Chapter 291 Only seven years left

"Lord, since this is the case, it's better to form an alliance with Ma Butcher Ma." Cheng Yu suddenly suggested, "Although Ma Butcher's reputation is a little worse, he is a famous general and a son-in-law of the Han Dynasty. The alliance with him should not arouse opposition from the gentry in the world. Moreover, after forming an alliance with Ma Butcher Ma, our army can do its best to conquer Xuzhou."

Xun You said: "But the question is, will the butcher Ma agree to form an alliance?"

Cheng Yu said: "I think the conditions for alliance with the horse butcher are fully qualified."

Cao Cao said: "I wish to hear the details."

Cheng Yu said: "Since Yuan Shao's annexation of You and Qing states, his strength has been greatly improved. Not only has thousands of miles of fertile land, but he also has more than 200,000 elite soldiers. This is certainly a great threat to the lord, but the Ma Butcher also faces a threat from Yuan Shao. Once Yuan Shao raises troops to the north and goes to Hetao in the west, the Ma Butcher will have to interrupt his plan of rest and recuperation and raises troops to fight in a panic. I think this is something that the Ma Butcher cannot tolerate in any case."

Xun You nodded and said, "So Zhongde concluded that the butcher Ma would agree to form an alliance?"

Cheng Yu said: "That's right."

"No," Guo Jia suddenly shook his head and said calmly, "My lord must not have any illusions about the horse butcher! The horse butcher is very afraid of the lord, just as the lord is very afraid of the horse butcher! If it is not bad as expected, the horse butcher would rather Yuan Shao enter the Central Plains than be willing to be a big shot!"

"Yeah." Cao Cao nodded, "What Fengxiao said is very consistent with my wishes. You should not have any illusions about horse butchers, and you must be wary of them at any time! Fortunately, there are dangers that can be defended when you go out of Guanzhong. Our army only needs to control its dangers. With the current strength of horse butchers, it is absolutely insurmountable."

Guo Jia said: "When time passes, Guanzhong, Liangzhou, and Hetao lands have completed rest and recuperation. When the horse butcher gathers hundreds of thousands of troops to enter the Central Plains east, the lord should have unified the Central Plains long ago. Hebei, and then the manpower and material resources of the states of Qing, You, Yu, Yan, Xu and Jingyang. Even if the horse butcher has hundreds of thousands of iron armor, it is not worth fearing."

"I understand, I think the horse butcher is too simple." Cheng Yu nodded, "The contest between the lord and the horse butcher is like a game. Due to the constraints of population and military sources, the horse butcher cannot make a big fight within ten years. The lord must unify the Central Plains, Hebei, and Jingyang within ten years, and then use the manpower and material resources of the whole country to compete with the horse butcher. Is that true?"

"Yes, that's it." Cao Cao said in a deep voice, "This is indeed like a game."

Guo Jia said: "It should be pointed out that the ten-year rest of the horse butcher has been going on for three years, and now there are only seven years left. Time is endless."

Cao Cao said to Liu Ye: "Zi Yang, immediately arrange an envoy to Jingzhou and Jiangdong to express his good intentions to Liu Biao and Sun Jian. As for Hebei, I would like to ask Zi Yang to go there personally. Many famous scholars in Hebei, Tian Feng, Xun Chen, high-ranking officials, Feng Ji and Shen Pei are not Yi people. Fortunately, Yuan Shao is so happy and stubborn. Zi Yang only needs to grasp his weakness, he will be able to arouse Yuan Shao's intention to attack Bingzhou."

Outside Rang County, Liang Army camp.

"Click."

Ma Yue stepped on the ice and almost fell to fight. Fortunately, Dian Wei, behind him, quickly rushed forward and held on to support him. Ma Yue reached out to straighten the helmet, which was crooked, and cursed hatefully: "This ghost weather is so fucking cold!"

"Brother, I'm afraid it's not a solution to spend money on Rang County and Cao's army." Ma Chao came up and whispered, "I have to find a way to defeat Cao's army."

"What can I do?" Ma Yue sighed, "Cao Aman is not an ordinary person. This guy is extremely old and has the three horns he put forward to support him is simply impeccable. With the assistance of Guo Jia, Xun You, Cheng Yu and others, it is difficult to defeat Cao's army! To be fair, it is already a good result for our army to force Cao's army into such a mess."

"If we could continue to waste this with Cao's army like this, it wouldn't be a bad thing."

Before he finished speaking, Jia Xu had already flashed out of the tent on one side. Jia Xu was wearing a thick sheepskin coat and even a dog-skin hat on his head. He looked fat and bloated, and there was no gentleness that Confucian scholars should have. Jia Xu pulled out his hands in his sleeves, put them to his mouth and sighed, and then said, "I'm afraid that Cao Aman and Guo Guicai will make any conspiracy behind their backs, so our army will be in a dilemma."

"I am worried too." Ma Yue said to Jia Xu worriedly, "Just just now, Fang Yue sent an urgent report from Hetao, saying that Bingzhou is not peaceful, Yuan Shao will probably attack Zhang Ji next spring! Wen told you, is there Cao Ah who is doing something wrong?"

"This is unquestionable." Jia Xu said, "Inducing Yuan Shao to use troops against Bingzhou is certainly unfavorable in the long run, but in the short run, it is a good thing to kill two birds with one stone. One can force our army to withdraw troops from Nanyang, and the other can alleviate the strong pressure from Yuan Shao in the north."

"It's probably not that simple." Ma Yue said, "Returning to the horse, Liu Biao, the governor of Jingzhou, took his subordinate Liu Pan as the main general, Cai Mao and Zhang Yun as the deputy general, and led 30,000 troops north to Xiangyang Station in Zhuyang. Huang Zhong, Wen Pin, Wei Yan and other powerful generals of Jingxiang also followed the army to fight. This time, the Jingzhou army was coming in full force. The Jingzhou army would not send troops early and not send troops late, but chose to send troops at this time. It is hard to say that it has nothing to do with Cao Aman."

"Jingzhou Army?" Li Su said on the side, "It's just a group of mobs, and it's not worth worrying."

"No, Zi Yan must not underestimate the Jingzhou army." Ma Yue said solemnly, "In the Battle of Wuguan, the Jingzhou army was defeated by underestimating the enemy and advancing. Although this general had led 8,000 Western Liang cavalry to sweep Jingxiang, his opponent at that time was the Jingzhou navy, not the Jingzhou army. In fact, the Jingzhou army was still very powerful. Huang Zhong, Wen Pin, Wei Yan and others were also called powerful generals, but Liu Biao had always lacked the generals who led the army, that's all."

"Lord." Jia Xu suddenly said, "I understand a little."

Ma Yue asked, "What did Wenhe think of?"

Jia Xu said: "The tension in Bingzhou and the Jingzhou army coming out of Zhuyang from the north are probably all planned by Cao Cao."

Ma Yue said: "It's really Cao Cao?"

"Yeah." Jia Xu nodded heavily and said in a deep voice, "If it weren't for the continuous war, the Cao army would never have a chance to breathe, Cao Cao would have been committed to improving the surrounding situation. Although Yanzhou is good, it is still a place for four battles. If we cannot manage the relationship with the surrounding forces well, like Yuan Shu, the period of defeat will be not far away."

Ma Yue thought for a while and understood the pros and cons, and said in a deep voice: "I'm afraid things are not that simple yet?"

"Yes." Jia Xu said, "Cao Cao and Liu Biao and Sun Jian formed an alliance, and then lured Yuan Shao to send troops to Bingzhou to force our army to retreat, all to create conditions for attacking Lu Bu to the east towards Xuzhou! Yanzhou under Cao Cao's rule, Yuzhou is all big provinces, with a large population and a strong talent, but due to years of war, the two states were extremely exhausted. However, due to Tao Qian and the people's rest, the scholars and people were rich. If Cao Cao could capture Xuzhou, his strength would be greatly enhanced."

"It's worthy of being Cao Cao." Ma Yue said in a deep voice, "When I finish packing up Lu Bu, it's Yuan Shao's turn in Hebei, right? If this general doesn't want to interrupt the ten-year plan of rest and recuperation, he can only watch Cao Cao destroy Lu Bu first, then Yuan Shao, and then unify the Central Plains, hum."

"Yes." Jia Xu said sternly, "Cao Aman has pinned his lord's life gate that cannot make a big move! Now, the lord and Cao Aman are just fighting for time. The lord must accumulate enough strength within ten years, but Cao Cao will unify the Central Plains within ten years. Now it depends on who can achieve the goal first."

"Unify the Central Plains?" Ma Yue said coldly, "Cao Aman should not even think about it! This general would rather Yuan Shao, Sun Jian, Liu Biao, and Lu Bu flow into the Central Plains than let Cao Aman do what he wanted (Guo Jia hit it, there is absolutely no possibility of an alliance between Cao Cao and Ma Yue)."

"That's right, Guan, Liang, and Hetao are indeed resting now, and I am indeed unable to mobilize the army to fight. But if Cao Aman thinks that this general is helpless, he would be very wrong, because I have an elite soldier who can conquer and fight!"

Jia Xu said: "Lord, if Yuan Shao really attacks Bingzhou next spring, our army will have to withdraw troops from Nanyang! With Yuan Shao's character of being very fond of merit, if the battle in Bingzhou goes smoothly, it is hard to say whether he will take the opportunity to attack Hetao! After all, Hetao has become a huge military horse farm under the rule of the lord, which is a fatal temptation for Yuan Shao, who lacks military horses."

"However, it's October now, and by next spring, Yuan Shao will have at least three months to send troops." Jia Xu's eyes suddenly flashed through, and then said, "More than three months is enough to fight back! Didn't Cao Aman want to use Yuan Shao's hand to force our army to retreat from Nanyang? Then our army will face up to the tits, and use the power of Lu Bu to force Cao Aman to retreat from Nanyang to see who can't stand it first?"

"Oh?" Ma Yue's eyes lit up when he heard this, and he said, "Borrowing the power of Lu Bu, this is a good idea!"

Jia Xu said: "The lord can also give Lu Bu some benefits to enhance his determination to fight Cao Cao."

"Well." Ma Yue said, "You can explain in the letter that if Lu Bu agrees to raise an army to attack Cao, this general will agree to support 20,000 Liangzhou military horses and 5,000 sets of armor! The letter specifically states that Lu Bu will open the passage from the north to the Yellow River before the Yellow River thaw next spring to successfully receive the military horses and armor transported along the Yellow River waterway."

Ten days later, Pengcheng, Xuzhou.

Chen Gong hurried into Lu Bu's official residence, and saw Lu Bu holding a scroll of books in his hand, staring out the window in a daze. He woke up in shock until Chen Gong's footsteps sounded, and looked up at Chen Gong and said, "Public Platform, are you here?"

Chen Gong bowed and asked, "The lord summoned him late at night, is there any important matter?"

Lu Bu handed the Jian in his hand to Chen Gong and whispered: "You can take a look at this first."

Chen Gong took the book and read it in a hurry, and couldn't help but look stern, and said softly: "But Ma actually wants to form an alliance with his lord?"

"Haha, yes." Lu Bu smiled faintly and continued, "Just just now, I thought it was funny. Things are unpredictable! I have fought with Ma Butcher Ma for so many years, but now Ma Butcher Ma actually proposed to form an alliance with this general? It's ridiculous, very ridiculous."

"No, I feel it's not ridiculous." Chen Gong said sternly, "On the contrary, I think the lord should agree to form an alliance with Ma Butcher!"

"What, agree to form an alliance?" Lu Bu was stunned at first, and then suddenly said, "I understand. The meaning of the Gongtai is to let this general lie in the snake committee, pretend to agree to form an alliance with the horse butcher, and then deceive the horse butcher's 20,000 military horses and 5,000 sets of iron armor that the horse butcher promised in the letter, right?"

Chen Gong said: "Twenty thousand military horses and five thousand sets of iron armor are important, but what I mean is not to let the lord and the horse butcher give it a true alliance!"

"What?" Lu Bu said in a lost voice, "It's really an alliance with the butcher Ma?"

"Yes!" Chen Gong said, "Because the butcher horse and his lord have a common enemy, that is Cao Cao!"

"Common enemy?" Lu Bu frowned, "Cao Cao? So, what the Gongtai thinks is true in the letter of Butcher Ma. Will Cao Cao really use troops to Xuzhou next year?"

Chen Gong nodded heavily and said in a deep voice: "The reason why I repeatedly advised the lord to order General Zhang Liao to mobilize the army's food and grass in advance is to prepare for the sudden attack of Cao's army! However, now the Cao army is not ready, but our army is ready, so it's better to take the initiative."

Lu Bu said: "But don't forget the Gongtai, our army and Cao's army are still in alliance!"

Chen Gong said: "At that time, Cao Cao formed an alliance with our army in order to attack Yuan Shu. Now that Yuan Shu has perished, this alliance has lost its foundation for its continued existence. Look at Cao Cao's side, Yuan Shao from Hebei, and how could the horse butcher from Guanzhong be able to capture the current strength of Cao Cao? Liu Biao from Jingzhou and Sun Jian from Jiangdong are too far apart. Only the lord Xuzhou is within Cao Cao's ability!"

"If the Cao army can conquer Xuzhou, Cao Cao can alleviate the dilemma of shortage of money and food. How could Cao Cao not do anything like this?

"What the public station said is not without reason." Lu Bu was not stupid after all. After thinking for a while, he realized the pros and cons. After pondering for a while, he asked in a low voice, "But if our army rashly raises troops, wouldn't it be a Wuming army?"

Chen Gong said: "The lord can issue a forgery edict, so he said that Cao Cao held the emperor hostage and was named the prime minister of Han, but was actually a thief in the Han Dynasty! He called on all the princes in the world to raise an army to fight him. Didn't Cao Cao issue a forgery edict back then?"

Another ten days later, Rang County, Nanyang.

Xun You hurried into the lobby of the county government with a look of shock and said to Cao Cao and Guo Jia: "Lord, I am filial to you, something is wrong!"

Cao Cao suddenly looked up and asked, "Why are Gongda panic?"

Xun You handed a piece of writing and silk in his hand to Cao Cao and said in a deep voice: "Please check it out, lord."

Cao Cao took the book and took a glance, then said inexplicably: "The emperor's edict!?"

"It's a forgery!" Xun You said, "Lu Bu led the governor of Xuzhou and falsely passed the emperor's edict. He slandered the lord and called on all the princes to raise an army to attack."

"According to the detailed report, Lu Bu has all the troops of Xuzhou, and the troops are divided into two groups to attack Yanzhou! The northern army is led by generals Cao Bao and Zhang Liao, leading 20,000 troops out of Langjia to attack Taishan County, Jibei Kingdom and East County, and the southern army is led by Lu Bu himself, leading 50,000 troops out of Pengcheng, attacking Pei Kingdom, Liang Kingdom and Chen Kingdom, with the troops heading directly to Xudu."

"What!?" Cao Cao was shocked when he heard this and said in a lost voice, "Lu Bu raised an army of 70,000 to attack!?"

"That's right." Xun You said in a deep voice, "Wen Ruo has already ordered General Zi Lian to lead his army to Taishan County to fight Zhang Liao, and ordered Yin Li to guard Pei State separately, and Liang State to resist Lu Bu's troops. General Zi Lian may not lose to Zhang Liao, but Yin Li, Sun Guan will definitely not be able to fight against Lu Bu. If the lord cannot personally raise the army to meet the enemy, the consequences will be unimaginable."

"Missue!" Guo Jia said, "It's really worthy of being a Dushi Jia, who is actually a tooth for a tooth! Our army wanted to use Yuan Shao's power to force the butcher Ma to withdraw his troops, but the butcher Ma in turn used the power of Lu Bu to force our army to withdraw from Nanyang. And from now on, it seems that it was Ma butcher Ma who came from behind and took the lead. It's amazing!"

"Fengxiao!" Cao Cao suddenly turned around and looked at Guo Jia, saying in a deep voice, "Lu Bu launched a large-scale attack from Xuzhou, which is not like the butcher of horses. The butcher of horses sent troops to Nanyang just to obtain a strategic impulse that restricts our army, but Lu Bu sent troops to Yanzhou to get the life of his true minister. What do you think should you do?"

"After this matter, I had to withdraw my troops from Nanyang!" Guo Jia said, "But Nanyang County cannot be left to Ma Butcher Ma, at least it cannot be given for free!"

Cao Cao said: "What does filial piety mean?"

Guo Jia said: "Nanyang County is under the jurisdiction of Jingzhou. The lord can order the governor of Jingzhou Liu Biao to send troops to take over Nanyang. Liu Biao is the governor of Jingzhou and has always been resentful of Nanyang County's failure to be transferred to the jurisdiction of Nanyang County. If the lord proposes to return Nanyang County at this time, he will definitely be able to pull the Jingzhou army into the water."

Cao Cao said: "Dare you dare to turn against the butcher Ma?"

Guo Jia said: "Liu Biao was not enterprising enough, but he had more than his success. As long as the lord sent someone to clearly state the interests of it, Liu Biao would definitely send troops to attack Wancheng."

In the middle of October of the eighth year of Jian'an (195), Emperor Xian of Han, General Lu Bu, led the governor of Xuzhou and issued a forgery of imperial edicts to call on the princes of the world to raise an army to attack the Han prime minister Cao Cao, but there were many responding.

At the end of October, Lu Bu took Xuzhou's strong general Cao Bao as the main general, and Zhang Liao as the deputy general to lead 20,000 troops out of Langqi to attack Mount Tai, trying to open up the main transportation route north of the Yellow River, and successfully receive the 20,000 Liangzhou military horses and 5,000 sets of armor promised by the horse butcher secret letter! Lu Bu himself personally recommended the 50,000 army out of Pengcheng, marched along Pei and Liang states, and put on a stance to attack Xudu in a large-scale attack.

In early November, Cao's army began to prepare for withdrawing troops from Nanyang in full swing.

Nanyang County is the capital of Wancheng, and the prefect's office is the prefect.

Chen Ji, the prefect of Nanyang, was in a dilemma at this time. The emperor's edict was placed on the case. The edict claimed that Chen Ji was appointed as the governor of Xuzhou. Chen Ji was not a fool. Of course, he knew that the governor of Xuzhou was just an empty title, because Lu Bu still occupied Xuzhou now, where was he the governor?

Cao Cao's intentions were obvious, and he transferred Chen Ji to give up Nanyang!

"Brother!" Chen Dao punched the table hard and said angrily, "Nanyang County is the eldest brother. Why did Cao A-mon give it to the old guy Liu Biao?"

Chen Ji looked gloomy and silent.

Seeing that Chen Ji was silent, Chen Dao became more and more excited: "Cao Cao is not kind, so don't blame us for being unrighteous. It's better to give him a cruel thing from behind when Cao Cao retreated! Then he took Cao Cao's head to join the horse butcher. The eldest brother made great contributions this day, and the horse butcher would not be too arrogant."

"Don't be fooled." Chen Ji shouted, "Ma Butcher and Cao Cao are all the same guys. The situation under Ma Butcher's command will not be much better than it is now. Wudu prefect Duan Wei, and former Nanyang prefect Li Kuaidu, joined Ma Butcher, but what happened in the end? He was killed by Ma Butcher casually."

Chen Dao said helplessly: "What should you do if you think you are going to do?"

Chen Ji said in a deep voice: "If Nanyang County was not available, this general would have no use value in Cao Cao's eyes. Cao Cao's men would definitely exclude us brothers, so Xu was definitely unable to go! Since he could not go to Xudu, and resigning to the horse butcher would be dead again, then there would be only one way left for you and my brothers."

Chen Dao said: "Brother, what should I do?"
Chapter completed!