He originally intended to surrender to Wei, so why did he end up restoring Han?

Seeing Liu Bei's strong reaction, Cao Cao had essentially probed into the secrets of Xuzhou.

"This also shows that the workshop contained valuable technology, otherwise Liu Bei would not have kept it hidden like this."

Cao Cao added, then comforted Guo Jia, saying, "It's alright, one failure is nothing. Let's see if we can develop among the locals. I didn't expect that Lu Wan to have such abilities. It's a pity he can't come to the court to contribute himself."

"Even if he could come, he probably wouldn't." Guo Jia shook his head. From the intelligence he had received, Lu Wan seemed to be a staunch anti-Cao faction member.

Cao Cao finally put down his pen, his expression turning serious: "Oh? Why?"

"This man was originally a minor official under Yuan Shu. After his clansmen were killed and he was dissatisfied with Yuan Shu's actions, he resolutely joined Liu Bei. He then gathered the powerful families of Xuzhou and spread negative rumors about our army. He seems to be a staunch supporter of Liu Bei. It will probably be too difficult to get him to surrender."

Cao Cao was not discouraged upon hearing this. He decided to leave the man with Liu Bei for the time being, and once he dealt with Liu Bei, Lu Wan would be unable to escape.

"My lord, you must prepare early. Yuan Shao is about to occupy all of Hebei. General Baima is already showing signs of defeat. I predict that he will be defeated and killed within three years." Guo Jia then put the bamboo slip in his hand aside and reminded him.

This matter is now a sword of Damocles hanging over Cao Cao's head. Cao Cao is making all this fuss now in order to have more leverage when he confronts Yuan Shao in the future.

Hebei is too rich, so rich that even Cao Cao was somewhat desperate. How could he possibly win a war against such a place?

"Besides Yuan Shu, you must also be wary of Liu Bei. If we allow Liu Bei to develop, he may join forces with Yuan Shao in the future. If Yuan's army is allowed to attack westward from Xuzhou, our army will likely be unable to withstand it. Therefore, I believe we should attack Liu Bei first and completely eliminate this threat."

Guo Jia stroked his beard. In his opinion, although annexing Xuzhou would create a much longer border that needed to be defended, it was still much better than letting Liu Bei release Yuan's army.

Another reason is that Liu Bei's strategic vision was seemingly compensated for after Lu Wan arrived. Even if Liu Bei did not ally with Yuan Shao, he could very well have taken advantage of their weakened state to reap the benefits.

Cao Cao, having read the intelligence reports, knew that while Liu Bei wasn't much of a warrior, he was incredibly skilled at farming, having devised a whole host of new methods in just a few months. He nodded and said, "We can't let Liu Bei continue like this; we need to find him something to do."

"My lord, I know a place where we can deliver a heavy blow to Liu Bei."

"Fengxiao, speak quickly."

"Here." Guo Jia pointed to a spot on the map, and Cao Cao looked in the direction he was pointing. The words "Langya" jumped into his eyes.

Guo Jia continued, without stopping, "Langya Commandery and Taishan Commandery are now under the actual control of Zang Ba. He is quite ambitious and has not yet expressed his submission to Liu Bei."

"Our intelligence indicates that Langya County is already experiencing food shortages due to the Xuzhou people. If we intervene, we might be able to bring Zang Ba to our side."

Cao Cao nodded. If Zang Ba surrendered, or even if he didn't need to surrender at all, as long as he remained neutral, Cao Cao could directly attack Liu Bei's heartland, Donghai Commandery, via Taishan Commandery and Langya Commandery.

Guo Jia's finger slid and pointed to another place.

"There's another punch, and that's Lu Bu, who currently resides in Xiaopei."

"Last year, while Liu Bei was away on a campaign, Lü Bu attempted to launch a surprise attack on Xiapi. However, Lu Wan, Zhang Fei, Chen Deng, and others saw through his plan, and the attack failed, leaving Lü Bu seriously wounded. He must be holding a grudge. We can try to figure out how to get him to cooperate with our army."

Cao Cao wasn't particularly morally fastidious, so he naturally didn't object to the matter. However, out of concern, he still cautioned, "This man is strong in martial arts, but he's brave but reckless and utterly untrustworthy. Cooperation is possible, but we must be very careful. He's not one to be loyal to the court."

Guo Jia chuckled softly, "Yes, he is indeed disloyal to the court, but he cannot be loyal to anyone. Using such a person to deal with Liu Bei, we will not lose out regardless of the outcome."

According to the plan, one army would advance from Yishan, and the other from Pengcheng. Given Liu Bei's current meager food reserves, defeating him completely wouldn't be a major problem. If they could capture Xuzhou, all of Liu Bei's previous efforts would be directly taken over by Cao Cao—wasn't that also a kind of…

Guo Jia's method was simple and effective: to encircle Liu Bei and then gang up on him. Liu Bang had previously worn down Xiang Yu through a combination of harassment and group attacks; Liu Bei, now even weaker than Xiang Yu, certainly wouldn't be able to withstand such a onslaught.

As for why he didn't bring Sun Ce from the south along, Cao Cao wasn't crazy enough to bring a talent like Sun Ce here to gain experience. If Liu Bei suddenly lost his mind and surrendered Sun Ce, then Cao Cao would have to face a combination of Sun Ce and Liu Bei.

"By the way, my lord, here is some intelligence you should take a look at. It's about you." After saying that, Guo Jia took a piece of silk from the table and handed it to Cao Cao.

Cao Cao didn't think much of it and took it to look at it.

Upon seeing this intelligence report, Cao Cao's eyes first showed confusion, then shock, and finally anger.

Cao Cao slammed the silk cloth on the ground, his eyes bulging, and shouted angrily, "What nonsense is that old bastard Zheng Xuan spouting? When did I ever go to Xuzhou to spread such words? What kind of person would support the merging of Confucianism and Legalism?"

Although he was verbally cursing, Cao Cao was actually thinking calmly in his heart. He knew Zheng Xuan very well; the man himself had a high moral standard and would not do such a thing.

Could this be Zhicai's scheme? But he never told me about it!

After much deliberation, Cao Cao finally came to the most likely conclusion.

You big-eared scoundrel! How dare you frame me!

Cao Cao was truly disgusted by this. He never denied what he had done; he would never admit to what he hadn't done. It's one thing for a mud horse to curse me, Cao Cao, but you, Liu Bei, can't just make things up!

"I didn't expect that before I even made a move, Liu Bei would provoke me first. Fengxiao, you're right, we should eliminate Liu Bei as soon as possible."

Without further ado, Cao Cao immediately summoned Wang Bi and Pei Mao. Both were heavyweight figures with considerable diplomatic achievements in history.

Wang Bi currently serves as Cao Cao's chief of staff. Historically, he was primarily responsible for diplomatically disarming Lü Bu to prevent a sudden attack. Later, he quelled the uprisings of Geng Ji and Wei Huang, stabilizing a major crisis for Cao Cao.

Pei Mao also worked with Duan Wei and other generals in Guanzhong to successfully eliminate Li Jue and Guo Si, and was even ennobled after the war. He was also an outstanding figure among his peers.

"Minister of Works," "My Lord, what important matter has summoned us here for?" The two men bowed respectfully as soon as they entered, their actions extremely courteous, as if the person before them were the true emperor.