Cao Bao finally chose to retreat because he ran out of food.
Although if he continues to fight, he can still hold out for about ten days.
But in that case, there would be no food at all, and there would be no way to retreat back to Xuzhou. Naturally, Cao Bao would not do this.
When the army comes, it is as powerful as a rainbow, and when it leaves, it is like a bereaved dog.
Xuzhou's army suffered more casualties than Cao's army, leaving more than 30,000 defeated soldiers and thousands of wounded. They retreated to Dong'a in embarrassment, and then headed south from Jibei Kingdom back to Xuzhou.
Cao Cao's army followed them all the way, neither attacking nor harassing them. They just followed them from a distance. They waited until they left Gucheng and went from Dongping and Jibei to Lu before they stationed troops near the Yuan Kingdom.
The area around Liaocheng.
In April, when summer is about to begin, the weather gradually becomes hotter. As May approaches, heavy rains begin to fall in the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River, and the snowy mountains in the upper reaches melt, marking the annual flood season again.
In Liaocheng, Dongjun, Cao Cao and Bao Xin returned from Qingzhou despite heavy rain and dust.
This time I went to Qingzhou, again to collect wool in the autumn wind, and to ask Liu Bei for supplies.
Historically, when Cao Cao suffered heavy losses, it was Yuan Shao who helped him.
But now Yuan Shao has not captured Jizhou, so naturally he can only ask Liu Bei for things.
And it’s not easy for Liu Bei not to give it.
This is different from the rabbits of our flower growers in later generations who always ask Big Brother Bear to collect wool. Big Brother Bear did take good care of his little brother in the early days and gave him a lot of good things. There was not much interference between pure revolutionary friendship.
Benefits, so the early furry bears were the real big brothers.
The relationship between Cao Cao and Liu Bei is pure interest. Liu Bei needs someone in Yanzhou to help withstand the pressure from Wang Fen in the north and Yuan Shu in the south. At the same time, Dongjun is the transportation artery between Qingzhou and Luoyang, so he must support Cao Cao.
Otherwise, once Cao Cao is eliminated, it will be a serious blow to Qingzhou's strategic plan. The best situation is to let Qingzhou and Luoyang lose road transportation connections and fight on their own.
The worst-case scenario is that the north-south connection will allow Yuan Shu and Wang Fen, the main enemies of Qingzhou, to join forces to deal with Liu Bei.
But now that Chen Mu has returned to Qingzhou, it's not that easy for Cao Cao to make another profit. After several rounds of discussions, the two parties have never received a satisfactory answer.
It's not like they broke up on bad terms, but Cao Cao said he needed to think about it, so he returned to Yanzhou and wanted to discuss it with many advisers.
In fact, the conditions proposed by Chen Mu were also very simple.
Qingzhou will support Cao Cao to a certain extent in terms of grain, grass, cotton and salt, but Cao Cao needs to cooperate with Qingzhou's military operations. For example, because Tao Qian attacked Yanzhou without authorization, Qingzhou strongly condemned it and decided to join forces with Cao Cao to attack, and the territory gained would be returned to Luoyang.
All owned by the imperial court.
This is obviously not an equal treaty. Give some supplies and let Cao Cao contribute people.
Because Qingzhou still has to deal with Wang Fen, the number of troops that can be sent out will not be too many. The main force of the attack will be Cao Cao, and most of the troops and horses will also be Cao Cao's people.
As a result, Xuzhou was finally conquered and he actually wanted to return to the imperial rule?
It can be said that it is a return to the rule of the Luoyang court, but in fact, anyone can think of it. Luoyang is thousands of miles away, and it is strange to be able to command Xuzhou. By then, I am afraid that the title of Xuzhou Mu will most likely fall to Chen Mu. In the end, it will still be
Returned to Qingzhou.
So when Cao Cao came back from Qingzhou, his face was ashen and he was not in a good mood.
After leaving Pingyuan Country, due to wind and rain blocking the road, the group could only stay in Boping County, north of Liaocheng.
Cao Cao originally planned to rush to Liaocheng early the next morning, gather his army, and then return to Puyang to discuss with many advisers.
But that night, he was lying in the upper room arranged for him by his subordinates. He was slightly drunk and heard the wind howling and heavy rain outside all night long. He thought that this plan might not work, because he heard that the whole county was like
It was soaked in the river and made a gurgling sound.
At nine o'clock the next day, the rooster in the city woke him up. Before he opened his eyes, he could hear the sound of water dripping under the eaves outside. When he put on his brocade robe and went out to look, the sky outside was low and clouds were everywhere.
It was dark, and the hunting north wind carried the misty summer rain, which made the roof and ground rustle. The leaves in the courtyard were whirling, and the world seemed to be filled with rain and mist.
"I don't know how long this heavy rain will last."
Cao Cao saw that there was already a trickling stream in the courtyard outside the house. The rain washed away the soil and dyed it a dark yellow color. It flowed out of the courtyard along the diversion canal, merged into the large drainage canal in the city, and was finally sent to Luoshui.
Different from the area of counties and cities in later generations, which ranged from tens to hundreds of square kilometers, the area of ancient counties was generally about 1-2 square kilometers, and the population they could accommodate was generally between thousands and tens of thousands. Most of the people lived in
The population in rural areas and cities is not large.
A small city also has the advantage of a small city, that is, the drainage system is relatively complete. Rainwater falls into the yard along the eaves, and then flows into the city's drainage canals through the drainage channels in the yard, and finally is sent to the river or moat outside the city. It is very
Humanize.
It's just that in this heavy downpour, the ordinary drainage channels originally designed were no longer able to bear the heavy load, and almost overflowed. The entire courtyard seemed to be soaked in water, with nearly two inches of water accumulated, which could submerge the soles of a person's feet. This shows how powerful the heavy rain was.
Fortunately, the courtyard architecture of wealthy people in the Han Dynasty was relatively unique. The houses were about one foot above the ground and made of bricks and hardwoods, so the houses would not be flooded.
Cao Cao stepped on the smooth wooden floor with his bare feet and stared at the heavy rain in a daze. After a while, he simply crossed his legs and sat on the porch like an old monk, leaning against the wooden door, listening to the heavy rain and feeling himself
My mind seems to have been purified and my mind is much clearer.
"Ming Gong, what are you thinking about?"
In another courtyard, Xi Zhicai held an oil-paper umbrella and stepped on wooden clogs across the courtyard to the outside of Cao Cao's courtyard, where he saw Cao Cao in a daze.
This time when he went to Qingzhou, Cao Cao only brought Xi Zhicai with him, Chen Gong stayed in Puyang, Cheng Yu led the troops in Gucheng, and Guo Jia was waiting for him in Liaocheng to discuss the outcome of the negotiations.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! Now after returning from Qingzhou, Cao Cao also wanted to return to Liaocheng as soon as possible. He summoned Cheng Yu and the three counselors brainstormed what to do about this matter first.
Cao Cao turned around and saw Xi Zhicai already standing under the eaves, closing his umbrella. He breathed a sigh of relief, patted the floor beside him and said, "Zhicai, come and sit."
Xi Zhicai put his umbrella on the wooden board outside the house, walked to Cao Cao, and sat on the porch outside the house like him.
"Ming Gong, you are still thinking about attacking Xuzhou with Qingzhou."
Seeing Cao Cao thinking hard, Xi Zhicai realized that he was still thinking about the military agreement proposed by Chen Mu.
But what Xi Zhicai didn't expect was that Cao Cao shook his head and said, "No."
"no?"
Xi Zhicai didn't understand. If he wasn't thinking about this, what was he thinking about?
Cao Cao sighed: "I was thinking about the changes in Qingzhou."
"Changes in Qingzhou? Well, Qingzhou has indeed built a lot of interesting things in the past two years."
The play was revealed in just a few moments, and I unconsciously glanced at the oil-paper umbrella I had placed under the eaves not far away.
In recent years, as some new things in Qingzhou have spread, people's lifestyles have slowly changed.
For example, it was not until the Tang and Song dynasties that people made oil-paper umbrellas from tung oil extracted from tung trees. There were also cotton-padded clothes that were only available in the Song, Yuan and Ming dynasties, and they gradually began to appear in people's field of vision.
Technology is advancing and the times are developing. Although the current changes are still insignificant, when productivity can meet people's needs, the demographic dividend explodes, and industrial products come out, life will only get better and better in the future.
"I'm not talking about the new things they made."
Cao Cao shook his head. Compared with ordinary people who pay attention to the changes in life, he pays more attention to other things.
Xi Zhicai thought for a while and said: "Roads, farmland, weapons, armor?"
"yes."
Cao Cao mused: "This trip to Qingzhou was an eye-opener. If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, it would be hard to imagine that Liu Bei had secretly developed to this extent."
"Qingzhou has been absorbing refugees these years. The government has paid them to build roads, farm fields, and build weapons. It seems that they are all preparing for this."
Only then did Xi Zhi remember what he had seen and heard when he followed Cao Cao to Qingzhou this time.
After several years of accumulation, the Agricultural College has continuously selected and cultivated high-quality wheat and rice. The rice grains in the farmland are all plump and strong.
The piston-type bellows developed by the School of Physics, and the coke produced by the dry distillation of coal by heating coal to 1,000 degrees in the School of Chemistry, can make iron tools sharper and armor stronger.
The most important thing is the cement road from Linzi to Dongpingling. It is said that the whole journey is nearly 300 miles. If you use horse-drawn carriages to transport soldiers, you can actually arrive there in one day. You can start at lunchtime in the morning and arrive before sunrise in the evening.
About five or six hours, such a speed is unimaginable.
These changes in Qingzhou made Cao Cao see it and worry in his heart.
Now that Qingzhou is very powerful, he is asked to join them in attacking Xuzhou, and after Xuzhou is captured, it must be handed over to Qingzhou's jurisdiction.
Then isn’t working for nothing?
But Chen Mu also had a reason. The imperial court appointed Liu Bei as the shepherd of Qingzhou, and he was appointed as a former general. He appointed Chief Shi Sima to serve as a lieutenant, granted leave and festivals, opened a government office and established summons, behaved like the three Dukes, and supervised the three states of Qing, Xu, and Hebei.
, entrusted to the East, Weijun's decision.
Therefore, theoretically speaking, Qingzhou, Xuzhou, Jizhou and Liu Bei all have the authority to govern. If Xuzhou is captured and Tao Qian is taken away, then there is nothing wrong with Xuzhou returning to Liu Bei.
This is using the name of righteousness to suppress Cao Cao.
In today's world, everyone knows that the prestige of the imperial court has been ruined, and the various princes have divided their power, and they only listen to orders but not to propaganda.
Just having a name but no power means nothing.
But it was different after Xuzhou was conquered.
How should the land be divided?
How should population and resources be allocated?
How to balance the interests of both parties?
If the two princes jointly attack, it will probably be divided equally.
Like three families being promoted.
But now that Liu Bei has a reputation, he can legitimately bring Xuzhou into his sphere of influence, and Cao Cao has to find people to work as laborers for Liu Bei.
Who can bear this?
But what can Cao Cao do?
People have great righteousness, the imperial court confers festivals, and appoints them to supervise the affairs of Qing, Xu, and Hebei states, so that people can't find their weak feet.
If one day Cao Cao knew that it was recorded in a book "Three Kingdoms" that he had always used this method to deal with others, and now others were using this method to deal with him, he would not know what to think.
Anyway, Cao Cao didn't sign the agreement when he went to Qingzhou this time, but he went to visit it and saw the changes and prosperity of Qingzhou with his own eyes, which made him worry about the consequences of falling out with Qingzhou.
"When I compare Qingzhou, it's like an earthworm compared to a big tree."
Cao Cao sighed.
This was the most intuitive feeling he had after going to Qingzhou and seeing the power of Qingzhou.
Xi Zhicai thought carefully about Cao Cao's current strength and compared it with Qingzhou's current strength. He could only smile bitterly and shake his head: "It is indeed difficult to compete with him."
"I haven't even gotten Yanzhou yet. It's just a place. I can only have 20,000 soldiers and hundreds of thousands of civilians. How can I talk about development and strength?"
Cao Cao's eyes were slightly confused: "Where should I go in the future?"
Seeing that he seemed to be faintly decadent, Xi Zhicai smiled and said: "Don't worry, Ming Gong. You have great talent and great strategy, so how can you be trapped in the shallows? Although Qingzhou is strong, there is still Wang Fen of Jizhou, so we are caught in the gap.
Among them, it may not be able to grow stronger."
"It's just...what should I do."
Cao Cao hesitated for a while.
Historically, Cao Cao was able to have a basic foundation because he relied on the Qingzhou Yellow Turban to start his career. In addition, Xun Yu helped with strategic preparations.
Now not only is the Qingzhou Yellow Turban gone, but Xun Yu, the top strategist, is no longer around. He has no way forward, no righteousness, and his position is very awkward. Cao Cao doesn't even know what direction he should take in the future.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! It is against the will of the imperial court. People like Yuan Shu and Liu Yan act like warlords who listen to orders but not propaganda, and act as a separatist force.
Or should we continue to rely on Liu Bei and respect the so-called Han Dynasty in Luoyang?
This is a question related to future development.
Before coercing the emperor to order the princes, Cao Cao was indeed a loyal minister of the Han Dynasty.
But the problem now is that, as smart people, his group of advisers and Cao Cao himself have been able to foresee that in the future, when Liu Bei conquers the country and the heirless Liu Yu dies, it will be a matter of time before he proclaims himself emperor and ascends the throne.
Therefore, there are only two choices before Cao Cao. If he continues to be the so-called "loyal minister of the Han Dynasty", he will inevitably become Liu Bei's vassal and subordinate in the future.
If you don't want to be a "loyal minister of the Han Dynasty", then you can only establish a new mountain on your own and carve out a kingdom for yourself.
If it was the former, it would really make Cao Cao's life worse than death.
Cao Cao could accept Liu Yu as emperor, or even accept Liu Yu's descendants, or the court could adopt a dragon son and grandson from Hejian Mansion to come back as emperor.
If this is really the case, what's the harm if someone like him follows the current Luoyang court and becomes an able minister in governing the world even for once?
But he just couldn't accept that in the end it was Liu Bei who picked the peach and enjoyed the fruits of victory.
Putting aside the legal issues, Liu Bei's identity is far inferior to that of Cao Cao. Even now, everyone is nominally equal.
In the end, you became the emperor and I was still a minister?
I can't accept it from my heart.
What's more, although Liu Bei is also a descendant of the Liu family, he is a descendant of the former Han royal family and is not of the Guangwu lineage.
Once he became emperor, what was the difference between starting a new dynasty?
For various reasons, Cao Cao did not recognize Liu Bei.
He recognized that Liu Bei was now a minister of the Han Dynasty, but he would never tolerate Liu Bei becoming the emperor in the end.
Rather than doing this, it would be better to finally carve out a piece of the country for yourself.
It's just that Qingzhou is now so powerful that Cao Cao has to decide whether to continue to be friendly with them for the time being because they are strong.
But in that case, I will inevitably sacrifice a lot of interests. How long will it take for me to get ahead?
Cao Cao became even more confused when he thought of this.
However, as an important counselor in Cao Cao's early days, Xi Zhicai was of great help to him. During Cao Cao's most difficult moments, Xi Zhicai was always cheering him on.
Xi Zhi understood his worries and tried to persuade him: "Ming Gong, we must not be intimidated. No matter where we want to develop in the future, at least for now, we must strengthen ourselves in order to stand undefeated among the princes.
"
“Are you trying to strengthen yourself?”
"Yes."
"But how can it be compared with Qingzhou?"
"Human life in this world is full of certainties. Who can know what the future will be like? Maybe the conflict between Wang Fen and Liu Bei is the opportunity for our rise."
"It's just that Liu Bei is now in control of the Luoyang court. If I go against him, won't I have to bear the reputation of being a traitor to the Han Dynasty?"
Cao Cao was a little frustrated. Liu Bei now held the title of righteousness, and he felt passive everywhere.
"Who said Liu Bei has a rightful name?"
But Xi Zhicai laughed: "At least the court in Luoyang is still dominated by Duke Bo'an. Even if Liu Bei wants to usurp the throne, he has to ask the opinions of all the princes in the Manchu Dynasty."
"Gong Bo'an and the Dukes of Luoyang?"
"Yes, Ming Gong thinks that if Liu Bei's family dominates in the future, the princes will not know the threat he poses to the throne?"
"It should be clear after thinking about it."
Cao Cao thought about it, and it should not be difficult to guess that in the Spring and Autumn Period, the Tian family replaced Qi. Wasn't it just the powerful ministers who dominated the family, and finally replaced Jiang Qi?
There was also the period of Wang Mang, who finally succeeded in usurping the Han Dynasty, but was later revived by Emperor Guangwu.
If Liu Bei really wants to conquer the country, Liu Yu has no descendants, and he is also a member of the clan with the surname Liu. The success rate of usurping the Han Dynasty is almost 100%. How could he not do it?
So how could the princes of the imperial court not know this?
"Does Duke Ming think that the guilds in Luoyang will continue to let Liu Bei grow stronger?"
Xi Zhicai said again.
Cao Cao replied: "Probably not."
"Exactly, so no matter how powerful Liu Bei is now, as long as we support the imperial court, then we also have the right to do so. Liu Bei wants to take Xuzhou, Ming Gong, think about it, will the Luoyang guilds agree?"
"Yes... they will definitely not agree."
Cao Cao's gloomy eyes suddenly brightened up, and his depression was swept away. Liu Bei wanted to be emperor, but the ministers in Luoyang who supported the Han Dynasty would never agree.
Because Liu Bei was not in the lineage of Emperor Guangwu, he was not qualified to inherit the dynasty unless he imitated Emperor Guangwu and created another great Han Dynasty.
So as long as he can keep in touch with the Luoyang court, even if Liu Bei wants to take Xuzhou, it won't be that easy.
For example, after Xuzhou was defeated, the imperial court could easily break the situation by sending another Xuzhou Mu.
After all, aren't you Liu Bei known as a loyal minister of the Han Dynasty? How can you not respect the imperial edict of the state pastor sent by the imperial court?
It would be interesting if that were the case. By then, the reputation Liu Bei had accumulated would probably fall apart in an instant and he would become a Han traitor that everyone in the world reviled.
"The princes of the imperial court are not stupid. They are just living under someone else's roof and have to look at Liu Bei's face for the time being."
Xi Zhicai continued: "But if there is a chance, we will not sit back and watch Liu Bei grow stronger, so as long as we keep in touch with the princes, they will definitely help us. Only when we become stronger can we one day be able to fight against Liu Bei."
This is the time that all the princes of the imperial court want to see the most!"
"is that so?"
After hearing what he said, Cao Cao thought thoughtfully and murmured to himself: "Yes, that's it."
Xi Zhicai's words reminded him.
yes.
No matter what.
It is always right to strengthen yourself.
There is never any right or wrong in this world, if you are beaten or bullied.
The only fault is that you are not strong enough, that's all.
Now, my strength is indeed very weak.
But the Luoyang court would not want a clan named Liu to take over the world.
What they would rather see is a group of princes of similar strength supporting the imperial court.
This is the so-called way of balancing, the so-called method of restraint, so that a force that can threaten the regime will not emerge.
Therefore, if Cao Cao can establish a good relationship with the princes of Luoyang and ask the Luoyang court to find ways to support him, it seems that he will not be unable to get a share of the righteousness.