Chapter 23: The Battle of Pengcheng

  Xuzhou Pengcheng is one of the ancient capitals of China, and also the center of Xuzhou when Yu divided the country into nine states. The most glorious period of Pengcheng was during the Qin-Han transition, when Xiang Yu established his capital in Pengcheng and proclaimed himself the Western Chu Emperor. Unfortunately, although the emperor was brave, he was defeated by Liu Bang and subsequently the Han Dynasty arose.

  After Liu Bang established the country, he set up Pengcheng Prefecture in Xuzhou. However, this former capital of Western Chu was a bit awkward. When Liu Bang established Xuzhou, he did not fix his residence in Pengcheng, but instead moved it to Tan County in Donghai Prefecture. Tan County existed as the seat of Xuzhou for 400 years during the Two Han dynasties.

  However, Pengcheng was still a major city in Xuzhou, and in fact, the richest among all counties in Xuzhou was Pengcheng. The prosperity of this former capital of Western Chu was deeply resented by the rulers of the Eastern Han dynasty. Therefore, shortly after Emperor Guangwu Liu Xiu restored the Eastern Han dynasty, he divided Pengcheng into two parts, creating a new county called Xiapi, to reduce the status of Pengcheng.

  The Han Dynasty's move was indeed successful, and now the richest place in Xuzhou is no longer Pengcheng, but rather the separated Xiapi. Due to the Yellow Turban Rebellion and the recent chaos caused by the Yellow Turbans in Qingzhou, the governor of Xuzhou, Tao Qian, directly moved his administrative office from Tan County to Xiapi. Despite this, Pengcheng's extremely important geographical location still makes it the second-largest city in Xuzhou.

  In the summer of the first year of Han Xingping (194 AD), a large army wearing white clothes and with a strong killing intent arrived outside the ancient city of Pengcheng. From a distance, it seemed that everything outside Pengcheng was covered in a thick layer of snow, if not for the scorching sun hanging high in the sky and the flowing waters of the Han River telling the defenders on top of Pengcheng that it was still the sweltering mid-summer, they might have thought that winter had already arrived.

  "Hmm..."

  On the ancient, mottled city wall of Peng City, soldiers holding spears and swords gazed out at the snowy white landscape below, swallowing hard. Sweat dripped from their foreheads and faces, falling to the ground with a steady "drip, drip" before being evaporated in an instant by the scorching sun hanging high in the sky.

  Sweat dripped down their backs, but what made all the soldiers on top of Peng City feel strange was that they didn't feel hot at all. On the contrary, their backs were cool to the point of being terrifying, which was brought about by the troops below that were like a snowstorm!

  Hoo... Hoo...

  The next moment, two snow-white large flags were erected in the middle of the army. From a distance, it was clear that each of the two white flags had two large black characters written on them.

  "Revenge!"

  "Regret in Snow!"

  "Hiss..."

  Many people who recognized the four large characters written on the old city wall took a cold breath. The soldiers on the city wall, seeing that their own side's big shots were showing surprise and fear, also began to feel uneasy. Soon, this unease developed into a slight commotion.

  "What's the panic? Get all your weapons ready! Look ahead, we are defending Pengcheng. Everyone remember this for me, you are the elite Dan Yang soldiers of the world, why should you fear the mere Cao army?"

  Upon hearing the commander's words of encouragement, these soldiers suddenly remembered that they were the elite Dan Yang troops of the empire, and had never feared any other army. As soon as this thought occurred to them, all the soldiers' eyes became extremely resolute, and looking down at the troops in white uniforms below the city walls no longer showed fear, but instead exuded an air of extreme calmness and eagerness to try.

  On the city wall, a middle-aged general wearing armor and holding a long spear reported confidently to an old man holding a staff beside him: "Governor Tao, although the enemy is fierce, the Dan Yang army is the best in the world. After the leopard drum dance, the morale of the soldiers can be used. Just wait for Governor Tao's order, and we can go out of the city to fight against Cao Jun!" The speaker was none other than Cao Bao, who unified the army of Xuzhou, and the old man was Tao Qian, the governor of Xuzhou.

  Tao Qian nodded slightly, his eyes clear and bright as he gazed at the Cao army below, their great banner held high. His expression was serious as he said, "The Cao army is well-disciplined, and with a unified desire for revenge, we must not underestimate them."

  Cao Jiao smiled and nodded, saying: "I understand."

  Tao Qian couldn't see Cao Jie's smile, his eyes were fixed on the Cao army below the city. At this moment, a snow-white Cao army suddenly split to both sides, and several people wearing white clothes rushed out of the formation on horseback. Seeing this scene, Chen Deng, who had been following Tao Qian, suddenly narrowed his eyes, and if one looked closely, they could see a flash of surprise in Chen Deng's eyes, as well as deep vigilance.

  Those few riders rushed out and immediately shouted loudly towards the city: "Tao Qian, you old scoundrel! Cao Mengde is here, come out and answer!"

  "This..." Tao Qian saw that it was actually Cao Cao shouting from below, but he hesitated, unsure of what to do.

  At this time, Chen Deng stepped forward and whispered to Tao Qian: "Governor, don't worry, just go down the city and respond to Cao Mengde. He wants to win over the hearts of the people of Xuzhou and will not secretly plot against you."

  When Chen Deng spoke, Tao Qian felt a little uneasy in his heart. He then turned around and said to Cao Bao and Mi Zhu: "You two come down with me to meet this Cao Mengde."

  Cao Jiao's eyes flashed with excitement as he replied: "Yes!" Zou Ji nodded lightly, his expression calm and serene.

  Cao Cao's face turned iron-blue as he waited at the foot of the city for a while, and then saw the ancient Penglai City gate open wide. Three people on horseback slowly walked out of the city. Cao Cao's small eyes automatically glanced over Cao Biao and Mi Zhu, focusing on Tao Qian with white hair and beard. With his right hand holding the whip, he pointed at Tao Qian from a distance and shouted loudly: "You this deceitful old thief, I have no feud with you, and besides, there is the matter of discussing Dong, why did you kill my father?"

  Cao Cao's words were loud and clear, and the soldiers on both sides of the city wall heard them with a mixture of shock and embarrassment. However, the reaction of the two armies was vastly different. The Cao army was filled with rage, their front-line soldiers seething with anger, which added to their momentum. On the other hand, the Xu state army on the city wall looked at each other in dismay. Originally, there was no feud between them, but now their own governor had killed someone's father, and as a son, it was only natural for him to come seeking revenge with his army.

  Just this one sentence has allowed Cao's army to gain a great moral advantage, and the morale of the Xu state soldiers suddenly dropped several points.

  Although Tao Qian had known Cao Cao for quite some time, he did not expect his words to be so severe, and they immediately hit the vital point. The turbid eyes suddenly shot out a sharp light, scanning Cao Cao up and down several times.

  However, Tao Qian soon withdrew his gaze and dismounted his horse. Xiahou Dun and Xiahou Yuan, who were following Cao Cao, initially thought that Tao Qian had an ulterior motive to launch a surprise attack on Cao Cao when they saw his suspicious gaze, so they were fully on guard. However, when they saw Tao Qian suddenly dismounting, the two brothers were taken aback, their faces filled with confusion.

  It was Cao Cao who saw Tao Qian dismounting his horse, and his pupils involuntarily contracted for a moment, frowning slightly.

  As expected, Cao Cao's worries were not wrong. After Tao Qian dismounted his horse, he bowed to Cao Cao and said: "Qian originally wanted to make friends with Meng De, so he entrusted Zhang Qi to escort him. Unexpectedly, his treacherous heart did not change, which led to this matter. It is really not Qian's fault. I hope Meng De will investigate."

  ————————————————

  There is still one more update tonight... and another one at dawn... Thank you for your support~~ Vote! Vote!