My father Liu Xuande

Chapter 228 Xu Huang's Persuasion to Surrender
So the first question remains: how to take Hanoi.

Cao Cao sighed, "Zhang Yang of Hanoi is a vassal of Yuan Shao and an ally of mine. How can we launch a military campaign against him without cause? If Hanoi is not conquered, Hedong is too far away to reach us. We have the will but not the power."

After hearing Cao Cao's confusion, Ding Chong smiled and said, "Mengde, the key to breaking the deadlock lies with the four generals of the White Waves."

A glint of light flashed in Cao Cao's eyes: "What do you mean, Brother Ji Shu?"

"The four generals of Baibo have always been at odds with Zhang Yang, and they even previously intimidated Zhang Yang from coming to the west to pay homage. Their relationship was already very strained. Now that the armies from Guandong are coming to the aid of the emperor, I suspect that Zhang Yang is determined to bully others by taking advantage of his power. Mengde might as well try to mediate and win over the hearts of the Baibo army."

Ding Chong drank another cup of fine wine before continuing, "The Emperor is still just a child. He's too naive to think he can win over the army simply by appeasing them. But this is your opportunity, Mengde. The White Wave Army has 15,000 men, among whom Yang Feng holds the highest rank and is the most powerful, considering himself their leader. Han Xian's troops are second only to Yang Feng, yet they are on good terms with him and have a close relationship. On the other hand, Li Le and Hu Cai have always harbored resentment towards Yang Feng, but these two forces combined only number five or six thousand, which is no match for Yang Feng and Han Xian."

This is where the advantages of having acquaintances become fully apparent.

After Ding Chong's analysis and additional intelligence, Cao Cao's spirits were greatly lifted.

Suddenly, Cao Cao spoke up and asked, "Ji Shu, I once observed the White Wave Camp outside the city. One of the generals there was quite different from others. He was very strict in disciplining his troops and his orders were well-organized. I became curious and inquired about him. His name is Xu Huang, courtesy name Gongming."

"Does Ji Shu know anything about this person's background?"

"Xu Huang?"

Ding Chong pondered for a moment, then remembered, pointing at Cao Cao with his right hand and saying, "Mengde, you truly have a good eye. This man is a local from Hedong, a trusted and beloved general of Yang Feng, the number one warrior in the White Wave Army, and has been praised by the Emperor many times. He was even granted the title of Marquis of Duting. The Emperor is extremely envious of him."

Cao Cao recalled what Liu Feng had said earlier and cursed the little fox in his heart.

Judging from Ding Chong's words, Xu Huang was Yang Feng's trusted and beloved general, so how could he be easily won over by others?

This must be a lie told by the little fox, trying to deceive me. He's really showing off his limited skills in front of an expert.

While Cao Cao was inwardly cursing Liu Feng, he was also devising a plan.

Since you want to win over Xu Huang, I'll grant your wish.

Cao Cao planned to keep a close watch on Liu Feng and Xu Huang. If Liu Feng dared to try to win them over, he would leak the information to Yang Feng.

When Yang Feng and Liu Feng clash, I might just be able to play the victim.

After discussing Xu Huang's matter, Cao Cao remained silent for a moment, then tentatively asked Ding Chong, who was drinking alone, "Ji Shu, is there any way to persuade the Emperor to grant either Hedong or Hanoi to my territory?"

Cao Cao did not mean that he wanted to take up the positions of governor of Hedong and Henei himself, but rather that he hoped to recommend someone from his own ranks to serve as governor of these two places.

In this way, Cao Cao could extend his influence into these two commanderies and kingdoms.

As for Henan Yin, the most crucial region in the Three Rivers area, Cao Cao didn't reject it, but rather felt that now was not the right time.

The governor of Henan was located right under the emperor's nose, near the capital, yet his official was called "Yin" rather than "Shou," which speaks volumes.

It's too early to try and get this position. At the earliest, we should wait until the Emperor returns to Luoyang before making any plans. Besides, the position of Governor of Henan is currently worthless, so there's really no need to rush.

Ding Chong pondered for a moment, then asked while drinking his wine, "Whom does Mengde wish to recommend?"

“I would like to recommend Cheng Yu, a native of Dong’e in Yanzhou, as the governor of Henan, and Man Chong and Man Boning, a native of Changyi in Shanyang, as the governor of Hedong.”

Cheng Yu was skilled in both literature and martial arts, and possessed great wisdom and strategic thinking. Placing him in Hanoi would have been ideal for connecting Hedong and Henan, while also protecting Hanoi from Yuan Shao's encroachment.

Man Chong is strong-willed and domineering, with a fierce temperament. He is well-suited to be placed in Hedong to cleanse the region and turn Hedong into his own base.

Although Ding Chong was from Yuzhou, he was quite familiar with the capable ministers under Cao Cao, and he agreed with them after hearing about these two.

"If a good opportunity arises, I will recommend him to you. Whether it succeeds or not is unknown."

"good."

Cao Cao poured Ding Chong more wine, stroked his beard and laughed, "In that case, I am already very grateful to Ji Shu."

Three feasts in one night.

Look at the wild geese following the sun; each has its own livelihood to secure.

That evening, Yang Feng, drunk, left the house where the emperor was staying, intending to return to the military camp to sleep.

Yang Feng and the others naturally had houses in Anyi City, but now that Anyi City had been controlled by the Guandong Loyalist Army, they dared not sleep in the city.

If I weren't in such a bad mood, I wouldn't have drunk much at all today.

Before attending the banquet, Yang Feng had planned to drink less, but in the end he couldn't resist.

Fortunately, I'm still quite clear-headed after vomiting.

After mounting his horse and greeting Han Xian and the others, Yang Feng headed towards his own camp.

Fortunately, Yang Feng was also under the influence of alcohol, and drunk driving and riding horses were common occurrences for him. He returned to Yang Feng's army camp without any incident.

Just as Yang Feng was about to go into his tent to rest, a man came out from outside the main tent, saluted him, and said, "General."

Yang Feng looked closely and saw that it was his trusted and beloved general Xu Huang. He immediately turned his anger into joy and said, "Gongming, why aren't you resting yet?"

Xu Huang had also drunk some wine, but not to the point of intoxication. He replied to Yang Feng, "This humble general has been waiting for your return. There is something I wish to report to the general."

Xu Huang's words were true. After the banquet in Liu Feng's camp, he returned to Yang Feng's camp to wait for the former.

"Oh?"

Yang Feng became interested and called Xu Huang into the large tent.

"Gongming, what brings you to wait for me in such a hurry?"

Yang Feng lay down on the couch and casually asked Xu Huang a question.

Xu Huang sat up straight and spoke respectfully: "General, today I met Gao Shun, a senior officer in the Guandong loyalist army. He valued me highly and invited me into the camp for a chat. There I also happened to meet Liu, the commander who was patrolling the camp."

At this point, Xu Huang paused for a moment, observing Yang Feng's reaction.

Yang Feng was taken aback and sat up halfway on the couch, supporting himself with one arm: "You ran into that brat Liu Feng?"

Xu Huang replied, "Exactly."

Yang Feng's expression shifted between light and dark, but he urged, "And then what happened?"

"Liu Feng was very enthusiastic towards me, and his words revealed his admiration for your many achievements, such as fighting bloody battles all the way, escorting the emperor out of Hongnong and arriving in Hedong."

Xu Huang continued, "Then they invited his second uncle, Guan Yu, also known as Guan Yunchang. According to them, Guan Yu is also from our Hedong region, a native of Jie County. He killed someone out of loyalty and has been away from his hometown for more than ten years."

"Oh, his second uncle is also from our Hedong hometown?"

Upon hearing this, Yang Feng immediately became interested: "Are you sure they're from Jie County?"

"uncertain."

Xu Huang shook his head, but continued under Yang Feng's somewhat disappointed gaze: "In my opinion, what they said is probably true."

"Oh, why?"

Yang Feng's interest was piqued again. In those days, the bonds of hometown and community ties far surpassed those of later generations. The entire Eastern Han Dynasty even had prefectures as states, demonstrating the importance of these ties. Conversely, the higher-level provinces and the lower-level counties were far less important than prefectures.

Xu Huang explained, "General, Jie County is only about eighty li southwest of Anyi, and there is also a waterway that goes directly to Wenxi County. Transportation is convenient. Even if we send someone to investigate, it will only take three or four days. Even if the Xuzhou army wanted to lie, they wouldn't be so foolish."

Yang Feng suddenly realized and nodded repeatedly: "Gongming is right. If I were to lie, I would definitely say that I am from Yong'an in Hedong or Puziren."

The Yong'an mentioned here refers to Yong'an County in Hedong, not Yong'an in Yizhou or Yong'an in Yangzhou.

Actually, this Yong'an County is the real Yong'an County. The Yong'an in Yangzhou is a new county that was split off from Wucheng County, while the Yong'an in Yizhou is the one that Liu Bei renamed Yufu County to Yong'an County.

Whether it's Puzi County or Yong'an County, which Yang Feng mentioned, they are the northernmost counties in Hedong, deep in the heart of Bingzhou, and hundreds of miles away from Anyi and Wenxi to the south.

Yong'an is alright, as you can still take the Fen River waterway, which is quite convenient.

But Puzi is completely different. It was a county that was classified under the Hedong Commandery by the Eastern Han Dynasty's division system. It was located completely outside of Hedong and was geographically separated from Hedong by the entire Lüliang Mountains.

In fact, it should be classified under Bingzhou or Liangzhou.

"General, you are wise. Besides, Huang has already sent people to investigate the county."

Xu Huang continued, "Guan Yu is exceptionally brave and courageous, and he also has a magnificent beard, making him truly outstanding. Such a person is no ordinary person, and we are sure to have some information about him."

Yang Feng nodded repeatedly: "Gongming, I know you are cautious in your actions. But if he really is from Hedong, then wouldn't today be a case of the flood washing away the Dragon King's temple?"

Xu Huang sighed inwardly, "If we hadn't fought, would you be so calm now?"

Previously, you and Han Siam were all shouting that you would never leave Hadong and that you would fight a decisive battle with the Guandong loyalist army.

"Exactly!"

Xu Huang continued, "General, therefore, I have a plan to offer you."

Sensing Xu Huang's seriousness, Yang Feng nodded repeatedly: "Please speak, Gongming." "Xuzhou has a strong army, a large population, and abundant military supplies. Now that the world is in chaos, is there another place as well-governed as Xuzhou?"

Xu Huang first praised the advantages of Xuzhou, and Yang Feng agreed.

Let alone Henan and Guanzhong, even Hedong and Hongnong have been ravaged.

Zhang Ji, a general in charge of the Eastern Garrison, occupied an entire prefecture, yet he couldn't even support his more than ten thousand soldiers.

This shows how incompetent the military men of Xiliang were in politics.

For them, making a quick buck and feeding them for two years is much simpler and more cost-effective than slowly farming.

Moreover, their influence is simply insufficient to support their tax collection.

Which of the powerful clans below would obediently hand over grain to them?

Those who were willing to hand over their goods had already been snatched up by them.

"Is Xuzhou really that good?"

Yang Feng clicked his tongue, feeling somewhat suspicious.

Xu Huang smiled wryly and said, "General, Xuzhou is more than a thousand miles away from Hedong."

If you asked Yang Feng how to govern a region, he would be completely baffled. But when it comes to military affairs, Yang Feng is much smarter.

After thinking about Xu Huang's analogy, Yang Feng immediately understood its meaning.

If Xuzhou weren't so great, how did these 30,000 to 40,000 people manage to come to Hedong in the dead of winter?

It couldn't have flown in, could it?

"Makes sense, makes sense."

Yang Feng stroked his short beard and nodded. He wasn't stupid; he could tell that Xu Huang was just laying the groundwork. So he asked directly, "Gongming, what exactly do you want to do after saying all this?"

Since Yang Feng had asked this question, Xu Huang naturally revealed his true intentions: "I would like to advise the general to surrender Xuzhou as soon as possible!"

"What!?"

Even though Yang Feng was mentally prepared, he was still taken aback by Xu Huang's aggressive attitude. He had previously thought that Xu Huang might be suggesting that he form an alliance with Xuzhou, but he never expected that Xu Huang actually wanted him to become Xuzhou's subordinate.

Yang Feng's drunkenness vanished instantly in fright, and he sat bolt upright, reaching for his sword.

But Xu Huang in front of him acted as if nothing had happened, still kneeling on the ground, as if waiting for Yang Feng's decision.

Seeing that Xu Huang hadn't moved at all, Yang Feng slowly calmed down and started to think. It turned out that Gongming really was just offering advice. I was so scared! I almost thought that Gongming was going to use me as a prop for his advice.

Then, looking at Xu Huang's prostrate back on the ground, Yang Feng couldn't help but feel a little smug.

Look at Ding Yuan and Dong Zhuo, they were either regional governors or powerful figures who held sway over the court. They were not even as good at judging people as I, Yang Feng.

My husband is honest, kind, and righteous; he simply cannot do anything that would be considered disrespectful to his superiors.

It's not surprising that Xu Huang would persuade Yang Feng to surrender.

In official history, it was at this time that he persuaded Yang Feng to surrender to Cao Cao, and Yang Feng agreed.

However, Cao Cao was wary of Yang Feng's large army and also wanted to move Emperor Xian of Han to Xuchang, fearing that Yang Feng would oppose it. In the end, he did not accept Yang Feng's surrender.

"Gongming, please get up first."

Yang Feng threw away the sword he had just grabbed.

Xu Huang's bravery was all too clear to him. If Xu Huang were to offer his own head as a congratulatory gift, even if he were to bring a precious sword, it would only be adding another item to the gift list.

Upon hearing Yang Feng's words, Xu Huang respectfully stood up.

Yang Feng hesitated for a moment, as if discussing something, and said, "Gongming, things haven't come to that point yet, have they?"

Xu Huang replied, "Indeed, General, our army is far from being in such a state. However, I have always heard that wise men think ahead and are mindful of potential dangers even in times of peace. Moreover, this is precisely the time when Xuzhou needs you most. I observe that among the troops from Guandong who come to support the emperor, although the Xuzhou army makes up the majority, there are still troops from Yanzhou, Yuzhou, and Henan. Once we welcome the emperor back to the capital, Xuzhou will not lack men. If we surrender then, the Xuzhou army may not value you as much as they do now."

Yang Feng remained silent for a long time before finally shaking his head slowly: "Things are beyond saving, we can wait a little longer."

Xu Huang stopped trying to persuade him, took his leave, and told Yang Feng to get some rest.

Yang Feng nodded and personally escorted Xu Huang out of the main tent.

This attempt to persuade him to surrender was actually Xu Huang's own initiative, and not Liu Feng's doing.

Because Liu Feng's only target was Xu Huang, and the White Wave Army was a bandit army, Liu Feng was afraid that these bandits would corrupt the morale of his Xuzhou army.

Xu Huang risked persuading Yang Feng to surrender for two reasons: firstly, he had already won the hearts of generals such as Liu Feng, Guan Yu, Gao Shun, and Zhang Liao in Xuzhou; and secondly, he wanted to secure a good ending for his current lord, Yang Feng.

That's why I took the risk.

Yang Feng didn't doubt him, but he didn't agree to his request either.

Xu Huang could only sigh and mount his horse to return to his camp.

In the Xuzhou military camp, Liu Feng received a handwritten letter.

The person who sent the letter was Zhong Yao.

When they met in Wenxi, Liu Feng was very hospitable to Zhong Yao. He also took out letters from Chen Ji, Chen Qun and his son, Xun You, Guo Jia, and a group of famous scholars from Yuzhou and handed them to Zhong Yao.

These letters made Zhong Yao realize that the young man before him, and his father, were both friends and lords of the scholars of Yuzhou.

Zhong Yao was quite pleased that Liu Bei was willing to employ a large number of scholars from Yu Province.

These were fellow townsmen, and even though Zhong Yao was not in Yingchuan at the time, but in the imperial court, the ties between them could not be severed.

At the same time, Zhong Yao was also very clear about what these letters were about. These letters must be asking him to take good care of Liu Feng and to help Liu Feng obtain sufficient benefits in the central government.

Zhong Yao stated that he had no choice but to take responsibility for this.

Sure enough, the letter arrived today.

Liu Feng opened the letter, which contained three things.

The first thing was that the emperor had just held a banquet to appease the four generals of the White Wave Army and intended to recruit them into his service.

Liu Feng could only sympathize with the emperor's difficult situation.

Because this thing was destined to fail.

If the emperor wanted to subdue the White Wave Army, he had to provide a large amount of grain, which was the most basic requirement.

If you can't even feed the White Wave Army, how can you win their hearts and minds?
Even though Yang Feng and his men were willing to pledge allegiance to the emperor, the officers and soldiers of the White Wave Army below still served Yang Feng and Han Xian, not Emperor Liu Xie.

But could the emperor produce enough grain?

This is obviously a question that doesn't need an answer.

Judging from the fact that the emperor still tried to win over Yang Feng, Han Xian and other Bai Bo generals to consolidate the Bai Bo army, it is clear that his cleverness was still just petty cleverness and he could not see the essence of the problem.

Therefore, Liu Feng didn't need to intervene or object; he could simply watch them fail.

The second thing was to tell Liu Feng that Ding Chong, a court advisor, had secretly gone to Cao Cao's camp. He didn't know what he was planning, but there must be a reason.

Ding Chong was from Yuzhou, and he was a fellow townsman and related to Cao Cao by marriage. Zhong Yao had already told Liu Feng this when he introduced the figures in the court earlier.

After realizing that Ding Chong was the brother-in-law who was forced to his death by Cao Cao, Liu Feng recalled more things than Zhong Yao had described.

According to historical records, Ding Chong died a few years later when he was drinking with his generals. He couldn't stop drinking and got drunk, which caused his intestines to rot and he died.

The phrase "dying from rotten intestines" is often used to describe a covert assassination.

Moreover, Ding Chong's drinking problem has been going on for a long time; how many times has he been able to stop?

It was simply that Lady Ding refused to forgive Cao Cao because of Cao Ang's affair, which led to their estrangement.

This put Ding Chong, the brother-in-law, in a rather awkward position, especially since he was in such a crucial role as the Commandant of the Capital Region.

However, Ding Chong was now Cao Cao's staunch ally, so his secret trip to see Cao Cao must have been for something important.

It's a pity I didn't have a spy among Cao Cao's men, otherwise I really wanted to find out what they were talking about.

The third thing Zhong Yao mentioned was the emperor's return to the east.

(End of this chapter)