Yuan Shao, the father of Fanghua in the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 728

When the news that Hedong was attacked and Huaicheng was assassinated reached Cao Cao's residence in Yingchuan, Cao Cao sat up from the bed and asked, "When did this happen?"

The spy reported: "Captain Zhong of Huaicheng sent a letter immediately after the attack, and the villain arrived day and night. It's the fifth day."

Cao Cao jumped out of bed and said to the guards outside the door: "Call all the subordinates over here!"

Within an hour, Cao Cao's generals and counselors arrived one after another, and Cao Cao did not waste any time and told the news of Zhong Yao's assassination.

When they heard that several officials in Huaicheng, including Ding Chong, had died, it was obviously the work of a ruthless tiger, and there were traces of Taiping Dao in it. Cao's camp counselors all turned pale.

They discovered that Fierce Tiger was really driven into panic, and if he planned to use this method, people like them would not be safe!
  Thinking of this, everyone felt uneasy. Previously they had bullied the other party that he was a descendant of the Yuan family and that he would respect his identity when making plans, but now that they found out that the other party put down his dignity, it became a huge headache!

Xun You sighed: "This is troublesome. If Fierce Tiger puts aside its worries, its future actions will be difficult to predict."

Chen Qun shook his head and said: "Unexpected, really unexpected."

Cheng Yu coughed a few times and said in a hoarse voice: "Fierce tiger, fierce tiger, as the name suggests, he finally showed his true colors."

Xun Yu said calmly: "Don't do to others what you don't want others to do to you. The struggle for the world is an endless situation. Don't you, gentlemen, use your time to calculate what will happen today?"

Chen Qun sighed: "Planning is planning, but assassination is used to deal with us counselors, hey."

Xun Yu had a sarcastic look on his face, "Soldiers on the battlefield can die, why can't counselors below the battlefield die?"

"We have more blood on our hands than the soldiers and generals on the battlefield, right?"

Chen Qun and others thought that Xun Yu had a really bad temper recently. How could he get angry at everyone he met?
  However, everyone understood that Xun Yu had not gotten along well since he followed Cao Cao back from Huaicheng. It seems that Xun Yu was dissatisfied with what Cao Cao did in Huaicheng. He was obviously at odds with the advisers, but in fact he was fighting with Cao Cao. Fighting, right?
  Thinking of this, everyone had their own thoughts. Since Xi Zhicai's death, Xun Yu became the de facto mastermind. However, for Cao Ying's counselors, not everyone was willing to be subordinate to Xun Yu.

If he had a falling out with Cao Cao now, wouldn't it be...
  Cao Cao spoke out at this time, making everyone quiet down, "I summoned you here to discuss matters!"

"Now there are various signs that Fierce Tiger is preparing to send troops from Black Mountain to occupy Sili!"

"At this time, Yuan Shang of Jizhou has also crossed the Yellow River and is preparing to attack Guandu and then reach Xu County!"

"If these two succeed, there will no longer be a place for me, Cao Cao, to stand in the world!"

The generals remained silent until Xiahou Dun raised his arms and shouted: "I am willing to sacrifice my life for Duke Ming and bring peace to the Yuan family!"

After hearing this, other generals also shouted in agreement.

Cao Cao looked satisfied, "That's why I called you here today to discuss how to deal with the Yuan family!"

After hearing this, a group of counselors and generals came up with suggestions. Some suggested to defend Heishan first and fight Yuan Shang in Guandu. Some suggested to stick to Guandu, pacify Sili first, integrate Ma Teng and Han Sui, and then counterattack Jizhou. There were different opinions. No one said it. Can't convince anyone.

Seeing that everyone had finished talking, Cao Cao said, "I would like to ask you, with our current military strength, what are our chances of winning if we defeat Er Yuan?"

"Even after defeating them, how much strength do we have left?"

Everyone was silent after hearing this, because neither Yuan nor the two were easy to deal with, and Cao Ying was bound to pay a heavy price!
  Chen Qun said: "It's better to use the strategy of driving the tiger away and swallowing the wolf."

"Promise Yuan Tan of Qingzhou a huge profit and let him attack Yecheng, Yuan Shang's base camp."

"I promised Ma Teng and Han Sui a high position and asked him to repel the high officials and attack Youzhou in the north."

Xun You's origin said: "High positions are easy to talk about, but what is huge profits?"

"Yuan Tan is a very talkative person. Can ordinary benefits impress him?"

Chen Qun said: "We can agree to help Yuan Tan destroy the two Yuans, let him take the northern part of the Central Plains, and rule it by drawing the Yellow River with Duke Ming."

As soon as these words came out, everyone raised eyebrows. Is this huge profit a bit too much?
  Chen Qun's expression remained unchanged and he said: "This is a temporary measure. Sooner or later, the world belongs to the Ming Dynasty. We will find a way when the time comes."

Xun Yu spoke up and said: "Yuan Tan is a cunning person, so he may not be fooled by this."

Chen Qun nodded and said, "That's true, so a two-pronged approach is needed."

"I heard that the mastermind, Guo Tu, is from Yingchuan and can do some kung fu."

"After all, he is the highest-ranked member of the Guo family, and he will not give up on the family easily."

Xun You said: "Jizhou, Qingzhou, Bingzhou, Youzhou and the four states are good promises, but Xuzhou."

Cao Cao waved his hand, "Give it all to him!"

"Let him send troops to attack Jizhou and Xuzhou at the same time. I would like to see how Yuan Xi and Yuan Shang respond!"

Everyone was convinced that Cao Ying couldn't get these places for the time being anyway, so why not just go along with the flow and be a favor, and he would get it back sooner or later!
  Xun Yu worriedly said: "What if Yuan Tan becomes powerful because of this?"

Chen Qun smiled and said: "Jiehu and Yuan Shang were so easy to deal with at that time. Maybe this battle will last for several years, and their flaws will be exposed sooner or later."

Everyone was speechless. Cao Cao nodded, "That's it!" "The next step is Sili's side!"

"I am going to make Ma Teng the hussar general and lead the Liangzhou herdsmen."

"General Han Suiwei, lead Sili Xiaowei!"

As soon as these words came out, Xia Houyuan said in confusion: "Ma Teng and Han Sui are in charge of each other. Now that they are both three generals, are they indifferent?"

"Furthermore, both Sili counties are the territory of the Ma family. If Han Sui were in charge of Sili,"

He suddenly reacted and praised: "Ming Gong is wise!"

Only then did Xia Houyuan realize that this arrangement of official positions was entirely intended to separate the two of them!

Xun You spoke up: "The situation in Sili is complicated. Although Zhong Yao was assassinated, his work was extremely thorough, which is the most reassuring. But what about Yuan Shu in Henan Yin?"

Cao Cao thought for a while and said, "I am going to let him go north to Hedong and make a posture of attacking Heishan with Zhong Yao."

"And Zhong Yao wants to divide his troops and enter Hanoi to assist Ma Teng and Han Sui in attacking Bingzhou Taiyuan, waiting for an opportunity to invade Heishan, and cut off the Youzhou army's passage south to Heishan."

"In this way, Fierce Tiger will have more worries and can no longer do whatever he wants!"

After hearing this, all the counselors agreed. Cao Ying could still mobilize more manpower than the other side. Although they may not be able to attack the other side, defense is not a problem. It seems that this crisis can be overcome in all likelihood. It was a near miss.

However, Cao Cao's next words shocked everyone, "As for me, I am going to lead my troops into Nanyang as quickly as possible, recruit Zhang Xiu, and attack Liu Bei!"

"I want to make Zhang Xiu the governor of Jingzhou and the general of Zhengxi. After taking his Liangzhou army under his command, I will directly attack Xinye and capture Liu Guan and Zhang alive!"

Xiahou Dun said: "Isn't it a bit too forced to start a war on three sides?"

The generals also looked worried. This kind of war could affect the whole body at once. It was still fighting in three places at the same time. Cao Jun did not have enough food and grass to support him!

Cao Cao seemed to have noticed everyone's doubts and sneered: "Do you think we can be sure of victory against Er Yuan just by not attacking the new field?"

"Don't forget, Jizhou and Youzhou are famous for their wealth. If they make up their mind to mobilize all the people as soldiers, they can mobilize much more troops than us!"

"If they are at war with us for a long time, how much support can we have?"

"I don't want to just hold on, I also want to win!"

"So I have to get Zhang Xiu's tens of thousands of Liangzhou soldiers as soon as possible and merge them into my Tiger and Leopard Cavalry, so that I can suppress Ma Teng and Han Sui in the future!"

"Liu Bei is a serious problem for me. I heard that in less than half a year, he has recruited more than a dozen celebrities from Jingzhou and thousands of troops. In two years, he will be my strong enemy again!"

"In my mind, Liu Bei is a greater threat than Yuan Tan and Yuan Shang combined. If we don't attack him at this time, wouldn't we be raising a tiger's head?"

After hearing this, the counselors realized that Cao Cao had an idea, but it was indeed a clever plan. By capturing Nanyang, they would have a gateway to Jingzhou, and they could also obtain a large number of grain and grass troops. After defeating Liu Bei, they could turn around and head north, whether it was to attack Si It is more than enough to serve as a slave or to defend Guandu!

Everyone immediately said: "Ming Gong is wise!"

Xun Yu looked worried, "But this is also a dangerous move. If the Yuan family's children find out about it, they take the opportunity to attack Yingchuan."

This is indeed a problem. Although the chance is very small, it does not mean that it will not happen. Especially if Yuan Shang sends a force to cross the river, it will cause a lot of trouble for the corresponding crossing.

Everyone began to think about it, but no matter what, they could not mobilize more troops. Finally, Cao Cao said: "Let Yuan Shu enter Dongjun to guard against the unexpected troops coming south from Youzhou, Jizhou."

Xun You hesitated and said: "Yuan Shu is not reliable. What if he has a different intention and plots against the emperor of Yingchuan?"

Cao Cao also sighed. Since he wants to use his allies and guard against them, how can there be such a thing in the world?
  He said aloud: "We can only use military strength and speed."

"On the one hand, I sent a letter to ask Yuan Shu to enter Dongjun from Sili. On the other hand, I will ask the emperor for the imperial edict now. I will go to Wancheng with the imperial edict overnight to recruit Zhang Xiu!"

"If everything goes well, I will be able to reach Wancheng within a few days, and then immediately join forces to attack Xinye, completely defeating Liu Bei when he is not prepared, and then I will immediately return to defend Yingchuan!"

"It takes almost half a month to come and go. At this time, Yuan Shu should have just finished setting up defenses in Dongjun. It will be too late for him to do anything he wants to do."

"Yuan Shu still can't make it, and the two Yuans who are far away in Guandu and Heishan are naturally in trouble!"

After everyone heard this, they all praised Cao Cao's ability to plan the overall situation. He was really superior to his peers. As counselors, it was difficult for them to find fault!

Everyone immediately followed Cao Cao's order and went back to organize their troops. At the same time, they prepared food, grass and baggage. In order to speed up the troops, Cao Chun led thousands of tiger and leopard cavalry to follow Cao Cao to Wancheng. He led the infantry day and night and arrived later.

Except for some of the others who stayed in Xuchang, others rushed to Guandu to support them.

After everything was arranged, Cao Cao loaded up his carriage and went to Liu Xie's palace to have him stamp the edict he had drafted.

(End of this chapter)