Chapter 712 Who killed Yuan Shu? The people!
Yuzhou is located in the center of the world. It has been an important grain-producing area since the time of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors.
July, the eighth year of Jian'an.
However, Yuzhou is desolate everywhere. Under the scorching sun, some streams have dried up, and some fields are barren, with pieces of soil frozen and cracked.
The once fertile soil has now declined to such an extent that the crops have dried up and turned yellow, and even the weeds that could not be burned by wildfires can no longer survive.
This is a natural disaster, but also a man-made one.
The power of nature is so vast that even the slightest change can cause a huge disaster.
The inaction of the government will infinitely magnify this disaster.
There were jagged white bones on both sides of the road in various postures. After being beaten by wind and rain, the already worn-out clothes had long since turned into strips of rags.
In the bushes and overgrown weeds, there were broken carriages, rusty weapons with beautiful patterns still on them, and traces of sword strikes.
Poor people and nobles died in the same place. From the scattered weapons, it can be seen that there must have been a fierce battle, and no one knows the final winner.
Perhaps, in such a world, there is no winner, and what we ultimately get is only the ultimate fairness: death.
No matter how rich and glorious you were in your life, at this moment, you will die with infinite regret.
This overgrown road had not been visited by anyone for who knows how long, but at this moment, the sound of horse hooves could be heard. At the end of the road, three hundred knights, each with three horses, appeared at the end of the road, leading more than a thousand infantry auxiliary soldiers.
These knights were all dressed in the uniforms of the imperial guards. They were none other than the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry under Cao Cao. They were led by Cao Ren, the most outstanding of all the Cao generals under Cao Cao.
Cao Ren rode forward, looked around the road, and then said to the clerk beside him: "Remember the message and tell the lord: this road is deserted, Yuan Shu has not used it as a food route for a long time, and more than a thousand cavalry are advancing here, and Yuan Shu cannot resist."
The confrontation between Cao's army and Yuan Shu had lasted for quite some time. There had been several battles between the two sides, and Yuan Shu had suffered several losses. However, facing Yuan Shu's iron-clad formation, the Cao army was not very effective.
In Cao's camp.
The atmosphere was heavy. Xun Yu was no longer here, and the confrontation was a competition of food and manpower.
Xun Yu, who served as the Minister of the Chancellery and the Chief of Logistics, had already returned to Yingchuan and Yanzhou to raise more food and fodder, young and strong men, and even strong women for Cao Cao to join the war.
Zhong Yao was taken away by Xun Yu to handle government affairs under Cao Cao.
At this moment, Cao Cao received the letter from Cao Ren. After reading it, he immediately handed it to Xun You and others.
He had wanted to start a war for a long time, but was always stopped by several advisers who said that now was not the best time.
After several advisers quickly looked through it, Xun You began to calculate all the intelligence over the past few months. Guo Jia, Dong Zhao, Xi Zhicai and others also calculated the information revealed in the intelligence.
Cao Cao asked anxiously, "Gongda, is this the right time?
Our army's food and fodder are almost exhausted. This damn Yuan Gonglu, how did he manage to keep two hundred thousand soldiers and horses fed?"
Yuan Shu's strength was not revealed until this moment.
With an army more than twice as large as his own, Cao Cao couldn’t even sustain the food and supplies, but Yuan Shu was still able to hold on.
Xun You finished his mental calculation, slowly opened his eyes and said in a deep voice: "My lord, Yuan Shu's food and grass will be cut off."
Cao Cao suddenly shone brightly and said, "Gongda!"
Xun You said loudly: "My lord, according to the intelligence in recent days, several grain routes of Yuan Shu's army have been abandoned, including the newly discovered grain route of our army.
The desertification of these grain routes proved that Yuan Shu no longer used them, but the food and grass consumed by the army would not decrease.
Now, all Yuan Shu could transport grain and grass were the three largest grain routes.
But according to You's calculations, the food and fodder that passed through the three grain routes every day was not enough to sustain Yuan Shu's army.
In other words, although Yuan Shu had new food and fodder entering the military camp all the time, the food and fodder in his camp was continuously decreasing.
During these days, Yuan Shu took the initiative to go out of the camp and engage in some small-scale battles with our army, which is enough to prove that Yuan Shu is beginning to get impatient.
This means that Yuan Shu’s camp may have less than a month’s supply of food and grass, otherwise he wouldn’t be so anxious.”
This is a fairly simple arithmetic problem.
Yuan Shu had an army of 200,000, but the food and fodder delivered every day was only enough to feed 190,000 of them, so the remaining 10,000 could only eat the stored food.
No matter how much food was stored, it could not sustain so much food consumption by the people and horses, so it was inevitable that Yuan Shu's army lacked food and fodder.
Cao Cao wondered, "But why did Yuan Shu suddenly start to run out of food?
That’s Runan County, the richest county in the world.
The grain and grass produced in a county can even surpass the grain and grass produced in a state in a bitter and cold place like Youzhou and Bingzhou."
Cao Cao was born in Yuzhou, and he knew too well how perverted Runan County was.
Xi Zhicai responded excitedly, "My lord, Yuan Shu is not just short of food. Yuzhou was first hit by a flood and then a drought.
The land became barren, and Yuan Shu transferred a large number of young and strong people from Runan County. As there was a lack of young and strong people to farm the land, the land became further barren.
Yuan Shu also imposed heavy taxes on wealthy families in Runan County and demanded that they donate large amounts of military supplies.
But there is no such thing as extorting heavy taxes from the rich in this world, and in the end, the burden naturally falls on the common people.
Have you forgotten the report we received some time ago that some people in Runan County even rebelled and attacked Yuan Shu's retreat?
It was just suppressed by Yuan Shu who controlled a large army.
However, the damage caused to Yuan Shu by that rebellion must have been enormous, because only half a month after that, Yuan Shu voluntarily abandoned a grain route.
The people's enthusiasm was like a fire, heroic and fierce.
No one in this world would be willing to be oppressed to death.
As long as Yuan Shu continues like this, there will be endless resistance. Will Yuan Shu change?
Won’t change!
He will never recognize his own mistakes, but will blame all the mistakes on the common people and those powerful people who cannot bear the humiliation.
My Lord, this is our chance. Yuan Shu is facing internal and external troubles, how can he not be defeated?"
Cao Cao was first excited when he heard the words, but then he felt a tingling sensation all over his body, just like the feeling he had the last time Guo Jia finished speaking.
He always felt that when these advisers criticized Yuan Shu, they were also criticizing him.
Because while he was confronting Yuan Shu, there was also a small rebellion in his rear, but it was quickly resolved by Chen Gong.
Dong Zhao suddenly spoke up: “My lord, Yuan Shu is wreaking havoc in Runan County, it’s time for Liu Biao and Prince Chu to send troops together.
They are all close to Runan County and know more about the affairs of the county than we do.
If they are unwilling to attack at this time, it will greatly damage their reputation.
If you are willing to attack, it will be in line with our strategy.
We can achieve more with less losses.
Finally, we will execute our previous plan.”
Deep down, Cao Cao didn't want to involve Liu Biao and Luo Chu.
It is easy to invite gods but difficult to send them away.
If we invite these two into Yuzhou, it will not be easy to drive them away.
But at this point, there was no other way. Cao Cao felt his head ache again, so he had to sit down and say to Xun You, "Gongda, you write the letters to Liu Biao and Luo Chu.
It is July now, Gongda, when do you think it would be appropriate for us to attack?"
Xun You had already calculated this when he was thinking about it just now, and when he heard Cao Cao's question, he immediately said: "Now the food and grass in our army can still last for half a month, and the Shangshu Ling is still sending us food and grass continuously, but now the rear is gradually running out.
According to You's calculations, they could confront Yuan Shu's army for another month, observe the situation of Yuan Shu's army, and then disperse the main army and ambush the special forces.
Although our army is not as numerous as Yuan Shu's, it is more elite. As long as we wait until Yuan Shu is short of food, we can attack him fiercely and he will surely be defeated."
Cao Cao did not comment on Xun You's outlook for the future. He only heard that they would need to confront Yuan Shu's army for another month, and he became angry again.
One month?
Cao Cao took a deep breath. In his life, from an ordinary son of a noble to a local lord, he had experienced quite a few wars, but not many real decisive battles.
After all, there are very few enemies in this world who can be equally matched with you.
Although Yuan Shu was not a great leader, he had a formidable foundation thanks to his powerful family background.
He is indeed the strongest opponent Cao Cao has ever encountered except Liu Bei. The other small princes are not as good as Yuan Shu.
This battle against Yuan Shu was of vital importance to Cao Cao; whether he could become the overlord of the Central Plains depended on this battle.
The time of waiting always feels very slow but it moves forward unwaveringly.
Watching the food and supplies being depleted little by little was a painful feeling. Cao Cao wanted to launch an attack countless times, but was stopped by Xun You and his men.
The same was true for Yuan Shu. The frequency of his attacks increased, the number of his troops increased, and his inner anxiety was perfectly displayed.
This made Cao Cao feel a little relieved, knowing that the guesses made by Xun You and others were correct.
Yuan Shu indeed had no food left, so he was desperately seeking a decisive battle.
In fact, the situation in Yuan Shu's army was worse than imagined. Some of the civilians who transported food and fodder and the soldiers who served as auxiliary troops had begun to reduce the supply of food and fodder.
However, the quartermaster did not dare to tell Yuan Shu about this situation, because he was already Yuan Shu's third quartermaster.
Yuan Shu didn't believe that he had no food at all, because it was always others who were short of food, but Yuan Shu had never been short of food.
To Yuan Shu, this situation was like a fantasy.
Cao Cao and his group of advisers guessed completely wrong. They were speculating about an abnormal person with normal people's thinking.
The reason why Yuan Shu attacked frequently was simply because he felt unhappy and simply wanted to have a decisive battle with Cao Cao as soon as possible. He couldn't wait to defeat Cao Cao, and then torture Cao Cao severely to avenge his son.
As for losing to Cao Cao, Yuan Shu had never thought about this possibility.
The previous failure was only because he did not withdraw his hands completely. Now he mobilized all his troops.
Who in the world can be his opponent?
What does it matter if we rely on Cao Cao?
But reality never deviates from people's fantasies.
Yuan Shu spent the whole day hanging around his tent, where he met only the most elite soldiers. Naturally, he did not dare to skimp on their food.
But it’s an army of two hundred thousand!
The camp alone stretched for more than ten miles, occupying almost all the places suitable for camping. It would take a long time to run from one end to the other even on horseback.
Yuan Shu had never even visited where the civilians and auxiliary troops were, and had no idea what the situation was like there.
They didn't even know that there had been several small-scale mutinies, which were just some hungry people causing trouble.
After repeated suppression, the civilians and soldiers who had long been fed up with Yuan Shu could no longer tolerate it.
Yuan Shu levied heavy taxes and levied heavy taxes for the sake of this war, and he regarded himself as the master of this land.
They enslave the people like cattle and horses, just like all the tyrants in the past.
He's not even a monarch!
The civilians who transported food and fodder for the army were forcibly conscripted to perform military service and corvee labor, but they did not expect that Yuan Shu would leave them no chance of survival.
Seeing that they would starve to death sooner or later if they continued like this, these soldiers and civilians mutinied again!
And it was not a random mutiny, but a mutiny in the manner described in the story of King Su.
First kill those who are unwilling to mutiny.
Everyone must either join the mutiny or die.
It is impossible to gain benefits by following these troublemakers.
Luo once said that before rebelling and doing anything big, one should first kill the spineless and smart people among one's own people.
If we kill the spineless ones, no one will keep thinking about surrendering.
Kill those smart people who let others die first, and others will become brave.
In Luo's propaganda, this is the only way to achieve victory. Anyone who does not do so will surely fail in the end.
Although these common people had little education and did not understand many of the principles in books, they had heard these stories due to Luo's tireless propaganda.
If we start an uprising now, we can immediately act according to these propaganda.
In such a large army, once information is not flowing smoothly, any chaos will quickly expand, and most people don't know how the chaos started.
When Yuan Shu heard the noisy noise, he thought it was Cao Cao attacking, and until now he had no idea that another mutiny had occurred in his own heartland.
Cao Cao was keenly aware of the noise and chaos in Yuan Shu's camp.
The wisdom of a super god occupied his brain in an instant, and the intuition of a super monarch made his whole body tremble.
"There is chaos in Yuan Shu's camp. I'm afraid there may be a mutiny!"
Without waiting for his advisers to analyze the situation, Cao Cao analyzed it based on his intuition about war.
"All cavalry, mount your horses. Gentlemen, this is our golden opportunity. We need to defeat Yuan Shu in one battle. Now is the time!"
Cao Cao waved his sword high in the air and shouted, "Whoever kills Yuan Shu will be given a rank of marquis by Your Majesty!"
At this moment, even Guan Yu's eyes lit up, and his squinting eyes were now shining brightly.
In the world today, only the marquisate titles of the Han Dynasty are hard currency.
Although Guan Yu didn't care about many things, he still cared about the title of marquis.
Cao Cao personally led the charge, and Dian Wei protected him. He was not good at commanding troops, and had always been the captain of Cao Cao's guard, responsible for protecting Cao Cao's safety.
When Yuan Shu saw that Cao Cao dared to lead a large army to attack his camp directly, he was overjoyed. He immediately opened the gate of the camp and led his army to fight Cao Cao.
But he did not consider the fire behind him at all.
And it wasn't just that there were enemies attacking from behind, but that his own people were rebelling. It was like someone was stabbing him in the stomach with a knife and he had no power to fight back.
Yuan Shu was still excitedly shouting at his soldiers to move forward, but he heard bursts of whistling sounds coming from behind him.
Cao Cao pushed forward his entire army, and almost in an instant the war situation reached its most intense stage.
Cao Cao's army had been integrated, while Yuan Shu's army was a motley crowd. They could still fight if they simply rotated their battalions, but it was almost impossible for them to coordinate with each other.
Facing Cao Cao's elite troops, when the soldiers in the front died, the soldiers behind heard the sound and even felt that the mountains and plains were full of enemies.
The soldiers coming from the rear were dispersed by the rebel soldiers and immediately began to attack from the back. Yuan Shu's army was attacked from both sides.
Moreover, the camp in the rear had been completely destroyed, and the army in the front could not withstand Cao Cao's army.
The generals under Cao Cao led their troops forward, feeling that they had never fought such an easy battle in their lives.
Now anyone with a little strategic vision can see that Yuan Shu’s army is about to be defeated.
Defeated easily!
It's completely and utterly vulnerable!
It's all over!
Looking at the soldiers fleeing in all directions, Yuan Shu was on the verge of collapse.
He never expected that in the end he did not fall into the hands of Cao Cao, but was instead betrayed by these pig-like and dog-like untouchables.
This led to his own disastrous defeat, which is really ridiculous.
"Untouchables!"
"How dare you betray me!"
Yuan Shu roared and cursed, holding a sharp sword in his hand, and hacked a civilian to death on the ground. The gushing blood splashed on his face.
His ferocious face looked even more terrifying, as if he was a ghost walking out of the underworld, making people feel cold just by looking at him.
Looking at the battlefield where the army was defeated, Yuan Shu quickly fled under the protection of his guards. He believed that as long as he escaped back, he would be able to make a comeback.
He comes from a family of three high officials in four generations, with students and former officials all over the country. His family foundation is extremely deep, so it will not be a problem for him to stand up again.
"Master, where are you?
Don’t abandon me.”
Yuan Shu, who was in a state of madness, suddenly heard a familiar and gentle voice. He turned around and saw that it was the woman who regarded him as her master, who was running towards him with her skirt lifted up.
Amidst the blood, the countless weapons, and the corpses lying on the ground, a beautiful woman stumbled towards him.
Her belly was slightly bulging, and inside was Yuan Shu's child. She gained Yuan Shu's trust with this.
How could that be?
Yuan Shu was a little stunned.
The guards protecting Yuan Shu were about to stop them, but Yuan Shu scolded them, so they let the woman go.
The woman ran to his side, her face full of worry, and asked in a gentle voice: "Master, are you okay?"
As he spoke, he burst into tears and said, "Master, why is there blood on your armor? Are you injured?"
Yuan Shu stared in amazement at this shameless woman who, in his eyes, was only pursuing fame and fortune.
He never expected that at this time, it would be the woman in front of him who would come to comfort him.
He stared blankly at the woman as she untied the armor on his side. He wanted to tell her that he was protected by the armor and was not injured.
But at this moment of betrayal, he didn't want to talk like that.
He needed someone to tell him that he, Yuan Shu, was not wrong.
There are still people willing to follow him, even this shameless woman in front of him.
The woman reached out to unfasten the armor. She had studied how to do this for a long time, so Yuan Shu did not feel any discomfort. She reached out and stroked Yuan Shu's side, which had no blood on it, and felt relieved.
"Master, you are not injured, how lucky!"
Yuan Shu is now safe and sound, and there is undisguised joy in her eyes.
Even someone like Yuan Shu couldn't help but feel happy when he saw this joy without any impurities.
He decided to raise the status of this woman and upgrade her from a lowly maid to his concubine.
“Puff!”
This is the sound of a dagger piercing flesh.
A sharp pain came from between his ribs, and Yuan Shu's expression froze in an instant. The feeling of severe pain spread throughout his body almost instantly.
"you……"
The woman's voice no longer had any of the tenderness of the past, but was instead filled with coldness, as chilly as the coldest glacier on Mount Tianshan or the cold springs in the Netherworld.
Because this chill is filled with strong hatred, this is the last voice of a woman whose family has been destroyed. Who can understand the pain and torment she suffers as a thief day and night?
"Yuan Shu, I'm glad you're not injured.
I once swore that I would kill you with my own hands to avenge my blood feud.
I'm really afraid that someone else will kill you first, I'm so scared! "
As she spoke, she stabbed twice more. She stabbed from the ribs and directly injured the heart. Yuan Shu would surely die, so she dared to talk nonsense here.
Yuan Shu completely lost the strength to push the woman away and could only ask intermittently: "Why?
Wouldn’t it be nice to follow me and enjoy wealth and glory?
There are many women in this world who remarry. Why are you unwilling?
I killed your child, but you made a new one."
The woman said coldly: "The spirit of the Su King is in heaven. My husband and I once made a vow in front of the Goddess of Luo River. Why do you say that?
How can you powerful people understand?
King Su and Goddess Luo have granted us free souls and we will never be enslaved.
This child in my belly?
You are an evil person who deserves to be punished in the underworld for eternity and you don't deserve to have a child. He is a bastard and has no right to appear in this world.
You should be extinct and become a lonely ghost, never to receive blood food or incense offerings. "
Yuan Shu opened his eyes and asked in disbelief, "You are a pure believer in the Su King?"
The woman said proudly: "Yes!
Go to hell! "
Yuan Shu never expected that the woman in front of him would be a pure believer in Su Wang, which is rare in this world.
This kind of people basically only appear in places like Zhaocheng, mainly in families, do not spread outside, and only reproduce within the family.
If Yuan Shu had known this earlier, he would never have kept this woman by his side, because such people are extremely unstable.
Almost all the princes avoided it.
"I actually died at the hands of a woman!"
Until the end, Yuan Shu was still crying and wailing. He didn't expect that he did not die at the hands of Cao Cao, but at the hands of a woman.
He was extremely frustrated.
Yuan Shu had lost enough blood and the poison had penetrated deeply enough.
His head hung heavily, like a dead dog.
"A noble family?"
"Nothing more!"
The woman let Yuan Shu go, looked at the panicked guards who rushed over to her, and then she calmly committed suicide in front of everyone, a flower of blood blooming on her heart.
She was still as beautiful as ever, and although there was blood on her face, it was clean.
The guards who rushed over looked at Yuan Shu and the woman's bodies, not knowing what to do. Then the first person ran away, and the others dispersed.
As the legitimate son of the Yuan family, there was not even one person willing to collect his body.
Or perhaps those who were willing to collect his body had already died on the battlefield.
White clouds are floating slowly, and a few birds are singing, bringing a sense of loneliness.
Life and death are just that simple.
No matter how powerful you are, no matter how much power you have, once you close your eyes and never open them again, your name will no longer exist in this world.
It was not until a long time later that Cao Chun led the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry to catch up here.
His face was full of regret and he had no hope at all. He never expected that he would chase the wrong person and cause Yuan Shu to run away.
Such a good opportunity to avenge Zi Lian was actually missed.
"General! Is that Yuan Shu in front?"
Suddenly, the soldier pointed forward. Cao Chun hurriedly rode over and took a closer look. It was Yuan Shu's corpse, with a hideous look on his face and his eyes open.
When Cao Chun saw the poisoned dagger on the chest of the woman next to him, he knew what had happened.
At the same time, I felt regret and relief.
Although he did not kill Yuan Shu personally, at least he did not let him escape. This was a blessing in disguise.
He sighed here, and the sound of horse hooves was heard. Several generals went to kill or surrender Yuan Shu's soldiers, and the rest came here.
Killing Yuan Shu is the most critical thing for Cao Cao's camp so far.
It can be said that if Yuan Shu had not died, it would have taken at least another year to pacify Runan County.
But even after Yuan Shu died, Runan County could be conquered by just a single edict. This is the importance of the life and death of a politician.
Especially since Yuan Shu has no successor now, even if he still has some loyal ministers, there is no one who can hold up the banner.
Cao Cao was wearing armor and a bright red cloak, with a look of high spirits on his face, riding his horse towards us.
Looking at Yuan Shu's hideous corpse, he couldn't help but laugh out loud with his head raised. This time he could finally laugh without restraint.
"Yuan Shu, Yuan Shu, is this the legitimate son of three generations of dukes?
That's all!
That's all! "
What Cao Cao saw from Yuan Shu was not the death of one person, but that the entire Runan would fall into his hands, and he, Cao Cao, would become the overlord of the Central Plains, dominating two states.
Such a force is not weaker than any other princes. Unless Yuan Shao can take over the entire Youzhou, he can defeat him.
The most crucial thing is that because Yuan Shu was defeated so quickly and cleanly, Cao Cao’s losses were completely acceptable, and Luo Chu and Liu Biao probably didn’t react in time.
He had enough time to confront Luo Chu and Liu Biao and prevent them from entering Runan County.
"This woman killed Yuan Shu, which was considered to be ridding the people of harm. Give her a good burial and write on her tombstone, 'The one who killed Yuan Shu is buried here.'"
Cao Cao didn't know the woman's name, but he had already done the most he could for her by doing this.
Cao Cao turned his horse around and said, "Take Yuan Shu's body with you and return to pay tribute to Zi Lian's heroic spirit so that his soul can rest in peace. His brothers kept their promise and avenged him.
Cut off his head and salt it, and give it to Zilian's child as a reward when he grows up."
The army came like the wind and left like the wind, leaving behind only a lonely grave on the roadside and blood on the ground.
The smoke and smell of blood condensed in the wind slowly dissipated.
A new chapter has been opened.
————
Yuan Shu was a man of cunning fate. He was reckless by nature, arrogant and proud of his reputation. He thought he was concerned about the country but forgot about his family, but in fact he was pretending to be self-respecting.
His techniques have achieved no results, and have not done any good things. He only talks about being respectful and frugal, but he is extravagant, licentious and dissolute. He has hundreds of concubines, all of whom are adorned with luxury. However, the people are starving and impoverished, and he does not provide any relief. He also abuses them, and destroys their homes.
The people could not bear their fate, but Cao Cao took advantage of the situation and wielded the whip. Why did he do this?
Cao Cao?
No!
These are the people of Runan!
When the woman raised her sword with hatred, held the moral principles, and explained to him the words of the sage, Shu still said to himself, "Alas! How absurd! My bones in the tomb will be laughed at by history!" - "Book of the Later Han: Biographies of Liu Yan, Liu Biao, Liu Yu, Yuan Shu, and Gongsun Zan"
(End of this chapter)
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