In the distance, Shen Chen was on a small hillside, in fact, it was not a small hillside, it was a dirt bag, less than two meters above the ground, riding on horseback, the field of vision would be slightly wider, and then commanded the soldiers to line up and slowly press forward.

Immediately afterwards, he saw a middle-aged man in a fluttering robe in Ren Jun's army in the distance, riding a horse, and arrived at the other side of the ditch a moment later, less than a hundred meters away from his army.

This distance is already within the maximum range of the arrow, and it can be said that the person is already in the extremely dangerous category.

"Check it out."

Shen Chen asked Shen Tao to take a look at the situation.

Shen Tao immediately rode over at a gallop and shouted, "Who are you?" ”

Xun Yu arched his hand and said: "In Xia Xun Yu, add Shang Shuling, and want to ask to see General Shen." ”

Shang Shuling?

Shen Tao knew him, looked up and down, smiled, turned his head and went back to report.

After a while, Shen Chen was quite surprised to learn that Xun Yu had come to the battle in person, but he thought that a literati didn't have to be afraid of him, so he rode over, and the two sides were separated by a ditch, about seven or eight meters away.

"Xun Lingjun?"

Shen Chen looked at Xun Yu, he was wearing a wide black robe, wearing a side crown on his head, his face was elegant, and he was looking at him with a smile.

"General Shen."

Xun Yu bowed on horseback, and said with a bitter smile on his face: "The general is a young hero, which is admirable." ”

Shen Chen said: "I know that Ling Jun is here to persuade me, or he is also here to delay time, but please go back." Cao Cao's elite are defending Yuan Shao in the north, and I will not let go of this opportunity to welcome the Son of Heaven. ”

Xun Yu thought for a while and said: "But the general knows that if Cao Gong is defeated and Yuan Shao goes south, with his soldiers and horses, I am afraid that Liu Jingsheng and his ilk will not be able to resist at all, and even if you welcome the Son of Heaven to the south, it will be impossible to hold Jingzhou." Do you really want to watch the Han family collapse and the world return to Yuan? ”

is worthy of being a famous strategist in the Three Kingdoms, he didn't talk to Shen Chen about any outlook on life and values, but only about interests.

Cao Cao's fate was hanging by a thread in Guandu, and Yuan Shao's powerful strength suppressed him in almost all aspects, making him completely unable to kick his breath.

And Shen Chen also had to sneak attack Xudu in the rear, so that Cao Cao was exhausted, once Cao Cao was defeated, Yuan Shao's hundreds of thousands of troops went south, and the entire Kwantung was owned by him.

Maybe it won't take until the thirteenth year of Jian'an, just next year or the year after, Yuan Shao will be able to have a more powerful force than Cao Cao before the Battle of Chibi.

At that time, even if Shen Chen took Liu Xie to Jingzhou, in the face of Yuan Shao's terrifying strength of millions of armored men, I am afraid that there is only one way to defeat, and then the world will really belong to the Yuan family.

This is actually what Shen Chen has always hesitated about.

Although he knew that Yuan Shao would die in two years, the problem was that the battle of Guandu caused too much damage to Yuan Shao.

Once he won the battle of Guandu and captured the entire Kanto, without that blow, if he lived a few more years, it would indeed be a disaster for the current situation.

So it is undeniable that Xun Yu is right, from a strategic point of view, the north must not be unified, neither Cao Cao can win, nor Yuan Shao must win, it is best for everyone to lose.

But there is another problem that Cao Cao, as a monarch, is obviously much stronger than Yuan Shao.

On the other hand, if Yuan Shao is in charge in the north, his personal ability is actually not as strong as he imagined, the greater his strength, the weaker he is, and even if he lives two more years, with the ability of his sons, he is far inferior to Cao Pi and others, and things may not turn around.

Therefore, Shen Chen pondered for a moment and said: "Ling Jun is indeed right, I have also thought about this worry, but compared to Yuan Shao, Cao Cao is a great talent and a greater threat, I would prefer to see Yuan Shao in the north." ”

Xun Yu smiled bitterly: "It's hard to talk to a smart person like you." I have been to Yuan Shao, and his talent is indeed inferior to that of Cao Gong, so you may be right. But please think about it for the Son of Heaven, at least Duke Cao still welcomes the Son of Heaven, once Yuan Shao wins the north, I am afraid that he will be the emperor. ”

"Ling Jun thinks Cao Cao won't?"

Shen Chen sneered: "Cao Cao just doesn't dare to be the emperor now, if he defeats Yuan Shao, gets the north, is called the duke, and is called the king, even if he can't be called the emperor, he can kill all the Hanchens and pave the way for his son to ascend the throne in the future, Cao Cao's ambition, I don't believe that Ling Jun doesn't know." ”

"I don't know."

Xun Yu shook his head and said, "I only know that when the Son of Heaven was killed, it was Gong Cao who welcomed His Majesty. If there is no Cao Gong, the Han dynasty has been decayed, so I will assist Cao Gong, and when the world is clear, I can also return to the country. ”

"Good idea."

Shen Chen nodded and sighed: "At least you are also a person who is willing to work hard for the Han Dynasty, but unfortunately, your path is wrong after all." ”

Xun Yu asked him, "Then in the eyes of General Shen, what kind of path is right?" ”

"Naturally, it is to eradicate Cao Cao, Yuan Shao and others."

Shen Chen said without hesitation: "The people who are the troubles in the world are these princes, kill these princes cleanly, and return a clear sky to the world, so that the Han can stand tall in the world again." ”

"In this case, how is the general different from Cao Gong Yuan Shao?"

Xun Yu asked: "The general's so-called flattery to the Son of Heaven, saying that Kuang Fu Sheji, is doing the same thing as Cao Gong and Yuan Shao, who can guarantee whether the world will return to "Shen" in the future?" ”

Shen Chen grinned, pointed at himself and said, "I'm different. ”

"What's the difference?"

Xun Yu asked.

Shen Chen said: "I don't eat people, and I don't slaughter cities. I know the difference between humans and animals, and I also know the suffering of the people, so I will firmly follow my ideas, fulfill my concept of "unity of knowledge and action", and strive to build a country without hunger, poverty, and war! ”

Xun Yu smiled and praised: "The general's ambitions are high and admirable. But does such a country really exist? ”

"Ling Jun feels that it doesn't exist because the world in front of him is too small."

Shen Chen said: "The sages have long been exhausted in the way of governing the country, but the people in the world still don't understand these truths. It's as if Ling Jun only thinks that Cao Cao is the one who supports the big man, but he doesn't know that there are countless good and talented people in this world, why can't he find such a person, but find a cruel person? ”

Xun Yu shook his head and said, "I don't think the general is right, Cao Gong may have done some wrong things, but now it has changed." He has a lot of hardships as a last resort, and many things can only be done in this way, otherwise he will only perish. ”

"That's true, I have nothing to say about that."

Shen Chen said: "But you also have to admit that in fact, he should not have slaughtered the people in Xuzhou, could it be that hundreds of thousands of people in Xuzhou would also hinder his life and death?" ”

This is Cao Cao's biggest problem.

He slaughtered Xuzhou for two reasons, one was to avenge his father, and the other was to deter Tao Qian.

Perhaps there are other hidden strategies in it, such as looting grain and grass, and turning Xiapi into a no-man's land to prevent Yuan Shu from going north to capture Xuzhou.

But no matter what the reason, in fact, it is not necessary to slaughter Xuzhou. For example, he killed 200,000 people in Xuzhou at that time, and he ran out of food after only 100 days of meeting with Lu Bu, indicating that the 200,000 people he killed did not bring him much food at all.

And at that time, he didn't know that Zhang Miao of Chen Palace in the rear would rebel, if Lu Bu didn't come, he would use Yanzhou to provide grain and grass, Cao Cao himself was not short of food, so this was not the reason for him to slaughter Xuzhou at all.

In the final analysis, it was because of Cao Cao's personal cruelty and not taking the lives of the people seriously. So to a certain extent, Cao Cao doesn't care about the bottom at all, only about the power in his hands.

Xun Yu was silent for a moment and said, "That's also a last resort. ”

"It seems that Ling Jun is not a virtuous person either."

Shen Chen was a little disappointed.

Xun Yu has always paid attention to clearing his name, and immediately said: "Why do you say this? ”

Shen Chen suddenly asked, "Ling Jun, is life hard?" ”

Xun Yu was stunned for a moment, very surprised that Shen Chen suddenly asked like this, but since he was willing to delay time, why not do it himself, so he nodded and said, "Bitter." ”

"Is Ling Jun also bitter?"

Shen Chen said: "I heard that the Xun clan is a wang clan in Yingchuan, and the clan's land is not limited to tens of thousands, with a group of slaves, and a crowd of chariots and horses. ”

Xun Yu smiled bitterly: "The troubled world is a mustard, whether it is the Gongqing clan or the people of Limin, if you are not careful, you will become a ghost under the knife, how can you not be bitter?" ”

"yes."

Shen Chen sighed: "Life is really hard, the people of Li have a difficult life, they are often plundered by those princes, and there is a possibility of a tragic death. Heaven is also inconsiderate to the people, the family regards the people as grass mustard, and there are people like Xun Lingjun who help and abuse, and no one like Taigongwang stands up, how miserable the people are. ”

Xun Yu frowned and said, "How can I help the abuse?" ”

Shen Chen said: "The status of people may be superior and inferior, but in terms of being "people", people should be equal. I'm the same as you, I'm a "human", the same can speak, eat, walk, understand etiquette, righteousness and shame, Ling Jun, do you think what I'm saying is right? ”

"That's not right."

Xun Yu said: "There is a difference between the noble and the low, and the respect and the low are orderly"

Before he finished speaking, Shen Chen interrupted: "Ling Jun, I think you are mistaken, I am talking about the status of the noble and the lowly, but people, you and I are both human beings." Status aside, are we all human beings? Or, who do you think are not human, please point them out. ”

"This"

Xun Yu was a little surprised for a while when he encountered such a logical problem, but after a while, he nodded and said, "Yes, we are all "people". ”

Shen Chen said: "Your ancestor Xunzi said, "However, the reason why people are human beings is not because they are two-legged and hairless, but because they are distinguishable." Today's husband is smiling, and he is also two-legged and hairy, but the gentleman slurps his soup and eats his gizzard. ””

"I think that the reason why people are human is because they know how to think, know how to be polite, righteous and honest, and know how to use self-cultivation to improve their morality, which distinguishes them from beasts."

"Essentially, whether it's the Son of Heaven or some pariah, they're all human beings. But the difference is that the Son of Heaven was born well and was born in the royal family, so he is the Son of Heaven. Dalits, on the other hand, were born in untouched families and struggled to survive for two meals a day, and even if they were alive, they had exhausted their strength. ”

"Ling Jun was born in a wealthy family, he doesn't worry about food and clothing, and he doesn't know the hardships of the people. Cao Cao's slaughter of hundreds of thousands of people in Xuzhou was just a number in Ling Jun's eyes. But they didn't know that they were all living people before, and they used to laugh. ”

"When people slaughter their compatriots for their own selfish desires, he is already rude, righteous and shameless, no different from a thinking beast, in my eyes, Cao Cao is a beast full of animal desire."

"I came to the outside of Xudu City today, just to ask those people, do you treat those people as human beings? But when I got here, I was disappointed to see Ling Jun. ”

"Because I only saw that Ling Jun was not ashamed, but opened his eyes for Cao Cao, this is because in Ling Jun's eyes, the people Cao Cao killed were not people. Therefore, Ling Jun tried his best to protect Cao Cao, and now he shamelessly told me that Cao Gong had no choice but to do it. ”

"I want to ask Ling Jun, if there are Ling Jun's relatives, Ling Jun's siblings, and Ling Jun's friends among the people who were slaughtered in Xuzhou, can Ling Jun still say it as lightly as he does now, and Cao Gong has no choice but to do it?"

"In the final analysis, it's just because Ling Jun was born in a wealthy family and has a high status, so he doesn't have to worry about food and clothing, and he doesn't have to worry about being slaughtered, he is respected everywhere he goes, and he will be treated like a virtuous person."

But those "people" like Ling Jun originally just lived in this world ordinarily, wielding hoes and begging for food and clothing for a day. But they were wantonly killed by people like Cao Cao, and assisted by people with ugly hearts like Ling Jun, how sad are they? How hypocritical you are! ”

In the end, Shen Chen was already angry and shouted: "People say, "Although the city is broken, it is just death." Jade can be broken but not destroyed its white, bamboo can be burned but not destroyed its knots, although the body can be famous in the bamboo silk also, what is there to fear". Such abusive people also deserve to have a clear name? ”

"Ugh."

Xun Yu let out a long sigh and bowed to Shen Chen: "General, Yu retires." ”

Cao Cao's massacre of the city is an irrefutable fact.

No Confucian scholar with a conscience could refute Shen Chen's words.

Including Xun Yu himself, it is also because the emperor of the Han family is in Xudu that he has to work for Cao Cao as a last resort.

If it weren't for the Han dynasty, then when Cao Cao called the Duke of Wei in the future, it would be impossible for him to stand up against it.

With his status of more than 20 years of dedication to Cao Cao, if he learns from those big families and persuades Cao Pi when he usurped the Han Dynasty, the status of the Xun clan in Cao Wei is definitely not lower than that of the Xiahou clan.

Therefore, Xun Yu was a person with a conscience, and in the face of Shen Chen's accusation that he was working for a brutal beast, he could not be brazen to defend himself.

So he could only choose to be scolded and then retire.

Looking at the figure of Xun Yu leaving, Shen Chen didn't say anything more, he knew that Xun Yu might be a moral gentleman, but this kind of moral gentleman was not loyal to the people of Limin, but to the Han family.

As a later generation, Shen Chen never cared about the Emperor of the Son of Heaven, he was also a low-level commoner, he saw too much of the pain of the ancient people, and only wanted to be the master of the people.

If it weren't for the fact that he had to erect the banner of the Han Dynasty, and there was no way to overthrow the feudal system like the Xinhai Revolution, Shen Chen would have rebelled a long time ago.

And Xun Yu only thinks about his Han family, and now the one who is most likely to support the Han family is Cao Cao.

Therefore, he will only be on Cao Cao's side.

Shen Chen has all the people in his heart, and hopes to establish a world where everyone is equal, everyone has clothes to wear, and food to eat, maybe this road will be extremely long, but at least he must work this road.

So between him and Xun Yu, he is destined not to be a person all the way.

"Kill!"

Shen Chen raised the ring-headed knife in his hand and shouted, "Welcome the Son of Heaven, Feng Gongqing." Straight to Xu Du, Kuang Fu Sheji. Resist the thieves and save the people! Freeze to death without demolishing the house, starve to death without plundering! ”

"Kill!"

The army behind him erupted into an earth-shattering roar!

(End of chapter)