After Cao Cao conquered Picheng, he began to gather the people.

Although when he was in Yanzhou, Cao Cao told the others that he was going to capture Qingzhou.

But in Cao Cao's heart, he also knew that it was not realistic to capture Qingzhou.

Even if he entered Qingzhou and conquered dozens of cities, when Xu Huang reacted, Cao Cao had more than 20,000 soldiers in his hands, and it was unknown whether he could block Xu Huang's counterattack.

Even if everything went well, Cao Cao would not be able to capture the entire Qingzhou in a very short time.

If he wants to completely occupy Qingzhou, Cao Cao will need at least three months.

Unless it was Xu Huang who raised his hand and surrendered.

But even then, it will take a month.

Liu Bei Lu Bu would never give Cao Cao such a long time.

Cao Cao became stronger, and it became more difficult for them to deal with Cao Cao in the future.

As long as Cao Cao has been weak, it will be possible to defeat Cao Cao when they become Xuzhou Mu.

Therefore, Cao Cao sent troops to Qingzhou, and his real purpose was to plunder the civilians of Qingzhou.

Use the large population of Qingzhou to supplement the population of Yanzhou.

Therefore, after Cao Cao entered the city, the people of Picheng were all planned in a unified manner.

Always ready to take them away.

Cao Cao didn't care if these people wanted to or not, and he didn't care if they would be displaced.

He needs the population now.

Even if it is a robbery, it is necessary to snatch people away.

Those who dare to resist, those who are unwilling to leave.

Cao Cao didn't mind killing them.

He had already slaughtered the city in Xuzhou.

Cao Cao didn't mind slaughtering another group of people at all.

Cao Cao stayed only one night in Picheng, and the next day he led a large army and began to attack the neighboring city of Yuecheng.

They are all just small counties, and in the face of Cao Cao's army, they have no defensive power at all.

And the next day, dozens of more teams joined Cao Cao.

The strength in Cao Cao's hands rose directly from 5,000 to 18,000.

In the face of the black oppressive army, the county order of Yuecheng did not even dare to defend it, so he directly opened the city gate and surrendered.

There were only four or five hundred defenders in the city.

And one by one is either forty or fifty years old, or with yellow muscles and thin muscles.

It's okay to maintain law and order in the city on a regular basis.

These defenders, that is, the days of the gangsters, received a share of the salary.

If you fight, they can't do it at all.

Those who can fight have been transferred away by Zhang He a long time ago.

Where will stay here.

Day 3!

The 25,000 soldiers from Yanzhou all joined Cao Cao.

Cao Cao is also the next city.

Although they are only small counties, the three counties also have a population of 80,000.

It is already Yanzhou today, with nearly one-tenth of the population.

Although Qingzhou has been fighting for the past two years.

But because it was only a marginal battlefield, before Xu Huang arrived, the battle between Zhang He and Zhang Wang Liaohua was not fierce.

Three or five days of a small friction, that is, a battle of hundreds of people.

Ten days and a half months, a battle of 1,000 people.

There have been only a handful of battles of more than 10,000 people in the past two years.

After Xu Huang arrived, the battle in Donglai County was the largest battle in Qingzhou in the past two years.

The number of casualties on both sides reached more than 60,000.

Qingzhou was not affected by the locust plague last year.

Because the scale of the battle has not been large, the Yellow Turban Army led by Zhang Liao Hua has also been trapped in Donglai County.

Therefore, the people of Qingzhou have lived relatively stable in the past two years, and the population has not decreased.

Today's Qingzhou, with six counties and 65 counties, has a population of nearly two million, twice the size of Yanzhou today.

Last year, Yanzhou's population was four or five hundred thousand more than that of Qingzhou.

It is conceivable how much Cao Cao's strength has weakened today.

Last year, in terms of strength, Cao Cao's strength could be ranked in the top five among many princes.

It is weaker than Zhao Hui, Yuan Shao, and Yuan Shu.

But now, with the amount of troops, grain and grass, and population in Cao Cao's hands, among the many princes, there are already ten people outside.

Last year, he could beat Tao Qian, but this year he had to guard against whether Liu Bei and Lu Bu would attack him.

Even Ma Teng Han Sui of Liangzhou can now surpass Cao Cao in strength.

Cao Cao is now in dire need of population replenishment.

Three county seats, 80,000 people.

Cao Cao was not satisfied.

When he really wants to forcibly bring these 80,000 people back to Yanzhou, there will definitely be people who will resist and some people who will escape.

Run, run, kill, the number of people Cao Cao can really bring back to Yanzhou will not exceed 40,000.

Therefore, Cao Cao will continue to attack other counties.

It's just that three days have passed, and Xu Huang also received the news.

When Cao Cao attacked Picheng on the first day, someone reported to Xu Huang.

It's just that the journey is far, and Xu Huang received the news on the third day.

Xu Huang has always been prepared, knowing that he can't easily control Qingzhou, and someone will definitely interfere with him.

But what he had been guarding against was Yuan Shao, and he didn't expect that the person who came would be Cao Cao.

Xu Huang admired Cao Cao's courage very much.

In this case, he even dared to personally lead the main force of Yanzhou and enter Qingzhou to grab food.

Although he admired Cao Cao's courage, Xu Huang would not show mercy to his subordinates.

Qingzhou was snatched from Zhang He, and he would not let Cao Cao pick the fruit of this victory.

Cao Cao's troops were less than those of Zhang He before.

After the First World War in Donglai County, during this time, Xu Huang once again streamlined the army in his hands.

Some of the people in the Yellow Turban Army were laid off again, and some of the captured Yuan Jun were selected by Xu Huang and incorporated into the Yellow Turban Army.

Xu Huang now only has 50,000 soldiers and horses in his hands.

It is already the number in Xu Huang's heart.

And the 50,000 reorganized Yellow Turban Army, after the bloody battle in Donglai County.

They've all been transformed.

Now the 50,000 Yellow Turban Army in Xu Huang's hands is no longer a rabble, but can be called elite soldiers.

The name of the elite soldiers of a hundred battles cannot be placed on them, but the combat power of these 50,000 people will definitely not be worse than the 50,000 Yuan army in Zhang He's hands before.

Even in the face of Cao Cao, Xu Huang is now full of confidence.

After receiving the news, Xu Huang immediately sent a large number of scouts.

At the same time, the soldiers and horses that had just been sent out to the various counties were collected.

Xu Huang didn't know Cao Cao's true purpose.

He only knew that the troops were scattered in various county towns, and they would only allow Cao Cao to break them one by one.

Only by gathering the forces together and facing Cao Cao head-on.

Only in this way will Cao Cao have scruples and dare not attack those small cities with empty defenses at will.

Xu Huang himself also directly led the 10,000 elite soldiers who stayed in Donglai and advanced directly to Yuncheng, where Cao Cao was located.

The soldiers from the other counties also rushed directly to this side.

Xu Huang didn't let them meet in Donglai County first, so the time was too slow, and at Cao Cao's current speed, most of Qingzhou might fall into Cao Cao's hands.

Before Xu Huang's main force arrived, those who encountered Cao Cao's siege, Xu Huang also ordered them to abandon the city directly, first to ensure that their troops were not damaged.

Secondly, before withdrawing, the grain and grass must also be taken away, if you can't take it away, you must burn it, and it must not be left for Cao Cao.

(End of chapter)