In June of the second year of Xingwu, Cao Cao killed Wu Zi and finally fulfilled his long-cherished wish and occupied the entire Yanzhou.
After dispatching magistrates and other officials from various places to serve and firmly controlling Yanzhou, Cao Cao quickly took the next step.
Shanyang County, Changyi County. As the seat of Yanzhou, Changyi County has been quite dilapidated, and there are no signs of it before the Yellow Turban.
Although the Yellow Turban Rebellion was most affected by Jizhou and Qingzhou, Yanzhou, as the hinterland of the Central Plains and the only way for all princes to travel from south to north, also had numerous bandits and endless wars.
Now that Yanzhou is in peace and people's livelihood is in decline, Cao Cao immediately arranges for officials from various places to carry out governance, dispatches troops and horses to clear out the bandits, calm down the public order in various places, and restore the agricultural economy.
When Zhang Miao rebelled, he raised many troops because he was afraid of Cao Cao's revenge. Now that Zhang Miao died, Cao Cao was left with 30,000 troops from Chen County.
After Wu Zi's death, most of his troops surrendered to Cao Cao. Therefore, Cao Cao's strength jumped to 80,000 soldiers at this time.
However, most of these soldiers were not strong in combat effectiveness and their strength was worrying. Therefore, Cao Cao really relied on his own more than 20,000 elite troops. Zhang Miao and Wu Zi's soldiers were assigned to various counties by him to act as county soldiers to quell banditry everywhere.
When things were almost arranged, Cao Cao also held a meeting with two advisers in Changyi County. He only brought Guo Jia and Cheng Yu with him on this expedition. Guo Jia was good at understanding people's hearts, while Cheng Yu was a general planner and was known for his military strategy. Chen
Gong and Xi Zhicai, one stayed in Dongjun and the other in Chenliu, but they are not here.
In the mansion, the three of them sat down. Cao Cao looked at Guo Jiacheng Yu, raised his wine glass and said with a smile: "Fengxiao, Zhongde, this time Yanzhou is pacified. It will only take a year or two. When the people's sentiments are stable and the army and food are sufficient, we will
We can attack Xuzhou eastward to avenge the original attack."
Seeing that Cao Cao was in a happy mood and drinking heavily, Guo Jia said: "Do you think it will take one or two years before we can attack Xuzhou?"
"It's natural."
Cao Cao said without hesitation: "These two thieves, Tao Gongzu and Yuan Gongguo, took advantage of people's danger to attack me secretly. I will definitely avenge them!"
Guo Jia smiled and said: "So it's better to choose a day than to hit it. If you don't take revenge now, when will you wait?"
"ah?"
Cao Cao was stunned for a moment and wondered: "Should we send out troops now? But Xuzhou is already on alert, and its troops are better supplied than we are. To attack Xuzhou now, wouldn't it be to mobilize troops and mobilize the masses?"
Cheng Yu shook his head and said: "Ming Gong, now is indeed the best time to attack Xuzhou. In the land of Hebei, Yuan Shao, Sun Zan and Liu Bei are at a stalemate. It is difficult to go south in a short time. If we wait for a year or two and they decide the winner, I'm afraid we won't be able to
There is an opportunity. Only by annexing Xuzhou and strengthening our own body can we compete with it."
Guo Jia also said: "There is a saying in "The Book of Changes": "A gentleman hides his weapons in his body, waiting for the time to move." Although Yanzhou was at the beginning of peace at this time, the people's livelihood was in decline, and it was in need of governance, but Ming Gong had ordered the governors and county magistrates in various places to eliminate banditry.
, it is advisable to inspect the soil and fields, and make the most of the benefits of digging and irrigation. The government order has been issued, and there is no need for military affairs. There are already county soldiers everywhere, and the place is stable. At this time, we should attack Xuzhou as soon as possible to get a glimpse of the wealth of the East China Sea.
We have to wait until the situation of the war in the north becomes clear. Otherwise, how can we, Yanzhou, be weak and weak to compete with Yuan Shao, Liu Bei, Gongsun Zan and other powerful princes?"
Cao Cao thought about it and realized that this made sense.
Although he had just captured Yanzhou, Yuan Shao inherited Wang Fen's legacy. Since the first year of Zhongping, Jizhou has developed steadily in the past ten years. The state is strong, the people are rich, and the strength is strong.
The same is true for Liu Bei's Qingzhou. It has been in a state of development since the Yellow Turban Rebellion and is also much stronger than him.
As for Gongsun Zan, he made his fortune by doing business and had very good relations with the Hu people in the north. He was often able to borrow troops from the Xianbei in the east. Even the Xianbei in the central part of the country was repelled by him. He settled in Youzhou, which was also much stronger than him.
So they took advantage of the fact that it was now difficult for them to take action on the land of Henan, and annexed Xuzhou to strengthen themselves. When they had the land of two states, they would have the strength to compete with them.
Thinking of this, Cao Cao felt deeply and said: "The words of Feng Xiao and Zhong De really made me see the light of day. I think that under the pressure of Chen Zigui, I almost conspired with Qingzhou to attack Xuzhou and almost handed over the land of Xuzhou."
Let me go out. Now that I think about it, I have to thank Wang Wenzu."
Guo Jia smiled and said: "Human calculations are not as good as God's calculations. Although Chen Zigui is full of wisdom and tricks, how can he compare with God's will? What's more, we also have plans to write to the princes of the court and make Qingzhou's ambitions public to the public, but we haven't revealed our faces yet.
Now that we have given up, we must forge ahead with determination.”
"good!"
Cao Cao immediately stood up and said excitedly: "I will send a letter of war tomorrow to attack Pengcheng. It is time for Tao Gongzu's revenge to be avenged."
.......
.......
June of the second year of Xingwu.
The war between Qingzhou and Jizhou has moved from the stage of fighting to the stage of confrontation.
Liu Bei and Gongsun Zan gave up the large areas they had previously occupied and occupied only Bohai County. They used the large number of water systems in the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River to build fortifications to resist Yuan Shao's attack.
At least in a short period of time, Yuan Shao would definitely not be able to regain the lost territory. Therefore, he had no choice but to station troops on the border and also built a fortress.
The three parties are entangled with each other, and no one can do anything to the other. But compared to Yuan Shao and Gongsun Zan, Liu Bei has much more choice.
Because Yuan Shao and Gong Sun Zan wanted to develop, they had no choice but to go south, but to their south was Yuan Shao and Cao Cao, both of whom could not move. To the south of Liu Bei was the relatively weak Xuzhou.
At this time, Liu Bei was personally in charge of the Pingyuan Kingdom and held a stalemate with Yuan Shao on the front line. Guan Yu was in charge of Hanoi County. Together with Zhao Yun, the two of them fought back and forth with Lu Bu, sometimes making advances.
Only the city of Linzi has a completely new atmosphere. After ten years of governance, Qingzhou has recruited a large number of refugees, built water conservancy facilities, and cultivated new fields. As a result, there is abundant money and food, and people's livelihood has gradually become more prosperous.
In mid-June, Chen Mu received news that Cao Cao personally led an army to attack Pengcheng in retaliation for Tao Qian's attack on him. Cao Ren defeated Tao Qian's general Lu You in Fuyang County, and Tao Qian had no choice but to retreat to Tan.
county.
After learning about this, Chen Mu immediately summoned Xun Yu and Jushu to discuss the matter. Tian Feng was currently on the front line of Pingyuan Kingdom. Because Liu Bei had passed him up, Liu Bei felt very sorry for him, so he followed Tian Feng's advice and sent him.
If Liu Bei fell ill in the plains, he could at least persuade him to move.
The Taishou's Mansion in Linzi City has a water pavilion in the backyard, rockeries, jagged rocks, towering green trees, and a small bridge and flowing water in the pavilion. The water is brought in from outside the mansion, flows into the lake, and then forms a stream around the pavilion and flows slowly. The scenery
It's absolutely beautiful.
Chen Mu's current official position is actually the Guanglu doctor appointed by the court and the Marquis of Anshun Township. But in Qingzhou, he also serves as the Prime Minister of Qi, so Linzi City not only has the Prefectural Mufu's Palace, but also the Grand Administrator's Palace as the official residence.
When the weather is hot, the lotus pond in the lake is in full bloom, and golden carps jump out of the water from time to time under the huge lotus flowers, blowing bubbles. Chen Mu is sitting in the pavilion, holding a piece of ice and putting it into the wine.
Xun Yu and Jushu were sitting opposite him. Both of them now held important positions and handled a lot of official duties every day. They were not as free as Chen Mu, but today they were forcibly pulled over by him.
"Zi Gui, you leave all the government affairs to me and Wen Ruo, but you are free and easy every day. It's so unpleasant. Doesn't your conscience hurt?"
Jushu sat down, feeling the gentle summer breeze, and chuckled, imitating the occasional jokes that Chen Mu made.
Chen Mu gracefully shook the wine bottle in his hand, and touched his chest with his left hand as if in pain: "Of course your conscience will hurt, but it hurts, so you get used to it."
"So thick-skinned."
Both of them rolled their eyes. They were very good at arousing others. When they did it themselves, they started to pretend to be sick. How could there be such lazy people in this world?
Xun Yu took a sip of wine, the coldness in his mouth was refreshing. After putting down the wine glass, he casually said: "Now the situation in the world is mostly clear. Even in the chaos like the Jianghuai area, Yuan Shu has slowly regained his footing. Shangshu Ling
What do you think we should do next?”
Chen Mu smiled faintly: "Of course it's Xuzhou."
Jushou Xunyu looked at each other and showed a smile that was true. Now north of the Yellow River, the three parties are competing, and no one can escape.
Yuan Shao did not dare to touch Luoyang, and he could not defeat the coalition forces of Gongsun Zan and Liu Bei, so he could only continue to maintain a stalemate, which was very embarrassing.
As for Gongsun Zan, he is attacking Yuan Shao now because he is determined to open up. Unfortunately, there is no progress unless he goes east to Liaodong and attacks Gongsun Du in the bitter cold land.
But that place is too far away from the Central Plains and has not yet been developed on a large scale, so there is little point in conquering it.
So these two people are now in an awkward situation. Only Liu Bei can attack Xuzhou from the south of Qingzhou, and Yanzhou or Yuzhou to the west. However, Cao Cao and Sun Jian are temporary allies and cannot easily move. He can also attack Jianghuai from Xuzhou south.
There are many options to choose from.
The most important thing is that Tao Qian already had conflicts with Liu Bei after attacking Cao Cao last time. Although Tao Qian wrote back to Liu Bei at that time, saying that he was confused for a while, since he did that, he naturally gave Liu Bei an excuse to go south.
.
As long as the Luoyang court issued an edict stating that Tao Qian had committed a capital crime by attacking his colleagues for no reason, and that Tao Qian would be dismissed from his position as Xuzhou Mu and placed under the jurisdiction of Liu Bei, then it would be logical to occupy Xuzhou.
"Tao Gongzu committed a capital crime by attacking Cao Cao without any reason. Ming Gong appointed Qingzhou as the chief minister of the imperial palace, and he also had the responsibility of supervising Ji, Qing and Xuzhou. It was natural for him to take Xuzhou."
Jushu nodded and said: "It's just that Duke Ming has always been benevolent and righteous. Tao Qian is also a famous scholar in Jianghuai and loves the people. I'm afraid Duke Ming won't want to do it."
"So I'm thinking about a question."
Chen Mu sighed, leaned on the stone pillar in the pavilion, and said to the two of them: "That is, if someone attacks Xuzhou and kills everyone in Xuzhou, will the eldest brother send troops?"
The two looked at each other, and Jushou said without hesitation: "With the benevolence of Duke Ming, we will naturally send troops to stop it. Doesn't it mean that Zigui doesn't understand Duke Ming?"
"Of course I understand, so I'm just thinking about this issue..."
Chen Mu smiled bitterly and said: "I could clearly foresee that a very tragic thing would happen, and it would be beneficial to us in Qingzhou, but I didn't do it because I wanted to take care of my elder brother's feelings. What do you think I should do?"
"oh?"
Jushou asked: "What happened?"
Chen Mu said: "The Military Intelligence Department has reported that Cao Cao has attacked Tao Qian."
"What?"
Jushou Xunyu was surprised and said: "Cao Cao actually struck first?"
Since the Military Intelligence Department's secret reports would be given to Chen Mu as soon as possible, the two of them did not know about it.
"yes."
Chen Mu nodded, looked up at the sky, and gradually became confused.
yes.
Cao Cao is about to massacre Xuzhou.
Although I don't know if the tight spell I put on him is effective or if he will kill him again.
But.
If something like this happened in front of me again and I didn't stop it...it seemed like I would always feel a little bit regretful.
For the first time in his life, he felt as if the common people of the Han Dynasty had, at some point, begun to become flesh and blood, and became the people Chen Mu cared about.
Is it because of your elder brother's influence?
Maybe part of it.
More importantly, I have been in this world for a long time.
The memory of the past life began to blur, many things were forgotten, and many things could not be recalled.
Only the memory of my time in this Han Dynasty is extremely clear.