The tall city walls, the majestic soldiers, the lively streets, and the flowing crowds, this is Xuchang. It can be said that his prosperity is definitely no less than Yuan Shu's Shouchun.

A middle-aged man reclined on the bed, wearing only a red undershirt, a white cloth strip tied around his head, a bearded face, and a short stature, revealing very dark skin.

Even though it was already a cold day, several braziers in the study still warmed the place, and when the middle-aged man leaned back, he did not forget to read the book with his hand, and raised his left hand to signal the old servant to roast the stove more vigorously.

The old servant brought the charcoal fire, and carefully sewed the door tightly, for fear that the cold wind would make his master's headache worse. He bent down and pounded in several braziers one by one, and when the flames were stronger, he pushed several braziers closer to the middle-aged man, because he knew that his master was notoriously afraid of cold.

Creak... Creak...

A cold wind hit his back, and the old servant instinctively shivered, he knew that the door was opened, looked at his master's raised eyebrows, and then looked back at the person, and then retreated behind the screen with a peaceful expression.

There were three of them, one of whom was close to forty or fifty years old, and the others were all about thirty years old, each of whom had an extra fur robe wrapped around him, and was still shivering as he walked.

"My lord." The three of them spoke in unison.

The middle-aged man put down the book, propped up the bed with his hands, sat up, and said, "Is there something wrong?" I let you come with me. ”

"There are a few things." The older man had already stepped forward and said, "The first thing is the battle situation ahead. ”

"Don't worry, just sit down and talk." The middle-aged man gave an order, and the three of them sat down one after another.

"Listening to Zhongde say this, is there a result on the Qingzhou side?"

Cheng Yu nodded to the middle-aged man, and said, "The lord really expected things like a god, and it was indeed information from Qingzhou."

General Yu has already driven Yuan Shao's army back to the north of the Yellow River, and has now pocketed Beihai, Le'an and other places. ”

Cao Cao was not surprised, but his face was calm, his mouth full of beard was closed one by one, and he asked in a low voice: "I don't know if that Kong Wenju, Mi Zhengping can be surrendered?" ”

"This..."When Cao Cao asked this, Cheng Yu was speechless, he reached out and brushed his sideburns, which had turned white, and didn't know where to start with this matter.

"Lord!" The other man on the side had already risen, his figure the weakest of all the people, and even made one suspect that he had fallen to the ground with a little flesh and bone under his wide fur robe.

"Zhicai?" When Cao Cao saw Xi Zhicai suddenly speak, he also looked at him suspiciously.

"Please forgive the lord, there was news from the front a few days ago, but at that time, the lord had a headache, Zhicai made his own opinion, and hoped that the lord would surrender!"

Seeing that Xi Zhicai was guilty of pleading, Cao Cao asked puzzledly, "What the hell is going on?" ”

"I don't know if the lord remembers that the second lady asked to travel to Xiapi half a month ago?"

Touching his beard, Cao Cao pondered for a while, and then said, "But there is such a thing." ”

"This time Guan Hai besieged Qingzhou, Kong Wenju sent a letter asking for help, the lord is only one of them, and Er Yuan is also among them."

Xi Zhicai paused for a while, "And Shouchun Yuan Highway sent 20,000 troops to open Beihai, and the generals in it are also old acquaintances of the lord." ”

"Huh?"

"Gao Zi, the son of Gao Shun in the trapped camp, sighs!"

Gao Zi sighed! Cao Cao is still very familiar with this name, because he still knows the relationship between Gao Yun and his second daughter Cao Jie. Now that Cao Jie is traveling at this time, Yuan Shu's army must pass through Xiapi if he wants to go to Beihai, and the general is still Gao Yun! This made Cao Cao instinctively feel vigilant.

"When Gao Yun's army passed by Xiapi, he reached an agreement with the second lady. Kong Wenju and his party belong to Yuan Shu, and in exchange they want to help us fight for the north of Qingzhou! ”

Cao Cao's eyes were sharp, he looked at Xi Zhicai and said, "So Zhicai agreed?" ”

"Promised!" Xi Zhicai is neither humble nor arrogant, as Cao Cao's mastermind, he said calmly: "The biggest hidden danger of the lord at present is that Yuan Benchu and Wancheng Zhang Xiu in the north, Qingzhou is far away, except for the Qingzhou Yellow Turban that General Yu has just rectified, and the whip is beyond reach.

Therefore, his subordinates thought that being able to cooperate with Yuan Highway was a win-win result. We already have the Son of Heaven, Kong Wenju can abandon this person! ”

After speaking, Xi Zhicai and Cao Cao looked at each other, and there was a tense atmosphere in the air, you must know that it is taboo for subordinates to help the master make plans without authorization.

"Hahaha." Cao Cao's serious expression suddenly stretched, and then he laughed out loud, "Zhicai is really my humerus, this matter is handled properly, I will have a heavy reward!" ”

It's just that he felt that the big stone in his heart had finally fallen, and Xi Zhicai suddenly knelt on the ground and said: "My subordinates are arrogant, how dare they ask for a reward, and ask the lord to punish him." ”

Cao Mengde is such a person, although he is suspicious, he is definitely a meritocracy, and he is also magnanimous to his subordinates. He is not as good as the five sons and eight horsemen than martial arts, and he is not as good as Erxun than the intelligence, and he is loyal. But fortunately, he can let everyone under him give full play to his strengths, so in terms of military affairs, the degree of his dependence on Xi Zhicai can be imagined.

Let's not say that Xi Zhicai's handling this time is in line with the overall situation, even if Xi Zhicai really made a claim and caused a mistake in Qingzhou, Cao Cao would not blame him. Whether it is in the court's courtship, or simply appreciating the aspect of Xi Zhicai, he will give power to Xi Zhicai, and only in this way can Xi Zhicai fully contribute to his foundation.

"Zhicai, please hurry up."

Cao Mengde pulled up Xi Zhicai, and Haosheng comforted him a few words, and this matter really came to an end.

Xun You saw all this in his eyes, he didn't speak from beginning to end, Cao Cao's performance he had already expected, what he had to do was to come out and point out the follow-up after Xi Zhicai and Cao Cao resolved the conflict.

"Lord, now that Qingzhou has been captured, our army has owned the three major Yellow River crossings outside the pass, and at this time, we should station troops on the Qingzhou side and look at the north, so that Yuan Benchu can't take care of each other."

When Cao Cao heard this, he asked: "I don't know if Gongda is in my heart, who is more appropriate to send?" ”

"You can send General Xu to Qingzhou, and it is most suitable to defend Qingzhou with General Yu and Liu Junshi."

"Gongming was a good general at that time, so according to Gongda's plan, he sent an order to let Gongming lead an army of 20,000 to set off immediately."

Cao Cao's support was ordered, Xu Huang was definitely a good general in his heart, and Xun You's proposal was also in line with his heart.

After pacing a few steps in the study, Cao Cao seemed a little panicked, and pushed open the door to get some fresh air.

Even if he is notoriously afraid of the cold, he is now not afraid of the cold wind outside the door, let the cold wind blow like a knife, and there is a kind of fearlessness in his eyes, as if this coolness is about to resolve his headache.

Cao Cao was exposed between heaven and earth, and his face was also vividly presented, if Gao Yun could be here, his expression would be very exciting.

Because, Cao Mengde is really like a person...

"My lord, there is one more thing for my subordinates."

A faint voice interrupted Cao Cao's self-exile, and when he looked back, he saw Cheng Yu standing behind him...