Three Kingdoms: Fusion of Entries, Change of Destiny

Chapter 65 Gongsun Zan is about to cause trouble again

Cao Cao wanted to move the seat of Yanzhou from Changyi to Juancheng.
It just so happened that Xi Zhicai, Xiahou Dun, Cao Ang and others were all in Changyi, so preparations for the relocation were immediately made.

The former Shanyang prefect Yuan Yi fled as soon as the Yellow Turbans invaded Qingzhou.

Now the position of Shanyang prefect is vacant.

Cao Cao then temporarily appointed Wang Qian, the head of the Shanyang Wang family, as the prefect of Shanyang, and ordered him to implement the policy of military farming while continuing to pacify refugees and recruit new soldiers.

Wang Qian was also a key member of the Dongwuyang "Debate Conference" and was considered one of the Yanzhou aristocratic families who joined Cao Cao's camp.

Historically, Wang Qian's son Wang Can and nephew Wang Kai moved south to Jingzhou to avoid the Yellow Turban Rebellion.

But now, they had only walked halfway when they heard that Cao Cao had defeated the Yellow Turbans in Qingzhou, and that their father had been entrusted with an important position as the prefect of Shanyang, so they all turned back.

Wang Kai may not be well-known, but Wang Can is known for his erudition.

Wang Can's poems and essays are full of boldness and elegance, and he is known as the "crown of the Seven Sages" and is called "King Cao" together with Cao Zhi. He is a very talented guy.

The return of these talents will undoubtedly provide more vitality for Yanzhou's development.

Shanyang County was looted by the Yellow Turbans. Although Cao's army had cleared out the rebellion, the people here were still frightened and did not dare to stay any longer.

After all matters in Changyi were arranged, Cao Cao led the people who were willing to leave and headed north to Juancheng.

Juancheng is located in the alluvial plain of the Yellow River, with a flat and open terrain and no natural barriers such as mountains and canyons.

The surrounding area is mainly agricultural area with fertile land but lack of defensive support.

The main reason why Cao Cao moved his capital here was that he could form a joint defense with the three important cities of Dongwuyang, Dunqiu and Puyang.

The total length of Juancheng's city wall is only more than 30 miles, and it has been in disrepair for many years, with many damaged areas.

Although the outer city has a moat, it is only about ten feet wide, so there is plenty of room for expansion.

Another benefit of moving the administrative center is that it provides more job opportunities for the people.

Work-for-relief had become a characteristic of Cao Cao's rule, and for this, he was ridiculed by many people who did not know the truth.

They said that Cao Cao actually paid salaries to those lowly people. Wouldn't it be better to just force them to do labor service? He was simply stupid and had a lot of money.

But in fact, they just don’t understand the circulation mechanism of currency.

After a series of measures such as dividing land, houses and jobs were implemented, Juancheng suddenly became lively.

Leaving Li Qian as the defender of Dongwuyang City, Li Dian and Li Zheng as deputy generals, Cao Cao moved the entire administrative team of Dongwuyang to Juancheng.

Cao Yan also moved his workshop, hundreds of craftsmen, and various confidential items here.

In order to keep it secret, Cao Yan even mobilized the soldiers of Zhao Yun, Xiahou Lan and Cao Ang to escort him along the way.

People who don’t know the situation might think that some prince or noble is traveling.

Cao Ren was still the defender of Dunqiu City, and Cao Chun was his deputy general. They also began to implement the policy of military farming and continued to attract and recruit the Black Mountain Army and even refugees from Jizhou.

Xiahou Dun and Xiahou Yuan were sent by Cao Cao to garrison in Puyang, where they began to repair the city, develop military farms, and store food and fodder.

After entering May, the Central Plains ushered in a rare short period of peace.

However, this was just the calm before the storm, and the princes from all sides were actually accumulating strength in secret.

……

In Juancheng, Cao Yan was assigned a large house.

In order to improve his favorability with Zhao Yun, Xiahou Lan and others, Cao Yan specially invited them to live in his house.

Although Cao Cao also allocated houses to them, it was still far inferior to Cao Yan's house.

Moreover, Zhao Yun and Xiahou Lan were originally recommended by Cao Yan, and in the eyes of outsiders, they were already members of the same faction, so they moved in without any pressure.

Cao Ang, however, did not want to live with his father Cao Cao, and insisted on coming to live with Cao Yan, and also dragged Wei Zhen along. At the same time, in order to maintain a good relationship with Xu Chu, Cao Yan specifically instructed Dian Wei to invite Xu Chu to his home for a visit and a drink.

Now, Cao Yan’s house is full of big men, and things suddenly become a little strange.

Early in the morning, Cao Yan followed Zhao Yun to practice martial arts in the backyard.

In order to unleash the power of the golden entry, Cao Yan became serious and had already used half of the power of his previous life...

However, Xu Chu's favorability level remained at 78% and could not go any higher.

Zhao Yun's favorability is also stuck at an awkward 82%.

For this reason, Cao Yan decided to do something so that the favorability between the two people would reach 90% as soon as possible.

……

Hebei.

Gongsun Zan was defeated miserably in the battle with Yuan Shao at Jie Bridge, but he was not reconciled after returning to his hometown.

So, Gongsun Zan secretly wrote a letter, intending to unite his three allies, Yuan Shu, Tao Qian, and the Black Mountain Army, in order to teach Yuan Shao a lesson.

Yuan Shu already had the idea of ​​attacking Yanzhou, and Gongsun Zan's letter was exactly what he wanted.

In June of the third year of Chuping,

Gongsun Zan raised troops again and joined forces with Qingzhou Governor Tian Kai to advance on Jizhou!
Gongsun Zan's ally, Tao Qian, the governor of Xuzhou, ordered his generals Cao Bao, Xu Dan and others to lead troops into Qingzhou and station them in Licheng to contain Cao Cao.

Zhang Yan, Yu Du and others from the Black Mountain Army intimidated and restrained Yuan Shao from the rear.

Seeing that Gongsun Zan could not defeat him in a one-on-one fight, Yuan Shao resorted to using his superior numbers to bully the weak.

Yuan Shao, who had always been unwilling to suffer losses, immediately thought of his younger brother "Cao Cao".

You, Cao Mengde, ate a big piece of fat meat in Yanzhou, the Yellow Turbans of Qingzhou.

When I needed help, brother,
It shouldn't be a big problem if you go and help contain Gongsun Zan's lackeys, right?

So, Yuan Shao wrote a letter and sent it to Cao Cao in Juancheng, stating that he hoped Cao Cao would send troops to help contain the Black Mountain Army and Tao Qian in Xuzhou.

As for Gongsun Zan and Tian Kai, Yuan Shao planned to deal with them personally.

Cao Cao still needed Yuan Shao's help to petition for the position of Governor of Yanzhou, so he agreed to Yuan Shao's request without hesitation.

Anyway, even if Yuan Shao didn't ask for help, these people would not let him go. It would be better to do them a favor and make some money at the same time.

Yuan Shao did not mention Yuan Shu in his letter.

I don't know whether he deliberately didn't mention it, or whether he felt that Liu Biao was restraining Yuan Shu, so he concluded that Yuan Shu would not dare to act rashly.

But no matter what Yuan Shao was thinking,
Yuan Shu is a tiankeng.

Cao Cao had already taken precautions after Cao Yan's reminder.

As soon as Yuan Shao's envoy left, someone stepped forward and said with a worried look on his face, "My lord, Yuan Shu of Nanyang is ready to make a move... At this critical moment, if we divide our forces to deal with Tao Qian, I'm afraid we won't be able to do it!"

At this time, Cheng Yu suddenly stood up and said in a loud voice: "My lord, allow me to have 5,000 soldiers and horses, and I will keep an eye on Cao Bao and others for you!"

Although Cheng Yu was a strategist, he was also a strong warrior. He was well-versed in military books and proficient in military tactics. He was both civil and military.

When the Yellow Turban Rebellion first began, Cheng Yu gathered troops in Dong'a and successfully repelled the Yellow Turban Army.

Moreover, Dong'a is Cheng Yu's hometown, where he has a very high prestige and can take on the important task of restraining Cao Bao of Xuzhou.

Cao Cao thought for a moment and replied, "Since that's the case, I will appoint you, Zhongde, as the military commander and allocate 5,000 elite soldiers to assist County Magistrate Zao Zhi in defending Dong'e and containing Cao Bao!"

"Thank you, my lord. I will definitely fulfill your mission!" Cheng Yu bowed and expressed his gratitude.

(End of this chapter)