Chapter 85: Cao Cao Installs Liu Xie, Defeats Cao Cao and Takes Changancheng

The situation under heaven is constantly changing.

In truth, for Gu Chen, killing Liu Dai right now would not bring him any benefits.

On the contrary, it would be the opposite.

If he could spare Liu Dai’s life, it would be of much greater help to him.

But Gu Chen has never cared about such things.

If he were purely acting for profit, he could have simply abducted Liu Bian and Liu Xie when he left Luoyang back then.

With the Imperial Jade Seal in hand, these two would have been absolute trump cards.

But what would that achieve?

For Gu Chen,

from the moment he decided to kill Empress Dowager Deng, neither Liu Xie nor Liu Bian could ever be a monarch he would recognize.

This is Gu Chen’s character.

Compared to all previous emperors, the presence of this emperor, Liu Dai, is simply too weak.

—Heaven’s mandate is gone, and he has shown no grace to the common people.

Who would care about his life or death?

His so-called imperial throne has been laughable from beginning to end.

But for Cao Cao, the significance is different.

Once the news gradually spread,

Cao Cao immediately prepared a grand enthronement ceremony for Liu Xie in Xuchang, announced the change of the era name to "Jian'an," and bestowed titles upon his ministers.

He appointed Gu Chen as Inspector of Liangzhou, Gu Wei as Inspector of Bingzhou, and Liu Bei as Inspector of Qingzhou.

Meritorious generals under his command, as well as the noble clans of Jizhou, Youzhou, and Yanzhou, were also rewarded.

Even without the Imperial Jade Seal,

for Liu Xie, his bloodline and origin are his greatest weapons.

Of course, Cao Cao would naturally not acknowledge Liu Dai’s imperial throne; only in this way is Liu Xie’s bloodline the most legitimate.

He even used this momentum

to officially label Liu Dai a rebel in the name of the imperial court.

The same applied to those noble clans who supported him.

Now that these clans are under his command, this blame naturally fell upon the increasingly powerless Yuan clan.

The current Yuan clan has truly witnessed what it means for people to leave and the tea to go cold.

Following the defeat and death of Yuan Shao and the sudden death of Yuan Kui,

the once infinitely glorious Yuan clan has now reached its end.

Even if Yuan Shu were still alive, he could no longer change anything.

Yuan Shu’s current strength has been severely crippled.

Having suffered successive crushing defeats in the Henei region, and with Sun Ce having taken away that group of fierce generals who once served Sun Jian when he left,

although Yuan Shu still occupies Yangzhou and Yuzhou, it is no different from being defeated.

His personality was never favored by the noble clans.

If the Yuan clan’s power had not diminished, such problems would not have erupted in such a short time.

But under the current circumstances,

the noble clans under his command will only grow increasingly alienated from him and choose the now overwhelmingly powerful Cao Cao.

Cao Cao did not consider any old ties, branded the entire Yuan clan as rebels, and summoned the lords of the world to crusade against Yuan Shu.

Of course, there were those who wanted to curry favor with Cao Cao.

They proposed that Cao Cao should take the position of "Grand Tutor."

For the current Great Han, what "Grand Tutor" represents goes without saying.

Although it is not the position of Chancellor,

it is better than being Chancellor.

But Cao Cao directly refused this, publicly declaring that "his current merits are absolutely unworthy of the position of Grand Tutor," and only accepted the role of recording the affairs of the Secretariat while holding the position of Minister of Works.

This is the extraordinary nature of Cao Cao!

No matter how great the temptation, he can always restrain himself well.

For him,

what benefit is there in becoming "Grand Tutor" now?

Why would he need that position to control the court?

Gu Chen’s status was earned by his own efforts; before he has bestowed grace upon the people and completely stabilized the situation, rashly accepting the position of Grand Tutor would definitely affect the hearts of the people.

This move allowed everyone to see exactly what kind of person Cao Cao is.

Immediately, many talents from noble families came to join him.

For a time, Cao Cao’s prestige became even more resounding throughout the world.

Gu Chen could naturally see through Cao Cao’s intentions.

He did not directly attack Yuan Shu.

For Gu Chen,

the most important thing at present is to take the entire Sizhou.

As long as he can take the entire Sizhou, he can then connect the lands of Hanzhong, Sizhou, Liangzhou, and Bingzhou, and there will be no more risks.

He did not even accept the imperial decree that supposedly appointed him as Inspector of Bingzhou.

Holding the Emperor to command the lords?

With him, this was destined to never succeed.

But while Gu Chen could not care less, Liu Bei could not.

—Liu Bei had already repelled Lu Bu.

Lu Bu’s strength is indeed extremely formidable, but Liu Bei’s command also possesses generals of the caliber of Guan, Zhang, and Zhao.

When Liu Bei led his elite troops directly back to Qingzhou,

Lu Bu’s offensive was naturally not worth mentioning.

The current Lu Bu has already retreated to Xuzhou.

Liu Bei had originally wanted to take this opportunity to unite with Tao Qian to eliminate the threat of Lu Bu.

But the imperial decree forced him to stop.

He could ignore Liu Dai’s imperial decree,

but Liu Xie’s was different.

Liu Xie is, after all, the biological son of Emperor Ling, Liu Hong, and by law and ritual, he could inherit the throne.

Moreover, from beginning to end, Cao Cao has never had any act of rebellion against the Han.

How could he be like Gu Chen and completely ignore the imperial decree?

This was the reasoning behind Cao Cao’s unwillingness to serve as "Grand Tutor."

Since there are those who do not care about the imperial decree, there will naturally be those who do.

Liu Bei is one of them.

And perhaps because Cao Cao’s prestige is now so high, even Tao Qian of Xuzhou was moved to curry favor with Cao Cao.

Not only did he accept the decree, but he was also willing to let Liu Bei lead his army into Xuzhou to first suppress Lu Bu and then crusade against Yuan Shu.

This move was beyond everyone’s expectations.

The great war of the world began again.

—The first year of Jian'an, June.

Liu Bei had no choice but to lead his army out of Qingzhou and head to Xuzhou.

At the same time, Tao Qian also mobilized his troops.

They coordinated with Liu Bei to attack Lu Bu from the front and rear.

August;

Lu Bu was soundly defeated at Xiapi and led a few cavalrymen to retreat to Yuzhou to seek refuge with Yuan Shu.

His reputation now is indeed too poor.

First, he murdered his foster father Ding Yuan, and later, in a time of crisis, he abandoned Yuan Shao.

If it were any other lord in the world, they would not accept Lu Bu’s surrender, even if they knew of his ferocity, they would absolutely not accept it.

But Yuan Shu is different.

The current Yuan Shu has already reached a desperate situation.

He is just like Yuan Shao back then, suffering pressure from three sides.

And the generals under his command are truly not up to the task.

Under these circumstances,

Yuan Shu actually accepted Lu Bu’s surrender.

October;

The armies of Liu Bei and Tao Qian crossed Guangling and stepped into Yangzhou to attack Jiujiang.

At the same time, Cao Cao also mobilized his troops from the land of Yanzhou.

However, this time he did not lead the campaign in person.

Instead, he made Cao Ren the commander, with Cao Hong, the Xiahou brothers, and others as generals, dispatching an army of one hundred thousand to attack Yuzhou.

At the end of the tenth month;

Gu Chen successively captured the two commanderies of Hongnong and Hedong,

leaving him only one step away from unifying Sizhou.

Xuchang.

"Fengxiao must know my intentions, right?"

Cao Cao looked at the calm young man before him, not hiding his appreciation for him in the slightest.

Although Guo Jia had not been in the Cao camp for long.

He had come to defect to Cao Cao along with those noble clans of Yingchuan.

But because of his unparalleled talent.

Cao Cao also valued him immensely.

Guo Jia’s expression was very calm; he did not answer but instead asked: "Does my lord intend to settle Qingzhou and Bingzhou?"

Hearing this, there was no anger on Cao Cao’s face; he nodded directly and said: "Indeed."

"In the world today, warlords gather from all four corners."

"Yet, apart from Gu Ziyan and Liu Xuande, no one else enters my eyes."

Cao Cao did not hide anything at all.

He had been considering this matter for some time now.

A great battle between him and Gu Chen was clearly destined, and that battle was not far off.

As for Liu Bei—

This person had always been loyal to the Han house, not to him, Cao Cao.

This destined that the two would also have a battle in the future.

He had not led the campaign against Yuan Shu in person this time precisely because he wanted to use this opportunity to strike first.

Hearing this, Guo Jia also nodded slightly, bowed toward Cao Cao, and said: "My lord is wise."

"I also feel that these two are certainly my lord’s great enemies."

"Regarding this Gu Ziyan,"

"I once sent people to inquire about his character."

"His will is like iron, he has never had a lapse in commanding troops, and his martial arts are also among the strongest in the world."

"My lord must never move against him directly; you should start with someone else."

Guo Jia’s tone was very calm.

Hearing this, Cao Cao could not help but frown, tentatively asking in a low voice: "Is Fengxiao saying that I should start with his elder brother, Gu Wei?"

"Indeed."

Guo Jia nodded immediately, chuckled, and said: "I have heard of this person; in the past, he was called the number one talent of the Gu clan of his generation."

"Does my lord know what his character is like?"

Number one talent?

Cao Cao was stunned for a moment, then remembered this title, and suddenly smiled.

He had once thought so too.

But now it seemed that compared to the once obscure Gu Chen, he was ultimately far inferior.

He remained silent for a long time before speaking leisurely, uttering only one word:

"Arrogant!"

A simple word, very direct.

Just like Gu Yi’s judgment of Gu Wei.

Cao Cao’s judgment of Gu Wei was also that he was arrogant!

"Arrogant?"

Hearing this, Guo Jia was stunned for a moment, then smiled again: "As expected of a son of the Gu clan; he does have the grounds to be arrogant."

As he spoke, he fell silent.

He began to think of a strategy, and Cao Cao did not urge him impatiently.

The entire hall became quiet.

After a long while, Guo Jia spoke again: "My lord, this Gu Wei is a son of the Gu clan."

"General schemes of sowing discord are useless against him."

"Whether it is sowing discord between brothers or between him and his subordinates."

"But if he is arrogant... then there is an opportunity to break him."

While speaking, Guo Jia slowly stood up, walked directly to the map, and pointed to Heishan on it.

——Zhang Yan of the Heishan Army!

In an instant, Cao Cao seemed to have guessed something.

The look in his eyes brightened suddenly.

But he immediately shook his head: "Fengxiao, don't forget, this Zhang Yan is a man from Changshan."

"Given the prestige of the Gu clan in the lands of Jizhou,"

"how would he rush to Bingzhou?"

Without needing to say more, Cao Cao had already understood Guo Jia’s meaning.

"Why must my lord care about such things?"

Guo Jia smiled faintly and looked at Cao Cao: "If we have people seize Zhang Yan’s close confidants and family members, how could he not go?"

"I once heard that for many years, this Zhang Yan has always shared joys and sorrows with his soldiers."

"I imagine... he will naturally obey orders and rush to Bingzhou."

Hearing this, Cao Cao suddenly fell silent.

Treating someone who came to defect in such a way—if word of this were to spread, it would absolutely cause a huge impact.

But if he could truly seize this opportunity to take Bingzhou,

and cut off one of Gu Chen’s wings,

it would definitely be a great thing for him.

Cao Cao was not a man who would hesitate; after only a brief moment of silence, he nodded directly:

"Agreed!"

"My lord is wise."

Guo Jia smiled and bowed to Cao Cao, then added: "As for Qingzhou..."

"My lord can also take this opportunity to make it difficult for Liu Bei to return to Qingzhou!"

Bingzhou.

The current land of Bingzhou could be said to have taken on a completely new look compared to the past.

——The rebel forces from all sides had been successively pacified.

Even the bandits, who were once most numerous, dared not commit crimes under the prestige of Gu Chen.

Gu Wei’s ability in internal affairs and winning over the hearts of the people was not bad.

Whether it was dealing with the noble clans or providing grain and fodder for Gu Chen, these matters were easy for Gu Wei to handle.

This was also the reason why Gu Chen let Gu Wei sit in command at Jinyang.

The stability of the rear allowed him to go and expand his territory with peace of mind.

But recently, the stability of Bingzhou had gradually begun to have problems.

The Heishan Army had stepped into Bingzhou once again and was engaging in looting everywhere.

At first, Gu Wei did not take this to heart.

He merely sent someone to deliver a letter to Zhang Yan.

He believed that with the reputation of the Gu clan, Zhang Yan, a man of the Jizhou people, would definitely give up looting and come to defect.

But the result of the matter exceeded Gu Wei’s expectations.

Having no other choice,

he had to prepare troops and horses and order them to go and pacify the chaos.

Gu Chen had left behind quite a few troops, and they even included some deputy generals who had followed Huangfu Song in the past.

This force was definitely not weak.

But was the Heishan Army so easy to pacify?

In the original history, the Heishan Army was a force that could withstand the attacks of Yuan Shao and Lu Bu.

Zhang Yan made perfect use of the terrain.

He drove back all the troops Gu Wei had sent.

Once this happened, the hearts of the people in Bingzhou, which had only been stable for a short time, could not help but be shaken once again.

Jinyang, inside the Governor’s Mansion.

"No!"

"We must absolutely not let Ziyan know about this, lest it affect Ziyan’s offensive in Sizhou!"

"Ziyan has entrusted the rear to us."

"If Cao Cao were to invade, we could inform Ziyan, but these are merely common bandits."

"If we rely on Ziyan for everything, when will we ever clear the world?"

Gu Wei’s expression was extremely grave, and he directly suppressed the thoughts of those who wanted to inform Gu Chen.

He naturally knew his own shortcomings in military talent.

It was precisely because of this that Gu Wei was willing to coordinate everything in the rear.

For a proud man like him.

If he were to affect Gu Chen’s offensive in Sizhou because of such a trivial matter, what face would he have to meet Gu Xi in the afterlife?

To this day, how could Gu Wei not understand that the future of the Gu family rested solely on Gu Chen’s shoulders?

How could he accept affecting Gu Chen because of such a small matter?

Upon hearing this, the generals and soldiers could not help but fall silent, their fighting spirit rising once more in their eyes.

In truth, they also felt a sense of shame.

After all, in their eyes, a person like Zhang Yan was merely a bandit.

In an instant, the sound of the generals requesting to fight rose up.

Gu Wei looked at everyone very seriously, and after a moment of silence, he selected two men and entrusted the task of pacifying the bandits to them.

He still had some ability when it came to judging people.

These two men were indeed top-tier among the deputy generals under Huangfu Song.

But was Zhang Yan really so easy to pacify?

He was an existence capable of leaving his name in history.

Just this point alone surpassed too many others.

And the most critical point was—the Black Mountain Army was far too familiar with fighting in the mountains and forests.

Zhang Yan very cleverly avoided the elite troops sent by Gu Wei.

When they came to attack, Zhang Yan would hide deep in the mountains.

When they withdrew their troops, Zhang Yan would strike out.

The Bingzhou Army would not retreat?

They could also bypass the Bingzhou Army via mountain paths to carry out raids.

It was simply a constant draining of the Bingzhou Army’s energy.

Under these circumstances, although the Bingzhou Army had not suffered a major defeat, the hearts of the noble families throughout the land of Bingzhou could not help but become unsettled.

And subsequently, Cao Cao, following Guo Jia’s suggestion, began to secretly contact the noble families of Bingzhou.

His momentum was indeed extraordinary now.

If Gu Chen were in Bingzhou, these tactics of his would naturally not be worth mentioning.

It was absolutely impossible for Zhang Yan to stop Gu Chen.

But Cao Cao was taking advantage of this very opportunity.

Gu Chen was destined not to be able to go to war with Cao Cao before he had completely pacified his rear!

At the same time, Cao Cao was secretly reorganizing his army.

And he sent people to incite the noble families of Qingzhou.

He issued an order for Cao Chun to lead the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry to secretly cross the Qinghe River, preparing to directly annex the two provinces of Bing and Qing.

—The winds and clouds were churning in all directions.

The second year of Jian'an, March;

The allied forces of Liu Bei and Tao Qian heavily defeated the Yuan Army at Yinling, with their military force pointing directly at Shouchun.

Cao Ren successively captured the kingdoms of Liang and Chen.

The war grew increasingly intense.

May;

The great army of Liu Bei and Tao Qian heavily defeated Julu in Huainan.

Cao Ren also arrived at Runan with his troops.

The entire land of Yu and Yang was in chaos.

Yuan Shu’s people were scattered and disaffected.

He had no choice but to flee to Lujiang Commandery.

At the same time, Gu Chen captured Zuofengyi, his military force pointing directly at Changancheng.

He was only one step away from completely opening up the entire western region of the Great Han.

June;

Yuan Shu attempted to flee to Shuxian but was refused, ultimately meeting the fate of a falling wall pushed by everyone.

Lu Bu abandoned Yuan Shu once again.

The summer heat was unbearable; Yuan Shu wanted honey water to quench his thirst, but there was no honey.

In the end, Yuan Shu could not bear the disparity between his former and current state.

He vomited blood and died at Huoshan.

And the moment this news spread, Cao Cao finally waited for the opportunity he had been waiting for, and suddenly struck at the two provinces of Bing and Qing!

The troops and horses that had long been poised for action.

Immediately swarmed toward the provinces of Bing and Qing.

But what he did not expect was—Gu Chen had already received news from Bingzhou.

Although Gu Chen was very confident in Gu Wei.

But how could the influence Zhang Yan had caused throughout the land of Bingzhou be suppressed?

Upon learning of this, Gu Chen immediately guessed Cao Cao’s intentions.

He had long ago let Ma Chao secretly return to reinforce Bingzhou.

The troops he led were the very elites who had followed him in the surprise attack on Longxi!

These men already had experience with surprise attacks on mountain paths.

They had not acted all along because they were waiting for Cao Cao to make the first move!

—Gu Chen wanted to take this opportunity to purge the noble families of Bingzhou.

He could be said to have completely inherited everything from Gu Xi, and he had no shred of mercy for the great noble clans.

But in the current world.

It was impossible for Gu Chen to act directly.

If he were to move against the noble families under his command without any reason, he would certainly be met with the enmity of the entire world.

Reality is ultimately not a novel.

No matter how valiant Gu Chen was, he could not sweep across the world under such circumstances.

But if there was an excuse, then it would be different!

Both sides engaged in a decisive battle on the Taihang Mountain road.

Ma Chao, who had long been prepared, heavily defeated Yu Jin, a great general under Cao Cao, beheaded nearly five thousand enemy troops, and completely drove back the Cao Army.

Afterward, Ma Chao killed his way back to Bingzhou to engage Zhang Yan!

And he brought Gu Chen’s letter to Gu Wei.

—That was to execute every single one of the noble families who had secretly defected to Cao Cao!

Cao Cao never expected that Gu Chen would have this trick up his sleeve.

But for him, this matter was not without its gains.

Although he did not obtain Bingzhou.

Cao Chun’s plan in Qingzhou was indeed very smooth.

He had taken Qingzhou!

——————

"In the second year of Jian'an, the Grand Minister of Works Cao secretly sent Zhang Yan to Bingzhou to disturb the hearts of the people, and simultaneously had him collude with the Wang family of Bingzhou and the Cui family of Qingzhou, promising them military command over the two provinces."

"At that time, Gu Chen of Longxi was attacking Changancheng; upon hearing the scout's report of unusual movements in Ye, he laughed and threw his command tally to the ground: 'Does Meng De wish to imitate Han Xin’s secret crossing of Chencang?'"

"He then drew elite cavalry and entrusted them to his valiant general Ma Chao, ordering him to secretly race to reinforce Taihang."

"In June, Cao heard of Yuan Shu’s defeat and death, and sent Yu Jin to lead eight thousand Danyang elite soldiers to stealthily advance through the Fuxing Pass, wrapping their armor in hemp, hiding in the forests by day and scaling sheer cliffs by night."

"When the army reached Panshi Valley, the horses had their bits muffled and made no sound, when suddenly fire arrows rained down from the cliff tops on both sides, and rolling logs and thunder-stones blocked their path."

"Ma Chao held his Tiger-Head Golden Spear and charged into the formation first, trampling the Cao Army; blood filled the stone crevices in the valley, and broken armor hung from trees for thirty miles."

"Yu Jin fled alone, lost his seal of office in the Zhuozhang River, and less than three out of ten of his troops survived."

—"Records of Heroes at the End of the Han, Gu Chen Chapter"

(End of chapter)