In March of the twelfth year of Guangxi, Yuan Shao had to lead the army to support Dingtao because of the frequent urgency of Dingtao, but on the way, Cao Cao secretly dug up the Ji River, although the Ji River was not the season of abundant water, but the river flooded the road, so that Yuan Shao's cavalry fell into the mud, and had to assemble on the straight road, it was raided by the heavy cavalry of the Cao army.

The cavalry was defeated, Yuan Shao's infantry had to retreat back, and was repeatedly pursued and outflanked by Cao Cao along the way, and finally broke the formation by the heavy cavalry, Yuan Shao was defeated, and fled back to Jiyang in panic all the way.

There are no strong generals in Dingtao, no reinforcements outside, and it fell a few days later, Cao Cao immediately pointed to Puyang, once Puyang fell, Yuan Shao was besieged in Chenliu! Yuan Shao was horrified and immediately led the army to abandon Chen Liu, all the way through Yan County, Baima and back to Puyang, and Chen Liu was immediately recovered by Xun You.

Yuan Shao shrank in Puyang, the pressure of Cao Cao's army was immediately crushed to the east, Gao Gan and Yan Liang were already alone, seeing that Shanyang, Rencheng, and Dongping had fallen one after another, Yanzhou had fallen most of them in the hands of Cao Cao, and Yuan Shao's defeat had appeared, and there was a feeling of twilight in the western mountains.

In Puyang City, Yuan Shao's meeting hall was noisy, everyone blamed each other and shirked responsibility, as for what to do now, it seems that everyone has avoided this topic intentionally or unintentionally.

Yuan Shao drove all the ministers out in annoyance, leaving only his staff team, Yuan Shao's heart can no longer be described as worried at this moment, it should be worried.

This defeat of the army was not only a military defeat, but also a waste of all Yuan Shao's investment in rebuilding Yanzhou, and a national power is a complete system. A local defeat may seem like it can't affect the whole picture, but here it suffers heavy losses. The loss of population, the loss of confidence, and a series of other effects will affect the overall situation of this political force.

The western part of Yanzhou is lost, and with it, the eastern and northern parts are also difficult to hold, and even the western part of Qingzhou may not be guaranteed, if you withdraw all the way to the north of the Yellow River, you can breathe a sigh of relief, but you want to go back and come back. That's even harder.

And half of Yanzhou, which he has built, and the western part of Qingzhou, which has basically recovered its vitality, will fall into Cao Cao's pocket in vain.

This ending is absolutely unacceptable to Yuan Shao, so Yuan Shao is anxious. I was so anxious that I was so anxious that I couldn't sleep and eat, and I was so anxious that my mouth was foaming.

"Ladies and gentlemen, you have a good idea of how to change the situation you are in now1

Judge, Xu You, Xiao Ji, Guo Tu, and Xun Chen looked at each other. If there was a way, who would still hide it, it would have been said a long time ago, this war is not only related to Yuan Shao's future interests, but also to everyone's future interests. No one wants to fail.

Yuan Shao looked at everyone with a calm face and full of expectations. No one spoke for a long time, which made Yuan Shao's heart burst into flames!

"Humph! Aren't they all smart! Usually he talks the truth, why are he dumb at the critical moment?! Well? ”

Everyone looked at each other again, and finally the emperor reprimanded Ye Jia and Ye Jia. div style="float:left; padding: 10px; ">

"Oh? Could it be that the official should be fully returned to Hebei? This is also called a method, which is simply a big fallacy in the world1

Yuan Shao clenched his fists tightly with both hands, so angry that the green tendons on his forehead jumped, Yuan Shao endured it to death, he was afraid that he couldn't help it, so he jumped up and swung his sword to cut down these bastard guys.

"Definitely1

Xu You's slow words stunned Yuan Shaoshu, and his anger dissipated without a trace.

"Huh? No, what's the solution? It will be difficult for the official to accept1

"It's very simple, ask Fang Zhiwen for help1

"What!?"

Yuan Shao was stunned, but he didn't speak, but carefully thought about the possibility of this matter, and after a while, Yuan Shao took a deep breath and said in a calm tone as much as possible: "Isn't this suggestion normal, although Fang Zhiwen rejected our proposal to cooperate in attacking Cao Cao before, and now if we go again, even if he refuses again, this suggestion itself is not a suggestion that is difficult for this official to accept1."

"Originally, if it was just a refusal! When the two were negotiating, Fang Zhiwen once put forward an idea, that is, to exchange the Central Plains for Jizhou, which was originally actively refused, if he went again at this time, it is estimated that Fang Zhiwen still has this condition, or even more harsh, can he accept it at the beginning? ”

Yuan Shao let out a sigh of relief, and fell silent helplessly, his fingers unconsciously tapping on the desk. Yuan Shao always thought that Fang Zhiwen's so-called condition was just to reject the tricks he came up with, but now that Xu Yu solemnly brought up the old matter, perhaps, Fang Zhiwen was serious at that time.

Everyone in the hall is paying attention to Yuan Shao, and Yuan Shao's decision will involve everyone's vital interests.

If Yuan Shao rejected this suggestion, then everyone was not very optimistic about the outcome of the battle with Cao Cao in Yanzhou, and the final outcome was probably to obediently return to Hebei, and everyone's investment in Yanzhou would be gone, and in the future, they would have to bear the oppression of two powerful princes, one in the south and one in the north, and eventually become a second-rate force, and even be annexed.

If it is accepted, then everyone dare not say what conditions Fang Zhiwen will offer, even if Fang Zhiwen maintains the original conditions, the vital interests of everyone present will also be seriously affected.

Therefore, Yuan Shao's embarrassment actually understands that the reason why no one has put forward this suggestion for a long time is because everyone has not yet figured out the gains and losses.

Yuan Shao thought for a long time, and finally raised his head, and said in a deep voice with firm eyes: "The official has decided, retreat to Hebei, that is to live, I Yuan Shao has no idea of living in the world, exchanging Jizhou for the Central Plains, although it is difficult to accept emotionally, but in terms of interests, have we made or lost?" ”

"Earned 1 Xu Yu very concise reply.

"That's right, it's earned, why don't you do it if you earn it, why shrink back when you can move forward! The official decided, immediately sent someone to the north to negotiate, on the public rule, Ziyuan, trouble the two of them to go hard, go and have a good talk with Fang Zhiwen, exchange Jizhou for the Central Plains, we did it, and it is best to include Xuzhou 1

"No1

Qinghekou Port, Xu You has not been here for a long time, Qinghekou Port has become very unfamiliar, the huge port makes Xu You have a very illusory feeling, all this change is too fast, the former small port, now it has become a giant city, millions of people live, countless ships and traders come and go, highlighting the prosperity and prosperity of Youzhou.

This scene was in too strong contrast with the waning atmosphere when he left Puyang Port, which made Xu You's heart feel sour.

Outside the post wharf, there was already a small group of guards waiting for Xu You and Guo Tu, and it was Lu Su and Lu Zijing of the Youzhou Foreign Affairs Department who came to greet them.

Everyone greeted each other very politely, it is not a place for people to talk here, the three of them stood together, which had attracted a lot of curious eyes, and Lu Su hurriedly took the two of them away.

"The two of you have worked hard from afar, do you want to rest for a day first, and then go to see my lord tomorrow?"

Both of them knew that time was urgent, so they naturally didn't want to delay their business because of a little fatigue.

"It's okay, if it's convenient, we hope to see Lord Fang as soon as possible, the matter in Yanzhou is urgent, and there can be no delay."

Lu Su smiled: "It's okay, then go directly to the government office and see if the lord can arrange time to meet the two of you as soon as possible." ”

"There is a labor salute 1

"You're welcome, the two of you are from Puyang, what's the situation over there? Has Cao Cao already started attacking Puyang? ”

"Well, the perimeter has been cleared and the fortifications outside the city have begun."

"Doesn't the Iron Army have any intention of going to war?"

"This iron army said that the troops are all on the front line of Jixian and Chaoge, so there is no way to go to help, if Gongsun Chan does it again at this time, it will be even worse1

"Oh, what about the Eastern Front? The troops of Gao Gan and General Yan Liang were not damaged, so they should still be able to fight, right? ”

"The number of troops of these two generals is limited, and the area to be defended is large, and now they are being attacked from the west and south, so they can only shrink the battle line, and now they have retreated to the line of Dongping and Juping, but Cao's army is advancing along the south bank of the Yellow River to Dong'e, trying to cut off Dongping's back road, therefore, General Gao Gan may retreat to Dong'e in the near future, and then may take Linyi and Luxian as the last line of defense."

Lu Su frowned: "Dingtao is defeated so far?" ”

"Hehe, Zijing doesn't understand, our army's layout in Yanzhou has not been completed, in fact, most of Yanzhou's areas are now no man's land, so it is impossible to use the city node to delay and disperse the enemy, and the main force of our army is eliminated, it takes time to recover, Cao Cao is firmly grasping the weakness of our army, chasing and fighting, taking advantage of the fact that our army's old force has gone to the new force has not been born, and seized important strategic points in one fell swoop, we can't help but withdraw1

Xing Gong p> "I see, so how much time will it take for your army to regain its footing?"

"At least half a month, but this period is enough for Cao Cao to take all the strategic points in Henan, and even if our army is replenished, it will also face the embarrassing situation of fighting with Cao's army for strategic points at the back of the water1

"However, isn't Cao Jun also facing a long logistics line?"

"Hehe, even if his logistics line is long, but our army does not have the right node support, it is impossible to harass this logistics line at all, even if it is an alien, it needs to be supplied1

"Oh, then Ziyuan and Gong are here to ask for help?"

Xu You glanced at the smiling Lu Su, and felt that under his young face, there was a treacherous and cunning heart! Xu You curled the corners of his mouth slightly, and said with a resolute smile:

"No, it's not a call for help, it's cooperation 1 to be continued...