Han officials

Chapter 270 People’s hearts are unpredictable
"At this juncture, it is of utmost importance to establish friendly relations with Ji County, and we must never become its enemy."

On the very day he received the battle report from Ji Province, Xun Yu rushed over and said:
"I've heard that you and General Zuo are old friends. Why not rekindle your old ties?"

Cheng Yu nodded in deep agreement upon hearing this.

In his view, although his family had previously belonged to Yuan Shao's camp and were enemies of Wei Zhe, the two families had not yet clashed.

Since the falling out between Yuan and Wei, Cao Cao's army has been mainly fighting against Wei Zhe's allies, such as Yuan Shu and Tao Qian.

Even the side that inflicted the greatest damage on Cao Cao's army came from the backstabbing of their own people.

However, it has both advantages and disadvantages.

Otherwise, Cao Cao would probably have joined forces with Zhou Ang to attack Zhong Hu, who was in Qingzhou, in this war between Yuan and Wei.

From this perspective, Yanzhou and Youzhou do still have room for maneuver.

However, Cheng Yu still felt a little regretful at this moment.

It is said that Cheng Yu's real name was "Cheng Li". However, because he often dreamed of climbing Mount Tai and holding the sun in his hands when he was young, Cheng Yu, who was somewhat superstitious, always felt that it was a miracle.

Later, when Cao Cao became the governor of Yan Province and learned of this, he said to Cheng Yu, "You will always be my trusted confidant."

Therefore, Cao Cao followed the omen in the dream and added the character "日" (sun) to the character "立" (stand), changing his name to "程昱" (Cheng Yu).

Cheng Yu believed that Cao Cao was the chosen one he had been waiting for, so he devoted himself to assisting him, even going so far as to turn his own hometown folks into dried meat to supply Cao Cao's army.

However, Cheng Yu recently heard a rumor from Qingzhou.

It is said that when Wei Zhe was still unknown, he wrote a poem to invite Xi Zhicai to come out of seclusion and assist him.

Poetry:

The snow weighs down the bamboo branches, yet they remain low and do not touch the mud.

The red sun rises in the morning, still reaching the same height as the clouds.

As expected, Wei Zhe indeed expanded the territory of the Han Dynasty and captured the rising Dongming Commandery.

If this rumor had come from an ordinary person, it wouldn't have been a big deal, but it just so happens to have originated from the Guan family of Qingzhou.

This greatly increases credibility.

When Cheng Yu learned of this, he couldn't help but hesitate for a moment.

Perhaps the omen of him dreaming of standing on Mount Tai with his hands holding the sun did not apply to Cao Cao.

After all, Cao Cao had no connection with Yuan Shao before he was appointed as the governor of Dongjun.

On the contrary, Wei Zhe killed Bu Si, a leader of the Yellow Turbans, in battle at Cangting, dozens of miles away from Dong'e County, during the Yellow Turban Rebellion.

If Cheng Yu had been as discerning as Xi Zhicai in recognizing talent back then, he might be the chief strategist of the Wei army today.

The more astonishing Wei Zhe's achievements became, the more Cheng Yu couldn't help but suspect.

After Yuan Shao's defeat and death, and Wei Zhe's complete control of Hebei, Cheng Yu became even more convinced of this conjecture.

Unfortunately, we missed each other because of a momentary lapse in judgment.

He had always longed for a wise ruler, unaware that wise rulers often rise from humble beginnings.

But it's too late to say anything now.

Cheng Yu was not a fickle person; even if Cao Cao was not as good as Wei Zhe, he would not betray him.

Seeing that Cao Cao still seemed hesitant, Cheng Yu immediately and solemnly advised him:

"Time waits for no one. If we cannot seize the Central Plains before the Wei family unifies Hebei, our army will be in grave danger."

"A true man knows when to yield and when to stand firm; why should you, my lord, care about temporary honor or disgrace!"

Seeing that his two strategists both said so, Cao Cao couldn't care less about his own awkwardness for the moment.

He immediately sighed helplessly:
"Very well, then I'll trouble Wenruo to make the trip."

As for the means of establishing good relations, they are nothing more than humble words and generous gifts, acknowledging submission and paying tribute.

Just use the same methods Cao Cao used to deal with Yuan Shao to deal with Wei Zhe.

However, Cao Cao is Cao Cao; when it comes to being ruthless, he can be more ruthless than anyone else.

He hesitated for a moment, then gritted his teeth and said:
"If Wei Gongwei is still dissatisfied, Wenruo can promise on my behalf that Zixiu be sent to Ji County as a hostage to appease him."

Upon hearing this, Cheng Yu couldn't help but show a look of surprise.

Although Cao Ang was born to his concubine Liu, his birth mother died early, so he was raised by his principal wife Ding.

Because she was unable to have children, Ding treated him like her own son, and the bond between them was very strong.

Therefore, Cao Ang can be considered Cao Cao's eldest son without a doubt, and an exceptionally outstanding one at that.

Sending Cao Ang to Ji County as a hostage was undoubtedly a gamble on the future of the Cao family.

Thinking of this, Cheng Yu couldn't help but open his mouth slightly, but in the end, he couldn't say anything.

After all, Yuan Shao only possessed Ji Province and yet he wanted Cao Cao to send a hostage to Ye City. Now, Wei Zhe's power far surpasses that of Yuan Shao back then, and ordinary conditions might not be enough to sway him.

Xun Yu had not expected Cao Cao to have such courage, and felt a great sense of responsibility. He secretly resolved that he would do his best to avoid the situation of sending hostages on this trip.

Regardless of what Xun Yu was planning.

After setting the tone for how to deal with the Wei army, the three immediately began discussing the subsequent arrangements. The battlefield in Yanzhou was originally a contest between Yuan Shu, Tao Qian, and Cao Cao.

However, due to Liu Bei's unexpected intervention, the other two families became supporting characters.

Tao Qian, in particular, simply withdrew his troops and returned home.

Even though Liu Bei had once been one of his generals, Tao Qian was not necessarily happy to see Liu Bei so successful.

Moreover, when Liu Bei led his army away from Xiaopei to take up his post in Yanzhou, he didn't even give him a heads-up.

Therefore, although Tao Qian had no good feelings towards Cao Cao, he was quite happy to see the two fight each other.

As for helping Liu Bei relieve some of his burden? Hmph, not a chance!

Yuan Shu in the south kept pestering Yan Province, but unfortunately he was too incompetent.

After Sun Jian's death, Yuan Shu seemed to have lost his will to fight; he appeared to have great power, but his actual combat strength was just so-so.

At first, taking advantage of Liu Bei's newly appointed governorship of Yan Province and his unstable foothold, Yuan Shu's army gained some advantage and captured several counties in Chenliu Commandery.

However, once Liu Bei had a general grasp of the situation, Yuan Shu was thoroughly defeated by Guan Yu and Zhang Fei with their troops.

It can be said that when Cao Cao was confined to three counties, he might not have been able to turn the tide if Yuan Shu had not constantly harassed him from the south.

Yuan Shu thought he was the one who would reap the benefits, but little did he know that in the eyes of Cao Cao and Liu Bei, he was just a troublemaker.

Now that Cao Cao has recaptured Yan Province, he will naturally not let Yuan Shu off the hook.

Furthermore, looking around Yanzhou, it seemed that only Yuzhou was the easiest to bully.

Seeing that Cao Cao still wanted to continue his military campaign, Xun Yu wanted to advise Cao Cao to rest for a while, but Cheng Yu felt that they had to seize every second.

Cheng Yu's expression turned solemn as he said:
"At present, the various parts of Ji Province have not yet fully submitted to the Wei family. If we do not take advantage of this opportunity to accumulate strength, we will regret it later."

Regarding the issue of food supplies, Cheng Yu stated that it was not a major problem.

His Dong'e fellow villagers are gone, but he still has many Dongjun fellow villagers.

Wild vegetables paired with local produce should be enough to sustain the army for a while longer.

Cao Cao found this reasonable and immediately ordered everyone to prepare for the campaign against Yuan Shu.

Seeing this, Xun Yu had no choice but to give up and then turned and left to prepare for his mission to Ji Province.

……

Meanwhile, in Xuzhou.

The atmosphere in the governor's mansion in Tancheng, Donghai Commandery, was also somber.

In the main hall, Mi Zhu reported with a furrowed brow:

"Yuan's army in Qingzhou has now suffered a great defeat. Zhong Hu, the governor of Qingzhou, has utterly defeated Zhou Ang's troops in Pingyuan County. Zhou Ang and Zhang He have been captured, and all of Yuan's troops under his command are now prisoners."

"A few days earlier, Ju Shou, the governor of Bohai, also instigated a powerful clan in Xiu County to rebel and break into the city at night. Guo Tu died in the chaos of the battle."

At this point, Mi Zhu couldn't help but sigh deeply, stroking the table:
"Although I don't know how the high-ranking officials who are holding Shangdang County are doing, I suppose they won't be able to hold out for long."

"It seems that... the matter of Ji Province is indeed settled!"

Upon hearing this, Tao Qian, who was sitting on the couch at the head of the table, felt a sudden pang of heart palpitation and chest tightness.

He didn't doubt the veracity of the news.

After all, the Mi family's caravans spanned multiple states and counties, making them one of the most well-informed families in Xuzhou.

Furthermore, after Tao Qian and Wei Zhe formed an alliance, the Mi family's business expanded to the two provinces of You and Qing.

Therefore, upon hearing Mi Zhu's statement, no one in the room doubted the veracity of the news, including Tao Qian.

His already pale face suddenly looked even more like that of an elderly man.

But Tao Qian is only sixty-two years old now, far from being as old as he looks.

However, on the other hand, let alone the old man Tao Qian, everyone in the hall right now is under immense pressure.
The Wei Zhe before he occupied Ji Province and the Wei Zhe after he took Ji Province were completely different concepts to them.

Not to mention that Qingzhou has now completely fallen into the hands of the Wei army, and they are now close neighbors with the Wei army.

Under these circumstances, no official in Xuzhou with a sound mind would think this was a good thing.

After a long silence, the still vigorous Wang Lang spoke:

"The proper etiquette must not be disregarded! My lord, please send someone to offer your congratulations!"

They are still allies, so basic courtesy is still necessary.

Upon hearing Wang Lang's words, Tao Qian, though feeling resentful, still nodded.

Just like Cao Cao, Tao Qian couldn't help but secretly complain about Yuan Shao's incompetence.

Because no one south of the Yellow River wants to see a hegemon emerge from Hebei.

Tao Qian originally thought that even if Yuan Shao could not defeat Wei Zhe, he could at least share Hebei with him, but he did not expect that this guy was so useless, a complete hypocrite.

But it's no use saying anything now.

How to deal with Wei Zhe, the overlord of Hebei, has become the most pressing issue for the forces surrounding Wei's army...

(End of this chapter)