A thousand-year-old family begins with one fighting against ten thousand.

Shen Pei's face darkened upon learning of the defeat at the front. He hadn't expected the Qi army to be so cautious, having anticipated his scheme.

It seems he was a bit too hasty, which made the Qi army somewhat suspicious of his intelligence.

However, this time it wasn't entirely fruitless.

Shen Pei looked through the tent at a guard outside, and saw it was Xu You. He hadn't expected it to be Xu You.

But after learning the truth, he felt that it should indeed be Xu You.

Putting everything else aside, just based on the fact that he and Xu You respectively support the eldest son and the third son, Xu You is definitely thinking about killing him at all times.

Even without siding with the King of Qi, given Xu You's short-sightedness, he would definitely have leaked information to the King of Qi in order to weaken his control over the army, reduce the power of the Third Prince's faction, and enhance the prestige of the Eldest Prince's faction.

Instead of alerting the enemy, he reported the matter to Yuan Shao privately.

"Is this true? It really is Xu You?!"

Yuan Shao found it hard to believe, since Xu You had looked down on Cao Cao so much back then.

But after Shen Pei's explanation, Yuan Shao finally understood the reason: it was actually the trouble caused by his indulgence of his eldest and third sons' struggle for power.

"Someone, bring Xu You here to me!"

Yuan Shao roared in fury.

"Here you are."

Yuan Shao's personal guards received the order to arrest Xu You.

However, on the way, the guard dropped a note, which was picked up by someone.

Xu You turned pale after receiving the note.

If he hadn't bribed many of Yuan Shao's personal guards in order to keep track of Yuan Shao's movements, he would have been doomed this time!

Although these guards didn't know what Shen Pei and Yuan Shao were talking about inside, they could hear the anger in Yuan Shao's voice.

Xu You wasn't stupid; after a little thought, he realized this was Shen Pei's fishing scheme.

And he foolishly took the bait!

Damn!

Because of him, the Jin army suffered heavy losses, and he could no longer stay under Yuan Shao's command.

He must leave as soon as possible!

Xu You thought of the jade tablet and seven tripods that Cao Cao had given him, "Yes, go find Cao Aman, no, no, I mean the King of Qi."

"With my intelligence and wisdom, the King of Qi will certainly not refuse! Not to mention, I also control the Jin army's supplies!"

"It's all Yuan Shao's fault for misjudging people. If he had appointed me, Xu You, as the commander-in-chief of the three armies, how could I have betrayed him!"

"My talent surpasses Shen Pei's tenfold. If I were to command the army, I would have already defeated the Qi army!"

Xu You said angrily, blaming all the mistakes on Yuan Shao and Shen Pei.

In order to survive, Xu You even gave up all his gold and silver treasures, leaving behind the Life Jade and the Seven Cauldrons, and fled alone to the Qi camp.

……

Qi Yingwangzhang.

"I hereby inform the King of Qi that a man has come to seek refuge, claiming to be your friend."

Cao Cao's personal guards came in to report.

"A friend? Who is it?"

Cao Cao asked, "With curiosity."

The visitor identified himself as Xu Ziyuan from Nanyang and inquired whether the lord still remembered the incident of stealing chickens and slaughtering geese.

"It's Ziyuan! Quickly prepare a banquet of the highest caliber!"

Cao Cao rushed out of the royal tent without even having time to put on his shoes.

When Xu You saw Cao Cao approaching, he quickly bowed and greeted him, saying, "Xu You, an old friend from Nanyang, pays his respects to the King of Qi."

Xu You looked down and saw Cao Cao's bare feet, and was deeply moved.

"Ziyuan, it really is you!"

Cao Cao laughed heartily, went straight to Xu You, and reached out his hands to help Xu You up.

"Why are you here?"

Cao Cao said with a smile on his face.

"Yuan Shao is intolerant of me; if I don't come to surrender soon, my life may be in danger!"

Xu You's face was full of sorrow. Thinking of the gold and silver treasures he had left in the Jin army camp, he almost covered his face and wept.

Cao Cao held Xu You's hands, his joy overflowing. He knew that with Xu You's arrival, he would officially defeat Yuan Shao and unify the world without any further obstacles!

"It's like a gold mine falling from the sky!"

Cao Cao sighed deliberately in front of Xu You.

"Oh dear, how shameful!"

Xu You was secretly pleased with himself, but as a newcomer, he was still a little cautious.

"With your help, brother, our great undertaking will succeed!"

Cao Cao clasped Xu You's hands tightly, his tone sincere and earnest.

"Please accept my bow!"

Cao Cao made a gesture as if he was about to kneel down.

"No, no!"

Xu You quickly stopped him.

Cao Cao also stopped, as he was now the King of Qi and only needed to make a show of it; Xu You could not accept his bow.

However, if bowing could bring about the establishment of the Han Dynasty, then he wouldn't necessarily reject it.

Xu You looked at Cao Cao's sincere expression, then at Cao Cao's bare feet, and compared his own situation with Yuan Shao, where he was treated well, while Shen Pei always held him back.

"King Qi is truly righteous!"

"To greet me so kindly, forgetting even my shoes, is truly an honor!"

"How could I not be overjoyed to see you, Xu You?"

Cao Cao, still beaming, said, "Come on, let's go inside and talk."

Cao Cao led Xu You inside, where a banquet had already been prepared, with chickens and sheep slaughtered and cooked in bronze cauldrons.

When a guard tried to hand him the shoes, Cao Cao pushed him aside.

After a few rounds of drinks, the two only talked about romance and reminisced about the past.

They only stopped eating and drinking when they were both slightly tipsy, and then began to discuss serious matters.

"Ziyuan, why have you come to seek refuge today?"

Cao Cao squinted and asked.

"I once gave Cao Cao a plan to abandon other places, gather an army of 4 million, with 2 million troops in one direction, mainly infantry and archers, and rely on strong cities to resist your army."

"Another force of two million men, mainly cavalry, will rush to Luoyang under cover of night."

"I told Yuan Shao that no matter which of these two armies wins, the King of Qi will undoubtedly suffer a great defeat."

"As for Yunzhou, Mengzhou, and the lost lands of Youzhou, they can be recovered with just one imperial edict."

"Then why split up the troops?"

Xu You knew that he would be working under Cao Cao in the future, so he had to let Cao Cao see his wisdom first.

Then, with a smug look on his face, he recounted the strategies he had once offered to Yuan Shao.

"Great plan!"

"If Yuan Shao truly employs such military tactics, I am doomed!"

Cao Cao was inwardly disdainful, but outwardly he still praised him.

He really hoped that Yuan Shao would adopt Xu You's plan, so that even without Xu You's help, he could defeat Yuan Shao at the lowest possible cost.

"It's a pity that honest advice is hard to swallow. Not only did the mediocre ruler not listen, but he also wanted to remember my head and use it to punish me in the future."

Xu You sighed from the bottom of his heart.

"To have a good minister but a mediocre ruler is truly one of the greatest sorrows in life."

"Such a brilliant plan, how could Yuan Shao not use it?"

Cao Cao's understanding made Xu You feel recognized, and he became even more proud.

As expected of Xu Ziyuan, he won over Cao Mengde with just a little trick.

Yuan Shao said that he knew you were cunning and treacherous, and that you would actually set up an ambush to lure us into a surprise attack.

"Hehe, everyone says that I, Cao Cao, am suspicious, but it seems that there are people who are even more suspicious than me."

Cao Cao smiled. Chatting with Xu You was quite fun, reminiscent of Cao Cao teasing fools on the street when he was a child.