Chapter 4 Transport grain through canals

Cao Cao treated Xing Yong generously with the courtesy of a superior guest, but after a few days, he had already put his heart in his heart. Seeing that the fire was almost ready, he formally appointed him to work in Jizhou, gave him a generous gift for ten soldiers, and wrote an order by himself, ordering He went back to the mountain to move Tian Chou.Tian Chou originally asked Xing Yong to explore Cao Cao's character, but even Sikong Piling brought him back.He secretly complained that Xing Yong acted sloppily, so he had to accept the appointment and go to Cao Ying together.Cao Cao has heard of Tian Chou's name for a long time, and his courtesy is even better than that of Xing Yong.

The northward expedition must first solve the problem of military rations. The production of the land of Youyan is insufficient, so it is necessary to requisition food and grass from the Central Plains to supply the army.Cao Cao adopted Dong Zhao's strategy and mobilized the army and the people to build a canal, leading the Humi River (now the Hutuo River, Hebei) into the Mishui (now the Shahe River, Hebei), and named it the Pinglu Canal (now the South Canal); The eastern part) was dug into the Lu River (now Beijing Tongzhou North Canal), named Quanzhou Canal (Quanzhou County, today's Wuqing County, Tianjin City; Quanzhou Canal, now Ji Yunhe).In this way, not only can the military food be transported by water, but also the waterways of the Central Plains, Hebei and Liaodong are connected, and the control of the surrounding area is strengthened.

He Kui successfully recruited and surrendered the pirate Guan Cheng, and with the assistance of Zhang Liao and Le Jin, wiped out the tyrant king's camp who secretly communicated with Liaodong; The Qingzhou Yellow Turbans who ran and looted.At this point, the Yellow Turban Rebel Army and its remnants that had risen since the first year of Zhongping (184 AD) were all wiped out.The flames of war in Qingzhou gradually extinguished, and the vassal states such as Beihai, Pingyuan, and Fuling also reorganized one after another.Cao Cao stationed troops in Chunyu County for several months, arranged for the aftermath, and ordered the soldiers of the three armies to return to Yecheng to recuperate, but he himself rushed to inspect Hegong with a group of cronies and relatives.It was no easy task to build two canals in a short period of time. Dong Zhao took the initiative to ask Ying to take full responsibility. He also called Yuan Min, who visited the embankment, to participate in the project. Almost all the people in the counties and counties along the river were recruited to serve in corvee.Seeing that the severe winter is coming and the cold wind is biting, the project is still going on relentlessly...

The heavy snow in the land of Youyan is inevitable, and the sky and the earth are covered with snow.Sometimes the wind howls, rolling the vast ice sheet into chaos; sometimes everything is silent, only the flakes of goose feathers and snow fall to the ground profusely.The snow has been falling intermittently for three days, and I don't know when it will stop.Cao Cao has replaced the green cloth army tent with cowhide ones, and added several charcoal braziers, but even so, he still doesn't feel warm.Tian Chou and Xing Yong accompanied each other. They both lived in Hebei for a long time and were used to this kind of weather. They wore the fur cloak rewarded by Cao Cao and stood guarding the charcoal brazier. Their heads were almost sweating.

Cao Cao surrounded Huqiu tightly, and kept complaining: "Guo Jia and Zhang Xiu are both sick, this damn god! If I knew it was like this, I shouldn't have let Hua Tuo go back to his hometown." Xing Yong comforted: "They are just not acclimatized, and they will be fine after a few days. Don't worry about it, my lord." In just a few months, Xing Yong has completely transformed into a man of Cao Ying, and even he himself can't figure it out. , How it was subtly influenced. "I hope it's as you said." Cao Cao sighed helplessly, and looked down at the parchment on Shuai's case—it was the engineering drawing of Pinglu and Quanzhou Erqu.Because of the snow, the construction of the canal had to be suspended. According to the progress of the previous days, it would take at least two months to complete the project. If there was any delay in the transportation of grain, the entire plan to conquer Karasuma would be postponed.Once the conquest of Karasuma is postponed, it means that every step of going south to Jingzhou, seizing Jiangdong, unifying the world and even winning the Ninth Five-Year Plan will be delayed. Can Cao Cao be in a hurry?But no matter how anxious you are, you can't beat God. If the snow doesn't stop, you can only wait.

Tian Chou sat aside without saying a word, holding a small wooden stick in his hand, fiddled with the charcoal fire in the basin, and seemed to be deaf to the conversation just now.Cao Cao glanced at him, full of doubts in his heart—both hermits, how could their tempers differ so much?Winning over Xing Yong is almost a matter of course, but Tian Chou is still lukewarm up to now, not to mention confiding in his heart, he has never even called "Master", as if there is an invisible barrier in front of him, no matter how hard he spends, he cannot overcome it.This feeling reminded Cao Cao of Jia Xu, but Jia Xu was cautious because of the crime of harming the country, and Tian Chou had no burden, so why refused to be thousands of miles away?

"What are you thinking, my lord?" Xing Yong noticed that Cao Cao was lost in thought. "Oh." Cao Cao smiled slightly, and said insincerely, "I'm thinking, what's the situation in Karasuma in the three counties? I've never fought against the Karasuma people. Please tell me in detail." Xing Yong also smiled: "My subordinates don't have as much knowledge as Brother Zitai, so let's ask Brother Zitai to explain the confusion for the Lord." He also felt that Tian Chou was very alienated from Cao Cao, and deliberately gave up the opportunity.

"Then it's Mr. Tian's fault." Cao Cao was very polite. "Don't dare." Tian Chou just arched his hands slightly, still in a nonchalant manner, without looking at Cao Cao, "Wuwan and Xianbei belong to the Donghu tribes, and they were not originally a big clan. In the previous dynasty, the Xiongnu Maodun Shanyu defeated Donghu and retreated. A tribe in Xianbei Mountain was renamed Xianbei, and the tribe that retreated to Mount Wuwan was called Wuwan, both named after the mountains they lived in." He fiddled with the charcoal fire as he spoke, and these allusions came at his fingertips, "The Wuwan people are good at riding. Shooting, hunting birds and beasts for a living, chasing water and grass, living in impermanent places; taking Qionglu as a home, worshiping the sun eastward, and treating them as gods; eating meat and drinking cheese, and wearing fur as clothing. Later, the imperial court allowed them to enter in order to fight against the Xiongnu. In Guannei, the secular habits have changed, but the aggressive nature has not changed. The noble and the young are inferior to the old, and anger kills fathers and brothers without harming their mothers, and the tribal leaders are all taken by brave and aggressive people."

Cao Cao couldn't help sneering: "A barbarian without ethics." Tian Chou nodded: "Nowadays, the leaders of Karasuma in each county are brave and good at fighting. However, they fight on their own and have no battle formation. It is not difficult to defeat them with the help of Ming Gong. The leader of Karasuma in Shanggu County is called Nanlou, and gathers the crowd. There are more than 9,000 people. The leader of Youbeiping County is called Wu Yan, and there are more than 800 tribes under his command. He calls himself 'King of Hanlu' and has fled with Yuan Shang. There is also Liaoxi County..."

"The Wu Yan and Yuan brothers who were taken in by Karasuma in western Liaoning?" Cao Cao interrupted. "Yes. Liaoxi Karasuma is the most powerful, gathering more than five thousand people. Although the number is smaller than Nanlou, they are all brave and powerful. It was the leader of Liaoxi, Qiu Liju, who colluded with the traitor Zhang Chun twenty years ago. At the beginning, he called himself "King of Mi Tian An Ding", and led the three prefectures of Karasuma, Lueqing, Xu, You, and Jizhou, and killed countless Chinese people, and the imperial court sent Gongsun Zan to repel them." Speaking of Gongsun Zan, Tian Chou was melancholy. His eyes were shining brightly, and he still hasn't let go of Liu Yu's hatred.

"Gongsun Bogui," Cao Cao seemed a little sorry, "was a fierce general who armed with two spears and led 3,000 cavalry across the battlefield. At that time, he was called the 'White Horse General' by the barbarians. It is a pity that he later embarked on a military campaign. road……" Tian Chou hated others saying good things for Gongsun Zan, so before Cao Cao finished speaking, he rushed to say, "The rebellion ended when my lord Liu Yu recruited warriors to assassinate Zhang Chun. It is not Gongsun Zan's credit." Cao Cao was very displeased when he heard him call Liu Yu "my lord" in front of his face, but he just put a smile on his face. Tian Chou didn't realize that his words were reckless, so he went on to say: "Liu Yu is generous and virtuous to the minorities, Qiu Liju cut his title of king himself, and there has been no major conflict between Hu and Han in the following years. When I first arrived in Xu Wushan, I was Karasuma harassed me and fought with them. Later, when they learned that I was an old bureaucrat of Liu Yu and had a grudge against Gongsun Zan, their attitude immediately changed. They sent animals to exchange food with us, and we lived in peace. Qiu Liju died Later, his son Louban was in charge of the tribe in name, but Louban was young, and Qiu Liju's nephew Tadun took the real power. Tadun was brave and resourceful, and actually took over the three counties of Youbeiping, Liaoxi and Liaodong. In the past, Yuan Shao joined forces with Tadun to defeat Gongsun Zan when he was in a hurry. Afterwards, in order to show his gratitude, Yuan Shao ordered Tadun, Nanlou, and Su Puyan to be named Shanyu and gave them canopy , Bai Yan to help the majesty, and even married Yuan's daughter to Karasuma for marriage. In fact, the bad is in Yuan Shao's hands, Huairou also needs to have a limit, and treat Hu people with kindness and power. Blindly offering rewards will only encourage abuse ambition." Cao Cao could understand Yuan Shao's thoughts—Yuan Shao wanted to stabilize the rear and eliminate me first, and then slowly deal with the gang of barbarians, but unexpectedly missed in Guandu.Thinking this way in his heart, he followed Tian Chou and said: "Yuan Shao lost the country because of his benevolence... Just now you mentioned Su Puyan, the leader of Liaodong. Does this person have anything to do with the Gongsun family of Liaodong?" "Although Su Puyan is known as the 'Qiao King' and commanded the tribes in eastern Liaodong, he was actually expelled from Liaodong by Gongsun Du, and he was just a vassal of Tadun. When Gongsun Du was alive, he attacked Goguryeo in the east and Karasuma in the west. , claiming to be the King of Liaodong and Pingzhou Mu, even if you are afraid of him, Su Puyan is an opponent?" Cao Cao showed a happy smile: "Gongsun Kang crossed the sea to disturb you, and he won't lose money by stealing chickens. I was afraid that he would collude with Karasuma and affect the whole body. Hearing what Mr. said, even this little concern They are all gone. As long as Karasuma is defeated, Gongsun Kang will have nothing to worry about." Tian Chou also has some special feelings for Gongsundu and his son: "We Han people have been fighting for power and profit all these years, but it is Gongsundu, a local emperor who expands the land, although he is vicious and domineering, but he is not ashamed of us Han people. ! There are more than 100,000 Han people on the Tadun land, who have been enslaved by the barbarians, Ming Gong must defeat them, this is also to save my big fellow people!" Both Cao Cao and Tian Chou want to tame Karasuma, but their goals are different.Tian Chou wanted to relieve the border troubles in the north and express his anger for the Han people; Cao Cao certainly had this intention, but he even chased and killed Yuan Shang and Yuan Xi to prevent the remnants of the Yuan family from returning to life.As Tian Chou said, there are still more than 100,000 Han people in the three counties, and some local tyrants in Youzhou voluntarily fled with the Yuan family.Cao Cao pondered for a while, then said calmly: "I was going to send a general to do the job, but now it seems that I have to do it myself, and I have to rely on the strength of the two of you!" Xing Yong cupped his fists and cupped his hands: "The subordinates will go through fire and water without hesitation." Tian Chou just said lightly: "The grassroots should serve you." Cao Cao was a little embarrassed, but he couldn't speak, and secretly showed the energy he had to subdue Guan Yu and Zhang Liao in the past-wait and see!The more you don't recognize me as the master, the more I will make you bow your head!Sooner or later, I will tell you to be like Xing Yong, bow your head and bow your ears to my knees! At this time, the soldiers outside reported: "General Du Liao seldom asks for help." "Come in." Cao Cao specially transferred him from Wuzhong County. When the curtain was lifted, Xian Yufu entered the tent with a cool breeze and knelt down: "The last general pays his respects to Duke Cao!" "Is there any movement of Karasuma in Wushang?" Now Cao Cao is most concerned about this. "Not currently, they won't come to harass in the freezing weather." "They should have heard about the construction of the canal, and they must not take it lightly." "The general understands! I have sent a general to inspect, and if Karasuma is found, I will immediately send a letter to the camp." "Very well, you can stay by my side for now." Cao Cao nodded with satisfaction, "Have you worked hard on this road with wind and snow?" "Duke Ming worked hard for the country and didn't avoid the cold and heat, how would the last general dare to talk about hard work?" Xian Yufu was very eloquent, "The snow is already light now." "Oh?" Cao Cao immediately stood up when he heard that the snow was getting smaller, "Let me see!" Without waiting for the soldiers to do it, Xian Yufu scrambled to open the curtain - the snow outside was indeed much lighter, although it hadn't stopped yet, it was sporadic and the sky was very bright.Cao Cao tightened his coat and walked out of the big tent, followed by Xing Yong and Tian Chou. The heavy snow has dyed the world into a flawless world, as far as the eye can see, there is a vast expanse of whiteness, and the distant mountains and nearby camps are covered, turning into large and small snowballs.The trees that had fallen leaves and withered now have "Qingzhi jade leaves", just like a brick of powder makeup and jade.Although Cao Cao was over half a hundred years old, he had never seen the snow scene in the land of Yanzhao, but it was interesting to watch; he took a deep breath, felt refreshed, and simply walked out of the gate to the canal. "The potholes on the ground are covered with snow, my lord, be careful!" Xu Chu hurriedly followed out with the soldiers. Cao Cao waved his sleeves: "Stay back, don't spoil the old man's interest." After saying that, he held Xing Yong with one hand and went to pull Tian Chou with the other, but he was evasively avoided by him; Cao Cao didn't force it. Looking at the surrounding scenery, he chanted casually, "The north wind blows, and the rain and snow fall. It will benefit me, and we will return together hand in hand..." ("The Book of Songs Beifeng Beifeng") The military camp is not far from the river, surrounded by tents where laborers live.After walking for a while, they saw Dong Zhao and Yuan Min standing in front of a small hill in coir raincoats, a lot of snow had fallen on their bodies, and they were gesticulating to discuss something. "Gongren!" Cao Cao joked at the top of his voice when he was far away, "I almost didn't recognize you, I thought you were two old farmers in the mountains!" Dong Zhao took off his bamboo hat, showing a dignified face, not in the mood to joke at all: "My lord, this snow has missed our important event." "Why?" Dong Zhao pointed to the distance: "Look, the ditch has been covered with snow, and there is still thick ice underneath. The cold weather can overcome it, but the stones for repairing the ditch are downstream, and the river is frozen. It will take another two or three days to pull it.” Building a canal is not simply digging ditches to divert water. The new channel needs to be fixed with stones or wooden piles. "Work has been suspended for three days, and we can't continue to waste it." Cao Cao's good interest was wiped out, "Immediately send an order to start work, and ask the people to dig ice for me, and make sure the river is smooth!" Cutting ice?It's easy to say, but it's not a joke when it's done.He ran to work on the ice in the wind and snow, and fell into the glacier without paying attention.And it’s not just chiseling. In this kind of weather, it doesn’t take long to freeze, and you have to stir it in the water with a pole. If it freezes, you have to chisel again.How can the common people bear the torment of the ice and snow?Everyone looked at each other and wanted to remonstrate, but Cao Cao said first: "I know what you want to say, but this channel is related to the military situation and cannot be delayed. The old man is standing here to supervise the work!" Not long after the military order was passed down, the people came out of the tents.The land of Youyan is very barren, many people don't even have sheepskins to keep out the cold, their clothes are wrapped in tattered linen, and their straw sandals are also wrapped in layers.A large number of ice picks and chisels are needed to dig ice, and the military reserves are insufficient; they cannot use swords, guns, swords and halberds, because they are afraid of rusting, and secondly, they are also guarding against the riots of the people.Most people hit them with stones, and some with frostbitten hands struggled to survive on the ice with wooden prongs. The weather was not so beautiful, and it snowed for three consecutive days, and it didn't stop in the morning or in the evening, but it stopped at this time.The snow rose as soon as the wind stopped, and it blew on the face like a knife. No matter how many layers of cloth, it couldn't keep out the cold. The gust of wind made the people reel, but they didn't dare to go ashore to hide from the wind—the soldiers stared at them with leather whips Woolen cloth!Does this kind of sin belong to man? Tian Chou was shocked, but seeing Cao Cao staring at the river indifferently, he seemed to take all this for granted, and couldn't help but open his mouth and said: "Mr. Cao, let's put off the construction of the canal for a few days!" Cao Cao has always ordered and prohibited. Since the resolution cannot be changed, it is rare for Tian Chou to take the initiative to remonstrate, and his answer is still very tactful: "It is windy here, Mr. Tian, ​​go back to the tent and rest." Tian Chou saw that he was evasive, and argued: "I really can't bear the suffering of the people. The ancients said:'Benevolence is a man's home, and righteousness is a man's righteous way.' Minggong's ambition is to protect the common people in the world. How can he live in peace and abandon the righteous way? "Although this is a detour, how is it different from accusing Cao Cao of being unkind? Cao Cao smiled instead: "Sir, what you taught is correct. But there are priorities. Don't you want to conquest Karasuma as soon as possible to rescue the enslaved people?" "but……" Cao Cao plausibly said: "The old man did not make things difficult for the people for no reason. Since the Yuan family was defeated and took over Hebei, tax relief and severe punishment for mergers have been much better for the people of Li people than Yuan's father and son. Going out to build canals is regarded as imperial corvee. If you don't work here, you have to do it elsewhere. If these people catch up, they can only blame them for their lives. Besides, if they don’t break Karasuma and kill Yuan Shang, they will inevitably suffer from swords and soldiers in the future. They work hard today, not only for the old man, but also for themselves. Isn't it good to exchange temporary suffering for eternal peace?" Comparing myself with the Yuan family who have already fallen, isn't this a laugh at a hundred steps?Tian Chou wanted to speak again, but was diverted by Xing Yong: "My lord is also thinking about the war, I would rather have short-term pain than long-term pain." Tian Chou looked at Xing Yong in amazement, as if seeing the person in front of him for the first time. Suddenly there was a sound of "cracking", a large piece of river ice cracked not far away, and an unlucky ghost fell into the ice hole because he couldn't dodge it in time.There was a commotion on the ice surface, and the people were so frightened that they dodged left and right. Some wanted to run to the shore, but the overseer soldiers beat and drove them away with whips, and most of them blocked back; Back to fleeing desperately to the distance... Cao Cao frowned for a while, then turned his head and told Dong Zhao: "Give me an order, and anyone who escapes will be killed. I will see who dares to escape if he escapes just now and beheaded in public! If the glacier is not cut through, who will be killed?" Don't even plan to rest!" Tian Chou was trembling—as far as his eyes could see, the glaciers that meandered for dozens of miles were under construction, and how many innocent people were suffering! At this time, a soldier came to report: "Zang Ba, governor of Xuzhou, and generals Sun Guan, Wu Dun, and Yin Li, are asking to see you." Cao Cao was stunned: "I didn't recruit them." Xu Chu immediately became vigilant: "Did they ever lead troops?" When the Battle of Guandu was imminent, Cao Cao tacitly allowed Zang Ba, Sun Guan, Yin Li and others to govern themselves in order to stabilize the Qingxu coast as soon as possible.Although they also served Cao Ying, the soldiers and horses were not transferred directly by Cao Cao, and the court did not send officials to the areas under their jurisdiction.Therefore, compared to Cao Ying's direct lineage, they are also outsiders and have to be on guard. The soldier replied: "I didn't lead the army, but I brought three or four cars, it seems to be family members." During the conversation, Zang Ba and the other four had already rushed to the river, they were not wearing armor or swords, and they were leading their mounts by themselves.Zang Ba has a tall horse with big hideous eyes and a beard, Sun Guan has a fat head and a fat face, Wu Dun has an ugly face like a crab, and Yin Li has scars all over his face. The appearance and behavior of these four people are not good at first glance. generation.Tian Chou and Xing Yong didn't know that there were such characters in Cao Ying, and they were terrified to see them. "My grandson Yingzi bows to Cao Gong!" Sun Guan was the most straightforward, kneeling down on the snow and kowtowed repeatedly, Zang Ba and the other three quickly followed suit. Cao Cao waved his hand: "Zang Nukou, Sun Yingzi, Wu Annu, Yin Luer, I remember correctly, right? Hahaha..." Sun Guan, Wu Dun, and Yin Li also laughed, but Zang Ba was quite disturbed—to this day Cao Cao has not forgotten our bandit number! "Qingzhou has just been pacified, and there are still many things waiting for you. Why come here?" It was still Sun Guan who rushed to say: "Your old man is good to us. I haven't seen you for a few years. I have to come and see you." Kang is the prefect of Chengyang, and the Sun family has two counties. This kind of favor is indeed not small. "Oh, it's hard for you to come to visit me in the cold and snow!" Cao Cao smiled. But Zang Ba said: "To tell you the truth, apart from visiting you, the general also has a merciless request." "But it doesn't matter." "I was originally a reckless generation, dawdling on the tip of the sword, and the wives, wives and children have suffered a lot with us. I heard that Duke Cao built a mansion in Yecheng, and many family members of the generals in the army moved to Yecheng. We also I want my family to move there, so that those women can enjoy the wealth and honor, and the youngsters can also study, so don’t be illiterate and blind like us. Please forgive me.” Zang Ba nodded and bowed with a smile on his face, as strong as he was The figure is quite inconsistent. How could Cao Cao not know what they were thinking, and said with a smile: "You gallop on the battlefield and serve the country loyally, why do you have to do this? Forget it, in the past Xiao He sent his children to serve, Gaozu did not refuse, Geng Chun burned his own house to follow Emperor Guangwu, Guangwu Emperor Wu also lived up to his good intentions. It is inconvenient for me to change the previous law, so do as you wish!" This remark scared the two of them.All the generals in Xuzhou were born recklessly, but only Zang Ba knew the history.When he heard Cao Cao mention Xiao He's matter, he knew that his mind had been seen through.In the past, Liu Bang and Xiang Yu had a stalemate in Chenggao, leaving Xiao He in Guanzhong to conscript soldiers and deliver food and grass.Liu Bang suspected that Xiao He had too much power and caused chaos, so he sent people back several times to comfort him, and Xiao He was very disturbed.A counselor offered advice to him and sent Xiao's sons and nephews to the front line of Chenggao, nominally serving Liu Bang, but actually serving as hostages, and Liu Bang no longer doubted it.Isn't Zang Ba playing the same move now?The land of Qingxu was assigned to them by Cao Cao, and it was almost not restricted by the court. How could they feel at ease when they had power?Moreover, they have a close relationship with Chang Ba. Chang Ba was punished for treason. Will Cao Cao pursue his old relationship?Although these people are rough, they still understand the fear and self-doubt.Zang Ba blushed for a while, and turned to look at Sun Guan, Wu Dun, and Yin Li—these three old men had no idea what Cao Cao was talking about, and they were so silly! Another surprised person was Tian Chou.He didn't intend to be an official at all, he just wanted to get on the shelves.Cao Cao blatantly compared himself with Liu Bang and Liu Xiu, his face didn't change color and his heart beat, how ambitious is it? Twirling his beard, Cao Cao said earnestly, "Loyalty, benevolence, and righteousness are only known by the heart. Why do you need to express your sincerity? As long as you follow the old man wholeheartedly, I will worry about the rest for you. Some things don't have to be said to be comprehensive. "It will be a matter of time before Qingxu Coast is recovered, but Zang Ba and others have great influence in the local area, and a sudden change of course is bound to cause turmoil.Therefore, Cao Cao tried his best to exert a subtle influence on it, and did not hope that it would happen overnight. Sun Guan didn't understand what they were doing, so he just smiled and said, "Mr. Cao will do as long as he likes. I'm afraid that my wife and bastard will be disliked by the people in the city!" "How could it be?" Cao Cao patted Sun Guan on the shoulder, "You have contributed a lot to the pacification of Qingzhou, and I named you Marquis of Ting. Zang Ba was promoted to General Weilu and led Xuzhou Governor as before. Sun Guan was promoted to General Pian and also led Qingzhou Governor .” "Thank you, Mr. Cao!" The four thanked each other again. Cao Cao held Sun Guan with his left hand and Zang Ba with his right hand: "It's too cold here, let's go back to the tent and talk. The family members have been wronged in the camp for a few days, and I will take them there when I return to Yecheng in the next day. You don't have to worry about it in Qingzhou... "Before he finished speaking, he suddenly saw a figure in ragged clothes jumping out from behind the hill. Xu Chu, Sun Guan and others with sharp eyes and quick hands immediately rushed up, and seven or eight big hands pressed the man to the ground together.Yin Li pulled the man's hair in a bun and yelled, "Where did the assassin come from! He brought it from the truth!" The man was dressed in rags and his face was covered with dirt, but he was not very old. He looked less than twenty years old. He was captured by these ferocious strong men, and his bones all over his body were rattled by them. He was scared out of his wits and just screamed. , can't say anything. "Let him go." Cao Cao held his breath, "Forgive him for not daring to play any tricks." Xu Chu and the others let go, and the young man fell to the ground and said tremblingly, "I am a commoner who cuts ice... I beg Cao Gong to be merciful." It turned out that he was also one of the fugitives and was not caught by the soldiers. Instead, he sneaked around and surrendered to Cao Cao.Everyone was just talking, only then did they realize that more than a dozen people had been tied up on the river beach—most of those who had escaped had been caught and were waiting to be beheaded for public display. "Your boy is smarter than them, and you ran before my eyes and surrendered to beg for a living." Cao Cao sneered, "It's a pity that the old man has ordered to behead you, and there is no reason to spare your life." The man kowtowed like a chicken pecking at broken rice: "My lord is kind, please spare my life. The grass people would rather dig ice and never run away again." "I knew why today was the first time." Cao Cao sarcastically said, "It's too late..." Hearing this, the man burst into tears, not knowing what to do. He knelt down and hugged Cao Cao's feet, trembling and just crying—working so hard in the ice and snow, even if he didn't freeze to death, his fingers, Freeze your toes too!But when he escaped and caught him, he was immediately decapitated. He was dead inside and out, so how could he survive? Tian Chou couldn't bear it anymore: "Duke Ming can't do such a thing! Don't you hear that there are three kinds of frugality in the world? People use frugality at home, sages use frugality in the country, and saints use frugality in the world. How can the people support you? What is the difference between Jie, Zhou, and Qin?" Cao Cao was eager for success and was already a little bored with him, but he suppressed his anger and said, "Only when the construction is completed as soon as possible can we raise troops. How can we gain prestige if we don't kill this man? This old man also has difficulties." Tian Chou said again: "The kindness of a gentleman is not only for his own convenience. The so-called great wise men in ancient times knew the benefits and losses of the world, and determined the power of others. Don't you have to compare with the small people? This man I have surrendered myself, so why can’t Duke Ming forgive him? What is the law of nature and human relationships! You are not afraid of losing the hearts of the people in the world? Please think twice about the benefits and losses!” Cao Cao was furious at what he said, but he couldn't turn his face away - he still counted on this person to fight Karasuma!I had no choice but to flick my sleeves, kick the young man away, and said viciously: "Let go of you is like a self-destructive military order, and no one can bear to kill you. Get out of here! Get out as far away as possible, and find a place to hide. I You have to send someone to catch the fugitives, if you can’t catch it, it’s cheap, if you catch it, you’ll still be beheaded!” Tian Chou was about to speak again, but Cao Cao raised his hand and said, "Enough! I've already given you face, don't you insist on calling me a lone husband and a traitor to the people? I invited you here to discuss the conquest of Karasuma. Think about how to use your troops." After saying that, he raised his hand towards the river beach - all the soldiers waved their swords together, and the heads of a dozen deserters suddenly fell apart, and the gushing blood dyed the snow red. All the people were silent like cicadas, and they dared not flee any more, they could only endure this miserable fate.Tian Chou's liver and gallbladder were torn apart.Cao Cao sneered and said: "People in the world are like flowing water. If you block it, you will stop it, and if you open it, you will go! Life and death are in my hands, and they will do what I tell them! Tomorrow when the snow melts, we will set off for Yecheng, don't we?" I can waste time for some ordinary people!" After saying that, he led the generals back to the camp. The young man who survived by luck cried on the ground for a while, then stood up in a daze——Cao Cao told him to flee, but where did he flee?If you go home and pay for one, where can you go if you don't go home?The clothes are thin in the ice and snow, and they will freeze to death within a short distance.Although the world is in trouble, there is no place for shelter! Tian Chou looked pitifully: "Little brother, you..." "Bah!" The young man's tearful eyes were already full of hatred, "There is no need for you to be hypocritical! You are all the same as officials. My God! War kills people, and non-war kills people, so you can't give the common people a treat." Is there a way to survive!" With a roar, he opened his arms and ran away like crazy, and disappeared in the vast snow field after a while. Tian Chou stood there blankly.Although he was used to the climate here, he also felt cold at the moment—the whole body was completely cold.