Chapter 226 A pack of wolves surrounds a tiger, a good opportunity [Subscribe]

Yanzhou built a small city in Guandu specifically for war.

After Cao Cao came here in person, troops from all over the place gathered here and the desire to fight was in the air.

The generals under Cao's camp gathered at Guandu to meet Cao Cao.

If someone knew Cao Cao's combat intentions and goals, they would be shocked.

The princes of various states and counties outside all felt that Yanzhou had the most powerful army in the world.

On the contrary, Cao Cao himself did not think how strong the troops under his command were.

Including the most elite Tiger and Leopard Cavalry, which can only be considered passing at best.

In his eyes, everyone in the world is a bunch of rogue soldiers.

All parties recruited civilians and fought a few battles, but they were not even elite troops, let alone a strong army.

The strong army in Cao Cao's mind is the Qin army that swept across the six kingdoms, the Han army in the early Han Dynasty that fought against the Five Barbarians alone and defeated the Huns, and the troops at the level of the Wei Wuzu under Wu Qi.

Although the Yanzhou army had been defeated in several surrounding states for several years.

But in reality, he has never encountered a truly strong enemy.

The world-renowned Battle of Guandu was, in Cao Cao's mind, nothing more than a major military exercise.

He sat in the camp, took out the message beads and contacted various parties:
"Han Sheng, your troops should prepare to move."

Huang Zhong's response came quickly from the other end:
"Zhong obeys the order!"

Cao Cao then contacted Zhang Liao, Cheng Yu, and Xun Yu who was stationed in Changyi.

"Kong Rong and others have recently gathered in Changyi and have come to me many times to discuss the current situation, sometimes using rather heated words."

Xun Yu sent back the message:

"I suspect there is something wrong with Kong Rong, or someone is secretly colluding with him and wants to take advantage of our war with Jizhou to have other plans."

"It's not surprising. We went to war with Jizhou. It would be strange if the surrounding parties had no reaction."

Cao Cao: "Kong Rong has always regarded me as a traitor. It is normal for someone to find him and collude with him."

Kong Rong was a famous three-good student in the late Han Dynasty. He knew how to give pears to others since he was a child.

Prior to this, he served as the governor of Beihai in Qingzhou.

His more prominent identity is that he is the 20th generation grandson of Confucius.

He supports imperial power and likes to criticize current affairs.

His identity as the descendant of Confucius is his halo and his support.

Kong Rong himself was also well-known for his talent, and thus became a banner for literati all over the world.

He has always looked down on Cao Cao and always wanted to drown him with his saliva.

But after Cao Cao took the initiative to send troops to defeat the Liangzhou army and rescue Chang'an, Kong Rong's attitude changed. He visited Yanzhou many times, posing as an official supporting orthodoxy. He asked to see the emperor and also met Cao Cao.

In a sense, he is now also an official of the Yanzhou faction, accepting appointment and dismissal from the imperial power.

He has been appointed as the governor of Qingzhou, in charge of Qingzhou.

But it was basically a decoration. Yuan Shao occupied the north of Qingzhou, and Yanzhou occupied the south of Qingzhou, and neither side listened to him.

When Yanzhou and Jizhou went to war, Kong Rong fled to Changyi and asked to see Xun Yu many times.

They also widely spread the argument that Jizhou was strong, while Yanzhou was located in a place surrounded by powerful enemies and would be defeated if a war broke out.

Kong Rong asked Xun Yu: "Jizhou has been the leader of the nine states since ancient times. How many outstanding people have come from it?"

"How strong are the troops under Yuan Shao's command?

He had over a hundred civil officials who gave him advice. On this expedition, he left Shen Pei behind, and Feng Ji served as his supervisor in Yecheng.

The generals led by Qu Yi accompanied him, and hundreds of thousands of soldiers and horses were mobilized. If Yanzhou competed with him, once other parties heard the news and took action, Yanzhou would be in danger of being defeated. "

When Kong Rong made these remarks, Yan Liang and Wen Chou had not yet been killed.

There are many people in Yanzhou who hold this view.

For example, although Runan was occupied by Cao Cao, he suppressed the various aristocratic families.

But after all, it was once the ancestral land of the Yuan family. Some of the noble families once headed by the Yuan family would definitely make moves secretly while the two sides go to war.

After the war broke out, Yanzhou killed Yan Liang and Wen Chou in succession, and quickly attacked Bai Ma and Yanjin.

But later he was led by Qu Yi, who killed Song Xian and Hou Cheng and captured Wuchao.

When Kong Rong came to see Xun Yu again, he changed his words:

"Yanzhou won a small victory at first, but lost Baima and the Yanjin line, which were occupied by Jizhou and could not be recaptured.

The most powerful force in Jizhou was Qu Yi's crossbow army, which captured Wuchao in just two days.

I think we should negotiate peace with Jizhou and serve Your Majesty together. This is the best strategy and will be the best for the world."

After Xun Yu met Kong Rong, he sent a message to alert Cao Cao.

After a while, Guo Jia, Xun You and Jia Xu entered the tent to discuss matters.

When Cao Cao mentioned Kong Rong, Guo Jia scoffed, "In my humble opinion, Kong Rong either has some other purpose and deliberately made a mistake to provoke Wen Ruo and get information.

Or maybe he has become stupid from reading too much."

Xun You slowly offered a plan:
"This battle with Jizhou is a golden opportunity for Yanzhou."

"Yanzhou can use the opportunity of fighting with Jizhou to eliminate dissidents. Let those who have hostile intentions emerge and eliminate them all at once.

After this battle, our Yanzhou will be united, how powerful it will be! "

In the eyes of Xun You, Guo Jia and others, fighting with others is an opportunity that can be used to take advantage of. Xun You meant that Cao Cao should hold steady and not rush to take action.

You can even show weakness to the enemy first, lure out all the hostiles, and then wipe them out with absolute strength, then the power of Yanzhou will be unprecedented.

Jia Xu held the same view.

But he usually doesn't speak up in such situations.

When there is no one around, I will talk to Cao Cao alone.

Changyi.

Kong Rong had just left the city by carriage and was heading south.

While in the carriage, he took out an imperial edict and stared at its contents, reading it again and again.

Then he took out a secret letter, hesitated for a moment, and sent a message with it:
“I met Xun Wenruo several times and deliberately said some wrong things to arouse his dissatisfaction and thus find out some information.

But this Yanzhou Sima was shrewd and steady, and did not reveal Yanzhou's plan in a single word. "

"But I can be sure that your method is feasible."

"I know the general area where the Yanzhou troops are deployed in Qingzhou. They are mainly in the west and north, and are targeting Jizhou with all their strength..."

----

Jingzhou.

Xiangyang.

Liu Biao had promised Yuan Shao many times in the past that he would unite with Jizhou to deal with Cao Cao.

But once the action started, Jingzhou never actually sent out troops.

Until this time, when the armies of Yanzhou and Jizhou were confronting each other to decide the outcome, Liu Biao felt that it was a good opportunity.

"The troops gathered by Yanzhou at Guandu number about 60,000 to 70,000 elite soldiers, and Jizhou has more than double that."

"Including the troops that both sides have gathered in Hanoi and Qingzhou, as well as the auxiliary troops transporting baggage, the total number of troops involved in the war on both sides is more than 400,000."

Kuai Liang, an important official under Liu Biao, was tall and thin with a rectangular face. He said:
"If the governor wants to join the war, now is the best time."

Just wait for Yanzhou and Jizhou to fight with all their might, and Jingzhou will send troops to reap the benefits.

Liu Biao stood by the window and looked toward the northeast: "If I send troops from Jingzhou, the defeat of Yanzhou will be a foregone conclusion."

Kuai Liang nodded slightly.

Under the current situation, if Jingzhou joins the war, Yanzhou will definitely lose.

Liu Biao asked, "Has there been any movement from the Emperor Zhong in Huainan?"

"Not yet, but he will definitely join the war."

Kuai Liang said, "He lost Yuzhou to Cao Mengde before, and he has a deep hatred with Yanzhou. Now is the best opportunity to deal with Yanzhou, and he will not miss it."

"I'm afraid Yizhou is also willing to go north and participate in this battle!"

After Cao Cao took control of the emperor, all parties saw the benefits.

The current opportunity is rare. Anyone who is determined to fight for the world will surely gather together to surround Yanzhou and fight for the fat meat.

"Cao Mengde has been developing too fast in recent years and has no way to restrain himself. In addition, Yanzhou is a place where four wars have taken place. The current situation could have been foreseen a long time ago."

Liu Biao said leisurely: "I wonder what the world will become after Guandu?"

In November, as the battle in Yanzhou further unfolded, all parties were watching with eager eyes.

The Jizhou army occupied Yanjin, Bai Ma, and then captured Wuchao, and their positions were connected in a line.

By late November, the Jizhou army recaptured Yangwu and moved in with its main force.

At this point, its power is growing stronger and it has made all preparations.

Qu Yi led the central army of Jizhou and began to press towards Guandu.

In early December, the Jizhou army unfurled its flags and set up camp on the sand pile at Guandu, confronting Cao's camp head-on.

At Baimazin, Yuan Shao used it as the rear army command post.

He was sitting in the rear, studying strategy in the tent.

Yuan Shao was not good at commanding troops, but he was not completely ignorant.

Yanzhou is in Henei and Qingzhou, each of which has its own troops, and he is on guard against them.

Before sending troops to Yanzhou, Yuan Shao asked more than 20 generals including He Mao and Wang Mo to build a large number of fortifications in the direction of Hanoi to deal with the threat of Cao's army.

The same is true in the direction of Qingzhou.

Generals such as Gao Lan did not come to the front line because they were on guard against Yanzhou attacking troops from other directions.

Yuan Shao checked his arrangements and felt that there were no loopholes and that his chances of winning were extremely high.

What's more, he has an unknown support to secure the victory.

He summoned Liu Bei and his three brothers:
"Xuan De, if you can capture Yanzhou this time, I will make you the governor of Xuzhou. I will never break my promise.

Are you sure about what I tell you to do?"

Liu Bei said solemnly, "How dare I disobey the governor's orders? This time, my second and third brothers and I will do our best."

"Okay, go ahead. My men and soldiers will cooperate with you."

In mid-December, Liu Yan of Yizhou, who was adjacent to Jingzhou, was the first to take action. He marched his troops northward, intending to seize Luoyang and take the emperor into his hands.

Liu Biao, Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu were all overjoyed when they received the news. They issued orders almost immediately to launch an offensive against Yanzhou!

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(End of this chapter)