Silver Fox of the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 4 The Prophecy Comes True
On March 23, Cao Jun officially launched an offensive. The army marched eastward, crossed Surabaya and went northward to directly capture Liangcheng County.

Liangcheng County is the southern gateway of Shan County. After breaking through the city, going north will take a smooth road to Shan County.

Tao Qian only sent two to 3000 people to guard the place, and the main force retreated to Shancheng.

But no one thought that the main force of Cao's army did not go north, but went south to Xiapi, and slaughtered Quli, Xiaqiu, Juling and other places near the Huainan area.

On March 26, it was a few days after the news of Cao Jun's attack on Liangcheng reached Zhuangyangju. Deng Hong summoned Shen Chen to meet again in the courtyard. The grandparents and grandchildren sat opposite each other. He said in a deep voice, "Ah Chen, Cao Cao is besieging Liangcheng."

Shen Chen nodded and said, "It's expected."

Deng Hong frowned and said, "But Ah Chen, you clearly said that Cao Cao would break down the Pi first and ignore the East China Sea. At this time, he has already rushed to the East China Sea."

Shen Chen smiled and said: "Uncle, this is Cao Cao's bluff. If he wants to massacre Xuzhou, the soldiers and horses will be scattered. If Tao Gongzu is smarter at this time and leads his troops to attack, Cao's army will definitely be defeated. Therefore, Cao Cao must make a large army. The illusion of oppressing the situation is actually massacring Xiapi."

"Is that right?"

Deng Hong called Shen Chenlai to tell him that your judgment was wrong, Cao Cao only wanted to attack Shan County to avenge his father, and would not endanger the villagers like them.

But Shen Chen's words seemed to be quite reasonable, he was suspicious for a moment, and couldn't say the words of the original lesson.

Shen Chen said seriously: "That's right, after a while, uncle will know."

"Well, well, let's wait a little longer."

Deng Hong couldn't think of a reason to refute, so he had no choice but to agree. Anyway, time will prove everything.

And after Shen Chen went back, he immediately lied to his parents and elder brother, saying that Cao Cao had already called, threatened to slaughter Xuzhou, and had killed tens of thousands of people, and asked them to pack up their belongings as soon as possible and prepare to flee.

Although his parents and elder brother were reluctant to give up their family business, Shen Chen would never target indiscriminately, so he packed up his belongings with tears in his eyes and was ready to run away.

Soon on March 28, Cao Cao's army was still besieging Liangcheng.

But Deng Hong selected several clansmen proficient in riding skills from the clan, and reported to Deng Hong a news that almost suffocated him-Cao Jun massacred Qulu County, and tens of thousands of people were killed!
It was afternoon, approaching early summer, and the weather in Xuzhou was gradually getting hotter. Zongyang gathered in the atrium of Deng's mansion. At this moment, Deng Hong seemed to have fallen into an ice cave, and his whole body was breaking out in cold sweat.

Cao Cao is really slaughtering the city!
"Is the news true?" He even asked twice in disbelief.

The clansman reported back: "Uncle Liu, I saw with my own eyes that the village had turned into a piece of scorched earth, with mountains of corpses and seas of blood, and there were no chickens and dogs left in the area for dozens of miles. I was frightened and fled back in a hurry, lest I be discovered by Cao Jun. "

"It's over, it's over, it's over."

Deng Hong sat down on the mat and muttered to himself in confusion, then suddenly remembered something, his eyes lit up and he said: "Quickly, go and call Ah Chen."

When Shen Chen arrived, Deng Hong had recovered from the shocking news.

When he saw Shen Chen approaching, he immediately said excitedly: "Ah Chen, you guessed right, Cao Cao slaughtered Qulu!"

Shen Chen's figure froze slightly, and after a while he said dimly: "I hope my conjecture is false, but it's a pity that there are so many innocent people."

"what should I do now?"

Deng Hong asked.

Shen Chen said bitterly: "There is no other way, just run away, there is still a way out for the whole family to move south."

Deng Hong said: "Can't Xuzhou defend?"

"If Cao Cao slaughtered Xuzhou, it might be possible to let a hero be the shepherd of Xuzhou, but after Cao Cao slaughtered Xuzhou, Xuzhou was in chaos and must not be defended!"

Shen Chen shook his head.

After time travel, he really came to this world, and he had more understanding of the situation in Xuzhou.

In ancient times, wars were fought with logistics and political ability. Tao Qian's governance level was very average.

Not only was there little storage of grain and grass, even the prefects and county magistrates in various parts of Xuzhou basically did not obey his orders.

Xue Li, Prime Minister of Pengcheng, disagreed with Tao Qian, and was persecuted by Tao Qian and resigned from office.

Xiapi Xiang Ruorong filled his private pockets, withholding all the grain and grass taxes from the three prefectures of Pengcheng, Xiapi, and Guangling for Daxing Buddhism, and fled to Guangling because of Cao Cao's attack.

Zhao Yu, the prefect of Guangling, was loyal and often wrote letters to persuade him, but Tao Qian ignored him, and was finally killed by Ruo Rong, who fled south to Guangling.

Minister of Langya, Xiao Jian, was in a corner of An'an, and the captain of cavalry, Zang Ba, occupied Kaiyang and became a vassal. They did not obey Tao Qian's orders.

It can be said that Tao Qian, as Xuzhou Mu, can actually control the only area in the East China Sea.

The population of Donghai Kingdom was still 70 during the period of Emperor He. After the Yellow Turban Rebellion, the population dropped a lot. Tao Qian conscripted troops to fight against Cao Cao. More than 2 troops were almost lost in Pengcheng.

So now Tao Qian's hole cards are only about four or five thousand Danyang soldiers and Cao Bao's troops, a total of less than [-] people.

The population of the East China Sea is small, and there is not much food and grass. In addition, the tyrants of the Xuzhou family have their own ideas, and their hearts are not in harmony. It is impossible to resist Cao Cao.

Some people in later generations said that Tao Qian was a gentleman of benevolence and righteousness, and he gave up the position of Xuzhou Mu to Liu Bei for the sake of the people of Xuzhou.

But in fact, Xuzhou is a mess now, and it is already bad from the root.

To solve this mess, it will take at least two years to govern Pengcheng and Xiapi, then attack Guangling to eliminate Ruo Rong, and then subdue Zang Ba and Xiao Jian.

But Cao Cao would not give him this time at all, so when Liu Bei was in Xuzhou, his army strength hardly exceeded [-], and Yuan Shu and Lu Bu disturbed the situation in Xuzhou, which made him exhausted.

It can be said that even if Cao Cao himself came to Xuzhou to be the Xuzhou shepherd, it would be as difficult as heaven to get ahead.

To sum up, there were two disadvantages of Xuzhou before Cao Cao slaughtered Xuzhou.

One is that four of Xuzhou's five prefectures did not listen to Xuzhou Mu's command, and their strength was severely dispersed and could not be unified.

The second is that Tao Qian is old, fatuous and incompetent, which leads to serious internal chaos and unclear politics.

After Cao Cao massacred Xuzhou, the third disadvantage came out, that is, after the Yellow Turban Rebellion, the total population of Xuzhou was less than 200 million, and Cao Cao alone killed tens of thousands of people, which caused more people in the south of Xuzhou to migrate to Yangzhou. The population plummeted again.

Coupled with factors such as famine, natural disasters, and plagues, when Liu Bei occupied Xuzhou, the total population of Xuzhou was less than one million, and the number may be even lower, because Xuzhou's tyrants still hid a large number of people, resulting in a serious reduction in population.

In addition, Yuan Shu repeatedly harassed and Lu Bu stabbed him in the back. At that time, Liu Bei's army strength was less than [-], and his strength was very weak.

And most of them were Danyang soldiers left by Tao Qian and Cao Bao's troops. These people did not obey Liu Bei, and Liu Bei was struggling.

Therefore, under this kind of internal and external troubles, let alone Liu Bei's own planning level is mediocre, even if his ancestor Liu Xiu or Liu Bang came over, he would have to be beaten to the ground.

Hearing Shen Chen's judgment, Deng Hong hesitated for a while, then gritted his teeth and said, "Ah Chen, let's go, follow me to the clan discussion."

(End of this chapter)