Xun You's analysis is worthy of his identity as the mastermind of Cao Jun, but Cao Cao's desire for Hebei is far beyond Xun You's expectations.

Xun You didn't know that as early as the beginning of Cao Caofu's entry into Yanzhou, he had already planted the nail of the Black Mountain thief against Yuan Shao's forces, who were still in the honeymoon period of the alliance at that time, and secretly manipulated or affected the development of the situation in Hebei. It was only because of various coincidences later, coupled with the rescue of the Son of Heaven, that the goal of the army's strength was focused on Yuzhou, Sili, Yongliang and other places. made the Black Mountain thief known as the man, and since Yuan Shao's violent death, he has almost gotten out of control, and the matter in Hebei has become more and more uncontrollable. After Jingzhou was empty, Cai Mao surrendered, and the territory that Cao Cao was able to control became more and more inclined to radiate from all sides with Yanzhou in the Central Plains as the center, and the potential opponents he faced were either bright or dark, in addition to Lu Bu, such as Ma Teng, Han Sui, Liu Biao, and Liu Yan, who were ready to move because of the establishment of a new emperor, and Xun You's strategic conception was also gradually transformed into a situation of dealing with the enemy in the west from the previous plan of rectifying the merger of states that were relatively stable, and in order to map the entire territory of Hebei to become a strategic depth in the north.

Although Ma Teng Han Sui was not in harmony, after all, he was the prince of Yongliang who was once sealed by the Son of Heaven, and he controlled nearly 100,000 Han and Qiang coalition troops in his hands, and Liu Yan, who was defeated in Jingzhou, took refuge in Liu Yan, who had a different plan when he was Emperor Ling, and he was accumulating strength early, and the legendary and fierce Sichuan soldiers also had nearly 100,000 people on the bright side. On the other hand, Cao Cao's side, that is, Chang'an Lai Hangu Pass, and Cao Ren, a fierce general who is good at guarding, is a lot more reassuring, but Jingzhou is Xiangyang City near the river. However, if Liu Yan goes out of Sichuan, it is adjacent to Yongan County of Yizhou, which can be used as a bridgehead. In Xun You's opinion, if Liu Yan has a heart. It is completely possible for the army to come out of Yong'an and go down the river, I am afraid that before the Cao army reacts, there is already enough time for the soldiers to come to Xiangyang City, which is still unstable due to the initial surrender. Not to mention the right side of Xiangyang City, only separated by a general diversion, is Jiangling County, which is guarded by Tai Shici. Therefore. Wancheng, which is inconspicuous on weekdays, has become a strategic place that can choke the throat of Cao Jun. If you can't take Wancheng, you can connect Yuzhou, Yanzhou, Yongliang, and Jingzhou together. If there is really a war, whether it is in the northwest or southwest, a single supply transportation is enough to give Cao Cao's Xiao He's Xun Yu a headache.

It can be said that Xun You's identity as the mastermind of Cao Jun is competent. At the very least, it is less "perfect" than the big picture. In other words, they do not agree with the policy of "the outside must first be at home". Cheng Yu, who stubbornly believes that Lu Bu is the biggest enemy hindering the development of Cao's army, and can't let him live too happily with every move, is much calmer.

It's just that Xun You unconsciously ignored Cao Cao's stubbornness towards Hebei. Yongliang is guarded by Cao Ren, and Cao Cao is relieved of this general. And in the newly descended Xiangyang, there is Yu Ban, who is also known for his good guarding, as the main general, and Liu Ye, a relative of the Han family who can climb some relatives with Liu Biao, as a strategist, in Cao Cao's opinion. It can also stabilize the hearts of the people in Xiangyang to a considerable extent. Therefore, even if these two parties really have an abnormality. It's also easy to deal with. And Lu Bu, the old enemy, not to mention, the defense line laid in the east of Yanzhou is clearly said to be to guard against the remnants of the Yellow Turban who fled in the past, but fools know that it is to prevent Lu Bu from copying his back road. With such an almost complete defense system, Wancheng, which is short of food and grass, and supports nearly 40,000 troops in one county, is covetous, but in fact it can only be regarded as a dish. Even if Xun You said in the end, Lu Bujun's forces, or Qin Xu's forces, showed signs of contact with Wancheng, and Jiangling County also tried to solve the current crisis in Wancheng, but in fact, Wancheng, which was holding the throat of Cao's forces, was not surrounded on all sides. If you go out of Wuguan in the west, you will face 20,000 elite soldiers under Cao Ren, who is guarding Chang'an, and you will have Yu Ban's army in Xiangyang in the south. Not to mention the east, Yanzhou is the base camp of the Cao army, although now the base camp of the Cao army has been moved to Xuchang, the force that can be left behind is not tens of thousands of defeated soldiers in Xiliang who are not even a problem to eat enough can be easily "offended", after all, although Xuchang is two states away from Chenliu, but in fact it is only more than 300 miles away, but there is a war, and you can meet the enemy in one day. The only thing to worry about is that if Wancheng gets a lot of support from Jiangling County, let these former defeated troops of Xiliang crisscross the Central Plains and disrupt Cao Cao's forces to harvest grain in the autumn. However, Xun You's report also said that although Jiangling County had sporadic merchant ships coming and going with Wancheng, there was actually no conclusive evidence to prove Wancheng's sincerity. If you rely on those one or two merchant ships to support the carrying capacity of thousands of stones, it will be a drop in the bucket for Wancheng, as long as you take good precautions, it can also be attributed to the disease of scabies. It is precisely because of this that although Cao Cao very much agrees with Xun You's worries about the current situation of his army, and is very satisfied with the dedication of Xun's uncle and nephew, he is also moved by Xun You's words, and he is even more wary of Qin Xu, but in his heart, he actually agrees with Cheng Yu's so-called priorities.

Hebei affairs since Yuan Shao's violent death more than three years ago to the present, all parties of the forces you sang and I appeared, the joints are very entangled, that is, now there are strategists under his command, there are many generals, and he is also thoughtful like Cao Cao, and he is also a headache. It is even said that if there is no "explanation" for Hebei affairs as soon as possible. Even the annexed states, which were already controlled by Cao Cao's forces and regarded as the most important place to enhance the combat power of their own army, may not be as solid as they seem. After all, Yuan Tan surrendered to Cao Cao, because the Jizhou where Yuan Xi and Yuan Shang brothers were based in the past had Lu Bu's "support", and he was afraid that Bingzhou would fall into the hands of Lu Bu, so he had to choose Cao Cao, the great god, as a backer. Therefore, Yuan Tan's "sincerity" was quite debatable from the beginning. Moreover, the current governance of the state is also in the old ministers of the Yuan family who stayed in office in order to appease Yuan Tan, Xiahou and Cao Chun, who strictly obeyed Cao Cao's secret order not to easily provoke the rebellion of the state, except for military affairs and intelligence, did not interfere in government affairs and was still controlled by Yuan Tan, who was listed by Cao Cao as the assassin of the state. Hebei is the place where Yuan Shao made his fortune, and although the state is not as good as Jizhou, it is Yuan Shao's home camp, but it is also a place that Yuan Shao valued very much in the past, and it is not an exaggeration to say that Yuan's power is deep-rooted. And taking a step back, although Bingzhou is now in a hostile state with Jizhou, it can't be said that it is impossible to write two Yuan words, not to mention Cao Cao's suspicious temperament, even if he is replaced by someone else, I am afraid that it will be difficult to show the state as if it were his own country before the "future troubles" are eliminated.

So it seems. Compared with the three states of Hebei, which occupy almost one-fifth of the territory of the Han Dynasty and now have the opportunity to do so. is just a Wancheng, in Cao Cao's eyes, it can really only be regarded as a disease of scabies. Which is more important and which is more urgent? Anyway, Cao Cao almost made a plan in his heart when he was sure that the news that Cheng Yu got was "true". It's just that I didn't expect to encounter such an obstacle from the uncle and nephew of the Xun family.

Cao Cao, who can be easily persuaded, is not Cao Cao. Especially when it seems that the lesser of two evils is the lesser of two evils. Xun You saw that Cao Cao did not immediately express his agreement after listening to his worried expression, but he already understood what Cao Cao really thought in his heart. It's just that for the sake of his own face, he didn't make what he said too clearly. After all, Xun You is a person with a number of wisdom and scheming in the world, and seeing that Cao Cao is already determined to get a piece of the Hebei affair that has been born to this day, and he has no conclusive evidence to prove the correctness of his prediction. simply stopped dwelling on this topic, but began to calculate how to achieve Boss Cao's ambition of hegemony in Hebei without Cao Cao being confused by Cheng Yu's misguided words if things were really as he expected.

"Gongda! As far as Hebei is concerned, whether it is in terms of population, horses, military resources, or land, it is what our army urgently needs. It was because of Lu Bu's strategic depth that Qin Zhongming dared to defend against Liu Biao's attack, but finally turned to attack and take the four counties of Jingnan. However, our army is in the same Central Plains as it, but it is in a state of facing enemies on all sides. The more it expands, the greater the risk. If we do not have a relatively stable rear as a solid backing, even if our army is now strong in combat strength, if something happens and the enemy attacks from all sides, I am afraid that our army will be in danger immediately, just as Gongda said. Cao Cao looked directly at Xun You, rarely showing a little tiredness, and said with a wry smile: "Gongda is not unaware, Ma Teng and Han Sui have long coveted Chang'an, and if Liu Biao and Liu Yan see that there is something in the northwest, they will inevitably raise troops to the east." Compared with the fact that the Jiangdong attack strategy was not successful and was seized by Qin Zhongming, Cai Deqi, as Liu Biao's brother-in-law, suddenly turned to Xiangyang City to surrender to our army, presumably for Liu Biao, there is a lesson from this incident, and his hatred of our army will far exceed the shame of Qin Zhongming's defeat! Therefore, at this juncture, if we first mobilize troops against Wancheng and make it clear what is true and false, it will definitely attract the attention of these two forces and will inevitably make some changes. But that's exactly what we don't want to see. However, if we take advantage of this opportunity to go on the Northern Expedition, we will be able to hope for a share of the Hebei affair, so that I will not be left behind Qin Zhongming and Lu Bu to take too much advantage in Hebei affairs, and secondly, it will also be able to make both Ma Teng and Han Sui or Liu Biao and Liu Yan feel afraid when they see our army's unscrupulous actions. This is precisely the principle that the virtual is the real and the real is the virtual. However, Gongda can rest assured that we have been planning for several years in Hebei, and we are also well aware of Gongda's concerns, so we must be cautious this time. This exercise also wants to borrow the wisdom of Gongda, and it has already been a successor for our army, so I hope that Gongda will not have a stumble in his heart, and will do his best to help someone! ”

"The will of the Lord has been decided. I will do my best! Seeing that Cao Cao couldn't be persuaded left and right, and what Cao Cao said was not unreasonable, and he had the intention of taking himself to Hebei with him, Xun You didn't want to be too stubborn and make Cao Cao look bad, so he could only nod his head and promise. It's just that the stalk in my heart will disappear so easily, and the worry on my face will be difficult to dissipate for a long time. (To be continued......)