In this situation, it is impossible for Cao Cao to fight with Gan Ning here. If there is a real fight, maybe he will face more than just the soldiers and horses on the Jiangdong side.

What Cao Cao needs most now is time to recuperate.

It is not wise to go to war at this moment.

Therefore, at such a time, Cao Cao needs to make a choice. Like Hanzhong, if Cao Cao had made a decision earlier, he might not have more losses later, and now Wancheng and Hefei have changed hands.

It's too late to regret it now.

There is a huge price to be paid to recapture these two places.

Cao Cao sighed and said:

"Send someone to try to attack the city first, if the enemy really has no intention of retreating, our army will evacuate first!"

When he heard this, Le Jin was stunned.

However, he could understand Cao Cao's thoughts.

Now it is not so easy to get back the city occupied by Gan Ning, it is bound to be a bitter battle.

But it is not possible to evacuate like this.

We'll have to test it.

If Gan Ning is strong outside, Cao Cao will not show mercy to his subordinates, what he cares about now is to spend too much manpower and material resources here, and in the end, the gains outweigh the losses.

Forthwith.

Cao Cao sent Le Jin to lead an army to attack the city.

In the city, it was Lu Meng who was defending.

These cities need to be defended by soldiers and horses, and Ganning has only one, so he can't go anywhere.

Cao Cao wanted to be tempted, and he would not directly attack Gan Ning's location.

I want to open a breakthrough from now on.

But they obviously underestimated Lu Meng's presence.

In the face of Cao Jun's strong attack, Lu Meng was at ease, he was not alarmed, he seemed extraordinarily calm, he knew what he was going to do now, as long as he didn't let Cao Jun break the city.

After a strong attack, Cao Cao suffered a lot of losses, but it did not affect the city, and the results are self-evident.

Seeing this scene, Cao Cao said in a deep voice:

"It seems that Jiangdong is really exhausted, and now that they are holding the position of Guangling, it is difficult for us to approach.

Our army has been fighting for a long time, and the soldiers and people are very tired and need time to recuperate. Tell the order to go down and prepare to withdraw the army, and when the time comes, build a walled city to defend it, and not let the enemy army go any further. ”

Lejin said yes.

Cao Cao didn't blame him, anyway, before Lejin defended Hefei, he had done his best.

He has limited soldiers and horses, and Hefei is not indestructible.

has persisted for so long, if he is still held accountable, wouldn't it seem that Cao Cao is unkind.

Although at times, Cao Cao was ruthless.

But for his subordinates, Cao Cao has always been lenient and benevolent, and meritorious service will be rewarded, if not, how can he win the hearts of everyone?

What was before, there is no need to look ahead and backward now.

It is necessary to stabilize the current situation, and when Cao Cao reorganizes his troops and horses, he will be able to take back the territory sooner or later.

He had faith.

It's just that Cao Cao feels that time is a little short.

Now that he is not young, in the face of such a big enemy as Liu Qi, maybe he has not completed the great cause of dominating the world, and he will be limited by his lifespan, which is also a helpless thing.

Anyway, Cao Cao is very resolute, as long as he lives, he will go all out until the last moment.

In the midst of the city.

Watching Cao Jun retreat, Lu Meng was a little puzzled.

What exactly does Cao Cao mean?

Why did you retreat directly after attacking for a while, and what kind of means are you playing?

But then scouts were sent to investigate.

Sure enough, there was no trace of Cao Jun, and they really left.

After thinking about it carefully, Lu Meng had a guess in his heart, and he sent someone to inform Gan Ning of the news as soon as possible.

This is good news.

When Gan Ning learned of this, he convened the generals to discuss.

is to know Cao Cao's plan.

Now that the army has been fighting for a long time, if it continues to fight, not only can it not achieve victory, but it will lose its troops and generals.

In this case, it is reasonable for Cao Cao to choose to retreat.

But after today, it will not be so easy for them to move forward.

Even if Cao Cao leaves, he will definitely stay

Soldiers and horses set up a defensive line. And what they can do is also to strengthen their own defense line, so that Cao Cao can't come over and do whatever he wants.

In Gwangling County, the two sides reached an eerie balance.

When the time comes, we will be across the city.

It is foreseeable that Cao Cao will transfer some of his troops and horses, leaving enough soldiers to defend.

And they can't be stationed here permanently.

The army is facing each other, which requires grain and grass, and now Liu Qi's high-yield rice has not really been promoted.

If it were fully popular, there would be no such worries.

If Cao Cao wants to confront him, then confront him, and it depends on who has more food and grass and can hold out longer.

Thinking about it, Gan Ning sent someone to investigate, and at the same time transmitted the news back to Xiangyang City.

Far away in Xiangyang.

Now Liu Qi has sent someone to take over Jiaozhou.

When the time comes, Shixie will cooperate.

As for the candidate for Jiaozhou's assassin history, he is an acquaintance, Huang Zu, who was previously Jiangxia Taishou.

Under Liu Qi, or in Jingzhou, Huang Zu's qualifications are very old. Although he is not Liu Qi's descendant, during his time in Xiangyang, his thinking has changed dramatically.

When Liu Biao was in power, Huang Zu was a little arrogant, and sometimes he didn't even take Liu Biao seriously.

But that's no longer the case.

How dare Huang Zu despise Liu Qi?

An existence that unifies the entire South, extremely powerful, and even more majestic......

If Huang Zu still dared to underestimate Liu Qi, he really didn't want to live. So today's Huang Zu has become Liu Qi's loyal little brother and is quite cooperative.

It was precisely because of Huang Zu's attitude and his qualifications that Liu Qi appointed him as the assassin of Jiaozhou.

The history of a state assassin, the position is almost the same as Liu Qi, if the qualifications are not enough, it may not be able to withstand it.

No matter which angle you think about it, Huang Zu is the most suitable candidate.

After learning of Liu Qi's appointment, Huang Zu did not refuse, he had already expected that maybe the Han would prosper again under the leadership of Liu Qi, which was already an unstoppable trend.

Under this premise, Huang Zu also played with Liu Qi, not only did he not want to die, but he was also short-sighted.

Now follow Liu Qi, how comfortable it is.

In the future, he will be in a high position casually, even if Huang Zu is allowed to retire, it will be the same beauty.

And take over the matter of Jiaozhou.

It's not a problem in itself, as long as Shi Xie is willing to cooperate, it's a matter of course.

Although Shi Xie is not the assassin of Jiaozhou, he already has substantial rule over the territory of Jiaozhou.

All the counties in Jiaozhou are the sons and daughters of Shixie's brothers.

After taking Jiaozhou, the south will be truly unified, and Liu Qi will not have any worries.

After doing this, Liu Qi's heart was much more soothed.

Next, he can play with Cao Cao with all his might.

I don't know what the current situation is in Guangling County, and whether Cao Cao is generally unwilling to fight for a long time as they expected.

If Cao Cao didn't play his cards according to common sense, and he was determined to touch Liu Qi, he would not be able to take the initiative to back down. I am tired, Cao Cao is also tired, everyone is not much better...

At this moment, news arrived.

It was Gan Ning's urgent report.

Without thinking too much, Liu Qi asked Zhuge Liang to find them.

Indecisive think tank.

After reading the content, Liu Qi smiled dumbly.

It seems that Cao Cao really has scruples, and his approach is the same as he had guessed before. After successive battles, it was impossible for Cao Cao to recklessly use troops against Gan Ning, and the gains would outweigh the losses.

And at this moment, Cao Cao's retreat means that half of Guangling County taken by Gan Ning has become a foregone conclusion.

Everything is changing for the better.

When Zhuge Liang and the others arrived, Liu Qi explained the matter, a smile appeared on his face, and he said:

"Military division, Shi Yuan, Gong Heng, it seems that now Cao Jun really does not want to fight, now that Cao Cao has retreated, we can also rest and wait for the next decisive battle.

As long as we give us two years, Cao Cao will not be afraid. ”

Liu Qi is so sure.

Zhuge Liang thought so and said:

“

What the lord said is extremely true, with the current situation, even if Cao Cao is determined to fight, our army is not afraid.

But Cao Cao has scruples, if he continues to fight, I am afraid that before the outside is over, there will already be chaos inside. ”

Huang Quan replied:

"My lord, now that the situation of the three parties has been stabilized, whether it is Jiangdong, Jingzhou or Yizhou, when the time comes, the Northern Expedition will be dispatched, even if Cao Cao's elite is out, it will be difficult to resist."

The current situation is undoubtedly biased in favor of Liu Qi.

Hanzhong, Wancheng and even Hefei are all in Liu Qi's hands at the moment, and he has already grasped the initiative.

These key locations are in Liu Qi's hands, and if Cao Cao wants to take the initiative to attack, it will definitely be difficult.

Originally, these three locations were Cao Cao's bridgeheads to block Liu Qi. But now, it has fallen into the hands of Liu Qi, and Cao Cao needs to spend more soldiers and horses to defend.

I saw Pang Tong Zhengse say:

"Although Cao Cao has withdrawn now, the lord should not take it lightly, Cao Cao's female deceit, and may take the opportunity to send troops in the future, and the soldiers and horses everywhere need to be arranged properly, and they must not be slack."

Liu Qi suddenly agreed:

"What Shi Yuan said is extremely true, no matter what, we can't take it lightly, Cao Cao is not an easy person, if he really seizes the opportunity, he will definitely suffer losses."

Everyone carefully discussed the layout of the defensive line.

As long as the current situation can be stabilized, when the troops and horses in the three states are ready, it will be the time to send troops to the Northern Expedition.

Cao Cao handed over the defense of Guangling County to Lejin.

Xiahou Shang, as a general of the clan, naturally has a higher status than Lejin. But Cao Cao knew very well that Lejin's ability was definitely above Xiahou Shang, so handing over the defense to Lejin was the wisest choice.

But this time, Cao Cao was not stingy.

Leave the whole army and horses.

Although Gan Ning put on a posture of strict defense, he had to take precautions. If Cao Cao evacuated and Gan Ning suddenly sent troops, Le Jin's men did not have enough soldiers and horses to be difficult to stop.

Soon, Cao Cao returned all the way back to Xuchang City.

Xun Yu led hundreds of officials out to greet him.

The scene in front of him is not much different from the past, but Cao Cao's mood has changed dramatically.

This time, he didn't come home with a big victory.

Along the way, he lost his troops and lost his troops.

He was unwilling, but he was helpless, there was no way to do it.

Who would have thought that in a short period of time, Liu Qi's strength has grown to such an extent, which is unbelievable.

Xun Yu was also helpless.

Of course, he knows the current situation very clearly.

However, Xuchang's troops were limited, and he couldn't make reasonable arrangements at the beginning, so he could only give priority to Wancheng, which was close and more important, but it turned out that Wancheng and Hefei had problems.

"Despicable and incompetent, please punish the prime minister!"

Hearing this, Cao Cao looked at Xun Yu with burning eyes, he had no intention of blaming. He believed in Xun Yu's loyalty to him, and Cao Cao never thought that one day, he would part ways with Xun Yu, or even force him to die.

Anyway, the current Cao Cao trusts Xun Yu very much.

No one is to blame for this.

Xun Yu had tried his best, but Jingzhou had already prepared, and they dispatched many elites in order to kill one by surprise.

But Xun Yu can mobilize a limited number of soldiers and horses in a short period of time.

This leaves no way to form an effective line of defense.

I saw Cao Cao open his mouth and say:

"Ling Jun's words are wrong, this matter has nothing to do with you, it is all an improper arrangement, which gives the enemy an opportunity to take advantage of. As long as Xuchang is fine, the Son of Heaven is fine. ”

Hearing Cao Cao's words, Xun Yu was a little more relieved.

Back in Xuchang, Cao Cao visited the Son of Heaven for the first time, and then returned to the Prime Minister's Mansion on his own, he was indeed tired and needed a good rest.

looked at the back of Cao Cao's departure.

Liu Xie looked worried, but in fact, he smiled in his heart.

He is the son of heaven.

Now he is like a prisoner, imprisoned here by Cao Cao.

Liu Xie was unwilling, but he couldn't do anything because he didn't have any strength to rely on.

Previously, Liu Xie had also thought about struggling to fight back.

But it was

Cao Cao was easily destroyed.

Originally, Liu Xie was already desperate, but now he saw hope. That is the hope of the re-emergence of the Han Dynasty and the extinction of the Cao thief.

How powerful Cao Cao is, Liu Xie naturally knows.

But Cao Cao, who was so powerful, was defeated head-on by Liu Qi, which illustrates Liu Qi's toughness from another angle.

Liu Qi is a relative of the Han family, and his identity is beyond doubt.

Unlike Liu Bei's identity, which is easy to be questioned by future generations, Liu Biao's background is real.

If one day, Liu Qi completely defeats Cao Cao, it means that the revival of the Han dynasty is hopeful. Although Liu Xie also expected the possible consequences of this incident, he was not worried at all.

Today's Liu Qi is just a puppet.

He didn't have a self-esteem at all.

Whatever Cao Cao wants to do, he can do.

What does it mean to be such an emperor in front of him, as long as he can solve the Cao thief, let the Han family rejuvenate, and give up his throne to Liu Qi, this is not worth mentioning at all.

Over the years, Liu Xie didn't know how many grievances he had hidden in his heart.

But he never dared to show it.

Because he knew that if he did this, he would definitely be miserable, and Cao Cao was not an indecisive person.

It is for Liu Xie.

Cao Cao is his mortal enemy, even if he can survive and have the current reputation, it is all given by Cao Cao.

But what is commendable about being a puppet emperor in name only, in the future, it will be just a joke in the history books, will anyone praise him?

Liu Xie felt that it was impossible.

I don't know how long Cao Cao has been gone, so Liu Xie whispered:

"Well deserved!"

Although there are only two simple words, they can fully express Liu Xie's mood, but he breathes a sigh of relief in the boredom.

I just don't know how long that day will come.