Super Cultivation System of the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 629: Jia Xu's Second Plan
Liu He was not in a hurry. He asked Zhang He, "Where did Cao Cao run to?"

Zhang He replied respectfully: "Towards the east gate."

"East Gate, that means we must be heading out of the east of Luoyang City and heading for Hulao Pass."

Cui Jun said without hesitation.

The shortest route is from Hulao Pass to Yanzhou.

Liu He also agreed deeply and was about to order a pursuit when Xun You suddenly spoke.

"Wait, You thought he would go through Hangu Pass."

Liu He wondered: "Oh? Why?"

"Hulao Pass is only separated from Henei County by the Yellow River. A large number of our troops are stationed in Henei, and Cao Cao must know about it. Even if he doesn't know, he will have some guesses. If his army leaves Hulao Pass, our army will take advantage of the situation and cross the river from Henei to intercept him. With another 100,000 troops pressing in from behind, how can he survive?"

Liu He suddenly realized: "That's right, Cao Cao is a man of deep scheming and extraordinary wisdom. How could he not know this? Fortunately, Gongda reminded me, so I immediately ordered to pursue Cao thief at Hangu Pass!"

On the avenue outside the west gate of Luoyang City, several armies gathered from the center, south and north of the city.

At the front of the army, several people were galloping on horseback. Who else could it be if not Cao Cao?
At this time, Cao Cao's face was extremely dark, and the many generals and counselors around him naturally looked unhappy too.

"I never thought that such a careful plan would fail in the end. It also led to Zi Lian being captured by Liu He. It was really a great defeat."

Guo Jia, who was standing by, advised: "I thought Liu He would be aware of the Lord, but would not be too cautious. But I never expected that he would be so vigilant and well prepared. I'm afraid that he never trusted the Lord from the beginning to the end."

"Yes, those halberd soldiers are few but elite, all infantrymen, and their weapons are good at blocking and slashing. This fighting style is clearly tailor-made for street fighting in the city. And Zhang He was captured shortly after Liu He evacuated Luoyang. It seems that since then, Liu He has anticipated the situation in Luoyang today, so he deliberately built such a force and deliberately ordered that they can break into the palace within three quarters of an hour. It is clear that they came early for the lord."

"Now he and Zhang He are leading the army to attack the palace. If our army continues to attack, it will be difficult to defend against the 100,000 troops outside the city. If we defend the city, he will lead this elite division to seize the city gate from the inside. No matter what, our army will only be defeated."

"This battle was meant to catch Liu He off guard. Since he was well prepared, it is reasonable that we were defeated. My lord, don't be discouraged. Today, the emperor is still ours, and the army has not suffered any losses. I believe that the two generals Xiahou's attack on Yuzhou was also successful. Our strength has doubled, and we are not without the ability to fight back when Liu He attacks us in the future."

Cheng Yu and Xi Zhong comforted each other.

However, Cao Cao's mood did not ease at all.

"If Liu He doesn't die, all our plans will fail. Liu He is so brave today, it's shocking, it will surely boost the morale of his army. I'm afraid he will speed up the purchase of food and grass, and attack Yanzhou at all costs. If so, I'm afraid that the war in Yuzhou has not yet subsided, and we will be attacked from all sides. Isn't it dangerous?"

"And if what we did today succeeds, we can slander Liu He and label us as loyalists. Now that the matter has been exposed, I am afraid it won't be long before we are charged with treason, which will really ruin our reputation. If this leads to attacks from all over the world, it will be hard to defend against."

His worries were not unreasonable. In such a dangerous time, Cao Cao was able to think so calmly, and all the generals secretly admired him.

Cao Cao looked at Jia Xu, who had remained silent, and said in a deep voice: "Today's matter is a matter of life and death. Does Wenhe have any good ideas for me?"

Upon hearing this, everyone turned their eyes to Jia Xu.

Jia Xu narrowed his eyes and pondered for a moment.

"There is only one solution for now."

Cao Cao's eyes lit up: "What method?" Jia Xu looked at a carriage not far behind him and said, "Return it to the emperor."

"what?"

Anger suddenly appeared on Cao Cao's face.

But after all, he was not comparable to the two Yuans. When he saw Jia Xu's unusually calm face, he forced himself to suppress the anger in his heart.

"We have spent so much effort and finally captured the emperor. If we can use the emperor's edict to command the four directions, wouldn't it be very beneficial? Wenhe also agreed with this plan of serving the emperor to punish the rebellious. Why do you say this today?"

Jia Xu's expression remained unchanged as he spoke, "This is a different time. If you kill Liu He and occupy Luoyang, with the support of all the ministers, then you can naturally replace Liu He and become a great Han hero who supports the emperor. You can command the world and no one dares to disobey. But now Liu He is not dead. In a few days, he and all the ministers in the court will speak in unison and accuse you of kidnapping the emperor and murdering ministers with ill intentions. The emperor in your hands will not only be useless, but will bring disaster, and will become ironclad evidence for the world to accuse you of being a treacherous minister. At that time, you will not be able to become Liu He, but will be slandered as Dong Zhuo."

Cao Cao finally calmed down.

Jia Xu looked at his face and continued, "Liu He is short of food and grass now. Although he can temporarily purchase food and grass for emergency use, it is not a long-term solution. Moreover, he is now building the new Yunhai County. Even if he has the plan of conferring a title and makes merchants invest, it will still cost a lot of money. Unless he has to, he will never use a large sum of money to fight a decisive battle with our army."

"However, he is a general of the imperial court and the emperor's uncle, acting as the regent for the country. If the emperor is captured, and he does nothing about it, wouldn't that be a betrayal of justice? Therefore, as long as the emperor is in the hands of the lord, he will sell all his property and do everything he can to fight with the lord and take back the emperor."

"On the contrary, if the lord takes the initiative to return the emperor and persuades him with kind words, saying that what happened today was because he listened to slander and was careless, and submits a memorial to apologize. Even if Liu He knows that this statement is false, the emperor has already returned to the palace, and he will definitely stop his anger for a while, only scold the lord, and then demote him three levels. Then he will prepare his troops and horses, and wait for revenge in the future. This is the opportunity for our army to grow stronger."

Cao Cao nodded slightly, but Le Jin behind him questioned: "But Liu He is not a fool like the two Yuan brothers. He must know that our army needs time to digest Yuzhou. If he is determined to wipe out our army in one fell swoop, what should we do?"

Jia Xu shook his head and said, "This is the beauty of the Japanese showing off their strength. Liu He has witnessed our army's appearance and achievements with his own eyes. He must know that it is many times more difficult to conquer Yanzhou than Jizhou back then. If he is determined, he can certainly accomplish this, but I am afraid that the national treasury will be completely empty. By then, the government will be unstable and the army will be in chaos. How can he stay in charge of the center? You must know that Yanzhou is not the only prince left in the world."

"This plan takes advantage of Liu He's wisdom. If he were someone like Yuan Shao or Yuan Shu, with limited knowledge and limited wisdom, I'm afraid this plan wouldn't work."

Le Jin, Yu Jin, Li Dian and other generals all shook their heads like rattles.

"Acting in this way is equivalent to handing our lives over to Liu He for judgment. This is something I cannot understand. Although Liu He is strong, we are not weak either. If he wants to attack, are we afraid of him?"

Cao Cao listened to the statements from both sides and started to make quick calculations in his mind.

"If this is possible, we can take advantage of the situation to get Zi Lian back, which is also a good thing. But Wenhe thinks that Liu He can really think of this?"

Jia Xu said in an extremely firm tone: "I am sure of it. If you have any doubts, I dare to make a bet with you."

"You bastard, it's already this time and you're still betting?" Several generals accused him.

"Please stop talking for now and listen to Wenhe's words."

Only after Cao Cao spoke did the generals stop.

Jia Xu said, "I am sure that the Lord's pretending to go through the east gate will not escape Liu He's sight. Not to mention his elusive troops gathering information, even Liu He and his several think tanks will be able to guess the Lord's strategy of making a feint to the east and attacking in the west. Therefore, I am afraid that it will not be long before he will lead his army to hunt him down."

"I agree with what Wen He said. Liu He's army is so strong that wherever he goes, other heroes are helpless. Because of this, people tend to overlook his wisdom."

Cheng Yu also echoed.

(End of this chapter)