Late Han Zhao Tang

Chapter 289 Cao would rather be Tian Heng than Han Peng!
In August, while Zhang Yu was pacifying the Xiongnu, Wuhuan and Xianbei in Yanmen, Dingxiang and Dai counties, the situation in the world became increasingly complicated.

After Zhang Yu left Youzhou, Qu Yi and Gongsun Zan joined forces and attacked Youzhou with Xianyu Fu and Qi Zhou. They each had their share of victories and defeats, and each withdrew their troops due to lack of food and fodder. The people of Youzhou scattered and fled, and the state was no longer as it was under Liu Yu's rule.

In the Yanzhou area, after Cao Cao returned his troops to Dongjun, he fought with Lu Bu in Puyang. During the stalemate, there was first a severe drought and no food, and then locusts passed through the area. At that time, there was a great famine in Yanzhou and people ate each other.

When there was a great famine in Yanzhou, both armies had no food. Because all the cities in Yanzhou had rebelled, Cao Cao had no food to eat, so the ruthless Cheng Yu made meat jerky to help Cao Cao's army. Compared with the miserable Cao Cao, Lu Bu was much luckier. He had the supplies from the three princes Yuan Shu, Zhang Miao and Zhang Yu, and was still able to fight Cao Cao.

The two armies confronted each other for more than a hundred days under difficult circumstances, and finally Cao Cao withdrew because he ran out of meat. Lu Bu led his troops to station in Shanyang, and Cao Cao returned to Zhencheng.

After Cao Cao returned to Zhencheng, Yuan Shao, who had been watching the battle for most of the day, finally took action. His first thing was not to send troops, but to send an envoy to pay a visit to Cao Cao.

Zhencheng, mansion.

Cao Cao looked haggard and depressed, no longer as proud as when he first came to Yanzhou. Xun Chen, an old acquaintance of Zhang Yu, was sent by Yuan Shao as an envoy to Cao Cao.

"I am here on the orders of the Governor of Jizhou to pay a visit to the Governor of Yanzhou!" Xun Chen said.

"If you don't want to embarrass me, I won't dare to claim to be the governor of Yanzhou!"

Cao Cao shook his head and smiled bitterly, saying, "The governor of Jizhou has just arrived in Qingzhou, and I have not yet sent an envoy to congratulate him. I wonder how the governor of Jizhou is doing now?"

Xun Chen, who was sitting at the side table, said, "The governor of Jizhou has conquered Bohai and sent troops to Youzhou with Gongsun Zan as his general. The situation is very favorable, except for Zhang Yu. Now I know that you have just lost Yanzhou and your troops are in trouble, so I specially sent Chen as an envoy to visit you."

Cao Cao looked at Xun Chen expectantly and asked, "The governor of Jizhou ordered Youruo to come here. Does he want to send troops and food to rescue me?"

Xun Chen nodded and smiled, saying, "My Lord, remembering our friendship since childhood and our shared desire to defeat the traitor Dong, I am willing to send troops and food to rescue Yanzhou, but I have one request, and I hope you can agree to it!"

"What's the matter?"

Xun Chen stroked his beard and smiled, saying, "Your Excellency is concerned that you have just lost Yanzhou, are short of food and grass, and your troops are exhausted and have nowhere to stay, so I want to make peace with you. If you can move your family to Xindu and accept your command to lead the troops, you will order Chunyu Qiong to lead the troops to transport food south."

Hearing this, Cao Cao was stunned. He opened his mouth but didn't know what to say.

He became the governor of Yanzhou purely because of the change in the situation. Liu Dai was killed by the Yellow Turbans, and Chen Gong and Bao Xin welcomed him as the governor of Yanzhou. After he became the governor of Yanzhou, his mentality was quite inflated. He used his troops to fight east and west, showing off his power for a while. As for spying on the artifact, Cao Cao did not dare to have any idea for the time being.

Now that Yanzhou has been captured by Lu Bu, Cao Cao has fallen from heaven to earth. His mentality no longer dares to be arrogant, but is full of pessimism. He doesn't know what his future holds!
When Yuan Shao sent Xun Chen to recruit him, Cao Cao was already tempted. After all, at the end of the Han Dynasty, he had worked with Yuan Shao to fight against the enemy, and even after Yuan Shao became the governor of Jizhou, he was ordered to fight for Yuan Shao. If he surrendered to Yuan Shao now, it would just be a return to the old ways.

"Fighting for hegemony over the world is beyond my capability!" Cao Cao thought sadly.

Seeing Cao Cao was silent, Xun Chen took the opportunity to persuade him, "Your Excellency and I have been good friends since we were young. If we can work together now, there is no need to worry about the unrest in the world. Your Excellency will lead the army in the front, and you will transport food in the back. You will surely capture Lu Bu, and you will also defeat Zhang Yu."

"You Ruo's words make sense!"

Cao Cao looked depressed and said, "Let me think about it and I will reply soon!"

"promise!"

Seeing that Cao Cao needed time to digest, Xun Chen did not continue to persuade him, but bowed and bowed, preparing to go find Xun Yu. When Xun Chen walked out of the hall, Cao Cao leaned on the couch, pressing his temple with his hand, hesitating whether to join Yuan Shao.

After a while, when Cao Cao closed his eyes to rest, he heard hurried footsteps.

Cao Cao thought it was Xun Chen, so he closed his eyes and said, "Let me think about the matter of joining Benchu, don't be anxious!"

"what!"

Cheng Yu was shocked and asked, "Your Excellency, do you want to work for Yuan Shao?"

Hearing Cheng Yu's voice, Cao Cao opened his eyes and said tiredly, "Yuan Shao sent Xun Chen as an envoy, saying that I had just lost Yanzhou and urged me to lead my troops to join Yuan Shao and move my family to Xindu. I am now willing to do so."

Hearing this, Cheng Yu couldn't help but stamp his feet and sigh, feeling disappointed.

He was optimistic about Cao Cao and was recruited by him as an official. He worked hard for him and spent a lot of money and time. When Lu Bu attacked Yanzhou, he still believed that Cao Cao would succeed, so he defended the city and refused to surrender. When Cao Cao was short of food and grass, he made meat jerky with the corpses of his fellow villagers so that Cao Cao could continue to fight Lu Bu.

If Cao Cao really surrendered to Yuan Shao, wouldn't all his efforts for Cao Cao be in vain? Moreover, how could Yuan Shao dare to employ him when he had a reputation for making meat jerky with his fellow villagers? It's not an exaggeration to say that his reputation was already gone!
Cheng Yu was unwilling to accept this, so he gritted his teeth and said, "Sir, please forgive me for asking. Tian Heng was a noble family of Qi. His three brothers were all kings, covering a thousand miles of territory and counties, with millions of people, and they were kings facing south with Emperor Gaozu and Xiang Yu. Later, Emperor Gaozu won the world, and Tian Heng became a surrendered person. Is Tian Heng willing to be a minister of Han?"

"How can I accept this?"

Cao Cao gradually understood what Cheng Yu meant and said, "Tian Heng was unwilling to be a minister of the Han Dynasty. He died with his 300 warriors and finally presented his head to Emperor Gaozu. This is the bravery of a real man!"

Seeing that Cao Cao still had the ambition to fight, Cheng Yu emphasized, "I have no great wisdom and do not know the big picture. But now I think your ambition is not as good as Tian Heng. Tian Heng was a brave man from Qi. He was once a noble, but he was ashamed to be a minister of Emperor Gaozu."

"Now you want to send your family to Xindu to serve Yuan Shao. Yuan Shao's military achievements are not as good as those of Emperor Gaozu and Emperor Shizu, but you are as smart and brave as Tian Heng. Tian Heng was ashamed to be Emperor Gaozu's minister, but you are willing to serve Yuan Shao. I feel deeply ashamed for you!"

Cao Cao sighed when he heard this and said, "Yanzhou has been lost, Lü Bu is the vanguard, Zhang Yu and Yuan Shu both want to intervene, and Yuan Shao has sent troops to occupy Jibei. I have no way to leave. It's not that I want to serve Yuan Shao, but I am in trouble now!"

Seeing Cao Cao retreating in fear of difficulties, Cheng Yu advised: "I think you are afraid of the situation, so you can't think deeply about the pros and cons. Yuan Shao occupies the land of Yan and Zhao, and has the ambition to swallow up the world, but his wisdom is not enough to help him, so although he has gained a small advantage, he is also controlled by Zhang Yu."

"Zhang Yu occupies the land of Qin and Jin, and has the best geographical and natural advantages. Yuan Shao still cannot claim victory. How can you lead your troops to surrender to Yuan? Are you a pawn of Yuan and Zhang?"

"Moreover, Yuan Shao is resourceful but indecisive, and his mind is not as broad as Emperor Gaozu's. You are a powerful person, like Han Xin and Peng Yue. They surrendered to Emperor Gaozu, and their wives and children could not protect themselves. You don't want to repeat the same mistake!"

Cheng Yu spoke in a passionate tone and with an excited look on his face. He said, "Although Yanzhou is now in ruins, it still has three cities. There are no less than 10,000 soldiers who can fight. With your divine power, the strength of Yu and Wen Ruo, we can conquer the lost land and recruit soldiers. There is still hope to regain control of Yanzhou. I hope you will consider it carefully and don't give up!"

Cao Cao's mind suddenly became clear. He stood up from the couch and paced back and forth, clenching his fists. The answer gradually came to his mind.

As Cheng Yu said, Yuan Shao was not Emperor Gaozu. He was more talented than Tian Heng. How could he be inferior to Tian Heng?

It is humiliating for a man to live a glorious life but to be controlled by others and be ordered around by them!

Even Han Xin and Peng Yue, who were great heroes, could not escape the fate of being killed and their clans exterminated. If he worked for Yuan Shao, his fate would not be any better than that of Han Xin and Peng Yue. It can even be said that Yuan Shao might not be Zhang Yu's opponent!
"Zhongde's words inspire people. Cao would rather be Tian Heng than Han or Peng!"

(End of this chapter)