Super Cultivation System of the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 817: Dual Stratagems to Destroy Cao
When Liu He heard the result, his first reaction was disbelief.

"How is it possible? Cao Cao was defeated this time and lost all his troops. If he used 50,000 troops to attack Jingzhou, how many people would he have left in Yuzhou? With the abilities of my fourth brother and Bo Ping, how could they still be defeated?"

As they were talking, the two had already arrived at the imperial study, and Xun You and Cui Jun immediately came forward to pay their respects.

"No thanks, please tell me the situation in Yuzhou in detail."

Cui Jun took over Xun Yu's topic: "Cao Cao expected that the two generals would take advantage of the situation and attack Yuzhou, so he set a trap on the road. The vanguard of the two generals fell into the horse pit while marching, and then Cao's ambushes rushed out and fired thousands of arrows. Fortunately, the main force of the two generals quickly caught up and defeated Cao's army."

Liu He frowned, "It's still not right. Although we fell into a trap, the damage was not great and the main force is still there. It shouldn't be difficult to destroy Yuzhou."

"That's why the two generals fell into Cao Cao's second trap."

"There is a second trap?" Liu He was a little surprised.

Cui Jun said: "The two generals reorganized the troops and sent the wounded back to the rear for treatment. Then they stayed there for one day and continued to march on the second day. After that, the battle went surprisingly smoothly. General Zhang Yong captured Yanling City, and General Gao Shun captured Fule City."

"However, in the middle of the night, a fire suddenly broke out in two cities. It was early winter, the grass and trees were dead, and the wind helped the fire. The fire quickly engulfed half of the city. The army tried their best to put out the fire until dawn, but countless houses in the city were burned down and many civilians were killed or injured. Fortunately, the two generals were experienced in many battles and did not station all their troops in the city, so not much damage was caused."

After hearing this, Liu He basically understood.

"I guess after the fire was put out, our army was exhausted and in a mess, and Cao's army suddenly rushed out and took advantage of the fire to rob us, right?"

Cui Jun said, "Your Majesty is wise, that's right. Cao's army was led by Cao Hong and Cao Ang, each with 10,000 soldiers, and they attacked us. Our army fought hard and finally repelled Cao's army, but many of our soldiers were burned and injured by the crowd. After this fight, most of the soldiers were exhausted. Seeing the situation, the two generals knew that it was difficult to fight again, and they were afraid that Cao Cao had another trick, so they had no choice but to lead the army back to the garrison for the time being."

"Cao Cao is indeed extraordinary. My fourth brother and Bo Ping have never suffered a defeat since they followed me to start the army. I didn't expect that they would suffer a great loss at the hands of Cao Cao, a defeated general."

Liu He also expressed his sincere emotion.

"This is just Cao Cao's pretense to scare people. He is sure that after the battle in Yanzhou, our army will look down on him. As the saying goes, arrogant soldiers will be defeated. Our army underestimated the enemy, which is a taboo in military strategy. Naturally, we fell into the trap."

Xun You began to analyze.

"Well, after this defeat, my fourth brother and Bo Ping will learn a lesson, especially let those soldiers and generals use their brains and stop thinking they are invincible. Cao Cao is a master at using troops, and his four counselors are even wiser. We must be careful in the future. Send an order to them to regroup and attack Yuzhou again in five days before the snow falls."

As soon as Liu He finished speaking, Xun You said, "Your Majesty, I think this is inappropriate."

"Oh? Why is it inappropriate?"

"Cao Cao is extremely cunning and must have made some preparations. He has been operating in Yuzhou for many years. If our army goes there again, even if we have learned the lesson this time and act with caution, it will still be difficult to capture Yuzhou."

Liu He drummed his fingers on the table and said, "Are we going to let Cao Cao seize Jingzhou and challenge the imperial court? Wouldn't that give people a reason to accuse the imperial court of ignoring loyal officials and not caring about their lives?"

Xun You said: "No. The strategy of besieging Wei to save Zhao is still effective, but if we want to attack Wei, we have to change the target."

"Gongda means..."

"Cao Cao is ostensibly loyal to the false emperor Liu Yan. If Yizhou is in trouble, Liu Yan will definitely order Cao Cao to abandon Jingzhou and return to attack Luoyang to save Yizhou. If Cao Cao does not obey, he will be a traitor. He first rebelled against the court and then the false emperor, which will surely cause people's hearts to be divided and the army to be unstable. By then, there will be no place for him in the world. If he obeys Liu Yan's order, he should avenge this fire attack."

Liu He was delighted: "Gongda's plan is indeed brilliant. Send a message to Yunchang, order him to take charge of the military affairs in Liangzhou, temporarily postpone the extermination of the Qiang people, gather all the troops, station in Wudu, and pretend to attack Hanzhong. Old Liu Yan, the older he gets, the less courageous he becomes. Regardless of whether our war is going well or not, given his character, he will definitely order Cao Cao to come to the rescue. In this way, I can take advantage of the situation and annihilate the two traitors, Cao Cao and Liu Yan, in one fell swoop, killing two birds with one stone."

Cui Jun said: "I have another plan, maybe you can give it a try."

"Zhou Ping, please tell me quickly." "The brothers Xiahou Dun and Xiahou Yuan are Cao Cao's cousins. They have known him since childhood and have a deep friendship. They are also the top generals in Cao's army. Now the two are still imprisoned in the Chenliu dungeon. Your Majesty can order General Gao Shun to put the two in the prison car and parade them through the streets. At the same time, announce to the world that in ten days, the two will be taken to Luoyang and executed. If Cao Cao comes to rescue them, we will be ambushed. If he does not rescue them, won't it discourage the army?"

"Okay, this is a great plan. Send the message to Bo Ping immediately."

"The minister obeys the order."

Liu He was very pleased: "Cao Cao, Cao Cao...you are still alive this time?"

"Your Majesty...something bad has happened, Your Majesty..."

Gong Saner ran over in panic and almost tripped over the threshold.

"What's going on? Yelling and shouting, how can that be disgraceful?" Liu He was a little displeased.

Gong Saner was too busy to confess: "Your Majesty...something big has happened, the Imperial Academy...the Imperial Academy has rebelled..."

"What?" Liu He thought he had heard it wrong.

"Imperial College is rebelling? They are just a bunch of powerless young students. What kind of rebellion is that? Stop talking nonsense."

Gong Saner said: "How dare I lie to your majesty? More than 700 students from the Imperial College have all gone on strike and taken to the streets, shouting... shouting..."

"What did you shout? Just tell me, and I will forgive you."

"They shouted that Your Majesty allowed the generals in the army to kill innocent people indiscriminately, and that Your Majesty was partial to the law and protected the murderers. He also...he specifically reprimanded many ministers who were supposed to maintain the country's laws and regulations..."

"Nonsense!" Liu He stood up angrily.

"You are just a bunch of corrupt scholars. How dare you interfere in government affairs? Just for this reason, you should be sentenced to death."

Gong Saner paused and continued, "They also said...they also said...they wanted Your Majesty to issue an edict of self-criticism, reflect on your mistakes, and bring the murderer to justice. Otherwise, they will...they will sit in front of the palace gate and will not leave until the murderer is dead..."

"presumptuous!"

Liu He was furious: "How dare a few students threaten me! Come here!"

"Yes!" A team of royal guards came out in response.

"Pass on my order, and order 500 imperial guards to march out of the south gate of the imperial palace. Anyone who causes trouble outside the palace gate will be killed on the spot."

"Wait a minute!" Xun Yu stepped forward to stop him.

"Your Majesty, please do not act rashly. Since Emperor Wu of Han established the Imperial College, he has set a rule that the students of the Imperial College are the pillars of the country in the future. As long as they have not committed any heinous crime, they can only be arrested but not killed. During the Party and Faction Persecution, the students of the Imperial College denounced the eunuchs, but they were only arrested and imprisoned. If Your Majesty kills them wantonly, it will fall into the trap of the mastermind behind the scenes."

"Yes, now they are deliberately portraying Your Majesty as a tyrant who disrupted the laws of the country for his own likes and dislikes. Your Majesty has been benevolent in the past years, and the people will not believe them for the time being. But if these students are killed, it will be like confessing themselves and confirming this crime. By then, people's hearts will gradually lose, especially the scholars of the world, who will definitely be completely alienated from the court, which will be a great disaster for the court."

Xun You also asked Liu He for orders.

(End of this chapter)