Xun Yu relied on the only three remaining cities, so that Lu Bu's army could not take him for a while, so he could only watch it under the city.

Cao Cao set out from Rencheng, all the way to capture Xuzhou Pengcheng and Donghai, and then divided his troops into three routes, attacking Guangling, Xiapi, and Langxie at the same time, preparing to swallow Xuzhou in one bite quickly.

But just under the city of Xiapi, Cao Cao met the opponent and was difficult to break through for a while.

In Cao Yingshuai's tent, Cao Cao's face was gloomy, and he complained to the sallow-skinned man on the side: "Hey! Zhicai, this Liu Bei's three brothers, is really difficult, it seems that it will take some time. ”

It turned out that the sallow man was Cao Cao's heavy strategist Xi Zhicai, and he was also the military advisor who accompanied the army in this battle.

Hearing Cao Cao's words, Xi Zhicai smiled slightly, adding a touch of blood to his sallow face. "Don't worry, the lord is now only three counties left in Xuzhou, and the rest have fallen into the hands of our army, and Picheng will be broken in less than three days."

"Hmm!" Cao Cao put away some complaints, but he was still a little unhappy, and sighed and said: "Now Huiyi has more than two states, but I, Cao Cao, am still trapped in Yanzhou, so I have to be anxious!" ”

When Xi Zhicai heard this, he said disapprovingly: "Although Li Huiyi has many cities, they are not as rich as those under the rule of the lord, and the population cannot be compared. ”

"Moreover, if the lord takes Xuzhou, it is equivalent to closing the gate of the north, and Gongsun Zhan, Yuan Shao and others can only fight to the death with Li Huiyi, and they cannot completely free up their hands and be enemies with the lord."

Xi Zhicai said, how could Cao Cao not understand, but he was blocked at this time and was troubled.

After some analysis and persuasion, Cao Cao felt a lot more comfortable, and inadvertently revealed his heart and said: "If it were Guan Yu, Zhang Fei and the like, how good it would be to be in Cao Ying!" ”

When Xi Zhicai heard it, he didn't know why Cao Cao was complaining, so he shook his head and said, "Lord, although these two people are fierce, they are not easy to accept. ”

"Then subdue Liu Bei first, it, don't believe it, these two people won't descend yet." Cao Cao was domineering and said arrogantly.

Xi Zhicai shook his head and replied: "Liu Bei has a different heart, but he will not live under others for a long time, even if he is captured and surrendered, he will rebel one day." ”

"My lord! Lord Xun of Yanzhou sent urgent paperwork! Cao Cao was about to say something, when suddenly a anxious voice came from outside the tent.

Hearing the urgent paperwork, Cao Cao was shocked, could it be that something big happened in Yanzhou? "Come on in!"

The voice fell, and a soldier quickly entered the tent and handed the silk cloth to Cao Cao. "Lord, Zhang Miao welcomes Lu Bu into Yanzhou, and Lord Xun asks Lord Xun to lead the troops back quickly."

"What!?" Cao Cao looked incredulous, quickly stood up and snatched the silk cloth forward, opened it and looked at it, his face showed a hint of paleness, and then he was covered by anger.

Throwing the silk cloth on the ground, Cao Cao scolded: "Zhang Miaopifu! In vain, my Cao Cao regarded him as a friend of his life, and he actually took advantage of my army to go out to fight and join forces with outsiders to occupy my Yanzhou, what a damn! Piff! ”

And Xi Zhicai on the side had already picked up the silk cloth and read it carefully, but he did not show a trace of shock, but showed a knowing smile.

"Lord, Zhang Miao's move can be regarded as a good thing, after all, Yanzhou should also be cleaned up."

It is not unreasonable for Xi Zhi to say this, Liu Dai, the former lord of Yanzhou, died fighting against the remnants of the Yellow Turban.

But it was just a small yellow scarf, and it would not pose a threat to Liu Dai at all, but he died, so there must be no light in it.

After Liu Dai's death, Cao Cao took over Yanzhou, and on the surface all counties and counties were subservient, but those who secretly refused to obey abounded.

And Cao Cao's new Yanzhou, there is no good way to clean up, after all, these people have no big faults, if they replace their henchmen for no reason, I am afraid that no one will come to vote in the future.

"Zhicai's words are reasonable, but at the moment, if Xuzhou is a general, if he retreats, it will be a pity!" After all, Cao Cao is a generation of heroes, but he has been relieved for a while.

Seeing that Cao Cao was reluctant to Xuzhou, Xi Zhicai said: "Has the lord ever thought about why Zhang Miao welcomed Lu Bu into Yanzhou, and why the counties and counties of Yanzhou did not rebel sooner or later, but they had to choose the juncture that Xuzhou was about to break." ”

Well?

Could it be that this Yanzhou rebellion is not as simple as it seems?

Zhang Miao wanted to occupy Yanzhou, but it was just to save his life.

And it was Yuan Shao who wanted to kill him, a few days ago he repeatedly killed Zhang Miao by himself, could it be for this matter.

Cao Cao asked unsurely: "Zhicai, are you saying that this is Yuan Shao's conspiracy?"

"Yes." Xi Zhicai replied very affirmatively, and then analyzed: "Zhang Miao's appeal has not yet reached the point where all parts of Yanzhou have responded one after another, so there is only one truth, that is, Yuan Shao is manipulating behind his back." ”

Cao Cao's brows furrowed slightly, his eyes rolled a few times, and he began to fall into deep thought.

Indeed, Xuzhou is a strategic place for soldiers to fight, and Yuan Shao's troops are changing defenses in Yizhou at this time, even if he wants to get involved in Xuzhou, he can't do anything.

Since Yuan Shao couldn't send troops, he could only use intrigue to stop it, after all, the reputation of the fourth and third dukes of the Yuan family was not boasted.

Since Yuan Shao is the most suspicious, then he may send troops to Beihai, and at the most critical time, stab him in the back, and then he will be doomed.

Yanzhou is the foundation of the foundation, if there is a loss, I am afraid that the soldiers who attack Xuzhou will lose their morale, and they may be counterattacked by Tao Qian and others.

Cao Cao thought about it, and more and more agreed with Xi Zhicai's words in his heart. "Zhicai is reasonable, it seems that there is only one way to retreat at the moment."

Seeing that Cao Cao had made a choice, Xi Zhicai smiled and said: "This Yanzhou rebellion is also a good thing, and from now on, the lord will no longer have to worry about the instability of the rear." ”

"Well, come on!" Cao Cao nodded slowly, and then called the soldiers loudly and ordered: "Go and inform the departments, take advantage of the night to gather the army, and quickly retreat to Yanzhou, remember to leave the camp, and plant more flags to confuse the defenders in the city." ”

"Yes!" When the soldiers who entered the tent heard about the arrangement, they were curious about why they had withdrawn, but they still hurried to leave.

Seeing the soldiers out of the tent, Xi Zhicai said: "Lord, this trip is retreating, you must be careful of the pursuers in Picheng." ”

"Well, what do you mean by that?" Cao Cao was curious in his heart, obviously he had left the empty village as a puzzle, so with Liu Bei's strategy, when he saw through, he must have already withdrawn, why did he let himself be careful to chase the soldiers.

Seeing Cao Cao's puzzled face, Xi Zhicai replied: "Don't forget, lord, there are still Chen Deng and Chen Yuanlong in the city. ”

Chen Deng?

"Although this person is famous, but after a series of battles, he has not been eye-catching, why is Zhicai afraid of him?" Cao Cao's face showed disdain, and he asked rhetorically.

Xi Zhicai replied with a smile: "The Chen family is one of the best families in Xuzhou, and if we block our army, it will definitely make the lord hold a grudge." ”

"But now that Tao Qian is in power, if Chen Deng doesn't make a difference, I'm afraid it will make him hold a grudge, so he will behave so mediocre in this war."

Cao Cao nodded slowly and said: "It seems that there is some truth, then according to Zhicai's words, wouldn't Chen Deng even less give advice to Liu Bei." ”

Xi Zhicai shook his head and replied: "My lord, people in the family like to wait for the price and sell, if Chen Deng wants to be valued by the lord, he will definitely take advantage of this to advise Liu Bei." ”