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The New Year passed again. In the early spring of the 12th year of Jian'an, a strange star appeared in the Big Dipper sign, and people all over the world were talking about it. In this year, a monarch would die.

In early February, news came from Jingzhou that Liu Biao, the governor of Jingzhou, was seriously ill and may soon die.

Yecheng, originally the capital of Yuan Shao. After Cao Cao captured Yecheng in the ninth year of Jian'an, in order to control Hebei, he moved the capital to Yecheng.

The news that Liu Biao was seriously ill finally reached Yecheng, and Cao Cao had just returned to Yecheng from Chunyu and was awarded more than 20 heroes, which means that the overall situation in Hebei has been decided.

At this time, Cao Cao was considering the eastern expedition to Wuhuan, but the news from Jingzhou disrupted his plan.

In the lobby of the Prime Minister's Mansion, Cao Cao urgently summoned several confidant advisers to discuss countermeasures in Jingzhou.

At this time, the Yuan brothers in Hebei had been relieved, but the hidden danger was that Yuan Shang and Yuan Xi had not been completely annihilated. They colluded with Wuhuan and tried to retake Hebei with the power of Wu Heng.

Cao Cao was preparing to fight against Wuhuan in the east, but was unanimously opposed by the generals. All the generals said that the Yuan brothers were just fugitives and Wuhuan was a rude and ruthless person, how could he be used by the Yuan brothers? If everyone stayed away from the Central Plains, once Liu Bei took advantage of the situation to attack Xudu, the army would not be able to save him.

There are many different opinions, and at this moment, an opportunity appeared in the south.

In the lobby, Cao Cao seemed a little anxious and paced back and forth with his hands behind his back. According to his plan, he had to completely pacify the troubles in Hebei before considering going south to Jingzhou. Now that Liu Biao is seriously ill, it will inevitably lead to all competitions for the throne. It is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to attack Jingzhou.

He couldn't help but take out the letter written by Cai Mao. Liu Jingzhou was seriously ill and Cai took charge of military power. Mao was willing to offer Jingzhou to the Prime Minister, hoping that Cao's army would go south as soon as possible, and no longer hoped for it.

Obviously, when Cai Mao is in power, he can seize Jingzhou at the lowest cost.

But Wuhuan is immortal and Yuan’s family will inevitably cause future troubles. So how to choose the best solution can be taken into account?

Cao Cao looked at the counselors and fell on Cheng Yu first. Seeing Cheng Yu smiling and holding a feather fan in his hand, he looked confident, and said with a smile: "Zhongde let's talk first."

Cheng Yu is the oldest among all, but the best in spirit. His face is full of red and energetic, which is in sharp contrast with Guo Jia beside him.

Cheng Yu smiled slightly, "Since ancient times, they have been strong in the north and weak in the south. Although Liu Biao was seriously ill, it may cause civil strife in Jingzhou, but in my opinion, it is not very meaningful. Even if Liu Biao is healthy and the weak place in Jingzhou, how can he resist the Northern Cavalry King's Army? On the contrary, Wu Heng had hundreds of thousands of cavalry, and during the Yuan Shao period, he looked at Hebei. The Yuan brothers asked for help from them, but in fact they led wolves into the house. There were also Gongsun Kang from Liaodong, who were also ambitious people. The prime minister abandoned the strong and planned to be weak. He was afraid that he had just won Jingzhou and lost Hebei, which was not worth the loss."

Xun Yu next to him also said: "Zhongde said that we are not worried about the Yuan brothers, but about the Wuhuan. Ten years ago, the Wuhuan people took advantage of the chaos in the Central Plains and took the opportunity to plunder more than 100,000 Han households. It is possible that the Yuan brothers reached a conspiracy with him. Wuhuan wanted women's gold and silk, and Yuan wanted land in Hebei. Once we look south, the Wuhuan cavalry would definitely take advantage of the opportunity to enter Hebei. It would be too late for the Prime Minister to regret it.

Cai Mao was clear about flatterers, trying to seek honor, and spoke in an exaggerated manner. He said that he was in charge of military power was just a soldier in Xiangyang. Nanjun was in the hands of Liu Qi, Jiangxia was occupied by Liu Jing, Changsha was actually controlled by Liu Pan, how could Cai Mao offer Jingzhou

It would be better to wait for their internal strife. The Prime Minister took this opportunity to conquer Wuhuan, completely stabilize the situation in Hebei, and then consider Jingzhou again. Perhaps Jingzhou is weak, and only one surprise weapon can occupy Jingzhou. Why do the Prime Minister need to work hard to expedition?

Xun Yu was Cao Cao's confidant adviser and also a loyal defender of the Han Dynasty. This is a subtle relationship between him and Cao Cao.

This time, Cao Cao was awarded a great honor to the heroes and attached great importance to Xun Yu. Not only did he increase his fief by 1,000 households, but he also had to be granted the title of Duke, far higher than other strategists, and even higher than Cheng Yu and Guo Jia.

Xun Yu knew it well that it was not so much that Cao Cao's reward for him, but Cao Cao's test of him. He refused to be rewarded more than ten times before he finally let Cao Cao revoke this decision.

It was Xun Yu who had a special loyalty to the court that he was particularly firm between Jingzhou and Wuheng, supporting Cao Cao's expedition against foreign races and opposing the attack on Jingzhou.

Cao Cao understood Xun Yu's thoughts very well, but he didn't say much, and then turned his eyes to Jia Xu in the back seat. Seeing that although Jia Xu didn't say a word, he obviously disagrees with his face, he nodded and smiled, "I might as well talk to him about it too."

The four major advisers under Cao Cao's tent were Xun Yu, Xun You, Guo Jia, and Cheng Yu. These four were also his confidants and obeyed their own words. Although Jia Xu was good at it, he was not Cao Cao's confidant. In addition, his old proposition Xiu was still there, so Cao Cao had a slight lack of trust in him.

However, although Jia Xu could not compare with the four major strategists, he was familiar with Jingzhou and participated in the Battle of Xinye in the seventh year of Jian'an. Xun You happened to go to Xudu to urge grain, so Cao Cao asked Jia Xu to discuss military affairs and defeated Xun You.

Jia Xu is self-aware. He knows that his qualifications are not enough to enter the core decision-making circle. Especially after the defeat of Xinye, he feels ashamed, so he has been very low-key in recent years and generally does not participate in military decision-making. Even if he participates by chance, he will try not to express his opinions.

But at this time he was named by Cao Cao and criticized him implicitly for being silent. Jia Xu had to stand up and said, "Xuyan may mislead the Prime Minister's decision, so he dare not speak."

"It's wrong with this. I can't listen to anything and say it."

Jia Xu had to bite the bullet and said, "The situation in Jingzhou is not as simple as we think. Liu Qi and Liu Cong are cowardly and incompetent people, and Cai Mao doesn't have to take it seriously. I am worried that it is Liu Jing and Liu Bei. In the past two years, Liu Jing worked hard to govern, had enough troops and enough food, and reconciled with Jiangdong.

Liu Bei was ambitious and secretly helped Liu Qi, and sooner or later he would annex the troops of Nanjun. If the Prime Minister did not plan early and was dominated by these two people, and with the Jiangdong Alliance, it would not be so easy to attack Jingzhou again at that time."

Jia Xu's words touched Cao Cao's heartstrings, that was Liu Jing. Cao Cao never thought that the young man who escaped from the chaos would become the most powerful force in Jingzhou five or six years after entering Jingzhou.

He obtained information from Jingzhou that Liu Jing had 18,000 elite soldiers and 1,000 warships, including two thousand elite cavalry and a five-man heavy armored infantry.

Although Liu Qi has ten thousand troops, his combat effectiveness is not as good as Liu Jing. However, Guan Yu's father trained troops for Liu Qi, and the Nanjun army should not be underestimated.

Jia Xu was right. Once the opportunity was lost, it would be easier to make Liu Jing and Liu Bei beat Jingzhou again.

This made Cao Cao feel a little more entangled. At this time, Cao Cao felt that Jia Xu had not completely said anything, and seemed to have nothing to say.

He glanced at Cheng Yu and found that there was a clear look of displeasure in Cheng Yu's eyes. He immediately understood in his heart. I'm afraid Jia Xu did not want to have conflicts with Cheng Yu, Xun Yu and others.

Cao Cao nodded and smiled at everyone, "I'll consider this matter again, let's go back first."

Everyone stood up to say goodbye. Cao Cao waited for everyone to disperse and quietly ordered the guards to find Guo Jia and Jia Xu.

In the study, Guo Jia and Jia Xu sat down one after another. Today, Guo Jia did not speak in the lobby. This was related to his physical weakness. Guo Jia fell ill since last winter. Although he improved slightly, he still did not recover and his physical weakness was very weak.

Jia Xu seemed to understand the Prime Minister's intention to come to him, and he sat aside and smiled without saying a word.

At this time, Cao Cao first asked Guo Jia, "Fengxiao thought it was time to conquer Wuhuan or Jingzhou first."

Guo Jia smiled slightly and said, "The Prime Minister wants to conquer Jingzhou, how many soldiers are good at fighting in the water?"

This sentence stopped Cao Cao. The northerners were not good at fighting in water. Once Liu Jing fought from the river, it would be useless no matter how many troops were.

Guo Jia continued: "If you want to do a good job, you must first sharpen your tools. The Prime Minister goes south, not as simple as dealing with the Jingzhou family. As I said, Liu Jing has a good relationship with Jiangdong, and we may encounter the Sun and Liu coalition forces. In this case, if the southern battle is hasty, the victory or defeat is unpredictable. My subordinates suggest that it is better to make a long-term plan for the Nanchao."

After pondering for a while, Cao Cao sighed and said, "All the generals disagree with the northern expedition to Wuhuan, how about it?"

Guo Jia said lightly again: "The generals are just tired of fighting and are unwilling to go on an expedition again. In fact, the prime minister does not need to spend money and grain to go on a large expedition. The subordinates heard that Yi County has a lot of food and grass, and Yi County can be a logistics area, and the soldiers are very fast. The prime minister can lead light troops to raid thousands of miles, and catch Wuhuan off guard. The subordinates recommend Tian Chou as a guide to the prime minister. This person is familiar with the terrain of Wuheng. With him, he can take half of the chance of victory first. After fighting Wuhuan, it will be summer. It will take just a rest for the soldiers and act in the navy. You can go south to Jingzhou early next year."

Cao Cao nodded silently, Guo Jia's suggestion reached his heart, which was called planning and winning thousands of miles away.

After pondering for a long time, Cao Cao asked another thing that worried him, "But will Liu Bei take the opportunity to attack Xu Du?"

Guo Jia sneered: "By Liu Bei's own strength alone, it is a fool to attack Xu Du. Unless he can persuade Liu Biao, Liu Jingzhou is healthy and unwilling to take a step forward in Jingzhou. Now he is dying, how can he send his army out? Xiangyang's troops are empty, Nanjun, Jiang Xia takes the opportunity to attack Xiangyang and what should the Prime Minister do? The Prime Minister doesn't have to consider the possibility of sneak attacking Xu Du."

At this time, Jia Xu interjected from the side: "Liu Biao doesn't, but Liu Jing is hard to say. The military advisor should not forget that he has two thousand cavalrymen. He heard that they are all elite Hexi war horses. From Xiakou north, they are all plains, and the sky can reach Xuchang."

Guo Jia's face changed and he turned to Jia Xu and said, "As long as you are more careful along the way and defend in time, it is meaningless if the cavalry comes. They cannot break through Xuchang City. Besides, Liu Biao is seriously ill, and Liu Jing should be in Xiangyang and will not take care of Xu Du, and even Liu Bei will not consider Xu Du, and he will be worried."

Jia Xu still shook his head, "This is because the military advisor doesn't understand Liu Jing. His mind is not in Xiangyang. His mind is in the world. The military advisor really underestimated this man."

"I have a misunderstanding. I don't underestimate this person. It's really a sneak attack on Xu Du. The battle against Wuhuan is a big deal. How can I abandon the big deal because of the small deal?"

"I have no misunderstanding. Feng Xiao underestimated the attack on Xu Du. Even if he couldn't take Xu Du, how could he take Chen Liu or Luoyang? At that time, Liu Jing raised his arms and shouted, and he was afraid that the Central Plains would shake and cause unstable morale. Some dissatisfied with the Prime Minister took the opportunity to cause trouble and cause war to fall into war again."

Seeing that the two of them had different opinions, Cao Cao smiled and said, "Don't argue for now, everyone will talk about their own reasons. Please continue to speak filial piety."

The implication is that Jia Xu should not interrupt Guo Jia for the time being. Jia Xu sneered in his heart and stopped talking. He found that neither Cheng Yu, Xun Yu nor Guo Jia took Liu Jing seriously and all looked down upon him. However, the Prime Minister valued this person very much.

Guo Jia also realized the serious problem. He pondered for a moment: "Maybe we can do this. We will increase our troops in Nanyang and restrain the army of Jingzhou, including restraining Liu Jing. If the situation is critical, we will directly bypass Xinye and capture Fancheng, and target Xiangyang. Liu Biao will definitely ask for help from Liu Qi and Liu Jing. In this way, Xu is fine."

Cao Cao nodded and asked Jia Xu again, "What do you think?"

Jia Xu pondered for a moment and said, "It is okay to take down Fancheng, I agree with the plan of filial piety."

"good"

Cao Cao agreed with mercy and said to Guo Jia: "I ordered Cao Ren as the main general, Li Dian, Yu Jin as the deputy general, Le Jin as the vanguard, and tens of thousands of troops were added to Nanyang. At the same time, he recruited 100,000 civilians to excavate Xuanwu Pond in the north of Yecheng. The construction must be completed within a month. Please see how to do it."

Guo Jia smiled, "The martial arts strategy is enough, but there is still a lack of help."

Cao Cao suddenly realized and looked at Jia Xu with a smile. Jia Xu understood Cao Cao's intentions in his heart, so he had to bow and say, "I am willing to serve the Prime Minister."

Cao Cao nodded, "He Ke is the general of the army and assists Cao Ren. If he can restrain Liu Jing's cavalry from going north, he will be a great achievement."

"Minist obeys the order"

When Jia Xu retreated, only Guo Jia and Cao Cao were left in the room. Guo Jia then whispered to Cao Cao: "If the Prime Minister wants to attack Liu Biao, there must be any abnormal movement in the court. My subordinates suggest that the court be rectified first and then discuss the matter of the southern expedition."

Cao Cao narrowed his eyes and nodded slowly. He knew in his heart that Jingzhou was the last hope of many people in the court, and he really needed to kill the chicken to warn the monkey.
Chapter completed!