Three Kingdoms: Fusion of Entries, Change of Destiny

Chapter 46: Collecting some protection money, is that reasonable?
Dongwuyang County Magistrate's Office.

Xun Yu was telling Cao Yan and Guo Jia about his journey to Chenliu County.

"Chenliu Governor Zhang Miao has actually been frightened by the Yellow Turbans.

As soon as he heard that we were willing to take the initiative to fight against the Yellow Turban Army, he immediately agreed to support the lord as the lord of Yanzhou.

Judging from this, other officials and gentry in Yanzhou probably had similar ideas.

It shouldn’t be too difficult to win their support.”

Cao Yan smiled and continued, "When the Yellow Turbans of Qingzhou, with their millions of men, first entered Yanzhou, they showed the officials and noble families of Yanzhou what a truly ferocious force is.

As soon as they entered Yanzhou, they quickly conquered Rencheng State and killed the prime minister of Rencheng State.

Afterwards, the troops were divided into three groups and wreaked havoc along the way. In less than half a month, they had swept across most of Yanzhou.

Chenliu County was temporarily preserved only because it was located in the westernmost part.

If we hadn't sent troops to help, Zhang Miao would have ended up like the Prime Minister of Rencheng sooner or later."

Guo Jia nodded in agreement, "Liu Dai rashly went into battle and was killed by the Yellow Turbans. This is a heaven-sent opportunity for Cao Gong to take control of Yanzhou. But have you ever considered how to deal with these Yellow Turban bandits?"

Cao Yan remained calm and said, "Although the Yellow Turbans in Qingzhou may seem powerful, they are ultimately just a group of ordinary people who can't make a living.

These Yellow Turbans of Qingzhou are different from the first generation of Yellow Turbans led by the three Zhang Jiao brothers. Most of them are poor people who were forced into the Yellow Turban army after suffering hardships.

In my opinion, what they desire in their hearts is just to find a place to settle down and make a living.

When the time is right, we can try to persuade them to surrender."

Historically, Cao Cao fought against the Yellow Turbans in Qingzhou for a long time.

First, he relied on continuous small victories to stop the advance of the Yellow Turbans, and then used Bao Xin's strategy of fortifying the city and clearing the countryside to force the Yellow Turbans into a desperate situation of starvation and freezing, and finally succeeded in persuading them to surrender.

But now Cao Cao not only has elite soldiers and brave generals, but also has top strategists like Xi Zhicai to assist him.

Even in terms of logistics, there is a luxurious lineup consisting of Cao Yan, Xun Yu, Guo Jia and others.
How could they be afraid of the Yellow Turbans?
All you have to do is chase them all the way!

Xun Yu agreed deeply with Cao Yan's words and added, "Zi'an is absolutely right. The Yellow Turban Army is mostly made up of ordinary people, and they too yearn for a stable life. However, those Yellow Turban leaders will not easily give up their power and soldiers."

Guo Jia nodded in agreement and continued, "That's right, so we need to persuade them while fighting them until they agree to surrender!"

As he was speaking, a messenger suddenly came hurriedly with a report: "Report! My lord, we have a victory message!"

Cao Yan hurried forward to take the bamboo tube and opened the mud seal.

After opening the letter and quickly reading it, he burst into laughter: "Our army defeated the main force of the Yellow Turbans led by Sima Ju, the commander of the Great Canal, at Dongping Lake!
Hundreds of thousands of Yellow Turbans suffered countless casualties and were completely routed.

Only Sima Ju led the remaining 20,000 elite Yellow Turbans south, intending to meet up with Xu He and other generals.

But Generals Zilong, Qingyuan and Xiahou were leading their cavalry in pursuit.

I estimate that by the time they escape to Jiyin County, there will be only a few left."

"Good!" Xun Yu and Guo Jia were both cheered up when they heard this.

"I was just wondering how to stop the Yellow Turbans' unstoppable offensive momentum, but I didn't expect that the lord would win a great victory so quickly!" said Guo Jia.

"Zhicai's plan is really ingenious!" Cao Yan said, handing the information in his hand to Xun Yu.

Xun Yu and Guo Jia came together and watched carefully.

Then, Xun Yu smiled with satisfaction and said, "I am ambitious and full of strategies, and now I can finally put them to use!" After that, he handed the letter back to Cao Yan.

Guo Jia said sourly: "If it were me, I could do it too."

"I'm not exaggerating," Cao Yan thought to himself. "[Divine Strategy] can mobilize the forces of nature. If you could cause a meteorite rain or flood Dongping Lake, it would have the same effect as Xi Zhicai's burning of the camps..."

While pondering, Cao Yan glanced at the battle report in the letter in his hand. It specifically mentioned the details of Zhao Yun and Xiahou Lan's flexible deployment and elusive combat during the battle.

Seeing this, Cao Yan couldn't help but say, "I didn't expect Zilong to be able to master the essence of guerrilla warfare without any teacher!"

"Guerrilla warfare?" Xun Yu and Guo Jia were a little confused.

Judging from the literal meaning alone, it does not seem easy to understand.

Xun Yu asked doubtfully, "There is a guerrilla general among the generals. Does he have anything to do with the guerrilla warfare you mentioned?"

In fact, guerrilla general is just a title or rank and has nothing to do with guerrilla warfare.

Just as a General of Cavalry does not necessarily command cavalry or be good at archery, not all the soldiers led by a General of Crossbows are crossbowmen.

There are still significant differences between modern terms and ancient terms.

Seeing Guo Jia and Xun Yu's bewildered faces, Cao Yan explained to them, "A good general is one whose strength cannot be broken, and whose flexibility cannot be rolled up. Therefore, he uses the weak to control the strong, and the soft to control the hard!

Avoid the enemy's sharp edge, strike the enemy's weak spot, retreat when the enemy advances, harass when the enemy camps, attack when the enemy tires, pursue when the enemy retreats... hence the name guerrilla warfare."

Xun Yu and Guo Jia couldn't help but look at each other.

Afterwards, they both bowed to Cao Yan and said, "Listening to your words is worth ten years of reading!"

"Thank you so much." Cao Yan's face was calm and his tone was indifferent, but he was secretly proud of himself: "It's really not easy to successfully pretend in front of you two!"

Cao Yan then continued, "After Sima Ju's troops are disbanded, many more refugees will appear in the Dongping area. We must quickly send people to persuade them to surrender. After all, these people are a source of soldiers and labor!"

"But do we have enough food to feed these refugees?" Guo Jia asked with some concern.

"Although we don't have it, those wealthy families in Yanzhou do!"

Cao Yan narrowed his eyes slightly, with a calculating smile on his lips, and said,
"Looking at the entire Yanzhou, we are the only ones who can suppress the Yellow Turbans in Qingzhou.

But war will result in casualties and consume a large amount of food and supplies.

So, as the local noble families and gentry of Yanzhou who are under our protection, isn't it perfectly reasonable for them to hand over some food, silver, and money?"

"That makes sense!" Guo Jia nodded in agreement, adding, "And this is also a way for them to show their loyalty in disguise!"

"It's indeed feasible! Asking them to pay a moderate amount of money and grain will actually put them at ease." Xun Yu agreed, but he still warned: "But be sure not to impose excessive taxes, so as not to cause rebellion."

"Of course!" Cao Yan put the letter back into the bamboo tube and added, "Not only money and food, but also talents can be recruited in due course.

As far as I know, there are still many talented people in Yanzhou.

For example, Cheng Yu, a native of Dong'e County, Dongjun, who had repeatedly refused Liu Dai's invitations to recruit him,

For example, Yu Jin, the Du Bo under Bao Xin,

Another example is Dian Wei, a sergeant in Zhang Miao's army...

We can take this opportunity to bring them over, recruit them, and strengthen ourselves!"

Xun Yu asked in surprise, "Dong'a Cheng Yu is somewhat famous, but how did you know about Yu Jin and Dian Wei?"

Cao Yan smiled mysteriously and said, "Don't worry about how I know this, just bring the person here!"

"Why me?" Xun Yu asked.

"Because you are Xun Wenruo from the Yingchuan Xun family!"

A golden signboard, do you understand?

"..."

(End of this chapter)