Chapter 7: Why Did Cao Cao Want to Slaughter Xu Province?
The Prefectural Office
In the morning, Cao Cao gathered Xun Yu and others in the council hall to summarize the events in Yanzhou. However, he shamelessly presented Chen Zhou’s analysis and the reasons for Zhang Miao’s betrayal as his own, detailing them thoroughly.
Xun Yu and the others were astonished to hear this. They had planned to discuss the matter today, but the Lord had already covered the reasons beforehand. Cao Cao’s analysis of Zhang Miao’s betrayal was even more profound than they had anticipated, delving deeply into the internal relations within Yanzhou at that time.
Seeing their reactions, Cao Cao was quite satisfied. “I only thought of these points last night. What do you think?”
Cao Cao asked, genuinely curious about their opinions compared to Chen Zhou’s analysis.
Xi Zhicai was the first to speak. “Lord’s analysis is more comprehensive than ours.”
Cao Cao’s smile widened, feeling even more pleased. He thought to himself how remarkable Chen Zhou must be, as even Xi Zhicai admitted to falling short.
Such a talent must be acquired!
Cao Cao continued, “I merely made a casual analysis and happened to come up with so much. Let’s move on to other matters. *Wenruo, didn’t you say yesterday that we should discuss how to reassure the people of Yun Province? Please share your thoughts.”
*Wenruo (文若) is a courtesy name used by Xun Yu (荀彧)
“Lord!”
Xun Yu stood and bowed. “The turmoil in Yan Province has left the people in great fear. I believe we should…”
Before he could finish, Cao Ren suddenly entered.
“Wait!”
Cao Cao interrupted. Cao Ren’s return likely meant news about Chen Zhou.
Indeed, Cao Ren whispered to Cao Cao, “Elder Brother, Zixiu has gone to the prison again.”
Cao Cao’s eyes lit up at the opportunity to eavesdrop. He interrupted further, “Wenruo, you and the others handle the matter of reassuring the people of Yun Province. I trust you. I have an urgent matter to attend to, so today’s meeting is adjourned!”
Without waiting for Xun Yu and the others to respond, he and Cao Ren hurriedly left the hall.
Xun Yu and Xi Zhicai exchanged puzzled looks, unable to discern Cao Cao’s intentions for the day.
“Today’s the Lord is quite strange,” Zhong Yao remarked in confusion.
Xun You agreed, “Indeed, it’s odd. What’s even stranger is how Lord Cao Cao analyzed Zhang Miao’s betrayal so thoroughly, even better than we did. What do you all think?”
Xi Zhicai and the others nodded in agreement.
Those involved often miss the details, while outsiders can see them more clearly. Cao Cao, as the person directly involved in Zhang Miao’s betrayal, found it difficult to analyze the reasons so thoroughly, yet his performance had surprised them all.
“General Cao Cao heard a word from Cao Ren and then left us immediately,” Xi Zhicai noted. “I heard that General Cao Cao visited the prison yesterday and stayed there for a long time.”
Cheng Yu asked, “Does Zhicai think there might be something intriguing in the prison?”
“I don’t know,” Xi Zhicai replied, leisurely rising. “I don’t have anything to do today, and Lord is busy. I’ll return to drinking! But I suspect that the analysis Lord Cao Cao provided might have been taught by someone else; there might be another expert behind it.”
Upon hearing this, Xun Yu and the others considered the possibility but didn’t dwell on it too much. Since there was no more discussion to be had, they went to work on reassuring the anxious people of Yun Province.
“Prison?”
Xun Yu wondered who might be the expert hidden behind the scenes. After a moment of hesitation, he decided to follow, heading toward the prison to investigate.
He was curious to know what kind of expert could be hiding in the prison.
—
Cao Ang, concerned about Chen Zhou, rushed to the prison early in the morning. Upon arriving outside, he saw the guards preparing to take a death row inmate for execution and was startled. However, seeing that Chen Zhou was still safely in the cell eased his worry.
“Father must have seen the insights provided by the gentleman and decided to spare him.”
“But why hasn’t Father released the gentleman yet?”
Cao Ang wondered as he entered the prison.
Seeing Chen Zhou sitting leisurely inside, Cao Ang felt completely at ease. He bowed, “Sir.”
“Young Master!”
Chen Zhou returned the greeting.
Cao Ang said, “I’ve come to disturb you again.”
Chen Zhou waved his hand, “It’s no trouble. The prison is more boring when empty. It’s good that you came to chat with me. Let’s go!”
“Please, sir!”
Cao Ang gestured for Chen Zhou to follow. They went to a private room.
“We will discuss the situation in Xu Province today.”
Yang Zhao, once seated, lightly tapped the table and recalled Cao Cao’s campaign against Xu Province. “Starting from Young Master’s doubts from yesterday, why did Cao Cao slaughter Xu Province? Was it for his father’s revenge, or was there another deeper reason?”
Outside.
“Fortunately, we arrived in time!”
Cao Cao and Cao Ren arrived just as Chen Zhou began speaking. Cao Cao was eager to hear Chen Zhou’s interpretation of the Xuzhou massacre to see if it matched his own thoughts.
“Lord, General Cao!”
At that moment, a voice came from behind them. Cao Cao and Cao Ren turned around, surprised to see Xun Yu. Cao Cao asked, “Wenruo, what brings you here?”
Xun Yu, too polite to admit he had followed them secretly, noticed Cao Cao’s suspicious behavior at the prison and said, “I was just strolling around and happened to see you here…”
He looked at Cao Cao, wondering what they were up to.
“The Han Dynasty governs the world through filial piety, and recommending loyal and virtuous officials is the main way to enter office.”
“Cao Cao’s attack on Xu Province was for his father’s revenge; this shows his filial piety.”
“Why doesn’t the gentleman agree?”
Before Cao Cao and the others could respond, Cao Ang’s voice was heard from the private room.
Xun Yu recognized the speaker as Cao Ang, and thought it odd that the Young Master was referring to his father as ‘Cao Cao’ directly.
What was going on?
Xun Yu was puzzled.
“Please instruct us.”
Cao Ang spoke respectfully.
“Continuing from yesterday’s discussion,” Chen Zhou said, “Cao Cao recruited 300,000 Yellow Turban surrender troops, along with their families, totaling over one million people. With such a large population moving into Yan Province, even providing them with basic food might be a challenge. If you were Cao Cao, how would you stabilize these people and ensure they remain loyal?”
The Yellow Turban rebels seemed unrelated to the Xu Province massacre. However, Chen Zhou had previously mentioned that Cao Cao’s conflicts with Zhang Miao and Tao Qian were connected to the Yellow Turbans.
After thinking for a long time, Cao Ang answered, “Distribute Yan Province’s stored grain to them and develop farmland in Yan Province for farming. The reason for the rebellion was starvation. The Yellow Turbans were willing to surrender to Cao Cao mainly because they were out of food. As long as they are well-fed, they will be stabilized.”
As Cao Cao’s son, he was aware of some details about the Yellow Turbans’ surrender and shared what he knew.
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