flstandardbreds Chapter 105. Giving up Xuzhou? A laughable chapter! This is the pinnacle of political intrigue.
Chapter 105. Giving up Xuzhou? A laughable chapter! This is the pinnacle of political intrigue.
"My lord, gentlemen, let's not jump to conclusions yet."
"Tao Qian's move was indeed a case of Xiang Zhuang's sword dance."
"But don't you all think that the direction this sword is pointing might not be Qingzhou?"
Xun Yu was the first to react, and he was so anxious that he kept slapping his thigh!
They had already formed a prejudice and directly set Tao Qian's target as Qingzhou.
after all.
Qingzhou is really easy to conquer now.
But... what happens after we conquer Qingzhou?
Both Yuan Shao and Gongsun Zan, these two powerful warlords, would consider Qingzhou a must-have territory in the future.
Tao Qian now occupies Qingzhou, although he is nominally an ally of Gongsun Zan.
However, Gongsun Zan and Tao Qian were not close, and Gongsun Zan did not have much trust in Tao Qian.
In other words.
Both Yuan Shao and Gongsun Zan, two strong-willed and ambitious men, would regard Tao Qian as an enemy!
They might even join forces against the enemy!
On the side of the couch, how can you allow others to snore?
The most troublesome thing in a struggle for supremacy is the interference of other forces.
It is highly likely that the two of them reached a consensus to remove Tao Qian from the game.
thus.
Attacking Qingzhou was simply sowing the seeds of disaster for the Tao family.
With Tao Qian's shrewdness, he wouldn't be so blind as to miss this point.
"Could it be that Tao Qian intends for Cao Bao to launch a surprise attack on our rear while our army is attacking Xiaopei?"
"Man Chong said angrily."
It's no wonder he thought that way.
During his two missions to Tao Qian, his status as an envoy rose higher and higher, while Tao Qian became increasingly humble.
It is possible that Tao Qian was dissatisfied with Cao Cao's power and harbored malicious intentions.
Su Yu waved his hand:
"If Tao Qian wanted to attack our army, he wouldn't have needed to do this."
"Joining forces with Yuan Shu to attack our army from both sides would obviously give us a greater chance of victory."
"Instead of first agreeing to an alliance with our army, then betraying the alliance with Yuan Shu, and then launching a sneak attack on our army from behind!"
"If that's the case, then he will offend both our army and Yuan Shu's army!"
"Surrounded by enemies on all sides, does Tao Qian intend to repeat the siege of Gaixia?" (Gaixia is located in Lingbi County, Suzhou, south of Pengcheng.)
Now, Cao Cao's strategists were caught in a dilemma.
So, what exactly does Tao Qian want to do?
Why are their whereabouts so mysterious?
Could it be that he really just wanted to be a good person and rescue Kong Rong from the siege of Beihai?
Are there such kind-hearted people in chaotic times?
Maybe.
But it's definitely not Tao Qian!
Cao Cao glanced furtively at Su Yu, noticing Su Yu's confident expression, yet deliberately keeping everyone in suspense. He couldn't help but mutter:
"Ziyi, please tell us quickly."
"Look, if you don't tell, Zhongde will pull out all his hair!"
Cao Cao pointed to Cheng Yu standing to the side.
Only then did everyone notice that Cheng Yu was scratching his head with both hands, clearly racking his brains trying to figure out what Tao Qian meant.
Among the strategists, Cheng Yu was the oldest, already approaching fifty.
Mature, steady, and shrewd, he has met all sorts of people.
Therefore, Cheng Yu always likes to think about problems from the dark side of human nature.
He believed that Tao Qian sent Cao Bao with 60,000 troops to conquer a certain territory.
If this territory doesn't belong to Qingzhou, then it's very likely to be on Cao Cao's side!
Su Yu smiled. It wasn't that Cao Cao's strategists were incompetent.
Instead... if we look at it with normal thinking, no one could possibly, and would never, guess what Tao Qian was going to do this time!
So, when leading an army into battle, is it always to fight enemies or betray allies? (Sun Quan: ???)
Is it...
Couldn't it be used against one's own people?
Or, to outsiders, it appears to be a civil war between our own people.
In reality, Tao Qian did not consider these people as "one of his own".
at the moment.
Xuzhou had a total of nearly 100,000 troops.
Cao Bao led 60,000 troops on the expedition.
Sixty thousand is exactly the number of soldiers registered in the Danyang faction.
This also represents the number of soldiers that Tao Qian could truly command.
The remaining 40,000 were in the hands of prominent families and local powerful clans in Xuzhou.
For example, Mi Zhu and Chen Gui both held a certain amount of military power.
In addition, they also commanded a number of private retainers and soldiers.
When Tao Qian was still alive, everyone appeared to be a united front.
But if Tao Qian were to die one day, who could guarantee that these scholars from Xuzhou wouldn't sell Tao Qian's two sons, Tao Shang and Tao Ying?
Whether Cao Bao would force Tao Shang Tao Ying to "die of natural causes" is also uncertain!
after all.
Cao Bao was loyal to Tao Qian.
But no one has ever said that he was loyal to Tao Shang Tao Ying!
The numbers are too coincidental, the head coach is too coincidental, and the timeline is too coincidental.
Just as Su Yu had always believed, Tao Qian could not have given Xuzhou to Liu Bei on his own!
but……
Is there a possibility.
Tao Qian could give Xuzhou to Liu Bei, but Xuzhou would have to be a complete mess!
The person who takes over Xuzhou doesn't necessarily have to be Liu Bei; it could be anyone else.
Anyway, you can't be too strong yourself, just strong enough to handle this mess!
Historically, Xuzhou had already suffered a severe blow due to Cao Cao's massacre of the city.
Besides ordinary people, the power and wealth of major aristocratic families and powerful clans also suffered enormous losses.
When Tao Qian was on his deathbed, Cao Bao and Mi Zhu and Chen Gui were already at odds over the war, and were just short of fighting each other!
In this situation.
Even without Tao Qian's intervention, Xuzhou was already a complete mess.
Like a savior, Liu Bei was entrusted with Xuzhou by the kind-faced and benevolent Tao Qian.
It was as if everything had fallen into place naturally.
It was because Liu Bei had a good reputation that Tao Qian trusted him and considered him a benevolent ruler, which is why he gave him Xuzhou.
This is like one day Musk suddenly saying, "Because you are a good person, I will give you all my money for free!"
is it possible?
Even a fool would know that it's impossible!
Those who believe that Tao Qian entrusted Xuzhou to Liu Bei out of genuine trust are likely either too young or not quite right in the head.
Throughout the entire process, no one noticed Tao Qian's two sons, Tao Shang and Tao Ying.
It was as if these two people were not Tao Qian's sons at all.
Liu Bei was actually Tao Qian's biological son.
It was only natural for Tao Qian to cede Xuzhou to Liu Bei, who was already "famous"!
Yes!
Tao Shang Tao Ying was neither capable nor powerful.
But it is precisely because those in power have achieved a delicate triangular balance.
And since they're no longer in power, they're safe!
According to records, they later went to Jiangdong and settled near Chaisang.
Not only did he live to see Sun Quan become emperor, but he also remained a wealthy man throughout his life, living a leisurely existence.
A famous person also emerged from his descendants during the Eastern Jin Dynasty.
That person's name was:
Tao Yuanming!
……