"It's very simple." Zhou Ping replied calmly, "Because Liu Xuande is kind and righteous and loves the people, but you slaughter the people indiscriminately, how can I be a helper of oppression?"
Liu Bei had a look of concern on his face and looked at Zhou Ping gratefully.
"The person I killed was a person from Xuzhou, and you are from Yuzhou, so what does it have to do with you? Besides, people from Xuzhou killed my father, how can I not take revenge?"
Cao Cao seemed a little excited, but he didn't expect this to be the reason.
"Are these innocent Xuzhou people the ones who harmed your father? You can massacre people from Xuzhou today, and you can massacre people from Yuzhou tomorrow. I am just an ordinary citizen. If you kill indiscriminately, how can I avoid you?"
Pass?"
"That's all." Cao Cao obviously didn't want to talk about this issue anymore. No matter what he said, it would be unreasonable. "In this case, even if I went to invite you in person that day, you would not be willing to help. I should send someone to help you that day."
Kill. If Liu Xuande had not had your help to stabilize Xuzhou and defeat Yuan Shu and Lu Bu, how would he be in such a situation today?"
Liu Bei said angrily: "Cao Mengde, you massacred the people indiscriminately and held the emperor hostage. It is against the law of heaven and loses the support of the people. Today's defeat is inevitable. Even if there is no me and no husband, you will still suffer such an end!"
"
"Hahaha..." Cao Cao laughed, "Liu Bei, if Zhou Wen'an didn't help you, I would never be like this! But speaking of it, I really envy you. You have the courage of Guan Yu and Zhang Fei in martial arts, and the wisdom of Zhou Ping in literature.
You have won the hearts of the people so much. If you are defeated today, the world will probably belong to you!"
Liu Bei said anxiously: "What I wish for is to help the emperor to pacify the world, stop chaos and bring peace to the people! General Yuan has a sea of brave generals, a cloud of wise men, and countless soldiers. He has won the hearts of the world's scholars. How can you tell the world
My words?"
Speaking of Yuan Shao, Cao Cao became angry.
"Yuan Benchu! Huh, Gu has never taken him seriously. With only a jade seal passed down from the country, he believed Zhou Wen'an's words and turned his troops to attack me. How can such a person be your opponent? After Gu's defeat,
I’m afraid he can’t be a general for much longer!”
"Cao Cao, do you know why you were defeated?"
Zhou Ping looked at Cao Cao and asked.
"It goes without saying that I have been defeated by you!"
Cao Cao stared at Liu Bei and Zhou Ping in front of him.
"No." Zhou Ping shook his head, "Actually, you were defeated by General Yuan. With the power of Xuzhou, even if you add the power of Yangzhou, I am afraid it will be difficult to defeat you. The one who can defeat you is the power of Jizhou. Before.
The first time you attacked Xu and retreated, we were defeated by us in Chen State. It seems that it was because Jizhou soldiers surrounded Xudu and made you eager to retreat. It was not Xuzhou who could have defeated you."
"This is even more true this time. There are only more than 20,000 soldiers in Xiapi City, and you Yanzhou soldiers and horses have 50,000. No matter what, it is difficult for Xuzhou soldiers and horses to defeat you. The reason why Jizhou soldiers and horses turned against you twice is because
It was you who hijacked the emperor to move to Chang'an, and was attacked by all the soldiers and horses of the world. Just like him, you hijacked the emperor to move to Xu County as the capital, and you will also be attacked by the soldiers and horses of the world. This time you
The reason for the defeat was not the imperial seal, you once held the emperor hostage and were not trusted by General Yuan, that was the real reason."
Cao Cao thought for a while, seemed to wake up, and nodded frequently: "You are right, if Gu had not moved to the emperor to Xu, he would not have been attacked by Yuan Benchu. It was Gu who looked down upon Yuan Benchu, and even looked down upon you, Liu Bei and Zhou Ping!"
"What are you going to do with me?" Cao Cao asked Liu Bei and Zhou Ping after he finished speaking.
Liu Bei and Zhou Ping obviously wanted Cao Cao to die.
But Cao Cao was still a prince after all. If he was killed on the battlefield, it would be justified. If he was killed like this, I am afraid that the scholars in the world would criticize him.
Liu Bei thought to himself and looked at Zhou Ping.
Zhou Ping understood what Liu Bei meant, but no matter what, Cao Cao must die today.
"If you have anything else to say, just say it as soon as possible!"
"Hehe, hehehe, the winner is the king and the loser is the bandit, I have nothing more to say!"
Cao Cao stood up slowly.
"Since you have nothing more to say, just use the sword on your body. It will be better if you do it yourself."
Zhou Ping said calmly.
Cao Cao lowered his head and looked at the sword tied to his waist. He grasped the hilt of the sword and held on for a long time.
"Ming Gong is not allowed!"
Dian Wei quickly stepped forward and held down Cao Cao's hand that was holding the sword hilt.
Cao Cao raised his head and looked at Dian Wei, and said softly: "Dian Wei, after you die alone, Liu Xuande will not kill you. You can go home and farm!"
"No, Dian Wei will live and die with Duke Ming!"
As Dian Wei was speaking, he suddenly grabbed the hilt of the sword on Cao Cao's waist, pulled it out, looked at Liu Bei, and was about to stab him.
At this moment, Zhang Wu, who had been holding a long bow in his hand, had already quickly nocked an arrow, raised it and shot at Dian Wei, hitting Dian Wei's forehead right in the middle.
Dian Wei suddenly fell down, Xu Chu had already drawn his sword in his hand, and was protecting Liu Bei. Zhang Fei stepped forward with his spear at the same time, blocking Liu Bei's front.
After Zhang Wu shot Dian Wei down, he quickly drew his arrow and raised his bow towards Cao Cao.
Zhou Ping said anxiously: "Ziwei, no."
He wanted Cao Cao to die with dignity.
Faced with the unexpected situation, Cao Cao was only slightly shocked and did not feel much shock. It seemed that Dian Wei's actions, including the reactions of Zhang Wu and others, were already expected by him.
Cao Cao glanced at Liu Bei, whose expression remained unchanged and did not appear to be frightened. He slowly leaned down and picked up the long sword that fell on the ground.
Zhang Wu still pointed his bow and arrow at him. As soon as he made an assassination move toward Liu Bei or Zhou Ping, Zhang Wu's arrow would immediately hit Cao Cao's head.
Cao Cao held the sword in his hand and took a closer look at Liu Bei and Zhou Ping. He slowly raised the sword and placed it across his neck. He suddenly looked up to the sky and laughed: "Hahaha...hahaha..."
After laughing for a while, he slashed hard, blood spurted out from his neck, and then slowly fell down.
Cao Cao is dead!
He died in Xuzhou and Pengcheng.
The news soon spread throughout Xuzhou, and then the whole world.
The people of Xuzhou who fled to Guangling and Jiangdong went home one after another, because once Cao Cao died, they no longer had to worry about being massacred in the future.
Jushou and Zhang Xiu entered the city after Cao Cao's death, and they saw Cao Cao's body.
After staying for another two days, Ju Shou and Yan Liang Wen Chou led their troops back to Yecheng, while Zhang Xiu led his troops back to Nanyang.
Liu Bei had the bodies of Cao Ren, Cao Hong and Xiahou Dun packed up, and together with Cao Cao's body, he sent people back to Qiao County for burial.
Xu Huang and Dian Wei also ordered them to be buried generously.
As for Guo Jia, Liu Bei let him go and asked him to return to Yingchuan.
Immediately afterwards, news came back from Yanzhou that Chunyu Qiong and Zhang He led the army to attack Juancheng.
In fact, it was not considered a breakthrough. After Cheng Yu and Shi Huan learned about Cao Cao's death, they took the initiative to open the city and ask for surrender.
Yuan Shao did not kill them, but asked Shi Huan to protect Cao Cao's family back to Qiao County, and Cheng Yu also returned to Dong'a.
As expected by Zhou Ping, Yuan Shao appointed Chun Yuqiong as the governor of Yanzhou, and Ju Shou was also appointed as the general of the Wei for this merit.
Yan Liang, Wen Chou, Zhang He and others also received awards.
Jia Xu wrote a letter to Zhang Xiu.
In the letter, he told Zhang Xiu that it was difficult to understand the current situation in the world, and he really couldn't understand it. It clearly seemed that Cao Cao was in power and Liu Bei was going to die, but he never expected that Cao Cao would be dead and Liu Bei would be even more powerful.
Jia Xu told Zhang Xiu that the Central Plains was not the place he should stay, and that he had already proposed to General Yuan that Zhang Xiu could serve as the governor of Yongzhou because of his contribution to the siege of Pengcheng, and General Yuan had agreed.
Following Jia Xu's words and the imperial edict, Zhang Xiu dispersed Nanyang's troops and took only more than 5,000 people with him to take up the post of governor of Yongzhou.
Yuan Shao also granted rewards to Liu Bei and Zhou Ping, and sent Guanglu doctor Xin Ping to Xuzhou in person with the imperial edict to pay their respects.
Liu Bei was worshiped as a general of chariots and cavalry, Zhou Ping was worshiped as a general to assist the Han Dynasty, and Guan Yu was also officially worshiped as the governor of Yangzhou.
This was a reward for them offering the imperial seal. Although Yuan Shao said that he would return the imperial seal to the emperor, so far, the imperial seal still remains in his hands.
Liu Bei was very happy to be worshiped as a general of chariots and cavalry.
Although there are generals and hussar generals above the cavalry generals, for Liu Bei who actually owns soldiers and horses, this is more conducive to his recruitment and command of soldiers and horses.
However, Xin Ping also made a request to Liu Bei, which made Liu Bei very embarrassed, so he asked Zhou Ping to discuss it.
"This is absolutely impossible."
Zhou Ping heard that it was Xin Ping who suggested that Liu Bei's son Liu Kun should go to Yecheng to study with the great Confucian scholar, so he quickly said.
You don't need to think about it to know that Yuan Shao wanted Liu Bei to send his son to Yecheng as a hostage.
This is Liu Bei's only son now, and Liu Kun was born in October of the first year of Jian'an. It is now the first month of the fourth year of Jian'an, and he is only four years old. Strictly speaking, he is only three years and three months old.
What kind of book can such a young child read? Yuan Shao must have wanted to keep Liu Bei's only son in his hands as a pledge, so that Liu Bei would not act rashly.
Although Cao Cao's sons were once held hostage in Yecheng, Cao Cao had many sons, but Liu Bei was different. He was thirty-nine years old, but he only had one son.
With his son in hand, there is no need to worry about Liu Bei disobeying orders.
Liu Bei said with worry on his face: "What's your wish? If you don't agree, will General Yuan have doubts and send troops to Xuzhou?"
Zhou Ping thought for a while and said: "Definitely not. Kun'er is so young, and the Lord now only has this son. It is reasonable to refuse General Yuan's request. Besides, without Cao Cao, General Yuan will not even have troops.
We don't have to be afraid if we come to attack. However, the lord still has to make humble remarks and be courteous, and go to the court to send food and wine to show his loyalty to the king and to appease General Yuan."
Liu Bei felt the same way. He was unwilling to send his son to Yecheng as a hostage. Yuan Shao would not trust him because of this, but he would not send troops to attack.
"Although the soldiers and horses of Jizhou and Qingzhou have retreated, Cao Cao is dead, and there is no buffer between us and General Yuan. In the future, Xuzhou will have to retain more troops for defense."
When Cao Cao was in Yanzhou before, there was this layer between Liu Bei and Yuan Shao, so there would be no direct conflict.
Now that Cao Cao is dead and Chun Yuqiong is appointed as the governor of Yanzhou, Yuan Shao and Liu Bei are directly connected. Not only are they prone to conflict, but Liu Bei is now the only prince with the strongest military force in the world after Yuan Shao, so he will easily be jealous of Yuan Shao.
He sent troops to attack, so Xuzhou had to be on guard at all times.
"Yes, Yunchang has led his troops to Hefei, and Tian Guorang has also returned to Pengcheng from Hefei. Although Sun Quan has retreated to Lujiang, if this person is not eliminated, Yangzhou will not be peaceful. There is also the chaos in Wujun, and the local wealthy families are quite restless and lustful.
In order to welcome Sun Quan's wishes, someone must come and take charge."
After Guan Yu returned to Xiapi, he took Xu Ding and led 10,000 troops to Hefei. After Sun Quan learned the news, he immediately returned to Lujiang and guarded Shucheng.
On the Danyang side, with Taishi Ci and Lu Su present, Sun Quan's troops were helpless, and the two sides continued to confront each other.
Now that Cao Cao has been destroyed, Xuzhou's troops and horses will soon be able to rush to his aid, and Sun Quan's troops and horses will inevitably retreat.
The most worrying thing is Wu Jun.
Although the person who killed Mi Fang was Zhang Kai, many local noble families were involved, and they gathered some people to welcome Sun Quan's people back to Wu County.
This is actually what worries Liu Bei the most.
"I'm afraid I have to trouble my husband to deal with the chaos in Wu County myself."
Liu Bei knew that if he wanted to govern Wu County well, he would definitely have to kill a group of people.
Many of the people to be killed are from wealthy families. If they don't do it right, the whole of Yangzhou will be in chaos.
Liu Bei believed that only Zhou Ping could manage Wu Commandery in person.
But when Liu Bei saw Zhou Ping shaking his head, he couldn't help asking: "Sir, don't you want to?"
Zhou Ping smiled and replied: "It's not that I don't want to, it's just that I may not be able to rectify the chaos if I go."
"If sir can't control chaos, who else can?"
Liu Bei thought about it carefully and felt that it was indeed inappropriate for Zhou Ping to go.
Zhou Ping always focused on strategy and did not personally lead his troops into battle. Although he was wise, he lacked power.
Without authority, there is no way to control chaos!
"My lord, I would like to recommend someone who might be able to do the job." Zhou Ping said.
"Who?" Liu Bei asked anxiously.
"Gan Ning, Gan Xingba."
Liu Bei suddenly realized something and looked at Zhou Ping. The two looked at each other for a moment, and then laughed together.
After laughing for a while, Liu Beicai said: "Sir, you really know people. The current situation in Wu County must be solved by Xingba. The only thing I worry about is that if he kills too many people, it will be counterproductive."
Zhou Ping said: "My lord, you just need to pay more attention. If Xingba kills too hard, just transfer him away from Wu County in time. Then use benevolent and wise people to caress him, use force, and then show kindness, and Wu County will be peaceful."
Liu Bei agreed with Zhou Ping's proposal. He first rejected Xin Ping's proposal to let his son Liu Kun go to Yecheng to study on the grounds that his son was young.
He also personally wrote a humble letter and sent Sun Qian to Yecheng with 100,000 shi of food and wine. The letter also stated that he was going to continue to implement the policy of farming and would gradually withdraw his troops and return to farming, waiting to wipe out Sun Quan.
Later, when the world is at peace, the troops and horses can be completely dismissed.
This was used to appease Yuan Shaozhi so that he would not be too defensive about him.
The fact is that Liu Bei saved the people of Xuzhou this time, gained more support from the people, and quickly recruited more than 10,000 soldiers.
After sending Xin Ping and Sun Qian away, Liu Bei appointed Gan Ning as the commander-in-chief of Wu County and acted as the prefect, and asked him to lead five thousand soldiers and horses to Wu County to quell the chaos and calm the people.
At the same time, Chen Dao was asked to lead 5,000 men to Danyang, and together with Taishi Cilusu, they repelled the enemy troops. After Sun Quan's troops heard the news, they immediately retreated to Chungu.
In this disaster in Xuzhou, although the people who stayed in Pengcheng were killed by Cao Ren and Xiahou Dun, both of them died in Xuzhou, which can be regarded as revenge for the people.
After the people returned to their homes, they felt peace as never before, because once Cao Cao died, no one was afraid anymore.
Liu Bei and Zhou Ping also felt a rare sense of relaxation, each enjoying the happiness brought by their wives and concubines at home!
