The Three Kingdoms: The entire Cao Cao camp thought I was weak and frail.

Three days later, Cheng Yu returned from Jibei carrying a heavy bamboo scroll. His expression was solemn, and as soon as he entered the council hall, he presented the bamboo scroll.

"My lord, this is the roster of the surrendered soldiers and their families from Jibei."

Cao Cao unfolded the bamboo slips, and the smile on his face gradually faded.

In Shanyang, Rencheng, and Jibei, nearly 70,000 able-bodied men of the Yellow Turbans surrendered, but the number of elderly, weak, women, and children who were also in the army reached 130,000.

A total of 200,000 people.

Two hundred thousand mouths eagerly awaiting food.

"Wenruo," Cao Cao's voice was somewhat hoarse, "how much grain is left in the treasury?"

Xun Yu stepped forward, his face even more grim than Cheng Yu's.

"My lord, Yanzhou has been ravaged by war for years, and the treasury is already empty. It was already the limit to support tens of thousands of troops in the past. Now, with another 200,000 men, even if all the stored grain is used, it will not last more than a month."

January.

"The Qingtian strategy is good, but crops take time to grow into grain," Xiahou Dun said in a deep voice. "If you ask me, those old, weak, sick, and disabled people are just a burden to keep around. It would be better to..."

"Yuan Rang!" Cao Cao interrupted him sharply.

"General Yuanrang's words, though inappropriate, do reveal the current predicament of our army."

Cheng Yu's slightly hoarse voice broke the tense atmosphere. His stance remained consistent with before: "My lord, mercy is not the way to command an army. These 200,000 men consume astronomical amounts of grain every day. If a decision is not made soon, in a month, not only them, but also our soldiers will starve. At that time, chaos will surely ensue."

Xun Yu's face was extremely grim. He abruptly stood up and bowed deeply to Cao Cao: "My lord, you mustn't! How is this any different from the likes of Dong Zhuo? We raised an army to punish the traitors, to restore the Han Dynasty and save the people from their suffering. If we commit such an unjust act, we will lose the hearts of the people, and how will we be any different from the Yellow Turban rebels!"

Cao Cao's knuckles tapped unconsciously on the table, producing a dull sound.

On one hand, there was an imminent survival crisis; on the other hand, there was the reputation of benevolence and righteousness that he had painstakingly cultivated.

The Battle of Luoyang resulted in heavy losses for Cao Cao, whose reputation had finally risen to a higher level. Once the order to kill surrendered soldiers was issued, not only would the Xun family become disaffected, but if word got out, the surrendered soldiers would also mutini, which would be difficult to suppress.

"May I ask, my lord, why are we short of food?" Everyone looked over at the sound and saw that Xun Hao, who had been sitting quietly in the corner, had stood up at some point.

Cao Cao was taken aback. What kind of question was this? He patiently replied, "Because we need to support 200,000 surrendered soldiers."

"Wrong." Xun Hao shook his head. "It's because the grain in Yanzhou is not in our lord's hands."

These words struck everyone like a thunderbolt.

The grain in Yanzhou isn't in our lord's hands? Then who has it?

Before anyone could react, Xun Hao had already given his answer: "They are in the hands of powerful families in various counties. Yanzhou has been plagued by war for years, and only they have the ability to build fortified villages and stockpile grain. When our army conquers counties, we only get a small amount of grain from the official granaries; the real bulk of it is always in their hands."

Having said all that, Chen Gong had no choice but to speak up. "My lord, I am not talented, but I still have some influence among the scholars of Yanzhou. I am willing to personally visit the Cheng family in Rencheng and the Bi family in Dongping, and persuade them to open their granaries and donate grain to relieve your urgent needs."

Upon hearing this, Cao Cao's eyes revealed a hint of interest.

Xun Yu frowned slightly. He knew the character of those aristocratic families well; they were all the type to not act until they saw a benefit. Getting them to hand over grain for free was as difficult as climbing to the sky.

"Mr. Gongtai, is this grain a loan, a donation, or... a purchase?" Xun Hao continued.

Chen Gong's smile froze for a moment.

If it is a loan, when will it be returned, and with what will it be repaid? In the future, these powerful families can use this as leverage to demand official positions and land.

If we were to buy, where would the money come from? The treasury is so empty it could run horses.

If it's a donation... there's no such thing as a free lunch in this world. If they donate grain today, they'll dare to demand control of Yanzhou tomorrow.

"Mr. Yanruo, you jest." Chen Gong quickly regained his composure, flicking his sleeves with his elegant demeanor. "My lord is the Governor of Yanzhou, sharing the burdens of the court and pacifying the rebellion for His Majesty. The people of Yanzhou, receiving the Han's bounty and enjoying peace, should naturally do their utmost for my lord and the court. This is their duty of loyalty and righteousness; how can you speak of borrowing or buying?"

Cao Cao's gaze swept back and forth between Chen Gong and Xun Hao, and he already understood the situation perfectly.

Yan Ruo saw things clearly.

Chen Gong's method was to drink poison to quench his thirst.

These powerful clans, entrenched in the region and linked by marriage, have a deeply entrenched influence. By surrendering Yanzhou that day and providing military provisions today, they have earned the "merit of supporting the emperor." In the future, they will surely use this as leverage to interfere in politics, install their cronies, and undermine Cao Cao's power.

But right now, he has no other choice but to use this method.

"Very well!" Cao Cao slammed his hand on the table, making his decision. "This matter is entirely entrusted to Gongtai! I'll give you ten days. Just name your manpower needs!"

"Your lord trusts me, I will not fail you!" Chen Gong bowed again, a hint of barely perceptible pride flashing deep in his eyes.

In his view, this was not only a way to share the burden of his lord, but also an excellent opportunity to demonstrate his power, Chen Gong's, and the strength of the Yanzhou gentry behind him to the people in Cao Cao's camp, especially those "outsiders" from Yingchuan.

After everyone left, Xun Hao stayed behind.

"My lord," he said, walking up to the map, his voice so low that only the two of them could hear, "Chen Gongtai's journey, whether successful or not, will be a disaster."

"How could I not know?" Cao Cao sighed, his face already showing exhaustion instead of his usual arrogance. "But we can't wait to feed two hundred thousand people."

If the Xun family had wanted to, they could have easily joined forces with other powerful families to sideline the prefect in Yingchuan.

In the following days, the atmosphere in Puyang City became unusually delicate.

On one hand, Xun Yu's "Qingtian" strategy was being carried out intensively, with a large number of surrendered soldiers being organized and settled every day to reclaim wasteland in the suburbs.

On the other hand, the grain reserves in the government granary were decreasing at a visible rate, and the officials in charge of distributing porridge every day were cooking the porridge to be thinner and thinner.

The morale of the army and the people are slowly rising and falling in this pot of increasingly clear porridge.

On the evening of the tenth day, Chen Gong returned.

He didn't return alone; behind him followed a convoy that stretched as far as the eye could see, the vehicles loaded with sacks, their heavy wheels leaving deep ruts on the cobblestone road.

The food has arrived!

The news spread like wildfire throughout Puyang City.

That evening, Cao Cao held a grand banquet at his government office to welcome Chen Gong back.

After several rounds of drinks, Chen Gong stood up, his face flushed. He bowed to Cao Cao and said loudly, "My lord, I have fortunately fulfilled my mission. On this trip, I persuaded seventeen noble families, including the Cheng, Bi, Xue, and Li clans, to donate a total of 200,000 shi of grain! This is enough to support the entire army and the surrendered soldiers through the spring famine!"