On the day when Gongsun Xun and Yuan Shao had direct military contact outside Liang Qi City, Cao Cao was actually not far away from there. Specifically, he was on the banks of the Yellow River with Zhang Yang in Hanoi to suppress the Black Mountain bandit Yu Du.

The two cooperated well and suddenly sent out troops together when Yu Du's army was halfway across the river. They successfully divided Yu Du's army to the north and south of the river. Most of Yu Du's subordinates were still on the north bank. Under the leadership of Mu Gu, known as the White Rabbit, Zhang Yang

Yu Du himself and his elite troops fled in panic after a deadly battle into Xucheng, which could see the Yellow River in the distance. They were then surrounded by Zhang and Cao who followed them and led their troops in person.

Up to this point, Yu Du was half-crossed and attacked. He had no baggage, lacked food and clothing, and most of his troops had surrendered. There were also many casualties in the headquarters. Although Xucheng was strong, it was only a key town. It had no stores and could not stay there for long.

...It can be said that this battle has been settled.

But at this moment, a horseman came from the north, bringing the information that 200,000 soldiers of the Gongsun clan and the Yuan clan were fighting at the gate of Liang Qi. Then Gongsun Xun defeated Yuan Shao in a battle, and then there was chaos in Ye city.

Neither Cao Cao nor Zhang Yang are reliable leaders. On the contrary, their life and death are closely related to the balance of the situation. Otherwise, they would not choose to accept Yuan Shao's invitation to help each other clear their way out. Therefore, at this time, they suddenly heard that Yuan Shao was

Defeated, Gongsun Xun won quickly. Although he had already considered this outcome, he was still tossing and turning and was uneasy for a while.

The next day, Zhang Zhishu was the first to lose his patience and left directly, leading the entire army back across Hebei. Then Cao Mengde, after trying to recruit Yu Du to surrender but failed, didn't care too much and simply abandoned him and went south to Chen State...or

He said that since there was no king or chancellor, Sun Wentai gave it to Cao Cao, saying that it was the headquarters of Chen County.

After this incident, he escaped death by poison and decided to lead the remaining troops to Mount Tai, where he had stayed for a long time, to find a way out. On the other hand, Cao Mengde led the army south, but he was undecided along the way. He always felt that the future was surrounded by fog and it was difficult to find a way out.

Peace of mind.

It wasn't until they arrived at Chen County, Chen County, that they saw Shu's eldest son Cao Ang, who was welcomed by Shu, and the civil and military forces who stayed behind. He just put away his confused posture and returned to his usual cheerful appearance of knowing his pearls of wisdom. Then he learned that his sworn brother Sun Jian was sending

The envoy came and said that Wancheng had been conquered from the front, so he was going to take away his wife and children who had been staying here for more than half a year and resettle them in Nanyang. After that, he reopened the banquet and entertained the guests...one to welcome the guests and the other to see them off.

When returning home, the third part is to celebrate the victory, the fourth part is to comfort the troops, and the fifth part is to celebrate the winter solstice.

In short, with Cao Cao's temper, he could always find ten or eight different reasons for wanting to drink, not to mention that he had just returned from the army and had not drank alcohol for many days, so everyone was not surprised.

As a result, the banquet was held. Although there was plenty of wine, the dishes were lacking. It was just the hot pot soup given by Gongsun Xun before, some pasta and meat, and you could eat as much as you wanted... This was more in line with what Cao Cao liked.

Lively yet simple character.

However, during the banquet, amid the laughter and laughter, suddenly another confidant general Le Jin stationed in Peixian County sent a clear message, saying that there was a turmoil in Yuan Shao's farmland on the other side of Mount Tai, and that some Yellow Turban thieves had surrendered and revolted.

Therefore, a special letter was sent to ask Cao Cao if he wanted to suspend winter training in the abundant farming land as a precaution.

"Wen Qian is too stingy." Cao Cao was already half drunk at this time. After hearing this, he first handed the letter in his hand to Xiahou Dun, Cao Ren, Cao Hong and others to read, but he ignored the guests and directly held the bottle.

And laugh. "There are reasons why Yuan Shao's villagers are so confused... One is that most of his villagers are surrendered Yellow Turban thieves, and there are internal connections among them; the other is that he made too much progress when he conquered the three states.

, the people he held were mixed, and many of the people who were in charge of the settlements were filthy; the last one was that he had just suffered a huge defeat, and China was shaken. Even those who surrendered in the Yellow Turbans knew that he was on the decline, and they couldn't help but feel fear in their hearts.

, how can such three things not cause chaos?"

The civil and military officials on the left and right, as well as Sun Jing and other guests, naturally nodded and said yes.

"But what are we afraid of?" Cao Cao finished his drink and clapped his hands again. "Our villagers are all people who were displaced during the rebellion against Dong. Xiahou Miaocai, who was in charge of this matter in Peibei, was an extremely poor and steady man.

What's more important is that we did not suffer defeat. On the contrary, Brother Wentai took all of Runan in less than a year, and then captured Wancheng again. It is like a tiger... The situation is like this, how can we talk about uneasiness?

?What's the point of uneasiness?"

After saying that, he ignored the letter and raised his glass to drink again. All the generals at the banquet laughed and imitated the drink.

However, after drinking three cups in a row, Cao Mengde raised his neck and looked around. He saw that all his subordinates in the banquet were smiling and laughing, and no one looked worried. However, he suddenly felt sad. He simply turned against him and pretended to be drunk.

, the banquet was suspended.

Cao Cao was suddenly happy and angry. Everyone was completely confused and could only leave one after another.

"The general is worried about the situation. He should be sincerely asking questions about the situation. How can he lie and lie and then suddenly lose his composure?" Just when Cao Mengde was in a depressed mood and was about to pour himself a drink after getting rid of everyone, someone said suddenly in his ear.

Asking questions, and revealing his inner thoughts with one word, he quickly raised his head.

It turned out that while the guests and subordinates were leaving one after another, in this banquet hall, in addition to Xiahou Dun, Cao Ren, Cao Hong and other close family brothers, there was actually a young scribe wearing a black ribbon and bronze seal staying in the corner.

His figure was majestic, his posture was elegant yet heroic, and it was he who was speaking just now.

Cao Mengde was startled for a moment, then laughed and replied: "I have misunderstood, I was just drinking wine when I suddenly thought of Mr. Jiujiaoqiao, and felt so sad that it ruined everyone's interest, so why worry about the situation... But who is he and when?"

How come I haven’t seen anyone who comes under my command?”

The man below didn't care, he also slightly cupped his hands, and then answered calmly while taking the noodles out of the pot: "The general made a mistake, I am not a person under the general's command, but the magistrate of Xu County, Yingchuan, with the surname Du.

Named Zixu, this time it was because he needed manpower to pick up the family members of General Polu (Sun Jian), and the lower administrative office was at the junction of Yingchuan and Chen County, so he came here with Captain Sun Youtai, but he didn't want to see the general hesitate about the situation...

"

Only then did Cao Cao realize that the other party was sitting in the west of the hall, right behind Sun Jing, but he couldn't help shaking his head and laughing: "In any case, why did Du Jun say that I am worried about the situation? Whatever... Du Jun is Yingchuan

native?"

"Of course."

"I wonder what the relationship is with Du Bojian (Du Gen) of Yingchuan Dingling?" Cao Cao asked in a blurt, seemingly casually.

Du Xi couldn't help but feel solemn after hearing the words, but he sighed and put down the hot hot pot noodles in his hand: "My grandfather is so talented and virtuous that I can't take any precautions, so he didn't dare to make any announcement to avoid tarnishing the family name... But the general made it clear.

I feel a little ashamed."

Cao Cao laughed loudly, put down the wine bottle in his hand, put on his wooden clogs, and went directly to the person to salute him. He said, "You are so ignorant. I didn't want to show my cowardice, but I accidentally made Zi Xu laugh!"

Du Xiben felt that Cao Cao was the most impressive among the Central Plains princes. Now that he saw Cao Cao's attitude in person, he couldn't help but feel better in his heart. He quickly stood up to avoid the other party's salute, then stepped forward to help Cao Cao from the side and bowed in return.

.

Since Cao Cao admitted that he was worried about the situation, he stopped pretending and simply stretched out his hand to drag the other person back to the table. Regardless of his identity and age, he personally poured wine for this person... Xiahou Dun and others next to him saw that, not only were they not dissatisfied,

Instead, they all returned to their respective places, with a solemn and expectant attitude of listening.

Sure enough, as Cao Mengde served three bottles in a row, he finally brought up the topic just now with all his courtesy: "Zixu just revealed my thoughts, but I don't know if there is anything you can teach me?"

Du Xi chuckled when he heard this: "General, you are overthinking it. I am young and saw you being moody, so I just made some sarcastic remarks. But considering the overall situation, I dare not say anything lightly."

Hearing this, Cao Cao laughed again, smelling of wine, and after he stopped laughing, he held the other person's shoulder and said sincerely: "Zixu, why are you like this? I really want to ask for advice... Just now in the whole hall, everyone thought I was Cao Cao

Now that the rule is flourishing, and the alliance's sworn brothers have won successive victories, there is great joy... Only Zixu can tell at a glance that I am worried about the situation. With such a vision, I am basically independent of the three counties, so how can I not be qualified to replace him?

How can I explain this? Is it because you have become an official for my sworn brother, so you are unwilling to perform a Caesarean section on me? If so, I will send a letter to Nanyang and be sure to invite you. By then, although my three counties of Liang, Chen, and Pei are small, they will be small after all.

I can still give Zi Xu a salary of two thousand stone every year."

"General, you have misunderstood." Du Xi continued to smile calmly. "I am not pretending, nor am I asking for money... In fact, the general's posture can already be called a polite corporal, and I accept

After the courtesy you just gave me, if I really have a good plan that can help the general, how can I shirk it? It’s just that I understand a little bit about the general’s worries, but I have no idea what the general’s way out is.”

"Zixu also thinks too much." Cao Cao smiled bitterly when he heard this. "To be honest with Zixu, although I am worried about the situation, I actually don't know where the situation is bad... Please clear my mind for me.

.”

"General, this is boring." Du Xi lowered his head and held the cup, and said suddenly. "Aren't your two biggest worries, Hebei and Nanyang? This kind of thing, because the relationship between the general, General Gongsun and Sun Polu is very important.

There, you can’t speak lightly in public, but what can you hide in private?”

After saying that, Du Zixu was calm and glanced sideways at his shoulder... It turned out that as soon as the words Hebei and Nanyang were spoken, Cao Cao immediately grabbed him there.

When Cao Cao saw this, he was also embarrassed. He let go and apologized again.

"The general is so polite, so I can't hide my secrets, so I just tell the general what I don't want to say or think in my heart..." Du Xi was even more emotional when he saw this. "Hebei made it clear.

, it was General Wei who quickly defeated the generals of chariots and cavalry in Hebei, but after the generals of chariots and cavalry were defeated, their decline was fully evident. The princes' original hope of prolonging the struggle between the two powers in North China was in vain, so they inevitably had to bear the weight of mountains.

It means. But the same is the pressure. Unlike those princes who are precarious or just want to cling to the door, people with great ambitions like the general are particularly confused and don't know whether there is any meaning in persisting in their ambitions!"

Cao Cao sighed: "Wen Qi is indeed too fast. I am not saying that Wen Qi or Ben Chu acted unethically, but..."

"But what they did was not their own doing after all... Even in ordinary times, they all have to fight for someone to take charge, but in troubled times, people's hearts are more scattered and the world is more complicated. Tao Qian is getting older, and Liu Biao is the housekeeper.

A dog still has a sense of independence, let alone an ambitious man in his prime like a general? If he really surrendered in the face of force, you and I should still be praising the sun in the Xia Dynasty!" Du Xi quickly comforted. "So general.

Don't worry about it... After Dong Zhuo rises to power, there will be no authority in the world. The strength of the generals of the guards and horses, and the prosperity of the families of the generals of chariots and cavalry are nothing. Can they be compared to the Han Dynasty's four hundred years of prosperity?"

Cao Cao nodded slowly.

"As for Nanyang..." Du Xi continued, but he smiled bitterly for a moment. "I am the salary of Sun Polu, so I shouldn't say much, but there are some things that everyone knows well even if I don't say them, and I have said them.

, it may not be harmful to Sun Polu..."

Cao Cao also laughed, but filled another glass of wine for him.

"Actually, the two generals and Liu Yuzhou relied on the sworn alliance between the Gou family and the Suishui alliance to gain a firm foothold in the troubled times." Du Xi picked up his wine glass and said with emotion. "But current events have changed, and now it has changed.

Totally different... General Sun didn't know whether he really didn't know or pretended not to know. He was only in front for less than a year, and after the spring, he took all of Runan, and after the autumn, he took most of Nanyang. The two counties.

Are wealth and population a joke? But General Cao, you are trapped among the three strong ones, guarding Chen County, Liang State, and half of Beipei County. It is Liu Yuzhou, who is obviously recognized as

The lord of Yuzhou can only use Huainan as the foundation, plus several counties in Penan... The matter of the alliance needs to be considered for a long time, and General Cao's second worry is that the time is running out for us, but for the alliance

It’s so restrained that it can’t be used at all!”

"This is where the problem lies." Cao Cao waited for the other party to finish his drink before asking, "Zixu is so thorough, but he has no words to teach me?"

"It is indeed powerless." Du Xi glanced at the other party and said calmly. "I am just a young and energetic man who has only a little knowledge. When he saw the general's predicament, he couldn't help but want to show off, but in fact there was no way to break the situation.

Law!"

Xiahou Dun, Cao Ren, and Cao Hong, who were sitting on both sides, couldn't help but look at each other, and Cao Hong even laughed out loud.

"It's good to be able to see through the situation." Cao Cao looked at the other party for a long time and could only say this, but he poured wine again and again to express his gratitude.

But Du Xi was very happy with it, and accepted it calmly regardless of the changes in the faces of Cao Hong and others.
To be continued...