I am not an ant thief in the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 389, Chaotic Xuzhou
Solve the Xuzhou Army within half a month!
Cao Cao knew that this was impossible, and this time was not even enough for his army to attack Tao Qian's seat of Tancheng.

Cao Cao said: "In other words, if you want to occupy Xuzhou, you can only use political means to solve it! Fortunately, Tao Qian is seriously ill and his time is not long. Xuzhou is no longer a territory for him, but a huge burden. , as long as we can get what Tao Qian needs, it may not be impossible to get Xuzhou!"

The big man on this timeline is completely different from the big man in history. Because of the pressure of Lei Gong, the strength of the princes from all walks of life is much stronger than in the original history, and the power of the princes is much less than in history. With the death of Liu Zhang removed, strictly speaking, there are only four vassal forces left in the Han Dynasty.

Compared with the forces of Liu Bei and Yuan Shao, Cao Cao and Tao Qian are much weaker. Last year, Cao Cao helped Tao Qian teach Yuan Shu a lesson. Tao Qian also intends to form an alliance with Cao Cao to deal with the situation of the Han, so the two sides began to become allies. They communicated, and even helped Cao Cao raise soldiers for several months. The two weak people hugged each other to keep warm. This time Cao Cao wanted to win Xuzhou because Tao Qian was running out of time, otherwise he would continue to report to the group with Tao Qian to keep warm!
It was because of Tao Qian's serious illness that he could get Xuzhou, but Cao Cao also understood that this friendship alone was not enough for Tao Qian to hand over Xuzhou to him, so he had to find a way to get what Tao Qian needed!

Guo Jiadao: "Since this year, Tao Qian has been seriously ill. His two sons, Tao Shang and Tao Ying, can't convince the crowd at all, and Tao Qian dare not hand over the position of Xuzhou Shepherd to them!"

Liu Bei is now dealing with Liu Zhang, who was passed on from father to son.Liu Yan and Liu Zhang's father and son are Han family clansmen at any rate, with two points of fame, and Tao Qian's status is far inferior to Liu Yan, so he dare not make a matter of passing on from father to son!Moreover, he is not optimistic about the talents of his two sons, and he has not allowed them to enter official careers until now.

"Now not only we have thoughts about Xuzhou, the court, Yuan Shao and others also have thoughts about Xuzhou. It is said that the court sent a veteran Zhang Wen to Xuzhou, and Zhang Wen used to be Tao Qian's old master. His coming to Xuzhou will definitely cause great damage to Tao Qian. Wang Lang and Zhao Yu, who are engaged in Tao Qian's governance, also have a heart for the imperial court. During this time, they have been constantly persuading Tao Qian to hand over Xuzhou to the imperial court. In the hands of the imperial court!" Guo Jia said worriedly.

The current situation is too difficult for Cao Cao, there is no prince to deal with, each side is stronger than Cao Cao, if Xuzhou also falls, there is no potential for Cao Cao's power to develop at all, the game of fighting for hegemony It was the difficulty of hell, which made him feel helpless!

But when Xun Yu heard Zhang Wen's name, his eyes lit up and he said, "My lord, it may not be impossible to get Xuzhou! The imperial court has made a foolish move this time!"

Cao Cao immediately asked, "What went wrong?"

Xuzhou is really important to him. Without Xuzhou, his power would have no potential for development. Then why would he spend so much energy to offend the elites and aristocrats to improve his strength?
It's better to directly rely on my own little Yuan Shao. With his relationship with Yuan Shao, it's not easy for him to be a Jiuqing!

Xun Yu smiled calmly: "Although Zhang Wen is obviously Tao Qian's old master, in fact Zhang Wen has a grudge against Tao Qian!"

Guo Jia was also surprised and said, "How could there be hatred?"

Xun Yu said: "Tao Qian is an upright character, he hates evil like a vengeful! Back then, his official career was not smooth, and he was only a small 600 Shi Yilang in Luoyang City, but Huangfusong knew his talent and was the first to promote him. Strictly speaking, Huangfu Song is Tao Qian's old master!"

"In March of the second year of Zhongping (185), Beigong Boyu and others led Qianghu to attack Sanfu. The Guanzhong army could not resist, so the late emperor dispatched Huangfusong, the left chariot general who had suppressed the Yellow Turban Army at that time, to lead the army. In the crusade, Huangfu Song invited generals to accompany him, and called Tao Qian, who was still a councilor at the time, as the captain of Yangwu. Therefore, under the slander of the eunuch party, Huangfusong was demoted from office and rank."

"The imperial court also appointed Sikong and Zhang Wen as chariot generals to go on a crusade. Zhang Wen asked Tao Qian to join the army. The reception was very generous, but Tao Qian believed that it was Zhang Wen's relationship that made Huang Fusong dismissed from office. In addition, Zhang Wen's military ability was far behind. Far inferior to Huangfu Song, so Tao Qian despised Zhang Wen's deeds and was dissatisfied. Even later, when the Western Expeditionary Army returned to the court, Tao Qian openly humiliated Zhang Wen at the banquet of hundreds of officials. Zhang Wen was furious and intended to move Tao Qian Going to the border, Tao Qian was only chased after other people's persuasion. Zhang Wen greeted Tao Qian at the palace gate, but Tao Qian didn't appreciate it."

"So Zhang Wen is more an enemy than an old master to Tao Qian! If the court sends other people, we have little hope, but we may not have a chance if we send Zhang Wen!"

It was only then that Cao Cao suddenly realized that why Tao Qian became an enemy of three gentlemen like Zhang Wen was because of Huangfusong's great kindness.

Duwei Yangwu is a high-ranking official with 2000 shi, which can be regarded as stepping into the top ranks of the Han Dynasty.If you read "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms", you will find that there is a sentence that often appears in it, that is, the world is 2000 stones!
If four generations and three lords are the standard for the top family, then the standard of a family is whether there are high-ranking officials who produce 2000 shi, and high-ranking officials who produce 2000 shi in each generation are the family. A family with 2000 shi is at least a powerful family. Official of 2000 stone, you are a poor family in the sky. It can be said that Huangfusong's promotion directly raised the Tao family to the level of a powerful family. One Zhang warmed up.

Guo Jia's eyes lit up and he said: "My lord, this moment is a time of life and death for us in Qingzhou. Without Xuzhou, our power has no future at all. Jia invites my lord to meet Tao Qian in Xuzhou, so that we can grasp Xuzhou at any time. At the same time, Tao Qian can see our sincerity!"

Cao Cao understands Guo Jia's meaning, now it's time to go all out, without Xuzhou, what he, Qingzhou shepherd, would do is meaningless, not only to offend Qingzhou's aristocrats, but also risk his life to be on the front line against Lei Gong?It's not that Cao Cao is sick, they might as well retreat to Jingzhou and become a rich man!

In this case, the safety of his Qingzhou pastor is not very important!
After thinking for a long time, Cao Cao decided to give it a go, and then firmly said to Xun Yu, "Wen Ruo, Qingzhou government affairs are left to you. Feng Xiao and I will go to Xuzhou to visit Tao Qian! This time we will advance and never retreat!"

Xun Yu looked at Cao Cao who was so determined and did not persuade him. If Cao Cao failed in Xuzhou, at most he would be arrested and his life would not be in danger. With the current situation, this Qingzhou pastor may not be easy for an ordinary citizen!
The next day, Cao Cao took Guo Jiadianwei and the Hundred Cavalry to head all the way to Tancheng, Xuzhou, in the name of visiting Tao Qian!
Xuzhou, Tancheng, State Shepherd's Mansion!
Tao Qian, who was seriously ill, lay on the bed and kept recalling his past events. Maybe he was really going to die. His past memories became very clear!

The grief of losing his father when he was young, the unrestrained nature of youth, the excitement of being favored by his father-in-law, the depression of his poor career in the future, the high-spirited spirit of becoming the captain of Yangwu who was favored by Huangfusong, the danger of fighting in Xiliang, the plainness of farming in Xuzhou, It is an honor to be Xuzhou Mu, his life has come to an end so quickly.

Tao Qian was not reconciled either, his father was only the county magistrate of Yuyao.Moreover, he died when he was young, and their Tao family was just a down and out poor family.And Tao Qian is now an official worshiper of Xuzhou Mu and General An Dong. He has been the most outstanding child of the Tao family for hundreds of years.
Now the only thing Tao Qian is worried about is his two sons, the pottery merchant and Tao Ying. His two sons don’t have much talent at all. If the big man is still in the prosperous age, relying on their own fame, they might be able to become 2000 shi. The prefect, but in such troubled times, it is Tao Qian's greatest expectation to keep their lives alive and continue the incense for the Tao family!
Just as Tao Qian recalled the past, his son Tao Shang came to Tao Qian and whispered, "Father, please see Wang Lang and Zhao Yu who are in charge of governance!"

Tao Qian said, "Let them in!"

Wang Lang and Zhao Yu, who were working in Zhizhong, saw Tao Qian salute and asked, "Is my lord well?"

Tao Qian said with a smile: "It's still the same, and the affairs of Xuzhou will depend on you in the future!"

Zhao Yu said in a low voice, "Yuan Shao's chief secretary, Xu You, came to Xuzhou to see the lord. According to the news from Langya Kingdom, Cao Cao, the shepherd of Qingzhou, led 100 guards to Xuzhou, and wanted to see the lord's condition!"

Tao Qian smiled wryly and said, "I, an old man, have not made too many achievements in my life, and I don't have too much fame! It's not worth their visit. They all come to Xuzhou!"

Tao Qian didn't intend to let his son take over Xuzhou Mu, and he was a bit of an outsider, so it was easy to see their purpose!They also stated their purpose indifferently.

Then he looked at Wang Lang and Zhao Yu and asked, "Who do you think Xuzhou should be handed over to? Cao Cao? Yuan Shao? Or Liu Bei?"

Wang Lang and Zhao Yu looked at each other and Wang Lang said: "Ming Gong, we naturally want the imperial court to take over Xuzhou, but it's a pity that everyone's idea is to maintain the current situation in Xuzhou unchanged, and they don't want the imperial court to take over Xuzhou!"

Now Xuzhou is divided into three factions, namely, the native faction, the faction that takes refuge in Yuan Shao, and the faction that takes refuge in the imperial court. As for Cao Cao, basically no one likes him. His strength is too weak. He himself extorted violently in Qingzhou. It is clearer than the nobles in Xuzhou. Under such circumstances, naturally no one will value Cao Cao. If they really want to rely on Cao Cao, their family property may become Cao Cao's military expenses!
And Wang Lang and Zhao Yu are royalists.In history, Wang Lang and Zhao Yu suggested to Tao Qian to pay tribute to Emperor Xian, who was still a puppet at that time, to show his support for the Han Dynasty. After receiving Tao Qian's memorial, Emperor Xian praised Tao Qian and promoted him to Xuzhou Mu and General An Dong , Zhao Yu was appointed as the prefect of Guangling, and Wang Lang was appointed as the prefect of Kuaiji.

But in Xuzhou, the royalist faction is not strong, and the local faction is the strongest. They want to choose a Xuzhou shepherd from among the local tyrants in Xuzhou to maintain the current situation in Xuzhou, and they will not take refuge in anyone!
To be honest, the elites of the entire Han Dynasty are the best in Xuzhou. They are far away from Hebei and have no sense of crisis.The other princes are trying to find ways to resort to war. Cao Cao's Qingzhou has become an army of 15. Although the combat effectiveness is not strong, this number is scary enough. It is richer than Qingzhou and has a larger population. 5 troops!
And such a huge army naturally costs a lot. Cao Cao's acquisition of 3000 million mu of land from the aristocrats alone made the local aristocrats in Xuzhou look down on Cao Cao!
And the imperial court represented by Liu Bei made them look down on them even more. First, Liu Bei was born in a humble background and was not favored by Xuzhou's powerful families. Second, Liu Bei was in Yangzhou. Official camp, these are completely the tyranny of the former Han Dynasty, such a policy will naturally not be liked by the elites in Xuzhou.Except for the real royalists, there are really few people in Xuzhou who want to join Liu Bei!
Relatively speaking, they prefer Yuan Shao, who came from a famous family and is famous all over the world. The three prefectures of Sili have implemented the policy of aristocrats and nobles sharing the world. It feels like a big wave of nobles rule the world together. It is almost time to stipulate the privileges of these elite families by law. This can be said to be their ideal country.

But their only dissatisfaction is that Yuan Shao's power is too heavily tilted towards the military side. The land of the three states has an army of 30. Naturally, it is impossible to rely on mud legs to support such a huge army. Man, who paid for it?
Of course, they are the nobles. The nobles in Xuzhou don’t want to raise an army of 10 in Xuzhou, and they are also well-equipped and well-armed troops. To arm such an army, at least billions of dollars must be searched from them. come out!

Therefore, although Xuzhou's nobles are close to Yuan Shao, they don't want to join Yuan Shao. They think it's good to maintain the current relationship. They close their doors in Xuzhou and live a good life without paying attention to the disputes outside!

Tao Qian smiled wryly after listening and said: "There will be such a good thing there. Now it is a chaotic world to fight for hegemony. If the forces in the world do not advance, they will retreat. You can see that Cao Cao can be regarded as the weakest prince in the world, but he is still sacrificing his life. If we want to expand our power, how can we Xuzhou stay out of it! If we don’t choose anyone, the biggest possibility is that Xuzhou will be divided by Cao Cao, Liu Bei and Yuan Shao. They are all trying to improve their strength to deal with Lei Gong in Hebei. It is impossible for us Xuzhou to stay out of it!"

(End of this chapter)