Three Kingdoms

At this moment, Cao Cao, who was far away in Xuzhou, was also facing difficulties.

One of them was Cao Cao who secretly sent people to pick up his father Cao Song and younger brother Cao De. However, Tao Qian discovered that Cao Cao was not able to pick them out, but instead joined a group of people.

Tao Qian even asked someone to write a very sarcastic letter, stating that Cao Cao's old man Cao Song was living peacefully and comfortably in Xuzhou, so that Cao Cao did not need to worry about it, and he should let Cao Cao think more about how to be loyal to him. Han Dynasty, do more good things for the people...

He made it clear that he was teaching his son a lesson.

"How shameless!" Cao Cao was extremely angry, but there was nothing he could do.

Speaking of which, Cao Cao did not attack Tao Qian without any reason. When Cao Cao was chasing Yuan Shu, Tao Qian took advantage of Cao Cao's army outside. On the one hand, he expanded his territory, and on the other hand, he also sent troops to support his ally Yuan Shu. In the south of Yanzhou, if Cao Cao hadn't retreated, they might have gone north to raid Cao Cao's lair.

This time, Cao Cao deliberately attacked in the east and west, choosing a completely different direction from Langya, and even sent troops to greet his father, Cao Song, and others before the army set off. However, perhaps it was delayed due to some unexpected incident, or maybe Tao Qian had already been prepared, but this time the operation failed anyway.

And it can be seen from this letter that it is unlikely that Cao Song will be taken out secretly in the future, and Tao Qian will definitely be more prepared.

Today, Cao Cao's situation is not as smooth as later generations imagined. He is still hundreds of miles away from the state of self-confidence in his life of three hundred years.

In fact, there was another compelling reason for the conquest of Xuzhou, but this reason cannot be known. Some time ago, Cao Cao received a secret order from Yuan Shao to kill Zhang Miao.

In fact, Zhang Miao is also from Yuan Shao's side. However, Zhang Miao is older. I don't know because after the Jujube Alliance, Zhang Miao, who was originally a local snake, did not get any benefits but lost a lot of food and grass. The reason for the men and horses is the reason why Yuan Shao did not share some benefits with Zhang Miao after he became the leader of the alliance and became the cavalry general. Anyway, Zhang Miao's attitude towards Yuan Shao was not as high as it was at the beginning, and he even Wrote a letter and expressed some personal suggestions for Yuan Shao's current actions...

As for Yuan Shao, he was so arrogant and arrogant, how could he allow Zhang Miao to point fingers at him just because he was older? Therefore, he became more and more unwilling to talk to Zhang Miao, but he did not expect how rude such behavior was in Zhang Miao's eyes. When he found that he had lost face, Zhang Miao became furious, and of course he couldn't help but say some words.

In the Han Dynasty, even having a banquet and losing track of time would turn friends into enemies, let alone such a situation where there are obviously some cracks.

But the relationship between Cao Cao and Zhang Miao...

When he was in Chenliu, the imperial court ordered Cao Cao to be captured, but Zhang Miao pretended not to see it and protected Cao Cao. When recruiting troops, Zhang Miao, as the prefect of Chenliu, not only did not stop him, but also sent some weapons; When they were in Suanzao, Cao Cao suggested sending troops to pursue Dong Zhuo, and Zhang Miao supported part of the troops...

With all these factors, it can be said that Zhang Miao was quite good to Cao Cao, and could even be said to be kind to Cao Cao. Perhaps it is precisely because of this that Yuan Shao asked Cao Cao to do this to test whether Cao Cao was truly on Yuan Shao's side. After all, Dongjun and Chen Liu are relatively close. If the two of them join forces, it will not be very fun for Yuan Shao.

But Cao Cao couldn't take action.

In other words, Cao Cao still can't take action now. Cao Cao withstood the pressure and replied to Yuan Shao, saying that everyone has been friends since childhood and should not tear each other down when the world is in chaos...

In order to avoid Yuan Shao's unrelenting demands again and some embarrassing situations with Zhang Miao, Cao Cao simply sent troops to Xuzhou in advance. Anyway, it would just solve the problem of military food and grass in Qingzhou.

However, the granaries in these conquered Xuzhou counties have been emptied. These granaries originally did not have much reserves at all. Most of them only had a superficial appearance on the outside and were empty inside!

If the conquest continues, one is that the battle line will become longer and longer, and the overall shape of the battle will change. If Tao Qian counterattacks, he will be defeated. On the other hand, it will show that among the newly conquered cities, there can be How much grain and grass would be the same as the ones in my hands?

In addition to such a letter from Tao Qian that made Cao Cao extremely angry, there was also a letter from Cheng Yu in Yanzhou that made Cao Cao feel cold all over...

Cheng Yu's letter is very simple, as simple as Cheng Yu's habitual words, direct and sharp. The letter said that in the recent period, there were no letters from Hedong, nor any correspondence from Hedong. Not only that, Cheng Yu also checked the records of the post for two or three months, and interviewed some clerks. There is no record of any correspondence to and from Hedong.

In this era, if it is a letter for ordinary people, there are no more than two ways, one is to ask someone to carry it, and the other is to go to the inn. As for the trustee, they either send their own private guards or meet someone who happens to be on the way. Naturally, the post station also does this letter delivery business, but the cost is relatively high, and if you don't have some identity, Yes, the soldiers at the inn didn't bother to pay attention...

As an official in Cao Cao's power, he naturally has some status, so it has become a relatively normal choice to leave the correspondence and so on together in the inn.

Of course, if it is a relatively secret letter that involves something that cannot be known by others, then it must be delivered by a special person to ensure safety and not leakage.

If it were an ordinary letter from home...

Does it need to be kept secret?

Would you rather waste extra manpower and material resources than use the simpler relay station?

Cao Cao held Cheng Yu's letter and remained silent for a long time.

What about Tao Qian? Anyway, it's just like that. Although it is annoying, after all, it is two armies facing each other, and we can't say who is right and who is wrong. Even if Cao Cao himself were in Tao Qian's position, he might do even better. It was too much, but the news revealed in Cheng Yu's letter made Cao Cao very uneasy.

A few days ago, Xun Yu mentioned in his letter that Wei Jian seemed to have a lot of contacts with Jizhou. Corresponding to Cheng Yu's investigation, and considering the route Wei Jian took at that time, it seems that he did not go to Heluo. This one takes the Hanoi road on the north bank of the river...

Of course, Heluo was restless at that time, so there was no guarantee that there would be any problems if we traveled to Hanoi County.

but……

Cao Cao put down the letter, frowned and walked around the tent several times. Finally, he walked out of the tent with his hands behind his back and walked to the side. After passing several tents, Cao Cao stopped in front of a tent. The small eyes under the thick eyebrows flickered a few times, then he stopped the guards in front of the big tent from saluting, opened the tent curtain directly, and walked in.

Although it was daytime, the light inside the tent was still a little dim.

"Who?! Huh? Ju... met Ming Gong..." Wei Ju raised his head from the desk. Just as he asked angrily, he saw Cao Cao's figure. He quickly put down his pen and wrote some words. He pushed the bamboo slip aside and stood up to salute Cao Cao.

Cao Cao narrowed his eyes, laughed twice, and said: "Zi Xi, sit down, sit down, I am walking around casually, I happened to come here, so I came here to take a look...are you busy?"

Wei Jian also smiled and said, "It's just some trivial matters..."

"Oh, what trivial matter is it? Why don't you take it and take a look?" Cao Cao sat down and straightened his robes, smiling as if he was talking casually.

Wei Jian was stunned.

"Oh, could it be that someone couldn't see it?" Cao Cao squinted his eyes and said with a half-smile.

"...Ming Gong was joking, so of course he could see it, he could see it..." Wei Jian said, then took a roll of bamboo slips from the table and handed it to Cao Cao.

Cao Cao took it and unfolded it. It was about the allocation of money and food for the army...

"Well..." Cao Cao looked at it and suddenly asked, "How much military rations are left now?"

Wei Jian shook his head and said: "Now the consumption is quite large, and there is not much left. If there is no new arrival, I am afraid it will only be enough for a month at most."

"Hmm..." Cao Cao frowned, closed the bamboo slips, and said to Wei Qian, "All the grain and grass in the public warehouses in the surrounding counties are exhausted... I wonder if Zi Qian has any good ideas?"

Wei Jian pondered for a while and said: "Now there may be some money and food in the surrounding Wubao... Ming Gong might as well go to the merchants to borrow some food and grass..."

"Borrow it again?" Cao Cao's eyebrows furrowed deeply. The noble nobles around here have already "borrowed" it once, and it will naturally be difficult to "borrow" it again.

Wei Jian smiled and said, "If you don't want to borrow it..." Halfway through, he raised his palms and pointed down.

"Well..." Cao Cao took a deep breath and said nothing. It's not that Cao Cao is benevolent, but he needs to weigh whether the consequences of doing so are worth it. Killing chickens to scare monkeys? It often happens that if you don't kill one or two country heroes, wouldn't other people think that Cao Cao is easy to talk and easy to bully? But after doing this, they will inevitably become enemies with the nobles in Xuzhou. If there is a chance to enter Xuzhou in the future, a lot of obstacles will be added out of thin air.

Although Cao Cao is said to be the governor of Yanzhou, he actually does not control the entire Yanzhou. Part of it is in the hands of Tian Kai and Liu Bei who cross the border, and some of it is in an ungovernable state, such as Taishan County. As for Qingzhou, it is in such a state of decay that even if Tian Kai and Liu Bei win the battle, they will not be able to fully recover for a while, and they have to stick in a lot, which is not a very suitable direction. As for Yuzhou in the south and Jizhou in the north, There is no need to say more, so the only space that can be considered a better place is Xuzhou. But if there is a complete enmity with the nobles in Xuzhou, it means that Cao Cao will only use methods like rogue bandits to plunder resources in dealing with Xuzhou for a period of time in the future, but will not be able to obtain other aspects. support.

Wei Ji's suggestion is indeed correct, and it can indeed solve an urgent need, but is it worth it?

And for the current Cao Cao, there is an additional issue that needs to be considered. Is Wei Ji's suggestion a suggestion that he personally thought of, or is it a suggestion that others need him to pass on...

"This matter..." Cao Cao hesitated, his eyes flickering.

Wei Ju looked at Cao Cao, cupped his hands and said: "Ming Gong, Xuzhou is the place where the four battles were fought, and there are rear generals wolf on the side, and it is far away from Yanzhou, making it inconvenient to come and go. What's more, Tao Xuzhou has been operating for a long time and has deep roots. He wants to capture Xuzhou The mentality of a nobleman is to do twice the result with half the result, which is not the right thing to do..."

"Well..." Cao Cao was still pondering.

"Ming Gong," Wei Jian saw this and continued, "Heluo is restless, Qingyan is uncertain, and Hebei is also undecided. Under such a situation, it is useless if the army cannot be stationed. If the army is stationed, the troops will be dispersed. I’m also afraid that others will take advantage of me.”

"Heluo is restless, Qingyan is uncertain, and Hebei is also undecided?" Cao Cao narrowed his eyes, repeated Wei Cang's words, looked at Wei Cang, and then said after a moment, "... well, I will order Zi Lian to send troops tomorrow. , go to the surrounding areas to borrow food..."

Wei Jian cupped his hands and said, "My lord is wise."

Cao Cao did not comment, and while returning the bamboo slips to Wei Ji, he said: "Have Zi Ji written to home recently? The army is away, so it is good to report that you are safe..."

Wei Jian took the bamboo slips and responded casually: "Return to Duke Ming, there are some, I just wrote them a few days ago..."

"Did you ask someone to send you back? Or did you go to the inn?" Cao Cao flicked the corners of his clothes, as if he was flicking away the dust.

Wei Jian raised his head and glanced at Cao Cao before saying, "...it should have been sent back by someone...it's been a long time, and Jian has forgotten..."

"Oh..." Cao Cao turned to look outside the tent and said in an understatement, "...the road is not peaceful now. If Zi Xiang's family letters are sent to the inn, there will be more or less soldiers to take care of them. This entrusted person will bring them back, more or less. It's risky... Well, Zi Zhu, you might as well write a letter to the family now, and send a postman to Hedong to avoid any accidents on the way... I have been away for many years, so Zi Zhu's family must be very worried... "

"This..." Wei Jian was stunned for a moment, then he bowed his hands and thanked him, "Thank you for your concern, Mr. Ming... The delivery at the post is a major military matter. To covet one person's personal interests, how can you use a public weapon..."

"That's alright..." Cao Cao nodded, stood up, and said with a smile, "Zi Xiang is dedicated to serving the public, and he is indeed a role model... But the person who delivers the message must be chosen properly. If it is lost along the way, it would be bad..."

"What Ming Gong said is that he is eager to be taught..." Wei Jinggong sent Cao Cao out of the tent.

Cao Cao squinted his eyes and waved his hand, letting Wei Chong go and do his work. Then he raised his head and walked a certain distance. He suddenly stopped at the corner, half-turned his head, and stared at Wei Chong's tent sideways. After his eyes wandered for a while, he continued to move forward with a straight face.

At this time, Wei Qian, who was in the tent, sat down again and moved away the bamboo slips on the table that said the military's money and food matters, revealing another bamboo slips underneath. After unfolding them again, Looking at the half-written handwriting, he looked up and looked outside the tent again, and couldn't help but frown...