After the declaration of the massacre of the city was issued, Cao Cao's offensive in Xuzhou became extremely smooth. As Cao Cao thought, under the situation that Tao Qian had not been able to completely control Xuzhou, it would be difficult for the local guards to really fight without regard for their lives in the face of Cao Cao's threat of slaughtering the city and the tiger-like army.

Speaking of which, this can't be blamed on those local families, who let Tao Qian do a lot of things that offend people in order to rule Xuzhou over the years? For example, the death of Yin De, the prime minister of the Lang Evil Kingdom, many people believe that Tao Qian did it, although there is no evidence. In addition, Tao Qian's lavish behavior, close to Cao Hong and other sycophants, appointed Zhenrong, who was in the same county as him, as the next minister, and secretly sought personal gain by supervising the power of transporting grain from all over the country, which also made many scholars very unaccustomed to it.

In addition, there is one most important reason, and that is prestige. Tao Qian did not have the prestige of Yuan Shao, Yuan Shu, and Li Yi, which made it difficult for the county guards to submit to him. After all, in terms of official rank, the county guard and the state pastor are both positions with a rank of 2,000 stones, and neither is higher than the other. Not to mention that Tao Qian is just an official who parachuted into Xuzhou.

In fact, this situation is also common in other places, such as Yanzhou. If it weren't for the active concessions of Zhang Miao and Bao Xin in the past, as well as Yuan Shao's transfer back to Yuan Yi and others, Cao Cao would also face Tao Qian's dilemma. This is also the reason why Tao Qian united with Yuan Shu to attack Yanzhou before. Because only by expanding his prestige can Tao Qian truly suppress local forces.

Well...... Far from it.

In mid-June, Cao Cao's army, which had been overwhelming all the way, was finally stopped under the city of Tancheng. In the face of Cao Cao's threat of slaughtering the city and the temptation to surrender, Cao Hong, the defender of Tancheng, was completely unmoved, constantly boosting morale and putting on a posture of defending the city.

Speaking of which, although the words of slaughtering the city can easily make some people who are not strong-willed timid, and then let the attackers easily take the city. But in fact, this situation is very easy to crack, and it is enough to have a defender who is not swayed by fear and profit, and at the same time can boost morale.

And Cao Hong is a candidate who is enough to serve in this position. He was Tao Qian's right-hand man, and he brought 5,000 reinforcements, which greatly boosted the morale of the city.

As Tao Qian said, I don't know how many times he saw this kind of trick when he was crusading against the Yellow Turban. But in fact? Didn't the yellow scarf be easily driven out of Xuzhou by him? Well...... Although it is true that many people died because of this...... Perhaps this is one of the reasons why many forces in Xuzhou have been unable to accept Tao Qian?

"Bastard, is there such a person who is not afraid of death under the command of Tao Qian's old thief?!" Cao Cao looked at the fluttering Cao Ziqi on the wall of Tancheng and muttered in annoyance.

"Lord, look at this banner, it should be under Tao Qian's command and the people of the Cao family. Although the eldest brother Cao Hong is a flatterer, the commander and the martial arts are second to none under Tao Qian. His younger brother Cao Bao is also a flatterer, but compared to his brother, he is less cautious......" Xun Yue on the side said eloquently when he heard this.

Since Cao Cao was preparing to conquer Xuzhou, he sent people to continuously collect all kinds of information about Xuzhou. And Xun Yue, who is a military advisor with the army this time, naturally keeps these in mind.

"Then Zhongyu thinks that the guards in the city will be Cao Hong or Cao Bao?" Cao Cao asked in a deep voice when he heard this.

"It should be Cao Hong!" Xun Yue replied affirmatively, "According to the information obtained from Xuzhou during this time, Cao Bao is the commander of the Danyang soldiers under Tao Qian, and he will not be easily sent by Tao Qian. ”

"Hmm...... A cautious sycophant who is good at commanding troops......" Cao Cao groaned when he heard this, his eyes constantly wandering on the city wall, as if looking for a flaw in the city?

After a long while, Cao Cao asked in a deep voice, "Zhongyu, do you think if I send someone to persuade me to surrender, is there any chance of success?" After all, strictly speaking, this Cao Hong and I are also considered to be our own family. ”

If he could, he really didn't want to spend too much energy and time here, because although he had been preparing for the attack on Xuzhou for nearly a year, Xiapi City was a famous fortified city in Xuzhou, and even if it was put in the whole world, it could be ranked first.

Conquering such a fortified city must be a protracted and bitter battle. When the time comes, God knows how much money, food, and troops will be spent. In addition, he also needs to beware of Yuan Shu in the south, so Cao Cao very much hopes to be able to come to Pi as soon as possible. At that time, even if you can't capture Xiapi, you can force the rest of Xuzhou to surrender with your troops.

"It's hard, it's almost impossible!" Xun Yue said directly without thinking about it. "The Cao family has become a member of many high-ranking families in Xuzhou today with the support of Tao Qian, plus Cao Hong's brother Cao Bao and most of the clansmen are still in Xiapi, it is unlikely that they will betray Tao Qian and join the lord."

"That'...... Can only storm it? Cao Cao looked at Tan Cheng and said lightly.

Hearing this, Xun Yue did not answer, if he followed his thoughts, he would definitely choose to leave part of the troops to guard the territory that had been occupied, and then lead the main force to sweep away those places where there was no main force of the enemy stationed. In this way, at least half of Donghai County and Pengcheng Kingdom can be swept away. When the time comes, he will send troops to defend Tao Qian's counterattack, and his side will continue to recuperate and send people to win over the families from all over Xuzhou, I believe that it will not take long to be able to completely rule Xuzhou.

It's just a pity that he knows that Cao Cao won't agree with his idea at all, because although his method seems foolproof, it has this shortcoming that makes it difficult for Cao Cao to agree, that is, it takes too long. And time, for today's Cao Cao, is a very important thing.

And Cao Cao was not surprised by Xun Yue's silence, or it was precisely because Cao Cao knew Xun Yue's character that he brought him as a military advisor this time.

Immediately, Cao Cao immediately summoned the generals to discuss, and began to attack Tancheng. However, Cao Cao did not completely give up the opportunity to lower the morale of the city, and he constantly wanted to publicize the news of the massacre in the city, hoping that the soldiers and people in the city would rebel because they were afraid.

However, Cao Hong had already taken precautions against this, and dozens of guards he brought were distributed up and down the city wall, monitoring the every move of the soldiers guarding the city and even the people. If someone commits suspicious behavior, they will be immediately arrested, interrogated, or even killed on the spot.

"You can rest assured, although the Cao thief has an army of 60,000, the defenders in the city now have 20,000 people! In addition, the food and grass are sufficient, but if the Cao thief wants to capture this city in a short time, it is a fool's dream! Cao Hong looked at the many officials in Tancheng and chuckled.

"As for the slaughter of the city that the thief said, you don't have to worry about it at all. Have you seen which city the thief had slaughtered along the way? Not at all! It's nothing more than a scare! If he really dares to slaughter the city, then his reputation will be completely stinky, and when the time comes, who will work for him? Cao Hong continued to reassure.

These words were told to Cao Hong by Tao Qian, and in Tao Qian's opinion, Cao Cao's so-called words of slaughtering the city were just a false trick used to bluff people. After all, such a thing as slaughtering the city will be condemned by the people of the world in any era, isn't Cao Cao afraid that other forces will use this reason to attack Yanzhou, and even the forces within Yanzhou will rebel?

"Everyone, as long as you hold on, then Cao Cao will definitely choose to retreat after seeing that there is no hope of capturing the city, as he did last year," Cao Hong's words were full ......of confidence.

It's just a pity that this time Cao Cao is determined to pacify Xuzhou in one fell swoop. Onslaught, Cao Cao's army launched a fierce attack on Tancheng day and night, regardless of casualties, this situation suddenly made the soldiers in the city extremely flustered, even Cao Hong, couldn't help but doubt Tao Qian's words.

Under this onslaught, Tancheng began to crumble, and fear began to fill the hearts of every defender. Perhaps, it's because the defenders of Tancheng haven't experienced a war for too long, right? Even if Cao Cao invaded Xuzhou last year, they only heard some news, and they had not even seen the shadow of the enemy.

Six days later.

A military marquis named Li Dian led the army to kill the city wall, and then, countless Cao Cao soldiers rushed to the city wall under the cover of Li Dian's troops.

It's just that at this moment, Cao Cao suddenly ordered, "Zihe, you lead someone to block the north gate for me!" At the same time, the order is to go down, and no one is allowed to leave the city! ”

"Lord?!" Hearing this, Xun Yue on the side suddenly guessed Cao Cao's thoughts, and hurriedly opened his mouth to dissuade him.

It's just that before the words were spoken, I saw Cao Cao wave his hand, and said with a gloomy face, "If I still let go of the soldiers and civilians in the city in this battle, then the slaughter of the city that I said before will not become a joke?!" And there are still several cities between this city and Xiapi, if those cities also choose to defend to the death, how many soldiers will I have to lose to reach Xiapi City?! ”

"But ......" Xun Yue wanted to say something more when he heard this, but unfortunately, Cao Cao didn't plan to give him a chance to speak at all.

"Zhongyu, I know your scruples, but how can a husband act with the kindness of a woman?! Moreover, this massacre of the city can not only deter the defenders of other cities, but also deter the families and heroes from all over Xuzhou! Cao Cao turned his head to look at Xun Yue and explained, his eyes radiating a stunning light.

"Alas......" Hearing Cao Cao's words, Xun Yue hesitated for a while, but finally failed to say anything against it. Because he understands that although Cao Cao's words are too cold, they are not unreasonable. Of course, what is more important is that once he dissuades Cao Cao, in case there are huge losses in the subsequent war, and even some generals die because of this, he Xun Yue can't afford and doesn't want to take this responsibility.

Although most of the people of the family are very kind to the people, if the interests of the people conflict with their own interests, how many people will stand on the side of the people? Even if it is Li Yi, I am afraid it will be difficult to choose the latter. It's not that it's cruel and ruthless, but because when one's own interests are no longer just about oneself, many times they have to make seemingly ruthless choices.

With Cao Cao's order issued, Tancheng suddenly ushered in perhaps the most tragic day in history, after Cao Cao's army entered the city, he didn't pay attention to the soldiers and civilians who tried to surrender, but just brandished a butcher's knife and constantly slashed at anyone who was not on his side.

Especially the troops commanded by Cao Chun, they were all composed of the Yellow Turban Army that surrendered to Cao Cao in the past, and this kind of thing was not too easy to do.

The screams filled the night, and Cao Cao just stood silently outside the camp and watched all this, his eyes exuding bursts of fine light, although occasionally flashed a trace of unbearability, but in an instant it was replaced by determination.

In fact, the reason why he slaughtered the city had another purpose, but it was difficult to say. In short, grain and grass......

Although Cao Cao had been preparing for the attack on Xuzhou for nearly a year, Cao Cao's army still did not carry a lot of grain and grass, after all, the situation in Yanzhou itself was not very good. But if the soldiers and civilians in this city are slaughtered, then won't all the grain and grass in the city be Cao Cao's?

But whatever the reason, Cao Cao's doing so will completely push him to the forefront. Although it is not that no one has slaughtered the city in this era, just like when Huangfu Song and others fought against the Yellow Turban in the early years, it was simply commonplace to slaughter the city and kill prisoners. But now, Cao Cao is facing the people of the Han Dynasty, not some thieves!

"How dare he?! How dare you?! When Tao Qian learned that Cao Cao had slaughtered the soldiers and civilians of Tancheng, he was completely stunned. He kept roaring, his face hideous and his eyes red, but he didn't know if it was for the seventy or eighty thousand lives that had been slaughtered, or because he thought about what might happen next.

And the rest of the people also fell into a stupor, whether it was Mi Zhu, Chen Deng or others, they looked at each other, and their faces showed jealousy and panic. It seems that Cao Cao has indeed achieved one of his goals, to deter these Xuzhou families.

I don't know how long it took for Tao Qian to look at everyone weakly and ask, "Everyone, what strategy do you have to break the enemy now?" ”

Hearing this, everyone glanced at each other and chose to be silent. Maybe it's because they really don't have much to do? Or maybe it's because they already have something else in mind?

Seeing this, Tao Qian stood up abruptly and kicked over the desk in front of him. His eyes widened and he glared at everyone and shouted, "Why don't you speak?!" Could it be that you are already thinking about how to fall to Cao Thief?! ”

"Let Jun be cautious, we are all officials of Xuzhou, how can we turn against the Cao thief at this time?" Hearing Tao Qian's words, Wang Lang, who was sitting at the head of the left side, said lightly.

"What Wang Zhi said is extremely true, that Cao thief did such an angry thing, and we are extremely angry. But how to retreat from the enemy needs to be considered in the long run. Chen Deng on the side also shook his head and sighed.

"You...... I ......" Hearing the words of the two, Tao Qian only felt a dullness in his chest, and suddenly, his eyes turned black, and he fainted directly.