"Could it be that Liu Biao colluded with Cao Cao and wanted to attack us from the north and south?" Li Yan guessed.

Su Zhe shook his head, "It shouldn't be, Liu Biao has only been more than ten days since Cai Mao's defeat to now, and it is impossible for him to react so quickly." ”

Li Yan nodded: "That means that Cao Cao is worried about the Son of Heaven, so he took advantage of our war with Liu Biao and wanted to take advantage of the weakness?" ”

Su Zhe was silent and did not make a conclusion.

After all, in the past history, when the Han Emperor returned to Luoyang, Cao Cao was edicted to welcome him, and finally deceived the Son of Heaven from the hands of a group of Bai Bojun and turned to his own territory.

Although history has changed, Cao Cao's ambition may not change, and it is not impossible for him to hold the Son of Heaven hostage.

It's just that Su Zhe remembered that Cao Cao still showed great respect for the Son of Heaven in the early stage, and he went to escort him to follow the edict of the Son of Heaven, but now there is no edict from the Son of Heaven, but he comes uninvited, which is a little inconsistent with Cao Cao's style in the early stage.

Could it be that the Son of Heaven gave Cao Cao a secret edict, or is it a hint that it can't be done?

In Su Zhe's mind, this guess couldn't help but flash.

At this time, Gan Ning said: "Lord, I heard that Cao Cao has recently subdued a million yellow turbans, and he has already presented himself as a Yanzhou pastor, and the momentum is flourishing, and we only have 3,000 soldiers and horses left in Wancheng, but I am afraid that we will not be able to stop Cao Cao's 30,000 elite soldiers." ”

Su Zhe didn't need him to remind him, he also knew how strong Cao Cao was, and Liu Biao in the south was simply heaven and earth compared to Cao Cao.

"Lord, according to the current situation, Cao Cao has become our biggest threat, it is better to abandon Fancheng, go all out to return north, and go to the enemy to retreat Cao Cao first." Li Yan also saw that Cao Cao was stronger than Liu Biao.

"Let me do the math first." Su Zhe closed his eyes, searched for historical memories, and weighed the pros and cons.

After a long silence, a subtle sneer crossed the corner of his mouth.

At that moment, he flicked his hand and shouted: "Gan Ning listens to the order." ”

"The end will be."

"I ordered you to lead two thousand soldiers and horses to defend Fancheng, even if you fight to the last person, you must defend until I return to the division, can you do it?" Su Zhe looked at him squarely and asked sharply.

Gan Ning's expression was immediately shocked, and when he heard what Su Zhe meant, he obviously planned to lead the main force to fight Cao Cao, but he was reluctant to give up Fancheng, so he wanted to defend it to the death.

Li Yan's face changed, and he hurriedly said: "Lord, although Gan Xingba is strong, but Huang Zu has 40,000 elite soldiers, plus the existing soldiers and horses in Xiangyang, there are nearly 60,000 people, you ask him to use 2,000 men and horses to fight against the siege of thirty times the enemy, will it be a little too reluctant." ”

Su Zhe said with a straight face: "If we want to achieve a great cause, it is absolutely impossible to rely on a Nanyang alone, we must capture Jingzhou, if we take Jingzhou, we must first take Xiangyang, Fancheng, is our springboard to capture Xiangyang." ”

"If we give up Fancheng now, Liu Biao will definitely garrison heavy troops here, and if we want to conquer it again, it will not be easy, I don't know how much time it will take, how many soldiers will be sacrificed, and how much food will be consumed."

"Therefore, Fancheng must not give up, I not only want to retreat Cao Cao, but also defend this springboard to take Xiangyang in the south!"

Li Yan's heart was shocked, and he suddenly understood Su Zhe's ambition, so he didn't say anything more.

"Xingba, I know this task is too difficult, do you have the courage to take on this heavy responsibility?" Su Zhe's expectant gaze looked deeply at Gan Ning.

At this moment, Gan Ning was tossed by Su Zhe's foresight, and his blood couldn't help but be ignited.

He patted his chest and said proudly: "This task, I Gan Ning took it, the lord rest assured, people are in the city, the city is broken, and I Gan Ning will live and die with this Fancheng!" ”

"Okay, with your words, I'm relieved!" Su Zhe was relieved and smiled with satisfaction.

On the same day, Su Zhe left two thousand elite soldiers, led by Gan Ning to defend Fancheng, and he took the remaining four or five thousand soldiers and horses to go out of the city under the cover of night, and went north under the starry night.

A few days later, he passed through Xinye, picked up Cai Shu, and took him to Wancheng.

The army ran wildly all the way and arrived in Wancheng in a few days.

At this moment, the news of Cao Cao's invasion had already spread throughout the city, and the soldiers and civilians of the city were once again in a state of flux.

The emperor and queen learned that Cao Cao was going south and Su Zhe was going north to resist Cao's recital, so in order to boost Su Zhe's morale, they personally moved outside the city to see Su Zhe off.

In the west of the city, Su Zhe met Liu Xie and Fu Shou again.

The monarch and the ministers were polite, and Su Zhe simply explained the situation in the north and the south, as well as the strategy of how he planned to deal with it.

When the emperor and queen heard that Huang Zu led an army of 40,000 to Xiangyang, they were all taken aback, and when they heard that Su Zhe planned to use 2,000 soldiers and horses to defend Fancheng and deal with the attack of Liu Biao's 30-fold army, they were all shocked and gasped.

"Su Qing, if you leave 2,000 soldiers and horses to guard Fancheng, will it be a bit too big?" Fu Shou questioned.

Su Zhe said lightly: "Fancheng is related to whether we can recover Jingzhou in the future, and we must defend it, but the minister can only divide two thousand soldiers and horses, and whether he can hold it depends on the strength of that Gan Xingba." ”

The emperor and queen glanced at each other, and there was obviously a bit of distrust in their expressions.

Fu Shou said again: "Even if Fancheng can be defended, but Cao Cao has 30,000 elite soldiers, and he has ambushed a million yellow scarves, and the momentum is flourishing, Su Qing can indeed stop it with your current strength?" ”

"There's no need to worry about it, to deal with Cao Cao, the minister has his own way." Su Zhe sold Guanzi, and there was a bit of mysterious confidence in his tone.

Fu Shou didn't want to ask too much, but the trust in Su Zhe in his heart began to waver.

Although Su Zhe defeated Cai Mao before, it was only 20,000 enemies after all, but at present, Cao Cao and Liu Biao are attacking from the north and south, and the number of attacking troops adds up to nearly 100,000!

And Su Zhe, the available soldiers at hand, are only seven thousand.

With 7,000 against 100,000, even if Su Zhe is really a genius who has passed through the heavens and the earth, Fu Shou can no longer give him more trust.

Just when Fu Shou was worried, Su Zhe suddenly asked: "According to the minister's understanding, Cao Cao is still respectful to His Majesty and the court, and the minister has no direct conflict of interest with him, but he just subdued the Yellow Turban Army, and rushed to lead the army to attack. ”

"How is that possible!" Fu Shou immediately shook his head in denial.

"That's Your Majesty?" Su Zhe's gaze looked at Liu Xie again.

Liu Xie hurriedly shook his head, "How is this possible, I have the protection of such a powerful loyal minister as Su Qing, it is enough to sit back and relax, is it necessary to summon another Cao Cao who does not know loyalty, Su Qing, you think too much." ”

"Yes, that's what Your Majesty said." Fu Shou smiled and said with relief: "Su Qing has just made a great achievement, proving your determination and ability to protect the Son of Heaven and support the Han family, Your Majesty and I have absolute trust in Su Qing, and we have to rely on Su Qing to revive the Han family, how could I summon that Cao Cao to come, Your Majesty and the palace are not like that, Su Qing must not think nonsense." ”

The emperor and queen vigorously denied it, and Su Zhe had no conclusive evidence, so naturally he couldn't ask too much.

At that moment, Su Zhe smiled and arched his hand: "The minister is just asking casually, Your Majesty and Niangniang must not mind, the minister has to rush to resist Cao Cao, so he will leave first." ”

Fu Shou flicked his hands and smiled: "Then the palace and Your Majesty are waiting for the good news of Su Qing's victory in Wancheng." ”

Su Zhe didn't say anything more, turned around and got on his horse, and galloped away.

As soon as he walked away, Fu Shou put away his smile, looked back at Liu Xie, and lowered his voice: "Your Majesty, did you send someone to summon that Cao Cao to come privately?" ”

"Why would the queen ask that?" Liu Xie looked surprised.

Fu Shou frowned and said: "The concubine discussed with Your Majesty before, once Su Ziming's army is defeated, we will secretly order Cao Cao to come to escort him, this matter is only known to Your Majesty, and now Cao Cao suddenly went south, and the concubine has to have this suspicion." ”

Liu Xie pursed his lips in displeasure and complained: "Queen, you don't believe me, since we fled from Chang'an, I have obeyed your will in everything, and I have never made decisions without authorization. ”

As he spoke, Liu Xie's face was full of grievances, just like a wronged child, and tears seemed to be in his eyes.

Seeing this, Fu Shou hurriedly said apologetically: "Your Majesty, don't misunderstand, the concubine is just asking casually, we are husband and wife, how can the concubine not believe Your Majesty." ”

"Do you believe me? Hmph, I feel it, you believe in Su Ziming, you believe in me a little more. Liu Xie flicked his sleeves unhappily, turned around and went back to the city on his own.

"I'm still jealous, and I'm playing with a child's temper, it's really ......" Fu Shou shook his head with a wry smile, and had to follow closely.

Su Zhe retreated, but he didn't do it directly, his eyes fell not far from the royal car.

There, three slim beauties were already standing there, and Baba looked at him for a long time.

Huang Yueying, Diao Chan, and Su Xiaoxiao also went out of the city to see each other.

Since Su Zhe's southern expedition, they haven't seen each other for a long time, and they have long missed it in their hearts, and now that they heard that Su Zhe passed through Wancheng and didn't enter, they naturally wanted to rush to meet them.

"Let's go, let's go." Su Zhe gestured to Cai Shu beside him.

Cai Shu hesitated for a moment, but she had to turn her horse, follow behind Su Zhe, and slowly approached.

"Childe~~" Diao Chan and Su Xiaoxiao, when they saw Su Zhe, their faces were full of joy, and Ying Ying bowed.

Su Zhe jumped off the horse, helped the two of them up, and comforted: "You two have worked hard to take care of the house. ”

The second daughter was relieved and said that it was not hard.

Su Zhe looked at Huang Yueying again, and sighed with a wry smile: "I didn't expect to kill another trip to bite the gold halfway, and I was tossed by Cao Cao like this, it seems that the day when we got married can only be pushed back." ”

At the mention of the word "marriage", Huang Yueying's face suddenly blushed.

She then said suspiciously: "Cao * knows, who is Cheng Yanjin?" ”

Su Zhe was stunned for a moment, coughed dryly and smiled: "It doesn't matter who that guy is, the important thing is that I brought back an acquaintance of yours." ”

As he spoke, Su Zhe turned around and gestured to Cai Shu.

At this moment, Cai Shu had already dismounted, but she was standing a few steps behind Su Zhe, and she didn't come forward for a long time, as if she was worried about something.

When Su Zhe stepped out of the way, her gaze happened to meet Huang Yueying's eyes.

At that moment, Cai Shu's heart was suddenly surging, tangled and coiled, and she looked at Huang Yueying with a little embarrassment, not knowing where to exit.

In her heart, she felt guilty about Huang Yueying, regretting that she shouldn't have been carried away in the first place, and actually did the stupid thing of murdering Huang Yueying.

At the same time, there was still a little jealousy in her heart.

Because she knew that in Su Zhe's heart, from beginning to end, the most important woman was Huang Yueying.

Now Su Zhe accepted her, just because of her deep affection, everything she paid for Su Zhe moved Su Zhe.

Whether Su Zhe saved her because he liked it or because he was grateful, Cai Shu didn't know the bottom.

Now, she wants to share this extremely smart man with someone Su Zhe really likes, and she will naturally feel a little uncomfortable with her, who has always been proud.

Because in her Cai Shu's world, she never knew what the word "sharing" was, only the word "exclusive".

"Sister~Sister." After staring at each other for a long time, Cai Shu finally spit out two words from between her teeth.