Late Han Zhao Tang

Chapter 344: Four States, Cao Nan Goes

February, Dongwuyang.

On the ruined city wall, white gauze curtains were spread out, Yuan Shao sat on a stool, and the generals, both civil and military officials, stood on his left and right. Armored soldiers stood in rows with spears in their hands, and the atmosphere was solemn and awe-inspiring.

"Zang Hong, why did you betray me? Are you convinced now?" Yuan Shao asked in a deep voice.

Zang Hong knelt down with his eyes glaring, and said, "The Yuan family has served the Han Dynasty for a hundred years, with five dukes in four generations, which means they are deeply benevolent. But now the Han Dynasty is in decline, and you not only have no intention of helping us, but you also have illogical thoughts, killing loyal and good people to establish your treacherous power. When the heroes were fighting against the rebels, you called Zhang Chenliu your brother and Zhang Guangling your brother."

"Since we are brothers, we should work together to eliminate harm for the country. How can we covet the land of the prefectures and lead a strong army to attack our relatives and friends!"

Yuan Shao looked gloomy and said, "I regard Zhang Miao as a relative and friend, but he is my enemy. He allied with Yuan Shu in the south and led Lu Bu to Yanzhou. This is not my fault. Besides, you started the rebellion for Zhang Chao, but Zhang Chao was worried about my troops and did not dare to march. How can Ziyuan entrust his life to Zhang Chao?"

Yuan Shao admired Zang Hong's talent and said with pity: "If you can confess your crime and surrender now, I will spare your death."

Zang Hong struggled to his feet and said sternly, "Zhang Guangling promoted me, and I repaid him with my life. Now that I have rebelled against you, I will not even hope to live."

"Hey!"

Seeing that Zang Hong was stubborn and unyielding, Yuan Shao sighed slightly and waved his hand to signal his men to take Zang Hong away for execution.

"Your Excellency raised an army to start a rebellion, hoping to rid the world of violence. But now that your great cause has not yet been accomplished, you have first killed the righteous men. I am afraid it will be difficult to win the hearts of the people!"

But Chen Rong, an official in the crowd, stepped out boldly, cupped his hands and said, "I beg you to pardon Zang Hong and exile him to the northern border."

Chen Rong was an official under Zang Hong. When he was ordered to go out of the city to seek help, he was unfortunately captured by Yuan Shao, so he surrendered to Yuan Shao. Now that Zang Hong was about to be executed, Chen Rong, out of affection for the emperor and his subject, had no choice but to try to persuade Yuan Shao to change his mind.

Seeing that this was a taciturn villain talking about loyalty and righteousness, Yuan Shao was displeased and said sternly: "You and Zang Hong are not of the same generation, how dare you say such nonsense."

Hearing this, Chen Rong felt humiliated and shouted, "Benevolence and righteousness are not constant. Those who follow them are gentlemen, while those who go against them are villains. I would rather die on the same day as Zang Hong than live on the same day as you, sir!"

"Drag it!"

Seeing Chen Rong voluntarily asking for death, Yuan Shao said angrily: "Take him away and execute him together!"

"promise!"

Seeing Chen Rong being led away, all the civil and military officials changed their expressions.

"Meng De, what do you think?"

Yuan Shao was hesitant, so he turned to look at Cao Cao who remained silent and asked.

Cao Cao cupped his hands and said, "Your Excellency has treated Zang Hong very well, but Zang Hong betrayed you because of Zhang Chao. If you are merciful and pardon him now, wouldn't it encourage my subordinates to be treacherous?"

"Yes!"

Yuan Shao sighed and said, "Meng De is right. We should not be too soft-hearted!"

Soon, Zang Hong and Chen Rong were executed. Yuan Shao took pity on them and ordered them to be buried. Cao Cao, who had something to ask of him, provided Yuan Shao with many explanations about Yanzhou.

Perhaps seeing that Cao Cao had something to ask for, Yuan Shao asked, "Meng De has come to see me now. I wonder what it is that he wants?"

Cao Cao hesitated, glanced at Yuan Shao's people, and said, "I have something important to tell you!"

Yuan Shao did not suspect Cao Cao. He waved his hand and asked everyone to leave. He said, "Meng De, please speak freely!"

After everyone left, Cao Cao bowed and said, "To be honest, my lord, I am trapped in Dongping. Thinking about the situation in Yanzhou, I feel it is difficult to accept the position of governor. Now I am in Wuyang, I want to give Yanzhou to you, my lord, and let a virtuous person govern Yanzhou."

Upon hearing this, Yuan Shao's expression changed slightly, and he was immediately shocked. He asked, "Why did Meng De say that?"

Cao Cao took the opportunity to present the seal on his waist and said, "When the Yellow Turbans invaded, Yanzhou was in chaos. I was lucky to welcome them and take over to quell the invasion. Now Yanzhou is in ruins and should be ruled by a virtuous ruler. Your Excellency is highly respected and controls Hebei. The people are happy and obedient. You should be able to make Yanzhou submit."

Cao Cao bowed respectfully and said, "You have provided us with military supplies for a long time, but I have nothing to repay you. I am now offering you the seal, both to find a wise ruler for Yanzhou and to repay your kindness."

Yuan Shao stared at the seal in Cao Cao's hand, with desire and a hint of suspicion in his eyes.

"I wonder what Meng De wants?"

Yuan Shao couldn't help asking as he reached out to take the seal.

"My Lord, I have known Guangling Governor Chen Gui for a long time. Now he is in Huainan and is threatened by Yuan Shu. He has written to me to ask for help." Cao Cao glanced at Yuan Shao's face and said, "I am willing to lead my troops to Huainan to contact Liu Yao and Chen Gui for you to stop Yuan Shu's troops."

"Huainan has a population of one million. If it is occupied by Yuan Shu, Yuan Shu's prestige will surely increase. If I can reach Huainan, I am willing to contact the Huainan righteous men for you. When you march south to Yuzhou, I am willing to raise an army to support you and fight against Yuan Shu's troops together."

Huainan was composed of Jiujiang, Lujiang, Guangling and a small part of Xiapi State. Its population at its peak was 1.2 million, which could be regarded as the population of a state. Compared with the Central Plains and Hebei states that suffered from wars, Huainan avoided many military events and its registered population did not decrease much. In the original history, Huainan was ravaged by Yuan Shu, Cao Cao and Sun Quan, and its population gradually withered. Although it cannot be said that Huainan is not occupied by anyone today, it is a rare area that is not occupied by a powerful lord.

So after listening to Cao Cao's words, Yuan Shao suddenly understood the thoughts of his good friend. He still couldn't let go of the idea of ​​struggling for hegemony. Now he gave the position of Yanzhou Mu to him. One reason was to leave the declining Yanzhou, and the other was to exchange for his support.

Yuan Shao touched the cold seal in his hand and said with a smile: "Meng De is a good businessman. He knows that I want to control Heji and I am happy to weaken Yuan Shu."

The gifts that Cao Cao gave and what he requested were closely related to Yuan Shao's interests, making it difficult for Yuan Shao to refuse.

Regardless of whether Cao Cao's position as governor of Yanzhou was recognized by the court, many Yanzhou scholars believed in Cao Cao's position. Therefore, if Yuan Shao could accept the position of governor of Yanzhou offered by Cao Cao, Yuan Shao would be able to legitimately control the Yanzhou counties such as Dongping, Taishan, Jibei, and Dongjun. In addition, the most practical benefit would be to take over all the Jishui counties still occupied by Cao Cao.

Although supporting Cao Cao to go south to Huainan would help Cao Cao develop, for Yuan Shao, it would help him contain Yuan Shu. After all, Yuan Shu had almost no strong enemies in the south, which led to Yuan Shu's continuous expansion and the formation of a giant spanning three states.

Cao Cao bowed slightly, and said humbly, "I regard you as my brother. When you pacify Zhang Yu in the west, unify the north, and conquer Wu and Chu in the south, I am willing to be Dou Rong and lead the people to submit to you."

"I hope to see the unification soon!" Yuan Shao sighed.

Yuan Shao pondered for a moment, thinking about the pros and cons, and said: "Gao Gan has appeased the generals in Taishan and will attack Tao Shang soon. If Meng De wants to go south to Guangling, you may send troops to help him and follow the Si River to Huainan. I will recommend Meng De as the governor of Yangzhou and provide him with 1,000 infantry and cavalry and 50,000 shi of grain."

"Thank you, brother!"

Cao Cao's eyes moistened, and he cried, "I have no way to repay your kindness, but I will remember it in my heart."

"I hope to see you next time, and I hope you can be Dou Ronger!"

Yuan Shao was moved and said, "Otherwise, if we fight, it will hurt our friendship."

"I will never forget your kindness!" Cao Cao said.

After the two exchanged pleasantries for a while, Yuan Shao asked Cao Cao to leave. After Cao Cao left, Ju Su, Tian Feng, Feng Ji, Xu You and other counselors walked in.

Seeing Yuan Shao playing with the seal, Ju Su asked, "Why are you so obsessed with the seal?"

Yuan Shao smiled, handed the seal to Ju Su, and said in a good mood: "This is not the seal of Jizhou Governor, but the seal of Yanzhou Governor. Cao Cao has given Yanzhou to me now."

"Let Yanzhou take over?"

Several people looked at each other, all with surprised expressions.

Yuan Shao had no intention of keeping the secret, so he paced back and forth with his hands behind his back and told Cao Cao the whole story of the transaction between him and Cao Cao.

"Zhang Yu has been eyeing Hebei for a long time. Now that Longyou has been pacified, he will definitely attack us in the future." Yuan Shao said with a proud look on his face, "Now that I have Yanzhou, I will be able to increase my strength. And letting Cao Cao go south will not only help Gao Gan take Xuzhou, but also contain Yuan Shu. It's killing two birds with one stone!"

Ju Su pondered for a moment and said, "Cao Cao's decision to flee to Huainan is a great wisdom. The situation in Yanzhou is complicated and the counties are in decline. It is difficult for Cao Cao to recover all of them with his current troops. Huainan has a rich population and everyone is afraid of Yuan Shu. With his talent, he may be able to achieve something."

After a pause, Ju Su said, "Your Excellency controls the Heji River and appoints governors to various counties in Yanzhou, which are connected to the territories of Qingzhou and Xuzhou. When fighting Zhang Yu, you can lead the troops of Qingzhou to advance westward. Only Lu Bu is on good terms with Zhang Yu, so we need to guard against Lu Bu's invasion from the north."

"Ok!"

Yuan Shao nodded slightly and said, "Although Lü Bu has a small number of soldiers and horses, he is a brave man. If you want to fight Lü Bu in the south, you must first entrust the governor with important tasks!"

Yuan Shao paused and said with a smile: "I now have Ji, Qing, Xu and Yanzhou. To test the talents of my sons, I have appointed Yuan Tan as the governor of Qingzhou and Gao Gan as the governor of Xuzhou. I would like to let my second son Yuan Xi take charge of Yanzhou to see if he can resist Lu Bu."

Tian Feng frowned and said, "Mingsir, Yanzhou is a place that has been attacked from all sides. Now that the Second Young Master has never experienced a major battle and has been hastily appointed as the governor, I'm afraid he is no match for Lu Bu!"

Yuan Shao didn't care and said, "I will send good generals to assist you. Besides, Lu Bu has less than 10,000 soldiers and his food and grass are very scarce. He can't be a big threat to me. When I defeat Zhang Yu in the west, Lu Bu can be destroyed in one fell swoop."

"correct!"

Yuan Shao remembered something and asked, "I heard that Zhang Yu has elite cavalry under his command. Can you find out the secrets?"

"Have!"

Ju Su said: "According to the Shanxi people, Zhang Yu used the National Defense Army as the central army, and in the central army there were cavalry with armor, called armored cavalry, with 300 to 400 people, all of them were fierce cavalry, with sharp arrows and strong armor, and all of them used iron whips, and they used the iron whips to spur their horses when not in battle."

"In every battle, the armored cavalry charged into the enemy's formation, the front team died while the rear team advanced, and they refused to retreat, so they were able to defeat the enemy. The armor was made very finely, with only two holes on the whole body, so it could not be cut by a sharp blade. When Zhang Yu defeated Han Sui, he led the armored cavalry into the formation and defeated the 20,000-man army."

"In addition to the armored cavalry, Zhang Yu has a large number of cavalry, no less than 20,000. And the infantry of the National Defense Army are all equipped with horses. They use horses for marching and pursuit, and they dismount and line up in battle. They are well-armored, and almost everyone wears armor. This is Zhang Yu's reliance!"

Yuan Shao's expression gradually became serious. He said, "Our cavalry is inferior to Zhang Yu. If we fight him, we must prepare strong bows and crossbows and let the infantry practice the battle formation. Otherwise, if we are defeated by the cavalry, our army will be defeated!"

(End of this chapter)