Three Kingdoms: I, the eldest son of Cao, a loving father of a great man!

"It is my duty to help my lord solve his problems.

I will go and summon the generals of Yanzhou to discuss countermeasures." Xiahou Dun clasped his fists and left.

Xiahou Dun led his generals to the military camp in Xuzhou.

In the past few days, Xiahou Dun has been observing the situation in Xuzhou and found that the situation here is not optimistic.

In particular, Zhang Xiu's Tiger and Leopard Cavalry were like a group of vicious wolves, constantly harassing the counties in various parts of Xuzhou.

Xiahou Dun knew that Zhang Xiu did this on purpose in order to attract Cao Hong's attention.

Cao Hong must have understood this, but Xiahou Dun couldn't figure out how Zhang Xiu attracted Cao Hong's attention?
Xiahou Dun felt that Zhang Xiu must have mastered some secret weapon to destroy the counties in Xuzhou so quickly.

Xiahou Dun told everyone his guess, and everyone agreed.

Xiahou Dun said: "Gentlemen, if Xuzhou is taken by Cao Ang, the situation in Yanzhou will be even more precarious. For the safety of the people of Yanzhou, we can't just sit there and wait for death!"

Xiahou Dun's subordinates all expressed their willingness to obey Xiahou Dun's command and defend Yanzhou to the death.

"Okay, if you all can trust me, then I will lead you to defeat the enemy!" Xiahou Dun said excitedly.

Xiahou Dun immediately led his subordinates into action, setting up a defense line on the outskirts of Xuzhou and preparing for a surprise attack by Cao Ang's army.

On the other side, Cao Hong also began to act.

The noble families and powerful people in Xuzhou all defected to Cao Cao. They contacted each other and began to block Cao Hong's army.

Cao Hong knew that these noble families had ill intentions, so he did not hesitate to give up the defense outside and moved to the hinterland of Xuzhou, ready to confront the noble families head-on.

The two sides engaged in a brutal fight and suffered heavy losses.

Seeing that his troops were suffering losses, Cao Cao hurriedly ordered a halt to the attack to avoid causing too many casualties.

The two sides stopped fighting and stared at each other vigilantly.

The powerful families in Xuzhou did not take the opportunity to capture the cities in Yanzhou. The two sides fell into a stalemate.

In the north, Cao Ang was leading a large army to attack Jizhou.

Yuan Shao of Jizhou already knew that Cao Ang was about to head south.

The Jizhou army was also actively preparing for battle.

The noble families and powerful people in Jizhou also knew that Cao Ang was going to send troops to Jizhou, so they immediately organized themselves and prepared to deal with Cao Ang's surprise attack.

In Yecheng, the capital of Jizhou, Yuan Shao summoned civil and military officials to discuss strategies to deal with Cao Ang.

"My dear ministers, what countermeasures do you have?" Yuan Shao asked.

Xun Chen stepped out and said, "My lord, there are only two reasons why Cao Ang did this.

First, Cao Ang wanted to take the opportunity to weaken his lord's power; second, Cao Ang wanted to annex Jizhou.

Second, neither of these two statements is in line with Cao Ang’s consistent style.

Third, in my humble opinion, Cao Ang's trip south this time should have another meaning. "

Yuan Shao's eyes lit up and he asked, "Xun Qing, please continue."

Xun Chen said: "The first reason is that Cao Ang is not a fool and will never take risks.

The second reason is that Cao Ang’s move was aimed at the Yuan family.

In today's world, Yuan is the only person who can compete with Cao Ang.

Cao Ang wanted to eliminate other families and dominate the world, and in the end only the Yuan family could compete with him. "

Everyone understood what Xun Chen said.

The Yuan family is the most powerful family in the world, and they have many brave warriors under their command. If Cao Ang wants to destroy the Yuan family, he must pay a price.

"It's a pity that we didn't receive any news from Cao Mengde. Otherwise, we would have known Cao Ang's intentions." Tian Feng shook his head and smiled bitterly.

"Zhongkang, you must send a message to Cao Mengde immediately and tell him about Cao Ang's conspiracy. We need Cao Mengde's assistance." Yuan Shao said.

"Yes." Cao Cao agreed.

After discussing for a long time, Cao Cao, Xun Yu, Ju Shou and others finally confirmed the fact that Cao Ang was going to attack them.

Cao Cao cursed in his heart, "Cao Ang, you are such a jerk, you are so treacherous and cunning, I almost got fooled by you.

But you are wrong if you want to use Liu Tao's son to assassinate me.

I will never let you succeed."

Cao Cao summoned Chen Gong and told him, "Mr. Gongtai, Cao Ang wants to use Liu Tao's son to assassinate me. This matter must be concealed."

Chen Gong raised his eyebrows, he had guessed this a long time ago.

Chen Gong said respectfully: "My lord is wise. Since Cao Ang knows the relationship between you and Lord Tao, he must know who is the most suitable person to send to assassinate you.

My Lord, I suggest that Chen Gong carry out this task."

"Mr. Gongtai is indeed smart. How about this, you set off for Xiangyang tomorrow." Cao Cao said.

Chen Gong knelt down in ecstasy to express his gratitude.

After Chen Gong left, Ju Shou said worriedly, "My lord, Chen Gong is not a good person.

This time when we went to Xiangyang, Chen Gong must have wanted to take Lord Tao's life. Lord Tao is loyal to us, how can we let him die?"

“Gongze, Gongtai is highly regarded by Benchu.

This time when he went to Xiangyang, Gongtai not only wanted to take away Tao Gong's life, but also Liu Tao's life.

Gongtai will not only take back Liu Tao's life, but also our lives." Cao Cao sighed and said.

Chen Gong's ambition made Cao Cao a little wary.

Ju Su's face changed slightly. Chen Gong's ambition was beyond his imagination.

"My lord, what should we do?" Ju Su said anxiously.

Cao Cao was silent for a long time and said: "Gongtai's ambition is obvious, Benchu ​​will definitely not give up on him.

Benchu ​​is now in his prime, and Gongtai’s idea of ​​replacing Benchu ​​is wishful thinking.

Gongtai is just using Liu Tao to test us.

As long as Benchu ​​knew about this, he would have stepped up his defenses. We just need to hold our troops in place and wait for Cao Ang and Gongtai to be defeated."

Ju Su breathed a sigh of relief: "My lord, you are indeed very thoughtful."

"Gong Ze, Gong Tai's move was within my expectations. But Cao Ang's method was beyond my expectations.

He actually plans to use Liu Qi to threaten me. What should I do?
If I let Gongtai take action, it will completely infuriate Cao Ang." Cao Cao said in embarrassment.

Liu Qi was the royal bloodline that Cao Cao had high hopes for, and was the future emperor. How could Cao Cao bear to let Liu Qi get into trouble?

Ju Su frowned and said, "My Lord, this matter is a bit troublesome.

Cao Ang's move was to force his lord to make a choice. If his lord did not let Gongtai take action, Cao Ang would definitely not withdraw his troops easily.

If Cao Ang gets angry, I'm afraid our army will suffer huge losses.

If you decide to take action, Cao Ang will seize the opportunity to pursue us, and it will be difficult for our army to resist Cao Ang's cavalry."

Cao Cao sighed, "How can I bear to sacrifice Gong Qi's life? But if Gong Tai takes action, Gong Qi's life will be in danger."

"My Lord, why don't we try to inform Lord Tao and have him persuade Gongtai to postpone his actions to prevent Gongqi from getting hurt." Xun Yu suggested. (End of this chapter)