Since Cao Cao sent troops to Xudu in April and fought with Yuan Shao for the first time in May, the two families of Yuan and Cao confronted each other in Cangting for more than three months.

Unlike the battle of Guandu, Yuan Shao was on his home field at this time, not only did he not show publicity, but he restrained himself like Cao Cao last year, and he had been holding on to the camp for a long time.

The reason why Yuan Shao's style changed greatly within a year was because he suffered a big loss in the first confrontation in Cangting, and Cao Cao had an advantage from the front with inferior forces, and if he did not adjust his tactics, he would definitely lose the war.

If the battle of Guandu was only a setback, and Cangting would be greatly damaged if it was defeated, it was a situation that Yuan Shao and the Hebei Shi clan did not want to see.

After a few months of passivity in Cangting, good news came from the south one after another.

Earlier, Liu Bei was arranged to raise an incident in Runan, which belonged to Yuan Shao's own layout, but Sun Quan raised troops to besiege Shouchun and Changba rebelled in Donghai County, which were unexpected surprises.

How much capital Liu Bei has, Yuan Shao knows clearly.

Sun Quan inherited Sun Ce, backed by Jiangdong, and was able to make big moves behind Cao Cao.

After Yuan Shao and Cao Cao's offensive and defensive roles were reversed, they realized how happy Gou Dao was, he didn't have to worry about the food road far away, but he was able to respond to all changes with the same.

Cao Cao hollowed out his mind to fight every day, and Yuan Shao only needed to wait for Liu Bei or Sun Quan to exert his strength, and he could reap the benefits of the fisherman, so he acted more and more conservatively.

The morale and combat effectiveness of Cao's army have been far superior to Yuan Shao's army, and this expedition to Cangting to fight, the supply of grain and grass is not as difficult as last year, last year only Yingchuan County supplied grain, but at this time there are Yanzhou and Yuzhou two states to supply grain.

thought that he could fight smoothly and seize the initiative on the battlefield, but Cao Cao did not get his wish.

In mid-to-late August, the heat north of the Yellow River dissipated, and the land of Jizhou slowly turned golden.

Autumn is crisp, and it is the decisive moment.

It's a pity that Yuan Shao tasted the sweetness of Gou, and he didn't mean to take the initiative to attack at all, and Cao Cao's original steady and winning mentality became anxious for a while.

Cao's army marched north after the spring of April, and the soldiers did not prepare winter clothes, and if they could not win for another two months, Cao Cao had to withdraw to the south bank of the Yellow River.

Liu Bei's motives for this time in Runan were unknown, and Li Tong, the pro-Cao Yang'an lieutenant, did not dare to make a move; Shouchun had been besieged by Sun Quan for several months, and Jiangdong's patrol boats had penetrated deep into Rushui and Yingshui; Both of them were a major threat to Xu, and as for Changba, who rebelled in Donghai County, he could only be regarded as a mustard disease for Cao Cao.

On the night of August 16, the moonlight sprinkled on Cao Cao's military camp, as bright as day.

After Cao Cao's meal, he looked up in front of the big tent and saw the full moon on the treetops, like a jade plate hanging in the air.

Since ancient times, when the bright moon sent lovesickness, and the night of the full moon was even more homesick, Cao Cao couldn't help but sigh, and it happened to be heard by Guo Jia, who was eating and walking.

"Ming Gong, lament on the night of the full moon? Is it for the country? Or for home? ”

Cao Cao followed the prestige and found that it was Guo Jia, the military priest's sacrifice.

Guo Jia is smart and straightforward, and he can often figure out Cao Cao's thoughts, and he is not as cautious as Xun You and Jia Xu, so he is especially fond of him.

As for Guo Jia's inappropriate private life, it is not a shortcoming at all in Cao Cao's eyes.

"It turned out to be Bonghyo." Cao Cao nodded first, and then looked at the moon and sighed: "I promised the country with my body, I have already abandoned my small family, just now I saw the sixteenth month is rounder, I think of the Mid-Autumn Festival night in Guandu last year, when there was a shortage of food in the camp, and I didn't dare to fight, how could I have the heart to look up at the sky."

Guo Jia nodded and agreed: "Now that the times have changed, and the offense and defense have changed, Yuan Shao can't shrink."

"I sighed that my heart was like the moon, and I was a little complacent after the Guandu War, I thought I could eat Yuan Benchu, but I didn't expect it to be careless." Cao Cao frowned: "We have been dragged in Hebei for too long, if we continue to waste it like this, Yuan Rang will definitely not be able to keep Shouchun, Liu Bei will do something in Runan in July, but he has not entered Kouyingchuan until now, and his appearance is so suspicious, isn't it because he has been instructed by a master?" I can't rest easy."

Guo Jia stepped forward to be relieved: "Ming Gong can introspect himself, and he is far better than Yuan Shao, but if the army is withdrawn at this time, months of labor will come to naught, even if he returns to the division and retreats Liu Bei and Sun Quan, Yuan Shao will still collude with them, and after that, he has been attacked by the north and south for a long time, won't we be tired of running for my life?" It is best to defeat the Northern Army at one time, just like he did against Yuan Shu back then, and completely subdue him. ”

Cao Cao shook his head bitterly: "What Feng Xiao said, don't I know?" However, Yuan Shao avoided not fighting, and there were anti-thieves in the rear, and he was about to leave autumn and winter."

"The middle of the day is bright, the moon is full and the eclipse, the heaven and the earth are empty, this natural common sense is also, Ming Gong can introspect himself, but Yuan Shao will never, he may be like the full moon in the sky, about to be full and lose."

Cao Cao heard what Guo Jia said, but he didn't understand it for a while, so he eagerly asked: "What does Feng Xiao mean?" ”

Guo Jia looked at the full moon and said: "Whether it is Liu Bei, Sun Quan or Changba, they must have a secret communication with Hebei, what does Yuan Shao think in his heart?" Aren't you just waiting for us to show our flaws? Now that he knows Yuan Shao's intentions, why doesn't Ming Gong plan it? ”

"The meaning of filial piety is to use"

"We are in the land of Hebei, there are Yuan Shao's eyes and ears everywhere, if the lord withdraws his troops on the grounds that Xu Du is in a hurry, do you think Yuan Shao will take advantage of the situation to pursue?"

"Hahaha" Cao Cao suddenly laughed out loud, and after laughing, he pointed at Guo Jiazhi and nodded: "I have filial piety to help each other, why worry about big things?" ”

Guo Jia was accustomed to being praised, and after gladly accepting it, he continued to add: "Using the withdrawal of troops as bait, this kind of strategy can only be used once, and it is very likely that it will not be able to completely annihilate the enemy army."

"Don't seek total annihilation, just hit hard, come and come."

Cao Cao took Guo Jia's hand, turned around and walked towards the big tent, and said as he walked: "Since Fengxiao is not sleepy, accompany me to make a good total, we have to arrange and implement it as soon as possible, and the fighter plane can no longer be delayed." ”

"Yui."

As soon as the two of them returned to the big tent and sat down, two figures, one tall and one short, blocked the moonlight outside the house.

Cao Cao raised his head and smiled, it turned out that Jia Xu and Cheng Yu heard Cao Cao's unique laughter and rushed to the main account to check.

"Wenhe, Zhongde, you came just in time, I have to serve filial piety and break Yuan's policy, let's go through it tonight."

Seeing Cao Cao's enthusiastic beckoning, Jia Xu and Cheng Yu stepped forward together and sat down in front of the battle map.

Guo Jia was recruited as Cao Cao's counselor military aircraft, and his duty was only to provide strategic reference, but because he had no experience in commanding troops, he could not deploy his strategy to combat.

Jia Xu and Cheng Yu are not simple strategists, they all have the experience of leading troops to command battles, especially Cheng Yu, who is eight feet three inches long, his identity is Jiyin Taishou and Zhenwei Generals, and he has been guarding the eastern part of Yanzhou alone for the past two years.

The four masters and servants discussed until late at night, and finally decided on a joint combat strategy of using the withdrawal of troops as bait, luring the enemy into depth, and ambushing on all sides, and led the Hebei men and horses into the ambush area leading to the Yellow River crossing to annihilate them.

No matter how many enemies are finally annihilated, Cao Cao will also withdraw his troops after the battle, and if he does not deal with the worries of Liu Bei and Sun Quan, he will not be able to eliminate Yuan Shao wholeheartedly.

The withdrawal of troops is like foreplay, the more tricks there are, the more excited Yuan Shao is, and the means of gathering boats to cross the river, packing up the baggage in the camp, and deliberately releasing rumors.

When Cao Ying's whole camp was 'moving', Cao Cao secretly called Zhang He and Gao Ran to the big tent, saying that there was an extremely important task that required two people to carry the burden.

(End of chapter)