Xiaoqi

All the way into his big tent angrily, Cao Cao walked directly to the high-ranking chair, and the moment he sat down, he slapped the desk heavily, causing a stack of bamboo slips on the desk to fall to the ground in an uproar.

"It's unreasonable, the concubine Yuan Shao deceived me too much, it's extremely hateful! Yuan, Ben, Chu, the concubine is not enough to plan!"

After gnashing his teeth and roaring, Cao Cao slumped down with a face full of decadence, lying powerlessly on the cushion, his eyes were dim and lifeless, his expression was extremely lonely, and his breathing was as heavy as a cow.

Obviously, he was filled with righteous indignation at the moment, his heart was very painful, and he was tortured so much that he was exhausted physically and mentally, and his life was worse than death.

Seeing Cao Cao's fury, Cao Ren, standing at the bottom of the steps, had a lot to say, but at this moment he was speechless, not because he didn't want to, but because he didn't dare to ask more.

As a confidant general who has been with Cao Cao for a long time, Cao Ren knows his temperament and temper very well, and knows when to say something.If Cao Cao is in a bad mood or loses his temper, even if it is an urgent matter, he must carefully consider whether to report it immediately; otherwise, a little carelessness will lead to death.

It is true that Cao Cao's city has always been extremely deep, his emotions and anger are invisible, his wisdom is deep, and it is elusive.However, the deeper the city, the more difficult it is to predict, and its temperament and temper are also weird and changeable, and it is possible to reward your subordinates because of momentary pleasure, or to kill people because of momentary anger.This kind of changeable temperament has happened to Cao Cao many times. More than ten servants, soldiers and maidservants who have served him for a long time have been killed by him. At that time, he was stabbed to death in the middle of the night for no reason, but he himself didn't know it. It wasn't until after dawn that he found out that his concubine had been dead for a long time.

Things like this can be said to happen from time to time, not uncommon.

It's just that Cao Ren and other cronies and generals have always kept these things secret, and they rotted in their stomachs after they found out.However, the deeper and more secretly some things are hidden, the more memorable they will be, and they will never be forgotten.

Cao Ren is like this.He has always been in awe of Cao Cao, devoted himself to his devotion and loyalty, never dared to question any of Cao Cao's decisions, and respected him like a god.However, the disastrous defeat of Feiyundu made Cao Ren unable to deal with it calmly. In the past few days, he has had trouble sleeping and eating. In fact, Cao Ang, the eldest son who was known as a virtuous man with both civil and military skills, died tragically at the hands of the barbarian Hu Che'er, and tens of thousands of Cao's soldiers died in battle.

Therefore, the battle of Feiyundu was an inescapable nightmare for Cao Ren; how many members of the direct descendants of the Cao family who lived together day and night were all buried in Feiyundu in the mere [-]-mile mountain stream, it is really unbelievable!

When Cao Ren mentioned Li Li's name before, he couldn't help but gritted his teeth and called him "Li thief". Now he still calls him that, but he has an inexplicable fear in his heart.Every time "Tie Li" was mentioned, he felt an indescribable chill rushing from the soles of his feet to his forehead, and he felt extremely guilty.

Just as Cao Ren stood in a daze, Cao Cao, who was sitting on the high-ranking chair, slowly sat up straight, and the decadent look on his face gradually dissipated, replaced by melancholy and depression.

"Zixiao, how many surviving soldiers have returned to the barracks in the past few days, and how many soldiers and horses are there in our army?"

"Uh!" Cao Ren was awakened by the sound, raised his eyes to notice Cao Cao's expression, and replied softly hesitantly: "My lord, it has only been three days since our army crossed the river, and the last general has been guarding the gate of the camp for days. , A total of three thousand four hundred and eighty two soldiers were recruited. When attacking Anyi City earlier, the last general led his troops to attack the city twice and lost three thousand four thousand soldiers successively. Therefore, our army is now worth 480 horses."

Cao Cao's face changed slightly when he heard the words, but he didn't get angry because of it. His expression was still melancholy and deep: "Worth 2 horses? That is to say, the actual number is less than [-]."

After a pause in his tone, Cao Cao smiled miserably: "Hehehe! When I joined the alliance, I had a total of 6 troops in my hand, and my strength was second only to Yuan Shao among all the princes of the alliance. Although we have lost the foundation of Yanzhou, each of us The princes of the road did not dare to underestimate us, and gave us three points everywhere. However, in the battle of Feiyundu, our more than 2 elite soldiers were almost wiped out. Hundreds of generals died in the battle. Zilian, Zhener and Xiuer were all Captured alive by thief Li. In just ten days, our army's position in the allied forces plummeted, leaving only a mere [-] horses, only slightly stronger than Jiangdong Sun Ce. This is really a great irony, and I am so angry..."

Seeing that Cao Cao didn't know anything about the recent events of the Allied Army, Cao Ren couldn't help interjecting, "Maybe my lord doesn't know yet, but there have been new changes in the Allied Army recently, and the situation is different from before."

"Huh?" Cao Cao frowned when he heard the words, his eyes became sharper instantly: "What happened? Zixiao, come quickly."

Cao Ren responded and reported: "Ten days ago, despite the objections of Zhang Yan and Lu Bu, Yuan Shao insisted on appointing Zhang Yang, the prefect of Hanoi, and the prefect of Hedong to stay in the rear of Hedong and escort all the food and supplies needed by the Allied forces."

Chapter 676

"At the same time, Yuan Shao arbitrarily handed over 5000 remnants of the Baibo Army to Sun Ce to take over, and privately funded Sun Ce with tens of thousands of stones, food, and enough weapons to form 20 troops. Over the past few days, more than [-] young and strong men were forcibly recruited, together with the thousands of captives captured earlier; within one month, Sun Ce's troops had expanded to more than [-] new recruits, and now the number of soldiers and horses has reached [-]."

While carefully watching the changes in Cao Cao's expression, Cao Ren reported the truth. Fortunately, Cao Cao did not lose his temper because of this, but the expression on his face was cloudy and uncertain, and his eyes became darker and sharper.

"So, right now, I, Cao Cao, have become a small force with the lowest strength among the seven princes. For an army of hundreds of thousands of princes, there are not many people with more than ten thousand of us. It doesn't matter, no wonder Yuan Shao's concubine didn't pay attention to me at all, it turns out that we are dispensable!"

After hearing Cao Cao's words, Cao Ren felt stunned, fearing that Cao Cao would be overwhelmed by anger and act out of righteous indignation.In addition, he is in the same mood as Cao Cao at the moment, very lost, and inexplicably feels desolate as a hero's end.But rationality drove him not to remain silent. Instead of giving up on himself, he should promptly advise Cao Cao to work hard and make a comeback.

"My lord, don't be angry. There is a saying that victory or defeat is a common matter in military affairs. Temporary success or failure can't determine everything, let alone the future direction of the world. Now we really only have 2 horses, but we still have [-] in Dong'a City." Soldiers, there are still [-] soldiers in the two places combined, and they can definitely make a comeback. Make a comeback!"

"General Zixiao said it well!"

Before Cao Ren finished speaking, there was a shout of applause from the door of the big tent, and Cheng Yu, who joined the army, quickly walked into the big tent.

After bowing down to salute Cao Cao.Cheng Yu turned his head and nodded appreciatively to Cao Ren, then bowed his hands to Cao Cao solemnly: "General Zixiao's words are very true, and my subordinates fully agree with them. I'm sorry my subordinates dare to say that after the battle of Feiyundu, our army was defeated by the Allied forces." The status of Zhong Zhong has plummeted, and he has become the weakest prince along the way, and he is also a dispensable existence in the eyes of the princes from all walks of life. Because of this, the Lord has returned to the camp for half a day, but no prince from the whole road has come to visit; The leader even took advantage of the fire to loot, arbitrarily reneging on his previous promises, and wantonly deducting our army's rations.

Things like this are infuriating to say, but it is also reasonable to think about it calmly.The so-called alliance refers to the attachment of weak princes to the strong.To survive.seek benefits, and then develop and expand their own strength.In the past, the Warring States struggled for hegemony, the six countries joined forces to fight against the powerful Qin, and the alliance of interests and open and secret struggles among countries are so similar to the situation we are facing today, it is exactly the same.The difference is that Fang's current situation is more complicated than that of the Warring States Period, except for our allies and the Xiliang Li thief.There are also six princes, big and small, and there are fourteen princes in the whole world. "

Speaking of which.Cheng Yu suddenly stopped and knelt down to Cao Cao: "Right now the Xiliang thief Li is the strongest. Which prince can fight against Li thief alone. Before the lord vowed to fight Li thief to the death, he had a family feud and his own interests were at stake. With the two in mind, the lord put himself in the position to plan for the allied army, and even went deep into the army alone to lead the army Attacked Hangu Pass. However, after the First Battle of Feiyundu, our army's strength dropped sharply, most of our strength was lost, and the situation became more and more difficult and dangerous. Therefore, the subordinate suggested that the lord should save his strength from now on. Our army of 2 horses can no longer Losing one soldier and one soldier is not only that, but also find ways to strengthen the strength. This is what the subordinates say from the bottom of their hearts, and I hope the lord will consider it carefully!"

"Huh?" Cao Cao's face changed when he heard the words, his eyes showed a look of hesitation, but more of them were very unwilling.

While pondering, Cao Cao gently got up and walked in front of Cheng Yu, "Zhong De got up quickly. As the saying goes, loyal words are harsh to the ears, Zhong De's words are indeed not very pleasant, but they are telling the truth. Although I, Cao Cao, have no great talent So Zhongde doesn’t have to be restrained, let alone worry about his words, I will take my anger out on you.”

While speaking, Cao Cao waved his hand to signal Cao Ren to sit down, and then pulled Cheng Yu to sit side by side in the hall, with a faint smile on his gloomy face: "To be honest with Zhong De, although I managed to escape the encirclement and arrest of Thief Li this time, , but we are still at a critical juncture of life and death. However, according to what Zhongde just said, should we leave the allied forces now and return to Yanzhou alone?

If this is the case, I am afraid that this move is inappropriate, not to mention that Lu Bu will not allow me to return to Yanzhou first, and even Yuan Shao will not let me leave calmly.It should be known that since the alliance, there have been many conflicts among the princes from all walks of life. As long as one person takes the lead to leave the alliance, the other princes will follow suit, and the entire alliance will immediately fall apart and disband like Chen Liuhui.

How could Yuan Shao give up on such an alliance that ended without a problem?You know, he paid a huge price for the Hanoi alliance. Up to now, he has spent at least one million stones of food and grass, hundreds of thousands of supplies and ordnance on the allied forces, and no less than 20 gold.Such a huge expenditure is equivalent to all the treasury income of Jizhou for one and a half years, enough for him to form an army of [-].If the allied army disbanded because we left the allied army, then Yuan Shao would definitely regard us as the number one enemy, and he would join forces with Lu Bu to completely destroy our army when he became angry.At that time, we will definitely not be their opponents, and we will definitely lose. In the end, we will not only be defeated and die, but will also harm our wives and children, and our family will be ransacked and wiped out!

I don't know if Zhong De has thought about the stakes in this, but have you ever thought about how we will get along with Yuan Shao in the future? "

"My lord's words are very true." Cheng Yu nodded in agreement, but then shook his head again: "The things my lord is worried about are farsighted, thoughtful, and far-sighted. Just leave the allied forces and return to Yanzhou. On the contrary, instead of leaving, the lord will continue to stay until the battle is completely over, and should continue to advise Yuan Shao and support him. Only in this way, is the superior Only by doing this can we win certain benefits for our army, and then take the opportunity to strengthen our strength."

"What does Zhongde mean by that?"

Cao Cao was stunned when he heard this, and grabbed Cheng Yu's arm, looking very eager.However, no one noticed that the moment he turned around and turned his head, a gleam flashed in his eyes, and there was a fleeting insight in his eyes.

"Zhongde, with only 2 troops in our military region, how can we grow our strength without leaving the Allied forces? Without strength, how could Yuan Shao continue to trust me, and how could he subsidize our army's food and weapons so that I can expand our troops? Where's the horse?"

Seeing Cao Cao's urgent inquiry, Cheng Yu did not dare to neglect: "My lord, don't worry, just listen to your subordinates. Right now, our army must not be an ally. There are two reasons. First, Yuan Shao will not allow me to leave , let alone allow anyone to destroy the excellent situation of the alliance of princes; and we cannot afford to offend Yuan Shao at the moment, without his support, instead of regaining the foundation of Yanzhou, we will become enemies with him and accelerate our demise. Second, My lord has worked so hard for this lords' meeting, not to hesitate to take personal risks, and to pay a heavy price for it, it can be said that I have done my best; after paying such a high price, how can we return empty-handed, the next decisive battle between the two armies will be ours. Waiting for a great opportunity to collect results from the Allies.

As for how to achieve this goal, the solution is simple.The only thing the lord has to do is to temporarily put aside his hatred for Li thief, forget about the so-called alliance of princes, and concentrate on planning how to strengthen our army! "

"What Zhong De means is to abandon the allies, take advantage of the opportunity of the allies and Li's decisive battle, obtain food, grass and supplies from the princes who have lost the most troops, recruit soldiers privately, and wait for the opportunity to recruit their defeated troops?" Cao Cao squinted his eyes and asked suspiciously. asked.

Cheng Yu shook his head slightly, and said with a calm smile: "That's basically the case, but you can't talk about turning your back on the Allies. So far, the Lord has done everything that the Lord can do for the Allies; in the next battle, even if the Lord wants to do his best, he still has more than he can do. Therefore, the lord doesn't need to do anything, as long as he always supports Yuan Shao's decision-making, but he no longer accepts any sortie missions.

As for the food and soldiers and horses left by some princes after the defeat, even if the lord does not take it, they will definitely be taken by other lords; just like the previous Baibo army, if the lord directly incorporated the remnants of the Baibo army at that time, no one would take it. What can I say, but the lord looks down on those mobs of the Baibo army, but now they are in Sun Ce's pocket.besides"

Seeing that Cheng Yu was still hesitant to speak, Cao Cao's expression changed slightly, and he asked, "What else is there? Zhong De might as well tell you directly, there is no need to avoid it!"

Cheng Yu bowed his hands when he heard the words: "Since this is the case, this subordinate will tell the truth. If there is any offense, please forgive me, my lord."

"Okay, Zhongde, but it's okay to say it, and there's nothing wrong with saying it!"

"Your lord is so magnanimous, you must know that you can say everything. It's what I said before. In today's world, Li Thief is powerful and dominates the leader. It is very difficult for any prince who confronts Li Thief to retreat completely. Just like In the battle before him, Leader Yuan was very ambitious. He wanted to defeat Li Thief all day long, so that he could dominate the Central Plains and finally seize the world. But so far, Yuan Shao's troops are almost intact, and they have not fought head-on with Li Thief's army at all. However, he plundered the fruits of victory of the Allied forces and took the huge Hedong County into his pocket. Zhang Yang, the prefect of Hanoi, had already secretly joined Yuan Shao's command. Since then, the entire Hedong and Hanoi counties have all fallen into Yuan Shao's hands.

Right now we are standing in front of Hangu Pass. To the north are the two counties of Hedong and Hanoi under the name of Yuan Shao. Behind us are the counties of Hexi, Luoyang and Henan under the rule of Li Thief. They are completely within the jurisdiction of Li Thief.After the decisive battle between the two armies, if the allied army wins the battle, the counties and counties in Henan will naturally surrender; long lasting.That being the case, if the allied army is expected to win, I will just wait and see; otherwise, if it is necessary, the lord can consider secretly forming an alliance with Thief Li."

Chapter 677

"Ah? Cheng Yu, do you know what I'm talking about? It's just nonsense, ridiculous!"

Cao Ren was shocked when he heard the words, immediately interrupted Cheng Yu, and yelled: "Alliance with Thief Li? Cheng Yu, are you really confused or just pretending to be crazy? It's a shame you can figure it out, talking nonsense and whimsical ideas!

My Cao family and the Xiahou family have a deep hatred with Li thief, and they are incompatible, how can we form an alliance with him?Taking a ten thousand step back, Thief Li is extremely treacherous, vicious and arrogant, forming an alliance with him is tantamount to seeking skin from a tiger. Not only will he not get any benefit, but it is very likely to risk his own life!Therefore, don't mention such absurd things again, otherwise don't blame Cao Ren for turning his face,,,"

"Zixiao must not be rude!" Before Cao Ren could finish speaking, Cao Cao got up abruptly and angrily reprimanded Cao Ren to shut up.

Despite what he said, the expression on Cao Cao's face was the same as Cao Ren's. He was also full of anger, and the flames of hatred were burning in his eyes.It's just that his city is much deeper than Cao Ren's. Even if he is furious, panting like a cow, and breathing fire in his nose, he will not show it immediately, let alone throw a tantrum at Cheng Yu.

After all, he had previously promised Cheng Yu that there was nothing wrong with him, that he would not be angry or angry, and that he would not vent his anger on Cheng Yu.As the master of the people, if he broke his promise and became fat in front of his own subordinates, how would he convince others in the future? Who would be willing to work for Cao Cao?Just like the scene that happened on the official road twelve miles away from Feiyundu a few days ago, if it hadn’t been for the concerted efforts of all the soldiers to keep silent, and two other soldiers who had sacrificed their lives to save him, how could he, Cao Cao, have been rescued by Ma Chao? escape?

"Zhongde. Do you think it is possible for me, Cao Cao, to form an alliance with Thief Li?"

"Of course there is, and it's during the battle of Sili, except for this battle. The lord and Li thief will never have the possibility of forming an alliance in this life!" Cheng Yu could see that the lord Cao Cao was very unhappy at this time , and Cao Ren waited for him with that hateful gaze, but Cheng Yu didn't intend to give up at this point. Now that the words have been made clear, he will explain them thoroughly without doing anything.Otherwise, half the words are said, and the efforts are not thankful.On the contrary, I suffer from it.