The Qingzhou army went south to attack Tao Qian on the orders of the Luoyang Emperor.
Although Liu Yu, the emperor, came to the throne in a hurry, he ascended the throne half forced and half helpless.
But half of the princes in the world, plus the recognition of many ministers in Luoyang, then he is the legitimate emperor.
Moreover, when Liu Yu ascended the throne, Tao Qian also recognized it and asked for the title. He was also given the title of Mu of Xuzhou by Liu Yu.
But in a blink of an eye, Tao Qian backstabbed his allies, and especially joined forces with Yuan Shu, a traitor who did not acknowledge the imperial court, to attack Yanzhou.
What kind of behavior is this?
It is not an exaggeration to say that he is committing a crime.
Therefore, when the memorial sent to Luoyang by Liu Bei and Cao Cao was sent to Liu Yu the previous year, Liu Yu quickly ordered Tao Qian to be dismissed and sent to Beijing to be investigated and dealt with by the imperial officers.
It's just that the biggest enemy of the Luoyang court at that time was the puppet emperor Wang Fenli of Jizhou. Liu Bei's Gongsun Zan's troops were also fighting Wang Fen, Cao Cao was crippled, and Sun Jian was still entangled with Yuan Shu, so he never had time to take care of Tao Qian.
But if there is no time to take care of him, it does not mean that everything is gone. Although Tao Qian later paid tribute to Luoyang and begged for forgiveness, from a legal point of view, Tao Qian, the Xuzhou shepherd, had actually been withdrawn since the attack on Cao Cao the year before last.
If it goes away, he is no longer the nominal lord of Xuzhou.
Now Liu Bei still has no time to deal with him, and Cao Cao takes advantage of this opportunity to seize Xuzhou. Chen Mu can only lead the 20,000 troops that Qingzhou barely squeezed out and go south to deal with the matter in a hurry.
"Cao Cao?"
Outside Tan County, Chen Mu was thinking carefully in the camp alone.
Isn't the purpose of Cao Cao's coming to Xuzhou this time just to capture Xuzhou?
By then, sitting on the land of two states, you will have the same strength as Yuan Shao and Liu Bei!
It's a good idea, but it's a pity...
Chen Mu smiled, but unfortunately, all this had been expected.
Since you dare to come, as a long-time friend, you can't be stingy.
What if I give you another half of Xuzhou?
Brother Meng De, brother Meng De.
I hope you will get used to this half of Xuzhou in the future.
Chen Mu walked out of the camp.
In the distance, under the Tan County City, Cao Jun also raised his camp.
Under Guo Jia's persuasion, Cao Cao finally released the people of the two counties and led the army to the city.
Densely packed troops came in and out, auxiliary soldiers carried timber, craftsmen began cutting, rows of fences were erected, and all kinds of horse traps, iron caltrops, and horse traps were arranged at the entrance of the camp.
Building a camp is not a matter of a day or two. During the battle between Yuan Shu and Sun Jian, it took almost only one day to build a few fences.
There are rules for the layout and placement of various types of camps, such as watchtowers, cloud platforms, Juma, and traps. Even for a well-trained army, it may take ten days and a half to build a complete camp.
Cao Jun's side was building in full swing, and the same was true for Chen Mu's side.
At this moment, Cao Cao was also looking at this place.
Historically, he attacked Tan County for two months but could not conquer it because he did not have much food and grass, so he withdrew his troops. On his way back, he slaughtered three cities to scare Tao Qian.
The war hasn't started yet, and Cao Cao has enough food and grass, so he is willing to follow Chen Mu to see the situation.
"Then Chen Zigui, do you really think there is a way to break the city?"
Cao Cao asked Guo Jia.
Guo Jia had his hands in his sleeves, but his eyes were looking towards Tan County, which was three or four miles away.
As the seat of Xuzhou, the size of the Tan County city is slightly higher than that of a county seat, and slightly lower than capitals such as Chang'an and Luoyang. It is three feet high, close to seven meters, and cannot be broken through by ordinary troops.
"That's what he said."
Guo Jia nodded.
Cao Cao sneered and said, "Could it be that he is using a stone cart again?"
"Probably not."
Guo Jia stood on the grass. This place was already outside the city, and people often walked there. The grass was very sparse, and the wind blew up the dust.
In the dust, you can vaguely see countless roofs rising above the city wall in the distance.
The function of the roof was to block the ladders and soldiers climbing the ladders from climbing up the city wall when the infantry attacked the city. But now they are all erected and hung diagonally. They also have the function of blocking arrows and catapults for the soldiers on the city wall.
Although it may not be able to block the attack of the catapult, it can greatly reduce the buffer of the catapult. Unless we use the method in conventional warfare, first use the well rail to push the archers over, and then use rockets to ignite the roof close to the city wall. Otherwise,
The role of the catapult will be greatly weakened.
"No matter what method Chen Zigui uses, we can't leave."
Cao Cao narrowed his eyes and said in a deep voice: "Although the strategy of shocking Tao Qian and forcing him to surrender failed. But we cannot just watch Xuzhou return to Liu Bei. At least we have to take half of Xuzhou."
"Um."
Guo Jia said: "I think so too. Now that Sun Jian is fighting Yuan Shu, the main forces are concentrated in Runan and the southern part of Pei. Chen and Liang are his foundations and cannot be easily moved. But Lu is hanging on
To the north, Sun Jian has never taken care of it. If we can take it down, we can connect it with Pi Guangling under Pengcheng. By then we can capture Taishan County, and the situation is complete."
"good!"
Cao Cao nodded with satisfaction.
Historically, after he started from Dongjun, he conquered Xuzhou twice, but he only crippled Xuzhou and did not occupy it.
At that time, his strategy was to defeat Yuan Shu and occupy Yuzhou. After occupying the two states of Yan and Yu, he really began to grow and had the strength to compete with Yuan Shao.
But now Yuzhou was attacked by Chen Mu, and Sun Jian defeated Yuan Shu and occupied this place.
Therefore, it is almost impossible for Cao Cao to go south now, and there is only one way to go east. On the grounds that Tao Qian has attacked him for no reason, he can justifiably attack him, and wait until he captures Xuzhou before considering the next step.
It has to be said that although it is a helpless move, it is also Cao Cao's only way out. Even if Chen Mu comes to disrupt the situation now, he must take part of the territory.
Otherwise, if Cao Cao is trapped in Yanzhou all the time, surrounded by people who cannot fight, Cao Cao will really be trapped and die here.
Here the Yanzhou Army and the Qingzhou Army were busy building camps, while over there Tao Qian of Tan County was very anxious to get angry.
People are calling at the door of his house, can he not be in a hurry?
To this end, he has held several meetings to discuss countermeasures with his advisers.
"Tell me, I'd rather bring you a charter."
In the mansion, Tao Qian was sitting on his knees in the hall, looking at the people below and urging them urgently.
The reason why he was so anxious was because Cao Cao and Chen Mu chose the right time to attack.
At this time, the summer grain has not been harvested yet, and the city is still using last year's winter grain. Even though there is still a lot of stock, he has 30,000 troops eating it.
It's not that Tao Qian has never fought before, so he has deployed troops. There are 30,000 people in the city, 5,000 in Houqiu, and a camp of 10,000 near the Shu River in Yushan.
The three groups of people took a defensive posture and were able to respond quickly no matter where they were attacked.
However, a total of 45,000 troops consume countless amounts of food and grass every day. In addition, the summer grain has not been harvested. They can last for eight or nine months at most. In a year and a half, the food and grass will be exhausted.
Therefore, as long as the Yanzhou Army and Qingzhou Army are not in a hurry to attack and continue to fight him, in the end Tao Qian will have to fight his opponent in the wild.
Cao Cao only had 20,000 troops, and he was beaten to the point of losing his armor, let alone the 20,000 Qingzhou troops he still had.
So now Tao Qian is like an ant on a hot pot, he is at a loss as to what to do.
"My lord, don't be anxious, there will always be a way."
Cao Hong quickly comforted him.
Tao Qian said angrily: "The enemy has already reached the city. We will attack the city within ten days. Should we wait until the city is defeated before we can think of a way to deal with it?"
"Forehead......"
Cao Hong's face was full of embarrassment.
Brothers Mi Zhu and Mi Fang looked indifferent.
Only Chen Deng remained silent.
In addition to a few of their cronies, Sun Guan and Yin Li were also here.
Now Cao Bao, as the number one general in Xuzhou, leads his troops to garrison at Yushan, while Lu Fan garrisones at Houqiu. Now only Sun Guan, Yinli, Zhang Kai and others are available in the city.
Because Sun Guan had resisted Cao Cao's meritorious service before, he was promoted to captain. A captain was not a senior military attache, but he was also a mid-level officer.
Tao Qian did not have Liu Bei's power to appoint officials. Moreover, Liu Bei was loyal to Liu Yu, and Liu Yu also admired him, so Liu Bei was allowed to make generals.
On the other hand, Tao Qian was a rebel, so it was naturally impossible for Liu Yu to appoint Xuzhou officials. Therefore, the officials he appointed were basically within the scope of the governor's powers.
For example, Cao Bao was just a cavalry captain, equivalent to a general. Sun Guan, Yinli, Zhang Kai and others were national captains, equivalent to a school captain.
In fact, Tao Qian had governed Xuzhou for many years, so his strength should not be that bad.
But at this time, he was already in his sixties, old and weak, and his abilities were only average, and he could not completely control the entire Xuzhou.
People like Zuo Rong and Xue Li did not obey him, and there were many grass-head kings in the Xiapi area of Guangling. As a result, Tao Qian could only attack Tan County and could not go south to use the strategic depth to resist.
Now that the Qingzhou Army and the Yanzhou Army were approaching fiercely, Tao Qian had no way to retreat. Naturally, he got angry. Seeing everyone's silence, he said angrily: "Normally, Li'er and others boast of their talents, but now they are helpless in front of a powerful enemy.
, What’s the use of waiting for you?”
Seeing that he was really angry, Chen Deng had to bite the bullet and stood up and said: "Ming Gong, I have a way, but..."
"It's just something, tell me quickly."
Tao Qian said quickly.
"It's just that this strategy requires Duke Ming to go to the Qingzhou Military Camp in person."
Chen Deng gritted his teeth and said.
Tao Qian immediately frowned.
Cao Hong immediately said: "Chen Yuanlong, what do you mean? Do you want Duke Ming to surrender to Liu Xuande?"
Going to the enemy's camp in person, is there any other possibility besides surrendering?
If you say you are going for peace talks, even a fool would not believe you.
There is no way for the lord to go to discuss peace talks in person. When the time comes, the enemy will directly detain you. There is no need for peace talks, and Xuzhou can be taken directly.
However, just when Tao Qian was about to get angry and reprimand Chen Deng, Mi Zhu said: "Since Yuan Long has come up with a plan, it is naturally impossible to surrender to Qingzhou. Maybe he has other clever plans, you might as well tell him."
Chen Deng smiled bitterly and said: "Actually, this plan is to surrender to Qingzhou."
"..."
Mi Zhu was speechless.
Originally, I wanted to help you get off the ground because you are from a wealthy family in Xuzhou. Why did you slap me in the face?
"Chen Yuanlong, you are betraying your master!"
Cao Hong jumped up.
The Cao family, the Chen family, and the Mi family are both the top big families in Xuzhou. In the past, the Chen family was first and the Mi family was second. The Cao family has always been suppressed by them.
Later, Tao Qian came, and Cao Hong and Cao Bao turned around after being favored by Tao Qian. Now naturally, the Chen family cannot be allowed to gain momentum again.
It has to be said that Cao Hong deserves to be called a slanderous villain in history books. He has reached this point and is still thinking about intrigues.
However, before he could scold him again, Chen Deng said: "This is a plan where two peaches kill three people."
"Go on."
Tao Qian saw that he seemed to have a clever plan, so he immediately asked him to finish.
Chen Deng continued: "Think about it, Duke Ming. Cao Cao's current location is in the hinterland of the Central Plains, where the north and south are connected. To the north is Yuan Shao, to the west is Sili, to the east is Liu Bei, and to the south is Sun Jian."
"Yuan Shao was subordinate to Liu Bei and the other three parties. Even with Cao Cao's courage, he didn't dare to attack."
"As for Yuzhou in the south, Sun Wentai and Jiangdong Tiger have defeated Yuan Shu and have been running Yuzhou for two years. Their strength is no weaker than Cao Cao. If Cao Cao attacks him, both sides will suffer losses. Therefore, only Xuzhou in the southeast can be conquered.
"In today's world, there are endless wars in the north. Yuan Shao, Gongsun Zan and Liu Bei are constantly attacking. The main forces of Qingzhou are also in the north."
"Therefore, after Cao Cao won Yanzhou, he immediately marched eastward. In name, it was to avenge Ming Gong's previous attack. In fact, it was to seize Xuzhou as soon as possible to increase his strength while the three parties in the north were in a stalemate and had no time to look south."
"Chen Zigui led 20,000 Qingzhou troops to the south, saying that he was helping Cao Cao attack Ming Gong, but in fact he was trying to curb Cao Cao's development. We cannot sit back and watch Cao Cao grow to avoid raising tigers in the future."
"So the real purpose of the two of them is to capture Xuzhou."
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! "If Ming Gong goes to Qingzhou Army Camp at this time and asks Qingzhou to surrender, saying that he is willing to surrender Liu Bei and hand over Xuzhou to him. Ming Gong thinks about it, then Cao Mengde will
How is it?"
At the end of the sentence, Chen Deng could no longer restrain himself, and a smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.
He has finally figured out what Cao Cao and Liu Bei are thinking these days. One wants to go east to open up the situation, and the other wants to go south to open up the situation. Neither of them wants to be trapped.
Then Xuzhou has become the focus of competition between the two of them. Whoever can capture Xuzhou first will be able to take the initiative to expand the territory in the future.
The problem is that there is only one Xuzhou, and now that Xuzhou has not been obtained, you can still unite together.
If Tao Qian surrenders, wouldn't the ownership of Xuzhou become the biggest problem?
When the time came, the two of them had a big fight. Tao Qian sat on the mountain and watched the fight, laughing at the way they were being played around. When both of them were hurt, he took action to clean up the mess. The one who had the last laugh was Tao Qian.
In Chen Deng's opinion, this plan is highly feasible because he feels that he has perfectly controlled the enemy's mentality.
However, just when he was proud, Tao Qian was hesitant.
Only Mi Zhu said in confusion: "Why surrender to Qingzhou? Logically speaking, Qingzhou doesn't want to see Cao Cao grow stronger. It doesn't matter whose hands Xuzhou is in. The most important thing is that it cannot be in Cao Cao's hands. Surrender to Cao Cao like this."
, wouldn’t it allow them to fight? What if Qingzhou surrenders and Cao Cao is afraid of Qingzhou’s strength and withdraws his troops?”
Chen Deng shook his head and said: "Cao Cao can't retreat. Xuzhou is his only chance. If he gives up, he will be the next one to be annexed when the war in the north is settled. So he must find a way out, and Cao Cao is cruel. If he knows
Once the Duke enters Cao's camp, I'm afraid it will be difficult for him to come out."
"Can I come out safely if I go to Qingzhou Military Camp?"
Tao Qian's face was already very dark at this time.
But Chen Deng didn't notice. He was still immersed in his own strategy and continued: "Liu Xuande is known for his benevolence. If Duke Ming surrenders, he will not dare to harm him."
"snort!"
Tao Qian was furious, pointed at Chen Deng and shouted: "I thought it was a good plan, but I didn't expect it to be me who surrendered. Chen Yuanlong, I think you are a Qingzhou intermediary. Come and lock him up!"
"ah!"
Chen Deng was dumbfounded at the time.
This plan of killing three men with two peaches is obviously so perfect that you don't need to forget it. Why do you suspect that I am a spy?
However, Tao Qian did not give him a chance to plead his case and directly ordered him to be detained.
Even though Chen Deng yelled and begged Tao Qian to let him explain, Tao Qian didn't listen and watched him being taken away coldly.
After Chen Deng was dragged down by the soldiers, Tao Qian was still angry and snorted: "The surrender is no longer negotiable. Tomorrow I will personally go to the city to supervise the battle, and I will definitely repel the invading enemy!"
After saying that, he turned and left.
Watching his leaving figure, Mi Zhu thought carefully.
Tao Qian has a great desire for power. It seems that even when the army came to the city, he did not wake up.
Shaking his head, he turned around and went out.
Everyone left.
Sun Guan and Yin Li left the Zhou Mu's mansion and looked at each other with a smile.