Agents of the Three Kingdoms

Yanzhou, State Shepherd's Mansion.

In the study, Cao Cao rested his hands on his thighs, with his back straight, his chest folded and his back straight, sitting upright.He held a volume of paperwork in his hand and squeezed it tightly.Those slender eyes were squinted, revealing a frightening cold light.

In the study room, there are Xun Yu, Xi Zhicai, Xun You, Cheng Yu and others.

Everyone's expressions were extremely dignified.

Cao Cao took a deep breath, adjusted his emotions, and said in a deep voice: "Wang Lei calls himself a general, Duyou and Jizhou. However, Li Ru added fuel to the fire, not only agreed to Wang Lei's request, but also gave Wang Lei Chijie and Duyou The rights of the four prefectures of China, Hebei, Yan, and Qinghai blatantly encouraged Wang Lei to extend his hand to our territory. What do you think about this matter?"

Xi Zhicai analyzed without hesitation: "There is no doubt that this is Li Ru's estrangement. Li Ru gave Wang Lei benefits in order to use this right to provoke a fight between the lord and Wang Lei. Wang Lei sits in Youzhou and Jizhou, The lord is sitting in Qingzhou and Yanzhou. Although Wang Lei is superior in strength between the two sides, the result of the confrontation between the two armies will definitely kill one thousand enemies and lose eight hundred. When the time comes, the strength of the lord and Wang Lei will weaken. It is very likely that Li Ru will profit from it."

Xun Yu looked stern, and said in a deep voice: "Li Ru has bad intentions, and his intentions can be punished."

Cao Cao said in a deep voice: "Everyone understands what Li Ru is thinking. The problem is that Wang Lei has the right to intervene in Yanzhou and Qingzhou. For us, this is not good."

Cheng Yu said coldly, "This Li Ru deserves to die."

With a smile on the corner of Xun You's mouth, he said lightly, "It's not really a bad thing for Li Ru to do this."

Cao Cao asked, "What's Gongda's opinion?"

Xun You smiled slightly and replied: "My lord owns Yanzhou and Qingzhou, which has become an obstacle to Wang Lei's south, blocking Wang Lei's opportunity to expand south."

Cao Cao nodded, did not speak, and continued to listen.

On the contrary, Cheng Yu was impatient and said impatiently: "Gongda, I think it's a bad thing if you say that. My lord blocked Wang Lei's way to the south, and Wang Lei wanted to intervene in the affairs of Yanzhou and Qingzhou. That way you just focus on the rear."

Xun You smiled and said, "Mr. Zhongde is right. Wang Lei will indeed intervene in the affairs of Yanzhou and Qingzhou."

Xun Yu said, "If Gongda has any thoughts, please tell them."

Xun You said: "First of all, we judge Wang Lei's next move. I think there are two. First, Wang Lei solved Youzhou Gongsun Zan, and then he will definitely go west to Bingzhou. If he doesn't solve Bingzhou, there will be threats to the west of Wang Lei. The camp may face threats at any time, so I judge that Wang Lei will send troops to Bingzhou."

"Secondly, when Wang Lei attacks Bingzhou, he will intervene in Yanzhou and Qingzhou. The Lord owns Yanzhou and Qingzhou, which already poses a threat to Wang Lei. If the Lord's development is not curbed, the Lord will definitely become Wang Lei's enemy."

Xun You's eyes were firm, and he said in a deep voice: "Therefore, I conclude that Wang Lei's next focus will be on Bingzhou, and then he will intervene in the affairs of Qingzhou, using two prongs. On the one hand, he won Bingzhou and expanded his power; on the other hand, he will curb the development of the lord. Defeat the lord in the future."

Cao Cao said: "Gongda's analysis is penetrating, I agree."

Xun Yu also said, "I agree too!"

Xi Zhicai said: "Gongda hasn't gotten to the point yet, why is it not a bad thing?"

Xun You smiled, and replied: "After talking about Wang Lei, let's analyze Li Ru. Judging from the battle between Wang Lei and Li Ru, Li Ru was repeatedly defeated by Wang Lei's injuries, and his hatred for Wang Lei is absolutely the fear of the lord. "

"To attack Wang Lei, it must be feasible to unite with Li Ru."

"Therefore, I suggest joining forces with Li Ru to attack Jizhou together."

"As the saying goes, the strong are the first to attack, and the second to suffer." Xun You looked serious, and said slowly: "If we continue to expand our own strength, but Wang Lei's strength is stagnant, then there is no doubt that we should choose to develop our own strength. , not to confront Wang Lei for the time being. But the situation is different now, Wang Lei's power is developing too fast, if Wang Lei is allowed to develop, the consequences will be disastrous."

Xi Zhicai thought about it, and said, "Gongda's analysis makes sense, but I have a few questions."

Xun You said, "Please tell me!"

Xi Zhicai said: "A joint attack with Li Ru means that we will soon confront Wang Lei. But since we are joining forces with Li Ru, we are two armies. Once we have our own thoughts, the situation will be very unfavorable to us."

Cheng Yu agreed: "The military division's analysis is reasonable, and there are indeed certain risks."

Xun You said: "Wang Lei sits in Youzhou and Jizhou, and his strength is getting stronger and stronger. At this time, let him ignore it, or let Wang Lei attack Bingzhou. After Wang Lei dominates the north and builds up momentum, it will be difficult Resistance. Therefore, no matter what, we must attack Wang Lei and curb his development."

After a pause, Xun You continued: "Li Ru hates Wang Lei to the bone, and he will definitely do his best. I don't believe in someone like Liu Bei, but I believe in Li Ru. From another perspective, Li Ru I'd rather we grow big than Wang Lei's power expand further."

Xi Zhicai frowned, and said in a deep voice: "However, once the coalition forces fail, Wang Lei's power will definitely be even stronger. At that time, Wang Lei took advantage of the victory to enter Yanzhou, and the consequences would be disastrous. Since Wang Lei wants to attack Jizhou, let Wang Lei attack. Wait for both sides to lose, and then enter Jizhou and defeat Wang Lei in one fell swoop."

Xun You sighed softly, and said, "The military advisor's idea is good, but the military advisor forgot one thing. Before, Li Ru treated Gongsun Zan and Wang Lei with your thoughts, so that Zhang Liao was captured and Gongsun Zan was killed. If Li Ru had united with Gongsun Zan early on and sent troops to attack Jizhou when Wang Lei was attacking Gongsun Zan, Wang Lei would not have been able to occupy Youzhou."

Xun You's tone was heavy: "Wang Lei acted decisively and recruited talented people. He is a promising leader. Moreover, he has a lot of talents under his command. If he chooses to sit on the sidelines, so that Wang Lei wins Bingzhou, then the situation will be out of control."

Xi Zhicai shook his head and said, "As long as we keep our sense of proportion and ensure that Li Ru's army will not be completely defeated, I think there is a chance."

Xun You shook his head, and refuted again.

The two men said that the father was right, and the mother-in-law said that the mother-in-law was right, and the argument was inextricable.

Cao Cao rubbed his sore temples, thought for a while, and said in a deep voice: "I already understand what you mean. The military advisor's point is to use Li Ru's strength to consume Wang Lei's strength, so as to create opportunities for us; Gongda's point It lies in uniting with Li Ru, taking the initiative to defeat Wang Lei."

Xi Zhicai said: "My lord, please think twice!"

Xun You had a faint smile on his face, he believed that Cao Cao would make a good choice.

After all, Cao Cao is the decision maker.

After thinking about it for a long time, Cao Cao said: "I decided to adopt Gongda's suggestion, join forces with Li Ru, and strike first. Yanzhou and Qingzhou are the places where the Four Wars were fought. It will not be easy to continue to expand. When we take Xuzhou, Yuzhou, etc. Well, Wang Lei's strength is definitely hard to contain. We take advantage of Wang Lei's strength is not yet strong, we take the lead in attacking. In this battle, we must take the initiative."

Xi Zhicai opened his mouth, but finally stopped trying to persuade him.

Cao Cao's thoughts can only be understood by Xi Zhi. Cao Cao is worried that Wang Lei will achieve great success and it will be difficult to fight back.