Great Han Empire

Chapter 695
When Li Hong heard Zhang Zhen's report, a delicate and handsome face immediately appeared in his mind.He and Zhang Liao only met once at the Juzhu Fortress. At that time, Li Hong led the Northern Expeditionary Army to Youzhou to suppress the rebellion, and Guo Yun, Zhang Liao and others led the army to garrison the fortress.After the Battle of Yanmen Pass, Zhang Liao was recommended by Guo Yun and Ding Yuan to General He Jin and went to Luoyang.

Li Hong hurried out of the tent to greet him.

"I haven't seen you for seven years, I hardly recognize you." Li Hong took Zhang Liao's hand and said with a smile, "Your brother Zheng Tao has been leading the Huben Camp to fight with me everywhere. Thinking of you, and Fengxian. How are you all? When will you return to Northern Xinjiang?"

Zhang Liao didn't expect the general to come out of the tent to greet him in person, and he was both moved and happy. When he heard that the general invited him to return to northern Xinjiang, he was even more ashamed.

"The general heard that Mr. Lu and his elder brother arrived in Hanoi, and he mentioned you again and again. I hope you can come to Handan." Zhang Zhen stood aside and said, "Before the general went north to Youzhou, he asked Mr. Zhang Yan and Zhang He Sir, if there is a chance, I must get in touch with you, but then you helped Zhang Yang and Han Hao attack the Black Mountain Yellow Turban Army, which angered Master Zhang Yan. He was very upset, so the matter was shelved."

Zhang Liao's face was red and his ears were red, he was ashamed and speechless.

"Zhengtao, don't mention the past." Li Hong shook his hand at Zhang Zhen, "The Black Mountain Yellow Turban Army was still a rebellion against the imperial court before they were appeased. It is reasonable for Fengxian and Wenyuan to lead the army to attack and kill."
Zhang Zhen snorted dissatisfiedly, "The general is in Handan, why didn't brother come here so late? Could it be that Yuan Shao gave brother any benefit?"

Zhang Liao frowned slightly, and was about to speak, but immediately closed his mouth again.

"Zhengtao, go and tell Master Guo Yun that Wen Yuan is here." Li Hong smiled and waved to him, "I will talk to Wen Yuan, and then I will personally accompany Wen Yuan to meet Master Guo."

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Zhang Liao recounted in detail what happened after he and Lu Bu escaped from Chang'an, "After we defeated the Heishan Yellow Turban Army at Luchang Mountain, Feng Xian recruited about [-] Yellow Turban soldiers. We provide food, salaries and armaments, so we can only stuff them in private. Hanoi has been fighting for years, and the situation is very bad. Zhang Yang's strength is limited, and he can't help Feng Xian to advance westward. Feng Xian is very hesitant about this, and he is helpless."

"At this time, Dong Zhao, Zhang Yang's chief clerk, did us a favor. He was moved by Fengxian's loyalty and took the initiative to help us contact Zang Hong, the prefect of Dongjun, and Zhang Miao, the prefect of Chenliu. Zang Hong and Zhang Miao heard that Fengxian wanted to King Qin of Xijin is willing to help, and invited Feng Xian to go south to Yanzhou to discuss with them about the king of Qin going west."

"At the end of last year, Zhang Miao came to Chaoge City for his work as Dong Fang. He and his elder brother Dong Zhao accompanied Fengxian to the south to Chenliu. Fengxian stayed in Chenliu for about a month. During this period, he and Chenliu prefect Zhang Miao, Zang Hong, the prefect of Dongjun, Wu Zi, the prefect of Jiyin, and Guo Gong, the prefect of Shanyang, discussed many times. Because many things involved Yanzhou Prefecture, Liu Yi, Chen Gong, Xu Si, Wang Kai, At the invitation of Zhang Miao, Wan Qian and others also rushed to Chen Liu and Fengxian to meet."

"At this time, Cao Cao, the shepherd of Yanzhou, was attacking Xuzhou. After receiving letters from Zhang Miao, Zang Hong and others, he fully agreed, expressing his willingness to go west with Fengxian to King Qin, but he also said that the affairs of King Qin must wait for him to lay down the matter. Specific discussions will be made after Xuzhou."

Li Hong was thoughtful, and vaguely felt that Zhang Liao was hiding something from him.He looked at Zhang Liao with a calm expression, and said with a slight smile, "Is it related to Cao Cao's withdrawal from Xuzhou in early March?"

Zhang Liao shook his head, "Master Cao withdrew because of the shortage of food and grass."

Li Hong smiled, "I don't think Cao Cao withdrew because of lack of food and grass, but because someone forced him to withdraw."

"Is the general referring to Master Yuan Shao?" Zhang Liao said, "The general's guess is very accurate."

"When Cao Cao attacked Xuzhou, Yuan Shao did not explicitly express his support or opposition, but as far as I know, part of the Yanzhou army's food and supplies were provided by Yuzhou. It can be seen that Yuan Shao still supported Cao Cao's attack on Xuzhou in private. There are rumors that , Yuan Shao is very dissatisfied with Tao Qian. Tao Qian has always ignored Yuan Shao's so-called "inheritance system", and he has many conflicts with Yuan Shao on many things. Especially recently, Tao Qian simply broke his face and confronted Yuan Shao. Tao Qian first Helped Yuan Shu to occupy Yangzhou, and then publicly expressed his respect for the emperor and the court, and paid tribute to the court. It is said that he also scolded Yuan Shao, saying that after Yuan Shao occupied Kanto, he not only did not try his best to go west to King Qin, but instead attacked the city. Land, plotting the king's career, with ulterior motives."

"Cao Cao received Yuan Shao's secret support and knew that the general was not in Handan, so he boldly launched an attack on Xuzhou. Cao Cao attacked Xuzhou with a whole state of troops in the name of avenging his father. What is he doing? What does he think? And the laws of the Son of Heaven and the Great Han Dynasty? Even if this kind of person goes westward to King Qin in the future, he will still be a minister of disaster for the country." Zhang Liao said angrily, "Cao Cao's attack on Xuzhou is obviously not to avenge his father, but to occupy Xuzhou in vain, like Just like Yuan Shao, he is plotting for supremacy."

To avenge his father?This excuse is too ridiculous.To avenge his father, do we need an army of [-] to attack Xuzhou?Is it necessary to massacre tens of thousands of innocent people in Pengcheng after the victory?Is it necessary to command the Yanzhou army to massacre hundreds of thousands of unarmed refugees in Pengcheng, Donghai, and Xiapi after more than ten cities in Lianke? Zhang Liao raised his eyebrows and cursed angrily, "Cao Cao is not a man at all, he is a murderous animal."He was worried that there would be too many dead people, too late to bury the bodies, and a plague would break out after the beginning of spring, so he ordered Yanzhou soldiers to drive hundreds of thousands of refugees into the Sishui River.The Sishui River became a grave for burying corpses for a while.Throughout the winter, corpses could be seen floating everywhere along the thousands of miles of Sishui River and Huaishui River, and countless innocent souls howled in the cold winter wind.All this is the masterpiece of the butcher Cao Cao. "

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Cao Cao thought that by massacring the city continuously, he could shock the rest of Xuzhou's counties and counties and force them to surrender early.Cao Cao thought that by killing all the refugees in Xuzhou, he could save food and avoid the riots of the refugees, but he underestimated the Xuzhou people too much.The counties and people in Xuzhou were enraged by Cao Cao's bloody massacre. They refused to surrender, and would rather be slaughtered than surrender.Tao Qian defended the city of Tan (tan) in Donghai County, and Cao Cao's army did not capture it for five months.When Cao Cao attacked the three cities of Qulu, Suiling, and Xiaqiu in Xiapi County, he was severely damaged by Xuzhou's army and civilians. Cao Cao was furious because of this, and killed the three cities.

Under Cao Cao's continuous five-month attack, Xuzhou was almost reduced to ruins, and almost no lives were left in the places where the army passed.Except for Langya County and Guangling County, which have not been poisoned due to their geographical location, the five counties of Xuzhou are almost all occupied by Cao Cao.

Yuan Shu was currently in Jiujiang County, Yangzhou, which was next to Xiapi County. He knew that Cao Cao's next target after conquering Xuzhou was himself, so he hurriedly sent someone to contact Yuzhou governor Yuan Wei, Pei Guoxiang Yuan Zhong, Chen Guoxiang Gaogan and others. He explained what Cao Cao did in Xuzhou with embellishment.If you don't stop Cao Cao, with his tyranny a hundred times and a thousand times better than Dong Zhuo's, it will be our Yuan Clan who will be killed in the future.The offspring of this eunuch is a lunatic and a murderer. Kill him quickly while he is still fledgling, otherwise we will not be far from death.

Although Yuan Shu killed Yuan Yi, defeated Yuan Zhong, and turned against Yuan Shao again, the children of the Yuan Clan have a deep blood relationship after all, and they have inseparable interests from each other. At this critical moment, the attitude of the Yuan Clan Immediately transformed.If Cao Cao is just a disobedient dog, Yuan Faction can accept it, but if Cao Cao is a mad dog that bites people, Yuan Faction will kill him.

Yuan Shao was stunned by Cao Cao's atrocities. He never thought that Cao Cao would resort to such bloody methods in order to quickly occupy Xuzhou.He immediately ordered the suspension of food and grass support to Cao Cao, and urgently wrote to Zhang Miao.

Yuan Shao sent a letter to Zhang Miao, first to restore the old friendship, and second, to test his mind and see if he was willing to overthrow Cao Cao.Between Cao Cao and Zhang Miao, Yuan Shao would rather choose Zhang Miao as Yanzhou Shepherd and his friend.The descendant of this eunuch now looks not only extremely ambitious and lustful, but also very bloody and cruel, so it is really not suitable for them to conspire with each other.

Zhang Miao and many officials in Yanzhou were also horrified by Cao Cao's atrocities. They never thought that Cao Cao would be such a person.If a person is willing to kill hundreds of thousands of innocent people to bury his father just to avenge his father, this kind of person is not human at all.Throughout the ages, apart from a few well-known tyrants, no courtier has done such a thing that both people and gods are angry with.Taking a step back, even if Cao Cao is seeking hegemony, is it necessary to kill hundreds of thousands of innocent people just to occupy Xuzhou?Is there anyone who has built a hegemony like this?
Zhang Miao did not reply, so he asked Zang Hong, the prefect of Dongjun, to secretly rush to Luoyang.

At this time, Jushou, Tian Feng and others raised different opinions.Cao Cao had an army and was ruthless. Compared with Cao Cao, Zhang Miao and other Yanzhou officials could engage in conspiracy and tricks, but they could not fight wars.If the prefectures and counties of Yanzhou betrayed Cao Cao and Zhang Miao became the shepherd of Yanzhou, it is estimated that Cao Cao would take back Yanzhou once Cao Cao returned his carbine.If we send troops to support Zhang Miao or simply take Yanzhou by ourselves, we must consider the threat of Hebei.Yanzhou was in chaos, and if the northern border army in Hebei took advantage of the situation, Yanzhou would be handed over to Li Hong.Therefore, Yanzhou needs a strong warrior, a warrior who can defeat Cao Cao and prevent the northern army from going south, and now there is such a warrior, which cannot but be said to be a god-sent opportunity.

This warrior is Lu Bu.Lu Bu is dedicated to serving the king, and urgently needs such an opportunity to have force and territory, while Zhang Miao and others urgently need to drive Cao Cao, a bloody thug, out of Yanzhou. If these two forces are combined, they can not only drive away or kill Cao Cao , can also get the support of the Northern Xinjiang Army.Lu Bu was born in northern Xinjiang, and he was related to Li Hong, Xu Rong and others. In addition, he respected the emperor and the court and devoted himself to serving the king. Li Hong had no reason to go south and beat him.

In this way, Cao Cao's power will be wiped out, and the combined power of Lu Bu, Zhang Miao and other Yanzhou officials will also be greatly damaged.In the future, even if Lu Bu, Zhang Miao and others are still alive, they will fight because of their conflicts and power. At this time, it is time for Yuan Shao to easily seize Yanzhou.As for Xuzhou, because of Cao Cao's killing, it will not take two or three years to recover.Once Cao Cao died, Tao Qian's days were numbered.

If everything goes well, within two years, Yanzhou, Xuzhou, and even Yangzhou will all be in Yuan Shao's pocket.

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Zang Hong returned to Chenliu with Yuan Shao's opinion, but Zhang Miao did not agree immediately.He and Cao Cao have been friends for many years, and he still wants to persuade Cao Cao.If Cao Cao is willing to give up attacking Xuzhou, and is willing to give up killing in Xuzhou, he is also willing to support Cao Cao.

In mid-March, Cao Cao returned to Yanzhou with several thousand troops. At this moment, the main force of the Yanzhou army was still attacking Xuzhou.

The purpose of Cao Cao's return to Yanzhou was not to withdraw his troops, but to persuade the officials of Yanzhou to raise food, grass and supplies for him to help him through this most critical moment.Cao Cao clearly told Zhang Miao and others that in two months, Xuzhou would be mine.With Xuzhou's money and food, our strength has greatly increased after a few years. We can not only reject Li Hong from the north, but also advance to King Qin from the west.

Zhang Miao, Zang Hong, Wu Zi, Guo Gong, Liu Yi, Chen Gong and other officials in Yanzhou tried every means to persuade them, but at this time, the battle in Xuzhou was almost over, and the five counties of Xuzhou were in their hands. How could Cao Cao give up? ?He, Xun Yu, Cheng Yu, Mao Jie, Xi Zhicai and others also tried their best to persuade Zhang Miao and others, and they almost knelt down and kowtowed.

Seeing that the persuasion was ineffective, Cao Cao resolutely ordered Zang Hong to be dismissed from his official position and put him in death row, hoping to deter the officials of Yanzhou.Chen Liu, a famous scholar, and former Jiujiang prefect Bian Rang interceded for Zang Hong, and publicly accused Cao Cao of his atrocities, and scolded Cao Cao.Cao Cao was furious, ordered Bian Rang to be dragged outside the hall, and beat him to death with a whip.Zhang Miao and the others did not dare to speak any more.

However, money and food in Yanzhou were indeed in short supply, and it was time for spring plowing at this moment, and the warehouses of all the government offices in Yanzhou were empty.Cao Cao had no choice but to order the forcible confiscation of the warehouses of the rich and powerful in various counties and counties in Yanzhou. Anyone who hides money and food privately will be punished for treason.

Cao Cao was just a descendant of an eunuch, and the scholars in Yanzhou despised him. This time he first imprisoned Zang Hong, then killed Bian Rang, and then ordered the robbing of Yanzhou's rich and powerful. The consequences can be imagined.So a bloody storm swept through.

Cao Cao was never relentless in killing people, and he continued to kill until no one opposed him.

At the beginning of April, Cao Cao left contentedly. He asked Xun Yu to take charge of Yanzhou affairs, Chen Gong to take charge of Dongjun affairs, and Xiahou Dun to garrison along the Yellow River with thousands of troops.

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"Cao Cao went to fight Xuzhou again?"

Hebei has not yet received news of Cao Cao's return to the Xuzhou battlefield, so Li Hong was very surprised to hear that Cao Cao had gone to Xuzhou, but at the same time he also understood Zhang Liao's intention to go to Handan.Lu Bu is going to take the opportunity to seize Yanzhou, and he needs his own help.Although Zhang Liao did not clearly state that Lu Bu had the support of some officials in Yanzhou, many officials in Yanzhou opposed Cao Cao's killing in Xuzhou, Zang Hong was imprisoned by Cao Cao, and Bian Rang was whipped to death by Cao Cao. The current crisis is over.

"What do you need?" Li Hong asked bluntly.

"General, I need war horses, food, grass, and weapons." Zhang Liao knelt down excitedly, and said loudly, "Feng Xian and I swear that as long as the general goes west to King Qin, we will do our best to fight for the general. If we violate this I swear, it will be destroyed in one day."

Li Hong pondered for a while, and stretched out his hand to help Zhang Liao up, "How about this, you go to meet the eldest princess first, and then go to meet your teacher, Master Guo Yun. I will give you an answer tonight."

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Li Hong sent Zhang Liao away, and immediately summoned Xun You, Zhang Fan, Li Wei, Xie Ming, Sima Lang, Zhu Mu, and Tian Chou to discuss urgent matters.

"Cao Cao must be prevented from occupying Xuzhou." Li Hong held Tao Qian's blood book and said sharply, "Master Tao is already powerless, I can't just sit idly by and let Xuzhou's blood flow like a river. We have only two choices, or send troops to Yanzhou , or help Lu Bu occupy Yanzhou, I can't let Cao Cao, a murderous butcher, kill people in Xuzhou again."

"Our goal at the moment is Guanzhong." Li Wei said, "Once Guanzhong and Kanxi are in a bloody battle, the main force of the northern army will quickly cross the Taihang Mountains to support the battlefields of Guanzhong and Kanxi, so we can't rush south to attack Yanzhou now."

"At present, the safety of the Son of Heaven is the most important thing for us, and the protection of the Son of Heaven is the top priority of the Northern Xinjiang Army. Therefore, it is the best policy for us to focus on Guanzhong." Zhu Mu said, "Judging from the current situation in Yanzhou, After we entered, there was a series of bloody battles, and it was difficult to stabilize the situation quickly. In the past, we had an agreed policy on Yanzhou, thinking that before we were strong enough, we should make full use of the tension between Yuan Shao, Cao Cao, Zhang Miao, Yuan Shu and other forces. Contradictions, using the technique of combining vertical and horizontal to confuse Henan provinces and counties, consume their strength and impede their development. Today this opportunity has come to our door, of course we must make good use of it."

Li Hong looked at Xun You.

Xun You smiled and said: "I agree with Zhong Yuan and Gong Ding. Now, Yuan Shao is the one who threatens us the most. Yuan Shao is plotting Guan Guan at the moment. If we go south and fall into Yanzhou, it is very likely that we will be tricked by Yuan Shao. Although Yanzhou is very important , but Guanzhong is more important. Our occupation of Yanzhou will not help to change the current situation, but once Yuan Shao occupies Guanzhong, the situation of the world will change greatly."

"Okay, then let's help Lu Bu." Li Hong immediately made a decision, "Go and invite Zhang Liao to the tent."

Then he looked at the crowd and said with a smile: "If Lu Bu and Zhang Liao keep their promise, then their occupation of Yanzhou is actually equivalent to our occupation of Yanzhou."

"Yuan Shao won't agree." Sima Lang laughed, "Since he doesn't want to see Cao Cao become stronger, he certainly won't let Lu Bu occupy Yanzhou."

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In mid-April, Xu Rong once again received the emperor's decree that Yuan Shao's army conquered Wuguan, and asked General Zhengxi to support him quickly.

Xu Rong was shocked and ordered Yushi and Yang Feng to lead the army across the river and rush to Chang'an.

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(End of this chapter)