Ji Han Liu Zhang

Xudu, Sikong Mansion.

Cao Cao lay on the couch, holding his aching head with one hand, while listening to the clerk reading the manifesto distributed by Yuan Shao in Hebei.

"Cao is an ugly eunuch with no virtue, he is cunning and sharp, and he enjoys chaos and misfortune."

This is saying that he has a bad background and is the descendant of a eunuch, criticizing him from the root.

"And Cao then took advantage of the situation and became a powerful official, committing atrocities and tyranny, plundering the people, and harming the virtuous and the good."

This is talking about how he killed Bian Rang and Dong Cheng, and harmed loyal and wise men.

"Cao led his officers and soldiers to personally excavate the bodies, breaking open the coffins and stripping the bodies, and looting the gold and treasures, which made the holy court weep and the people sad. Cao also appointed the Lieutenant General of the Digging Caves and the Lieutenant of the Grave-Movers, who dug up all the graves they encountered and uncovered all the remains."

When Cao Cao heard this, his eyes widened and the headache disappeared in an instant. It was not that he did not do it, but that he did it in secret. He did not expect that Yuan Shao would find out about it and clearly stated it in the manifesto to criticize his immoral behavior.

Sitting up from the couch, Cao Cao stretched out his hand to stop the clerk from reading the manifesto, and signaled the clerk to hand the manifesto to him. After taking the manifesto, he spread it on the desk and read it carefully, with appreciation in his eyes.

Although this manifesto was used by Yuan Shao's side to accuse him of using the emperor to control the princes, being domineering and tyrannical, abusing power, killing ministers at will, digging up graves, being ungrateful, and committing countless crimes.

But there was no sign of anger on Cao Cao's face. Instead, he was very appreciative of this proclamation, which was ostentatious, full of parallelism, vigorous in momentum yet not crude, and full of backbone and literary talent.

After reading it, Cao Cao laughed and said, "If you have literary skills, you must use military strategies to help them. Although Chen Lin is good at literary skills, I'm afraid Yuan Shao's military strategies are not as good as this masterpiece."

At this time, a servant came to report that the Secretary of the Central Secretariat Xun Yu wanted to see him. Cao Cao stood up, went out of the house and welcomed Xun Yu into the house. Xun Yu was his Xiao He, the person he relied on the most when the war with Hebei was about to break out.

"Wen Ruo, please take a look at the manifesto that Benchu ​​distributed first."

After the host and the guest were seated, Cao Cao waved his hand and his personal guards immediately handed the manifesto on his desk to Xun Yu.

Xun Yu took the letter and read it carefully. After a while, he exclaimed: "What a good article."

"That's a good piece of writing." Cao Cao echoed, and he exclaimed: "It's a pity that a literary talent like Chen Lin cannot be used by me."

Xun Yu smiled faintly and said, "When you defeat Yuan Benchu ​​and conquer Hebei, people like Chen Lin will be of use to you."

Cao Cao laughed loudly upon hearing this, and then his expression gradually became serious: "I, under the order of the emperor, appointed Yuan Benchu ​​as Duke of Wei, intending to repair the relationship with Hebei and divert the disaster to Guanzhong. I didn't expect Yuan Benchu ​​to set his sights on Xudu."

Xun Yu consoled him and said, "Yuan Benchu ​​is greedy and easily seeks refuge. Last year, Yuan Benchu ​​was blocked for several months at Yubi City in Hedong and could not make any progress. Naturally, he is unwilling to send troops to Hedong again to challenge Yubi City, which is like an iron wall." "Yanyu is an accessible land with no high mountains or pass. There is a big river, but it is difficult to cross it. It cannot be relied upon... Therefore, we can drive troops from Hebei to the south to the Central Plains and go straight to you. It is also predictable that Yuan Benchu ​​will set his sights on the Central Plains and avoid Hedong and Guanzhong."

"Yes." Cao Cao nodded in agreement. He knew Yuan Shao, his childhood friend, better than Xun Yu. For example, in the past, Yuan Shao was the leader of the princes and led the people to attack Dong Zhuo. Dong Zhuo was frightened and moved the capital to avoid the war. At this time, if Yuan Shao had made an effort, marched into Guanzhong, killed Dong Zhuo in one fell swoop, and rescued the emperor, the world would have been at peace.

However, Yuan Shao was afraid of the military force of Liang Province and had selfish motives, so he hesitated to move forward, resulting in the loss of a great opportunity. As a result, the world is still in a state of endless disputes and unrest to this day.

With this in mind, Cao Cao and Xun Yu started discussing business: "Zang Ba of Mount Tai has sent a document saying that Yuan Tan is leading an army of 100,000 men and 10,000 horses from Linzi to the south. The troops are so powerful and their flags are fluttering that Mount Tai, Langya and other places are shaken."

"Of course, Yuan Tan claimed to have an army of 100,000 and 10,000 horses, but after a careful investigation by Zang Ba, it was found that there were only 30,000 soldiers and 3,000 horses. The rest were just labor soldiers and donkeys and mules used to make up the numbers."

"At the end of the document, Zang Ba added that relying on the strategic location of Mount Tai and the fortifications of Langya, I do not need to worry about the east, but should think of Yuan Benchu."

Zang Ba said so boldly, Cao Cao seemed to be relieved, but Xun Yu saw a trace of worry between Cao Cao's brows. He cupped his hands and said, "My lord, you are worried that Zang Ba will be recruited by Yuan Tan, so that Qingxu will be corrupted and captured by Yuan Tan, and then we will be attacked from the side."

Cao Cao nodded slightly, and he replied: "I do have this worry. Zang Ba, Sun Guan and others are Taishan bandits, and they are the kind of people who come and go to please them. I have stabilized Qingxu and entrusted Qingxu to them, but they are too far away to control Qingxu. I don't have enough time to completely control Qingxu."

"Now Yuan Tan's army is marching south, with many times more soldiers than Zang Ba and Sun Guan. Yuan Shao is also powerful throughout the country and is known as the leader of the alliance. I am worried that Zang Ba, Sun Guan and others may have second thoughts and join Yuan Tan, handing over Qingxu to Yuan Tan."

"When the time comes, if Qingxu is defeated, Yuan Tan's army will head straight for Yuzhou. I will be attacked from the back and Yuan Benchu ​​will attack me from the front. The situation will be ruined and there will be no way to save it."

Xun Yu smiled and tried to comfort Cao Cao, saying, "My lord, although Zang Ba, Sun Guan and others are known as the Taishan bandits, they are not of humble origins. They are descendants of civil servants and have loyal hearts. They will never betray you and join Yuan Tan."

"In my opinion, you should relax and just like Zang Ba said, you don't have to think about the East, just focus on Yuan Benchu."

Cao Cao sighed lightly. For now, he could only trust in the loyalty of Zang Ba and Sun Guan. After all, he did not have any extra troops to send to Mount Tai to stop Yuan Tan.

It is also known that apart from Yuan Tan's troops, Cao Ren in Henan sent a letter saying that Gao Lan, a famous general in Hebei, was stationed on the north bank of the river, and that the Right Wise King of the Southern Xiongnu, Qu Bei, was coming to help, intending to cross the river and invade the south. The two sides had already fought each other for several rounds.

At this moment, Cao Ren relied on the river to temporarily block Gao Lan on the north bank of the river. The two sides were in a stalemate, and the outcome was still unknown.

In addition, the central army led by Yuan Shao has not yet set out to march south. Yuan Shao's army has the largest number of troops and the most talented generals, so Cao Cao, the leader of the group, needs to confront them head-on.

Therefore, Cao Cao could only pin his hopes on Zang Ba and Cao Ren for the troops of Yuan Tan in Qingzhou and Gao Lan in Henei, hoping that Zang Ba and Cao Ren could resist Yuan Tan and Gao Lan and ensure the safety of his flanks, so that he could go to fight Yuan Shao one-on-one. (End of this chapter)