I will be the master of Xuande

Chapter 542 Confucian General
On the Xuzhou side, Tao Qian made a strategy to let Liu Bei, Yuan Shu, Cao Bao and others divide their troops into three routes and go southward to form a corner.

Cao Cao was not in a hurry to go north. He just stationed in Xiapi and Pengcheng Kingdom with peace of mind, where he could win people's hearts and recruit troops. At the same time, he used Yuan Shao's reputation to recruit local heroes for his own use.

Hearing that Tao Qian sent troops from three routes to fight against him, Cao Cao took his time and called a group of his subordinates to discuss countermeasures.

"Tao Gongzu sent Cao Bao, Liu Bei, and Yuan Shu to fight me. The three of them confronted me in a split-angle manner. How can we stop them?"

Zhou Yu stood up and said to Cao Cao: "Cao Bao is just one of Tao Qian's subordinates, a gangster with a wine bag, so don't worry about it. Yuan Gonggong is already a dead bone in the tomb, and he is not good enough. Moreover, this person is deceitful, so he may not be sincerely helping Tao Qian. Yi Quer, the only one who can make Duke Ming worry about it is Liu Bei!"

Cao Cao nodded solemnly, and said: "That's true. Liu Xuande is my opponent, and it's not easy to take it easy. Gongjin thinks, how should we break it?"

Zhou Yu said: "Although Liu Bei has been in battle for a long time, his tactics are too straightforward and less deceitful. I heard that although his nature is modest, he also thinks of himself quite high. Now it can be designed to trap the crowd."

Cao Cao stroked his beard and said, "How to make a plan?"

"I got the news earlier that Liu Bei was in Xuzhou recently, and his reputation has been strengthened. All the counties and people respect him deeply. On the contrary, Tao Qian, Cao Bao, Yuan Shu and others are notorious and unpopular."

"Although they don't say anything, they must harbor resentment in their hearts. It's just because Tao Qian and others are deeply afraid of our soldiers and horses here."

"Yuan Shu, Cao Bao and others are allies with Liu Bei, but they all hate Liu Bei!"

"If one can indulge his arrogance and make him careless, it will not be difficult for the Xuzhou people to defeat him!"

Cao Cao nodded and said, "However, how can we indulge our hearts?"

Zhou Yu cupped his hands and said, "There is a method that can make Liu Bei less vigilant, secretly arrogate his heart, and make him reveal his flaws, and great things can be accomplished!"

"Gongjin tried to say it?"

"Change coaches!"

"Change in coach?"

Cao Cao narrowed his eyes, muttered a few words, and then smiled.

"I understand. What Gong Jin said is to let Cao lie in front of the battle and transfer the power of the front to others. This will make Liu Bei and others relax their vigilance. Once Cao is not in charge in person, the other army will If there is no threat, there will be civil unrest!"

Zhou Yu was very emotional.

Talking to Cao Cao was never tiring.

"What Duke Ming said is right. That's exactly what Duke Ming said. Duke Ming can pretend to be ill. He will return to Shouchun to recuperate on the pretext that he misses Taigong too much and has an emergency. The soldiers in front of the battle can be handed over to General Cao Zixiao. If Liu Bei, Tao Qian and others know this There must be some slack in the matter, and great things can be accomplished!"

"Gongjin is really quick-witted, haha, he is truly a general!"

Cao Cao stroked his beard and smiled with satisfaction.

Afterwards, I heard him say: "However, Cao wants to slightly modify Gongjin's strategy."

Zhou Yu cupped his hands and said, "Please make an announcement tomorrow."

Cao Cao said: "Cao can pretend to be sick, withdraw to the rear, and hand over the Xuzhou army to others, but not to Zixiao, but to you, military advisor Zhou Yu!"

Zhou Yu was shocked when he heard the words: "Ming Gong, Zhou Yu is young and has no prestige, how can he lead the army..."

Cao Cao waved his hand and said, "Just listen to me."

"It is precisely because you are young and poor in virtue, but you do have great wisdom and great ability, so this soldier and horse was handed over to you. Zixiao is also a person who knows soldiers, and Liu Bei knows this very well."

"Since Cao was asked to cheat, instead of letting Zixiao take over, it is better to let you take over. It will make Liu Bei, Tao Qian and others relax their vigilance!"

"Moreover, what they didn't expect was that when it comes to the ability to use troops and the profound wisdom and strategy, you are far above Zi Xiao. Therefore, it is most suitable for you to lead the three armies as the main general..."

"The most important thing is that there are some sudden opportunities for victory that you can seize, but Zixiao may not!"

"Gongjin, don't let me down!"

After saying that, Cao Cao stood up, picked up the sword on the table, and handed it to Zhou Yu's hand!
"Gongjin holds Cao's command sword, and he should be able to command the three armies! If anyone in the three armies dares not listen to Gongjin's order, you can use this sword to kill him!"

Zhou Yu took the Yitian Sword from Cao Cao's hand with a solemn face, and said, "Yu must do his best!"

Not long after Zhou Yu left, Gu Yong came to Cao Cao's tent.

"Ming Gong, under the order of Ming Gong, the last official discussed with Yuan Shao's subordinate Chen Lin about the ownership of Xiapi Kingdom and Pengcheng Kingdom."

Cao Cao stroked his beard and said, "What's the result?"

Gu Yong said: "The last official was ordered by Duke Ming to negotiate with him. At first, he refused to give up an inch. Later, under Chen Lin's constant urging and calculation, he agreed to hand over Pengcheng to Yuan Shao!"

"What did Chen Lin say?"

"Chen Lin said that she will return to Jingzhou and return to Yuan Shao before making a final decision."

Cao Cao's expression didn't change much, he nodded and said: "Yuan sighed hard work, you can go back to Wuzhong to rest, after Yuan Shao's reply, I'm thinking about how to deal with this matter." Gu Yong didn't move the cube, he just He stroked his beard and stood there, as if hesitating for something.

Seeing this, Cao Cao smiled and said, "Yuan Tan has something unclear in his mind?"

Gu Yong nodded and said, "Yes."

"Haha, between you and me, there is no need to worry too much. If you have any questions, just tell us!"

Gu Yong said: "Ming Gong led his army to the north this time to avenge Taigong! We won all the way, and now we have captured the important towns of Pengcheng and Xiapi. Yuan Benchu ​​sent Sun Jian here to help Ming Gong in name, but so far he has failed. There was no battle with the soldiers and horses of Xuzhou. Pengcheng and Xiapi were taken by my Yangzhou soldiers at the risk of their lives. Now, based on Yuan Shao's words, half of them are going to be given away and Pengcheng is given to him. What's the point?"

Cao Cao did not immediately explain. He just stood up and walked slowly to the map in the commander's tent.

"Yuan Tan, come here."

Gu Yong obeyed immediately and came to Cao Cao's side.

"According to the current situation, Liu Deran has already ruled the roost in Hebei. The next day, the world will sooner or later form a confrontation between the north and the south. It's just that Liu Jian in the north is very strong. If Cao, Sun Wentai, Yuan Benchu, Yuan Boye and others can't join forces, they will become a tripod. With the momentum, we will fight against the powerful enemies in the north, and sooner or later, Liu Jian will destroy them one by one!"

"It's just that even if we want to form a tripartite force and compete with the powerful enemies in the north, it still depends on who faces the greatest pressure from Liu Jian!"

"Now, Yingchuan, Chen, Ru, Liangpei and other places are all under the control of Yuan Shao, Yuan Zhong and Sun Wentai, but it is no wonder that Runan is the foundation of the Yuan family, and Yuan Shao should regard it as the most important, but Pengcheng It is common sense that Yuan Shao will not cede the territory of Peiguo and the flank of Yuzhou."

"However, as far as we are concerned, if we want to develop Jiangdong smoothly while facing powerful enemies in the north, we must also deploy a suitable strategy. This does not mean that the more land we occupy, the better..."

"According to Cao's opinion, the northwest of Shouchun is Peiguo, the northeast is Xiapi, and the north of Wujun is Guangling. We only need to take Xiapi and Guangling and use them as the front line against the powerful enemy in the north. To protect Jianghuai and Yangzhou, as for the pressure from Pengcheng and Peiguo, let Yuan Benchu ​​block it, so the pressure on Jiangdong is still relatively small."

After hearing this, Gu Yong understood.

"Minggong has far-reaching concerns, and I am deeply convinced!"

……

……

A few days later, Liu Bei received important news about Cao Cao's army.

"Cao Mengde has a headache? The troops are withdrawing from Jiangdong?"

After hearing the news, Liu Bei asked in surprise, "Is this news reliable?"

Han Dangdao, who was responsible for reporting to Liu Bei, said: "The general was also suspicious of this matter at first, so he sent scouts to Xiapi! In addition, he also asked the school officials from the school affairs office to help investigate. The matter is true. It is said that Cao Cao has withdrawn. Shouchun is recuperating from his illness, and Cao Jun’s frontline military has already changed generals to take charge of the military power before the battle!"

Liu Bei narrowed his eyes, and said in a deep voice, "Who will be replaced? Could it be Cao Zixiao? Or Xia Houyuan?"

When Han Dang heard Liu Bei ask this, he burst out laughing for some reason.

"No!"

Liu Bei was stunned when he heard this.

"Not Cao Ren and Xia Houyuan?"

"The general can guess again."

Liu Bei stood up, paced back and forth in the handsome tent, and thoughtfully said: "Could it be Cao Chun?"

"No!"

"Cao Hong?"

"No way!"

Liu Bei was a little surprised now.

"Among the Cao clan, those who can be the chief generals are these people... aren't they from the Cao clan?"

"What the general said is true. Cao Cao really didn't let someone from the Cao clan be the coach this time?"

"Cao Cao's coach is a member of the Lujiang Zhou family, Zhou Yu, Zhou Gongjin!"

"Zhou Yu?" Liu Bei was stunned when he heard the words: "I heard Deran mention this person... how old is he?"

"It is said that he is eighteen years old!"

"Hahahahaha!"

Cheng Pu on the side couldn't help laughing when he heard this: "Cao Cao dares to let an eighteenth-year-old son take charge of the front army? It's so funny! Xuande Gong said that Cao Cao is an unparalleled hero, and he acts very leisurely. Today, I saw that it is true. Ordinary people I really don’t dare to do something like him. How can a Huangkou boy become a general? Cao Cao is asking for his own defeat this time!"

(End of this chapter)