The biggest beneficiary of the rupture of the two Yuan peace talks is actually Cao Boss, although he blocked the pursuit of the Jizhou army twice, but both times he won very reluctantly, relying on the opportunity of Yuan Tanjun's main force to go south with all his strength, and finally repelled Yuan Tanjun's partial division, and at the same time lost Chen Di, was isolated Liang Di, Cao Boss's direct control of the land, in fact, there is only a dilapidated and withered Runan County, no more than 10,000 soldiers, grain and grass can only support for a few months, basically as long as Yuan Tan's army does not have chaos inside, Resolutely block the way for Boss Cao to flee to Sili and Guanzhong, and you can trap Boss Cao to death without attacking hard!

In such an embarrassing situation, the breakdown of the peace talks between the Yuan Tan brothers is tantamount to letting the Cao army, who is almost in despair, see a glimmer of hope, and what makes the Cao army even more ecstatic is that less than a month after the peace talks broke down, there were huge changes within the Jizhou army, dissatisfied with Yuan Shang's provocation of fratricide, Zhongshan Taishou stubborn Wang Ling first rebelled against Yuan Shang's team, forcing Yuan Shang to send troops to avoid a chain reaction, and also forcing Yuan Tan to immediately send troops to save this leading loyal minister, In order to encourage other Jizhou county guards to rebel against Yuan Shang together!

After receiving this news, Cao Jun was overjoyed, but also rushed to the front of Cao Boss, suggesting that he should immediately launch a counterattack to break through the encirclement, take the opportunity to break through the encirclement of Yuan's army, and leave Runan, a ghost place full of starvation, and go to Sili and Guanzhong, where the situation is slightly better, to try to make a comeback. And Boss Cao himself was also very tempted, and hurriedly convened all his henchmen to discuss and discuss and analyze the breakout matter, but the number one strategist Xun Yu resolutely objected: "Lord, at this time, you must not break through at will, the total strength of our army is less than 10,000 people, and food and grass are scarce, but the main force of Yuan Tan's army is still stationed in Yingchuan. ”

"My lord, Mr. Wen Ruo is reasonable, at this time, our army must continue to wait and see." Because of the lack of medical treatment, Guo Jia, who was already skinny and bones, coughed and said: "At this time, our army is not very sure of breaking through, it is better to wait for a while, and wait until Yuan Tan's main force goes north to fight for Jizhou, or Tao Ying annihilates the thieves to attack Yuan Tan, Yuan Tan is forced to fight, and our army will launch a breakthrough of the whole army, such a grasp will definitely be much greater." ”

Boss Cao nodded slowly with a deep groan, and also planned to give up the plan to break through immediately. But at this time, Cheng Yu suddenly said: "Lord, in Yu's humble opinion, our army may not need to break through by force, at the moment the Yuan brothers are fratricidal, Yuan Tan is strong and Yuan Shang is weak, Yuan Shang and the pottery thief have always had a close relationship, Yuan Tan and the pottery thief have always been hostile, although the pottery thief has not made any moves at the moment, but it is only a matter of time before he helps Yuan Shang." And although Yuan Tan didn't dare to show his hostility towards the pottery thief now, he may not understand in his heart that the pottery thief would have to settle accounts with him sooner or later. ”

Speaking of this, Cheng Yu paused for a moment, and then said: "In this case, why don't our army send someone to contact and negotiate with Yuan Tan to try it, in exchange for helping Yuan Tan resist the pottery thief, in exchange for Yuan Tan to get out of the way and let our army return to Guanzhong?" ”

"It can't be!" Boss Cao shook his head categorically, and said with a wry smile: "The blood feud between me and Yuan Shao is not shared, Yuan Shao's stroke also has a major relationship with our army, and Yuan Tan is also Yuan Shao's designated successor. ”

"It's not impossible." Cheng Yu replied: "What the lord can see, Yuan Tan may not be able to see." And Yuan Tan has two advantages in forming an alliance with our army, one is that there is no longer any worry about the southern front, and the other is that he can get the help of our army's soldiers and horses in Guanzhong, just with these two points, Yuan Tan will definitely be tempted. There is another point, Yuan Tan's personal hostility towards the pottery thief is far above the hostility towards our army, and he has the experience of joining forces with our army to fight against Yuan Shang and the pottery thief for a long time, so our army seeks an alliance, and Yuan Tan may not agree. ”

"Lord, Yu thinks you might as well give it a try." Xun Yu also said: "If this move is successful, our army will naturally benefit greatly, and if this matter fails, our army will only lose one messenger at most, and it is insignificant." ”

Boss Cao began to be tempted, but Cao Ang, who had only returned to Boss Cao from Xuzhou three months ago, stood up and objected: "Father, the child thinks that you must not ask Yuan Tan for an alliance, not to mention that the failure of the alliance will be humiliating, even if it succeeds, it is just an excuse for Tao Envoy Jun to start a war against our army, which will cause a monstrous disaster, and the isolated Liang Land of our army will inevitably be quickly taken by Tao Envoy Jun!" ”

"Ignorant son, what do you know?" Boss Cao scolded angrily: "With the current strength of our army, is there any hope to recapture Chen Di and open up contact with Liang Di?" Sooner or later, Liang Di will be lost, and it doesn't matter who he loses it to! ”

"But you can't ask Yuan Tan for an alliance." Cao Ang argued: "Now Tao is strong and Yuan is weak, Tao Envoy Jun can destroy Yuan Tan, but Yuan Tan can't destroy Tao Envoy Jun, if my father asks Yuan Tan for peace and asks for an alliance, it is a humiliation, and after Yuan Tan is destroyed, our army asks Tao Envoy Jun for an alliance and asks for peace, which is a second humiliation!" Rather than suffer these two humiliations, it is better not to suffer one humiliation, waiting for the opportunity to break through to Guanzhong, even if Yuan Tan is destroyed in the future, our army can also negotiate with Tao Envoy Jun who abides by his promise on an equal footing, and protect the land of Guanzhong for the army and people. ”

"Fart! The pottery thief is like a jackal, and it is strange that he will let us go! Boss Cao was even more furious, and scolded again: "What kind of [***] soup did the pottery thief give you?" For the Father and he are not in heaven, and no one in our army does not call him a thief, but you still use honorific titles against him, are you still my son? Get out! In the future, there will be meetings related to pottery thieves, and you are not allowed to participate! ”

Cao Ang originally wanted to insist, but he was still driven out by Boss Cao, and after letting the guards take his son away, Boss Cao quickly made up his mind and ordered: "Send Wang Ze to contact Yuan Tan and act according to the plan!" If this matter is successful, our army may still have a chance to fish in the troubled waters of the Central Plains! ”

……………… After learning that Yuan Tan and Liu Biao had concluded a mutual insurance covenant, Uncle Liu Huang, who had not dared to act because of the sending of people under the fence, also suddenly came to the spirit, and immediately wrote an enthusiastic letter to congratulate Yuan Tan Gongzi on inheriting the throne, and sent Sun Qian to Xuchang to meet Yuan Tan Gongzi, verbally saying that once Yuan Tan Gongzi was attacked, he would immediately lead the army to Xuchang to reinforce Yuan Tan.

When the dry firewood met the fire, Yuan Tan Gongzi also intended to recruit the Taoyuan brothers as early as the Qingzhou War, and he was naturally overjoyed after getting the book, and rewarded Sun Qian on the spot, and also said that once he needed it, he would immediately ask Liu Biao to send Liu Huangshu's team to reinforce Xu - at that time, Yuan Tan Gongzi will not only provide food and grass for Liu Huangshu's team, but also fund some soldiers and horses for Liu Huangshu! Sun Qian was also overjoyed, and hurriedly thanked him, and Uncle Liu Huang finally won an opportunity to fish in troubled waters in the melee in the Central Plains.

Uncle Liu Huang, who did not have a deep grudge against the Jizhou army, volunteered to do it, but Boss Cao's secret alliance made Yuan Tan Gongzi completely embarrassed, because from the perspective of immediate interests, accepting Boss Cao's alliance will receive two major benefits, one is that there is no crisis on the southern front, quickly take over Runan and Liangdi, and completely get rid of the worries of the rear; The second is to get the support of Cao Boss's Guanzhong soldiers and horses, and at a critical moment, Cao Jun can stand up for him for a while. But if you want to receive these two benefits, you must first let go of the desperate enemy, and lose the best opportunity to exterminate the remnants of the Cao army.

In desperation, Yuan Tan could only summon Guo Tu, Xin Ping and Cui Yan and others to discuss the matter secretly, but Guo Tu and Xin Ping, who were quite bright-eyed, applauded, but Cui Yan was anxious when he heard it, and hurriedly dissuaded: "Lord, you must not ask for an alliance with Cao thief, although there are small benefits and a hundred harms in forming an alliance with Cao thief!" The first point is that the military is not convinced, the blood feud between Cao thief and our army is as deep as the sea, if it is an alliance with it, our soldiers will definitely not be convinced! The second is the return of the tiger to the mountain, if the Cao thief withdraws to Guanzhong, the remnants of the Cao thief will join the division, and our army will not only be difficult to break Cao, but also give the Cao thief a God-given opportunity to revivenation! ”

"Mr. Ji Qi is alarmist." Mr. Guo Tu, who was gradually deprived of the title of chief strategist under Yuan Tan, shook his head and retorted: "The blood feud between Tao Ying's thief and Cao thief is deeper, but both thieves have the experience of forgiving each other's lives, why don't you see the soldiers under the command of Cao Thief and Tao Thief dissatisfied?" Besides, the remnants of the Cao thief are less than 10,000 people, and the Guanzhong Division is a ruined place that has been ruined by Dong Zhuo, how many chances can the Cao thief have to resurrect when he arrives there? ”

"The situation of the pottery thief and the Cao thief is different from ours, and the blood feud between us and the Cao thief is also related to the ...... of the old master."

Cui Yan originally wanted to refute, but was quickly interrupted by Xin Ping, who was greedy for immediate interests, Xin Ping gave up his hand to Yuan Tan Gongzi and said: "Lord, the opportunity must not be lost, and the loss will not come again, now Yuan Shang has rebelled, and the Tao thief is watching and delaying beside him, if our army refuses to accept the Cao thief's request for peace, it will inevitably be restrained by the Cao thief A large number of military horses, and countless military forces will be consumed in vain, and it will not be able to eradicate Yuan Shang's traitor with all its might, nor can it deal with the threat of the Tao thief." Now that Liu Biao has concluded a mutual protection alliance with our army, if we seize this opportunity to temporarily reconcile with Cao Thief, our army's southern front will not only be completely worry-free, but will also be able to gain a small and powerful ally. ”

"Yes, my lord, the Cao thief hates the pottery thief the most, and after withdrawing to Guanzhong, he formed a relationship with our army, if the pottery thief sends troops, our army asks for help from the Cao thief, and the Cao thief will definitely send troops for his own plan." Guo Tuzhen added eloquently.

"Ridiculous!" Cui Yan said angrily: "Let the Cao thief withdraw to Guanzhong, with his virtue, when Xuzhou Tao Ying started a war against our army, he didn't fish in troubled waters and stabbed us in the back, how could he still send troops to help us?" ”

"People call Mr. Ji Jue a Jizhou master, don't you even understand the truth of cold lips and teeth?" Mr. Guo Tu sneered: "Besides, Mr. Ji Jue insists on refusing to agree to Cao Thief's request for peace, so when our army is forced to send the main force north to exterminate Yuan Shang, or when it is forced to face the Tao thief, Cao Thief takes the opportunity to launch a breakthrough, how can our army resist or intercept it?" ”

Cui Yan finally had no way to refute, and Xin Pingze next to him nodded desperately and said: "Mr. Gongze is reasonable, since he can't destroy the Cao thief for the time being, and he can't stop the Cao thief from breaking through in the future, it's better to be an empty favor, you can not only free up your troops, but also get an ally, wouldn't it be wonderful to get more in one fell swoop?" ”

After listening to these debates, Yuan Tan Gongzi finally nodded and clapped his head: "That's it, accept Cao Thief's request for peace, and let Cao Thief go to Sili!" ”

"My lord! Never! Cui Yan was shocked and hurriedly opened his mouth to dissuade him, but Yuan Tan Gongzi had already brushed his sleeves away, Mr. Guo Tu and Mr. Xin Ping hurriedly followed, and then Mr. Guo Tu, who had been robbed of the limelight by Cui Yan during this time, also looked back at Cui Yan, with a smug smile on his face, as if to say, "Boy, do you see it?" Don't look at your merits, but the lord still trusts me more. ”

After shaking his head helplessly, Cui Yan sighed: "Hundreds of thousands of Jizhou soldiers seem to have really sacrificed in vain. ”

The next day, despite the strong opposition of many civil and military forces in Jizhou, Yuan Tan Gongzi still openly accepted Cao Laoda's request for peace on the grounds of the sage's forgiveness, and promised to let go of the road of Kunyang and Luyang, and let Cao Laoda lead the remnants to retreat to Sili, in exchange for Cao's army to hand over Runan and Liangdi two counties to the Jizhou army. Although Yuan Tan Gongzi's decision also allowed the Zijun to take the entire territory of his hometown Runan without spending a single soldier, the troops were on the Huai River, and the Cao army forces were completely driven out of Yanzhou, but after Yuan Tan Gongzi finalized this resolution, many Jizhou civil and military officers were still so angry that they beat their chests, and they only hated the sky and had no eyes, how could they get such a lord for the Zijun?

Yuan Sangong, who was sick in bed, was so angry that his mouth was bleeding, he only hated that he didn't move, and he couldn't beat Yuan Tan, an unfilial son, to death! can't speak, there is no way to bite this unfilial son who has reached the extreme of a loser! At the same time, under the furiousness, under Zhang Zhongjing's careful treatment, the condition of the eldest Yuan Sangong, who had already improved, also worsened again, and he almost couldn't slow down in one breath and kicked his legs to meet the ancestors and ancestors.

After receiving this news, Yuan Shanggongzi, who was fighting with Gao Gan and Jiang Yiqu in the Wucheng area, suddenly smiled crookedly, and hurriedly spread the news to Jiyou and the counties of the three states at the instigation of the trial, condemning the brother's unfilial piety and arsonance with the enemy, and asking the counties of the three states to unite around him, first destroy the brother who 'forged the will' and set himself up as the main one, and then destroy the Cao thief, and avenge the countless Jizhou soldiers and the three princes of the Great Yuan who sacrificed before. However, Gao Gan and Jiang Yiqu's team was demoralized, and the offensive that was originally quite fierce suddenly slowed down, and Gao Gan also angrily wrote to Yuan Tan, condemning Yuan Tan's foolish decision.

And when Yuan Tan Gongzi began to regret his stupid decision, began to consider Cui Yan's suggestion, and prepared to launch a surprise attack on the way to win back the hearts of the army and the people on the way to Cao Laoda's withdrawal, the news finally spread to Xuzhou City farther away. Knowing this situation, Deputy Director Tao, who was waiting for Yuan Tan's main force to go north, suddenly laughed and laughed wildly: "Don't wait, you can send troops, Yuan Tan Pifu killed himself and destroyed his legitimate position, our army is now sending troops, there is no need to worry about the Jizhou team hating the enemy, and there is no need to worry about the old father-in-law's old department desperately resisting." ”

In 201, on June 22 of the sixth year of Jian'an in the Eastern Han Dynasty, General Wei of the Great Han Dynasty, Marquis of Liyang, and Xu Qingyang of the three states of Mu Taoying suddenly showed the blood edict of Liu Xie, the son of the Han Dynasty, claiming that Yuan Tan had bullied the monarch and disregarded the monarch, and decided to send 150,000 troops to attack Yuan Tan and save the king! At the same time, he also spread the word to the world, and counted all kinds of crimes such as Yuan Tan's bullying of the king's power and arsonance with the enemy's unfilial piety, claiming that he sent troops this time to be both on the orders of the king and for filial piety. The three armies of Xuzhou are excited, 150,000 soldiers march westward along Surabaya, covering the sky with banners and guns, the momentum is unparalleled, and the blade points straight to the throat of Yuan Tanjun's north and south connection - Guandu!

In addition, Deputy Director Tao also insisted that Boss Cao had concluded a secret alliance with Yuan Tan without any evidence, and was ready to join forces against the Xuzhou army! On this ground, he sent a letter to Runan to declare war on Cao's army, and ordered the vanguard Chen Zhi to immediately divide his troops to attack Liangdi and eradicate the remnants of Cao's army entrenched there!

Xuzhou Wenwen was transmitted to Xuchang, and Yuan Tan Gongzi, who was hesitating whether to ambush Cao's army, suddenly collapsed to the ground, and immediately scolded Guo Tu and Xin Ping, who had bad ideas, and then ordered Chen Zhen to quickly bring a heavy gift to Deputy Director Tao, shamelessly claiming that he accepted Cao Boss's request for peace, but he wanted to lure the snake out of the hole and deceive the remnants of Cao's army out of Pingyu and annihilate him halfway, and asked Deputy Director Tao to temporarily rest his troops and horses and negotiate peace with him. But it's a pity, don't say that Yuan Tan's defense is just a nonsense, even if it is true, Deputy Director Tao will insist that Yuan Tan is just a shameless defense.