My younger brother Zhuge Liang

Chapter 388 Zhuge Jin: Cao Cao uses people like piling up firewood, only the general can observe it

On the tenth day of August, in a mansion in Fei County, Taishan County, Yanzhou.

Early in the morning, a sturdy military commander with a rough face and a height of seven feet five or six inches was having a meal in the back hall.

The lacquer plate in front of him was a bit old, with the lacquer peeling off, revealing the original color of the wood inside. But the general didn't care at all, and didn't use a knife or chopsticks. He just held the knife in one hand and the bone in the other, chopping and gnawing at the wild boar leg on the plate.

Wild boar meat was difficult to taste, so a plate of coarse salt with a dark and mottled color was placed next to it. When he got to the tasteless part, he grabbed a handful of salt and rubbed it hard on the meat a few times before eating.

This fellow with a bandit-like face is none other than Chang Xi, the last great leader of the Taishan bandits.

Suddenly, a trusted attendant came running in, bowing his head and reporting: "General! The imperial court in Xudu has sent an imperial edict, which should be for your promotion. It has just arrived outside the city. Magistrate Wu dare not neglect it and is taking the person to the posthouse."

Chang Xi wiped his mouth when he heard this, but didn't care much. He asked someone to pour him a bowl of cold wine, which he drank directly before it was even warmed up. Then he slowly stood up and prepared to receive the order.

He was still mumbling, "Why don't you just come to the mansion to announce the decree? Why do you want me to go to the posthouse?"

How could the attendant dare to answer? This kind of words are not easy to say.

Only a local tyrant could treat an angel like this. But no one would have the courage to leave the Taishan mountain area and serve as an official in other plains and good places.

Having said that, Chang Xi did not refuse the imperial edict without reason. After finishing his meal, he walked slowly to the posthouse and received the imperial edict smoothly according to etiquette.

When Chang Xi heard that the decree was "to promote him to General Yangwu, to be the governor of Mount Tai, and to be granted the title of Marquis of Laiwuting", he felt a little happy:
He was finally granted the title of nobility and honor to his ancestors, and was also given the title of general. He also legitimately became the governor of the Taishan County, which he actually controlled.

However, the title was certainly not given in vain, and the envoy then expressed the news that Sikong hoped he would lead troops to reinforce Pengcheng as soon as possible.

Chang Xi couldn't refuse openly, so he first hosted a banquet to entertain the angels with all the courtesy, and then said that he would make some arrangements and send troops as soon as possible.

As for how to implement it after coaxing the court envoys away, that is another matter.

The imperial envoy had no better way to restrain him, so he just gave him a few words of advice at the end, and revealed a piece of news to him: Wu Dun, a general under Zang Ba who had insisted on not surrendering to Liu Bei last year, was also given an additional official title this time, and was also awarded the title of Marquis of Duting. As long as he worked hard for the imperial court, Cao Sikong would not treat any loyal and righteous person unfairly.

Chang Xi just pretended to be grateful and said he would serve him with his life.

In fact, he was not stupid. As soon as the messenger left, his trusted generals surrounded him and asked, "General, do we really have to fight to the death for Cao Cao?"

Chang Xi saw that there were no outsiders around, so he didn't laugh, but sneered: "Cao Cao is using the title of Marquis to buy his life. At this time last year, how did Zang Ba and Sun Guan receive the imperial edict? How did they die in the end? Is it so easy for him to be an official?
So, if this had happened last year, I might have been grateful, but now he is using the same old trick again. Haha, when Xiahou Yuan was defeated last year, he decisively sold out Zang Basun Guan. He did such a immoral thing. Who would dare to believe him now?

However, we are being rewarded, so we have to save face. You can ask us to send troops, but we will never accept orders from Cao Ren or Zhang He. We want to form our own army and fight on our own, so as not to end up like Zang Ba. "

After Chang Xi finished speaking, he also had a scale in his heart: In fact, when it comes to credit, Cao Cao's credit is not as good as Liu Bei's.

When Cao Cao uses people, he will respect you and give you many benefits when he can use you. Once he can no longer use you, you may still be able to keep your title and position, but it is hard to say whether you will have real power or benefits.

Of course, Cao Cao was already pretty good compared to many other princes. Because there were many other princes in the world who couldn't even "be good to you without limit and be flexible when they need you". Cao Cao at least did this, but he was still not as good as Liu Bei in the future.

Chang Xi's subordinates also agreed with this and praised their eldest brother for being prudent and taking the lives of his brothers seriously.

……

After Zhang He listened to Guo Jia's advice, even if he sent troops to reinforce Cao Ren in Fuli, he did it quietly and concealed the news of "Pengcheng being empty" for nearly ten days.

Every day, the top of Pengcheng City was filled with flags, just like usual. In addition, the city had been sealed off during the war, and the gates were closed during normal times, so spies could not get in. Zhuge Jin's spies really did not detect that Zhang He had left Pengcheng with a detachment. However, as Cao Cao sent people to promote Chang Xi and confer titles on him, Zhang He, Zhuge Jin, and Guan Yu all heard the news at about the same time. Chang Xi was not as low-key as Zhang He, and he had no sense of confidentiality. After being promoted and conferred titles, he would of course hold a banquet to celebrate, and then send troops south.

Therefore, just two days after Chang Xi was promoted and given a title, Zhuge Jin found Guan Yu and put the information on his desk: "Yun Chang, it's almost time to take action - Cao Cao's title to Chang Xi is even greater than the title he gave to Zang Ba last year. This is a sign that he wants to make great use of Chang Xi immediately.

Chang Xi is still preparing to move troops south. It is certain that part of the Pengcheng garrison has been secretly transferred by Guo Jia without our knowledge. Pengcheng must be very empty right now."

Guan Yu had been a little restless these days, feeling like he had nothing to do in between battles, and wanted to launch the next phase of the offensive as soon as possible. After listening to Zhuge Jin's analysis, he finally stood up, stroked his beautiful beard, and said grimly:
"Should we send troops to attack Pengcheng immediately?"

Zhuge Jin waved his folding fan, signaling Guan Yu to calm down, and then he said a new trick that he had just thought of: "I have a plan that is also adapted to the current situation and combined with Cao Cao's strategy of employing people. I just thought of it, Yunchang can refer to it."

Guan Yu bowed solemnly and asked for advice: "Just say it, Ziyu's plan will surely work."

Zhuge Jin: "According to the original plan, our army should cut off the Sui and Si waterways at this time, making it difficult for Zhang He's reinforcements that have already moved south to return. Then, we should mobilize the main force of the infantry drawn back from the Fuli battlefield and gather heavy troops in Pengcheng to fight a decisive battle and resolutely capture Pengcheng!
However, Cao Cao gave Chang Xi such an official title, and even offered him a higher reward than the one he gave Zang Ba last year in order to get him to work for him when he was seriously ill. Perhaps there is something to be said about this.”

Guan Yu: "How to do it?"

Zhuge Jin: "Yun Chang should have read the story in the Records of the Grand Historian. Biographies of Ji and Zheng, right? Ji An advised Emperor Xiaowu: Your Majesty should employ people like piling up firewood, and those who come later will be on top.

This has been a taboo for rulers in employing people since ancient times. If a newcomer who has not yet established any merit is given a high position and title without any regard just because he came to the court when it was short of money, then what should those who came earlier than them, have established more merits and have longer experience think?

There was a reason why Cao Cao had to give Chang Xi a higher reward this time. Last year, Zang Ba and Sun Guan were greedy for the reward and led Xiahou Yuan as vanguards, but they lost their lives. Chang Xi was from the same family as Zang Ba and others. The life-and-death lesson he had experienced would definitely make him more cautious. If Cao Cao hadn't offered such a high price, Chang Xi would never really contribute.

However, Cao Cao hastily rewarded and promoted Chang Xi, only considering the comparison between Chang Xi and the dead Zang Ba. Did he consider Zhang He's feelings? When Zang Ba was conferred the title last year, his official position and title were equal to Zhang He's when he surrendered at Guandu.

This year, Chang Xi is even higher than when Zhang He surrendered at Guandu. After Guandu, Zhang He fought for three more years, but he was defeated in the Battle of Bohai and the Battle of Donghai, and he did not gain any merit, and his promotion was not obvious. Now Zhang He's official position and title are still slightly lower than Chang Xi's. Do you think Zhang He will be convinced?"

Guan Yu raised his eyebrows. He thought that he should be able to guess the other party's plan after hearing what Ziyu said. He quickly answered enthusiastically: "So you want to persuade Zhang He to surrender? Take advantage of Zhang He's dissatisfaction with the 'latecomers prevailing'? Will it work? Although Zhang He is a surrendered general, I have never heard that he is so greedy for wealth and official positions..."

Zhuge Jin smiled: "Of course it's not that simple. Zhang He is a good surrendered general, but his character should not be as despicable as Lu Kuang and Jiao Chu. He still wants to prove his loyalty. How easy is it to persuade Zhang He to surrender directly?
Moreover, the troops under his command now were not all the veterans he brought from Hebei. They had long been reorganized and reorganized by Cao Cao. Even if Zhang He was willing to surrender, he could not control all of his troops to surrender.

However, regardless of whether Zhang He is willing to surrender or not, we can use Cao Cao's practice of employing people like piling up firewood to win over his heart. If Zhang He refuses to surrender, we will let the document persuading Zhang He to surrender fall into Guo Jia's hands, and then into the hands of other trusted civil and military officials of Cao Cao who remain in Pengcheng.

Let them have conflicts and suspicions among their generals before the battle even begins. This will surely have a miraculous effect on the subsequent general attack on Pengcheng."

Guan Yu's pupils shrank. "You mean... we don't have to persuade people to surrender successfully. We can also use the name of persuading people to surrender as a sowing of dissenters? We can adapt to the situation at that time? Will Guo Jia fall into the trap? Guo Jia is a rare wise man in Cao's camp. It seems that it will be more difficult."

Zhuge Jin still seemed very confident: "It doesn't matter whether Guo Jia fell into the trap or not. The key is how we write the 'reply' to Zhang He... Note that I said 'reply', not 'letter persuading surrender'.

Since it is a reply letter, it will definitely mention "Thank you General Zhang for your letter last time. You took the initiative to reveal the information to us. It is very helpful and our army is very grateful. As long as you surrender, the lord will definitely give General Zhang a high position and noble title."

Of course, if we want to write this, we must first expose a flaw, and let Zhang He really help us on the battlefield in the near future. Our army only needs to do this and that..."

Guan Yu listened quietly, pondered the idea for a while, and couldn't help but take a deep breath.

Luckily, Tzuyu is on our side.

Guo Jia was extremely unlucky to meet such an opponent.

(End of this chapter)