Winter has arrived, and the New Year is approaching.

During this period of time, Cao Cao continued to receive letters from Jizhou, which were mostly military intelligence spies, and the more he looked at it, the more stable his heart became.

"Yuan Shao can't have any more momentum, the princes outside the Guanwai don't dare to act rashly after this battle, Doctor Zhong should be the first to take the lead, thank you."

Zhong Xuan wore an official robe and bowed his hand in front of him, the smile on his face looked very elegant and easy-going, and he waved his hand and smiled: "The prime minister praised it absurdly, and it was also the first time that Cheng believed in the appointment, so that I was disciplined and supervised, and fortunately, the Son of Heaven was generous and rewarded the princes outside the Guanwai." ”

"The most important thing is that the prime minister won a complete victory in the war in southern Hebei, which is impressive, Yuan Shao, who claims to be 650,000 troops, has no power to fight back, and admires the prime minister's use of troops."

"Well, Zhong Jun is still listening, and he knows that he came to congratulate me on my victory, I have returned from Jizhou, and I haven't heard a word of praise from Yang Taiwei and Sima Gong, as for what Zhao Wen, Xi Wei and others are even more silent, only thinking about themselves."

"I have heard that the prime minister found the letter and burned it generously, and this kind of grace covers the world, and he is the hero of the world, so he can only say that the prime minister is ...... How broad-minded, let's talk about several people throughout the ages. ”

"Hmph, haha!" Cao Cao was extremely useful by these words of praise, and the whole person laughed unceremoniously, he really laughed, mainly because the recent war in southern Hebei did not make him feel worried in his heart, and for a while the romanticism rose, and it didn't matter if he listened to a few words of praise.

"Zhong Jun didn't write about the past, right?"

After Cao Cao finished laughing, he immediately leaned in and asked.

This sudden coercion made Zhong Xuan's face stunned, and he immediately waved his hand and smiled bitterly, "No, no, naturally no." ”

"I was in Chang'an at the time, where did I have time to write letters, besides, I didn't dare to boast about anything else, if I wrote the handwriting, no one should be able to imitate it."

"That's right!"

Cao Cao admired his calligraphy the most, elegant and smooth, his own bearing, there is no second person in the world, this kind of attainment will call this calligraphy Zhong Ti, it is not an exaggeration to name him Zhong Dafu.

"It's good that you didn't write it, and if you did, then I'm so sad that I can't sleep all night."

"Prime Minister is serious," Zhong Miao smiled lightly, he knew that Cao Cao was joking, if he really wrote it and was discovered, it would not be such an attitude.

Although it was burned in front of the face, there was no handle, but no one knew whether the prime minister had read those letters or not.

What if you read it? Where do these Hanchen dare to be lucky, Zhong Xuan has practiced calligraphy for many years, and every time he writes a book and practices the pen, it is a cultivation of the mind, and he can always think about a lot of truths quietly.

developed the habit of being smart and moderate, so at this moment, in order to make Cao Cao's heart settle down a little more, he hugged his fists and said: "The princes outside the Chang'an Governor's Pass, if they don't believe in the victory of the prime minister, they won't be able to suppress those tigers and wolves." ”

"Such as Ma Teng and Han Sui, now there are hundreds of thousands of soldiers and horses, they are all fierce people, from various tribes, it is not difficult to enter the customs to make trouble, of course there will be no intention of throwing Yuan, in fact, I don't think the prime minister will lose from beginning to end."

"Oh? Why do you say that? ”

"More emphasis and unity."

The corners of Zhong Xuan's mouth pruned downward: "The soldiers of the condensation war are all brave men, the elite of the generals have their own bearing, Yuan Shao defeated Gongsun Zan and took hundreds of thousands of people, which is no different from Yuan Shu, although there are many generals and ministers under his command, but it is easy to detect that they do not agree with each other." ”

"The prime minister is broad-minded, using soldiers like a god, Yuan Shao is just making good use of the general trend, the appearance is like a torrent, in fact, it is not delicate, Gongsun Chan is a declining trend, killing Liu Yu and losing his morality and heart, the prime minister is supported by the people by the Son of Heaven, not the same day."

"Now that victory has been settled, these words should be regarded as an embellishment of victory, but it is a pity that I did not say it to the prime minister in front of the station."

"Hahaha!"

Cao Cao saw that he had gained so much, and he laughed out loud for a while, he was really likable to Zhong Xuan.

"Okay, okay, I'll just say it in advance, take credit to you, Zhong Jun is back, and I still have to rely on you in the court."

"When you come back, it's time to give you a knighthood, right? It's good to live in the next place, for the prime minister's auxiliary government, and you can also practice calligraphy on weekdays to enjoy Qingfu. ”

"Uh, hahaha!! Well, no problem! ”

Cao Cao walked out and grabbed Zhong Xuan's hand, his eyes were full of joy, this old man first asked for a knighthood when he came back, and then he wanted an idle errand, so it was really comfortable to act like this, and there was no guilt at all.

I don't think he's asking too much.

……

A day later, a lot of military information in the north reached Xu Dulai, and there was one thing that made Guo Jia's face extremely solemn, and he walked quickly into the lobby with a letter.

informed Cao Cao of the information.

"Under Yuan Shao's anger, he should have gone out to quell the chaos, so he directly executed all Xu You's family members and announced them to the world to deter courtiers with bad intentions in the territory."

"Drink to quench your thirst."

Cao Cao immediately shook his head, so that even if he was shocked in a short period of time and did not dare to make chaos, but everyone was related, how could they unite together and die for Yuan Shao.

This point is not without consideration, Cao Cao believes that Yuan Shao should have no choice, and the chaos in his Youzhou and Merge States is more serious than imagined.

Those foreign Qiang people themselves do not pay attention to benevolence and righteousness, and revere the strong, and now I am afraid that they will turn to other places, and the most likely thing is to join Ma Teng.

These rebellions were enough to keep Yuan Shao busy until he couldn't rest well throughout the winter, and then marched to Jieqiao after the beginning of spring, and attacked from Shangyang and Wei County respectively, taking advantage of his internal troubles, and then entering the foreign enemy, so that he could really deal a heavy blow.

And now, he killed Xu You's family, and maybe he still has some intention of venting his anger and anger.

"How is Ziyuan doing?"

Cao Cao squinted his eyes and said, he knew the character of this old friend, who was too flamboyant, and even arrogant most of the time.

I'm going to let him calm down first, and then I'll think about it.

"I haven't been going out, there is nothing unusual, I have invited some celebrity officials, princes and generals, all of them are sent out, there is no pride in them, and they may even feel that they are a subordinate and dare not communicate too much with others."

Hearing this, Cao Cao chuckled in his heart.

So, or am I thinking too much? He is not arrogant, and even keeps a low profile, trying his best to integrate into the martial arts under my command.

Although he is greedy for small gains, he is not above board, but this former classmate can really be called a first-class strategist, and he is proficient in both military and political affairs, but his temperament is just a little worse.

Thinking about this, Cao Cao instinctively felt guilty, and he didn't care about Xu Yu after he came back, but he did have merit in surrendering, and when he broke Wei County, he also personally recruited the guards of several county seats, so that the soldiers and horses could not be killed, not a single soldier or a soldier, and three small cities were obtained.

Now, his family was killed by Yuan Shao, and I am afraid that I am the first to know the news, so I still have to visit him in person to make him feel relieved.

"I'll tell him," Cao Cao got up, and Cao Chun naturally followed left and right, and went together.

"Fengxiao doesn't have to go, integrate these military information, and discuss with Bowen, he still has soldiers and horses stationed in Yangping, and he will send troops together sooner or later next year, and now treat him as a Jizhou pastor."

"Whether he wants the money and food in the land of the three counties, it will be the weekend, and in the future, his political achievements will be good, and his reputation will be outside, and the people and scholars of the world will call him Xu Jizhou."

"Haha, okay."

Guo Jia bowed and sent Cao Cao away.

……

Half an hour later, the car stopped at Xu You's mansion, and Cao Cao didn't send anyone to inform him when he came, so the guards hurriedly went in to report at this time, and after a while, Xu You ran out wearing a robe and bowed from a distance.

"The lord came to see him, and he didn't know that he had never greeted him, and I ask for forgiveness!"

Cao Cao nodded with a smile, then stretched out his hand and patted him on the shoulder, and walked straight into the lobby.

Soon Cao Cao sat down on the main seat, asked Xu You to come closer, and said, "Ziyuan, when you came to vote for me, you didn't settle your family, right?" ”

"Not bad!" Xu You was stunned for a moment, nodded hurriedly, and approached in a panic, "But something happened to them!?" ”

"Well, Yuan Shao will execute all your family, wives and relatives to shock those with bad intentions."

"What?!" Xu You was struck by lightning on the spot, "He was so unsympathetic, and his family ...... disaster"

"I thought that Yuan Shao was born in a famous family, and he should still have this kind of open-mindedness, but I hurt them, I hurt them, and I hurt them......"

His words are understandable, Cao Cao recalled that the old strategist Jia Xu under Xu Zhen was under the command of many lords, and his family was not always safe.

Chen Gongtai betrayed and died, and he Cao Cao did not kill his whole family, but also took care of it, so that the son was rich and rich, and the old man was supported.

"Yuan Shao's move is to deter the rebels, and there may also be personal grievances."

"Oh, alas......"

Xu You looked lonely, looked lonely, looked up at Cao Cao, and said, "Thank you, lord, for coming to tell me about this." ”

"I was killed by my family, and I was persecuted by Guo Tu to this point, and now my family has been killed because of this, maybe it is really some kind of heavenly retribution."

Cao Cao sat up straight, his face serious, staring at Xu You, and he could feel the disappointment and chill of this old friend that Yuan Shao had killed his family, far more than the grief of losing his family.

What he is really sad about is that he has followed Yuan Shao for many years, and he actually made him kill his whole family at the expense of destroying his reputation, and this anger far exceeds the grievances.

Thinking of this, Xu You sighed bitterly, "Actually, I already knew that this would be the result, I once asked Xu Junhou, and he said that the location of the black nest was calculated by the method of yin and yang metaphysics." ”

"I'm afraid no one will believe this, in Yuan Shao's eyes, the news of Wuchao must have been leaked by me, so he was furious and attacked my family."

"He thinks that I rebelled first, and I first lived up to the kindness that followed in the past few years, so it is so."

"Alas, who can believe that Xu Bowen is really calculated?"

Cao Cao smiled, stood up with his hands behind his back and came to Xu You, looking at him deeply.

"Mourn, I can let you be promoted to a senior official to show your merits, and if you want to attack Yuan, you can go, and if you don't go, forget it."

Cao Cao suddenly became generous.

This made Xu You a little stunned, although Xu Zhen's calculation made him wonder, but this sentence was right, it can be called a golden and jade good word.

The more low-key he becomes, the less he mentions Yuan Shao's exploits, and Cao Cao will treat him better.

No wonder, Cao Cao didn't often come to talk to him these days to discuss various things, and he didn't have merits to reward until this moment.

Silence is golden.

Xu Bowen saved me once, Xu You immediately smiled bitterly: "I have nothing else to ask for, I can also contribute to the Lord again, since Yuan Shaodu has killed my whole family, this love will be broken, if I want to end the battle of Jizhou as soon as possible, I should be able to make achievements." ”

"At the beginning, I was involved in Yuan Shao's military and political affairs, and I also knew most of the places where the generals were stationed."

"In this way, the pacification can be accelerated."

"Hmph," Cao Cao patted him on the shoulder, sighed, and said seriously, "Then it's all up to Ziyuan." ”

"I'm going to have a lot of rewards this winter."

Cao Cao held his hand tightly, "Next year, I will take you to this evil anger with Yuan Shao again." ”

"Hahaha!" Xu You laughed with a desperate face, nodded immediately, and sent Cao Cao out, but in his heart he had mixed feelings, waiting for Cao Cao to get in the car and leave.

He was silent and sluggish at home for an hour, and finally drank all night's wine, collapsed by the brazier, and fell asleep to warm himself and fainted.

……

Winter goes to spring.

The news of Yuan Shao's rebellion in Bingzhou reached Xudu, and he deserved to be a great prince, even if he was severely damaged by the army, he fought neatly and like thunder.

In just a month, he led his own cavalry to exterminate and subdue the horseback clans in the state one by one, and temporarily surrendered to Cheng, and collected 10,000 or 20,000 soldiers, who were as good at hunting as bandits.

But before it was too late to practice, and even before Yuan Shao could rest when he returned to Wei County, Cao Cao and Xu Zhen's army arrived.

Cao Jun assembled and left from Wei County, and Xu Jun should have come out of Yangping, and all the places they went were Jieqiao, but according to the intelligence of the spying, Xu Zhen's soldiers and horses had not been found.

This is the largest main road into the Qinghe River, and in addition to that, you have to go over the mountains and mountains and walk on the path.

Yuan Shao knew that Xu Zhen had an army that could climb over the rugged and complicated mountain roads, so he guarded all the nearby roads.

However, after a few days, he understood that Xu Zhen did not come to Yangping, and his soldiers and horses were exposed on the way back to Yanzhou, and Yuan Shao was suddenly anxious.

Xu Zhen is cunning, they have a lot of elite soldiers, and they are very popular in the territory, it is estimated that I don't know how many soldiers and horses have been recruited in the past six months.

Unlike my Qinghe, I still have to forcibly recruit new soldiers to enter the camp, and the people's support is constantly lost.

As soon as the military information came, Yuan Shao knew in his heart that Cao Cao, Xu Zhen and others were not going to fight him again, and now the situation was reversed!

There were many Cao troops and few Yuan troops.

Cao Jun's will was condensed, while Yuan Junjun's heart was disheartened.

They're going to fight a tug-of-war!

"Xu Zhen is going to Qingzhou! Yuan Tan, do you have the confidence to stop Xu Zhen?! ”

I don't have any at all.

Yuan Tan's face suddenly turned ugly.

"I ordered Guo Tu to bring 50,000 troops to you, to Qingzhou to guard, if Xu Zhen enters the country, he must also go to Tai'an, under the command of Jun Zangba of Taishan Mansion, there is a person who has been co-opted by me, maybe he can help!"

"Father, I ......"

Yuan Shao stared at him sternly, "Do you want to face Cao Cao's army head-on?" ”

"Okay, I'll go back to Qingzhou......"

A total of 300,000 soldiers and horses were barely scraped together, and now 50,000 soldiers are going to Qingzhou, but the second brother's military strength in Youzhou is not moving, and my father is probably biased.

The second brother and the younger brother are favored.

But let me fight Xu Zhen...... Yan Liangwen and Chou were all killed one after another, and they were simply pit sons......

"Then, I'll go."

"Okay, worship the heavens and tell the ancestors, raise the power of the whole territory, I want to fight with Cao Mengde again at the boundary bridge! If we can win this time, we should sweep away the decline! Take back all that you have lost! ”

Yuan Shao squeezed his fist.

But at this moment, his pale face was dizzy, and he almost fell.

He was already too tired.