Great Han Empire

Chapter 864 The Heroes of Troubled Times Compete in the Central Plains
The military tent was empty, and a faint smell of alcohol permeated the stuffy air.On the place where the table was originally placed, there was a puddle of dry and eye-catching blood.Cao Cao stared blankly at the pool of blood, feeling a little tingling in his heart, and a little guilty, but thinking of the details of his relationship with Xu You in the past, he felt a feeling of relief.

You despised me and ridiculed me all your life, you admired Yuan Shao and worked with him all your life, but what was the end result?For the sake of harmony within the coalition forces, you betrayed him once in good faith, but you caused yourself to be killed.You have been smart all your life, boasting of superhuman intelligence, but you have made a naive mistake in loyalty.I didn't intend to harm you or kill you, I just wanted to take revenge for your hatred and mockery of me for so many years.Although I don't want to keep you by my side, I also don't want you to return to Yuan Shao's side, so I went to Yuan Shao's place and said a few words, which made me very sad.For so many years, you have been loyal to Yuan Shao, helped Yuan Shao conquer the world, and laid a solid foundation for Yuan Shao, but Yuan Shao treated you too poorly. He even ignored your friendship for more than 30 years and used my words to immediately order you to be killed The nine clans of your family, eradicate all your disciples and old officials.Ten years ago, Yuan Kai and Yuan Shao joined forces to kill the family of the former Sikong Xu Xiang by taking advantage of the chaos in Luoyang, and nearly wiped out the Xu Clan in Kyoto.Today, he repeated his old tricks and once again raised the butcher's knife to kill the Xu Clan forces.I don't know why Yuan Shao has become so ruthless. He was not such a person in the past. He has always been loyal and always advertised himself as a benevolent and righteous gentleman. How could he be so ruthless to you?Could it be that the power struggle between the Yuan Clan and the Xu Clan in your Runan for generations gave him a murderous intent?Could it be that he is old and confused, and wants to usurp the Han and stand on his own, completely ignoring the overall situation and killing the old subordinates who are busy opposing him one by one?

Cao Cao walked to the pool of blood and knelt down slowly, as if looking at Xu You lying dead on the ground, with a sad expression and tears gradually welling up in his eyes.

Yuan Shao is going to kill you, to punish you, an old friend who betrayed him, but you are still so persistent, and you are still so loyal to Yuan Shao, and you are determined to go to Hebei to carry out countermeasures for him regardless of life and death.Actually, even if you don't go, I won't turn against Yuan Shao before the end of the war.

Don't you know who I am?Ever since I was a child, although Yuan Shao was responsible for the good things that raised my face, and I was responsible for the bad things that damaged my reputation, but when did I suffer?Even if I went to Zhang Rang’s house to steal something and my father found out about it and beat me half to death, I didn’t tell you about the fact that you were on the lookout outside the house. Even if we stole someone’s bride together, in the end I was responsible for the crime alone, and I was punished. punish.When it comes to major issues, I am measured. I will not openly confront Yuan Shao until Li Hong's threat is removed, and until the biggest threat to my existence is removed.Over the years, I have repeatedly had disputes with Yuan Shao, but when did I break with Yuan Shao?
For decades, you have always been righteous. Although you hated and even hated me, at the critical moment, you still regarded me as a friend and stepped forward to save me. However, it was your temper that hurt you.Don't you know what Yuan Shao wants to do these few years?Why did he drive away Jushou, imprison Tian Feng, and attack Jizhou forces? Why is he unwilling to keep you by his side?Why is he trying to kill me again and again?It's all for this country and this country.His mind has already moved, and his desire is already irresistible. Anyone who blocks his way is his enemy.

He intends to usurp the world, but we people are unwilling to let him get his wish. We try our best to block his usurping steps.I know that if you want to stop Yuan Shao, you have to fight Dong Zhuo and Li Hong with a sword, but you don’t think so. However, you can successfully curb Yuan Shao's desire. In the final analysis, you still regard him as your friend, not your enemy. You want to rely on your own strength to turn things around.You are too confident, almost to the point of insanity, Yuan Shao is going to kill you, but you even went to Hebei to carry out countermeasures, do you really think you can turn things around?
When you came back from Hebei, do you know how happy I was when I saw your familiar face, your familiar disdainful eyes and contemptuous sneer?If you can live, you can reduce the guilt in my heart. I hope you can live, have a few more children, and support your Yuan family's family again, but you are still dead, and you will inevitably go to ruin.

Your countermeasure succeeded. You used your betrayal to keep me on the Guandu battlefield, temporarily relieving the fierce conflict between Yuan Shao and me, and allowing the coalition forces to work together for the time being.After you came back from Hebei, you gave us the news that we burned the food and grass of the Northern Xinjiang Army. Your intention to fight the Northern Xinjiang Army before the coalition collapsed due to internal strife has also been realized.The decisive battle can severely damage the Northern Frontier Army, allow Yuan Shao to completely capture the Central Plains, allow me to take the opportunity to go south to capture Xu Yang, and realize the three-legged confrontation between Yuan Shao, Liu Biao and myself in the south of the Yellow River. .

However, what you probably never imagined is that when we burned the food and grass of the Northern Army and the possibility of the Northern Army defeating us, we also burned Yuan Shao's determination. He burned from the sky above Wuchao and Gushi In the conflagration, he saw the hope of winning without fighting, and saw the hope of taking all of the Central Plains without any effort to establish his career as king, so he gave up the decisive battle, and gave up the decisive battle without hesitation.

Yuan Shao raised his saber to my head again, he wanted to kill me, but he needs to find a perfect and irrefutable reason to kill me now, otherwise, after I led the army to burn the food and grass of the Northern Xinjiang army and made great achievements Sometimes, if he kills me, he will be accused by all parties in the coalition forces. He may anger some people in the coalition forces, and he may cause unnecessary trouble to his career, so he thought of you again.Killing you has a reason to kill me.

All your hard work, your ingenuity, your life of the nine clans, and everything you gave were all destroyed by your blind loyalty and trust in your old friend at this moment. You died at your own hands, at your hands An almost insane confidence.

So, you chose to commit suicide. What were you thinking when you cut your throat with the long sword in front of Fengji?Are you angry?Angry at Yuan Shao's ruthlessness.Are you in pain?The painful dream that I fought for was finally broken, and I couldn't save the Dahan Society after all.Perhaps, you died peacefully, because you know that your death can tell many people Yuan Shao's true face.

Cao Cao stretched out his hand and gently stroked the blood on the ground, just like stroking Xu You's face.

"You go well, I will fulfill your wish. Whether it is for you or for myself, I will push Yuan Shao into the battlefield of the decisive battle."

=

As soon as Liu Biao entered Junyi City, Cao Cao chased him.

"Do you know what it means to the great man that the northern border army safely withdraws to Hebei? It is defeat, complete defeat." Cao Cao waved his arms and yelled at Liu Biao with a sad face, "You are old, don't you even Is the ambition to save the country gone?"

Cao Cao spread out the map on the case table, and pounded the map repeatedly with his fists.The scrolls of bamboo slips on the desk jumped violently a few times, and then fell to the ground.Kuai Yue, Deng Yi, Wen Pin, Pang Ji and others stood around, all with stern expressions, without saying a word.

"The northern army retreated to Hebei without any loss. They only need to recuperate for two or three years, and they will be able to make a comeback immediately. Yuan Shao has occupied the Central Plains, and will soon sweep Qing and Xu. At that time, Han Sui from Xiliang and Liu Zhang from Yizhou will all join him Yuan Shao. But what about us, look at us..." Cao Cao slammed his hand hard into the center of the map, "I have no strength except your Jingzhou, and Liu Bei's troops are limited. With Jiangdong Sun Ce and Zhou Yu, how long can he last? How much power do we have against Yuan Shao? If Yuan Shao attacked from Nanyang and Yuzhou, Liu Zhang attacked from Yizhou, Sun Ce and Zhou Yu from Jiangdong, would you still be able to defend Jingzhou? Jingzhou did not Now, can we still keep the Dahan Sheji?"

"Three years later, when Li Hong was about to go south to the Central Plains again, Yuan Shao had already controlled all the counties and counties south of the Yellow River, and the situation in the world had completely changed." Cao Cao glared at Liu Biao and shouted hoarsely, "Brother Jing Sheng, Keep your eyes open, can Li Hong sweep the Central Plains like today? No, he can't. He wants to stabilize the vast northern border, and at the same time resist Yuan Shao's attack in both Hedong and Jizhou. How many years can he last with his small three states in Hebei?"

"Hebei is defeated, who owns this world?" Cao Cao raised his fists and hit the table with all his strength, "Think about it with your brain, think about it carefully, who owns this world?"

Liu Biao endured the spittle on his face, expressionless and motionless.

"I never believed in any prophecies, but today my confidence has been shaken. After the Great War in the Central Plains, it is an indisputable fact that the Yuan family will replace the Han." Cao Cao looked up to the sky and laughed twice, "Haha... I am going to die soon , you and Xuande are still useful to him for the time being, and you can linger for a few days. When he stabilizes the Central Plains, no matter Xuande or you, you will soon be decapitated. Like Xu You, you will die Later, he was regarded as a traitor and buried in a mass grave, leaving his infamy for generations."

With murderous intent in his eyes, Liu Biao let out a cold "hum", but still didn't speak.

"Xu You? Didn't he escape to Hebei?" Kuai Yue asked in surprise.

"He's back. He defected to Hebei to implement Yuan Shao's countermeasures, but Yuan Shao was too ruthless. First, he killed Xu You after he defected to deceive Li Hong's trust in Xu You. After Xu You returned today, He was killed by Yuan Shao as soon as he revealed the location of the Beijiang army's grain storage."

Liu Biao, Kuai Yue and others were shocked.

"Could it be that Yuan Shao is a god? Just by pinching his fingers, he can know the location of the northern army's grain storage?" Cao Cao then told Xu You's story from beginning to end, "Ju Shou, Tian Feng, Xu You, Guo Tu and others were loyal to the great man, opposed Yuan Shao's usurpation, and have been trying to prevent Yuan Shao from taking the road of usurping the country, but today you saw that Xu You died, Tian Feng was imprisoned, and Ju Shou and the emperor were driven away Nanyang, Guo Tu has been driven to Chang'an, how much resistance does Yuan Shao still have if he wants to usurp the throne?"

"Meng De, these are all your conjectures. We can't say that he intends to usurp the establishment before he made any abnormal actions at the beginning." Seeing Liu Biao's uncertain face, Kuai Yue hurriedly dissuaded him.

"Really? Do we have to wait until Yuan Shao kills the king like Li Hong before we say that Yuan Shao really has the intention to usurp power? Isn't it too late then?" Cao Cao stared at Kuai Yue and asked angrily, " Your Kuai family is a well-known family in Jingzhou. Even if Brother Jing Sheng is killed, you can still serve under Yuan Shao, and you can even enjoy greater meritorious service. Brother Sheng's life and death, right?"

"Cao Mengde, don't talk nonsense here." Kuai Yue's thick eyebrows were frowned, his face frosty, "I see you were beaten to the bum by the Northern Army and lost Yanzhou. You have been dazzled by hatred and lost your mind. .”

"I'm insane?" Cao Cao pointed at his nose and laughed loudly, "Haha...I'm insane? I'm too insane. I've seen through you people long ago." Then he pointed to the west, He roared loudly, "You idiots, turn your heads and look, where is the emperor? The northern army has killed Xuchang, and Yuan Shao still refuses to move the emperor to Luoyang. Why? If this matter can't make you blind Be brighter, let your minds deceived by Yuan Shao's reputation and lies be clearer, then you will just wait for the country to perish."

Kuai Yue was furious, and was about to refute, but was grabbed by Deng Yi beside him, "Don't be fooled by Cao Cao, see what he wants to say."

=

The hall was quiet, only the sound of Cao Cao's violent breathing echoed in everyone's ears.

Liu Biao picked up his sleeve and wiped his face, then looked at Cao Cao who was standing opposite, and said calmly, "If we enter the battlefield first and start a decisive battle with the northern army, Yuan Shao is worried that his credit will be lost, so he will definitely do his best. The army came afterward, but the question is, will Yuan Shao be unable to occupy Yanzhou because we have defeated the Northern Border Army? With your current strength, can you still occupy Yanzhou and confront Yuan Shao?"

"The purpose of my decisive battle is not to regain Yanzhou, but to save the country that is about to fall." Cao Cao was overjoyed when he heard Liu Biao's words. It is impossible to recover within five years. Similarly, Yuan Shao and we have suffered great losses, so Yuan Shao's strategy of taking the entire Central Plains in a short period of time, sweeping Qingzhou and Xuzhou, and then going south to capture Jingzhou cannot be implemented. The pace of usurping the Han and establishing ourselves will be greatly delayed."

"Yuan Shao's heavy losses will bring him continuous wars. Han Sui of Xiliang has long wanted to take the opportunity to seize Guanzhong. After this battle, Li Hong and Yuan Shao are scarred. It is the best time for him to seize Guanzhong. Guanzhong If it is lost, Li Hong and Yuan Shao will put their limited troops and wealth on the Guanzhong battlefield for their own safety. Yuan Shao can take care of Guanzhong, so he can't take care of us, and we will use this precious time to quickly restore our respective positions. In this way, even if Yuan Shao gets Yanzhou, he will not be able to take advantage of our loss of troops after the war to destroy our strength, and the situation in the southern part of the Yellow River will return to what it was before the war situation."

Cao Cao looked up at Liu Biao who was listening intently, and forced a smile on his face, "Hebei is Li Hong, Central Plains is Yuan Shao, and both sides of the Yangtze River are us. The three confront each other and restrain each other."

"Yuan Shao is in the Central Plains between Hebei and us. If he blocks Hebei Li Hong for us, we can develop rapidly on both sides of the Yangtze River. When Hebei threatens Yuan Shao's survival, we will unite with Yuan Shao. When Yuan Shao threatens our survival, We use Hebei to restrain him and make him unable to move. A few years later, when we have accumulated enough power to threaten Yuan Shao's survival, Yuan Shao will definitely use the name of the Son of Heaven again for his own safety and development, and to attack us. Forming an alliance to attack Hebei together will be our best chance to return to the Central Plains, pacify the world, and rejuvenate the country.”

Liu Biao, Kuai Yue and others were silent, bowing their heads in thought.

"If after the Great War in the Central Plains, the situation develops as you said, where will you go?" Liu Biao asked suddenly.

"I'm going to Yangzhou." Cao Cao said without hesitation, "When I arrive in Yangzhou, I can attack Jiangdong together with you and Xuande, and completely wipe out Sun Ce and Zhou Yu, lest they always call from behind us. Fight. These two people are young, but they have deep plans. Even people like Yuan Shu died in their hands. Of course, if they are willing to respect the emperor, let us clear up the past, and work together to save the country, then That's what I wish for. After all, the fewer battles we fight, the faster our strength can grow."

"Where's the Son of Heaven?" Liu Biao asked again.

"It's better for the Son of Heaven to stay in Nanyang." Cao Cao said, "Bringing the Son of Heaven to Xiangyang will greatly increase your prestige and power, but it will also free Yuan Shao. Now the northern army has reached Henan and is approaching Luoyang. , he has no choice but to respect the emperor and form an alliance with us, but once the northern army withdraws, his true nature will definitely be exposed again."

"Leaving the emperor in Nanyang can restrain him, so that he does not dare to usurp the Han and stand on his own. There is Li Hong in Hebei in the north, and us in the south. There is also an emperor in the middle. If Han Sui is not old, he can still take advantage of the situation. Guanzhong, then he will be completely trapped in the Central Plains." Cao Cao smiled triumphantly, "In recent years, all he has been thinking about is taking all of the Central Plains and establishing his own empire. Well, this time we have fulfilled his wish. Let's see if he can show his ambition."

Liu Biao narrowed his eyes, stared at Cao Cao for a long time, and finally nodded, "Okay, attack, start attacking immediately.

=

Under August, Yangwu.

Zhang Yan was sitting behind the desk looking at the map, sweat dripping down his face, and the cattail fan in his hand was shaking "hula-hula", restless.

After the rebel army burned the food and grass in Gushi and Wuchao, they suddenly withdrew from the battlefield and stopped fighting, which made Zhang Yan anxious.The intention of the rebels is very clear, and now they are waiting for the Northern Army to retreat, hoping to get something for nothing.

"Retreat, it seems that if we don't withdraw from Guandu, it will be very difficult to lure the rebels out." Jia Xu took a few sips of cold water with a helpless expression on his face.

"Retreating and feigning defeat are two different things." Sitting next to him, Sima Yi said while fanning Jia Xu, "Yuan Shao's determination to fight a decisive battle is not very strong. If he can win without a fight, of course there is no need to fight us." It was bloody. As for other people such as Liu Biao and Cao Cao, of course they are even more reluctant to fight. The harder they fight, the greater their losses, and the more benefits Yuan Shao will get after the war. Who wants to do this Something so stupid?" He frowned, approached Jia Xu, and asked in a low voice, "Are we being fooled by Xu You?"

"The question is not whether we were fooled by Xu You, but how to lure the rebels out for a decisive battle." Jia Xu laughed, "The rebels burned only two empty battalions. If we insist on not retreating, the rebels will die We know we have been tricked, but we don’t want to lose such a good opportunity to lure the enemy. Now that Xu You has gone back, it will be very difficult for us to find such an opportunity.”

"Will the enemy be drawn out by retreating?" Wei Yan sat opposite Zhang Yan and asked hesitantly.

"It's difficult." Zhang Yan threw the cattail fan on the desk, and wiped the sweat off his face with his hand, "Yuan Shao made a clear decision, that is to procrastinate, no matter how favorable the situation is for him, he will procrastinate, what can you do to him?" ?”

"Let Yan Liang withdraw his troops to the north bank of the Jishui River first, strengthen the defenses of Fengqiu, Wuchao, Suanzao, and Yanjin, and make a gesture that the army is about to retreat." Zhang Yan pointed to Wei Yan, signaling him to immediately Drafted an order, "Write to Qu Yi and Lv Bu to withdraw from the north bank of the Honggou River, gradually move closer to the Jishui River, and prepare to retreat to Yuanwu and Yangwu."

"Tell the general that if Yuan Shao has not commanded the army to launch a decisive battle after three days, then don't expect him to take action in the near future. We can only count on rapid breakthroughs in the Guanzhong and Xuzhou battlefields in order to change the situation on the Central Plains battlefield. "

After Zhang Yan finished speaking, she stood up and took two steps slowly, "Look, did you send an iron cavalry to cross the Pushui River and immediately rush to Donghun and Jiyang to stand by?"

"Since your lord wants to make a breakthrough from the two-wing battlefield, it is indeed necessary for us to take countermeasures in advance." Jia Xu nodded, "Don't worry about the Guanzhong battlefield. I believe that Lord Taiwei (Xu Rong) will make timely adjustments. On the Xuzhou battlefield After Zang Ba has dealt with Chen Deng, it should be enough. At that time, Chen Gong and Wu Dun from Rencheng in Yanzhou will lead their troops south to Pengcheng and Xiapi, and Zang Ba and Sun Guanzhi from Qingzhou will kill Langya and Donghai. The battle should be smooth. The only thing that makes people worry is the defense of the southern counties of Yanzhou. After Chen Gong and Wu Dun went south, we should send an iron cavalry there."

"Then let Yan Rou, Jiang Wu, Wei Jun, and Yang Ming lead their troops across the Pushui River and rush to Donghun and Jiyang." Zhang Yan waved his hand and said, "If Yuan Shao wants to attack Fengqiu by force and cut off our retreat, We let them frequently attack Junyi and Chenliu to threaten the rear of the rebels. If Yuan Shao wants to fight decisively, we let them quickly attack Junyi, Zhongmou and Chenliu after the rebels have crossed the Suanzao and Yanjin lines. , Kaifeng, and cut off the enemy's escape route to the south. If we and Yuan Shao have been in a stalemate and want to make a breakthrough from the two-wing battlefield, then after Chen Gong and Zang Ba attack Xuzhou from two routes, let them rush to the Xuzhou battlefield to support."

"Okay, this deployment can be said to be foolproof." Jia Xu laughed, "After sending Master Yan Rou's iron cavalry to Yanzhou, we will have sufficient means to deal with all kinds of sudden changes on the battlefield."

"Order." Zhang Yan waved her hand, "Let Master Yan Rou not to delay, leave quickly."

=

At the end of August, Qingzhou Plain County, Gaotang City.

Chen Deng sat behind the desk with a wine cup in his hand, looking indifferently at the guards rushing into the lobby.

Zang Ba stood at the head of the hall, staring murderously at the generals of the Xuzhou army who were disarmed on the left seat.

Several guards pointed at Chen Deng with spears and hand crossbows, and two other guards came over with a bundle of ropes, intending to tie him up.

"Slow, slow..." Zang Hong and Mi Heng appeared in the lobby at the right time. Seeing a guard trying to bind Chen Deng, Zang Hong hurriedly raised his hand to stop him, "You all retreat, everything is fine here."

Zang Ba waved at the guards, signaling them to retreat immediately with several generals of the Xuzhou Army.The lobby immediately fell silent.

"Yuanlong, don't come here without any problems." Mi Heng cupped his hands repeatedly at Chen Deng, rolling his head back and forth with laughter, "I didn't expect that such a smart person as you would have a day of trickery, haha..."

Chen Deng is about 30 years old, fair and clean, with a refined temperament and a pair of eyes. At this moment, with a mocking look on his face, he sneered, "Brother Zhengping, did you do this?"

"Yes." Mi Heng instinctively wanted to show off and humiliate Chen Deng, but suddenly thought that if he wanted to work with this kid in the future, he would inevitably be avenged by this kid, so he immediately changed his words and said to Zang Hong, who was standing aside with his finger and smiling, " This is all brother Ziyuan's idea, Xuan Gao and I are just following orders, following orders, hehe..."

"Hmph... Look at your wicked eyes, you can't convince Xuan Gao, let alone come up with such a clever strategy." Chen Deng drank the wine with his head up, and mocked in a cold voice.

"That's, that's..." Mi Heng took two quick steps, picked up the long spoon in the wine bottle, and carefully filled Chen Deng with a jug, "Yuanlong, it's not easy for us to trick you to the edge of the Yellow River."

Chen Deng ignored him, and looked at Zang Hong coldly, "Brother Ziyuan, what are you going to do with my subordinates?"

"As long as you say a word." Zang Hong smiled, "Of course, don't rush to say this. No matter how hard we force you now, you won't say it. You can do it after the Central Plains War is over. Decide."

"Li Hong's murder of the king was brutal and bloody. How can you help the tyrant and ruin the country?" Chen Deng suddenly clapped the case and shouted sharply.

"I remember that you know Master Hua Tuo." Zang Hong said slowly, "You won't believe what I say now, so let's not talk about this matter. When you meet Master Hua Tuo in the future, you can ask him. "

"Master Hua Tuo? How did he know about Li Hong's regicide?"

"Master Hua Tuo was in Jinyang at that time." Zang Hong said with great certainty, "He knows this matter best. Don't listen to rumors and take non-existent things as truth."

"Don't talk about these shitty things, don't talk about it..." Mi Heng laughed loudly, "Yuanlong, we haven't seen each other for many years, let's drink and chat. Haha... I'm so happy to catch you, relieve my anger , be happy."

=

I go to work in the afternoon and will not update at night.

(End of this chapter)