Xuzhou Xiapi City, since Tao Qian died suddenly, Chen Deng and Mi Zhu led 20,000 Xuzhou troops to withdraw to Xiapi City, and they couldn't shrink out, as for the Xuzhou military general Cao Bao had already died in the previous confrontation with Cao Cao's army, and now Tao Qian died violently, and the military and political power in Xuzhou is in the hands of Chen Deng and Mi Zhu.

Tao Qian has two sons, the eldest son Tao Shang, the second son Tao Ying, Tao Qian wanted to marry Cao Song at the beginning, but also had the idea of finding a way back for his two sons, after all, Tao Qian is still clear about what kind of goods Tao Qian is, if he is alive, then there will be no problem with Tao Ying and Tao Ying, but in case he is not there, the fate of Tao Shang and Tao Ying will not be much better.

It's a pity that Tao Qian's original plan full of confidence fell through because of Zhang, a thief, and even Xuzhou was threatened by Cao Cao's butcher's knife.

It stands to reason that after Tao Qian's death, it should be the pottery merchant or Tao Ying to inherit Tao Qian's power, but Chen Deng and Mi Zhu also knew the level of the pottery merchant and Tao Ying, so they never considered this matter.

Chen Deng and Mi Zhu jointly controlled the military and political power in Xuzhou, although there were some slights between the two, but Chen Deng and Mi Zhu's opinions on Cao Cao were unified.

After Tao Qian's death, Cao Cao had already blamed Cao Song's death on Xuzhou, if Xiapi City was broken by Cao Cao, their fate would definitely not be much better, so neither Chen Deng nor Mi Zhu had the idea of surrendering to Cao Cao.

At least, not now.

At this time, in addition to Cao Cao, there were also two armies of Yuan Shu and Sun Jian, and in the case that Chen Deng Mizhu could not surrender to Cao Cao, Yuan Shu and Sun Jian also recruited the two many times, in order to hope to take Xiapi City with the strength of these two.

Now Cao Cao, Yuan Shu, and Sun Jian are all gathered outside the city of Xiapi, and no one has made the first move, and there is also a Liu Bei who is also rushing to Xiapi, once Liu Bei arrives, the situation will inevitably be more chaotic, so as time goes by, Cao Cao, Yuan Shu, and Sun Jian's three princes are a little anxious.

Cao Cao originally invaded Xuzhou just to vent his anger, but after entering Xuzhou, when Cao Cao's anger was not gone, Cheng Yu, Xi Zhong, and Chen Qun began to plan the entire Xuzhou.

Cao Cao's entry into Xuzhou has become a foregone conclusion, and it cannot be changed, so what they can do is to seek the greatest interests for Cao Cao, and it is best to take the entire Xuzhou, and then Cao Cao's power in Yanzhou and Xuzhou will skyrocket.

However, although the local side of Xuzhou represented by Chen Deng and Mi Zhu is difficult to do because of Tao Qian's violent death, in addition to Cao Cao, there are also Yuan Shu, Sun Jian, and Liu Bei three princes, even if Xi Zhong, Cheng Yu, and Chen Qun ask themselves that their wisdom is enough to stand at the highest level in the world, they dare not pack a ticket and say that they will be able to obtain Xuzhou for Cao Cao, so they can only do their best.

Now in Xuzhou, the situation is too chaotic.

Yuan Shu and Sun Jian, including Liu Bei, originally played the banner of rescuing Tao Qian, but the purpose was all for Xuzhou, and now Tao Qian is dead, but none of the three have withdrawn, because the next thing will be the outbreak of a big war for Xuzhou. Moreover, Cao Cao, Yuan Shu, and Sun Jian all wanted to take control of Xiapi City before Liu Bei came.

The current situation is that as long as any of Cao Cao, Yuan Shu, and Sun Jian can defeat the other two, they will definitely be able to take Xiapi City, but because the three armies are outside Xiapi City together, none of the three dare to make the first move, for fear of being picked up by others.

However, as time goes by, the day when Liu Bei arrives in Xuzhou is getting closer and closer, and the three of them can't sit still, now let's see who will start this big battle first.

Chen Deng and Mi Zhu naturally see the situation in Xiapi now, but both Chen Deng and Mi Zhu have their own small abacus in their hearts, so in the face of the solicitation of Yuan Shu and Sun Jian, Chen Deng and Mi Zhu did not express their position on the surface, and in the current chaos in Xiapi, the soldiers and horses controlled by Chen Deng and Mi Zhu can only barely defend Xiapi City, and it is difficult to go out of the city to change the situation.

In the west of Xiapi City, it is the military camp of 50,000 troops under Yuan Shu, and in the main tent of Yuan Shujun's camp at this time, Yuan Shu sat on the main seat, looking at a scribe who appeared in front of him, with a sneering look on his face.

"Sun Wentai wants to join forces with me to fight against Cao Cao? Hehe, for the sake of you being the messenger, I won't kill you, you go back and tell Sun Jian, it's impossible. ”

After listening to Yuan Shu's words, the scribe sent by Sun Jian was not angry, nor was he frightened, but just saluted Yuan Shu again, and said: "General Hou doesn't have to reply in a hurry, outside Xiapi City today, Cao Cao's troops are the strongest and the most powerful. ”

Yuan Shu said: "You are not small, but I have made up my mind, come and send Mr. Zhu away." ”

This scribe is Zhu Zhi, an important minister under Sun Jian, this time he came alone, but he didn't expect to be treated like this, when the armor soldier recruited by Yuan Shu left the main tent, Zhu Zhi's eyes showed a ray of essence, but it was a flash, no one noticed.

After Zhu Zhi was carried away by the armor, Yuan Shu looked at the civil and military forces in front of him, at this time in front of Yuan Shu, the generals were Xu Chu, Gao Cang, Ji Ling, Xu Ding, Xing Daorong, Niu Jin, etc., and the strategists were Xun Yue, Yan Xiang, Zhao Yan, the lineup was strong, and it was not much worse than Cao Cao's command.

Yuan Shu's eyes finally fell on Yan Xiang, as an old minister who had followed Yuan Shu for a long time, even if Yuan Shu now had a lot of new blood joining him, it was that Yuan Shu still trusted Yan Xiang very much.

"Zixuan, what do you think about Sun Jian sending someone to lobby about this matter?"

Yan Xiang was named by Yuan Shu, and after thinking for a moment, he said: "Lord, outside Xiapi City today, Cao Cao has the most troops, and Sun Jian's troops are the least. ”

Speaking of this, Yan Xiang looked up at Yuan Shu and said softly, "Lord, in fact, in the current situation, it is not a good choice for us to join forces with Sun Jian. ”

Yuan Shu shook his head and said, "Zixuan, you would say this to show that you don't know Sun Jian's Jiangdong Tiger, I don't believe that he will join forces with me at this time." ”

Yan Xiang frowned, but didn't say more, and silently retreated to the position just now.