"Why did the military advisor say that?"

Five points of surprise and five points of longing appeared on Cao Cao's face. was surprised because of Xi Zhicai's evaluation of Xu Shucai's talent, and his eagerness was because the fire in his heart to attract talents began to burn, urging him to collect such talents under his command.

"Lord's grace!"

Xi Zhicai glanced at everyone present with a slightly solemn expression, and then said: "When Yuan Chang's soldiers and horses arrived before, his subordinates have been secretly observing the other party's commander. From Xu Shu's move to dispatch soldiers and horses, it can be seen that he is well versed in the art of war, and on this small battlefield, the use of the art of war is extremely mellow and skillful. In addition, in addition to the strong combat power of the Youzhou soldiers, there are also reasons for Xu Shu's strategy, and their soldiers are not injured much. It can be said that this army of soldiers and horses is almost invulnerable in his hands, and if the lord is against him, he needs to be careful. ”

In this way, this Xu Shu is indeed not simple. ”

Cao Cao agreed with a solemn expression, you must know that on this battlefield, the commander can control the dynamics of the general direction. However, it is amazing that Xu Shu can control even a small-scale battle situation. Even Cao Cao, as a military strategist, was able to write Meng De's new book, but he couldn't do this. Cao Cao's eyes swept over, and when he saw that Cheng Yu seemed to have something to say, he immediately named him: "Zhongde, what do you say?"

"Lord!"

Cheng Yu bowed, stepped forward and said: "Xu Shu's subordinates know a little, he loved chivalry when he was young, and then avenged and killed his friends, was captured by the officials, and was rescued by his friends. My subordinates don't dare to hide it, his talent is ten times that of mine, as the military advisor said, this person is a big trouble!"

"Hmm!"

Cao Cao replied in a deep voice, then a smile appeared on his face, and he said lightly: "If it is an enemy, it will naturally be a big disaster." However, wouldn't it be beautiful if I could take it under my command? Military advisor, Zhongde, I wonder if you have a good plan to recruit Xu Shu?"

Xi Zhicai shook his head, he didn't know much about Xu Shu, so he didn't have any good ideas.

Cheng Yu's eyes flickered slightly, and after a while, he offered advice: "Lord, Xu Shu is a filial piety, his father died early, and only his mother raised him, so he obeyed his mother's words the most." The lord can earn his mother to Yanzhou, and Xu Shu will definitely not dare not come at that time, and it is not difficult to recruit him if he wants to come. ”

Speaking of which, in today's era of filial piety, Cheng Yu's approach is very unkind. However, Cheng Yu has always paid attention to the results, and he doesn't care about the process. Therefore, just like he can do the thing of using human flesh to make military rations, kidnapping Xu Shu's mother is just a matter of sprinkling water for him. Therefore, because of Cheng Yu's practices, his relationship under Cao Cao is not very good, and people like this don't want to deal with him. However, the discord between Cheng Yu and Cao Cao's subordinates also has some advantages, that is, Cao Cao trusts him more, and how can he not worry about a courtier who has no friends, at least, if such a courtier rebels, I am afraid that no one will follow.

Cao Cao also knew that using such a strategy would make people unbearable, but in today's troubled times, human life is as cheap as a dog. Dogs can at least be used as food, and as for people, except for a few people who will eat human flesh, where are the most people who have their mouths. Therefore, it is not too much for those who have the ability to use some means.

So, Cao Cao put on a heavy expression and said in a deep voice: "With this strategy, Zhongde and I both have unbearable intentions in our hearts. However, in today's troubled times, many things are involuntary. In order to calm down this troubled world as soon as possible, how could I Cao Cao retreat if I did something that violated morality, but if I have an infamy, I Cao Cao will bear it with all my might. ”

After Cao Cao recounted it with emotion, he resolutely ordered: "Someone, send an order, send a team to Yingchuan to secretly bring Xu Shu's mother to Yanzhou, treat each other politely, take care of it, and don't make mistakes." I believe that when I become famous in the future, Xu Shu will understand my heart. ”

"The lord is wise!"

Cao Cao made such a decision, and everyone naturally would not object. And Cheng Yu is naturally even more grateful to Dade, Cao Cao memorized this infamy, which reduced his sins, and his heart was moved by this, only to repay Cao Cao's kindness with his life, Cheng Yu didn't know what else to repay.

It's just that what Cao Cao and Cheng Yu didn't expect was that this method had already been used by Yuan Chang. Therefore, Cao Cao's action this time must have ended in nothing.

After discussing Xu Shu's affairs, Xi Zhicai stepped forward again and said: "Lord, if you can recruit Xu Shu under your command, then, Yuan Chang has tens of thousands of soldiers and horses this time, and the lord may also be able to take the opportunity to eat a part, if it is feasible, it is impossible to say that these soldiers and horses can be fully controlled, and the lord's power will definitely rise again." Besides, there are also the surrender of Li Dao and other thieves, so that the day when the lord will realize his ambition is not far away, which is really gratifying!"

"Congratulations, my lord!"

"Haha, thanks to your auspicious words, on the day I succeed, you are all meritorious heroes, and I will never forget it. Cao Cao laughed, and seemed to be a little complacent. However, Cao Cao didn't care too much about the hegemony of all the forces in the world, and the enemy he really valued was the same as Yuan Chang - the Shuntian Alliance.

That's right, Cao Cao knew about the Shuntian Alliance and regarded it as his worst enemy.

But said, how did Cao Cao know about the Shuntian Alliance and regard him as his enemy?

It is said that when Cao Cao was still five or six years old, at that time, his son Cao Song had already recognized Cao Teng as his father, and Cao Song was also the captain of Sili. Si Li's lieutenant is equivalent to the position of state pastor, plus Cao Teng's grandfather, Cao Cao was the second generation of top officials in Luoyang at that time, and in addition, Yuan Shao, who is a descendant of the three princes' family, is also the same. One day, Cao Teng wanted to meet his grandson, so he asked Cao Teng to be brought into the palace. With Cao Teng's status at that time, and Cao Cao's age was not very old, it was not much of a problem to bring Cao Cao into the palace. At that time, Yuan Shao was also playing with Cao Cao, and Cao Cao, who was still young, in order to pretend to be in front of his friends, so he brought Yuan Shao with him, two children, and the palace guards were naturally not too strict. So, Cao Cao and Yuan Shao entered the palace like this.

Subsequently, Cao Teng left because of the summons of Emperor Huan of Han, leaving Cao Cao and Yuan Shao to play by themselves. Soon after Cao Teng left, the two of them wandered around the palace and accidentally entered the palace library, and then, Cao Cao found a book that recorded the contents of his life. So, Cao Cao knew about the Shuntian League, and at the same time, he also found that his life had been arranged.

Of course, when he was still young, he thought it was someone with the same name and surname as himself, and he didn't care too much. However, he still quietly gave the book to 'destroy the corpse'.

Until, Dong Zhuo entered Beijing, and the alliance of princes made Cao Cao turn over the memories in his mind again. He realized that everything was really as recorded in that book. However, how could Cao Cao allow others to control his life, he would definitely not agree. This secret has been hidden in his heart for a long time, and he has not told anyone except Xi Zhicai.

Shuntian Alliance, he is bound to eradicate it, and his fate will only be in his own hands.

On the other side, Li Dao, Guo Yan and Zhang Ji suffered defeat, were chased and killed by Cao Cao and Yuan Chang's army, and fled for more than 20 miles before gradually stabilizing.

"What about the losses?"

Li Dao, Guo Yan, and Zhang Ji gathered together, and at the same time ordered the soldiers to report the losses. After listening to the report, the faces of the three of them turned pale. Of the hundreds of thousands of soldiers and horses, there are now less than 70,000 left, and on average, there are only more than 20,000 soldiers and horses per person, and half of the soldiers and horses have been lost. In this way, their control over the Sili area will not be able to cover, and if Cao Cao and Yuan Chang are more ruthless, I am afraid that it will be a question whether their remaining soldiers and horses can be saved.

"What should I do next?"

Li Dao's face darkened, and he asked in a deep voice. However, he didn't expect Guo Yan and Zhang Ji to answer, the abilities of the two of them were not much different from his own, and they didn't have any good ideas, so the reason why they asked was just to make themselves feel at ease.

"With our current strength, I'm afraid it's impossible to capture Liu Xie. ”

Guo Yan also had a dark face, and said in a sullen voice, seeing that Li Ji and Zhang Ji seemed to be a little out of the world, he aggravated his tone and said: "However, it is impossible to fight against Cao Cao and Yuan Chang's soldiers and horses, and self-protection is still enough." For now, we can only retreat and return to Chang'an, and only need to send a force of soldiers and horses to garrison Tongguan, with the danger of Tongguan, with his Cao Cao and Yuan Chang's soldiers and horses, it will definitely not be able to pass. Occupy Chang'an City, we can still sit and enjoy the glory and wealth, with or without Liu Xie, what is the difference. ”

Guo Yan originally wanted to return to Chang'an to recruit soldiers and horses, and then seek revenge on Cao Cao and Yuan Chang. However, this idea was instantly forgotten by him.

First, with the combat effectiveness of the soldiers in Yanzhou and Youzhou, Guo Yan did not think that they had any hope of fighting; of course, no one would feel that they were inferior to others, everyone felt that they were the protagonists in life, and it was not impossible to fight back and win. However, another reason is that Chang'an's hardware restricts Guo Yan's ideas.

As early as Dong Zhuo's time, the young people in Si Li's area were basically arrested, or they were killed. Now that most of the rest are old and weak, women and children, how many soldiers and horses can be recruited? As for going back to his hometown of Liangzhou to recruit soldiers and horses, this is naturally impossible. Now that Liangzhou has been controlled by Ma Teng and Han Sui, and they still had contradictions before, now that they have been defeated, Ma Teng and Han Sui don't know that it's okay, and they will definitely lead troops to attack them in the future. Therefore, now it seems that the only thing they can do is to unite their forces to hold on to Chang'an City.

"That's it, it seems that this is the only way!"

Li Ji and Zhang Ji thought about it and agreed to Guo Yan's suggestion.

Subsequently, the three led the remnants of the defeated army to retreat to Chang'an, and along the way, the three of them sent scouts under their command from time to time to investigate, and found that Cao Cao and Yuan Chang's soldiers and horses did not chase them, they just advanced towards Luoyang. In this way, the three of them finally breathed a sigh of relief. After doing this for two or three days, Tongguan was in front of them, and when they entered Tongguan, they threw their soldiers and horses to Tongguan, and they didn't have to worry about Cao Cao and Yuan Chang's soldiers and horses catching up.

"Haha, it seems that the prestige of my Xiliang Army is still there, and Cao Cao and Yuan Chang don't dare to invade us. If it weren't for their premeditated attack on us, the outcome would still be unknown. ”

Out of danger, the cowhide began to blow again, chatting to pass the time. When it gets dark, the three of them will set up camp, and they will be able to enter Tongguan at noon tomorrow, and they can sleep peacefully tonight. Of course, the scouts that should be dispatched still have to be dispatched, so as not to be attacked by the other party again. However, judging from the situation in the past two days, Yuan Chang and Cao Cao did not seem to be interested in chasing them.

It was as if the world had really settled down, and there were no accidents overnight. It wasn't until Li Dao and Guo Yan woke up and the scouts came to report that they found out that there were still accidents.

"What did you say?"

Li Dao's eyes were red, and he picked up the scout with one hand, his expression as if he wanted to eat people. The scout was carried by him tremblingly, lest Li Dao be angry and cut him down.

"Qi Da Sima, Zhang Ji led his soldiers and horses away. ”

"Bang!"

As soon as the scout finished speaking, he was thrown to the ground by Li Dao, and as the word "roll" roared out of Li Dao's mouth, the scout did not hesitate for a moment, and even ran out of the tent.

Early in the morning, Li Ji's scouts noticed that Zhang Ji's camp was unusually quiet, so they got closer, and then, after he entered Zhang Ji's camp, he found that the camp was already empty. Immediately after his inspection, he found a strip of cloth from Zhang Ji's tent, on which were written the words 'each seeking his own way forward', and nothing else was left.

"Damn!"

Li Dao was still indignant in his heart, and he scolded constantly. However, now that Zhang Ji is gone, no matter how much he abuses, it seems to be useless.

"Zhang Ji and I are not of the same heart, thinking more is no different!"

Guo Yan's temperament is a little better than Li Dao, and after experiencing the initial anger, he calmed down, but he was still in the mood to comfort Li Dao.

"If it weren't for the fear of being taken advantage of by others, I would have caught up and taken Zhang Ji's head. ”

Li Dao said indignantly, and then quieted down. Since Zhang Ji chose to leave, he obviously had a plan, and it would be difficult to catch up. In addition, the threat of Cao Cao and Yuan Chang's soldiers and horses is still there, and he can't help it. Also, Ma Teng and Han Sui in Liangzhou seem to have moved, and Li Dao and Guo Yan must also rush back to Chang'an to sit in town, lest the nest be lost, and then they will really have no way to advance or retreat.

"Within Tongguan, you and I each left 5,000 soldiers and horses to garrison. The rest of the soldiers and horses were brought back to Chang'an, lest the two thieves, Ma Teng and Han Sui, plot against each other. ”

Li Dao and Guo Yan discussed it, and then set off to return to Chang'an.

In Hanoi County, Xiu Wu County, Yuan Chang's army set up camp outside the county seat. Everything seems peaceful, but there are many murderous opportunities hidden in it.

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