Chapter 229 Cao Song is killed When Yuan Shao and Cao Cao joined forces to fight Tian Ze, all the princes were nervously watching and waiting for the outcome, because this battle almost determined the future situation of the world. However, there are always people who are unwilling to become a background figure and are ready to make a move. That was Yuan Shu. Seeing Yuan Shao going to attack Tian Ze with the expectations of the princes of the world, Yuan Shu was furious. Why does Yuan Benchu get all the limelight? He is just a bastard's son. Considering that Sun Ce had already gone south to Yangzhou, and thinking of the revenge of Liu Biao's seizure of Jingzhou, Yuan Shu led his troops westward without hesitation and attacked Jiangxia, and then reached a stalemate with Huang Zu. Huang Zu was originally from Jiangxia and was born into a prominent family. When Liu Biao first conquered Jingzhou, he actually only controlled Nanjun. In order to stabilize Jiangxia, he promoted Huang Zu to stabilize the situation. As a local tyrant, Huang Zu also had real skills. Out of gratitude to Liu Biao, his boss who promoted him, Huang Zu ambushed and killed Sun Jian. Moreover, according to the original historical trajectory, he occupied Jiangxia for more than ten years, fought against Sun Ce and Sun Quan for nearly ten years, and even won a small victory by shooting and killing Ling Cao and Xu Kun. Yuan Shu did not have any outstanding naval generals under his command, so it was naturally difficult for him to gain any advantage against Huang Zu. After the two sides were in a stalemate for a while, Liu Biao sent troops to help, and Yuan Shu had to withdraw.
After realizing that Jingzhou was not easy to take over, Yuan Shu did not hesitate to target Tao Qian, the soft persimmon. However, Tao Qian, who knew exactly what Yuan Shu was like, had already made preparations. He led the troops himself again, with Chen Deng as his military advisor, and relied on the elite troops of Danyang to block Yuan Shu's attack. Although the fighting in the east was intense, Liu Bei had no intention of joining in. Instead, he was ready to attack Yanzhou where Cao Cao was not. Liu Bei knew very well that Yuan Shu and Tao Qian were not a threat, but Cao Cao was a formidable enemy. If he could take Yanzhou while it was empty, and then take advantage of the fact that Yuan Shu and Tao Qian were both injured, it would not be difficult to defeat Yuan Shu and annex Tao Qian. Then he will be able to become the overlord of Central Plains. However, man proposes, God disposes. The battle in Bingzhou ended too quickly. Just as Liu Bei was about to take action, Cao Cao led his army back. Yanzhou had a backbone and Tian Ze was surrounding him, so Liu Bei had to give up the matter for the time being. The war in the north ended so quickly, and Yuan Shu was shocked to learn that Liu Bei had mobilized his troops. After gaining a slight advantage, he hastily retreated. Because Liu Bei had taken root in Yuzhou in advance, Yuan Shu at this time was not as powerful as he was in history, and he had encountered setbacks several times in succession, so he was still relatively calm. At the same time, there was another fatal reason that led to the relative stability of the various princes, and that was the locust plague. However, something soon broke this peace. Cao Cao's father, Cao Song, was originally hiding from disaster in Langya. Seeing that the surrounding situation was stable and there should be no problems in the short term, he prepared to move his family to Yanzhou to join Cao Cao. In the Hebei campaign, although Cao Cao and Yuan Shao were defeated by Tian Ze, he also showed the courage of a great hero. Whether it was the ambush on Xu Huang or the surprise attack by the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry, it attracted the attention of the world. Seeing how great things Cao Cao had accomplished in Yanzhou, Cao Song naturally wanted to join his great son and live a stable and peaceful life. Then Tao Qian kindly entertained them and arranged for someone to escort them as a token of his alliance. The two of them got along very well, and Tao Qian also showed his intention to give way to others. After all, Tao Qian was tired after being beaten back and forth by the two Yuans, one in the south and one in the north. He was over sixty years old, and he had to fight in person at such an old age. How could his body bear it? Compared with Liu Bei, who is not very prominent now, he still thinks Cao Cao has greater potential. Cao Song was naturally very happy, and immediately prepared to return to Yanzhou to inform Cao Cao of the incident. However, he was killed on the way by Tao Qian's subordinates, who robbed him of a large amount of property.
When Tian Ze heard the news, he didn't feel anything, but the following news made him dumbfounded. "My lord, it is impossible to fight for Xuzhou peacefully. Although this is definitely not Tao Qian's instruction, the rift has already appeared and it cannot be repaired." Xi Zhicai was also extremely shocked after hearing the news. I thought that after Hebei showed its strength in the battle, Tao Qian would be more inclined towards them and have a chance to take Xuzhou without bloodshed. Who could have thought that this would be the outcome. Revenge for killing my father! If they were Tao Qian, they would not dare to give Xuzhou to Cao Cao, as that would be asking for trouble. "I understand." Cao Cao's eyes were extremely cold and full of ruthlessness at this moment. "Tao Qian killed my father. This hatred is irreconcilable. I swear to kill him. Immediately organize the troops and march to Xuzhou." At this point, Cao Cao had no choice. Xuzhou must be taken. He wants to seize this last opportunity, as Tian Ze has just conquered Bingzhou and does not have much energy to take care of this side, and the surrounding princes are temporarily in a peaceful state due to the locust plague. With such a deep blood feud, he could easily use this as an excuse to take over Xuzhou, and no one could say anything. "My lord is wise. But the key to taking Xuzhou lies in Yuan Shao and Liu Bei." "Yuan Shao and I are still allies, but he was badly hurt in the battle in Hebei and should be temporarily unable to attack Xuzhou. At most, we can seize a few counties under the pretext of helping him." "Liu Bei is a big problem. We suffered heavy losses in the battle of Hebei. If we send troops to Xuzhou, the interior will definitely be empty. Whether Liu Bei helps Xuzhou or takes the opportunity to launch a sneak attack on our Yanzhou, it will probably be troublesome." Xun Yu frowned. "I understand. But is there a better opportunity?" Cao Cao asked back. He didn't want to take such a risk, but he had no choice. Although the Battle of Hebei made him famous, he also lost a lot of soldiers and horses. You know, after years of turmoil, Yanzhou's wealth is very thin. It is difficult for him to mobilize an army of 200,000 now. As for the surrounding princes, there is no need to mention Yuan Shao. Even Liu Bei has a lot more people under his command than himself, and because he has been recuperating, his strength is quite good. Although he was usually very low-key, Cao Cao had long realized that this descendant of King Jing of Zhongshan was by no means a mediocre person like Tao Qian and Liu Biao. He was ambitious and capable, and was bound to be a formidable rival. "Although Xuzhou doesn't have a large population, it has a lot of money and grain. This locust plague is too severe, and the people under our command can't survive at all. We must grab food from Xuzhou." The news that Tian Ze was going to liberalize grain trading had not yet arrived, but Cao Cao was almost disappointed when he learned about the conditions of grain fields in various places under his rule. If Xun Yu had not keenly sensed that something was wrong and decisively exchanged a large amount of food and fodder from Tian Ze in advance to maintain the army, I am afraid that what he would be worried about now is not whether the people can survive, but whether he should surrender to Yuan Shao. Yanzhou is not like Jizhou and Yuzhou, where there are so many powerful families. Moreover, after numerous ups and downs, the local powerful families have been weakened a lot, and most of them are at odds with Cao Cao, so it is impossible for them to provide much support. Although population is extremely important, food is the foundation! (End of this chapter)