For Cao Cao to send an envoy to visit, Liu Yi was not too surprised in his heart.

After all, now looking at the world, only Cao Cao can argue with himself. He and Cao Cao, everyone knows that among the princes who can finally unify the Han Dynasty, he is the only one who can unify himself.

This is a kind of potential, a kind of world shape shì.

Whether it is Liu Yi or Cao Cao, no matter what action there is, they will inevitably keep an eye on each other, seeking an opportunity and opportunity for each other to defeat each other.

If no one has the confidence to defeat the other in one fell swoop, no one will send troops to the other side regardless of the consequences.

Liu Yi is like this, and I believe Cao Cao is also like this.

And in today's situation, on the surface, Liu Yi and Cao Cao are indeed helpless against each other for the time being.

Cao Cao, because he did not have a strong naval army, he could only look at the river and sigh now, and it was impossible to wave his army across the river to attack the New Han Dynasty.

And Liu Yi, although he grasped the initiative, could attack Cao Cao from many directions, especially by water, and seize the territory that now belongs to Cao Cao, but such an all-out war and the length of competing with Cao Cao for one city and one pool is extremely disadvantageous than unifying the entire Han Dynasty. Because if you don't send troops, once you send troops, the New Han Army will definitely have to invest a lot of troops in a steady stream, and it will be contained in the quagmire of this war by Cao Cao. And Cao Cao, he will inevitably not see the New Han army wantonly in his territory of influence, and he will inevitably transfer a large army to stalemate with the New Han army. In this way, it becomes that Liu Yi and Cao Cao are fighting, so far. It gives the only remaining princes of the Han Dynasty a chance to breathe, and the competition between the two tigers will make those princes and fishermen benefit.

So, Liu Yi and Cao Cao. Now it is really not necessary to have to decide a winner.

Cao Cao now needs time to carry out a thorough reorganization of the sphere of influence he rules, integrate his men, and focus on internal affairs, hoping to catch up with the development momentum of the new Han Dynasty. Therefore, now Cao Cao definitely does not want to see a competition with Liu Yi. Now is not the time. Of course, before, in order to compete for Jingzhou. In order to be able to suppress the development of the new Han Dynasty, and to be able to seize the initiative in order to compete for world dominance in the future. Cao Cao will make a desperate bet and prepare to seize Jingzhou from the hands of the New Han Dynasty. For this. At the same time, hundreds of thousands of troops were mobilized.

But. Now that the overall situation has been decided, Cao Cao has clearly seen that he has completely lost the initiative to occupy the hegemony of the world, so Cao Cao can only take a step back and take the initiative to seek a dialogue with Liu Yi, hoping to reach a consensus with Liu Yi, that is, when there are other princes in the world. He and Lewy do not agree on initiating the final decisive battle. Because. Once the two really fight, it will not be of much benefit to anyone.

Naturally, Cao Cao also saw that now, the initiative was indeed in Liu Yi's hands. He is already in a weak position in the struggle for world domination, so he naturally does not think that when Liu Yi occupies the initiative in the war, he will send someone to discuss with him Cao Cao, saying whether the two of us can not start a war first.

Cao Cao knew that if he didn't take the initiative to get in touch with Liu Yi and talk to Liu Yi, then either the two families would go to war, or the two would have maintained a cold war posture, and everyone would secretly increase their troops against each other, making it difficult for anyone to seek development with peace of mind.

Therefore, if we want to break the current situation in which the two armies are stalemate, we must have one side take the initiative.

Liu Yi also knew in his heart that Cao Cao would definitely send someone to see him. If you don't come, it's not Cao Cao.

In today's situation, Liu Yi is actually quite difficult. Although the advantageous aspect of the shape is on Liu Yi's side, Liu Yi really can't wave his army into Cao Cao's territory now.

Although, it seems, the New Han Dynasty now has enough strength to defeat Cao Cao, however, the Central Plains is too vast, and the land is vast. Where is Liu Yi going to attack Cao Cao?

Eastern Jingzhou? Or even directly attack Yuzhou? Kill Xu Du? This, on the surface, seems to be possible. Liu Yike gathered a large army of his own, advanced directly to Xu Du, and forced Cao Cao to fight a decisive battle with him.

However, what if Cao Cao did not fight a decisive battle with Liu Yi's army? Cao Cao could even abandon Xu Du, and then gather a large army to attack Liu Yi's rear, cutting off Liu Yi's retreat. Or it can be like this, you Liu Yi beats you Liu Yi's, and I beat mine. The New Han army could enter Cao Cao's territory and attack at will. But Cao Cao can also concentrate his main army, but he can go south or north to attack Jingzhou or Jizhou and Youzhou.

Although this is a lose-lose game, it is the best strategy and tactic to preserve himself compared to Cao Cao, who is on the weak side.

If the war really turned out like that, it would be extremely unfavorable to the New Han Dynasty. Liu Yi also did not allow Cao Cao's military horses to enter the already good place under his rule to destroy it.

Regarding this stake, Liu Yi didn't think that Cao Cao really had such a vision, and he could grasp his own death hole and deal with his army in a targeted manner. But it is not ruled out that Cao Cao will do this when the dog jumps over the wall in a hurry.

In addition, Liu Yi also thought that if he really fought with Cao Cao, he would definitely not be able to just seize Xu Du. It is inevitable that he will divide his troops to seize some of the remaining towns and oppress Cao Cao's living space. However, if Cao Cao did not defeat Cao Cao's main force first, Cao Cao might also use the vast space of the Central Plains to mobilize and attack his own weak troops.

Liu Yi also didn't want to see that the New Han army, which he divided his troops all the way, would be surrounded and annihilated by Cao Cao's main army.

The above two aspects are worth Liu Yi's consideration, whether to let the navy and his 200,000 or so Xinhan troops in Jingzhou kill the Xiangjiang River to compete with Cao Cao for a while.

Also, the combat effectiveness of Cao Cao's military horses is indeed quite tenacious, even if he fights Cao Cao's army head-on, Liu Yi estimates that even if he can finally win the final victory, it will be a tragic victory. Liu Yi was even more reluctant to see his New Han Army suffer too much damage.

Therefore, some kind of consensus was reached with Cao Cao. This is also inevitable.

It was precisely because Liu Yi could guess that Cao Cao would send someone to talk to him, so. Liu Yi directly asked Hua Xin to say the specific direction of the talks.

Naturally, the issue of the boundaries between the two forces must be agreed upon first.

Since Hua Xin had already mentioned it directly, Liu Yi didn't plan to have too much else to do with Hua Xin, and said directly: "So, what does Cao Cao mean?" He thinks that at present, how should we demarcate the boundaries between our two families? I think if it makes sense. Okay, I have no reason to object. Tell me about it. ”

"Taifu, Prime Minister Cao Cheng thinks. Now that our two armies are in the realm, it is not too beneficial to the development of both of us. Therefore, the prime minister built yì, the two of us. Or the Yushui River, the Xiangjiang River, and the Yangtze River can be the boundary between the west and south of our two imperial courts. and the Northwest region. Needless to say, across the mountains, what we are as we are. The northern region is bounded by the Yellow River. In this way, it is equivalent to the prime minister of my family occupying the Central Plains and the eastern region, and the Taifu can occupy all the remaining territory. Two of us. No one is allowed to cross the river and attack the other's town. Or disrupt the good order of the other party. This is the opinion of the prime minister of my family. Hua Xin said.

"Hmm......" Liu Yi closed his eyes and thought about it, nodded slightly: "Cao Cao's idea is also in line with the current actual situation. Because, in the current actual situation, the two of us really rely on these natural geographical barriers to guard against each other and confront each other. If you can guarantee that you will not wave your army across the river into the territory of our New Han Dynasty's power, it is not unavoidable to demarcate the border in this way. Of course, there is one thing that does not need to be discussed, that is, whether it is the Yangtze River, the Yellow River, or the waterways, they are all owned by my New Han Dynasty. You, in addition to ordinary ships and ordinary merchant ships, the warships and warships carrying Cao's army are not allowed to sail on these waterways, otherwise, our army will inevitably regard you as a provocation to our New Han Army, and you will inevitably be destroyed as soon as possible. ”

You can use the river as the boundary, but the river must be controlled in your own hands. Because, now, Cao Cao has no ability to threaten the strength of his own naval army. Therefore, it is impossible to say that there is one and half people on both sides of the river, and it is even more impossible to say that the people who let them Cao Cao can also move freely in these waterways. It must not be said that the New Han army was not allowed to sail on the course of these rivers. If Cao Cao really put forward such an opinion, then there is no need to talk about this peace talk again. This, Liu Yi must make it clear to Cao Cao.

Regarding this question, when Hua Xin came to see Liu Yi, Cao Cao had already explained. Because Cao Cao knew that even if Liu Yi could be generous enough to allow his soldiers and civilians to sail in the waterways of the Yangtze River and the Yellow River, Cao Cao would not dare to let his military horses pick up the New Han army on the river. Therefore, before sending Hua Xin to meet Liu Yi, Cao Cao had already explained to Hua Xin, as long as Liu Yi could promise that the two families would not use troops against each other for the time being, then he Cao Cao could make some concessions appropriately.

In reality, under such a tense situation between the two courts, whoever takes the initiative to talk to the other means that the party that takes the initiative to seek dialogue must take certain concessions. Otherwise, there is no need to talk about it, it depends on how this battle is fought.

Therefore, now that Liu Yi mentioned this issue, Hua Xin did not hesitate at all, and said directly: "Taifu, please rest assured, before Hua came to Xiangyang, Prime Minister Cao Cheng had already explained to Hua. In order to avoid friction and disputes between our two courts and brothers, therefore, as long as Taifu agrees to stop fighting with the prime minister of my family, then our military horses will withdraw from the river bank and no longer face Taifu's new Han army across the river. Of course, we had to leave troops to garrison some dangerous areas along the river, but that was only a small part of the soldiers and horses, and we would not start a conflict with the New Han army. Our military horses will only be used in some inherent towns along the river, and they will only be used to maintain the normal order of local life, and they will definitely not pose a threat to your new Han Dynasty. In this way, we also hope that Taifu will not be too nervous, and that there will be no need to accumulate too many military horses on the other side of the Xiangjiang River and the Yangtze River, so as not to form a tense situation between our two sides. ”

"Well, this is acceptable, if your Cao army can withdraw the army, our Xinhan army does not need to be so nervous, we have to accumulate a large army on the river bank and put on a posture of attacking you. This is a matter of labor and money, and we naturally will not do this. From Hua Xin's words, Liu Yi already felt that Cao Cao really wanted to stop fighting with him for the time being. Since Cao Cao was able to completely relinquish his ownership of the river, that is. It is never possible for him, Cao Cao, to threaten his local turf. In this way, it may be possible to reach a consensus with Cao Cao not to attack each other for the time being.

"In this way, if Taifu doesn't have too many opinions. We can then enter into an agreement, a non-aggression agreement. Then, Hua can go back to Cao Cheng. Hua Xin seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, but his eyes rolled and said: "Of course, this agreement has a time limit...... Hehe, something. Even if Hua doesn't say it, I believe Taifu understands it in his heart, right? What we mean by the prime minister is a three-year period. How is it? ”

Liu Yi naturally understood it in his heart.

A kingdom cannot be without a king for a day, but it cannot also have two lords. The court of the New Han Dynasty and Cao Cao, sooner or later there will be a war, and only one of the two can be saved. It is unlikely that the two families will coexist peacefully for long. The time has come. When there is an opportunity, Liu Yi believes that Cao Cao will tear up the agreement as soon as possible, and will immediately send troops to attack him.

However, these three years?

Hehe, Liu Yi nodded noncommittally.

Three years is enough time for Cao Cao to do a lot of things. Even, Leo Yi believed. You don't have to wait for three years, if you don't take the initiative to attack Cao Cao. It is believed that Cao Cao will tear up the agreement and send troops to attack his new Han Dynasty.

And Liu Yi will definitely not take it seriously until three years later before he will do anything to Cao Cao.

Originally, the negotiations were quite good, and both sides seemed to be very sincere, but adding a three-year deadline to this agreement makes this agreement a bit weird.

However, signing such an agreement with Cao Cao is indeed the best way to break the current stalemate between the two armies of Cao Cao.

Liu Yi did not object, and asked the Iraqis to draft a three-year non-aggression agreement on the spot, which was signed by Hua Xin and pledged.

Originally, this required Cao Cao and Liu Yi to sign to be more effective, but Liu Yi didn't want to see Cao Cao now, and I believe that Cao Cao didn't want to see Liu Yi again. Everyone tacitly knows that the two of them are going to fight sooner or later, so why should anyone do those fake and bloody things?

The signing of such an agreement is just to find a step down for both sides, and there is no need to be so deadlocked across the river.

Leu's guess was not wrong.

Cao Cao didn't plan to take it seriously at all, and he had to wait three years before calling out Liu Yi.

Cao Cao believed that he only needed a year and a half to rectify and govern his own territory, and at the same time, his military horses could also be readjusted, and the naval army should also be able to form combat effectiveness.

And now that a non-aggression pact has been signed with Liu Yi, Cao Cao also hopes to confuse Liu Yi.

Because Cao Cao knew that the New Han Dynasty had launched a war against the world, and it was out of control. Now that he has signed a non-aggression pact with himself, at most, he can only let Liu Yi not attack him for the time being. However, it does not mean that Liu Yi will not attack other princes.

Cao Cao is now surrounded by Liu Yi in his entire territory of power, and he can only seek his inner potential, develop himself, and accumulate steadily. But the New Han Dynasty is different, and now, it has become that Liu Yi has to face the princes of the world, making the New Han Dynasty bound to divide troops on various battlefields. This, the current situation of the New Han Dynasty is a bit like the situation of Cao Cao back then, around his territory of influence, there are princes of the New Han Dynasty, Yuan Shao, Kong Rong, Lu Bu, Tao Qian, Yuan Shu, Liu Biao and so on, these princes once made Cao Cao exhausted.

Now it's the other way around, it's the turn of the New Han Dynasty to face all the princes in the world, but he, Cao Cao, can seize this opportunity and accelerate development with peace of mind.

Cao Cao believed that in just a year and a half, he would be able to seize the opportunity to tear up the agreement and break the deadlock when Liu Yi's army and horses were dispersed to various battlefields. Either they will send troops to seize Jizhou and Youzhou, or they will seize Jingzhou and cut off the connection between the New Han Dynasty and Dongting Lake, so that Liu Yi's military horses can be broken one by one.

Anyway, Cao Cao believes that the shape of the future will change rapidly, and as long as there is an opportunity, he can turn defeat into victory, and change the situation he is now in a completely passive situation.

Seriously, Cao Cao's conjecture is feasible.

Because, if Liu Yi did not use troops against Cao Cao now, then he would definitely use troops against other princes. At that time, Liu Yi will definitely send troops to Yizhou and Hanzhong, send troops to build a business, and bring the south and west of the Han Dynasty under the rule of the New Han Dynasty.

Also, in Liangzhou in the northwest now, if Ma Chao and other generals fail to recover Xiliang for a long time, Liu Yi will inevitably increase his troops again.

When Liu Yi's military horses entered Yizhou and Hanzhong. That's Cao Cao's chance.

In fact, this is also Cao Cao's last and only chance.

If Liu Yi sent troops to attack Yizhou and Hanzhong. If he, Cao Cao, can't grasp the opportunity and turn the world around in one fell swoop, then Liu Yi will definitely turn the gun and make a move against Cao Cao. At that time, Cao Cao will be surrounded by the powerful New Han army, which can be solved slowly.

It was a pretty refreshing negotiation and it hit it off.

After signing the agreement, Hua Xin said goodbye and left.

That day. Cao's army on the other side of the Xiangjiang River began to retreat.

This is Cao Cao setting an example, in fact. It is true that the only one who wants to retreat is Cao Cao, because the New Han Army is on the Xiangjiang River, and you can't retreat. The New Han Army is all the same. What are you. That's a stalemate, you're not here, and the navy of the New Han Army will be here for the time being.

Even, if Cao Jun was still on the east bank of the Xiangjiang River, they were just asking for trouble.

Because the naval army of the New Han Army can attack them at any time, and they can only watch dryly. Passive thrashing.

These days, the New Han Army Navy is indeed the same. If any of the generals was in a bad mood, they ordered the warships to approach to the east bank of the Xiangjiang River, and then used the trebuchets on the warships to bombard the Cao army on the shore for a while. Even if the bombardment can't hit Cao Jun, who retreated beyond the projection distance, but just bombarding them a few times like this can make everyone's mood refreshed.

Of course, occasionally, some bold guys, who can't stand loneliness, will quietly touch the east bank of the Xiangjiang River and attack the soldiers sent by Cao Cao to patrol the shore. After the attack, the soldiers of the New Han Army turned their heads and threw themselves into the Xiangjiang River, and then fled.

What's more, if they dare to chase close to the riverbank, they must also be careful not to be attacked by the warships of the New Han Army on the river.

Anyway, these days, Cao Jun has indeed been tossed by the New Han Army without a little temper.

As stated in the agreement, Cao Cao's military horses retreated relatively thoroughly, and it seemed that Cao Cao was not at all worried that the New Han army would immediately land and attack and seize their territory after they withdrew.

On the east bank of the Xiangjiang River, only some places where the terrain is quite steep and leaning on some small cliffs and other places by the river can you still see the military camp of Cao's army, and those places cannot be cast by the trebuchets of the naval warships of the New Han Army on the Xiangjiang River. Only in places where the New Han army and naval forces on the river could not threaten, did Cao Cao's military horses be garrisoned.

However, Liu Yi naturally would not be in danger of being left behind, and as soon as Cao Cao withdrew his troops, he would wave his army across the river. Because there was no need for that, Liu Yi's original plan was to abandon the eastern region of Jingzhou and take the Xiangjiang River as the boundary. If he really wanted to send troops to attack the other side of the Xiangjiang River, whether Cao Cao's military horses retreated or not would not affect Liu Yi's attack. Liu Yi also believed that it would not be too difficult for him to recover a complete Jingzhou and recover the eastern part of Jingzhou.

The most important thing is the governance of the eastern region of Jingzhou after Liu Yi took it back, and the issue of long-term peace and stability. If he can't achieve long-term stability, why does Liu Yi need to spend too much effort to recapture the eastern region of Jingzhou?

With the natural danger river as the boundary between the two families, it would be the best. It is impossible for Liu Yi to build a line of defense and build a Great Wall between Jingzhou and Yuzhou like Liu Biao.

Cao Cao's withdrawal was also just right, and Liu Yi immediately ordered that there was no need to build a defensive line on the west bank of the Xiangjiang River and the west bank of the Yushui River for the time being. Let the sergeants, one qiē mainly recover the places in the central and northern regions of Jingzhou, and clear the defeated soldiers of Jingzhou and some rogues. Cooperate with the government to implement formal governance of the local government.

In this way, the matter of Xiangyang is equivalent to peace.

Liu Yi then went to Jiangling, and sure enough, he was welcomed by the people of Jiangling.

Gangneung was peacefully surrendered, and the towns southeast of Gangneung were also handed over to the New Han Dynasty.

In this way, Jingzhou and the Dongting Lake area were officially ruled by the New Han Dynasty.

Then, Liu Yi transferred Cao Yin to Jiangling and appointed him as the Taishou of Jiangling.

He himself, together with the women around him, went to Dongting Lake Xinzhou. (To be continued......)