A thousand-year-old family that began with the Battle of Makino

Chapter 422: It is fair to favor one over the other, trying to quell the chaos in Jingzhou’s backyard

The fifth day of the first lunar month
Cao Jun still failed to break through the city defense of Xiapi City. Although he briefly captured a section of the city wall many times, he was reoccupied by the Champion Battalion led by Guan Xing.

"Behead the general who commanded this attack!" Cao Cao said with a cold face, casually ordering Xu Chu behind him.

Xu Chu directly obeyed the order and led his men to find the general who was commanding the siege. In front of the army, he chopped off his head with an axe, then put it in a box and brought it to Cao Cao.

"Lord, military law has been implemented."

Cao Cao nodded, no longer paying attention to the contents of the box, but looked around at the generals in the military tent:
"More than half a month has passed, and the prime minister has led 70,000 elite troops, but he can't attack a city garrisoned by 30,000 people. Is this a problem with the prime minister or you?"

After hearing this, all the generals immediately knelt down on one knee, lowered their heads and said, "Please forgive me, Prime Minister!"

Cao Cao stood up suddenly, drew his sword, and pointed at the generals who were following him in the north and south. He was about to say something when suddenly a messenger with a flag behind him opened the military tent and knelt on the ground:
"Reporting to the Prime Minister, the vanguard of Liu Bei's former army has arrived in Tan County, and now thousands of cavalry are attacking Wuyuan in an attempt to cut off the food and fodder of our army.

General Xiahou Dun asked the Prime Minister for military orders whether to go out of the city to destroy this group of cavalry, or to defend the city. "

After hearing this, Cao Cao's face turned red, and suddenly he felt darkness in front of his eyes, his head hurt, and he couldn't hold the sword steadily, and it made a "ding-dong" sound when it fell to the ground.

Xu Chu reacted the fastest and immediately stepped forward to support him.

"Lord!" The other generals also raised their heads and wanted to move forward, but due to etiquette, they did not dare to exceed the limit, so they had to shout anxiously.

Cao Cao covered his head with his right hand, leaned on Xu Chu's arm, pointed outside the tent with his left hand, and called out in disbelief:
"God, why do you treat Liu Xuande so kindly and treat me so cruelly, Cao Mengde, just because he is a relative of the Liu family?"

"Lord!"

Cao Cao pushed Xu Chu away, picked up the sword, and chopped everything in sight like crazy to vent his resentment.

"Lord!!!"

The generals in the hall shouted again.

Cao Cao stopped, looked at the concern of the generals, and threw his sword to the ground unwillingly: "Retreat!"

The generals looked at each other in shock. When Cao Cao saw that the generals were motionless, he suddenly roared: "Retreat!!!"

The generals suddenly woke up from a dream, bowed and responded: "Yes!"

"Ding ding ding!" Cao Jun, who heard the sound of Ming Jin, retreated towards Cao Jun's camp like the ebbing sea water.

Gao Shun took a few steps forward and came to the dilapidated battlements. He looked at Cao Jun who was starting to pull out the camp and breathed a sigh of relief: "We won, the lord's reinforcements have arrived."

"Cao's army retreated and we won!!!"

Sounds like this spread throughout Xiapi City, and the people took to the streets to celebrate and hug each other to vent the extremely depressed atmosphere that had been felt for the past half month.

The seventh day of the first lunar month
Three thousand cavalry troops sent by Liu Bei in advance, led by Lu Bu, arrived around Wuyuan County to threaten Cao Jun's food routes and relieve the siege of Pi.

The eighth day of the first lunar month
Cao's army of more than 40,000 men arrived in Wuyuan County, and Lu Bu withdrew.

The thirteenth day of the first lunar month

Liu Bei's front army of 20,000 men, led by Zhang Fei, arrived 20 miles due east of Wuyuan County.

The fourteenth day of the first lunar month

Cao Cao's 50,000-strong army marched out of Wuyuan City and marched ten miles east to confront Zhang Fei's troops.

The twentieth day of the first lunar month

Liu Bei led the remaining 40,000 troops to Zhang Fei's camp, and the Xuzhou Army's strength reached 60,000.

The twenty-first day of the first lunar month

Liu Bei and Cao Cao met in front of the army.

Cao Cao brought more than a dozen generals including Cao Hong, Xu Chu, Xiahou Yuan, and Xiahou Dun, and Liu Bei also brought Lu Bu, Zhang Fei, Zhao Yun, Xiahou Bo, and others.

Cao Cao was riding on his horse, looking at Liu Bei who had become the most powerful man now, and sighed slightly:
"When Xuande was appointed to Pingyuan County and stationed in Gaotang, he blocked me, Cao Mengde, for Gongsun Bogui. He was repelled by me like a lost dog. But I didn't expect that you actually created such a big family business. Could Bai's help be so great? Is it that big?"

Liu Bei still looked like a benevolent monarch, and smiled slightly and said: "Meng De is joking, this is not because of Bai's great influence, but because Meng Deqin has lost the hearts of the people.

From the moment you, Cao Mengde, chose to massacre the people of Xuzhou, you should have thought of this situation. Mencius said: The people are the most valuable, the country is second, and the king is the least.

But you, Cao Mengde, used it the wrong way. In your eyes, the country is the most important, followed by yourself, and finally the people of the world.

But you have forgotten that the people of the world are the composition of the country, and the monarch is only the leader elected by the people of the world. How can a person who despises the lives of the people like you get the respect of the people of the world?
You said that Bai Shi abandoned you, but as far as I know, Bai Shi was interested in you, not me, Liu Xuande.

But in the end, why was it that I, Liu Xuande, was able to replace you and receive help from the Bai family? It’s just that I stick to my heart and put the people first. "

Cao Cao was a little unconvinced: "Xuande is too stingy. We are all leaders of our respective forces, and we all know that ordinary people simply do not have enough strength to support a large force.

As long as they don't starve to death or die of cold, they will be at ease. The most important thing is not those aristocratic families. If we are just ordinary people without the help of aristocratic families, how is it different from the Yellow Turban Army? As the generals who put down the Yellow Turban Rebellion, you and I should know the fate of the Yellow Turban Army best.

At the end of the day, you haven't received help from the two largest aristocratic families in the world, the Bai family and the Liu family. Otherwise, how can you, Liu Xuande, compete with me?
But I have to admit that the only heroes in the world today are you and me, Cao Cao. Look, take a look at this world, either you or I, Cao Cao, will get it. Others like Liu Biao, Yuan Shao, Sun Quan and others are just stepping stones for you and me. "

Liu Bei did not argue with him anymore, because he knew that the core views of the two people were different, and there was no use in arguing anymore.

"In this case, I would like to ask Prime Minister Cao why he attacked Xuzhou for no reason. Is it because you are the prime minister that you can attack the world at will? I'm afraid this is not good."

Cao Cao smiled and did not answer, but said: "The generals under your command under Liu Bei are really good. I have learned a lot about Ben Xiang these days. Well, now that I have met you, there is no need for Ben Xiang." If we stay any longer, I believe Xuande won’t want to see his true self again.”

Liu Bei smiled and said nothing.

The two of them returned to their respective armies, and not long after, Cao's army began to break out of camp and head north.

Liu Bei sent Zhang Fei with 30,000 men to send Cao Jun out of the country.

The twenty-fifth day of the first lunar month
Liu Bei returned to his loyal place of Xiapi. Seeing the white cloth hanging on every house in the city, Liu Bei felt something. He couldn't help but shed tears on the spot, and kept bending down to thank the people on both sides.

March
Cao Cao returned to Xudu. In order to appease Liu Bei, Cao Cao resigned from the post of general. In the name of the imperial court, he worshiped Liu Bei as [general] and [Marquis of Pei], opened a mansion, took holidays, and took charge of the affairs of Qingxu and Xuzhou.

However, Liu Bei refused Cao Cao's offer of worship on the grounds that although Cao Cao was a Han official, he was a Han traitor. He also said that the emperor had become Cao Cao's puppet, and called on all the heroes in the world to attack him together, clear the emperor's side, and restore the Han Dynasty.

Although he openly opposed the rationality of the imperial court, Liu Bei did not openly oppose the Han Dynasty. He only announced that he would no longer obey the imperial court's orders, because the imperial court's orders on the surface were actually Cao Cao's orders.

However, many of Liu Bei's slogans were just words, but he did not actually take action. Because this fierce battle with Yuan Shao was too damaging to his vitality, Liu Bei would not have been able to mobilize his troops without two or three years of repair.

If he ignores the power of the people and forcibly launches a war, Liu Bei will really dig his own grave and destroy the Great Wall.

April
Cao Cao sent General Cao Ren with 50,000 troops to attack Hedong County from Hanoi to serve as a barrier in Guanzhong.

Geographically speaking, if you want to enter Guanzhong from Guandong, there are only three ways, one is to enter Wuguan from Nanyang, the other is to enter Hangu Pass from Hongnong, and the third is to cross the Yellow River from Hedong and enter Zuofengyi.

May
The governor of Hedong surrendered to Cao Cao, and Hedong County was taken over by Cao Cao.

Yuan Shao, however, did not react at all to Cao Cao's actions when Cao Cao attacked his territory, because he, like Liu Bei, was in a period of training and had no strength to mobilize troops.

July
Cao Cao suggested to the court that Sizhou and Yongzhou should be established, Henan Yin should be changed to Henan County, the area fifty miles around Xudu should be changed to Jingji area, Xu Duling's seal should be upgraded to the same as Jing Zhaoyin, and Cheng Yu should be appointed as Xu Duling. Xun Yu was the minister.

So Sizhou included Henan County, Hongnong County, Hanoi County, and Gyeonggi area. Yongzhou's subordinates include Jing Zhaoyin, Zuo Fengyi, and You Fufeng.

September
Just when Cao Cao was once again preparing to launch troops against Liu Biao in Jingzhou, the ten princes of Liangzhou, including Ma Chao, Han Sui, and Yang Qiu, who had always been professing their vassalship, became suspicious and fearful, and immediately counterattacked and occupied the Guanzhong area.

Although Cao Cao was angry that they broke his original plan, he had to send troops to suppress it.

Then he immediately sent General Cao Ren to lead troops to attack Guanzhong from the Hedong area, and he led the army to arrive soon after.

October
Fortunately, in order to attack Liu Biao, a large army had already been gathered. Cao Cao took 50,000 people and prepared to enter Guanzhong from Hangu Pass.

Cao Ren, who had already arrived in Guanzhong, was leading an army of 30,000 men and was fighting fiercely with Ma Chao, who had occupied Tongguan.

November

The weather suddenly dropped, but fortunately Cao Cao was well prepared, and he had mostly infantry. Unlike Xiliang's troops, which were mostly cavalry, they would not be able to run in winter.

Cao Cao personally supervised the army and attacked Tongguan with strong troops, but Ma Chao was defeated.

Immediately afterwards, near Anling, the Liangzhou coalition forces were defeated. Ma Chao and others wanted to cede territory and sue for peace, but Cao Cao refused.

The ninth year of Jian'an
New Year
At this time, Guanzhong was covered with snow and the temperature was extremely cold, which was not suitable for a battle at all.

Fortunately, Cao Cao's army was able to survive with the help of a steady stream of food and grass from the Central Plains. The Liangzhou coalition was already short of food and was about to run out of food. Ma Chao came to challenge him many times, but Cao Cao refused to hold on, making Ma Chao eager to fight quickly but unable to win.

In desperation, Ma, Han and others had no choice but to request the cession of territory again, and expressed their willingness to send protons for peace, hoping that Prime Minister Cao would grant it.

Cao Cao originally wanted to completely solve the problem in Liangzhou this time, so as not to rebel next time and disrupt his plan to attack Jingzhou southward, so he still did not want to allow it.

However, he was stopped by his adviser Jia Xu. Jia Xu thought that he could pretend to agree on the surface and paralyze the opponent, but actually actively prepared and waited for opportunities to annihilate the enemy.

Cao Cao asked again how to defeat the enemy, and Jia Xu said: "Divide them."

Then he told Cao Cao how Liu Bang wrote a book to Fan Zeng, which made Xiang Yu doubt him, and finally forced Fan Zeng to become disheartened and die of illness on his way home.

Cao Cao adopted his strategy and wrote the letter himself, deliberately changing the key words in the letter to drive a wedge between Ma Chao and Han Sui and cause them to have civil strife.

Cao Cao saw the time was ripe and took the initiative to attack the Guanzhong coalition forces and won a great victory.

In the end, Han Sui and Ma Chao were defeated and fled to Liangzhou, while Yang Qiu fled back to Anding. Cao's army killed Cheng Yi, Li Kan and other rebel generals, and Guanzhong was pacified from then on.

(End of this chapter)