Chapter 14: The Dog Begets a Tiger Son

  If Cao Song was a powder keg, then Zhang Kai was the fuse. There is a record that Tao Qian sent Zhang Kai to lead a small team of soldiers and horses to escort Cao Song back to Yan Province. However, when they were passing through Hua County and Fei County, Zhang Kai saw that Cao had dozens of carts full of gold, silver, and jewels, and he was suddenly overcome with greed. He killed Cao and stole his treasure, then escaped without a trace.

  Thus, Cao Cao and Tao Qian had formed a deep blood feud. Under the pretext of "revenge", he led his army to attack Xuzhou, annihilating five counties in a row, killing people like rolling heads, and even a certain river was blocked by the accumulated corpses.

  Of course, this passage is somewhat inaccurate and has many minor problems that are not worth exploring in depth. Firstly, at the time Zang Ba was stationed in Hua and Fei, why did Zhang Ke not take action earlier or later, but instead chose to act only when he arrived at a place filled with Xu State soldiers? Wasn't he afraid of being caught quickly? Did he have some secret agreement with Zang Ba?

  Yes, if this person is indeed acting on Cao Hong's secret order, it would be easier to explain. Perhaps the secret order was just delivered when he arrived here, and Zang Ba may also turn a blind eye because of this secret order.

  Secondly, Zhang Kan immediately escaped and disappeared without a trace. The old man was killed, which is the lifelong shame of Cao Cao, who later dominated northern China. Even if he wanted to blame Tao Qian for it, he couldn't have not sent people to search for Zhang Kan everywhere - Tao Qian would have wanted to catch Zhang Kan even more to clear himself! If they couldn't catch him in one day, they wouldn't give up in one day, so why is there no follow-up in the historical records?

  Finally, the matter of Cao Cao slaughtering five counties is also a bit ambiguous. Now, it's hard to recall the specific names of those five counties, but thinking about it, it's clear that five counties can't be surrounding a single river, so how could all the people killed by Cao's army be piled up in that river? Generally speaking, only when two large armies are fighting on the riverbank, one side suffers a great defeat, and even fleeing soldiers rush into the water to escape, will the river water be blocked.

  Of course, there are also people who want to whitewash Cao Cao and say that the massacre never happened, but was a slander by contemporaries or later generations. Is this view also scorned, after all, Cao Cao is a warlord of the feudal era, not the Red Army that fights against local tyrants and distributes land, especially at that time he had just recruited tens of thousands of Qingzhou Yellow Turbans as soldiers, with military discipline being extremely poor, even if there was no formal order to massacre the city, it would still be unavoidable for the army to slaughter and plunder civilians wherever they went.

  He was extremely respectful to Cao Cao and wanted to avoid this tragedy from happening. The premise is that he should not let Cao Cao attack Xuzhou, but in order for Cao Cao not to attack Xuzhou, his old father must be well protected or sent back to Yan Province safely - when he arrived at the border of Yan Province, if his old father was killed again, it would not be anyone else's fault. Therefore, seeing the assassin who murdered Cao Song today was a shock to him, and he almost fell off his horse.

  That guy was quite sensitive, seeing Xun swaying on the horseback, he quickly reached out to support him. As soon as he supported him, he saw the stirrup: "Hey, what's this thing?"

  He took a deep breath, composed himself, and instead of answering the question, asked: "Is your name Zhang Ke? I don't know which two characters it is?" He looked at this guy who was not tall, just over 1.6 meters, with a common face full of flattering smiles, without any strong banditry or even a serious military demeanor - could this really be him? There are many people in the world with the same name, and it's unlikely to be him, maybe his real name is Zhang Kai or Zhang Ke, or Zhang Jie...

  That Zhang Kuai scratched the back of his head, smiling awkwardly: "Unrefined person, illiterate, don't know which two characters. In short, my humble self is called Zhang Kuai."

  Alright, Zhang Jue is just Zhang Jue. In short, when asking Zang Ba for troops to protect Cao Song, this guy must not be brought along!

  Under Zhang Kan's guidance, Xu Zhi soon met the famous Zang Ba in Huaxian City. As for the current Xuzhou group of ministers, the one with the most resounding reputation is this person - ordinary Three Kingdoms fans often overlook Chen Deng, but they will not ignore Zang Ba. Moreover, Chen Deng's highest position was only that of Guangling Governor, while Zang Ba was entrusted by Cao Cao with the responsibility of Qing and Xu provinces. In later generations, Chen Deng was just a regional secretary, while Zang Ba was a military commander.

  As for Cao Hong, Cao Jiao, and even Mi Zhuo and Zhao Yu, they are even more inferior. Is the third brother generous? Even in the most obscure corners of historical records, you can't find that guy's name!

  Unfortunately, meeting in person is not as good as hearing the name. According to reason, Zang Xuan Gao should also be one of Cao's top generals later on, with a combat value of at least 70. However, compared to the fierce general Taishi Ci and Guan Yu he had met before, they were all shorter by a head, almost similar to Zhang Ke, except for being slightly broader in the shoulders, not looking like a warrior at all. Moreover, when meeting, Zang Xuan Gao was not wearing armor or helmet, nor even military uniform, but instead wore a high crown and wide belt, with a large robe and big sleeves, dressed like a scholar.

  You must be thinking maliciously: actually you're wearing such a high hat just to make up for your short stature, right?

  After meeting and exchanging a few words, it was discovered that this person is truly not to be judged by appearance. This Zhang Xuan's speech is quite elegant. Upon further reflection, it's also understandable. In this era, it's extremely rare for a general who rose from the bottom to become a high-ranking official, unless they were born into a landowning family and had some basic education - Guan Yu liked to read "The Spring and Autumn Annals", Zhang Fei was said to be able to paint beautiful women, Lü Bu used to be the governor of a state... someone like Zhang Kan would never have been able to rise through the ranks. Moreover, as a regional commander, one must interact with scholars and officials, if you don't have any learning or culture, wouldn't you be ridiculed by those cunning and sharp-tongued scholars?

  Shi Yun told Zang Ba about his mission, and Zang Ba said okay, I'll arrange for some soldiers to go with you to protect Cao's old lady. Shi Yun made a request, saying that he had to find some honest soldiers to follow him, and none of them could be surnamed Zhang. Zang Ba looked at him in confusion, but Shi Yun didn't explain - in fact, he couldn't explain it himself.

  Finally, Zang Ba dispatched 300 soldiers, led by a capable general, and followed Xun Xu to return to Langya. Xun Xu asked one by one, these soldiers were all from Langya, some with the surname Wang, some with Li, and one with the surname Zhuge, who was indeed from Yangdu, but did not know who Zhuge Gui, Zhuge Xuan were, let alone Zhuge Jin, Zhuge Liang. As for the capable general, his name was Sun Fan, who was the younger brother of Zang Ba's deputy general Sun Guan.

  A group of travelers sought the road east, and before long they arrived at Haikou County in Langya. According to Cao Hong's directions, Cao Song hid in a villa outside Haikou City, still a long way from the sea - it was estimated that this place was probably near Rizhao in later generations. His old home in his previous life was in Rizhao, and he had some feelings of nostalgia, but what touched him most deeply was the changing times and the impermanence of human life - how beautiful and prosperous Rizhao was as a city! But Haikou County in front of him, the earthen wall was only three meters high, not even as good as his old home in Linzi.

  They camped outside Haixi County for a night, and the next day they went to visit Cao Song. He only brought a few soldiers given by Tao Qian, but did not bring Zang Ba's soldiers, fearing that he would scare old man Cao.

  Upon arrival, he took a look and was shocked. The manor was well-built, covering several acres of land. Outside was a circle of earth walls, which were not much shorter than the city walls of Haicheng County. Inside the walls stood many arrow towers, each with guards holding sharp blades that glinted in the morning sun. Although he didn't understand warfare at all, even he could estimate that taking down this manor would be no easier than capturing Haicheng County. With just his three hundred or so soldiers, it was unlikely they could take it down within three to five days.

  He remembered that according to the theory that Tao Qian was the mastermind behind Cao Song's murder, historical records show that Cao Cao had ordered the governor of Mount Tai, Ying Chao, to welcome his father. So when Tao Qian's army arrived, the Cao family thought it was Ying Chao who had come and did not take precautions, which is why they were caught off guard and defeated. It can be inferred that if they had taken precautions, Tao Qian's army would not have been able to defeat them. This record seems quite reliable, even down to the details... But wait a minute, it seems that according to this record, Cao Song should have been living in seclusion in Huayin County, Mount Tai, rather than Langya... What is the true history? Even if one were to travel back in time, it would probably still be an unsolvable mystery.

  As soon as they approached the manor, the gate opened and a steward came out to ask who the visitor was and what his purpose was. Presumably because of Shi's attire as a nobleman, arriving in a carriage with only two soldiers and the coachman following behind, totaling four people, they did not take strict precautions as if facing a great enemy. Shi showed the official document from Tao Qian, then handed over his name card, saying: "I have been sent by Lord Tao to pay respects to General Cao."

  The housekeeper went in to report back, and soon came out again, leading Cao's carriage in. When Cao got off the carriage and entered the main hall, the housekeeper pointed upwards: "That is my master, the former Imperial General-in-Chief Cao Gong." Cao looked up and took a glance, saying to himself: "You really are Cao Song, you really aren't Dong Zhuo?!"

  Here is the translation:

  Just look at this old man Cao, fifty or sixty years old, with a round face, whiskers on his chin, thick eyebrows and big eyes, straight nose and wide mouth. When he sat down, you couldn't see his chin - because his belly was too big, his whole neck seemed to be shrinking back. It's said in historical records that Tao Qian sent soldiers to kill him, Cao Song took his concubine and tried to escape through a dog hole, but the concubine's body was too fat and got stuck, and he lost his life like this. Now looking at it - isn't it not the concubine who was too fat, but you who are too fat? With your physique, forget about dog holes, even bear holes you can't squeeze into!

  He suppressed his inner resentment and paid his respects. Cao Song surprisingly did not invite him to sit down, but instead asked: "I don't know what position you hold in the provincial government?" Is Yun replied: "A commoner."

  After hearing this, Cao Song's mouth immediately curled up, and he coldly snorted: "Is there no one in Xuzhou? How can you send a white body to see me?" As he spoke, he raised his hand, and the two maids beside him knew what to do, supporting his arm and helping him get up. The old man then limped behind the screen. Shi Yun was still complaining "It's just like two foxes carrying a rhinoceros on their heads", when suddenly he thought about it, no way! You may look down on me for having no official position and not wanting to talk to me, but since you've come from afar as a guest, you can't just leave me alone in the living room, can you?

  I didn't know what to do, when suddenly a voice came from the dark shadow beside the screen: "My father is unwell, and has kept our distant guest waiting, sir, please don't blame him." This made Shi Xun jump with fright - Ah, brother, where are you hiding?! Are you a ninja?!

  I am the dividing line of the report

  Another important NPC, Sun Fan, appears in this chapter. He is the younger brother of Sun Guan and Sun Zhongtai from Mount Tai, and a great general from Langya. In modern terms, he would be at least a junior lieutenant or deputy commander... Played by book friend "Cloud Traveler", let's give him a round of applause!

  What's up with you asking about Sun Fan's name? Anyway, he won't last long and will soon be a has-been...