Han Xiang

Chapter 457

Xia Houyuan still wanted to argue, but Xu Huang stopped him again, and reminded in a low voice: "Since Guan Yu has returned to Xi'e, there is really no need to lie to us. Zhang Lu's matter is not trivial, and we should return to Duyang as soon as possible."

"It makes sense."

Xia Houyuan nodded: "Since Gongming and Guan Yu have a friendship, I will leave it to you to break it up, and I will lead the army to open the way."

"okay."

Xu Huang responded helplessly. Although he and Guan Yu were both from Hedong, they only spent a short time together in Baima.

In terms of friendship, he can't compare to Zhang Liao, and maybe he can't compare to Xia Houyuan either.

Seeing Xia Houyuan turn around and withdraw his troops, Guan Yu showed a childish smile.

But when Xu Huang turned around and resigned with fists in his hands, Guan Yu returned to his previous aloof appearance.

Xu Huang covered the retreat of the soldiers of the two battalions, but Guan Yu did not send any soldiers to chase them.

The actual situation is that the conditions do not allow it. The soldiers of the battalion he brought back continued to run around and exhausted their energy in the battle last night. At this moment, the number of soldiers was too small and exhausted to continue the pursuit.

On the way back to Bowang, Xia Houyuan also sent scouts to inform Cao Ren that they gave up the empty city of Bowang and went straight to Duyang.

The news about Wancheng and Xi'e is like a few big and dry cakes.

The news of Xu Shu, the unknown military adviser, choked in Cao Cao's mouth and hadn't digested it yet. Xia Houyuan also sent a conversation with Guan Yu, which directly turned Cao Cao's face into a pig's liver.

Seeing that Cao Cao's expression was not right, Xia Houyuan hurriedly added: "This is all Guan Yu's one-sided statement, and it may be necessary to send someone to verify it."

"Send someone to verify? Yunchang will lie?"

Cao Cao answered without hesitation. Guo Jia saw that he was sullen, and quickly cupped his hands to remonstrate: "General Miaocai's words are not unreasonable. It is said that the Qinba Mountains are extremely dangerous. There is a terrain where one man guards the gate and ten thousand men cannot open it. Being lured to the Nanyang Plain, Zhang Lu would find it very difficult to defeat, not to mention I told Jiang Ziyi."

"The problem is that Zhang Lu has already lost. Is Zhang Lu too incompetent, or Jiang Gan didn't remind him properly?"

Cao Cao sighed after saying that, and slapped his forehead with his palm. Although he agreed with Guo Jia's words, he had to face the reality.

After hearing this, Guo Jia continued to add: "So we have to find out before making a decision. After all, Zhuge Liang and Liu Ye are by Liu Bei's side. Even if Zhuge Liang's name is not worthy of his name, Liu Ziyang is full of clever tricks. I'm worried that Zhang Lu will fall into the trap."

"That's over"

Cao Cao raised his head and sighed, thinking that with Zhang Lu's tricks, it's no problem to deceive ordinary people, how can he fight back against a wise man.

At the beginning, Jia Xu offered a plan to pull Zhang Lu into the water, and when he saw Guo Jia smoothing things over for him, Jia Xu immediately stood up and saluted.

Yan said: "As General Xiahou and Guo Fengxiao said, it's too early for Ming Gong to be troubled at this time. It's better to wait for the news to be confirmed before making a fuss. Now Guan Yu has returned to Wancheng, and the unknown military advisor Xu Shu has been found. We should Find a way to deal with it, otherwise it will affect the plan to capture Hebei."

Cao Cao nodded slightly: "What's Wen He's opinion?"

Jia Xu replied: "Guan Yu is brave and Xu Shu is resourceful. Liu Bei asked these two to guard Wancheng. The southwest of Yingchuan must be guarded, otherwise Xudu will be threatened. In addition, Xu Shu can be investigated in detail. If there is a weakness, you can Using it is better than launching an offensive from the front."

"Have you ever heard of Xu Shu?"

Cao Cao thought so, and immediately asked everyone, but seeing that everyone was shaking their heads, he couldn't help frowning.

Jia Xu reminded: "Liu Bei can safely hand over Wancheng to Xu Shu, which proves that this person has been under his command for a long time. I guess it should be earlier than Zhuge Liang, and it is more likely that he obtained it in Jingzhou."

"How do you know?" Cao Cao asked with a frown.

Jia Xu explained: "Liu Bei used Liu Ye a lot when he was in Runan, but he was restricted by Liu Biao when he arrived in Jingzhou, so he searched for talents in Jingzhou. Xu Shu was so big that he was buried. I don't know if Liu Biao knew why. Why didn't Ming Gong use it?" Scheming?"

"Ok?"

Cao Cao was inspired by Jia Xu's words. He said that Liu Biao had always been wary of Liu Bei. He certainly didn't know that besides Zhuge Liang, Liu Bei also worshiped the great talent Xu Shu as his military adviser. How should he feel about this?Moreover, Xu Shu was discovered in Jingzhou, and people in Jingzhou may know his name.

Cao Cao thought of Cai Hao again at this time, and he had not corresponded with him for a long time.

It seems that the separation between Liu Bei and Zha Xushu has to fall on old friends from the past.

Guan Yu and Xu Shu blocked the way. Cao Cao's troops in Nanyang were insufficient.

Traveling to the border of Kunyang, good news suddenly came from the front line of Guandu. There were a large number of ships gathering on the north bank of the Yellow River. It should be Yuan Shaozhong who planned to cross the river.

Cao Cao was overjoyed when he heard the words, so he left Cao Ren to garrison Kunyang to resist Guan Yu, and he and his generals secretly returned to Xudu. He was going to give Yuan Shao a fatal blow this autumn.

As for the bad things like Zhang Lu's defeat and Liu Bei's help from talented people, the priority is different from defeating Yuan Shao to stabilize Hebei.

Returning to Xudu on the Mid-Autumn Festival, the front line of the Yellow River is in a complete emergency. Hebei soldiers and horses have landed in Yanjin and Baima, and it seems that they are not in a hurry to start attacking.

After two years of recuperation in Hebei, Yuan Shao pulled out another team of 10 people. After crossing the river, he did not take troops directly to Xudu, but tended to attack Yanzhou.

Cao Cao finally waited for this opportunity. He planned to suffer the people and defenders of Yanzhou. Not only did he not send troops to reinforce the counties in time, but he also deliberately spread rumors about the hard battle in Jingzhou.

Only by letting the Hebei people taste the sweetness, can they be stunned and stumbled by the victory, and Cao Cao will defeat each of them at the right time.

Cao Cao and Xun You's plan to lure the enemy, only a few senior officials in Yanzhou knew the details, so the soldiers and civilians in all counties showed real panic.

In late August, the weather turns cooler.

Many counties of Dongjun and Jiyin were captured by Yuan Shao, leaving only big cities such as Puyang and Dingtao still holding out. Seeing the time was right, Cao Cao was ready to launch a counterattack.

Before leaving, Cao Cao summoned Xun Yu and Xiahou Dun to the Sikong Mansion, intending to instruct them on food, military affairs and other matters.

Xiahou Dun chatted with Cao Cao for a long time before seeing Xun Yu stepping into the palace gate with a serious face.

Seeing this, Cao Cao stretched out his hand and joked, "What's the reason for Xun Lingjun today? You were always the first to arrive before. Shangshutai is too busy with government affairs?"

"Minggong."

Xun Yu bowed his hands and did not respond to Cao Cao's teasing. He still maintained a solemn expression, got up and said seriously: "Shangshutai just received Liu Qi's report, it's not too good."

"Liu Qi?"

Cao Cao was taken aback for a moment, but immediately realized: "Oh yes, is it Zhang Lu's business that he is the prefect of Hanzhong now?"

"It's related to Zhang Lu." Xun Yu nodded slightly: "The coalition forces of Liu Qi and Liu Bei defeated Zhang Wei in Xi County at the end of July, and now they control the four counties in the east of Han. the prefect of Hanzhong"

"what?"

Cao Cao jumped up, and then sat down heavily, his eyes seemed to kill people, and it took a while for him to utter a few words: "What a Hanzhong prefect."

(End of this chapter)