My father-in-law Guan Yu, I persuaded Liu Bei to launch a surprise attack on Xiangyang at the beginn

Cao Cao's heart skipped a beat, and his brows furrowed slightly.

Cao Chong was afraid that history books would portray him as a cruel and tyrannical ruler, and that he would be despised by later generations!

Actually, he had done the same thing in Qingzhou before, digging up the Ji River.

At that time, he was repeatedly defeated by Xiao He in Qingzhou. In order to prevent the Chu army from crossing the Yellow River and seizing Pingyuan County, he had to dig up the Qingzhou section of the Ji River.

At that time, only a little over a hundred miles were dug, and only one prefecture was flooded, so the number of people affected by the flood was limited.

Cao Pi's proposed strategy was to completely dig up the Ji River, which stretched for seven or eight hundred miles from Xingyang in the west to the Bohai Sea in the east.

Even the largest swamp in the Central Plains, Juye Marsh, must be dug up!

The area affected by such flooding would involve nearly ten prefectures, spanning the four provinces of Yan, Yu, Qing, and Xu.

The number of people affected was in the hundreds of thousands.

The flooded houses and fields are estimated to be in the tens of thousands of acres!
This is tantamount to artificially creating a flood that could affect several states.

The pen of history is like a knife; how could historians gloss over anything in their records?
Cao Cao stroked his beard and remained silent, forced to weigh the pros and cons.

"Cang Shu, do you think that when I offered this plan, I wouldn't have considered what you said?"

"But think about it, if we don't do this, we won't be able to stop the advance of the pseudo-Chu army. At that time, the entire Yanzhou, and even the people south of the Yellow River, will fall under the iron cavalry and swords of the Chu army!"

"The Chu army might even cross the Yellow River, and the entire Hebei region would be at the mercy of Liu Bei's blade. Our great Wei would then be in danger of national extinction."

"Cang Shu, have you ever considered which is more important?"

Cao Pi had clearly done his homework, and he returned the same words that Sima Yi had taught him to Cao Chong verbatim.

"Second brother, you are mistaken. Even if Liu Bei were to seize Yanzhou, he would never kill anyone—"

Cao Chong opened his mouth to argue, but swallowed the words back down.

He originally meant to say that, given Liu Bei's benevolence and righteousness, even if he took over Yanzhou, he would certainly not harm the people.

But could he say that to Cao Cao's face?

In the court of Wei, you openly praised Liu Bei's benevolence to highlight your father's cruelty. Do you still want the position of heir apparent?

Cao Chong was not adept at social skills, but he was not so stubborn as to reach such a point.

"Zihuan is right!"

The hesitation in Cao Cao's eyes faded, and he slammed his hand on the table, rising proudly to declare:

"You, Zihuan, truly understand me!"

"As the ruler of the Great Wei, I protect the people of all the lands and regions, not just the people of one province or one prefecture!"

"By imperial decree, the prefects along the Ji River are to immediately breach all the dikes on the south bank of the Ji River, and use the power of the Ji River to stop the Great Ear Bandits from continuing their northward invasion."

"As for how history will record it, or how future generations will evaluate me, I have always acted according to my own principles, so why should I fear the opinions of petty people in the future!"

Cao Pi's lips curled up slightly as he glanced at Sima Yi.

At this moment, he had to admire Sima Yi's understanding of Cao Cao; as his son, he was far inferior.

Sima Yi had told him long ago that Cao Cao's principle was always that he would rather betray the world than let the world betray him.

What is the reputation of posterity, what is the evaluation in historical books, what is the gossip of the world? Cao Cao treated it all as nonsense.

He's willing to do it as long as there are tangible benefits.

Otherwise, how could he dare to massacre entire cities so easily?

What can Cao Chong use to pressure Cao Cao about the evaluation of later generations or the hearts and minds of the people? It will only displease Cao Cao.

His suggestion, however, was based on a keen understanding of Cao Cao's mindset.

Cao Cao's statement, "The one who truly understands me is Zihuan," demonstrates Cao Cao's recognition of him.

Having figured this out, Cao Pi was secretly delighted, but on the surface, he naturally had to offer compliments and praises about his father's wisdom.

Cao Chong could only keep his mouth shut.

Cheng Yu, a strategist from the aristocratic class under Xin Pi, weighed the pros and cons and acquiesced to Cao Cao's decision; no one dared to object.

With the fall of Yuzhou a foregone conclusion, and the loss of advisors like Xin Pi from Yingchuan a foregone conclusion as well, Cao Cao would not care about their attitudes at this point.

As a native of Yanzhou, Cheng Yu's most pressing concern right now is to stop the Chu army from continuing their northward advance and to protect his own Yanzhou.

As for the people of several counties that were flooded, for someone like him who once advised Cao Cao to use human flesh as military rations, it did not stir the slightest ripple in his heart.

"Your Majesty——"

Jiang Ji, however, stood up and wanted to object.

Cao Cao waved his hand to interrupt, and said sternly:
"My mind is made up. Whoever opposes me, I will order him to lead the army to stop the big-eared thief."

"If you don't have the guts, you'd better shut your mouths and stop talking nonsense in front of me and being soft-hearted like women!"

Jiang Ji was speechless.

Cao Cao then made a decision and led 50,000 Wei troops from Chenliu to abandon the city and retreat north that very day.

At the same time, messengers were dispatched on horseback to the prefectures along the Ji River to issue an edict to the prefects and magistrates of each prefecture, ordering them to breach the south bank of the river and flood Yanzhou.

...

Three days later.

The two Chu armies, totaling 170,000 soldiers, joined forces at the foot of Chenliu City.

All that could be seen was a scene of ruins and lingering smoke in the air.

Chenliu was the seat of Chenliu Commandery and an important town in the Central Plains, with a population of tens of thousands.

Cao Cao was naturally unwilling to leave such an important town intact to Liu Bei.

Therefore, when Cao Cao abandoned the city and retreated north, he ordered all the soldiers and civilians in the city to be forcibly relocated north with the army. Then he set fire to Chenliu City, turning it into a wasteland.

The fire raged for three days and three nights, and was not completely extinguished even when the Chu army arrived.

"Relocating people and destroying cities, Cao Cao, after all these years, you haven't changed at all; you're still as ruthless as ever..."

A hint of disgust flashed across Liu Bei's face. He immediately ordered his army to enter the city to extinguish the fire and provide relief to the surviving civilians.

Dusk.

The remaining fires were all extinguished, and the Chu army could only set up camp on the ruins and distribute porridge to those who had not been relocated by Cao Cao but whose homes had been burned down.

On the north gate tower.

Liu Bei, Xiao He, Guan Yu, and others stood on the city tower, gazing northwards.

"Bowen, Yunchang, I intend to continue my northward march, seize Yanzhou in one fell swoop, and drink from the Yellow River. What do you think?"

Liu Bei pointed his whip northward, his words revealing his heroic confidence.

Old Liu certainly had the confidence to back it up.

In this northern expedition, Xuchang and Chenliu were recovered within a few months, and Yuzhou and parts of Yanzhou were brought into the territory.

The soldiers were in high spirits and their physical strength had not yet been exhausted, so they were fully capable of continuing their northward advance.

Upon hearing this, the ministers were naturally filled with fervor and eager to fight.

Guan Yu stroked his magnificent beard and laughed heartily:
"Cao Cao has suffered heavy losses and has only 50,000 troops left. He simply cannot replenish his forces in a short time."

"If our army takes advantage of the victory and pursues northward, we will surely be able to crush the enemy and recover Yanzhou in one fell swoop, driving the Cao traitor out of Henan."

"If Your Majesty is determined to continue the northward advance, I am willing to serve as the vanguard commander!"

All the generals agreed and volunteered to fight.

Although Liu Bei was in high spirits, he did not dare to make a decision easily and looked at Xiao He.

At this moment, Xiao He was far from being as excited as the others. Instead, he was gazing northward, his brows furrowed, lost in thought.

"Bowen, does Cao Cao perhaps have some other plan to turn the tide?"

Liu Bei was all too familiar with Xiao He's gaze and immediately became alert.

The crowd's initial excitement subsided, and their gazes turned to Xiao He.

A glint of light flashed in Xiao He's eyes, but he said:

"Your Majesty, I'm afraid our northern expedition has to end here."

"What Your Majesty needs to do now is not to continue north, but to save the hundreds of thousands of people in Yanzhou."

Upon hearing this, everyone was taken aback.

Liu Bei's expression changed, and he hurriedly asked Xiao He why he said that.

"Cao Cao should know that with his current forces, he cannot stop us from continuing our northward advance. He cannot hold Chenliu, and he cannot hold Xingyang either."

"I predict that he will not sit idly by and wait for his death, but will devise another ingenious plan to block... or at least slow down our army's northward advance."

"The only solution is to repeat the old trick and dig the Ji River again!"

Xiao He raised his hand and pointed, then said:

"The Ji River is one of the four major rivers. It starts from Xingyang in the west and flows into the sea in Qingzhou in the east. It divides Yanzhou from the three prefectures of Qing, Xu and Yu from west to east."

"After Cao Cao retreats north, he will surely use the Ji River as a barrier to build a new line of defense to protect Yanzhou."

"How could a mere Ji River possibly stop our hundreds of thousands of troops?"

"Therefore, I predict that the traitor Cao will take drastic measures, breaching the dikes on the south bank of the Ji River, and even the Juye Marsh, to create a flood that will turn dozens of miles south of the Ji River into a vast marshland, thereby blocking our army's northward advance!"

This judgment caused an uproar on the city wall.

Liu Bei gasped, his expression changing drastically:
"Your Ji River stretches across nearly ten prefectures, with tens of thousands of acres of fertile land along its banks, and hundreds of thousands of people living there!"

"These people are all Cao Cao's subjects. Can he really be so heartless and cruel as to do such a thing?"

"Could it be that he truly disregarded public opinion and the judgment of future historians?"

Xiao He scoffed dismissively and sneered:
"Your Majesty has fought Cao Cao for more than ten years. Don't you understand Cao Cao's temperament well enough? If he really cared about what people say and what bad reputation he would have left, why would he have massacred Xuzhou back then?"

"Sacrificing tens of thousands of civilians and flooding the fields of several counties is enough to stop our army from advancing north and to hold the heart of Yanzhou. For him, this is a deal that is worth the most."

"I suspect that he made this decision without even blinking."

Liu Bei remained silent.

After a long pause, he nodded slightly and sighed:
“Bowen is right. Cao Cao only has grand ambitions and hegemony in his eyes. The common people are nothing more than ants in his eyes.”

"You're right, he was indeed capable of digging up the Ji River."

Xiao He suppressed his sneer, then cupped his hands in a respectful gesture:

"He who wins the hearts of the people wins the world. Since Cao Cao doesn't want the hearts of the people in the Central Plains, Your Majesty should naturally accept them with a smile."

"Your Majesty, I request that you immediately mobilize troops and ships to take in the people of the counties along the river. This would not only bring in hundreds of thousands of people, but also win over the hearts of the people of Yanzhou. It would be the best of both worlds."

"As for whether to continue northward, we have already recovered Xuchang and Yuzhou, and even some counties south of Yanzhou such as Chenliu. We have already exceeded our pre-war objectives."

"In that case, we might as well temporarily cease hostilities, allowing the soldiers to recuperate and the king to appease the people."

"When we march north again to punish the traitor Cao who has lost the hearts of the people, Your Majesty will surely be able to crush the enemy and be victorious in every endeavor!"

After listening to Xiao He's analysis, Liu Bei suddenly understood and happily waved his hand:

"Alright, let's do as Bowen says and call a truce for now."

"By my command, first save the people and win their hearts!" (End of Chapter)