Many people think that Cao Cao's massacre of Xuzhou happened after Tao Qian killed Cao Song.
But actually, it happened before that.
According to records in "The Book of the Later Han" and "Three Kingdoms", Cao Cao's hatred for Tao Qian was mainly due to Tao Qian's two active attacks.
One is to join forces with Gongsun Zan of Yuan Shao and attack the alliance of Yuan Shao, Cao Cao and Liu Biao.
The second was to join forces with a powerful rebel named Que Xuan to invade Rencheng and Taishan counties, invading Cao Cao's territory.
Based on these two reasons, Cao Cao subsequently launched a revenge against Tao Qian and attacked Xuzhou in the fourth year of Chuping in history, that is, in 193 AD.
In this battle, Tao Qian was defeated and retreated to Tan County, Donghai County. Cao Cao finally chose to retreat because he was unable to conquer Tan County and his own lack of food and grass made it difficult for him to attack for a long time.
But when he retreated, in order to frighten Tao Qian, he attacked Juling and Xiaqiu, captured the three counties, and slaughtered the city extremely cruelly.
"They were all slaughtered in Juling and Xiaqiu."
Cao Song was killed in the spring of the next year, which was 194 AD.
Because the massacre of the city made Tao Qian extremely angry, the result was that in order to retaliate against Cao Cao, Tao Qian deliberately sent people to hunt down Cao Song.
This is something recorded simultaneously in "The Book of the Later Han" and "The Chronicles of the Three Kingdoms". It is not what "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms" said. It was to please Cao Cao and sent his men to escort him. As a result, the captain Zhang Kai coveted Cao Song's property and robbed and killed him.
So from this point of view, many people whitewashed Cao Cao, saying that although Cao Cao went too far in slaughtering the city, he was doing it to avenge his father's murder.
A causal relationship.
Because it was Cao Cao who massacred the city first, and then Tao Qian retaliated and killed Cao Song, which eventually triggered a larger-scale conflict. Even if the two sides initially conflicted due to the North-South alliance, at least the massacre of the city was indeed done by Cao Cao first
.
Chen Mu knew this, so he kept thinking about this issue in his mind.
Now - will Cao Cao massacre the city again when he attacks Xuzhou because of Tao Qian's grudge against him like in history?
Although strictly speaking, if the trajectory of history really starts to develop in that direction, it will be a good thing for Qingzhou and it will be in their interests.
Because then Liu Bei could take advantage of the righteousness and severely condemn Cao Cao, and then the central court in Luoyang could also issue an edict to reprimand him.
At that time, the undercover forces lurking in Xuzhou will exert their efforts to persuade Tao Qian to give Xuzhou to Liu Bei. Then Tao Qian will most likely choose to agree to this condition because he is afraid of Cao Cao.
When the time comes, everything will fall into place and Xuzhou can be captured without spending a single soldier.
But if you massacre the city...
Chen Mu's eyes gradually became confused, recalling the countless people he had met over the years, their flesh and blood, their true emotions, their simplicity, kindness, hard work, and bravery.
They are no longer just a few words written in history books, nor are they cold numbers, but real people standing in front of them.
They are Han people like themselves, and like all Han people, they are ordinary people in Guizhou who are honest and working hard for life.
Can I really watch them being slaughtered, watch them turn into cold corpses, and become the words recorded in the history books of future generations?
Chen Mu actually felt a little confused at this moment.
Xun Yu muttered: "Cao Cao sent troops to attack Xuzhou. He is famous for his troops. Now most of our troops in Qingzhou are confronting Yuan Shao. He has chosen a good time. Why not take this opportunity to declare war on Xuzhou and cut off Tao Qian?"
.”
Chen Mu smiled bitterly and said: "Of course this is a good strategy, but I guessed a possibility."
"What's possible?"
Ju Shou and Xun Yu were puzzled.
Chen Mu looked at them and said word by word: "Cao Cao is cruel. To frighten Tao Qian, he may massacre the city."
"hiss!"
Both of them took a breath of air.
Many people think that the ancients were accustomed to massacres of cities, and they think that the ancients would not care, but in fact massacres are already the cruelest means of war.
When faced with those who massacred cities, the ancients would often describe them as "brutal", "vicious", "savage", "bloodthirsty", etc.
Including history, most people at that time mainly condemned Cao Cao's massacre of the city.
For example, Pei Songzhi said: "It has been recorded in ancient and modern books that officials who are greedy, cruel, violent and unethical are the worst offenders in Cao Cao."
Sun Sheng: "It is an ancient order for a man to attack and punish the people. It is too much to cripple his subordinates just because he is guilty."
Lu Ji: "Although the Cao family has contributed greatly to the prosperity of other countries, their abuses have also been profound and their people are resentful."
Even Xun Yu was very dissatisfied with Cao Cao's massacre of the city. He once tactfully persuaded him: "The massacre of Ye city in front of the Duke has shocked the whole country. Everyone is afraid that they will not be able to protect their land and soldiers."
It can be seen that during the late Han, Wei and Jin Dynasties, in addition to praising Cao Cao for his godlike military use, people also criticized him for his massacre of cities.
Now when Xun Yu and Jushu heard that Cao Cao might massacre the city, their first feeling was that they couldn't believe it.
Because although Tao Qian and Cao Cao had a grudge, the hatred between the two parties was not that of killing his father or seizing his wife, but it was far from the level of massacre of the city to vent their anger.
After all, for the princes from all walks of life, even if the world is in chaos and all the heroes rise up, the goal is to unify the world. If they massacre the city and kill the people, they will not only make their reputation bad, but also seize these territories in the future, and there will be no people under their rule.
any meaning.
So after hearing Chen Mu's words, even Xun Yu, who had always believed in him, began to question: "Shang Shu Ling's words must be unfounded. No matter how cruel Cao Cao is, would he dare to risk the disapproval of the world and kill the people like this?
Aren’t you afraid of heaven’s punishment?”
Chen Mu thought for a while and said: "Cao Cao is not afraid of heavenly execution. What he is afraid of is that if his eldest brother defeats Yuan Shao and seizes Hebei, he will eventually be annexed, so he must strengthen himself before his eldest brother defeats Yuan Shao. As for
By whatever means...people like him won't care."
Jushou shook his head: "This is just your guess, Zi Gui. When they were fighting against Dongchu, Duke Kang Cheng and Duke Bojie wrote "The Record of Fighting against Dong", praising Cao Cao as a role model for the emperor. If he massacred the city and killed people, wouldn't he have drawn the blame on him?
All good reputations will be destroyed by oneself? This is not what a wise person would do."
"I hope I'm overthinking it."
Chen Mu closed his eyes and rubbed his temples. He didn't know if the tight spell he had placed on him could really restrain the beast Cao Cao.
But looking at the history books, he is not the kind of person who cares about worldly perspectives. As a person who puts the ultimate profit first, massacre can allow him to pacify Xuzhou as soon as possible. As long as he sits on the land of the two states, he will have the ability to fight against Liu Bei, Yuan Shao, Gongsun Zan and others.
With capital, why didn’t Cao Cao do it?
Therefore, Chen Mu felt that with Cao Cao's current strength and ideas, if he once again fell into a long-term invincible situation when attacking Xuzhou, it would really be possible to do something like massacre in order to scare Tao Qian.
.
It's just that Jushu and Xun Yu didn't believe it, so there was nothing they could do about it. After all, Chen Mu was from God's perspective and obtained information through history. It was really difficult for them to believe in something unexpected in the future.
Xun Yu pondered: "Since Shangshu Ling was worried that Cao Cao would choose such an extreme method, why didn't he choose to send troops to Xuzhou? Anyway, this is the time to send troops."
Chen Mu shook his head: "Forget it, I find that discussing it with you two is meaningless. I'd better find someone who can discuss it."
Jushou: "???"
Xun Yu: "???"
The two of them had question marks on their faces and had no idea what he was talking about.
Only Chen Mu smiled and said nothing.
It is true that Xun Yu and Jushu are both top strategists, but they have never been in contact with their own darkness, how can they glimpse the darkness?
There is a beast in everyone's heart. Chen Mu once traveled to this troubled world and was incompatible with this world and found it difficult to integrate, so he became indifferent to everything. However, the longer he came to this world, the deeper he was influenced by Liu Bei.
It's also changing.
At least now he will start to get entangled when his own interests conflict with the life and death of the people. At least he will no longer resort to any means to achieve his goals. At least at this moment, his heart is full of contradictions and complex emotions.
that's enough.
...
...
After bidding farewell to Xun Yu and Jushu, Chen Mu pondered for a long time in his mansion, then walked out of the house, got on the carriage, and headed towards Mount Tai.
Along the continuous and wide cement road, all the way to the west, at the three forks in the road, turned into a yellow mud road.
There are vast farmland and villages outside the city on both sides of this concrete road, which leads directly to Taishan Academy and Taishan Academy, while the yellow mud road at the three-way intersection leads to a village at the foot of the mountain to the east.
A large number of mulberry trees were planted in the village. It was midsummer, and farmers and mulberry girls walked on the road from time to time.
Seeing the carriage with the sign of the Prefect's Mansion from a distance, except for the elderly people over fifty, these country people stopped and stood on the roadside. When the carriage passed by, they would take off their hats or bend down to salute.
After passing the village and walking further into the mountains, we arrived at the Back Mountain Bamboo Forest.
Everyone in the village knows that a family from Guanzhong moved into the bamboo forest recently. It is said that they are reclusive sages who came to Qingzhou to escape from the troubles caused by the chaos in Guanzhong.
The host is an elderly man in his sixties. His surname is only Yan. He is generous and polite. He has two sons and two daughters in his family. The eldest son is not named Yan, but his surname is Xu. He is said to be the adopted son he adopted in his early years. There are more than twenty people in his family.
I live in a bamboo forest and raise some poultry, and my life is quite comfortable.
Chen Mu arrived outside the bamboo forest, got off the carriage, and asked the servant to wait outside. He walked into the forest alone, walked up the steps, and after about forty or fifty steps, he saw a bamboo forest full of flower beds in the distance.
, there are two women watering the water.
When they saw Chen Mu coming in, they all squatted down slightly and saluted, but they didn't shy away from it.
Chen Mu put his hands behind his back and bowed slightly. These are Yan Zhong's two daughters. The eldest daughter is more than 20 years old and has already been married. However, her husband died of illness and it was difficult to raise the younger son. This time, Yan Zhong took her with him.
Come here, the young girl is fifteen or sixteen years old, about the same age as Chen Feng, and is not yet married.
Walking inside, there were several children playing in the courtyard, throwing sandbags. The older ones were seven or eight years old, and the younger ones were only five or six years old. They were several grandchildren of Yan Zhong, including one of Xu Rong's.
One son and one daughter.
Although Xu Rong died early in history, he was actually in his thirties and almost forty years old. He had already married and started a business, so he was not a young man.
"Uncle Mu."
When several young children saw Chen Mu, they happily gathered around him.
Chen Mu took a few candies from his sleeve and handed them over, and asked with a smile: "Where is your grandfather?"
"In the backyard!"
The children happily took the snacks and pointed to the back of the yard.
Chen Mu smiled, touched the heads of these children with braids, and walked slowly into them.
The reason why Yan Zhong and Xu Rong want to live here for a while is to clear their names first.
After all, they are the Xiliang Army. The Xiliang Army has done many cruel things in the past, and they are still causing trouble in the pass. They have a bad reputation among the princes in Guandong, and Liu Bei is also disgusted.
Therefore, if you want them to successfully join the Qingzhou Group, they must wash away their past experiences and create a new personality.
For example, because Li Jue, Guo Si and others caused trouble in Guanzhong, they were forced to move to Qingzhou as a hermit from a wealthy family.
There are quite a few such people in Qingzhou. For example, Cao Cao's father, Cao Song, now lives in the Beihai Kingdom in Qingzhou to avoid trouble. The Zhang Zhao family also lives in the stable Qingzhou because of persecution by Tao Qian.
When Chen Mu went in, he saw the old man enjoying the cool under the eaves in the yard. Xu Rong could not be seen on either side. He thought he had gone hunting in the mountains. This was his only way of entertainment when he did not lead troops.
"Mr. Chenghan."
Chen Mu walked over, slightly cupped his hands, and said with a smile: "Are you used to living in Qingzhou?"
Yan Zhong said with a Guanzhong accent: "She is very beautiful, with beautiful mountains and rivers. She is also pretty, and her forehead is very rare."
Chen Mu said with a dark look on his face: "Sir, it's just the two of us here, there's no need to pretend."
"Ha ha ha ha."
Yan Zhong laughed loudly, stood up from the recliner given by Chen Mu, and turned around to enter the house.
The two people entered the house and found a mat to sit down on.
The two looked at each other and could see each other's smile in their eyes.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! For Yan Zhong, it is quite good to be able to run out of Guanzhong with his whole family.
What's more, Qingzhou is now on the rise and has a promising future. You may not be able to go back in the future.
"Tell me, what's going on?"
Yan Zhong didn't talk nonsense to Chen Mu. He knew that it was not the time to leave the mountain yet. It would take a year and a half before the news came out that Yan Zhong and Xu Rong died in the rebellion before he could take action easily.
So Chen Mu suddenly came to visit today, and he probably had other things to discuss.
Chen Mu said: "I can't hide anything from you, sir. I have a question and I want to ask you for advice."
"Um."
Yan Zhong nodded and motioned for him to continue speaking.
Chen Mu then said: "Cao Cao attacked Xuzhou. Based on my understanding of him, this person will definitely want to take advantage of the stalemate in Hebei to capture Xuzhou as soon as possible. This person's actions are said to be informal at best, and unscrupulous at worst.
.Tao Qian has lost his spirit. A slight scare may break his courage. So I guess Cao Cao will probably choose an extremely cruel way to intimidate Tao Qian."
"In what way?"
Yan Zhong asked.
Chen Mu slowly spit out two words from his mouth: "Massacre the city."
Unlike Jushu Xunyu, Yan Zhong only frowned slightly and didn't react at all.
The conflict between the Qiang people and the Han people in Xiliang is no less bloody than the city massacre. There are millions of Qiang people, and the number of large and small tribes can reach thousands. Whether it is Han people and Qiang people, or Qiang people fighting among themselves, massacres are the result.
There were so many things that happened to the whole tribe that the chickens and dogs were left alone, and Yan Zhong had become accustomed to it, and it was a common occurrence.
"What's your question?"
Yan Zhong did not question this matter that had not happened yet like Jushu Xunyu did, but directly asked Chen Mu's question.
Chen Mu smiled bitterly and said: "If Cao Cao massacres the city in Xuzhou, it will be a good thing for us in Qingzhou. Because we will have an excuse to intervene in this battle, let the court issue an edict to blame Cao Cao, and even use this to unite with Sun Jian to destroy Cao Cao's Yanzhou
Annexation. But as for the massacre of the city, you also know that I am afraid of my eldest brother..."
"Is this a good thing for Qingzhou?"
"Well, it's in our interests."
"hehe."
Yan Zhong suddenly laughed: "Zi Gui, what would you have done if I were you before?"
Chen Mu said without hesitation: "Just wait and see what happens."
"what about now?"
"This is where I am full of contradictions now."
Chen Mu shook his head: "There is a beast in everyone's heart. I once released the beast in Dong Zhuo's heart, making him extremely bloodthirsty and killing countless people. Today, it seems that I am also guiding Cao Cao.
Unleash the beast within him."
"Does this matter to you?"
Yan Zhong asked.
Chen Mu's eyes were blurry and he said: "It's related, right? If it's not that he doesn't want to fight Yuan Shaoyu to death, at least Cao Cao shouldn't have the guts to attack Xuzhou immediately."
"Then it has nothing to do with you."
Yan Zhong smiled and said: "You have never treated Cao Cao the same way you treated Dong Zhuo. If he massacres the city, what does it have to do with you? You don't have to worry about this. Just do what you want."
"But I also feel that Xuzhou should be in our pocket. If Xuzhou is massacred too heavily, governance will be very troublesome in the future."
"Zigui, sometimes you think too far ahead. How can we manage something that hasn't happened yet? I don't really understand why something that hasn't happened yet can upset your mind.
"
"...."
Chen Mu didn't speak. He didn't know what he was thinking at this moment. Sometimes his mind would go blank.
Yan Zhong looked at his frown and shook his head with a smile: "If it were you before, you would definitely not care about the life and death of those people. What do the people of Xuzhou have to do with you? But you can do this now because you have changed.
Already."
"Have I changed?"
Chen Mu asked.
"changed."
Yan Zhong nodded seriously: "The reason why you think so is because you care about your elder brother's feelings. Do you think you would have cared before?"
"Maybe... yes."
"No, you won't."
Yan Zhong didn't save any face for him and said: "If you could, you wouldn't have taken advantage of Dong Zhuo like that."
Chen Mu was speechless.
Because what Yan Zhong said is true. If he really cared about Liu Bei, he would not have allowed Dong Zhuo to enter Luoyang, and would not have allowed Liu Xie and Liu Bian to be deposed.
After all, Liu Bei, who followed Liu Hong, Emperor Xiaokang of the Han Dynasty, and even Cao Cao and Sun Jian were all loyal ministers of the Han Dynasty. They only wanted to help the Han Dynasty. As long as Dong Zhuo did not enter Luoyang, they would most likely become Liu Bian and Liu Xie's good friends.
Minister.
But what Chen Mu did was pushing the Eastern Han Dynasty into the abyss. Not only was it contrary to Liu Bei's long-cherished wish, but it was also contrary to Cao Cao's bold loyalty.
If one day Cao Cao really massacres the city, then Chen Mu today should also bear a share of the responsibility. Because he failed to turn the tide and help the building collapse, making the world more chaotic, which aroused the rebellion of various princes.
Ambition.
"I think you actually have the answer in your heart, you just want to find someone to talk to."
Yan Zhong finally pointed at Chen Mu's heart and said: "The answer lies in your heart. If you think Qingzhou's interests are paramount, then you should let Cao Cao go. If you think you care more about Liu Xuande, then you should not let Cao Cao go."
Something will happen that will cause Liu Xuande sadness and pain."
"Some things are not all about profit. Confucius said: "You can do something if you know you can't do it. Only when you don't do something can you do something." Only by truly understanding what you want can you understand what you can do.
matter."
Do you know that you cannot do something but do it anyway?
A trace of confusion flashed across Chen Mu's eyes. What came to his mind was not some great avenue of heaven and earth, nor was it some deafening cry.
It's the scene of Liu Bei's hearty smile, the second brother dancing in Taoyuan, and the third brother riding a horse and singing loudly.
It is precisely because his three brothers have cared about him, cared about him, and protected him all the time over the years that he has gradually changed subtly.
People's hearts are not like stones. After ten years of being together, they have become as close as brothers.
Even if he did something wrong and deceived Liu Bei, his eldest brother never scolded him and protected him carefully.
That's how he changed today.
Answer.
In fact, it was already in his heart.
It's just that Chen Mu has been unwilling to face it all this time.
Now.
It's also time to make a choice.
"I see."
After a long time, Chen Mu nodded and closed his eyes: "This time, I will personally lead the army to Xuzhou. The name is to attack Tao Qian with Cao Cao, but in fact, I will protect the people of Xuzhou."
There was no emotion in Yan Zhong's eyes. He was also a poisonous person and never cared about the life and death of the people.
But at this moment, he chose to give Chen Mu a push. Between the soul torture of good and evil, he indirectly helped Chen Mu choose good.
Nothing else.
Just to hope that if the world is peaceful in the future, the person standing over me will not be a ruthless person, that's all.
After all, when it comes to that point, who can say clearly that for the sake of one's own power, there will be no liquidation?