Han Xiang

Chapter 633: Failure to win the internal fight and lose the external war

Cao Cao forced Langya Wang Xi to take the throne and used delaying tactics to temporarily relocate the court to Yecheng, which aroused dissatisfaction among the nobles in Henan.

The economy determines the superstructure. As a leader, Xun Yu was coerced by the forces behind him. He claimed that he was ill and could not travel far, so he did not attend Liu Xi's coronation ceremony.

Many officials in the Xudu court also suspected that Liu Xie was harmed by Cao Cao, so they found various reasons not to attend the ceremony and tactfully protested to Cao Cao.

However, Cao Cao holds the military and political power in his hands and will not stop for opposition voices.

Although he lacked the support of the Henan nobles, he had the Hebei nobles headed by Cui Yan.

There will be no shortage of people.

There will be no shortage of officials.

Cao Cao and the Hebei nobles were in the "honeymoon period", so it was easier and more secure to use. Moreover, Yecheng had been managed by the Cao family for several years, so he no longer had to worry about being "robbed" when he went out to fight.

Cao Cao also tolerated the Henan nobles' behavior of slandering their faces.

After all, by helping the mistress to the top and neglecting the main wife, you have to allow others to complain.

But they are all eating from the same pot. Cao Cao plans to wait until the other party has finished pouring out his anger, and then use sweet words to coax and deceive.

Dealing with Xun Yu and others is like dealing with women. Cao thought he was gifted.

Cao Cao supported Liu Xi to ascend the throne in Yecheng. In addition to balancing the Henan gentry and enhancing his control, Cao Cao also considered strengthening the defense of Hebei.

Half of the [-] soldiers brought back from the Jingzhou battlefield were brought back to Hebei for defense.

The euphemistic name is to protect the emperor and defend the capital, but in reality it is a threat posed by Liu Bei.

In the past few months of dramatic changes in the Central Plains, Du Ji had no reinforcements due to the barrier of Guanshan. Finally, he was persuaded by Zhuge Liang to surrender, and the land east of Hedong was taken into Liu Bei's arms.

Hedong is adjacent to Bingzhou Shangdang, and to the east of Shangdang is Yecheng. It is much closer to attack Yecheng than to penetrate Luoyang and attack Xudu, so Cao Cao must strengthen his defense. This is the weakness of the large territory.

The war in the south is not over yet, and the "little daughter-in-law of Henan" is having trouble again.

After Cao Cao had established Liu Xi, he should have gone south to the Central Plains as soon as possible to take charge, but as soon as the new emperor was established, everything was complicated and he couldn't get out.

In order to flatter Cao Cao, some people wrote to the emperor to confer the title of Duke of Cao Cao.

Although Cao Cao was very happy in his heart, he failed to appease the Henan nobles and felt that it was not yet time to create a public kingdom.

Cao Cao had concerns about the nobles in Henan, and Xun Yu and others reciprocated the favor by giving him a big gift at the end of the month, a piece of breaking news in Jingzhou.

Cao Ren was defeated by Guan Yu and led his troops back to Wancheng.

Yin, Xian, Rangxian and other places captured by Cao Cao also fell under Guan Yu's control again, and the situation in Jingzhou returned to the state at the beginning of the year.

Cao Cao was shocked when he saw the letter, and because Xun Yu did not explain the details of the defeat, he immediately put down everything in his hands and headed south to Xudu in a hurry.

Seeing Xun Yu again, Cao Cao felt very complicated.

Although Xun Yu's expression remained normal, Cao Cao thought he was gloating about his misfortune, but he could only suppress his displeasure.

"Wen Ruo's words are refined. I wonder why Zixiao was defeated? He had tens of thousands of soldiers in his hands, and he carefully prepared his defenses when I left. Ordinarily, even if Guan Yu had a naval army, he would not have been defeated so quickly."

"General Zixiao cannot be entirely blamed for this incident."

Xun Yu stroked his beard and shook his head gently, explaining: "When you were in Yecheng to support the new king, a big earthquake suddenly occurred in Nanyang. The dock in Fancheng was almost destroyed. Guan Yu launched an all-out attack after the earthquake. The frontline soldiers mistakenly thought that Guan Yu had divine help. , the morale of the army was low and there was a shortage of food and grass, so they retreated to Wancheng after losing several battles. If it were not for General Zixiao's effective command, the 10,000+ soldiers would have been wiped out."

"Wen Ruo, wait a minute." Cao Cao frowned and interrupted Xun Yu, and asked in a deep voice: "You just said there was a shortage of food and grass? Why did this happen? It is said that various places in the Central Plains have recovered. Could it be that Long Xiang came to seal the door with cement again? "

"The shortage of food and grass has nothing to do with Long Xiang, but the closure of the gate has affected our recruitment of civilians, and Gan Ning and Lu Su continue to harass the waterways, so the transportation of military supplies has been difficult, and natural food routes have been interrupted in the event of earthquakes."

Xun Yu's words were reasonable, but Cao Cao thought that he was deliberately trying to draw fire, but the earthquake's excuse was indeed impeccable.

After pondering for a moment, Cao Cao raised his eyebrows and asked: "We have more than one food route. Runan was not attacked by Long Xiang, and Li Tong didn't send food and grass there?"

"The Prime Minister doesn't know yet? At the beginning of the month, Taishou Li passed through Huyang while guarding grain. He was ambushed by Guan Yu himself and unfortunately was killed. Therefore, this grain road in Runan has long been closed."

The calmer Xun Yu spoke, the angrier Cao Cao felt.

"What? Li Tong acted cautiously, how could he be ambushed?"

In the middle of his words, Cao Cao suddenly thought of Shiren's Telescope and thought to himself: How can we fight this battle?Then he clenched his fists tightly.

"Guan Yunchang is no ordinary person. Liu Bei is eyeing Luoyang at this time. These heroes are invincible to the Prime Minister. Your Majesty should be sent to Xudu as soon as possible. We can also use the emperor's reputation to recruit food and troops, so that the Prime Minister has no worries."

"Let me think about it."

Facing Xun Yu Chi Guoguo's threat, Cao Cao had to endure his anger and then changed the subject.

"I still don't know something. Guan Yu is guarding the isolated city of Xiangyang, and Liu Cong is restraining him in the south. How can he have the energy to take the initiative?"

"Relying on outsiders? It's unreliable."

"What do you mean? Liu Cong dares to send troops without obeying the order?"

"Ah"

Xun Yu smiled lightly, shook his head and explained: "It's not that Liu Cong didn't obey the imperial edict, but that he had no time to care for himself. Zhao Fan, the prefect of Guiyang, publicly stated that he recognized Liu Qi as the lord of Jingzhou. Although the three counties of Lingling, Wuling and Changsha had not If you express your stance, you will probably not obey Liu Cong. He is an opponent that even General Zixiao is afraid of. How can Liu Cong dare to stroke Guan Yu's beard with half of Nanjun?"

"Is there such a thing?"

I saw Cao Cao's expression of disbelief, as if he was talking about such a big thing, but I didn't know?
Xun Yu observed the words and added: "The Prime Minister is busy with the new emperor's enthronement, so he may not pay attention to these things. Yecheng is still far away, so it is inevitable that the information will lag behind."

"I can save it."

Facing the continuous beating, Cao Cao became impatient, but Xun Yu did not stop reporting.

"Before the Prime Minister went to Yecheng, he ordered to closely monitor the movements in Huainan. Long Xiang has been very peaceful recently and should not move north in the short term, but this is not Sun Quan's credit."

"What do you mean?"

Cao Cao heard that there was something in Xun Yu's words, and thought to himself, could it be your credit?
Xun Yu twirled his beautiful beard and said: "In the past few months, heavy rains have continued in various places, causing rivers to swell and condense and cause disasters. Huainan and Jiangdong, where Longxiang is located, are downstream, so they will definitely be severely affected this time."

"The dragon thief used evil tricks to trick evil, and this is punishment from heaven."

Cao Cao smiled proudly after hearing this, and suddenly remembered that Xun Yu mentioned Sun Quan, and hurriedly asked: "Is it possible that Sun Quan never sent troops?"

"It seems that the Prime Minister knows him very well."

Xun Yu nodded slightly: "I only found out recently that Sun Quan secretly captured half of Jiaozhou, and when Zhao Fan rebelled against Liu Cong and supported Liu Qi, he sent Dong Xi from Jiaozhou to invade Lingling. It seemed that he was targeting the four counties of Jingnan. , I’m afraid he has given up on Jiangdong.”

"This short-sighted guy is working against the odds. I have hundreds of thousands of athletes fighting fiercely with Yun Chang in Nanyang, but he only wants to reap the benefits of the fishermen. It's really a tiger's father giving birth to a dog's son."

(End of this chapter)