When Cao Cao returned to Wancheng, he immediately issued an order to invite the heads of each family to the county government for discussion.

While arranging for someone to invite the heads of the families, Lou Gui said to Cao Cao: "Meng De, do you want to leave?" ”

Cao Cao looked at Lou Gui for a long time and sighed. "Uncle Zi, I don't want to leave, I'm just preparing for the worst. Sun Jian had already gone to Yuzhou, and reinforcements from Yingchuan and Runan could not come, and we would soon be a real lone army. ”

"What about being alone?" Lou Gui was very dissatisfied, and his voice became louder. He reached out and pointed out. "Yuan Shu is also a lone army, and he has just been broken by you, all he can rely on is the father and son of the Sun family, what's so scary? Nanyang has so many heroes to support you, you have to have soldiers, you want food, enough to fight against Yuan Shu. ”

Cao Cao smiled bitterly. "Does Nanyang Haoqiang support me?"

Lou Gui was also stunned for a moment, and then said: "Even if they support the alliance leader, aren't you a general sent by the alliance leader now?" They support the alliance leader, so naturally they want to support you. ”

Cao Cao got up and walked in front of Lou Gui, held Lou Gui's hand, and stopped talking. Seeing this, Lou Gui persuaded again: "Meng De, I know that Miaocai died in battle, which has a great impact on you, but the alliance leader sent you to help Xiangyang, and now that Xiangyang has been broken, if you withdraw from Nanyang, how can you explain to the alliance leader?" Could it be that you were afraid of Sun Ce and fled in despair? ”

Cao Cao's eyes flickered, his eyebrows twisted into Sichuan characters, and his face was sad. After a long time, he said: "Uncle Zi, I don't want to retreat either, but Yuan Shu is cruel, and the father and son of the Sun family are also easy to kill, if they can't attack the city and get angry with innocent people, wouldn't it be against the good intentions of the alliance leader?" ”

Lou Gui was taken aback, understood Cao Cao's worries, and then said, "Meng De, I understand what you mean. However, the manoras of the various families in Nanyang are not so easy to fight. If what Sun Ce said is true, then Yuan Shu now has only more than 10,000 people, and most of them are new soldiers in Jingzhou, who may not be willing to serve Yuan Shu, and the available soldiers are only more than 1,000 people under Sun Ce's command. Not to mention Wancheng, I'm afraid that a manor can make him bleed. ”

"Jingzhou soldiers don't obey Yuan Shu, and they don't obey me."

Lou Gui smiled and didn't speak, but straightened his chest. Cao Cao squinted at him for a moment, then suddenly slapped his forehead and laughed. "Uncle Zi, I'm confused, I'm confused, it's really a blind leaf, I can't see Mount Tai." He affectionately took Lou Gui's arm and walked out. The two of them went up to the city wall and looked down on the city. Cao Cao said with a smile: "Uncle Zi, you have few great ambitions, and you want to run thousands of soldiers and thousands of horsemen across the world." If you can defend Wancheng this time, your ambition can be realized, and I will definitely ask for credit for you in front of the alliance leader, and I will not say that I will take care of my son Boduo in the future. ”

Lou Gui was in the middle of it, smiling and arching his hand. "Thank you, Munde."

"I shouldn't have been worried about having my uncle to help me. However, be prepared, the alliance leader is preparing for the Qingxu war, and we must make long-term plans and keep it for as many days as possible. You see, how can we calm the hearts of the people? ”

Lou Gui thought for a moment and waved his hand. "Mengde, Wancheng is too big, even if we have 20,000 people, we may not be able to defend it thoroughly. It is better to move each family into a small town and live in it, and you will supervise it. I will guard the big city, deal with Yuan Shu, and if the situation is unfavorable, it is not too late to retreat into the small city. ”

Cao Cao's brows furrowed slightly. "You don't have enough troops, how can you defend the big city?"

Lou Gui smiled slightly. "Mengde, I have my own arrangements."

Cao Cao looked at Lou Gui and smiled. "Then please Uncle Zi."

Lou Gui was overjoyed, arched his hand, and turned to leave. Cao Cao stood on the city wall, watching Lou Gui order his subordinates, and watching his entourage run in all directions, the smile in his eyes gradually cold. He raised his head, looked into the distance, and sneered: "Sun Ce, I have prepared the fish and meat for you, and the knife has also been delivered, and then it depends on your means." ”

There was a slight sound of footsteps behind me. Cao Cao's eyes shrank slightly, turned sideways slightly, and he was relieved to see Cao Ang standing not far away, looking concerned.

"Zixiu, what's the matter?"

"Father, why is your saber missing?"

Cao Cao touched the empty belt and sighed. "Alas, it can't be done to steal chickens, and it will erode a handful of rice."

——

Lou Gui is a native of Nanyang, and he has wanted to make contributions since he was a child, but unfortunately he has never had the opportunity. Yuan Shu and Sun Jian entered Nanyang successively, he was neither optimistic about Yuan Shu nor Sun Jian, and when his old acquaintance Xu You came to persuade him to join Yuan Shao, he was moved and decided to seize the opportunity to fight.

The decision turned out to be very wise. Cao Cao was self-aware, knowing that Nanyang's Haoqiang would not support him, and the 10,000 Jingzhou soldiers he took from Yuan Shu might change banners again at any time, so he retreated, but in the end he cheapened him. With 10,000 people all of a sudden, Lou Gui was full of fighting spirit and felt that the road of life suddenly became bright and open. As long as he guards Wancheng and drags Yuan Shu, he has made a great contribution to Yuan Shao, and it is not enough to pay homage to the marquis.

Needless to say Cao Cao, Lou Gui did his best, using both soft and hard, coercion and temptation, forcing the heroes in Wancheng to move their families into the small city, and all the grain stored in Wancheng was received in the small city for safekeeping, and no one was left to Yuan Shu. Even if Yuan Shu broke through the big city, it would be an empty city.

Wancheng was built in the Spring and Autumn Period, originally the location of the ancient Shen State and the Lu State, and the King of Chu Wen marched north, destroyed the Shen State and the Lu State, and established Wanyi, wanting to use this as a base to win the Central Plains. Since then, Wancheng has been a famous city in the world, and there are tens of thousands of people in a circle around the city for sixteen miles. In that year, Liu Bang, the ancestor of the Han Dynasty, entered the customs, passed through Wancheng, and besieged the city with an army of 100,000 with Zhang Liang's strategy, which forced Nanyang Taishou to surrender. Now Yuan Shu only has more than 10,000 people, and it is mainly based on Jingzhou's soldiers, not to mention attacking the city, it is not enough to surround the city, and the Nanyang heroes do not think so.

But moving into a small town isn't a big deal. A few years ago, the Battle of the Yellow Turban was still fresh in my memory, Zhang Mancheng, Zhao Hong, and Han Zhong occupied Wancheng successively, and fought with Qin Jie and Zhu Jun, fighting for several months, with countless casualties. Now that the war is going on again, no one wants to be a ghost under the sword, and it is not a bad thing to hide in a small fortified town.

He Xian thought the same way. As Cao Cao's staunchest supporter, he was the first to live in the small city. Two days later, he received a message from the manor that Sun Ce had surrounded the He family's manor and could attack it at any time.

He Xian was so angry that he scolded. Yuan Shu is a wolf, and he wants to kill the He family. Although Sun Ce was young, he was even more ruthless than his old son Sun Jian. Sun Jian just killed Wang Rui and Zhang Shi, but Sun Ce destroyed the Xiangyang Kuai family and the Xi family, and he was already a well-known butcher. Yuan Shu sent him to attack He's family, and his intentions were vicious.

Cao Cao knew that he could only persuade He Xian not to be impatient. Hejiawu Fort is newly built and very strong, and Sun Ce will definitely not be able to take it.

Although He Xian was very confident in his manor, his resentment towards Yuan Shu was undiminished, and he strongly encouraged Cao Cao to go out of the city to face Yuan Shu. Cao Cao politely refused, and wholeheartedly strengthened the city defenses of the small city, as if facing a great enemy.

Regarding Cao Cao's caution, Lou Gui and others saw it in their eyes and despised it on their faces.

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