Crossing the Battle of the Three Kingdoms

Xu You was quick to come up with a plan, intending to force Zhang Xiu to leave and seize his soldiers and horses.

"Hmph." Cao Cao snorted coldly, and asked with a sarcasm, "Then tell me, who should be in command of Zhang Xiu's soldiers and horses, so as to convince them?"

Chapter 695

If Xu You's method could work, Cao Cao would have done it a long time ago, and we'll wait for him to say it.

Xu You thought for a while and replied: "Prime Minister, with a lot of money, there will always be one or two who will be tempted, and then slowly arrange manpower to infiltrate. The soldiers and horses left by Zhang Xiu will belong to the Prime Minister sooner or later."

This method is feasible, but it takes time, and Cao Cao has no time to wait. "Well, you don't need to intervene in this matter."

"The truth has re-arranged for you. You go to the nearby cities to collect food in person. The people of the aristocratic family will watch and act, and the local officials will cooperate unconditionally."

Hearing Cao Cao's words, Xu You felt dissatisfied on the spot. This job seemed simple, but when he thought about it deeply, it was a terrible job to blame.

In terms of Cao Cao's current economy, it is simply impossible to buy a large amount of grain, so the only way to go is Dongqiang.

The aristocratic family is an unusual family, and they are powerless to fight back. Even if they can be threatened at the time, making them unable to resist, it will be difficult to say later. Xu You doesn't want to live in fear in the future.

Judging from Cao Cao's meaning, he must be dissatisfied with the efficiency of handling things, so he let himself do this matter, Xu You knew very well in his heart.

Before one thing was done well, another difficult thing came up, Xu You began to regret in his heart, he should not have sold that dead thing in the first place, it was really bad luck.

Xu You asked with an ugly face, "Prime Minister, where will the money for grain purchase come from? Do you want to ask Xu Chang for some?"

Cao Cao waved his hand and said, "Just expropriate from the treasuries of various places, presumably Ziyuan should have a way?"

It should be the word, Cao Cao slightly increased his voice, Xu You paused in his heart, and understood that Cao Cao was trying to dig his own pocket.

Xu You is not so generous in using private money for business affairs. Since he has no choice in Cao Cao, he can only use his own method.

Xu You bowed and didn't ask questions, so he had no choice but to accept it.

Cao Cao continued: "The Aocang incident must have been infiltrated by Li Jun, and Li Huiyi must have received the news."

"Since he wants to force our army to make a decisive battle, three days later, the army will gather and start the battle."

Cao Cao finally made up his mind, this time there was no one objecting, the decisive battle was formally decided, it took several hours to arrange the attack and defense, and all the generals left to prepare.

Cao Cao stayed with his confidant and others, continued to discuss for a while, and then asked people to invite Ma, Han, Zhang and others to follow the plan.

Han Sui and Ma Chao came earlier, seeing a group of civil servants in the tent, they thought it was an ordinary discussion about war, so they didn't think much of it, and they took their seats after saluting.

After waiting for about a cup of tea, Zhang Xiu came late, entered the tent, took a glance first, and then saluted.

When the three of them arrived, Cao Cao said bluntly, "Three, three days later, I want to fight Li Huiyi decisively, but I always feel uneasy, and I need the help of the three."

Han Sui had the smallest presence in the inner circle, and he had secretly taken refuge early. At this time, he was the first to stand up and echoed: "The prime minister has something to say, so he will definitely do it."

Seeing this, Ma Chao also cupped his hands and said: "There is a battle to fight, supernatural joy, the prime minister is welcome."

After the two finished speaking, Cao Cao waited for a while, seeing that Zhang Xiu still hadn't made a statement, he immediately looked at him and asked, "General Zhang, are you willing?"

Zhang Xiu directly clasped his fists and said: "If the prime minister asks Wei Jiang to fight the enemy, Wei Jiang will never refuse, but if it's something else, then you have to think about it."

"En." Cao Cao's nasal voice was longer, and he nodded thoughtfully and said, "I heard that the Zou family is the first family in Wancheng, and it seems that there is also Mrs. Zou, who is as beautiful as a flower. Wife and concubine, how are you?"

In the previous second, it was still discussing military affairs. In the next second, there are people who are full of wind and snow, and their heads are turning unhappy. They must have been confused, such as a reckless man like Ma Chao.

Hearing this, Zhang Xiu's face turned red and white, and his chest heaved slightly, obviously very angry.

For Zhang Xiu, Wancheng is a weight to contain Cao Cao's military power, and the Zou family is an important supporter of Zhang Xiu.

Presumably everyone should know that Mrs. Zou is Zhang Ji's widow. With this relationship, the Zou family naturally turned to Zhang Xiu.

The Zou family's dominance in Wancheng is all due to the support of Zhang Ji and Zhang Xiu, so they will not betray easily unless they have better and safer backers, such as becoming relatives with Cao Cao.

At this moment, Zhang Xiu's heart seemed to have overturned all kinds of emotions, mixed with shame, shock, anger, etc., and didn't know how to say it for a while.

After a few minutes' delay, Zhang Xiu's eyes turned cold, and he said slowly, "The Prime Minister really wants to do this, but Mrs. Zou is not Aunt Jiang."

"Oh?" Cao Cao pretended to be surprised and said: "So that's the case, but I have been wandering. To express my apology, I named General Zhang the Marquis of Xuanwei, General Po Qiang, with [-] households in the city, and stayed in Xuchang to serve."

After Cao Cao's combination of punches, Zhang Xiu was forced to make a difficult choice. Either stick to the end and fight Cao Cao to the death, or compromise and enjoy the rich salary of a high official. How to choose is all in Zhang Xiu's mind.

Zhang Xiu thought for a long time, and asked with a sarcastic smile on his face, "Prime Minister, do you still remember how you agreed to Xiu when you were in Wancheng?"

Seeing Zhang Xiu's appearance, Cao Cao expressed helplessness and said: "General Zhang, the truth is also helpless. The battle at Guandu is related to the rejuvenation of the Han Dynasty, and the army must be unified."

Reviving the Han Dynasty is such a high-sounding excuse. Zhang Xiu despises it very much in his heart. He knows that Cao Cao will not give up if he does not succeed.

But without soldiers in his hands, he becomes a fish. Zhang Xiu, who grew up in Xiliang, knows that only strength can protect himself, but the premise is that his life is safe.

Zhang Xiu was moved, and knelt down and said: "The ambition of the prime minister is not too late. I just misunderstood, please forgive me. Xiu will go back and make arrangements, and leave early tomorrow morning."

"Well, good, General Zhang is righteous, and thank you on behalf of His Majesty." Seeing Zhang Xiu's compromise, Cao Cao did not doubt that he was there, and smiled to comfort him.

Convincing Zhang Xiu that he was the toughest, Cao Cao looked at Ma Chao, and saw that he was still confused, with a trace of helplessness flashing across his face.

Smart people are often better at speaking and revealing a little bit. People like Ma Chao are even more unsteady, and they may explode violently.

But what should be said, I still have to say, Cao Cao moistened his stomach in his heart, and said: "Meng Qi, a few days ago, Ao Cang was attacked by the lurking Li Jun and caused a little loss. Let you lead three thousand fine cavalry to encircle and suppress."

Ma Chao frowned. He stayed here for a long time, and finally there was a big battle, and he wanted to lead the army away at this time. This was not intentional to make himself feel uncomfortable.

Ma Chao said displeasedly: "Li Jun is a small group, Chao can send a general at will, then he has to go there in person, besides, Guandu is in need of manpower, Chao can also help the Prime Minister."

Although Ma Chao still didn't know Cao Cao's intentions, he was more inclined to stay and was unwilling to leave Guandu where the war was about to break out.

Chapter 696 The Battle of Guandu

Cao Cao shook his head and said: "Meng Qi doesn't know, if they are really small people, they won't take the truth to heart. The news from Aocang said that the leader only led a thousand people and retreated from the siege of ten thousand people. He is a mighty general in Li's army."

Cao Cao deliberately exaggerated, just to attract Ma Chao's warlike heart, but as expected, Ma Chao didn't notice it at all.

Hearing that he is a powerful person, Ma Chao turned his eyes slightly, thought for a while and said: "Okay, Chao will take orders, but when Chao leaves, the headquarters should be led by Deputy General Pang De."

Cao Cao had heard of Pang De's name, and he knew that this man was a stable person, so he felt a little reluctant, but he didn't show it at all.

"Yes." Cao Cao nodded and said, "Naturally, but during the war, all actions must obey orders, otherwise military law is ruthless."

Ma Chao was very confident in Pound, so he naturally agreed. As for Han Sui, Cao Cao let him lead a group of Xiliang generals to Xuchang with a few words.

In this way, Cao Cao used a different method to temporarily achieve internal stability, and also gained more confidence in the upcoming decisive battle.

After Zhang Xiu came back from Cao Cao's tent, he didn't make any big moves, but secretly recruited his confidant general Hu Che'er.

Inside the tent, Zhang Xiu was explaining something to Hu Che'er in a low voice, only to see Hu Che'er's expression became more and more dignified.