Chapter 267 You are worthy
Zhang Liao was a man of decisive action. After all his actions were endorsed by the emperor, he returned to the military camp and immediately arrested a large number of military officers on the grounds of discussing military affairs in a irresponsible manner.

When military officers were arrested, ordinary soldiers became a mess.

They may even worry about being implicated.

Without stopping, Zhang Liao led his troops to evacuate that night.

After dawn, Zhang Liao's farewell letter was delivered to Cao Cao.

Cao Cao looked gloomy at this moment. Looking at Zhang Liao's reasons in the letter, he couldn't help but sigh.

Zhang Liao's family lives in Yanmen. When his family is under threat, what good choices does Zhang Liao have?

Zhang Liao could only guarantee to serve the north in the future and not to fight against Cao Gong.

"Wenyuan is being forced to leave me because of the little thief."

Cao Cao placed the letter on the table and looked around. Two Yanzhou prefects had died in the battle, and the tall figure of Yanzhou Governor Cheng Yu now looked a little hunched and bent.

The 3,000 Jiyin soldiers he recruited, incorporated refugees, reorganized bandits, and carefully trained were almost wiped out.

Even if he hadn't died, he would have been captured by the Hebei soldiers.

This was Cheng Yu's personal troop that he had spent a lot of effort to train. It was almost all his worth, but it was wiped out in one battle and all his money was lost.

For the favors owed to the training troops...I will have to continue to repay them in the future.

Not only Cheng Yu, Cao Ren also looked a little discouraged. Zhang Xiu, who was sitting next to Cao Ren, also lowered his head.

Only Le Jin and the newly arrived Li Dian had stable morale and sat at the last seat.

Le Jin was only a captain, but he was trusted and valued by Cao Cao, and his actual power was even greater than that of all the surrendered generals.

Because surrendered generals were recruited with high positions and generous salaries, they were generally given the title of general.

But his actual status is not good. For example, Cao Ren has been supervising the army as a counselor in these years.

Neither a colonel nor a general, Cao Ren was just a military commander whose powers were vague but enough to hold the fort.

There are also Yu Jin and Li Dian, who are only lieutenant generals and deputy generals, without formal titles of generals, but this is enough.

Li Tong brought his own troops to respond to Cao Cao. In the second year of Jian'an, he sent nearly 10,000 young and strong men from the countryside to recruit Cao Cao... Naturally, these people became scholars.

During the Guandu period, Li Tong resisted Yuan Shao's attempts to win him over, and now he is only a general and Marquis of Duting, and he briefly served as the governor of Runan County.

There was silence in the big tent for a moment, and Le Jin angrily replied: "Mingsir, how can you indulge Zhang Wenyuan?"

Zhang Xiu also expressed his opinion: "Now that the enemy army has escaped, you must gather a large army to pursue them. If you let Zhang Wenyuan escape, the morale of the frontline troops will be disrupted. I am willing to lead my troops to stop Zhang Wenyuan and wait for you to deal with him."

Upon hearing this, Cao Cao glanced at Zhang Xiu. Zhang Xiu was in a trance and suddenly became frightened. He bowed his head and said nothing, with sweat on his forehead.

Cao Cao retracted his gaze and spoke in a gentle tone: "Wenyuan did have the merit of killing Yan Liang and subduing Chang Xi, and he has never failed me. He was coerced by the enemy and had no choice. Why should I harm him?"

Cao Ren cupped his hands and said, "If this is the case, it may be difficult to carry out the attack on Yecheng."

In terms of the number and quality of troops, Cao's army still has an advantage in field battles.

With the defense in place, it would be difficult for Yuan's army to achieve a surprise attack using this tactic again.

"Since it is difficult to implement, then withdraw the troops and send the officials back to their hometowns to farm."

Cao Cao smiled and said, "But we can't let him off easily."

The others looked at each other, and Cao Cao just smiled without explaining anything.

After the military meeting, Cao Cao rode out of the camp and galloped to relax.

Guo Jia was traveling with him, standing on the edge with the other riders, all of whom were whispering about their views on the war.

Objectively speaking, Cao's army was still able to crush Yuan's army, and still had the combat capability to cause large-scale destruction of spring farming in Hebei.

But we cannot just consider the Hebei battlefield, we have to consider Liu Bei and Black Bear.

If they were really caught by Yuan’s army and their main force was tied up in Hebei... If Liu Bei sent troops to attack Xu Du, could Xiahou Yuan, Man Chong and Cao Hong in the Central Plains stop them?
Therefore, Cao Cao did not want to besiege Yecheng and divided his troops to disrupt the spring plowing in Hebei.

But Cao's army has so many people, and they still refuse to withdraw after suffering such a huge loss. What is their purpose?
They don't care whether they can disrupt the spring ploughing in Hebei. What they care about and what they pursue is to loot and rob all kinds of property in the process of disrupting the spring ploughing!
Cao Cao could not go against the will of the army and could only follow the common will of the army.

But now Zhang Liao wants to run away. Zhang Liao's reputation and strength are enough to calm the middle and low-level officials.

Zhang Liao provided a very legitimate and reasonable reason for withdrawing his troops.

Cao rode his horse at a gallop, and when he returned he felt much better, with the horse under him panting.

His guards came forward to lead the horse, Cao Cao dismounted and said to Guo Jia who came up to him, "Who is suitable to guard the rear?"

The troops must be withdrawn as soon as possible. If we delay for another ten days, the ice on the Yellow River will pile up, making it difficult to withdraw or to send more troops.

Guo Jia thought about it and said, "I think the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry can have their first battle."

Seeing Cao Cao looking at him, Guo Jia said: "The army should withdraw in an orderly manner, and we can divide our troops to plunder the counties of Neihuang. Hebei has won a small victory and its morale is high. When they send out troops to pursue, the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry will ambush them on the side, and we will surely defeat the enemy in one battle."

"feasible."

Cao Cao thought for a moment and agreed, and then said, "The court is under attack from three sides. Liu Xuande will certainly send troops to fight. His small number of soldiers and food is not a concern. What I am worried about is Jingzhou. I need someone to go to Jiangdong to force Sun Quan to attack Jiangxia immediately and share the pressure on Jingzhou for me."

Guo Jia thought about it and said, "Join the army, Hua Xin, is qualified for the job."

Cao Cao turned to look at Hua Xin in the group of followers. Hua Xin also took the initiative to step forward and heard Cao Cao ask: "Zi Yu, I want to send Jiangdong to attack Huang Zu. Are you willing to go to Jiangdong as an envoy?"

Hua Xin thought for a moment, then bowed and said, "My lord, I'm afraid Sun Quan cannot be moved by words or righteousness. I think Sun Quan has long wanted to attack Jiangxia. But now the bandits are rampant and the royal army has suffered a small setback. Sun Quan will definitely use this to threaten the court."

Cao Cao remained silent. This is the disadvantage of losing a war. Anyone will come out to negotiate with you.

If it hadn't been for this small defeat, and someone had been sent to urge the fight, Sun Quan would have rushed forward in desperation, having grasped the righteousness of starting a war.

Guo Jia asked: "Brother Ziyu, what does Sun Quan want?" "Nothing more than the governor of Yangzhou."

Hua Xin spoke calmly, as if he saw through Sun Quan: "When Envoy Liu governed Huainan, many people in Jianghuai were loyal to him. The people from Danyang also crossed the river and joined Envoy Liu. The reason why Envoy Liu can be so powerful today is that he is virtuous and loves the people. Secondly, he is responsible for the righteousness of the court, and the officials and people of Huaiyang are eager to join him."

Guo Jia nodded slowly and asked, "From what Brother Ziyu said, it seems that Sun Quan has the ambition to inherit the greatness of his father and brother?"

“This is what should happen.”

Hua Xin looked at Cao Cao again: "With Sun Quan's means, seeing the court's current predicament and the lesson of the Black Sima, if he is not given the post of governor of Yangzhou, he may reduce the troops from the upper reaches and let Jingzhou go."

Cao Cao couldn't help laughing now: "What a good son of Sun Wentai."

Should Yangzhou Mu be given it?

Absolutely not!
Being forced by Black Bear to be given the titles of Grand Marshal and Marquis of Liang had already touched the bottom line; if Liu Fu were to be stripped of his title of Governor of Yangzhou now, the people of Huainan would immediately support Liu Fu and confront the court.

Liu Fu was a well-known virtuous member of the royal family. If the court in Xudu could not tolerate even such a person, the credibility of the court would be further weakened.

Cao Cao also understood the meaning of Hua Xin's words. It was clear that he was dissatisfied with the court giving the titles of Grand Marshal and Marquis of Liang to Black Bear.

This matter also gave Cao Cao a headache and depression. Just talk about the old ministers of the Han Dynasty... How to say it, almost anyone who opposed him, Cao Cao, could be certified as an old minister of the Han Dynasty.

But the fight between these guys was also fierce.

Some officials supported appointing Hei Xiong as Grand Marshal, but some opposed it.

Those who supported it were mainly from Xizhou; those who opposed it were naturally mainly from Guandong.

The meaning of Hua Xin's words was very simple. The official title given to Hei Xiong was too generous, which aroused Sun Quan's ambition.

Cao Cao laughed and said coldly, "How dare you compare yourself to the black thief! I will trouble Ziyu to return to Jiangdong and convey the imperial edict. It is up to Sun Quan to obey or not. If he really wants to be the governor of Yangzhou, it will not be too late after he defeats Huainan."

"Yes, I accept your order."

Hua Xin bowed and left. Guo Jia stepped forward and advised: "My Lord, don't be angry. In my opinion, Sun Quan is a man who likes practical benefits and is not burdened by false reputation. This time Hua Ziyu's mission to Jiangdong will surely be effective."

"Feng Xiao doesn't have to be like this."

Cao Cao was relaxed and said sarcastically: "If the skin is gone, where will the hair be attached? Without me, how can he sit and rule the counties of Jiangdong?"

"Yes, what you said is absolutely right. When Hua Ziyu arrives in Jiangdong, he will surely be able to lobby successfully and make this happen."

Guo Jia originally wanted to use the phrase "lips and teeth are interdependent" to describe their relationship, but he felt that Sun Quan was not worthy of the title.

If we really use this allusion to narrate the story, wouldn't it be defining Sun Quan as a peer of Cao Gong?

Cao Cao still didn't seem to care, so Guo Jia knew what to do and stopped trying to persuade him.

Just as Guo Jia was about to take a few steps back, Cao Cao suddenly spoke up: "I know Sun Ben, and our two families have already formed a marriage. Now Sun Ben has only this one daughter, and she will marry my son soon. I want to recruit Sun Ben to the court. What do you think, Feng Xiao?"

Sun Ben's younger brother Sun Fu, who was raised by Sun Quan, had been imprisoned and died, and Sun Fu's close followers were all eliminated by Sun Quan.

For the lineage of Sun Ben and Sun Fu, Sun Ben currently has only one daughter, and although Sun Fu is young, he got married early before leading the army, so he has many offspring.

If Sun Ben agreed to join the army, he would definitely bring his nephews along.

The troops of the brothers Sun Ben and Sun Fu together must have more than 5,000 households.

Since you, Sun Quan, cannot tolerate Sun Fu, then move everyone to Xu Du.

He had been able to endure and restrain himself before. After all, Sun Fu was already dead, and there was no need to turn against Sun Quan over such a small matter.

People like Hua Xin would not talk nonsense, which also fits the image of Sun Quan in Cao Cao's mind.

Anyway, no matter how crazy you, Sun Quan, are, it is impossible for you to unite with Jingzhou and attack Xu Huai, right?

Sun Quan was a man who had no other choice, especially when Huang Zu was still alive and living above Sun Quan's head.

There is no need to worry about Sun Quan turning against him. Now in the Huaiyang region, it is the Yangzhou Governor Liu Fu, not Sun Quan, who is maintaining rapid development.

Sun Quan couldn’t even defeat Liu Fu, so how could he have the nerve to ask for the position of Governor of Yangzhou?

Cao Cao thought about it and continued to say to Guo Jia: "I would like to recruit Sun Ben as the Minister of the Imperial Household and ask Feng Xiao to cross the river first. I must make this happen."

"Yes, I accept your order."

Guo Jia said little, but just bowed solemnly.

This small defeat in Liyang has already revealed some negative influences.

Although Sun Quan did not know about the defeat at Liyang at this time, Hua Xin and Cao Cao made the same conclusion.

So before Sun Quan turns against us, we must send an envoy as quickly as possible to persuade Sun Ben to rebel!

Sun Ben entered the court as Shaofu and served as one of the Nine Ministers, and he could find ways to pave the way for other members of the Sun family.

Because Sun Ce was too generous, all the descendants of the Sun family were given armies.

These people have entered the court one after another. Without the support of their clans, how can you, Sun Quan, govern and unify Jiangdong?
If you remove the fuel from under the cauldron, I won't be happy, and neither will you.

Anyway, the Jingzhou army will go down the Yangtze River to attack and destroy Jiangdong. Given the terrain of Jiangdong and Lianghuai, what kind of decent threat can they pose?

Therefore, for Jiangdong, which was unwilling to take the initiative to attack and share the pressure with the Central Plains court, there was no essential difference between its existence and its demise.

In this case, there is no need to suffer for nothing.

It doesn't matter if you are angry with the black bear. The other party has special skills and is also managing the foundation to develop the people's strength. He plays with you in the way you are familiar with. There is really nothing to resent.

As for Yuan Shang, he showed courage in the battle of Liyang, which made Cao Cao feel more or less relieved.

But you, Sun Quan, why?
(End of this chapter)