After a night, the rations were placed far away. Cao Cao's rear was now very stable. The troops were stationed very carefully, almost all of them in a corner, and there was no forest nearby.
No matter what kind of wind blew, there would be no hidden danger of fire attacks. Gaoying Stronghold had a high field of vision, so now that they had sufficient rations, they naturally had nothing to fear.
Outside the main camp.
Cao Cao and Xu Zhen strolled around the camp.
He saw the blacksmiths in the army quickly smelting the armor and weapons that Zhan Li had obtained, forging them into horseshoes or iron stirrups.
Together with the warhorses, they would replenish their armaments.
" It's really peaceful. A year ago, I would never have thought that I, Cao Cao, could fight such a rich battle. Haha…"
Behind Cao Cao was Cao Ren, and behind Xu Zhen was Dian Wei. They could be considered influential figures in the Cao camp.
" Unfortunately…" Cao Cao stopped halfway.
"It's a pity…" Xu Zhen nodded.
"Oh? Does Yixuan know what I'm worried about?"
Cao Cao looked at him with interest. His face was filled with anticipation because he always found many bright spots in Xu Zhen.
"I pity my lord's feathers."
"Feathers?"
"Yes, it's just reputation. I naturally know that people will die in war. This is understandable. However, if reputation is wantonly exaggerated and becomes the public enemy, it will be difficult to manage in the future.”
"Yeah…I know…"
This was what troubled Cao Cao. However, he did not massacre the city in the end. He only killed many people who had strong resistance.
There was nothing he could do about it. This was a quick battle. Anyone with a discerning eye knew why. Yanzhou had just been pacified and was not as united as a piece of iron.
Lu Bu, Yuan Shu, Yuan Shao, Liu Biao, and even the small forces that had taken in the remnants of the Yellow Turban, like Zang Ba of Taishan County, all maintained an ambiguous relationship with Lu Bu.
It was hard to tell if they were friends or foes, so they would attack Yanzhou at any time, so it was a quick battle.
If they fought quickly, there would be no time to appease the people. Those who resisted would have to be killed, even if it was painful.
Otherwise, it would drag down the entire army and might even bury a hidden danger.
"What should we do now…"
"Retreat."
Xu Zhen suddenly said.
"What did you say?" Cao Cao looked at Xu Zhen in disbelief.
"You didn't hear wrongly. Retreat, my lord.”Xu Zhen said seriously.
"Yixuan, are you worried that I'm wrong to kill people and make you bear that…sin?”Cao Cao curled his lips and said," I won't let you go to the battlefield again! This is the only time. Even Zhao Zilong has been captured. Who else can match up to my general?”
Tsk, it's starting again…planting flags.
Xu Zhen had always felt that Boss Cao was good in every aspect. In the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, he was an evil hero. In history, he was a hero. It could be said that he was both a hero and an ambitious person. How heroic was it to unify the Central Plains?
He liked to plant flags and had a good mouth.
" Not really," Xu Zhen said rather lazily." I don't know either. I'm just spouting nonsense. It's almost winter now, and the soldiers live in camps. They have no place to stay, only tents. There are houses in Xiapi City to shelter them. This is one of the reasons.”
"Secondly, although we have sufficient provisions, if the snow seals the mountain, Lu Bu, Yuan Shu, and Yuan Shao will attack, we will be in a dilemma.”
"Thirdly, if we fight for a long time, we will have to collect iron, grain, and even conscription from the people of the thirteen towns and counties.”
More importantly, if the war really continued, even if there was no massacre in the city, Xuzhou would become a stain that Old Cao could never erase.
Because of the quick battle, there was no way to raise the people…The faster the battle, the more difficult it was to raise the people. Not to mention the people, it was even difficult to raise the surrendered soldiers.
As Xu Zhen spoke, he realized that Cao Cao had stopped and started to think.
" Continue." His face darkened, and Cao Ren's heart skipped a beat.
Cao Ren knew Cao Cao's temper. It was rare to see such a serious expression on his face. If he continued, he might make Cao Cao angry.
" Yixuan," Cao Ren said in a low voice and gave him a look, asking him to choose something nice to say.
Xu Zhen turned his head and said," Besides, if Xiapi cannot be conquered for a long time, Liu Bei will gain a more stable foothold. He is in Xuzhou, and there are people who can replace the aristocratic families in Xuzhou. Those who supported Tao Qian in the past can now support Liu Bei.”
" It's just like…um…Head Shopkeeper. Let me explain this theory to you…"
Xu Zhen used a brand new business theory, but changed the position of general manager to " shopkeeper."
"These aristocrats are like shareholders who invest in a business, and the one who is pushed out to manage it is the manager. For example, Tao Qian was the previous manager of Xu Prefecture. Now that he is old and his children are not in a position to take on such a big responsibility, does it mean that these shareholders need to change the manager?
Liu Bei was the perfect candidate. As long as Liu Bei stayed in Xiapi for a while, the aristocrats would naturally choose to invest in him. Tao Qian was a smart man, so he would definitely be willing to entrust Liu Bei to him. There was no other reason than to ensure that his descendants would live a prosperous life.”
Xu Zhen's words caused Cao Cao's expression to freeze for a moment before he smiled strangely.
" Hahaha…" He laughed and shook his head." Interesting, really interesting.”
"You actually compared Xu Prefecture to a business store. You're really something, Yixuan!”
Cao Cao's eyes lit up with anticipation and excitement as he asked,""Then what do you think I should do?"
Xu Zhen immediately said," Station troops and appease the people. Then, the army will withdraw and appease the cities that we have seized. We will implement a policy of benefiting the people. Of course…we have to make Tao Qian spit out the wealth that he has plundered.”
"How can you do that?"
"Oh, I happen to have an idea." Xu Zhen added.
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