Chapter 97 Cao Cao's thoughts
The faces of these officials suddenly changed. Those who were clamoring before are now weak in the legs, and those who were begging for mercy are now as soft as tofu.
"I have told you all a long time ago that farming is to enforce military laws."
Liu Feng walked up to these insects and asked: "If the army embezzles military rations and deprives them of food, what crime should they be punished for? ”
“Kill in half! The family property will be transferred to the treasury.”
Xu Sheng and Pan Zhang replied loudly.
Liu Feng nodded: "Can you plead guilty?"
A group of corrupt officials looked at each other. They wanted to beg for mercy, but the evidence was solid and they were engaged in military law. No one dared to do so. Such a confession.
Even if you want to deny it, there is really no way to quibble.
“Now that you are aware of your crimes, you can get on your way.”
Liu Feng waved his hand and said: "Drag him out and execute him."
When a group of corrupt officials saw that Liu Feng was really going to take action, they were frightened out of their wits.
Some people screamed and begged for mercy and were willing to repay all the food they had stolen, while some shouted loudly in the background, hoping that Liu Feng would have some scruples.
But at this time, how could Liu Feng be soft-hearted? Moreover, he hated these people deeply and wished he could cut them to relieve his anger.
These beasts are depriving households of their food rations at this time, not to mention delaying spring plowing. There is no telling how many elderly people and children will starve to death before the summer harvest.
These living human lives may not be worth as much as a penny in the eyes of these beasts.
In this case, Liu Feng must let these beasts know that their lives are really not as important as a penny. It's also a good idea to warn other beasts to hide their claws and not touch things they shouldn't touch, otherwise they'll chop off their heads too.
The next day, thirty-six heads were hung on the city wall of Xiangben County.
At the same time, the official document was sent directly to Tancheng. After reading it, Liu Bei immediately approved and ordered all these people's homes to be ransacked and all the proceeds confiscated into the treasury.
It’s not that there are no people below who want to plead for mercy, there are even some who are accustomed to running rampant and want to impeach Liu Feng for being cruel and easy to kill. However, these people were suppressed by Chen Deng and Mi Zhu, and they failed to cause any ripples.
Gu Jiang stood at the entrance of the village, queuing up to receive the remaining one stone and two buckets of grain. Looking at the young men placing grain, he couldn't help but think of the young master from a few days ago.
For the first time, Gu Jiang felt that not all gentlemen in the world have bad consciences, but there are also kind-hearted young gentlemen among them.
After killing these corrupt officials, Liu Feng directly returned all the power of the farm and the command power of the young men to Lu Su, and he retreated to the military camp to train Xu Sheng day and night. Department.
It was only then that Lu Su realized that Liu Feng was not trying to seize power with him at all, but was acting as a shield for himself to handle the most difficult and difficult things.
And with Liu Feng going on a killing spree and killing thirty-six corrupt officials in one go, the work in the other two counties became much easier instantly, and the shortage of money and food became available again. There is no need for Lu Su to spend time checking.
As things happened in Xiangben County, they quickly spread to Cheng County and Lanling County.
Not long after, the farming households there were pleasantly surprised to find that the government had issued a second batch of ration subsidies, and the amount was exactly the amount that was missing from the previous payment. At the same time, the losses that had been deducted from the last food distribution were They were all replenished as well.
The people in the farmland shouted for honest officials, and every household deeply remembered Liu Bei, the new envoy. People said: My parents gave birth to me, and it was Liu Bei who raised me.
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In the second year of Xingping (195 AD), Dong'a County, Dongjun, Yanzhou.
Cao Cao is working in the county government office.
Since October last year, Cao Cao has moved his troops from Juancheng to Dong'a County.
It’s not that he likes Dong’a County very much, nor that Dong’a County’s location is more important than Juancheng, but that Juancheng is really out of food.
At this time, Cheng Li jumped out and said that there was food in Dong'a County, and he also issued a military order. Cao Cao then moved troops from Juancheng to Dong'a County, and Cheng Li did bring out the food.
Although there was a lot of food, after all, Cao Cao still had tens of thousands of troops under his command at this time.
Just when everyone thought that the food was not enough, Cheng Li miraculously took out a lot of dried meat. As for the source of these dried meats, of course they were all kinds of animal meat, but later in the Wei and Jin Dynasties, Shiyu did not know whether it was Cheng Li's conspiracy or the real thing. What information did I get? It turned out that this batch of jerky was mixed with jerky made by someone else.
But at least at this time, there is no such thing. Everyone uses it as ordinary dried meat. Cheng Li has made another great contribution to Cao Cao.
At this time, Xun Yu told Cao Cao that when Cheng Yu was a boy, he often dreamed that he climbed Mount Tai and held the sun with both hands. When the latter heard this, he became interested and specially invited Cheng Li to do it. Add a Japanese character to the character "Li" and change his name to Cheng Yu.
Cheng Li happily followed this and changed his name to Cheng Yu.
At the same time, Cheng Yu was also rewarded for his merits and was worshiped as Prime Minister of Dongping by Cao Cao, responsible for Cao Jun's espionage work.
On this day, Cao Cao was thinking hard about the war after the spring, and Cheng Li came to see him.
Cao Cao did not dare to neglect and invited him in.
The most useful person around Cao Cao now is naturally Xun Yu. This person is called Xiao He of Cao by Cao Cao. He is the second-ranking figure in the entire Cao army faction. He is mainly responsible for the operation of the government and the general strategic direction.
Xi Zhicai is mainly responsible for the details of the conspiracy. He is more like Cao Cao's marching staff.
The remaining one is Cheng Yu. His abilities are relatively comprehensive, but Cao Cao relies more on his talent in espionage and gives him part of Cao Jun's espionage details.
Because Cao's army was short of food, Cheng Yu devised a plan to kidnap Mi Zhu to blackmail Xuzhou into sending food.
The Mi family has a great business, and Mi Zhu is the head of the Mi family. If he can be caught, it should not be difficult to extort more than 100,000 shi of grain.
In this way, the war after the beginning of spring will be much smoother.
In Yanzhou today, whether it is Cao Cao or Lu Bu, the most scarce resource is food.
In October last year, the price of grain in Yanzhou even reached the terrifying price of 500,000 yuan per stone of corn.
This is more than 2,000 times the price of corn in normal seasons.
In order to maintain the army, Cao Cao had to dismiss all the new soldiers. He had to run around like a beggar in various counties under his rule, eating here for a few days, and then there again. Eat for a few days.
If his big brother Yuan Shao hadn't sent him thousands more shi of food, he would have been unable to hold on any longer.
So when he first heard about Cheng Yu's plan, Cao Cao was very interested and even made a few remarks himself. Thinking that not to mention hundreds of thousands of kilo of grain, but even several thousand kilo of grain, my life would be much easier.
I just didn’t expect that Cao Hong was so unsatisfactory that Liu Bei saw through his plan and uprooted him, taking with him a detailed production team placed outside Tancheng County.
Cao Cao had a round face and short beard, a short but strong stature, and a pair of bright eyes looming under his eyelids, flashing from time to time. His power is astonishing. He is just sitting cross-legged on the couch, but he has the appearance of a tiger and a dragon. When people see him, they can't help but want to be impressed by him.
At first glance, Cao Cao is somewhat similar to Liu Bei. They are both types who can easily impress others.
If you look closely, the two are still different. Cao Cao is graceful and noble with a little chivalry, while Liu Bei's chivalry is hidden in Dunhe.
The commonality between the two is chivalrous spirit, but the difference is their background.
Perhaps it was this commonality of chivalry that made Cao Cao appreciate Liu Bei all his life, and he tried his best to win over Liu Bei, but in the end he failed.
Many people think that Liu Bei is too ambitious, but this is not the case. If Liu Bei was really too ambitious and unwilling to be inferior to others, how could he go to help Yuan Shao and fight guerrillas in Cao Cao's base area through life and death?
During this period of fighting guerrillas, he escaped alone several times. You can imagine how dangerous it was.
It can only be said that Liu Bei woke up earlier than Cao Cao. He knew that Cao Cao could not tolerate him after all, so he was so determined to oppose Cao Cao.
"Xuande has made great progress."
The disappointment on Cao Cao's face flashed across his face, and he burst out laughing: "It really impressed Cao Cao that he could see through Zhongde's plan. .”
Cheng Yu's lean face was expressionless, as if he was not the one who failed.
Hearing Cao Cao's words, he added: "I'm afraid Liu Xuande is not capable of this. Please report back in detail. Liu Bei has recruited many scholars in succession in recent days, and among them there should be real people."
< br>When Cao Cao heard this, he just nodded and did not express his position.
In fact, both Cao Cao and Cheng Yu thought this plan was a conspiracy.
Because Liu Bei and the others could not get any news from the west, they did not know about the chaos in Guanzhong.
In addition, this strategy was designed in response to Liu Bei's unstable authority and eagerness to consolidate himself, which can be said to be playing into his favour.
Unexpectedly, Liu Bei didn't fall for it.
Is there really any wise man who has joined his army and seen through his own plan?
Cao Cao couldn't help but be a little unhappy. Liu Xuande was from such a low background. The reason why he was able to take control of Xuzhou was because he borrowed his own strength.
Why can’t talented people see this clearly?
If you surrender to yourself, wouldn't you be ten times stronger than Liu Bei?
Cao Cao suddenly felt an inexplicable anger. After a moment, he suppressed his anger and said: "In this case, Zhongde can send people to Tancheng to collect Xuande's conquerors. information for the future.”
“Yes.”
Cheng Yu accepted the order respectfully.
Then Cheng Yu spoke again: "Ming Gong, Liu Bei seems to be preparing to farm."
"Fielding?" Cao Cao was surprised: "There is so much food in Xuzhou?"
Cao Cao's capable ministers and counselors have long proposed to Cao Cao to farm.
But in actual operation, we found that there were too many problems.
Not to mention money, grain, cattle, farm tools and other supplies, Yanzhou is densely populated, and outsiders have no place to stand here. Where is there any wasteland for you to farm?
Cao Cao had previously collected 300,000 Qingzhou troops, and together with their families, the number reached one million.
In order to resettle these people, he forced the powerful local families in Yanzhou to transfer part of their land, and plundered all the treasury at the state, county and county levels before finally resettling them.
Otherwise, the Qingzhou Army would have rebelled long ago, how could they still be loyal to him?
Fortunately, after Yanzhou rebelled, the Qingzhou Army did not follow the rebellion. Although its combat power was quite low, it was overwhelmed by Lu Bu's army and almost killed Cao Cao. But it is loyal. But no big problem.
Cheng Yu’s expressionless face frowned for the first time. He hesitated before replying: “According to the investigation, the Mi family gave 120,000 shi of grain and millions more. Money and supplies, there are rumors that the Mi family wants to marry their sister to Liu Bei’s eldest son.”
"Xuande's eldest son? Is his name Liu Feng? The one who was raised in his hometown in Zhuozhou?"
Cao Cao seemed to remember this boy. He heard Benchu mention it when he corresponded with him before.
It is said that this little guy named Liu Feng is young and wise, and has a lot of fame in the North. It is said that Gongsun Zan helped him gain a reputation.
"This is the son. According to rumors in the North, he knew how to be filial to his parents at the age of six. Liu Lang carried oranges and lay on the ice to beg for carps. These are all well-known."
Cao Cao clicked his tongue: "Why is Liu Bei so lucky? He gave birth to a son who he never cared about since he was a child, yet he managed to become so famous all by himself."
Thinking of his son Cao Ang, Cao Cao was originally very satisfied.
Although he was born as a side wife, his biological mother died young and he was raised by the main wife Ding since he was a child. He can be regarded as Cao Cao's eldest son.
This child has been smart and sensible since he was a child, filial and courteous, and good at both civil and military affairs. He can read economics well and wield a horse-drawn bow. The year before last, he was promoted to Xiaolian by Zhang Miao, the governor of Chenliu, his close friend.
With such an eldest son, Cao Cao was once very proud and had no worries.
Although his son is still young and has not experienced war, in other aspects, compared with Yuan Tan and Yuan Shang of the Benchu family, Cao Ang is not inferior to each other at all. He even has a humble personality, respects his elders, and is friendly. brother.
Compared with Yuan Tan and Yuan Shang, who were at odds with each other, Cao Ang was especially worse.
But today he felt something was wrong.
Why did my precious son raise Xiaolian through his friend Zhang Miao when he was twenty years old? Now Zhang Miao has turned against him, and the two sides are already in a life-or-death situation.
But Liu Bei's son became famous in the North easily, without even spending any political resources.
Cao Cao knew this very well. Who among the few friends of Liu Bei's family background didn't know about it?
Who would believe that Gongsun Bogui was willing to use his political resources for Liu Dal'er's son?
The best Gongsun Bogui could do was to take advantage of the situation, give him a push, and help him a little.
It is more likely that Gongsun Bogui saw the child's excellence and wanted to plant trees in advance so that his descendants could enjoy the shade.
"How come this Liu Da'er is so lucky?"
The more Cao Cao thought about it, the angrier he became, and he couldn't help but think of last year: "Last year, he didn't waste any effort. It’s too cheap for him to win Xuzhou!”
It would be false to say that Cao Cao did not regret at this time.
He was really too aggressive in the first two years. He chased Tian Kai and Liu Bei in the north, defeated the Yellow Turban Tao Qian in the east and returned to Xu in embarrassment, and attacked Yuan Shu in the south and fled hastily. It can be said that he won consecutive battles and the morale of the army reached Reaching the peak, he has the potential to swallow up the Central Plains.
In this case, he actually learned the strategy of killing to stop the war, and ordered that once surrounded on all sides, he would no longer accept surrender and the whole city would be massacred!
This is a very animalistic approach and completely unscrupulous.
Cao Cao’s slaughter here has a different meaning from most slaughters in history.
In fact, many massacres in history did not actually kill all the people in the city, but were systematic looting by the army. They confiscated the city's financial resources and materials, and were not just for killing people.
Even if the city is slaughtered without sealing the sword, the purpose is to loot and sexually assault. Although there are killings, the purpose of most soldiers is money and women, not killing.
But Cao Cao's massacre was a real massacre, leaving no one alive in the city.
The Sishui River that has only been killed has stopped flowing, Pengcheng has been deserted for hundreds of miles, and the ground is full of withered bones.
Cao Cao’s original intention was to use terror to intimidate the enemy. His original intention may have been to slaughter one city and save hundreds, and to use “little evil” to do “great good”.
But the result was that his poor study resulted in tragic events, and the army under his command also became distorted.
After all, battlefield fighting and massacre have completely different impacts on the army.
Once there are too many massacres, the army will really become a demon.
Cao Jun will not have much loyalty to the Cao family in the future. The Sima family easily usurped the Luoyang Central Army. There were almost no generals who shed blood for the Cao family. The roots were probably planted at this time.
Compared with Cao Wei, the trust and loyalty of the Central Army of the Han Dynasty to the Liu family was much higher.
Zhou Bo could rely on his left-handed support to become Liu, flatten all the Lu, and rebuild Liu Han.
Zhang Biao relied on more than a thousand imperial guards to force Liang Ji to death, and Emperor Huan took charge.
Sima Yi was able to usurp the military power of the Cao family with just the Gaopingling Incident. It was really a big joke.
If Cao Cao is given a chance to regret, he will definitely not do the stupid thing he did in Xuzhou last year, but regretting now is of no use.
"Zhongde, Liu Bei is from a humble family in the north. He has no close friends and no support from his clan. Now that he has only been in Xuzhou for a few months, what foundation can he have? It's just after Tao Qian's death. , a cover jointly launched by many noble families in Xuzhou.”
"He must be strong on the outside and weak on the inside."
The more Cao Cao said, the more he felt that his idea was reasonable: "If I use troops against Xuzhou first, I will be unstoppable. Once I capture Xuzhou and have money and food, I can turn around and attack Xuzhou." Suppressing Lu Bu and Zhang Miao will definitely achieve twice the result with half the effort. "
Helplessness flashed in Cheng Yu's eyes, as if his Ming Gong was obsessed with Xuzhou.
But in this case, why did you insist on going your own way last year, refusing to listen to others' persuasion, and insisting on killing Xuzhou into a sea of blood and corpses?
Even if you really defeat Liu Bei now, you still can't control Xuzhou.
Don’t you know how much hatred the people of Xuzhou have for you?
Stop comforting yourself.
Facing Cao Cao's longing eyes, Cheng Yu sighed in his heart, raised his head and replied: "Yu thinks Ming Gong's plan is feasible."
Cao Cao was overjoyed when he heard this. Before, Xun Yu, Cheng Yu and Xi Zhicai were fiercely opposed, and even Xiahou Dun disagreed, so he gave up.
He was jealous of Liu Bei's good luck just now, so he couldn't help coveting Xuzhou again, but he didn't expect Cheng Yu to let go.
He couldn't help but confirm: "Is what Zhongde said true?"
Cheng Yu said expressionlessly: "Of course it is true, how could Yu dare to deceive the lord? But before doing this, I kindly ask the lord to do it first One thing.”
“What’s the matter?”
Cao Cao jumped up happily, saying that I will do whatever you say.
Cheng Yu said calmly: "Yu asked Ming Gong to move all his family members to Yecheng before taking this policy."
The smile on Cao Cao's face suddenly stiffened, and he instantly understood the subtext of Cheng Yu's words.
Doesn't this imply that if he doesn't send his family members away as soon as possible, it will be too late to send them away after the army is defeated?
Cao Cao sighed helplessly. It turned out that Cheng Yu's attitude was still firmly opposed, but he was just admonishing himself from a different angle.
Cao Cao's military talent is actually not very high, at least he is definitely not at the top level, and even the T1 level is barely there.
To describe it in one sentence, when he listened to the advice, he was Emperor Wu of Wei, and when he didn't listen to the advice, he was Cao Ah Man.
Most of the key victories in his life were won by listening to advice, and most of the defeats, including killing the three sages in one shot, were lost by not listening to advice.
Cao Cao sighed helplessly and had no intention of blaming Cheng Yu.
Cheng Yu didn't mean to be afraid, and stepped forward to report other information, mainly the mobilization of Lu Bu and Zhang Miao's coalition forces.
Lü Bu took office as the shepherd of Yanzhou at this time, and worshiped Xue Lan as the farewell leader and Li Feng as the governor. Both of them were local leaders of the noble clans in Yanzhou and had great energy.
Designed by Lu Bu to key cities to threaten Cao Cao's flanks.
Xi Zhicai and Cheng Yu wanted to first solve Juye County where they were entrenched, but Cao Cao didn't listen. He wanted to capture Dingtao, the prefect of Jiyin, because Dingtao had food.
The two discussed again.
(End of this chapter)