Great Han Empire

Chapter 698
In February of the second year of Xingping in the Han Dynasty (AD 195).

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Luoyang.

When Yuan Shao heard that Xin Ping had returned from Yizhou, he hurried out of the city to meet him.Xin Ping was greatly moved.

Yuan Shao took his hand and said, "The journey to Yizhou is difficult, and it will take Ziyi half a year to go. It's too hard."

"At the end of last year, I went down the river from Jiangzhou in Berkshire." Xin Ping said, "When I arrived in South County of Jingzhou, I stayed in Xiangyang for more than a month, so I delayed my return until now."

"How is the matter in Yizhou? Is Liu Yan willing to send troops to serve the king again?" Yuan Shao asked impatiently.

Xin Ping's face darkened, and he said in a low voice, "My lord, Liu Yan is dead."

Yuan Shao was stunned for a moment, "Is Liu Yan dead? How could he die?"

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Last year, during the mutiny in Chang'an, Liu Yan's two sons, Liu Fan and Liu Dan, were killed.Liu Yan was very sad and became ill from depression.Later, in order to win over Liu Yan, Li Jue asked Liu Yan's friend, Yilang Pangxi, to send Liu Fan and Liu Dan's wife and children to Yizhou.When Liu Yan saw his grandson and granddaughter, he blamed himself even more. His condition suddenly worsened and he became bedridden.In autumn, Mianzhu, the prefecture of Yizhou, was struck by lightning and caught fire, and the whole city was burned down.In desperation, Liu Yan ordered the government to be moved to Chengdu in Shu County.Liu Yan died in September because of overwork and sores from lying on his back for a long time.

Liu Yan still has two sons left at this time, one is Liu Zhang and the other is Liu Mao.Liu Zhang is older, with a gentle temperament and a love of benevolence and righteousness. He is deeply loved and supported by Yizhou bureaucrats.Zhao Wei (wei), the governor of Yizhou, then united with the prefects of Yizhou's counties, jointly played the emperor, and recommended Liu Zhang to succeed Yizhou governor.

Of course Li Jue would not miss this good opportunity to occupy Yizhou, so he asked the emperor to issue an order to appoint Hu Mao from Yingchuan as the governor of Yizhou, and hurried to Chengdu to take up the post.

In November, Hu Mao went to Chengdu with the imperial decree.With the support of Zhao Wei and some Yizhou forces, Liu Zhang refused to recognize Hu Mao's status as the governor on the grounds that the emperor and the court were held hostage by traitors.

At this time, Xin Ping was in Chengdu. He and Hu Mao were both from Yingchuan and had been friends for many years. Considering that if Hu Mao were to be in charge of Yizhou, Yuan Shao's influence would directly extend to Yizhou, so Xin Ping spared no effort to help Hu Mao seized the military and political power in Yizhou.

When Hu Mao arrived in Yizhou, although he was not familiar with the place, his greatest advantage was that he followed the order of the emperor, and he came here by the order of the emperor, and his name was justified.Under Xin Ping's lobbying, Hu Mao got some foreign forces (the so-called Dongzhou scholars) who fled from Nanyang and Guanzhong to Shu in a short period of time, and some former Jialong and Ren Qi from Yizhou. support from local forces.

Seeing that the situation was critical, Liu Zhang and Zhao Wei immediately contacted Zhang Lu in Hanzhong.Zhang Lu sent troops to help.

After Hu Mao and Xin Ping heard the news, they immediately acted first and ordered Shen Mi, Lou Fa, Gan Ning and other Yizhou generals to attack Liu Zhang.

In December, Zhang Lu's reinforcements arrived in Chengdu, and the two sides fought under the city of Chengdu.Hu Mao was defeated and died in battle on the spot.Xin Ping, Shen Mi, Lou Fa, Gan Ning and others took the remnants of the defeated generals and fled all the way to Jiangzhou, and went down the river to Jingzhou by boat.

Liu Biao of Jingzhou listened to Xin Ping's narration, shook his head and sighed, "Jun Lang died well. If he didn't die, sooner or later he would have to usurp the regime and usurp it, which would harm his descendants. He built more than a thousand chariots in Mianzhu, and he went out as a guard of honor. They all imitate the trip of the emperor, and their ambitions are far beyond Yizhou."

Xin Ping said that now that his son Liu Zhang blatantly kills the court officials, the disaster in Yizhou may be worse than before.It is better to go west to King Qin sooner rather than later.Liu Biao agreed and expressed his willingness to obey Yuan Shao's command. After the beginning of spring, he ordered the Jingzhou army to go north to Nanyang and join Yuan Tan's army to attack Guanzhong again.

After Liu Zhang killed Hu Mao, he played the Son of Heaven again, saying that Hu Mao had supported the rebellion in Yizhou and had been killed by himself.In desperation, the court had no choice but to appoint Liu Zhang as the governor of Yizhou.

Liu Zhang urgently wrote to Liu Biao, asking Liu Biao to send the heads of Yizhou traitors to Chengdu.Liu Biao was furious and scolded Liu Zhang bloody.Liu Zhang immediately appointed Zhao Wei as Zhengdong Zhonglang General, and stationed troops in Xun (qu) Nincheng in Bajun, preparing to attack Liu Biao.

The situation in Jingzhou suddenly became tense.

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Liu Yan died, and Liu Zhang wanted to fight Liu Biao again. The Yizhou Army could no longer count on it, and the Jingzhou Army might also be pinned down on both sides of the Yangtze River.

The sudden change of the situation caught Yuan Shao by surprise, so he hastily summoned his subordinates in the Fuzhong to re-discuss the strategy of seizing Guanzhong.

"The lesson of King Qin's failure last year was too profound for us." Ju Shou sighed, "The Northern Army is powerful. If we cannot effectively disperse the forces of the Northern Army, we will not be able to defeat Li Jue and Guo Si, and we will not be able to occupy In Guanzhong, it is impossible to obtain the absolute advantage of pacifying the world."

"The most urgent task is to help Cao Cao defeat Lu Bu and recapture Yanzhou, so as to induce the northern army to cross the river and go down to fight immediately." Tian Feng pointed to the map and said, "Once the northern army is caught in the two battlefields of Yanzhou and Kansai, we can quickly kill them." Enter Guanzhong. This time, no matter how powerful the Northern Army is and how rich Hebei's wealth is, Li Hong will not be able to deal with three battlefields at the same time."

"Cao Cao has sent people to ask for help several times." The judge said, "I think the Lord can promise him. His subordinate Man Chong is in Luoyang now, we can have a good talk with him."

"Last year we secretly supported Lu Bu in capturing Yanzhou, and Cao Cao was very unhappy." Xu You said, "Later, he asked for help from his lord at the moment of life and death, and the lord suggested that he send his family to Luoyang and then send troops to help him, but Cao Cao said nothing. Refused, struggling alone in Yanzhou, it can be seen that he has a very deep prejudice against adults, and he no longer trusts adults."

"Now that Cao Cao has lost Xuzhou and is surrounded by Li Hong, Lu Bu, Tian Kai and Liu Bei, he is in a desperate situation. In order to survive, he asks for help again. However, this man is rebellious and cruel. He is better. Once this man-eating wolf turns into a man-eating tiger, we may suffer from it, so in my opinion, we can help him, but he must send his family to Luoyang. Although this man It can be used, but it must be firmly controlled."

Yuan Shao thought for a while and said to everyone: "The current situation in the Central Plains is very favorable to Li Hong, and he may take advantage of the opportunity to send troops. In order to ensure that he can send troops to Yanzhou and drag his main force there, we must not only help Cao Cao To defeat Lv Bu, you have to personally send troops to help, so it is better to build trust with Cao Cao again at this time. Cao Cao and Li Hong had several contacts when they were in Luoyang in the past, and they admired each other very much, and Cao Cao firmly respected the current emperor. There is no conflict between him and Li Hong on this point. If we get Cao Cao into a hurry and he simply surrenders to Li Hong and joins Li Hong and Lu Bu in attacking us, the situation in the Central Plains will immediately fall to one side. Even if we occupy Guanzhong, It also lost the advantage of sweeping the world."

Jushou and others agreed with Yuan Shao's opinion.

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Yuan Shao hurriedly summoned Man Chong and promised to send money and food to Cao Cao.

Cao Cao's current strength is not good. Even with the support of money and food, it will be difficult for him to last for a long time under the attack of Li Hong, Lu Bu, Tian Kai and Liu Bei. Therefore, after thanking Yuan Shao for his money and food, Man Chong proposed He asked Yuan Shao to send troops to help him.

Yuan Shao fully agreed.Yuzhou Inspector Yuan Wei, Chen Guoxiang Gao Gan, Pei Guoxiang Yuan Zhong, and Yingchuan Prefect Xin Pi (pi) will send troops one after another to attack Lu Bu from Chenliu and Shanyang, so as to form an east-west attack with Cao Cao.

"If Li Hong sends troops to Yanzhou, will your lord's army fight?" Man Chong hesitated for a long time and asked cautiously.

Yuan Shao said with a smile: "Since I sent troops to help Meng De, of course I am in the same boat with him. Don't worry, as long as Li Hong crosses the river, we will fight together. However, in order to gain the advantage of blocking the northern army as soon as possible, we have to fight in March anyway. Defeated Lu Bu before."

Man Chong nodded, and asked again: "Lv Bu is from northern Xinjiang. This time he attacked Yanzhou and got the assistance of the general. If we defeat him, he can flee back to Hebei, but Zhang Miao, Zhang Chao, Zang Hong How to deal with people like Guo Gong and Guo Gong? Should we let Yanzhou deal with them?"

Obviously, Cao Cao was worried that Yuan Shao would intervene in Yanzhou affairs, so he forced Zhang Miao, Zang Hong and others to continue to take charge of Yanzhou counties, and then used them to weaken his own strength and limit his own development, so as to achieve the purpose of indirectly controlling Yanzhou.

"Although Zhang Miao is a good friend of Meng De and I, in the past few years, he first dealt with me secretly, and then openly betrayed Meng De. The brotherhood between us has long since disappeared. This person cannot stay. As for Zang Hong and Guo Gong, one is a descendant of a noble family and a famous scholar in Xuzhou, and the other is a descendant of a famous family in Henan, a great Confucian in Yanzhou, it is better to admit his mistake, there is no need for bloody killings." Then Yuan Shao's face changed, and he said sharply, "Mengde killed a man. There are too many, now he can't see the head, can't smell the blood, so he can't sleep?"

Man Chong looked ashamed and bowed his head in silence.

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Cao Cao's massacre of hundreds of thousands of unarmed refugees and civilians in Xuzhou is really a matter of common anger.Back then, when Huangfu Song and Zhu Jun killed people, those Yellow Turban soldiers were rebels anyway, but now Cao Cao killed innocent lives.In the future, if the Son of Heaven returns to power and does not kill Cao Cao, he will not be able to explain to the people of the world. Therefore, if Cao Cao and his subordinates want to survive and survive, they have to fight bloody battles until they die. There is no way out.

In other words, if Yuan Shao cannot control Cao Cao now, he must fight Cao Cao in the future.The reason is very simple, whether the emperor is in power or Yuan Shao is in power, in order to gain the trust of the world, Cao Cao must be killed first.In the future, even if Li Hong was a traitor of the great Han, Li Hong saved millions of refugees and defended the territory of the Great Han. His achievements are known all over the world, and this is enough to offset his faults.But what about Cao Cao?In addition to pacifying the disaster of the Yellow Turban, Cao Cao occupied Yanzhou, attacked Xuzhou, and killed people everywhere. The things he did to harm the country and the people were far more than his achievements.
Since the emperor wants to kill him, Li Hong and Yuan Shao also want to kill him, where is Cao Cao's way out?Cao Cao, Xun Yu, Mao Jie, Cheng Yu, Man Chong and others have discussed carefully, and there is only one way, which is to defeat Li Hong and Yuan Shao, like Dong Zhuo, and take the emperor to order the world. Living in prosperity and wealth, of course, can also protect the country and society of the great man.In the future, when Li Hong is dead and Yuan Shao is dead, the history will be written by the victors. What is the massacre of hundreds of thousands of innocent people in Xuzhou?Just find any reason to deceive future generations.If it doesn't work, just erase this misunderstanding from history.

With the means of survival, the ambition to dominate the world, and the strategy of coercing the emperor to order the world, the first thing Cao Cao has to do next is to survive.The first thing he needed was Yuan Shao's help, so he sent Man Chong to Luoyang, willing to send his family members to Luoyang as hostages in exchange for the money, food and military equipment he needed most.

However, the situation in the world has changed, and Cao Cao suddenly becomes more important to Yuan Shao at this moment. Cao Cao has become Yuan Shao's most important pawn to calm the world. What he needs now is not Cao Cao's family but Cao Cao's trust.Only by gaining Cao Cao's trust and loyalty, can he control the situation in the Central Plains, and then successfully occupy Guanzhong.

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"Go back and tell Mengde that if he kills again, I will never save him." Yuan Shao said sadly, "If I do this now, I will offend and be insulted by the people of the world, you know? I lose It’s so big, not for Cao Mengde, but to prevent Li Hong from occupying the Central Plains, to prevent Li Hong from usurping the world, I’m for the Dahan Sheji, you know?”

Man Chong nodded again and again, said a lot of words of gratitude in trepidation, and then he made another request, "Can my lord persuade Tian Kai from Qingzhou to stand still?"

"I have already sent people to Qingzhou." Yuan Shao said, "Tian Kai is from Northern Xinjiang, we can't trust him too much. Once the northern Xinjiang army goes south, the situation in the Central Plains will change drastically. We can't predict whether Tian Kai will stand still .This person is not as forthright as Gongsun Zan, he has deep plans and may turn against each other at critical moments."

"What about the direction of Xuzhou? Will your lord send troops to Xuzhou to contain Liu Bei?"

"Lord Fengji went to Yangzhou a few years ago, and he hasn't returned yet, so I don't know if this bastard Yuan Shu will take the opportunity to send troops to capture Xuzhou." Yuan Shao suddenly laughed, "However, with Yuan Shu's temper, this year he will definitely To fight Xuzhou. He is very pitiful now, he only occupies a county in Jiujiang, Yangzhou, if he does not fight Xuzhou, how will he survive in the future?"

The face full of pets showed worry.The Xuzhou people hated Cao Cao so much that they wanted to peel his skin and devour his flesh. Once the northern army crossed the south of the river, Liu Bei would definitely attack Yanzhou with all his troops.

"Don't worry." Yuan Shao waved his hand and said, "Go back first and let Meng De attack Lu Bu immediately. If Yuan Shu is unwilling to send troops to contain Liu Bei in Xuzhou, I will send troops to fight Yuan Shu and force him to fight Xuzhou."

Man Chong got Yuan Shao's promise, overjoyed, and left.

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(End of this chapter)