The easternmost part of Yanzhou, at the junction of Xuzhou and Yuzhou, is the city and the capital.

After Cao Cao coerced the Son of Heaven from Luoyang to the east, he first placed the Son of Heaven in Dingtao County, Jiyin County, Yanzhou, his old nest, and prepared to temporarily take Dingtao as the center, but he did not prevent Lu Bu from leading his troops to the west, colluding with Yu Poison, and intervening sideways, at that time, Cao Cao's troops were damaged in the Battle of Luoyang, which was not enough to completely suppress Yu Poison and Lu Bu, and Jiyin was too close to Zhang Liao's forces, Liu Xie was afraid, and Liu Bei echoed the Son of Heaven, and finally Cao Cao had to compromise and move the Son of Heaven to Rencheng County, which was not in a good position, and renamed Rencheng County Rendu, Build a palace and walk as the Son of Heaven.

Subsequently, the imperial court made Cao Cao the prince, worshiped the general, and recorded the book. Cao Cao accepted the position of Taifu, but the position of general was too sensitive, and the imperial court deprived Zhang Liao of the post of general, but who dared to accept it? Cao Cao naturally would not put himself on the cusp of the storm, and he would be in real trouble by being famous, and he would not be accepted as a general. In history, Cao Cao restored the prime minister system after pacifying Hebei and appointed himself prime minister, but now with Cao Cao's situation, how can he expect the prime minister, so he only uses Taifu to record Shang Shushi, leading the hussar general and Yanzhou pastor. However, his father Cao Song was the captain, Cheng Yu was the Shang Shuling, and Cao Ren and other relatives and other cronies were all in real positions.

Xuzhou Mu Lu Bu because of the meritorious service, the soldiers and horses are second only to Cao Cao, and because of the Zeng Dong Zhuo, meritorious to the community, was relied on by the Son of Heaven, worshiped as the great Sima, opened the house, the same general, led the Xuzhou pastor. Of course, with Cao Cao's means, although Lu Bu, the great Sima, was higher than the hussar general in terms of military rank, he was only a vain position, and he did not have the power to command the entire imperial court, so he could only control the soldiers and horses of his headquarters. And Lu Bu is not often in the capital, but still based in Xuzhou.

Liu Bei was a relative of the Son of Heaven, after King Jing of Zhongshan, he ascended to the throne of the third duke, was appointed as Situ, and worshiped as the general of the chariot and cavalry, and led the Yuzhou pastor. Most of the counties and counties in Yuzhou are now under Zhang Liao's control, Liu Bei, the pastor of Yuzhou, is naturally empty, and his station is not in Yuzhou, but he is about Yu and Zhang Fei, two fierce generals, are both in charge of soldiers and horses, so Cao Cao does not dare to underestimate him. Moreover, Liu Bei relied on his charm to recruit a lot of talents, which made Cao Cao deeply jealous.

Montenegro is poisonous, the weakest, and was named General Wei, but he relied on Liu Xie, stationed on the side of Rendu, and guarded the palace.

As for Liu Xie, the son of heaven, for some reason, the Taifu Liu Yu and most of the courtiers died in the chaotic battle of evacuating Luoyang, and only a few old ministers such as Yang Biao and Xuan Fan were left around, plus Dong Guiren was abandoned to death, and after arriving in Kanto, he has been regretting and plotting Zhang Liao's affairs, and his heart is depressed, although he still has a bit of wisdom, but the spirit hidden in his chest has been lost, and the government is basically controlled by Cao, Lu, Liu, and Yu.

It was the crisp autumn weather, and in the meeting hall of the Taifu Mansion in Rendu, Cao Cao was discussing with Cheng Yu, Dong Zhao, Ren Jun and other strategists. After Cao Cao arrived in Kanto, he recruited many talents by virtue of the momentum of the Son of Heaven, but there are still few top talents, mainly Cheng Yu, Dong Zhao and others.

"Duke Ming, Zhang Liao's expedition to the Western Regions, but the truth? How many troops are sent? ”

Shang Shuling and General Cheng Yu asked Cao Cao with a solemn face.

Cao Cao didn't speak, and Ren Jun on the side hurriedly said: "Cheng Junshi, the news is undoubtedly confirmed, Zhang Liao has been on an expedition to the Western Regions for a year, with 30,000 troops stationed in Liangzhou and 20,000 in the Western Regions, totaling more than 50,000. ”

"The soldiers of the northern frontier also went out to conquer Xianbei and Wuhuan?" Cheng Yu twisted his eyebrows and asked again.

Ren Jun nodded again: "There is no doubt about it, this time Zhang Liao's expedition against Xianbei Wuhuan is very large, sending no less than 100,000 troops, Saibei has already engaged in battle, Gao Shun defeated Budugen outside Yanmen Sai, and went north to Xianbei Wangting, there is also a big battle outside Youzhou Saiwai, and Xianbei and Wuhuan in the east have been united......"

Cheng Yu couldn't help but show joy on his face, and said to Cao Cao: "Ming Gong, this is a good opportunity." ”

"Oh?" Cao Cao squinted his eyes: "Zhongde and come." ”

Cheng Yu compared the map on the desk: "Today, under the thirteen states, Zhang Liao destroyed Yuan Shao and possessed most of it, the princes are difficult to compete with, if they don't have the opportunity to breathe and wave their troops eastward with the momentum of thunder, then the Ming Duke will be defeated!" ”

Cheng Yu wandered two steps, and said: "Those who want to open up the territory must first settle down, Liangzhou, the Western Regions, and the Northern Xinjiang are all places where the division fights hard, and it is difficult to determine for hundreds of years. If this opportunity is missed, when Zhang Liao cleans up the Western Regions, pacifies the northern frontier, and calmly comes to the east, then the Ming Duke will no longer rise, only the ears of the north. ”

In fact, after Zhang Liao pacified Yuan Shao in Hebei, Cao Cao was always vigilant against Zhang Liao's army moving east and south, and made defensive preparations, but he never expected that Zhang Liao ignored them at all, and turned to the northwest to expedition to the western regions of Liangzhou. Cao Cao and Cheng Yu and other strategists couldn't believe it, because in their eyes, Zhang Liao was cunning, and Yuan Shao was tricked to death by Zhang Liao.

"Is Zhongde trying to plot against Lu Buhu?" Cao Cao listened to Cheng Yu's words and slowly spoke. Of course, he would not think that Cheng Yu was going to suggest that he take the opportunity to attack Zhang Liao, even if Zhang Liao's army went on an expedition to the northwest, the places of Luoyang, Hedong, and Hebei were not easy for them to capture, not to mention that the imperial court was now infighting, once he moved his troops, he knew that Lu Bu and Liu Bei would not attack his back road, so he understood what the good opportunity Cheng Yu was talking about was, that is, to first determine the interior of the imperial court, except for Lu Bu, the biggest variable.

Sure enough, Cheng Yu said solemnly: "If Yu wants to plot against Lu Bu, it is Ming Gong who must plan quickly!" Früb, the villain of repetition and injustice! And with Zhang Liao out of the state, if not removed, he Zhang Liao with troops, cloth must be the internal response, the disaster arises from the inside, it is really a big harm! The Duke of Ming must be eliminated and then set the land of Yan and Xu, so that he can compete with Zhang Liao in the Central Plains. If it is slowed down, once Zhang Liao goes eastward, Lu Bu will rise with it both inside and outside, and we will die without a place to be buried. ”

Cao Cao pondered for a moment and said: "Although Lu Bu is not a wise person, he is brave, and his elite cavalry is even better at fighting. ”

"Ming Gong." On the side, Dong Zhao arched his hand and said: "The reason why Lu Bu was able to fight with Ming Gong in the past was because Chen Gong planned for it. Now that the cloth has lost the Chen Palace, it is still a gradual increase in the number of people, but it is not a matter of worry, and the Ming Gong can quickly attack it! ”

Lu Bu had a suspicion of Chen Gong as early as when Chen Gong instigated Hao Meng's rebellion, and just half a month ago, Cheng Yu used a counter-tactic to make Lu Bu and Chen Gong fall out of harmony and expel Chen Gong. After Cao Cao learned the news at that time, he summoned Cheng Yu and other strategists to celebrate, and when he heard Dong Zhao mention this matter, he couldn't help but nod in agreement.

Cao Cao was indeed jealous of Lu Bu's force and ability to fight, but he could only laugh at Lu Bu's strategy, and as soon as Chen Gong went, Cao Cao's jealousy of Lu Bu went for the most part. As for what he said earlier, Lu Bu should not be underestimated, in fact, he just thought about defeat before he thought about victory.

However, there are other people who make Cao Cao jealous: "Lu Bu is not worried, lest he secretly cooperate with Liu Xuande, then Guan Yu and Zhang Fei will be his minions, and if they fight, they will lose both." ”

Liu Bei was on the side, which was the real reason why Cao Cao was indecisive at this time.

When the car drove eastward, Liu Bei just drove with him, and everything was dominated by Cao Cao, which made Cao Cao lose his vigilance for a while, but after Lu Bu drove him, Liu Bei and Lu Bu formed an alliance and took the opportunity to rise rapidly.

Liu Bei and Lu Bu united, enough to compete with Cao Cao, plus a Yu poison, if he used troops without authorization at this time, most of them would be defeated, not to mention that Zhang Liao's army went south, I am afraid that just sending a soldier and horse can sweep them away. This is an outcome that Cao Cao would never want to see.

"Ming Gong, although Liu Bei is related to Yu and Zhang Fei is the auxiliary wing, there is really no need to worry." Dong Zhao said with a smile: "He has always loved his name and cherished himself, he has many concerns about everything, and he has no good strategists, so he is one step behind. When Liu Bei comes to his senses, Lu Bu has already been ambushed, and Xuzhou is already in his hands, so Liu Bei Yan dares to act rashly, so the overall situation can be determined. ”

Cao Cao seemed to close his eyes: "How to plan Lu Bu quickly?" ”

Dong Zhao didn't answer, but glanced at Cheng Yu, Cheng Yu said: "Lu Bu tasted the intention of marrying the lord, and half a month later it was the period of the court meeting. ”

Cao Cao pondered for a moment, and his fine eyes suddenly opened: "It is feasible." ”

Cheng Yu and Dong Zhao glanced at each other, knowing that they had persuaded Cao Cao, and couldn't help but smile.