Chapter 872 Cao Cao Makes a Plan

Wang Yan's troops marched into Gaoyang, expanded the territory 200 miles, and forced Yuan Shao's actions, which soon came to fruition. In May, Kong Rong surrendered and Yuan Shao annexed Qingzhou.

Kong Rong also had to surrender. He could still maintain his independence before, but now Yuan Shao has become violent. The letter clearly stated that if he didn't surrender, he would use an army of 300,000 to attack him. Under such circumstances, no matter how close he was to Cao Cao, it would be in vain. After all, Cao Cao was not about to fall out with Yuan Shao yet, and Kong Rong's own hard power could not defeat Yuan Shao, so he had to surrender.

After that, Yuan Shao arranged for Kong Rong to stay in Jizhou, so he stayed in Gaoyi and became a member of the people below during the discussion, which was basically the end of the game.

The fact is that losers should stay away from the core of power, and there are not many descendants of Confucius. Although the Kong family has some strength, it is not the family of the hereditary Yan Shenggong.

Cao Cao still fought the original Battle of Kuangting, fighting back the expanding Yuan Shu and occupying most of Yuzhou.

At this time, Sun Ce started to think about it. He knew about the grudge between his father and Yuan Shu, and also knew that his father was almost played to death by Yuan Shu. But he was not mature enough before and had to work under Yuan Shu. Now that Yuan Shu was beaten by Cao Cao and Liu Biao, and they didn't think much of him, and with the northern thief eyeing the Central Plains, he also felt a sense of urgency, and he didn't even want to work for Yuan Shu.

So a year ahead of schedule, he took out the imperial seal left to him by his biological father, asked Yuan Shu for three thousand troops, crossed the Yangtze River to attack Wu County, and started his entrepreneurial journey...

Because Yuan Shao annexed Qingzhou, Cao Cao also had Yan and Yu states, so he wanted to welcome his biological father back.

This time it will definitely not happen that Zhang Kai killed Cao Cao's whole family, robbed the money, and went away to enjoy happiness, because only then did Cao Cao know that Yuan Shao had taken his father to Gaoyi. It was after Cao Cao withdrew his troops that Yuan Shao sent a special letter I mean, it was the winter of 1933.

After Kong Rong surrendered, Yuan Shao was eager to expand, so he captured Langya and invited Cao Song and others to Gaoyi. Yuan Shao was now forced to become more ruthless, and he was very wary of Cao Cao's current strength. Taking down Langya would also be beneficial to the subsequent attack on Cao Cao. There is Mount Tai in Langya territory, which is dangerous and dangerous. It is condescending and occupies a favorable position.

Lao Cao was very angry, but there was nothing he could do. He also wanted to capture Yuan's people, but they were all killed by Dong Zhuo, and the remaining people could not pose any threat to Yuan Shao.

Therefore, Lao Cao could only get angry, and in the spring of 1944, he launched an attack on Xuzhou.

There are so many reasons and excuses, but Tao Qian occupies so much space, it is really an eyesore. If someone were to take Lao Cao's position, they would still have to fight against Xuzhou. Unless you surrender, go to Lao Cao and take a job as a sinecure.

However, Lao Cao is different. Even if he is idle, even if he doesn't cause trouble, after a while Lao Cao doesn't like people and will find a reason to kill them, nipping the possible danger in the bud.

Relatively speaking, Lao Cao is very murderous. He can massacre cities and wealthy families, and he can be ruthless. But even so, his reputation is better than Wang Yan. It was because Old Cao killed few wealthy people, so Wang Yan specifically caught and killed the wealthy people. As for the remaining hundreds of thousands of people slaughtered by Cao Cao, no one cares.

If I had to give Lao Cao a reason, it would be that Langya was under the jurisdiction of Xuzhou and Tao Qian failed to protect his father and was kidnapped by Yuan Shao...

Liu Bei was a little troubled. In fact, in 193, Cao Cao sent troops to attack Xuzhou, but they were repulsed by Liu Bei and others. Cao Cao was aggressively attacking Yuan Shu again, so he didn't pay much attention to him. Now that Yuan Shu has been driven away, it is time to concentrate his efforts. Cao Cao personally leads an army of 150,000 to attack Xuzhou.

"Why……"

In Pengcheng (Xuzhou City), Liu Bei sighed helplessly, sighing at Cao Cao's power.

Zhang Fei, who was sitting drinking below, slammed his wine bottle on the table in displeasure and shouted: "I'm just a thief Cao, brother, why should I sigh and destroy my morale? Today, the thief Cao is marching in three directions, taking Donghai and Xiapi. Brother is in the middle." , My second brother and I divided our forces into two groups, so what if the 150,000-strong army was ordered to be killed?

Mi Zhu was a little tired. Didn't he say that he had studied under Wang Yan? According to his understanding, Wang Yan's generals were more intelligent than the last, and their combat effectiveness was not bad at all. Why didn't Zhang Fei learn a thing or two? Look at Guan Yu, stroking his beard and squinting his eyes, not in a hurry to speak. How wonderful this is.

He waved his hand and said: "Third general, the terrain of Xuzhou is flat and there are no dangers. We only have 50,000 soldiers and horses under our command. Cao's thieves have three times as many troops as me. If we divide our troops to attack them, Cao's thieves have good tactics and strategies. Instead of taking advantage of the opportunity, the current plan is to defend the city and look for opportunities to defeat the enemy."

"If 50,000 troops gather together, Cao's thieves will easily capture Xuzhou, and then trap me like a lonely city. What will happen then?" Zhang Fei was dissatisfied and retorted.

After saying this, Mi Zhu nodded. Although Mang was a bit reckless, he still had some brains.

"Three generals, don't be impatient. The people have all moved south, so what's the use of Cao Cao occupying the land? If he divides his troops to attack, there will be gaps, and there will definitely be a good opportunity to defeat him."

Jian Yong on the side bowed his hands to Liu Bei and said, "My lord, the most urgent task is to find Yuan Shu to unite to fight against Cao Cao. We are dependent on each other, but our lips and teeth are cold. It is better to write a letter to Yuan Shu and let him attack Yuzhou north. We will fight to the death, and Cao Cao will not die for a long time." If it cannot be attacked, it will retreat."

Jian Yong, courtesy name Xianhe, was from Zhuo County. He had known Liu Bei since his early years and was an old member of Liu Bei's team. When Liu Bei took refuge in Liaodong, Jian Yong also returned to Zhuo County. Later, when the princes were fighting against Dong Zhuo, Liu Bei decided to settle in Xuzhou, and he also wrote to Jian Yong, asking him to come and accomplish great things together. At that time, Youzhou was already controlled by Wang Yan, and Jian Yong was lucky not to be killed.

This person is quite self-centered, does not pay attention to appearance, and is not respectful to Liu Bei, and does not tolerate any bad habits. When Zhuge Liang just came out of the mountains, he would lie down and talk to people when everyone discussed matters. Later, Zhuge Liang was really awesome, and he was convinced, so he gave Zhuge Liang some face. However, although this person is self-centered and has some unruly intentions, he has not harmed the people. Their family is just a small landlord, so confiscating the extra land is enough.

Liu Bei wrote directly to Wang Yan. He knew that it was easy to enter but difficult to leave Wang Yan's rule, so he wrote to Wang Yan and asked him to let Jian Yong go south.

Wang Yan was still very considerate and did not stop him, nor was there any need. Not to mention Jian Yong, even if Zhuge Liang was here, he would not need this one person. What he lacked was a large number of grassroots officials and teachers. No matter how powerful Zhuge Liang was, he could not make up for such a large personnel gap even if he died of exhaustion...

"It can only be like this..." Liu Bei nodded after listening.

They were all right. The troops were not as good as before, and dividing the troops would be a death wish. However, if they concentrated their forces, Cao Cao would take over other areas of Xuzhou and finally surround them, and they would fail at that time.

Cao Cao was not a mediocre person. He could really be called a conquest of the south and the north. He would definitely not be able to win a head-on conflict. He could only look for external forces and find ways in other places. When he looked around, he saw that only Yuan Shu was left.

And Yuan Shu must fight. He and Cao Cao had fought to death. Liu Biao made friends with Yuan Shao and kept fighting Yuan Shu in the west, and Cao Cao was still fighting Yuan Shu in the north. Why didn't Cao Cao send out all his troops this time? Some stayed in Yanzhou, and some stayed in Yuzhou. Yanzhou was to defend the home, and Yuzhou was to guard against Yuan Shu.

Now Cao Cao went to attack Xuzhou, which was wavering before, and dispatched 150,000 troops. How could Yuan Shu sit back and watch such a good opportunity? It's just that the information Yuan Shu got may not be accurate at present, and he is waiting and watching.

It is also with such an understanding that there is no need to send a subordinate to lobby, Yuan Shu is definitely more active than anyone else. Liu Bei personally wrote a letter, detailing the situation and the intention of the war, and sent someone to deliver the letter to Yuan Shu at full speed.

Liu Bei is now almost the de facto governor of Xuzhou. Tao Qian's health is getting worse, and with the support of local nobles such as Mi Zhu, no one opposes it, and even welcomes it. It has been operating for three years, which is far from the same period when Liu Bei came to save the fire.

But sending letters takes time after all, and Liu Bei and others still have to face Cao Cao's violent blows.

Liu Bei dismissed Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, and asked these two good brothers to lead 15,000 troops each, stationed in Liu County (southeast of Pei County, Xuzhou) and Xiao County, and to form a corner with Pengcheng. Many scouts were sent out to spy on the news, and Liu Bei responded and fought back.

It was also because the terrain was not good now, and there was no key pass to resist the enemy. He could only find loopholes in the enemy's troop deployment through continuous military dispatch, create a time difference, win the victory in the local battlefield, and gain an advantage little by little.

Liu Bei certainly had military talent. If he was nothing, he would not have one of the three worlds. And he also studied under Wang Yan, that was real training, after all, he was engaged in the general's mansion, a position that was exposed to core secrets.

The military governor's mansion had special martial arts, and opened many classes to teach people how to fight. When you reach the position of deputy general, you can participate in training, and the highest you can reach is the title of lieutenant. Compared with the courses offered by each army, the military governor's mansion is obviously more professional, and General Wang personally teaches in person.

Therefore, Liu Bei also learned a lot and made a lot of progress.

But correspondingly, Cao Cao was not given for nothing, not to mention that Cao Cao's troops were three times that of Liu Bei.

So during the battle, they were attacked twice at night, and Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, two fierce generals, relied on their personal bravery to lead their soldiers to be brave, and caused damage to them with fewer troops. In addition, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei learned guerrilla tactics from Liao Hua on the grassland, and each of them brought more than a thousand elite cavalry to harass the various troops sent by Cao Cao.

After Cao Cao was prepared, Liu Bei's night attack was frustrated, and he was defeated with fewer troops, and was basically suppressed by Cao Cao. Only Guan Yu and Zhang Fei continued to fight guerrillas outside with cavalry, constantly targeting small troops and destroying Cao Cao's logistics, which barely maintained the situation.

So, Cao Cao did not dare to attack the city with all his strength, and he could not take it down. If there were too many troops, Liu Bei and his men would go out of the city to fight, and if there were too few troops, there would not be enough for Guan Yu and Zhang Fei to kill. This is where the awkwardness comes in.

Liu Bei certainly does not have all the troops in Xuzhou, but most of them are in his hands. There are still more than 20,000 troops stored in Xiapi. The people and nobles are all there to protect their safety. This is a very correct arrangement.

Although 20,000 people are not many, it is basically impossible for Cao Cao to send 20,000 people to break Xiapi without surrendering the city. If he sent more people, Liu Bei would leave the city, and even counterattack Yuzhou, approach Yanzhou, and make an extreme home exchange.

So the two sides were deadlocked, fighting from March to April. At this time, Yuan Shu, who was driven away by Cao Cao, lived up to expectations and raised 100,000 troops to attack Runan.

To make matters worse, when Cao Cao was preparing to withdraw his troops, news came that made Cao Cao's eyes split open, that is, Zhang Miao and others welcomed Yuan Shao to take over Yanzhou.

The pace of development has not stopped, and various interests are mixed, making many things inevitable. For example, Cao Cao's attack on Xuzhou was inevitable for expansion. For example, Lu Bu's original sneak attack and his attempt to capture Yanzhou were inevitable for expansion. Then Zhang Miao and other representatives of Yanzhou's wealthy families and officials welcomed Yuan Shao to Yanzhou, which was also inevitable for Yuan Shao's development.

The main reason is that the wealthy people in Yanzhou are dissatisfied with Lao Cao. Lao Cao's skills are too powerful, and the wealthy people in Yanzhou cannot beat Lao Cao. This is not the happiness they want. At this time, Yuan Shao was forced to go south by Wang Yan, and Cao Cao led troops to attack Xuzhou, and his rear defense was empty. So he took advantage of the Yuan family's old contacts all over the world and sent envoys to persuade him. Lang Youqing and his concubine fell in love with each other intentionally. It became natural for Yuan Shao to seize Yanzhou.

At night, Cao Cao failed to achieve success in Xuzhou. On the way back to the army, Cao Cao felt not very good.

In the military tent, Cao Cao read the autographed letter sent by Yuan Shao word by word. He wrote another letter with a smile, kept the secret key, put it in his bag, and walked step by step to some places. In front of the trembling messenger, he patted the messenger on the shoulder.

Said: "Please leave my trust in the hands of the original."

The messenger nodded in response and spoke tremblingly. There is no way not to tremble, this is a job that will lead to death, and the furious Cao Cao can't deal with him too much.

Putting the kit into the courier's chest, Bangbang patted the courier's chest twice, gently and gently: "Go, have a good meal and receive the reward today, and set off to see Benchu ​​tomorrow."

Seeing the messenger leaving quickly, Cao Cao turned around and sat down at the top, drank a bottle of wine, slammed the bottle on the table, and rubbed his head in pain.

"I just sent a letter to ask my father to come to my side. Now that Yuan Shao has captured Yanzhou, we have no choice but to surrender to the land of Yuzhou, and Yuan Shu is even more desperate to attack us. And since Yuan Shao has shown his intention to devour us, he will definitely not let us live in peace. Yuzhou, what do you think I should do..."

Lao Cao's words were full of exhaustion, and he was indeed tired. Before, the two brothers were fine, but later he tied up his father, and now he has taken away the land. Yuan Shao is not a son of a man, and he is bullying others too much. Lao Cao had a terrible headache, his heart was so tired, and he suddenly lost all energy.

After he finished speaking, he buried himself in drinking again.

"My lord, for the current plan, we should defeat Yuan Shu as soon as possible, stabilize the foundation, connect with Liu Bei, and then attack Yuan Shao."

The person who spoke was Cao Ren, a brother of Lao Cao. In his early years, he gathered people and horses to swim between the Huaihe River and Sishui River. Later, he defected to Cao Cao. He was the first member of Cao Cao's team and a good and trusted partner of Lao Cao.

Of course, what he said was basically bullshit, and he was only capable of connecting with Liu Bei. After all, they are marching back in a hurry, not because they want to fight Yuan Shu, needless to say.

Lao Cao asked about the future, long-term planning, and the next big strategy. Therefore, the statement of "connecting with Liu Bei" is correct. Liu Bei was in Xuzhou, bordering Yanzhou and Qingzhou. If there are too many, there is no need to go north to attack Langya instead of Cao Cao, which will play a major role.

Glancing at Cao Ren, Cao Cao responded with a hum and continued drinking.

Cao Ren smiled bitterly, knowing that he was talking nonsense, and sat back to drink. He saw that Lao Cao was not in good condition, so he wanted to be active. But obviously, Lao Cao's condition was really bad and he couldn't be active. There are no young women during this march and war...

Among the civil servants on the other side, everyone exchanged glances with each other, and it was Xun Yu who raised his hand. Xun Yu was a veteran, with sufficient strategic awareness and strong business ability. He also attracted many talents to Cao Cao. Guo Jia, who had already defected to General Wang, was recommended by this guy. The policy of coercing the emperor to order the princes came from him.

He said: "My lord, what Zixiao said makes sense, and it is necessary to contact Liu Bei. I heard that Tao Qian was seriously ill and was sad for this year, so he always wanted to give way to Xuzhou. Liu Bei has great ambitions and is a hero of the world. He conquers Xuzhou The hearts and minds of the people must understand the need to unite us.

However, even with Liu Bei and Yuan Shao being powerful, they would not be able to stop him. In addition, there are Yuan Shu in Huainan and Liu Biao in Jingzhou. I have lost Yanzhou and cannot attack Yuan Shao with all my strength. If Yuan Shao is taught to run Yanzhou for a long time, we will definitely lose.

At this time, there is only one strategy that can resolve the crisis. "

Cao Cao looked at Xun Yu and raised his head: "Wen Ruo, don't have any worries, just speak clearly."

Xun Yu raised his hand again and said: "Now we are in great danger, our survival is only a matter of days. The only way is to unite with Wang Yan of Youzhou to make it..."

Before Xun Yu could continue speaking, Lao Cao's eyes flashed, and then he shook his head repeatedly and interrupted Xun Yu's words: "If Wen Ruo doesn't say any more, he will eat the salary of the Han and become a minister of the Han. Wang Yan is also a rebel. How can I ally with the rebels for my own benefit?"

After that, he shook his head again and continued to drink.

Seeing that Lao Cao stopped rubbing his head, Xun Yu knew what he was saying and continued: "What the lord said is wrong. Mr. Yu is a loyal minister of the Han Dynasty. However, the survival of the lord is uncertain now. He will be destroyed by Yuan's thieves. If the big thing cannot be accomplished, what can we do?" The great Han is loyal to the Han Dynasty. He should be left to serve as a useful person to restore the foundation of Yanzhou. When he comes, he will kill the king's thief and serve the Han Dynasty. It is only a temporary measure to protect his own safety.

The fourth generation of the Yuan family and the third Duke, their food and salary were even more than that of the Duke. However, they rejected Jizhou and were adjacent to Youzhou. They did not want to kill the thieves to serve the country, but instead captured Yanzhou. They fought with the Duke's Han ministers with swords and swords, and they had always been friendly with the Duke. How could this be disloyal and unjust? Therefore, Yuan Shao should be regarded as a Han traitor and must be punished. What crime do you have if you rebel against the traitors to control the traitors of the Han Dynasty and obey the law of heaven? "

Xun Yu's words were just the beginning. Everyone here knows what kind of character Cao Cao is. If he really disagreed, he should have slammed the table and said it loudly. It's not like this now. My head doesn't hurt anymore. I can enjoy drinking, one mouthful after another...

So as Xun Yu finished speaking, the opinions of Xun You, Cheng Yu, Cao Ren, Cao Hong and other civil and military officials were highly unified. They all persuaded Cao Cao, listed various benefits, and excused the sin of forming an alliance with the rebels.

Cao Cao looked embarrassed. After a while, he took a sip of wine and said, "You all want to ally with Wang Yan, so I think about it. Since that's the case, let's do as you say and ally with Wang Yan!"

"My lord is wise!"

Lao Cao smiled and said, "You all say to ally with Wang Yan, but he is in the north and is cautious in using troops. He has never been reckless. To make his troops attack Yuan Shao, it is necessary to pay attention to benefits. However, he has good governance and abundant resources. What benefits should be used to induce him to send troops? Please tell me."

The tone was set, and the atmosphere became lively. Everyone was talking about what they should give to make Wang Yan fight Yuan Shao...

I would like to thank the good brothers who voted for the monthly ticket for their support,

I would like to thank the brothers who voted for the recommendation for their support, and

I would like to thank the big brothers who read the book silently for their support.