Chapter 1272: 2 Tigers Competing for Food

After Cao Cao invited all the generals to a banquet that night, he raised his account to discuss matters the next day.

Cao Cao sat in the main seat, looked at Wenwu in the tent, and said:

"Yesterday my four sons recovered from the poisoning. It was a great joy, so we held a banquet to celebrate. But guessing the cause of the poisoning of the four, Yuan Xi must be the mastermind. This person is hypocritical and let my four sons go back to the city, but he has already poisoned them .I swear to avenge this!"

Counselor Liu Ye said: "My lord, please be careful. Yuan Xi is certainly hateful, but the states in Henan are not stable now. Yuan Xi ordered all the princes to attack our army. I heard that Ma Teng in Xiliang and Zhang Lu in Hanzhong all Ready to move."

"Zhang Lu is nothing to worry about, but Ma Teng, governor of Xiliang, really has to be guarded against!" Cheng Yu also agreed with Liu Ye's opinion, "Nowadays there is a shortage of food and grass, my lord should store grain in the fields, and go out again when the summer harvest comes. .”

Xi Zhicai came out and said: "My opinion is different from the two. Although our army is struggling now, how are the four states in Hebei going? Yuan Xi is not the eldest son! Yuan Shao died in battle, and the three sons refused to submit to each other. , will inevitably attack and kill each other, leading to great chaos. If we don’t take advantage of the opponent’s unsteady foothold and enter Hebei, we will add another enemy when the opponent breathes a sigh of relief.”

At this time, Bai Xiaowen was aggressively attacking Yecheng and had not yet seized Yuan Shang's military power. Moreover, it will take time for Cao Jun to send the intelligence to Jizhou, and it will take time to pass the information back. That's why Xi Zhicai talked about the "three sons attacking and killing".

This is also a normal inference. Who would have thought that Bai Xiaowen would go to Yuan Shang's camp alone to take the risk and go to Yuan Shang's camp.

In short, even if the counselors of the Cao Group could think of Bai Xiaowen's brilliance, they would not have imagined that it was as tall as several floors.

Guo Jiadao: "Liu Biao is newly defeated, Jingzhou is weak, and Jiangdong Sun Ce has long wanted to annex him. He will definitely seize this rare opportunity to send troops. Therefore, the threat from Jingzhou and Jiangdong should not be considered. As for the lack of food, as well as Ma Teng, Zhang Lu problem, I have a plan to solve it.”

Cao Cao was "overjoyed": "Follow the filial piety and try to say it."

Guo Jia said: "You can lend the land of Sanfu in Yongzhou to Ma Teng and Zhang Lu in exchange for food soldiers. Both Ma Teng and Zhang Lu want Sanfu, so they will definitely invade and compete with each other, and will not invade our border again; It is also a plan for the two tigers to compete for food. When the two sides are fighting for land, our army will conquer the Yuan family in the north and unify the north, so that we can regain control of the emperor and regain the initiative."

The so-called Sanfu refers to Jingzhao, where Chang'an is located, and the two counties of Fengyi in the north and Fufeng in the west.

The land of Sanfu, also known as "Guanzhong", has dangerous terrain and is easy to defend but difficult to attack. During the Qin and Han Dynasties,

It has always been of considerable political significance.

Guo Jia's strategy seems a bit unconstrained. A group of civil servants and generals silently pondered the feasibility.

Cheng Yu said: "Without the Sanfu, Sizhou will be exposed to the attack of the Yongliang army at any time. How to guard it? And, how will we recover the Sanfu in the future?"

Guo Jia said with a smile: "We only need to hold Tongguan to choke the enemy's throat and cut off the enemy's invasion of Sizhou; then sit and watch Ma Teng and Zhang Lu's victory or defeat. When Hebei is pacified, we can send troops west. After leaving Tongguan, How difficult is it to get Sansuke back?"

Cao Cao clapped his palms and said with a smile: "Following filial piety is a strategy for strong men to cut off their wrists and geckos to survive. It's wonderful! Our army is short of food and has lost the emperor. Being attacked by the four sides, it is a time of exhaustion. If we are still greedy for territory , It will inevitably make the army stretched. Abandoning the useless Sansuke can bring our army back to life."

Originally, during the Han Dynasty, the Sanfu land where Chang'an was located was very rich, with a substantial population of more than one million.

However, Li Jue, Guo Si and others from Dong Zhuo's remaining party in Xiliang had already brought the prosperous Sanfu to depression. A large number of people moved to Hanzhong, Sizhou and other places in order to avoid the Xiliang rebels attacking each other.

So Cao Cao didn't just say "useless three assistants" casually.

Guo Jia added: "Before the delivery, we can also forcibly relocate the population of Sansuke to Sizhou to enrich the population of Sizhou."

Forcing people to relocate, Cao Cao in history did this kind of thing. After he captured Hanzhong, he saw the population of Hanzhong was prosperous, so he forced them to move to the Guanzhong area (that is, Sanfu), and made the Chang'an area prosperous again. .

Guo Jia's request to relocate the population of Sansuke is not only beneficial to the Cao Group, but also considers the people of Sansuke.

According to his plan, Sansuke will inevitably fall into war for some time in the future, but it will not be as peaceful and stable as Sizhou.

Among the clan, Cao Ren came out and said, "Ma Teng is fine, but Zhang Lu is just a successful man, how dare he compete with Xiliang soldiers for the city? When he sees Ma Teng, he will definitely retreat. If he follows Guo Junshi's plan, We have surrendered the land of Sansuke to Xiliang, and instead exposed our backs to the iron cavalry of Xiliang."

Guo Jia and Xi Zhicai just laughed and said nothing.

Seeing that Cao Cao adopted Guo Jia's strategy, Cheng Yu naturally tried his best to help Cao Cao perfect it:

"Otherwise, we can trade with Zhang Lu first, in exchange for food, and then trade with Ma Teng. When Ma Teng came, Zhang Lu had already occupied the pass; Chang'an City was high and thick enough to defend, and Zhang Lu had food and people. , will not give up easily.”

Cao Ren understood, and nodded to express that he had no further objection.

Cao Cao looked at Guo Jia, then at the empty seat on his left, and sighed:

"Feng Xiao's strategy of two tigers competing for food is wonderful. It reminds me of Xun Yu who offered the strategy of two tigers competing for food and driving tigers to devour wolves when he defeated Lu Bu, Liu Bei and Yuan Shu. If Xun Yu was there, It must be similar to Feng Xiao's plan! I originally regretted the loss of Xun Yu, but with Feng Xiao, it is enough to fill this vacancy."

Guo Jia bowed and said: "My lord has great trust, and I will repay you with all my heart and soul."

Cao Cao got up suddenly: "I will act according to the plan of filial piety. I will send a vanguard army to cross the river to attack Liyang. When the grain and grass traded in Hanzhong arrive, I will lead the army to the north. Who wants to be the vanguard?"

All of a sudden, all the generals in the hall, such as Zhang Liao, Li Dian, Cao Ren, Xiahou Dun, etc., came forward to challenge for the battle.

Suddenly a voice was heard saying:

"Wait a minute, generals! If you want to avenge your brothers, how can you miss me? Father, my son is willing to be the vanguard, and I vow to dedicate Yuan Xi's head to the steps."

Everyone regarded it as the fourth son Cao Xiong who spoke.

Cao Xiong personally beheaded Yuan Shao in the Battle of Guandu, and made great contributions, so his prestige in the army has risen rapidly, and even many generals admire him.

Seeing Cao Xiong come out to fight, everyone didn't think it was abrupt. After all, he has this strength and has already proved himself.

Cao Cao nodded and said with a smile:

"Yuan Benchu ​​has a son, Yuan Xi, and I have a son, Cao Xiong, who are equal to each other! However, Xiong Er, you have not yet commanded an army, so you have insufficient qualifications. I ordered your uncle Xia Houdun to be the vanguard Zhengyin officer, and lead Zhang Liao, Xu Chu, Xu Huang and you. You will be the deputy and take Li Yang! You need to carefully obey your uncle's military orders, and you must know that military laws are merciless. If you violate them, I will not be able to save you! Are you still willing to go?"

Cao Xiong said loudly: "My son is willing to go!"

"Okay, it's really my family's thousand-mile horse!"

Cao Cao laughed, walked up to Cao Xiong himself, held his hand and said, "You are the vanguard, your four brothers, except Chong'er who is too young to stay in Xudu, the other three will follow the army Let’s do it. I want to use this battle to watch the literary and military strategies of the four of you! Whether it’s advising and offering advice, or killing the enemy on the battlefield, the meritorious deeds you have made will be remembered in my father’s heart.”