Xuchang, the Prime Minister's Mansion was busy, with countless civil and military officials coming and going in and out, walking in and out, and most of them could see a significant heaviness and solemn look on their faces.

In the quiet inner hall

"... In this way, is it a foregone conclusion for Liu Bei to go north to attack in the near future?" Cao Cao gently pressed his temple that was painful and looked up to ask Jia Xu, with a hint of fatigue in his low tone.

Even with Cao Cao's great talent and strategy, he could not help but feel extremely weak in the face of a series of natural disasters and man-made disasters.

"Prime Minister, do you want to come over to the imperial physician?" Seeing such an expression, Xun You must have been Cao Cao's head and was ill again, and asked with concern.

"It's okay!" Cao Cao waved his hand lightly, and then signaled Jia Xu to answer his previous question.

"At present, the troops and horses of Jing and Yang prefectures and Guangling County are being mobilized quite frequently, and there is a tendency to gather in large numbers on the border. According to inconclusive news, Liu Bei seems to have summoned many important generals from the army to Lujiang." At this point, Jia Xu believed that there was no need to say anything else, Cao Cao, Xun Yu, Xun You and others present could understand.

"Wenhe estimates when Liu Bei will go north to invade? Where will the main attacks be taken among the Jing and Yang states?" Cao Cao raised his spirits and asked in a deep voice.

"As expected by Xu, Liu Bei may raise an army by the end of February!" Jia Xu thought for a moment and said cautiously, "As for the main attack direction, according to the current information, it is likely that the two states will advance together."

"If Liu Bei's ambition was just to capture one city and half county, he might choose one state to attack and one state to support him. But with the current situation, it is obvious that Liu Bei wants more than that. He is likely to take this opportunity to seize the Central Plains in one fell swoop." Xun Yu nodded, expressing his approval of Jia Xu's analysis, "If this is the case, the possibility of Jing and Yang's two states exerting their efforts to invade the north at the same time will be much greater.

The troops and horses of Jing and Yang states advanced together. It can make it difficult for our army to take into account both the beginning and the end. If there are any mistakes in response, it will give Liu Bei an opportunity to take advantage of it."

"From military strength, the Jingzhou army is more than the Yangzhou army, but if Wei Yan's Guangling army and Ganning's navy army, the military strength between the two sides is actually almost the same. No matter which side to deal with, it is not an easy task. Especially in Jingzhou, Zhang Fei's military use is extremely sophisticated and cunning. He has rarely suffered defeat in recent years, so he should not be underestimated..." Xun You frowned lightly and reminded Cao Cao cautiously, "This battle with Liu Bei will be related to the future and destiny of the country. You must not be careless!"

"Yeah..." Cao Cao nodded slowly, "I have decided to personally lead the army to fight. Wenhe, what are the arrangements for the southwest and northwest?"

"There has been great progress, and Xu is arranging successor matters!" Jia Xu replied calmly. "I believe that satisfactory news will be sent back soon!"

"Okay! This matter must be carried out in a step-by-step manner..." Cao Cao praised with satisfaction...

After Xun Yu, Jia Xu and others left one after another, Cao Cao was the only one left in the hall.

After sitting quietly for a long time, Cao Cao slowly stood up. The pair of eyes, which were once as sharp as falcons, but now full of fatigue, stared at the map spread on the table in front of him, and sighed sadly...

...

Xiangyang, Governor's Office

The officials of the Jingzhou Governor's Department, the prefects of each county, and the departments mainly concentrated all the officials in the Jingzhou Conference Hall to participate in the discussion. The theme of the discussion was naturally the upcoming Northern Expedition.

Although the Northern Expedition has not been officially disclosed, nearly 100,000 troops mobilized and assembled to the north. It is absolutely impossible to hide anyone who is interested. In addition to the Northern Expedition manifesto in December last year, you can guess that the Northern Expedition is about to be imminent if you use your brain.

When Pang Tong, Ma Liang, Han Song and I walked out of the inner hall, we saw the scene of civil and military whispering in the hall. It is estimated that the topics we talked about would not go out of the Northern Expedition.

In a very short time, the tranquility of the hall was restored, and nearly a hundred pairs of eyes were focused on me.

To everyone's surprise, the first person who spoke was Pang Tong.

"Although Cao Cao entrusted his name to the Prime Minister of Han, he was actually a traitor. He killed the king and usurped the government and harmed the people. It can be said that it was a grudge against the gods. Last year, the floods and the epidemics were caused by the huge disaster, hundreds of thousands of people were implicated and died, and millions of people were displaced. This was the result of the rebellion of the Cao thief.

If the Cao thieves are not eliminated, the country will not be stable; if the Cao thieves are not eliminated, the people will not be fully alive." Pang Tong's expression was excited, and his loud voice echoed in the hall. "The general, on the order of the emperor, inherited the hope of the people, personally drafted a proclamation at the end of last year and decided to launch an army to fight in the north. Now after several months of preparation, the time is ripe."

After hearing these certain words, the expressions of the civil and military officials in the hall were slightly different. Most of them showed excitement and even excitement, especially the generals in the army; but some people also showed some worry, as if they were not optimistic about the prospects of the Northern Expedition.

It seemed that he also noticed these concerns. Pang Tong deliberately paused, and a calm smile appeared on his ugly but dazzling face: "They may have doubts about this Northern Expedition and think that the outcome is unpredictable. But Tong firmly believed that our army will win in this battle!

When Cao Cao and Yuan Shao fought against Guandu in the past, Guo Jia and Guo Fengxiao once said that Cao Cao would win. Today, he imitated the East and the North, and also used the "Ten Wins and Ten Losses" to discuss the success or failure of the Northern Expedition.

Although Cao Cao had many wise men, people were uneven. Xun Yu and Xun You were in the Han Dynasty, and Liu Ye was even a relative of the Han Dynasty. Jia Xu was a recurring disciple. He first joined Dong Zhuo, then followed Guo and Li, and planned for Zhang Xiu. Although he was under Cao Cao's command, if Cao Cao had any dissatisfaction, he might not be loyal to him to the end. The general was united in the country and his subordinates were united in this way. This was a victory;

Cao Cao was tyrannical by nature and had no good intentions. He regarded the people as straw dogs, and first had the story of "meat" (when there was a very shortage of food, Cao Cao ordered his soldiers to massacre the people, and after cutting the meat, it was called "meat"). There were also hundreds of thousands of people in Xuzhou who remained unfamiliar with their wicked souls, and the general always loved the people as his sons and cherished the people. This is benevolence;

Cao Cao killed the former emperor and established the emperor in a vain way, and the people were betrayed the eyes of the people; and the general Fengshu led the world, which was the greatest righteousness.

...

If the general has these ten victories and Cao Cao has these ten defeats, what is the suspense of the victory of the Northern Expedition?”

The corners of my mouth were slightly raised without anyone's opinion, and I smiled at Pang Tong's generous speech. This so-called "Ten Wins and Ten Losses" theory is actually full of perfunctory words. But it is undeniable. Pang Tong's arguments have indeed had amazing effects on inspiring people.

After saying the last sentence, Pang Tong's eyes were burning, and he showed great confidence, and he slowly inspected everyone.

The atmosphere in the hall soared instantly. So the doubts disappeared at this moment!

After completing his mission, Pang Tong turned around and bowed slightly to me and retreated aside.

"My Lords..." I raised my hand and stopped the noise in the hall. He said with a loud voice, "With this ten wins and ten defeats, I also firmly believe that the Northern Expedition will win.

This time, under the imperial edict, our side will launch a large army of 200,000, and attack from Jing and Yang states at the same time. The Northern Expedition will be scheduled for five days later.

In Jingzhou, I will lead the army to the expedition in person this time.

During my expedition, the government affairs of Jingzhou were led by Han Gong (apart from Han Song) and Ji Chang. Military affairs were led by Gong Quan (Liu Pan). I hope that Duke and Duke Han, Gong Quan, Ji Chang worked together to calm the hearts of the people of Jingxiang and protect the army from outside. The Northern Expedition was successful in the future, and all Dukes were the heroes of the country's recovery. "When I said this, I suddenly turned my face and said sternly, "If anyone has a different idea, I will control the army to fight. Don't blame Zhang for being ruthless."

When I said this, the murderous intent I showed was unambiguous. While being promoted to the General of the Western Expedition, I had been promoted from the right to the right to hold the right to hold the right, and during the war, I could kill officials less than 2,000 stones by myself.

"Don't dare to violate the general's order!" Nearly a hundred officials responded in unison.

"good!"

...

Next, I made arrangements for some specific arrangements during the war, especially emphasizing the issue of people's peace of mind and the supply of food and supplies.

On the issue of defense, in addition to Liu Pan taking charge of the overall situation, Lu Dai was also arranged to lead tens of thousands of troops to guard Shangyong, and Lu Meng, stationed in Yiling, to form a defense against Hanzhong and Xichuan.

...

On the morning of the 14th day of the second year of Zhanghe, the reunion of Chen and Si.

After I personally presided over the sacrifice ceremony for heaven, 60,000 large Jingzhou soldiers were as swords as mountains and guns as forests, and they rushed north from Xinye and began to attack Nanyang County.

The vigorous and passionate horn sounded soaring into the sky and echoed longly between the sky.

At the same time, Huang Zhong led more than 25,000 troops to Shangyong, forming a force of force with my 50,000 troops, forming a double-team in Nanyang.

In Yangzhou, after completing the ceremony of sacrifice to heaven, the second brother, together with the Guangling Army under Wei Yan (time was agreed upon) began to cross Huaibei and attack Pengcheng County, Xuzhou.

In this Northern Expedition, in addition to the troops used to restrain the Cao army in Hanzhong, Liu Zhang in Xichuan, and the troops from the southern barbarians, the actual troops used for the Northern Expedition were more than 170,000.

In Yangzhou, the main general was naturally the second brother, and he followed the military staff as the Grand Secretary's Governor. The left military advisor Zhuge Liang (during the expedition, Zhuge Liang's power of the Grand Secretary's Governor Mi Zhu) was the governor of the army, including the Yangzhou Army, Guangling Army, and the main force led by the Jinfan Navy Army, with a total force of nearly 90,000;

In Jingzhou, we were the chief general, Shaofu and right military advisor Pang Tong served as the staff officer (in addition, Sima Yi secretly advised the military aircraft), and his troops under his command included the Jingzhou Army and the Jinfan Navy Ling Cao's unit, with a total force of 85,000 people.

In addition, Xu Shu, Lu Su, Kuai Yue, Zhang Zhao and others stayed in Lujiang to assist the elder brother in coordinating the overall situation of the war.

The unprecedented Northern Expedition finally kicked off.
Chapter completed!