Chapter 202 I would rather blame Yuan than Cao
The next afternoon, Liu Feng was having a secret conversation with his son in Liu Bei's house.
"Zhang Mengzhuo is also a headache."
Liu Bei leaned on the bench, patted his legs and said: "If he really speaks, how should a father deal with it?"
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Liu Feng had just explained the situation clearly to Liu Bei. Zhang Miao came to Xuzhou with Chen Liu's remaining soldiers, but his younger brother Zhang Chao was trapped in Yongqiu County with his family soldiers.
If there were no reinforcements, Zhang Chao would basically be sentenced to death.
With Cao Cao's ruthlessness, he will definitely eradicate it.
The ending in the original time and space was that Zhang Chao was beheaded and the Zhang family was exterminated.
There is no way, Zhang Miao hurt Cao Cao too deeply.
Yuan Shao gave Cao Cao a secret order to kill Zhang Miao, but Cao Cao refused to do it despite Yuan Shao's pressure.
Even in the most difficult time, when Cao Cao came to the point of entrusting his wife and son, the first thing he thought of was Zhang Miao, not Yuan Shao.
Cao Cao had true feelings for Zhang Miao.
But in the same way, the deeper the love, the deeper the hatred, especially for a person like Cao Cao who is particularly sensitive.
Cao Cao was suspicious by nature, and it was an unprecedented friendship for him to trust Zhang Miao so much. However, Zhang Miao betrayed him and plotted against his death.
How could Cao Cao not hate him so much that he gnashed his teeth.
Zhang Miao is different from Chen Gong. Zhang Miao is a child, a best friend, and a partner.
Chen Gong is essentially just an employee.
The boss will be very kind to his employees, especially capable employees. As long as they can bring benefits, it doesn't matter how many times they enter and leave the company. But no boss will be indifferent to the betrayal of a partner. It is normal for most of them to wish that the other party will die.
Zhang Miao must have come here to borrow troops, otherwise Zhang Chao and his family would definitely die.
But it was very troublesome for Liu Bei to deal with this issue.
The first thing is whether to borrow or not. If you don’t borrow, it will be over.
But Liu Bei couldn't choose this option at all.
Even if he went to war with Yuan Shao directly, he would have to lend troops to Zhang Miao to rescue his younger brother and family, just like Liu Bei had to take in Lu Bu.
Because both Zhang Miao and Lu Bu were benevolent to Liu Bei, and Liu Bei had no family background and no benefactor, could he really rise to power because of the Han clan clan?
This is naturally impossible. The most valuable thing about Liu Bei is his Han clan clan. The people in his hometown village are all Han clan clan members!
Liu Bei really relies on two words to achieve Zhaolie, benevolence!
In the original time and space history, he saved Kong Rong out of benevolence, rescued Xuzhou out of benevolence, and took in Lu Bu out of benevolence. Under Xiangyang City, the strategy of rejecting Zhuge Liang's surprise attack on Xiangyang City and controlling Liu Cong was still based on benevolence.
The person Liu Bei felt most sorry for in his life was Liu Zhang. This was something he admitted personally and used it as evidence of his poor moral character.
But before entering Shu, Liu Bei was truly benevolent for most of his life.
The reason why Liu Bei clings to benevolence and refuses to let go is because he only has this flag.
Without a family background, the children of aristocratic families and famous families will look down on him; without a benefactor, senior officials within the old system will look down on him.
Therefore, he could only rely on his benevolence to attract elites from poor families to defect to him, as well as failed warlords like Tao Qian to win over him.
This is also the true intention of Liu Bei's shouting that every rebellion against Cao will be successful.
In the words of later generations, this is called opening up new tracks, shaping new functions, and getting rid of red ocean competition.
On the surface, Liu Beike, the boss, will defeat whomever he fights with.
But the actual truth is that Liu Bei is extremely cost-effective, and everyone loves Liu Bei's concierge.
Therefore, if Liu Bei does not help Zhang Miao today, then his benevolence and righteousness will collapse, and the elites from poor families who originally followed him or wanted to defect to him will also be disappointed.
How can Liu Bei, who cares more about profit than benevolence, compare with Yuan Shao and Cao Cao?
Do you have their family reputation, disciples and former officials?
Liu Bei is actually very smart, and his benevolence is indeed real, because until he entered Shu, wherever he went, no matter how difficult his situation was, he always thought of serving the people Do something practical, which is why people in Pingyuan, Yuzhou, Xuzhou and Jingbei always miss Liu Bei. Moreover, Liu Bei was the only warlord recorded in the Three Kingdoms period who never massacred people or looted cities.
Even if they entered Sichuan and captured Chengdu, they only used the money from the treasury to reward the troops, and did not directly rob them.
But his benevolence was also deliberate, in order to avoid the strong red sea area of Yuan Shao and Cao Cao and specialize in his own new track. It is no wonder that he could eventually achieve great success.
Therefore, Liu Bei actually had no room to refuse on the issue of Zhang Miao.
Since you can't refuse, instead of wasting your troops and horses with Zhang Miao, it's better to try to do better.
"Father, I think instead of lending troops to Zhang Miao, it would be more appropriate for us to directly come forward and ask Cao Cao to let Zhang Chao go, and then send troops to help him leave Yanzhou."
Yongqiu County, where Zhang Chao is located, is located in the south of Chenliu County in the southwest of Yanzhou. It is only more than a hundred miles away from Liang State, and is only separated by Suishui River and Xiangyi County.
However, this does not seem to be a long journey. If Liu Bei had not come forward, Zhang Chao would have wanted the Zhang family to walk out together, which would be like an idiot's dream.
Because the famous general Xiahou Dun had been stationed in Xiangyi County for a long time. He not only contained some of Zhang Miao's troops around him, but also delivered a large amount of military rations to Cao Cao during the Battle of Dingtao.
It can be seen from this that Xiahou Dun was promoted as a matter of course. It is not that he has no merit, but that the credit is invisible.
"Will Cao Mengde listen to my advice?"
Liu Bei frowned. In fact, he felt a little guilty. When he was in Hebei, he suffered a lot from Cao Cao.
At that time, he cooperated with Shan Jing, Tian Kai and Tao Qian's army, but Cao Cao was defeated. This shadow was profound.
Therefore, although Xuzhou is currently growing in strength and has abundant soldiers and food, Liu Bei is still very cautious if he really wants to take action against Cao Cao.
"A big gift."
Liu Feng rubbed his smooth chin: "We have forced Cao Cao many times before, whether it was in Rencheng Kingdom or the expansion of Yuzhou, because of Lu Bu However, after completely defeating Lu Bu, Cao Cao is in trouble. If it were not for the lack of food, he would have caused trouble for us in Xuzhou. "
"Therefore, if you want to rescue Zhang Chao at this moment, it is indeed very difficult, so you must give a heavy courtesy."
In fact, the current situation is still Liu Qiang and Cao Cao are weak, but Cao Cao in reality is a weakling. A real person with flesh and blood and emotions, not the wise, mighty, cold-blooded and calculating Emperor Wu of Wei in the history books.
Cao Cao has always been resentful of Xuzhou, and Liu Bei and his son did not want to anger each other and come to fight for themselves.
Liu Feng even felt that when Cao Cao heard that Xuzhou was going to take in Zhang Miao, the other party's reaction was too difficult to predict. He hoped that Xun Yu, Cheng Yu and Xi Zhicai's dissuasion would be effective, but this would have to be It is built on the basis of paying heavy courtesy.
“What kind of gift?”
"I heard that Cao Cao valued his talents as a dramatist, but he is seriously ill. He can be sent to Xuzhou for treatment in order to be a good friend of Cao Yanzhou. At the same time, we can also raise a batch of frost sugar, snow salt and grain. The quantity should not be less than Twenty thousand stones, I believe, can earn Cao Yanzhou’s forgiveness.”
Although Cao Cao has defeated Lu Bu, the situation is still not good.
After this year, if his eldest brother Yuan Shao hadn't scrimped on food and clothing and provided a lot of assistance with food and troops, he wouldn't have been able to persist.
Right now, there is famine everywhere in Yanzhou, and there is also a small-scale locust plague. There are corpses in and outside the city. Diseases are rampant. There is no telling when a plague will break out.
The most important thing is that Cao Cao was so short of food that he went crazy. The rats in the granary all starved to death. Therefore, as long as Cao Cao is not angered, there can be talks.
Liu Bei felt a little sick. He was very aware of the difficulty of raising food. Now he had to allocate more than 20,000 shi of food and grass at once, which made Liu Bei feel distressed.
"Father, it is still worth it."
Liu Feng advised: "Zhang Miao is also a famous person in the world. If we can save his life, famous people in Yan and Yu will treat me, Xuzhou and my father Be grateful.”
“That’s all I can do for now.”
Liu Bei was also very decisive. Although he was a little reluctant, once he accepted Liu Feng's idea, he immediately made a decision and said: "Then let Gongyou go and see Meng De."
Then, Liu Bei Then he asked: "What about Lu Bu? Why must he be sent to Qingzhou? Would it be better to put him in Yuzhou, at least it would not irritate Yuan Shao so much?"
Liu Feng smiled bitterly and said: "Father, If Lu Bu were placed in Yuzhou, which is located in the Central Plains and connected in all directions, what kind of trouble do you think Lu Bu could cause with his brain? Throw it to Donglai, surrounded by water on three sides and Kong Beihai on the other. If he dares to touch Kong Beihai, then It means falling out with me in Xuzhou."
"But there is Cao Cao in Yuzhou, Liu Biao in the left, and Yuan Shu in the bottom. Moreover, Lu Bu is a ruthless person who has no faith at all. He stabbed you in the back without any scruples. "
"At the same time, the military discipline of Bingzhou Army is very poor. If he is allowed to be in Yuzhou and he sends troops to plunder the place, will you take care of it or not, father? He has deep feelings for you. If you ignore the resentment, not only will your father's reputation be damaged, but Lu Fengxian will also feel that you are weak and can be bullied."
"Not to mention that Cao Cao hates Lu Bu deeply and has a good reputation. If Lu Wenhou is placed in Yuzhou, wouldn't it be a great gift to Cao Yanzhou, allowing him to enter Yuzhou in the name of revenge and expand his strength. You You don’t think that this Marquis Lu Wen can be Cao Yanzhou’s opponent, right? If your real enemy can defeat Cao Yanzhou, why would you defect to Xuzhou?”
“Also, to be honest, it’s better to offend Cao Cao. Offending Yuan Shao will cost you a lot.”
Liu Bei didn’t understand what Liu Feng meant at first, thinking that Liu Feng was telling the truth, but he realized it after being reminded.
"Yuan Shao is strong and Cao Cao is weak. We and Cao Cao are both in Henan. If Yuan Shao goes south, there may not be a chance to join forces to fight against Yuan. But if we offend Cao Cao, no matter whether we win or Cao Cao wins, we will ultimately benefit. But it was all Yuan Shao. By that time, his power had become stronger. I had only heard of the alliance between the weak and the strong, but never heard of the alliance between the strong and the weak being equal and stable."
"When Yuan Shao went south. , with its covenant, what is different from surrendering? ”
"Having Lu Bu and Zhang Miao is enough to offend Cao Cao. I would rather send Lu Bu to Donglai to irritate Yuan Jizhou than to irritate Cao Yanzhou any more, let alone give Cao Yanzhou an excuse to raise an army to investigate."
"Besides, for a scourge like Lu Wenhou, perhaps the best solution is to send him to Donglai to be kept in captivity early, and then release him when Yuan Shao goes south."
Liu Bei suddenly realized that, after listening to Liu Feng Based on this analysis, Lu Bu really cannot be let go to Yuzhou.
Otherwise, God knows what Lu Bu can do in Yuzhou, and Yuzhou is right above Yangzhou. With such an "ally" who can betray and stab him at any time, how can the Xuzhou army go south with confidence? Yangzhou?
Besides, if Cao Cao chases Lu Bu into Yuzhou, will the Xuzhou army go to rescue him?
If he were to rescue Lu Bu, he would not only waste the fruits of diplomacy negotiated with Cao Cao, but also make himself a party to the breach of contract, and also create a situation where Xuzhou doesn't want to see the war between Yan and Xu.
Isn’t this causing trouble for yourself?
"Then how will Marquis Lu Wen arrange it and really let him go to Qingzhou?"
Liu Bei was a little worried and asked: "Will he offend Yuan Benchu too much?"
Liu Bei obviously agreed that Cao Cao should not be provoked anymore, but he did not want to provoke Yuan Shao. Yuan Shao was about to unify Hebei. Anyone would be afraid of such a behemoth.
But Liu Feng is the only exception.
He was already prepared for this.
In fact, Liu Bei's worries are purely unnecessary.
Because of two important reasons.
The first point is the issue of time.
Before the fourth year of Jian'an (AD 199), the relationship between Gongsun Zan and Yuan Shao was to fight against each other, and Yuan Shao was so scared that he was killed by Gongsun Zan.
In the second year of Xingping (AD 195), that is, in the second half of this year, Gongsun Zan defeated Ju Yi in Yi County, captured all Ju Yi's chariots and horses, captured and killed thousands of people, and captured all the carts and baggage. .
This incident has actually happened, but the news has not reached Xuzhou yet.
In this battle, the thousands of people Yuan Shao lost were not ordinary soldiers. They were all professional soldiers who truly licked blood with their swords. They all defeated Gongsun's army in the Battle of Jieqiao and the Battle of Longcuo. Elite in all battles.
The losses of these people are devastating losses to Ju Yi and Yuan Shao and are difficult to make up for.
At the same time, all the carts and baggage were lost, and everything was lost in one day.
These are equipped according to the standard of 100,000 people, because these were prepared at the beginning of the year when 100,000 people joined the Xianyu Auxiliary Army to besiege Yixian County.
Later Xianyu withdrew his troops after running out of auxiliary supplies, but Ju Yi refused to give up and sent out the last wave.
This kind of thing happened several times in the next few years. Yuan Shao was made mentally unbalanced by Gongsun Zan, and he repeatedly asked Gongsun Zan for peace as a strong man, but Gongsun Zan refused to agree, so Yuan Shao was Before truly and completely strangling Gongsun Zan, there was no spare power to invade Xuzhou.
Another key point is that Yuan Shao completely wiped out Gongsun Zan in April of the fourth year of Jian'an (AD 199), and the latter burned himself to death.
In June of the same year, Yuan Shao gathered an army and selected 100,000 elite troops, and began to march south to Xudu, completely falling out with Cao Cao.
The relationship between Yuan Shao and Cao Cao is not good enough?
Not only was he a good friend, but he was also a big brother. After Cao Cao coerced the emperor to command the princes, he had to honestly give up his position as general to Yuan Shao.
Just like that, Yuan Shao turned his back and went south almost without hesitation.
Many people were deceived by the romance, thinking that Yuan Shao was indecisive and delayed his march south again and again.
But in fact, Yuan Shao's speed in going south was very fast, and his plan was extremely detailed. It was obviously premeditated.
No matter how much you, Liu Bei, please Yuan Shao, can you have a better relationship than Cao Yuan?
Since you have offended him now, he has no time to take care of you for the time being.
No matter how much you try to please him, he will still kill you as soon as he takes action.
So what’s the point of sacrificing one’s greatest banner, benevolence, to please Yuan Shao?
So Liu Feng immediately gave Liu Bei an analysis: "Father, I heard that Uncle Gongsun built tall buildings and deep trenches in Yi County, stationed heavy troops, and supported each other. More importantly, he also stationed two million dan of grain in Yi County. It can be said that the city is high and the pond is deep, and the food is sufficient."
"His... two million stones!"
It's Liu Bei's city, and he couldn't help shouting.
Where did my eldest brother get so much food?
Liu Feng smiled bitterly and said: "Since the murder of Duke Bo'an (Liu Yu), the entire Youzhou has rallied against Uncle Gongsun, so that rebellions broke out and wars were everywhere. Therefore, Uncle Gongsun did something more... In order to anger the people of Youzhou, he transferred all the grain in Youzhou's treasury to Yixian for storage, and wanted to completely abandon Youzhou. Therefore, at the beginning of this year, Xian Yufu was assisted by Qi Zhou, Yan Rou and others. Next, he combined with Ju Yi to send 100,000 troops, defeated Uncle Gongsun in the Battle of Baoqiu, beheaded nearly 20,000 people, and drove him out of Youzhou and fled back to Yi County."
"The two million stones of grain are the result of emptying out all the granaries in the North. Most of them were saved by Duke Bo'an."
Liu Feng shook his head and sighed. Said: "But fortunately, the Youzhou army had no food and retreated in embarrassment. It would have been better if Ju Yi retreated together. If he had to leave Greedy Gong behind, I'm afraid he wouldn't be able to leave even if he wanted to when the food was exhausted. "
"What Feng'er said is true."
Liu Bei couldn't help but nodded in agreement: "My eldest brother has excellent military skills and is brave enough to fight. He will not let this follow him. It’s a great opportunity to pursue us.”
Liu Feng followed up and said, “After Yuan Benchu’s defeat, I’m afraid he may not be able to recover next year, let alone abandon his uncle Gongsun to attack us. Although my father is relieved, . Besides, even if he really wants to take action, he will go to Qingzhou to compete with Lu Bu. What does it have to do with us? Besides, it has been discussed before. Yuan Benchu is indecisive and easily influenced by others. We just need to pay attention. Bribing Guo Tu and Xin Ping is a worry-free thing.”
Liu Bei thought about it carefully and realized that what he said was indeed correct, so he felt relieved.
Liu Feng then added: "Besides, if Lu Bu is not sent to Qingzhou, where else can he be sent? As I said just now, it will be more troublesome if he is placed in Yuzhou, which will not only affect our army's march south Yangzhou will even attract Cao Cao's hostility. Unlike Yuan Shao, Cao Cao now has full energy and interest in competing with us for Yuzhou."
(End of this chapter)