Cao Cao gave Tao Qian almost no time to react, and launched an attack on Xuzhou in the name of avenging his father.
Of course, the excuse is to avenge his father. In fact, for the princes, expanding their sphere of influence is the top priority. If you can avenge your father by the way, it can be regarded as fulfilling your filial piety for your father.
But if he takes revenge for his father too seriously, I'm afraid Cao Song will be scolded for being emotional.
Xun Yu, who had always been a good helper, came forward to dissuade Cao Cao from this attack. The reason was simple. Cao Cao's territory had expanded a lot, and it would take some time to digest it.
Moreover, the newly absorbed 20,000 soldiers from Puyang have not yet been fully absorbed, and there are still great variables. In addition, the Central Plains was the most ravaged by the Yellow Turbans, which directly led to the productivity here, and it will take a long time to recover.
.To put it more simply, the military rations are not very sufficient.
At this time, Cheng Yu, the old conspirator who had just joined Cao Cao's camp, stood up to support Cao Cao in his crusade against Xuzhou.
The reason is also very simple, that is, now that we finally have an excuse to attack Xuzhou, we can openly occupy this excellent grain base in Xuzhou, so why give up?
Especially now, not only Cao Cao, but all the princes in the world are in a period of weakness and will be unable to send troops for a long time. Under such circumstances, Cao Cao can completely take Xuzhou as his own very safely. It only takes one or two years to recover, and the resulting
The benefits are far greater than the benefits of sticking to Yanzhou for two years.
As for the methods of attack, there are actually many ways, and it is not necessary to attack every city. All you need to do is kill a city with lightning speed, and then say that you want to kill Xuzhou to avenge your father, but at the same time say that you are willing to join
Under Cao Cao's command, the city does not need to be massacred, and the original officials can be given priority to stay in their posts.
This is a plan to 'slaughter one city and surrender ten cities'. Although it hurts Tianhe, the effect is huge.
After hearing this, Cao Cao immediately made up his mind to attack Xuzhou. However, for the sake of safety, he left Xun Yu and Cao Ren to guard Chenliu. At the same time, he only brought more than 5,000 troops with him for this expedition. The consumption of general food did not affect the combat effectiveness.
Under the premise of compressing to the minimum.
Xun Yu had no choice but to accept the order to stay behind.
Cao Cao was very cunning. He almost reached a city in Xuzhou before he took up the banner of revenge for his father. With lightning speed, he quickly captured a city in Xuzhou and slaughtered all its residents.
The army stayed in the city for another three days. After confirming that the news had spread throughout Xuzhou, they broke camp and set off to the next city.
At this time, in the dilapidated city, a cellar was opened.
"Brother, can Jun Cao leave?" A child who seemed to be smart asked his eldest brother.
"Well, it seems that we have gone far and can come out!" replied a young man in his twenties who looked equally smart but also a bit kind-hearted.
"This time I went to Jingzhou with my uncle. I didn't want to stay in this city for a few days just because my third brother had diarrhea. I didn't expect that my three brothers and I would almost die because of this..." The child walked out and took the only thing inside.
A child of four or five years old was pulled out.
"It's all my fault, causing my brothers to suffer this disaster..." The little kid was also sensible, and when he came out, he handed over his hands to the two brothers.
"Third brother, don't be so concerned. In fact, if third brother hadn't discovered this hidden cellar, we would have been starved to death, even if we weren't killed or burned to death!" the young man said with a smile.
"Kong Ming, brother Jun, it's not advisable to stay here for a long time. We'd better go and meet uncle as soon as possible!" The young man looked around and gave instructions to his two younger brothers.
"Yes!" they both replied in unison.
This day is a small episode in history.
But it was also because of this day that it was confirmed that the Zhuge family, except Zhuge Yan who stayed behind in Langxie, one dragon and one tiger were destined not to join Cao Cao.
Zhuge Jin has grown up and may still understand some principles. But for Zhuge Liang and Zhuge Jun, Cao Cao has definitely become a shadow of their childhood.
His cruelty and inhumanity have been deeply imprinted in their eyes and minds.
Let's not talk about what happened to Zhuge's family, let's talk about Cao Cao's army moving forward. Because of the lessons learned from the first city, the other cities surrendered in defiance, and they almost tied their hands and asked for execution.
Cao Cao is also easy to talk to, so he leaves a few brothers and cousins to check the situation of these officials. If they sincerely surrender and are useful, then they can continue to stay in the original position. If they are not useful, then replace them with others.
.
If he has evil intentions, his whole family will be killed directly.
Then, massacre the whole city.
Firstly, it was to continue to intimidate those officials who dared to have evil intentions, and secondly, as Cao's army came all the way, the army's rations gradually ran out. If they did not replenish supplies on the spot, it would be difficult to continue the march.
Xuzhou suffered relatively little damage during the Yellow Turban Rebellion. Under Tao Qian's inactive rule, after several years of recuperation, it has fully recovered its vitality. There is a lot of food stored in local warehouses and people's homes.
Moreover, its material richness was among the top three in the Han Dynasty. Not to mention the necessary military rations, they also gained a lot of money to reward their subordinates and boost their morale, not to mention the delicate women.
.
In line with the idea of not wasting money, Cao Cao also set up the position of "Mojin Xiaowei" and dug up the cemeteries of wealthy families everywhere. As a result, a large number of burial objects were unearthed.
He kept what was needed and what was not needed was transported back to Chenliu and handed over to Xun Yu for disposal.
Xun Yu was not idle either. He led a group of officials and immediately seized the time to sell off the jewelry. It didn't matter if the price was cheaper, but he had to get the money back quickly.
All the money earned was used to buy grain in Yizhou and Nanyang to supplement the shortage of military rations. At the same time, a large number of students who graduated from the Department of Agriculture and Business of Huaxia University were promoted to actively restore the people's livelihood in Yanzhou.
Of course, because there are not enough talents on hand, we can only start from Chenliu and radiate outwards.
At the same time that Cao Cao attacked Xuzhou, Pengcheng was the governor of Fuzhong.
"Cao Cao is coming with such force, how are we going to face him?" Tao Qian was already anxious.
"Why don't we send an envoy and just say that it was Zhang Kai who killed Mr. Cao and had nothing to do with us, and then send him treasures and food, repair the relationship between the two parties, and ask him to withdraw his troops?" Cao Bao, his general, said with his hand.
"Cao Cao came here this time just to expand his power. Is there any reason to stop the army?" Mi Zhu immediately objected.
"What do you think about Mi Biejia?" Cao Bao kicked the ball directly.
"We Xuzhou soldiers hate the cruelty of Cao Cao's army. If we can organize ourselves, we may be able to resist for a period of time. Taking advantage of this period, we can ask for help from Yuan Shu and Gongsun Sheng, who are good friends with us in Xuzhou. Maybe we can make Cao Cao have some scruples and retreat immediately.
!" Mi Zhu thought for a while and replied.
"This is a good suggestion. It should be noted that both of them are bordering Cao Cao. There is no need for them to send troops to fight Cao Cao. They only need Chen soldiers at the border, and Cao Cao can retreat without fighting!" Chen Deng said with a smile.
"So, who will be the envoy?" Tao Qian immediately became interested.
"Since it's my suggestion, let me go out in person. Fortunately, the Mi family and the Xie family in Nanyang also have some business contacts, and the Xie family's elder Xie Xin is Gongsun Sheng's sworn brother. With this relationship,
Maybe it will be easier to convince him to send troops to help!" Mi Zhu said with his hand.
"I'll go to Yuan Shu's place!" Cao Bao asked.
"General Cao shoulders the heavy responsibility of defending Xuzhou, how can he go there casually? Just let me go to Yuan Shu's side." Chen Deng said with a smile.
"Yes, General Cao Bao, I hope you can lead the Danyang soldiers and block Cao Cao for a while!" Tao Qian thought for a while and immediately agreed with Chen Deng's opinion.
So, while Cao Cao was still resting, Chen Deng and Mi Zhu set off one after another.
"Brother, do you really want to leave?" Mi Fang asked when Mi Zhu returned home.
"Have you finished what I asked you to do?" Mi Zhu asked anxiously.
"It's been done. Nanyang Huang Zhong said that we are welcome to live there at any time!" Mi Fang answered truthfully.
"Xuzhou is a place of war, and there are no natural dangers to defend. If our Mi family continues to stay here, God knows how long can we sustain it?
After all, we are a family of merchants. Tao Qian worshiped me as his guest because he was interested in our family's property. And the princes who will occupy Xuzhou in the future will probably try their best to squeeze money from us.
It cannot be denied that my brother is a bit of an official fan, but he also knows the ancestral precept that the family is the largest. This time, under the guise of asking for help, the family's move to Nanyang must be hidden, so that Tao Qian doesn't find out!" Mi Zhu patiently told Mi Fang.
Speaking of.
"Don't worry, brother, I know this!" Mi Fang replied seriously.
Then he asked a little confused: "I heard that Cao Bao can't leave, is that okay?!"
"What's wrong with him? Anyway, he has military power and is from a well-established family. It doesn't matter whether he leaves Xuzhou or not. If he chooses a good lord, maybe the family can go further." Mi Zhu said with a smile.
.
"I see. Sure enough, there is no comparison between aristocratic families and business aristocratic families..." Mi Fang couldn't help but sigh after hearing this.
"So, we have to work hard. In just a few generations, our Mi family will be able to transform into an established family. Brother Wei's so-called official fandom, to put it bluntly, is just because he has seen through this." Mi Zhu said earnestly.
"Yes!" Mi Fang replied immediately and firmly.
Soon, Mi Zhu came to Beihai, and Mi Fang also began to organize his servants to take a detour to Nanyang County in batches with the Mi family's wealth.
"Tao Qian asks for help?" Gongsun Du met Mi Zhu, but after hearing his intention, he couldn't help but frowned.
It's okay for others, but Cao Cao has signed an alliance with the Gongsun family and cannot attack the other party casually for at least five years.
"We don't need your army to attack Cao's army, we only need Chen's army to attack the border." Mi Zhu said with a smile.
"That's it, let me think about it for a few days!" Gongsun Du was not too interested in this and sent Mi Zhu away directly.
Mi Zhu did not expect Gongsun Sheng to send troops, so he thought of taking the opportunity to go to Nanyang in Qingzhou.
But not long after he came out, a man with big earlobes came to him.
"Your Excellency, are you here to ask for help?" Liu Bei asked excitedly.
He originally came to Qingzhou to borrow some military rations from Gongsun Du to support Youzhou, but unexpectedly he heard the news.
In his view, this was an opportunity for Liu Bei to break away from Gongsun Sheng and truly rise.
"Exactly! Now my lord is besieged by Cao Cao. I just want the Gongsun family to send troops to support him for the sake of their past friendship. Unexpectedly, Gongsun Du refused..." Mi Zhu didn't know who he was, but
You can see his ambition.
He is a businessman, and he can never be wrong when it comes to people.
"Haha, Gongsun Du doesn't want to go, so let me, Liu Bei, rescue him! Envoy, please wait for a few days. I will return to the plain immediately and gather all the troops to go to the rescue!" Liu Bei burst into laughter.
"It turns out to be Liu Shijun, the governor of Pingyuan!" Mi Zhu shouted in surprise.
He had heard of this Liu Bei, and he was somewhat capable, but he was obviously of Han Dynasty descent, but he had accumulated troops and horses. He could tell at a glance that he was a true careerist.
Mi Zhu at this moment is different from who he was in history. With being extremely close to Xie Xin, his view of Liu Bei has also changed.
Especially during another conversation with Xie Xin, Xie Xin said all kinds of things about Liu Bei, but Mi Zhu completely remembered it. From that time on, she began to feel a little disdain for Liu Bei.
But looking at how impatient he was now, thinking that Gongsun Sheng could not invite him, but he could invite Liu Bei, it would be considered as an explanation to Tao Qian.
"If this is not the case, I will immediately go back and resume my life with my lord. Liu Shijun will return to the plains, gather his troops, and immediately go to Pengcheng for rescue. Is this good?" Mi Zhu said to Liu Bei as if he was overjoyed.
"Good!" Liu Bei naturally agreed happily.
So, after Mi Zhu separated from Liu Bei, he went directly to Nanyang County.
But Liu Bei didn't know why, so he hastily conveyed Gongsun Sheng's order to Gongsun Du, and without personally supervising the transportation of grain and grass, he returned directly to the plains, gathered his troops and started heading south.
Because there was an official document given to him by Gongsun Sheng along the way (an official document for going south to ask for food), it was smooth sailing, and he arrived in Xuzhou in an instant.
After entering Xuzhou, Liu Bei seemed to see a broad road appearing in front of him.