The Three Kingdoms: Hindsight is 20/20, and the Three Revivals of the Han Dynasty

Chapter 369 Cao Cao's misfortunes never come singly; Zhang He defected to Zhao Yun at the last minute (1st update)
Outside the city of Pingyuan.

Cheng Yu's head was carried on a tall bamboo pole, while Zang Ba shouted outside the city, urging surrender.

The reason Zhuge Liang assigned Zang Ba to persuade Zang Ba to surrender was to cut off Zang Ba's escape route.

Cheng Yu had been following Cao Cao since his time in Yanzhou, and he even defended Yanzhou for Cao Cao during Lü Bu's attack on it. In addition, Cheng Yu's ruthless and decisive actions were quite in line with Cao Cao's habits, so he was highly valued and trusted by Cao Cao.

Even if Cheng Yu was not killed by Zang Ba, the act of persuading Cao Cao to surrender by carrying Cheng Yu's head would inevitably become a thorn in Cao Cao's side.

really.

Upon seeing Cheng Yu's head and Zang Ba's attempt to persuade him to surrender below the city, Lü Qian on the city wall was enraged, his eyes bloodshot with fury. He roared, "Zang Ba, you traitor, how dare you betray the Minister of Works!"

Although Zang Ba was ashamed, he had no choice but to act now, as being a fence-sitter would only lead to his own destruction.

Therefore, when faced with Lü Qian's scolding, Zang Ba also retorted sharply: "The traitor Cao has deceived the emperor and is disloyal to the emperor. The Left General is acting on the emperor's edict to punish the traitor. I am the Chancellor of Langya appointed by the emperor. Assisting the Left General in punishing the traitor is my duty as a subject. How can you say I have betrayed him? You are the Chancellor of Pingyuan appointed by the emperor. Instead of being loyal to the emperor, you are a henchman of the traitor Cao. What face do you have to criticize me?"

Then, Zang Ba looked at Lü Qian's left and right and shouted, "You all eat the Han's food, how can you help Cao Cao to do evil? Now the Left General's seven armies are marching south to attack the Cao traitor, and the provinces of Qing and Xu, as well as Runan, have all raised their flags in response. The Cao traitor's power is weakening, and he will surely be captured by the Left General in time. Your fathers, brothers, relatives and friends have all been killed by the Cao traitor's sword, how can you let your relatives suffer pain and your enemies rejoice?"

"In these chaotic times, those who understand the times are the heroes. General Zuo has ordered that whoever captures or kills Lü Qian will be rewarded with a thousand pieces of gold!"

The stern voice startled all of Lü Qian's officers and generals.

Lu Qian also felt a chill run down his spine, subconsciously gripping his weapon tighter, and coldly scanning his surroundings.

"That scoundrel is good with words; do not argue with him any further. Pass on my military order: anyone who speaks recklessly will be executed!" Lü Qian dared not answer Zang Ba any longer, but only dared to strictly order his officers and soldiers to obey.

The scene of Zang Ba carrying Cheng Yu's head to persuade him to surrender under the city walls quickly reached Xiahou Yuan's camp.

Upon learning of Cheng Yu's death and Zang Ba's rebellion, Xiahou Yuan broke out in a cold sweat, and his remaining left eye showed a hint of panic.

"Gongming, quickly send this message to Ye City! Be on high alert and guard against the camps!" Xiahou Yuan's tone was solemn, and a sense of crisis arose in his heart.

After a standoff for many days, I never expected that Liu Bei had secretly sent people to Qingzhou to kill Cheng Yu and to Xuzhou to persuade Zang Ba to surrender. I only received the news today!

Xu Huang was equally astonished.

Although Cao Cao had limited control over the Qing and Xu regions, Liu Bei's ability to win them over so quickly was truly beyond Xu Huang's expectations.

What Xu Huang didn't know was that the reason Zhuge Liang was able to act so quickly was not only because of the large number of righteous troops he sent to infiltrate the region the previous year, but more importantly because Cao Cao had repeatedly slaughtered people in Xuzhou, making it impossible for Cao Cao to truly gain the trust of the people of Xuzhou. Furthermore, Qingzhou had just been seized from Yuan Tan, and Cao Cao not only did not treat the people of Qingzhou well, but also forcibly conscripted laborers to launch a northern expedition against Liu Bei the previous year, which made the people of Qingzhou even less convinced of Cao Cao's authority.

When Liu Bei was able to rival Cao Cao in military strength, he used benevolence to control violence, and was invincible.

after all.

The people of Qing and Xu were willing to submit to Cao Cao because they feared his executioner's blade; they had no other choice. But when Liu Bei was able to contend with Cao Cao and practice benevolence and righteousness, the people of Qing and Xu had a new option.

The people of Qing and Xu are not stupid. They can see who can better protect their own lives and the interests of their families.

The swift horse gallops across the sky.

Upon receiving the urgent report from Pingyuan, Cao Cao was so shocked he nearly fainted. "That scoundrel Zang Ba has indeed betrayed me!"

As the saying goes, good fortune never comes in pairs, but misfortunes never come singly; when it rains, it pours; and a rope always breaks at its thinnest point.

When you're down on your luck, don't panic, because more bad luck will follow.

Before Cao Cao could devise a countermeasure with his advisors, trouble broke out again in the west of Wei Commandery.

Xiahou Shang, who was serving as the military commander, returned in disarray from the west of Wei Commandery, prostrating himself on the ground and weeping: "Minister of Works, Zhang He has mutinied and gone to join Zhao Yun!"

Cao Cao was shocked and stood up: "I have treated Zhang He well, why has Zhang He betrayed me?"

Xiahou Shang was indignant: "Zhao Yun is treacherous. He actually brought Zhang He and his men, wives and children, to the front lines to persuade them to surrender! That very night, Zhang He discussed surrender with his men. When I discovered this, Zhang He even led his troops to fight me. Minister, it is my incompetence that prevented me from stopping him in time."

In fact, Xiahou Shang concealed some information that was unfavorable to him.

After Zhao Yun brought Zhang He, his men, wives, and children to the front lines to persuade them to surrender, Zhang He hesitated.

Zhang He was known for his shrewdness and adaptability, so he could see clearly that if Liu Bei didn't kill him, his men, wives, and children today, he wouldn't kill them in the future either. Even if he didn't surrender to Liu Bei, it wouldn't affect the safety of his wife and children. On the contrary, if he surrendered to Liu Bei, he would not only bear the reputation of being fickle, but his newlywed wife and children in Xuchang would definitely be slaughtered by Cao Cao.

That night, Zhang He discussed with his men, actually intending to analyze the pros and cons and persuade them not to be greedy for short-term gains and join Liu Bei. However, halfway through the discussion, Xiahou Shang led his troops in, demanding that Zhang He and his men hand over their seals of office, and then bind themselves and return to Ye City to plead guilty to Cao Cao.

Zhang He was still hesitating when his men objected: "We haven't surrendered yet! If we hand over our seals and bind ourselves to go back and beg for forgiveness, even if we don't die, we'll still be guilty!"

Seeing that Zhang He's men refused to obey orders, Xiahou Shang was certain that Zhang He intended to rebel, so he directly ordered the Tiger Guards to attack and kill Zhang He and his men.

Zhang He tried to explain himself several times, but Xiahou Shang refuted him each time. Unable to bear it any longer, Zhang He also became fierce, fought back Xiahou Shang, and led his troops to join Zhao Yun.

Most of his 5,000 soldiers also surrendered to Zhao Yun.

However, Xiahou Shang naturally couldn't tell Cao Cao these details, otherwise it would be seen as Xiahou Shang forcing Zhang He to rebel.

Xiahou Shang was still too young. He thought that as a military commander, he was already being magnanimous by letting Zhang He and his men hand over their seals and bind themselves to return to Ye City to plead guilty to Cao Cao. He didn't consider the pros and cons from the perspective of Zhang He's men.

Admittedly, if Zhang He had bound himself and pleaded guilty, Cao Cao might have praised him to reassure the people, but Zhang He's troops were not so lucky.

In order to appease Zhang He who had just surrendered, Cao Cao allowed Zhang He's followers who had surrendered with him to follow Zhang He and make contributions. If they had to bind themselves and plead guilty, why would Cao Cao have allowed Zhang He's followers to follow Zhang He again?

Cao Cao understood Zhang He and knew that Zhang He would not easily switch allegiance to Zhao Yun. He would only do so if he was threatened by uncontrollable forces, just as Zhang He surrendered during the Battle of Guandu because of Guo Tu's slander.

But kneeling before him was Xiahou Shang, a rising star of the Xiahou clan. Cao Cao couldn't possibly punish Xiahou Shang for the sake of Zhang He, who had already defected to Zhao Yun.

In addition, given the current unfavorable situation in the war, if Cao Cao were to punish Xiahou Shang, it would only add to the unease of his generals and officials.

"It was my mistake in deployment that caused Zhang He and others to be threatened by Zhao Yun. It is not your fault. You should go and rest. I have a plan." After gently reassuring Xiahou Shang, Cao Cao turned his gaze to the civil and military officials.

(End of this chapter)