Historically, Tao Qian did give Xuzhou to Liu Bei.
But before he died, he only said one sentence to Mi Zhu: "Without Liu Bei, this state cannot be settled."
Then Mi Zhu, Chen Deng and other talents jointly elected Liu Bei as the lord of Xuzhou.
Therefore, the matter of three concessions to Xuzhou can be said to be a fiction and does not exist.
When he was alive, Tao Qian never thought about giving up the power in his hands.
It was only because he was about to die and his two sons had no ambition to become officials and were unwilling to accept the family business that he had no choice but to let Xuzhou go.
Therefore, Chen Deng's plan of killing three men with two peaches was obviously not feasible for Tao Qian. Asking him to give up Xuzhou, even in name, still made him dare not gamble.
After all, the risk here is too great. Maybe Liu Bei is benevolent and will not kill him. Maybe the plan will succeed and Liu Bei and Cao Cao's alliance will be broken and they will kill each other.
But if Xuzhou Mu's seal is handed over and Chen Mu detains him on the spot, then fights with Cao Cao, and then deals with him after the winner is determined, wouldn't it be a chicken-and-egg fight?
By then, not only would Xuzhou be gone, but he would also fall into the hands of others. This kind of strategy of risking death and living later would be absolutely impossible for people like Tao Qian to agree to.
It can only be said that Chen Deng's strategy is currently the best way to use Xuzhou as a bargaining chip to cause Cao and Liu to fight internally. But Tao Qian does not know how to use it and does not dare to use it.
A few days later, two camps were built across the outside of Tan County, one in the northeast corner and the other in the northwest corner, four miles apart.
Chen Mu and Cao Cao's camp has now completed its main structure, but still lacks some defensive facilities.
But it has served its purpose.
Tao Qian stood on the city wall and looked out. The camp had been built, but no enemy was coming to attack. He knew with his toes that they were going to besiege Tan County.
There are examples of cities being cut off and besieged, leading to stalemates for months or even years.
For example, in the famous Battle of Handan, which is the origin of the idiom "Besiege Wei and save Zhao", Handan was besieged by Wei for two years.
There was also the King of Chuzhuang who attacked the Song Dynasty. The siege was not broken for a year, so he simply built houses outside the city, cultivated the fields, and fought a protracted war. This is also the origin of the idiom "Build a house instead of plowing".
Tao Qian knew very well that the food and grass in the city could only be used for less than a year, so when he saw soldiers and horses coming and going outside the city, and a large number of convoys in the distance constantly transporting food here, he couldn't help but sigh, what he feared most was the enemy.
To besiege but not to attack is to waste food and grass.
Seeing his appearance, Sun Guan looked at the three flags erected in the Qingzhou military camp from a distance, and he had an idea in his mind. He said to Tao Qian: "Ming Gong, I think Liu Bei and Cao Cao have long-term plans.
.”
"Um."
Tao Qian nodded, his old face full of worry, and said: "Their food and grass are coming in and out, and they are constantly transported to the camp. Judging from my many years of military experience, it shows that they have built a granary in the rear."
Sun Guan agreed: "This granary is most likely Xiangben County. If Ming Gong sends people out of the city and orders General Cao to attack Xiangben, he may not be able to retreat the enemy."
Xiangben is less than sixty miles away from Tan County, and the two places are almost separated by the Shu River. Yuan Shao would not choose to store a large amount of grain in Guandu, the front line, but would use Wuchao, forty miles away, as a granary.
The truth is that the granary is built near the camp. Once a melee breaks out, it will easily be burned down.
Therefore, when a large army fights, there must be a transfer station. Yuan Shao placed this transfer station in Wuchao. Chen Mu indeed placed this transfer station in Xiangbi, but unlike Wuchao, Xiangben is a county town.
, protected by city walls, it is difficult to be attacked by sneak attacks.
"No, for a surprise attack on the granary, we first need to build the granary in the outdoor marching camp. The enemy stores the grain and grass in the city. Even if Cao Bao goes to attack the city, it will be difficult to capture it quickly."
Tao Qian shook his head and rejected the proposal. Although he guessed that Xiangbi was a transit station for granaries, he had no way of attacking a city.
Sun Guan naturally knew this, so he pretended to be regretful and said: "It seems that we can only wait, but Ming Gong, waiting like this is not an option. After all, Qingzhou and Yanzhou are two states that came to attack my city of Xuzhou.
There is not much food stored in the city, so we must find a way."
Tao Qian saw that he seemed confident when he said this, so he asked curiously: "Do you have a countermeasure?"
"I have an idea."
Sun Guan said: "The enemy is approaching fiercely, and his energy will be strong at this time. We must not go out of the city to fight decisively with him. We must defend the city first. After a month or two, the enemy will definitely lose all their energy and relax their vigilance, thinking that we dare not go out to fight again.
.At this time, Duke Ming ordered General Cao and Lieutenant Lu to attack at the same time, and then they attacked the city together. By taking them by surprise, they will surely be able to repel the invading enemy."
Tao Qian was surprised: "Have you ever studied the art of war?"
This strategy comes from "The Art of War: The First Plan" by Sun Tzu. The original text is "Attack the unprepared and take the enemy by surprise."
When Tao Qian recruited brothers Sun Guan and Sun Kang, plus Wu Dunyi, Li Changxi and others, they were just Taishan bandits, and they didn't look like they had studied at all.
Even Sun Guan was promoted to captain because of his merit. The others were just middle-level officers in the army. Who would have thought that he had actually read a book?
Sun Guan lowered his head and smiled sheepishly: "Since I followed Ming Gong, I know the importance of reading, so I often read military books and learn Chinese characters, in order to one day be able to repay (beat up) Ming Gong and repay my kindness.
Grace."
"good."
Tao Qian nodded happily and said happily: "This is a good strategy. I will do as you say. From today on, you will be stationed at the North City Gate and defend closely. When the time is right, I will order Cao Bao and Lu You to attack.
, you will lead your army out of the city and fight to the death with the enemy!"
"I will never let you down."
Sun Guan quickly raised his hands and saluted. On the surface, he looked flattered at the critical moment, but inside he was extremely excited.
I didn't expect the plan to go so smoothly.
In fact, Sun Guan was really just a bandit on Mount Tai before. Because he was a good friend of Zang Ba, he heard Zang Ba's description of Qingzhou, and saw that Zang Ba was prosperous, so he wanted to defect to Qingzhou.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! Unexpectedly, Chen Mu asked him to go to Tao Qian, and in the past two years, he has been allowed to develop in Xuzhou with peace of mind, read more and learn more knowledge.
The book was sent by Zang Ba, who also had a graduate from Taishan Academy who worked part-time as a secret agent of the Military Intelligence Department.
Qingzhou has now begun to comprehensively promote punctuation marks. Although it has not begun to simplify Chinese characters, it has been of great help for learning writing.
Therefore, in order to be reused in Qingzhou in the future, Sun Guan also worked hard to study. However, his limited intelligence made it difficult for him to use tricks, but he knew how to read, so his secret would not be exposed.
No way, whether the strategy can be used well has nothing to do with whether or not the book is read, it has to do with the intelligence of the person reading the book.
Books like "Sun Tzu's Art of War", "Six Taoist Strategies" and "Sun Bin's Art of War" were read by many powerful families in the late Han Dynasty who had the conditions to do so. These military arts were also required for big families to learn, but how many military geniuses were there?
indivual?
Even a man like Cao Cao, who has a perfect commander-in-chief, learned and accumulated experience from losing battles one after another. There is also Lu Meng, who also fought first and learned later, so he has war experience.
After all, even if you learn a trick and use it immediately in the war, if you don't make careful arrangements and learn from Han Xin to fight against the mountain like Ma Di, the result will be easily seen through, people will use the trick, and you will become a laughing stock.
So Sun Guan's strategy may be useful, but it depends on who it is used on. If it is used on a guy like Chun Yuqiong, it will definitely be accurate. If it is used on Cao Cao and Chen Mu, it will naturally be useless.
What's more, this strategy was suggested to him by the staff member in his palace... Needless to say who is the initiator.
Time passes like this day by day.
From July to September, the weather went from unbearably hot to gradually dry and the autumn wind was bleak, and everything was changing. The only thing that remained unchanged was that after the summer grain harvest, people began a new round of sowing.
No matter who the ruler is, the people must continue to live. At least the new ruler does not have any harsh rule or harsh taxation. In Xuzhou, which is becoming increasingly chaotic, the Langya Kingdom in the area occupied by Qingzhou, on the contrary,
It turned into a paradise and order was slowly restored.
On this day, the weather started to get hot again, as is the case with autumn tigers. The temperature fluctuated from high to low. Sometimes it was so cold that you could freeze to death, and sometimes it seemed like it could kill you with heat.
Cao Cao felt the heat was unbearable and was upset. He walked around the camp, feeling very anxious.
After a while, Guo Jia wore a large gauze robe and came in from the door swaying, holding a wine bottle in his hand and smelling of wine.
According to the records of "Three Kingdoms", Guo Jia was careless and uninhibited. It was not because he was lustful, but because he did not abide by etiquette and his life style was relatively casual, comparable to that of Jian Yong.
Cao Cao knew that he had always behaved eccentrically and loved to be free. When outsiders were present, he always wore regular clothes and acted like a decent person. However, it was common for him to wander around shirtless in private, so he didn't find it strange.
It's just that alcohol is prohibited in the camp. Where did this guy get alcohol? If the sergeant finds out, I'm afraid it will have a bad impact.
Just as he was thinking this, Guo Jia carried the wine bottle and wandered to a table aside, lay down on the table, and asked casually: "Why did the Lord Ming summon me?"
"Fengxiao, what's your drink?"
Cao Cao asked hesitantly.
Guo Jia glanced at the wine bottle and grinned: "I got it from Chen Zigui. This wine is very expensive in Saibei. A bottle costs thousands."
A trace of suspicion flashed in Cao Cao's eyes, and he sat down and said calmly: "Chen Zigui is kind-hearted and even gives you wine."
Guo Jia had an insight into people's hearts, so he didn't know what Cao Cao was thinking. He immediately said: "How could he be so generous? I went to his camp to find out what was true and snatched it away. When he sent me out, he cursed me all the way."
"Ha ha ha ha."
The suspicion in Cao Cao's eyes disappeared in an instant, and he laughed and said: "Fengxiao, you really don't want to suffer at all. You must not have found out Chen Zigui at all."
Guo Jia shook his head: "That's not true. I have seen the layout of his front camp and have it in my mind. I can draw it."
"Um."
Cao Cao nodded: "Something is better than nothing."
Guo Jia added: "The biggest gain from this trip is not that he found out the layout of his front camp, but that Chen Zigui said that Tan County can be captured in the next few days."
"What?"
Cao Cao stood up immediately and said in surprise: "Really?"
"good."
Guo Jiadao: "I asked him what he was doing, and he just laughed and said nothing. However, I asked him several times in a row, and when I asked him, he used the counter-clock, and his expression changed slightly. I heard that Tao Qian, who was caught a few days ago,
The scout said that Tao Qian had imprisoned Chen Deng, the legitimate son of the Chen family of a wealthy family in Xuzhou. Could it be..."
"Chen Gui, the former Prime Minister of Pei?"
Cao Cao narrowed his eyes. The Chen family in Xuzhou was very famous because they had produced three nobles. Chen Gui's uncle, Chen Qiuguan, was a Taiwei. For an official like him, he was very familiar with it.
Although the city is now besieged, the news is not completely blocked. Because Chen Mu and Cao Cao's army only blocked the east, west and north gates, and there are no troops stationed at the south gate, Tao Qian's scouts and those sent out to contact various places will
Go out through the south city gate.
This can also be regarded as a classic tactic of surrounding three buildings. Every time Tao Qian's scouts come out, they will occasionally encounter Chen Mu and Cao Cao's scouts. As long as they catch one alive, they can understand the situation in the city.
A few days ago, they heard the news about Chen Deng being imprisoned from the captured scouts. Chen Deng is Chen Gui's legitimate son and the next generation head of the Chen family. It is naturally impossible for Chen Gui not to save him. If he has power in the city
, and if you are willing to help, it is really possible to defeat Tan County.
It's just that the Chen family's foundation is not in Tan County, but in Xiapi. Even if there is Chen family's power in the city, it will definitely not be too much.
Therefore, Cao Cao felt that this plan was unreliable. He shook his head and said, "Even if Chen Gui is willing to help, but he is not in the city, how can he help? This plan may not work."
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! Guo Jia nodded: "I think so too, but other than that, there is no other possibility, unless a certain wealthy family in Xuzhou has already secretly
He took refuge with Chen Zigui."
"Well, that's possible."
Cao Cao thought about it, then simply shook his head and said: "Forget it, I'm too lazy to think about this, let's wait for another two days. If it still doesn't work, I will have to go to the Qingzhou Military Camp in person."
He is not afraid of Chen Mu detaining him. As Guo Jia said, now that he has not slaughtered the city, he is still Liu Yu's official in name.
Liu Yu is now on top of Liu Bei and Cao Cao, which is a double-edged sword. He is not controlled by anyone and has his own independence. But at the same time, he also governs them. Once one of them is disobedient, the other can use
Liu Yu's name was justified in his crusade.
This strategy was not only effective for Liu Bei and Cao Cao, but also for Gongsun Zan, Liu Biao, and Sun Jian. Because these people all expressed their allegiance to Liu Yu together, including Tao Qian.
But Tao Qian is now a negative example. Once he rebels and causes trouble, he will be attacked by these people who are nominally loyal to Liu Yu.
If Gongsun Zan hadn't been blocked by Yuan Shao because of his short hands, or if Sun Jian and Liu Biao hadn't been cooperating to resist Yuan Shu and had no energy, they might have come to take a share of the pie, and a group of people would devour Xuzhou like wolves and tigers.
Now Cao Cao is also in a hurry, because he doesn't have much food and grass. If Chen Zigui plays dirty tricks and waits until he has exhausted his food and has to retreat before attacking the city, the situation will be a little bad.
At that time, he must withdraw his troops, and Xuzhou will be owned by Liu Bei. Cao Cao can only use his last trump card and write to Liu Yu, asking him to send another Xuzhou pastor.
This is a lose-lose game. If I can’t get it, you can’t get it either. Moreover, it’s a last resort to break up with Qingzhou.
However, Cao Cao must have never imagined that Chen Mu would now like him to stay and share Xuzhou equally with him.
Because he was already countless times ahead of Cao Cao in terms of grand strategy.