I will be the master of Xuande

Chapter 698 Dream

Cao Chun lived in Tancheng, had his own mansion, and had his own servants. Liu Bei really didn't have anything to say to his brother-in-law. Apart from not letting him go out of Tancheng, the rest was up to him.

Even in his spare time, Liu Bei would go to Cao Chun's mansion in person and have a few drinks with his brother-in-law.

At the same time, Liu Bei would regularly spread news about Cao Chun to Cao Cao's military camp, promoting the benevolence of the imperial court. Even if he captured Cao Chun, he would treat him so favorably, etc... which fully demonstrated the benevolence of the imperial court.

The news reached Cao Cao's camp, and all the generals knew that Cao Chun was very safe at this moment, and they were all reassured.

But at the same time, the generals had some doubts about this time going north to conquer Liu Bei.

After all, Cao Chun is still in the hands of Liu Bei and is getting good treatment. At this time, Cao Cao is not thinking about ways to rescue Cao Chun. Instead, he goes north to fight Liu Bei. What if Liu Bei is really annoyed? Taking Cao Chun's life, isn't this a bit disrespectful of the friendship between the same clan...

Everyone is somewhat afraid to think about the rest.

After Cao Cao went north recently, he was repeatedly bullied by Liu Bei on the plain battlefield, and he felt quite depressed. Although he tried his best to lure Liu Bei's troops into the mountains and forests, Liu Bei was still very calm now. He didn't fall into the trap, so Cao Cao has been unable to open up the situation.

Now that Cao Cao's troops were blocked in the Huaibei area by Liu Bei and unable to advance, he was already quite depressed.

After the news about Cao Chun in Tancheng reached Cao Cao, Cao Cao laughed at that time. He didn't know whether he was annoyed or angry.

"Big Er is a man with many tricks. I think he has Liu Jian's true biography!"

Military advisor Xi Zhicai has been following Cao Cao. After listening to Cao Cao's words, he said: "Zihe and Liu Xuande have a friendship between Qin and Jin. Now that Liu Bei treats each other like this, it shows that Liu Bei is a good person."

"Like Liu Jian, he is based on benevolence and righteousness."

"According to the official's opinion, Liu Bei treated Zihe well and at the same time spread the news to various places. It seems that it is not to completely disturb the morale of our army, but it must have a deeper meaning."

When Cao Cao heard this, he didn't show any surprise.

He said: "Zhicai's words are very true. Cao knows it well. Liu Bei's move has a deep meaning, which is to have peace talks with Cao!"

"He wanted Cao to retreat when he faced difficulties."

Xi Zhicai said: "Although Liu Xuande has fought against us, he has not attacked with all his strength. He has the tendency to not interfere with us. His spread of rumors about Zihe in Antai, Xuzhou is just an excuse. I will take this opportunity to let my lord know that I have no long-term intention of war with my lord."

Cao Cao sighed: "Zhicai, in fact, Cao has always had a concern in his heart, that is, where should Cao go in the future?"

When Xi Zhi heard this, there was concern on his face.

"Did the Lord never think about this before he came to Jiangdong?"

Cao Cao nodded and said: "I have thought about it, but many things have not developed as Cao thought."

"Back then, when Cao came here, he just wanted to take advantage of the convenient geographical location in the south of the Yangtze River to separate the southeast, sit back and observe the general trend of the world, and watch Dong Zhuo, Yuan, Liu Jian and other heroes compete, develop with peace of mind, look for opportunities to enter the Central Plains, and then conquer the Central Plains in one fell swoop It’s going to be a big deal…”

When he said this, it was inconvenient to see the look in Cao Cao's eyes suddenly darken and he sighed.

"I just never expected that Liu Jian would develop so fast."

"No one could have imagined that he would occupy the imperial court and unify the northern states in such a short period of time."

"Especially after Liu Jian took over the imperial court, he was able to stabilize the north so quickly and all industries developed rapidly. This was something Cao had never expected."

"According to Cao's assumptions, it would have taken Liu Jian at least another ten years to achieve what he has achieved today."

"And these ten years are enough for Cao to do a lot of things."

"Everything is different now."

"Liu Jian is the most powerful person in the world today."

"He occupied the imperial court, occupied the orthodoxy, and occupied the most economically prosperous place in the Han Dynasty, the place with the most war horses, the place with the most grain, the place with the most iron products, the place with the most trade and industry..."

"Hey, with the current power of all the heroes in the world, Cao must unite with Yuan Shao, Yuan Yi and others to be able to compete with Liu Jian."

"No single family can be Liu Jian's opponent, but if the fight continues like this, when will it end? Is it really possible for us to defeat Liu Jian and reorganize the court?"

When Xi Zhi heard this, he smiled helplessly and said: "My lord, what he has in mind is indeed far-reaching."

"It's just that with the current situation, the Lord has no choice but to continue on this path."

"My lord is indeed incapable of destroying Liu Jian."

"Does the lord want to surrender to Liu Jian?"

When Cao Cao heard this, he reached out and rubbed his eyebrows, and said, "Even if I surrender to Liu Jian, I'm afraid there may not be any good results."

"Cao has been in charge of the southeast for many years and has become deeply entrenched here. If he surrenders the next day, he will be taboo."

"Besides, Cao is a supporter of Yuan Shao. Over the years, his interests have been deeply tied to the Yuan family."

"Liu Deran and the Yuan family are already locked in a fight to the death. As a supporter of Yuan Shao, no one can say what will happen to Cao once he surrenders."

"Furthermore, even if Liu Jian does not harm Cao and agrees to surrender, Cao now has great influence in the southeast... If Cao surrenders, will Cao's descendants still be tolerated by the Han Dynasty?"

"Cao has no idea about these things. Now, Cao is at the forefront of the storm... Where is the road? Cao also doesn't know."

Xi Zhicai said: "In this case, my lord, there is only one way to go."

"What way?"

"With Liu Jian's current overwhelming power, although he cannot be completely defeated, it is not impossible for my lord to join forces with Yuan Shao and rely on the danger of the Three Rivers to hold on. This may last for ten or even twenty years... But to what date can it be sustained? , it is difficult to guess what the official is thinking, but he realizes that with Liu Jian’s ambition, he will not want to spend time with his lord, Yuan Shao and others indefinitely. Within ten years, if Liu Jian cannot win In the south of the Yangtze River, it is not necessarily impossible for the imperial court to take the initiative to recruit the lord and make him surrender."

Cao Cao said: "Then we still have to surrender to the court?"

Xi Zhicai shook his head and said: "Submission like this is different from surrendering to Liu Jian directly and passively. As long as the lord can hold the Yangtze River and is not invaded by the Northern Army in the south of the Yangtze River, he will be invincible. In this way, he can submit to Liu Jian." Jian has put forward conditions... For example, it is not impossible for Liu Jian to agree to the lord and make the lord live in the southeast forever."

"At that time, the lord can seize the south of the Yangtze River and pay tribute to the court every year. This will ensure that the lord himself and his descendants will have no worries."

Cao Cao smiled when he heard this.

"Yes, until now, there is only one way to go. Even if we can't achieve great things, if we can dominate one side forever, it will be a great thing for Cao."

"How can you be as comfortable as being a dominating force when you are at the mercy of others in the imperial court?"

Xi Zhicai nodded and said: "So what the lord has to do now is to fight Liu Jian or negotiate peace with Liu Jian, but he cannot surrender to him."

"There must be a war between the two sides. We must let Liu Jian know that although his power is strong, he must spend a huge amount of energy and national power if he wants to pacify Jiangdong."

"And negotiating peace with the lord and appeasing the lord is undoubtedly the best choice for the court."

Cao Cao nodded: "That's right,"

"From now on, I, Jiangdong, have a very delicate relationship with Yuan Shao and the imperial court. We must use Yuan Shao to attack the imperial court and make the imperial court retreat when we encounter difficulties. However, at the same time, we cannot tie Yuan Shao too tightly and we must be able to advance and retreat freely. " Xi Zhicai said: "Even if Yuan Shao is used to compete with the court, the relationship with the court should not be too rigid. There must be both war and peace with Liu Jian. Only the lord himself can control this balance. ”

Cao Cao said: "Fortunately, Cao still saved a hand back then and got married to Liu Xuande."

"Now that Zihe is in his hands, Liu Bei also deliberately spreads his favor to Zihe everywhere, but after thinking about it, he still wants to use this matter to negotiate with Cao."

"Forget it, Cao will just use the Zihe incident to negotiate with Liu Xuande."

"Zhicai, you will find Yuan Tan on Cao's behalf later and ask him to go to Tancheng on Cao's behalf to meet with Liu Bei to discuss our army's redemption of his son and his return to Jiangdong!"

"Remember, Gu Yuantan should be as high-profile as possible along the way. It is best to make this matter known to everyone."

"After all, Liu Xuande is not Liu Deran. I think he should be much easier to deal with."

……

……

As a result, Cao Cao showed a situation of taking care of both sides. While he continued to fight Liu Bei, he began to send people to contact Liu Bei to discuss the matter of redeeming Cao Chun and returning to Jiangdong.

After all, Cao Chun is Cao Cao's brother, and it is understandable for Cao Cao to negotiate peace with Liu Bei for his safety.

Even if this matter finally reached Yuan Shao's ears, Cao Cao could explain it clearly in front of Yuan Shao.

After all, it was not his brother from the Yuan family who was arrested, and Yuan Shao had no right to accuse him of Cao Cao.

So Cao Cao sent envoy Gu Yong to communicate with Liu Bei and discuss how to redeem Cao Chun.

For Cao Cao, whether he can get Cao Chun back is a trivial matter. The key is that once the two parties enter into peace talks, the war on this scene must be temporarily suspended.

Whether it is Cao Cao or Liu Bei, it is not advisable to use too many troops on the other side during the peace talks. This will ensure that the conflict between the two sides is reduced. However, Cao Cao's troops and horses are still on display in Xiapi State, constantly exerting political deterrence on Xuzhou. .

This can be regarded as being in harmony with Cao Cao's wishes.

As a response to Yuan Shao's request, Liu Bei was restrained in Xuzhou so that Liu Bei could not go to other places for support.

In a sense, although the conflict between the two parties is inevitable, in this case, the conflict between the two parties can be reduced.

Now that Cao Cao has made up his mind, he needs to control the measurement of "degree" himself.

……

……

Compared with other places on the border between the north and the south, the war in Xuzhou is considered the mildest.

First, Ma Teng and Han Sui led more than ten rebel troops to attack Longxi with cavalry, but this time Zhang Fei could not tolerate them.

He had already made sufficient preparations, and also received support from Xu Rong.

This time Zhang Fei was no longer conservative. He invited Lu Bu, Zhang He and other generals to join the battle. Zhang Fei personally led the army and competed with Ma Teng and Han Sui.

Many Wu forts in Longxi County have become the forward positions of the Liangzhou Production and Construction Corps, and Zhang Fei's soldiers and horses are all the best of the best. Now the Liangzhou Production and Construction Corps has taken root in Longxi County, and There is also a steady supply of food and grass.

Even if Ma Teng and Han Sui cannot be wiped out at once, Zhang Fei feels that he can still fight a protracted war and use this war to show his opponent's strength.

There will never be the same embarrassment as when Dong Zhuo led an army of 100,000 to march westward.

As for Yuzhou, Sun Ce respected Yuan Shao's order and had already led the old troops of the Sun family army, including the soldiers he had re-recruited in Yuzhou, towards Yanzhou, and Gongsun Zan also fought hand-to-hand with Sun Ce.

In Luoyang, Zhao Yun and Ju Shou's partners also started a head-on battle with Yuan Shaojun.

This time, Yuan Shao personally led the troops with great momentum. In order to protect Sizhou's farmland, Zhao Yun moved the battle line forward and blocked Yuan Shao outside Luyang.

Even though Yuan Shao went north with great momentum and had far more soldiers and horses than Zhao Yun, the ones Zhao Yun was guarding were still cavalry!

Not bad, cavalry!

The trump card of the northern army is the cavalry!

It's corny, but it works.

The powerful cavalry was unable to break through on the plain battlefield. Once Yuan Shao's army and Zhao Yun's army met on the plain, Zhao Yun immediately used his powerful white horse army to charge Yuan's army.

After the opponent's military formation is completely dispersed, other covering troops will be sent to rush forward to fight Yuan Jun.

Although Yuan Shao had a large number of troops, they were beaten several times by Zhao Yun's cavalry on the plain battlefield and failed to gain any advantage. They felt extremely depressed, so they wanted to set up a strong crossbow formation and then find a suitable place to attack Zhao Yun's cavalry. The cavalry laid an ambush and dealt a heavy blow to the opponent.

The problem is that Zhao Yun has also been marching in the border counties for many years and has a very good grasp of the battlefield.

Although there are many talents in Jingzhou under Yuan Shao, at the military level, especially in the Pingyuan Station, they are far less experienced than Zhao Yun.

Zhao Yun's two lieutenants, Yan Liang and Wen Chou, were also fierce generals who were proficient in cavalry battle formations.

These generals who were born in Hebei are all good at using cavalry to form formations.

These three men took turns bringing the cavalry into battle, causing great obstacles to Yuan Shao's army.

Yuan Shao wanted to destroy Sizhou's farmland, but the cavalry used by Zhao Yun, Yan Liang, Wen Chou and others was extremely mobile.

They were always able to attack Yuan Shao's soldiers who destroyed the fields as soon as possible, preventing Yuan Shao's strategy from fully succeeding.

Of course, Yuan Shao also captured part of the farmland in Sizhou, so it was impossible that there would be no results at all, but the results were much worse than he expected.

At the same time, Yuan Yi from Yizhou also began to send his troops north, secretly wanting to leave Dashan Pass and go straight to Chang'an.

On the other hand, Yuan Shao sent his general Huang Zu and several other powerful generals from Jingzhou to go to Hongnong County to quietly bring Empress Dowager He and Liu Bian to Jingzhou. In this way, his political purpose was achieved. .

Even if he cannot destroy Liu Jian's development layout in the north at the first moment, as long as he can snatch King Hongnong and Queen Mother He back to Jingzhou, Yuan Shao's trip will be considered worthwhile.

The problem is that Liu Jian already knew about Yuan Shao's arrangements.

King Hongnong was just a pawn he used to attract Yuan Shao's army.

Liu Jian had already sent Xu Huang to ambush an army in Hongnong.

Although the number was small, there was no problem in defeating Huang Zu by surprise.

Liu Jian knew that once Yuan Shao's plan to welcome King Hongnong went bankrupt, his entire layout would be disrupted.

At that time, it will be a good opportunity for you to fight back hard.

(End of this chapter)