Choose Liu Bei at the start, I am the only one who knows the plot of the Three Kingdoms.

Chapter 465 Negotiation, Refusing to Retreat

On the battlefield, Cao Zhang has replaced Zhang Ren and started fighting with Meng Huo.

Before the two men fought, Meng Huo had already sensed the difference between Cao Zhang and Meng Huo. This big man with a spear must be much stronger than Zhang Ren.

The following fight just verified Meng Huo's idea. After only a moment of fighting, Meng Huo felt a huge force. Before this, he had never felt such a strong force that could actually push him back several feet.

"Who are you? When did Liu Zhang have a general like you?"

Meng Huo was frightened. The opponent's strength was obviously higher than his. Meng Huo felt it the moment they started fighting.

Cao Zhang heard this and sneered. He did not answer, but waved the halberd in his hand and attacked Meng Huo again. His movements were swift and powerful, and every swing was accompanied by a whistling sound of the wind, as if even the air was being torn apart.

Although Meng Huo was repelled in the battle just now, he was still a famous general after all, and he was no ordinary person. He quickly adjusted his state, swung his iron hammer, and met Cao Zhang's attack. The two men's weapons collided in the air, making a deafening sound and sparks flying.

"Listen to your grandfather, your grandfather's name is Cao Zhang!" Cao Zhang shouted loudly, his voice full of confidence and pride. At the same time, he swung his halberd and knocked Meng Huo back.

When Meng Huo heard that the other party was Cao Zhang, he became even more confused.

"Cao Zhang? Cao Cao's son? Ha, he was just beaten by Liu Bei, and now he's trying to wade into the muddy waters of Yizhou? Aren't you afraid of being dragged into the quagmire of Yizhou and unable to escape?"

"Hahaha, a quagmire? You, a broken Yongchang County, can be called a quagmire?"

Cao Zhang couldn't help but laugh out loud. At the same time, he swung his Fang Tian Huaji and thrust it out. An unparalleled energy burst out. Meng Huo also swung his axe and chopped with force. The two men fought, and a vigorous momentum burst out, blowing the surrounding soldiers away.

The two fought back and forth on the battlefield, weapons clashed, sparks flew, but facing Cao Zhang's continuous offensive, Meng Huo gradually felt exhausted. However, the hatred for his brother, coupled with his anger at the moment, made him unwilling to admit defeat easily. Every time he was repelled, he would quickly adjust and rush forward again.

Although Meng Huo's iron hammer was extremely powerful, it seemed a bit heavy in front of Cao Zhang's Fang Tian Hua Ji. Cao Zhang's halberd technique was as smooth as flowing water, and every attack was just right, making it difficult for Meng Huo to resist.

"Cao Zhang, you little brat, stop being so arrogant!" Meng Huo roared, trying to cover up his disadvantage with his voice.

Cao Zhang was unmoved, his eyes only filled with the passion of battle. He swung his halberd again, this time with greater force, the tip of the halberd cutting through the air, making a sharp whistling sound.

Although Meng Huo tried his best to resist, Cao Zhang's attack was like a violent storm, which made him overwhelmed. Finally, after a fierce collision, Meng Huo's hammer was shaken away, and he himself fell to the ground due to the huge impact.

"Meng Huo, is this all you can do? You really disappoint me!" Cao Zhang said loudly, with the tip of his halberd pointing directly at Meng Huo's throat.

Meng Huo was panting heavily and tried his best to flip over, thus avoiding the fatal blow from Cao Zhang's halberd. After the blow, Meng Huo was forced to withdraw from the battlefield. Only Cao Zhang was left on the battlefield, holding a Fang Tian Hua Ji and looking at Meng Huo coldly.

The defeated Meng Huo gritted his teeth. He knew that no matter what, he could not defeat Liu Zhang today. If things went wrong, he might have to stay here.

"retreat!"

After hesitating for a while, Meng Huo decided to retreat. Fighting further would only result in additional casualties.

Looking at the barbarian army retreating like a tide, Liu Zhang's heart was in a mess. He suddenly realized a very serious matter. With his own strength, he could not stop Meng Huo's attack. If he wanted to defeat Meng Huo, he could only seek help from Cao Cao. However, this was exactly what Cao Cao wanted, as it would allow him to better control himself. He was now in an extremely embarrassing situation.

"Congratulations to Ji Yu for repelling Meng Huo's attack."

Cao Cao said to Liu Zhang, who had no expression on his face, with a smile on his face. Now Cao Cao could be said to be finding various ways to disgust Liu Zhang. When he had just rescued Zhang Ren, and now, Cao Cao was mocking Liu Zhang in a sarcastic way.

"Thank you, Brother Meng De, for your help."

In front of so many soldiers and Zhang Ren who had just been rescued, he couldn't say anything too harsh to Cao Cao. On the contrary, he had to say nice things, because it was Dian Wei and Cao Zhang under Cao Cao's command who had rescued Zhang Ren and indirectly repelled Meng Huo's attack.

Seeing the change in Liu Zhang's attitude, Cao Cao nodded with satisfaction. The effect of his first move had been achieved, which was to make Liu Zhang clearly aware of the gap between him and himself, and let him know that without him, let alone taking Yongchang County, he couldn't even keep his own Yizhou.

Then the next thing is that he is afraid that Liu Zhang is willing to be dominated by him. If Liu Zhang really doesn't want to, then Cao Cao doesn't mind killing Liu Zhang and replacing him with someone who is easier to control. The reason why Cao Cao still keeps Liu Zhang is just because once Liu Zhang dies, those who are loyal to Liu Zhang will not be used by him, and there will inevitably be some casualties in the fighting.

It is far from that point yet, so Cao Cao still has a certain amount of patience, and he also needs someone who is relatively reliable to help him control Yizhou.

Late that night, the lights in Liu Zhang's tent remained on until the middle of the night. Liu Zhang, who had not rested all this time, finally waited for the person he had been waiting for.

Cao Cao lifted the curtain and walked into the big tent.

"Ji Yu, are you still awake?"

Cao Cao still had the same smile on his face as he did during the day, and sat opposite Liu Zhang. Liu Zhang took the boiling wine off the fire and poured out a cup of the warm wine.

In the late autumn weather, coupled with the high altitude, it is already very cold here. The heavy tent can barely withstand the biting cold wind, but a slight chill can still be felt, especially in the middle of the night.

"Brother Meng De, I'm waiting for you."

Liu Zhang went straight to the point. After filling Cao Cao's glass, he filled his own glass and took a sip first.

"It's not poisonous, don't worry, I wouldn't dare to poison you."

After Cao Cao watched Liu Zhang drink it, he picked up the wine glass and took a sip of wine to warm himself. To them, this kind of wine tasted like sweet water and had a very low alcohol content, even lower than beer, so it was best used to warm the body.

"You're still waiting for me in the middle of the night, what's up?"

"Let me talk to you about Yizhou, the Yizhou Army, and me."

Liu Zhang's answer shocked Cao Cao even more. Cao Cao looked at Liu Zhang with a little surprise, as if wondering why Liu Zhang's attitude was so different from that during the day, and Liu Zhang seemed to see Cao Cao's doubts. "Nowadays, the situation is in chaos. I can no longer stay out of it if I want to. So, let me talk to you about the future of Yizhou and my future."

Liu Zhang's words were tantamount to tearing off the last fig leaf between the two of them. From this moment on, regardless of the outcome, the two of them would never be the same as before.

"Since you've said that, I don't need to pretend anymore. What you said is also the purpose of my visit this time."

Joy appeared on Cao Cao's face again, but this time, it was obviously different from before. This time it was more like a smile that came from the heart.

"Well, some things are much easier to say. Just tell me what you want."

Liu Zhang had already known Cao Cao's purpose, so he picked up the wine jug again and filled the glasses in front of the two men.

"After I help you get rid of Meng Huo and get Yongchang County back for you, I will return to Xudu and personally present a petition to the emperor to ask for the land of Yizhou for you, and grant you the title of vassal king. From now on, you will no longer be the governor of Yizhou, but the king of Yizhou. I will also..."

"Haha, Cao Cao, is this your attitude towards negotiation?"

After a burst of sneers, Liu Zhang interrupted Cao Cao and looked at him with impatience. This was the first time he called Cao Cao by his name instead of his courtesy name. Cao Cao was also a little surprised. Then, Cao Cao smiled helplessly and shook his head.

"Okay, in that case, I won't say any more useless things. Why don't you tell me your request and I'll see if I can satisfy you."

"it is good."

Liu Zhang nodded slightly, picked up the wine glass, and drank half of the wine in the glass.

"From now on, Yizhou will still be under my control. I will temporarily follow your command. No matter what I do, I will follow your orders. However, you cannot use Yizhou as a weapon, and you must not treat the lives of Yizhou soldiers as nothing."

"Hahaha, of course it's a pity, no problem."

After listening to the request proposed by Liu Zhang, Cao Cao agreed very readily. After all, this was similar to what Cao Cao thought. It didn't matter who was the nominal lord of the Yizhou Army. What was important was that the Yizhou Army could obey his command and orders. This was the most important thing. As for the generals under Liu Zhang, Liu Zhang had been with them for many years and it would definitely be easier for him to use them. If he was suddenly asked to lead them, there might indeed be some considerable trouble.

Therefore, after Liu Zhang finished speaking, Cao Cao agreed without any hesitation. However, Liu Zhang shook his head.

"Cao Cao, don't agree too quickly. There is more."

Liu Zhang took off a tiger talisman from his waist. On the talisman was a word "Yi" engraved on it.

"This is the tiger seal of the Yizhou Army. I don't need it to mobilize the Yizhou Army, but everyone except me, including Zhang Ren, Liu Xun and others, who mobilizes the army camp must have my order or this tiger seal. I can give it to you as a token of sincerity for our cooperation this time."

Looking at the tiger talisman on the table, Cao Cao asked with interest.

"Then tell me, what are the other requirements?"

"Another request is that after you unify the world, I will call you king, but I want the four states of Yizhou, Jingzhou, Yangzhou, and Jiaozhou as my territory."

As soon as these words were spoken, Cao Cao, who had been smiling, changed his expression. He shifted his gaze from the tiger talisman to Liu Zhang, and said with a smile.

"Liu Zhang, the fact that you can say this now is enough to show that you haven't seen the situation clearly yet."

"Oh? I think I see it clearly. Of the thirteen states in the Central Plains, I only want four states, and I want to call you king. Isn't that enough? Isn't that sincere enough?"

"Hahaha, Liu Zhang, Liu Zhang, should I say you are stupid or naive? Let's not talk about anything else, just talk about these four states. Let's not talk about Yizhou for now, it belongs to you. Jiaozhou can also be given to you, and it's fine to include it in Yizhou's territory. But Jingzhou and Yangzhou, one of these two states is the richest in the world, and the other is a land of grain. Not only that, the territorial glory of these two states can even be compared to the glory of Yuzhou, Silizhou, Qingzhou, Yanzhou, and Xuzhou. Add to that Yizhou and Jiaozhou, which cover an equally large area, and your territory occupies half of the Han Dynasty. I want the other half. Then what's the difference between my king and you?"

Cao Cao's words completely rejected Liu Zhang's idea. At the same time, the smile on Cao Cao's face disappeared. In his opinion, Liu Zhang's current request meant that he had not truly accepted his fate and still wanted to be on an equal footing with him.

"Well, I don't need Yangzhou, but I only want Jingzhou and Bingzhou, plus Yizhou. That should be fine, right?"

Liu Zhang compromised and no longer asked for Yizhou, but Cao Cao still shook his head.

"Liu Zhang, you don't have to resort to this trick. Your so-called principle of refusing to retreat has no effect on me. I will only give you Yizhou and Jiaozhou. When the time comes, I can enthrone you as the King of Southwest China and you will no longer be under my jurisdiction."

Cao Cao smiled and said that before he entered the game, although he was just a middle school patient who loved netizens, but as long as it was related to the game, Cao Cao could be said to be a master-level figure, such as the principle of refusing to retreat, which he learned from other games.

The principle of refusing to retreat is that if you feel the room is too dark and want to open a window, many people will disagree. But if you say to lift the roof, they will agree to let you open the window.

This is a common negotiation method that Cao Cao has used in many previous games with success. However, he did not expect that Liu Zhang would use this trick on him.

In fact, Liu Zhang's real goal was Yizhou, Jingzhou and Jiaozhou. He also knew that Cao Cao would definitely not agree to add Yangzhou to the mix. However, if he directly stated his demands and asked for the three states, Cao Cao would not agree either. Therefore, he came up with this idea.

Looking at Cao Cao who directly stated his thoughts, Liu Zhang did not have too many doubts, but continued speaking.

"I don't understand the principle of refusing to retreat, and I don't accept what you said. The title of King of Southwest is just a temporary sweet treat you gave me in order to maintain your power."

Liu Zhang is not a pushover. Although he may be slow to react on some things, he will not act foolishly at such a critical moment of life and death.

Compared to the daytime when Meng Huo led his troops to attack the camp, the current calm situation is a greater danger for Liu Zhang. If he is not careful, he will lose everything. Because even if Meng Huo breaks into the camp, he may not die, but if he cannot reach an agreement with Cao Cao, then he will really be close to death.

So although Liu Zhang seems to have the upper hand now, the initiative is still in Cao Cao's hands.

(End of this chapter)