Cao Cao rejected Yanzhou and Yuan Shao one after another and chose to develop in Yangzhou.
"My lord, this attack on Xuzhou was my mistake. I am willing to go to Yangzhou as a lobbyist to persuade Chen Wen to accept us."
Since Cao Cao chose to go south to Yangzhou, the task of this pioneer officer naturally had to be done by him, Xi Zhicai.
"Okay, that's enough trouble for Zhicai, Zilian."
Cao Cao nodded to Xi Zhicai, and then set his sights on his burly confidant, Cao Hong and Cao Zilian.
"exist."
Cao Hong stepped forward and saluted Cao Cao.
"You take a hundred personal guards to Yangzhou with the military advisor. Remember, even if things fail in Yangzhou, you must ensure the safety of the military advisor. If something goes wrong, don't come back to see me."
"Don't worry, my lord, as long as I, Cao Hong, am here, no one can hurt the military commander."
After hearing what Cao Cao said, Cao Hong also nodded solemnly.
"Zhicai, please remember that it doesn't matter if the negotiation is not successful. In the worst case, we can just send troops to attack. Ensuring your own safety is the first priority."
After explaining to Cao Hong, Cao Cao looked at Xi Zhicai again, spoke earnestly and held his hand.
"Don't worry, my lord, I will definitely fulfill my mission."
Cao Cao's words moved Xi Zhicai somewhat, but he still calmly took out his hand. Although men and women are not intimate, men and women cannot be so close. At least Xi Zhicai couldn't stand this kind of treatment.
"Okay, without further ado, you all set out quickly, order the entire army to rest temporarily, stop the attack, send exploration horses to Jibei Kingdom, and ask Cao Ren to lead his troops to Xuzhou to meet me."
Now that the matter has come to this, Cao Cao is not a hypocritical person. He gives the order and the entire Cao army begins to take action. Under the protection of Cao Hong, Xi Zhicai passes through Guangling County and detours to Yangzhou. Cao Cao's main force temporarily retreats from Donghai Kingdom and waits.
Cao Ren came from Jibei Kingdom.
Cao Cao's army suspended their offensive, and Xuzhou, which was originally a fierce battle, instantly became much deserted, but the battle in Yanzhou was still fierce.
Guan Yu also adopted the same strategy as Xiahou Yuan after he failed to attack the East Commandery. The army pretended to attack the city wall until late at night every day, and then called a truce at night. This lasted for two days. On the third day, he sent out elite troops to take advantage of the laxity of the defenders.
They attacked the city wall day and night and succeeded in one fell swoop. After opening the city gate, the army entered the city and took Puyang directly.
After taking Dongjun, the only areas in Yanzhou that belonged to Cao Cao were Chenliu County and Jibei County. Liu Bei's army also gradually conquered several subordinate counties of Jibei Kingdom, getting closer and closer to Lu County, where it was governed.
"Letter from the military advisor, general, and lord."
Cao Cao traveled day and night to visit Ma, and finally delivered his letter to Xun Yu and Cao Ren in Lu County.
"Military advisor, what do you say, my lord? Have you already captured Xuzhou?"
Upon hearing Cao Cao's letter, a light flashed in Cao Ren's eyes.
"Hey, it seems we all thought wrong."
After Xun Yu read Cao Cao's letter, he frowned and sighed.
"What's wrong?"
Cao Ren took the letter from Xun Yu and frowned after reading it.
"Yuan Shu didn't attack Yanzhou but went to Xuzhou. What did he think?"
Cao Ren looked at Xun Yu, hoping to get an answer from him.
"My lord did not go to attack Xuzhou, so there are two forces in Yanzhou, we and Liu Bei, that check and balance each other. Yuan Shu will definitely not attack, because doing so will cause our two armies to join forces to resist. But now my lord has invaded Xuzhou with all his troops."
,
Then Yanzhou is dominated by Liu Bei's family. The so-called peace will benefit both parties and division will harm two parties. With the current military strength of Yanzhou and Xuzhou, it is impossible to fight against Yuan Shu alone.
If the lord can capture Xuzhou before Yuan Shu sends troops, then the lord will occupy Xuzhou and Liu Bei will occupy Yanzhou. With the strength of Xuzhou and Yanzhou, they can still stop it.
But it is impossible now, so the lord has to go south to Yangzhou to join Chen Wen."
Xun Yu now sees the situation very clearly. Cao Cao and Liu Bei are just two grasshoppers on the same rope. If they fight each other, Yuan Shu, who set up the situation, will not care about them, but now they want to break free from the rope and fly solo.
, Yuan Shu naturally would not let it go, this was the main reason why he sent troops.
"Then if we leave Yanzhou now, wouldn't it be an advantage for Liu Da'er? I'm not willing to accept it."
After listening to Xun Yu's explanation, Cao Ren finally understood all the twists and turns inside, but he was still somewhat unwilling to leave Yanzhou and go to Xuzhou.
"You are wrong. The reason why my lord asked us to give Yanzhou out now actually has a deeper meaning."
Although Xun Yu frowned, he still shook his head.
"What's the meaning?"
Xun Yu's words made Cao Ren confused again. He really couldn't see what Cao Cao had any deeper meaning.
"Xuzhou and Yanzhou, if it were you, which one would you choose to attack?".
Xun Yu raised his eyes and looked at the depressed Cao Ren.
"If I were to attack Yanzhou or Xuzhou, it would actually be the same, but Yanzhou's area is larger than Xuzhou's, and its population is larger than Xuzhou's, so I would choose Yanzhou first and then Xuzhou."
Facing Xun Yu's question, Cao Ren thought for a moment and gave his answer.
"You are right. My lord and Xi Zhicai thought so too. The reason why they left Yanzhou for Xuzhou was actually to use Yanzhou as a shield to buy time for themselves to capture Xuzhou. However, Yuan Shu did not fall for the trap and chose
Attack Xuzhou first, why?"
"Why?"
Cao Ren demonstrated very well what a curious baby is. If he could make expressions now, what would be on his head??
"Pay attention to."
Xun Yu said a word with great sincerity.
"Attach importance to it? How to say it?"
Cao Ren still didn't understand what Xun Yu meant? If you pay attention, you can abandon Yanzhou and attack Xuzhou. You must know that if Liu Bei occupied Xuzhou alone, it would be difficult to drive him out.
"Haven't you noticed it until now?
The reason why Yuan Shu abandoned Yanzhou to attack Xuzhou was because he felt that the threat from his lord's occupation of Xuzhou was greater than Liu Bei's occupation of Yanzhou, so he sent troops to Xuzhou to thwart his lord's plan.
This is also what our lord means when he asks us to abandon Yanzhou and fight with him. We are going south to Yangzhou now. If Yuan Shu continues to pursue, it will definitely pose a great threat to us.
But if we withdraw from Yanzhou, Liu Bei will definitely take advantage of the situation and occupy the entire Yanzhou.
In this case, his danger level will be far greater than ours. After all, with a unified Yanzhou and a lord without a base, no one knows what to do.
In this way, we can go south calmly and let Liu Xuande compete with Yuan Gongli."
Xun Yu's vision is not unkind. It has always been their plan to use Liu Bei as a shield. Now he still doesn't believe that Yuan Shu will abandon Liu Bei and pursue Cao Cao.
As long as they can gain a firm foothold in Yangzhou, it is not impossible for them to develop in the future.
"I see, Cao Ren has learned a lesson."
After hearing Xun Yu's explanation, Cao Ren suddenly realized that he really didn't expect that his actions contained so many strategic elements. He was still too far behind.
"Is the general still unwilling to give in now?"
Xun Yu glanced at Cao Ren with a slight smile in his eyes.
