In early December of the 24th year of Jian'an, Liu Bei drew up a list of meritorious personnel, with Zhuge Liang as the first contributor and Shen Chen as the second contributor.
In fact, in terms of merit, the relationship between Zhuge Liang and Shen Chen can be said to be 50-50, or even 60-40.
Just like the great ancestor who made the first contribution to the rule of the world was Xiao He. Although his credit was wiped out due to Han Xin's rebellion, most people in the world think that he took the second most credit.
Zhuge Liang is similar to Xiao He. He stabilized the nearly collapsed rear and provided food, troops, and support for the two fronts. It can be said that he was the solid backing for Liu Bei to defeat Cao Cao in Guanzhong and Shen Chen to kill all parties in Jingzhou.
The roles of Liu Bei and Shen Chen can be replaced. For example, in the Battle of Guanzhong, it was the same as sending Guan Yu. In the Battle of Xiangfan, if Guan Yu had been there, he would have been well prepared and would have done no worse than Shen Chen.
Only Zhuge Liang's contribution cannot be replaced, because it is no longer as simple as marching and fighting, but going to great lengths to maintain stability in the rear and support the frontline battlefield.
A slight carelessness or a mistake that is not handled well may cause both fronts to collapse at the same time, causing Liu Bei's group to be wiped out by Sun Cao's group, and ultimately the country's destruction.
Therefore, he takes the first place in the credit, and no one disagrees.
It is natural for Shen Chen to take the minor merit and do his part.
Immediately after that came Guan Yu, Huang Zhong, Ma Chao, Zhao Yun, Zhang Fei and others.
The reason why Guan Yu is ranked third is very simple.
In the Battle of Guanzhong, he broke through Cao's camp, killed a large number of Cao Wei's generals, and almost captured Zhong Yao alive.
Logically speaking, Huang Zhong's contribution should be greater than his.
Behead Lu Meng and kill Xiahou Dun.
But Huang Zhong's credit mainly lies in obeying Shen Chen's orders, which means that it is almost a cake-feeding type of credit. Any general can do it by stuffing his achievements into his mouth.
Even Jiangling City was not broken by him. It was natural disasters that caused the city to collapse. It was Shen Chen who forced Lu Meng out and sent him to Huang Zhong.
It was the same with Xiahou Dun, who was also forced out of Xiangyang City by Shen Chen and fed to the old general.
In comparison, Zhao Yun's contribution may be greater than Huang Zhong's.
Because Zhao Yun took the initiative to attack in Xunyang, defeating Sun Quan's 80,000 troops, and later defeated Sun Jiao's tribe in Yiling. They were all hard-fought battles, and they did not follow Shen Chen's orders. Unlike Huang Zhong's, it was purely due to feeding.
It's just that Huang Zhong did kill Lu Meng and shot Xiahou Dun himself. He made great contributions by killing the generals, so he was ranked below Guan Yu and above Zhao Yun.
As for Ma Chao.
His credit is that he recruited a large number of Qiang and Di for Liu Bei, and worked with Zhang Fei to protect food, and played a role in determining the outcome of the battlefield.
Although Gan Ning, Zhang Xiu and others also contributed a lot, their role is actually not that obvious.
For example, Ma Chao's great contribution is because if he hadn't recruited a large number of Qiang Di to help Liu Bei, then when Liu Bei was entangled with Cao Cao in Xiliang in the first half of the year, first, he couldn't deceive Cao Cao and Sun Quan with his plan to hide his troops; second, the strength gap was too big. The loss will be even worse.
After that, they escorted the grain and fodder and stabilized the grain road. Otherwise, if Cao Cao's cavalry ran out of grain, the Battle of Guanzhong would still be defeated.
The actions of Gan Ning, Zhang Xiu and others did not determine the outcome of the entire battlefield. Gan Ning fought against Sun Quan and Zhang Xiu fought against Sun Jiao. After Lu Meng's tribe was wiped out, whether Sun Quan and Sun Jiao could escape or not would not affect the entire battle.
Therefore, the conditions for assessing merit are as follows.
one.
Does it affect the outcome of the war?
two.
Did he make a huge contribution to the entire war?
three.
Whether it affects local battlefields or indirectly affects large battlefields.
Zhuge Liang was one of the organizers of the grand strategy, and he also affected the outcome of two major battlefields, as well as the rise and fall of the entire Liu Bei Group, so he deserves the first credit.
Shen Chen was also the organizer of the grand strategy, affecting the outcome of the Jingzhou battlefield, indirectly affecting the Guanzhong battlefield, and was captured alive, so he was second.
Guan Yu was not a grand strategic planner, but he completely affected the outcome of the Guanzhong battlefield and did not affect the outcome of the Jingzhou battlefield, so he ranked third.
Huang Zhong was fourth.
This is completely different from the history of killing Xia Houyuan in the battle of Dingjun Mountain.
In the Battle of Dingjun Mountain, Huang Zhong led the army to break through Xiahou Yuan's camp, and then killed Xia Houyuan with his own hands. He personally affected the outcome of the entire battlefield, so he ranked first.
Now he only affects the outcome of the battlefield in Jingzhou, but he can be replaced, and he deserves credit. Because he personally killed Lü Meng and Xia Houdun, he ranked fourth.
Ma Chao, Zhao Yun, and Zhang Fei did not completely affect the outcome of the big battlefield, but they all made great contributions to the battlefield, and affected local battlefields and indirectly affected the big battlefield, so they ranked fifth, sixth, and seventh.
The remaining generals Wei Yan, Pang De, Gan Ning, Lu Chang, Wenpin, Zhang Xiu, Huang She and other generals can be regarded as affecting local battlefields. Even if Gan Ning and Huang She defeated Sun Quan, it would not affect the final victory of the war, so they deserve credit Not as good as the people above.
In addition to these generals, counselors such as Pang Tong, Fazheng, Xu Shu, and Jia Xu were also at the forefront. Together with Shen Chen and Zhuge Liang, they were the planners of the entire grand strategy, so naturally they could not be ranked too low.
It's just that those at the top of the list have made great contributions, so they are ranked between ninth and fifteenth.
There was even a scribe who ranked above them.
That scribe was Zhou Buyi, ranked eighth on the list of heroes.
The reason why Zhou Buyi's credit is great is that he successfully held on to Yuliangzhou for twenty days, buying time for Shen Chen to transfer the people of Xiangfan.
It has made a huge contribution to the battlefield, affected local battlefields, and indirectly affected the larger battlefields.
As for why it didn't affect the outcome of the entire battlefield, it's very simple.
Even if the people of Xiangfan were not successfully relocated, a large number of people would suffer when the Han River surged.
But Huang Zhong will still come. After the fall of Jiangling, the entire battlefield situation will be reversed immediately. The suffering of the people will not affect the outcome of this war.
But in Liu Bei's eyes, Zhou Buji's contribution is still very great. If judged according to his ideas, Zhou Buji can at least be ranked in the top five, ranking above Ma Chao.
However, both Shen Chen and Zhuge Liang objected to placing Zhou Buyi in fifth place, so Liu Bei gave up and placed him in eighth place.
All other generals were rewarded.
It's just that the official position is no longer one that can be sealed, so Liu Bei can only make him a marquis and reward him with money.
For example, Zhuge Liang was granted the title of Marquis of Wen'an, and Shen Chen was granted the title of Marquis of Wuxiang.
Posthumous titles were not given during the Han Dynasty, so this does not mean that Zhuge Liang was the Marquis of Wen and Shen Chen was the Marquis of Wu.
In fact, Zhuge Liang in history was not the Marquis of Wu. He was the Marquis of Wuxiang, but he was just called Wuhou for short.
Therefore, these are just ordinary marquises, not posthumous titles like Guan Yu Zhuang Miao Marquis and Zhang Fei Huan Marquis.
Moreover, these two marquises are not county marquises, but township marquises.
Wen'an was Wen'an Township under the jurisdiction of Gaonu County in Bingzhou at that time, and was changed to Wen'an County in the Western Wei Dynasty.
Wuxiang was Wuxiang, Nie County, Bingzhou, and was changed to Wuxiang County during the Taishi period of the Western Jin Dynasty.
Therefore, to a certain extent, Zhuge Liang in history was a rural prince until his death.
In terms of title, he is not even as good as Wei Yan, who was gradually promoted to Marquis of Nanzheng County due to his military exploits.
But the title is only honor, the real status and power still depends on the position.
So for now, the levels of generals in various places have generally remained unchanged. Zhuge Liang is still the national coordinator, Guan Yu is the commander of Yizhou troops and horses, and Shen Chen is the commander of Jingzhou troops and horses.
After finalizing the results of the war, the Liu Bei Group also entered the recuperation stage in full swing.
Yizhou's main purpose is to reduce the burden on the people, temporarily cancel the national corvee, transfer the people to return to the local area, reclaim the land, reduce taxes, and hide wealth among the people.
The burden on Jingzhou will be slightly increased. Except for Nanjun, Jiangxia, Xiling and other counties that suffered floods, the rest of the places will have to mobilize civilians to serve as corvees and collect grain taxes to prepare for the attack on Jiangdong in the next spring.
Although this will increase the burden on the people of Jingzhou, there is nothing we can do about it.
In the ancient feudal period, national wars were indeed harmful to the people. For example, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty destroyed the Xiongnu, and the Han Empire fought several wars with the Qiang and Xianbei people, etc.
Fortunately, the scale of this war was much smaller. According to Shen Chen's calculations, a hundred thousand troops would be enough to destroy Jiangdong.
Even 100,000 troops are too many, 80,000 will be sufficient. Currently, there are no men in the entire Jiangdong who can resist.
The fewer troops dispatched, the less logistical pressure will naturally be.
What's more, the attack on Jiangdong from Jingzhou is within easy reach and it is convenient to transport food. Therefore, it is estimated that the people of Jingnan and Nanyang will be more than enough to bear the burden of this war.
And just when the three families were intensively recuperating.
In early December, it snowed heavily in Jizhou.
The Taihang Mountains in the distance seemed to be covered in heavy snow, turning into a towering giant silver dragon with scales and claws.
At the Wei Prince's residence in Yecheng, Cao Cao's condition became more and more serious day by day.
Most of the time, he seldom dealt with matters. He just sat there like this every day, seeming to be thinking about something, but also seemingly not thinking about anything.
In the backyard of King Wei's residence, as his body became weaker and weaker day by day, from October to December, Cao Cao's health deteriorated. When he first came back from Guanzhong, he could still handle some official duties, but by mid-November, he could not do anything. Energetic.
I drink medicine every day, but it seems to have no effect.
By late November, it was even difficult to walk. Most of the time, he could only sit down. When he wanted to walk, he could only walk in the yard with Queen Bian's support.
The snow stopped today, and the sun shone through the thin clouds and mist on the earth, making the white snow shine with a dazzling light.
Although there is sun, there is no temperature.
The world is so pale that it feels like one is completely alone.
Cao Cao was sitting cross-legged on the porch of the backyard mansion. His eyes were slightly dull, and no one knew what he was thinking.
Mrs. Bian was by his side, and in the distance Cao Pi, Cao Zhi and other children were watching carefully.
After a while, Cao Cao turned around blankly and looked at Mrs. Bian.
Mrs. Bian asked softly: "Husband, are you feeling better?"
"I am going to die."
Cao Cao spoke with difficulty.
Mrs. Bian said hurriedly: "Husband, please don't say that. National affairs must be handled by me."
"Oh."
Cao Cao smiled and said: "Is there anyone who has died? I have had some dreams these days. Madam, do you know what they are?"
"I don't know."
Mrs. Bian shook her head.
Cao Cao sighed: "I dreamed about the hundreds of thousands of people who died in Xuzhou, and said that I would avenge myself when I die and become a spirit."
"ah."
Mrs. Bian was frightened and said hurriedly: "If you don't want to offer sacrifices to God, please protect me."
"It doesn't matter."
Cao Cao said in a deep voice: "I have never failed in my intentions. These people were killed by me in life, what do I have to fear after they die?"
The meaning of this sentence is that I have nothing to regret about what I have done in my life, so what about the massacre of the city?
The winner is the king and the loser is the law since ancient times.
He killed the people of Xuzhou as he pleased. If he killed those people in life, would he still be afraid of them after death?
This undoubtedly shows that Cao Cao has never regretted anything he has done.
After saying that, Cao Cao sneered and said: "In the dream, Liu Bei still laughed at me, but he didn't know that when Wu Jiren sent troops to help, he had been captured by Yuan Shu and Lu Bu long ago. How dare such an ambitious man to mock me?"
Mrs. Bian obediently agreed: "My husband is naturally a hero who stands tall and strong on the earth. How can Liu Bei compare with me? My husband should take good rest and recuperate, and he will send out troops to capture him someday."
"It's natural."
Cao Cao smiled and said: "There are also those like Tao Gongzu, Yuan Gongguo, Lu Fengxian, Yuan Benchu and others, who all told me in my dream that they were waiting for me. They said that after death, their souls would kill me."
"Those are all defeated by my husband, how can they dare to dominate in front of my husband?"
Mrs. Bian continued to comfort.
"I have never been afraid of them. These people are just young people. Except for Liu Bei, the heroes of the world have never been taken seriously by others."
Cao Cao looked towards the south with his deep eyes, then frowned and said: "It's just that in my dream I heard the roar of the tiger and the roar of the fox, and the three horses in the same trough, which is puzzling. I know this roar of the tiger and the roar of the fox is that Shen Chen, But what is the meaning of these three horses sharing the same trough? I have already killed the Ma family, could it be Ma Chao?"
Thinking of this, he was very suspicious.
Ma Chao's brothers Ma Xiu and Ma Tie and his father's family were all killed by him. Only his cousin Ma Dai still followed him. Although Ma Chao also had two sons, Ma Qiu and Ma Cheng, what could this accomplish?
Could it be that this dream foretells that in the future Shen Chen, Ma Chao's cousin Ma Dai, and his two sons Ma Qiu and Ma Cheng will attack his Cao Wei and ultimately destroy his empire?
"Cough cough cough cough."
After thinking too much, I felt low on energy, coughed, and my lips were stained with bright red blood.
Mrs. Bian quickly wiped the corner of his mouth. Cao Pi, Cao Zhi and others in the distance were also nervous and hurriedly came over, but Xu Chu blocked him and stood like quails on the corridor seven or eight meters away.
Cao Cao waved to them, and Xu Chu let them go.
Cao Cao had many heirs, but only a few of them, including Cao Ang, Cao Chong, Cao Pi, Cao Zhi, and Cao Zhang, were valued by him.
Now that Cao Ang and Cao Chong died early, and the successor was appointed to Cao Pi, he probably has no regrets.
The only problem is that we are worried about the situation in the south now.
However, Cao Cao knew that he was about to die, so he didn't think too much about it.
Things after death should be left to the next generation of heirs.
Regardless of whether Cao Pi usurped the throne or continued to be the king of Wei, or whether he eventually destroyed the South or was destroyed by the South, it had nothing to do with him.
What he can do is to clear the way for Cao Pi before his death. In the future, this world will eventually be his, Cao Wei's.
After all the heirs came over, Cao Cao scanned them, and finally his eyes rested on Cao Pi and Cao Zhi, and said: "My father may die soon. Zi Huan is the eldest son and should succeed me. Zi Jiansu
If you are talented, you brothers should work together to consolidate the country."
"Yes, father."
Cao Pi and others bowed their heads in agreement. When Cao Cao was around, they would always be brothers and respectful brothers, acting as good brothers and good brothers. Even the internal fights were mainly based on conspiracy, and their attacks were often measured.
Because they knew that if Cao Cao became aware of the desperate infighting between the brothers, it would not only be as simple as reprimanding them, but would definitely deprive them of their identities.
So no matter what, they will always maintain their superficial identities, even if Cao Pi and Cao Zhi wish each other dead.
Cao Cao gave a few more instructions and felt a little tired, so he asked them to retreat.
After that, he looked at the snow in the garden and sat there for a whole day.
It's night.
He had many, many dreams.
In the darkness of nothingness, he dreamed of hundreds of thousands of ferocious faces in Xuzhou.
Those people were like stars in the sky, with countless invisible faces crowded around him, all of them baring their teeth and claws, moving towards him like a tide.
The one at the front was an old man with white hair. His face was covered with blood. He stared at him with eyes full of hatred and asked him: "Cao Cao, why did you kill hundreds of thousands of people in Xuzhou?
"
Cao Cao was not afraid and said with a sneer: "I am avenging my father, why can't I kill you? Tao Gongzu, who are you to question me? You can't do anything to me while you are alive. After you die, we will have millions of soldiers in Wei, and I will have millions of soldiers."
What's there to be afraid of?"
"Ouch!"
There seemed to be thousands of troops behind him, rushing with murderous intent.
The blood on the face of the white-haired old man soon turned into fear, and the countless innocent souls that were as densely packed as the stars dissipated.
After a while, there was another middle-aged man wearing a black and red robe with a pattern of twelve chapters and a tiara with twelve white jade strings on his head. He held a four-inch-square piece with a five-dragon jade seal in his right hand, his eyes fierce.
Look at him.
"Meng De, please return my life!"
Cao Cao looked at the man. The clothes he wore were painted with six patterns of the sun, moon, stars, mountains, dragons, Chinese insects, and six patterns of embroidered algae, fire, pink rice, Zongyi, 黼, and 黻.
The clothes and crown are both in the style of the emperor, and his clothes are in the style of the princes and kings of Jiuzhang and Jiuzhao. The one opposite is an emperor!
However, Cao Cao looked at him indifferently and said: "Yuan Gongdao, you usurper and false emperor, how dare you call yourself me in front of me? Back then, you were just a defeated general under me. Even if you are dead and alive, you are not my opponent."
"I hate it so much!"
Countless blood burst out of Yuan Shu's face, then melted away.
Cao Cao looked at all this indifferently. He never regretted what he had done.
These people who were defeated by him were a bunch of trash when they were alive. Could they still do anything to defeat him after death?
"Cao Cao, you have lived in Han Dynasty for a long time, but you bullied the emperor and killed my daughter. How can you meet the late emperor in the future?"
Chariot general Dong Cheng, partial general Wang Fu, Yue cavalry captain Zhong Ji and others appeared one after another.
Cao Cao said coldly: "If the emperor had no people, his country would have been taken away by others. This world was brought by me. If I can continue the country for decades, Liu Xie should be grateful to me. This country
The world should belong to the heirs of a widower!"
"Traitor!"
"Rebellious minister!"
"Treacherous traitor!"
Several people denounced angrily.
Cao Cao sneered and watched them leave.
Afterwards, Yuan Shao, Lu Bu, Zhang Miao, Zhang Chao, Ma Teng, Kong Rong and other princes from all over the world who had separatized their respective regions in their early years and eventually died in his hands appeared in front of him one by one.
Cao Cao looked down on no one and only teased and teased him, causing his defeated generals to wail in pain and dissipate into the void.
Seeing this scene, Cao Cao felt extremely happy.
Even if this was a dream, he still felt very happy, because these people were not only his opponents, but also the glory of his life.
Seeing them feels like looking back on my proud life.
But his pride was soon shattered.
Liu Bei, who was also wearing the costume of the princes and kings of the Nine Chapters and Nine Ladies, appeared in front of him. Although his face was old, he was energetic. He looked at him happily and said: "Mengde, the feeling of failure is not good."
"Liu Bei!"
The smile on Cao Cao's face suddenly turned gloomy, and he stared at him: "You are a prostitute, you have been defeated in front of me all your life, and you win once in a while, how dare you laugh at me?"
"But just this once, I can kill you!"
Liu Bei's face became increasingly ferocious, his voice became more and more hollow, and his smile became more and more unscrupulous. He laughed loudly and said: "Mengde, you are about to die in the netherworld, but you can't just watch your country of Wei be destroyed by me.
Perished."
"Liu Bei, Liu Bei!"
Cao Cao watched Liu Bei's voice gradually disappearing and kept roaring and shouting: "What you can't do, what you are determined to do, I still have Ziheng, Zijian, and countless great Wei Zhongliang, you still can't do it."
Watch out for yourself!"
"Thief Cao!"
At this moment, a sturdy young man, eight feet four inches tall, with a long knife on his waist, appeared in front of him. He held the knife and scolded him angrily: "Do you still remember me?"
Cao Cao looked at that face. It was a face that he could recall countless times. He almost squeezed out two words from between his teeth: "Chen Chen!"
"When you killed me in Huangmenting and gathered hundreds of villagers in Zhuoyang, I avenged my relatives and killed so many of your generals and subordinates. When you saw me, did you ever regret why you massacred Xuzhou in the first place?"
Shen Chen questioned him.
"Hahahahahahahaha."
Cao Cao looked up to the sky and laughed loudly: "I would rather betray others than others betray me. If you kill me, just kill me. I will never regret it!"
"good."
Shen Chen's expression did not change, and he nodded indifferently: "Then I will continue to kill Cao Ren, Cao Hong, and Xiahou Dun. This is just the beginning. In the future, Cao Pi, Cao Zhi, and Cao Zhang, I will not let anyone go!"
"We'll see!"
His figure gradually disappeared, but his voice still echoed in Cao Cao's mind.
But Cao Cao was not afraid at all and watched coldly.
Compared with the previous princes, the appearance of Liu Bei and Shen Chen really ruined his mood.
But that’s all.
After all, even if Liu Bei wins this time, so what?
The vast country in the north still belongs to him.
Liu Bei's victory was just a miserable victory. The people in Yizhou and Jingzhou were in dire straits and everyone had to recuperate. You also have no ability to go north.
Even if you, Liu Bei, gain control of Jiangdong in the future and dominate the entire south, my son Cao Pi has already managed the country. If the north and the south are in a stalemate, or even a fight to the death, what is there to fear?
Therefore, Cao Cao will not regret and has never regretted anything.
He considered his life to be a glorious one. He not only lasted for decades in the Han Dynasty, but also gained power, dominated the world, and attracted the attention of the world.
At least my life was not in vain. I had killed countless people, so what could I regret?
"Father."
At this moment, a haunting voice suddenly appeared in Cao Cao's ears.
Cao Cao was stunned for a moment, then slowly turned his head and looked at the source of the sound.
It was a young man in his twenties. He looked at him intently and said softly: "Father, you are much older."
"Ang'er!"
At this moment, Cao Cao could no longer hold back, tears burst out of his eyes, and he rushed towards the man.
But this pounce was in vain.
The young man said to himself: "The father is old, but the child is still young. This is because the child died long ago in Wancheng. It was the father who killed the child."
Cao Cao couldn't suppress his sadness. He looked up to the sky and cried loudly: "It's because of my bad father. It's because of my father that I killed my son!"
"Has father ever regretted it?"
Cao Ang asked.
"Repent for my father. Countless nights, I regret for my father endlessly."
"Father, where is my mother?"
Cao Ang asked again.
Cao Cao was stunned for a moment, then suddenly collapsed on the ground, speechless.
In the end, he could only lie down on the ground, crying sadly, his tears seemed to have gathered into a river, his voice became smaller and smaller, and he stopped crying.
Cao Ang finally disappeared.
In the false dream, there seemed to be a silver moon, quietly shining the radiance of silver in the sky on him.
That moment.
Cao Mengde, who had no regrets in his life, could only sob softly.