Moreover, Cao Cao summoned the generals and strategists to discuss the current precarious defense issues.

Xun You, the military advisor who was originally staying in Xudu, heard that the front line was in danger, and he couldn't sit still, so he rushed from Xudu.

He had a little friendship with Yuan Shao, and he almost voted for Yuan Shao at the beginning, but later his thoughts disagreed, so Xun You left Yuan Shao and voted for Cao Cao, who occupied Xuchang.

Xun Yu knew that his Xun family was in Xuchang, and if Yuan Shao was allowed to capture it, his entire family might be wiped out. Therefore, no matter what, Yuan Shao must not be allowed to attack and kill Xu Du.

He is not as calm as before, and he has to wait for others to express their opinions before giving advice to Cao Cao.

He said directly to Cao Cao: "Lord, although Yuan Shaojun has a lot, Xun feels that he is not afraid. Our army has elite soldiers, all of whom are ten. However, if Yuan Shao is defeated this time, he must not be so passive, let alone stalemate with Yuan Shao for too long. ”

Xun You continued: "Our army is different from Yuan Shaojun, Yuan Shaojun has returned from Youzhou since years ago, and Youzhou Gongsun Zan has been disabled by Yuan Shao, and he is no longer able to recover the county town occupied by Yuan Shao, plus, the New Han Dynasty has been stationary, and has not taken the opportunity to send troops to Youzhou or attack Yuan Shao. In this way, Yuan Shaojun had a relatively long time to rest. Yuan Shao took advantage of this period of time to desperately expand the army, collect materials, and accumulate military rations. This battle, for Yuan Shao, came prepared, and there was no shortage of military salaries and grass. Our army is different, since the lord restored the imperial court system, it has hardly stopped fighting for many years. Our army's wartime use, as well as post-war meritorious deeds, compensation for soldiers killed in battle, and so on. They are almost emptying the treasury of our DPRK. In general, our court has almost no real wealth. ”

"Hmm...... Cao Mou knew about these things, and now let's talk about the war in front of him. Cao Cao didn't want to talk about his army's money and food reserves at all, because he would have a headache when he thought about it.

Cao Cao interrupted Xun You's words and said: "What you said, our army should not fight with Yuan Shaojun for a long time, Cao naturally feels the same way. The problem is that Yuan Shaojun is attacking in a hurry now, and our defense line is precarious, and Yuan Shaojun will break through Guandu at any time. ”

But. Xun You continued to talk about the military rations, and he said to Cao Cao: "Lord, Xun came from Xudu, in addition to giving advice to the lord to break Yuan Shao. I want to report to the lord the current situation of our army's grain and grass preparations. so that the lord may know in his heart. ”

"This ......" Cao Cao glanced at the generals in the tent, gave Xun You a look and said, "Let's talk to Cao in private later." Let's talk about Yuan Shao's strategy first. ”

"Okay......" Xun You saw Cao Cao like this, and he knew what Cao Cao meant, he thought about it himself, and felt that he was too anxious, and some things were indeed not good to say in front of the generals, which would shake the morale of the army.

He thought about it. Then he said: "Lord, for Yuan Shao's attack this time. Xun didn't have a very good strategy, because Yuan Shao made it clear this time that the chariot and horse came to fight with the lord, that is, he wanted to defeat the lord with the righteous army, especially if he wanted to fight a decisive battle with our army head-on, and the battle would be decided. Therefore, Xun believes that no matter what, we must not fight a decisive battle with Yuan Shao's army in Guandu, and when necessary, even if we give up Guandu, we must not fight a decisive battle with Yuan Shaojun. ”

"Oh?" Cao Cao showed a little displeasure with Xun Yu for the first time when he heard this, and frowned: "Gongda, do you know that if our army gives up Guandu, Yuan Shao's troops will be directed at Xu Du, and at that time, the emperor will be trapped by Yuan Shao's army, and it will definitely shake Cao's foundation." No, Cao must not give up, no matter what, he must defeat Yuan Shao in Guandu! ”

Cao Cao said resolutely to Xun You.

"Alas, the lord should know that sometimes, take a step back and open the sky, Yuan Shao's army is strong, if our army fights to the death with Yuan Shao's army, then, at that time, our army will be defeated, no matter who wins or loses between us and Yuan Shao, it will eventually be greatly damaged, and it will only cheapen someone else." Xun You sighed to Cao Cao and said: "Xun said these words, not to shake the heart of our army, but for our long-term plan. Lord, please think, we can make Xuchang the capital, why can't we make Xuzhou the capital? Establish Runan, Shouchun and other cities as capitals? At the beginning, Dong Zhuo saw that the alliance of the princes in the world was strong, didn't he move the capital from Luoyang to Chang'an? Now that we have captured Xu, Yu, Yang and other states, our rear has a broad room for manoeuvre, if we take the initiative to give up Xudu, after Yuan Shao captures Xudu, he will inevitably divide his troops to capture the rest of the states, and then it will be the time for us to counterattack. ”

"Hmm......" Cao Cao nodded after hearing this, in fact, Cao Cao also thought the same way before, he was so anxious to seize the three states of Xu, Henan, and Yang, wasn't his purpose to expand his power and territory, so that he could get more room for manoeuvre?

In fact, don't look at Yuan Shao's aggressiveness now, the situation seems to be very good. But Cao Cao also knew in his heart that if he could give up Xu Du, he would immediately change from passive to active. Even, it is possible to counterattack Yuan Shao and seize Yuan Shao's Hebei Jizhou.

Now, Cao Cao's troops, about 200,000 or 300,000 troops are in the area of Guandu and Chenliu, and there are about 100,000 horses in Xudu to guard the Beijing division.

In addition, if there are tens of thousands of horses stationed in the vast states and counties of Yuzhou and Yangzhou. Xuzhou, Zhang Xiu's 100,000 military horses have entered Yanzhou from Xuzhou, so that, plus the original Cao Ren's military horses, there are more than 200,000 or 300,000 horses in Yanzhou.

Cao Cao's current total strength is about 700,000 horses. If the whole army was gathered in Guandu, it would not be much less than Yuan Shao's military horses. It's just that this is impossible, because Cao Cao, the border of the imperial court, has too many forces on its border, and it is impossible for him to mobilize all the military horses to Guandu. What's more, if Cao Cao desperately mobilized all his troops to Guandu to fight Yuan Shao, then Yuan Shao would probably also mobilize all his military horses to Guandu. Once Yuan Shao's army and horses are mobilized, then it will not be as simple as an army of 700,000, and it is estimated that it will definitely exceed an army of one million. In this way, Yuan Shao still has an absolute advantage in strength.

However, now, Cao Cao was thinking about Xun You's words, and he felt that if he could avoid Yuan Shao's edge. His main army only needs to maintain a hold on Yuan Shaojun, then he can order Cao Ren and Zhang Xiu to lead the army to launch a counteroffensive from Yanzhou to Jizhou. So. Even if Xu was won by Yuan Shao, Yuan Shao would not be able to ask for benefits.

For Cao Cao's current situation, Xun Yu's strategy is indeed the best policy.

But that's not going to work.

In Cao Cao's heart, he couldn't lose to Yuan Shao if he lost to anyone, if he gave up Xu Du because of Yuan Shaojun's attack. Then it is equivalent to him Cao Cao in the contest with Yuan Shao, and he Cao Cao has already lost.

The current Xudu is already the capital and is the foundation of Cao Cao. Cao Cao didn't dare to imagine how big a blow to his Cao Cao's prestige would be once Xu Du fell into the hands of Yuan Shao. Don't forget, even if Cao Cao took the initiative to evacuate. He moved the capital with Emperor Xian to another place and rebuilt a new Kyoto. This will be fatal to Cao Cao. Because, Yuan Shao attacked him Cao Cao at the moment, it was famous, and he came under the command of a thief who crusaded against Cao Cao, even if Cao Cao tried his best to deny it, but in the eyes of the Han world, the current Yuan Shao does seem to represent the righteous side. Because. When Dong Zhuo was denounced, it was Yuan Shao who was the leader of the alliance. Now, he is begging for thieves again, although he is not allied with the heroes of the world at the beginning, but he has a precedent in front of him, so the people of the world will definitely think that Yuan Shao is right.

At this time, if Cao Cao learns Dong Zhuo's relocation to the capital again, then this will confirm that Cao Cao is the same as Dong Zhuo at the beginning, he is a traitor who brought disaster to the Han court. In particular, Cao Cao coerced the emperor to move the capital, and in the future, he will not get rid of the humility of Cao Cao, a traitor and a thief.

Well, you said that you are not a traitor, so people are obviously here to denounce you Cao Cao, Kuang to help the Han, and clean up the traitors around Emperor Xian, if you defeat Yuan Shao, then no one has anything to say, but you want to take Emperor Xian to leave the court of Xudu, what are you Cao Cao doing? Don't you admit that you are like Dong Zhuo at the beginning, coercing the Son of Heaven to order the princes?

It should be known that Yuan Shao was the fourth generation and the third duke of the Yuan family, even if the Yuan family had been wiped out by Dong Zhuo, but his descendants were still there, and the prestige of the Yuan family was still there. When the time comes, Cao Cao, who has become a thief, will anyone repay him? I'm afraid that most of them will run to Yuan Shao.

Therefore, Cao Cao would not agree to give up Xu Du under any circumstances.

There is another reason that has been suppressed in Cao Cao's heart, and the main reason why Cao Cao Ning can fight with Yuan Shao in Guandu, that is, until now, he has not been able to grasp the pulse of Liu Yi, the Taifu of the New Han Dynasty. He was thinking about the meaning of the gentleman's covenant between Liu Yi and him almost all the time. He has been measuring Liu Yi's appointment with him, saying that if he fights with Yuan Shao, Liu Yi will take the initiative not to interfere in his battle with Yuan Shao, and before he and Yuan Shao have not separated the winner and loser, Liu Yi's New Han Army will not leave the Central Plains. For this, Cao Cao has always been like a big stone pressing on his heart. Because, when Liu Yi said that, wouldn't that be a hint to him that Liu Yi was about to go out of the Central Plains to fight the world?

Well, for Cao Cao, his biggest opponent is not Yuan Shao, as early as in his heart, he thinks that Liu Yi is his ultimate opponent. Now, he not only has to think about how to defeat Yuan Shao, but also thinks about how he will deal with it in case Liu Yi sends troops to the Central Plains, how to ensure the safety of his own forces, and how to win the final victory against him in case he has to fight with the army of the New Han Dynasty.

Therefore, Cao Cao really can't retreat, once he retreats and gives up Xu Du to Yuan Shao, then, in the eyes of the world, it is equivalent to his Cao Cao's defeat. At this time, as soon as the new Han army of the New Han Dynasty moved, he Cao Cao fell into a passive situation, the so-called Xu, Yang, and Yu these three states can provide Cao Cao with a broader place to turn around, which is actually only relative, and it is based on the situation that the New Han Dynasty does not send troops, if the New Han Dynasty wants to send troops to dominate the world, under the powerful naval army of the New Han Dynasty, in addition to Yuzhou, it may be a little better, but Xu and Yang will definitely fall into the hands of Liu Yi in a very short time.

Cao Cao thought about it and felt that the battle between Guandu and Yuan Shao would be a point that would determine who belonged to the world in the future, but it was not just the relationship between him and Yuan Shao.

Cao Cao knew that in a battle with Yuan Shao, if he was defeated, then everything would be rested, and if he won, he would still have time to arrange for a battle with the army of the New Han Dynasty. As long as Yuan Shao is defeated, Cao Cao will immediately carry out a thorough governance of all his powerful territory, consolidate his own power, and then garrison heavy troops in various places on the border with the New Han Dynasty, while guarding against the New Han Dynasty and reorganizing the army. Prepare for a battle with Levi.

Well, Cao Cao's thoughts. A lot has changed compared to history. Because in history, since Cao Cao defeated Yuan Shao, he was the most powerful overlord in the Han Dynasty, and all he thought about was how to seize the whole world, so he followed it for a short time. On the one hand, he collected Jizhou, Youzhou and other places in Hebei, and on the other hand, he used the excuse of destroying Liu Bei to invade Jingzhou. Follow the army. Taking advantage of the situation, he wants to cross the Yangtze River and go south, seize the land of Jiangdong, and sweep the world. Seriously, if Cao Cao didn't have the defeat of Chibi. Then history will be rewritten. There will be no so-called Three Kingdoms era.

Well, everything is if.

Now, Cao Cao must give himself confidence, believing that no matter what, he must defeat Yuan Shao, just in Guandu, and he must not back down!

He seemed to be silent for a while, and then shook his head and said to Xun You: "Gongda." Cao Mouzhi said what you said, under the current situation. We seem to really take a step back and open the sky. However, Cao can't retreat, never retreat! ”

Cao Cao said resolutely: "Dong Zhuo moved the capital, causing millions of people to suffer, if we move the capital, what will happen to the people of Xudu?" If Cao moves the capital, he will lose his righteousness in the world. Wrongdoing in the world...... Hehe, what happened to Dong Zhuo, there is no need for Cao to say more, right? Let alone...... Forget it, let's not say more. ”

Cao Cao stopped and didn't say any more, he didn't want to tell him about his worries about Liu Yi of the New Han Dynasty now, and the rabbit had to make the generals frightened.

Xun You saw Cao Cao's resolute expression, and knew that this plan would not work. At that moment, he said again: "Since this is the case, then Xun will advance and retreat with the prime minister, and Xu Du is also Xun's family, if it is broken by Yuan Shao, Xun's family will not be spared." Now, as for how to break Yuan Shaojun, Xun only has eight words to dedicate to the prime minister. ”

"Oh? Which eight words? Say it! Cao Cao saw that Xun Yu still had a plan after all, his eyes lit up, and he asked urgently.

"When two armies fight, they must first rob grain!" Xun You's expression was whole, and he said these eight words to Cao Cao.

"When two armies fight, they must first rob grain?"

Cao Cao was stunned when he heard this, and he didn't understand it, because, generally the two armies are fighting, who doesn't know how to rob grain? Under his current situation, how could he rob Yuan Shao's military rations? You must know that Cao Cao has now been forced by Yuan Shao to withdraw the whole army to the south bank of the Yellow River, and Cao Cao knows nothing about the north bank of the Yellow River.

"Gongda, can you elaborate on that? Do you already have a big plan? Cao Cao asked.

"No ......" Xun You shook his head, shrugged his shoulders and said: "Lord, these eight words are just the theme of the lord's ability to win this battle, and they are also the only chance for the lord, but how to do it depends on how you do it." ”

"This, this ......" Cao Cao scratched his head a little, to be honest, he naturally knew that when the two armies competed, they must rob the grain first, but this grain was not what you said you wanted to rob. At the very least, you have to know where the enemy's military rations are, and if you don't even know where the enemy's military rations are, what are you going to rob?

Cao Cao said with a bitter face: "Gongda, are you making fun of your own face?" Although the words are said in these eight words, if it can be done, our army will undoubtedly win, but the problem is that Cao does not even know where Yuan Shao's military rations are stored, Cao Mou, not to mention, Yuan Shao's military rations must also be stored on the north bank of the Yellow River, you say let Cao Mou go to rob the grain? Now we're afraid we won't even be able to cross the river. ”

"This is your business, Xun is only planning for the lord, and the specific implementation depends on the lord." Xun You said a little scoundrel.

"Uh, Gongda, no matter what, you have to explain it to the prime minister first, it's the prime minister's begging for you, just in front of the soldiers, please!" Cao Cao said, and really wanted to stand up and bow to Xun You.

"Ah, my lord." Seeing this, Xun Yu hurriedly waved his hand to stop Cao Cao's movements, shook his head and said with a wry smile: "Lord, in fact, Xun really doesn't know how to implement the strategy of robbing grain. However, how to proceed, in fact, you have already said. ”

"Ahh When did I say that? Cao Cao looked surprised.

"Hehe......" Xun You smiled and said, "Lord, didn't you just say it?" Now we don't know where Yuan Shao's military rations are stored? Isn't that easy? If you don't know the way, we'll send someone to find it. You also said that it is estimated that Yuan Shao's military rations will be stored on the north bank of the Yellow River, so send someone to sneak across the Yellow River to investigate. ”

"Huh? When Cao Cao ......heard this, he couldn't help patting his forehead and said with a smile: "Hey, you see, it's Cao who is anxious, Gongda is right, you can't let Gongda do everything, he can give us advice, but it's impossible for us to find out where Yuan Shaojun's military rations are stored, right?" Hehe, it's Cao who is confused. ”

"The lord is wise!" Xun You bowed and said: "Xun You can indeed only move his mouth, but he really doesn't know where Yuan Shao's military rations are, at most, Xun can say some information for the lord's reference." For example, we can send someone to start with Yuan Shaojun's military rations. Everyone thinks, Yuan Shaojun has more than 700,000 troops, how much food will be used on this day? Have you ever calculated? ”

"Well, Cao really hasn't counted it." When Cao Cao heard this, he scratched his brain again.

"Hehe, it doesn't matter if the prime minister hasn't calculated it, it's not too late to calculate it now." Xun You waved his hand and said. (To be continued......)