At the same time, Yuan Shao handed over more than 3,000 remnants of the Baibo Army to Sun Ce to take over, and privately funded Sun Ce with tens of thousands of stones, grains and grass and enough weapons to form 5,000 men and horses. And Sun Ce was not a good person, he forcibly recruited more than 4,000 young men in the more than 20 days he was recuperating from his injuries, plus the thousands of prisoners he had captured before; In January, Sun Ce's troops were expanded by more than 10,000 recruits, and now there are 30,000 soldiers and horses. ”

While carefully paying attention to the change in Cao Cao's expression, Cao Ren reported the truth, fortunately, Cao Cao was not angry because of this, but the expression on his face was cloudy, and his eyes became more and more gloomy and sharp.

"In this way, right now, I, Cao Cao, have become a small force at the bottom of the strength among the princes of the Seven Roads. For the army of hundreds of thousands of princes, there are not many more than 10,000 people in our group, and it doesn't matter if we don't have it, no wonder Yuan Shaoshuzi didn't take me seriously at all, it turns out that we are dispensable! ”

After hearing Cao Cao's words, Cao Ren was stunned in his heart, fearing that Cao Cao would be carried away by anger and make a righteous indignation. In addition, he was in the same mood as Cao Cao at the moment, very lost, and inexplicably gave birth to a sense of desolation at the end of the hero. But reason drove him not to be silent, not only could he not give up on himself, but he should promptly advise Cao Cao to work hard in order to make a comeback.

"The Lord is angry. There is a saying that victory or defeat is a common thing in soldiers, and the success or failure of a moment cannot determine a qiē, let alone the future direction of the world. Now we really only have 20,000 horses, but we still have 40,000 soldiers in Dong'e City, and there are still 60,000 soldiers and horses in the two places, so we can make a comeback. Rise like the phoenix! ”

"General Zixiao said it well!"

Before Cao Ren's words fell, there was an immediate cheer at the door of the big tent, and then Cheng Yu, who joined the army, walked into the big tent quickly.

After bowing down to Cao Cao. Cheng Yu turned his head and nodded appreciatively to Cao Ren, and then bowed to Cao Cao with a solemn expression: "What General Zixiao said is extremely true, and his subordinates fully agree. With all due respect, after the Battle of Feiyundu, the position of our army among the allies took a sharp turn for the worse, and it became the weakest prince of the road, and it was also a dispensable existence in the eyes of all princes. That's why. It had been half a day since the Lord had returned to the camp, but no princes had come to visit him; And the leader of the Yuan League took advantage of the fire to rob and abandon the previous promise without authorization. They also wantonly deducted our army's food and salary.

Such things are infuriating to say, but when you think about them calmly, they make sense. The so-called alliance is that the weak princes are dependent on the strong. Survive in this way. Seek benefits, and then develop and strengthen their own strength. In the past, the Warring States fought for hegemony, the six countries joined forces to compete with the strong Qin, and the alliance of interests and open and secret struggles between various countries are very similar to the situation we are facing today. The difference is that the situation in Fang today is more complicated than the Warring States Struggle for Hegemony, except for our allies and Xiliang Li thieves. There are also large and small six-way princes, and there are fourteen princes in the whole world. ”

Speaking of which. Cheng Yu suddenly stopped and bowed to Cao Cao: "At present, the Xiliang Li Thief is the strongest, occupying the land of the pre-Qin Dynasty, easy to defend and difficult to attack, and there are many war horses, the strength is strong, the combat power is strong, and he is alone in the world, and no prince can confront the Li Thief alone." Before the lord swore to fight to the death with the Li thief, there was both a family feud and his own interests; In this way, the lord put himself in the shoes of the allies to plan, and even did not hesitate to lead the army to attack Hangu Pass alone. However, after the First Battle of Feiyundu, the strength of our army was sharply reduced, and most of its strength was lost, and the situation became more and more difficult and dangerous. So??? The subordinate lord Jian yì will preserve his strength from now on, and our army's 20,000 men and horses can no longer lose a single soldier, not only that, but also find ways to increase the strength. This is the heartfelt words of his subordinates, and I hope that the lord will consider it carefully! ”

"Huh?" Cao Cao's color changed when he heard this, and his eyes showed a hint of hesitation, but more than that, he was very unwilling.

In the midst of a deep groan, Cao Cao got up lightly and walked in front of Cheng Yu, "Zhongde get up quickly." As the so-called loyalty is contrary to the ear, Zhongde's words are indeed not very popular, but they are also telling the truth. Although I, Cao Cao, have no eloquence and strategy, I can still distinguish the good from the bad, so Zhongde does not have to be restrained, and I don't have to worry about the loss of words, I will be angry with you. ”

While speaking, Cao Cao waved his hand and motioned for Cao Ren to sit down, and then pulled Cheng Yu to sit side by side under the hall, with a faint smile on his gloomy face: "Don't hide what Zhongde said, although I escaped the encirclement and arrest of the Li thief this time, we are still at a critical juncture of life and death." However, if according to Zhongde's words, shouldn't I leave the allies now and return to Yanzhou alone?

If this is the case, I am afraid that this move will be inappropriate, not to mention that Lu Bu will not allow us to return to Yanzhou first, and even Yuan Shao will not let us leave calmly. It must be known that the alliance has been full of contradictions between the various princes, as long as one person leads the way to leave the alliance, the other princes will follow suit, then the entire alliance will immediately fall apart and dissolve like the Chen Liuhui Alliance.

With such an alliance that ended without a problem, how could Yuan Shao give up? You must know that he has paid a huge price for this Hanoi alliance, and up to now, he has spent at least one million stones, grains, grass, hundreds of thousands of heavy ordnance, and no less than 200,000 gold on the allies. Such a huge expenditure is equivalent to all the treasury income of Jizhou for a year and a half, which is enough for him to form an army of 100,000. If the Allied forces were to be disbanded because we left the Allied forces, then Yuan Shao would definitely regard us as the number one enemy, and it would be very likely that he would join forces with Lu Bu to completely annihilate our army. At that time, we will definitely not be their opponents, we will definitely be defeated, and in the end, we will not only be defeated and die, but also our wives and children, and we will be raided and destroyed!

I don't know if Zhong De has ever thought about the stakes involved, have you ever thought about how I will get along with Yuan Shao in the future? ”

"What the lord said is very true." Cheng Yu nodded approvingly, but then shook his head again: "What the lord is worried about is a far-sighted move, thoughtful, and long-term. However, what the subordinates said was not asking the lord to leave the allied forces and return to Yanzhou now, on the contrary, the lord not only could not leave, but would continue to stay until the battle was completely over, and should continue to advise Yuan Shao and always support him. Only in this way can we strive for certain interests for our army, and then take the opportunity to increase our strength. ”

"What does Zhongde mean by that?"

Cao Cao was stunned when he heard this, and grabbed Cheng Yu's arm, looking very eager. However, no one noticed that the moment he turned around and turned his head, a gleam flashed in his eyes, and his eyes revealed a fleeting understanding.

"Zhongde, with only 20,000 horses in our military region, how can we increase our strength without leaving the allied forces? Without strength, how could Yuan Shao continue to believe in me, and how could he fund my army's food and weapons to allow me to expand my soldiers and horses? ”

Seeing Cao Cao asking so urgently, Cheng Yu didn't dare to slack off: "Don't be anxious, and listen to your subordinates." At the moment, our army must not be allied, and there are two reasons for this. First, Yuan Shao would not allow us to leave, let alone anyone to destroy the great good form of the alliance of princes; And we can't afford to offend Yuan Shao at present, without his support, not only will we not be able to regain the foundation of Yanzhou, but will become his enemy, and then accelerate their demise. Second, the lord worked hard for this princes' alliance, did not hesitate to take risks himself, and paid a heavy price for it, which can be said to be full of all his might; At such a great cost, we will not be able to return empty-handed, and the next decisive battle between the two armies will be a great opportunity for us to reap the fruits from the allies.

As for how to achieve this, the solution is simple. The only thing the lord has to do is to temporarily let go of his hatred for Li Thief, forget about the so-called alliance of princes, and plan how to strengthen the strength of our army! ”

"Chung De means??? Turning his back on the allies, taking advantage of the decisive battle between the allies and the Li thieves, obtaining grain and grass from the princes who had the greatest losses in soldiers and horses, recruiting soldiers privately, and waiting for an opportunity to collect their defeated army? Cao Cao squinted his eyes and asked suspiciously.

Cheng Yu shook his head slightly, and said with an indifferent smile: "It's basically like this, but it can't be said to turn your back on the allies." Since the war, the lord has done everything he can do for the allies; In the next war, even if the lord has the heart to contribute, he has more than enough strength but not enough strength. Therefore, the lord didn't need to do anything more, as long as he always supported Yuan Shao's decision-making, but he no longer accepted any missions.

As for the salaries and soldiers and horses left behind by some princes after their defeat, even if the lord did not take them, they would certainly be taken by other princes; Just like the previous Bai Bo Army, if the lord directly incorporated the remnants of the Bai Bo Army at that time, no one would say anything, but the lord looked down on the rabble of the Bai Bo Army, but now he was in Sun Ce's pocket. And ??????"

Seeing that Cheng Yu was still unfinished but wanted to stop talking, hesitating, Cao Cao's expression changed slightly, and he asked, "What else?" Zhongde might as well tell him bluntly, don't shy away from it! ”

Cheng Yu waved his hand when he heard this: "Since this is the case, the subordinates will tell the truth, and if there is any offense, please ask the lord to forgive me." ”

"Okay, Zhongde, but it doesn't hurt to speak, there is no fault in saying wrong!"

"The lord is so magnanimous and elegant, his subordinates must know everything and say everything. Or as his subordinates said before, today, the Li thief is strong and dominates, and it is difficult for any prince who confronts the Li thief head-on to retreat. Just like the war in front of him, the Lord of the Yuan League was ambitious, thinking about defeating Li Thief all day long, so that he could dominate the Central Plains by himself and finally seize the world. However, since the war, Yuan Shao's troops and horses have been almost intact, and they have not fought head-on with Li Thief's army at all, but he has plundered the fruits of the victory of the allies and pocketed the huge Hedong County. And Hanoi Taishou Zhang Yang has long been secretly under Yuan Shao's command, so that the entire Hedong and Hanoi two counties have all fallen into the hands of Yuan Shao.

At present, we are in front of Hangu Pass, with the two counties of Hedong and Hanoi under the name of Yuan Shao to the north, and Hexi, Luoyang and Henan counties under the rule of Li Thief behind us, which are completely within the jurisdiction of Li Thief. After the decisive battle between the two armies, if the allies win the battle, the counties of Henan will naturally surrender; If the battle is defeated or undefeated and stalemate, then the allies will face the front and rear attacks of the Li thief, and the enemy will be attacked on the back and back, and it may be difficult to hold on for a long time. That being the case, if there is any hope of Allied victory, we can only act when the opportunity arises; On the contrary, when forced to do so, the lord can consider ??? Li thief secretly formed an alliance??????"

―――――――――――― (To be continued......)