Spoiler History: Starting from the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 672: Child Playing with Swords
"Dezu, who do you think is the thief now?"

At the foot of Ye City, Yang Xiu heard Cao Zhi's question and watched the army leaving, speechless.

The two men knew very well what kind of scene would be caused by collecting grain and conscripting soldiers wherever the troops passed. Finally, Yang Xiu pursed his lips and said:

"I still remember the sigh of the young master this year."

Cao Zhi nodded, his smile was extremely weak:

"Work hard for the country, benefit the people, build a lasting legacy, and leave a legacy of accomplishment."

He understood very well what his father had done, so he often got drunk to avoid it. Today, he saw the shadow of his father in his brother, which made him feel even more desolate.

Yang Xiu nodded and said seriously:
"My lord, what you said is that calligraphy is not enough to describe meritorious service, and poetry is not enough to describe a gentleman. Xiu Shen agrees with you."

"Since you feel you have nowhere to go, why not head north?"

"Going north?"

"Go north, because no matter which family is in charge, we Han people will eventually defeat the Hu."

"As Dezu said... since my brother has taken over my father's work and is heading south to fight, Nazhi should head north and not bring disgrace upon my father's White Wolf Mountain."

The wheels began to squeak again, and Yang Xiu's voice was filled with more laughter:
"Now that we have set off, why don't you drink to toast?"

Cao Zhi rolled up the carriage curtain, looked north, shook his head and said:

"The present scene is enough to entertain me. I should drink less in the future and not let it cause any trouble."

Everyone around was surprised, and seeing Yecheng being left behind, Ding Yi, who was riding on a horse next to him, said hesitantly:

"But we have a small family...in the city..."

Yang Xiu shook his sleeves and said:
"Zhengli is confused. If the Prime Minister wins, then my family and I will have nothing to worry about. But if the Left General wins..."

The meaning is self-evident, so Ding Yi pondered it again:

"When the Prime Minister wins, we will go to Julu to recruit soldiers and food to support Shangdang?"

Yang Xiu was very impatient: "This statement would be best put to use someday."

Ding Yi was immediately furious. He had been annoyed with Yang Xiu for a long time:

"Do you know the Prime Minister's bravery at Guandu?"

"Ha!" Yang Xiu sneered unceremoniously:
"If Liu Xuande had been half as stupid as Yuan Benchu, he would have died in Xuzhou long ago!"

"If Yuan Benchu ​​had half the wisdom of Liu Xuande at Guandu, how could he have been defeated at Guandu?"

Naturally, there is no conclusion to this matter.

A little further south, Deputy Prime Minister Cao Pi, who was commanding a large army for the first time in his life, was looking at the people arguing in front of him and was beginning to miss the sugar cane hidden in his own mansion in Yecheng.

At this moment, he couldn't help but feel a little regretful. Perhaps he should have led his army to capture Yecheng?
But the news he learned in just half a day made him quickly dispel the entire unrealistic idea.

In the third year of Chuping, Han Fu committed suicide. After Yuan Shao took over as governor of Jizhou, he moved the seat of government from Gaoyi to Ye. From then on until the fourth year of Jian'an, he governed Ye across four states.

After my father won the Battle of Guandu, he also built a lot of buildings in Yecheng, which eventually became a magnificent city.

It would be a pipe dream to attack such a city with no more than 30,000 men without the siege weapons of Liu Bei's army.

Therefore, the greatest use of this army right now is undoubtedly to join the battlefield and help my father kill Liu Bei in battle, then everything will be settled!
In his opinion, not everyone in Yecheng would submit to the incompetent emperor. It seemed that the big families were planning to wait for the outcome of the dispute between his father and Liu Bei before deciding who to serve.

But is it really that easy? Cao Pi felt that after his father killed Liu Bei in battle, he would also kill so many people that a river of blood would flow when he returned to Yecheng, so as to avenge today's shame!
The faint cries coming from afar mixed with the arguments in front of him made Cao Pi feel even worse.

It was just a matter of conscripting soldiers and raising grain, but the Weijun prefect Wang Lang broke into the tent and talked endlessly.

Deputy Prime Minister Cao simply knocked the table in front of him with his scabbard and interrupted the argument:

"Grandmaster Wang, the state is in a difficult situation right now..."

"Cao Wuguan." Wang Lang bowed his hands. Although his face was obviously tired, he still argued:
"No matter how difficult the national situation is, we will not take away the livelihood of the people."

"I can devote all my family's income to the state. Why should the king's army compete with the people for food?"

Cao Pi choked for a moment, then flicked his sleeves and sneered:

"Who doesn't know that the king's chief priest is kind and generous? He doesn't keep any extra money or food at home. How can he serve the army?"

Wang Lang took a step forward and said unyieldingly:
"If the Yu family is like this, what about the common people..."

"That's enough!" Cao Pi said loudly:

"The people are farmers, and the soldiers are soldiers. They all work for the country. If the farmers are worried that their expenses are not enough, they can just follow the military to fight. They will not starve to death."

"I think Wang Jijiu is tired. Please go and have a rest."

Wang Lang wanted to say something else, but Wu Zhi beside him had already embraced Wang Lang and pushed him out with a smile.

When the tent door was opened, the sound of crying outside could be heard more clearly, but Cao Pi remained motionless. He turned around and continued the previous discussion and asked:
"So... we are going to take Hulao Pass?"

The map in front of me had only a few strokes, but I could still vaguely see that there were three passes north of Luoyang.

Chen Qun nodded, and moved his finger on the map as he recalled:
"To break through the three passes, we must first cross the Yellow River. This is why Mengjin and Xiaoping Pass are difficult to attack."

"We are coming from Weijun, so we can cross the river from Baimajin or Yanjin, and then we can replenish food and grass at Changyuan, Suanzao, and Xingyang along the way, and go straight to Hulao Pass from Henan."

This makes sense, but Cao Pi still hesitated:
"But Hulao Pass is also a majestic pass..."

"Sir," Chen Qun advised:
"It will take us nearly a month to reach Yingchuan. By then, the news of the fall of Yecheng will have reached the Prime Minister. We are too exhausted to fight and I am afraid that we will be a burden to the Prime Minister."

"On the contrary, if Liu Bei enters Luoyang, can he defend the eight passes? He also needs to send troops to Yingchuan and Runan to support Guan Yu. And I heard that Liu Bei stayed in Luoyang for a month to gain fame. How many troops will he need to send?"

"The reason why Henei raised troops before was to contain Liu Bei. We are just here to attack the three passes at the same time, making it impossible for them to come to the rescue. As long as we can enter Luoyang..."

Cao Pi was convinced and slapped the map:
"Then the great event can be settled. This victory is no less than that of Guandu!"

But deep down, Cao Pi also had a vague feeling that he didn't want to see his father.

Everyone knew that his father admired his younger brother, and he was undoubtedly the one who should be held accountable for the loss of Yecheng.

And now, because General Jianwu Liu Ruoben had a close relationship with him, he was able to dispatch an army of 30,000.

Although he lost Ye City, his power became even greater. In this situation, Cao Pi was like a child holding a sharp knife. He felt that he must do something to satisfy his father!

Just as Deputy Prime Minister Cao was full of confidence, on the Jingyu Channel between Duyang and Wuyang, two torrents holding "Han" flags collided again.

The older he gets, the blood-stained Huang Zhong's beard makes him look unusually vigorous.

While holding the line, he even had the energy to roar:
"Xiahou Yuan, your head is mine, why don't you give it to me?"

This made Xiahou Yuan, who was behind Cao Jun, furious:
"This old man!"

Of course they would just curse at each other. If they wanted to fight... Xiahou Yuan still remembered the feat of this old general killing the fierce general Le Jin in battle, but as for him... a general's most important thing is strategy, and only then courage.

In other words, this was not the first or second time he had been scolded like this, and it was obvious that Huang Zhong was extremely obsessed with his head, which also caused Xiahou Yuan to stay under the general's banner every time and never show off his strength.

But fortunately today...

"Old General, the army is not a place for retirement, it is better to retire early!"

Huang Zhong casually used his sword to block an enemy soldier beside him, and looked at the general in front of him who was at least twenty years younger than him:

"Are you Xiahou Yuan's great-grandson?"

The visitor was immediately furious:
"Remember, the one who killed you was Li Dian from Shanyang!"

(End of this chapter)