Soldiers come to the world

In the north of Xudu City, next to Jian'an Palace, there is a mansion that is not inferior to the imperial palace. It covers an area of ​​hundreds of acres, with carved beams and painted buildings, cornices and brackets, hundreds of various buildings, and a huge scale.

This is the residence of Cao Cao, Prime Minister of the Han Dynasty. Since Runan County retreated to the north, Cao's soldiers were exhausted, while Yuan Shao in the north was busy quelling the civil strife in Hebei, and had no time to look south.

Cao Cao then hid his flag and rested his troops, accumulated strength, drilled his army and horses, and waited for another war against Yuan Shao in autumn.

Unexpectedly, the arrival of a piece of Hebei intelligence made Cao Cao's thoughts shaken a little.

Under the night, there were two rows of armored warriors standing in front of the gate of Xiangfu, guarded heavily. At this time, a carriage slowly stopped in front of the gate of Xiangfu, and a guard ran up the steps and opened the door.

Cheng Yu came out of the carriage and said with a slight smile, "It's so late, hasn't the Prime Minister rested yet?"

"The prime minister is waiting for you sir in the study, please follow me!"

Cheng Yu is in his early sixties this year, but he has the skills to maintain his health, he is refreshed, he walks vigorously, and he can still follow the army on horseback.

Cao Cao specially sent someone to invite him here tonight. Now that Haishi has passed and everything is silent, just when people are about to rest, the prime minister sent someone to bring him here. Cheng Yu faintly felt that there must be some urgent matter.

He followed the guards into the gate and went all the way to Cao Cao's study. ． ． ． ． ．

In the study room, the brazier is burning vigorously, making the room as warm as spring. There is a bronze beast incense burner in the corner, and the faint green smoke is curling up, filling the room with a faint fragrance.

Cao Cao was sitting on the couch by the window, and there were several single couches in front of him. At this time, Cao Cao was chatting and laughing with another important aide, Xun Yu.

Xun Yu is about 40 years old, about seven feet eight tall, with a face like white jade, personable, elegant and handsome, and he is a very handsome man.

But Cao Cao valued him not because of his great appearance, but because of his outstanding intelligence. He was one of the five most important counselors under Cao Cao's account, and was hailed by Cao Cao as "My Son's House".

Cao Cao and Xun Yu were chatting happily, at this time, a guard came from outside the door to report: "General Zhenwei is here."

General Zhenwei is Cheng Yu's title, Cao Cao nodded, "Let him in!"

After a while, Cheng Yu walked into the room, knelt down and bowed, "My subordinate Cheng Yu pays homage to the prime minister!"

Although Cheng Yu was titled General Zhenwei, Cao Cao generally referred to him as Mr. He was the oldest of Cao Cao's five counselors, and Cao Cao respected him very much.

"Sir, please take a seat!"

Cao Cao smiled slightly, beckoned Cheng Yu to sit down, and said apologetically, "I'm really sorry for disturbing your master's rest at such a late hour!"

"The prime minister has something to do, Cheng Yu will come naturally, this is his duty as a subordinate, the prime minister does not need to apologize."

Cheng Yu stroked his beard and smiled, then nodded to Xun Yu, but thought to himself: Even Xun Yu came, could it be because of Yuan Shao's business?

In the past two days, they received information from Hebei that Yuan Shao was seriously ill, and he might die soon. Several of Yuan Shao's sons and nephews were vying for the throne, and the fighting between open and secret has reached a fever pitch.

At the same time, the opinions of Cao Cao's counselors were also divided into two factions. Some demanded to take advantage of the chaos to attack Hebei, but others sought stability.

Cheng Yu also advocated holding back the troops, but he didn't do it for the sake of being a gentleman, but waited for Yuan Shao to die of illness, and the Yuan brothers would fight among themselves and kill each other, and then send troops to defeat each one.

Cao Cao took an information from the table and handed it to Cheng Yu, and said with a smile, "This is the information just sent from Jingzhou, you should read it first! It's really interesting."

Cheng Yu was slightly taken aback, a letter from Jingzhou?He thought about it, could it be that the Prime Minister wanted to talk about Jingzhou, so he asked with a smile: "But there is another story about that Liu Jing?"

Cao Cao raised his head and laughed, "Exactly, this kid won't let Jingzhou turn upside down, he won't let it go."

Cao Cao has been paying attention to Liu Jing's situation in Jingzhou since Runan's withdrawal of troops. The incident at Rangshan left a deep impression on him. It was the first time he cared so much about an enemy boy.

He has already received several pieces of information about Liu Jing, and he knows his situation in Jingzhou like the palm of his hand, but he didn't expect this kid to teach Zhang Yun a lesson, which really made Cao Cao clap his hands and laugh.

Cheng Yu frowned after reading the information, "Liu Biao is taking this opportunity to clean up the music department!"

"I know this!"

Cao Cao was not interested in Liu Biao, but he was quite interested in Liu Jing now, and said with a smile, "You said you paid the fire, did this kid set it himself?"

"Prime Minister, it is said in this letter that he released it himself."

"Is there? Why didn't I see it."

Cao Cao quickly took the information, read it again carefully, and couldn't help but stroking his beard and laughing: "Sure enough, it was written, I didn't notice it, but as I thought, it was indeed his own trickery, yes! This child I I like it, it fits my taste."

Cheng Yu secretly smiled wryly, the Prime Minister is like this, no matter whether it is an enemy or a friend, as long as he likes it, he will praise it without hesitation, and it was the same with Guan Yunchang back then, and it has not changed a bit for so many years.

Cao Cao seemed to understand what Cheng Yu was thinking, and said with a slight smile, "I just watched the story of this young man and found it very interesting. Of course I'm not talking about him tonight, but because he made me think about Jingzhou."

Only then did Cheng Yu understand, and he smiled slightly and said, "I guess the Prime Minister will not forget the matter of Runan!"

"Yeah! Last time in Runan County, I was deeply impressed by this little boy. It was like reading a book. It whetted my appetite. I always want to know how he performed in Jingzhou. So far, he has performed well and is worth it." I will continue to wait and see.”

Speaking of this, Cao Cao regretted again: "Last time, the information said that this man is eight feet tall and has an extraordinary appearance. It's a pity that I didn't meet him in person, but I have ordered their portraits, and they will send them soon."

Next to him, Xun Yu hesitated, and persuaded: "Prime Minister, he is only a young man after all, and at least a few years later, he will not be able to make any big waves in Jingzhou. Why should the prime minister put his precious energy on him? The subordinates feel that the prime minister treats him too much." Pay attention, even surpassed Yuan Shao, a bit biased."

Cao Cao smiled and waved his hands, "Of course the matter of Yuan Benchu ​​is important, but it's not bad to have a little fun every now and then, thinking about military and national affairs all day long. Don't worry too much, sir. This young man's matter involves Jingzhou, so let's talk about him first. , In fact, I want to discuss the strategy of Jingzhou."

Xun Yu smiled, since it was just the prime minister's personal pleasure, he would not interfere any more, but he didn't know why the prime minister suddenly thought of Jingzhou, could it be that he wanted to fight Jingzhou?

Cheng Yu pondered for a moment, and then said: "Actually, the key to Jingzhou lies in the interests of several great families. Although the north is not peaceful, we have no time to estimate Jingzhou, but there are some things we can do first. We can first contact the noble families and promise to protect their interests." Benefits, once the north subsides, our army goes south, and the Jingzhou family surrenders, Jingzhou will be like a broken bamboo, and it will be flat in one battle."

Cao Cao nodded, "Actually, we have been doing contact with the Jingzhou family for a long time. The Cai and Kuai clans have made it clear that they are willing to be loyal to the Han Dynasty. In fact, they are willing to surrender to my workaround. It's just Liu Biao's attitude is tough. Rejected the hostage in Xudu, almost killed Han Song the year before last, and Huang Zu and Liu Bei are both hardliners. Now Jingzhou has a lot of voices to resist, but few moderate ones. I am hesitating whether to station heavy troops in Nanyang and eradicate Xinye first. Liu Bei, kill chickens to make an example to monkeys, and weaken the hardliners in Jingzhou."

"The Prime Minister is impossible!"

Xun Yu quickly objected, "Now that Yuan Shao is critically ill and will die soon, it will inevitably lead to a scuffle among the princes. At this time, the prime minister should stand still and look at Hebei, waiting for an opportunity, and the south should give priority to appeasement.

If the prime minister suppresses Nanyang, he will inevitably force Liu Biao and Sun Quan to join forces, or contact the Yuan family in Hebei. If the Yuan family reconciles, there will be a situation of pinching attacks between the north and the south, which is not good for the Central Plains. "

Cao Cao pondered for a moment, then asked Cheng Yu, "What about Zhong De's opinion?"

Cheng Yu understood Cao Cao's thoughts very well. It was because Yuan Shao was seriously ill and was about to die. The Yuan family's sons were fighting for the throne, which would inevitably lead to a civil war in the Yuan family. That's why the prime minister wanted to take advantage of this opportunity to go south to wipe out Liu Biao, and then return to Cao Cao. The division went north to clean up the mess in Hebei.

Although the idea is very good, many things are not as simple as thought.

Cheng Yu smiled slightly, "Frankly speaking, I support Wen Ruo."

"Why?" Cao Cao asked in a deep voice.

He knew that Cheng Yu had always been cautious and thoughtful about issues, maybe there was something that he hadn't considered, so he watched Cheng Yu, waiting for his explanation.

Cheng Yu said calmly: "Jingzhou has the Han River in the north and the Yangtze River in the south. The water network in the territory is criss-crossed and the rivers are densely covered. I wonder if the Prime Minister is considering training the navy?"

"Of course it is!"

"The sailors will be drilled for at least one year, and there will be troop mobilization. Jingzhou's elite army is about 50 to [-]. The prime minister thinks that the situation will be overwhelming. Depending on the first battle, at least [-] troops will need to be mobilized. If there are not so many troops, then we can only fight In a protracted war, if the lips are dead and the teeth are cold, Sun Quan and Liu Zhang come to help, and Liu Bei will write to Xiliang again, asking Ma Teng to send troops to attack Guanzhong.

Even if we win this battle in the end, it must be a tragic victory. If the Yuan family in the north has been unified by then, do we still have the strength to pacify the north?

Or in the later stage of the Southern War, we are deeply mired, and the Yuan family has been unified, and the army is overwhelming, how can we resist?Although these things are exaggerated, but the world is like chess, and it is difficult for us to predict everything. "

Xun Yu also persuaded: "Prime Minister, in fact, Liu Biao has no ambitions. It is our great fortune to stick to success but not to make progress. Our current priority is Hebei. After completely calming Hebei, we will go south. We have no worries. If the Prime Minister is not at ease However, you can order General Xiahou Dun to lead an army of [-] troops in Nanyang to contain Liu Biao's main force, so that Jiangxia will be empty, Sun Quan will not be tempted, once Sun and Liu fight, the prime minister will finally reap the benefits."

Cao Cao is a man of great talent and general strategy. He was only slightly tempted for a while, and wanted to take advantage of the civil strife in the Yuan family to wipe out Jingzhou, but he did not consider many details, especially the soldiers in the north were not familiar with water warfare, which would take a lot of time and energy. Drilling, this goes against his idea of ​​a quick fix.

He also knows that once it takes too long, the north will inevitably change. At this time, it is indeed a bit unwise to plot Jingzhou. It is better to secretly support the Jingzhou family, stir up internal strife in Jingzhou, and at the same time stimulate Sun and Liu to fight. profiteering.

Thinking of this, Cao Cao smiled and said: "Since the two big planners strongly oppose it, I have no choice but to obey, and let the matter of going south to Jingzhou be put aside for the time being, but if what Wen said is reasonable, I might as well create conditions for Liu and Sun's family Have a good fight."

After a pause, Cao Cao said to himself again, "If I can take this opportunity to eradicate Liu Bei, it will undoubtedly remove the thorn in my eye. I don't know if Yuan Rang has the courage."