After Lu Bu returned to Jizhou, Cao Cao's life finally became easier.

The 80,000 shi of food and grass that Chen Mu promised him was all received. The most important thing is that he got a bargaining chip to acquire the entire Yanzhou.

In addition, there are some small surprises, such as Zhu Ling being defeated and captured, and Yuan Shao spent a sum of money to redeem him.

It was not for the general Zhu Ling, but for the more than 6,000 Jizhou soldiers captured by Cao Cao and for the strategic purpose of establishing a good relationship with Cao Cao.

After Cao Cao captured Zhu Ling, he wrote to Yuan Shao, saying that he didn't know that Yuan Shao was in power in Jizhou at the time, and thought it was Wang Fen, so he did such a thing. Now that he knows, he plans to release all these people.

go back.

After reading the letter, Yuan Shao realized that out of the 7,000 people Zhu Ling left behind to break up the rear, only a few hundred were killed in the battle, and most of them surrendered to Cao Cao immediately, so he immediately said that there was no problem, and these people had been eating and drinking with you for so long.

, I'm sorry to let you put it back for free, but I'd better pay you a sum of money.

Both of them had a tacit understanding.

Of course Yuan Shao knew that Cao Cao was pretending to be stupid. After all, Wang Fen died at the end of September. Cao Cao intercepted Zhang He in December. It had been almost three months. It would be strange if Cao Cao didn't know the news.

But he didn't want to break up with Cao Cao. After all, there were enemies on three sides. If Cao Cao was added to the mix, he would be truly besieged on all sides.

So Yuan Shao wanted to form an alliance with Cao Cao to fight against the alliance between Liu Bei and Gongsun Zan.

But Cao Cao is not a fool. Now the two forces are competing. If he joins in with his own strength, it means that the kitten enters the Colosseum and fights with the lion and tiger. Isn't he looking for death?

They mobilized an army of more than 100,000 people, but their total strength was only 20,000, which was not enough to fill their teeth. In just one battle, all their wealth would be wiped out.

So at that time, Cao Cao declined Yuan Shao. However, Cao Cao wanted to have both sides, so he did not refuse directly. Instead, he said that Yuan Shao was too weak and had few soldiers and food. He only had a few cities and could not compete with Liu Bei. He hoped to find Yuan Shao.

Invest some money, and he can help Yuan Shao when he captures Yanzhou.

This routine is the same as when Chen Mu asked Cao Cao for supplies to prevent him from being annexed. Speaking of which, Cao Cao learned this trick from Chen Mu. When someone asks for something from you, you should first cry for help, and then turn around and ask for help again.

Others ask for it.

If Yuan Shao refuses to supply supplies and is unwilling to provide help, then you cannot blame Cao Cao. It is you, Yuan Shao, who did not help me. Everyone knows that I am powerless with my own strength.

It would be great if Yuan Shao supplies supplies and is willing to help. After the aid arrives, he can borrow chickens to lay eggs and wait until Yanzhou has grown stronger and has the strength to influence the battle situation. When the time comes, he will wait for a price and sell it, and he will be able to get both sides.

You no longer need to look at other people's faces.

It has to be said that there is a reason why Cao Cao was able to develop in the cracks in history. After writing this letter, it turned out that Chen Mu’s tricks are easy to use, and they always work. Yuan Shao euphemistically expressed Jizhou’s difficulties,

We can only hope that Cao Cao will work hard and form an alliance, and we can only talk about it later.

"Yuan Benchu ​​really refused."

Dongjun, Puyang.

In the mansion, Cao Cao threw the letter in his hand on the desk and smiled contemptuously.

He knew Yuan Shao too well, and he was unwilling to give up any small gains. He was always worried that others would take advantage of him, but he didn't know that if he didn't pay, there would be no reward.

However, Guo Jia said something fair and said with a smile: "You can't blame Yuan Benchu. At this time, his troops are confronting Liu Xuande and Gongsun Bogui. It's normal that he can't bring much to help us. Ming

It is enough for the public to get a short respite."

"Um."

Cao Cao nodded, looked around the crowd and said, "I don't understand why Liu Xuande and Gongsun Bogui, after having beaten Yuan Benchu ​​into such a mess, let go of this opportunity and chose to just take a mere Bohai County and leave. It's unreasonable.

ah."

Chen Gong said: "After all, Jizhou still has strength. If we continue to fight hard, both sides will suffer. I think Liu Xuande and Gongsun Bogui don't dare to really push Yuan Benchu. If they both die, I'm afraid they won't get any benefits."

Cao Cao smiled and said: "Gongtai, think about it, when Yuan Benchu ​​was the poorest and weakest, he only had Changshan Kingdom, Zhongshan Kingdom, Zhao Kingdom and Wei County in his hands. What would happen if Liu Xuande and Gongsun Bogui adopted the siege technique?

?”

Xi Zhicai smiled and shook his head and said: "Ming Gong, if we adopt the siege technique, Yuan Benchu ​​will definitely choose to force a battle. By then, even if Liu Xuande and Gongsun Bogui want to win, they will lose miserably."

"Well."

Cao Cao stroked his beard and thought for a while, and it seemed that this was a possibility. After all, Qingzhou, Youzhou and Luoyang, although their military strength was similar, it was far inferior to Yuan Shao who had concentrated all his troops in Wei County.

Yuan Shao was so worried that he even abandoned his hometown in Wei County. In vain of Luoyang's threats, he directly concentrated his troops to fight to the death with Liu Bei and Gongsun Zan, and they might all die together.

However, Cheng Yu had a different opinion and said: "This may be just one aspect. With Chen Zigui and Ju Gongzhi's ability, if we really implement siege tactics, build high walls, and continue to fight Yuan Shao, the further he delays, Yuan Benchu ​​will

The chances of winning are getting worse, but they choose not to do that.”

"What does Zhongde mean?"

Cao Cao was puzzled.

A strange light flashed in Guo Jia's eyes: "Qingzhou...is afraid of Gongsun Zan..."

Afraid of Gongsun Zan?

Cao Cao's intelligence is generally around 90, but here he is basically at the top level of around 94-98, and he couldn't keep up with everyone's thinking for a while.

Even Chen Gong, who was relatively slow to react, came to his senses and whispered: "If Liu Bei and Gongsun Zan unite to build a camp, with their strength, they will have to fight Gongsun Zan for at least two or three years. Even if Gongsun Zan attacks by force, the outcome is probably only one

The number of thirty-seven."

This chapter is not over, please click on the next page to continue reading! "But the strange thing is that when the war started, Liu Bei and Chen Zigui suddenly went north to express their condolences to Lu Zhi. Gongsun Zan was a strong and impulsive person, and Yuan Benchu ​​took the initiative to attack at the slightest provocation.

As a result, he was defeated in ambush."

"However, the Qingzhou Army suffered little loss, and even took advantage of the chaos to defeat some of Yuan Shao's troops. They captured half of Qinghe Kingdom and half of Bohai County. The meaning behind this is indeed thought-provoking."

"Everyone, I know that Liu Xuande is a person who is a close friend of Gongsun Zan, so I'm afraid he wouldn't do something like this."

Seeing several of his counselors expressing their opinions, Cao Cao couldn't help but refute.

After everyone talked about it, Cao Cao also thought of the key to the problem, but after all, he had fought with Liu Bei in Guanzhong for two years, and they got along day and night. He didn't dare to say that they knew each other well, but he still knew about their friendship.

.

Gongsun Zan and Liu Bei were childhood classmates. They had been friends for more than ten years and had a very deep relationship. Moreover, both of them were very loyal people. When Liu Bei said hello, Gongsun Zan immediately came to help with troops and horses.

Such a relationship made it difficult for Cao Cao to believe that Liu Bei would suddenly become wary of Gongsun Zan.

However, Guo Jia said: "Perhaps Liu Xuande is truly benevolent, but please don't forget who Chen Zigui is. Chen Zigui wants to wait for Duke Bo'an to pass away and support his brother Liu Xuande to rise to power. Almost everyone knows it. Think about it.

, if Yuan Benchu ​​is defeated, how will Gongsun Zan deal with himself?"

Cao Cao pondered for a long time and sighed: "Liu Xuande, if he didn't have his fourth brother, living in this troubled world, he would probably be nothing more than a homeless prodigal holding a banner of so-called "benevolence and righteousness". Today, there are

Chen Zigui is truly destined."

"It's not about destiny. It can only be said that it created an opportunity for us to rise."

Several people looked at each other and laughed.

In fact, compared to what happened north of the Yellow River, at least the current situation is a good thing for Yanzhou. It is much better than Yuan Shao being defeated early and Qingzhou swallowing up the world.

The only problem is that the situation in Yanzhou is not very good. There is Sun Jian of Yuzhou to the south and Tao Qian of Xuzhou to the east. There are not many ways out.

However, as long as there is a state, you will have the strength to compete in the world, which is much better than living in a small county.

After writing to Zhang Miao at the end of last year, Zhang Miao slowly put aside his grudge and took the initiative to reply. Cao Cao and he exchanged letters, gradually dispelling his concerns, and the two began to restore their former friendship.

In fact, everyone knows that it is impossible to regain the original intimacy, but the adult world is always like this and needs a fig leaf.

After a few months, Zhang Miao finally promised Cao Cao to submit to him again and never rebel again.

Cao Cao was very happy and invited Zhang Miao to meet him at Wating to rekindle old friendship.

Wating belongs to Yan County of Dongjun County and is the junction of Chenliu County and Dongjun County. What is more interesting is that more than 400 years later, this is another famous sworn sworn place, Wagang Village.

In mid-May, it was a scorching summer and the weather was extremely hot. Cao Cao only took a few hundred personal guards and stood by the official pavilion, looking from a distance.

Then I saw a large group of people slowly coming from the direction of Chenliu in the south. It seemed that there was no end in sight. The leader was an elder in his fifties, none other than Zhang Miao.

Zheng Tai once said, "Zhang Mengzhuo, an elder in Dongping, cannot sit in the hall and look into the hall." It can be seen that Zhang Miao is older than Zheng Tai.

And as one of the Eight Chefs, he is from the same period as Wang Fen, so his age in his fifties is normal.

In fact, Cao Cao is already thirty-nine years old this year, and will soon enter his middle age. There is only a difference of more than ten years between him and Zhang Miao. They were once close friends, and today they meet again after two years, and they seem to be a little bit confused.

strangeness.

"Brother Meng Zhuo!"

Cao Cao waved loudly and shouted, his words were sincere and his eyes were filled with tears.

Zhang Miao saw that he only led a few hundred people, and then looked back at the thousands of troops he led. He couldn't help but feel very ashamed. He quickly asked his subordinates to stop, and he and several attendants drove the horses and ran over quickly, shouting loudly.

Response: "Meng De."

"Brother Meng Zhuo."

When Zhang Miao arrived, he dismounted and Cao Cao hurried up to greet him.

After Zhang Miao dismounted, he took off his outer robe, revealing the thorn sticks on his back. He knelt down on one knee and said with tears streaming down his face: "Meng De, please allow me to bear the thorn sticks to apologize."

"Brother Meng Zhuo, what do you mean?"

Cao Cao quickly helped him up, took off the cane himself, and said distressedly: "The brotherhood between you and me has reached this point because of misunderstanding. Now that the misunderstanding has been resolved, we can return to the original good. Don't do this again."

Just like that."

"Oh, Meng De."
To be continued...