As early as a few days ago, the news that Cao Cao was about to launch a large-scale invasion had spread throughout Langya. Many villagers had gone to the city to seek refuge with relatives and friends, which made the people in the city panic. Now they saw the defenders of Langya.
He suddenly broke out of camp and abandoned many of his baggage, which made him even more convinced. For a time, the people in the city, regardless of whether they were rich or poor, packed up their belongings and fled south. Because the rumors spread throughout the city were very serious.
It is clear that Cao Cao is here to avenge his father this time. Wherever Cao Cao's army goes, they will leave no chickens or dogs behind. The ants are still alive, let alone the people in this city.
At this time in Langya City, the prefect Zang Ba was missing, and most of the captain Sun Guan and his subordinate officials were strangled by Liu Bei's army. Even the guards at the gate of the city were nowhere to be found, let alone anyone to maintain order. The people
They rushed out of the city and were so crowded that the city gate was almost blocked.
In fact, Liu Bei also knew that these people were important resources, not only providing taxes and corvees, but also solving a large number of soldiers. Although he wanted to take these people away with him, he could not do so because he had just taken over
With Zang Ba's army, it is difficult to convince the masses, and the morale of the army is naturally unstable. If these people are brought with them, if something happens on the road, the situation will become complicated. In addition, Liu Bei does not dare to bring these people with him.
There are two reasons why the people are waiting for him. Firstly, it affects the speed of the march. Secondly, because he has always been low-key, except for Xiaopei, he has no reputation in other places in Xuzhou, and the people are not necessarily willing to listen to him.
I heard that the vanguard of Cao's army were all cavalry and would soon catch up. The people fled south as hard as they could. However, many of the people fleeing were with their families, especially those with old people and children at home.
They couldn't walk very far in half a day, so they gradually fell behind. However, along the way more people heard the rumors and joined in, so the entire fleeing team grew stronger, and in the end it numbered as many as 200,000 people.
The rumors were not wrong. Cao's army's forwards were indeed all cavalry, but they did not pursue them as quickly as they imagined.
Although Cao Cao acted very cruelly, he was a man with a long-term vision after all. Of course, it was impossible to issue such an order to massacre the villagers. It was just a rumor spread by the Phantom Secret Agent that he wanted to kill all the people in Xuzhou.
.Cao Cao issued an order that anyone who refused to surrender or tried to resist would be killed without mercy.
However, the news spread by the phantom was unfortunately true. The villages and towns that Cao Cao passed through were really a scene of no one left. Because Cao Cao still sent out the Qingzhou Army this time, even the 10,000 elite cavalry.
They were also selected from the Qingzhou Army.
Most of these Qingzhou troops were originally the remnants of the Yellow Turbans who were driven out of Xuzhou. Now they have come back and become a veritable "returning regiment." The Yellow Turbans were originally honest farmers, but these farmers created
Once he rebelled and became a robber, his temperament quietly changed.
Although Cao Cao had an order not to kill those who surrendered, these Qingzhou troops didn't care. Not only did they want to avenge their expulsion from Xuzhou, but they also wanted to loot and plunder. They really killed everyone they met.
Regardless of whether you surrender or not, every village you pass will be scorched earth.
At first, Xiahou Dun and Xiahou Yuan turned a blind eye to the burning, killing and looting of their subordinates. However, this also affected the marching speed of the cavalry, because the cavalry in the brigade were busy killing people and stealing goods, and they were already in a mess and could no longer form a queue. Enter
After arriving at the empty city of Langya, Xiahou Dun and Xiahou Yuan had to gather their troops and temporarily stationed in the city, waiting for the arrival of Cao Jun's large army.
But it was said that Zang Ba was inexplicably attacked by Guan Yu that day. Although he managed to escape with his life by using the "Running Bull Formation", he was also seriously injured. After being helped onto his horse by his own soldiers, he ran for more than fifty miles and finally finally
Exhausted, he fell off his horse and passed out. When he woke up, he found himself lying in a hut. Zang Ba struggled to get up, and only heard someone say: "Master Prefect, you finally
woke up."
When Zang Ba looked at the sound, he saw a big man. He couldn't help but ask: "Where am I? Who is the strong man?"
The big man helped Zang Ba up, cupped his hands and said, "I'm Xu Sheng. It's the adults who govern the small people. This is the home of the small people. Just after I came back from the field, I saw the adults fell by the roadside. The small people had once
I saw you in Langya City, so I recognized you and rescued you. I checked just now and found that your abdomen was stabbed with a sharp instrument. Fortunately, your internal organs were not injured. You should be fine for a few days. No.
I know who hurt you like this."
Zang Ba smiled bitterly. The wound on his stomach was clearly punctured by an ox's horns. However, Zang Ba also knew that he was stabbed by the man who called himself Xu Sheng.
Zang Ba was rescued by a man who saved him. Looking at the furnishings in this room, he must have been a poor man. Zang Ba himself was also born into a poor family, and Xu Sheng had the grace to save him. He did not dare to look down upon Xu Sheng too much and hurriedly
He wanted to salute and thank him, but Xu Sheng stopped him.
Xu Sheng helped Zang Ba sit up and said, "Sir, it's getting late today. Early tomorrow morning, the common people will send you back to the city."
Zang Ba hurriedly said: "Absolutely not! I can't go back to Langya City."
Xu Sheng was stunned and asked quickly: "A few days ago, I heard that Cao Cao was going to invade Xuzhou again. Could it be that Langya City has been captured by him?"
Zang Ba shook his head and said: "It's not Cao Cao, it's Liu Bei who was taken in by Tao Shijun. He pretended to be tired of the army and suddenly launched an attack to take my life."
Xu Sheng pondered: "Xiaomin once heard someone say that when Liu Bei and Liu Xuande were in Xiaopei, they had no offense with Minqiu. He should be a gentleman. How could he do such a thing?"
Although Xu Sheng had heard about some of Liu Bei's deeds, Zang Ba had done a great job in Langya in recent years and treated the local people well, so he couldn't make up his mind for a while. What was the fate of Zang Ba and Liu Bei?
Who is right and who is wrong.
Zang Ba sighed and said, "It is difficult to know the heart when you know a person's face. Who can say accurately about the things in this world? I will stay here for a few days before I go back to see Tao Shijun and ask him clearly in person."
However, early the next morning, Xu Sheng hurried in and said: "Sir Zang, there are more and more rumors outside that Cao Cao's army has marched south. I'm afraid we can't stay here anymore. I'll take you with me."
Go to Xuzhou."
Zang Ba thought for a while and said: "My injury has not healed yet. If I meet Liu Bei, wouldn't I be throwing myself into a trap? Pengcheng Zuorong has some friendship with Zang. It is better to go to Pengcheng to stay for a while before making plans.
"
Although Xu Sheng made a living by farming in the countryside, he liked to practice literature and martial arts in his spare time. He also often inquired about current affairs. He had long heard that Zuo Rong was greedy and was not interested in him.
However, it is no longer possible to save people and send Zang Ba back to Langya City. And Zang Ba is obviously not sure whether Liu Bei's sudden action was Tao Qian's idea, and he certainly does not dare to return to Xuzhou for the time being. It seems that he can only
He was sent all the way to Pengcheng.
There was nothing valuable in Xu Sheng's home. There was a broken cart, which was usually used to haul grain and grass, so he brought over the old ox that was plowing the land, hitched it to the cart, helped Zang Ba onto the cart, and set it on fire.
He left the shabby thatched hut and headed for Pengcheng.
After a night's rest, Zang Ba's spirit was obviously much better, and there was some blood on his face. When he saw that Xu Sheng actually burned his hut, he couldn't help but be surprised and said: "Xu Zhuangshi, what are you doing?"
Xu Sheng picked up a bag of dry food and put it on the cart. He sat behind the cart and raised his whip. The old cow made a "moo" sound and walked forward slowly. Xu Sheng then returned.
He turned over and said, "To be honest, sir, if I hadn't saved you yesterday, Xu would have left yesterday afternoon."
The two of them chatted for a long time yesterday. Zang Ba already knew that although Xu Sheng's family was poor, he still had a few acres of thin farmland and his life was pretty decent. However, he suddenly wanted to leave his hometown. This was even more strange. He asked, "Are you also worried about Cao Cao's attack?
"
To be honest, Zang Ba still had a good impression of Cao Cao and considered him a hero. When the rumors that Cao Cao was planning to raise an army to invade came to his ears, he also considered that if Cao Cao really came, he would be able to fight.
If he can defeat him, he will fight. If he cannot defeat him, he will surrender. There is no shame in it, so he did not take the news of Cao Cao's attack to heart.
Xu Sheng said with a smile while driving the bullock cart: "I am indeed a little worried, but there are other reasons. Master Zang should have heard of Mr. Mi?"
"You mean Mi Zhu?" Zang Ba pondered, "I heard that we have some friendship with each other. But I don't know why he suddenly abandoned the lord and left, and caused a massacre between the lord and the Jingzhou army.
I really can’t figure it out. Why are you asking him?”
Xu Sheng said: "A few days ago, I heard someone talking about a refugee camp set up by Mr. Mi in Wu County to gather people fleeing from various places. Not only will they provide food and shelter, but they will also distribute cotton-padded clothes and quilts for the winter. In the future, they will also allocate fields.
I don’t know if it’s true or not, so Xu wanted to go and have a look.”
Zang Ba was taken aback and blurted out: "Wu Jun? Don't you have to cross the river?"
Xu Sheng said without thinking: "What are you afraid of crossing the river? I will send you to Pengcheng first, and then transfer to Guangling to find a boat."
Zang Ba stopped talking and lowered his head without knowing what he was thinking. Along the way, he met people fleeing from time to time, and many of them actually met to go to Guangling. Because going to Guangling and going to Pengcheng are not the same road.
, after turning the fork in the road, the people on the road all
There was no decrease. It turned out that these people had also heard that Cao Jun was coming and were hurriedly fleeing their homes. Moreover, it was said that many people in Langya had been killed by Cao Jun. Zang Ba sighed secretly after hearing this. Fortunately, his own family members were not there.
Xuzhou, don’t worry too much.
After traveling for three days, we passed several county towns along the way. The gates were all closed and they refused to let a single refugee into the city. It was said that they were worried that Cao Jun's spies would be mixed in. Xu Sheng had to drive the ox cart around every town.
City, go straight to Pengcheng. Unexpectedly, Pengcheng is also closed with four gates, and the soldiers on the top of the city have their swords unsheathed and arrows cocked, as if facing a powerful enemy.