Cao Cao also knew in his heart that it was easy to take Hanzhong, but once he entered Xichuan, it was impossible to chase the Central Plains. He may not be able to return to the Central Plains until he dies. This is the place where he was born and raised. How can it be so easy to give up? Moreover, he has been operating in Chongzhou and Yuzhou for many years, and he has not lost much territory. It's hard to give up!

Zhongde, Gongda, what do you two think? Cao Cao asked.

Xun Youdao: You think that what Feng Xiao said is reasonable, now, Guandu is difficult to hold, as long as Guandu is lost, Zhang Jie's nearly 200,000 troops will rush into the Central Plains. Xuchangding is the first target.

If Zhang Jie expects that we will go to Hanzhong, if we ignore the Central Plains first and take Nanyang first, then our way to Hanzhong will be cut off. Moreover, there are not many soldiers and horses in the main duke, and they cannot withstand consumption. If the Tiger Pass is lost, the army's heart will be moved. Rather than having a hard time, it is better to simply break the cauldron and take Hanzhong in order to map Xichuan.

Cheng Yu also understands that it is unlikely that he will want to return to the Central Plains after going to Xichuan, and he is also older than him.

Dao: Yu, I am willing to follow the lord's side, no matter where the lord goes, Yu will follow, and I will not regret it until I die.

Cao Cao was a little moved. Dao: In that case, let's go to Hanzhong together! If he dies in the future, he will be buried with the three facing the Central Plains. After speaking, he burst into tears, and the three of them also knelt on the ground and cried after listening. The four big men hugged and cried together, so it was not miserable.

Then Cao Cao wiped away his tears and said: Fengxiao, how to withdraw?

Guo Jiadao: You can send Yuan Rang to lead 20,000 horses back to Xuchang first, and then take your family and evacuate to Wancheng in Nanyang. The lord took the remaining 6,000 men and horses to temporarily accompany Yuan Shao to stay in Guandu to buy time for the army. If Yuan Shao asked, he said that the Tiger Prison Pass was urgent, and asked Yuan Rang to lead troops to reinforce him.

Another person was sent to inform them that the garrisons in Yuzhou and Yanzhou must rush to Xuchang within 10 days, and they can give death orders.

Send someone to inform Lejin that the Tiger Prison Pass must hold on for twenty days, and after twenty days, withdraw to Wancheng. If Guandu loses first, there is no need to defend the Tiger Pass. Retreat as fast as possible, but don't tell the soldiers where to retreat, just follow orders.

Lord, we must make it clear to the generals before we retreat, we must work together to take Hanzhong in one go, and last time we put the 50,000 stone grain compensated by Yuan Shao in Nanyang. It's just right now. As long as the soldiers withdraw to Nanyang, we will not be short of food and grass for the time being. Enough support to win the mediocrity. As long as Shangyong is taken, he will immediately send troops to Xicheng (now Ankang), and it will not take more than a month to be able to march to Nanzheng. (Hanzhong Junye)

Cao Cao also knew such a big thing, and if he didn't make it clear to his subordinate generals, of course he wouldn't. But now it must not be said, for fear of moving the hearts of the Yao army, it is better to go to Nanyang first!

Cao Cao said: The three of you go down first and prepare to retreat. I'll explain some things to Xia Yuan first.

Promise.

Come on, please Yuan Rang, Zixiao come to see me.

Promise!

After a while, Xia Houdun and Cao Ren came to Cao Cao's tent, these two people were Cao Cao's cousins and the two most important generals under Cao Cao's account.

Xia Houdun said: Mengde. What is the matter with me and my son?

Cao Cao said: Originally, I didn't want to tell everyone, but Yuan Rang and Zixiao are their own brothers, so I won't hide it from you both. Just received the report, and Bingzhou Gaoran led an army of 50,000 from Luo, and was attacking the Tiger Prison Pass, Lejin may not be able to hold out for long.

Zhang Jie's army will soon be in Guandu. I'm afraid Guandu won't be able to hold it. Even if Guandu can hold it, as soon as the tiger prison is broken, we will suffer from the enemy on our backs. Now that the situation is grim, I discussed with the military advisor that we should withdraw our troops back to Nanyang, and then raid Hanzhong. Take Hanzhong, and then take Yizhou. What do you two think?

Xia Houdun said: Meng De, are we really defeated like this? Yanzhou Yuzhou is still in our hands! It's a shame to give up like that.

Cao Rendao: If you give up the Central Plains and enter Hanzhong, it will be difficult to enter the Central Plains at that time!

Cao Cao said: I don't know this! But we only have these tens of thousands of soldiers and horses in our hands, and now we are newly defeated. Soldiers are demoralized. If we don't retreat and wait for these tens of thousands of horses to be finished, then we won't even have the strength to take Hanzhong.

Although the Central Plains is large, the Central Plains can be flattened, which is conducive to cavalry. Zhang Jie's Bingzhou army was all cavalry, if the tiger prison was broken, tens of thousands of iron cavalry rushed into the Central Plains, and Xuchang was the first to be able to keep it. Our family members are all in Xuchang.

There are so many of our brothers and clansmen that I'm afraid we won't even have a place to bury our bones!

Yizhou is different, Yizhou is a country of abundance, enough to raise hundreds of thousands of soldiers. There is also the Qinling Mountains. You can protect yourself by retreating, and you can take Jingzhou or go out of the Qinling Mountains and try to pass the pass.

Now Zhang Jie is powerful and has a large number of cavalry, it is difficult for us to resist in the Central Plains, if we don't go to Yizhou, how will the brothers live in peace in the future?

Xia Houdun said: Why don't you take Jingzhou first?

Cao Cao said: I have thought about this for a long time, but although Liu Biao of Jingzhou said that this person does not want to forge ahead, he also has more than 100,000 horses and a strong naval army, how can we easily take Jingzhou with this little force? We don't have a water army, and it is very difficult to cross the Han River.

If Zhang Jie sent troops to chase after him, and Liu Biao blocked him in front of him, and Zhang Jie's army behind him, it would be dangerous.

Cao Rendao: It seems that the only way to go is to go to Hanzhong, first take Hanzhong and then Tuyizhou, and that's the only way.

Xia Houdun said: In this case, why don't we retreat immediately before Zhang Jie arrives?

Cao Cao said: Yuan Rang, Zixiao, after dark tonight, you two and Feng Xiao and others will take 20,000 soldiers and horses to withdraw to Xuchang first. Then he picked up his family, took all the soldiers and horses of Xuchang, and withdrew to Wancheng. With 6,000 men and horses to delay time here, we have to use Yuan Shao to buy time for us!

Remember that this matter needs to be kept secret, and you should not tell anyone about it, and if anyone asks, say that you are going to support the Tiger Prison.

Once the news leaks, Yuan Shao may withdraw his troops first, and Zhang Jie may also send troops to block it, you know, Zhang Jie's army from Luoyang to Wancheng, and it is much closer to us than we are to go south through Dagu Pass!

Xia Houdun, Cao Ren, nodded. Dao: I know the severity, don't worry! I'll go and prepare now.

At this time, in the tent of Guan Yu in the Guandu military camp, a messenger came, who was Liu Bei's henchman Jian Yong. Guan Yu was really happy to see Jian Yong!

Jian Yongdao: Yun Chang, since the defeat of Tancheng, the lord has been looking for you since he returned to Runan, but unfortunately Runan let Cao Cao occupy it, and he had no choice but to go to Liu Biao, and now the lord is in Xinye. Not long ago, I found out that Yun Chang was under Cao Cao's tent, so he sent me to see you. This is a letter from the lord.

In fact, Liu Biao was also wary of Liu Bei, so he was stationed in Xinye, in fact, he was used as a watchdog. It also means the same as the original occupation of Nanyang.

Now Liu Bei has more than 3,000 soldiers and horses, and he has pulled the Yellow Turban Yu in Runan, Liu Pi, Gong Du, and others, and they all followed Liu Bei in a flicker. When he fled back to Runan in Xuzhou, he met a fierce man again, Chen Dao, (the word Uncle Zhi) started his career as a Xiaoqiang again.