Chapter Twenty: The Woman

  Although Guo Jia did not ask, Cao Zhi was hesitant in his heart. Lü Bu's entry into Yan Province was due to the collusion between the aristocratic families of Yan Province and him. After Cao Cao took control of Yan Province, he also made a big mistake by killing Bian Rang, a famous scholar from Chenliu. This move by Cao Cao can be said to have caused the entire aristocracy of Yan Province to be in a state of panic, which led to the people's hearts changing.

  However, the two key figures who welcomed Emperor Xian into Yan Province were Zhang Miao and Chen Gong. One was a good friend of Cao Cao's since his youth, who had helped him several times. The other was Cao Cao's benefactor. Cao Pi knew that even if he pointed out that these two would rebel, his young age meant that Cao Cao would not believe him, which made Cao Pi rather hesitant.

  "Alas..." Heaving a soft sigh in his heart, Cao Zhi said helplessly: "It seems that changing this matter is too difficult."

  Xun Yu and the others did not know what Cao Zhi was thinking in his heart. Now, Guo Jia had already understood that storing grain in Puyang was a strategy, and he felt more at ease. He smiled calmly and said: "In Yanzhou, Wen Ruo is there, so you can rest assured, but as for Xuzhou..."

  Liu Ye burst out laughing and said, "The plan to attack the heart of the enemy has been successful. Wherever our main force reaches, they will surely surrender without a fight. What you are worried about is not something else, but rather that the grain supplies cannot keep up."

  Guo Jia rubbed his nose helplessly and said: "Jia is not a clever craftsman, and I'm afraid I won't be of much help with the grain and fodder either."

  Mao Jie smiled and said, "We know that Feng Xiao is not a skilled craftsman, but we can't stand seeing him slacking off on the side, so..." He trailed off with a smile.

  No need to say more, Guo Jia already understood that these four people came to find him, completely making trouble out of nothing. Helplessly, he could only throw up his hands and sigh: "It's all because Jia mistakenly befriended the wrong friends."

  Xun Yu, who had been silent all along, suddenly interjected: "Come to think of it, we must have misjudged you, Fengxiao, as a friend." Liu Ye and Mao Jie nodded in agreement.

  Five people walked in the scorching sun, chatting as they went, and soon entered the area where the civilian logistics personnel were located. Relying on civilians for labor was a tradition that had been passed down since the Qin Dynasty and had not changed to this day. Generally speaking, these civilians were far less physically strong than the soldiers on the battlefield, but if the soldiers suffered heavy casualties, they would also select the stronger ones from among the civilians to supplement their military strength.

  Bang...

  As the five men were walking, they suddenly heard a dull noise coming from not far away. The five of them turned their heads at the same time. Cao Zhi looked over and saw a thin peasant using all his might to push a wooden cart up a small slope, but it tipped over instead. Bags of grain on the cart fell to the ground. After the grain hit the ground, the bags were torn by sharp rocks, and the grain inside flowed out from the holes with a rustling sound.

  Crack...

  "Damn it! You good-for-nothing, with so much grain you could have bought yourself a few lives!"

  But it was the head of the civilian supervisor, holding a whip and severely flogging the weak civilian, immediately leaving a long blood stain on his back. Seeing that the head of the civilian was about to continue beating him, Cao Zhi feared he would beat the weak civilian to death, and hastily stepped forward, shouting: "Stop!"

  "Huh? That ignorant fool..." Minfu hadn't noticed the situation here, but when he heard someone shouting to stop, he turned around with an unpleasant expression, ready to scold. However, when he turned around and saw that it was Cao Zhi who had shouted to stop, and behind him stood four men dressed as scholars, his face immediately underwent a 180-degree change, and he smiled obsequiously: "A humble man, greetings to all the esteemed gentlemen!"

  It was originally a common thing to punish the people, especially since this person had made a mistake. Xun Yu and others were busy with their affairs and generally would not have paid much attention to such a situation, but now that Cao Zhi had spoken up, they also had to support him, so he furrowed his brow and said in a deep voice: "Hmmm, what's going on here?"

  The civilian husband did not dare to be slow, and personally reported: "Sir, it was that guy's weakness, uneven force made the wooden cart overturn, and the grain fell down and was scratched by sharp stones. I just gave him a slight punishment."

  Cao Zhi didn't understand what the villager was saying, but instead walked to the weak villager's side, grabbed his arm and pulled it back and forth, asking with concern: "Are you okay?"

  That commoner's clothes were tattered, his face and hands all blackened. He was suddenly grabbed by Cao Zhi, who shook his head somewhat awkwardly before saying: "Thanks for your concern, Fourth Master, I'm fine."

  "Huh?" Hearing the man's voice and mannerisms, Cao Zhi felt something was off, his gaze flashing to his throat in an instant.

  The next moment, Cao Zhi asked in surprise: "Are you a woman?"

  Cao Zhi's words suddenly plunged the scene into an awkward silence, and on the other side, Xun Yu and several others furrowed their brows. To say that in this era, due to insufficient manpower, strong women were often conscripted as laborers, but looking at this woman's frailty, it seemed she was mostly here to make up the numbers.

  When he saw Cao Zhi, the villager was shocked and immediately knelt down on the ground, kowtowing: "Please forgive me, sir. I know nothing..."

  Xun Yu, although not directly in command of the troops, was in charge of all logistical matters in the army. When he saw someone daring to commit a crime against the wind, and recruiting civilians with weak women and children, his face turned stern and he shouted: "Take him down!" As soon as Xun Yu spoke, two soldiers rushed over from a short distance away and together pressed the civilian's head down.

  At this time, Naminfu knew that things were going badly and hastily knocked his head on the ground, saying: "Your Excellency spare my life! I am also following orders, when there are not enough strong men, women can be recruited into the army."

  Xun Yu smiled coldly and said: "This is an order personally given by the official himself, how could the official not know?"

  When Naminfu heard this, he finally understood Xun Yu's identity. He rolled and crawled to get to Xun Yu's side but was held down by two soldiers. Helpless, he could only keep kowtowing and say: "Great lord, spare my life! I am also just following orders."

  Xun Yu disdainfully said: "Whether or not you were ordered to do so, you yourself know clearly. All the robust women who joined the army must be personally approved by the official in charge and formed into a separate battalion. But this woman is in a male battalion, no need for the official to say more about it. Take her away, let military law deal with her!"

  "Hello!"

  Two soldiers responded in unison and directly pressed down the head of the civilian who was still shouting loudly.

  At this time, the woman beside Cao Zhi swayed and fell towards him. Although she was weak, she was already quite old, much older than Cao Zhi. When she fell, five-year-old Cao Zhi tried to hold her up but couldn't. Fortunately, a man who had been pushing the cart with her rushed over and held her up, saving Cao Zhi.

  The man supported the woman and then whispered to Cao Zhi: "Fourth Master, she has been punished several times and hasn't eaten for three days."

  Cao Zhi furrowed his brow, he had never experienced such a thing before and didn't know how to handle it at the moment. Just then, Liu Ye came over with two soldiers, pointing at the woman and saying: "Fourth Master, have this woman taken to the tent for now, I've already sent someone to find a doctor."

  Cao Zhi knew that following Liu Ye's arrangement was the most appropriate, so he nodded slightly and said: "In that case, I'll have to trouble you with the arrangements, sir."