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

"Well, let's follow Gongtai's plan." Cao Cao decided.

Cao Hong was ecstatic.

"Send orders to all units to prepare to march to Xuzhou!" Cao Cao ordered Xun Yu.

Xun Yu took the order and left.

Cao Ang was now almost at Shouchun City, and he received a secret report.

"My lord, Cao Cao has sent General Cao Hong to lead 50,000 elite troops across the Yangtze River and head towards Xuzhou." Chen Gong reported.

Cao Ang frowned. What did Cao Cao mean by this? Wasn’t he really afraid that I would destroy the Cao family?
"The situation in Xuzhou is not optimistic." Cao Ang said.

Chen Gong laughed and said, "My lord, Cao Cao is testing us."

"Test?" Cao Ang asked.

"My lord, Xuzhou is Cao Cao's base. If our army captures Xuzhou, Cao Cao will definitely not dare to stay in Jizhou anymore.

Cao Cao is worried that our troops are too powerful, so he wants to use Cao Hong's elite troops to delay our army for the sake of safety. "Chen Gong explained.

Cao Ang suddenly realized that it was no wonder that Cao Cao had asked Cao Hong to lead his troops to Xuzhou. This was Cao Cao's plan.

"The situation in Xuzhou is very bad," Cao Ang said;
"Wen Ruo, you must immediately convey my order to Xuzhou. Tell Xu Shu to try to delay Cao Hong. Once I have pacified the north, I will immediately march south."

Chen Gong understood what Cao Ang meant. Cao Ang wanted to kill someone with a borrowed knife.

"As you wish!" Chen Gong left the hall.

After Chen Gong left, Cao Ang snorted coldly.

Cao Cao thought that he could delay my army with Cao Hong's 50,000 elite troops? That was wishful thinking.

Cao Ang's army had hundreds of thousands of troops.

Cao Cao only had tens of thousands of soldiers under his command. What effect could such a small number have?
Cao Ang felt that Cao Cao was worrying too much.

"My lord, Cao Cao is nothing to be afraid of. You only need to wait for news from the north.

I believe that after the lord has pacified the north, he can march south.” Pang Tong comforted Cao Ang.

Cao Ang smiled and said, "Meng De, my army is not far from the north, and it will only take about three months to reach the northern battlefield.

I don't care about Cao Hong's troops, but his 50,000 elite soldiers are quite troublesome."

Pang Tong laughed and said, "Don't worry, my lord. Cao Hong's 50,000 troops will never be able to stop our army.

Our army swept all the way, and Cao Hong's small force was simply unable to stop us."

"Okay, I feel relieved with the Prime Minister's words." Cao Ang said with a smile.

Pang Tong was right. Given the current situation of the Wei State, it was impossible to stop Cao Ang's army. Cao Ang's army could sweep past them with just a little effort.

In Xuzhou, Cao Ang received the news that Cao Cao was sending a large army to Xuzhou, and he felt a little uneasy.

Cao Cao did not play by the rules, which made Cao Ang a little confused.

Xuzhou’s current military strength is less than one-tenth of Cao Cao’s.

How could such a force possibly defend Xuzhou? Cao Ang felt that Cao Cao was trying to stir up trouble.

Cao Ang hurriedly found Ju Shou and Tian Feng and explained Cao Cao's behavior to them.

The two counselors looked solemn. Cao Cao suddenly sent troops to attack Xuzhou, which was a very bad thing.

Although Cao Ang's army had not arrived yet, it had already established a firm foothold in Beihai County.

Now Beihai County has surrendered to Cao Ang and has sufficient military strength, while Xuzhou is relatively weak.

Cao Ang had just defeated Yuan Shao and won a great victory. Morale was high.

Now if Cao Ang goes south to Xuzhou, it is still a question whether Xuzhou can stop him.

Seeing the three counselors were silent, Cao Ang asked, "Yuan Hao, Xiao Lian, what do you two think we should do?"

Tian Feng bowed and said, "Don't worry, my lord. Xuzhou is rich, with abundant food and grass, and the people are loyal. As long as our army defends the city and clears the fields, the enemy will not be able to break into the city."

Ju Su also agreed, "I agree. If the enemy invades Xuzhou, it will be a dead end. We just need to delay the enemy."

Cao Ang nodded: "You have considered it very carefully. Then let's do as you said."

Cao Ang agreed with Ju Su's opinion.

Afterwards, Cao Ang told Zhao Yun about the situation in Xuzhou again.

Zhao Yun said, "My lord, I think we must be cautious in the battle of Xuzhou.

After all, Xuzhou is the gateway to Sichuan. Once it is lost, Sichuan will be in chaos.

Therefore, I beg you to hold back your troops and wait until we have conquered Heluo before dealing with Cao Cao."

Zhao Yun’s suggestion was very good, and Cao Ang also knew the importance of it.

The defense of Xuzhou could not be relaxed, and Cao Ang finally chose to withdraw his troops.

Cao Ang's army evacuated Xuzhou.

All this fell into Cao Hong's ears, and he secretly cursed Cao Ang for being insidious and cunning.

Cao Hong obeyed Cao Cao's orders and went to Xuzhou to take charge.

However, the geographical environment of Xuzhou was not suitable for combat, so Cao Hong's task was to take care of the people of Xuzhou.

Xuzhou is Cao Cao's hometown, and his son Cao Ang lives in Xuzhou.

Cao Ang was Cao Hong's nephew and Cao Cao's nephew-in-law. Cao Hong did not want Cao Ang to be captured.

The situation in Xuzhou is now very bad. Cao Hong only has more than 5,000 elite soldiers left, and they are unable to protect Cao Ang at all.

Cao Hong knew that Cao Ang's army was just outside Xuzhou, but there was nothing he could do.

"Well, I hope Xuzhou can survive these difficult times." Cao Hong sighed.

Cao Ang's army withdrew, and Cao Cao's pressure was relieved. Cao Cao began to gather troops and prepare to encircle and suppress Cao Ang.

Cao Hong's 50,000 troops were stationed on the east side of Xuzhou to prevent Cao Ang from launching a surprise attack.

On the west side, Cao Cao sent Xiahou Dun with 50,000 elite troops to reinforce.

Cao Cao's plan was that as long as he could delay Cao Ang's army, he could concentrate his forces to attack Xu Du and force Cao Ang back to Liang Province.

Xiahou Dun led 50,000 elite soldiers to Xuzhou and was shocked when he saw the situation in Xuzhou.

He still remembered Cao Cao's order clearly. Cao Cao asked him to keep a close watch on Xuzhou to prevent Cao Ang from launching a surprise attack. Xiahou Dun was stunned for a moment. Cao Ang actually withdrew his troops.

Cao Hong knew that Xiahou Dun would arrive sooner or later, so he asked Xiahou Dun for specific information. Xiahou Dun told him about Cao Ang's withdrawal.

Cao Hong thought he was doomed this time.

Cao Hong did not expect Cao Ang to withdraw his troops. Cao Hong was disheartened and did not know what to do.

Cao Hong decided to tell Xiahou Dun all the information he knew. After Cao Hong handed the information to Xiahou Dun, Xiahou Dun was completely confused.

Cao Ang did not plan to attack Xuzhou. Instead, he stationed troops in Yanzhou and threatened various cities in Yanzhou.

"Yuanlong, what do you think?" Cao Hong knew that Xiahou Dun was very intelligent and hoped that he could help him with advice.

"My lord, Cao Ang might be plotting something. We must remind you to be careful," said Xiahou Dun.

Cao Hong said: "Yanzhou is dangerous. Cao Ang has cavalry. If he attacks Yanzhou, how can the lord resist?"

"My lord, although Cao Ang's cavalry is strong, you can mobilize the troops in Yanzhou to fight against them.

With the strength of Yanzhou, it is enough to contain Cao Ang's troops.

As long as we can hold out for half a year, you can dispatch elite troops to Yuzhou to support and destroy Cao Ang." Xiahou Dun said.

"Then I'll leave it to Yuanlong." Cao Hong said gratefully. (End of this chapter)