Summoning of God of War of the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 146 The Cunning Cao Cao (Part [-])
A month later, the food and grass that Han Wu brought out were almost exhausted, and he was ready to lead his troops to withdraw from Zhuojun.

Xu Rong led troops to guard Zhuo County, Qu Yi stayed in Anci County, Zhu Ling also withdrew from Shanggu County and returned south to Jizhou.

In this battle, Gongsun Zan failed to win Han Wu with his strategy, and the ensuing protracted battle was quite exhausting.

Han Wu consumed food and grass within his ability, but Gongsun Zan had already overdrawn his own food and grass, and even asked various northern tribes for food and grass.

To the other princes, Gongsun Zan and Han Wu had a draw this time, but only they knew who would win and who would lose.

In Yanzhou Inspector's Mansion, Cao Cao laughed out loud when he saw the battle report from Youzhou.

"Hahaha! Gongsun Zan, an idiot, actually confronted Han Wu. As soon as he dealt with the barbarians in the north, he immediately mobilized troops. Sooner or later, he will be defeated!"

"Han Wu controls Jizhou and Bingzhou. Even though he is still young and can't be fierce in terms of strategy, he has a solid background."

"Even if I control the Sili area, I dare not fight Han Wu for a long time. This Gongsun Zan is so bold."

Xi Zhicai also learned about the war in Youzhou, and he smiled lightly, obviously disdainful of Gongsun Zan.

For a strategist like Xi Zhicai, although he admired Gongsun Zan very much, he did not regard him as a great enemy.

No matter how strong Gongsun Zan was, he was definitely no match for the Han family and his son in Jizhou. Xi Zhicai believed in this very much.

Xi Zhicai took a deep breath and said, "Master, now that the war in Jizhou has just ended, maybe it's a good time for us to send troops."

"Although Yanzhou has not had a good harvest this year, it is still enough to send troops to retake the Hetao area."

"The Hetao area is guarded by General Jizhou who guards Wei County. The two generals under Han Wu's command, Dianwei and Yuwen Chengdu, are Qu Yi, Zhang He, Chen Qingzhi and Meng Gong."

"However, among the four, Zhang Xi's ability is the weakest. He can't hold the Hetao area. We will definitely be able to take the Hetao area by sending troops."

Xi Zhicai directly put forward a strategic suggestion to the lord, and at the same time looked at Cao Cao calmly, letting him handle all the decision-making power.

Cao Cao took a deep breath. He did intend to take back the Hetao area, but he didn't dare to send troops directly.

Now Cao Cao still wants to develop even if he starts a war with Han Wu now, I am afraid that both sides will consume a lot of money.

In the end, only Qingzhou Yuan Shao and Yangzhou Yuan Shu will be the ones who benefit from the game. Neither Han Wu nor Cao Cao are willing to do this.

Cao Cao frowned, and after thinking for a while, he asked, "Zhicai, if we send troops to the Hetao area and Han Wu directly leads the troops south, will it trigger a big war?"

"If Jizhou and Yanzhou go to war, it will be a big battle. The consumption of food, grass and troops will definitely not be small."

"Whether I win or Han Wulue wins, it will be Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu who will win in the end!"

After Xi Zhicai heard the lord's words, he couldn't help smiling, but still shook his head.

Cao Cao is also a very smart person. He can see confidence from Xi Zhicai's expression, but he doesn't know the reason.

Cheng Yu, who was standing aside, had no chance to intervene. Although he was also a very strategic person, he was not as good as Xi Zhicai.

Cheng Yu saw that the lord and Xi Zhicai seemed to be talking dumb, so he thought quickly, wondering what Xi Zhicai and the lord were thinking.

Cao Cao's personal ability is also comparable to Cheng Yu's, and his vision is more long-term, and his strategy is even better than Cheng Yu's.

Cao Cao never cared about face in front of his advisers, so he stood up and asked Xi Zhicai for advice.

Walking in front of Xi Zhicai, Cao Cao took a deep breath, and when he was about to ask Xi Zhicai, he spoke first.

"My lord, you don't have to worry about Han Wu sending troops to the south. Even if there are really Jizhou troops going south, they will at most guard Wei County."

"As long as Han Wu doesn't go south to confront us in person, then don't worry about it. Our army forcibly occupied Hetao, and Han Wu has nothing to say."

"Besides, Han Wu has just experienced the battle in Youzhou. With his personality that likes to develop steadily, he will definitely not care about a Hetao area."

"As long as our soldiers are strong enough, and we adopt a posture that we will never stop until we take the Hetao area, Han Wu will not be able to fight us head-on."

After hearing Xi Zhicai's words, Cao Cao suddenly realized that he thought Han Wu was too strong just now.

Han Wu is not the kind of ruthless person. If it was him, Cao Cao himself, he would definitely do his best to protect the Hetao area.

But if it was Han Wu, he would probably give up Hetao in exchange for the opportunity for the entire Jizhou to recuperate.

Cheng Yu suddenly became suspicious, and asked, "Then what if we send troops to Hetao and Yuan Shao brings troops to attack?"

Xi Zhicai just smiled lightly, and replied: "No, Yuan Shao will never send troops to leave Qingzhou, that's enough for sure."

Cheng Yu continued to think for a few seconds, and then he understood the meaning of Xi Zhicai's words, and suddenly realized.

He admired Xi Zhicai, and Cheng Yu lamented that he was indeed not as intelligent as Xi Zhicai, and that he was able to calculate all the situations in Xuzhou and Qingzhou in such a short period of time.

Cao Cao was overjoyed immediately: "Okay! Let's do it according to Zhicai's plan. This time I will personally lead the troops to the north, and I will definitely take the Hetao area!"

Cao Cao wanted to order the troops to attack immediately, but Xi Zhicai still looked at Cao Cao with a smile, obviously he had something to say.

After seeing Xi Zhicai's expression, Cao Cao seemed to understand something, took a deep breath and calmed down.

Cheng Yu immediately calmed down when he saw the lord, he immediately raised his spirits and listened attentively.

The lord had already calmed down, Xi Zhicai continued: "My lord leads the troops to attack, so naturally I have to put on a strong front."

"But my lord, remember one thing. Don't directly capture the wheat fields in the Hetao area. Let Zhang Yun collect the grain and grass first, and then send troops to occupy the Hetao area."

"If the lord directly seizes all the unharvested grain and grass in the Hetao area, I'm afraid that Han Wu will immediately lead his troops to the south, and he will die forever."

Cao Cao woke up instantly. He knew Han Wu very well, so he naturally understood that Han Wu could do such a thing.

If he just took away the Hetao area, Han Wu would probably turn a blind eye. After all, the Hetao area was originally under the jurisdiction of Si Li.

However, if all the food and grass in the official village of Weijun soldiers who have been operating for a year are seized, Han Wu will definitely be angry and go south desperately.

If Zhang Xi of Weijun gathered the food and grass and then captured it, the loss to Weijun would not be great, and Han Wu probably didn't care too much.

Cheng Yu gritted his teeth, and asked: "Then if the cavalry under Yuwen Chengdu who guards Bingzhou goes south..."

Before he finished speaking, Cheng Yu suddenly came to his senses, and after clapping his palms, he lamented that his thoughts had slowed down a step.

Yuwen Chengdu had no chance to go south at all, because Ma Teng and Han Sui were also eyeing him, eager to seize Bingzhou.

Cao Cao took a deep breath and said, "Zhicai is right. This kid Han Wu still attaches great importance to petty gains, but this is also his ability to control Jizhou."

"This guy is very smart, but he is still young, and he is not very mature in many things. To deal with such an immature child, we have to use immature methods."

"In this case, then I will lead the troops to attack Wei County first, and create a posture that insists on taking the Hetao area."

"After Zhang Yun of Wei County gathers all the food and grass, I will turn my troops to counterattack the Hetao area and take it back!"

Cao Cao clenched his fists, and after confirming his plan, he immediately called Xiahou Dun to prepare all the marching supplies and count the troops.

(End of this chapter)