The specific details of the consensus reached by the three families are not yet known, but the speculation at about one level is judged in his heart, which is an unavoidable fact, and under the premise that Yuan Shang cannot eliminate everyone one by one, it is also expected that Cao Cao and Liu Bei and Sun Ce will form a group.

And just when the cooperation of several companies has not yet become a fact, there is a very shocking news that penetrates.

As the head of the Jiangdong forces, Sun Ce was stabbed and fell off his horse in Jiangxia, and he didn't know whether he was alive or dead.

However, Yuan Shang, who is familiar with the trend of history, understands that even if the location is different, the timing may be different, and Sun Ce will not be able to escape this estimate.

Just when many people were still speculating about Sun Ce's situation, the 100,000 elite soldiers in Jiangdong had already hung up white cloths.

Following Sun Jian in Jiangdong, Sun Ce, who was pinned on by the Sun family and was supposed to lead the family to glory, was assassinated by Yijiexiao.

And the shooter is said not to be Yuan Shang, let alone Cao Cao, Liu Bei and others, but a little-known person, in recent years, Sun Ce swept through Jiangdong, but the means are not very gentle, in his hands were killed in the rivers and lakes and famous families are really a lot, and Sun Ce's temper is not very good, after the killing, he naturally offended many people, and the most violent revenge on him is the Xu Gongyu who has died in the hands of Sun Ce.

Xu Gong used to be the Taishou of Wu County, and he was a member of the Xu clan who was not a small force, and over the years, the Xu clan of the Jiangdong branch was hit by Sun Ce and almost couldn't get up, precisely because of this, the Xu clan had long wanted Sun Ce to die early, so after careful calculation, they finally found an opportunity to pay some price. finally assassinated Sun Ce and fell off the horse.

Things went so well. Even the Xu family found it incredible.

But. In fact, the assassination was a success.

It's just that what is facing the Xu family is not a good future, but the Sun family who has come to the door in less than half a day.

Wu County is the location of the Xu clan, and on that night, the Sun clan, who was eager to raze the Xu clan to the ground, ruthlessly slaughtered, which can be described as a chicken and dog, up to the age of eighty or ninety. Down to the infant children, there were four or five hundred people who were killed, with the good fighting of the Sun clan, how could the Xu clan resist, fortunately, just before the assassination of Sun Ce, the Xu clan had already prepared for the worst, otherwise, this Xu clan would have been wiped out long ago.

The angry Sun clan went on a killing spree, but all those who got close to the Xu clan were implicated. No one dared to intercede, Sun Ce's death. The impact on the Sun family is too great, just like the death of Sun Jian back then, Sun Ce and the Sun family are almost crazy, if it is not really not Liu Biao's opponent, I am afraid that the blood is enough to dye the Yangtze River red, this is the tradition of the Sun family, iron blood, eyes will be repaid, after one night, every city under the rule of Wu County, the city wall is bloodstained with blurred human heads, at a glance, it is really unforgettable.

"It's too time for this little overlord to die" Cao Cao frowned, looked at Xun Yu with an indifferent face, and said thoughtfully.

Thinking of Zhou Yu who left in a hurry, Cao Cao couldn't help but wonder if Sun Ce's death had a reason they didn't know, or what conspiracy was hidden, Cao Cao had always been a suspicious person, just when the four families were about to join forces, Sun Ce was assassinated, and he had to wonder what Yuan Shang had done.

The four families joining forces is not a confidential matter, everyone can see that with Yuan Shang's current power, step by step, if several forces do not join forces to fight against Yuan Shang, I am afraid that it will be difficult to escape the fate of being exterminated one by one, and now that the cooperation has just been established, it has been exposed that Sun Ce was assassinated, and the first object of everyone's suspicion is naturally Yuan Shang, as for Xu Gong's henchmen before his death, Cao Cao is naturally extremely unbelievable.

"What kind of goods is Xu Gong? Just a dozen nobodies who spontaneously avenged him could successfully assassinate Sun Ce? Cao Cao shook his head, and everyone could see that he was extremely unbelieving.

In the hall, Xun You, Xun Yu's uncle and nephew, Cheng Yu, Zhong Xuan, Jia Kui, Chen Qun and others had different expressions, thinking about some of the subtle details, Sun Ce's death was too strange, and it was such an aggrieved death, most of the people present thought similar to Cao Cao, and there were many doubts about Sun Ce's death, after all, the timing was too coincidental, and as soon as several families were about to join forces, Sun Ce was assassinated, and anyone would suspect Yuan Shang.

"It won't be Yuan Shang"

Sima Yi shook his head, at the moment he was Cao Cao's adviser and didn't have much real power, but he was qualified to be invited to discuss the matter, which showed that he was in Cao Cao's mind.

"Why can't it be Yuan Shang?" Cao Cao's eyes flickered, he looked at the young Sima Yi deeply, and asked.

Facing more than a dozen gazes, Sima Yi said extremely calmly: "It is precisely because everyone thinks that it will be Sun Ce who Yuan Shang assassinated, so his subordinates boldly guessed that it would not be Yuan Shang." ”

"Oh?"

Cao Cao was noncommittal and asked again: "So, who does Zhong Da think is the most suspicious?" ”

Sima Yi's eyelids narrowed slightly, and he seemed to extinguish the light again, but he shook his head and said, "The subordinates are shallow, and I can't tell the specific reason." ”

Cao Cao smiled silently, but he didn't say anything, looked at the others and said: "Zhong Da's words just reminded me, although Yuan Shang didn't want to see the four alliances, there was no need to assassinate Sun Ce at the risk of ruining his reputation, he was a proud person, this kind of means would not be used unless it was absolutely necessary, and now he has a great advantage, even if the four families joining forces are a little tricky for him, but, it is just tricky, think about it carefully, Sun Ce's death should not have much to do with it." ”

"The Lord's Wisdom"

Xun You stroked his beard and smiled: "Jiangdong obviously has no shortage of wise people, and Sun Ce's death only implicated the Xu family and some clans that were closer to the Xu family. ”

"If that were the case, I'd be glad to see it happen"

Cao Cao sighed softly: "At present, Yuan Shang's power is increasing day by day, if his development is not restricted, in less than three or five years, I am afraid that no one will be able to stop his troops at that time." ”

When it comes to Yuan Shang, everyone in the hall subconsciously frowned, although he occupied Yanzhou and Yuzhou, Cao Cao was called the strongest prince under Yuan Shang, however, in the face of the 200,000 tiger and wolf army and Yuan Shang's gradually expanding territory, the pressure in everyone's hearts was naturally not small, including Cao Cao's henchmen, who knew the internal affairs of the Cao army, it seemed that the soldiers and horses were not far from Yuan Shang, in fact, there were only seventy or eighty thousand people who could really fight a hard battle, and the gap between the two was more than a star and a half. Therefore, in the face of Yuan Shang and the Tiger and Wolf Army, the pressure of everyone can be imagined.

"Qingzhou must be taken and connected with Yanzhou to reject Yuan Shang." Xun Yu's face was solemn, and he said in a deep voice.

"Qingzhou..."

Cao Cao's tone was a little flustered: "How can Liu Bei and Yuan Shang let us swallow Qingzhou before their eyes?" ”

A few years ago, Qingzhou was affected by the Yellow Turban Rebellion, the damage was very serious, the people of Qingzhou were coerced out, and there were only more than 100,000 people left in Qingzhou, such a ruined place, Zhong Xun You and others naturally suggested that Cao Cao give up, and now many years have passed, Qingzhou because of less war, gradually recovered, Cao Cao wanted to take Qingzhou again, but was blocked by Yuan Shang, and then after Tao Qian's death, Liu Bei sat in Xuzhou, and did not want to see Cao Cao take Qingzhou, Therefore, Qingzhou has been in a state of no owner in recent years, and most of the officials in the state were appointed by Yuan Shang in the name of the imperial court, but in fact, Yuan Shang could not govern Qingzhou, despite this, if Cao Cao wanted to seize Qingzhou, it was not so easy, and the obstruction from Liu Bei and Yuan Shang was enough to make him anxious.

Especially Liu Bei, Yanzhou and Yuzhou already border Xuzhou, blocking the road to his expansion, the only shortcut to the north is through Qingzhou, extending to Jizhou, if Qingzhou is swallowed by Cao Cao, Liu Bei's situation is extremely passive, the entire Xuzhou is blocked in all directions, unless Liu Bei has wings, otherwise sooner or later he will be trapped by Cao Cao and Yuan Shu in Xuzhou, and it is precisely because of this that Liu Bei will desperately stop Cao Cao from seeking Qingzhou, this is a life-saving move, even if it costs a lot, Cao Cao was also difficult to exchange for Liu Bei's regression.

"Liu Bei can't control it anymore if he is reluctant"

Xun Yu shook his head and said: "Now Jizhou has been taken by Yuan Shang, the next step is to swallow Qingzhou, in order to achieve the coherence of the four states of Hebei, not to mention, he has been actively preparing to go south, Qingzhou is a trunk line that can bypass Yan and Yu to attack Xuzhou, if Yuan Shang wants to break through each family one by one, he must find a breakthrough, and now Yizhou is not to say for the time being, Qingzhou is an excellent choice, if the lord is Yuan Shang, will he choose the difficult Yizhou and give up Qingzhou all the way to Pingchuan? ”

"No," Cao Cao frowned.

"That's it, no matter what, even if you offend Liu Bei Qingzhou, you must not give it to Yuan Shang." Xun Yu said in a condensed voice.

"What Mr. Wen Ruo said is true"

Zhong Xuan also said in a condensed voice: "The opening of Qingzhou must be blocked, otherwise Yuan Shang will enter and exit, whether it is Yanzhou or Xuzhou, it will be difficult to ensure that it is comprehensive, not to mention, as long as the lord connects Yanzhou, Qingzhou, and Yuzhou, and it will be okay to trap Xuzhou at that time, then even if Liu Bei is dissatisfied, what should he do?" ”

"Yes also"

Cheng Yu also agreed: "Relying only on Yan and Henan Erzhou, it is no longer enough to fight against Yuan Shang, if the lord wants to protect the foundation of Qingzhou, he must take it, and only by strengthening himself can he swallow others, Liu Bei has been sitting in Xuzhou for a short time, and his prestige is naturally not as good as Tao Qian, if the lord wants to divide the world with Yuan Shang, Qingzhou and Xuzhou are fertile lands, and then Yanzhou as a military frontier, in the short term, at least there is no need to worry about being swallowed by Yuan Shang." ”

"When the judgment is constantly suffering, I hope the lord will make a quick decision." Xun Yu Huoran got up and hugged his fists.

Cheng Yu, Jia Kui, Zhong Xuan, Xun You, Sima Yi and others all looked at Cao Cao, waiting for Cao Cao's decision.

Cao Cao has never been a hesitant person, and after weighing them one by one, he heard him say coldly: "No matter, take Qingzhou first." ”

"The lord is wise."

Many strategists breathed a sigh of relief, they were also worried that Cao Cao would be embarrassed to attack Qingzhou because of the current two joining forces, but fortunately, Cao Cao was worthy of being a hero, and he soon had already made a decision. (To be continued......)