Just when Liu Bei took Guan Yu and Zhang Fei to Longzhong to visit Wolong, Wei Xu and Song Xian of Xuzhou finally had a conflict over power and interests, and internal strife broke out.
Each side sent troops to fight.
Wei Xuqi missed a move and was defeated by Song Xian, who killed him.
Song Xian was busy gathering the troops left behind after Wei Xu's death.
After receiving the news, Yan Xing rushed to send troops into Xuzhou before Cao Cao.
Song Xian hurriedly led his troops to fight.
Song Xian gathered the soldiers and horses left by Wei Xu.
Although the number of troops increased, their combat power plummeted.
He was defeated by Yan Xing in one fell swoop.
In the process of escaping, he was also killed by his subordinates, and his head was sent to Yan Xing by his subordinates.
Take credit.
Soon, Yan Xing led troops to capture the entire territory of Xuzhou.
Cao Cao originally planned to send troops to compete with Yan Xing for Xuzhou, but he was restrained by the imperial troops in the west and could not mobilize more than a few months of troops to capture Xuzhou.
In this way, Cao Cao's situation became more difficult and dangerous, and he spared no effort to promote an alliance with the Sun family in Jiangdong and Liu Biao in Jingzhou.
Chang'an.
Liu Cheng received the news that Yan Xing had captured Xuzhou.
This news surprised him.
He thought that Yan Xing would capture Xuzhou sooner or later, but he did not expect it to be so soon.
This made him feel that it was necessary to advance the plan.
In the lobby of the Regent's Palace, Liu Cheng said to the counselors: "Now that Yan Xing has captured Xuzhou, Cao Cao's Yanzhou is completely surrounded by the imperial power.
Should the imperial court send troops to deal with Cao Cao first?
What do you think?"
Jia Xu stood up and cupped his hands and said: "My lord, if Xuzhou is not controlled by our army, our army will have to wait for a while to attack Cao Cao.
Seeing that Xuzhou is now captured by our army, then the plan to attack Cao Cao can be advanced.
Under the attack, my subordinates believed that Cao Cao would definitely be defeated.
Even if the gods descended to earth, they would not be able to save it.
Therefore, they suggested sending troops to attack Cao Cao as soon as possible."
Xun Yu agreed: "My lord, I second my opinion."
"Second" When Liu Cheng saw that all the counselors agreed, he immediately said: "Okay, since everyone agrees to deal with Cao Cao immediately, then the court will deal with Cao Cao first, and then send troops south."
Under Liu Cheng's order, various government offices in the imperial court began to operate at high speed, and grain, grass, ordnance and other strategic materials were continuously transported to the front line.
In May of 201 AD, Liu Cheng personally led an army of 50,000 from Chenliu to attack the Jiyang area occupied by Cao Cao.
Under his command were generals such as Xu Shu, Gao Shun, Ma Chao, Zhang Liao, and Pang De, and his advisers included Xun You, Guo Jia, and Li Confucianism and others, as well as thousands of generals and colleges.
After receiving the news, Cao Cao personally led 20,000 troops to Jiyang to face Liu Cheng's army.
Zhao Yun crossed the river from Hebei with 50,000 troops to attack Baima.
Cao Cao sent Xiahou Yuan with 10,000 troops to fight.
Zang Ba led an army of 10,000 to attack Jishi from Liang State.
Cao Cao sent General Li Tong to lead an army of 5,000 to fight.
Yan Xing led an army of 30,000 to attack Xiaopei, but Cao Cao sent Yue Jin to lead an army of 10,000 to resist.
On May 12, Cao Cao led his army to station outside Jiyang City and built a high-pitched camp, hoping to use it as an angle with Jiyang City to fight against Liu Cheng's 50,000 army.
On May 15th, Liu Cheng's army arrived near Cao Ying.
Under Liu Cheng's order, 50,000 troops camped ten miles away from Cao Ying.
Late at night, there were dozens of officials and generals in the tent, each of whom was a very important figure.
Liu Cheng took off his saber and put it on the desk and looked at everyone and said: "Now Cao Cao is camping ten miles away from our army camp, and it is a horn with each other in Jiyang City.
I don't know if you have any good strategies to deal with Cao Cao."
The counselors and officials discussed each other in low voices.
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After half a cup of tea, Liu Ye, who had recently returned from the Kushan Empire as an envoy, stood up and cupped his hands and said: "My lord, I believe that if you want to do your job well, you must first sharpen your tools.
Although Cao Cao's camp is newly built, But it is also a strong and thick wall.
Our army should rest for a few more days and let the craftsmen in the army do their best.
Building siege equipment can not only restore the physical strength and morale of our soldiers, but also put pressure on Cao Cao and the defenders.
It can also tell Cao Cao's army in Jiyang City that we are going to attack Cao Cao's camp.
As long as Jiyang City's If Cao Jun dares to go out of the city to rescue, our army will immediately send out cavalry to attack and kill him."
Liu Cheng put his hands on his hands and laughed: "What a move to encircle the point and bring reinforcements.
Among the princes, only Yuan Shao has suffered from our army's siege weapon.
Now it is time for Cao Cao to suffer like this.
Send the order and let the craftsmen in the army suffer.
Work hard to build siege equipment, recruit nearby civilians to dig rocks, and make stone bombs.
Collect more kerosene to make kerosene bombs."
"Take orders" In the next two days, tens of thousands of civilians were recruited to go to the foot of the nearby mountain to cut rocks.
A large amount of kerosene and plant fibers were collected and transported to make kerosene bombs.
Three days later, hundreds of siege ladders, hundreds of stone machines and well railings were built by craftsmen.
These siege weapons were used many times when attacking Yuan Shao.
Through practical testing, these siege weapons were quite powerful, and Yuan Jun had already suffered from them.
Cao Jun's camp.
In the Chinese army tent, Cao Cao knelt and sat behind the desk.
The oil lamp on the table was burning and making a slight crackling sound.
Wang Lang, Hua Xin, Man Chong and others were kneeling on both sides.
Cao Cao's face was as dark as water.
Even though he was talented and wise, there was no good way to resolve the crisis under the current situation, and he still felt like he was at the end of his rope.
"Hua Xin, what are our chances of winning?"
Cao Cao asked.
Hua Xin was silent for a while, then cupped his hands and said, "Lord, our chance of winning is no more than 20%."
Cao Cao sighed: "Do your best and obey fate."
At this point, Cao Cao suddenly laughed at himself, "I should actually be happy that the imperial court can be revived.
I kept asking myself, isn't this exactly what I want to see?
Why was I so unwilling?
Later I understood, why I am unwilling to do so because I, Cao Mengde, was not involved in the renaissance of the imperial court.
What I hope is that I, Cao Mengde, will revitalize the Han Dynasty, not Liu Cheng."
"People are indeed selfish."
At this time Wang Lang said: "My lord, I wonder if you have ever thought about surrendering?"
"Surrender" Cao Cao was stunned and laughed: "Hahaha, I, Cao Mengde, will surrender.
I'm afraid everyone in the world will be surprised.
As the saying goes, good birds choose trees to roost, and wise ministers choose their masters to serve.
If you have other ideas, I, Cao Mengde, Never stop it” Wang Lang said: "My lord has misunderstood my subordinates.
Surrender is just a temporary measure.
After my lord has established a firm foothold in the court, he will then find a way to seize the power of the court.
To be honest, with my lord's current strength, my subordinates don't think so."
There is no chance of winning.
Sometimes when the strength reaches a certain level, any strategy is just in vain.
At most, it can only delay the time, but in the end it cannot change the result.
Instead of doing this, why not find another way?"
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"My lord, don't you always say that a real man should be able to bend and stretch?
My subordinates believe that at this time, my lord must bear the humiliation and bear the burden, so that he can have the opportunity to control the world.
And with my lord's status, if he surrenders voluntarily, Liu Cheng will definitely treat his lord as a guest, and he will definitely give him a favor." high position" Wang Lang's words made Cao Cao deep in thought.
Although Hua Xin said that the chance of winning was no more than 20%, Cao Cao knew that his chance of winning was extremely slim.
He was just unwilling to give up until now.
He knew the strength of both sides better than anyone else.
What a big difference.
"Let me think about this."
Yes, Cao Cao sent someone to send a letter to Cheng Yu in Jiyang City overnight.
The letter contained the idea proposed by Wang Lang and he wanted to solicit Cheng Yu's thoughts.
After Cheng Yu received Cao Cao's letter, he read the content carefully.
He knew that Cao Cao's heart had actually been shaken.
After all, the gap in strength between the two sides was too huge.
This could not be made up by strategy and tactics.
Cao Cao sent someone to send this letter.
The purpose of the letter is nothing more than to worry about whether surrender will be a blessing or a curse.
Cheng Yu carefully recalled the previous meeting with Liu Cheng, and judged in his heart that Liu Cheng would not kill a person who surrendered, especially a prince who surrendered voluntarily.
Early the next morning, Cao Cao received a reply from Cheng Yu.
Cheng Yu did not explicitly tell Cao Cao what to do in his reply.
He only said that after surrendering to the court, the possibility of Liu Cheng being unfavorable to Cao Cao was very small.
However, Cheng Yu also wrote in the letter He said that no matter what decision Cao Cao made, he would support it unconditionally and without hesitation.
After reading Cheng Yu's reply, Cao Cao thought for a long time and summoned his generals and counselors to discuss the matter.
"Is there no news from Jiangdong yet?"
Wang Lang stood up and replied: "Mr.
Cao, there is no news yet.
Maybe it's a long way and it won't be so fast for a while."
Cao Cao thought for a while and asked: "Do you think we can support it until the Sun family in Jiangdong and Liu Biao in Jingzhou agree to form an alliance and send troops to Manchuang?"
Man Chong hesitated for a moment, clasped his fists and said: "My Lord, I think that even if the Jiangdong Sun family and Jingzhou Liu Biao agree to form an alliance, it will take time for them to send out troops, and it will also take time for the army to arrive for reinforcements.
I am afraid that they will have to wait for their troops to arrive.
Reinforcements, we have all been killed.”
Even Man Chong had no hope of winning.
Cao Cao no longer had any luck in his heart.
He said: "I have decided to lead the Yanzhou army and people to surrender to the imperial court.
I don't know what you think."
Some of the counselors objected, some agreed, and some remained silent, neither agreeing nor opposing.
"It seems that the majority of people agree to surrender to the imperial court, so we will surrender to the imperial court.
Wang Lang, on my behalf, go to see Liu Cheng and express our wishes to him.
If they agree to our surrender, they should also give an Detailed plan to relocate our troops.”
Wang Lang stood up and agreed: "Yes, I will go to the opposite camp in the afternoon to ask to see Liu Cheng."
Liu Cheng was wiping his sword in his tent, and Liu Ye walked in and reported: "My lord, Cao Cao has sent an envoy."
"Oh, what is the name of this messenger?"
"It's Wang Lang" "So it's him who invited him in.
There's already a war.
What exactly does Cao Cao want to do by sending people here?"
Liu Cheng was quite confused.
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Soon, Liu Ye led Wang Lang into the dental tent.
Wang Lang bowed to Liu Cheng and said: "Wang Lang, the former prefect of Kuaiji, pays homage to the king."
Liu Cheng didn't expect Wang Lang to pay such a courtesy to him, but this guy was the culprit who instigated Wei Xu to kill Xu Rong.
Thinking of this, Liu Cheng's heart flashed with murderous intent.
"It turns out to be Prefect Wang.
Please get up.
Someone comes and gives me a seat."
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
Wang Lang was extremely respectful.
Liu Cheng waited for Wang Lang to sit down and asked: "Wang Lang, what did Cao Cao send you to do?"
Wang Lang cupped his hands and said: "Your Majesty, Cao Cao wants to surrender to the court."
"Oh" Liu Cheng was quite surprised by the news.
He couldn't understand that Cao Cao would surrender.
"This news shocked me.
Cao Mengde is not someone who gives up easily."
Wang Lang immediately said: "Your Majesty, Cao Cao actually wants to pretend to surrender.
After gaining a high position in the court, he will find ways to secretly win over the court ministers and generals, and then compete with the king for the control of the court."
"So that's what he had in mind."
Liu Cheng looked like he suddenly realized it and asked, "Why did you tell me such a confidential matter?"
Wang Lang bowed again and said: "Your Majesty, when I was beaten away by Sun Ce and escaped, I originally wanted to come and serve the imperial court, but I didn't expect that I was stopped by Cao Cao and had to commit myself to the enemy camp.
Now Cao Cao is determined to resist."
If he is shaken, I will immediately offer him this strategy to make him surrender so that the king can attack him."
"Your Majesty, Cao Cao has a heroic appearance and a heroic heart.
The imperial court can take advantage of the opportunity of surrendering with his troops to deal with him.
After accepting him, it can find an excuse to kill the entire Cao family.
There is no need to go to war. " Liu Cheng couldn't help but look at Wang Lang with admiration.
He was convinced that Wang Lang was still a loyal minister to the court.
After thinking for a long time, Liu Cheng said to Wang Lang: "My lord Wang is loyal to the court.
I am deeply gratified and admired.
You can go back and tell Cao Cao that if he can surrender, I will avoid the huge casualties caused by a big war."
You can make him the right servant of the Shangshutai, and all the civil servants and generals under his command will be promoted to one level.
As for you, Sir, the court and I will never forget your contribution.
There must be a position among the six ministers for you."
Wang Lang was overjoyed and held his hands in his arms and said: "Thank you so much for your help, Your Majesty.
My subordinates are loyal to the court and Your Majesty and will definitely facilitate this matter."
Cao Cao wanted to save the country, endure humiliation and bear the burden, and wait for the opportunity.
Liu Cheng also wanted to take advantage of Cao Cao's idea.
As long as Cao Cao could surrender, this war could be avoided, and there would be many unexpected benefits.
Wang Lang returned to Cao Ying and gave an overview of his conversation with Liu Cheng.
Cao Cao's counselors, officials and military generals were very happy after hearing Liu Cheng's promise.
After all, it is not easy to be promoted to a higher level.
Now not only could the crisis be resolved, but he could also be promoted to a higher position.
This was a very good deal.
Many of Cao Cao's men were tempted and urged Cao Cao to surrender to Liu Cheng as quickly as possible.
Cao Cao was furious when he heard this.
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He secretly swore that if he could take power in the future, he would take revenge on these losers and make them pay for their actions.
On May 24, Cao Cao led his troops to surrender, and tens of thousands of soldiers and civilians in Yanzhou abandoned their weapons.
When Liu Cheng and his army arrived at Cao Ying's camp, Cao Cao lined up with civil and military officials and soldiers to greet him.
At this time, all the soldiers of Cao's army had discarded their weapons, which fully demonstrated that he surrendered sincerely.
If Liu Cheng was in trouble, he would have to arrange a good job for him.
"The sinner Cao Cao pays homage to the regent."
Cao Cao and his men knelt on the ground.
Liu Cheng jumped off his horse and shouted: "Oh, Meng De, what do you mean?
I can't stand this great gift from you":