In the third year of Jian'an, August 11, noon.

Cao Cao was reading in Sikong Mansion, and suddenly his right eyelid always jumped, so he couldn't read, so he walked out of the courtyard.

Now it is autumn, the weather is slightly cold, and there are many trees in the courtyard that have lost their leaves.

He leaned over to pick up a fallen leaf, and suddenly sighed, and was about to compose a song, but saw the doorman hurriedly break in.

In the past, it was impossible for the officials in the palace to be so reckless, but now the doorman is so anxious that he forgets the rules, something must have happened.

There was a faint feeling of uneasiness in his heart.

Something may have happened to Nanyang.

Now the only things that worry him the most are Nanyang and Dongjun.

Yuan Shao had previously sent Yan Liang to march into Liyang to invade Dongjun, but now Yan Liang's soldiers and horses have withdrawn. Yuan Shao was at war with Gongsun Chan at this time, and it was impossible to take care of Yanzhou.

In fact, Dongjun is already Yuan Shao's territory in Hebei, and Liu Yan, the Taishou of Dongjun sent by Cao Cao, is only stationed in Baima County at this time.

Therefore, it should not be possible that something happened in Dongjun.

After approaching, the doorman said to Cao Cao: "Duke Ming, there are military officials from Ye County outside the mansion. ”

When Cao Cao heard that something was really going on in Nanyang, there was an accident, but he never thought that it would be Cao Ren who died in battle at this moment, the big deal was that Wanxian County was lost, and then Cao Ren retreated to Ye County, this was his conjecture.

After all, I just came to report that Zhang Liao surrendered to Li Xian, except for the loss of Cao Ren, what else could there be a big deal.

But he hurried the officer in, and then turned back to sit in the council chamber.

After a while, I saw that the military officials from Ye County were still carrying a wooden box on their backs, and after coming in, they knelt on the ground on one leg and said: "Meet the general, General Cao Hong sent me back to report the news of Nanyang, Wanxian has been lost, and General Cao Ren has ...... Already ......"

The military officials couldn't speak several times, and Cao Cao was so anxious that he scolded: "Zixiao, what's wrong with him?" Say it quickly, and if you don't say it, I'll kill you. ”

In fact, Cao Cao had already guessed what the result might be, but he still couldn't believe it, so he stared at the military official.

The military officer plucked up his courage and said, "General Cao Ren has been killed in battle, and his head has been beheaded. ”

Then he untied the wooden box from behind his back, held it with both hands, and presented it to Cao Cao.

Cao Cao stood up suddenly, walked quickly to the military officer, and stared at the wooden box.

He didn't dare to open it, for fear that he would really see Cao Ren's familiar face.

But he still held on to hope, hoping that the wooden box was not Cao Ren's face, but Li Xie's face.

His hands trembled, and he slowly opened the wooden box, only to see Cao Ren's long-lost face appear in front of him.

Cao Cao shouted "ah", quickly closed the wooden box again, and began to cry.

The military officer was so frightened that he hurriedly took a few steps back, placed the wooden box on the ground, and waited for Cao Cao's fate.

Cao Cao sat down on the ground and cried: "Zixiao, I really shouldn't have let you stay in Nanyang, I should have withdrawn you all from Nanyang, I underestimated Li Xian, and let you get to such a point." Li Xian, Li Buzhi, I will definitely behead you in Nanyang. ”

Cao Cao wiped away a handful of tears and walked back to the desk and sat down.

At this time, Cheng Yu and Guo Jia also walked in from outside.

It turned out that after the military officials came back and reported to the prefect's officials at the gate of the mansion, the officials immediately sent people to inform Cheng Yu and Guo Jia.

As soon as Cheng Yu and Guo Jia heard the news, they immediately rushed over.

The loss of Nanyang is still a trivial matter, but this Cao Ren was beheaded, so it is not a trivial matter.

After the two of them came in, they saluted Cao Cao and sat down next to him.

Cao Cao asked the military officer, "How did Zixiao die in battle?" ”

The military official replied: "Li Xian sent Xiahou Lan to attack Wan County, but was shot away by General Cao Ren. General Cao Ren led his troops to turn from Wuyin to Yexian, rendezvous with General Cao Hong, and defend Yexian together. Who knew that Li Xian had already sent Zhao Yun to lead his troops to ambush on the road from Wanxian to Wuyin to intercept General Cao Ren. General Cao Ren was outnumbered and killed by the enemy general Zhao Yun. ”

"What about Cao Hong, is he still guarding Ye County?"

"General Cao Hong has retreated to Kunyang with General Yu Ban, waiting for reinforcements from the general."

"Zhao Yun, Li Xian...... Go down. ”

The officer saluted again and withdrew.

Cao Cao turned to Cheng Yu and Guo Jia again and asked, "What do you think?" ”

Cheng Yu turned his head to look at Guo Jia, then looked at Cao Cao and said, "Does Gong want to kill Li Xian, or do you want to destroy Li Xian?" ”

Cao Cao understood what Cheng Yu meant, because Li Xian was his son-in-law, and he was afraid that he would be reluctant to kill him.

Not to mention that Li Xian killed Cao Ren now, he would never let him go by betraying himself and his ability to anticipate things first.

Otherwise, he will end up being his biggest hidden danger.

After thinking for a moment, Cao Cao asked fiercely, "How to destroy it?" ”

"With the edict of the Son of Heaven, Yuan Shao in the north, rewarded Sun Ce generously, and ordered him to attack Jiangxia in Jingzhou and contain Liu Biao. At the same time, Liu Zhang's troops in Yizhou were ordered to go out of Shu and attack Jingzhou, with the help of Li Xian. Gong Zai led an army of 50,000 and marched to Nanyang, then Li Xian could be destroyed. ”

Cao Cao nodded, looked at Guo Jia again and asked, "What does Feng Xiao mean?" ”

"Zhongde's strategy is very good, Gongsun Zan is immortal, Yuan Shao does not dare to march across the river, and the north can be worry-free. Sun Ce in Jiangdong counties has been basically pacified, and he and Liu Biao have a grudge against his father, if there is an edict, he will carry it out. Yizhou Liu Zhang, even if he doesn't really send troops to Jingzhou, he only needs to gather troops and make a move, which can play a role in containing Liu Biao's troops.

Liu Bei and Yuan Shu in Xuzhou attacked each other, and there was a momentum of victory, but I was afraid that he would want to take advantage of the situation to invade the land of Runan, and the public could reward and appease him. Li Xian now has nearly 20,000 troops in Nanyang, and if he gathers in one city, it will be difficult to attack. Even if he is defeated, I am afraid that he will flee to Luoyang. It is better to send a general to lead 10,000 troops from Luyang to block his way, and the prince will lead the army to attack Ye County and Wan County. ”

Cheng Yu smiled beside him: "Even if Li Xian gathers troops in one city, if the public surrounds it, and Liu Biao is too busy to take care of himself, he will definitely starve to death." ”

Cao Cao was still a little worried: "I heard that Li Xian now has a few fierce generals around him, and he is very wise, and the soldiers are willing to sacrifice their lives for him, so it is not easy to win this battle." ”

Guo Jiahaha smiled and said: "The public has three victories, and the main battle is rebellious, Li Xian once served the public, but he rebelled against the public and lost his loyalty, and the public fought against each other, this victory is also." With anger and arrogance, Li Xian seized Nanyang, forced Zhang Liao to surrender, and killed Cao Ren, he must be proud of this, and the public teacher went away with hatred, and these two victories are also. With the crowd fighting widows, Sun Ce and Liu Zhang attacked Liu Biao together, then Li Xian became a lonely widow, and the public came out of the capital, and the soldiers and food were not broken, and these three victories were also. ”

Cao Cao suddenly brightened up when he heard this, and said with a smile: "What Feng Xiao said is extremely true, so that I am confident that I can win, and Feng Xiao's three victories are also." ”

The laughter did not stop, Xun Yu also came to Sikong Mansion at this time, because Cao Cao had already instructed, Xun Yu did not need to report when he came, so Xun Yu went directly to the meeting hall.

After saluting Cao Cao, Xun Yu also sat down on one side.

He also heard the news of Cao Ren's death in battle, so he hurried over.

"Wen Ruo must already know about Nanyang, right?"

"I heard it just now, Zixiao ...... It's true...... Killed in battle? ”

Xun Yu stared at the wooden box still on the ground, and asked in disbelief.

Cao Cao nodded to Xun Yu sadly.

"What is the plan of the public now?" Xun Yu asked urgently.

"Out of Nanyang, swear to avenge the filial piety." Cao Cao said angrily.

"Now Yuan Shao in the north is eyeing the land of Yanzhou, and Liu Bei in Xuzhou is also trying to invade the land of Runan, and the public must guard against it. If he goes on an expedition, Xu Du will also stay behind to defend his troops, and he cannot go out with all his divisions. ”

"Don't worry about this, I won't let Xu Du be empty."

Cao Cao immediately summoned the generals to obey the order, and ordered Xiahou Yuan to lead 10,000 horses out to Luyang and advance towards Wanxian.

He himself personally led an army of 30,000 to Yexian and set off seven days later.