Cao Cao stood on the tower looking at the enemy, and the formation of Yuan's army was already faintly visible in the distance. What disturbed him was that Yuan's army did not rush to attack, but slowly began to build a camp. These camps are very simple, but the layout is like fish scales, layered on top of each other, and connected by rings.

But these things made Cao Cao a little frightened. Yuan Shaojun obviously changed his mind and planned to fight a protracted war. This is not good news. These fish scale villages are not strong enough, but they are easy to support each other, and if they are repaired, they can cover the craftsmen to continue building a little bit ahead, and they can be repaired under the enemy's nose in one breath. It will be like a grinding plate, slowly but forcefully smoothing out the last drop of Cao Jun's blood, grain and grass.

"It seems that the successive defeats have finally made Yuan Shaoxue smart." Cao Cao shook his head and walked down to look at the enemy tower with some uneasiness. Seeing this, Cheng Yu on the side said with a slight displeasure: "Lord, the courage of the Yuan army has been lost, as long as our army is strictly defended by the city, and there is a strange strategy to attack the enemy, after a long time, the Yuan army will inevitably collapse and flee!" ”

"Zhongde, don't you know, Yuan Shao is not exactly the scheming and empty-sighted guy in your eyes. If everything is as before, when the Yuan family is invincible, Yuan Shao may play tricks and make mistakes again and again. But now Yuan Shao has suffered losses in both the Ma family and us, the western front has completely fallen, and the eastern front has not dared to act rashly, and the 700,000 army has now been beaten to the point that only 400,000 are left in his hands, and he will be like a rusty sword, shedding those dirty and rotten rusts, and re-revealing the formidable edge! ”

When Xun Yu heard this, he also nodded in response: "In this battle, if Yuan Shao only brings one strategist, our army will be defeated - but there are too many capable people under him, and his voice is louder than the other, and Yuan Shao is a person who loves face." Naturally, they will indulge in vanity and play tricks on power, causing the nine-headed birds, each to fly to one side, and finally fall into the dust. Originally, I only hoped that Yuan Shao could reveal the biggest flaw and be hit by our army, even if he repented, he would not do anything again. But now that the Ma family has pulled out Yuan Shao's shame early, he only needs to be bold and strategic, he can rein in the army's heart, and slowly move forward, and he still has a chance of turning the tables around. The camp tent in front of him is the best proof that Yuan Shao let go of his arrogance and went all out to fight with our army. ”

"The biggest problem now is that Yuan Shao has hidden his weakness very well, and we have nothing to do." Jiang Ji followed behind the three of them, and under the light of these three people, he didn't seem to be affected at all, and still said a little cynically: "Yuan Shao's biggest reliance at present is that the army is sufficient and the grain and grass are abundant. In terms of troops, if he really fights with Yuan Shao, he may not be able to achieve success in a year and a half; At present, the only thing that can be moved is grain and grass, as long as Yuan Shao's grain and grass are burned, it will become the last straw that crushes the camel......."

"Grain and grass, ......" Cao Cao heard this word, and his eyebrows couldn't help but show a little worry: Jizhou has had a bumper harvest for three consecutive years, and the savings are enough to support more than 700,000 troops to fight abroad - in contrast, Cao Cao's situation is much more embarrassing, and even the army has to be forced to go to the field to tuntian, which makes the people of Jizhou laugh. Now in order to fulfill the alliance with the Ma family, Cao Cao also had to send troops to help in the war. This situation made Cao Cao, who had a much lower starting point than Yuan Shao, feel sad for a while.

Cao Jun's grain and grass can't support it for two months.

Everyone here knows this. Although Cheng Yu is the main battle faction, he can't help but regret at this time: "It's a pity that Xi Zhi was sent to Hedong by the lord, if he is here, then Jing Ancao may bring some information." ”

"Unlikely." Xun Yu shook his head and said, "Since Yuan Shao has changed his strategy and was burned down by Ma Chao in the granary of Wen County, he will naturally pay more attention to the protection of grain and grass. Besides, the Red Eagle Rider under Gao Ran's command is not a corpse vegetarian. If Yuan Shao is deliberately protective, don't say that it is Jing'an Cao, even if it is the shadow of the Ma family, it is impossible to know where Yuan Shao is storing grain. ”

The problem was so difficult that the atmosphere was a little awkward for a while. Especially when Cheng Yu and Xun Yu mentioned Hedong and Xi Zhicai, everyone knew what Cao Cao's move was, but the problem was that the last card to balance Ma Chao was really a bit terrifying. At that moment, everyone had a tacit understanding to bypass this topic and return to the matter of Yuan Shao's military rations.

"Let's do it for the time being, order the armies, and be cautious about the defense." Cao Cao saw that the three of them were in turmoil, and he knew that he couldn't think of any brilliant ideas today, so he immediately made this decision.

However, when he walked back to the sleeping tent, Cao Cao couldn't help but turn around and ask Xun Yu: "How is Ma Chao's strength now?" ”

"Isn't it good?" Xun Yu frowned, and couldn't help but say a few good words from Ma Chao: "Ma Chao is like a god with soldiers, he first retreated to Yanshi, and then outwitted Jinyang thousands of miles away, and then burned the Wenxian camp, continuously pursued Chun Yuqiong to Shanyang, and then directly destroyed the Yuan army on the western front. Now the army has been divided into three routes, wantonly seizing and merging counties and counties, and everywhere they go, they will not surrender. If it weren't for the fact that Bingzhou has always been a place where dragons and snakes are mixed, I'm afraid that at this time, Bingzhou would have already been ruled by the Ma family. But ......."

"However, even so, presumably under such an offensive, within a month, Ma Chao will still be able to obtain the entire territory of the state." Cao Cao saw Xun Yu hesitate, and couldn't help but complete Xun Yu's unspoken words. Then he looked at the west and said unwillingly: "Hedong Wei family, a line that the Cao family has managed with great difficulty, I am afraid that it will be completely cut off by the Ma family." ”

"Lord, if in the opinion of his subordinates, it is better to give up in Hedong." Xun Yu's gentle and jade-like face showed a hesitant look for the first time, and said: "The Ma family is now in full swing, and since Ma Mengqi attacked Hanzhong, he no longer killed the captives harshly, but gathered the hearts of the people with the posture of righteousness and benevolence. Once Xi Zhicai's matter in Hedong is revealed, what our army will have to face is the crazy and vicious revenge of the Ma family. ”

Speaking of this, Xun Yu paused, saw that Cao Cao had listened to his suggestion, and continued: "Now that Yuan Shu's side is being dragged by Sun Ce, our army is not out, Sun Ce is difficult to support alone, and he will eventually stop with Yuan Shu." That Yuan Shu has always been narrow-minded and will be revenged, and he must have hated the lord in his heart; There is also Liu Biao in Jingzhou, although he did not move at the moment, but Yuan Shao was defeated, Liu Biao said that he would not be able to take the initiative and provoke us. If the Cao family provokes the Ma family again this time, they are afraid that they will be besieged by the three parties, and it will be too late to regret it. ”

Xun Yu's words, every word is conclusive, although it is inevitable that there is a suspicion of being involved, but the ancient strategists have always needed this sense of crisis to take precautions. After the words fell, Cao Cao was also said to be worried, and couldn't help but say: "In this case, you send a message to Xi Zhicai and warn him to act cautiously and plan to act." If possible, turn that incident into a sharp blade buried in the belly of the Ma family, highlight the edge at the critical moment, and trap the Ma family in chaos......."

"That's very good." Xun Yu nodded in agreement, and was about to leave, when someone suddenly reported: "My lord, Your Majesty has a secret decree to deliver to you." ”

Cao Cao took Liu Xie's secret letter, his eyes lit up, and he hurriedly walked to the front of the map hanging in the tent, and after looking for it, he was surprised: "It turned out to be this place!" ”

Xun Yu didn't know what was going on, but he didn't want to get involved in the affairs of Cao Gong and His Majesty. But just as he turned to leave, he was called by Cao Cao: "Wen Ruo, do you think this plan is feasible?" Xun Yu stepped forward helplessly, took the secret letter in Cao Cao's hand and looked at it, and his face couldn't help but change: "Your Majesty's hand!" …….”

"Too unbelievable?" Cao Cao spoke.

"Exactly." Xun Yu nodded, and after pondering for a moment, he spoke again: "Although Your Majesty's plan seems to be dangerous, if you want to take it, you must give it first, and our army is trapped in Wei County and Yangping County, and there will not be much progress." If the lord has the courage, he might as well let it go! At the end of speaking, Xun Yu's tone had become passionate and sonorous, and the demeanor of a gentle gentleman was swept away, like a gambler who had encountered a wonderful bet and was eager to try!

"Bet?" Cao Cao smiled, and a gleam suddenly appeared in his eyes: "This is indeed a gamble, but how can I, Cao Mengde, ever be afraid of any gamble?!" ”