Because it was equipped with the third-generation cannon of Xuzhou Taoling, the rate of fire of the cannon was faster and more powerful, so Cao Cao suffered a lot under Nanpi City. After a stalemate under Nanpi City for nearly three months, Cao Cao also ran out of ammunition and food. When the envoy arrived at Cao Ying, the envoy from Yanzhou had already arrived at Cao Ying.

Xun Yu reported to Cao Cao in the rear, saying that there were troops and horses transferred in Nanyang, and Zhang Xiu of Wancheng asked a rookie general to lead more than 5,000 troops to be stationed on the border of Yanzhou. Moreover, Shanyang County has reduced the supply of grain, Xun Yu sent people to Shanyang and Liang to buy grain, and the merchants of the two counties said that Xuzhou would build the south, so the export of grain and grass was suspended.

Xun Yu sent people to Bianjing to buy grain, and Bianjing also stopped selling grain and grass. When Cao Cao heard this, he was even more furious. The strategist Guo Jia advised Cao Cao to focus on the overall situation, and it was better to withdraw his troops first, and not to conflict with Xuzhou at this time.

After all, Xuzhou has been peaceful for many years, and there is plenty of grain and grass, if it fights with Xuzhou at this time, the victory or defeat cannot be said, and it will cheapen the northern princes. If he doesn't attack Nanpi at this time, Yuan Tan will definitely continue to attack Yuan Shang in the north, at that time, Yuan Tan will get the help of Xuzhou, Yuan Shang will definitely not be an opponent, and when he is cornered, Yuan Shang will definitely go to Yanzhou!

This is a plan to kill two birds with one stone, and after recovering Jizhou and Merging Prefecture, the biggest thing to do now is to stabilize these two states, and at the same time to recuperate, encourage agricultural development, and wait for Yanzhou to solve the domestic demand for food, you can use the long-fought division to meet Tao Ying.

Guo Jia and Cheng Yu both persuaded Cao Cao, and the envoy from Xuzhou arrived, so Cao Cao had no choice but to abandon Bohai County and return to Xudu.

Cao Cao's condition for withdrawing troops was that Xuzhou would continue to sell grain to him, and after Cao Cao withdrew his troops, Xuzhou's grain and grass began to be sold to Yanzhou again, allowing Cao Cao to survive the crisis again.

After Cao Cao withdrew, Yuan Tan led Guo Tu and Xin Ping, two generals, and four generals to Xuzhou to pay homage to Tao Ying.

At this time, Tao Ying's official position was the position of Pengcheng's candidate general, and after Yuan Shao's death, Yuan Shang inherited his title, so Yuan Tan's official position was much smaller than Tao Ying's.

After Yuan Tan arrived, Tao Ying held a banquet in Xuzhou and ceremoniously accepted Yuan Tan and others. After visiting Xuzhou for nearly half a month, Yuan Tan returned to Bohai County with the two strategists. This time, Yuan Tan came to Xuzhou, firstly, to express his intention of submission, and secondly, to come to the official.

He is also the eldest son of the dignified Yuan family, and he should have put down a big shelf to do it! If he comes, he will do it for a petty official, and he will definitely not surrender sincerely.

Therefore, when Yuan Tan stayed in Xuzhou, Tao Ying convened the Ministry of Government Affairs to discuss for two days, and finally decided to follow the example of Huainan Mansion and establish Jizhou Mansion on the basis of Bohai County!

The territory of Jizhou Prefecture includes the unrecovered Qinghe Kingdom, Zhongshan Kingdom, Julu County and other eight counties. The government of Jizhou was set up in Nanpicheng, Bohai County, and Yuan Tan served as the governor. After recovering the Bohai Kingdom, Tao Ying's territory instantly expanded by another county. Bohai County is close to the sea and has a long coastline. He is also a channel connecting Youzhou, as long as this channel is opened, Tao Ying can buy horses in Youzhou and ship them to the Central Plains for sale, so as to make a lot of money.

And more importantly, when Yuan Tan is brought in, he has a reason to declare war on Yuan Shang! Although he can't declare war on Cao Cao now, thinking of Yuan Shang and the others, Tao Ying is still very confident in dealing with them!

So, when the autumn of 205 came, after finishing the transformation of Xuzhou, Tao Ying took out the map, and now it was time to annex the north!

Tao Ying wanted to recover Youzhou for Yuan Tan, but everyone persuaded him. Now that the development of Xuzhou has entered the fast track, if there is another war, it will only be cheaper Cao Cao!

But Tao Ying said with a smile, you can get Youzhou without using soldiers! Everyone didn't believe it, so Tao Ying called Lu Su and asked him to send spies to Youzhou to contact Yuan Shang's generals.

Historically, after Yuan Xi and Yuan Shang occupied Youzhou, their generals Jiao Touch and Zhang Nan later rebelled, so they had to lead their troops north to flee to Wuhuan. Cao Cao led his troops to defeat Yuan Shang and the others at Wuhuan, and the two finally defected to Gongsun Du, the Taishou of Liaodong, and were beheaded by him. So what Tao Ying had to do was to win over Jiao Feng and Zhang Nan before they surrendered to Cao Cao.

So when autumn came, Lu Su, who was in charge of diplomacy, came to Youzhou with a heavy gift - a silver ticket of 30,000 taels to give to the two. not only gave them 30,000 taels of silver tickets, but also gave them two carts of gold, silver and jewelry, and at the same time Tao Ying canonized them as the military and political governor of Youzhou, and the other person as the military and political governor of Bingzhou.

Winter is gradually coming, during the reign of Yuan Shang and Yuan Xi in Youzhou, they have been constantly recruiting troops and horses for half a year, and collecting grain and grass everywhere, the people are miserable, and more and more people have begun to flee to Liaoxi County, Liaoning Prefecture. With so many people fleeing, Yuan Shang even ordered that whoever catches the fleeing family will kill the nine clans!

For a while, the entire Youzhou people panicked.

And the families of Zhang Nan and Jiao Touch happened to be dissatisfied with Yuan Shang's taxes, and they wanted to move their families to Shenyang City. Now Shenyang City has a pending policy for wealthy families, allowing them to operate industries in Liaoning Province while being exempt from taxes for three years. So instead of staying in Youzhou and being exploited all day long, it is better to go away.

After the news that the two families wanted to leave was known to Yuan Shang, Yuan Shang sent someone to arrest all the two families. After Zhang Nan and Jiao Touch heard this, they knew that if they didn't give advice, they would definitely be beheaded by Yuan Shang, so they didn't think much about it, so they led their troops to surround the camp of Yuan Shang and Yuan Xi in Youzhou.

Seeing that there were soldiers admonishing them, the generals who were becoming more and more afraid to resist also joined the rebellion of the two. In less than three days, nearly two-thirds of the military horses participated in the rebellion of the two, and more and more people responded.

In November, winter came, and after nearly a month of fighting with Yuan Xi, Yuan Shang and Yuan Xi were unable to recover the defeat in Youzhou, so they had to lead the remnants of Beitou Wuhuan.

After the two rebelled successfully, they occupied Youzhou, and Cao Cao heard that the two occupied Youzhou, so he hurriedly sent people to persuade them to surrender and give them the title of official. Lu Su also told them Tao Ying's intention to win them over. The two hesitated for a while, and Youzhou, the land of horse breeding in the north, instantly became two-faced again.

In order to win over the big family, Tao Ying ordered the implementation of private ownership in Youzhou, and all big families can participate in the reconstruction of Youzhou, and they can be exempt from taxes for two years!

Not only for the big family, but also for the ordinary people, Tao Ying was also exempt from taxes for two years, and more and more people supported Tao Ying for a while! And Liaoning Mansion in the north is an example, many people go to Liaoning Mansion for treatment and business, and they must want to enjoy the same treatment in Youzhou.

After nearly a month of struggle, Zhang Nan and Jiao Touch decided to take refuge in Cao Cao first, after all, Cao Cao controlled the imperial court and was the orthodoxy of the Han Dynasty!

;