Chapter 61 Chapter 8 Expansion of the Territory: Tu Xuzhou's Backyard Fires Fight Puyang (5)

It can also be seen from this that Zhang Miao and Cao Cao have a deep friendship in people's minds. When the Kwantung Army conquered Dong Zhuo, Zhang Miao and Yuan Shao clashed due to strategic disagreements.Yuan Shao instructed Cao Cao to kill Zhang Miao, but Cao Cao opposed it face to face.After Zhang Miao heard the news, he was very grateful to Cao Cao, but he also worried that if the relationship between Cao and Yuan continued, it would bring misfortune to him.This doubt became more and more prominent when Yuan Shao later recommended Cao Cao as Yanzhou Shepherd, and his status was higher than that of Zhang Miao.Yuan and Cao are quite close on the surface, which makes Zhang Miao speculate "whether Cao Cao will kill me in the end to please Yuan Shao" at any time.

At this time, another incident occurred in which Bian Rang, the prefect of Jiujiang, was killed by Cao Cao. Cao Cao wanted to kill Bian Rang, because Bian Rang was famous for his talents, many people came to intercede for him, but Cao Cao didn't accept him. Cao Cao must kill and give way in this way, so that the scholar-bureaucrats in Yanzhou are worried about Cao Cao. What is even more unbearable is that Cao Cao suddenly had the idea of ​​springing up, because Cao Cao killed Bian Rang and wanted to kill his family, but when Bian Rang's wife pushed her out, Cao Cao found that she was so beautiful .Cao Cao is lustful by nature, and he is especially sympathetic to beautiful women.Due to the frequent wars, the ambitious Cao Cao had no time to get close to women. How could he not be moved when he saw such a beautiful woman by chance today.

He looked at Bian Rang's wife, his eyes lit up, and his heart was sweet, as if he had taken molasses.He immediately sent an order to release the woman and arrange a luxurious house for her to live in. The generals of the left and right counselors were naturally sensitive to Cao Cao's heart, so they followed the truth, not only letting go of Bian Rang's wife, but also treating each other with delicious food, and arranging a very beautiful house for him to live in. When Bian Rang's wife was puzzled, Cao Cao came to visit alone.With the demeanor of a general, Cao Cao didn't hide his preferences, and directly told his favor and love for her.He also wrote poems and songs, praising Bian Rang's wife for her beautiful appearance and moving figure. His sincerity of heart and enthusiasm in his words moved Bian Rang's wife quite a lot.

It can also be said that Cao Cao was boldly courting Bian Rang's wife, and Bian Rang's wife was a person who had just been left behind from the brink of death. The recognition of a well-educated and imposing man acquiesced to Cao Cao's almost fanatical pursuit of her.That night Cao Cao stayed overnight with his wife. He hugged this woman all night like a pair of mandarin ducks wrapped in brocade quilts.From then on, Cao Cao took Bian Rang's wife as his mistress and never left her almost every night. Undoubtedly, this matter was going to be spread, and the elders of the Yanzhou Celebrity Faction Group talked about it and were deeply dissatisfied.It is already very unreasonable to hunt and kill such a celebrity, but to further possess his wife is very bad and considered a treasonous thing.

Cao Cao's most valued subordinate, Chen Gong, admired Cao Cao's talent and enthusiasm very much, but he was also a member of the Yanzhou Celebrity Scholar, and he was upright and heroic by nature. Once he heard about Cao Cao, he couldn't let go of it.In addition, Chen Gong and Tao Qian had a long history of friendship, so when Cao Cao conquered Xuzhou, Chen Gong repeatedly dissuaded him.Cao Cao refused to listen, and left Chen Gong in Zhencheng, not allowing him to join the army. It was under such circumstances that Chen Gong joined forces with Zhang Miao to oppose Cao Cao when Cao Cao was conquering Xuzhou.Chen Gong also joined forces with Zhonglang Xu Si, Wang Kai and Zhang Miao's younger brother Zhang Chao to conspire against each other.

Chen Gong analyzed to Zhang Miao: "Nowadays, the world is falling apart, and all the heroes are fighting together. With your lofty prestige and status, plus hundreds of thousands of soldiers and horses, you are really qualified. Dominating one side. Wouldn’t it be a pity if you were willing to live under him, listen to others’ orders, and be restrained by others like now? At present, Cao Cao has transferred the main army to the east to fight the battlefield, and Yanzhou is empty. Lu Bu is brave and good at fighting, comparable to Cao Cao. If you can cooperate with him Govern Yanzhou together, wait and see the situation in the world, once there is a turning point, we will be able to make a difference for a while."

Zhang Miao repeatedly said yes, and jointly sent a letter to Lu Bu with his younger brother Zhang Chao, the prefect of Guangling.Lu Bu was overjoyed and immediately rushed to Chenliu with his relatives and hundreds of horsemen to join Zhang Miao and Chen Gong. The Bian Rang incident, coupled with Cao Cao's brutal massacre on the Xuzhou battlefield, made the leaders of counties and counties in Yanzhou deeply feel Cao Cao's brutality, and each had doubts. Zhang Miao took the opportunity to fan and betray Cao Cao together. As a result, a force and prestige have been formed on the issue of anti-Cao Cao.

Zhang Miao has tens of thousands of soldiers and horses, and Chen Gong also has a strong army.Before Cao Cao's Eastern Expedition, in order to prevent the northern Hebei and Qingzhou troops from waiting for an opportunity to move, he specially handed over a troop to Chen Gong, stationed in the Dongjun area on the north bank of the Yellow River.Now that Lv Bu arrived, Chen Gong handed over the army to Lv Bu to command, and Zhang Miao also allocated several thousand troops to Lv Bu. Chen Gong was very prestigious in Dongjun, and he came forward to discuss with the local scholar-bureaucrats, and they unanimously elected Lu Bu as the shepherd of Yanzhou.As soon as the announcement came out, Zhang Miao responded immediately, and the county guard of Yanzhou almost fell to Zhang Miao and Chen Gong.In the end, only Zhencheng guarded by Xun Yu, Puyang guarded by Xiahou Dun, Fancheng guarded by Jin Jian, and Dong'e guarded by Cheng Yu remained under the banner of Cao Jun.

Chen Gong and Zhang Miao got together to discuss the next step. Zhang Miao said: "It is estimated that Cao Cao has already known about Yanzhou, and he will definitely come back soon..." Chen Gong said: "We should eliminate the four forces in front of us before he comes back, and then we can fully deal with Cao Cao who came back from the Xuzhou battlefield. Zhang Miao nodded and said, "The current situation here is very favorable to us, we should seize the opportunity..." So, the two made another plan in secret. On the eve of the incident, Zhang Miao sent an envoy to see Xun Yu in Zhencheng, saying: "General Lu Bu is here to assist General Cao in attacking Xuzhou. Please provide the army with food immediately so that we can leave immediately."

The other bureaucrats in Zhoucheng couldn't understand Zhang Miao's intentions, but Xun Yu immediately judged that this was an act of treason.But Xun Yu didn't show his face, just temporarily agreed and sent the envoy away. As soon as the envoy left, Xun Yu immediately mobilized the troops to strictly defend. He ordered the whole army to be in a state of emergency combat readiness, and personally inspected each defense area to implement the defense tasks one by one.Everywhere he went, he said to the soldiers: "General Cao is about to return to Yanzhou with his troops. There are also people in Yanzhou who are plotting to make trouble. General Cao will definitely punish him when he comes back. I will stick to the city to meet General Cao's death." A large army. When the time comes, I must report to General Cao that everyone will be rewarded for their merits, and no one will be missed!"

At the same time, Xun Yu sent his cronies to Puyang to reveal the truth of Chen Gong and Zhang Miao's rebellion to Xia Houdun, asking him to strengthen his defense and requesting to send troops to reinforce Zhencheng. Of course, Puyang City is not urgent right now, but Xiahoudun still raised his vigilance and set up his defenses again. Afterwards, he personally led the loyal troops and rushed to Zhencheng in the starry night.Xiahou Dun had already found out from Xun Yu some of the troops that were ready to respond to Zhang Miao, so he killed the commanders of the eight legions in a surprise attack, and completely controlled the troops in his own hands. As soon as it came, the tense situation in Zhencheng was temporarily stabilized.