Cao Jun almost slaughtered all the people in Xiapi, and the corpses piled up like mountains, so that the Sishui River was blocked from flowing.
After killing Xiapi, Cao Cao led his army northward to eliminate Tao Qian.
Previously, Liu Bei and Kong Rong sent troops to repel Cao Cao's small peripheral troops. Now the main force of Cao Cao's army has come, like a wolf and a tiger, and Tao Qian must be the one to take the lead.
So he asked Liu Bei, Kong Rong and others not to leave the city, but to hold on to the city and wait for work, while Cao Jun took the initiative to attack.
Cao Cao made several tentative attacks, but failed to break through Shan County, so he stationed troops in Xiangben and wanted to slaughter the surrounding areas of Xiangben. However, he did not expect that the people in Xiangben County fled and there was no one left.
kill.
In the county government office, Cao Cao's temporary residence was in the evening. He had just taken stock of the food stored in the army. Last time he retreated due to lack of food, so this time he was fully prepared.
At this moment, Cao Ren came in a hurry and reported to Cao Cao: "Brother."
Cao Cao was surprised and asked: "Why is Zixiao back?"
He asked Cao Ren to massacre the surrounding counties and countryside, such as Lanling, Wuyuan, Fuyang and other places. Even if it is the fastest, it should take four or five days.
Cao Ren, a clinker, replied: "Most of the people in the surrounding countryside have fled, and there are few people living in each township. Later, we caught some villagers who had no time to escape. They said that our army was massacring Xiapi and they would kill them soon."
When they got here, they all fled."
Cao Cao was surprised and asked: "How did the news spread so fast? Could it be that Tao Qian sent scouts to investigate the news and ordered the county to be evacuated?"
Previously, he personally led his troops south to massacre Xiapi. He killed hundreds of thousands of people in five or six counties. Even if there were a few fish that slipped through the net, they would at most flee south to Huainan, and it was impossible to go north back to Xuzhou. Those
It is impossible for a man to deliver messages faster than his army.
So when Cao Cao thought about it, there was only one possibility, that is, Tao Qian sent scouts to investigate, and after discovering the situation, he immediately went back to report, and then Tao Qian ordered the people in the surrounding counties to run away to avoid the butcher's knife.
However, Cao Ren shook his head and said: "No, it is said that there is a child prodigy in Huangmen Pavilion at the foot of Mount Zeng, about twenty miles northeast of Xiangben County. He said that in order to prevent Yuan Shu from occupying Xuzhou, our army will definitely leave Xuzhou in ruins and there will be mass killings.
The people therefore made a big announcement in the countryside and urged the villagers to flee, and the surrounding people all ran away."
"oh?"
Cao Cao was extremely surprised and said: "There are still people like this in the world? Can they guess my intentions? What is this person's name and where is he now?"
Cao Ren replied: "This man's name is Shen Chen. He is not yet nine years old. He has been smart since he was a child. He can speak at the age of one, knows a thousand words at the age of three, and has read all the clan books at the age of six. It is said that he often squats in the road and asks his neighbors.
He is a well-known child prodigy in Xiangben County."
Cao Cao's eyes flashed, and he nodded slightly and said: "If I can get such a talented person, great things will happen. Zixiao, you sent someone to lurk in the countryside of Huangmenting. If Shen Chen escapes and returns to his hometown, immediately order him
He comes to me."
"only!"
Cao Ren responded and left.
The sky is getting dark and the sun will soon set in the west.
Cao Cao ate some dry food at the county government office and continued to deal with official documents in the case.
Just as night was approaching, Cao Hong suddenly burst into sweat and hurried into the government office. As soon as he entered the hall, he shouted: "Brother, it's bad, something happened in Yanzhou."
Cao Cao raised his head and put down his brush. Seeing that he was panicked, he frowned and said, "How unbecoming is it to panic? Tell me what's going on!"
Cao Hong swallowed his saliva and said anxiously: "Zhang Miao and Chen Gong rebelled to welcome Lu Bu into Yanzhou. Now all parts of Yanzhou have fallen. Only Juancheng, Fanxian, and Dong'a were surrendered by Xunyu, Cheng Yu, and Xiahou Yuan.
Hold on, and please ask my eldest brother to send troops back immediately for rescue."
"What?"
When Cao Cao heard the news, he felt as if he had been hit hard. His head suddenly became dizzy and painful, and he was shaking. He sat on the banquet and barely held on to the table to avoid fainting from the sudden news.
He supported the table and panted heavily, the hair on his body stood up, countless thoughts flashed through his mind, and cold sweat continued to break out from his forehead.
For Cao Cao, this news should be the darkest moment in his life.
Because not only was his foundation lost, but also because Zhang Miao and Chen Gong, the two people he trusted most during this period, betrayed him, and his suspicious character has been with him throughout his life.
After Cao Cao and the eighteen princes defeated Dong Zhuo, he returned to Dongjun as the prefect. It was during this period that Chen Gong joined the Cao Cao Group, earlier than Xun Yu, Xi Zhicai, Cheng Yu and others. He was the first member of the Cao Cao Group.
counselor.
The reason why Cao Cao trusted Chen Gong so much and regarded him as a confidant was that Chen Gong designed to help Cao Cao seize Yanzhou.
It can be said that without Chen Gong, it would be impossible for Cao Cao to have the foundation of Yanzhou.
The relationship between Zhang Miao and Cao Cao is even closer. They have known each other for many years. In the fourth year of Chuping, when Cao Cao went to conquer Tao Qian for the first time, he once told his family that if he failed to attack Tao Qian, he would die.
During the war, you can go to Meng Zhuo.
This shows that Cao Cao regarded Zhang Miao as his best friend who could support his wife and children.
As a result, at this juncture, the two people he trusted most betrayed him at the same time, almost putting him to death. How could Cao Cao not be in pain? How could he be made miserable?
"Brother!" Cao Hong saw the extremely painful expression on Cao Cao's face and quickly stepped forward to help him.
Unexpectedly, Cao Cao almost jumped up from the table, wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes, and almost roared at Cao Hong: "Quickly, send someone to pass the order to ask Xiahou Yuan, Yu Jin and the others to come back."
His 30,000 soldiers and horses were not all in Xiangbi, but were stationed in Xiangbi, Wuyuan, and Liangcheng areas in an encircling manner, wrapping up Shan County like a big net. At this time, there were many soldiers and horses
Still on the periphery.
After learning the news, Cao Cao immediately sent an order to mobilize all the troops and horses. However, it would take time to assemble the troops and horses, so he quickly arranged the manpower to prepare for the retreat.
The reason why heroes are heroes is that even if they encounter setbacks and difficulties, they will not give in like heroes.
It's just that the methods of heroes and heroes are different.
The hero is cunning and cunning, and he will do whatever it takes. The hero is upright and will not break the bottom line of morality.
On the second day, Cao Cao sent Cao Hongxian to escort the grain and grass back to Yinping. At the same time, he stepped up his efforts to urge Xiahou Yuan, Yu Jin and others to come back immediately, organize their troops and horses, and rush back to Yanzhou as soon as possible.
On the fourth day, Xia Houyuan had received the order to leave. After Cao Cao and Yu Jin reunited, they also immediately set off to evacuate.
Before leaving, in order to prevent Tao Qian from causing trouble, he left five thousand troops behind, led by Cao Ren.
By the eighth day of May, Cao Cao's complexion had recovered a little. In order to stabilize the morale of the army, he did not dare to show his worry and pain, and ordered the army to officially set off back to Yanzhou for rescue.
Before he left, he called Cao Ren and seriously warned: "Our army has just withdrawn. Tao Qian must have thought it was a trick and did not dare to pursue it, so you must also withdraw to Lanling. When Tao Qian sends people to pursue and ambush them, they will I don’t dare to chase him anymore.”
"only."
Cao Ren replied.
The army behind Cao Cao had already set off. He turned his horse and was about to leave. Suddenly he seemed to remember something. He turned to Cao Ren and said, "Zixiao, then Shen Chen, you send someone to assassinate him."
Cao Ren said in confusion: "Brother, didn't you tell me to summon him before?"
Cao Cao said in a deep voice: "This time Yanzhou is being robbed, life and death are uncertain, and I have no time to take care of this young son. If I were Tao Qian, after the war subsided, and I learned that there was such a genius in my county, I would recruit him into the official position. If I can't get it, How can we leave it to Tao Qian?"
"Then why not kidnap and run away? After all, he is just an eight-year-old child."
"He has family members. Even if he kidnapped Yanzhou, how could he sincerely help me? Unless I move his family away, but with the chaos in the rear now, that is no longer possible."
"So that's it. I know. I have sent people to ambush in the village. If Shen Chen returns to his hometown, he will slaughter all his villagers to scare Tao Qian."
Cao Ren nodded. He was also a ruthless man. Later, he massacred Wancheng. One general killed thousands of bones, not only the lives of soldiers, but also the lives of unarmed civilians to lay the foundation for his famous Cao family!
"good."
Cao Cao reined in his horse and walked away. Killing a young genius was nothing to him.
In history, he also sent people to assassinate the genius prodigy Zhou Buyi. As long as these people are not used by his enemies, they can live or die. Even under his command, they may be killed for some reasons.
On the second day after Cao Cao led his army back to Yanzhou to aid, Tao Qian's scouts outside the city had already detected the news of his evacuation.
In Shan County, the governor's mansion.
Tao Qian summoned Liu Bei, Kong Rong, Mi Zhu, Chen Deng and others to the hall to discuss matters.
He coughed twice, looked around and said, "Everyone, Cao Cao suddenly retreated. What does this mean?"
Chen Deng thought for a while and said: "Maybe it's a trick to lure the enemy, pretending to withdraw troops, but actually setting up an ambush."
"I think so too."
Tao Qian was about to ask everyone to wait and see the situation first to determine whether Cao Cao would withdraw his troops before making any further calculations.
Unconsciously, he suddenly remembered what Shen Chen once said about Cao Cao's massacre of celebrities in Yanzhou, which had already caused dissatisfaction among the powerful Yanzhou families, and there might be trouble in the rear, so he hesitated for a moment.
When Liu Bei saw that he was thoughtful, he asked, "What do you think, Mr. Tao?"
Tao Qian looked at Liu Bei, thought for a while, and said hesitantly: "Xuande, someone once told me that there might be chaos in Cao Cao's rear, so I was wondering if Cao Cao really plans to retreat?"
Chen Deng shook his head and said: "How can there be such a person in this world who can predict the future? I must not be deceived and waste my attention on the important affairs of the state and county."
"Forehead"
Tao Qian probed: "But if Cao Cao really retreats, wouldn't it be a missed opportunity?"
Liu Bei said: "Mr. Tao, I would like to lead the troops out of the city to test it out."
Tao Qian became happy: "Then there is Lao Xuande."
At that moment, Liu Bei was not ambiguous and summoned Guan Yu, Zhang Fei and Zhao Yun. He brought about a thousand elite troops, plus Kong Rong's 3,000 troops, for a total of 4,000 people ready to leave the city.
Tao Qian was afraid that it would be difficult to maintain the army without a large number of people, so he ordered his general Xu Dan to lead 4,000 Danyang soldiers and follow Liu Bei to support him.