Three Kingdoms: I, the eldest son of Cao, a loving father of a great man!

"Ah!" Zhang Xiu was shocked when he saw Xu You was seriously injured.

Ju Shou took advantage of the situation to launch a surprise attack on Zhang Xiu and cut his throat with a dagger. Blood spurted out and Zhang Xiu stared wide-eyed, dying with his eyes open!

"Zhang Xiu!!" Xu You was extremely sad and angry.

Ju Shou was overjoyed to see that Zhang Xiu was dead. He had finally completed his mission! !
"Mr. Fengxiao, Zhang Xiu is dead! You must quickly go to Yecheng to inform the lord!" Ju Su ordered.

Guo Jia cupped his hands and said, "Yes!"

Guo Jia took Zhang Xiu's sword and ran away.

Once Zhang Xiu is dead, Ju Shou and Huang Zhong can focus on dealing with Xu You.

Xu You knew he was no match for his opponent, and tried desperately to stop Ju Shou and Huang Zhong from attacking him.

Ju Shou and Huang Zhong joined forces and were stronger than Xu You. Xu You gradually fell into a disadvantage and was finally captured by the two men.

"Zhang Xiu is dead, Zhang Xiu is dead!" Xu Sheng, Zhao Yun and Dian Wei were ecstatic after hearing the news.

Xu Sheng and Dian Wei even led their troops to Yecheng.

"My lord, I have fulfilled my mission. Zhang Xiu has been killed!" Ju Su said to Cao Ang as if he was presenting a treasure.

Cao Ang smiled and said, "Okay!"

Cao Ang felt very relieved as Zhang Xiu was finally defeated.

Although Zhang Xiu had no talent, Cao Ang had a good impression of him. After all, Cao Ang did not want Jizhou under his governance to be an iron plate.

As a famous prince in history, Zhang Xiu's existence was a deterrent to Cao Ang, so Cao Ang continued to suppress Zhang Xiu.

But now it is different. Zhang Xiu has been killed, Cao Ang’s pressure has been reduced a lot, and his hatred for Zhang Xiu has also faded.

Cao Ang was in a good mood now, and said with a smile: "Now that Zhang Xiu is dead, I want to reward everyone!"

Ju Shou and Huang Zhong were delighted when they heard that Cao Ang wanted to add more food to everyone's meal. This was a rare opportunity.

Huang Zhong was the first to congratulate Cao Ang, and others followed suit and thanked Cao Ang.

Cao Ang held a grand banquet to celebrate the good news of Zhang Xiu's death. After everyone had eaten and drunk their fill, they dispersed.

The news of Zhang Xiu's death spread throughout Jizhou, and Cao Cao and Yuan Shu were shocked.

"Asshole! Who can tell me how Zhang Xiu died?!" Cao Cao cursed.

Originally, both Cao Cao and Yuan Shu were planning to send elite troops to ambush around Zhang Xiu's camp, waiting for the defense of Zhang Xiu's camp to relax before launching a fatal attack.

Unexpectedly, Zhang Xiu was killed just as they were getting ready. Isn't this a slap in the face to both of them?
"My lord, please calm down. There must be something fishy about this matter. Perhaps Zhang Xiu leaked the news." Xun Yu analyzed.

"Prime Minister, your analysis makes sense, but if we continue like this, Jizhou will be in danger," Chen Gong advised.

"Mr. Yuan Tu is absolutely right. We must take measures." Xun Yu agreed.

"My lord, the most urgent thing is to send someone to investigate Yuan Shao," Chen Gong suggested.

Cao Cao said, "You don't need to tell me that. Wen Ruo, go and inform Yuan Shang and Yuan Xi now, and have them send someone to Yuan Shao to find out the truth."

"I obey your order!" Xun Yu received the task and set off immediately.

Chen Gong said to Cao Cao, "My lord, now that our plan has been exposed, I think we can retreat."

"No, wouldn't retreating mean all our efforts will be in vain? I won't allow it!" Cao Cao insisted.

Chen Gong sighed. He knew Cao Cao would not listen to him. He could only promise not to interrupt again.

Cao Cao asked again: "Then what should we do?"

Chen Gong shook his head and said, "I don't know."

Cao Cao was speechless. Chen Gong was a think tank strategist, but when faced with such a difficult situation, he didn't know what to do.

"If we retreat, once the news of Zhang Xiu's murder spreads, the Jizhou nobles will inevitably revolt.

Then our plan, which we have worked hard for many years, will be ruined. And our food reserves are running low, if we retreat this time.

Our granaries will be robbed by the Jizhou nobles, and our losses will be too great."

Chen Gong continued to analyze, "I do have a solution that may be able to resolve our army's predicament."

"Oh? What do you mean? Tell me quickly!" Cao Cao said excitedly.

Chen Gong said: "If Yuan Shao is unwilling to fight with our army, you can find some excuses to stall Yuan Shao.

For example, Zhang Xiu's death was caused by his seducing a woman from our side, which made Yuan Shao furious and he ordered Zhang Xiu to commit suicide.

My lord, you only need to send someone to Yuan Shao's camp to find out the truth."

"That's a very good idea!" Cao Cao nodded and said, "Zhongde, go do it right away and make sure you figure it out as soon as possible."

"Yes!" Chen Gong responded with a fist salute, then left the tent.

Ju Su had another worry: "My Lord, we are running low on food. We must find a new granary as soon as possible."

"Don't worry about that, I have already made arrangements.

You should take over the military power under Zhang Xiu now, and deal with several of his trusted generals." Cao Cao said confidently.

Ju Su was overjoyed after hearing this, as this was a very good opportunity.

When Zhang Xiu was in Beihai, he had many generals under his command, and Ju Su had long intended to annex them.

It was just that Zhang Xiu's military token was lost, and Ju Su had no way to force them to surrender.

Now that Zhang Xiu was dead, their military power was vacant, and Ju Su could easily control them.

After Yuan Shao received the news of the destruction of Yanzhou, he remained silent for a long time. He did not expect that Cao Ang was so powerful that even Zhang Xiu was defeated by him.

"My lord, Cao Ang's bravery is no less than Lu Bu's, and he has a group of brave generals to help him.

If our army engages in battle with them, the outcome will be unpredictable." Ju Su reminded.

Ju Su's words reminded Yuan Shao that Cao Ang had such ability.

If they fought head-on, their chances of winning would be slim. After all, Zhang Xiu was quite strong. Cao Ang was able to kill him, so you can imagine how strong Cao Ang was.

"Alas, it's a pity that my brother Yuan Shang failed. Otherwise, our army would have been able to occupy Jizhou." Yuan Shao said regretfully.

"My lord is kind and righteous, but God is jealous of his talent." Ju Su comforted him.

Ju Shou also felt that Yuan Tan’s death was a bit of a pity. After all, Yuan Tan was still very strong and could stand on his own.

Yuan Shao was silent for a long time, and then he said: "With Zhang Xiu's death, Cao Ang will lose a great general. But this is our army's opportunity."

Ju Su was puzzled and asked: "My lord, do you have a good plan?"

"Haha, you guessed it right. Zhang Xiu was Yuan Shao's right-hand man, and Cao Ang's troops were all trained by Zhang Xiu.

If Cao Ang loses Zhang Xiu, his great general, Cao Ang will certainly be affected." Yuan Shao said with a smile.

"My lord, this is a good idea. But Cao Ang is also very powerful. Even without Zhang Xiu, he is still difficult to shake." Ju Su said with emotion.

"How can we know if we don't try?" Yuan Shao said with a smile, "Besides, I am not ready for a full-scale war with Cao Ang."

Ju Su nodded in agreement. Although Yuan Shao had great ambitions, he was still relatively cautious.

Cao Ang broke through Zhang Xiu's lair and captured a large number of enemy prisoners, most of whom were Yuan's private soldiers.

When Yuan Shang and Yuan Xi saw these captives, their eyes were filled with anger. These were all money and food, and now they had fallen into Cao Ang's hands.

Cao Ang expressed his admiration for Yuan Shang and Yuan Xi and praised them.

"My two nephews, you are worthy of being the future pillars of the Yuan family. You have made such great contributions, I will definitely reward you handsomely." (End of this chapter)