My father Liu Xuande

Chapter 211: Showing your noble hand
Zhang Liao's act of voluntarily requesting a demotion immediately won him favor with everyone present. Liu Bei, as his lord, felt not only goodwill but also considerable guilt.

Zhang Liao's rank of Lieutenant General was a reward for his participation in the assassination of Dong Zhuo.

Although Zhang Liao did not actually participate in the most crucial aspects of the campaign to eliminate Dong Zhuo.

Qin Yi, Chen Wei, and others were much more involved than him.

However, Zhang Liao, as the nominal and de facto second-in-command of the Bingzhou army, did not even receive the title of Marquis after the killing of Dong Zhuo, which is enough to prove how low Lü Bu's political acumen and emotional intelligence were.

If it were Liu Feng, even if he himself were demoted to a township marquis or even a pavilion marquis, he would still make sure to give his second-in-command a title.

Moreover, the situation at the time was that as long as Lü Bu did not get involved in politics, Wang Yun was almost completely obedient to him, and was willing to give him fame and money. Even the title of Marquis of Wen was given to Lü Bu by Wang Yun.

Giving Zhang Liao a noble title would be a piece of cake, but Lü Bu simply didn't have that idea.

In the end, Zhang Liao only received the rank of Lieutenant General for his great contribution in the campaign against Dong Zhuo.

Although this position of Lieutenant General is extraordinary and of extremely high quality—it is a Lieutenant General officially appointed by the central court, and is incomparable to a local charlatan like Cao Bao—it is still a position that cannot be attained.

Both in terms of significance and value, this position of Lieutenant General was extremely important to Zhang Liao. Yet now he said he didn't want it anymore; this display of emotional intelligence and decisiveness left Liu Feng speechless with amazement.

Liu Bei hesitated and said, "That would be too unfair to Wen Yuan."

"Why do you say such things, Your Excellency? It is a great fortune for Liao to receive Your Excellency's favor. How can you say that I am wronged?"

Zhang Liao looked at Liu Bei with a sincere expression: "Besides, the abilities of my brothers Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, and Taishi are all above mine. How can I accept the title of Lieutenant General? It would be more reassuring to accept the title of Colonel from you, my lord."

Pan Zhang blinked, feeling that Zhang Liao might have omitted someone in his words.

But thinking about it carefully, I am indeed younger than Zhang Liao, and he was referring to me as his elder brother, so it doesn't seem wrong.

"Great!"

Liu Bei was extremely satisfied. Zhang Liao was granted the title of General of the Household by the court, with a rank equivalent to two thousand shi (a unit of grain), which in fact made him no less capable than a governor in terms of military rank.

Zhang Liao's willingness to voluntarily lower his military rank was more beneficial to Liu Bei's leadership.

Liu Bei made a decision, saying, "In that case, let's temporarily appoint Wen Yuan as the Commandant of Breaking the Formation. If he makes further contributions, he should be given priority to be promoted to General of the Household."

Zhang Liao immediately bowed and thanked him: "Thank you, Your Excellency!"

************
Cao Cao leaned against the armrest, his gaze fixed on the letters on the table. He unconsciously stroked his beard with his right hand, his expression shifting between ferocity, sighs, anger, and sorrow, interspersed with occasional flashes of joy.

There were two letters on the table. One of them was written by Liu Bei, the governor of Xu Province, who offered 20,000 shi of grain to redeem Zhang Miao's younger brother Zhang Chao and the Zhang family members, and pleaded with Cao Cao to show mercy and spare the Zhang family's lives.

The other letter was from Zhang Miao, the culprit.

This letter is full of remorse and regret. He confessed his betrayal of Cao Cao, apologized to Cao Cao and expressed his remorse. He also recalled many of his past friendships with Cao Cao. Finally, he analyzed the root cause of his wrongdoing, which was that he was afraid that Cao Cao would obey Yuan Shao and thus secretly killed him.

When Cao Cao first saw Zhang Miao's letter, he almost tore it up.

In the end, however, Cao Cao still read the entire letter.

Only then did he realize why Zhang Miao had betrayed him.

It turned out that Yuan Shao had repeatedly sent people to hint at and even coerce him into killing Zhang Miao. He thought he had kept it well hidden, but who would have thought that Zhang Miao knew everything about it?

However, Cao Cao was afraid that Zhang Miao would have wild thoughts if he found out, so he tried to suppress the matter. This only aroused Zhang Miao's vigilance, making him think that Cao Cao was about to take action against him.

Just then, Chen Gong came and they immediately hit it off, welcoming Lü Bu into Yanzhou, which sparked a massive rebellion.

Cao Cao felt quite uneasy. He was a very sensitive and suspicious person, and there were not many people he could trust. Now, having been betrayed by Zhang Miao, Cao Cao became even more suspicious.

However, upon seeing Zhang Miao's letter of pleas for mercy and Liu Bei's letter of pleading, Cao Cao's heart softened somewhat.

Yes, Cao Cao's personality was such that he was more responsive to gentle persuasion than to force.

Unfortunately, Liu Bei was always low-key and humble, and Zhang Miao felt guilty, while Cao Cao had leverage over his family.

Therefore, both letters were written in a very humble manner. Not to mention Zhang Miao, even Liu Bei adopted a requesting tone. This greatly satisfied Cao Cao's vanity and also caused a subtle change in his hatred for Zhang Miao.

The number of old friends is dwindling, and Zhang Miao is one of the few remaining.

Not only did the other party beg for mercy and repent, but he even gave up his official position as the governor of Chenliu. Based on this alone, Cao Cao judged that the other party's pleas for mercy were sincere, and Liu Bei's plea was even more genuine.

After all, if one had any ulterior motives, the position of Prefect of Chenliu could have enabled one to accomplish many things, so how could one give it up so easily?

Once the resentment subsided, the past favors resurfaced, causing Cao Cao to soften his heart.

It wasn't until the voices of Xun Yu, Cheng Yu, and Xi Zhicai calling for an audience that Cao Cao, lost in the past, was suddenly jolted awake.

After Xun Yu and the other two sat down, they noticed that Cao Cao did not speak.

The three exchanged a glance, and Xun Yu took the initiative to ask, "My lord, what brings you to us?"

Cao Cao glanced at Xun Yu, then pointed to the document on the table and said, "Wenruo, this letter was written by Liu Bei. You may take a look at it first."

Xun Yu and the other two were startled and exchanged a quick glance.

Historically, the relationship between these three individuals was quite good.

Xi Zhicai and Xun Yu were from the same hometown and were close friends. The Xi family, to which Xi Zhicai belonged, was originally a younger brother of the Xun family. Xi Zhicai himself was a military advisor that Xun Yu strongly recommended to Cao Cao.

As for Cheng Yu, although he was not from Yuzhou but from Yanzhou, he was biased and habitually sat with people from Yuzhou. He had a particularly good relationship with Xun Yu, and the two even joined forces to preserve the last three counties that were like embers of hope for Cao Cao during the great rebellion in Yanzhou.

After Xun Yu finished reading the letter sent by Liu Bei, he passed it on to Cheng Yu, and it finally reached Xi Zhicai.

All three people present had only one thought about Liu Bei's letter: to support him.

Even Cheng Yu, who had the lowest moral standards, found Cao Cao's excessively cruel nature unbearable.

Massacring entire cities at the drop of a hat has a huge negative impact on a city's reputation.

Leaving aside Xuzhou, Cao Cao has now slaughtered the people of Yanzhou as well. Although the people of Yanzhou have once again surrendered to Cao Cao, the enmity between the two sides has been solidified.

The large number of letters Yuan Shao received from Li Tong surrendering during the future Battle of Guandu was largely a consequence of the current cause.

The letter Liu Bei sent was to plead for Zhang Miao's life, imploring Cao Cao to spare Zhang Miao's brother Zhang Chao and his family, to allow them to hand over the city of Yongqiu, and in return, Liu Bei himself would move to Xuzhou.

Xun Yu and others strongly agreed with this suggestion.

However, from Cao Cao's perspective, this matter was not so easy to resolve.

Don't be fooled by Cao Cao's constant boasting about killing Chen Gong; he's always talking big about being a savior.

In reality, the person Cao Cao truly hated and wanted to exterminate was Zhang Miao, who appeared the least.

The more he once loved Zhang Miao, the more hatred he now felt in his heart.

"My lord, what Prefect Liu said makes a lot of sense. Why don't you adopt it?"

In the end, Xun Yu was the first to speak up and persuade him, after all, only he had a relatively detached status, Cheng Yu was inferior to him, not to mention Xi Zhicai.

Cao Cao smiled coldly and said, "Zhang Chao, I swear to kill him! The campaign against Yongqiu is imminent, and we can set off next month. Liu Xuande thinks he can retreat from me with a few empty words? Isn't that just wishful thinking?"

Cheng Yu felt relieved. He was most afraid of Cao Cao not speaking. As long as you speak, we can figure out what you are thinking.

"Your Majesty should follow this advice."

Cao Cao suddenly turned his head and stared fiercely at Cheng Yu.

The latter, however, remained calm and said, “Your subject has three reasons. First, Prefect Liu promised to provide our prefecture with 20,000 shi of grain, which is a generous gift and cannot be considered empty talk. Second, Zhang Miao is already a defeated fugitive; even if Your Excellency spares his life, it will not affect the overall situation. Third, and most importantly…”

"Ok?"

Cao Cao snorted, clearly somewhat dissatisfied.

Cheng Yu, however, remained calm and said, "Thirdly, Mao Xiaoxian offered you a plan to serve the emperor and command the disobedient. The most important thing now is to go west to welcome the emperor, not to be stuck at the gates of Yongqiu, and certainly not to make enemies with Xuzhou."

"As the saying goes, there are priorities and urgency in all matters. Your Excellency should focus on the important matters and put the less important ones aside, and deal with the urgent matters first and the less urgent ones later."

Mao Xiaoxian was originally Mao Jie, a court official recruited by Cao Cao in 192. He was the first to offer Cao Cao the strategy of using the emperor to command disobedient subjects. Contrary to popular belief, the vast majority of strategists and officials in Cao Cao's camp opposed this strategy, with only Xun Yu, Cheng Yu, and Xi Zhicai firmly supporting it.

This is the exact opposite of Yuan Shao's camp, where most people supported the strategy of holding the emperor hostage to command the feudal lords, and even Yuan Shao himself was once tempted by it.

But in the end, he chose to give up because of his own inner demons.

Strictly speaking, Yuan Shao was a supporter of the young emperor Liu Bian. He didn't even acknowledge Liu Xie as the emperor and once wanted to support Liu Yu as emperor, which shows how bad his relationship with Liu Xie was.

This was not only due to personal preferences, but also included the Yuan family's political stance.

From the very beginning, the Yuan family opposed deposing the eldest son in favor of the younger one, supported General He Jin, and opposed Dong Zhuo's deposition of the emperor.

Regardless of Dong Zhuo's reactionary and rebellious nature, Yuan Shao himself firmly stood against Liu Xie.

Asking him to obey the emperor and command the disobedient is tantamount to slapping himself in the face. Moreover, he has a strong worry in his heart: what if the Hebei faction joins forces with Emperor Xian?

Yuan Shao and Cao Cao were completely different. Although Yuan Shao had his moments of glory on the battlefield, their military capabilities were on completely different levels. Moreover, like Liu Bei, Yuan Shao had a major flaw: he lacked the support of his relatives.

Liu Bei's relatives did not dare to raise an army at all, and lived obediently as powerful families in Zhuozhou.

Yuan Shao's relatives either died in Chang'an or sided with Yuan Shu, leaving him with almost no family support.

Cao Cao had a member of the imperial clan who controlled the military, he was extremely capable in battle, and he was also able to keep the royalists like Xun Yu in check.

But what about Yuan Shao?
As mentioned earlier, Ju Shou and Shen Pei were not just strategists; they were true scholar-generals who led troops, commanding tens of thousands of soldiers.

The Shen family even had a large private army.

Once these people unite with Emperor Xian of Han, Yuan Shao will become completely superfluous.

Many people think that Yuan Shao was too foolish to understand the benefits of welcoming the emperor.

However, they failed to see the enormous risks involved in Yuan Shao's decision to install an emperor.

Yuan Shao himself relied on the governor of Ji Province to suppress the Hebei gentry. Once Emperor Xian arrived, all it would take was a simple promotion in name only, elevating Yuan Shao to one of the Three Dukes and then appointing Ju Shou, Tian Feng, and other Hebei gentry as governors of Ji Province. Yuan Shao might not even have the power to resist and would be sidelined.

Because the soldiers under Yuan Shao were all from aristocratic families, not members of the imperial clan.

This was far worse than Cao Cao's situation, essentially fast-forwarding directly to the stage where Sima Yi commanded troops.

Not to mention Geng Bao's probing, this incident fully proves that the gentry under Yuan Shao never supported him becoming emperor.

Therefore, Yuan Shao's suspicions and concerns were quite reasonable.

Interestingly, within Cao Cao's camp, those who supported using the emperor to command the feudal lords were in the minority; the majority opposed this strategy. Just as with Yuan Shao, Cao Cao again overruled the majority, ultimately choosing this strategy.

Subsequent events proved that Xun Yu, Mao Jie, and others were all royalists, essentially the same type of people as Ju Shou and Tian Feng in Hebei. Their political programs were all for the benefit of the gentry, and they were simply several, even a dozen, levels higher in ability and moral character than the people of the Wei and Jin dynasties.

Cao Cao's sharp gaze shifted to Cheng Yu, and he asked in a calm, emotionless voice, "Zhongde, do you want to persuade me to let the Zhang family go?"

Cheng Yu, however, seemed unfazed by the pressure and replied calmly, "Exactly. If Your Excellency agrees to Lord Liu's request, you will not only receive 20,000 shi of military rations for free, but you will also save time in Yongqiu. In this way, you can directly lead your troops westward to Hedong to welcome the Emperor. Thus, the great cause can be accomplished!"

“My lord, it is not only Yanzhou that can welcome the emperor. Yuan Shao of Hebei is traveling westward from Henan, which is much more convenient and faster than our Henan. We must be wary of him.”

When Cheng Yu mentioned Yuan Shao of Hebei, Cao Cao's hand trembled, and he accidentally tore off a few strands of his beard, almost crying out in pain.

After enduring the pain, Cao Cao huffed and said, "If that's the case, are we just going to let him get away with it again?"

Xi Zhicai then spoke up, saying, "My lord, Xuzhou is currently strong while Yanzhou is weak. A hasty conflict would be disadvantageous for us. We should wait until we welcome the emperor before we can slowly seek opportunities to weaken Xuzhou."

"In that case, we can only let him have it."

Cao Cao said bitterly, "I should write to Xuande and tell him to start transporting grain as soon as possible. At the same time, I should tell Zhang Miao's clan to leave Yongqiu as soon as possible. I will take back Yongqiu within ten days."

"By the way, the grain in Yongqiu must be left behind. Zhang Chao and others can get fifteen days' worth of rations in advance. All the remaining grain should be sealed up and Cao Ren should be allowed to enter the city to oversee the overall situation. In addition, Cao Hong should be dispatched with four thousand elite troops to advance westward first, control the Xingyang and Chenggao line, and wait for the main army to follow."

Immediately afterwards, Cao Cao said to Xi Zhicai, "Zhicai, Xuande said that the divine physician Hua Tuo from Xu and Yu has already stayed in Tancheng. I have already inquired with him before, and it is permissible for you to go to Xuzhou for treatment. Your illness cannot be delayed any longer. I have made all the arrangements. Tomorrow you can set off with the Xu envoy Sun Qian to Tancheng."

Historically, Xi Zhicai died in the first year of Jian'an. Although Cao Cao could not have known about this, he was quite worried when he saw Xi Zhicai's condition worsening.

This was, besides the 20,000 shi of grain and Zhang Miao's handwritten letter of pleas for mercy and repentance, the condition that most appealed to Cao Cao.

**************
In Yongqiu County, Chenliu Commandery, Yanzhou, Zhang Chao stood on the city wall, looking out at Cao Cao's army camp outside the city.

Cao Ren and Cao Hong led 8,000 troops to begin besieging the city.

According to Cao Cao's army rules, there was no mercy when besieging a city. Once Cao Cao's main force arrived and the last city gate was sealed off, Yongqiu County would have no chance to surrender.

As December approached and the weather grew colder, the food supply in Yongqiu City was only enough for three months, which worried Zhang Chao greatly.

Even if Cao Cao's army doesn't attack the city, what will happen if they run out of food in three months?
I wonder if my brother can bring reinforcements, and when Ziyuan's troops will arrive in Yongqiu.

Just as Zhang Chao was lost in thought, his subordinates Wang Yuan, Zhang Gan, and others came over and advised him, "My lord, what are you looking at? It's windy on the city wall, you shouldn't stand there for long. Let's go down the city wall first."

Zhang Chao sighed and pointed outside the city, saying, "The only one who can save me is Ziyuan. If Ziyuan is to come to my rescue, he will come from here."

Wang Yuan and Zhang Gan looked at each other, their faces full of disbelief.

Zang Hong's location in Dongjun was in the area north of the Yellow River, at least seven or eight hundred li away from Yongqiu. Even if Zang Hong wanted to save them, the entire route was Cao Cao's territory. Could Zang Hong possibly fly over there?

Just then, two riders suddenly galloped out from Cao Cao's camp in the distance, heading towards the city wall, shouting, "I am an envoy, do not shoot arrows!"

Zhang Chao was first taken aback, then asked suspiciously, "An envoy from Cao Cao's army? Could it be that they've come to persuade us to surrender?"

Zhang Gan and Wang Yuan both shook their heads.

"Let's go down from the city wall and take a look."

Zhang Chao took the lead, ordering the Cao army envoys to enter the camp while rushing towards the city gate, with the other generals following behind him.

By the time he arrived at the city gate, the two riders had already entered the city.

One of them saw Zhang Chao and shouted, "My lord, my lord! I am Zhang Qian!"

Upon hearing the man shout, Zhang Chao immediately recognized him as one of Zhang Miao's trusted confidants.

Zhang Chao asked repeatedly, "How did you get here? How are you, my brother? Why are you in Cao Cao's camp?"

"My lord, the eldest son has sent a letter here, asking you to go to Xuzhou to meet him."

The servant took a letter from his pocket and handed it to Zhang Gan.

After checking it and finding nothing amiss, Zhang Gan handed it over to Zhang Chao.

After opening the letter and reading it, Zhang Chao finally understood the whole story.

It turned out that his elder brother had persuaded Liu, the governor of Xuzhou, to intervene and finally convince Cao Mengde to spare his life and that of his family.

Cao Cao gave orders that Zhang Chao and his family were allowed to leave for Xuzhou, but no one from Yongqiu was allowed to leave. The Zhang family was only allowed to take their personal belongings, and all food except for necessities had to be left behind.

These conditions were extremely harsh, but compared to the massacre of the city, they were incredibly lucky.

After reading the letter, Zhang Chao breathed a long sigh of relief.

A little bit of food is fine to leave, as long as we are allowed to take the valuables with us.

Zhang Miao was one of the Eight Chefs. The word "chef" implies the ability to save lives with money.

How could Zhang Miao be short of money? The Zhang family was at least one of the wealthiest merchants in the country, with countless riches.

Both Yuan Shao and Cao Cao were very envious of the Zhang family's wealth. Now, this wealth has long been transferred from Lu State to Chenliu, right here in Yongqiu City.

How could Zhang Chao be willing to give up?

Therefore, Zhang Chao immediately prepared a large number of vehicles, left all the grain behind, took only half a month's worth of food with him, and filled the rest of the vehicles with gold, silver and other valuables, and began the great migration towards Xuzhou.

(End of this chapter)