"Tao Ying Xiao'er begged for mercy, I have the heart to forgive him, but this thief's intentions are really hateful, seeing that the victory of Guandu is about to be decided, I am afraid that I will attack him after destroying Cao, so I quickly begged for mercy, slippery flattery, I really don't like it."

"However, Tao Ying Xiaoer is my son-in-law after all, and his eldest son is my own grandson, if I resolutely refuse his plea for mercy, and I am afraid that the world will criticize me, I am in a dilemma, it is really difficult to cut, all the princes are high-talented, I don't know what to think?"

Da Yuan Sangong also gave Deputy Director Tao a chance, and did not blindly listen to Guo Tu's slander and directly cut off Deputy Director Tao's thoughts, taking advantage of the fact that the guards were still preparing for the banquet, Da Yuan Sangong first gave a general introduction to the origin of the improved version of the Xiangyang cannon, and then said in public that Deputy Director Tao sent a letter begging for mercy, and asked a group of confidants for advice. However, as usual, there was once again a situation of diametrically opposed opinions among the high-level leaders of Yuan Shaojun, who were extremely discordant internally, and the argument was turned upside down and could not be separated.

"Lord, Tao Ying should be given a chance." Xun Chen, Xu You, Wen Chou and other civil and military officers were more friendly to Deputy Director Tao, so they all suggested: "At this time, accepting Tao Ying's request for peace, you can justifiably transfer the Xuzhou army to the frontal battlefield to cooperate with our army, and defeat the Cao thieves faster and faster, and you can also share a lot of pressure for our army when breaking through the remnants of the Cao thieves." ”

"Lord, you must not accept the pottery thief to ask for peace." Yuan Tan Gongzi's henchmen led by Guo Tu and Xin Ping were of course resolutely opposed to Yuan Sangong's forgiveness of Deputy Director Tao, believing that the victory of the army was now decided, and it was only a matter of time before the Cao thieves were defeated, and there was no need to pull the Xuzhou army to help, and at the same time, as long as the main force of the Cao army was eliminated, the remnants of the Cao army and the city could basically be passed on, and there was no need for the Xuzhou army to intervene, and it was also convenient to attack the five counties of Xuzhou in the future and plunder the rich land of Xuzhou.

After the trial was returned to Yecheng, Yuan Shang and Feng Ji were left behind by the Great Yuan Sangong in the rear of the Jizhou guard from the beginning, and most of the current members of the Yuan Shang Gongzi Party in the Guandu Army were soft-spoken, which naturally could not compete with the elite Yuan Tan Gongzi Party in the debate. Seeing that Yuan Tan Gongzi's party was powerful, Xun Chen, who had always been well-behaved, did not dare to insist too much, and soon turned to Yuan Tan Gongzi's side, although General Wen Chou, who had received the grace of Deputy Director Tao's life, was still righteous enough, and strongly persuaded Yuan Sangong to give his son-in-law another chance, but unfortunately General Wen Chou was only a military general, not good at speaking, and was quickly refuted by Guo Tu and Xin Ping and others.

To everyone's surprise, Mr. Xu You, who has always been far above Xun Chen, was uncharacteristically this time, and stood up to argue with Yuan Tan Dang and said: "If the princes think that Yan, Yu, Sili and Guanzhong can be passed on, then the princes are very wrong, Cao Ren and Man Chong in Yuzhou, Cao Hong and Wei Chong in Nanyang, Zhong Xuan and Pei Mao in the Guanzhong, Xun Yu and Ren Jun in Xuchang, and Liu Yan and Cao Chun in the eastern part of Yanzhou, these people are either Cao Thief's cronies and relatives, or Cao Thief's relatives of the same clan, Even if our army exterminated the Cao thieves in Guandu, how could they easily surrender to our army? ”

"Besides, even if our army will win in Guandu, it may not be sure that it will be able to capture or kill Cao Thief himself in Guandu, no matter where Cao Thief flees, these people will still obey Cao Thief's orders, and make a comeback under the leadership of Cao Thief, causing a lot of trouble for our army and dragging down the lord's road to the world. In this case, if the lord refuses Tao Ying's plea for mercy, he will not only lose a strong reinforcement for the aftermath with a lot of soldiers and horses, abundant money and food, but also may force Tao Ying to the side of Cao Thief or Cao Thief's remnant party, and unite to create more trouble for the lord. ”

Speaking of this, Xu You also bowed deeply to the third prince of Da Yuan, and said very loyally: "Lord, there is a lot of help for the righteous, and little help for the unjust, Tao Ying is very sincere in repentance, and he is your son-in-law, the lord might as well give him a chance, look at his performance this time, if Tao Ying still dares to disobey the lord and tiger, and dare to bargain with the lord or perfunctory to the lord's dispatch, then it is not too late for the lord to deal with him severely." ”

Xu You's insightful words still moved Da Yuan Sangong, considering that Cao Boss's territory is rotten but big, and there are too many hardcore friends guarding the place, and the war to pacify the remnants of Cao's army is definitely not a year and a half to be finished, Da Yuan Sangong still nodded and said: "What Ziyuan said is exactly what I ......." ”

"Lord, lord, please slow down." Mr. Guo Tu hurriedly jumped up, and smiled at Da Yuan Sangong: "Dare to ask the lord, have you ever found something very strange?" ”

"What's strange?" Da Yuan Sangong asked suspiciously.

"Of course, it's Mr. Ziyuan's attitude towards the pottery thief." Guo Tu smiled and said: "Since Mr. Ziyuan returned from his mission to Xuzhou in the second year of Jian'an, his attitude towards the pottery thief has suddenly become very friendly, and he has repeatedly spoken in favor of Tao Ying at critical moments. ”

"You talk nonsense!" Mr. Xu You was furious when he heard this, and said angrily: "I just talk about things, how can I favor Tao Yingyou?" ”

"Mr. Ziyuan should not be annoyed and angry, and the picture is also a matter of facts, but it is just strange why Mr. Ziyuan's attitude is inclined to the pottery thief." Guo Tu continued to smile and arch his hand, suddenly suppressed his smile, and asked quickly: "May I ask Mr. Ziyuan, what is hidden in the secret cellar under the largest rockery in the back garden of your mansion?" ”

"Hide ......." Xu You wanted to answer casually, but after closing his mouth in time, he couldn't help but exclaim and asked, "How did you know where my secret cellar is?" ”

"Mr. Ziyuan doesn't have to ask, and the picture won't say." Guo Tu said with a smile: "May I ask Mr. Ziyuan again, the valuable gifts that Tao Yuanjun gave to Mr. Ziyuan are all stored in that secret cellar?" ”

Xu You didn't dare to speak, and cold sweat began to flow from his forehead, not sure how many ulterior secrets Guo Tu knew. Over there, the eldest Yuan Sangong turned his face longer than a donkey again, and snorted: "Mr. Ziyuan, Mr. Gongze is asking you, is there a gift from the pottery thief hidden in your secret cellar?" ”

"No......, no." Xu You stubbornly denied it, and said with a serious lack of confidence: "My lord, there is a secret cellar at home, but what is hidden in the cellar is only the savings of Yu Lu over the years, as well as the rewards that the lord gave to his subordinates when he was fair, and nothing else. ”

"Really?" Da Yuan Sangong sneered and said: "Then I will immediately send someone back to Yecheng to check the cellar of Mr., if it is indeed just Mr.'s savings and my reward, then it is nothing, but if there are not only these things, what does Mr. have to say?" ”

Xu You, who is known for being greedy for money, is even more afraid to speak, sweat is flowing faster and more, Xun Chen and Wen Chou and other neutrals do not dare to speak, Yuan Tan Gongzi and Guo Tu, Xin Ping and others are triumphant, secretly scolding Xu You for looking for his own death, obviously his ass is obviously not clean, and he dares to stand up to help Yuan Shang's deputy director of foreign aid Tao speak.

"My lord, Mr. Chieftain, Mr. Judge, has a letter to him."

Mr. Xu You's bad luck is obviously not over, but at this moment, a Yuan Shao guard rushed in outside the tent, and presented a letter that had just received the letter to the big Yuan Sangong with both hands, and after the big Yuan Sangong opened it and took a closer look, he was immediately even more furious, and yelled at Mr. Xu You: "You are a promiscuous horseman, and the trial has been ascertained, and the moldy grain and grass of our army are all because of your son Xu Xie and your nephew Xu Dong's greed for money and profit, and they took the opportunity of taking the grain to replace the good grain with moldy grain, and made a huge amount of money from it to fill their pockets, what else do you have to say?" ”

"What? And what else is there? Xu You was dumbfounded, saying that he didn't expect his son and nephew to dare to do such a beautiful thing.

"See for yourself!" Da Yuan Sangong threw the letter at Xu You and roared: "Your son and nephew have all been imprisoned to make confessions, do you still want to quibble?" ”

Hearing that his nephew had confessed, Mr. Xu You's legs began to tremble, trembling for a long time and he couldn't take a step to pick up the letter to read, and the third prince of Dayuan was even more furious, shouting: "Left and right, knock this shameless person out of the account!" From now on, he will not be allowed to see me! ”

I believe that the next situation does not need to be described in detail, in short, in front of the full tent of civil and military, poor Mr. Xu You was beaten out of the big account by Yuan Jun's guards, Yuan Tan Gongzi and his party took the opportunity to fall into the well and persuaded Yuan Sangong not to accept Deputy Director Tao's request for peace, but Mr. Xu You was angry after being humiliated, and he was afraid of being implicated by his nephew, and he was even more afraid that Yuan Sangong would settle the old account, so naturally he had an idea that should appear, "Yuan Shao does not accept advice, and he will be broken by Cao Ying in the future, and now my son and nephew have been victimized by the trial." , if you don't abandon the darkness and turn to the light as soon as possible, you will be harmed by Yuan Shao in the future! ”

……………… Mr. Xu You's luck is quite good, when he led the horse out of the camp, the camp guards have not received the news that Mr. Xu You has fallen out of favor and lost power, and he sent Mr. Xu You out of the camp very respectfully, and Xu You rode the horse to the east only for more than ten miles before meeting the Cao army patrol team, when Xu You explained that he was the old man of Cao Boss and had an urgent matter to meet Cao Boss, the Cao army patrol team also immediately sent Xu You to the Guandu camp, and the Cao military camp gate officer also immediately sent the news to the Chinese army to inform Cao Boss to know. And at this moment, it is already the second afternoon of the seventh month of the fourth year of Jian'an!

Shen Shi is approaching at three o'clock, the news of Xu You's coming to vote was sent to Cao Boss, who was sitting on the toilet to do the reincarnation of grains, Cao Boss was stunned at first, and then he didn't even have time to use the toilet chip (ancient toilet paper, bamboo and wood cutting), he lifted his pants and rushed out of the tent directly, and rushed to the camp gate to meet Xu Yu with his pants in both hands, so fast that even Cao Boss's attendants with clothes and belts in his hands couldn't catch up, and staged a drama that was roughly the same as in history Meng De's pants to welcome Xu You.

At three o'clock, Boss Cao met Xu You at the camp gate, which was a meeting of yin and yang, a meeting caused by inevitability and accident, and a meeting that completely changed the direction of history. Boss Cao ignored the fact that the clothes were not tied, let the clothes and pants fall to reveal the black legs of the obscene pants, and still bowed deeply to Xu You's fists with both hands, and said sincerely: "Ziyuan is here, I will do everything!" ”

When the Great Yuan Sangong led the civil and military ministers to drink and laugh in the big tent of the self-army, Xu You was also respectfully invited into the big tent of the self-army by Boss Cao, and asked Xu You to sit on the top position, and then couldn't wait to ask Xu You about the history and the reason before he changed his clothes, and because he did not hold the letter of Boss Cao asking for food in his hand this time, Xu You did not sell Guan Zi to ask Cao Jun how much food he still had, but told the truth about his persuasion of Yuan Shao to accept the Xuzhou army's request for peace. explained that he was expelled from Yuan Jun because he thought he was supporting Tao Ying, and told Cao Ying that Yuan Jun already had an improved version of the Thunderbolt Cannon.

"Okay, you cunning pottery thief! actually stepped on two boats, even if I lost to Yuan Shao, you have a way to retreat, and the grass on the wall does your step, it is simply perfect. After a cold sweat, Boss Cao was not angry at Deputy Director Tao's despicable intentions, so he hurriedly asked Xu You for advice on the strategy of breaking Yuan, "Zi Yuanyuan has been in Yuan Shao's army for a long time, and he knows that Yuan Shao is false and real, but can he teach me the strategy of breaking Yuan?" ”

"Black Nest!"

At the beginning of the unitary hour, Xu You finally spit out these two words in his mouth, and at the same time in Yuan Shaojun's big tent, Yuan Sangong and others were still drinking happily, and some people who were invincible in alcohol had already begun to speak incoherently.

"Ewoo Nest?!" Boss Cao jumped up and exclaimed, "Could it be that Yuan Shao's grain, grass and military supplies are all in the Wuchao camp?" ”

"Since the prime minister already knew about this, why didn't he plan to raid the black nest before?" Xu You asked very strangely, and then suddenly stroked his forehead, and said with a smile: "I understand, it must be because Yuan Shao's four other villages are blocking the road, and the prime minister's soldiers can't steal it, so I'm helpless so far!" ”

"Exactly!" Boss Cao hurriedly left the table, knelt down on Xu You's knees, and kowtowed again and again: "If Ziyuan has a plan to help our army steal Yuan Shao's camp defense, I will repay him!" ”

"Prime Minister, please." Xu You hurriedly picked up Boss Cao, and said with a smile: "This matter is very easy, the sky will destroy Yuan Shao, today Yuan Shao gave the password for tonight's night line half an hour in advance, and it happened to be heard by Xu You, the prime minister only needs to hold this password, and then falsely beat Yuan Shao's banner, and falsely claimed that Yuan Shao's army grain guard Yue Cai Captain Han Meng, on the order of Yuan Shao, went to Wuchao to protect grain, and he could easily pass through Yuan Shao's village!" ”

Boss Cao was ecstatic, first bowed deeply to Xu You, then turned around and shouted: "Order, raise the account, and order all the civil and military forces to come to see me quickly!" Fast, the sooner the better! ”

At two o'clock, the face of the third prince of the great Yuan was already drunk, but he was still frequently raising his glass to drink with the generals, and the civil and military officials of the Cao army had already rushed to the big tent of the Chinese army of the Cao army, and after Cao Lao roughly explained the matter of Xu You's coming to vote, he immediately began to dispatch troops, so that Xun You, Guo Jia, Xiahoudun and Li Dian and others guarded the camp together, and ordered Li Tong and Yu Ban to lead an army to ambush around the camp to prevent Yuan Shao's army from taking the opportunity to attack. Then Boss Cao decided to personally lead Dian Wei, Xiahou Yuan, Zhang Liao and Le Jin and other powerful generals, and used the only more than 5,000 horsemen in the army to attack Yuan Shaojun's Wuchaotun grain land overnight!

Of course, in the face of Boss Cao's desperate tactical adventure, Cao Jun's civil and military forces were of course extremely worried, questioning the truth of Xu You's intentions, worried that there was fraud in it, and the more suspicious Xun You was even worried that this was a good show staged by Deputy Director Tao and Yuan Shaojun in order to please his father-in-law, and wanted to trick Boss Cao into going to the black nest that had already laid a net to send him to death!

"Not an enemy ploy!" Boss Cao, who has always been known for his suspicion, was very decisive this time, and said categorically: "Not to mention that Xu Yu will never sacrifice himself to fulfill others, and he will not be in a hurry to take my life as a pottery thief, even if he has actually fallen to Yuan Shaopifu, he must also hope that Yuan Shaopifu and I will lose both, the more intense the better, and the longer the better!" I would never want me to fall down immediately, and I would be cheap for nothing! Therefore, I can also conclude that the black nest is definitely not a trap laid for me by the pottery thief! After listening to Boss Cao's analysis, Xun You didn't want to say anything, and after only telling Boss Cao to be careful, he bowed down and retreated to assist Xiahoudun in arranging the defense of the camp.

At three o'clock, the five thousand Cao army elite cavalry was assembled, began to eat and feed the horses, changed the Yuan army's banner and military uniform, prepared dry food torches for night battles, checked weapons and equipment, and only made more than 200 flying muskets were all sent to the army, handed over to the most elite soldiers' equipment, Cao Boss was afraid that the fire was insufficient, and ordered the soldiers to carry a bundle of grass each, and carry the army's saltpeter sulfur and other combustion-supporting drugs to the expedition. At the same time, in the big tent of Yuan Shaozhong's army, the half-drunk Yuan Sangong was happy, and he ordered someone to recruit the singers and dancers in the army, singing and dancing in the tent, and the civil and military ministers of the Yuan army were all happy, and the big Yuan Sangong continued to drink and laugh.

At the beginning of the day, the sun finally set on the top of the West Mountain, Cao Boss personally put on the horse, five thousand Cao army elite people, Malekou, carrying firewood and grass salary, silently riding horses out of the camp, the road bypassed the main camp of Yuan Shaojun, and ran to the black nest by night! Xiahoudun, Xun You, Guo Jia, Cheng Yu and Li Dian and other Cao Jun civil and military forces all knelt in front of the camp to send Cao Boss out of the army, with tears in their eyes, praying for the blessing of the heavens, Cao Boss can win this trip and succeed in the surprise attack!

"Twenty more jars of good wine!" At the same time in Yuan Shao's military camp, Yuan Sangong, who had already drunk and red-faced, waved his hand and shouted: "Tonight, I want to be drunk with all the generals!" Let the soldiers rest for a few more days, recuperate their strength, and wait until the three hundred new thunderbolts are built, and then break through the Cao camp in one fell swoop and capture the Cao thief alive! ”

An hour later, Hai Shizheng, the five thousand Cao army light cavalry with the banner of Yuan Shaojun finally bypassed the Yuan army camp and began to move towards the first Yuan Shaojun village to protect the black nest, when the sky was already dark, although the Yuan army was aware of the approaching Cao army, but because he saw the torch shining in the Yuan Shaojun flag, he only sent a team of sentry scouts to ask for the night pass password, Cao Jun answered the password correctly, and called himself the Yuan army grain guard officer Yue Cai Captain Han Meng's team, was ordered to go to the black nest to protect the grain, Yuan Jun did not believe it was true, Then Cao Jun was allowed to pass through the road next to the wall.

At the same time, in the military tent in the camp of Yuan Shaojun, the drunken Yuan Sangong finally lay down on the seat and fell asleep, but most of the civil and military forces of the Yuan army were no better than the big Yuan Sangong to get there, and those who fell asleep on the spot and vomited abounded, countless, and the rest were all staggering, the preface did not match the afterword, and even a few people who had been absent for a long time drank and helped the gall, and began to hook up with the singing and dancing women in the tent with words, and the drunken dream and death gradually revealed the sound of silver.

Despite this, Yuan Shaojun's command system was still not completely paralyzed, because Yuan Shaojun's military supervisor was still dutifully leading the army to inspect the defense of Yuan's army's camp, and he also took a Yuan Junjun's junior colonel who was lazy to sleep during the night on duty, and severely reprimanded him with forty military sticks, so even when Yuan Sangong and many Yuan army's civil and military forces were drunk, the main camp of Yuan's army could still remain heavily guarded and orderly.

There is also a place that satisfies the sullen frustration, when the frustration inspects the rear camp of the Yuan army, it is found that Sima Zhao Yun and Zhao Zilong, the infantry of the Yuan army, who has been quite popular with Yuan Sangong recently, are very loyal to their duties, and they are also patrolling the night guard post with their own soldiers. After nodding his head, he inevitably asked Zhao Yun, "Zilong, didn't the lord call you to drink?" ”

"Halfway through the unitary hour, the lord sent someone to summon the clouds." Zhao Yun replied truthfully: "After Yun arrived at the big tent, he saw that the lord was already drunk, and most of the generals were also drunk, so he dared to deceive the lord and said that Yun was infected with a minor illness and could not drink, so he only drank a glass of wine given by the lord, and then returned to the back camp to preside over military affairs, just in case he was not on the side. ”

"Zilong is really full of virtue." He praised Zhao Yun and sighed: "It would be nice if Chun Yuqiong of Wuchao could be like you, I heard that Chun Yuqiong was in the camp of Wuchao, every time he was drunk and dreamed of death, completely ignoring military affairs, although I persuaded the lord to remove this person many times, because he was the lord's trusted general, he was unsuccessful, and I was always worried about the emptiness of the defense of Wuchao." ”

Zhao Yun, who has a kind character, closed his mouth and did not dare to agree, for fear of giving people the impression that he likes to slander his colleagues. However, listening to the matter of the black nest, Zhao Yun suddenly remembered a major event, and hurriedly asked the frustrated professor tentatively: "Mr. Guangping, there is one thing that Yun should not ask about overstepping his authority, but since Yun met Mr. by chance, then Yun will also ask the last sentence, and I hope Mr. forgive me for the offense." ”

"Zilong has something to say, if I can answer, I will definitely answer you." Zhao Yun replied with a very good impression.

"The clouds have overstepped." Zhao Yun arched his hand and said: "Dare to ask sir, why did our army suddenly send a large number of cavalry to the northeast?" ”

"Our army sent a large number of cavalry to the northeast?" Fu Zhu was a little surprised, and asked rhetorically, "When did it happen, why didn't I know?" ”

"It wasn't that long ago." Zhao Yun replied: "About half an hour ago, Yun's subordinate soldiers went out of the camp to patrol the sentry, and saw a cavalry of our army about four or five thousand people from a distance, hurrying to the northeast with torches. ”

"About four or five thousand of our cavalry headed for the black nest?" Fu Zhu was even more surprised, and said suspiciously: "The lord has been drinking in the big tent all the time, and it seems that he has not ordered so many cavalry to be dispatched?" ”

"The cloud also thinks it's strange." Zhao Yun replied: "Yun You entered the account to see the lord at half of the hour, and saw that the lord seemed to be close to getting drunk, and it was unlikely that he would mobilize so many cavalry in a drunken state, so he had always been suspicious in his heart, so he dared to ask the gentleman about the military situation of our army. ”

Fu Zhu didn't speak, just muttered: "Four or five thousand cavalry, heading to the northeast?" There are Wuyuan, Yangwu, Wuchao ...... in the Northeast, Wuchao?! ”

"Ewoo Nest?!" Frustrated, his little face suddenly turned pale, and he hurriedly grabbed his relatives and shouted: "You, ride a fast horse, take my ribbon talisman, and immediately go to General Wang Mo's village in the northeast to inquire about the origin and whereabouts of that cavalry!" Then come back to me immediately! He sang the promise in person, took the ribbon that represented the identity of the prison army, and rushed out of the camp from the back camp to the other village to find out.

"Zilong, you come with me!" Frustrated Professor pulled Zhao Yun up again, and hurried to the big tent to see the Great Yuan Sangong, but when the Frustrated Professor panted and pulled Zhao Yun into the big tent, the Great Yuan Third Duke had already been carried back to the sleeping tent by the guards to rest, and the Frustrated Professor had no choice but to lead Zhao Yun to the sleeping tent of the Great Yuan Third Duke to inquire about the situation, and at the same time secretly prayed in his heart: "Lord, that cavalry, but if you sent it!" ”

"Otherwise, I don't have the right to dispatch troops for you and send troops to the Black Nest to prevent accidents!"

Yuan Shaojun's sky obviously did not go to work today, when the frustration rushed to the dormitory of the great Yuan Sangong, the great Yuan Sangong had already vomited all over the sleeping tent was a smelly mess, and the frustrated professor repeatedly couldn't wake up, seeing that the frustrated professor was so anxious that he was sweating profusely, Zhao Yun also knew that the situation was urgent, and hurriedly said to the frustrated master: "Mr. Guangping, the military situation is like fire, in order to prevent any emergency, Yun is willing to lead the five thousand infantry of the headquarters to the black nest to check the situation in the starry night, please allow Mr. to be." If the lord wakes up and asks questions, Yun is willing to take full responsibility! ”

The anxious frustration was so moved that he almost cried, he bowed deeply to Zhao Yun, choked up and said: "General Zilong, then please leave it to you, if the lord wakes up and asks questions, I will take responsibility for Zilong!" ”

(To be continued)