Cao Cao finally returned to Zhuqiu, but he only came back after being pulled out of a layer of skin, more than 200,000 troops, more than 30,000 on the road, this is not counting other losses, anyway, this battle was aggrieved.

Back to Zhuqiu, the defenders in the city are sufficient, Fang Zhiwen and Yan Liang are together, and it is not realistic to take Zhuqiu in a short time, at that time Cao Cao is not worried about this, he is worried that Fang Zhiwen will divide his troops again, and Huangxu in Fuli is also marching towards Xiangxian, Xiahoudun has already rushed to Xiangxian to defend, Cao Cao is worried that Fang Zhiwen will go south again and attack the relatively weak Xiangxian with Huang Xu.

There is also Xu Huang, he is moving in the direction of Huaiyuan, and it is still a question whether Cao Ren can stop Xu Huang. There are also Yongqiu and Chen County, and the more Cao Cao thinks about it, the more headaches he gets, and he can't help pinching his head and moaning.

"My lord, are you a doctor who doesn't want to pass on the doctor?"

"Uh, no, that's right" Cao Cao pondered for a moment, and finally continued: "You go and invite Zhicai to come1."

"No1

When Xi Zhicai came in, Cao Cao was lying on the shore writing something, and when he heard footsteps, Cao Cao raised his head. Xi Zhicai bowed his hand: "Lord, do you have something to do with summoning your subordinates?" ”

"Sit down." Cao Cao's expression was calm, he put down the pen in his hand, frowned slightly and thought for a while: "I have carefully considered what you said last time, it is very risky to do so, and it is difficult to say whether it can completely change the current situation."

"My lord, there is no risk in anything, my subordinates remember that you said that the way to reduce risk is to eliminate it. Right? ”

"Ugh"

"Compared to the combined forces of Yuan Shao and Fang Zhiwen, Liu Bei's army is more risky to our army? Is it even more invincible? The subordinates think so. What's more, it's the only solution to the current deadlock1

"Is this really going to solve the current deadlock?"

"My lord, why did the alliance between Fang Zhiwen and Yuan Shao appear, and if they didn't unite sooner or later, it happened to be at this time? Its purpose is simple, because it is worried that the lord will become bigger1

"This, indeed1

"So, Yuan Shao doesn't need to say it. The key is Fang Zhiwen, Fang Zhiwen doesn't want the lord to become bigger, does he want Yuan Shao to become bigger? It is rumored outside that Fang Zhiwen is taking over Jizhou, which shows that while Fang Zhiwen is choosing Yuan Shao, he is actually guarding against Yuan Shao, and no matter how you look at it. Yuan Shao's ability is still far behind that of the lord, so it would be a good choice to raise a relatively less dangerous Yuan Shao. However, this does not mean that Fang Zhiwen is completely at ease with Yuan Shao. Therefore, as long as the lord leaves the Central Plains, the alliance between Fang Zhiwen and Yuan Shao will end immediately. Maybe they will have to support the lord and Yuan Shao to continue to fight against each other. And the lord took Jingzhou, and at the same time weakened Liu Bei, who had just gained Yizhou as a foundation, which was a good thing for Fang Zhiwen, so as long as our army took the initiative to give up the Central Plains. This deadlock is solved. ”

Xi Zhicai is full of confidence and eloquence, but this topic is not a pleasant topic. On the contrary, Cao Cao felt that his heart was twitching when he listened, giving up the Central Plains?! That's the hard work of oneself! Say give up, give up, how can it be so easy! However, the dead end in front of us

"Lord, when I wanted my subordinates to meet the lord in Yingchuan, the lord did not have a size of the land, but he was also full of pride and ambition to the sky, and now the lord is rich in the Central Plains, but he is shrinking his hands and feet, and these things have become a burden to the lord? Does the lord want to be a prince who divides the Central Plains, or does he want to be a strong man who calms the world? ”

Cao Cao sighed when he heard this: "It's not that Zhicai's words are not incomprehensible, but it's difficult to understand the truth!" Think about it, think about it1

"Lord, Liu Bei can't get out of Yizhou for a while, once Liu Bei pacifies Yizhou, he will turn his energy back to the Central Plains of Jingzhou, then it will be more difficult for our army to take Jingzhou, and even will be forced to die in the Central Plains by the tripartite alliance, but the lord wants this ending?"

Cao Cao's brows furrowed tightly, of course this ending is not wanted, but giving up the Central Plains is really a very difficult choice, the courage to start over is not something that everyone has, hesitation and greed, Cao Cao also has it.

"Zhicai, are you sure that this will solve the deadlock we are facing right now?"

"Definitely can, and now the opportunity is fleeting, if you can't grasp this opportunity, once Liu Bei withdraws from Yizhou, our army's last chance will be lost."

Xi Zhicai said with a solemn face, this is not child's play, this last opportunity is missed, Cao Cao may really face this catastrophe.

Cao Cao's face also became heavy, if Xi Zhicai's analysis was correct, now he is facing a situation where he is about to step into the abyss in one step, this, compared to the heartache of giving up the Central Plains, it obviously makes Cao Cao more terrified.

"This Zhicai, if the original phase decides to take Jingzhou in the west, what should I do, and how will it change in the future?"

"Lord, if you have made up your mind, then immediately mobilize the most elite combat power, attack Jingzhou from two roads at the same time, all the way from Runan, go straight to Jingzhou, mobilize Liu Bei's troops back to Jingzhou and then find an opportunity to annihilate, the other way from Yingchuan into Nanyang County, and then attack Shangyong, as long as the mobile combat forces in Jingzhou are annihilated, Liu Bei is far away in Yizhou, and the whip is beyond reach, and he will be able to capture the northern part of Jingzhou in one fell swoop.

"So how should the Central Plains respond?"

"As soon as the battle of Jingzhou began, his subordinates thought that Fang Zhiwen would immediately delay the war, and he would not be able to see clearly the intentions of our army, nor would he be unable to see the benefits of our army's choice.

"As the case depends?"

"Yes, it depends on whether Fang Zhiwen is willing to let us occupy these two places, after all, what Fang Zhiwen thinks in his heart, his subordinates can only guess."

Cao Cao nodded noncommittally, silently stroked his beard and thought for a while before slowly asking, "What about the subsequent changes?" ”

Xi Zhicai licked his somewhat dry lips, and said confidently: "The follow-up change is that the Central Plains will return to tranquility, and our army can also get rid of the danger of being held hostage by Fang Zhiwen

Cao Cao pondered, the light projected through the window slowly moved on the ground, and the sound of the bombardment of boulders near the city wall in the distance came one after another, like muffled thunder.

Xi Zhicai looked at Cao Cao silently, although his face was very calm, but in fact, he was very nervous in his heart, Cao Cao's decision will determine whether to go to the abyss or to the broad road, although Xi Zhicai knows Cao Cao very well and is quite confident in him, but at this moment he will also suffer from gains and losses.

Finally, Cao Cao raised his head and looked at Xi Zhicai with burning eyes: "Zhicai, the prime minister has decided, go all out to capture Jingzhou, immediately convene a meeting of the generals, and then Zhicai and the prime minister will return to Qian County to arrange everything, now is without further ado1."

"The Lord is wise1

Changes in the Cao Army Fang Zhiwen soon discovered that if the Cao Army was quite active in defense before, now it is completely defending, and the movements of troops and people in various places are also quite interesting.

It should not be strange that the people of Qianjun and Huainan evacuated to the west, but the strange thing is that the evacuation was very simple, and they have been withdrawn to Runan, running a little far, although it can also be understood as far away from the war as possible, but it can also be understood as something else, with the ability of Miyun's intelligence system, more signs were soon detected, and all these clues show that Cao Cao is deploying troops and preparing to attack Jingzhou.

got the news, of course Fang Zhiwen wouldn't tell others, including Yuan Shao and Liu Bei, Fang Zhiwen was very happy about Cao Cao's self-conscious spirit, worthy of Cao Cao, and finally made the right choice, Fang Zhiwen was naturally happy to see it, how could he destroy it!

If possible, Fang Zhiwen was also willing to provide Cao Cao with some necessary help, so Fang Zhiwen's offensive unconsciously stopped, and Yuan Shao's statement was that due to Cao Cao's strong wall and clear field, after the logistics channel was lengthened, the pace of the attack had to slow down, this reason is also reasonable, although some smart people feel that something is not quite right, but they just think that Fang Zhiwen is not satisfied with the fact that the war was too smooth some time ago, and he still needs Yuan Shao to pay more price.

Fang Zhiwen's approach undoubtedly confirmed Xi Zhicai's accurate judgment again, Cao Cao also became more confident in this decision to capture Jingzhou, and even transferred Xu Chu and Cao Ren out, and quietly went to Runan City, in addition, Cao Cao withdrew Xiahoudun and Xiahou Yuan brothers from the battlefield, and ordered Li Feng to go to Chen County to assist Cao Hong, and formed a siege group between Xun You and Xiahou brothers, and transferred Ji Ling out to join Xun You's northern attack group, so that Li Dian could defend Yingchuan alone.

The whole war preparation was carried out quickly without being known, and on the surface, Cao Cao was losing and retreating, Zhuqiu was lost, Le Jin and Yan Xing retreated to Dangxian, but Xiangxian was miraculously not broken by Huang Xu, and Xu Huang had penetrated deep into the vicinity of Xiquyang, which was not far from Shouchun.

The Yongyang Battle in Liang County was in full swing, and Yuan Shao was attacking with all his strength here, but he was not easy to follow, and he was entangled with Yuan Shao's main force, while Lu Bu was like the wind, from Dangxian to Chen County, and even appeared in front of the fortress in the north of Qian County, making a mess of the logistics line of Cao's army's northern front.

Just when everyone thought that Cao Cao had retreated to the edge of the cliff and seemed to have no strength to turn over, Cao Cao finally struck a blow, which amazed the world. To be continued...