Bai Xiaowen smiled and asked, "Did Cao Cao's plan deviate from the three auxiliary lands?"
Even with Zhong Yao's experience, he was still shocked by Bai Xiaowen. He thought to himself, "Does this new boss really have clairvoyant eyes and ears?"
Zhong Yao replied honestly, "Yes."
Originally, Cao Cao adopted Guo Jia's' Two Tigers Competing for Food 'strategy. He exchanged three auxiliary lands for food from Zhang Lu and then exchanged horses from Ma Teng. In the end, Zhang Lu was the first to occupy the city. Ma Teng came later and refused to give up and attacked Chang' an.
Originally, with the high walls of Chang'an, Ma Teng's Xiliang cavalry would not be able to take down Chang'an.
However … an abnormal situation had occurred.
The spy Zhong Yao placed in Chang'an did not have a high position and only reported the result. Ma Teng took down Chang'an and occupied Chang'an. Zhang Lu was defeated and retreated back to Hanzhong. As for how they took down Chang'an, they did not know.
This battle also created a grudge between the two families. It was said that Zhang Lu used a curse to make Ma Teng sick in bed and vomit blood.
Zhong Yao said, "My lord, Ma Teng is not a problem. However, he has a few sons and nephews, such as Ma Xiu, Ma Tie, Ma Dai, etc. They are all outstanding talents. Especially his eldest son, Ma Chao. He is brave and good at fighting. The Xiliang Qiang people call him the God Mighty Sky General. This person has occupied Chang'an and is a serious threat to Tong Pass. "
Bai Xiaowen nodded and said, "Our army has just taken over Henan and needs some time to stabilize the situation. However, since Ma Teng was injured by a curse, Ma Chao will definitely see Zhang Lu as an enemy and will not attack Tong Pass in the short term. Apart from that, I will also send more generals to defend Tong Pass. "
After Zhong Yao left, Bai Xiaowen rewarded the soldiers of the Yuan army. He also gave Xun You and a group of surrendered officials.
It was worth mentioning that Xun You was also a strategist with a special buff. However, it was not for the lord but for the troops.
This special skill was called "Qilu".
[Genius Strategy: When Xun You follows the army, he will provide extra attack speed and movement speed bonus to the surprise troops. The highest bonus is 25%.]
When Bai Xiaowen saw Xun You's special skill, he understood. It was not without reason that Cao Cao always let Xun You follow the army. In this battle, Xun You was asked to guard Xu Du. It was probably because Xun Yu was gone, and there was no one else available.
Bai Xiaowen thus conferred Xun You the title of Military Counselor and Chancellor, who would follow the army and discuss military affairs.
Even if it was just a mascot placed in the camp, it would be enough as long as it was effective for the surprise troops. Besides, Xun You's intelligence was not inferior to Guo Jia's.
As for the captured Cao Yingliang, Zhang Liao, and the others, Bai Xiaowen asked Xun Yu to bring Cao Cao's last letter back to Jizhou to persuade them to surrender.
Bai Xiaowen was quite confident. As this was the early stages of the war, Cao Cao only had these generals for a short period of time, so their loyalty was not as exaggerated as during the later stages of the Three Kingdoms.
For example, Zhang Liao submitted to Cao Cao after Lu Bu died in 198 AD, only a year ago. Xu Huang submitted when Cao Cao welcomed him in 197, only two years ago.
The positions of these two Lord rank generals were not high, and Bai Xiaowen also had the title of Son of Heaven, so the two of them had a high chance of surrendering.
Of course, apart from Zhang Liao and Xu Huang, there were also Yu Jin and Yue Jin, these two rare Lord rank generals.
On the way back to Jizhou, Xun Yu made a trip to Dun Qiu.
Dun Qiu was relatively high, so Cao Ren, Cao Hong, and the others led a remnant force to defend it.
Although Cao Ren knew about Cao Cao's death and the news of his request to surrender, he still insisted on not surrendering. He probably wanted to follow Cao Cao to the underworld.
After Xun Yu and Cao Ren met, Xun Yu used one sentence to change Cao Ren's stubborn attitude.
"General, you don't care about yourself, but don't you care about the safety of the four young masters?"
Cao Ren's expression changed slightly, and he bowed, "Please advise me."
Xun Yu said, "My lord has already conferred the title of Marquis to Cao Pi and the others. To me, this is already a huge favor. However, who can guarantee that this will continue? If the general is willing to pledge allegiance and serve under the lord's banner, then the four young masters will definitely be safe. "
Cao Ren hesitated, "But I'm afraid that Yuan Xi won't allow me to."
Xun Yu shook his head, "My lord has already ordered that the Cao Family's old subordinates, from the provincial governors to the county officials, will all be retained. Among them, the outstanding ones will be promoted. With this, one can see how magnanimous he is, completely different from Yuan Benchu. "
Thus, Cao Ren surrendered.
After Bai Xiaowen obtained Cao Ren and Cao Hong, he was delighted. The Cao Clan still had many rare commander level generals. Cao Ren, Cao Hong, and Cao Chun, who had yet to show his talent, were all like this.
Cao Ren's special skill was to defend a city, while Cao Hong's was to protect his master.
As for Cao Chun, although he didn't have any special skills and was only a normal Lord, Bai Xiaowen knew that he had potential. In the future, he could recruit a new special troop — the Ferocious Cavalry!
Thus, Bai Xiaowen made a decision to confer Cao Ren the title of General Zhenxi, who would lead the army to defend Tong Pass. Then, he would confer Cao Hong the title of Cavalry Commandant, who would be in charge of the central army to protect Bai Xiaowen. Cao Chun was also conferred the title of Commandant, becoming Bai Xiaowen's direct subordinate.
This decision made many people doubtful, and they felt that Bai Xiaowen's decision was inappropriate.
Dong Zhao felt that these people were all remnants of the Cao Family, and it was inevitable that they would harbor grievances, so they shouldn't be placed in such important positions.
If Cao Ren were to guard Tong Pass and collude with Xiliang to take revenge for Cao Cao, the situation in Si Province might instantly collapse.
More importantly, Cao Hong would be in charge of the central army, which was simply giving Cao Hong a chance to take revenge.
Bai Xiaowen said,
"Right now, although the provinces of Henan have already surrendered, they are not yet stable. The soldiers, civilians, and officials all have doubts in their hearts. If I still have doubts about them, it will be easier to be instigated and cause trouble. Only by showing an attitude of trust can I win the hearts of the provinces of Henan. I know Cao Ren and the other generals. They are loyal and righteous, and are definitely not people who betray the country. "
Xun Yu was extremely impressed by Bai Xiaowen's magnanimity. He said bluntly, "My lord's courage and insight are rare in the world." There was something he did not say in his heart. Even Cao Cao did not have Bai Xiaowen's courage.
In fact, Bai Xiaowen wasn't afraid.
Cao Ren and the others had originally planned to die, but because of Xun Yu's persuasion, they surrendered for the sake of Cao Cao's descendants. With Cao Pi and the others in his hands, Cao Ren wouldn't betray him even if he died.
As for Cao Hong's central army, it looked very dangerous, but in fact, it was as stable as Mount Tai.
As an awakened, it would be a joke if Bai Xiaowen was plotted against by Cao Hong.
After Xun Yu returned to Ji Province, he went to the prison to persuade the other captive generals of the Cao Family to surrender.
The final result was quite gratifying.
Zhang Liao, Xu Huang, Yu Jin, and Yue Jin all expressed their willingness to surrender to the imperial court!
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