The sixty-two counties of Xuzhou, excluding the twelve counties of Guangling, plus the eight counties of Peijun occupied, this time the families participating in the fight against Lu Bu covered fifty-eight counties, with nearly a hundred families, and there were many rebels who participated in the rebellion.
Nearly one hundred thousand people.
In terms of the number of soldiers and horses alone, there were nearly twice the total number of troops under Lu Bu's command. However, the rapid destruction only took place in just a few days. The strength of Lu Bu's army during this counter-insurgency process was considered to be a surprise to the world.
broadened horizons.
However, what really frightened the world was Lu Bu's next move. Nearly a hundred wealthy families and tens of thousands of people in the fifty-eight counties actually followed Lu Bu's order and killed them all on the spot, regardless of age or sex, without any mercy.
, and even confiscated his family property!
In comparison, Chu Nan's killing of Wang and Li's family in Xiapi can only be regarded as an appetizer.
For a time, countless celebrities in the Jianghuai area issued articles cursing Lu Bu for his cruelty, and the imperial court sent troops to attack Lu Bu. Their momentum even overshadowed Yuan Shu's proclaiming himself emperor.
The reason is that since the Han Dynasty, there has never been such a large-scale massacre of aristocratic families. Lu Bu's atrocities against the aristocratic families can be said to have angered the entire Han Dynasty. The news was spread to the court and the two states of Yanyu at an extremely fast speed.
All major families came forward one after another to demand an attack on Lu Bu.
At the same time, many wealthy families under Liu Biao's rule jointly requested Liu Biao to stop his alliance with Lu Bu. Under Yuan Shao, countless celebrities came to demand an attack on Lu Bu.
Xuchang, Sikong Mansion.
"What do you think?" Cao Cao asked people to carry away the pile of memorials. Without looking at them, he knew that most of them were asking the imperial court to send troops to attack Lu Bu.
This was a good opportunity to attack Lu Bu. The major families donated generously this time. As long as Cao Cao is willing to send troops to attack Lu Bu, there is no need to worry about logistics and food!
But Lu Bu is now the Mu of Xuzhou granted by the imperial court. No matter how loudly these big families clamor, the imperial court is sending troops to attack Lu Bu at this time.
After praising Lu Bu, attacking Lu Bu at this time is tantamount to pushing Lu Bu towards Yuan Shu.
Cao Cao is confident of defeating Yuan Shu, and he is also confident of defeating Lu Bu. However, if these two families unite, Cao Cao does not have the confidence to go to war with both families at the same time. I am afraid that it will not be Cao Cao attacking the two, but the two will join forces to attack Cao Cao.
Xun Yu, Xun You, Cheng Yu and others remained silent. This matter was not easy to decide. Cao Cao was also worried about what they were worried about. If they sent troops against Lu Bu at this time, it would be possible for Cao Cao to collapse accidentally.
"Perhaps we can ask Yuan Shao to send troops to attack Lu Bu." Cheng Yu gave a compromise opinion. They continued to attack Yuan Shu and asked Yuan Shao's troops in Qingzhou to go south to attack Lu Bu.
"Yuan Shao is currently fighting Gongsun Zan. Even if he sends troops, he may not be able to withstand Lu Bu."
It's not difficult to stop Yuan Shao.
Guo Jia, who was drinking at the side, suddenly put down his wine gourd and straightened up: "Is this what you see?"
"What's the point of being a filial piety?" Xun You, who was about to speak, said with a smile.
"Lü Bu's massacre of the nobles this time was not a random killing." Guo Jia shook the wine gourd in his hand, drunkenly, but his eyes were clear: "He only killed the big clans, and the small clans everywhere not only did not commit any crimes, but even gained a lot.
, all the fields obtained by confiscating the houses were also distributed to the people for self-cultivation."
Everyone was silent when they heard this. It wasn't that they didn't expect it, but they just didn't want to mention it. Lu Bu was clearly trying to win over people's hearts, killing big fish and raising small fish. No one knew what people outside Xuzhou thought, but in Xuzhou
Under the seemingly cruel reputation, both the remaining local families and the people of Xuzhou are probably very grateful to Lu Bu at this moment. As long as Lu Bu is not at the end of his rope and beaten to death with a stick, he is almost invincible in Xuzhou.
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Killing a big family to win over a small family seems simple and crude. If Chu Nan can think of it, why can't other princes think of it?
Of course, it’s not that I can’t think of it, but I can’t do it even if I think of it. Just like Cao Cao’s subordinates, Xun Yu and Xun You are from the Xun family in Yingchuan.
If Cao Cao really did this, he would be destroying his own foundation.
In this environment surrounded by enemies, if Cao Cao really dared to do this, he might be killed tomorrow by aristocratic families from all over the country and outsiders. This is true for Yuan Shao, Liu Biao and even Yuan Shu, which is why people in the world are condemning Lu Bu.
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But in fact, Lu Bu's foundation is now more and more solid, and there is no shortage of money and food. Among the princes, Lu Bu's territory has a small population, but when it comes to the ability to mobilize troops, Lu Bu does not lose to any prince.
"And since the news spread so quickly, I'm afraid there are also advisers around Lu Bu who are adding fuel to the fire." Guo Jia looked at the crowd and said.
"What do you mean by "Feng Xiao"? Cheng Yu frowned and asked.
"It is true that the big families hate Lu Bu deeply, but judging from Lu Bu's current behavior, he or the advisers around him have already thought of this. But have you ever thought about whether the small families in various places will reject Lu Bu when they hear this news?
"Guo Jia looked at everyone and asked with a smile.
Cao Cao drank water in silence and said nothing.
Xun Yu and Xun You were silent.
Cheng Yu sighed: "In this way, although the whole world is scolding Lu Bu, Lu Bu's attitude has been spread invisibly. If there is a war in the future, the big clans will naturally resist vigorously, but the local clans may not be willing to offend Lu Bu for this.
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Invisibly, Lu Bu told the people of the world an attitude in this way: The rich people look down on me, and I look down on you. All I want is a poor family and a small family. As for the rich people, go wherever you like, and don't meet them.
Me, you never say anything when you meet me.
Is this problem serious?
Very seriously, the most prominent people in the world are naturally the celebrities and big families like them, but the foundation is still the common people and small families. These are the cornerstones of the world. It’s just that in the past, everyone controlled the world’s resources and treated these small families and common people as nothing.
Ants rarely face up to their power, but when one day, someone starts to take the initiative to pry this cornerstone, the power that these usually inconspicuous people burst out is terrifying!
Lu Bu used bloody methods to tear apart the hidden rules of social hierarchy established by the gentry for hundreds of years. In the past, no matter whether it was a wealthy family or a local powerful, everyone might have a chain of contempt, but they were one, but now...
There needs to be a question mark as to whether they are integrated or not.
The reason why everyone in the world is crying out for beating is because these people have not spoken out, and those who have spoken out are so famous and dazzling that they give people the impression that everyone in the world wants to kill Lu Bu with a thousand knives.
But after Guo Jia revealed the essence of the matter, he was still a little flustered.
"Fengxiao thinks, how should this matter be handled?" Cao Cao said with a headache.
"Just do what you have to do." Guo Jia said with a smile: "If my lord loses his position because of this, he has fallen into the opponent's plan. To challenge Yuan Shu is to defend the foundation of the imperial court. From this point of view, Lu Bu and we are still in the same camp.
If we ignore Yuan Shu at this time and just focus on attacking Lu Bu, regardless of whether it will succeed, then the only prestige of the imperial court will be gone, and it will become a joke for us to hold the emperor in our hands."
No matter how ruthless or excessive Lu Bu's actions were, nominally speaking, they were still Han ministers. The conflicts between the two sides were somewhat similar to the party disputes of the past, and Yuan Shu's proclaiming the emperor was a blatant betrayal of the imperial court. If Yuan Shu was not dealt with and Lu Bu was attacked first,
Even if he won in the end, it would be equivalent to acquiescing to the legitimacy of Yuan Shu's proclaimed emperor. The Han Dynasty, which was already in name only, would not even have a name by then.
Now, Cao Cao still needs the emperor's righteousness and cannot lose the emperor's prestige, so in Guo Jia's view, conquering Yuan Shu is the most correct choice at the moment.
"Lü Bu doesn't care?" Xun You couldn't help but ask.
"It can't be controlled. Although we rely on the big clans, these small and poor clans are also our power. But if we attack Lu Bu, for these people, we will suppress them and push them towards Lu Bu. Fight
There is victory or defeat, but people's hearts are also very important. If the lord does not want to lose these, the best thing to do now is to calm down the public anger and let these small tribes think that the lord is willing to use them. At the same time, he shows his righteousness and wants to fight against Yuan Shu first. At this point
No matter how happy the big clans are, they can't stop the lord's decision. As time goes by, this storm will pass, and we will not be as hindered in our next crusade against Lu Bu as we are now." After Guo Jia finished speaking, he leaned back.
, keep drinking.
Except for Xuzhou, the poor families in other places cannot always hold the idea of welcoming Lu Bu. Once this mood goes away, things are not as bad as everyone thought, but now if Lu Bu is defeated, they will really go wherever they go.
If he collides, not only will he not be able to defeat Lu Bu, but he may also gain Lu Bu's popularity.
As for the big clans providing food and grass... this is even more ridiculous. Guo Jia believes that even if it is postponed for ten years, as long as Lu Bu is attacked, these big clans will still compete for food. The greater the threat from Lu Bu, the more worried these big clans will be and the more they want to get rid of him.
Since the result is the same, why go head-to-head with others when their momentum is at its peak? You can definitely use Lu Bu's incident this time to make these wealthy people closer to Cao Cao.
"What Fengxiao said won my heart." Cao Cao nodded, looked at everyone and said, "I have made up my mind. I will defeat Yuan Shu first and send out troops immediately!"
"Yes!" When everyone saw that Cao Cao had made a decision, they immediately stopped arguing, bowed, and started preparing to conquer Yuan Shu.
Thanks to Lu Bu, this time the expedition against Yuan Shu did not receive much resistance in the process of collecting food and grass as before, and it went quite smoothly.
At this point, Cao Cao felt that he needed to thank Lu Bu.
"Fengxiao, do you think it was Chen Gongtai who made this plan?" After leaving Sikong Mansion, Cheng Yu asked Guo Jia.
"Who knows? When you enter the realm of Confucianism, you usually understand your own mind. Maybe it's really him." Guo Jia shook his head. The four sentences that Chen Gong realized after entering the realm of Confucianism had a huge impact on the entire Confucianism. Chen
If Gong implements this idea, it is not impossible to do such a thing.