The first snow fell in Yedu in November, and heavy snow fell, and auspicious snow covered the land of Yecheng. Although the news of the Han army capturing the Xicheng had spread throughout Yedu from various channels.

But for ordinary people, where is Xicheng located? What is the significance? It is impossible to understand, so this message does not have much impact.

It was soon replaced by the joy of the arrival of heavy snow. ‘This winter, the wheat was covered with three layers of quilts, and the next year, sleeping with steamed buns.’ Everyone was full of longing for the bumper harvest next year.

Another thing also diverted everyone's attention, that is, Cao Cao moved out of the prime minister's mansion where he originally lived and moved to Tongquetai. The meaning behind this matter caused many different opinions from Yedu to completely suppress the battle situation on the Western Front.

Tongquetai is located on the south bank of Zhangshui in the north of the city. Opposite is the Xuanwu Pond where Cao Jun trained the naval army. It is actually one of the three Tongque, Jinfeng and Ice Well. Although the main building is called Tai, it is actually a group of huge palaces. It began to be built one after another after the destruction of Yuan Shao, and it was not completed last fall.

Cao Cao's move to Tongquetai was also his careful decision. He had established the State of Wei and set up hundreds of officials. If he issued the order of the Prime Minister, it would go against his original intention of establishing the State of Wei and would deeply disappoint the ministers who were loyal to him.

Moving to Tongquetai as a palace in Wei State was not only in accordance with the etiquette system, but also took into account the feelings of his ministers. So after thinking about it, Cao Cao finally decided to move to Tongquetai.

At this time, the Tongque Platform was also covered with snow, and the colorful red bricks and black tiles were nowhere to be seen. Whether it was the golden phoenix in front, the copper phoenix in the middle, or the ice well behind, the three high platforms were already white, as if wrapped in a thick layer of white robe.

On the magnificent bronze croaker platform, which was more than twenty feet high, Cao Cao stood alone in front of the jade railing with his hands on his back, staring at the Xuanwu Pool covered with ice and snow in the distance for a long time.

If others can be forgiven if they don’t understand the significance of the Han army occupying the West City, then if Cao Cao doesn’t understand it, then they cannot be forgiven. Cao Cao knows better than anyone else the consequences of Liu Jing’s capture of the West City. This is actually within his expectations. Chen Qun and Cao Zhi returned from Chengdu and did not receive any promises from Liu Jing about the Northern Expedition.

He knew that Liu Jing's northern expedition was inevitable. He knew that Liu Jing was going to the northern expedition, but he was powerless to stop it. This helplessness and loss made him fall into deep melancholy.

The loss of Xicheng means that the gate of Tianshui County is open and there is no danger to defend between Xicheng and Jicheng. When the Han army goes north, they will face Ji County. Ji County is the capital of Tianshui County and the largest city in Longxi. It was originally the foundation of Ma Chao. If Ji County is lost, the entire four counties in Longxi will be Liu Jing's belongings.

Cao Cao couldn't help but sighed, picked up the wine bottle on the jade railing, which had already been half condensed into ice. He couldn't help but whisper: "Sing wine to the wine, how much life is! It's like morning dew, the past is full of suffering; it's a plea to be generous, and the worries are unforgettable; how can we relieve worries? Only Du Kang."

He drank the wine in the glass in one go, and felt an indescribable bitterness in his heart. Even if he drank this glass of wine, his sorrow could not be relieved.

At this time, a guard quickly walked to Cao Cao with a Qingluo umbrella and whispered: "Mr. Xun has arrived, waiting in the inner hall, Mr. Cheng and the eldest son are here too."

Cao Cao nodded silently, turned around and walked downstairs with heavy steps.

Walking off the platform, Cao Cao changed his outer robe first, then walked into the inner hall. The inner hall lowered the veil and lit several pots of carbon fire. The room was quite warm, and Xun You and Cao Pi were talking in a low voice.

Cheng Yu, who was stroking his beard and smiling without saying a word. He was very satisfied with Cao Pi's performance and seized every opportunity to win over all those who could win over. Xun You had not yet taken the side, and he was the person the prime minister trusted the most. If he could pull him to the eldest son's side, he would rather express his apology to Xun You back then.

Xun You had just arrived in Yedu from Chang'an. On the one hand, he came to report the situation in Longxi to Cao Cao, and on the other hand, Cao Cao hoped to get a plan to deal with the Han army's northern expedition from him.

At this time, a guard shouted loudly: "Mr. Wei is here!"

The three of them quickly stood up, and the curtain was opened, and Cao Cao walked in quickly. The three of them bowed and bowed together, "See Duke Wei!"

Cao Cao nodded, "Sit down!"

The three of them sat down, and the three concubines came in to serve hot tea for everyone. Cao Cao then asked Xun You with concern: "Gongda came all the way east, it's not easy on the road!"

Xun You bowed and smiled, "The journey was quite smooth. It was just that it was ice when we passed Taihang. The mountain road was difficult, but we finally came."

Cao Cao sighed, "The snow this year was half a month earlier than in previous years, and it was particularly cold, which was not conducive to sending troops!"

Before he knew it, the topic turned to the main business. Cao Cao pondered for a moment and asked Xun You again: "I want to know the current situation of the Han army. Can Gongda tell me?"

Xun You took a scroll and presented it to Cao Cao, "This is a peace agreement sent by Liu Jing. It is recommended that the fight truce in winter. The minister dared to agree on the Prime Minister's behalf, because Qishan had been blocked by heavy snow, and the army was difficult to march, and General Cao Ren was injured by arrows and needed a bed to recuperate."

Cao Cao took the scroll and opened it and looked at it, and asked with concern: "How come Zixiao was shot and injured? Is the injury serious?"

Xun You sighed, "When he broke through the siege in Xicheng, he was intercepted by Huang Zhong's army and shot in the back by a wandering arrow. Thanks to the white swan and horse given to him by the Prime Minister and General Zang Ba's desperate guard, he was able to break through with injuries and escape his life from the eastern Shangri-door. It was also his great blessing. The military doctor said that the problem was not big and he needed to calm down for several months. He could not get angry and cause a wound to burst."

At this time, Cheng Yu slowly said, "Liu Jing requested peace talks, I'm afraid there is another intention!"

A word reminded Cao Cao, and he looked at Xun You again, and Xun You nodded, "Zhong De said it well, Liu Jing's peace talks are indeed other intentions, I can explain to the Prime Minister in front of the sand table."

Cao Cao stood up, stretched out his hand to open the curtain on the side, revealing the huge sand table behind the curtain, including Hanzhong, Guanzhong, Longxi, Longyou and other places. The four of them walked to the sand table. Xun You picked up the wooden pole and pointed at the Xicheng on the sand table and said, "I won't say much about the significance of the Han army taking down the Xicheng, I will talk about Liu Jing's intention."

He pointed the wooden pole to the south of Licheng, "This is Fengyun Valley, wide in the north and narrow in the south, about fifty miles away from Xiabian County and more than fifty miles away from Licheng. The Han army built a military city outside the entrance of Nangu, and is now actively building it."

Xun You pointed the wooden pole again, "This is Qishan East Road, more than ten miles away from Qishan Fort, about forty miles from Licheng and more than fifty miles from the West City. The Han army also built a military city here, which is said to be Qishan City. Judging from the foundation, the city is about ten miles in circumference. Did Zhongde notice anything from the distribution of these two military cities?"

"They are building a food, grass and supplies supply line!" Before Cheng Yu could speak, Cao Pi next to him blurted out a hundred years later.

Cao Cao's face was very gloomy. He had received a quick report from Cao Ren before, pointing out that Liu Jing was using step-by-step strategy and advanced to the north step by step. He suspected that the motive for the Han army to implement this strategy was to establish a supply line. Now Xun You used the fact that the Han army built a city to prove this.

Of course, he knew what Liu Jing's long-term plan was to connect Hanzhong and Longxi, so that from Jingzhou to Hanzhong, from Bashu to Hanzhong, and then from Hanzhong to Longxi, the major spheres of influence were connected into a whole, and Bashu's food and resources were reliable guaranteed to go north.

After a while, a sentence burst out from Cao Cao's teeth, "He wanted to be the second in Qin State, backed by Bashu, and based on Guanzhong, and then annexed the world to the east. No! Even more than Qin State, Jingchu is already in his pocket."

Xun You nodded silently. The Prime Minister saw nothing wrong with it. Liu Jing's strategy had already come out and clearly put it out. Anyone with a little bit of mind could understand it.

"The question now is, what should we do?"

Cao Cao looked at Xun You and Cheng Yu, his eyes fell on his eldest son Cao Pi, and then moved away. He didn't want to say anything more to his eldest son for the time being. Cao Cao restrained his anxiety and tried his best to calm himself down. Of course, he knew the consequences were serious. He brought Xun You and Cheng Yu together today just to hear their views on the situation.

"Zhongde will talk first!" Cao Cao knew that there was a subtle imbalance between Cheng Yu and Xun You, and I'm afraid no one would speak first, so he asked Cheng Yu to talk first.

Cheng Yu smiled and said, "Gongda knows the situation in Longxi better than Weichen, but the Prime Minister wants to ask me, OK! I will briefly talk about my thoughts. If there is any inappropriateness, please correct me."

"Brother Zhongde is welcome!"

Cheng Yu stroked his beard and pondered for a moment: "Liu Jing's intention is already very obvious. He wanted to establish a transportation channel through Longxi, and food, supplies, etc. can quickly and effectively move south and north. However, Weichen noticed a detail, that is, Liu Jing did not advance to Shangqiu County and Guangwei County, which had weak troops, nor did he build a castle between Xicheng and Guangwei County. This revealed Liu Jing's real purpose. His Northern Expedition was aimed at Longxi, not Guanzhong."

Xun You sighed slightly and said, "I'm afraid Zhongde is right. Liu Jing is indeed not in a hurry to attack Guanzhong, and he will not even attack Guanzhong within two or three years. We have some mistakes in stationing heavy troops in Guanzhong."

Cao Cao took a few steps behind his hands, then suddenly turned around and said, "What Gongda means is that Liu Jing is determined to establish the Longxi cavalry?"

Xun You nodded, "Not only Longxi, but even Longyou, Guannei Hehuang and Liangzhou are all Liu Jing's strategic intentions. The reason why he hid Ma Chao was to use him to regain Liangzhou. Weichen finally figured out this on the way to Yedu."

Cao Cao sighed slightly and said to Cheng Yu again: "Zhongde, please continue."

Cheng Yu was not annoyed that Xun You interrupted him. He bowed slightly and said, "Since we have seen Liu Jing's intention, we must not let him succeed. We recommend that the army attack Fancheng and Xiangyang, restrain Liu Jing's offensive on the Western Front, and buy us time to establish a new defensive line on the Western Front. At the same time, we can contact the Southern Di people and jointly deal with the Han army to the north."

Cao Cao pondered for a long time, which was actually his idea. In fact, he secretly ordered Zhang Liao to prepare for the southern expedition in Wancheng a year ago.

Although he did not agree to send troops from Nanyang at the beginning of the year, in the name of not wanting to tear apart the Eastern Front Armistice Contract he and Liu Jing signed, in fact, it was because Zhang Liao was not ready to complete it and he still had to wait for the opportunity. A few days ago, he received a secret letter from Zhang Liao, and Wancheng was ready.

He looked at Xun You again, wanting to hear Xun You's opinion, Xun You nodded, "Last time, I advised the Prime Minister not to be confined to a contract. Now our strength has gradually recovered. As long as we comfort Jiangdong, we can transfer the Hefei army to Nanyang, which is enough to break through the Xinye defense line, capture the south of the Han River, and wait for an opportunity to attack Xiangyang."

"But Liu Jing and Sun Quan have a marriage relationship. Will Sun Quan accept my comfort?"

Cheng Yu laughed, "The Prime Minister doesn't have to worry about this. Although Sun Quan and Liu Jing have a marriage, they may not be connected. Jiangdong has the interests of Jiangdong. Even if Liu Jing asks Jiangdong to go north, Sun Quan will definitely take the opportunity to terminate some of the contracts signed at the beginning, such as abolishing the restrictions on warships, restoring the rule of Qichun County, etc., especially Qichun County, I believe Liu Jing will definitely not agree."

"But what if Sun Quan thinks it is profitable to attack Hefei?"

Cao Cao continued to ask: "Without raising conditions first, he crossed the river to attack Hefei, went north to make a profit and then forced Liu Jing to give in. Wouldn't this kill two birds with one stone?"

"It is indeed possible, but we are not completely withdrawing our troops. We can station 10,000 elite troops in Hefei, which is enough to deal with the Jiangdong army going north. Moreover, we believe that Jiangdong will not agree to Sun Quan going north. I think it is more likely that Sun Quan will make a gesture. After all, he does not have the strength to fight north yet."

"It's just that Liu Jing and I have signed a three-year armistice agreement. Now I tear up the agreement and let the three armies see me. I don't care about Liu Jing's thoughts. I'm still worried that the Cao army soldiers will say that I, Cao Cao, speak without trust, will not do it very well!"

This is the thing Cao Cao is most worried about. He is worried that he will break his trust in his subordinates, but Xun You smiled and said, "Actually, the Prime Minister doesn't have to worry about this. I have a plan to eliminate the adverse effects on the Prime Minister."

He whispered a few words to Cao Cao, and Cheng Yu also laughed, "Mr. Xun is really amazing!"

The suggestions of Cheng Yu and Xun You made Cao Cao feel a little shaken. Finally, he nodded, "You guys retreat first! Let me consider it."
Chapter completed!