Chapter 278 Let's destroy Yuan Shao and make that paranoid man regret it forever! Cao Cao: Comparing yourself to others is really annoying!

"boom!"

A dull crashing sound came from under the city wall.

A strange look flashed in Zhang Liao's eyes, as if he had not expected that Chen Gong would dare to jump off the city wall and commit suicide.

He jumped off his horse, rushed forward a few steps, and looked down at the city, only to see that Chen Gong had been smashed to pieces.

Zhang Liao understood instantly.

Chen Gong surrendered to Cao Cao and then betrayed Cao Cao, surrendered to Lu Bu and then betrayed Lu Bu, and now he has defected to Yuan Shao. It can be said that he has changed his master twice.

In terms of reputation, Chen Gong was actually notorious and despised by people all over the world.

If he betrayed Yuan Shao again and joined Liu Bei, it would mean that he had changed his master for the third time.

As the saying goes, the victor makes the king, the loser makes the bandit. If Liu Bei had defeated Yuan Shao, the evaluation of Chen Gong in future history books would naturally be concealed.

But if Yuan Shao won and Liu Bei lost, his name Chen Gong would be nailed to the pillar of shame forever and be laughed at by all generations.

After weighing the pros and cons, Chen Gong chose to die for Yuan Shao, in order to gain the reputation of a loyal minister and to wash away the bad reputation of changing masters twice.

"Chen Gong, you have the courage to die for the reputation of a loyal minister. I, Zhang Liao, respect you for this courage."

"Unfortunately, I tell you, you chose the wrong person to die with."

"Just like you chose the wrong Cao Cao and the wrong Lu Bu, this time you chose Yuan Shao, you still chose the wrong lord!"

"The general has the assistance of a god like Xiao Junshi, who is destined by heaven. He will surely defeat Yuan and Cao, rebuild the Han Dynasty, and achieve the cause of Emperor Guangwu!"

"It is me, Zhang Liao, who will go down in history, but you, Chen Gong, are destined to be disgraced for all eternity!"

Zhang Liao spoke with confidence, his brows showing iron-like conviction.

Then he turned around with his sword in hand and shouted:
"Raise the general's flag on the east gate tower!"

"Go and report to the general immediately. Chen Gong has committed suicide out of fear of punishment. Xiaxiang City is now in the general's possession!"

A scout galloped away.

A flag with the word "Liu" on it was raised above the east gate tower.

And at this time.

Liu Bei and Xiao Fang rode their horses side by side into the city, climbed up the south gate tower, and overlooked the entire Xiaxiang City.

"Hao Meng opened the south gate as promised, but did not come to greet us in person. Military Advisor, why do you think that is?"

Although Liu Bei was delighted, he couldn't hide a bit of doubt on his face.

Xiao Fang's eyes turned slightly, and he gently waved his feather fan and said:
"Chen Gong is such a wise man, he can see that Hao Meng will not die for the Yuan family, and will definitely secretly surrender the city to the lord."

"Hao Meng will surrender, but Chen Gong will never surrender. He will certainly not sit still and wait for death, and he will definitely take action."

"In the worst case scenario, Hao Meng might already be dead."

As soon as Xiao Fang finished speaking, Jiang Qin hurriedly climbed up the city wall.

"My lord, we found Hao Meng's body in the county government. According to my interrogation of the captives, Chen Gong set an ambush in the county government before our army entered the city and killed Hao Meng!"

"Chen Gong has led hundreds of people to flee towards the east gate."

Liu Bei's heart trembled slightly, and he looked at Xiao Fang anxiously.

As expected, what he said came true. Hao Meng really met with an unexpected accident and died as a result of Chen Gong's plot.

"Hao Meng is the same as Lu Bu. They are both fickle. When Shouchun was in danger, he followed Chen Gong to betray Lu Bu, which is irrefutable proof."

"If such a person stays in our army, he will become a hidden danger sooner or later. Now that he has lost his life in a dog-eat-dog fight with Chen Gong, it has saved the lord a hidden danger."

Xiao Fang pointed out Hao Meng's dark history and naturally did not agree with his death.

Liu Bei seemed to understand something, but sighed:

"What the military advisor said makes sense, but Hao Meng did a great job in surrendering the city. It's a pity that he was killed by Chen Gong now."

"Send the order to bury him with honor."

Jiang Qin took the order and left.

As soon as he left, a flag with the word "Liu" on it was raised on the east gate tower.

The flags at all four gates have been changed, which means that Xiaxiang City has been completely captured.

Soon, Zhang Liao came rushing over, climbed up the city wall, and reported to Liu Bei that Chen Gong had committed suicide by jumping off the city wall.

"This Chen Gong would rather die than surrender to me?"

Liu Bei frowned, obviously surprised by Chen Gong's suicide.

Xiao Fang, however, looked normal and was not surprised at all.

You can't judge Chen Gong with common sense.

You say he values ​​his reputation, but he was able to do things like stabbing Cao Cao in the back and joining forces with a notorious lord like Lu Bu.

You say he was disloyal and unrighteous, but he followed Lu Bu to the end. After being captured, Cao Cao tried to persuade him to surrender several times, but he refused to yield.

But he was not absolutely loyal to Lu Bu. Historically, he once instigated Hao Meng to rebel in an attempt to seize Lu Bu's military power, but was ultimately defeated by Lu Bu.

Now there is his dark history of betraying Lu Bu in the Battle of Shouchun and joining forces with Hao Meng to join Yuan Shao.

Such a man who had changed masters twice, now at his wit's end, suddenly chose to die for Yuan Shao, hoping to gain a reputation as a loyal minister after his death.

Chen Gong's actions can be said to be completely illogical and cannot be judged by common sense.

Xiao Fang concluded that Chen Gong was a self-centered paranoid. "Chen Gong is a paranoid person. He only judges people based on his personal preferences and has no stance at all."

"Since he looked down on the lord in Shouchun, even if the lord has unified the country and achieved the great cause of rebuilding the Han Dynasty, he will still look down on the lord and will not submit to the lord."

"Such a paranoid person, since he is so obsessed with the idea that Yuan Shao can conquer the world and wants to die for Yuan Shao, let him do it."

"My Lord, what you need to do is to lead us to defeat Yuan Shao and accomplish great things, so that this paranoid man will beat his chest and stamp his feet in deep regret."

Xiao Fang smiled disapprovingly and tried to comfort him.

Old Liu suddenly came to his senses, and his frown relaxed immediately, feeling relieved.

"Military Advisor, your words make sense. As a man who has changed his master several times, he looks down on me, Liu Bei. I would rather not accept him as my own."

Liu Bei's face lit up with pride, and he waved his whip:
"Pass the order down. The army will rest for two days and then continue north to take Xia Pi!"

...

It’s late at night in Xudu.

The imperial chariot, symbolizing the emperor, took advantage of the cover of night and, escorted by teams of soldiers and horses, hurried out of Xu Du and headed west towards Luoyang.

Cao Cao stood on the city wall with a gloomy face. He looked down at the emperor's carriage driving away and couldn't help but let out a helpless sigh.

"Wen Ruo, I disappoint you. I still failed to defend Guandu and was defeated by Yuan Shao."

Cao Cao had a bitter look on his face, and there was a hint of shame in his eyes as he looked back at Xun Yu.

Xun Yu, however, looked calm and said calmly:

"Sikong is wrong. Yuan Shao is much stronger than us. It is a miracle that Sikong can hold on for so long under such a disadvantage."

"Although we have abandoned Xuchang and are following the emperor to move west to Chang'an, Sikong has managed to save most of the troops. This is already a great victory."

"As long as our troops are still there, we can rely on the fortification of Guanzhong to stop Yuan Shao's troops!"

"One day, Sikong will surely lead us to march to the Central Plains to fight Yuan Shao again and recover the lost territory!"

Xun Yu's seemingly plain words seemed to contain some kind of power, which inspired Cao Cao and gradually cheered up.

"Yuan Shao is old and powerful, and his two sons are competing for the throne, and his advisers and generals are fighting openly and secretly."

"Even if Yuan Shao conquered the provinces of Henan, it was only a superficial success. In reality, there were many internal conflicts and crises everywhere."

"Besides us retreating to Guanzhong, there is also Liu Bei in the south, occupying Jingyang and plotting to seize the Central Plains."

"Yuan Shao has already taken Xudu and Henan, and is already at the end of his rope. He will be powerless to conquer the rest of the world."

"The current situation in the world is likely to enter a three-way confrontation, which will give us a breathing space to manage Guanlong, accumulate strength, and plan for a resurgence."

"Jia also asks Sikong to cheer up and never get discouraged."

Guo Jia also gave some analysis and encouragement.

Cao Cao nodded repeatedly, his confidence rekindled, and he said proudly:

"If what you said makes sense, the main force of our Cao army is still there, I still have Guanzhong, I still have..."

Before Cao Cao could finish his heroic words, hurried footsteps were heard and Cheng Yu climbed up the city wall, panting, and interrupted him.

"Sikong, an urgent report just sent back from Xuzhou!"

"Liu Bei defeated 70,000 Yuan troops, killed Han Meng and Xin Ping, and then captured Xiaxiang and forced Chen Gong to death."

"Liu Bei is currently leading a large army northwards to capture Xia Pi!"

Cheng Yu presented the silk book in his hand.

Cao Cao's face suddenly changed, his pride turned into surprise, he quickly snatched the silk book, and hurriedly unfolded it to read it carefully.

The battle of Sishui and the battle of Xiaxiang, all the events were described clearly.

Cao Cao's expression changed from surprise to shock, and then from shock to a kind of jealousy.

Here he was overwhelmed by Yuan Shao and had to abandon Guandu and move the capital to Chang'an in disgrace. How embarrassing it was.

However, Liu Bei easily defeated Yuan Tan and won triumphs all the way, and he seemed to be able to seize Xuzhou from Yuan's family in one fell swoop.

We are all fighting against the Yuan family. Why is it that you, Liu Bei, are so prosperous while I am in such a mess?

Comparing yourself to others will only make you angry...

"If we hadn't confronted the main force of the Yuan family at Guandu, how could Liu Bei have easily defeated Yuan Tan and taken advantage of the situation to seize Xuzhou?"

"Liu Bei is just a fisherman who benefits from the situation. If he were to confront Yuan Shao head-on, the outcome would probably be similar to ours."

Xun Yu saw through Cao Cao's thoughts and tried to comfort Cao Cao in a roundabout way:
It’s not that Liu Bei is stronger than us, it’s that Yuan Tan is weaker than Yuan Shao, and Liu Bei just took advantage of him.

Cao Cao's expression improved, and he tore the silk book in his hand into pieces and threw it off the city wall.

"Liu Bei, you want to benefit from it, so I'll let you enjoy the glory for a while."

"When I retreat to Chang'an, I will let you face Yuan Shao's army. I want to see if you can still maintain your glory!"

Cao Cao looked towards Xuzhou with a sarcastic look, then snorted coldly and walked down the city with his sword in hand.

"Let's go to Chang'an!"

Tens of thousands of Cao's troops, escorting civil and military officials and countless family members, hurriedly left Xu Du and headed north.

As Cao Cao walked further away, he could not help but rein in his horse and stopped. He looked back at the Xuchang City, of which only its outline was left, with a hint of hatred and reluctance in his eyes.

"Xuchang, wait for me. I, Cao Cao, swear to heaven that I will come back one day..."

(End of this chapter)