On the same day that the Ao Lie priest set out on his expedition, Cao Cao also took action. He passed on Zang Ba, who was guarding Qingzhou, and ordered him to station heavy troops in Langyatun in Qingzhou to contain Yuan Shao from the right flank; At the same time, he sent Yu Banwei to the left flank, led an army of 5,000 troops to enter the Yanjin Ferry, and joined forces with Liu Yan, who was then the Taishou of Dongjun, to prevent Yuan's army from crossing the river and driving straight in; then sent Cao Ren as the vanguard general, with Cao Hong and Cao Xiu as deputy generals, and led an army of 20,000 troops to enter Guandu to block Yuan Shao's frontal attack; In the end, Cao Cao personally led more than ten generals and strategists to lead an army of 110,000 to the battlefield.

Because it is different from the battle of Guandu in history, in history, Cao Cao was passively beaten, and now, because of the sudden rise of Ao Lie, Cao Cao took the initiative to seek war, echoed with Ao Lie's north and south, and jointly attacked Yuan Shao, so in the arrangement of troops, Cao Cao had a lot less scruples and maximized the initiative in his own hands.

However, Cao Cao is not without hidden worries, he knows that he is now a thorn in Liu Xie's side. Cao Cao and Ao Lie are different, Ao Lie is a member of the Han family, Liu Xie has great trust in him, Ao Lie has expanded his territory several times, contributing to the territory of the Han Dynasty, Liu Xie's heart thinks he is happy, but Cao Cao has occupied Yuzhou, Xuzhou and half of Qingzhou without the edict of the Son of Heaven, if Cao Cao is the Son of Heaven, he will also be dissatisfied with the people who dominate the Central Plains, and he will want to deal with it quickly, so Cao Cao is worried that the Liu Association, which is not what it used to be, will take the opportunity to seize his own territory, After all, Liu Xie now has his own armed force in his hands, even if he does not count Zhang Ji's department guarding Chang'an, Liu Xie still has more than 10,000 warriors, which is a force that should not be underestimated.

Therefore. In this crusade against Yuan Shao, Cao Cao did not bring the Xiahou brothers, who were extremely relied on, but let Xiahou Duntun soldiers at the junction of Yingchuan and Chenliu to guard against Liu Xie's uprising; And let Xiahou Yuan lead another army and station it in Pei, beware of Liu Biao and Sun Ce, who may take advantage of the situation to march. In fact, Cao Cao was not worried about Liu Biao, Liu Biao had no ambitions, and would not lead troops out of his country to fight in his own territory at all, but Cao Cao had to guard against Liu Bei, and Liu Bei had recruited troops in recent years. There are already 20,000 elite soldiers under his command. For Cao Cao, this is no small threat. As for Sun Ce's side, Cao Cao estimated that with the relationship between Sun Ce and Ao Lie, he should not be holding Ao Lie back. Take the opportunity to attack yourself. Caused the Ao Cao alliance to break down. There's nothing to worry about.

On the way to the army, Cao Cao talked to Guo Jia, who was following him, about worrying about the problems in the rear. The Xiahou brothers can fight well. It stands to reason that Cao Cao should be relieved to hand over the rear to them, but the matter is too important for Cao Cao to be as stable as a rock.

Guo Jia thought for a moment and said in a low voice: "Lord, the rear of our army is nothing more than Liu Biao, Sun Ce, Liu Bei and Luoyang. Although the one in Luoyang is smart, he doesn't have many people in his hands; Even though Liu Bei has a heart, Liu Biao is worried that he will become bigger, and he will definitely not agree to him sending troops; Therefore, the real threat is Sun Ce. ”

Cao Cao sighed: "Sun Ce is as fierce as a tiger!" ”

Guo Jia continued to lower his voice and said: "After Yuan Shao is destroyed, the lord will not be able to use troops against Ao Lie for a while, this person can not be pacified in the short term, and the lord should continue to maintain an alliance with him." Therefore, the direction of expansion of the lord after the war should be Jingzhou and Jiangdong. And Sun Ce is the biggest obstacle to the lord. ”

"Then according to what Fengxiao sees, what should it be?" Cao Cao also knew the situation after the war, and knew that Sun Ce was not easy to deal with, so he couldn't help but consult Guo Jia's opinion.

Guo Jia smiled slightly, and said: "At present, the great enemy of the lord is still Yuan Shao, and our army has no way to retreat in this battle, if it is defeated, Yuan Shao will not dare to enter the five northern states because of Ao Lie's prestige, and in Yuan Shao's view, in addition to the five northern states, the rest of the states are barren land, and the food is boring, and it is a pity to abandon it, like chicken ribs." At that time, the troops will inevitably enter the Central Plains and seize the territory of the lord with a great victory. Therefore, the lord should put his mind on dealing with Yuan Shao. As for Sun Ce, he was just a reckless man, and Guo Jia used a little trick to let him die at the hands of the villain unknowingly, and remove a big trouble for the lord. ”

"Oh", Cao Cao frowned and thought carefully for a moment, and whispered: "Sun Ce's threat is not his control of Jiangdong, but the relationship between him and Ao Lie. The two have the reality of master and apprentice, and they are each other's lips and teeth, and if one of them is moved, the other will inevitably rise up. Taking this opportunity to go out to Sun Ce and break the situation of the two echoing the north and south, it is a good move, but this matter must be carried out in secret, and there can be no flaws, once people can see it, it will not end well. ”

Guo Jia smiled confidently and replied in a low voice: "Don't worry, lord." I'll leave this matter to Jia. The reason why Guo Jia has such self-confidence is because he received a news not long ago that Xu Gong, who was the Taishou of Wu County at the time, wanted to surrender to Cao Cao, but the plan was not secret, and was discovered by Sun Ce's subordinate Cheng Pu. Three of Xu Gong's family members escaped death and came to Yanzhou to serve under Guo Jia's disciples. Guo Jia decided to take advantage of Sun Ce's character weakness and use these three guests as killers to set up an ambush on Sun Ce's way out hunting, and assassinate Sun Ce unknowingly.

Taking advantage of the weakness of human nature and inflicting a devastating blow on it is exactly what Guo Jia is good at. In addition, Guo Jia has been planning this matter for a long time, secretly touching Sun Ce's going out rules clearly, and at the same time, Guo Jia also sent the three Xu Gong guests to the hands of the Tiger Guard Shuangxiong Yan Liang and Wen Chou, so that these three people received the same strict training as the Tiger Guard.

Here I also want to talk about Yan Liang and Wen Chou. Since the two surrendered to Cao Cao, Cao Cao treated them very kindly, and handed over the pro-army Tiger Guard to them to be responsible, the two stayed by Cao Cao's side for a long time, and found that doing things by Cao Cao's side was much more comfortable than doing things at Yuan Shao's place, at least Cao Cao would not be capricious, and he could do not suspect that he would not use people, which was more than a step higher than Yuan Chao. Therefore, the two of them also became desperate for Cao Cao. This time to recruit Yuan Shao. Cao Cao did not shy away from suspicion, and still let the two of them lead the Tiger Guard Army to guard his side and follow the army to the expedition. Yan Liangwen and Chou were extremely moved, and privately discussed that they must make meritorious contributions on the battlefield to repay Cao Cao's trust and favor.

Not to mention that Guo Jia privately arranged a murder against Sun Ce, Cao Cao led the army all the way to a hurry, and soon came to Guandu, where he joined the front vanguard Cao Ren's department. Then, Cao Cao settled down in Guandu and built fortifications in front of the camp. and stationed heavy troops at several important ferries south of the Yellow River. The strategic policy of holding the key points and focusing on fortification is waiting for Ao Lie to take the lead in launching a general attack behind Yuan Shao's back. This is also what Cao Cao and Ao Lie discussed, this battle. Led by Ao Lie. How to fight. Where to fight, when to fight, Cao Cao had to wait for Ao Lie's notice. The form of the notice is naturally Ao Lie's attack methods and means, and Cao Cao believes that Ao Lie, who has always used soldiers like a god, will not let himself wait too long.

Jiangdong, in Sun Ce's mansion. Zhou Yu and Zhang Zhao, the two important ministers inside and outside, sat on Sun Ce's left and right, waiting for Sun Ce's decision. Zhou Yu and Zhang Zhao deduced from Cao Cao's various signs of troop mobilization that Cao Cao might have gone north to crusade against Yuan Shao. Prior to this, Sun Ce also received a letter sent by Ao Lie from the sea, saying that he would send troops to attack Yuan Shao on the fifteenth of this month.

Zhou Yu and Zhang Zhao came today in the hope that Sun Ce would take the opportunity to send troops to capture Cao Cao's Yuzhou or Xuzhou, connect Jiangdong and the Central Plains, which are in a corner of peace, and let the tentacles of the Jiangdong Army reach into the Central Plains. But after thinking about it again, Sun Ce decided to give up this opportunity, he thought that since Cao Cao was an alliance with Ao Lie, he could not attack Cao Cao at this time, doing so would be tantamount to dragging Ao Lie's hind legs, if Cao Cao's defense was unstable, which led to the failure of this war against Yuan Shao, then Ao Lie would inevitably suffer a heavy blow, and Sun Ce would feel that he had no face to face Ao Lie again.

Although helpless, but Sun Ce's thoughts, Zhou Yu and Zhang Zhao also understood that if Ao Lie hadn't lent Sun Ce 10,000 soldiers to help Sun Ce return to Jiangdong to regroup, if it wasn't for Ao Lie's strong recommendation of Sun Ce to serve as the pastor of Yangzhou after pacifying Yuan Shu, where would Sun Ce's achievements come from today? Now Sun Ce refuses to take the opportunity to send troops, and Zhou Yu and Zhang Zhao are also helpless, so they have to retreat silently.

After the two left, Sun Ce was silent for a while, and suddenly took out a short knife from his boots, held it in his hand and wiped it seriously. Since the moment this short knife was taken out by Sun Ce, the temperature in the hall dropped sharply, and a trace of cold emanated from the short knife, which actually changed the temperature around it! In the whole world, there is only one short knife with such power, and that is the Cold Moon Blade cast by Mrs. Xu during the Warring States Period!

This knife was given to Sun Ce by Ao Lie when Sun Ce took Zhou Yu to Yanjing to take revenge on Ao Lie, and every word Ao Lie said at that time, Sun Ce firmly remembered it in his heart, just like what happened yesterday.

"This Cold Moon Blade is yours, remember, as long as you go out, you must take the Cold Moon Blade with you!" At that time, Ao Lie, with a serious look on his face, solemnly gave the Cold Moon Blade to Sun Ce, and repeatedly told Sun Ce to carry the Cold Moon Blade with him.

"Bo Fu, you and I are both master and apprentice, and in-laws...... Remember not to be brave and ruthless, hatred often makes people lose their eyes and lose their minds...... Remember, rigidity is easy to break, and you should be tolerant in everything. Every word of Ao Lie, Sun Ce firmly remembered it, recalling Ao Lie's words, Sun Ce suddenly regretted that he had beheaded Xu Gong's whole family, and Sun Ce was so angry at that time that he forgot Ao Lie's advice.

"Be forgiving in everything...... Rigidity is easy to break...... You must take the Cold Moon Blade with you......" Sun Ce muttered to himself, his mind fell into the endless thoughts of Ao Lie, and under the influence of his subconscious, Sun Ce put away the Cold Moon Blade and inserted it back into his boots. (To be continued......)

PS: PS: The World Cup is here again, Da Kun and all friends are gloriously four years old, I wish all friends who love to watch and play football will always be full of vitality, and our hearts will never grow old. By the way, if the national football team can enter the World Cup for the second time, if Da Kun is still coding words at that time, Da Kun guarantees to celebrate the national football team ten times a day! If Da Kun is old at that time and is no longer in the code, Da Kun will also use another way to commemorate the national football team's qualification again. I hope you don't give up hope for the national football team, our football level depends on every friend who loves football to work together, and drive the young friends around you to like and love football, maybe, it is also an effective way to save the national football team.