Chapter 19 sudden change

After careful planning, Cao Cao ordered Liu Yan to sit in Baima County and Yu Jin to sit in Yanjin Ferry as the first line to resist Hebei; he led the army to retreat to Guandu and wait for Yuan Shao's army to arrive.But after waiting for more than two months, he didn't even see the enemy's shadow. It turned out that after Yuan Shao returned to Yecheng, he revoked the general commander's army, made Guo Tu, Jushou, and Chun Yuqiong the three commanders, and re-planned the army and horses, with each of the three divisions commanding an army.And just in this tense season of preparations, new troubles arise--Xian Yufu, the former commander of Youzhou, Yan Rou, the captain of Karasuma, blatantly disobeyed the dispatch, and Gongsun Du, the prefect of Liaodong, colluded with pirates to plot Qingzhou territory.

Liu Yu, the former Shepherd of Youzhou who was killed by Gongsun Zan, was quite comforting to the ethnic minorities during his lifetime, so his old tribe also made good friends with Karasuma, Xianbei and other tribes.After Liu Yu was killed, in order to avenge Liu Yu, the old generals of Youzhou, such as Xian Yufu, joined forces with the Karasuma people to assist Yuan Shao in attacking Gongsun Zan; Yan Rou, a warrior from Yang, took over the position, supervised the troops of Xianbei and Karasuma tribes, and executed the officials sent by Gongsun Zan.Now that Gongsun's party has been wiped out, these Youzhou generals have the support of the Karasuma Tribe, and they gradually don't buy Yuan Shao's account.

Gongsun Duben, the prefect of Liaodong, was born as a small official. During the war, he was promoted by Xu Rong, a fellow of Dong Zhuo's tribe, to become the prefect of Liaodong.Since he took office, he has punished the powerful families in the county, accumulated soldiers and horses, appointed refugees, invaded Goguryeo in the east, drove Karasuma in the west, and even took Fuyu as his territory.He arbitrarily set up the seized foreign land as the two counties of West Liao and Zhongliao, and proclaimed himself "Marquis of East Liao", just like an overseas emperor.Seeing that there was no more territory to exploit in the Northeast, Gongsundu planned to cross the strait to seize Donglai, Qingzhou and other places.

There was no battle in the front and there was a problem in the rear. Chang Shi Tianfeng, Cavalry Captain Cui Yan and others urged Yuan Shao to give up the idea of ​​going south, and focus on all matters in the rear, and use a safe plan to deal with Cao Cao.However, Yuan Shao was enraged by Cao Cao's invasion of Liyang to the north and destroyed the camp. He refused to accept the opinion, and only used pacification to stabilize the rear.An emissary was sent to make an edict to appoint Tadun, the leader of Karasuma in Western Liaoning, Su Puyan, the leader of Karasuma in Eastern Liaodong, and Wu Yan, the leader of Karasuma in Youbeiping, as Shanyu, and sent them Anche, Huagai, and Yuyan to show their respect; He also promoted the generals in Youzhou, formally appointed Yan Rou as Captain Karasuma, and acquiesced that Gongsun Du, the prefect of Liaodong, was the Marquis of Liaodong... A series of methods were used to ease the conflict and give them enough benefits to temporarily calm them down.After making these arrangements, Yuan Shao appointed his second son Yuan Xi as the governor of Youzhou, his third son Yuan Shang as the governor of Jizhou, and his nephew Gao Gan as the governor of Bingzhou. Listen to it, and temporarily let Biejia Wangxiu be the regent of Qingzhou.And the idea of ​​his three sons and one nephew each occupying one state aroused opposition from Jushou and others.

It has been four or five months since Yuan Shao decided to go south, but pressing the gourd and floating the ladle, the problems in the rear can't be completely solved, and the people's hearts can't be unified.In addition, the soldiers were exhausted and complained endlessly, many generals had opinions on the reorganization of the army, and Yuan Shao himself lacked the courage to cut through the mess quickly. As a result, the whole preparation process was slow and chaotic, and the date of raising troops was repeatedly delayed. Cao Cao had already made preparations, but seeing Yuan Shao still dawdling in Yecheng, he got a little impatient waiting, so he simply left the army to station at Guandu, and returned to Xudu with his personal followers to set up the rear.He had just returned to the capital when news came that Zhang Xiu of Rang County had successfully surrendered to the imperial court, and at Jia Xu's suggestion, he left Rang County and led his troops northward, preparing to go to Guandu to assist in the back-to-back battle.After Cao Cao heard about it, he immediately sent a letter asking them to meet up in Xudu and go north together when Yuan Shao raised his troops.

Zhang Xiu came to Xudu with anxiety. Although Jia Xu had analyzed the situation for him and Guo Jia tried his best to vouch for him, he was still afraid that Cao Cao would remember his old grudge.Unexpectedly, it was far away from Xudu, and the imperial envoy came here, and he was named General Yangwu by Jin; then many officials from Kansai also came here one after another under the order of Cao Cao, talking and laughing Smiling and reassuring; Cao Cao himself even prepared a grand banquet in Xingyuan to welcome him grandly. Konghou and Qiangdi chirped together, and the musicians played Liangzhou tunes.Court officials fluttered their sleeves and bowed like clouds, Cao Ying generals in plain clothes and wearing crowns bowed their heads like a forest.Xiliang has always been despised by the world, Dong Zhuo has been regarded as an enemy by the officials and families since the chaos, Zhang Xiu is the nephew of Zhang Ji, the minister of disasters, and now he is treated with such courtesy, it shows that the world has changed, and all the past merits and demerits have been erased .When Zhang Xiu walked into the Xingyuan tent in a warm atmosphere, his uneasy mood seemed to ease, but when he looked up and saw the majestic Cao Cao, he couldn't help but knelt down at his feet: "The final general has resisted Tianwei for many years, and I still hope Cao Cao male……"

"Don't mention the past," Cao Cao helped Zhang Xiu up without waiting for him to finish speaking, "The general understands the righteousness and is willing to submit, and he is a hero of the court." Zhang Xiu stood up and stared at Cao Cao ashamedly, and Cao Cao also looked at him with a little bit of regret, and the two of them looked at each other for a while, but they were speechless for a while.There was a meeting like this in Wancheng three years ago, when Zhang Xiu also surrendered heartily, and Cao Cao was also tolerant.How could everything be ruined just because of a woman.However, as things changed, Cao Cao and Zhang Xiu made a big circle, and now they are back again.Zhang Xiu deeply regretted that she rebelled because of a moment of anger, killed Cao Ang, Cao Anmin, Dian Wei, struggled with Liu Biao for three years, and finally had to bow to him.Cao Cao also realized that he was irrational back then. He lost his troops and lost his generals three times, but now he still has to allow them to surrender if they want to come.After this lesson of grievances, each other has a little more thinking and a little more rationality.

As far as Cao Cao was concerned, Zhang Xiu's arrival was a great thing, even though he felt a little unhappy. First, the crisis in Nanyang was resolved, and second, he had another helper against Yuan Shao.His army strength is less than half of that of Yuan Shao, and even a few more soldiers would be wishful for him now.Zhang Xiu drew four thousand troops in one breath, and he himself was a rare general.Thinking of this, Cao Cao smiled a little, grabbed Zhang Xiu's hand, and let him sit with the chief. Zhang Xiu repeatedly pushed back, but Cao Cao refused, so he had to sit down on pins and needles, feeling more and more nervous, and suddenly saw Guo Jia pulling Jia Xu into the table, recalling that Jia Xu had told himself to ask Cao Cao to send the hostages, so that he could resolve rifts.Thinking of this, he hurriedly said: "Duke Ming, the last general's family is still in the army, isn't it..."

"Oh! You don't have to worry about it, the general, the old man has ordered someone to send food and drink." "Thank you very much." Zhang Xiu saw that he had misunderstood, and explained, "The last general will fight with Duke Ming in the future, and his family members, young and old..." Before he finished speaking, Cao Cao picked up the wine and said in a loud voice: "Everyone here, General Zhang led his troops from a long distance. Let's offer him a cup first, and comfort him for his tired saddle horse." They were all mobilized, and everyone stood up to toast one after another. Zhang Xiu hurriedly avoided the table and gave in, swallowing half of what he had said.

After being polite with everyone for a long time, Zhang Xiu returned to his seat and drank the wine, wiped the corners of his mouth with his sleeve, and wanted to bring up the hostage matter again.Unexpectedly, Cao Cao suddenly leaned into his ear and said in a low voice, "I heard that the general has a new daughter, is there such a thing?" Zhang Xiu blinked, not understanding what Cao Cao meant, and replied respectfully: "It is true, this girl is not yet one year old." "Very good, very good." Cao Cao stroked his beard and said, "My concubine Zhou gave birth to a son named Cao Jun, who is the same age as Ling Ai. If the general does not give up, can you match Ling Ai with my son so that you and I can live together? Is Jiayong married Qin and Jin?"

Zhang Xiu was dumbfounded, never expecting such a good thing.The two families originally had feuds against their sons, but now Cao Cao proposed to form a family. On the one hand, the old enmity has been wiped out, and Zhang Xiu no longer has to worry about it; The hostage issue is much stronger.What's more rare is that Mrs. Zhou was the servant girl of Zhang Xiu's aunt Wang in the past, and her name was actually Jin Lan. Her son Cao Jun married Zhang Xiu's daughter. How did you come up with it!Zhang Xiu was stunned for a moment, and quickly clasped his fists in agreement, smiling happily: "My daughter must be married to Duke Ming's son, I can't ask for it, I can't ask for it!" Cao Cao also laughed: "My son has to marry a tiger girl, and this old man is also very happy. Hahaha..." Speaking of this, Zhang Xiu had no choice but to be overwhelmed by Cao Cao's magnanimity, and sincerely sighed: "Ming Gong has a broad mind like a vast sea, and the general will be deeply grateful for his virtue, and he will be dedicated to repay it as a dog and a horse in the future!" "Cough..." Cao Cao pushed his hand away and picked up the wine cup again, "Since the general promised the marriage, we are in-laws. If a family doesn't talk about two families, it is only natural that we can help each other in the future. How can we talk about reciprocating?" .Come, come, you and I drink this wine and congratulate this marriage." After drinking a cup of wine, Zhang Xiu felt more at ease when his enemies became in-laws, and he couldn't help but cast a grateful look at Jia Xu—Uncle Jia didn't lie to me! Now that he felt at ease, his actions were no longer so restrained. In a few words, Zhang Xiu had already discussed with Cao Cao about confronting Yuan Shao.As soon as the rejection of Yuan Shao's envoy came out, Zhang Xiu had no possibility of going back on his word. In addition, he was married to Cao Cao at this moment, so he asked himself to be the front of the army, and was willing to lead 4,000 troops to station at Guandu to act as the vanguard against Yuan Shao.Cao Cao also graciously agreed, and the two of them got closer as they talked, and they had already left the Wancheng incident behind. After three rounds of wine, five flavors of food, musicians and kabukis came up to perform, officials and relatives frequently went to and fro to toast, Liangzhou generals laughed happily and immersed themselves in female music.When Cao Cao was chatting with Zhang Xiu about the dance in Liangzhou, he suddenly saw Shi Liudai, the governor of the residence, standing anxiously at the tent opening, as if he had something urgent to report, so he got up quickly and said, "I change clothes, General Zhang will wait for a while." He came together, and everyone present stood up with him, walked around the table and clasped their fists to salute.Cao Cao nodded his respects, and he was very proud to see Jia Xu standing aside respectfully.This man left a deep impression on Cao Cao - he was the chief culprit who encouraged Li Jue and Guo Si to cause trouble in Chang'an, but he helped a lot when the emperor returned to the east; , it is better to say that Jia Xu is good at planning; now that Zhang Xiu surrendered, it was this person who arranged it all by himself, and his skill of seeking advantages and avoiding disadvantages is really rare in the world. "Mr. Jia, it's been a good journey." Cao Cao smiled and walked up to him. Jia Xu said earnestly: "The person who committed the crime returned home after being pardoned. I feel both disturbed and happy." Cao Cao felt that this was really clever, so round that he couldn't feel the edges and corners, he rushed forward and grabbed his hand: "Are you a person who deserves a crime? You are the one who makes my faith more important than the world!" He knew Jia Xu was a smart person, so he spoke out.Jia Xu persuaded Zhang Xiu to surrender, and gave Cao Cao a chance to show the world that as long as he was willing to submit to the court, killing his son and enemy could be forgiven, let alone others.So Cao Cao said that Jia Xu made his faith more important than the world. Jia Xu heard that he had the intention of wooing him, so he quickly resigned: "Minggong don't want false awards, I really don't dare to do it. In the past, I used to follow Li Jue and Guo Si to offend the world; later, I was lucky to follow General Zhang Xiu, and I was kind to me. Today's discussion of surrender is not only for the imperial court's great plan, but also for General Zhang to find a way out." Jia Xu had already figured it out - because of Cao Cao's love for talents, he must try to win him over.But on the one hand, I have a stinking background of harming the country and the people, and on the other hand, I am not a person who started with Cao Cao. If I enter the shogunate, I will have suspicions. Hearing what he said, Cao Cao didn't want to force it. He thought about it: "Since you are here, sir, you must obey the imperial court's dispatch and appointment. I will first appoint you as the executive Jinwu, and first get to know the officials who are familiar with Xudu. Duty." Zhijinwu is an official position comparable to that of Jiuqing, responsible for the administration of the Imperial Army and the security of the capital and palace.Now that Cao Cao is in power, there is naturally no forbidden army to code, but the work of patrolling the palace three times a month and preventing fires is still retained.Whenever Zhijinwu patrols the city, he wears splendid clothes, holds a golden crow bird that symbolizes auspiciousness in his hand, and his subordinates ride two hundred tips in splendor, so Zhijinwu is also the most respectable official in Beijing.At that time, Emperor Guangwu Liu Xiu said, "Official officials should be regarded as the ruler of Jinwu, and wives should be regarded as Yinlihua".Cao Cao gave Jia Xu this beautiful job, and the meaning of winning over was self-evident.Jia Xu knew Cao Cao's intentions clearly, but replied cautiously: "I am hereby dispatched by the imperial court." Cao Cao couldn't help sneering when he heard that he only mentioned the imperial court—this guy is really slippery, but since he came to Xudu, I ordered you to serve with the army with the imperial edict, how could you not obey?Thinking of smiling slightly at this point, without saying anything else, he slowly walked out of the tent. Liu Dai has been waiting outside for a long time, Wang will accompany the officers to cross, and now he is responsible for any errands.Seeing Cao Cao and Jia Xu muttering for a long time before they came out, they didn't care about etiquette, so they threw their heads in front of his eyes: "My lord...something happened!" "Oh?" Cao Cao was excited, "Did Yuan Shao raise his troops?" "That's not..." Liu Dai looked troubled. "Say it!" Liu Dai knew very well that the matter was of great importance, and if he made a public announcement, it would cause panic, so he stretched his neck and leaned into Cao Cao's ear and whispered, "Liu Bei has turned his back." "What..." Cao Cao thought he heard it wrong. "Liu Bei killed Che Zhou, governor of Xuzhou, and occupied Xiapi to rebel!"