Three Kingdoms: My Strategy Simulator.

Inside the city of Xia Pi.

Compared to two months ago, Tao Qian looked more than twenty years older, appearing as if he was in his twilight years.

The civil and military officials in the state governor's mansion were also downcast.

Tao Qian's turbid eyes looked at the silent civil and military officials below, and his spirit became a little恍惚 without realizing it.

Tao Qian didn't even understand how the wealthy and powerful Xu Province could have lost more than half of its territory to Cao Cao in two months.

Defeat after defeat…

Losing soldiers and generals, Tao Qian was at a loss.

Clearly, Tao Qian believed that he had adopted a fairly稳妥 and cautious approach from the beginning, choosing to defend step by step against Cao Cao's army, intending to拖得曹军军粮耗尽 and retreat on their own.

Why did the situation…develop into this?

Initially, facing Cao Cao's southward advance, Tao Qian's plan was to force Cao Cao's army to retreat with minimal losses, while not giving Yuan Shu and Liu Bei the opportunity to covet Xu Province.

In the current situation, Tao Qian had already learned that Yuan Shu's army stationed in the state of Pei was showing signs of unrest. Although the specific strength was unknown, it seemed to be aggressively approaching Pengcheng.

And in the southern part of the state of Xia Pi, Liu Bei, under the guise of支援, entered Xu Province without permission. His marching speed was so fast that he had unknowingly reached Xiaqiu County, more than two hundred miles away from the state of Xia Pi.

One military report after another was sent to Tao Qian's hands, giving Tao Qian a feeling that, except for the ocean, Xu Province had been surrounded and divided by the north, south, and west.

With the situation as it was, Tao Qian had no intention of dwelling on who was to blame for the development of the situation. Exhausted, he asked again in a low and hoarse voice.

"Tell me, do you have any brilliant strategies to解徐州之危?"

Chen Gui, Chen Deng, Cao Hong, and other scholars all lowered their heads and remained silent, as if they hadn't heard Tao Qian's question.

In the eyes of Cao Hong and other members of the Xu Province aristocratic families, Tao Qian was no different from waiting for death. It was better to think about how to ensure their own interests in the upcoming changes.

And Chen Gui and his son might have some ideas, but they also understood that the current crisis in Xu Province was not due to external enemies, but rather to Tao Qian himself. It was useless to speak, so it was better not to speak.

An embarrassing and despairing silence was maintained in the议事厅.

Tao Qian's face became even more黯然, and a deep sense of无力感 arose spontaneously.

Beset by external troubles, with internal disunity, and with demoralized残兵败将 who all feared Cao Cao's army like tigers, Tao Qian didn't know what to do for a while.

"Lord!"

Just then, Cao Bao, unable to endure the silence, spoke up and bowed.

"This general…"

Before Cao Bao could finish speaking, Tao Qian raised his hand to signal Cao Bao to sit down.

Some words are well said, you'll know if it's a donkey or a horse when you pull it out for a walk.

Xu Province was the place where Emperor Gaozu started his uprising, and famous ministers and generals such as Xiao He, Cao Can, and Fan Kuai all came from Xu Province.

This made Tao Qian originally have high expectations for Cao Bao, who was the上将 of Xu Province.

At least among the generals of Xu Province, Cao Bao's bravery was second to none, and Tao Qian quite认可 Cao Bao's loyalty.

Therefore, facing Cao Cao's southward advance, Tao Qian entrusted the army to Cao Bao's command, thinking that with the出手 of 上将 Cao Bao, he would definitely teach Cao Cao a lesson and let him know that Xu Province was not to be bullied.

But what Tao Qian never expected was that Cao Bao was truly a complete大草包.

In the first battle of Kaiyang, 40,000 troops were尽没 in one day. Tao Qian comforted himself that perhaps Cao Bao was careless for a moment and fell into a trap, so he fully replenished Cao Bao's troops in Jiqu.

But in Jiqu, which was布置了重兵, Cao Bao still failed to hold it and fled back to Tan County in disgrace.

When Tao Qian had to lead his troops to fight Cao Cao in the野战 after Cao Cao's屠城, Tao Qian finally discovered that Cao Bao's most proficient martial prowess was just enough to escape from Cao Cao's generals.

At that moment, Tao Qian greatly regretted his inability to recognize people. He thought that even if Cao Bao didn't have the wisdom of Li Ji or the bravery of Lü Bu, he should be a 上将, but who knew he was such a 草包.

Therefore, having fallen to this point, Tao Qian may no longer have the heart to dwell on Cao Bao's mistakes, but he really didn't want to hear Cao Bao's suggestions again.

'If I trust Cao Bao again, maybe tomorrow my head will be hanging on the city gate of Xia Pi.'

Tao Qian sighed repeatedly, looking at the civil and military officials with黯淡 eyes.

Those who speak are incompetent, and those with knowledge all remain silent.

"Enough, enough."

Tao Qian got up, bent over, and walked towards the back hall, no longer in the mood to stay here.

Tao Qian, unable to come up with a plan, returned to the back hall and sat quietly for a while, then心情沉重 retraced his steps back to the mansion where he lived.

Walking to the gate of the mansion, he happened to see his sons Tao Ying and Tao Shang, one bending over and the other leaning back, walking with王八步, swaggering outwards.

This made Tao Qian's brow furrow, and he scolded.

"Didn't I tell you to stay in the mansion?"

Immediately, Tao Ying and Tao Shang's original somewhat怪异姿态 changed instantly, standing at attention on the spot and bowing nervously.

"Father… Father…"

Tao Qian asked angrily and wearily. "Where do you want to go when you leave the mansion?"

"To the west of the city for tea."

"To the east of the city for wine."

The two pointed in different directions, answering in unison.

This made Tao Qian's face darken, and he shouted.

"Speak! If you dare to say anything untrue again, I will break your legs today!"

Faced with Tao Qian's threat, Tao Ying and Tao Shang were so frightened that their faces turned pale, they were dripping with sweat, and they answered with trembling voices.

"I heard that there is a beautiful woman in the north of the city whose husband was a military校尉 who died in Kaiyang City, so I… I was thinking of慰问…"

"Yes, yes, yes, I definitely didn't want to bring that beautiful woman back to the mansion for fun."

"Even if it's for fun, it should be offered to Father first."

…

Watching Tao Ying and Tao Shang make things worse and worse, it sounded to Tao Qian like a heavy hammer hitting his heart, and his consciousness was about to嗡嗡作响.

Even if given the opportunity to辩解, they could套出来 their true feelings themselves.

"Why do I have such愚儿?"

Tao Qian勉强 suppressed the甘甜 that涌到了喉头, but he staggered back a few steps.

The father and sons were all about to die, but the two sons were still一心寻觅 beautiful women in the city for fun…

"Alas…"

Tao Qian sighed deeply,勉强 holding his last breath as he walked into the mansion, no longer looking at Tao Ying and Tao Shang.

And Tao Ying and Tao Shang, who had originally been畏畏缩缩 waiting to be scolded by Tao Qian, subconsciously showed a look of secret joy on their faces as they watched Tao Qian ignore them and walk into the mansion.

"It seems that Father is in a good mood today…"

"Let's go, let's go!"

Tao Ying and Tao Shang said with happy faces.

Immediately, under the protection of a team of personal guards, Tao Ying and Tao Shang, one resuming his bow and the other continuing to lean back, swaggered towards the north of the city.