Of course, Boss Cao refused to be willing to fail, and Xu Shu, who hated Deputy Director Tao to the core, also repeatedly instigated Boss Cao to continue fighting, and the main force of the Cao army, which had just withdrawn from Nanpingyang with a disgraced face, was even more indignant, and wrote a bloody letter to make a decisive battle with the Xuzhou army again, and swore to avenge the abused friendly army.

After a long time of calculation and analysis, Cao Boss, who still had an arrow wound on his face, finally dispelled the idea of going south again, and ordered the whole army to withdraw to Guandu, still leaving only Xiahou Yuan and Cao Chun to guard the important town of Changyi, and strictly ordered Xiahou Yuan and Cao Chun not to take the initiative to provoke the Xuzhou army, and to maintain friendly relations with the Xuzhou army as much as possible.

Cao Boss This is also no way, although the current army still has the strength of a battle, but the chance of victory is not large, and at the same time, Cao Boss, who has already understood the current strength of the Xuzhou army, is also very clear that even if he wins this battle, it will inevitably be a narrow victory with a great injury to his vitality, and it will only cheapen another enemy Yuan Sangong in vain, so after weighing it again, Cao Boss still chose to swallow his anger and lead the team that still has the strength to fight to withdraw to Xuchang, preparing to deal with the possible attack of Yuan Sangong.

Xu Shu did not completely give up, and also had the opportunity to push Cao Boss and Deputy Director Tao into the decisive battle at the same time, after receiving the news that Xuzhou Chen Zhi and Hou Cheng's team was attacking Lu State and Rencheng, Xu Shu urged Cao Boss to fight again in front of Cao Boss, but it is a pity that Cao Laolian, who has never been confined to the gains and losses of one city and one place, did not blink his eyelids, and said directly: "Give it to the pottery thief, two small counties with only two counties, a broken place where floods and droughts are often noisy, and the pottery thief will give it to him if he wants, I can't make a big fight for the sake of these two birds not laying eggs. ”

"But in this way, the waist of the pottery thief's control is completely consolidated." Xu Shu warned: "Since the prime minister and Yuan Shao had a bad relationship, the pottery thief has eaten and played at home and eaten at home, and has taken most of the three counties of Qingzhou and Yanzhou. ”

Boss Cao continued to be expressionless, and after a long time, he gritted his teeth and said: "Let him eat as much as he can, and sooner or later one day he will be killed!" Angry gritted his teeth, Boss Cao pulled the wounds between the philtrum and the gums, grinning in pain, and bleeding, but Boss Cao still waved his hand decisively to let Xu Shu retreat, not giving Xu Shu a chance to advise again, Xu Shu had no choice but to retreat in secret.

On the tenth day of the first month, Cao Boss led the army back to Xuchang, and after confirming that Cao Boss did not play tricks, on the fifteenth day of the first month, Deputy Director Tao also led the Xuzhou army to withdraw to Pengcheng, and the second Xu Yan War finally ended with the Xuzhou army successfully repelling the Cao army, but the aftermath of the second Xu Yan War was far from over. When Deputy Director Tao's letter of victory was delivered to Jizhou, Da Yuan Sangong couldn't hold his breath again............ "There is such a method of combat in this world?" After reading the details of the war reported by Deputy Director Tao, Yuan Sangong, who had just been defeated by Boss Cao not long ago, was envious and ashamed, and said repeatedly: "I regret not listening to the public, regretting not listening to Youruo's words, and regretting not listening to Ziyuan's ......." Alas! In short, I regret not listening to the words of the princes, if I insisted on Liantao to destroy Cao and boldly divided my troops to attack the place where Cao thieves must be saved, how could there be the defeat of Guandu? The shame of the black nest? ”

Seeing that the third prince of Da Yuan has grown a little bit, he knows that he blames himself for not listening to his advice, and the frustration next to him is relieved, and he hurriedly comforted: "The lord doesn't have to blame himself too much, the defeat of the official crossing is the fault of the whole army, not the fault of the lord alone, as long as the lord can listen to and investigate like Tao Envoy, and let people do it properly, and then adhere to the strategy of linking Tao to destroy Cao without wavering, the shame of Guandu is as easy as a backhand." ”

"What the public said is very true, I have to learn a lesson from everything this time." Da Yuan Sangong nodded, and ordered: "Kong Zhang, you will reply to Ying'er with my reputation and write a quick book, praise his victory of Xiaopei, and then reward him with 100 catties of gold and silver, and 500 horses of color forging, so that he can continue to attack the Cao thief, and join me in Yanzhou to break the Cao thief!" ”

Bo Chenlin, the lord of the Yuan army, agreed, and hurriedly buried his head in the book, but the frustrated professor next to him was taken aback, and hurriedly asked: "Listen to the lord's will, does the lord want to immediately send troops to fight against Cao Thief?" ”

"Of course." Da Yuan Sangong replied: "Ying'er's performance in the letter, he not only severely injured the Cao thief and beheaded tens of thousands, but the general Wei Yan also shot the Cao thief in the face of the door with an arrow, causing the Cao thief team to completely collapse and return to Changyi. At present, whether Cao Thief lives or dies, it is a God-given opportunity for our army to send troops for revenge, and it must not be missed. ”

"But our army has not recovered, and this is not a good opportunity to send troops." Fu Zhi hurriedly objected: "The lord might as well wait a little longer, and wait until the next move after the Cao thief is defeated and return to Changyi, and then it is not too late to send troops." ”

"Mr. Gong and Mr. are not in a good way, and it is actually the right time to send troops at this time." Cui Yan, the new strategist of Jizhou, stood up and said to Da Yuan Sangong: "My lord, our army should send troops immediately, but there is no need to dispatch the main force, just put pressure on the northern line of Cao Thief." Yan suggested that the lord might as well send an army to capture Dongwuyang, garrison the Cangting Ferry, threaten the Cao thief Dong'a Chongzhen, and echo Tao Ying's southern line team, which can not only strengthen Tao Ying's heart to go north, but also make Cao Ying's team difficult to care about, tired of running for their lives, and defeat themselves without a fight. ”

"If it's just to capture the Dongwu Yangtun Bingcang Pavilion, I'm in favor of it." Frustrated with a sigh of relief, he hurriedly said: "Lord, Cui Jiqi is very good at this, attacking the Dongwu Yangtun Bing Cangting, so that the Cao thief must guard against Dong'e, Dongjun and Changyi at the same time, and disperse the Cao thief is still inferior to the strength of our army, and it is difficult to take care of the head and tail, if necessary, the main force of our army can also cross south from Cangting, first join forces with Tao Ying's main force, seize the eastern counties of Yanzhou, remove the flank threat, and then fight steadily, first take Chen Liu, and then break Xuchang, and annihilate the Cao thief. ”

Affected by the demon moth wings of Deputy Director Tao, there was still a huge deviation in history after all, and the frustration was not hung up after the battle of Guandu, and the great Yuan Sangong unexpectedly used the resourceful and resourceful Cui Yan, so that he could directly participate in the military aircraft affairs, and the two virtuous ministers joined forces, although the Great Yuan Sangong was not very satisfied, but he still listened to the correct opinions of the frustrated and Cui Yan, nodded and said: "Okay, let's do it, let Xi'er and Wen Chou use the troops of Qingzhou to attack Dongwuyang, and garrison the Cangting ferry to help Ying'er attack Cao." ”

"Raise the soldiers of Qingzhou?" Cui Yan, who did not have a very good impression of Deputy Director Tao, frowned and reminded: "Lord, the soldiers of Qingzhou also have to guard against the Zang Ba team in Xuzhou, Tao should be resourceful, and the lord also needs to prevent him from having evil intentions." ”

"Ji Jue doesn't have to worry." Frustrated, he hurriedly said: "Tao Ying is indeed resourceful, but he has a good face, loves fame, and it is certain that he will steal and play tricks, but he will never dare to risk the world to attack our army, so it is not only safe for the Qingzhou soldiers to go south to help the war, but also to prove the sincerity of our army and Tao Ying to join forces to destroy Cao, and to appease Tao Ying's heart." ”

Cui Yan was suspicious and no longer objected, and Yuan Sangong, who didn't pay much attention to the poor mountains and bad waters of Qingzhou, also nodded and passed, and the matter was quickly decided. In this way, Boss Cao's reaction was ignored, but it was a little bitter to Deputy Director Tao, so that after receiving the letter from Da Yuan Sangong, Deputy Director Tao couldn't find a high-sounding excuse to refuse to send troops for a while and a half - Da Yuan Sangong took the initiative to reward and take the initiative to send troops to attack the place where Cao Jun must be saved, the old man is so interesting, if Deputy Director Tao refuses to even send troops perfunctory, this Nima will immediately become a typical representative of a bad son-in-law.

Just as Deputy Director Tao was discussing with Jia Lao Poison how many old and weak soldiers should be sent north to Yanzhou in order to pass the customs perfunctorily, an old acquaintance of the Xuzhou army suddenly came to the door of Xuzhou Thorn Shi Mansion to ask for a meeting, this old acquaintance was not someone else, it happened to be the right-hand man under the account of Yuan Sangong in the past, and the fourth brother of Xun Yu, the chief strategist of Cao Boss - Xun Chen Xun Youruo! Deputy Director Tao was pleasantly surprised when he heard the news, and hurriedly rushed out of the hall to greet Xun Chen outside the door, and when he saw Xun Chen, he bowed to the ground, and respectfully invited Xun Chen into the back hall, and set up a banquet to entertain him.

After three rounds of drinking, Deputy Director Tao carefully asked about Xun Chen's situation, Xun Chen also confessed, and replied truthfully: "Envoy Jun, during the Guandu War, Yuan Shao did not accept his loyalty and caused a big defeat, although Chen was lucky not to die in the chaos of the army, but also separated from Yuan Shao, and then Chen got the help of the old people, and hid incognito in Xuchang for several months, I wanted to study in the thatched house but was remnant, but unexpectedly leaked some rumors that Cao Ying knew, Cao Ying sent someone to arrest Yu Chen, so he came to Xuzhou to avoid trouble. ”

Of course, Deputy Director Tao would not be stupid enough to ask who could help Xun Chen hide in Xuchang for nearly half a year, but said with a smile: "Mr. Youruo is modest, with his reputation for his talents, no matter how cruel and vicious Cao Thief is, he will definitely not dare to hurt Mr. in the slightest, and send someone to search for Mr., thinking that it is also to ask Mr. to assist him." ”

Xun Chen smiled and did not answer, noncommittal to Deputy Director Tao's words, and Deputy Director Tao did not go on this topic, but asked tentatively: "Mr. is far away, I don't know if you want to take the road to the north and return to the account of Lord Yue?" I still want to live in Xuzhou for a long time and settle down in Xuzhou ...... real estate. ”

"Please forgive me for being disrespectful and slandering the old master." Xun Chen interrupted Deputy Director Tao's words, and said straight to the point: "Yuan Shao, the father-in-law of the envoy and the old master of Chen, does not distinguish between loyalty and annihilation, does not know good and evil, has serious differences under the account, and has deep internal contradictions. ”

Speaking of this, Xun Chen paused, and then arched his hand and said: "Don't hide it from the envoy, Chen came to Xuzhou this time because his brother Xun Yu once had a book saying that it was the envoy's intention to recruit Xun clansmen. ”

"Oops!" Deputy Director Tao jumped up with joy, bowed down with his fists in front of Xun Chen, and said sincerely: "If you deserve Mr. Youruo's help, why worry about big things?!" ”

Seeing that Deputy Director Tao was kind and respectful, Xun Chen, who was still a little worried, was also overjoyed, and hurriedly left the table to return the salute, and the old Jia poison on the side smiled and groaned on his face, but secretly said in his heart: "The people of the old Xun family, sure enough, are so cunning, they don't come to vote early or late, but they came to vote after our army defeated Cao's army, obviously found that in addition to Yuan Cao's two families, there is a third family that may eventually win the Central Plains war, so he hurriedly came over to bet on the chips to ensure that the family can prosper for a long time, and the grass on the wall can do this. Only the lord in the world can compare with it. ”

Deputy Director Tao, a highly talented student who graduated from the public servant school, is so good at riding on the wall and watching the wind, and why doesn't he know the real purpose of Xun Chen's vote? But it's still that sentence, the old Xun family's fame in this era is too great, and the children of the family are all over the world, and they are the objects that every gang boss is vying for, so Deputy Director Tao didn't even blink an eyelid, and immediately asked Xun Chen to join the army in Xuzhou, and also served as a separate driver, Xun Chen thanked him.

It was also at this time that Jia Lao Poison spoke: "Lord, Mr. Youruo has been in Yuan Shao's army for a long time, and now Yuan Shao has written to order the lord to send troops to attack Cao, and the lord may wish to ask Mr. Youruo for advice on how to deal with it." ”

"It's ......." Deputy Director Tao was a little hesitant - this kind of wall grass thing is not very glorious, no matter how thick-skinned Deputy Director Tao is, he is also a little embarrassed to ask the old man who just came to vote for advice.

"If the lord doesn't want to send troops, it's not really difficult." Xun Chen seemed to have known the purpose of the Great Yuan Sangong and the plan of Deputy Director Tao, and said directly: "As far as Chen knows, the person that the old lord Yuan Shao hates the most is actually not Cao Thief, but his half-brother Yuan Shu, and Yuan Shao is blind, does not know the importance and does not know the urgency, the lord only needs to make some articles on Yuan Shu, Yuan Shao must agree to the lord to attack Yuan Shu, so that our army can not only send troops north to merge with Cao thief, but also take advantage of the situation to go south and capture the land of Jiangdong." ”

"Brilliant plan!" Deputy Director Tao was overjoyed, and hurriedly asked, "Then Mr. Youruo, what should I do with this article?" ”

"It's simple." Xun Chen replied: "The lord can repair a letter with Yuan Shao, just say that after the battle of Guandu, during the Cao thief entering Xuzhou, Yuan Shu saw that there was an opportunity to go north to recapture Huainan, so he secretly made people rebel against Wei Xian, the old Liyang guard, during the period of disrespect to Yuan Shao, laughing at Yuan Shao's defeat of Guandu, and colluding with Cao Ying to attack Xuzhou, the lord you are angry that Yuan Shu is disrespectful to his father-in-law, and worried about the fire in the rear, so he decided to go south to attack Yuan Shu, please Yuan Shao temporarily rest the troops and horses, and wait until the lord you break Yuan Shu, and then turn back to attack Cao Thief. ”

"Although Mr. Youruo's plan is wonderful, but if Lord Yuezhang really stops his army, what can he do?" Deputy Director Tao is still a little worried.

"Please rest assured, Yuan Shao will not stop his army." Xun Chen replied with a smile: "Yuan Shao has the best face, he was defeated by Cao Thief, Cao Thief was defeated by our army, our army went south Yuan Shao will stop his army, Yuan Shao must be worried about being ridiculed by the world, for the sake of face, he will definitely not only not stop his army, but will also step up the attack on Cao Thief, in order to prove that his battle of Guandu is just an accident." ”

Deputy Director Tao's strategic focus is indeed on the northern front, but this does not mean that Deputy Director Tao is willing to be cannon fodder for the mean old man, so after listening to Xun Chen's analysis, Deputy Director Tao thought about it again and again, and finally said: "That's it!" During the invasion of Xuzhou by the Cao thieves, Yuan Shupifu, who had already broken through Qu'a, did not take the opportunity to attack Liu Xuan, who fled to Wu County, but instead stationed the troops Niu Zhu with the intention of crossing the river, so rude, it is time to teach him another lesson! ”

"Yes." Jia Lao Poison echoed: "The lord went south to attack Jiangdong, it is best to take Jiangdong, even if he can't take Jiangdong, he can also contain the main force of Yuan Shu, so that Liu Xuan, Yan Baihu and others have the opportunity to launch a counteroffensive, so that Yuan Shu will not be able to dominate Jiangdong and maintain the Jiangdong melee situation that is beneficial to our army." ”

Finalizing this idea, Deputy Director Tao immediately took action, while actively planning the southern expedition, while writing back to the great Yuan Sangong, under the pretext that Yuan Shu was disrespectful to the great Yuan Sangong, and the poor little Yuan Sangong colluded with Boss Cao to prepare a sneak attack on his Huainan backyard, and he had to launch the southern expedition, not only to be angry for the old man, but also to relieve his worries, so the filial son-in-law Deputy Director Tao asked the old man to rest the soldiers and horses, recuperate and raise troops, and wait until he returned from the southern expedition, and then join forces to attack Cao Boss It is not too late.

By the way, in order to show his filial piety and some evil purposes, Deputy Director Tao also asked Chen Ying to repeatedly remind Yuan Sangong not to act alone in his letters, saying that it was Cao Thief's deception and abnormality, and it would be difficult to win by relying on the strength of Jizhou's lone army alone, and it would be difficult to repeat the mistakes of Guandu, so please wait until Yuan San's official duties are returned to the army, and then it will not be too late to send troops - as for Lord Yuezhang's reaction after seeing these unfavorable advice, Deputy Director Tao, a filial son-in-law, can't care so much.

It is conceivable that the reaction of the Cao army commander when he heard the news that Deputy Director Tao was preparing for the southern expedition, the excitement up and down was almost joyful, and Boss Cao himself breathed a long sigh of relief, and sighed: "This thief finally let me go, just go to Jiangdong, the longer you go, the better, Yuan Shupifu also gave me a little more energy, support a little more time, don't be destroyed by the Tao thief at once." ”

"Prime Minister, fighter planes are rare." Xun Yu suggested: "The prime minister should seize this opportunity, send an envoy to the north to see Yuan Shao, and surrender Yuan Shao in the honor of the imperial court. ”

"Take the initiative to provoke Yuan Shao to attack?" No matter how decisive Boss Cao is, he will inevitably hesitate a little, and hesitate: "Although Yuan Shaoguandu was defeated, his strength was still far superior to that ......of our army. ”

"The prime minister must not hesitate." Xun Yu warned: "If you don't seize this fighter plane, wait until Yuan Shao recovers his military strength and has enough grain and grass to carry his baggage, it will not only be more difficult to break it, but it is also possible to be attacked by the pottery thief Yuan Shao from the north and south again, and fall into a dilemma!" ”

Boss Cao hesitated for a moment, and finally shouted: "That's it, since this battle will be fought sooner or later, it is better to fight it sooner rather than later!" Take advantage of Yuan Shaopifu's weakest time to fight! Take advantage of the opportunity that the plague god can't bother me for the time being! ”

(To be continued)