Xu Chang

Xu Huang's several urgent reports made Jia Xu's worries eventually turn into reality——

Liu Bei, who had been confronting the Cao army with Yingshui, suddenly turned westward and regarded Xu Huang as nothing. According to Xu Huang's exploration, the army of Liu Bei and Zhang Fei's army were probably pointing to Yangcheng.

Because he was worried that the enemy might take the initiative to attack the west, Xu Huang did not dare to react easily for a while, so he could only send his cavalry to patrol along the north bank of Yingshui, and at the same time, he urgently sent a quick horse to inform Cao Cao of the matter.

.

"Although I don't know what the situation in Xingyang is, if Liu Bei really conquered Xingyang, Yong and Si prefectures, the situation would be very bad..." Jia Xu said in a low voice, holding his beard.

"Mr. Jia is a little over-concerned..." Cao Zhang seemed a little distracted, "Even if Xingyang is lost, Liu Bei cannot truly threaten Guanzhong. As long as Hulao Pass is in the hands of our army for one day, Sili will be foolproof.

To the west is the guard of Miaocai uncle, and there are also dangers of Tongguan, Wuguan, Hanguguan, Ma Dai, Lu Meng, Zhang Ren and others, how can they be arrogant and arrogant?

Cao Xiu and others nodded one after another, expressing their approval of Cao Zhang's analysis.

"Things may not be that simple..." Xun You frowned and said, "If Xingyang falls, Liu Bei will directly attack the Huzhu and knock on Luoyang.

Then, four enemy troops will form a force to attack Yong and the two states in the east and west,————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

In contrast, there were nearly 50,000 people in the west of Xiahou in Yongzhou, and 30,000 people in General Cao Hong, Sili, and the total force was only about 80,000.

Facing twice as many enemies, our army needs to be stationed at more passes and rush out. The troops are relatively scattered. It is not easy to defend Yong and Si!"

"If Liu Bei had really intended to be in Yong and Si, there might be another conspiracy..." Man Chong, the governor of Yuzhou, nodded, and then Xun You said, "If you gather hundreds of thousands of troops to siege Xuchang, if you only set up a suspicion array for the sake of the old man, it can only mean that Liu Bei has been thinking about it for a long time.

It is really impossible to assert whether Liu Bei had other conspiracies. He thought that the defense of Yong and Si provinces should not be taken lightly..."

"Mr. Xun, Lord Man is really worried. Liu Bei may not really want to win Guanzhong..." Xu You smiled and said with a smug look.

"What are the advantages of Ziyuan?" Cao Cao frowned and asked in a deep voice.

Cao Cao had never been happy with Xu You's crazy attitude, but this did not affect his opinion. Although Xu You's character was not good, he could indeed make unexpected plans at some point.

"In You's opinion, the Southern Thief is probably deliberately taking this posture..." Xu You deliberately paused his words, and then glanced at the people in the hall.

He continued, "The purpose... is to disperse our army and find a good opportunity to cross the Ying River.

Liu Bei knew that under Xu Huang's strict defense, his army could not forcibly break through Yingshui, so he wanted to attack Luoyang under the guise of attacking him. He ordered the Prime Minister to send troops to reinforce Guanzhong. In this way, he could take advantage of the opportunity to cross the Yingshui River and directly threaten Xuchang.

Of course, he might also arrange an ambush halfway through. The soldiers waiting for me to rescue Guanzhong were sent into the trap.

Furthermore, the Prime Minister and you all should not forget that Guan Yu, Zhao Yun and Huang Zhong's army are still eyeing Xuchang. Who dares to guarantee that Liu Bei's move does not mean to create opportunities for Guan, Zhao and Huang?"

After careful consideration, Cao Cao had to admit that there was such a possibility. But the analysis made by Jia Xu, Xun You, and Man Chong should not be underestimated——

Although Hulao Pass is a powerful pass in the world, it has the reputation of "one man should be a pass, and ten thousand men cannot open it".

But as a martial arts master, Cao Cao knew that there was no unbreakable pass in the world. The only question was whether he had enough strength and could find an effective method.

Liu Bei is precisely the only civil and military officials who have this strength and can find a solution under his command.

What's even more terrible is that as long as Liu Bei seized Xingyang, he could even pose a threat to the two counties of Henei and Hedong. With the complete disclosure of Sima Yi's identity, the once rock-solid Hedong County under Cao Cao's rule.

Now it has become a huge powder barrel.

With Cao Cao's wisdom, just calm down and think a little. It is not difficult to see through the "magnificent show" played by Sima Fang, Sima Lang, Sima Yi and his son.

But the problem is that even if you see through all this, Cao Cao could not attack the Sima family.

On that day, Sima Fang and his son wrote to Xuchang three times in a row, specifically to apologize to Cao Cao for the "rebellion" of Sima Yi. Sima Lang even "played" a good show of kneeling on the palace gate to repent and apologizing for the crime without permission.

The greater the Sima family's actions, the less Cao Cao could not really punish him. Instead, he would be kind to comfort him.

However, at the same time, Cao Cao also quietly replaced officials from Hedong and Hanoi counties, quietly weakening the local control and influence of Sima family and the major clans that had close contact with him.

However, Sima and other families lived in Hedong for many years, and have been deeply rooted in the past ten or even dozens of generations. It is impossible to achieve the goal within a moment.

But Liu Bei's Northern Expedition suddenly started on an unprecedented scale just three months after the truce agreement ended.

Cao Cao could imagine how many people would choose to change their families as soon as Liu Bei's military front really entered Hedong and Henei counties, including the Sima family.

Sending troops to reinforce Xingyang and even Guanzhong, Xu You’s analysis of the consequences must be taken into account; if he does not send troops, there may be major changes in Guanzhong, Hedong and Henoi... It is a completely dilemma!

If the troops are sufficient, there will naturally be no problems, but the key is insufficient troops.

With his head tilted, Cao Cao raised his right hand and pressed his temple hard, enduring waves of convulsive pain, and the muscles on his cheeks were even trembling slightly.

The recent excessive labor has made Cao Cao's head storm more and more frequent, and the duration has become longer and longer. The pain caused every time is simply a matter of dying.

"Prime Minister, are you okay..." Seeing that Cao Cao's expression was wrong, Jia Xu, Xun You, Man Chong and others immediately asked anxiously.

"Come here. Send the doctor quickly..." Cao Zhang also noticed his father's strangeness and hurriedly called out loud.

"...No need..." Enduring the severe pain, Cao Cao raised his left hand slightly.

All the sounds stopped abruptly. Cao Zhang had already walked to the entrance of the hall and looked at his father, then looked at Xun You, and then Jia Xu, waved his hand to signal the doctor outside the door and the maids to retreat.

After about half a cup of tea, Cao Cao's pain was slightly reduced and he breathed a sigh of relief as if he was resurrected. He looked up and continued to preside over the military proposal: "Wen Lie, you immediately gather 20,000 elite troops and follow me to rescue Xingyang in two hours."

"Prime Minister, you are in charge of Xuchang and you can't take the lead in the overall situation. How can you go out lightly? You are not talented, and you are willing to lead the army to rescue Xingyang alone!" Cao Xiu immediately took a step forward and knelt on one knee and asked for his order.

"Prime Minister, General Cao said so much..."

Cao Cao raised his hand and said resolutely: "I know the good intentions of you, but going to Xingyang for rescue is a very common war. Zhang Fei's guy is extremely cunning and will be plotted against him if he is not careful. If I don't come out in person, I really can't feel at ease.

No need to advise…”

After a pause, Cao Cao said to Jia Xu, Xun You, Cao Zhang and others: "Wenhe, you follow me to go to war. Gongda will take charge of the overall situation in Xuchang. Ziwen, you will assist Gongda from the side. Everything is followed by Gongda's instructions and do not act recklessly."

"Yes!" Seeing that Cao Cao's attitude was firm, the three of them could only accept the order.

.

Yanzhou, Liang County, Yu County

The noisy shouts of killing gradually faded away, and I returned to rest late at night.

Guan Ping lifted the curtain and hurried into the commander's tent, bowed to Guan Yu, and then bowed to him. After Zhuge Liang bowed, he reported loudly: "Father-in-Chief. Cao Junye, who was attacking the sneak attack, has been defeated, killing and capturing nearly 200 enemy soldiers, and our army has killed more than 40 people and seriously injured more than 10 people."

Danfeng's eyes suddenly widened, and his spirit was overflowing. Guan Yu scolded coldly: "Xiahou Dun, this man is simply the maggot with bones!"

"It seems that Xiahou Dun is trying to arouse the shocking anger of the Lord..." Zhuge Liang shook his feather fan and said with a chuckling. "However, with such clumsy means, Xiahou Dun can't help but underestimate the Lord."

Like a gust of spring breeze blowing in the fierce cold winter. A smile suddenly appeared in Guan Yu's cold phoenix eyes, and he said calmly: "Kong Ming, don't use this method to remind me!"

Zhuge Liang smiled slightly and did not answer. After spending a long time together, Zhuge Liang had a clear grasp of Guan Yu's character and temper, and knew when to say what to say and how to use how to achieve the purpose of persuasion.

"Brother, the third brother has already begun to attack Xingyang. I think Cao Cao should react. It's almost time for me to take action.

"Guan Yu waved his hand and signaled Guan Ping to go down the tent to rest first, and stroked his beard and said to Zhuge Liang, "It's really more tired than a battle in Liang County after being entangled with Xiahou Dun for so many days."

Zhuge Liang nodded and said with a smile: "After dawn, Liang contacted Zhao Zilong, Huang Hansheng, Wei Wenchang, Li Zhengfang, and Hao Bodao several troops to cooperate with the army of Junhou!"

……………………………………………………………….

When he led the forefront army to the outskirts of Xingyang City with his elder brother, Lu Xun had already welcomed the surrendered civil and military officials in Xingyang for half an hour.

This time, the heavy responsibility of Xingyang City was undertaken by Lu Xun, and he did not let down my brother and I trust.

Although the strength of the defenders of the two cities is relatively limited, Lu Xun's quick and neat way of seizing the city is amazing——Neiying attacks at night and defeats Yang City.

After taking down Yangcheng, Lu Xun just asked a few surrendered officials and asked some questions casually, and then keenly captured the clues to seize Xingyang.

After a while, several officials from the guards and the Cui family took the initiative to follow Lu Xun's army and finally successfully persuaded the civil and military officials of the clan who were guarding Xingyang to open the city to surrender.

Xingyang's success means that the entire major division plan has been completed halfway———The prefectures and counties under Cao Cao belong to the Henan area and have been completely cut into two pieces.
Chapter completed!