On the first day of April, before the beginning of summer, Tao Qian was recuperating in the backyard of the Mu's Mansion in Shancheng, Donghai State, Xuzhou. His health had not been very good recently and he had never left home. However, he had sent out scouts and wanted to know Cao Cao's movements. .
As a result, two days ago, he learned that Cao's army had massacred Qili and tens of thousands of people died. Tao Qian vomited blood and fainted. He finally regained consciousness and learned that the people were preparing to flee, so he wanted to ask about the situation.
"Are you saying that an eight-year-old boy warned the villagers that this exodus was triggered?"
Tao Qian was surprised.
Cao Hong reported back: "That's right. I have sent someone to call the young boy. You can ask questions yourself."
"Summon him over."
Tao Qian summoned Shen Chen in the middle hall.
Shen Chen has been responsible for clan affairs with the clan elders these past few days.
Escape is not simply to pack up your belongings and run away aimlessly, but to have a plan and direction.
There is no detail about everything, what you need to bring and what you don’t need to bring are clearly listed, making it easy to choose.
We also need to go to Niqiu Mountain to inquire about the situation and find a suitable temporary residence.
After all, it was a mass exodus of thousands of people, and the people were not as commanded and disciplined as the army, and every household had its own problems.
Therefore, it took several days to delay before the first batch of migration teams, organized by Deng Hong, officially set off to the north.
Shen Chen was originally in the second batch of teams, but unexpectedly Tao Qian suddenly sent someone to investigate the situation. Cao Hong ordered him to go to Yancheng to explain to Tao Qian, so he had no choice but to come here.
Entering the middle hall, Shen Chen saw the white-haired and aging Tao Qian sitting on the main seat. He looked elegant, walked through the door generously, bowed his hands and saluted, "Goodbye to Mr. Tao in the morning."
"Are you Shen Chen?"
Tao Qian stared at Shen Chen and looked at him. He was an eight-year-old child, only half a human tall, with an immature face, but his eyes were extremely lively and spiritual.
Shen Chen, neither humble nor arrogant, said: "Reporting to Mr. Tao, this is Shen Chen."
"sit."
"Thank you Tao Gong."
"I heard that you persuaded the villagers to leave the country? Is this true?"
When Shen Chen sat down, Tao Qian suddenly asked.
Shen Chen said sternly: "The Cao thieves are tyrannical. In order to seek Xuzhou, they must massacre Xuzhou first. For the sake of the neighbors and the people, they have to persuade the tribesmen to flee elsewhere."
Tao Qian was surprised and said: "How do you know that Cao Cao will definitely massacre Xuzhou?"
Shen Chen said: "Xuzhou's wealth must be coveted by Yuan Shu. Cao Cao is not strong now and cannot directly compete with Yuan Shu. Therefore, in order to prevent Yuan Shu from gaining Xuzhou, Xuzhou must be left in ruins."
This perspective is novel and unexpected.
Tao Qian was very surprised.
Because Cao Cao's name has always been to avenge his father, so when he learned that the people of Xuzhou were being massacred these days, Tao Qian felt doubly tormented, thinking that it was all because of him that Xuzhou suffered death.
As a result, Shen Chen told him that the real reason for Cao Cao's massacre of Xuzhou was to prevent Xuzhou from being acquired by Yuan Shu, which he did not expect.
After thinking for a moment, Tao Qian asked tentatively: "Is there any way to relieve Xuzhou's crisis?"
Shen Chen shook his head and said: "If there was a way two months ago, but now we can only stand alone and wait for the opportunity."
"Why can't we find a solution in two months?"
Tao Qian was puzzled.
Shen Chen said: "Before, Yuan Shu was eyeing Xuzhou. When Cao Cao attacked, Tao Gong could send an envoy to Yuan Shu, willing to cede the land of Pi, Pengcheng, and Guangling to provoke Cao and Yuan to fight. This is called driving away wolves and devouring tigers! But now Xuzhou is ruined, and Yuan Shu may no longer make great efforts to occupy Xuzhou, so I said it was okay two months ago, but now I can only hold on."
"You kid with a yellow mouth, you're talking nonsense."
Cao Hong on the side couldn't stand listening anymore and refuted: "That Yuan Shu is also a jackal. He often wants to go north to harass Xuzhou. To lure him here is no less than luring a wolf into the house! Ming Gong, I think this kid is just a facade and an arrogant person. .”
"Childish words are indeed too naive."
Tao Qian also said with some disappointment: "Although Yuan Shu was defeated at the hands of Cao Cao before, it was due to his long expedition and lack of food and grass. Now he is recruiting troops aggressively in Huainan, with more than 100,000 troops and horses, and abundant food and grass. If he comes to Xuzhou, how can Cao Cao compete with him? Xuzhou will fall into the hands of Yuan Shu."
"In ancient times, Xiang Luo became the teacher of Confucius at the age of seven, and Gan Luo became the prime minister of Qin at the age of twelve. Those who are ambitious do not depend on their age, but on their experience."
Shen Chen said in a deep voice: "Tao Gong only saw Yuan Shu's strength, but he couldn't see the difficulties Cao Cao faced. Runan, Chen State, Pei State and other places were all occupied by Yuan Shu. Cao Cao was surrounded by enemies on all sides. If Xuzhou was also captured by Yuan Shu If he goes there, he will be besieged, so there is no way he will give Xuzhou over!"
Although Yuan Shu was called the Dry Bones in the Tomb by later generations and thought he was very weak, he was actually very strong.
Not only Yuan Shu, Tao Qian was also very strong before.
Cao Cao was able to seize the land of Henan in the chaos of the Central Plains, not because the king was beating the bronze, but because the gods were fighting and fighting their way out among a group of kings.
At its peak, Yuan Shu occupied the entire Yuzhou in Henan and the most fertile land in the Huainan region of Yangzhou. He had as many as 170,000 troops and was almost the strongest overlord in the south.
It's just that his strategic intentions are really bad. He has almost no strategic direction at all. He can hit whoever he wants, just like a headless fly.
He once attacked Liu Biao and was severely defeated. He attacked Cao Cao and was severely defeated. Later, he and Liu Bei and Lu Bu fought each other in Xuzhou. Then he proclaimed himself emperor and lost his reputation. Finally, he died in a severe drought and famine. The end A ridiculous life.
But that was all a few years later. At least now Yuan Shu only lost the battle when he took the initiative to attack Jingzhou and Yanzhou. The main forces and troops still existed.
His sphere of influence even included part of the land of Chenliu County in Yanzhou, which was very close to Cao Cao's territory.
Of course, because Yuzhou is now very depleted, Yuan Shu only sent people to take over these places, without many troops stationed there.
For example, Chen Guoxiang Yuan Si, Pei Xiang Shu Shao, etc. were all appointed by him. As for governing the place and sending troops to defend, he almost did not do it.
So two years later, Cao Cao's power grew stronger, and he quickly drove away Yuan Shu's forces in Chenliu, Chen State, Runan and other places, and occupied these places himself, in order to prepare for the emperor's control of the princes.
At present, Yuan Shu's main power is still in the Huainan area.
There are two reasons why he is located in Huainan instead of Henan.
First, Henan, like Xuzhou, has a flat terrain and is located in the area of the Four Battles, with almost no danger to defend.
Second, Henan had been destroyed during the Yellow Turban Rebellion. Its population was depleted and its land was barren. It was not as prosperous as Huainan and could support his army.
Therefore, although Yuan Shu's sphere of influence is large, his actual radiation range is basically only Jiangdong and Xuzhou.
Jiangdong was not developed during the Han Dynasty. It was not until Wu Huan Hua Yiguan crossed south that the Jiangdong area gradually developed. Therefore, Yuan Shu was not interested in Jiangdong.
Then the only point he can attack is naturally Xuzhou.
If you look at it from Cao Cao's perspective, you will find that Huainan occupied by Yuan Shu is now very wealthy. Xuzhou is Huaibei, connected to Huainan by a strip of water.
If Huaibei and Huainan are occupied by Yuan Shu at the same time, and two wealthy places allow him to grow, the situation will be very difficult for Cao Cao.
Because at that time, Cao Cao's territory was in Yanzhou's Dongjun, Jiyin County, Shanyang County, Jibei Kingdom, Rencheng Kingdom, and Dongping Kingdom, which later became the area from Jining City to Heze City in Shandong Province.
Runan was in ruins, and Yuan Shu only controlled but did not manage it, so he could not threaten Cao Cao's rear.
If Yuan Shu gets Yin Fu in Xuzhou, he will be even more powerful and his strength will be even higher. Not only is it just a stone's throw away from Cao Cao's base camp, he can attack at any time.
Therefore, considering the issue from Tao Qian's perspective, he felt that letting Yuan Shu in was tantamount to inviting a wolf into the house.
But if you think about it from Cao Cao's point of view, it is also inviting a wolf into the house, and there is no way Yuan Shu can capture Xuzhou.