xun Yu bowed his hands on horseback and said with a bitter smile on his face: "Young hero, general, you are admirable."
Shen Chen said: "I know that your Majesty is here to persuade me, or to delay, but please go back. Cao Cao's elite troops are in the north to defend Yuan Shao, and I will not let go of this opportunity to please the emperor."
Xun Yu thought for a while and said: "But the general knows that if Cao Gong is defeated and Yuan Shao goes south, with his troops and horses, I am afraid that Liu Jingsheng and his like will not be able to resist it. By then, even if you go to the south to welcome the emperor, you will not be able to resist it." You can defend Jingzhou. Do you really want to watch the Han Dynasty collapse and the world return to Yuan Dynasty?"
As expected of a famous strategist in the Three Kingdoms, he didn't talk to Shen Chen about his outlook on life and values at first, but only about interests.
Cao Cao's life was hanging by a thread in Guandu, but Yuan Shao's powerful strength almost suppressed him in all aspects, leaving him completely out of breath.
Shen Chen also wanted to sneak attack Xudu in the rear, leaving Cao Cao exhausted. Once Cao Cao was defeated, Yuan Shao's hundreds of thousands of troops would go south, and the entire Guandong would be his.
Maybe not until the 13th year of Jian'an, just next year or the year after, Yuan Shao will have a more powerful force than Cao Cao before the Battle of Chibi.
By then, even if Shen Chen takes Liu Xie to Jingzhou, facing the terrifying strength of Yuan Shao's millions of armored men, he will probably be defeated, and the world will really belong to the Yuan family.
This is actually where Shen Chen has been hesitant.
Although he knew that Yuan Shao would die in two years, the problem was that the Battle of Guandu had dealt too heavy a blow to Yuan Shao.
Once he won the Battle of Guandu and captured the entire Kanto region, without that blow, if he had survived for a few more years, it would have been a disaster for the current situation.
Therefore, it is undeniable that Xun Yu is right. From a strategic point of view, the north must not be unified. Neither Cao Cao nor Yuan Shao can win. It is best for everyone to lose.
But another problem is that as a monarch, Cao Cao's ability is obviously much stronger than Yuan Shao.
On the other hand, if Yuan Shao is the one who calls the shots in the north, his personal ability is not as strong as imagined. The greater his strength, the weaker he is. And even if he lives for two more years, the abilities of his sons are far inferior to Cao Pi and others. Things may not have turned around yet.
Therefore, Shen Chen pondered for a moment and said: "Your Majesty is indeed right. I have also thought about this worry. However, compared to Yuan Shao, Cao Cao has great talents and strategies and is a greater threat. I would rather see Yuan Shao in the north."
Xun Yu smiled bitterly and said: "It's difficult to talk to a smart person like you. I have been to Yuan Shao's place, and his talent is indeed not as good as Cao Gong, so you may be right. But please think about the emperor. At least Cao Gong still welcomes the emperor, and once Yuan Shao captures the north, he will probably proclaim himself emperor."
"Do you think Cao Cao doesn't know how to do it?"
Shen Chen sneered and said: "Cao Cao just doesn't dare to proclaim himself emperor now. If he defeats Yuan Shao and takes the north, he can be proclaimed Duke and King. Even if he cannot proclaim himself Emperor, he can still kill all the Han officials and pave the way for his son to ascend the throne in the future. Cao Cao I don’t believe you don’t know about your ambition.”
"I do not know."
Xun Yu shook his head and said: "I only know that when the emperor was in trouble, it was Cao Gong who welcomed your majesty. Without Cao Gong, the Han Dynasty would have been in ruins. Therefore, I will assist Cao Gong and wait until the world is clear and bright. Return power to the country."
"good idea."
Shen Chen nodded and sighed: "At least you are someone who is willing to work hard for the country. It's a pity that your path is wrong after all."
Xun Yu then asked him: "In General Shen's eyes, what is the right path?"
"Of course we must eradicate Cao Cao, Yuan Shao and his like."
Shen Chen said without hesitation: "These princes are the ones causing trouble in the world. Only by killing all these princes and returning a clear sky to the world can the Han Dynasty stand tall in the world again."
"In this case, how is the general different from Cao Gong Yuan Shao?"
Xun Yu raised doubts: "The general said he was flattering the emperor, and he was talking about helping the country, but he was doing the same thing as Cao Gong, Yuan Shao and others. Who can guarantee whether the world will return to "shen" in the future?"
Shen Chen grinned, pointed at himself and said, "I'm different."
"What is the difference?"
Xun Yu asked.
Shen Chen said: "I don't eat people, and I don't massacre cities. I know the difference between people and animals, and I also know the sufferings of the people, so I will firmly follow my ideas, implement my concept of "unity of knowledge and action", and work hard to Build a country without hunger, poverty and war!"
Xun Yu smiled and praised: "The general has high ambitions and is admirable. But will such a country really exist?"
"You feel it doesn't exist because the world in front of you is too small."
Shen Chen said: "The sages have taught us all the ways to govern the country, but people in the world still don't understand these principles. It's like your king only thinks that Cao Cao is the one who can help the great people, but he doesn't know that there are good and talented people in the world. There are countless people, why can’t we find such a person, but a cruel person?”
Xun Yu shook his head and said: "I don't think the general is right. Cao Gong may have done some wrong things, but now he has changed. He has many unavoidable reasons, and many things can only be done this way. Otherwise, He can only fail."
"Indeed, I have nothing to say about that."
Shen Chen said: "But you must also admit that in fact he should not have killed the people in Xuzhou. Could it be that hundreds of thousands of people in Xuzhou would hinder his survival?"
This is Cao Cao's biggest problem.
He slaughtered Xuzhou for two reasons, one was to avenge his father, and the other was to frighten Tao Qian.
Perhaps there were other hidden strategies, such as looting grain and grass, and turning Xiapi into a no-man's land to prevent Yuan Shu from going north to seize Xuzhou.
But no matter what the reason is, it is not necessary to massacre Xuzhou. For example, to rob grain and grass, he killed 200,000 people in Xuzhou at that time. When he returned, he only had a stalemate with Lu Bu for a hundred days and ran out of food. This shows that the 200,000 people he killed had no intention at all. How much food did he bring?
Moreover, at that time, he did not know that Zhang Miao, the leader of Chen Palace, would rebel. If Lu Bu did not come, Yanzhou would provide food and grass. Cao Cao himself was not short of food, so this was not the reason for him to massacre Xuzhou.
In the final analysis, it was due to Cao Cao's personal cruelty and not taking the lives of the people seriously. So to a certain extent, Cao Cao didn't care about the bottom at all, he only cared about the power in his hands.
Xun Yu was silent for a moment and said: "That is also a last resort."
"It seems that your Lord is not a virtuous person either."
Shen Chen was a little disappointed.
Xun Yu always paid attention to the purity of his name, so he immediately said: "Why do you say this?"
Shen Chen suddenly asked: "Your Majesty, is life hard?"
Xun Yu was stunned for a moment, very surprised that Shen Chen suddenly asked like this, but since he was willing to delay time, why not do it himself, so he nodded and said: "Bitter."
"Is it hard for you too?"
Shen Chen said: "I heard that the Xun family is a famous family in Yingchuan. The family's land property is more than tens of thousands, and there are many servants, chariots and horses. You have been well-dressed and well-fed since you were born. You don't have to worry about food and drink. Why do you still feel miserable? ?”
Xun Yu smiled bitterly and said: "In troubled times, people are careless. Regardless of the officials, nobles, or common people, if you are not careful, you will become a ghost under the sword. How can you not suffer?"
"yes."
Shen Chen sighed: "Life is really hard. The people of Li are struggling to survive. They are often robbed by the princes and may die miserably. God is not considerate of the people. The wealthy families treat the people as nothing, and there are people like Xun Lingjun. There are many people who help the tyranny, but there is no one like Taigong Wang who stands up, and all the people suffer so much."
Xun Yu frowned and said, "How can I help the evildoer?"
Shen Chen said: "There may be differences in people's status, but as "people", people should be equal. I am a "person" just like you, and I can speak and eat the same. You know how to walk, and you understand etiquette, justice, and integrity. Your Majesty, do you think what I said is right?"
"wrong."
Xun Yu said: "There is a distinction between high and low, but there is an order of superiority and inferiority."
Before he finished speaking, Shen Chen interrupted: "Your Majesty, I think you are mistaken. What I said is that status has high and low status, but people, you and I are all human beings. Regardless of status, we Are they all human beings? Or, who do you think are not human beings? Please point them out."
"this"
Xun Yu was a little surprised when he encountered such a logical problem, but after a while he nodded and said: "Yes, we are all "human beings"."
Shen Chen said: "Your ancestor Xunzi said, "The reason why human beings are human is not that they have two legs without hair, but that they are distinguishable. Nowadays, the antelope looks like a smile, and it also has two legs with hair. However, the gentleman Sip the soup and eat the meat.”
"But I think that the reason why people are human is because they know how to think, know etiquette, justice and shame, and know how to improve their moral character through self-cultivation. This is what distinguishes them from beasts."
"Essentially speaking, whether they are the emperor or a certain untouchable, they are all human beings. But the difference is that the emperor was born well and was born in a royal family, so he is the emperor. The untouchable was born in an untouchable family and only had two meals a day. And living with difficulty, even if you are alive, you have exhausted all your strength."
"Your Majesty was born into a wealthy family. He had no worries about food and clothing, and did not know the sufferings of the people. Cao Cao massacred hundreds of thousands of people in Xuzhou, and in your eyes, they were just numbers. But he did not know that they were all living people before, and they had also
There was laughter.”
"When a person kills his compatriots like this for his own selfish desires, he has no sense of etiquette, justice or shame, and is no different from a thinking beast. In my eyes, Cao Cao is a beast full of animal desires."
"I came outside Xudu City today just to ask those people, do they regard those people as human beings? But when I got here and saw your Majesty, I was very disappointed."
"Because I only saw that your king was not ashamed, but instead opened his eyes to Cao Cao. This is because in your eyes, the people Cao Cao killed are not human beings. So your king tried his best to protect Cao Cao, and now he is still shameless
Tell me, Mr. Cao did it as a last resort."
"I would like to ask your Lord, if among the people who were massacred in Xuzhou were your relatives, your brothers, and your friends, would your Lord be able to say so lightly as you are now, Mr. Cao also said
Is it a last resort?"
"In the final analysis, it's just because you were born into a wealthy family and have a high status. You don't have to worry about food, clothing, or being slaughtered. You are respected wherever you go and you are treated like a virtuous person."
"But those "people" like Ling Jun were just living in this world as ordinary people, wielding hoes and struggling to survive for a day. But they were wantonly killed by people like Cao Cao, and there were others like Ling Jun.
How pitiful are they when you help someone with an ugly heart like you? How hypocritical of you!"
At the end of the sentence, Shen Chen was already angry and shouted: "People say, "Although the city is broken, it is only dead. Jade can be broken but its whiteness cannot be destroyed, bamboo can be burned but its knots cannot be destroyed, and even if the body dies, its name can be hung on it.
There is nothing to be afraid of, even if it is bamboo and silk." Do you, a person like you who help the tyrants to do evil, deserve to have a clear name?"
"well."
Xun Yu let out a long sigh and bowed his hands to Shen Chen: "General, please leave."
Cao Cao massacred the city, which is an irrefutable fact.
No Confucian scholar with conscience can refute Shen Chen's words.
Including Xun Yu himself, he had no choice but to serve Cao Cao because the emperor of the Han Dynasty was in Xudu.
If it were not for the sake of the Han Dynasty, he would not be able to stand up and oppose Cao Cao when he was called Duke of Wei in the future.
Considering his status of serving Cao Cao for more than 20 years, if he could follow the example of those aristocratic families and persuade Cao Pi to intervene when he usurped the Han Dynasty, the Xun family's status in Cao Wei would definitely not be lower than that of the Xiahou family.
Therefore, Xun Yu was a man of conscience. Faced with Shen Chen's accusation that he worked for a cruel beast, he could not defend himself shamelessly.
So he could only choose to be scolded and then resign.
Watching Xun Yu leave, Shen Chen said nothing more. He knew that Xun Yu might be a moral gentleman, but this kind of moral gentleman was not loyal to the people of Li, but to the Han Dynasty.
As a descendant, Shen Chen never cared about the Son of Heaven and the Emperor. He also came from a lower-class commoner. He had seen too much of the suffering of the ancient people and only wanted to make decisions for the people.
If it weren't for the righteousness of having to raise the banner of the Han Dynasty and being unable to overthrow the feudal system like the Revolution of 1911, Shen Chen would have rebelled long ago.
But Xun Yu only thought about his Han Dynasty, and now the person most likely to help the Han Dynasty is Cao Cao.
Therefore, he will only side with Cao Cao.
Shen Chen has all the people in his heart and hopes to build a world where everyone is equal, where everyone has clothes to wear and food to eat. Maybe this road will be extremely long, but at least we must work hard on this road.
Therefore, he and Xun Yu were destined to be different people.
"kill!"
Shen Chen raised the ring-headed sword in his hand and shouted: "Welcome the emperor and serve as ministers. Go straight to Xudu and help the country. Fight Cao Cao's thieves and save the people! You will freeze to death without demolishing the house, and starve to death without looting!"
"kill!"
The army behind them erupted into a shocking roar!