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

Just as Cao Cao was hesitating, a voice came from outside.

"Lord!"

Cao Cao saw that it was Xun Yu who came.

"King Lie, wait a moment. I need to take care of some important matters. I will be back soon after I finish."

Gu Rubing knew clearly in his heart that at this moment, what urgent matter could there be? He must have gone to discuss countermeasures with Xun Yu.

Gu Rubing didn't care about these things, he only wanted the final result.

"Go back quickly."

After Cao Cao left, Zhang Liao looked at Gu Rubing.

"My lord, Cao Cao is so opposed to giving up Ba County. It seems that our battle will have to continue."

"No hurry. If I'm not mistaken, the one who just called Cao Cao out should be Cao Cao's chief strategist Xun Yu. Since Xun Yu is here, it means that Cao Cao and his men already have a plan."

Originally, when Gu Rubing saw Cao Cao's look, he thought that his idea of ​​taking over Ba County through negotiation would not work this time, and he also planned to continue the fight after returning.

But I didn't expect that Xun Yu would come at this time. As long as Xun Yu came, all these things could be discussed.

When Xun Yu saw Cao Cao coming out, he immediately stepped forward.

"My lord, does Liu Bei want the entire Ba County?"

Cao Cao nodded, feeling somewhat curious about how Xun Yu knew this.

"It seems I guessed it right."

"You guessed it right?"

Cao Cao was even more confused when he heard this.

"My lord, I have studied the map carefully and found that Liu Bei did not mobilize a large number of troops. Now Liu Bei only has about 50,000 soldiers. Even if their army is strong, it is impossible to swallow us or even occupy the entire Yizhou with 50,000 people. So Liu Bei probably has only one goal, and that is Ba County."

Hearing this, Cao Cao couldn't help but smile bitterly.

Although he was curious about how Xun Yu guessed Liu Bei's purpose, he wanted to know more about how to solve the current situation. Should he just give Ba County away?

"Wen Ruo, what do you mean?"

"My Lord, since Liu Bei wants it, give it to him."

"Give it to him? Do you know that this Ba County is ours..."

"My lord, I know how important Ba County is to us, but Liu Bei has more than 50,000 soldiers. With the fighting power of Liu Bei and his men, they are still capable of driving us out of Ba County with these 50,000 soldiers. Even if General Cao Ren and his men command properly and barely withstand Liu Bei's fierce attack, we will definitely suffer heavy losses..."

Xun Yu didn't say anything else but looked at Cao Cao.

Cao Cao was a smart man, and he could think of some things without Xun Yu telling him.

What Cao Ren now holds in his hands are all the troops in Yizhou.

Once Cao Ren suffers heavy losses on the front line or is defeated.

Then there will not be any military force in the entire Yizhou that can stop Gu Rubing's rapid advance.

By then it would not be just a matter of Ba County. He didn't believe that if he didn't have the troops to stop Gu Rubing, Gu Rubing would only want Ba County.

The troops in Cao Ren's hands are related to the defense capabilities of the entire Yizhou, and he must not fight head-on.

Think of this.

Cao Cao nodded, turned around and prepared to go back.

"My lord, wait a moment."

"Anything else?"

Cao Cao was not in a very good mood at this time. After all, the cost of losing Ba County was something he could not afford.

He is no longer as high-spirited and ambitious as he used to be. It seems that places like Ba County are being fought over between him and Gu Rubing.

Cao Cao even managed to snatch back a lot of territory that he had lost to Yizhou from Gu Rubing.

But Cao Cao knew clearly in his heart that at the beginning he could easily muster more than 200,000 soldiers and horses, and had countless food and grass in his hands, but now he could hardly muster even 100,000 soldiers and horses, and the food and grass in his hands was only enough to last for one year.

The loss of territory was not great, but several battles had already exhausted his Yizhou's foundation. The troops and horses that had been brought out from Xudu and other places had long been lost in these battles. Now all he had to rely on was Yizhou's foundation.

But how much foundation can a state have? How can it compare with the eleven states in Gu Rubing's hands?

Seeing that Cao Cao was in a bad mood, Xun Yu immediately stepped forward.

"My lord, we will hand over Ba County to Liu Bei, but we cannot leave Liu Bei idle."

"What do you mean?"

Cao Cao looked at Xun Yu with a bewildered expression.

He did understand some of Xun Yu's meaning, which was nothing more than finding someone to cause trouble for Gu Rubing.

But Liu Zhang had been restrained by Zhuge Liang, Sun Jian had betrayed the alliance and fled, and the moment he gave Ba County to Gu Rubing, he had already lost.

All three major forces have been controlled by Gu Rubing. Who can cause trouble for Gu Rubing?
"My lord, don't you think that Youzhou is a little too quiet? Let Shi Xie take action. Shi Xie has two famous generals, Wang Yue and Shi A, and it should be no problem for him to hold off Liu Bei for a while."

Upon hearing this, Cao Cao reacted immediately.

Shi Xie was in Youzhou, too far away from them, so they had forgotten about him.

"Okay, in that case, let's send someone to send a letter to Shi Xie, and have him take action to cause some trouble for Liu Bei."

"Yes!"

Xun Yu smiled and nodded.

Soon Gu Rubing saw Cao Cao coming over.

This time, there was a smile on Cao Cao's face, no longer the sad expression he had just had.

"It seems that the King of Wei encountered some happy events during his trip?"

"Not really, King Lie, do you want the entire Ba County this time?"

"Yes."

"Okay, then I will give you Ba County. I hope that this matter will be forgotten. King Lie will stop thinking about it. How about that?"

After learning that Xun Yu was coming, Gu Rubing had already guessed that this would be the result, but he did not expect that he would be so happy about Cao Cao giving him territory. The smile on his face never faded, and he could feel that Cao Cao's smile was not a forced fake smile, but a real smile from the heart.

"Well, now that the King of Wei has spoken, what else can I say?"

After saying this, Gu Rubing turned around and left with Zhang Liao.

Looking at Gu Rubing's back, Cao Cao couldn't help but burst out laughing when he thought of the look on Gu Rubing's face when he learned about the incident in Youzhou.

When Deng Ai and others saw Gu Rubing coming back, they immediately opened the city gate to welcome Gu Rubing into the city.

"My Lord, what did Cao Cao say?"

"We have already discussed it. Cao Cao is willing to give up the entire Ba County. His request is that we stop fighting. I agree."

When Deng Ai and others heard the news, they couldn't help but gasp.

It would be good to be able to take over the entire Ba County without bloodshed, but the opponent was Cao Cao, who had fought back and forth with them. A man like Cao Cao was able to give up the entire Ba County without fighting. No matter how you look at it, it doesn't seem like something Cao Cao could do.

But now that things have happened, Deng Ai and others are somewhat suspicious as to whether Cao Cao has other plans.

"My lord, do Cao Cao and his men have any other requests?" "No!"

After receiving the definite answer from Gu Rubing, Deng Ai and others frowned immediately.

Deng Ai and Zhong Hui looked at each other and found a hint of doubt in each other's eyes, but they both tacitly understood each other and said nothing.

In ten days.

Gu Rubing, along with Deng Ai and others, took over the entire Ba County.

However, the person who suffered the most from the incident in Ba County was not Cao Cao, but Liu Zhang.

He had finally extorted the two cities of Jiangzhou and Linjiang from Cao Cao, but ended up losing the two cities of Xiyu and Longbian. Before Liu Zhang could react, Jiangzhou and Linjiang were also lost.

So, I suffered a loss at the beginning, then got nothing, and finally gave away two cities. So, he regarded me as a boy who brought wealth?
Liu Zhang arrived in Chengdu, Yizhou, in a threatening manner.

After talking with Gu Rubing, Cao Cao returned to Chengdu. After all, there was no need for him or even the Wei army anymore.

After learning that Liu Zhang was coming, Cao Cao simply closed the door and refused to see him.

Seeing this, Liu Zhang sat directly at the door of Cao Cao's Wei Palace.

Don't move, just wait here.

After listening to his subordinates' reports, Cao Cao waved his hand and asked them to leave.

Meng Huo, who was beside Liu Zhang, looked at the people coming and going in the Prince of Wei's palace, all of whom cast curious glances at him, and suddenly felt a little dissatisfied.

"My lord, I have an idea that may allow Cao Cao to meet us."

"What's the idea?"

Liu Zhang looked at Meng Huo curiously.

"Since Cao Cao is hiding in the room and won't come out, we'll leave him no place to hide."

After saying that, Meng Huo took out a tinderbox and threw it on a pile of hay.

In a moment, a raging fire broke out.

When the people in Prince Wei's mansion saw the fire, they all started shouting.

"The fire has broken out. Quickly escort the King of Wei away."

Soon the sound spread throughout the Prince Wei's Palace.

When Dian Wei heard the sound, he immediately rushed out of his room and rushed into Cao Cao's room.

"My lord, follow me quickly, there's a fire!"

When Cao Cao heard this, his face became gloomy.

"My lord, let's go now. There is no time to hesitate."

Cao Cao still didn't speak. When he saw the fire slowly appearing outside the room, he nodded to Dian Wei.

Liu Zhang and Meng Huo stood in the distance and waited quietly.

It didn't take long before Cao Cao, escorted by Dian Wei, slowly walked out of the room.

"King Wei, you finally came out."

Liu Zhang walked up to Cao Cao.

At this time, Cao Cao's face was blackened by the black smoke.

In coordination, the anger in Cao Cao's eyes was like a demon descending.

Liu Zhang felt somewhat flustered when being stared at by Cao Cao.

"King Yi, you did this?"

"Of course not. I'm just waiting here. I don't know the rest."

Cao Cao looked at Liu Zhang, then turned his attention to Meng Huo standing beside him.

Meng Huo subconsciously turned his head away.

Looking at the appearance of the two men, Cao Cao was very sure that it was Liu Zhang who did it.

"Well, tell me, what do you want to see me about?"

"King of Wei, you promised Liu Bei that you would give all of Ba County to him, but there are two cities in Ba County that belong to me. How can you give Ba County away without asking me?"

"Ask you? Why should I ask you? You were in the front, in a stalemate with Zhuge Liang, and you let me fight Liu Bei by myself. How could I be Liu Bei's opponent? If I were Liu Bei's opponent, what use would I have to you? You didn't say anything when I beat Liu Bei, and now that I've lost and it's time to pay compensation, you come here. Where's your face?"

Hearing this, Liu Zhang stood there awkwardly.

"No matter what, these two cities are my losses. King Wei, you should compensate me a little, right?"

"Get lost, what compensation? If this continues, my Yizhou will be gone. If you want compensation, then who will give me my compensation? Why don't you take advantage of me?"

Liu Zhang did not expect that Cao Cao would be so powerful.

"King Wei, the territory I hold has been reduced a lot. You know, I have too little territory and too many people. If I continue like this, something bad will happen to me sooner or later. You can't just watch me decline like this, can you?"

Hearing this, Cao Cao was about to say something, but suddenly he thought of something, and the murderous look on his face instantly turned into a smile.

"If you want to get back some of your losses, it's not impossible, but you'll need to pay a little. You can't always expect to take advantage of me, right?"

Hearing this, Liu Zhang immediately became interested. As long as he could have his own territory, he didn't care about anything else.

Seeing Liu Zhang nod, Cao Cao immediately started speaking in Liu Zhang's ear.

Gu Rubing sorted out the defense of Ba County in the city, and 100,000 troops successfully entered Ba County.

When Cao Cao learned that Gu Rubing had another 100,000 troops entering Ba County, he couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

He was even somewhat glad that he had talked to Gu Rubing in time, otherwise, he might have been swallowed up by Gu Rubing this time.

After obtaining these 100,000 troops, Deng Ai immediately began to defend tightly and blocked all roads leading to the north.

This move also completely ended Cao Cao's dream of launching a northern expedition.

To this end, Gu Rubing continued to build city walls and increase their height.

Within two months, all the city walls of Ba County were raised significantly.

Just when everything was sorted out, a war report appeared in front of Gu Rubing.

This battle report came from Youzhou. Wei Yan and Zhang He were ambushed by a mysterious force, resulting in a lot of casualties on the front line.

Even a lot of territory was taken back.

Gu Rubing did not care much about the failure of Wei Yan and Zhang He. He was mainly concerned about the so-called mysterious troops.

How could a mysterious army appear at this time? Did Shi Xie find some reinforcements, or did Sun Jian help him again?

Gu Rubing considered for a long time and finally decided to go to Youzhou in person.

Originally, because Shi Xie had been dishonest recently, Gu Rubing was also considering going to Youzhou.

This sudden news forced Gu Rubing to speed up and rush to Youzhou.

In order to ensure speed, Gu Rubing did not bring many people with him, only the Eighteen Riders of Yanyun, less than five hundred in number.

Originally, Gu Rubing thought that after arriving in Xudu, he would replenish his troops or exchange with the Bai Li soldiers. (End of this chapter)