Uncle Emperor, I am really not Wolong Zhuge!

Chapter 225

Cao Pi bowed again to express his gratitude, then stood up and took Cao Zhi to kneel down on the steps again to bid farewell to his father.

Cao Zhi was like a puppet. Yang Xiu was suddenly killed, just like a nightmare. Until now, he still felt his mind was confused and messy.

He let Cao Pi drag him out of the tent and returned to his own camp to rest.

In the big tent, there were only five major counselors and several generals including Xiahou Dun, Xiahou Yuan, and Zhang He.

"The Eastern Front has been defeated. The situation is dire and not favorable to me. Should I fight or make peace? Please decide for me!"

Before Cao Cao returned to the general's presence, he held the table with both hands and glanced at all the ministers one by one.

In the big tent, it was as quiet as death; even the sound of everyone's breathing could be barely heard.

"My Lord, just do it!"

Before the generals under his tent could speak, a rough roar suddenly came from behind Cao Cao.

"My lord, if you give me another 5,000 Tiger Guards, I will attack Fancheng again and cut off Zhao Yun's head and bring it to you!"

Xu Chu's curly beard stood up, he held the short knife at his waist in one hand and spoke angrily.

He had a straightforward and violent personality, and the depressing atmosphere almost suffocated her, so she couldn't bear it and volunteered.

Zhong Yao hurriedly said: "Tiger Lord, you can't do that!"

"Zhao Yun is not only extremely brave, but also extremely intelligent. It is hard to predict if Tiger General will leave so easily..."

Xu Chu turned around, glared at Zhong Yao, and laughed gruffly, "A real man is not afraid of death, but rewards his friends. Am I afraid of Zhao Yun?"

"This one won't work, and that one is unsafe. Isn't it because of us generals who risked our lives to win the lord's kingdom?"

"If you are all afraid of death and want to hide in the military camp like pigs and dogs, then just go back to Xuchang!"

Zhong Yao did not expect that Xu Chu, who was always silly, would show his power at this moment. A few words of retort made him speechless, weak and red-eared.

Xun You interrupted and said, "Calm down, Tiger Lord. What Zhong Yao said is not unreasonable. Moreover, there is more than one Zhao Yun in Fancheng. There is also the Nanman King's Rattan Armor Army and the Beast Camp. How can you resist them?"

Xu Chu's head shook and he couldn't help but touch his right elbow, and his arrogance also subsided by a lot.

When attacking Fancheng, Xu Chu had challenged the Southern Barbarian King Meng Huo to a duel outside Fancheng. Unfortunately, Meng Huo did not fight, but instead called out the elephant camp. In the final melee, Cao's army was defeated and Xu Chu's right arm was seriously injured and he almost became disabled. Until now, he still feels occasional pain in the joints.

He is so powerful that he can pull a bull's tail and walk a hundred steps backwards. He can be regarded as the most evil person in the world.

But the soldiers of the Southern Barbarian King were truly a group of tigers and wolves. Bulls, tigers and leopards were lightweight, while elephants were heavy, like giant iron pulleys. They were simply unstoppable!
Even though Xu Chu was brave, he still felt frightened when he thought of the fight between humans and beasts at Fancheng in the past.

Xun You was an important minister and the number one strategist in front of Prime Minister Cao. Even Prime Minister Cao was respectful to him. Although Xu Chu was confused, he was not stupid. He had the courage to confront Zhong Yao, but he did not dare to refute him in front of Xun You.

Cheng Yu also stood up and said, "The three armies have not yet moved, but the food and grass must go first. The biggest constraint of our army now is not the lack of soldiers, but the lack of food and grass."

"As long as the food and grass are delivered, and the morale of the three armies is boosted, why not start fighting again?"

When the news of the defeat in Hefei came, the three armies were in panic and morale was in turmoil. In addition, Prime Minister Cao suddenly suffered a headache, and everyone thought that retreat had become inevitable.

But at the critical moment, the hero still played an extraordinary role.

Killing Yang Xiu first to serve as a warning to others not only eliminated the person he hated, but also eliminated the cowardly retreat in the army. At this moment, no matter whether it was counselors or generals, they no longer had the desire to retreat, and worked together to achieve great things.

"I also know that food and grass are of paramount importance. If food and grass are insufficient, even if we do not retreat, we can only take a defensive stance and cannot rush forward to attack the traitors. This will give Liu Bei and Sun Quan a chance to buffer."

"But although the Central Plains is rich, it has been almost emptied out by years of war. Jizhou has run out of food, and Qingzhou doesn't have much surplus food..."

Cao Cao picked up a letter from the desk, held it between his fingers and shook it in front of everyone. "The other day, Xun Lingjun's report arrived. He went to Qingzhou to collect food and grass in person. Although he got a small harvest, it was only enough to maintain basic expenses."

"Once the war starts, the daily consumption will be more than a million. This amount of food and grass will be difficult to supply..."

"According to Lord Xun, it is a time of famine right now. It may take several months for new food and grass to arrive."

"How can we afford to waste hundreds of thousands of soldiers and horses?"

"Hey!"

Cao Cao walked back and forth on the steps several times, shook his head gently, with a worried look on his face, and thought of no solution.

All of these civil and military officials in the hall had been his trusted ministers for more than ten years since he started his army. Therefore, in front of them, Cao Cao did not need to hide anything and revealed all his helplessness and distress.

Sima Yi was originally above Cao Pi and below Zhong Yao. After Cao Pi and Cao Zhi retired, he became the last person in the advisory seat.

Seeing that no one was talking at this time, Sima Yi thought again and again, stood up and bowed, saying: "Prime Minister, I have a plan, I don't know if it is feasible, please make a decision."

Cao Cao slowly walked back to the commander's desk and sat down without saying a word. He stretched out his hand and made a "please speak" gesture.

Although Cao Cao did not hate the East Cao rafter of the Prime Minister's Mansion standing below as much as Yang Xiu, he did not like him either.

In particular, Sima Yi's treacherous appearance and his peculiar behavior of looking like an eagle and a wolf left a very bad impression on Cao Cao.

If Sima Yi had not come with Cao Pi this time, he probably would not even have the qualifications to stand on the steps.

Sima Yi bowed again and saluted to the four senior counselors, Xun You, Jia Xu, Cheng Yu and Zhong Yao, who were sitting down, showing his utmost humility.

"The Prime Minister upholds the Central Plains, so it is naturally respected. But as the Prime Minister said, after years of fighting in the south and the north, the people are exhausted and need to be restored urgently."

"Now the world is full of warlords, why don't you lend me some grain?"

Zhong Yao was stunned and asked, "Borrow grain? Who should I borrow grain from? Who is willing to lend me grain?"

Jia Xu sat in the same place, without looking up, but his eyes were deep and he nodded slightly, as if he had understood Sima Yi's intention.

But he is not a man who speaks lightly. Compared with making statements or asking questions, he is better at listening and keeping silent.

Sima Yi smiled slightly and did not directly answer Zhong Yao's question, but continued: "There are more than one or two rich places in the world."

"Sun Quan of Jiangdong has ruled over six counties for three generations and is the richest. Liu Bei of Jingzhou has experienced a brief period of civil unrest, but Zhuge Wende has earned countless grain and grass from us. In terms of grain reserves, it can even be said that he has surpassed Sun Quan of Jiangdong."

Zhong Yao was stunned again, even more puzzled: "Zhongda, you don't want to borrow grain from Liu Bei?"

"Even if Liu Bei's grain blocked the Han River, he wouldn't lend us a single grain."

"All the food and grass of Jingzhou are stored in Jiangxia, guarded by Guan Yu's 100,000 navy. We have no navy, and if we want to pass by land, we must break through the Jingzhou troops led by Zhao Yun in Fancheng and the barbarian army camp of Meng Huo, the king of the southern barbarians."

(End of this chapter)