East County.
Cao Cao was in Dongjun, firstly to guard against the Yellow Turban Moth bandits fleeing north, and secondly, to guard against Gongsun Zan's surprise attack on the flanks of his eldest brother Yuan Shao.
Today, the battle report received early in the morning left Cao Cao stunned. Yuan Shao indeed defeated Gongsun Zan at the boundary bridge, but what followed was information about King Hejian's military strategy in Jizhou.
"This one still knows how to seize opportunities as always."
Before Yuan Shao had time to be happy, the Hejian King's [-] troops pressed forward, including tens of thousands of cavalry. Their maneuverability made Yuan Shao very passive.
At this time, the scribe under Cao Cao took the latest detective report and walked to the hall worriedly and saluted: "My lord, the situation is not optimistic."
Of course, Cao Cao also knew about the passivity of the north and received the report: "Bohai County...has fallen."
In just three days, the situation has become so corrupt. Not only did Gongsun Zan suffer a defeat, he also lost Bohai County, the entire front was lost, and now his people are fleeing south.
"My lord, we can currently find out that Gongsun Zan was besieged by the King of Hejian and unable to move in Qinghe County."
"Kong Ming, what's the situation like at the beginning?"
This man was the first counselor Cao Cao met in Dongjun. His name was Hu Zhao and his courtesy name was Kong Ming.
(Hu Zhao (162-250), courtesy name Kongming, was a native of Yingchuan County. He was a hermit and calligrapher during the late Han Dynasty and the Three Kingdoms period. Although Hu Zhao is not well-known, he had a student named Sima Yi. Hu Zhao was good at official calligraphy. As famous as Zhong Yao, Handan Chun, Wei Jian and Wei Dan, Wei Heng commented: "Zhao and Zhong Yao studied together under Liu Desheng, and both were good at doing grass, while Hu was fat and Zhong was thin." "The Zhong family is small, but the Hu family is bold." Commonly known as "Zhong Hu".) "My lord, the situation on Yuan Cheqi's side is not very optimistic either. Zhongshan and Changshan have fallen. The army of King Hejian on the northern front has arrived at Handan. The army of King Hejian on the eastern front has occupied Qinghe Kingdom and is heading toward Wei County. approaching, and the Western Front Army has arrived at Yecheng."
Cao Cao looked at the map with a serious look on his face. He did not expect that the situation was already so grim. "Brother Benchu took me in when I was at a low point and found him in danger. I cannot be ungrateful. I ordered Xiahou Dun and Xiahou Yuan to hold on to Dunqiu. Cao Ren defended Leping and did not allow the Yellow Turbans to advance any further. At the same time, he ordered Cao Chun to lead the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry to Jizhou to avoid a direct confrontation with the Hejian King's army and to rescue Brother Benchu."
Hu Zhao: "Lord, after all, the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry..."
Hu Zhao was reluctant to give up. The most fundamental reason why Cao Cao was able to gain a foothold in Dongjun was because of Cao Chun and his thousand tiger and leopard cavalry. This army can be said to be the best among the best in Cao Cao's hands and must not be lost on the battlefield in Jizhou.
Because of Liu Han, Cao Cao paid more attention to the role of cavalry than in history. Therefore, he recruited troops from Danyang and came to Dongjun to establish a foothold. The first thing he did was to ask Cao Chun to build an elite cavalry team, named: "Tiger and Leopard Cavalry" ride".
However, due to the lack of war horses and the huge cost of training cavalry, Cao Cao was unable to train cavalry on a large scale like Liu Han. A thousand cavalry troops was the limit of what Cao Cao could do.
Therefore, every person and every horse is extremely precious. Although there are complaints in the army, Cao Cao used Liu Han's fame outside the Great Wall as an example. In plain war, cavalry is the most powerful force.
During the half-year battle with the Yellow Turban Moth Thieves, although Cao Cao suffered a loss, relying on the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry, the Yellow Turban Thieves were still not easily defeated.
Now, Yuan Shao was in trouble. In order to repay Yuan Shao's great kindness, Cao Cao decided to send tiger and leopard cavalry to rescue him.
But to be honest, Cao Cao was worried, mainly because he was also afraid that the tiger and leopard cavalry would encounter the King of Hejian's cavalry. If there were thousands of people, they could still fight. But when encountering a group of ten thousand people, no matter how elite Cao Chun's tiger and leopard cavalry were. , and it is impossible to beat it.
"Kong Ming, I have made up my mind, no need to say anything more."
"Here."
At this time, a servant came to report that Liu Bei's envoy came to see Cao Envoy.
"Liu Bei? Why did he send people here?"
Regarding Liu Bei, Cao Cao looked down on this mat weaver and shoe seller who appeared to be a relative of the emperor. "He sent someone to see me. What qualifications does Liu Bei have to be on an equal footing with me?!"
Cao Cao was about to attack the enemy, but was stopped by Hu Zhao: "My lord, as the saying goes, 'When two armies are fighting, the envoy will not be killed.' No matter what kind of person Liu Xuande is, out of courtesy, we might as well invite him in first and ask him What to do?" After thinking about it, Cao Cao said, "Bring people in."
Not long after, Jian Yong followed the servant into the hall, "Jian Yong pays homage to the envoy."
Cao Cao looked at Jian Yong and said, "Come here, what do you mean?"
Cao Cao and Liu Han only had different ideas, but he looked down on Liu Bei from the bottom of his heart. Because of Guangzong and Hulao Pass twice, Cao Cao saw Liu Bei's hypocrisy clearly.
"Your Majesty, I came here this time for the sake of your envoy."
"for me?"
Cao Cao laughed angrily, "Okay! Then you have to tell me carefully why you are here. If you can't tell me, I will test the sword in your waist with the human head on your neck."
Jian Yong was nervous in his heart, but his face was calm: "Your Majesty, today all the heroes in the world are together, and the princes are fighting. However, there are also strengths and weaknesses among the princes, just like the Five Hegemons of the Spring and Autumn Period and the Seven Heroes of the Warring States Period..."
"Speak the key."
As soon as Jian Yong opened his mouth, Cao Cao guessed what he was about to say, so he interrupted him unceremoniously.
Jian Yong paused for a moment, then saluted and said: "Your Majesty, the king of Hejian today is just like the violent Qin Dynasty back then. We and other princes should not attack each other, but watch and help each other, just like the eighteen princes who fought against Dong in the past, and worked together." Collaborate.”
"Ah…"
Cao Cao really wanted to laugh. If the eighteen princes had really worked together to challenge Dong, how could we be here today? But Cao Cao had to admit that Liu Han was now the largest prince, dominating everyone.
"What is the purpose of your coming here?"
Jian Yong stopped beating around the bush and said, "My lord hopes that you can put aside the past grudges, form an alliance with the princes, and defeat the King of Hejian together."
"more specific."
Jian Yong's cake painting was very good, but Cao Cao was not fooled.
Jian Yong had no choice but to tell the purpose of his trip, "My lord hopes that you can let General Gongsun pass by the treasure land, and then return to Pingyuan County to reorganize the army and wait for the rest to be over. In the meantime, we can contact Yuan Cheqi of Yuzhou , Xuzhou Mutao Mansion, and Chang'an, just waiting for the envoy's order, we will jointly attack the King of Hejian, why worry about the King of Hejian not being defeated?!"
"Fuck, I don't dare accept this fate."
Ridiculous, the crusade against Dong Zhuo was an act of great justice, but what was the crusade against the King of Hejian? But it is in Cao Cao's interest to let Gongsun Zan return eastward. No matter how you put it, it will create one more enemy and one more potential ally for the King of Hejian, and the pressure on his side will be less, although he feels a little sorry for Brother Benchu.
After thinking again and again, Cao Cao said: "I agree with your proposal and let Gongsun Zan return eastward."
"Thank you envoy."
After Jian Yong left, Hu Zhao said: "My lord...if..." He was afraid that Gongsun Zan would make a false plan to destroy Guo, and the gain would outweigh the loss.
Cao Cao interrupted: "No, Gongsun Zan is not that kind of person." (End of Chapter)