There was a dead silence in the hall.

Liu Biao froze for a while, slowly got up, and arched his hands. "Envoy, my wife and children are in Gaoping, I want to go back and see."

Yuan Tan's face turned blue and red for a while, but he was helpless, so he had to swallow his anger and said: "Brother Jingsheng, you be careful, if you meet Sun Ce, don't have a conflict with him, just be patient for a while." I will definitely take Gao Ping back. ”

Liu Biao sighed softly, nodded, turned around and hurried down the hall.

As soon as Liu Biao left, the atmosphere in the hall became even more awkward. After a long while, Wang Yu said: "I didn't expect Cao Ang to be so negligent, first he stayed and didn't enter, sat back and watched the lake and land be lost, and then left without a fight, giving up a fortress like Gaoping to others." The situation in Sanyang is unfavorable, and it will be even more difficult to recapture the lake and land. ”

Lu Qian was silent, and Mao Jue was silent. Seeing this, Yuan Tan sighed secretly. At this point, it seems that there is only sacrifice for Cao Ang. He was about to speak, but Simbi shook his head quietly. When Yuan Tan saw it, he had no choice but to swallow back the words that came to his mouth. After a few words of gossip and a few words of comfort to Lu Qian, the meeting was adjourned.

Mao Jie and the others left one after another, leaving only Yuan Tan and Xin Bi. Yuan Tan moved to Xin Bi and bowed, "George, what do you think should be done with Cao Ang?" ”

Xin Bi said: "Cao Ang is not guilty, why should he deal with it? ”

"Cao Ang is not at fault?" Yuan Tan looked at Xin Bi suspiciously, not knowing what Xin Bi meant. "That's Lu Qian's responsibility?"

"Of course Lu Qian is responsible, but to be honest, he is not strong enough and is indeed not Sun Ce's opponent." Simbi took the offensive and defensive map and shook it slightly. "Judging from this map, the difference in strength is more than ten times, but if you talk about the combat strength of the two sides, coupled with the repeated strength of Hulu Haoqiang, the disparity in strength between the two sides is even greater, and it is indeed difficult for Lu Qian to hold Hulu, break through in advance, and still keep part of the troops, which is really a wise move."

Yuan Tan nodded, but was even more angry. "Cao Ang has more than 10,000 people, if he is willing to go all out, even if he can't enter Hulu, he can contain half of Sun Ce's troops, but I didn't expect him to slack off and sit back and watch Hulu lose. George, even if he can't blame Cao Ang entirely, he's also responsible, right? ”

"Cao Ang, I'm afraid there aren't 10,000 people."

"No?"

Xin Bi raised his eyelids and said lightly: "If there are 10,000 people, he will at least fight with Sun Jian, try to contain a part of Sun Ce's troops, or send one or two thousand people into the city to assist in the defense, even if Sun Jian, Sun Ce's father and son are brave, Cao Ang is invincible, and he can't reinforce Hulu, he won't give Gao Ping away." Gao Ping has many families, and he will not be unaware of the consequences of Gao Ping's loss. In doing so, it is likely that he has the same consideration as Lu Qian, knowing that he can't hold it, so he simply retreats all the way to preserve his strength and stick to Rencheng. Only by holding Rencheng and Lu County can he gain a firm foothold. ”

Hearing the words "preserve strength", Yuan Tan understood what Xin Bi meant. Cao Ang must have divided his troops and sent people to seize Rencheng first, Hulu and Gaoping were already out of his plan. This was the plan he promised Cao Ang at the beginning, and now he can't go back on his word and blame Cao Ang.

"But the impact of Gao Ping's loss is too great." Yuan Tan gritted his teeth. Gao Ping was lost, and Liu Biao could only leave. Sun Ce was extremely ruthless to the family that was his enemy, and if Liu Biao stayed here, he would probably follow in the footsteps of the single family. You can't blame Liu Biao for this incident, you can only blame him, blame him for not being able to protect Liu Biao.

"Compared to Changyi, Gao Ping is nothing. Envoy, you should rush back to Changyi as soon as possible to prepare for the war, Sun Ce took Hulu lightly, and he will rush to Changyi at any time. ”

Yuan Tan nodded. He doesn't have to worry about Ren Cheng, Cao Ang will definitely go all out. Knowing this did not make him feel any lighter, but only made him more angry. But he can't say anything, Sun Ce is menacing, and he needs Cao Ang to hold Rencheng, so that he can go all out to prepare for Changyi. If Sun Ce can be repelled, it will not be too late to deal with Cao Ang when the time comes.

——

Chen Gong paced back and forth, with one hand behind his back, and the other lightly tapping his forehead, his brows furrowed.

Cao Ang looked at Chen Gong in bewilderment, not knowing what was going on.

All the way back to Rencheng, Cao Ang communicated with Cao Ren as soon as possible. Xu Xuan, the prime minister of Rencheng, went to see Yuan Tan with his father, and Cao Ren forcibly took over the protection of Rencheng, and contacted the Rencheng family and Haoqiang, especially those who had manors outside the city, so that they could immediately move the main personnel of the family to the city, and the food and various materials could be moved as much as they could, so as not to fall into the hands of Sun Ce. If you really don't want to move, in addition to having enough strength to hold the manor, it's better to avoid it nearby.

After Cao Ren's dispatch, the city soldiers are now well-fed, even if Sun Jian, Sun Ce's father and son come, they have nothing to do. In this case, Chen Gong behaved so nervously that Cao Ang was very incomprehensible. After waiting for a long time, Chen Gong still didn't speak, and Cao Ang couldn't help it.

"Gongtai, what's wrong?"

Chen Gong stopped and looked at Cao Ang with guilt in his eyes. "Fujun, we give up Gaoping and concentrate our troops to retreat to Rencheng, which is beneficial to the war, but it is very inappropriate to be reasonable. I didn't think it through, and I even affected the king. ”

Cao Ang was puzzled. "What's wrong with that?"

"Fu Jun, when it comes to Gao Ping, who will be the first person you think of?"

"Gaoping Wang, two generations and three dukes, Wang Gong, Wang Chang and his son are all famous ministers, Wang Qian has a long history of the great general He Jin, and has some friendship with his father. And also...... Liu Biao. Cao Ang said half of it, and his face changed. Liu Biao is a disciple of Wang Chang and is now an official by Yuan Tan's side. Gao Ping was lost, and Liu Biao would temporarily break away from Yuan Tan for the safety of his family, even if he did not switch to Sun Ce.

This is undoubtedly a slap in the face of Yuan Tan.

Cao Ang secretly complained to himself. At that time, the situation was urgent, and he had always trusted Chen Gong's resourcefulness, but he forgot that Chen Gong had a fatal weakness: he needed to think for a long time and weigh all factors in order to come up with a perfect plan. Lu Qian left without a fight, Chen Gong did not expect this situation in advance, Sun Jian was too close and could attack at any time, Chen Gong hastily made a plan to abandon Gaoping and retreat directly to Rencheng. Militarily speaking, this is the right thing to do. But politically, this is a huge mistake.

This is the first mistake that Chen Gong has made since he was a counselor, but it is very fatal. Yuan Tan is a good-looking person - most of the children of the family are like this - if he has any opinions like this, he will not say it on his face, but he will definitely retaliate. After Fang Hexin's defeat, Yuan Tan was at a sensitive time, and Gao Ping's loss would make him even more embarrassed.

Cao Ang's eyes shrank. "Then we'll take Gao Ping back."

"Take it back?" Chen Gong was surprised. "How?"

"From Nanpingyang out of Fu County, bypass Gaoping Mountain, take Fan County, Gonghe."

Chen Gong looked at Cao Ang and shook his head. "Gentleman, this plan is very good, but don't rush it. Sun Jian's father and son are brave, our attack is insufficient, and the code is more than enough. Let him occupy Gaoping and protect the flanks of Hulu, so that he dares to attack Changyi. When he and Yuan Zhijun are inseparable, we will attack again, not only to recapture Gaoping, but also to relieve the siege of Changyi. In this way, the government has the credit to Yuan Yuanjun, and the merits and demerits are offset, and Yuan Yuanjun must not account too much. ”

Cao Ang suddenly realized. "It's still Brother Gongtai who thinks it through."

Chen Gong sighed lightly. "If you have missed the first, you can't make a mistake again and again. Guo Jia's strategy is no less than that of Xinbi. Yingchuan is a talented man, and it really lives up to its reputation. ”