Chapter 39 A word worth a thousand pieces of gold is worth a thousand dollars.
Where did Cao Cao go?
The Qingzhou soldiers and tiger and leopard cavalry who surrounded Tancheng, the Xuzhou government office, were a little confused...
Tancheng was surrounded by people, and the urgent report of Lu Bu's surprise attack on Yanzhou came from the rear. At this stall, Cao Cao, the commander-in-chief of the three armies, was missing.
Not only that, there was no news at all, not even the personal guards around Cao Cao knew his whereabouts!
It seems that someone saw Cao Cao and General Cao Ren riding a fast horse out of the gate of the military camp in the snow.
At this time, the military counselor Xi Zhi who was accompanying the army was a little confused, and the generals Xia Houyuan, Cao Hong, Li Dian, and Le Jin were also a little confused...
Doesn’t it mean we need to think about whether we should withdraw our troops?
I'm sorry, Cao Cao escaped first before his troops retreated? Isn't this unreasonable?
While all the generals, strategists, and soldiers were stamping their feet anxiously...
The fast horses coming from the northwest were like a whirlwind, stepping through countless mud on the official road.
The two people and the two horses seemed to be frozen in the snow, and many ice crystals had condensed on their eyebrows. These ice crystals hung like knives on the visitor's cheeks.
"It's Mengde! It's Zixiao!"
Xia Houyuan shouted, his pupils suddenly widened a lot, and his whole person looked a little incredible.
Because of Cao Cao, Cao Ren looked very tired after a long journey. He had obviously been running wildly in the snow for a long time!
For a moment, everyone couldn't figure out what the purpose of such ghostly weather and such galloping horses was for?
What's more... what's more, the three armies are still in a dilemma.
Cao Cao and Cao Ren seemed to be exhausted, You Zi shouted with the last bit of strength. "I'm back, I'm finally back!" Cao Cao shouted with all his strength. "Go to the big tent and order the generals of each battalion to go to the big tent to discuss matters!"
At this moment, although he was exhausted, he was forced to remain calm and seemed so urgent.
Xia Houyuan quickly pulled the reins of Cao Cao's horse. Cao Cao's whole body slumped and almost fell. Fortunately, many generals supported him, and countless people kept crowding him into the tent.
Everyone can have some clarity in their minds.
Leaving the camp on a snowy night and running a long distance, Cao Cao must have a purpose. Now, there must be something urgent to discuss in the big tent.
At the moment, no one dared to delay, let alone persuade him in the slightest, so they could only bring hot water and wine to warm Cao Cao.
…
Inside the Chinese military tent.
Cao Cao couldn't wait to give orders.
"Convey the order to the three armies..."
After drinking the warm wine, his body became slightly warmer. Cao Cao exhaled and cheered up, "The three armies are divided into two groups, and the entire army must withdraw!"
Hmm? Evacuate?
Everyone was stunned when they heard this? Is this Cao Cao's final conclusion after thinking about it?
Anyway…
This is because Lu Bu's capture of Puyang is a hidden danger. To fight against foreign forces, we must first pacify the interior.
It seems that Cao Cao has decided to pacify Yanzhou first!
Everyone can't help but think of this.
"Lord, if we evacuate, half of the city in Xuzhou that we have worked so hard to capture will have to be given back to Tao Qian. When the time comes..." Xi Zhicai added...
He didn't finish what he said, but the meaning was very clear.
He was unwilling to give in. As a military advisor, he knew best that the conquest of Xuzhou seemed to be a success, but the troops, food and grass consumed in this battle were immeasurable. If he let it go so easily, what would happen in the past few months?
If you work hard, the efforts of tens of thousands of people will be wasted in an instant.
What's more, even if Lu Bu is defeated in the future and the entire territory of Yanzhou is pacified, Xuzhou will definitely be on guard by then. It will not be easy to capture it again.
"Ha ha…"
Unexpectedly, Xi Zhicai's eyebrows were extremely worried, but Cao Cao smiled cheerfully. "The evacuation I am talking about is different from the evacuation mentioned by the military advisor..."
Hmm...evacuation? Different?
Everyone was stunned for a moment. Is there any new way to evacuate?
Cao Cao's words continued.
"The current situation in Xuzhou, although our army is in a difficult situation, Tao Qian is also at the end of his battle. The evacuation I am talking about is to give up the siege of Tancheng, the seat of Xuzhou, and instead attack Feixian, Huaxian, Jimo, Kaiyang, and general Tancheng
The surrounding territory should be conquered first..."
"My lord, what a brilliant plan!" Xi Zhicai couldn't help but say. "In this way, Tancheng will become an isolated city! By then, even if we cannot capture it, we can still starve the people in their city to death!"
Xi Zhicai sounded determined. If he followed his assumptions, although it would be delayed for a while, Xuzhou would fall sooner or later. It was just a matter of time.
"No!" Unexpectedly, Cao Cao waved his hand again. "We captured those cities not to isolate Tancheng, but to win the hearts of the people of Xuzhou, the hearts of the clans, and the hearts of the soldiers!"
Well?
The hearts of the people? The hearts of the clan? The hearts of the soldiers?
Everyone was confused and confused after hearing this.
"Lord," Xi Zhicai advised. "Tao Qian has been in charge of Xuzhou for a long time. I am afraid that the hearts of the people, the hearts of the clan, and the hearts of the soldiers have long since joined. It is easy to attack the city, but it is very difficult to attack the heart!"
"So I plan to 'build a tree into trust'"
Cao Cao immediately threw out the four words "Erect a tree to build faith"!
Along the way, he kept thinking about the three strategies for "defining Xuzhou" proposed by Yi Xiaotian.
——Only punish Tao Qian without asking about the remaining parties;
——Be kind to the people of Xuzhou;
——Attack the enemy first, attack the heart first...
How smart was Cao Cao? How could he not figure out how to implement these three strategies?
In ancient times, there was Lu Buwei who said "one word is worth a thousand pieces of gold", and later Shang Yang's reform "establishing trees as trust". He can imitate the ancients and make a move of standing up trees as trust, so that the people, clans, and soldiers of Xuzhou can trust him. Cao Cao...
Thinking of this and Yi Xiaotian's plan, Cao Cao became extremely determined.
"The order goes down. Every time Xuzhou City conquers a city, it will immediately open warehouses and store grain. The previously captured cities must also open warehouses and store grain. In addition, anyone in Xuzhou who surrenders to me, Cao Cao, will have their taxes halved for three years.
, distribute land, support farming and reclamation! Anyone who joins the army will be given three times the settlement allowance!"
"At the same time, a proclamation was issued to punish the thieves, clarifying that I, Cao Cao, conquered Xuzhou only for revenge. I will kill Tao Qian alone, regardless of the remaining party. All the people, clans, soldiers, as long as they do not obstruct our three armies, not only will Qiu not be attacked, but they will be strengthened.
As a reward, if there are people’s land or houses that were damaged due to war, I, Cao Cao, will return double the amount!”
"Also, all generals have ordered their subordinates to kill any soldiers who dare to offend the people of Xuzhou again! As for those who robbed the people before, find some of them and punish them severely! And give appropriate compensation to the people!"
"All compensation must be received immediately!"
Cao Cao continued to speak out military orders one after another. This was his understanding of Yi Xiaotian's "three strategies to determine Xuzhou" and the best interpretation of Yi Xiaotian's so-called "attack the enemy from the bottom and attack the heart from the top".
With Cao Cao's wisdom, the general direction was determined, and he implemented these specific plans with ease!
At this moment…
Even a series of generals such as Xia Houyuan and Cao Hong could not help but admire him secretly.
What worries them the most is the people's support. It is easy to capture a city. To appease the people's support and prevent the people and clans from rebelling again is the top priority and the biggest headache for them.
But now, this troublesome problem seems to have been solved all of a sudden.
If Cao Cao's decree is really followed, the lost hearts of the people, clans, and soldiers in Xuzhou will be quickly restored, and there will even be more and more people and clans who are close to Cao Cao.
If this continues, Tao Qian will be completely isolated and become a loner!
"Miaocai, military advisor!" Cao Cao called out Xia Houyuan, the name of Xi Zhicai. "You are fully responsible for this matter. Give up the siege of Tancheng and only capture the hearts of the people. When the people's hearts turn, they will immediately post a notice and tell the whole Xuzhou
The people, clans, soldiers - anyone who kills Tao Qian and can offer Tao Qian's head will be rewarded with a thousand gold coins!"
This is another key point mentioned by Yi Xiaotian - the mentality of fighting the enemy.
The key to capturing Xuzhou is not the large number of soldiers but the will of the people. The mentality of Xuzhou City has changed, and capturing Xuzhou is just a matter of hand!
Cao Cao now understands it quite thoroughly.
"Here..." Xi Zhicai, Xia Houyuan bowed his hands.
I admire it...
Cao Cao's move conquered the hearts of the people, the hearts of the soldiers, and the hearts of the clan, and isolated Tao Qian into a lonely man who was despised by everyone and shouted at to beat him. He was simply a soldier who could subdue others without fighting. He estimated that in another two months
, Tao Qian's mentality is about to collapse.
etc…
It seems that something is wrong!
Xi Zhicai suddenly woke up. The problem in Xuzhou was solved, but what about Yanzhou? Is there still a tiger entrenched there? The tiger that is eyeing the whole territory of Yanzhou - Lu Bu!
You can't just ignore this hungry and ferocious tiger Lu Bu in your back garden, right?
