Yuan Shao, the father of Fanghua in the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 1318 Employment
Liu Xie’s first reaction was, could this Cao be sent by the King of Wei to monitor him?

But in the past two years, Cao has been very honest. Liu Xie once deliberately revealed a few flaws and pretended to be an accident so that Cao could hear them, but afterwards the Wei State did not search for them, which shows that the possibility that Cao is a traitor is not great.

Cao's reaction now really seems like he regards himself as Liu Xie's man. Under normal circumstances, Liu Xie would be moved, but now he wants to fake his death and escape, and Cao is watching him here. What's going on?

Just when he was at a loss for what to do, the next morning, the allied forces of Yuan Xi and Guan Yu had already raided to within thirty miles outside the city of Xu Du, and began to gradually eliminate the strongholds of Xu Du's outer defense line.

Now all the Cao Wei officials in the city were in a panic from top to bottom. The enemy seemed to be launching a surprise attack, but now they were advancing step by step. Could it be that they were planning to take down Xu Du like they did Yecheng?
Cao Wei was also caught off guard. Its original plan was to reject the visit from three directions, but Xiahou Shang and Ma Chao in the east were forced to retreat to Luoyang, Sima Yi in the south was deceived, and Cao Hong in the southwest was simply defeated by Guan Yu. This route collapsed directly.

Now that the allied forces of Yuan Xi and Guan Yu were advancing all the way, the Wei army cities along the way were simply unable to organize an effective counterattack. A large part of the reason for this was that last year's Battle of Yecheng had greatly reduced the number of generals available to Cao Wei.

The generals who were able to support the overall situation before, Cao Ren from the Cao clan was defeated by Guan Yu and fled back, Cao Hong disappeared and ended up not being able to recover from his disability, the general from other families Zong Lejin died in the Battle of Yecheng, Yu Jin was captured, and the heavy burden fell on the general Xiahou Dun who had almost never won a battle in the city of Xudu.

Not to mention Cao Pi and the Cao Wei soldiers, all of them lacked confidence in Xiahou Dun. Xiahou Dun himself was immediately disheartened when he heard that Yuan Xi and Guan Yu were coming together. The first strategy he came up with was to abandon the city and flee.

Cao Ren, whose wounds had not yet healed, said to Xiahou Dun: "Yuan Rang, you are retreating before the battle. How many times can you retreat if you keep doing this?"

Xiahou Dun said helplessly: "Do you think I want to?"

"Let's not talk about the two enemies who are coming together. The Wei State has basically never won a battle. The terrain of Xudu is not as easy to defend as Yecheng."

"At least Chang'an has natural defenses, what do we have here?"

"What's more troublesome is the attitude of Ziwen (Cao Zhang), who was previously stationed in Chang'an to recruit soldiers."

"Earlier, the king issued an edict to him to lead the troops to rescue the siege. It should have been a long time ago, but now there is no news. Did he encounter the enemy, or something else?"

"You should know that he has always been at odds with His Majesty. If something goes wrong with him now, I'm afraid we won't even be able to save Sili!"

"Now we have to retreat to Chang'an, use the Cao clan's strength to suppress Ziwen and prevent him from causing trouble, and then hold Chang'an, in order to stop the Jin army."

"The Jin army reached Xudu so quickly because they took the water route. Now in a battle on the water, Wei has no chance of winning against the Jin army. So if they want to turn the tables in the future, they must use the mountains and land to fight, using their own strengths to attack the enemy's weaknesses, and only then can they make up for their disadvantage."

Cao Ren had to admit that although Xiahou Dun was not a good fighter, his vision for military strategy was very accurate. But at the same time, he also complained in his heart, even if they fought a mountain battle, could the Wei army really defeat the Jin army?

Your Majesty's death was such an unfortunate time, leaving behind a troublesome mess.

Cao Ren was depressed and asked, "Still no news about Zi Lian (Cao Hong)?"

Xiahou Dun said helplessly: "No more. You also know that since Miaocai's death, Zilian should be the most capable one in our Cao family."

"But I didn't expect that he would be attacked by the fierce tiger Guan Yu. There are not many people in the world who can escape from the attack of these two people. I am afraid."

The two were silent for a while. After a long while, Cao Ren sighed and said, "Let's go to see His Majesty and see what he wants to do."

Cao Pi sat on the throne, listening to his officials and generals arguing about whether to withdraw from Xu Du. He suddenly felt a tightness in his chest and couldn't help coughing a few times.

These coughs scared everyone. You have to know that an epidemic has begun to break out in the city, and some people have started to die one after another. A new generation of young scholars such as Wang Can and Liu Zhen, who were friends with Cao Pi because of their literary talents, have also fallen ill.

If Cao Pi were to be infected with the disease, wouldn't the Wei Kingdom be doomed?
The same thought came to everyone's mind at the same time: His Majesty has no offspring yet. If something unexpected really happens, who will inherit the Kingdom of Wei?

Although Cao Pi had a twisted and dark personality, he was not stupid. On the contrary, he was very good at observing people's words and expressions. This was a survival skill he had developed over the years under Cao Cao's pressure. However, when he saw the expressions of the officials, he guessed some of the truth and became even angrier.

I just have a broken egg, I'm not completely useless!
A bunch of bastards who are always thinking about their retreat!

He snorted coldly and said, "General!"

Xiahou Dun hurriedly stepped out and said, "I am here!"

Cao Pi said, "You must select 30,000 soldiers and horses to go out of the city to stop the enemy. You can command the generals as you wish!"

"Five days, three days, can you hold on?"

Xiahou Dun had no choice but to agree, and then he heard Cao Pi say coldly: "Third brother should have arrived three days ago, I will give him another three days!"

Cao Zhen stepped out and said, "Your Majesty, I want to fight!"

Cao Pi looked at Cao Zhen's broken arm and said, "Zidan, you should stay in the city and wait for orders."

Cao Zhen stiffened his neck and said, "Your Majesty, I only broke my arm, I am not disabled!" "If I die on the battlefield, let others avenge me!"

"Good!" Cao Pi stood up and said, "Although Zidan is not the late emperor's biological son, he is better than his own!"

"I will let you be the commander of the army and follow the general's orders!"

Everyone knew that Cao Pi's words were secretly disparaging Cao Zhang and Cao Zhi, but they all admired Cao Zhen in their hearts, because with Cao Zhen's physique, he would be in danger of death if he encountered the enemy. He wanted to use his death to wake up Cao Zhang, who was delaying the march.

Cao Zhen's actions also aroused the spirit of solidarity in the Cao Wei court. The originally panic-stricken situation actually stabilized. Xiahou Dun went back that day to reorganize his troops and prepare to set out to meet the enemy early the next morning.

What happened in the court was reported to Yuan Xi's camp dozens of miles away that night. After hearing about it, Yuan Xi said to Zhuge Liang: "There are still capable people in Cao's camp."

"If we let them grow up, it will be troublesome. We can only continue to bleed them to reduce their threat to the lowest level."

"We have the right time and place now. Cao Zhang failed to arrive in Xu Du on time. This should be a big blow to Cao Pi. The possibility of Wei evacuating Xu Du is much greater."

"Also, the Xudu epidemic this time was unexpected, which seemed like God was helping me."

Zhuge Liang said solemnly: "Luck only favors those who are prepared and can persevere to the end."

"If the lord hadn't made so many arrangements beforehand and approached Xudu, it would have been impossible to seize this opportunity."

"The results of the battle with Xiahou Dun in the past few days, as well as the situation in the city afterwards, will determine Cao Wei's next move. Liang has also thought of a countermeasure."

As they were talking, a soldier reported that Liu He and others were outside the tent asking to see him. Yuan Xi ordered someone to bring them in, but he saw Liu He standing at the door of the tent with two women. He did not come in, but greeted from a distance and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty, for saving my life."

When Yuan Xi saw this, he stood up and walked forward, saying, "Brother Liu, you and I were as close as brothers back then, but now we haven't seen each other for several years, why are you so distant now?"

Liu He took a step back, raised his hand to stop Yuan Xi's action, and said with a wry smile: "Your Majesty, I came out of a pile of dead bodies. If I get the disease and pass it on to Your Majesty, I will die."

Zhuge Liang, who was standing beside him, also whispered, "The doctor did say that we need to observe for a few days. Right now is a critical time for the military. I hope you will take care of your health."

After hearing this, Yuan Xi had no choice but to give up and bowed to Liu He, saying: "After we capture Xudu and rescue the emperor of the Former Han Dynasty, we will talk about it in detail."

He looked up at the two women beside Liu He. Yuan Xi naturally recognized Madam Yuan, but the other woman had attractive curves and exuded a mature charm. Yuan Xi was extremely unfamiliar with her. He wondered if she was Liu He's concubine.

When Liu He saw her, he explained, "This is Wu, the widow of Liu Yan, the third son of the former governor of Youzhou. She also escaped with us and came to thank the king for saving her life."

Yuan Xi thought for a long time before he realized that this was the queen of Liu Bei in Shu in later generations.

However, I'm afraid the two sides will have no intersection in this life, and Liu Bei is seriously injured, and it is unknown how long he can hold on. Just now, Guan Yu came to find Yuan Xi to discuss a surprise attack on Xu Du as soon as possible. I'm afraid the news from Changsha is not good, which makes Guan Yu very impatient.

He exchanged a few pleasantries with the two women, then left Liu He alone to talk, and then asked Zhuge Liang about the situation in the city. Liu He answered in detail, and finally said: "He escaped first, but Your Majesty is still in the city. Will He's affairs delay the king's rescue of the emperor?"

Yuan Xi shook his head and said, "No, this is just the right time. If we put too much pressure on Wei, they will shrink in the city and it will be hard to find opportunities."

"I understand the situation in the city. Brother Liu, go back and have a good rest first. I will find a solution later."

After Liu He left, Yuan Xi took the defense map of Xudu and discussed with Zhuge Liang where to start. Looking at the densely packed house and street markings on the map, he couldn't help but sigh: "I wonder how many spies' lives and efforts are condensed on this three-foot-wide map."

"If we fail to achieve our goal, we will be so ashamed of them."

Zhuge Liang said, "My lord, you didn't have to go to such great lengths to save the emperor. After all, that was the previous dynasty, wasn't it?"

Yuan Xi smiled bitterly and said, "That's true, but my throne was inherited from the emperor of the former Han Dynasty, so I have the moral obligation to save him."

"What's more, I once made a promise. In order to keep my word, I have no choice but to sacrifice the lives of my soldiers. I feel guilty about this."

Zhuge Liang said in a deep voice: "My lord, you are right. This is for the reputation of the new dynasty. The more legitimate the reputation, the less hidden dangers there will be in the future."

"On the contrary, Cao Wei has gradually reached a dead end because of its perverse actions. Given time, it will inevitably be destroyed."

Yuan Xi smiled and said, "Since the Prime Minister is so confident, let's fight the Wei army tomorrow and let them see the situation clearly!"

(End of this chapter)