Zhang Miao asked his servants to help him put on his armor, then ordered his troops and horses, and went out of the city to pursue Cao Jun. After chasing for more than 40 miles, he saw that he had caught up with Cao Jun's rear team, but he couldn't help but hear the sound of drums and trumpets in the woods nearby.
A group of men and horses cut off their retreat. Cao Cao's troops blocking the road separated, revealing Cao Cao in yellow robes.
Cao Mengde shook his head and smiled at Zhang Miao, whose expression changed drastically: "Meng Zhuo, are you okay?"
Zhang Miao didn't answer him and shouted loudly: "Follow me back!"
Cao Jun gave way to the road and pursued Zhang Miao's army from behind. He suffered heavy losses. When he ran back to the city, he saw that the city was closed. Zhang Miao stepped forward and shouted: "Open the city gate quickly!"
On the top of the city, the flags of the gate suddenly fell together, and several flags of Cao's army were erected. Cao Chun poked his head out from behind the battlements and shouted: "Zhang Miao, this city has been taken by me, don't hurry up
Surrender quickly?"
Zhang Miao's face turned pale. He pulled the reins and looked back, and saw that Cao Jun was already catching up. Half a day ago, he was still happy for killing Cao Cao. In just half a day, the situation was completely different.
It turned upside down. The war horses kept turning in circles on the edge of the moat. Zhang Miao's face turned green and white, then white and green again. He shouted at the approaching enemy: "Cao Mengde, Cao Ahao!"
Cao Cao stepped out of the crowd and sneered: "Why did Meng Zhuo call me? Could it be that he wanted to arrange for another crossbowman to shoot at me? Oh, now that I have taken the city, you can't do that anymore."
Zhang Miao said angrily: "Unexpectedly, I fell into your trick!"
Cao Cao laughed and said: "The way to use the army is to surprise me. Since you know that I am good at using clever tricks, why do you still go out of the city to pursue me? Or you are too greedy! People should be self-aware. Meng Zhuo, it doesn't matter if you are greedy, but
I cost the lives of your whole family and the people in this city!"
As soon as he finished speaking, there was a commotion on the top of the city, but Zhang Miao's family members were all escorted to the top of the city.
"Meng Zhuo, when you betrayed me in the past, did you think that this day would come to you?"
Zhang Miao was furious when he saw that his family members were all held up by swords behind their backs, but after listening to Cao Cao's words, he calmed down. Not only did he calm down, Zhang Miao also laughed out loud at Cao Cao.
"Cao Mengde, do you think it's all over if you defeat me? The general knows that you are sending troops to attack Yanzhou, and he will definitely come with another army and crush you into powder!"
Zhang Miao shouted: "I will wait for you below!"
After that, he raised his sword and wiped it between his neck. Blood spattered and the body fell into the dust. Cao Cao suddenly stretched out his hand, as if he wanted to stop it, but there were dozens of steps between them, so how could he have time?
Slowly he took his hand back, and the light in his eyes dimmed.
After arriving at Zhang Miao's body, Cao Cao knelt down and sighed: "Meng Zhuo, Meng Zhuo, you and I have known each other for more than ten years. I didn't expect that we would end up in this situation."
Xiahou Dun on the side asked: "My lord, what should I do with his family?"
Cao Cao wiped his tears and said, "Just send him to Qiao County. After all, Zhang Miao was once my good friend. Let me raise his wife."
"Where are the people in the city?"
Cao Cao's expression became cold, "They are resisting Master Wang and are stubborn. What more can be asked? Kill them all and let these people in Yanzhou see what will happen if they resist me, Cao Cao!"
Xiahou Dun took the order and left. After a while, an officer shouted loudly, "The Lord has an order to massacre the city!"
"Oooo!"
The soldiers all cheered. They had been waiting for this order for a long time, but were bound by military law and did not dare to mess around for the time being. Now that they had received the order from above, they were like hungry wolves that had been let go of the chain.
The people in the city showed their ferocious fangs.
Killing, rape/adultery, robbery, the dark side of the human heart was brought to the maximum. The sound of swords chopping flesh and human screams suddenly rang out in the city. A woman in disheveled clothes fled from the house to the street, but was beaten again.
Another group of people were captured. The woman with her head covered in blood screamed loudly, but the soldiers nearby laughed.
Countless atrocities were committed in broad daylight in the name of "righteousness", and the entire city seemed to have turned into a Shura purgatory.
After massacring the city, Cao Jun continued to advance towards the hinterland of Yanzhou. The surrounding princes, such as Liu Bei, Sun Ce, Liu Biao, etc., were all caught up in their own wars and had no spare energy to take care of Yanzhou's affairs. Even if they had extra energy, they would probably
I don't really want to come to the rescue.
Although Xu Rong in Sili increased his vigilance, he also stayed put. When he reported to the court, he received a response, saying that the general would arrive with his troops in the near future. Before that, he hoped that Yanzhou could hold on for a while.
So. But where is the army in Yanzhou that can resist Cao Cao?
Even though some powerful scholars had many tribes in their families, those people only cared about preserving their own property. No matter what Chen Gong said, they refused to hand over their private armies. Chen Gong reluctantly gathered 20,000 troops to stop Cao's army.
, as expected, everything was delivered in one wave.
Chen Gongbing rushed to the hospital and sent a letter of surrender to Yecheng, asking Yuan Shao to send troops to assist. Yuan Shao was confronting Gongsun Zan in the north and consumed 50,000 to 60,000 shi of grain every month, completely eating up Jizhou's grain reserves.
Jing. When Yuan Benchu really had a headache, after receiving a letter from Chen Gong asking for help, one was happy and the other worried.
The good news is that Yanzhou can be defeated without a fight, but the bad news is that Cao Cao is coming fiercely, and he is afraid that he will no longer obey the orders of his former big brother. Last year, Cao Mengde drove Yuan Tan back to Hebei. Now, is it possible?
Can Yanzhou spit it out again if it can still be swallowed?
It's fine if you don't eat it. If you want to spit out the meat in your stomach, it's like taking out the money in your pocket. Normal people would feel unwilling to do so, let alone the ambitious Cao Mengde?
Yuan Shao summoned his counselors and asked: "Chen Gong sent someone to surrender, saying that he is willing to surrender the land of Yanzhou. Do you think it is time to send troops to rescue?"
Jizhou has a large number of soldiers and horses. Although Ju Yi led 100,000 people to confront Gongsun Zan, the state can easily bring in another 100,000 people as long as there is enough food. Now Jizhou is suppressing Youzhou. If
If you don't want to swallow Youzhou in one go, you don't need to put so many troops in the north.
The 100,000-strong army in the north has been confronting Gongsun Zan's army for half a year, but there is still no sign of victory. Under such circumstances, it seems like a good idea to withdraw the army and send it to Yanzhou to seize territory?
Yuan Shao gathered his counselors together and asked this question, which already showed his tendency. Gongsun Zan in the north was smelly and stubborn, and refused to admit defeat after such a long confrontation. Many people believed that it would be better to develop in another direction.
But Tian Feng, the crow, jumped out again to express his objection. He stood in the middle of the hall and said to Yuan Shao: "My lord, now that Gongsun Zan has declined, it is time to take advantage of this opportunity to eliminate him. How can you abandon the north?
What about the land where a powerful enemy seeks allies?
Even if Cao Cao re-captures Yangzhou, he must first deal with the imperial court, Liu Bei, Sun Ce and others, so that they cannot become a threat to us. Once Gongsun Zan recovers, he will inevitably invade Hebei. Therefore, I believe that Gongsun Zan should be defeated first, and then
Let’s talk about other things!”
As soon as Tian Feng finished speaking, Guo Tu immediately came out and said: "I think that what Mr. Tian said is ridiculous! Cao Cao's family members are all in Yecheng, and now they can only be regarded as his lord's subordinates, not his allies! Even if they are
After occupying Yanzhou, does he still dare to start a war with us?
Youzhou has many soldiers and generals. How can it be captured in a hurry? It is better to bring back the army and occupy Yanzhou first. Yanzhou has a large population. Even if you cannot capture all the places, as long as you capture some of the prefectures and counties, it will be a great improvement.
Strengthen our strength. If we can occupy the three states, who in the world can resist?"
Tian Feng said: "Otherwise, Liu Bei is leading his army to attack Qingzhou, and senior officials have asked the lord for help several times. At this time, even if we don't concentrate our efforts on Gongsun Zan first, we should first send troops to repel Liu Bei. How can we build more
Where are the enemies?"
Yuan Shao was originally inclined to swallow up Yanzhou, but after hearing what Tian Feng said, he couldn't help but hesitate. He asked others, "What do you think?"
Most of the people agreed to occupy Yanzhou first, but Jushou believed that they should occupy Dongjun, Jibei Kingdom, Shanyang County and other places, and then join forces with Qingzhou officials to attack Xuzhou. Tian Feng retorted: "Gongsun Zan has not yet been destroyed, and Zhang Yan is still on the side.
We send troops from time to time, how can we create new trouble at this time?"
Tian Feng's voice was loud, and Guo Tu's voice was even louder, "Now Chen Gong invites our army to go to Yanzhou. We can get dozens of cities and millions of people without any effort. It can be said that there are hundreds of benefits but no one."
Harmful. Don’t you hear that if you don’t give it to God, you will be blamed for it! If you don’t go to Yanzhou today, my lord will regret it so much in the future!”
Yuan Shao laughed and said: "What Gongze said is absolutely true!"
Seeing that Yuan Shao was already interested, Tian Feng said anxiously: "How can you forget your life for a small profit?"
This comment came from Guanzhong last year. When Chen Cheng was bidding farewell to Liu Bei, Princess Wannian called him a hero and commented on Yuan Shao as "he cherishes his life when he does big things, but forgets his life when he sees small profits." This matter is appreciated by all the scholars in the world.
If you ask, it is also spread in Yecheng, and of course Yuan Shao has heard of it.
Tian Feng was anxious at this time, and he said this comment at once, and Yuan Shao's face immediately darkened. Guo Tuze was overjoyed, and he thought to himself: Tian Feng is really crazy, he dares to say such words!
He immediately said righteously: "Tian Yuanhao's words are arrogant and he has no superiority. Please, my lord, take him down and punish him immediately!"
Yuan Shao said with a dark face: "Tian Feng, what else do you have to say?"
As soon as the words were spoken, Tian Feng knew that it was not good, but the words were harder to take back than the water thrown out. He sighed deeply, prostrated himself on the ground, and said: "I was anxious for a while, and I spoke without reason. Please punish me, my lord!"
"
"Huh, of course I have to punish you!"
Yuan Shao shouted at the court: "Come here, put Tian Feng in prison! I'll deal with him again after I take Yanzhou!"
The armored warrior came up and said to Tian Feng with some embarrassment: "Don't drive Tian Feng, do you think?"
Tian Feng sighed again and said, "I can leave by myself."
His reputation in Jizhou was so high that even though Yuan Shao ordered him, the soldiers did not dare to offend him.
