The fixed route from Qingzhou to Luoyang passes through Yanzhou.
Along the way, there are wilderness and wild mountains, and there are no roosters crowing within a hundred miles. The bustling official road that originally connected the border between Jizhou and Yanzhou is now deserted and overgrown with weeds.
Occasionally, when the people who migrated saw this team from a distance, they quickly gave way and ran into the surrounding wasteland in a panic.
In such a cannibalistic and chaotic world, the army is far from able to bring safety to the people. Sometimes, the officers and soldiers are more terrifying than the bandits who hide in the mountains and rob houses.
Now that we have arrived in Yanzhou, we naturally have to visit Cao Cao. Cross the river from Yangping Yellow River Ferry, and across the river is Cangting where Huangfu Song defeated Dongjun Huangjin Buji, and where Cao Cao later sent his troops north to defeat Yuan Shao's defenders.
Historically, almost all the territory north of the Yellow River belonged to Yuan Shao. Only the part south of the Yellow River in Dongjun belonged to Cao Cao. However, due to the deterrence of the Qingzhou Army at this time, the area north of the Yellow River in Dongjun was divided between two families.
Boping, Liaocheng, Leping, Fagan and Yangping in the northeast are in the hands of the Qingzhou Army, while Dongwuyang, Dunqiu, Yin'an, Weiguo and other places in the southwest are in the hands of the Jizhou Army.
Cao Cao occupied seven counties south of the Yellow River, and everyone ruled across the river. At the same time, Yangping became the front line of confrontation between the two sides because it was very close to Tobu Yang.
However, this is not the main direction of attack after all, and it is impossible for Jizhou to fight the enemy in the Yellow River and Luoshui defense line area deployed by Qingzhou. Therefore, the three parties only sent thousands of people to confront each other, and there was no large-scale troop garrison.
After crossing the river from Yangping and arriving at Cangting, we arrived at Cao Cao's territory. The nearest county here is Dong'a County, Cheng Yu's hometown, but Dong'a is to the east of Cangting, so Chen Mu had to follow the Yellow River in the southwest direction.
Go upstream, so you don't need to pass by Dong'a.
Cangting is the Yanggu County of later generations. At this time, there was no Jutu Ning City, and there were only a few villages around it. However, due to the war, it was already sparsely populated. Looking from a distance, the villages were full of desolate and ruined scenes. It was
During the afternoon meal, there was very little smoke. Many houses had long since collapsed, and new and old graves were everywhere.
In troubled times, we are ants. This kind of scene is not only in Yanzhou, but also in the countryside in war-torn areas such as Yuzhou, Yangzhou and Guanzhong. Except for Jizhou, Qingzhou, Jingzhou and Yizhou, which have been slightly stable in the past few years, other places have long been
A place withered, like a purgatory on earth.
Along the official road, which was overgrown with weeds, and where you could still vaguely see a large number of rutted footprints, you went all the way south. When it got dark, you were approaching Qin Pavilion. At this moment, inside Qin Pavilion, the Zhencheng County Magistrate led the officials of all sizes in the city.
Wait here and come early to greet the group.
Cangting belongs to the territory of Dong'a, and Qinting belongs to the territory of Zhencheng, Jiyin County. The two places are not far apart, so when Chen Mu crosses the river, he naturally has to greet Cao Cao's garrison at Cangting, and the garrison naturally
I will also rush to report this situation to Cao Cao.
However, Cao Cao moved his seat of government from Puyang to Dingtao, Jiyin. It was more than 300 miles away from Cangting. Even if he rode a horse to report the news, it would take two days, so the Zhencheng magistrate naturally had to receive him in the middle.
Five days have passed since starting from the plains and arriving at the middle and lower level officers of the Leping Xuanjia Heavy Cavalry, who began to challenge Ju Yi's authority.
Logically speaking, Leping is not far from here, about 1,780 miles away. In the late Han Dynasty, normal marches without obstacles were generally recorded at about 70 miles per day. It was a little slower, at least four or five miles per day.
Ten miles away, and if you are still riding cavalry, you can arrive there in three days at most.
So why are their marching speed so slow?
Because Ju Yi was torturing the soldiers.
The Xuanjia heavy cavalry suffered a lot along the way. They wore armor and ran in turns from time to time. Their feet were blistered. When they arrived at Yangping, they couldn't stand it anymore. So they rested for two days and asked Yangping's military doctors to treat their feet.
The soldier who had blisters picked the blisters, applied medicine, and continued on his way.
After five days of torture, the soldiers who arrived in Zhencheng finally felt a little more comfortable. Under the warm hospitality of Zhencheng Ling, they ate hot meals, took hot baths, and soaked their feet. At the same time, there were injuries on their feet.
Soldiers can change the medicine to prevent the wound from smelling bad.
If ordinary people tortured soldiers like this, the soldiers would have started to complain and even start to make trouble.
But the problem is that the cause of this incident was that Ada, Aer, Zhang Long, Zhao Hu and other middle-level officers provoked the trouble first, and Ju Yi retaliated later.
Zhao Hu was a key member of the Xuanjia Heavy Cavalry and had a high prestige. Being jointly and severally held responsible by them, the lower-level soldiers naturally had nothing to say.
After arriving in Zhencheng like this, I can finally take a breather.
Zhencheng Ling was a son of an aristocratic family in Shanyang County. He was in his thirties, but his abilities were average. He held a banquet for Chen Mu and Ju Yi in the evening. He was not too defensive at the banquet, and was soon tricked by Chen Mu inadvertently by pretending.
After speaking out, I learned some things.
Of course, these things are not secrets, and the Military Intelligence Department can also detect them. In order to stabilize Yanzhou, Cao Cao had to rely on the power of the family and promote the children of the family in exchange for the support of the entire Yanzhou family.
Chen Mu understood this.
Because in history, Cao Cao had made moves to promote poor families, but he did so several times. In fact, he did not really value poor families, but had other reasons.
At the beginning, he was extremely close to the aristocratic family and wanted to win over the aristocratic family. As a result, he was squeezed out by some powerful people in Yanzhou. The most typical example was to give in and directly called him a eunuch.
As a man of temperament, Cao Cao angrily fought and gave in. As a result, the major families in Yanzhou became even more dissatisfied with him. Chen Gong rebelled, and the major families turned to Lu Bu one after another, which almost put Cao Cao directly into a situation that was beyond redemption.
Later, when Cao Cao regained Yanzhou, he had to compromise with the aristocratic families and at the same time welcome Emperor Xian. He used the banner of Emperor Xian to absorb the power of countless aristocratic families, allowing many celebrities and loyal ministers to come to defect to him.
During that period, Cao Cao's talents expanded rapidly. For example, Guo Jia, Dong Zhao, Mao Jie, Xun You, Hua Xin, Kong Rong and others all joined Cao Cao's camp in 196 AD.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! After the Battle of Chibi, the royalists began to rise. Many aristocratic families were loyal to the Han Dynasty and hoped that Cao Cao would return power to Emperor Xian.
Upon discovering this situation, Cao Cao began to suppress aristocratic families, killing many royalists, and at the same time promoted poor families, and wrote the famous prose "Order for Seeking Talent", which emphasized the mediocrity and meritocracy.
So if you study the historical facts, you will find that Cao Cao did not rely on poor families from the beginning. He always relied on the Cao family, the Xiahou family, the Yingchuan scholar group, and the power of the aristocratic families gathered by Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty, until even Xun Yu began to oppose him.
At that time, the poor family was reused to check and balance the family.
Now Cao Cao doesn't even have the qualifications to dislike aristocratic families, not to mention he dislikes aristocratic families for favoring poor families. Even if some aristocratic families in Yanzhou privately ridiculed him for being an eunuch, he probably could only endure it because he no longer had a Han Dynasty like in history.
Banner Liu Xie supported him.
Chen Mu has long understood the military and political affairs of Yanzhou. Naturally, a great man like Cao Cao cannot be grasped in the palm of his hand. To put it simply, he knows everything well, which will ensure that after Jizhou is pacified in the future, Cao Cao can be destroyed!
However, over the years, Chen Mu also began to reflect on many issues. For example, because he suppressed Cao Cao too much, he allowed Wang Fen to rise, which ultimately led to Yuan Shao once again taking control of Jizhou.
In fact, he wanted to suppress Yuan Shao in his early years, but his foundation was still shallow at the time. Even if he was a minister, it was still too difficult to control the children of the Yuan family. Therefore, he could only follow the trend and not force it. For example, Yuan Shao had his own opinions.
, it was difficult to transfer, but Yuan Shu followed the arrangement and went to Changsha, and was finally trapped in Jingnan, missing precious time for Sun Jian to rise in Yuzhou.
But no matter what, this also expresses that deep down in his heart, Chen Mu's most wary enemy is still Cao Cao. Whether he is using Yuan Shu, Tao Qian, or Lu Bu, or even taking away his strategist Xun Yu
, all of them were crushing Cao Cao into the bottom, but now everything proves that he did a good job, and Cao Cao not only did not get up, but also got worse.
You know, at this time in history, Cao Cao had already occupied Sili, Yanzhou, and Yuzhou, and was now dealing with places like Xuzhou and Nanyang. Not only had Yuzhou and Sili failed to gain it, but even Yanzhou had lost some territory, and he still only had three soldiers and horses.
Forty thousand people, it can be seen that Chen Mu's countless suppressions have had the most perfect effect.
One day, when Yuan Shao is overthrown, Cao Cao will have to go to the court to be his powerless ninth minister.
Otherwise, Yuan Shao's fate in the future will be his fate!
Before falling asleep, Chen Mu thought this.
One night passed, and Zhen Chengling accompanied him around for another day. It was not until the afternoon of the third day that Cao Cao, who was in Dingtao, hurriedly arrived in Zhencheng to meet Chen Mu.
The reason why Chen Mu spent the night in Zhencheng and stayed for two days was actually to wait for Cao Cao.
He wanted to go to Luoyang along the Yellow River without passing through Dingtao. If he went all the way, it would be a long way around. Zhencheng ordered him to stay because Cao Cao had received the letter and was coming on horseback to discuss something with him.
It is more than three hundred miles from Cangting to Dingtao. It really takes three days to go back and forth. At this time, Chen Mu was at the county magistrate's residence. Cao Cao came after a long journey. Before he entered the hall, his message was already heard.
Laughing, he said loudly: "Where is my dear brother Zigui?"
Chen Mu stood up and saw Cao Cao stepping in at the door. He smiled slightly, cupped his hands and said, "Brother Meng De, I haven't seen you in more than a year. How are you doing?"
The last time we met was in the third year of Xingwu, when Cao Cao came to Qingzhou at the beginning of last year. It has been a year and a half now.
Cao Cao came up and held his hand, laughing and saying: "My thoughts are with you, brother Lao Xian, and you are in good health."
"That's good."
Chen Mu smiled and said: "National affairs and the safety of the country cannot be separated from Brother Meng De."
"Come, sit down!"
Cao Cao stretched out his hand and motioned for him to sit down.
Everyone sat in rows. Cao Cao came this time and only brought Guo Jia and Le Jin with him.
Chen Mu only has Ju Yi by his side, but this is Cao Cao's territory. If he wants to harm Chen Mu, it will still be very dangerous.
However, Chen Mu knew that Cao Cao had no guts to harm him. If he did, he would have to face the wrath of Qingzhou and Luoyang. He knew very well who Liu Bei and Guan Yu were. As long as something happened to Chen Mu in Yanzhou, even if Cao Cao seemed to have a very good relationship with Liu Bei and Guan Yu,
I'm afraid I'll fall out immediately.
So when Chen Mu comes to Yanzhou, Cao Cao will not harm him, but will even protect him. What's more, Cao Cao has no reason to harm him. The two sides are not hostile. Killing Chen Mu would be a hundred harms without any benefit. Only a madman would do this.
.
After everyone sat down, Zhen Chengling resigned in a sensible manner. Cao Cao did not sit in the main seat, but sat next to Chen Mu. He looked at him with a smile and said, "Zi Gui is going to Luoyang this time."
Chen Mu didn't hide it from him and nodded: "Not bad."
"oh?"
Cao Cao was puzzled and asked: "Could it be that he was recruited by the imperial court?"
"That's not true."
Chen Mu chuckled and said: "It's just that Qingzhou and Jizhou are about to start a full-scale war. I will return to Luoyang to report this to the emperor."
"What?"
Cao Cao was shocked. He stood up and looked at him in astonishment and said, "Xuande is going to have a decisive battle with Yuan Benchu?"
Chen Mu glanced at Guo Jia, who was not far away, and found that his face was also slightly surprised. He was thinking about something in his heart, and said cheerfully: "Why is Brother Meng De so shocked? Yuan Shao betrayed the court with ulterior motives.
Now that he is trying to get involved in Youzhou, the emperor will kill him in anger, so why not?"
"this......"
Cao Cao slowly came back to his senses, looked at Guo Jia, then slowly sat down again, thought for a moment, shook his head and said: "Zigui, now is not a good time to fight Yuan Shao to the death."
"Yes, most people in Qingzhou think this way."
Chen Mu responded.
Cao Cao then asked: "Where does that son belong to?"
Chen Mu smiled slightly: "When everyone thinks it's impossible, that's the most likely time."
"Zigui thinks it's a good time to attack Jizhou?"
Cao Cao frowned.
Not far away, Guo Jia was silently calculating, as if he had a clear understanding.
Chen Mu looked at him and smiled: "Fengxiao seems to have some insights?"
Guo Jia said softly: "Everyone thinks it's not possible. Even Yuan Shao thinks Qingzhou doesn't dare to fight him. Maybe it will catch him off guard?"
Was it caught off guard?
Cao Cao thought about it carefully, and it seemed that this was indeed the case.
The size of Jizhou is here. It is the largest behemoth in the world. Anyone with a little bit of brains knows that it is extremely unwise to attack Jizhou proactively.
Everyone, including the Qingzhou Advisors, believed that there should not be a fight. Only Chen Mu took charge of the decisive battle and gave countless reasons to convince Liu Bei, Jushou Xunyu, Tianfeng and others.
Otherwise, from a rational point of view, even if Yuan Shao drives away Gongsun Zan and attempts to get involved in Youzhou, it will indeed be difficult to break into Jizhou.
But think about it carefully, if everyone thinks it is undesirable, is this an opportunity?
Make a counter-logic attack and make Yuan Shao unable to defend himself?
Thinking of this, Cao Cao immediately asked: "How does Qingzhou plan to fight this battle?"
Chen Mu said: "Brother Meng De needs to cooperate. We are allies, and Brother Meng De is also loyal to the court. It is best to advance and retreat together."
"Does Zigui want me to send troops too?"
Cao Cao frowned.
He doesn't want to mess with Qingzhou, which has strong soldiers and strong horses, and has a rightful reputation. He also doesn't want to mess with Jizhou, which is the most powerful in the world.
Now that Chen Mu was forcing him to take sides, he hesitated for a moment and didn't know how to answer.
"This is the will of the emperor."
Chen Mu cupped his hands towards the west, looked at Cao Cao with a smile and said, "But if Brother Meng De has something unspeakable, such as the soldiers and horses are tired and the food and grass are not enough, I won't force it and will help Brother Meng De to intercede with the emperor."
"Then this matter..."
"Since it is the emperor's will, it must be obeyed."
Cao Cao was overjoyed and was about to leave this matter to his brother Zi Guixian.
Unexpectedly, Guo Jia suddenly interrupted the sentence.
For a moment, the hall was extremely quiet, with different expressions on the faces of the three people.
Chen Mu kept smiling, while Cao Cao was stunned. Only Guo Jia had a solemn expression and said nothing.
This...is another trap.
If Mr. Ming falls into the trap, the consequences may be disastrous.
But Guo Jia was thinking.
Perhaps...this is a crisis, but at the same time, it is also a huge opportunity.