funbook-pk Chapter 249 What is Cao Ang's legal wife's identity? Helping the Xun family escape the aby
Chapter 249 What is Cao Ang's legal wife's identity? Helping the Xun family escape the aby
"Could it be that Sun Ce has attacked?"
This was Kuai Yue's first reaction.
This sudden uprising reminded Kuai Yue of the night Sun Jian attacked Xiangyang before joining the allied forces.
Although Sun Jian did not enter the city, he only set fire to the gate of Xiangyang and then withdrew.
But that sense of fear still seeped into the very marrow of these aristocratic families of Jingzhou!
It was late at night.
The servants in Kuai Yue's mansion were already asleep.
The sudden riot in the city caught everyone off guard.
"kill!!!"
Amidst the raging flames, it was impossible to see how many soldiers had stormed into Kuai Yue's residence.
Kuai Yue was so frightened that he fled through the tunnel in the study without even putting on his pants.
The mansion was also burned to ashes in a great fire.
at the same time.
Three of the four granaries storing grain and fodder were also set on fire!
Although the Jingzhou army put out the fire in a timely manner, no matter how timely they were, they couldn't keep up with the speed at which the grain was burning.
After taking stock of the losses, Liu Biao was devastated.
The fire reduced the grain reserves in Xiangyang City by nearly half!
Other than that.
The few remaining warhorses in Xiangyang City were also looted by this group of thugs.
But looking at the more than a thousand warhorses in front of him, even the usually good-tempered Jia Xu couldn't help but curse Liu Biao, Kuai Yue, and Cai Mao as poor bastards!
The warhorses were of poor quality and few in number.
But this can't really be blamed on Liu Biao.
They also wanted more warhorses, but they simply couldn't get any!
Warhorses, such valuable strategic resources, were extremely rare in Jingzhou.
Even when Cao Cao's camp wanted to purchase warhorses on a large scale, they had to do business with Gongsun Zan through diplomatic means.
Moreover, Liu Biao, who was located in Jingzhou!
Yuan Shao had quite a few warhorses under his command, but he himself felt they weren't enough. Why would he sell them to Liu Biao?
When it comes to warhorses, the Jiangdong region actually has the fewest.
Historical records indicate that after Sun Shiwan, the God of War of Hefei, failed in his third attack on Hefei...
To avoid losing face, they used a boat to buy eight hundred warhorses from Gongsun Yuan in Liaodong at a high price and brought them back to Jiangdong to show off.
They claimed it was looted from the vicinity of Hefei!
Later, Sun Shiwan felt that Jiangdong needed a large number of cavalry troops, so he established a long-term trade partnership with Gongsun Yuan and purchased 8,000 warhorses from him in one go!
Eight thousand warhorses, after being inflated by Gongsun Yuan, became an astronomical price.
Sun Shiwan really went all out, and it was only with great difficulty that he dared to be so assertive.
However, Gongsun Yuan was still a vassal of Cao Wei at the time, and in order to prepare for his rebellion, he turned a long-term business into a short-term one.
Sun paid 100,000 coins, but Gongsun Yuan refused to give him a warhorse!
Sun Shiwan was furious and immediately declared that he would head north across the sea to deal with Gongsun Yuan.
Of course, this is just idle talk. Just look at the distance between Liaodong and Jiangdong, and you'll know that this is impossible.
Furthermore, if Sun Quan really dares to cross the sea to the north, Cao Rui will dare to send troops to ambush him!
So in the end, the matter could only be left unresolved, and Sun Shiwan had to accept this injustice in silence.
However, this incident also reveals how much the southern lords lacked warhorses.
For every gain, there is a loss.
Their unparalleled naval prowess meant that their land resources were inevitably inferior to those of the northern warlords.
This is why, when Eastern Wu was destroyed, Wang Jun's warships sailed down to Yizhou, broke through the Yangtze River defense line, and Eastern Wu surrendered directly.
If we can't hold Ruxukou, if we can't hold the Yangtze River, then all that's left is to be swept away.
……
And at present
Jia Xu, desperate as a last resort, took all the thousand-plus warhorses with him and fled with Wei Yan, Liao Hua, and two thousand members of the Liao clan!
Although not many members of the Liao clan could ride horses, they could go as far as they could. These warhorses should not be allowed to fall into Liu Biao's hands!
Liao Hua was also swayed by Jia Xu's words.
Following Liu Biao is nowhere near as enjoyable as following Cao Cao!
Don't be fooled by the fact that we've given up our land and our hometown.
But when Cao Cao attacked Jingzhou, Liao Hua suddenly became a collaborator.
How could such a reward be anything less?
The Liao family could also rise to prominence through this opportunity, with Liao Hua establishing a separate family genealogy and leading the Liao family from a powerful clan to a prestigious one!
But as the saying goes.
Where there are happy people, there are bound to be sad people.
Liu Biao, Cai Mao, and Kuai Yue stayed up all night, busy trying to salvage the grain supplies.
By the time they realized that Jia Xu was behind it all, Jia Xu had already fled with the Liao clan.
……
Xuchang
Cao Cao was also prepared to go to Wancheng to accept Zhang Xiu's "surrender".
Cao Ang, Cao Anmin, Dian Wei, and Jueying also went on the expedition.
Looking at this lineup, it looks more and more like a do-or-die match.
But this is only a superficial alliance.
In reality, Su Yu, Zhao Yun, Cao Chun, Xiahou Yuan, Xu Huang, Taishi Ci, Xu Chu, and others were the true main force!
The two teams took different routes to Wancheng.
If Zhang Xiu had surrendered first and then rebelled, then the main force led by Su Yu would have directly surrounded and killed Zhang Xiu!
If Zhang Xiu had honestly chosen to surrender...
Su Yu's army will then head south to Xinye to scare Liu Bei and Liu Biao.
On the road to Wancheng
Gazing at the wheat field not far away, Cao Cao became interested and immediately composed a short poem.
Unfortunately, Dian Wei, standing behind him, had no appreciation whatsoever.
Fortunately, Cao Ang came up and praised Cao Cao, which pleased Cao Cao greatly.
"Zixiu, I'm planning to send you to Wenruo's residence for some training after we return. What do you think?"
Upon hearing this, Cao Ang was so frightened that he jumped up and took several steps back!
"Father, have I offended you in any way?"
Cao Cao asked in confusion:
"What are you afraid of? Would Wenruo really let you be like him, spending all your time on politics?"
Cao Ang nodded and said:
"Let me be frank, even when you have nothing to do and stroll around the Minister's residence, you'll be arrested and have to deal with official business!"
Cao Cao remained silent.
Thinking to himself, isn't this making Xun Yu work too hard?
Yes! It's good to work harder!
It seems that we need to further deepen our relationship with Xun Yu and let him suffer more!
A sly glint suddenly appeared in Cao Cao's eyes:
"Zixiu, since you are unwilling to go to the Minister's residence, would you be willing to marry a daughter of the Xun family?"
“Wenruo’s second brother’s daughter is about your age and is of marriageable age.”
Cao Ang was a little confused.
Sure enough, the old fox is still the most cunning!
Sending him to the Minister's residence was just a feint.
The real purpose was to urge him to get married as soon as possible.
In fact, Cao Cao's favorite candidate was Cao Ang to marry Su Yu's daughter, Su Yue.
But how old is Su Yue?
How old is Cao Ang?
Even someone as shameless as Cao Cao was embarrassed to mention this.
Then, on the night before leaving Xuchang, Su Yu gave Cao Cao an idea.
Cao Ang's principal wife should ideally be a woman from the Xun family.
Because times are different now.
Back in Cao Cao's generation, his principal wife would definitely be chosen from the Ding and Xiahou families.
But by the time of Cao Ang, the Ding and Xiahou families, like the Cao family, had already become members of the imperial clan.
If a new dynasty were to be established in the future, then the royal family would be the next generation.
The most urgent task is to win over the Xun family while simultaneously making plans for the future.
If Cao Cao defeats Yuan Shao, the powerful families of Yu Province will expand further and even get out of control!
This is a fact that has already been verified in history.
If the Xun family becomes a kind of "quasi-in-laws," then there is no need for the Xun family to continue to be closely bound to the aristocratic families of Yuzhou.
She can only choose one of the two: the status of a potential maternal relative or the status of the leader of a powerful family in Yuzhou.
By then.
When we purge certain people, we will ensure that the Xun family and Xun Yu are no longer harmed.
As for whether the Xun family will become the dominant force.
A comparison of the abilities of Xun Yu and Ju Shou will reveal the answer.
One has no military power, while the other holds more than 60% of the military power. The Xun family cannot become the dominant force at all!
on the contrary.
Allowing the Xun family to continue their intense entanglement with the powerful families of Yu Province would harm not only the Xun family but also Cao Cao and Cao Ang!
……
PS: Xun Yu's death was quite complicated, not as simple as just protecting the emperor and the Han dynasty; including why Cao Cao suddenly became "unable to fight" after unifying the north and his expansion slowed down, all of these are related to this.
This is just the beginning; the rest of the story will unfold gradually.
I'd love to receive a free gift! Thank you so much, handsome reader!