Han officials

Chapter 281 Lingering Poison
We will definitely fight Cao Cao!

But how to fight is a question worth considering!

After expressing his stance before Tao Qian's spirit tablet, Wei Zhe summoned Xi Zhicai and others to discuss the matter.

At the very beginning of the meeting, Wei Zhe set the tone:
"Although we have the military tally, it's best not to use it in this battle if we can avoid it."

After Tao Qian abdicated, the administrative and military power of Xuzhou theoretically fell into the hands of Wei Zhe.

For example, the seal and military tally of the governor of Xuzhou were handed to him by Tao Qian in full view of everyone.

The local governors and military officers of Xuzhou all acknowledged this on the spot.

However, acknowledging Tao Qian's orders is one thing, while obeying Wei Zhe's orders is another.

Strictly speaking, he had been in office as the governor of Xuzhou for less than a day.

Everything has not yet been sorted out, so it is inevitable that the subordinates will outwardly comply but inwardly resist.

After all, soldiers are not cold, hard data, but human beings with flesh and blood.

As long as one is human, one cannot escape human nature.

Wei Zhe was prepared for this situation.

He was, after all, an outsider, and it would take time for the soldiers and civilians of Xuzhou to accept him.

Wei Zhe was confident and firmly believed that he could win the hearts of the people of Xuzhou.

But the problem remains the same—it takes time!
From this perspective, Cao Cao's sudden invasion of Xuzhou was indeed a well-timed event.

Xi Zhicai was naturally aware of the current situation.

However, after hearing Wei Zhe's words, he still couldn't help but say regretfully, "Isn't that unnecessary?"

Upon hearing this, Wei Zhe decisively replied without hesitation:
"If the morale of the troops is unstable, and the superiors do not know the subordinates, and the subordinates do not know the superiors, how can we fight?"

Xuzhou is not Qingzhou, and Wei Zhe is not Tao Qian, who has been operating in Xuzhou for a long time.

In this situation, let alone Wei Zhe being a General of the Cavalry, even the emperor's order might not be effective.

Of course, he could have issued a military order, but the effect would have been uncertain.

Anyone who has led troops and fought in battles knows that military orders are not system commands.

No matter how ingenious the general's plans are in the command tent, if the troops below do not execute them properly, it is all in vain.

Sometimes, the more you do, the more mistakes you make, which can have the opposite effect.

For example, this was the situation Liu Bei encountered when he took over Xuzhou according to Tao Qian's dying wish in the original history.

At that time, Xuzhou seemed to have a large number of troops, but Liu Bei could only effectively command his own troops.

This is the main reason why Liu Bei, despite being the governor of Xuzhou, was ultimately usurped by the guest general Lü Bu.

Later generations believed this to be a war between Liu Bei, the top official of Xuzhou, and Lü Bu, an outsider.

In reality, it was just a battle between two guest generals, who were both leading their own troops.

Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei were no match for Lü Bu, so they lost Xuzhou. It's that simple.

Tsk tsk, so Wei Zhe's current situation is quite similar to Liu Bei's back then.

Fortunately, Wei Zhe had much more resources than Liu Bei.

After thinking for a moment, Xi Zhicai suggested:
"In that case, why not have the local troops of Xuzhou defend the city while our army looks for opportunities to fight elsewhere?"

Upon hearing this, Wei Zhe thought for a moment and immediately nodded in agreement:

"Playing to your strengths and avoiding your weaknesses is indeed a good idea, let's do it that way!"

Let the Xuzhou soldiers be responsible for guarding the homeland, and let the Wei soldiers be responsible for field battles, so that each can do their job well.

Once this strategic tone was set, the subsequent arrangements were quickly finalized.

However, a moment later, when Wei Zhe summoned Zang Ba and other generals from Xuzhou to inform them of the matter, an unexpected incident occurred.

Zang Ba, Sun Guan, and other guest generals from Mount Tai had no objections; they were eager to fight a defensive battle.

After all, this was how they were when Tao Qian was in power; they were in a semi-independent position.

However, Cao Bao, a general in Tao Qian's personal guard, was quite dissatisfied and said, "Why does the general look down on us?"

Cao Bao wasn't dissatisfied with Wei Zhe, but rather with the arrangement itself.

Cao Bao, with his bushy beard and bronze skin, patted his chest and said boldly:
"Although I am not talented, every one of my men has fought his way through mountains of corpses and seas of blood."

"Now that Cao Cao has invaded, how can we, the soldiers of Xuzhou, cower in the city and watch our general fight outside?"

Upon hearing this, Wei Zhe was immediately pleased rather than angry.

He liked this kind of straightforward general the most, and immediately laughed heartily:
"You're right, it was indeed my oversight. Then Zixu, come with me into battle!"

"Thank you, General!" Upon hearing Wei Zhe's words, Cao Bao grinned happily.

While Zang Ba, Sun Guan, and the others outwardly praised Cao Bao's bravery with smiles, they couldn't help but sneer inwardly, mocking the man for being brainless.

……

Not to mention how many factions were formed within the Xuzhou army.

After the military meeting concluded, Wei Zhe quickly began to take action.

Since all five commanderies and kingdoms of Xuzhou, except for Xiapi, have now accepted his rule, he is now fighting on his home turf, and logistics are not a concern for the time being.

With supplies secured, troops in various regions breathed a sigh of relief upon receiving orders to defend their respective territories.

To be honest, they were genuinely worried that Wei Zhe would use the Xuzhou army as cannon fodder to die, so that he could arrange for his own people to die.

Now, Wei Zhe has ordered these troops from various prefectures and Xuzhou to remain stationary, each guarding their own territory and performing their duties. This is already the best possible situation for them.

Only Cao Bao, excitedly leading Wei Zhe and his group, entered the East City camp.

As Tao Qian's most trusted confidant, Cao Bao naturally led Tao Qian's personal guard.

The number of people is small, only five thousand, but their elite status is second to none.

At least within Xuzhou, Cao Bao's elite Danyang troops were undoubtedly top-tier combat power.

After the brief military parade, even Wei Zhe couldn't help but nod in approval.

Upon returning to the command tent, he couldn't help but show an approving expression:

"I knew that Danyang Mountain was dangerous and the people were brave and strong, but I never expected them to be so fierce and brave. They are truly extraordinary."

Upon hearing this, all the military officers, from Cao Bao down, couldn't help but blush with pride.

After all, given Wei Zhe's current achievements and status, a single word of praise from him is a significant honor for these soldiers, enough to warrant a mention in the history books.

However, Wei Zhe immediately changed the subject and looked at Cao Bao, asking:

"How many Danyang soldiers are there in Xuzhou now? How do the fighting strengths of the other tribes compare to yours?"

Knowing yourself and your enemy is the key to victory in every battle; this can be considered as him assessing the Xuzhou army.

Upon hearing this, Cao Bao made no attempt to conceal anything. After pondering for a moment with a worried expression, he simply replied:
"Before you entered Xu, you sent me back to my hometown to recruit young men. Later, after the Yellow Turban Rebellion was quelled, you sent people back several times. In total... I recruited about 30,000 people." However, Cao Bao added with considerable pride:
"However, there are also differences in the quality of the Danyang soldiers. The other tribes are definitely not as good as us in terms of combat strength."

Upon hearing this, Wei Zhe nodded slightly.

If that's the case, then some things make sense.

No wonder Liu Bei received 4,000 Danyang soldiers from Tao Qian when he entered Xu in the original history; he actually had as many as 30,000 men.

In other words, Tao Qian was originally from a powerful family in Danyang; otherwise, someone else might not have had this kind of influence.

However, judging from the performance of Cao Bao and others, Danyang truly deserves to be called a place of elite troops.

It's important to understand that even in modern society, there are still regions known for their high-quality military personnel.

This is not superstition, but rather top-notch science.

For example, in later generations of the Chinese army, soldiers from Yunnan, Guizhou and Sichuan were quite popular among some generals.

At present, Danyang County is recognized throughout the world as a top source of soldiers.

Because of the mountainous terrain, the martial spirit of the people, and the extremely harsh natural environment.

In this situation, the local people had no choice but to fight against various forces in order to survive.

For example, corrupt officials, and the Yue barbarians!
Thanks to the novel "Romance of the Three Kingdoms", many fans of the Three Kingdoms period are familiar with the Yue people.

However, many people may not be clear about the specific distribution range of the Yue people.

In fact, during the Han Dynasty, most of the Yue tribes were distributed in the mountainous areas of Danyang and Kuaiji prefectures.

To be more specific, they were active in the mountainous areas of Huangshan in Anhui and Tianmu Mountain in Zhejiang, making a living by farming in the mountains and hunting in the forests.

However, the Yue people are not a single ethnic group; their composition is quite complex.

Although they were called barbarians, they were in fact a collective term for the ancient Yue people, the Chu barbarians who migrated south, and some Han people who fled. They were regarded as "people outside the civilization" by the Han court.

This has nothing to do with bloodline; those who do not submit to the king's rule are "barbarians"!

For example, during the Three Kingdoms period, the Sun Wu regime launched several campaigns against the Danyang Yue tribes in order to consolidate Jiangdong.

In such a harsh social environment, the people of Danyang had no choice but to fight against nature, against the land, and against each other.

Over time, this naturally fostered a fierce and courageous character and a tradition of martial prowess and warlikeness.

Most importantly, Danyang County had a developed iron smelting industry and was an important iron smelting center during the Han Dynasty. Therefore, high-quality iron weapons were not a rare commodity for Danyang soldiers. After reaching adulthood, Danyang men were basically issued ring-pommel swords or long spears.

All of these factors meant that the Danyang soldiers were not a hastily assembled rabble; their fighting strength far exceeded that of the peasant soldiers recruited on short notice, and most of them even brought their own weapons and equipment.

For example, with the great help of Zhou Xin, the former governor of Danyang, Cao Cao recruited more than 10,000 soldiers from Danyang.

Unfortunately, Cao Cao was unable to subdue them, which led to the more than 10,000 Danyang mercenaries taking their money and running away.

Based on this, Wei Zhe admired the Danyang soldiers, but he still had reservations about trusting them.

After the entire army had a hearty meal, he led more than 10,000 troops away from Tancheng and disappeared without a trace.

……

Meanwhile, outside Xiapi, Cao Cao had also roughly figured out the situation in Xuzhou.

When Cao Cao learned that Tao Qian had personally relinquished the position of Governor of Xu Province to Wei Zhe before his death, he was filled with envy.

Why?
Why is it that he worked himself to the bone and still couldn't conquer Xiapi, while Wei Zhe easily obtained a province?
Jealousy, resentment, and fear intertwined in his heart.

But Cao Cao quickly suppressed these chaotic feelings.

After all, the battle has already begun, and the entire Xiapi Kingdom is almost under our control; it's too late to say anything now.

Even if we were to ask for mercy, Cao Cao would have to fight first. He still had that kind of fighting spirit!
However, just as Cao Cao was preparing for a desperate battle, Xun Yu suddenly led someone in.

Before he could speak, Cao Cao quickly stepped forward and asked in surprise:
"Changwen? What are you doing here?"

Upon hearing this, Xun Yu immediately explained:
"Since the chaos caused by Dong Zhuo, Brother Changwen has been living in seclusion in the wilderness of Tancheng with Lord Yuanfang, not concerning himself with worldly affairs. Several years have passed since then!"

"Today is a golden opportunity, and I have come here to recommend worthy men."

Unexpectedly, Cao Cao laughed heartily upon hearing this and said, "How could I not know of Wenruo's great talent? Why should Wenruo say more?"

As he spoke, he took Chen Qun's hand and arm and warmly pulled him to sit down, then ordered a banquet to be prepared.

At the dinner table, Chen Qun finally revealed the reason why he had come here.

Due to the distance, Chen Ji and his son Chen Qun received Xin Ping's letter while other letters were still delayed on their way.

But just as they were preparing to set off, news of the land surveying incident in Jizhou reached Xuzhou.

This caused Chen Qun and his son to stop what they were doing, and this moment of observation completely changed their minds.

After all, Wei Zhe's land survey measures far exceeded the scale of Cao Cao's land reclamation in his previous life, and were even more forceful than those of Emperor Guangwu.

Given this, it would be strange if the father and son could go to Jizhou.

As the creator of the "Nine-Rank System," Chen Qun's political philosophy is self-evident.

This time, he came to Cao Cao on his father's orders to help him resist the Wei clan.

In the main hall, the incomparably handsome Chen Qun spoke with great emotion:
"A ruler is wise if he carefully examines orders, and a minister is loyal if he obeys orders."

"Therefore, to reward others against regulations is called to bestow blessings; to punish others against orders is called to wield power."

"If you act with authority, people will fear you; if you do good, people will follow you."

"Therefore, power and authority are the sacred instruments of the ruler! It is like holding the Mo Xie sword; if one holds its handle, no one dares to resist. If one loses its handle, then one will be harmed!"

"The Wei family now monopolizes the emperor's power and influence, clearly harboring treacherous intentions, no different from the traitor Dong Zhuo. All those in the world who have received the favor of the Han Dynasty and who are loyal and righteous should restore order and punish this traitor!"

Upon hearing this, the hall fell silent.

But Cao Cao immediately clapped and cheered excitedly.

"This long article is truly a gem of wisdom; it deserves a toast!"

After saying this, Cao Cao boldly raised the cup in his hand and drank it all in one gulp.

Even Xun Yu, upon hearing this, offered Chen Qun a cup of wine in admiration.

Because Chen Qun's theory, though seemingly just empty talk, actually helped Cao Cao solve a problem.

That is the question of having a legitimate reason for attacking!

The concept of righteousness, though invisible and intangible, makes a significant difference whether one has it or not.

With Chen Qun's explanation, Cao Cao's military expedition at least had a plausible explanation.

However, Chen Qun's gift for this meeting was not just that.

So when Cao Cao was about to pull Chen Qun to continue drinking, he saw him stand up and say seriously:

"Having lived in Xuzhou for four years, I have some understanding of the local customs and am willing to persuade Zuo Rong to surrender on behalf of the general!"

Upon hearing this, Cao Cao, overjoyed, readily agreed...

(End of this chapter)