……

Following the story told by Tianmu.

Liu Bei was also asking himself, is Cao Cao really unforgivable?
Everyone calls Cao Cao a traitor, but if the one million Qingzhou troops were really wiped out by Cao Cao, would anyone speak up for these one million starving people?

During the Zhenguan period.

As Tianmu continued to tell the story, Li Shimin became increasingly aware of the threat posed by the aristocratic families.

This group of powerful families only cared about their own interests and didn't care about the lives of the people at all. They annexed land and enslaved the people.

It can be said that it is because of the existence of these people that the people are forced to live uncontrollably and thus rebel.

……

[Since Chen Gong defected, Cao Cao's dream of unification should have been declared over here. ]

[Because with Cao Cao's food and grass supplies at the time, it would be impossible for him to retake Yanzhou.]

[But at this critical moment, a man stood up and saved Cao Cao. This man was none other than Xun Yu, who was known as the "king's assistant".]

[Although the powerful people in Yanzhou betrayed Cao Cao at that time, the people in charge of Yanzhou were not only the powerful people in Yanzhou, but also a representative of the Yingchuan clan was in office. This person was Xun Yu.]

[Xun Yu was the Sima of the Other Department at this time, only 29 years old, in charge of all government affairs in Yanzhou.]

[At this time, Xun Yu was still loyal to Cao Cao. It can even be said that if Xun Yu had not been there during this period, Cao Cao's dream of unifying the world would have ended here.]

[In this year, Xun Yu in Juancheng, the capital of Yanzhou, was handling government affairs as usual. At this time, Zhang Miao's envoy arrived in Juancheng.]

[Zhang Miao's messenger told Xun Yu that General Lü Bu had come to help Cao Cao attack Tao Qian, and asked Xun Yu to provide food immediately.]

[This is very strange, because at that time Dong Zhuo had died, and Lü Bu was driven out of Chang'an by Li Jue and Guo Si, and had been wandering all the time. How could he suddenly come to help Cao Cao? Did Cao Cao really have such a big face? ]

[But the one who reported the news was Zhang Miao's subordinate, and Zhang Miao was loyal to Cao Cao.]

[So no one could guess whether this news was true or not. Just when Cheng Yu and others were still confused, Xun Yu reacted. ]

【He obtained three key pieces of information just from this message. 】

[First, Yanzhou must have rebelled, and the rebels must have pledged allegiance to Lu Bu, and Zhang Miao must have been Lu Bu's accomplice. Therefore, Xun Yu not only did not provide Lu Bu with food, but instead ordered the Juancheng army to strengthen its defense and urgently recalled Xiahou Dun, the governor of Dongjun, to provide support.]

[Things turned out just as Xun Yu had predicted. All the cities in Yanzhou responded to Zhang Miao and joined Lü Bu's camp.]

[At that time, Cao Cao was leading a large army to fight in person, and there were very few soldiers left behind. Moreover, many of them had colluded with Zhang Miao. For a time, there were countless people who opposed Cao Cao.]

[Fortunately, Xun Yu called Xiahou Dun back in advance, otherwise the consequences would be disastrous. ]

[When Xiahou Dun arrived, he killed dozens of the rebels at night, and Juancheng finally settled down.]

[However, one wave of turmoil was not over yet another wave of turmoil arose. To the south of Yanzhou was Yuzhou, and Yuzhou's governor Guo Gong was also instigated by Lu Bu at the time and led tens of thousands of people to attack Juancheng.]

【Juancheng was an isolated city at that time. Cao Cao's army was far away in Xuzhou. However, Juancheng was located at the junction of Henan, Shandong and Hebei, and its strategic position was extraordinary.】

[Those who have read Zuo Zhuan and Spring and Autumn Annals should know that in the Spring and Autumn Period, Duke Wen of Jin retreated here and defeated the army of Chu. As a result, Jin became the second hegemon of the Spring and Autumn Period, laying the foundation for Jin's century-long hegemony.]

[It can be said that this place is a battleground for military strategists. ]

[If Boss Cao still wants to dominate the world, then Juancheng must not be lost.]

[However, Boss Cao was not in Juancheng at the time, so he could only rely on Xun Yu and others in Juancheng to solve this problem. ]

【At this time, Xun Yu could not find a good solution. If he went out of the city to fight, he would die. If he defended the city, he would also die. 】【So Xun Yu made what might be the boldest decision of his life. He decided to follow the story of Su Qin and Zhang Yi and persuade Governor Guo to withdraw his troops with his eloquence. 】

【But this was too dangerous, so Xiahou Dun advised him not to go.】

【Xun Yu analyzed that Guo Gong did not know much about Yanzhou. He just received Lu Bu's promise and launched an attack because of the small profit promised. He must be a person who seeks profit and avoids harm. If we show him our weakness, he will definitely attack.】

[If we show him how powerful we are, Guo Gong, who only wants to make some money, will definitely feel that the gain is not worth the loss and will retreat.]

[After making the decision, Xun Yu packed his bags and went to Guo Gong's camp alone.]

[Guo Gong was surprised to see Xun Yu coming alone and looking calm. He felt that if there were no soldiers in Juancheng, Xun Yu would not dare to do such a thing because it would be too dangerous.]

【So he thought there must be an ambush in Juancheng.】

[After reaching this conclusion, Guo Gong led his troops to retreat. Xun Yu scared away Guo Gong's tens of thousands of troops with just his words, which became a good story of that era.]

[When Cao Cao learned that Juancheng was in trouble, he had already returned to provide assistance. However, when he arrived, he found that Xun Yu had driven Guo Gong away by himself, which made Cao Cao overjoyed.]

[Because in this way, Cao Cao would only have to face Lu Bu's troops. ]

……

Eastern Han Dynasty plane.

Cao Cao was deeply moved.

"Later, I defeated Lu Bu, but I also killed Chen Gong with my own hands."

"If Chen Gongtai hadn't saved me back then, I, Cao Mengde, might have already disappeared from the world."

"To be honest, if Brother Gongtai is willing to lend me a hand, I am always welcome to do so."

"It's a pity that he thinks from the bottom of his heart that I, Cao Mengde, am a treacherous person. He would rather die for the sake of justice than be with me."

"Pity."

"Pity."

Cao Cao sighed three times and said it was a pity.

If a top strategist like Chen Gong fell into the hands of a wise ruler, the consequences would be disastrous.

In desperation, he had to execute Chen Gong with tears.

"It is a great pity that I cannot write about Chen Gong."

Cao Cao looked at the sky and sighed.

"Besides that, my other biggest regret is that I can't get Guan Yu."

"The reason why I didn't kill Guan Yu is because his loyalty is unparalleled in the world."

"Guan Yu is a man whose heart cannot be moved by wealth, whose will cannot be changed by titles and salaries, whose actions cannot be stopped by life and death. For a man like this, what can heaven do, let alone Cao Cao?"

Cao Cao still feels heartbroken when he thinks back to when Guan Yu left.

"I really envy Liu Bei for having such a loyal brother."

"Everyone says that I, Cao Cao, am a traitor and a thief, but before I became a traitor, I wanted to be a loyal person." (End of this chapter)