Great Han Empire

Chapter 857 The Heroes of Troubled Times Compete in the Central Plains
Xu You was immersed in extreme grief, and there were two or three times during the banquet that tears fell like rain.

Li Hong, Zhang Yan, Jia Xu, Sima Yi and others tried their best to comfort them, but their words were weak and weak, which made Xu You even more sad.

Everyone can only try their best to persuade them to drink.Xu You did not refuse anyone who came, and poured one jue after another into his mouth.

"You should drink less." Seeing his heartbroken look, Li Hong put down the raised wine glass again, "You are so drunk, it will hurt your body very much. If there is nothing wrong, you should go early Rest. The battle on the front line is too tense, we don't have much time to take care of you, so we plan to send someone to Handan tomorrow. There are many old friends of yours in Handan, you can go and meet them. Of course, if you are willing to go to Jin Yang, I can also arrange it. I believe your old friend Zhang Miao will be ecstatic after hearing the news."

As if Xu You didn't hear it, he raised his head and drank loudly.

"Maybe you want to stay in the Guandu battlefield and help us defeat Yuan Shao to avenge our revenge, but you must take into account our concerns. The Central Plains War is related to the survival of the country, and we dare not be negligent, so..." Li Hong smiled apologetically Laughing, "After receiving Master Qu's letter, I discussed it with Fei Yan and Master Jia, and I think it's better to send you away. You play an important role in Yuan Shao's side, and your defection has dealt a great blow to the rebels. You go to Hebei It is a major achievement in itself, so you don't need to say anything to us, you just need to take care of your health. After the Central Plains War is over, the imperial court will definitely use you again. Please believe in my promise."

Xu You slowly put down his wine glass, allowing the spilled wine to drip onto the skirt of his clothes bit by bit along his slightly gray beard, "I'm not going to Handan."

Li Hong hesitated for a moment and asked, "Do you want to go to Jinyang?"

"I'm not going to Jinyang either."

Li Hong was stunned for a moment, his thick eyebrows were slightly frowned, and he was thinking about how to persuade him, when Xu You spoke again.

"I'm here to implement countermeasures. After the decisive battle, I will leave." Xu You faced everyone's startled eyes, and smiled bitterly at himself, "I am old and have nothing left, only this body is left. I'm going to fend for myself."

The hall was extremely quiet, so quiet that not even the sound of breathing could be heard.

=

A few days ago, the news of Yuan Shao and Xu You's rebellion reached the Guandu battlefield, and Li Hong, Zhang Yan and others were very surprised.Could it be that Jia Xu's estrangement strategy has achieved immediate results so quickly?Is Yuan Shao crazy to kill Xu You's nine clans under the pretext of being corrupt and perverting the law at this time?After killing Xu You, Yuan Shao not only broke his own arm, but also seriously hurt the morale of Luoyang and the coalition forces, which will have an immeasurable impact on the ongoing Central Plains War.

Yuan Shao and Xu You have been friends for decades. The two fought against traitors and conquered the world together. There have been no rumors of conflicts between the two before. How could they suddenly turn against each other at this time?

Both Jia Xu and Sima Yi suspected that this was Yuan Shao's countermeasure.It is impossible for a small strategy of alienation to cause such a big shock in Luoyang.The news of Xu You's defection spread to the Guandu battlefield so quickly, which is not normal in itself.No one saw with their own eyes that Xu You's family was killed by Yuan Shao in Luoyang. What everyone saw was just the bulletins posted in various parts of Henan.Secondly, Xu You is in a high position and has mastered all the secrets of the coalition forces. This kind of people's betrayal has a great impact on the morale of the coalition forces, but to a certain extent, it can also reduce the vigilance of Hebei and easily gain the trust of Hebei. This is probably Yuan Shao's choice. One of the reasons why Xu You came to implement the countermeasures.The two estimated that Xu You would escape soon, and they suggested that Li Hong use his plan to take advantage of Xu You's defection to find a chance to defeat the coalition forces.

Li Hong and Zhang Yan are very cautious about this.If this is Yuan Shao's countermeasure, then Yuan Shao is too crazy.Xu You's position in Luoyang is very important, and Xu You's betrayal will hit the coalition forces hard to predict.Yuan Shao has always been very cautious when using troops, and it is absolutely impossible for him to do such a risky thing when the situation on the battlefield is still very good.Once this trick is seen through, not only will he pay Xu You, but he may also ruin his dominance completely.Li Hong thought that Yuan Shao would not do this matter, and no one else would have rashly made such a crazy move.

When several people were speculating and discussing, Xu You really came.

Li Hong immediately decided that regardless of whether Xu You's escape to Hebei was Yuan Shao's countermeasure, considering that the decisive battle was imminent, in order to avoid accidents, he should send Xu You away.Li Hong asked everyone not to interrogate him, so as not to get false news and make his own side make wrong judgments.Also don't have too much contact with him, lest you accidentally leak the secret.Right when we caught a relatively important prisoner, we sent him directly to Handan for custody.In this way, no matter what the purpose of Xu You's escape to Hebei is, we can use this incident to severely damage the morale of the coalition forces and gain a little advantage for the upcoming decisive battle.

Li Hong's decision was approved by Zhang Yan, Jia Xu and others. However, none of them expected that Xu You would speak surprisingly, and openly admitted that he came to Hebei to carry out counter-intrigue.

Everyone was at a loss for a while, dumbfounded.

=

"Do you want to hear the story of Luoyang?" Xu You reached out to pick up the long spoon in the wine bottle, filled his wine cup with wine, then looked up at Li Hong and others, and asked softly.

Jia Xu narrowed her eyes, turned her head to look at Li Hong, and shook her head intentionally or unintentionally.He lost confidence in his own judgment, but he didn't want to hear Xu You's explanation first, lest he make a bigger mistake in his judgment.He motioned Li Hong to take the opportunity to withdraw from the meeting, and go back to think clearly about Xu You's intentions before speaking.

Li Hong didn't take it seriously, "Listen all ears."

Xu You took a sip of wine slowly, "It's a long story. It started when Yuan Shao secretly ordered Feng Ji, Xin Ping, Geng Bao and others to spread the prophecy of 'Yuan Shi Dai Han' and 'Five Virtues Always Say' .”

Yuan Shao has always wanted to usurp the Han Dynasty and stand on his own. As a result, it caused a dispute over the succession of the Yuan Clan in Luoyang, which involved all the forces in Luoyang, causing internal conflicts in Luoyang one after another, and then lost the opportunity to rebuild the imperial line. Cao Cao took advantage of the momentum to rise, and the strength of Hebei doubled.After the start of the Central Plains War, Yuan Shao accepted my suggestion and ordered the emperor to form an alliance with the states and counties to resist Hebei. However, when the situation gradually favored the coalition forces, his desire to usurp the Han and become self-reliant expanded again, and he was impatient , I want to find every opportunity to clear out from Luoyang those who hinder me from achieving my career as king and hegemony.

"Yuan Shao and I have been friends for more than 30 years, and we haven't had any confrontation so far. Although he wants to drive me out of Luoyang, he is not so heartless as to kill my family." Xu You looked up to the sky and lamented, tears streaming down his face, "I should have thought a long time ago that Cao Cao is a butcher, and he will not let go of any chance to kill someone."

"Thinking about my friendship with Yuan Shao for more than 30 years, Yuan Shao still wants to deal with me, let alone Cao Cao? I have disliked him since I was young. The reason why Yuan Shao and I got close to him back then was mainly because we wanted to use him His grandfather, Cao Teng, was a famous eunuch, and his disciples were all over the world. His father, Cao Song, was called brother and brother with the eunuch of the dynasty. With his relationship, it is much more convenient for us to do things in Luoyang. Although he Helped us a lot, but we didn't like him. He's a descendant of eunuchs, and we're no match for him."

"I shouldn't have rescued him. I'm too confused, how can I trust him as a beast?" Xu You felt remorseful, beating his chest and feet.

Li Hong, Zhang Yan, Jia Xu and others looked at him sympathetically.Although he still doesn't know how Cao Cao was involved in this matter, given Cao Cao's current situation, he would never dare to take Xu You in. He would just kill Xu You and give his head to Yuan Shao.Xu You went to vote for Cao Cao at this time, he was really confused.

"Cao Cao's subordinate Xu Ta secretly voted for Yuan Shao and wanted to assassinate Cao Cao." Xu You stabilized his mood, and then said, "I was worried that after Cao Cao was killed, the coalition forces would be suspicious of each other and the battle would turn around, so I went to call the police. Who knew Cao Cao Not only did he not show his gratitude, but he hung the assassin's head above the Yuan Gate to demonstrate to Yuan Shao, making it clear that he wanted to betray me and plunge Luoyang into civil strife."

Xu You briefly explained the matter, "Yuan Shao is too disappointing. I can hardly imagine that he would disregard the overall situation and use this matter to deal with me at this time. Even if he wants to drive me out of Luoyang, he will have to wait until the end of the war Afterwards, how could he disregard the life and death of 10,000+ coalition soldiers and the survival of the great Han society?"

"In a fit of anger, I went to Cao Cao's place, scolded and lied, and forced him out of his plan to escape from the Guandu battlefield and go south to capture the Xu and Yang states. At this time, if Cao Cao escapes from Guandu, what it will mean to the coalition forces can be imagined Actually, when Cao Cao learned that Yuan Shao used Xu Ta to assassinate him, I knew that Cao Cao was going to leave. At this moment, compared with his life, life is of course the most important thing. For the descendants of an eunuch In his eyes, Sheji is nothing more than a manor for extracting wealth."

"I can't let Cao Cao leave Guandu, otherwise the Central Plains War will definitely be defeated, but Yuan Shao was reluctant to fight decisively, and after Xu Ta failed to assassinate Cao Cao, Yuan Shao's determination to kill Cao Cao became stronger, and Cao Cao had to go if he didn't leave. Under such circumstances, the only way to keep Cao Cao is to fight decisively as soon as possible."

"A decisive battle as soon as possible is what Hebei needs, because Hebei's wealth cannot support such a protracted war on such a scale. Yuan Shao is unwilling to delay the decisive battle because he can afford it. The longer the Central Plains war drags on, the better for Yuan Shao. It can be preserved to the greatest extent. After the war, he can quickly control Yanzhou with these forces and occupy the entire Central Plains. Therefore, there is only one way for Yuan Shao to change his attack strategy and quickly fight the Northern Army, and that is to let him know I already have the chance to win, and if I don’t fight, I will have no chance, and to achieve this goal is very simple, that is, I use this opportunity to defect to Hebei to carry out counter-intrigue.”

"Actually, I have no other way out now, so I can only flee to Hebei to find a way out, but Cao Cao, a wolf-hearted thing, actually condemned me, ran to Yuan Shao to flatter me overnight, and forced Yuan Shao to order my nine clans to be killed." Xu You held in his hand. The wine barter smashed to the ground and shouted at the top of his voice, "I must kill him, I must kill him."

=

In the lobby, Xu You's desperate and angry roar lingered for a long time.

Li Hong and others were also shocked by Xu You's story, and they didn't speak for a long time.

"Uncle, maybe..." Sima Yi looked at Xu You who was panting because of being too excited, and persuaded in a low voice, "Maybe this is just Yuan Shao's way of deceiving us to believe you, your family may still be alive."

Xu You smiled miserably, "Son, if I hadn't gone to Cao Cao's place and fled to the other side of the chasm, of course Yuan Shao would not have killed me. Even if Feng Ji and Shen Pei falsely passed orders with Yuan Shao's warrant, they would be wary of the situation in Luoyang , At most, it’s just killing some of my relatives and disciples, but once I get to Cao Cao, let Cao Cao see the hope of escape, see the hope of making a comeback, how can he let me go? Kill my nine clans to dispel your suspicions Who doesn't understand such a simple truth? But I was so confused that I rushed into Cao Ying recklessly, killing hundreds of my Xu family's lives, and implicated many old disciples and old officials. Don't have the face to see them in the ground."

Sima Yi had a bitter face, not knowing what to say.

"You all have eyeliners in Luoyang, and in a few days, you will get the news." Xu You covered his face with his hands and sobbed in pain, "I'm dead, and you all set me on fire. I'm really ashamed I saw them under the Nine Springs. I, Xu You, worked hard all my life for the big man, going in and out of life and death, but at the end, I was retribution. What is the law of heaven, what is the law of heaven?"

Xu You knelt on the table, crying with his head in his arms.

Li Hong signaled Sima Yi to stay and take care of Xu You, and left quietly with Zhang Yan and Jia Xu.

=

The three of them returned to the study, bowed their heads in deep thought, trying to find flaws in Xu You's words, but they failed to find any clues in the end.Is Xu You's words true?

"From Xu You's words just now, we got two useful pieces of news. One is that Cao Cao has no intention of fighting decisively and plans to go south to Xuzhou and Yangzhou in order to make a comeback. The other is that Cao Cao and Liu Bei's armies were divided into three by Yuan Shao. " Jia Xu pointed to the map on the table and said, "The decisive battle is what we urgently need. After the decisive battle, the coalition forces were defeated and fled. Luo, take all of the Central Plains, but troublesome things, we want to take the opportunity to severely injure Cao Cao and Liu Bei, and then quickly seize Xu and Yang. I am afraid that we will give up."

"Yuan Shao divided the armies of Cao Cao and Liu Bei into three. His original intention was to weaken Cao Cao and Liu Bei, and take advantage of the victory after this decisive battle to quickly capture Xu and Yangzhou. It is exactly the same as our idea. But in this way, if we After winning this battle, Cao Cao and Liu Bei were able to retain most of their troops." Zhang Yan shook his head with a wry smile, "Cao Cao and Liu Bei have enough troops to retreat quickly and prevent us from attacking Xu and Yangzhou. "

"This is a good thing." Li Hong said, "After the war, if we want to take the opportunity to go south to capture Xu and Yangzhou, there is a very important prerequisite, that is, we must severely injure Cao Cao and Liu Bei on the Central Plains battlefield. It is equivalent to annihilation, which is very difficult. Now that we know that some of Cao Cao and Liu Bei's troops will not go north to the Guandu battlefield, we will give up this strategy and let Yan Rou and Gao Shun move to the Guandu battlefield instead. Attract as many rebels north as possible."

"That's good." Jia Xu said, "whether Xuzhou is in the hands of Liu Bei or Cao Cao, it is not a big threat to us for the time being. Tell Zang Ba to save his strength as much as possible, and if he can't stand it, he will return Qingzhou."

Zhang Yan suddenly thought of something, pointed to Li Hong and Jia Xu and said: "We said earlier, don't have too much contact with Xu You, don't believe what he said about the deployment of rebel troops, let alone modify our established plans because of this. Attack strategy. How did you two forget it in a blink of an eye?"

Li Hong and Jia Xu looked at each other and smiled, shaking their heads again and again.

"If Xu You's tears are fake, you two will have to pay for it." Zhang Yan laughed, "Don't say I didn't warn you."

"If Cao Cao goes south to capture Xu and Yang states, he will inevitably have fierce conflicts with Liu Bei, Yan Xiang, Sun Ce, Zhou Yu and others. In this way, he can help us contain a large part of our troops, and we can take advantage of this rare opportunity to concentrate Attack the key points and Luo with a strong force, quickly seize the Central Plains, and establish an absolute advantage in pacifying the world." Jia Xu was still unsatisfied, and after thinking about it, he still couldn't restrain himself, and said a few more words.

"Master Jia is out of control." Li Hong pointed at him and smiled, "It seems that Master Jia has believed in Xu You's tears."

=

While the three were chatting and laughing, Sima Yi walked in.

"Master Xu rested?"

"He was drunk, crying and cursing, and threw up all over the floor." Sima Yi sat next to Li Hong and said sadly, "It seems that he has been completely destroyed, and it is difficult to get rid of this self-blame and pressure in a short time. Torment of guilt."

"Do you think what he said is true?" Zhang Yan asked.

"It's true." Sima Yi nodded and said, "I've thought about it for a long time. If Xu You wants to make his countermeasures succeed, he must tell the truth. Only by telling the truth can we trust him, and he can also make his emotions Get catharsis or he'll break down. He's in so much pain."

"For Xu You, there is only one purpose for his counter-intrigue, which is to force Yuan Shao to change his strategy and gather all his forces to fight us decisively before the rebels fight among themselves. This is exactly what we need. Therefore, as long as Xu You arrives Here, if we tell the truth, this countermeasure will work, and Yuan Shao doesn't need to kill Xu You's nine clans in exchange for our trust in him." Sima Yi shook his head very regretfully, "It seems that Yuan Shao has won Cao Cao He must have been dizzy by Cao Cao's words, thinking that killing Xu You's nine clans would greatly increase the odds of winning the anti-indirect plot. In fact, killing Xu You's nine clans would only plunge Luoyang into panic and more brutal internal fighting. Yuan Shao said Whether the battle is won or lost, Luoyang will enter into troubled times. Yuan Shao is trapped in Luoyang, so he is naturally unable to take care of other things, but this will give Cao Cao valuable time to go south to capture Xu and Yangzhou."

"Yuan Shao fell into Cao Cao's trap, and we also fell into Xu You's trap." Zhang Yan shook his head, "This Xu You is so powerful, we don't even think we can fall into the trap."

"Speaking the truth has its advantages, you can't believe it if you don't believe it." Sima Yi said, "He told the truth, but his purpose was to use us. , using him to achieve our goals."

"I have a kind of worry." Zhang Yan looked at the three of them, frowned and said, "Xu You has suffered on his own, the nine clans have been punished, and his body and mind have been hit hard. Will he use both sides to trick..." Zhang Yan made a gesture, "He Use our power to kill Cao Cao, severely damage Yuan Shao, and at the same time use the power of the rebels to attack us. You know, Xu You has been our enemy for so many years. Feeling disheartened, life is better than death, and it is very likely that you will die with the mentality of dying together."

The study fell silent.After a while, Li Hong waved his hand and said, "Let's start a decisive battle according to the established plan, don't be affected by Xu You's incident, and do whatever we want."

"Don't spread the matter about Xu You, and temporarily imprison him in the government office." Jia Xu said, "After news from Luoyang confirms that Xu You's family has been killed, we will try our best to get in touch with him as much as possible, so that he can feel the truth about us. For his trust and sincerity, let him help us start the decisive battle within the scheduled time as much as possible.”

"You can handle this matter." Li Hong waved his hand at Sima Yi, "Be more courageous. As long as we lure out the rebels, we will win this battle."

"To lure the rebels out, we must first make the rebels feel that they have an absolute chance of winning." Sima Yi said awkwardly, "We may have to pay a price."

"Then how do you think the rebels can be confident that they can defeat us?" Zhang Yan asked, "After Xu You fled, the deployment of the rebels' troops and their attack strategy will also need to be adjusted, so where is their breakthrough? ?”

"I think the rebels, in addition to taking advantage of their superiority in military strength, are using the news sent back by Xu You to hit our vital points, make our advantage go to waste, and then counterattack in an all-round way, driving us back to Jizhou." Sima Yi waved his hand disdainfully, "Although we are at a disadvantage in terms of military strength, we have iron cavalry. I believe Yuan Shao and Cao Cao are not blindly confident enough to wipe us out."

"Then where is our key point?" Zhang Yan smiled and asked again.

"Food and grass." Sima Yi said without hesitation, "After Her Royal Highness the Princess leads the Hu tribe cavalry to go south to Jizhou, we can tell Xu You where our key is."

Zhang Yan turned her attention to Li Hong and Jia Xu, "Should I make some preparations just in case? It is always necessary to take precautions before they happen."

Li Hong said, "Master Jia and I will return to Handan immediately. I will leave the matter here to you, and you can handle it entirely."

"The general is going back to Handan?" Sima Yi asked in surprise.

"Hu Qi is going south soon, and I have to go back to Jizhou to make arrangements." Li Hong smiled and reached out to pat him on the shoulder, "You can ask Xu You to send the news back, just say that I fell ill and go back for treatment gone."

"But you're fine, don't you look sick?"

"Then you accidentally leaked a piece of news to him, saying that Xianbei's Kirby bear defeated General Xianyufu, and the general went to the desert." Jia Xu laughed from the side, "In this way, he will believe that the general is indeed going back. cured."

Sima Yi understood.

=

At the end of July, in Dai County of Youzhou, in Gaoliu City, the Princess Chang’s camp.

Yan Wuwei, Lei Zi, and Tie Yue led their own guards and rushed into the camp like a lightning bolt.

The eldest princess was dressed in a military uniform, and she went to greet her outside the big tent in person.

The three of Yan Wuwei knelt down and bowed, and the eldest princess helped them up one by one, and invited them to come in for a discussion.

"The ministers and others were ordered to recruit iron cavalry from various tribes of the Hu tribe in the desert. Today, the kings of Xianbei, Tuobatao, Budugeng, Shemoci, and Fuluohan, and the kings of Wusuma, Loulu, Lu Pofeng, and Ran Ran, each sent iron cavalry. Coming to the meeting very quickly." Yan Wuwei bowed and played, "Xianbei Xiaowang Huding, Qichen, Mutao, Muli, Tuoba raccoon, Karasuma Xiaowang Sheyingtong, Shehu, Lu Huanyang, Dulian Mu has already led his army to the outside of Gaoliu City, begging to see His Highness."

The eldest princess smiled and nodded, "Tomorrow then. Sheyingtong, Shehu, Lu Huanyang, Hu Ding, Qicheng and others are all warriors who have followed the general for more than ten years. They have done a lot of hard work. If it weren’t for the defense of the desert, they would probably be the same as you now, they are all generals of my big man.”

"Your Highness, it's better for them to be little kings in the desert." Yan Wuwei smiled, "Letting them be generals will harm them."

The eldest princess smiled without saying a word.Yan Wuwei continued, "His Royal Highness, think about it, they don't understand what we say, they stare in the hall every day, their eyes are darkened, and they will definitely fall asleep after a long time. Sleeping in the hall, but Those who are going to be punished have to be hit with a board. How could they stand it after being hit with a board a few times, and they would have run away with their heads in their arms."

Facing the peerless beauty, Yan Wuwei looked excited and danced with joy and excitement as he spoke, and he was full of energy.The eldest princess met him several times in Jinyang, and knew that he was a brother who came out of Lulongsai with the general, and she valued him quite a lot. Seeing what he said was funny, she also smiled happily.

"Master Yan..." Feng Xue suddenly opened the curtain and walked in.

"Madam..." Yan Wuwei's eyes blurred, and he stood up hastily, "Madam is also..."

Lei Zi and Tie Yue also stood up and bowed to salute, "Ma'am..."

"No, no..." Feng Xue waved his hands again and again, blushing and said, "It's been a long time since I saw a few adults. When the general was at home, he often talked about you. I'm so happy to see you." Probably because of excitement Because of this, what Fengxue spoke was Xianbei dialect.

"We also miss the general and his wife very much." Lei Zi said respectfully.

"Are the two children tall? Is there anyone with blond hair like Mrs.?" Tie Yue asked with a smile.

"Didn't I tell you last time, there is no one with long blond hair." Yan Wuwei pushed him, leaned closer to Fengxue and said, "This time Hu Ding, Abandoned City, and Xiaohu are all here, and when they arrive in the Central Plains , our group will be able to get together. From the Sunset Plains War to the present, we have not gathered together for a full ten years."

"You are not allowed to speak Xianbei dialect." After listening for a long time, the eldest princess did not understand a word, and immediately became anxious, and slapped the case table, "Little Bird of Yanshan, if you speak Xianbei dialect again, I am afraid that I will pluck your hair off."

"Ah..." Yan Wuwei hates others to call him Yanshan Xiaoniao the most, especially now that he is old, and he can't hear it. It was extremely embarrassing.

"Master Yan, what's wrong with your eyes? Why are you staring so big?" Princess Chang asked with a smile.

Just at this time, Xiao Lan walked in with a volume of documents in her arms.

"Your Highness, I can't take it anymore. I have to go back and wash my eyes. There are stars in front of my eyes...the stars are too bright."

=

(To be continued, if you want to know what happens next, please visit www.CMFU.COM, more chapters, support the author, support genuine reading!)
(End of this chapter)