In the autumn of the second year of Xingwu, Tao Qian was defeated by the alliance of Cao and Liu, and fled south in embarrassment.
As winter approaches, the weather is getting colder.
Especially at night, the biting cold wind can make people's bones tremble with cold.
Although Tao Qian wore cotton clothes, Tan County was destroyed, and due to old age and physical weakness, he fell ill within two days of his escape.
Historically, he also died of illness in the autumn and winter of this year. The difference is that at that time, he was afraid of Cao Cao. He was also old and frail, and suffered from the same mental and physical exhaustion.
But now it has become a complete loss of Xuzhou, which makes him completely despair. After a little bit of cold, he has reached the point where the oil is exhausted and the lamp is dry, and he is terminally ill.
At this moment, Cao Hong, Cao Bao and others were all captured by the Qingzhou Army. Only Mi Zhu, Chen Deng and others were still with Tao Qian.
Under the escort of Danyang soldiers, Tao Qian fled for three days and ran to Quyang County in Xiapi State.
After entering the city, the situation did not improve at all.
Because more than 20 counties in the three counties of Pengcheng, Xiapi and Guangling were deeply affected by Zhe Rong, all the grain and grass materials here were embezzled by him to promote Buddhism and build temples.
Tao Qian was afraid of Zuo Rong's power and never dared to deal with him. As a result, the two areas of Xiapi and Guangling were in serious trouble. Many people did not work in production and went to worship Buddha and seek scriptures. Bandits and bandits plundered the fields, leaving them in ruins.
.
Quyang County used to be a large county in Xiapi, with a population of nearly 100,000. But now the city wall is damaged and no one has repaired it. Weeds have grown in the cracks of the wall. There is no one on the city tower, and there are no flags. It is devastated.
Entering the city, the streets were deserted. There was occasional movement, like the sound of wild dogs. The soldiers searched everywhere, but only found hundreds of households in the west city.
The entire city was supposed to have a permanent population of several thousand to ten thousand, but now there are less than two thousand people living there, barely making a living on a little farmland outside the city.
Chen Deng sent someone to inquire and found out that in the past few years, Xuzhou had been getting worse and worse under Tao Qian's governance. Quyang was close to Guangling and suffered greatly from Zuo Rong's rebel troops and was often plundered.
In addition, this place is close to the Huai River, with numerous rivers and lakes nearby, and a large number of bandits are entrenched, constantly disturbing the countryside, causing desolation around the county. After many villages outside the city are ruined, people in the county can only move away in large numbers.
Ancient times were different from modern times. In modern society, cities continued to encroach on rural areas, eventually reducing the rural population. In ancient society, rural areas were the mainstay of the economy, and county towns were only the concentrated expression of the rural economy.
Just like many people think that ancient coins can be equivalent to modern currencies. In fact, due to insufficient productivity, the value of precious metals such as ancient copper, silver, and gold cannot be measured by modern currencies. From the perspective of purchasing power and equivalence,
Neither can be compared.
The same is true for social structure. In ancient times, food was the most important thing for people. Food was the hard currency that people needed most. Therefore, rural areas with large amounts of farmland were the production bases for these hard currencies, and cities were just social carriers.
In good years, the people have a good harvest and the excess food they cannot eat needs to be concentrated and sold. The big landowners have money and food, so they need to live in a relatively safe place, and the government also needs to conduct centralized management.
In this way, the city is nurtured. Farmers working outside the city can go to the city to go to the market and buy and sell the necessary production tools. Big landowners can live in the city, and the government can perform management functions.
But once the land outside the city is deserted and people are unable to farm in the wild, the significance of the city will disappear. Just like some cities that grew up due to coal mines in later generations, once the coal mines are exhausted and the population is lost, the city will lose its meaning.
Cities can also become depressed.
Everyone was helpless when they saw Quyang turning into this situation. This was a problem of Tao Qian's governance. If he hadn't favored those treacherous villains and made Cao Hongzuorong and others do evil, how could Xuzhou become what it is today?
appearance?
But now that Tao Qian is so ill, who can blame him?
In the county government mansion, a wing was tidied up. Tao Qian was lying on the hospital bed. He found a doctor in the city and gave him some medicine to dispel wind and cold. Chen Deng Mi Zhu told the current situation in Xiapi Guangling.
He told.
After hearing this, Tao Qian sighed and said: "This is my fault. If I hadn't been ignorant and listened to the slander, I wouldn't be in the situation I'm in today, and Xuzhou wouldn't have been conquered."
Still thinking about Xuzhou.
Chen Deng and Mi Zhu looked at each other. I am afraid that Tao Qian's so-called regret was regret for listening to Sun Guan's words and raiding Cao Ying and Chen Ying.
"Ming Gong, now is not the time to regret. The most urgent task is to find a way to restore the situation."
Mi Zhu advised.
Tao Qian squeezed out two tears from his cloudy eyes and said sadly: "Even my family members have fallen into the hands of the enemy. How can I save the situation?"
Chen Deng pondered and said: "Ming Gong, the situation is over. If you go south to join Zuo Rong, this thief will definitely harm you. Do you have to think of other ways?"
"any solution?"
Tao Qian asked blankly.
"Ming Gong still remembers the plan of killing three soldiers with two peaches?"
Chen Deng asked.
"ah?"
Tao Qian said bitterly: "Now that Xuzhou has been destroyed, how can this plan work?"
If two peaches kill three men, then the cost of two peaches is also calculated.
Xuzhou is these two peaches.
But now that Xuzhou is gone and all capital is lost, how can we make plans?
Chen Deng said: "Although Xuzhou is lost, its foundation is still there. Cao Cao and Liu Bei are determined to win Xuzhou. If they take advantage of this gap, even if they cannot recapture Xuzhou, they can still keep the public family safe."
"really?"
There was a glimmer of hope on Tao Qian's old face. Now that Xuzhou is gone, his family is gone too. Without extravagant expectations, being able to keep Xuzhou and keep his wife alive is already his greatest hope.
"nature."
Chen Deng said with certainty: "I predict that there will be a battle between Cao Cao and Liu Bei!"
The reason was mentioned last time. At that time, he firmly believed that Cao Cao and Liu Bei were determined to win Xuzhou!
Some people say that Chen Deng's strategy is very low-level and can be easily cracked as long as either party takes a step back and chooses to carve up Xuzhou.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! It can only be said that people who think this strategy is low-level still have not seen through the essence of the incident and have not fully understood the current situation.
Why do you say that?
Because both Cao Cao and Liu Bei really need Xuzhou.
Let us analyze the current world trend and we will know the reasons.
Liu Bei was entrenched in Qingzhou, and his main force was mainly to deal with Yuan Shao in Hebei.
Jizhou has been one of the largest granaries of various feudal dynasties since ancient times. It has the largest population, the largest grain production, and the strongest strength.
Not to mention how powerful Yuan Shao was in history, but now, after ten years of stable governance by Wang Fen, the state is rich and the people are strong, and its strength is only higher than that of Jizhou in history.
Therefore, even if Liu Bei unites with Gongsun Zan, it will only be temporary. It is almost impossible to defeat Yuan Shao in a short time.
Even if you are unlucky, or Yuan Shao seizes the opportunity, there is still the risk of being overturned.
In this way, if Jizhou fails, the only way out in a short period of time is Xuzhou.
Just like Cao Cao in history, when he could not defeat Yuan Shao steadily, his first choice was Yuzhou and Xuzhou.
Unless Liu Bei really aims in the north and doesn't care about the struggle for power south of the Yellow River, he will never miss this opportunity.
The same goes for Cao Cao.
Yanzhou is located in the area of the Four Wars, with the powerful Yuan Shao to the north, Luoyang to the west, Liu Bei to the east, and Sun Jian to the south. Only the Xuzhou road is feasible.
Therefore, whoever occupies Xuzhou between two people means blocking the other person's road. This is a life-and-death struggle.
Some people may say, if this is the case, then why can't it be divided equally?
An even split would be a bit too natural.
Because for Liu Bei, this was an extremely unfavorable thing. The Langya Kingdom and Donghai County at that time were actually located southeast of Yimeng Mountain, almost in the area of Yinan, Linyi, Zaozhuang and Lianyungang in later generations.
If you look at the map, you will know that this area is close to the Yellow Sea. Although it is connected to Qingzhou, the only way to go south is from Xiapi Guangling. Without these two counties, it will be difficult to move forward.
On the other hand, Cao Cao's Yanzhou has a way out. He can advance through Xiapi Guangling to attack Huainan, and retreat to defend Mount Tai. He owns a large area of land south of the Yellow River. He only needs to rest and recuperate for a few years, and he can easily raise a large army and possess as much as
Qingzhou and Jizhou have the confidence to compete with each other.
To put it simply, it makes no sense to separate Qingzhou from Langya and Donghai counties, and there is still no way out. As for dividing Xiapi Guangling, if Langya and Donghai counties are not allowed, Xiapi Guangling will be two enclaves, which has no meaning.
Therefore, if Liu Bei chooses to divide Xuzhou equally with Cao Cao, there is still no way out. He will just get a little territory southeast of Yimeng Mountain.
And if Cao Cao takes Xuzhou in the south and connects it with Yanzhou to form a "7" shape with the handle of the "7" shape, it will block the road south from Qingzhou. When everyone has Liu Yu constraining them,
Liu Bei had no reason to attack Cao Cao, so this path still didn't work.
Just like playing Go, two people are now surrounded. There is only one way to make the "Qi" of Go alive, and both people have to fight for this space.
This is actually something that Cao Cao's counselors have never figured out.
That is, Cao Cao obviously made a wrong move and almost offended Liu Yu by slaughtering the county and was beaten by everyone. As a hostile force, Chen Mu actually came thousands of miles to remind him to save him, and even agreed to propose an equal share of Xuzhou. This is simply outrageous.
Something daring to imagine.
Guo Jia, Chen Gong, Cheng Yu and the others couldn't figure out why even after racking their brains. Especially Guo Jia, who had some clues through observing Chen Mu, but was still confused and couldn't figure out what Chen Mu was thinking.
There is no other way. Without Xun Yu and Jia Xu, these counselors are only outstanding in psychology and tactics. In terms of strategy, they are really weak and find it difficult to see clearly what is hidden behind the fog.
So in fact, if Chen Mu had not had other plans, Chen Deng's strategy was actually a very clever one and belonged to the prisoner's dilemma.
Two prisoners, who can only choose one life, will inevitably fight.
But compared to Yanzhou, which would be trapped and dead if there was no way out, Qingzhou did have a route to the north. It would not be a complete dead end without Xuzhou.
Therefore, several counselors under Cao Cao didn't think too much. They attributed it to Liu Bei's ambition to be in the north, and the south was limited to half of Xuzhou, so they didn't suspect that he was going to other places.
What's more, even if they want to doubt it, they have nowhere to doubt it. Guo Jia has calculated all the possibilities and can't find any conspiracy to explore.
But Chen Deng did analyze Cao Cao and Liu Bei's eagerness to open up the situation, but he never imagined that Chen Mu had other intentions.
So this strategy may be very clever to others.
But to Chen Mu, these are not worth mentioning.
Chen Deng analyzed the situation to Tao Qian.
Tao Qianming realized: "I see, I shouldn't have regretted it before. If I had listened to Yuan Long's words earlier..."
"well."
Chen Deng sighed and said: "Ming Gong, it is too late to talk about these things at this time. The most urgent task is to offer Qingzhou the seal of the state shepherd in exchange for Ming Gong's family."
"Um."
Tao Qian nodded and sighed: "That's all."
...
...
Just when Tao Qian was at the end of his rope, at this moment in Tan County, Chen Mu and Cao Cao were drinking in the backyard.
Except for Huang Zhong, there was no one else around Chen Mu.
Cao Cao only had Guo Jia by his side.
The two chatted and laughed happily, talking about their past friendship, but they didn't mention anything about Xuzhou. It seemed that there was no such thing.
"Zi Gui, I think how happy we were together in the past when we were asking for the Yellow Turbans and fighting against Zhang Jiao. Unfortunately, the world today is no longer what it used to be. If it hadn't been for Dong Zhuo, the great Han Dynasty would have prospered forever."
Cao Cao seemed to be drunk, dragging Chen Mu into a talk.
Chen Mu smiled and said nothing.
Although I knew Lao Cao during the Yellow Turban War, ten years have passed by now, but Lao Cao originally wanted to annex him, so there was no sense of comradeship.
"The world in the future will be in chaos. I wonder when we will see this beautiful country again."
"Brother Meng De, you are drunk."
"I'm not drunk, come on, keep drinking. It's a pity that there are no prostitutes in this city, otherwise singing and dancing will add to the fun."
Cao Cao drank so much that he was in a daze and his mood was extremely high.
Chen Mu just smiled.
At first he thought Cao Cao was here to share the spoils with him.
Little did he know that Cao Cao was here to hold him back.
Presumably by this time, the Xuzhou army that had surrendered outside the city had been surrendered by Cao Cao, and a large amount of loot was also quickly seized.
There are still a lot of supplies in the city. Although the Qingzhou Army has arrived immediately, because last night the main focus was on quelling the civil unrest in the city and hunting Tao Qian, there are still a lot of supplies that were not seized immediately.
Now that people like Chen Gong, Cheng Yu, Cao Ren, and Cao Hong are not here, they are probably doing these things.
Cao Cao is very good at it. Qingzhou is a big business and has a lot of foundation after ten years of development. But he has just started, and Yanzhou has only just calmed down. He wants food, grass, money, weapons and equipment, new and old, all.
Chen Mu just saw through it without saying anything, and watched with a smile. There was no need to point out many things, because when Cao Cao was still on the first level, he was already in the atmosphere.
Sooner or later, everything you eat will be vomited out.
The banquet lasted for two days.
Cao Cao called it a beautiful name to celebrate this victory.
They also managed to get some singing girls, and they kept Chen Mu playing music and dancing all day long.
Until the fourth day, during the banquet.
Zang Ba suddenly rushed in and said a few words in Chen Mu's ear.
"can not hear!"
Chen Mu narrowed his eyes and said loudly.
Zang Ba was a little puzzled, so he whispered a few words into his ear.
"can not hear!"
Chen Mu raised his voice again.
Seeing that something was wrong, Cao Cao waved his hand and stopped the singing, dancing and music.
Everyone's eyes turned over.
"Tao Qian surrendered to the governor and was willing to hand over the Xuzhou seal and let the governor do whatever he wanted!"
Zang Ba directly changed his voice to louder this time.