Yanzhou, the state pastoral office.

In the study, Cao Cao put his hands on his thighs, his waist was straight, his chest was pulled out, and he was sitting upright. He held a scroll of paper in his hand, clutching it tightly. Those slender eyes narrowed, revealing a terrifying cold light.

In the study, there are also Xun Yu, Xi Zhicai, Xun You and Cheng Yu and others.

The expressions of everyone were extremely solemn.

Cao Cao took a deep breath, adjusted his emotions, and said in a deep voice: "Wang Lei is a self-proclaimed general, supervising Youyou and Hebei Prefectures. However, Li Ru added fuel to the fire, not only agreed to Wang Lei's request, but also gave Wang Lei the right to hold the festival and supervise the four prefectures of Youyou, Hebei, Yan, and Qingdao, and openly instigated Wang Lei to extend his hand to our territory. What do you think about this? ”

Xi Zhicai analyzed without thinking: "There is no doubt that this is Li Ru's discordant plan. Li Ru gave Wang Lei benefits because he wanted to use this right to provoke a fight between the lord and Wang Lei. Wang Lei sits on Youzhou and Jizhou, and the lord sits on Qingzhou and Yanzhou. Although Wang Lei is even better in terms of the strength of the two sides, the two armies clashed, and the result was definitely to kill 1,000 enemies and lose 800. When the time comes, the strength of the lord and Wang Lei will be weakened, and it is likely that Li Ru will make a profit from it. ”

Xun Yu's expression was cold, and he said in a deep voice: "Li Ru's intentions are not good, and his heart can be punished." ”

Cao Cao said in a deep voice: "Everyone understands Li Ru's thoughts, the problem is that Wang Lei has the right to meddle in Yanzhou and Qingzhou. For us, it's not good. ”

Cheng Yu said coldly: "This Li Ru is simply damned. ”

Xun You smiled at the corner of his mouth, and said lightly: "Li Ru is actually not a bad thing to do this. ”

Cao Cao asked, "What does Gongda think?" ”

Xun You smiled slightly and replied: "The lord owns Yanzhou and Qingzhou, which has become an obstacle to Wang Lei's south, blocking the opportunity for Wang Lei's southward expansion. ”

Cao Cao nodded, did not speak, and continued to listen.

On the contrary, Cheng Yu was anxious and said impatiently: "Gongda, if you say that, I think it's even worse." The lord blocked Wang Lei's way south, and Wang Lei had to meddle in the affairs of Yanzhou and Qingzhou, and it was impossible to focus only on the rear as before. ”

Xun You smiled and said: "Zhongde is reasonable, Wang Lei will indeed meddle in the affairs of Yanzhou and Qingzhou. ”

Xun Yu said: "If Gongda has any ideas, say them together." ”

Xun You said: "First of all, we judge Wang Lei's next moves, and I think there are two. First, Wang Lei solved Gongsun Zan in Youzhou, and he will definitely go west and merge with the state next. If the annexation is not resolved, there will be a threat to the west of Wang Lei, and the battalion may face a threat at any time, so I judge that Wang Lei will go out and merge the state. ”

Second, when Wang Lei attacked Bingzhou, he would intervene in Yanzhou and Qingzhou. The lord owned Yanzhou and Qingzhou, which already posed a threat to Wang Lei. If the development of the lord is not curbed, the lord will definitely become Wang Lei's enemy. ”

Xun You's eyes were firm, and he said in a deep voice: "Therefore, I conclude that Wang Lei's next focus is on merging the state, and then meddling in the affairs of Qingzhou, a two-pronged approach." On the one hand, it took the annexation of states and expanded its power; On the one hand, curb the development of the lord in order to defeat the lord in the future. ”

Cao Cao said: "Gongda's analysis is penetrating, and I agree. ”

Xun Yu also said: "I also agree! ”

Xi Zhicai said: "Gongda hasn't gotten to the point yet, why isn't it a bad thing?" ”

Xun You smiled and replied, "After talking about Wang Lei, let's analyze Li Ru." Judging from the battles between Wang Lei and Li Ru, Li Ru was repeatedly defeated by Wang Lei's injury, and his hatred for Wang Lei was absolutely far away from the fear of the lord. ”

"If you want to attack Wang Lei, it must be feasible to unite with Li Ru."

"Therefore, I propose to unite with Li Ru and attack Jizhou together."

"As the saying goes, the first strike is the strongest, and the second strike suffers." Xun You's expression was serious, and he said slowly: "If we continue to expand our strength, and Wang Lei's strength stops. Then, there is no doubt that you should choose to develop your own strength and not fight against Wang Lei for the time being. But today's situation is different, Wang Lei's power is developing too fast, and if Wang Lei is allowed to develop, the consequences will be unimaginable. ”

Xi Zhicai thought for a while and said, "Gongda's analysis has some truth, but I have a few questions. ”

Xun You said: "Please speak! ”

Xi Zhicai said: "Joining forces with Li Ru to attack means that we are about to confront Wang Lei. However, since it is a joint Li Ru and two armies, once each has its own thoughts, the situation will be very unfavorable for us. ”

Cheng Yu agreed: "The analysis of the military advisor is reasonable, and there are indeed certain risks. ”

Xun You said: "Wang Lei sits on Youzhou and Jizhou, and his strength is getting stronger and stronger. At this time, he still ignored it, or let Wang Lei attack and merge the state, and when Wang Lei dominates the north and builds up a general trend, it will be difficult to resist. Therefore, no matter what, we must attack Wang Lei and curb Wang Lei's development. ”

After a pause, Xun You continued: "Li Ru hates Wang Lei to the core, and he will definitely do his best. I don't believe it if I am a person like Liu Bei, but I believe in Li Ru. From another point of view, Li Ru would rather us sit big than further expand Wang Lei's power. ”

Xi Zhicai frowned and said in a deep voice: "However, once the coalition fails, Wang Lei's power is bound to be even better." At that time, Wang Lei took advantage of the victory to enter Yanzhou, and the consequences were unimaginable. Since Wang Lei wants to attack Jizhou, let Wang Lei attack, wait for both sides to lose, and then enter Jizhou and defeat Wang Lei in one fell swoop. ”

Xun You sighed lightly and said, "The idea of the military advisor is good, but the military advisor forgot one thing. Before, Li Ru looked at Gongsun Chan and Wang Lei with such thoughts as you, so that Zhang Liao was captured and Gongsun Chan was killed. If Li Ru had united with Gongsun Chan earlier, and when Wang Lei was crusading against Gongsun Zhan, he would have sent troops to attack Jizhou, and Wang Lei would not have been able to occupy Youzhou. ”

Xun You's tone was heavy: "Wang Lei is decisive, recruits talents, and is a promising master. Moreover, he has a lot of talent under his command. If you choose to watch from the wall, so that Wang Lei wins the state, at that time, the situation is out of control. ”

Xi Zhicai shook his head and said: "As long as you grasp the balance and ensure that Li Ru's army will not be completely defeated, I think there is a chance." ”

Xun You shook his head and retorted.

The two said that the public was reasonable, and the mother-in-law said that the mother-in-law was reasonable, and the argument was inseparable.

Cao Cao rubbed his sour temples, and after thinking about it, he said in a deep voice: "I already understand what you mean, the focus of the military division is to use Li Ru's strength to consume Wang Lei's strength, so as to create opportunities for us; The focus of Gongda is to unite with Li Ru, strike first, and take the initiative to defeat Wang Lei. ”

Xi Zhicai said: "Please think twice! ”

Xun You had a faint smile on his face, and he believed that Cao Cao would make a good choice.

After all, Cao Cao is the decision-maker.

After thinking about it for a long time, Cao Cao said: "I decided to adopt Gongda's suggestion, unite with Li Ru, and strike first." Yanzhou and Qingzhou are the land of four wars, and it is not easy to continue to expand. When we take Xuzhou, Yuzhou and other places, Wang Lei's strength will definitely be difficult to contain. Taking advantage of Wang Lei's strength is not strong, we will take the lead. In this battle, we must seize the initiative. ”

Xi Zhicai opened his mouth, and finally stopped persuading.

Cao Cao's thoughts, Xi Zhi can understand that Cao Cao is worried that Wang Lei will achieve the general trend, and it will be difficult to fight back when the time comes.