In the dead of night.

Located in the camp of Yuan Shao's army on the east side of Nangong County, the main camp of the Chinese army is brightly lit.

In the tent, Yuan Shao was holding a book in his hand, which seemed to be reading with relish, but in fact, his mind was not on it at all.

His eyes wandered, and he looked at the door from time to time, as if waiting for someone to arrive.

If you look closely.

It can be seen that the camp tent is not only brightly lit, but also on the opposite side of the table where Yuan Shao is sitting, there is also a soft cushion, and at the same time, something is hot in the stove on the table.

And so on until midnight.

Outside the tent there was a sound of footsteps, and then a soldier was heard preaching.

"Fujun, General Cao has come to ask for a meeting!"

"Invite him in!"

The moment he heard the soldier's report, Yuan Shao immediately responded.

Just about to stand up and greet him.

But he suddenly thought of something, and hurriedly sat back in his place, his eyes still staring at the book, and he looked like he didn't care about the people who came.

Half an hour later.

"Huh!"

With the sound of the curtain being lifted at the door of the tent, a cold spring evening wind also poured in, causing the candles to flicker and flicker.

"Yo, uncle, it's so late at night, you can't let go of the volume, pay attention to take care of your body!"

The visitor arrived in Nangong County in the evening, and after setting up camp, he personally led his men to visit Yuan Shao's Cao Ang.

Listening to Cao Ang's words that seemed to be caring, but in fact were a little fluttering.

Yuan Shao was angry in his heart.

I simply didn't pretend.

Directly threw the book in his hand to the side, and then said angrily.

"Ziyu, you can make some small moves behind your back, you can make me angry and lose my life for a few years, compared to it, what is this late-night reading?"

Yuan Shao made it clear what he meant.

Cao Ang didn't answer either.

just smiled and sat down opposite Yuan Shao, and then without Yuan Shao greeting him, he took out the hot wine that had already been warmed in the stove.

"Uncle seems to have expected me to come to visit tonight, and he even has warm wine ready."

The corners of Yuan Shao's mouth were slightly hooked.

A mocking smile was revealed.

"No matter how much I expected things to be like a god, I never expected you Cao Ziyu to play such a play, and I didn't expect you to get involved with the Korean Festival!"

……

That's pretty straightforward.

It is impossible for Cao Ang to continue to pretend to be stupid.

had to fill Yuan Shao with a glass of warm wine, and then laughed softly: "There is indeed such a thing, Han Zhoumu warmly invited, and also offered a lot of price for this, and my nephew naturally has no reason to refuse." ”

Listened to Cao Ang's narration.

Yuan Shao breathed a sigh of relief for no reason.

In this way, Cao Ang and Han Fu have not been completely bound together, but Han Fu used his interests to attract the greedy kid in front of him.

In this way, if others can use interests to attract him, then he can naturally use interests to pull him back.

Of course, even if you think like this in your heart, you can't show it too obviously, otherwise you will be slaughtered as a monkey.

"Humph!"

Yuan Shao pretended to snort coldly.

Pick up the glass and drink it all.

"Bang!"

Then it slammed on the table.

"Han Wen Festival at the cost of Wei County, in exchange for you to lead your troops north to help, I admit, this is indeed a big deal, and whoever comes will be moved by it."

"But have you forgotten the covenant I made with your father and with you?"

"For this reason, I also paid a lot of grain and grass, and even Bohai County itself was a little short of food, and even some of the war horses I got had to be directly resold to your Cao family."

"And now you are doing such a thing that violates the covenant, don't you ignore your faith and righteousness, then how can I count the grain, grass and war horses that I supported your Cao family in the first place?"

……

Yuan Shao may have been genuinely angry.

Or maybe he wants to use this means to test Cao Ang's attitude, so as to further determine his next policy and strategy.

However, in the face of Yuan Benchu's behavior of slapping the table, blowing his beard, and glaring at him.

Cao Ang's eyes widened.

With blank eyes and puzzled looks, he pretended to be puzzled and asked Yuan Shaodao.

"Why did my uncle say that?"

"Han Wenjie invited me to go north in a county of Wei County, and his appeal was to save his life and keep his official position as the pastor of Jizhou."

"And if my nephew remembers correctly, the content of the covenant you made with your father at the beginning was to send troops to help you when Gongsun Chan attacked Bohai County, not only to protect your Bohai County, but also to prevent Gongsun Chan's attempt to capture Jizhou."

A word-for-word retelling of the original covenant.

Then Cao Ang said meaningfully in Yuan Shao's slightly embarrassed expression.

"This help Han Fu and help you, it seems that no matter how you think about it, there is no conflict, the common enemy is Gongsun Bogui!"

"Then dare to ask my uncle, how can this be considered a breach of the covenant and treachery?"

"Unless from the beginning, your purpose is not only to protect Bohai County, but to have a bigger plan, so seeing your nephew being invited by Han Fu will show such urgency and excitement!"

Yuan Shao: "......"

……

If you really want to talk about it.

In this matter, it is true that Yuan Shao is unreasonable.

After all, when he sent Wen Chou to Jinxiang County to ask to see Cao Cao's father and son, what he said was the above content, and he did not mention his own thoughts on Jizhou.

Then now come to blame Cao Ang, you shouldn't get involved with Han Fu, it won't be tenable in theory.

Of course.

Using words to overthrow Yuan Shao and make him speechless was not Cao Ang's goal, but his means.

Therefore, seeing Yuan Shao sitting there without saying a word.

From time to time, he moved his mouth, as if he wanted to speak, but he was worried about something, and he made a tangled posture of wanting to speak and stopping.

Cao Ang immediately gave him a push.

"Uncle, don't worry, my greatest strength is to be faithful and trustworthy, as long as I promise something, I will never go back."

"In the next period of time, as long as you have a conflict with Gongsun Zhan, I will definitely stand here with you to help, if he dares to start a war with us, then I will definitely lead my troops to teach his Youzhou Iron Cavalry!"

"But if you don't need your nephew's help, that's okay, I'll send a letter to my father, asking him to return some of the grain, grass and horses he had received."

"In that case, I'll just stand on Han Fu's side and don't ask anything else."

Threat!

This is a clear threat!

The meaning is simple and straightforward.

Didn't you say I was treacherous?

Well, I'll do what I said I made and don't do anything more.

On the contrary, I can return all the things to you, but in that case, you may have to face me Cao Ang and Han Fu together, counting Gongsun Chan to beat you together.

It's up to you to carry the beating or not, and it's over!

……

To the point where it has come to this.

Yuan Shao knows one thing, that is, it will not be good for him to hide it any longer.

Therefore, his complexion simply changed.

The palm of his hand slapped lightly on the table, and then his eyes stared at Cao Ang, and said solemnly word by word.

"So far, I won't hide some things from you, and I, Yuan, do have bigger plans."

"Keeping Bohai County and repelling Gongsun Zhan, these are just easy things to do, what I want in my heart is to further seize the huge land of Jizhou!"

"I wonder if Ziyu would like to help me?"

Cao Angna lowered slightly, and a faint smile appeared on his face facing the table.

That's what you want!

"Smack!"

Cao Ang slapped his palms lightly and said to Yuan Shao with a relaxed face.

"Uncle, you just said no, why bother to hide it so far, if you knew that you had such grand ambitions, why did your nephew accept Han Fu's invitation in the first place?"

"If you want to talk about this, you are not doing it authentically, when you sent General Wenchou to Jinxiang County, I only said that I wanted to fight against Gongsun Zan and defend your territory, but as for the matter of Jizhou for my own use, I never mentioned it."

"Your idea is really wonderful, you spent a small price, but you did a big thing, if it weren't for my nephew's mistake and accepted Han Fu's invitation, I'm afraid this thing really made you do!"

Listening to the slightly accusatory meaning in Cao Ang's words, Yuan Shao's forehead couldn't help but burst into green tendons.

The hands hidden under the table clenched their fists even more, obviously angry in their hearts.

You Cao Zixuan!

But a junior, how dare you pretend to be like this, I call your father brothers, and now your kid is blaming me?

……

But the anger in the heart is anger.

But you still have to pretend that nothing happened.

After all, the situation is stronger than people now.

Yuan Shao and Gongsun Zhan are in a stage of strategic stalemate, and even have a faint advantage, if there is no foreign force to join.

Then he is most likely fighting with Gongsun Zhan, and even if he wins, it will be a miserable victory.

How can this get Jizhou?

Therefore, even if Cao Ang didn't like what he said, Yuan Shao could only pinch his nose and admit it.

Compared with his own ambitions, what is this little thing?

So after a few breaths of silence.

Yuan Shao still remained calm and asked: "No matter what happened before, now I only ask the virtuous nephew, do you help or not?" ”

Cao Ang nodded heavily.

He waved his hand.

"Help!"

"For the sake of you and your father, who know each other, I will help no matter what."

"It's just that in this way, there is a conflict between the matter on your side and the thing I promised Han Fu at the beginning, and I can only choose one of the two, which invisibly makes me bear a reputation for treachery."

"And the covenant established at the beginning is now out of place, there is a big difference in difficulty between helping you defeat Gongsun Zan and helping you get Jizhou!"

Plainly.

Gotta add money!

……

Now that it has been decided to get help from Cao Ang, Yuan Shao will naturally not do any more nonsense.

just asked in a flat voice: "The virtuous nephew doesn't have to go around the bend with me, what kind of conditions are there, you just have to speak, and I'll listen to it!" ”

Cao Ang did not answer immediately.

Instead, he lifted the wine jug again, filled Yuan Shao with a glass, and then said happily.

"First of all, uncle, you have to recognize the ownership of Wei County, which is not a condition I offered, but only by acknowledging this, can we continue to talk."

Yuan Shao's face did not change.

Although what he wants is a complete Jizhou, but now that Wei County is already under the control of Cao Ang, no matter how much he fights with reason, it is impossible for him to get this land back for a while.

Besides, Wei Jun was originally given to Cao Ang by Han Fu, and it has nothing to do with him Yuan Shao, can he still say something that he doesn't admit?

It's better to be a favor, which can be regarded as a good start for the next negotiations.

"Well, that's what you say!"

Hearing Yuan Shao nod in agreement.

Cao Ang smiled softly, but quickly hid the smile and replaced it with a serious throwout of the conditions that he really wanted to talk to Yuan Shao.

"Other than that, I want Qinghe Country!"

Originally, Yuan Shao was still thinking that if Cao Ang's conditions were not so excessive, even if it was a little out of line, he would be able to endure it.

After all, get the big things done first.

However, Cao Ang's words just fell.

Yuan Shao changed color.

waved his hand resolutely and vetoed categorically: "No, this matter must not be!" ”

……

"There are a total of nine counties in Jizhou, and now you have Wei County, and you want Qinghe Country."

"Nine to two, even if I become a Jizhou pastor, what can I leave behind in the end?"

"What's more, the Changshan Kingdom and Zhongshan Kingdom in the northwest of Jizhou, as well as the Black Mountain Army, are wreaking havoc, and the area around Hejian Country is still Gongsun Zhan's territory."

"If you continue to count it like this, in the end, the counties I own may not be as many as in your name, so am I the pastor of Jizhou, or have I fulfilled you for nothing?"

Yuan Shao's brows furrowed.

A non-negotiable look.

For Cao Ang's lion mouth, he was quite dissatisfied, if he hadn't thought about bargaining with Cao Ang, I'm afraid he would have invited Cao Ang out by now.

However, in the face of Yuan Shao's attitude.

Cao Ang didn't care.

just described to Yuan Shao: "Uncle's words are wrong, you only have one county in Bohai County now, if you don't have my help, dare to ask what are your chances of winning, can you defeat Gongsun Zan and get the whole territory of Jizhou?" ”

"Ten birds in the forest, it is better to have one bird in hand, rather than planning more in the future, it is better to catch Jizhou in your hands now."

"What's more, my nephew is a person of faith, and if he says that he will help you get Jizhou, he will never break his word, and what you get will be countless times more than what you pay!"

Even if Yuan Shao is very reluctant to admit it.

He also had to think in his heart that what Cao Ang said was right.

Therefore, even if he was reluctant before.

Now I've calmed down a bit.

In particular, Cao Ang's last sentence sounded like it meant something.

This made Yuan Shao raise his eyebrows, and couldn't help asking: "It's better to have ten birds in the forest, it's better to have one bird in hand, but how are you going to help me?" ”

……

Cao Ang stood up suddenly.

Walked quickly to the map hanging in the tent, and then pointed to Yanzhou in the south of Jizhou.

"If you agree, uncle, then I will immediately send someone to Changyi County, and ask my father to send a general under his command to lead the troops north to assist you!"

Hearing that Cao Ang was willing to let Cao Cao also join this Jizhou melee, Yuan Shao's expression changed slightly.

Emotions are mixed.

But in general, the good news outweighs the bad news.

Now Yanzhou has been completely controlled by the Cao family, and unlike Jizhou, which is in chaos, Yanzhou is currently peaceful.

Cao Cao, who has entered a long state of recuperation, can mobilize at least more than 20,000 soldiers and horses, which is definitely a force that cannot be ignored.

If you add the soldiers and horses of himself and Cao Ang, the three parties together have an army of nearly 80,000.

This Gongsun Chan takes his head and fights himself?

And after seeing the change in the expression on Yuan Shao's face, Cao Ang knew that this old boy was somewhat tempted.

Strike while the iron is hot.

continued to encourage Yuan Shao: "As my uncle said, the nine counties of Jizhou will go to the second, but Ning Da doesn't have to limit his vision to Jizhou. ”

"After we merge, our strength will be doubled, and we will defeat Gongsun Zhan, and it will only be a matter of time."

"Then why can't you go one step further and drive Gongsun Chan out of the Hejian Kingdom, or even counterattack his foundation in Youzhou?"

"If you count his territory in Youzhou, then uncle, not only do you not lose, but you make a lot of money, it is a land rich in war horses in the north!"

……

Take something that doesn't belong to you and paint bread for others.

This is a move that Cao Ang has always been good at.

But he went all the way down, and the lords of many forces he met were very fond of this.

Guy's pie is too big, and the shape and fragrance of the cake are all told to you, so it sounds like there is a great possibility of realization.

So who is not immune to temptation?

Yuan Shao is no exception.

The moment he heard the words "counterattack Youzhou", Yuan Shao's eyes couldn't help but burst with a burst of confusion, and his eyes flashed violently a few times.

"Ziyu's words are serious, are you really willing to cooperate with me and go north to take Youzhou?"

Cao Ang nodded heavily without hesitation.

patted his chest vigorously, and said categorically: "Uncle, you know me, I am a person of unparalleled faith, and if I get a penny, I will do a penny thing, and it will never be a cent!" ”

When Yuan Shao heard this, he nodded.

He only thought that Cao Ang was farting just now.

What kind of faith and righteousness are unparalleled, they are all played for outsiders, he has dealt with Cao Ang so much now, what kind of character is this kid, can he see it?

Profit-seeking, don't let go if you don't see benefits.

But there is a little bit of a good thing about such people.

That is, after satisfying his appetite, he will also help you seriously.

After receiving money, such people are often much more pleasing to the eye than those who are full of benevolence and morality, but never offer to help.

……

At this stage.

Yuan Shao has basically been moved.

Anyway, now that Qinghe Kingdom is not in his hands, what if it is directly promised to Cao Ang?

The benefits of getting your hands are your own!

If you can use the power of the Cao family, defeat Gongsun Zhan and win the entire Jizhou, so as to become one of the heroes in the north.

further forced Youzhou, completely wiped out Gongsun Zhan, and owned his territory in Youzhou.

He will be promoted to become the overlord of the entire north in an instant, if he can follow such a development route, then even with the strength that the Cao family has now, he will never dare to wrestle with himself.

At that time, there was naturally no need to worry about the Cao family's backlash.

Of course.

For the sake of conservatism.

Yuan Shao still asked more.

"Zixuan, with all due respect, if I don't agree, then will you choose to watch from the wall, or will you turn your head and get along with Han Fu and drive me and Gongsun Chan out of Jizhou?"

At first glance, I heard such an inquiry.

Cao Ang was stunned for a moment.

Then he smiled heartily at Yuan Shao, looking sunny and cheerful, but the next words made Yuan Shao shudder.

……

"Han Wenjie, how can he be virtuous, just with his little skill, even if I join forces with him, I will definitely not be able to drive you and Gongsun Bogui out of Jizhou."

"So if you veto this matter today, then my nephew will most likely withdraw from the negotiations in Nangong County first, and after you and General Gongsun are both defeated, I will come out to clean up the mess."

"Or turn around and cooperate with General Gongsun and give him the conditions that are offered to you as they are, I think he should think it through."

"Anyway, between you and Gongsun Bogui, it is already irreconcilable, the two tigers are fighting, and there is only one victory, and the nephew is how to choose, it is convenient to come!"

The reverse plan is elaborated lightly.

This made Yuan Shao feel a pang in his heart.

This kid...... I'm threatening myself!

The purpose is naturally to hope that I can agree to this condition, or not regret it after agreeing to the condition.

Whether it is to withdraw from the chaos in Jizhou first and watch from the wall, or run to cooperate with his opponent Gongsun Zhan.

This is not good news for Yuan Shao.

So things have gotten to this point.

Yuan Shao can be said to have no choice.

So I thought about it again and again.

Yuan Shao gently patted it on the table with his hand, and said decisively and simply.

"Good! What about giving you Qingheguo, but there is one point, before I serve as the pastor of Jizhou, the official position of Qinghe State Minister will not be appointed! ”

After the two sides added a few insurances to each other.

So far, the negotiations have basically been declared successful.

And Han Fu and Gongsun Zhan are still in the dark, not knowing what happened.

……

Wait until a few more details have been discussed.

Cao Ang quietly left Yuan Shao's camp.

It's just that on the way back to the station with the crowd, Cao Ang looked at the bright moon hanging in the sky and felt the cold moonlight sown on his body.

I couldn't help but smile a little.

Yuan Benchu, Yuan Benchu, I don't know that you are also a chess piece in my palm!

That's right!

Cao Ang came to negotiate with Yuan Shao today, and put forward a condition for Qinghe State, which was actually all a pretense.

He didn't plan to let Yuan Shao be the pastor of Jizhou at all!

This was just to relax the defense in Yuan Shao's heart, so that he would think that he was still a mercenary person, so that he would not concentrate on himself at the first time.

After putting on such a face and acting only for the sake of benefits, Yuan Shao thought that he had stabilized Cao Ang and received the help of the Cao family.

will choose to concentrate all his strength and concentrate on dealing with Gongsun Zhan.

On another level, under Cao Ang's manipulation, isn't this a good way to make Yuan Shao and Gongsun Zan continue to fight to the death and lose both?

Of course.

When necessary, Cao Ang will take action.

If Yuan Shao loses the upper hand in the battle with Gongsun Zhan, he will definitely send troops to help extinguish the momentum of the white horse general.

Keep the balance of power between the two sides.

And they continue to weaken each other.

He can find the source left and right, and make profits from it, and when these parties are cut by him, he can push the boat into Jizhou's arms.

Isn't it beautiful?!

……

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(End of chapter)