When Cai Ji saw Yuan Shao again, Yuan Shao was already a corpse loaded on a small boat. The soaked clothes and the disheveled bun of his hair show how desperate the hero was before he died. The only wound on his neck shows that Yuan Shao chose to cut himself off. is also a person who chases the deer, and Yuan Shao's ending will inevitably make Cai Ji feel sad about the death of a rabbit and a fox.

At least Yuan Shao has retained his last dignity, if it is me who loses today, the end will definitely be ten times worse than this-Cai Ji immediately raised his hand and ordered, "Come on, prepare a thick coffin to collect Yuan Shao, and send him to Xu Capital to wait for the imperial court." ”

At this moment, Cai Ji buried Yuan Shao in order to repay his kindness, and sent to Xu Du to fulfill his duties as a Hanchen. Everyone in the world knows that Yuan Shao has the "grace of protection" in Cai Ji. No matter what purpose Yuan Shao recommended Cai Ji in the first place, it is an indisputable fact that he provided protection for Donglai in the early days. Since this favor is owed, Cai Ji must repay it, and it is not something that can be repaid once or twice. This is not only the custom of this era, but also to leave a way back for fellow princes. People like Lu Bu who both break the rules and do too much will eventually become public enemies.

Cai Ji's disposal of the two sides of the tofu with a knife made Jia Xu on the side quite appreciative. But there is more important things to deal with than showmanship. But he saw Jia Xu stepping forward and said to Cai Ji, "Lord, although Yuan Shao has been ambushed, Yuan Tan abandoned his father and fled. Please also ask the Lord to do his best to tell the world about Yuan Tan's evil deeds. ”

Jia Xu only said that Yuan Tan's evil deeds were announced, but he did not mention the pursuit. Combined with the allusions in history that the two brothers Yuan Tan and Yuan Shang took each other's positions as heads of the family after Yuan Shao's death, Cai Ji immediately understood his intentions, and then nodded and smiled, "Mr. Wenhe is reasonable. There is a way that all kindness and filial piety come first, and Yuan Tan will be spurned by the people of the world if he commits a heinous crime. ”

Jia Xu saw Cai Ji and understood it at one point. And I won't say anything more. At this moment, there was a sudden sound of horses' hooves in the distance. Cai Ji and Jia Xu both searched for prestige, but saw a messenger riding in the southeast direction galloping towards this side. The "Cao" character on the messenger's back is a banner that opens its teeth and claws in the wind. Seeing this, Cai Ji exchanged a "finally here" look with Jia Xu

At the same time, the messenger had already arrived in front of the Qi army, turned over and dismounted. rushed to Cai Ji and knelt down on one knee and said, "Sikong invites Qihou Baima to get together." ”

"Cao Sikong has arrived on the White Horse? It's really fast. Cai Ji smiled half-teasingly, and then raised his hand to reply. Please reply to Sikong, Yuan Shao has been ambushed. The lonely will do its best to rush to the white horse. ”

"Whoa." The messenger immediately rushed in the direction of Baimajin with Cai Ji's reply.

Looking at the back of the messenger who had gone away, Cai Ji couldn't help but fall into deep thought. As soon as Yuan Shao dies, the Yuan clan will inevitably fall into division. The three brothers Yuan Tan, Yuan Xi, and Yuan Shang are not to worry about their mediocrity. On the contrary, it was Cao Cao, a ready-made "ally" and elders, who became an obstacle between himself and the four northern states.

Jia Xu saw Cai Ji's solemn expression, bowed his head and said nothing, and couldn't help but smile with a smile, "The Lord is worried." I don't know how to get along with Cao Cao in the future? ”

Cai Ji sighed and said, "Although Cao Cao's vitality was greatly damaged this time, he was holding the Son of Heaven hostage, and I am afraid that he will not be willing to stop south of the Yellow River." ”

"Can the Lord take the four states of Hebei in one fell swoop?" Jia Xu asked noncommittally.

Cai Ji was stunned for a moment, then immediately understood what Jia Xu meant, and then said with a sneer, "The four states of Hebei are extremely vast, how can Lone swallow it in one bite." ”

Jia Xu took advantage of the situation and said, "The Lord knows that Hebei is big, so why worry about it." Just take what you need. ”

Jia Xu's view is very clear, that is, with Cai Ji's current strength, he cannot occupy the entire four states of Hebei. Instead of turning against Cao Cao for something he can't possess for the time being, it is better to generously take what Cao Cao needs. But Cai Ji still frowned and hesitated, "I'm afraid that everyone will take what they need." Cao Cao refused to give up. ”

"Although Cao Mengde is cunning, he is also a person who understands current affairs. The lord has the first water division in the north, and Cao Cao will not stop. After Jia Xu waved his hand, he looked at Cai Ji and said seriously, "After the battle of Guandu, the lord has become the second largest prince in the north, and the Qi army is famous for its good fighting. If the lord still blindly shows weakness to Cao Cao as he did to Yuan Shao before, it will only make Cao Cao suspicious and even more jealous of the lord. ”

Jia Xu's words pointed out Cai Ji's current situation. As she said, Cai Ji, who successfully defeated Yuan Shao, has shown the world the strength she has accumulated in the past six years. If you pretend to be a "little white rabbit" like before, not only will you not achieve the purpose of Taoguang and obscurity, but it will make people more wary of Cai Ji. Especially in the face of a notoriously suspicious person like Cao Cao, Cai Ji's previous treatment of Yuan Shao was not applicable at all. She therefore urgently needed a new set of diplomatic principles to deal with the new situation.

Cai Ji, who had figured this out, naturally asked Jia Xu for advice humbly, "Then according to what Mr. Wenhe saw, how should Lone Dang deal with Cao Cao?" ”

Jia Xu said four words indifferently, "Don't be arrogant." ”

"Not arrogant?" After thinking about it, Cai Ji blurted out, "Sir, I mean neither humble nor arrogant." ”

"What does it mean to be neither humble nor arrogant?" Jia Xu asked with interest. After getting along with Cai Ji for a long time, Jia Xu found that his lord often uttered some words that he had never heard of, and these words often contained deep meanings

Cai Ji was asked by Jia Xu and realized that the idiom of neither being humble nor arrogant may not have appeared in the Eastern Han Dynasty. So she hurriedly said, "Lone is to say, in the face of Cao Cao, you can neither be low-voiced, nor arrogant. ”

"That's exactly what it means." Jia Xu twisted his head and said, "Cao Cao is not as arrogant as Yuan Shao, the lord gets along with Cao Cao, so that he thinks that he has seen through the master's mind, so that he can retreat into advance." ”

Want Cao Cao to think that he has seen through his mind? That's a daunting task. Cai Ji secretly laughed at himself in his heart, and bowed his hand to Jia Xu, "Thank you Mr. Wenhe for your advice." ”

Jia Xu seemed to see through Cai Ji's lack of confidence in his acting skills, so he comforted him, "The coming day is long, and the Lord has fought Cao Cao a few more times, so he can grasp the balance." ”

And just as Cai Ji was busy sweeping the Yanjin battlefield, the messenger also brought her reply to the White Horse Cao camp. White Horse Tsuen is actually the closest ferry port to Guandu. If Yuan Shaoyi gritted his teeth and crossed the river from Baima, Cai Ji and Cao Cao might both be one step late. But now it's an afterthought. At the same time that Cai Ji intercepted and killed Yuan Shao in Yanjin, Cao Cao almost bloodlessly took down Bai Majin, who had just been hit hard. In fact, not only Baimajin, but also the stronghold of the Yuan army south of the Yellow River after Yuan Shao's father and son fled. They have lost their fighting spirit. And Cao Jun is like a greedy snake, devouring these strongholds one by one, while also growing his body.

When Cao Cao arrived on the White Horse. Excluding the reinforcements brought by Zhao Yun, the number of soldiers and horses under his command reached 40,000. Among them, of course, there are the remnants of Yuan Shaobu's generals, but there are not a few Cao soldiers who "lost and recovered". The so-called lost and regained. To put it bluntly, it is a deserter. At the beginning, when Cao Cao was obviously fighting hard, many soldiers and horses under his command were made of wall grass. Some took refuge in Yuan Shao, while others simply fell into the grass. Among these deserters, the number of Qingzhou soldiers is the largest. According to Cao Cao's previous temper, he would definitely kill all these ungrateful people to set an example. But Cao Jun's losses in the Battle of Guandu were too heavy, and with Cai Ji, a she-wolf, watching, Cao Cao still had no confidence to punish these wall grasses after all. only found a few thieves with great public anger to kill chickens and respect monkeys. But there is good news.

"Cai Anzhen forced Yuan Shao to death in Yanjin?" In the big tent, Cao Cao stood with his hands behind his back and asked the messenger who came to report for confirmation.

The messenger responded truthfully, "The Marquis of Qi has collected Yuan Shao's body and sent it to Xudu. ”

Cao Cao, who confirmed the news of Yuan Shao's death, was also saddened. There was a moment of silence for his old rival. However, after a while, Cao Cao regained his usual heroic nature, and even had a hint of pride between his eyebrows.

Cao Cao, of course, would not be complacent about Cai Ji's victory in Yanjin. His joy came from the news of Yuan Shao's death. It must be known that Cao Cao collected a lot of Yuan's troops in Guandu this time. These soldiers and horses certainly strengthened the momentum of Cao's army, but Cao Cao was still jealous of surrendering generals and pawns in his heart. I am afraid that after Yuan Shao regroups in Jizhou, these subordinates will defect and return to Yuan Shao's command. After all, there are far more soldiers in Cao's camp than Cao Cao's songs. Cao Cao even secretly decided that if there was really any change in the pawn, he would learn from it for a while.

Now that Yuan Shao is dead, his three sons are all incompetent. Cao Cao was finally able to accept the remnants left by Yuan Shao with peace of mind. But seeing Cao Cao at this time, he excitedly crossed back and forth in the tent, and then ordered Xiahou Yuan and the others behind him, "Miaocai, Zhao Rui's department will be under your control." Komeito. Thou shalt go to the nest tomorrow and collect the remnants of it into a battalion. ”

"Whoa!" Xiahou Yuan and Xu Huang both clenched their fists to lead the order.

Xun Yu on the side saw that Cao Cao was so active in absorbing the remnants of Yuan Shao, and couldn't help but go up and say, "My lord, there are still more than 1,000 sailors left in Baimajin, why don't you just incorporate them into the sailors?" ”

"The Boatless Division?" Cao Cao smiled self-deprecatingly. The ships of Baimajin have long been burned by the sailors of the Qi army, and the so-called sailors remaining in Jinnei are just fishermen without boats, which is really a bit unworthy of the name.

However, Xun You insisted, "It's better to talk than nothing." ”

The navy has always been Cao Jun's weakness, and Cao Cao didn't care too much about it before. After all, before Guandu, the only time Cao's army used ships on a large scale in war was when he was in the eastward expedition to Lü Bu. At that time, the use of ships in the war was only to allow Cao's army to mobilize troops and horses under the flood. Therefore, Cao Cao always believed that the naval army in the north was not important. Until this time, Cai Ji's navy showed its proud strength in the Yellow River.

Transporting grain and grass, cutting off grain roads, running, intercepting and killing, in just a dozen days, the Qi army sailors made people realize that even in the north, the navy still has the opportunity to show their talents. It is true that the Yellow River is not navigable throughout the year, the width can reach four or five hundred zhang, and the narrow place is only twenty or thirty zhang, and after the river freezes in winter, the navy army is useless. However, as long as the sailors were able to contain the various crossings in the few months of navigation, it would be a threat to any force that could not be ignored across the Yellow River.

Cao Cao naturally would not willingly give up the rich prefectures and counties north of the Yellow River because of the sailors of the Qi army. Therefore, after pondering for a long time, he raised his head, clapped his head with a smile on his face, and said, "Just do what Gongda says." Lone not only has to incorporate the water master, but also repair the white horse jin. In this way, the lonely party can have a good look at the demeanor of the Qi army sailor. ”

Cao Cao's decision to face the difficulties aroused the fighting spirit of the civil and military forces present. Yes, this is not the first time that Cao Jun has fallen behind. Dong Zhuo, Lu Bu, and Yuan Shao, each of them was stronger than Cao Cao in terms of strength, but in the end they were all defeated by Cao Cao. Therefore, the strength of the enemy has never been a problem for Cao Jun, and how to defeat the enemy is what they need to consider.

At this moment, although Cao Cao and Cai Ji are still in the name of the alliance, everyone present understands in their hearts that Cao Cao and Cai Ji have invisibly become secretly rivals. At this time, the most embarrassing person in the big tent is Cao Pi, who is already engaged to Cai Ji. It was for the purpose of promoting the Cao Cai alliance that Cao Pi was sent to Donglai to get engaged to Cai Ji, who was six years older than him. But in less than a month, the relationship between the two sides has changed from an alliance to an adversary.

Such a huge gap made it difficult for the young Cao Pi to adapt for a while. But he still mustered up the courage and asked his father Cao Cao tentatively, "Father, does Pi'er still want to go to Donglai?" ”

Cao Cao didn't expect Cao Pi to ask this question at this moment, but he saw him glance at his second son, and said in an irrefutable tone, "Of course I want to go." Since you are engaged to the Marquis of Qi, you have to accompany him and maintain Cao Cai's marriage. Don't let it be broken like this again. ”

Cao Pi already knew that the reason why his father was angry with him this time was not because he was late in leading the troops to rescue. It's that he doesn't want to come to the rescue at all. In Cao Cao's opinion, since Cai Ji had already sent reinforcements, and there were generals such as Xiahou Yuan, Xu Huang, and Zhao Yun in command, Cao Pi didn't need to come with him at all. With this energy, it is better to stay by Cai Ji's side and monitor his every move. This made Cao Pi, who was bent on showing himself in Cao Cao, quite discouraged.

And at this moment, seeing that his father was already secretly competing with Cai Ji, he still wanted to send himself to Cai Ying, Cao Pi lowered his head even more gloomily. At the age of thirteen, he already had a certain understanding of the battles between princes. What's more, he was able to write at the age of eight, read the ancient and modern scriptures, and the books of the hundred schools of thought, and he was already familiar with the fate of those protons in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. How could he not imagine what would happen to Cao Cai and his family in the future.

And just when Cao Pi thought that his father had abandoned him, he suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder, and then his father's kind voice came from his ear, "Pi'er, you have been wronged this time." You first stay by Cai Anzhen's side with peace of mind, if Cao Cai is evil, his father will not abandon you. ”

Although his heart was full of anxiety and anxiety, Cao Pi finally replied obediently, "The child obeys." ”

It's been a busy two days.,The update is not very stable.,Please forgive me.。 After filling in the Guandu pit~(≧▽≦)/~lalala~~~ Although the general direction is similar to what I imagined, there are still many changes in the details in the deduction process. There are still bigger holes to be filled, so the revolution is not over yet, and comrades still need to work hard! (To be continued)