Chapter 175 Battle of Qingzhou After leaving the governor's mansion, Chen Deng sighed deeply. He no longer had any hope for Tao Qian's future. The loss of the two counties of Qingzhou is inevitable, and it won't be long before Xuzhou will also fall. It all depends on who among Cao, Yuan and Liu acts faster. People like Cao Bao are not worth discussing with. They have good ideas, but they simply cannot see their own strength clearly. Yuan Benchu, Cao Mengde and Liu Xuande, which one of them is easy to deal with? How could they deal with them? "Well, I watched him build a tall building and then watched it collapse. What does all this have to do with me? I'm just a captain of the agricultural department. Why should I bother so much?" Chen Deng said self-deprecatingly. When he was young, he also had the ambition to help the world and the people, but now, with more and more experiences, his heart has gradually become cold. Due to family constraints, he can only stay in Xuzhou and cannot find a wise leader. Whoever captures Xuzhou in the future will be his new lord. Cao, Yuan, and Liu all needed aristocratic families to govern their local areas. Anyone who knew the value of a person would be given important positions. It’s a pity that I probably won’t be able to witness the grand occasion of the Jixia Academy where a hundred schools of thought contend with each other.
Chen Deng's favorite person is Tian Ze, but he has no choice. When he got home, his father Chen Gui was fishing in the backyard. Seeing Chen Deng's heavy steps, he sighed and said, "Did Cao Bao, that idiot, lead his troops to fight again?" Chen Deng nodded expressionlessly. "It seems that the change of ownership of Xuzhou will happen soon." Chen Gui sighed as he put the caught fish back into the pond. "Father, who do you think is likely to take over Xuzhou next?" "Both Yuan Benchu and Cao Mengde are possible. Liu Xuande originally had greater hope, but the situation changed suddenly this year. He should have turned his attention to the south and most likely will not participate." Chen Gui said. "Yuan Benchu and Cao Mengde?" Chen Deng murmured. "These two are both heroes of the time. In my opinion, they are the most likely candidates to conquer the world. It's a pity that who could have thought that a freak like Tian Chengshou would appear." "Father, do you think Tian Chengshou will be the final winner?" Chen Gui nodded: "Most likely, at least you are not a loser. If your father had discovered it earlier, maybe he would have let you go, and you might have been able to get the credit for following the dragon." "But now, it's a little too late. Tian Chengshou has many talented people under his command, and I'm afraid there is no place for you. And he has no intention of eyeing Xuzhou in the short term." "Instead of wasting time in Youzhou, it is better to stay in Xuzhou and show your talents under the command of other princes. Even if you are defeated in the future, I believe that with Tian Chengshou's broad mind, he will not make things difficult for you, but will make more use of you." As an old and experienced man, Chen Gui had a very clear grasp of the general trend and people's hearts, and had already made various preparations. Chen Deng's thoughts were seen through by his father. He smiled faintly and said, "Thank you for your advice, father." "I am old, and the future still depends on you young people. With your ability, you are more than capable of ruling a state. It's a pity that there are too many heroes in the world nowadays." "You showed up too late. You were ranked below Tao Qian and were bound by your family. You really suffered injustice." Chen Gui said with a sense of guilt in his heart. "Why do you say that, father? Since I have talent, I will not be buried. The world is so big that there will always be a place for me to use my talents." Chen Deng said calmly. He understood his father's approach very well, because their Chen family was not a top family like the Yuan family or the Xun family, nor was it some relatively weak family. They want to bet on multiple positions like the top families, but they don't have enough strength; they want to bet on one side like the third-rate families, but the risk is too great.
Then you can only choose to be a step behind others. Although you can't have the first bite of the cake, it is safer. As long as you are strong enough, there will always be a day to come out. The news that Yuan Shao had sent troops to Qingzhou again spread throughout the world quickly, but the princes in the Central Plains showed an odd calmness, as if they had tacitly approved of the matter. They had also heard that Tao Qian wanted to form an alliance with Yuan Shao, and at the time they thought Tao Qian was extremely stupid. Don't you know what Yuan Shao's character is? He is asking for trouble. And with Tian Ze's current situation, it is difficult for them to stop Yuan Shao. They can only hope that Tao Qian can be more powerful. Not to mention winning, at least they won't lose too badly and can hold on for a while longer. On the Xichang Plain in the northwest of Qi State, Shen Pei and Guo Tu were slightly stunned when they saw Cao Bao's army opposite them. Both of them are wise men, otherwise they would not have been able to survive under Yuan Shao. Even Guo Tu, who was famous in history as a "dog-headed military strategist", was not a fool. He had certain wisdom and it was at least not a problem for him to be a second-rate strategist. The reason why he is considered to be the most despicable strategist who repeatedly offered advice that led to Yuan Shao's demise is not because his strategies were bad, but because of the view based purely on the results. In fact, given Yuan Shao's situation at the time, he would most likely have won by simply listening to the advice of any one of his advisers, including Guo Tu. But Yuan Shao, who was bent on maintaining checks and balances, chose to listen to everyone yet listen to no one completely. For example, when faced with two opposing strategies of rescuing Wuchao and attacking Cao Cao's camp, Yuan Shao actually adopted both of them, and even asked Zhang He, who suggested rescuing Wuchao, to attack Cao Cao's camp. This mysterious operation, coupled with the already sharp factional struggles among Yuan Shao's civil officials, led to mutual attacks. Even if there is a good situation with a dragon on the face, it will still fail. "Tao Gongzu, are you so underestimating the enemy? How dare you engage in a head-on battle with our army on the plain?" Shen Pei frowned. "Is there some fraud?" Guo Tu asked with some doubt. Xichang was originally a plain, and the Danyang soldiers were mainly good at mountain warfare and positional warfare. Moreover, they came here this time with nearly 10,000 cavalry, and they had an advantage in terms of military strength. The opponents are lined up in a straight formation, wanting to have a decisive battle with us? "We'll know whether it's a trick after we fight. Xuzhou has only more than 100,000 soldiers and horses in total. What can they do even if they send out all of them?" Shen Pei said disdainfully. What he feared least was the enemy's plot. He and Guo Tu were not of the same faction, and they were even somewhat opposed to each other. It was only because Yuan Shao was in a bad situation and the internal struggle was not yet obvious that they could get along with each other. Shen Pei had great contempt for Guo Tu. Although he had some cleverness, he was a flatterer and was not fit for important tasks. If the lord had not been bewitched by him, how could he be qualified to be on par with him? However, due to Yuan Shao's order this time, he could not refute the other party openly, so he expressed it in a more tactful way. However, as he had a strong temper, there was still some tension in his words. Guo Tu didn't care about this. If he had the talent and gift of Shen Pei, he would be just as proud of himself. As one of Yuan Shao's important advisers, Guo Tu knew that his ability was not as good as the others, but he also had his own advantages. He is the person who understands Yuan Shao's mind best, no one can match him. His talent "Duzhu" allows him to stand in Yuan Shao's perspective and simulate Yuan Shao's thinking to consider issues. As a counselor, he could also help Yuan Shao say things that Yuan Shao could not say and come up with strategies that Yuan Shao could not come up with. To some extent, he is the incarnation and trumpet of Yuan Shao. He has been the scapegoat for many years and has offended a lot of people, but he is always trusted by Yuan Shao.
Guo Tu also enjoyed it, because this was his way of survival. He was not as capable as others, so if he wanted to stand out, he could only rely on his own talent. Therefore, in the original trajectory, after he went to visit the emperor, he suggested to Yuan Shao that he use the emperor to control the princes. This was the basic judgment of the advisers. But when Yuan Shao once again convened his advisers to discuss the matter, he followed Yuan Shao's wishes and opposed the matter. Yuan Shao sent him and Shen Pei this time for a reason, because the cooperation between the two of them could best implement Yuan Shao's ideas, and they were the ones Yuan Shao could trust the most. (End of this chapter)