"That's right! What you see is indeed Liu Bei, but... It was not Liu Bei who laid out this situation, but Liu Bei's newly recruited military advisor Zhuge Liang. ”

If he hadn't asked Xu Shu before, Cao Cao wouldn't have believed it... In Xiangyang, there are still two great sages, Wolong and Fengxiao.

"Zhuge Liang?"

Xiahoudun and Li Dian glanced at each other, some of them looked at each other, obviously they had never heard of this person.

"According to Yuan Zhi's words, this person's talent... Or not inferior to Feng Xiao also. ”

sighed leisurely, I don't know if I remembered Guo Jia, or... Feeling sorry for Zhuge Liang for such a great talent to be attributed to Liu Bei, Cao Cao's expression was a little gloomy at this moment.

"If that's the case, the prime minister needs to pacify Liu Bei as soon as possible, otherwise... Sooner or later, it will be a problem for our henchmen. ”

Xu Shu, Guo Jia... Which of these two people is not the top strategist in the world, hearing Cao Cao's words, Zhuge Liang... In Zhu Wenwu's heart, he has risen to the same height as Liu Bei.

"I have my own arrangements for this! Today's convening of civil and military, in addition to discussing the punishment of the defeat of the army, the most important thing... It is the preparation of the southern expedition. ”

"Wen Ruo, is it better to play the right one?"

Waving his hand, Cao Cao calmed down and asked Xun Yu.

"It has been prepared according to the Prime Minister's wishes."

"In that case, you will go to the palace with me tomorrow, and respectfully ask the Son of Heaven to order the southern expedition..."

"As for the number of you..."

His eyes swept to Xiahoudun, Yu Ban, and Li Dian, Cao Cao was silent for a moment, and his two fingers kept tapping on the table.

"Prime Minister, now that the southern expedition is imminent, it is the time to employ people, Xiahoudun, Yu Ban, Li Dian, and Han Hao are all generals in the army. It is better to bring a few generals and let them wear their sins and make meritorious contributions to atone for today's mistakes. ”

On the left, I saw Zhang Liao suddenly flash out... He bowed to Cao Cao and interceded in a deep voice.

"Prime Minister, the minister thinks what Wen Yuan said is reasonable, please think twice."

As Zhang Liao stepped forward, hula... The generals on the left and right were born successively, interceding for Xiahoudun and Yu Ban.

"Since the generals intercede for you, the prime minister will allow you to make meritorious deeds, but... If you go out of the pool again, wait... I don't have to travel thousands of miles to come back. ”

……

At the end of June of the thirteenth year of Jian'an.

Prime Minister Cao Cao led dozens of generals under his command to go to the palace in armor to invite the Son of Heaven to march south, and the Son of Heaven approved it.

As soon as the edict was issued, Cao Cao immediately dispatched soldiers and horses from Hebei, Qing, Henan, Yan, He, and Xu, and raised an army of 500,000 and went out in five ways. Cao Ren and Cao Hong were the first to lead 100,000 troops; Zhang Liao and Zhang He were the second way, leading 100,000 troops; Xiahou Yuan and Xiahou Yuan were the third road, leading 100,000 troops; Yu Ban and Li Dian are the fourth road, leading 100,000 troops, Cao Cao and the rest of the generals will be the fifth road, leading 100,000 troops, and the army is scheduled to swear to send troops on July 13, and the princes of the world are shocked when they hear it.

……

Xudu, Imperial Palace.

As Cao Cao and his military ministers turned their attention to the south, the surveillance of Liu Xie and the royalist faction seemed to be a little weaker on the surface.

"Cao Cao... What exactly is he trying to do? Is it that impatient? ”

In the study of the Son of Heaven, Liu Xie took advantage of the opportunity of Cao Cao to go to the outside of the city to point troops, and successively recruited Kong Rong, Fu Wan, Dong Cheng... Several important ministers asked in cold voices.

Recalling the moment when Cao Cao led dozens of generals to the palace with armor two days ago, Liu Xie felt as if he had returned to Chang'an, when Dong Zhuo was in charge of the government, that period of breathlessness and survival.

He had no doubts... If he wanted to say a word that day, at least half of the old ministers of the Han family above the hall would be killed by Cao Cao.

"Your Majesty... It was the incompetence of the ministers that made His Majesty wronged. ”

Facing Liu Xie's gaze, Kong Rong, Fu Wan and others knelt on the ground one after another, their voices full of grief and indignation.

The king humiliated the ministers to death, but they watched Cao Cao act as a prestige above the court, but they couldn't even fight back.

"It has nothing to do with you, if it weren't for you following me, I... I'm afraid it won't be able to hold on for a long time, and this court has already become Cao Cao's hall..."

"In the end, I still didn't endure enough, I heard that Xiahou was defeated at the hands of the emperor's uncle, and I was a little too proud and said something that shouldn't be said... I saw people who shouldn't have seen them, so that I was forced by Cao Cao step by step..."

With a long sigh, Liu Xie felt that the Cao family's mountain was getting heavier and heavier... It has overwhelmed him, and even the opportunity to catch his breath has gradually become a luxury.

"Your Majesty, Cao Cao's wolf ambitions are obvious, but... This is not the best time to confront Cao Cao head-on, and please bear with your majesty for a while.

As long as Cao Cao leads his troops south and is deeply involved in the battle of the Southern Expedition, His Majesty will naturally be able to be ashamed..."

Liu Xie, it can be said that these old ministers have watched and protected them with their own eyes, and they have grown from seven or eight years old children to today... In addition to the support for the Han family, there are some other emotions mixed with Liu Xie...

In a sense, they support Liu Xie's idea of coming to the forefront, even stronger than Liu Xie himself.

"Don't worry! After this... I will endure until the last moment, and I will definitely not cause any more chaos before the incident. ”

Swallowing his breath, Liu Xie's eyes were glowing with cold light, this matter... Whether he accepts it or not, he must break his teeth and swallow it in his stomach.

"That's right! Guozhang, Xiliang there... Has there been any news in the past two days? ”

"Back to Your Majesty, there has been no letter from Ma Teng in the past two days, but... Weichen has secretly sent someone to send the news of Cao Cao's southern expedition to Xiliang quickly, and the time... Ma Teng naturally knew what he was going to do. ”

seemed to sense the worry in Liu Xie's expression, and saw Fu Wan clear his throat and whisper:

"Your Majesty doesn't have to worry too much, as early as half a month ago, Ma Teng had already figured out Cao Cao's deployment in the land of Sanfu, if something happened, it would take less than half a month for more than 100,000 Xiliang elites to capture Chang'an, and then wave the army into the customs..."

"For the Xiliang army to capture Chang'an and send troops to Guanzhong... I'm not worried, I'm worried at the moment... After the Xiliang soldiers enter the customs, what should we do? ”

"Even if Cao Cao is restrained by Jingxiang and Jiangdong soldiers and horses, there are still a large number of soldiers and horses in You, Ji, Hebei, and Qing Prefectures. One way to the end, even if we have the help of the Xiliang army, I am afraid that we can only retreat to the customs and protect ourselves, and I am afraid that Cao Cao will not be destroyed in the short term. ”

In the past, their strength against Cao Cao was limited to paper, but it was really at the beginning of the war that they really understood... Cao Mengde, a hero in the world, has a strong foundation under his command.

Hundreds of thousands of Tuntian soldiers are the reserve forces of hundreds of thousands in Cao Cao's hands... This is also Cao Cao's courage to draw elites from all over the world... The capital of forming an army of 500,000 to go south.

After Cao Cao transferred the elites from all over the country, the Tuntian soldiers from all over the country... In a short period of time, he was armed by Cao Cao into an elite army, and continued to suppress various places for Cao Cao.

If it weren't for the limited money and food, Cao Cao's southern expedition... I am afraid that the elite led by me is more than 500,000, 700,000, 800,000... It's not impossible.

"With only the people of Xiliang Road, there are still many shortcomings.

After you go back, you will secretly send someone to Xinye to inform the imperial uncle of the deployment of Cao Cao's army. ”

"In this battle, I don't want Uncle Huang to beat Cao Cao like Xiahoudun, I just want Uncle Huang to buy more time!"

For Liu Bei, in fact, Liu Xie did not have a very good impression, and the recognition of Liu Bei's name as the emperor's uncle that day was just forced by the situation to attract Cao Cao's attention.

And... Liu Xie always had a feeling that Liu Bei was a person... is not a person who has lived under the people for a long time, even if he has him Liu Xie on his head.

"Your Majesty, rest assured! After the ministers return home, they can make arrangements. ”

Nodding, for Liu Xie's proposal... Several did not refute it.

At this time, they really need allies... It's a pity that the soldiers and horses under Liu Bei's command are too rare, otherwise... or become one of the important chess pieces in the destruction of Cao Cao.

"That's right, Your Majesty! Speaking of allies... Lao Chen suddenly thought, have we neglected one person these days. ”

Looking at Liu Xie's heavy expression, a person suddenly flashed in his mind, hesitated for a while, and still said it.

"Who is the so-called Guozhang?"

Liu Xie was slightly stunned, and then asked in a condensed voice.

There are only a few princes in the world today, Gongsun Du is nested in Liaodong, even if this is connected, it can't be counted on, judging from Cao Cao's cloth in Youzhou, Gongsun Du doesn't look up, it's okay, as soon as he looks up... will definitely be easily pressed to death by Cao Cao.

Yizhou Liu Zhang can't count on it, let alone Jingzhou Liu Biao... Although he has an army of nearly 300,000 and is skilled in soldiers and horses, he has not seen Liu Biao express his attitude over the years.

Jiangdong and Jiaozhou are too far away... Naturally, there is no need to mention it, and the only thing left is Hanzhong Zhang... Some time ago, I sent someone, but who would have thought that Zhang Lu was not interested in reviving the Han family and overthrowing Cao Cao.

Count it out, what about the others?

"Zhang Yong!"

In just two words, I only feel that it is as heavy as a thousand pounds.

I don't know whether today's decision is right or wrong.

"Is that Zhang Lu's son?"

Frowning, Kong Rong and Dong Cheng were noncommittal.

"That's right! This is it! ”

"But... Didn't Zhang Lu already refuse? Can this son be the master of the Zhang family in Hanzhong? ”

Shaking his head, Kong Rong and Dong Cheng had obviously dealt with Zhang Yong... Even the Zhang family in Hanzhong lost interest.

"If I had put it before, I might not have been able to make the decision this time, but... Now, it's not impossible. ”

"I think Your Majesty and you have some time ago also understood the movements of this son in Jingxiang... Compared with Zhang Lu's kind of dog that guards the household, this son's ambition... Undoubtedly much bigger.

Now this sub-governor Shangyong, Fangling, Xixian... In the military and political affairs of Nanxiang counties, there are no less than 30,000 troops under his command, and this son has secretly expressed his position. If we can say that we can help with this son, not to mention 30,000 more elites, if we are lucky... It's not impossible to drag Zhang Lu into the water. ”

After the new round of expansion of the Zhang clan in Hanzhong, the army is getting stronger and stronger, and it would be a pity for such a good chess piece to simply give up like this.

"If it's really as Guozhang said, this son is indeed worth wooing."

When they heard that there were 30,000 soldiers and horses under Zhang Yong's command, Liu Xie, Kong Rong, and Dong Cheng's eyes lit up, and they suddenly became a little more interested.