Three Kingdoms: I choose Xiao Qiao and Da Qiao, why are you crying, Diao Chan?

Chapter 427: Conquering Cao Cao? (Thanks to lumen for the two monthly tickets~)

Bingzhou, Shangdang County.

In a mountain forest in the southern part of Tunliu County.

Cao Cao fled here with five clan members, Xiahou Dun, Xiahou Yuan, Cao Ren, Cao Hong, and Cao Chun, as well as his son Cao Ang.

As for Cao Pi, Cao Zhang and Cao Zhi, the three young sons who had not yet shown any talents, and their wives and concubines, none of them were brought out.

At this moment, he was disheveled and looked quite embarrassed.

Ever since he heard that Zhuge Liang had sent people to persuade Yuan Shao, who was about to be defeated, to surrender, he realized that something was wrong.

He immediately found an excuse and fled Jizhou overnight with a few family generals whom he could trust absolutely.

He knew very well that if he continued to hide in Jizhou, he would inevitably be persecuted by Liu Bei's army.

After all, he had attacked Xuzhou many times in the past, and Liu Bei's army must have hated him very much.

But Yuan Shao did not take the initiative to attack them.

Therefore, it is possible that Liu Bei’s army would sincerely accept Yuan Shao, but it is absolutely impossible for them to sincerely accept Cao Cao.

I will find a chance to deal with him later!

Instead of waiting to die, it is better to escape first!
As for the escape route, Cao Cao had already planned it.

The only person he can turn to right now is Lu Bu.

Although he and Lu Bu had fought many times, there was no deep hatred between them.

Moreover, he and Lu Bu had common enemies, Liu Bei and Liu Xie.

The enemy of my enemy is my friend!
After all, both Liu Xie and Zhuge Liang had obvious intentions to kill himself.

Although Gongsun Zan did not have much hatred towards him, the other party had an overly close relationship with Liu Bei.

The friend of my enemy is naturally also my enemy.

So after much consideration, he decided that Lu Bu, who had already occupied the five southern counties, had the best chance of accepting him!
And even if he no longer serves as an official or a general, it is said that Lu Bu's army is the most stable and the people live the happiest lives.

It would be a good idea to retire to the countryside there.

However, it is undoubtedly much more difficult to go directly south from Jizhou into Yanzhou and then into Lu Bu's territory.

Zhuge Liang must have had wanted posters posted all over the country for Liu Bei.

I believe that Zhuge Liang and his men would never have thought that they would specifically enter Bingzhou, then transfer to Sizhou, and then go south into Yuzhou.

At this moment, he also figured out why he was repeatedly defeated by the enemy when fighting against Liu Bei's army.

When the envoy of Liu Bei's army came to persuade Yuan Shao to surrender, he also summoned his men to discuss what to do.

As a result, Xun Yu, whom he used to regard as Zifang and trusted quite a lot, actually advised him to surrender to Liu Bei voluntarily.

It was then that he suddenly realized that the spy hiding beside him was actually Xun Yu!
With this perspective in mind, I think back to the past, why were their plans always discovered by Liu Bei's army...

Everything seems to make sense!

Cao Cao didn't understand why Xun Yu would betray him.

I value him so much, but he wants to betray me...

And this time, in order to escape, he took the initiative to give up leading the troops and any other outsiders.

He successfully escaped to Bingzhou with only a few clan generals and his sons.

This shows that compared to outsiders, family members are more loyal and trustworthy.

Cao Cao didn't think much about it and immediately led Xiahou Dun and the other three to flee southwards...

Lujiang County, Wancheng.

After Lu Bu came back, he immediately began to dispatch troops from the rear of Jiangdong to the north.

Although he lost nearly 20,000 of his 80,000 troops in the attack on Nanzhong, Meng Huo later provided him with 10,000 elite barbarians.

These elite barbarians grew up in harsh environments and are quite strong. One can fight two men at a time!
Therefore, he did not lose any troops this time.

Now that he controls five states, his total military strength is nearly 500,000! Excluding the troops guarding the county, there are nearly 250,000 troops that can be mobilized at will.

Therefore, it is very easy to concentrate troops to attack Liu Bei.

During the time when he was mobilizing troops, the court, as expected, conferred the title of Duke on Liu Bei!

What is intriguing is that the title of the principality that Liu Xie gave to Liu Bei was actually "Shu"!
From then on, there were two dukes in the late Eastern Han Dynasty!
Liu Xie deliberately named Liu Bei the "Duke of Shu".

It was because of the reasons in the previous life, and it was also equivalent to giving Liu Bei an order to capture Yizhou occupied by Lu Bu and truly become the Duke of Shu!
It was very common during the Three Kingdoms period to appoint officials based on the enemy's territory.

And Liu Bei, under Zhuge Liang's suggestion, also accepted the imperial edict.

Because of this title, Zhuge Liang determined that Liu Xie, like him, was also a person who was reborn...

Lu Bu had already expected Liu Bei to obtain the title of Duke, so he did not feel anything special about it.

But he knew that Liu Bei's reputation would definitely be stronger than before.

The cohesion within the army will also be much stronger.

But if you don't launch an attack while the opponent is not yet stable.

Once Liu Bei's army gained a foothold in Jizhou, Qingzhou, Yanzhou and half of Xuzhou, they became even more difficult to deal with.

Just when Lu Bu and his trustworthy soldiers were thinking about where to attack, his subordinates suddenly reported:
"My lord, Cao Ren, a general under Cao Cao, wants to see you!"

Hearing this name, Lu Bu's eyes suddenly lit up!
How come Cao Ren is here?

If he is here, doesn't that mean Cao Cao has also come to his territory? !

Lu Bu immediately ordered his soldiers to invite Cao Ren in.

And when he saw the strong Cao Ren walking in, with only one arm left.

Lu Bu immediately recalled that when the enemy led the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry to fight against Sun Ce and the Xianzhen Camp, Sun Ce cut off one of his arms and he was seriously injured!

Now, a year or two has passed, and the other party has long since survived and recovered.

After Cao Ren came in, he put his one arm on his chest and saluted to Lu Bu:
"My name is Cao Ren, nice to meet Lord Chu."

Lu Bu probably guessed the other party's intention and immediately invited him to take a seat.

However, Cao Ren shook his head and looked at Lu Bu with burning eyes:

"No need to sit down. I came here today to ask Lord Chu something."

Lu Bu supported his chin with his right hand and smiled faintly:

"General, please speak."

Cao Ren was silent for a moment, then slowly spoke:
"I wonder what chances and confidence Lord Chu has in winning against the Northern Alliance?"

Faced with this question, Lu Bu thought carefully and replied:

"In the current situation, in my opinion, we should have at least a 60% chance of winning and a 90% chance of success!"

There was a hint of surprise in Cao Ren's eyes. He obviously didn't expect the other party to be so confident.

However, considering that the other party had recently defeated Zhuge Liang and captured Pei State, they had reason to have such confidence.

But Cao Ren continued:

"If there is an opportunity now that can provide Lord Chu with a 10% chance of winning, I wonder if you are willing to accept it?"

Hearing this question, Lu Bu instantly understood the other party's intention.

It seems that it is just as he thought. Among the four existing forces, Cao Cao chose himself as the most powerful one.

Lu Bu was well aware of Cao Cao's evil ambitions, but it was undeniable that he was also extremely talented.

If we can borrow the opponent's wisdom to fight against Zhuge Liang, we can indeed increase our chances of winning by almost 10%!

He never thought that one day he would have the opportunity to conquer Cao Cao...

(End of this chapter)