Cao Cao's army stayed in Dongmin. On the one hand, he cultivated his health and recuperated, and on the other hand, he sent people to collect food and prepare to attack Lu Bu.
During this period, Cao Cao received an appointment from the Emperor and was named General Jiande and Marquis Feiting!
That night, Cao Cao immediately summoned everyone to discuss the matter.
Because when the emperor's messenger came to award the reward, he also brought another news.
In Chang'an, Li Jue and Guo Si were arrogant and domineering, even more so than Dong Zhuo. They ran rampant in the court and no one dared to speak out.
Li Jue was dissatisfied that the emperor's rewards were too few, so he appointed himself Grand Sima and Guo Bin as Grand General. For a time, he had overwhelming power in the government and the public, and no one could match him.
Taiwei Yang Biao and Chief Nong Zhu Jun advised the emperor that Cao Cao had conquered Yanzhou and had strong soldiers and horses, so they wanted to recruit Cao Cao to protect him.
This matter was the main idea that Cao Cao had come to discuss earlier.
After Cao Cao told what happened, Xun Yu, who was always cautious and didn't like to talk much, hurriedly stepped forward and said.
"My lord, the emperor is in trouble, and it is my duty as a minister to go to the rescue."
Cheng Yu shook his head, "As officials of the Han Dynasty, we should indeed rescue the emperor. However, Yanzhou suffers from disasters every year and wars continue, and the food supply is unsustainable.
What's more, it's a long way to Chang'an, and the consumption along the way is even more staggering, so I don't recommend going to Chang'an. "
After hearing what the two said, Cao Cao frowned and turned to look at everyone, "Everyone, do you have any suggestions?"
Xiahou Dun stepped forward and handed over his hand, "Mr. Zhongde is right, our army is short of food. If we go to solve the problem, we may not be able to protect ourselves. It is better to hold off."
After hearing Xiahou Dun's words, everyone came forward to give advice, but most of them supported Cheng Yu, but no one supported Xun Yu.
After hearing what everyone said, Cao Cao nodded, and then looked at his most capable counselor Xi Zhicai.
Ahem!
Xi Zhicai coughed a few times and then said, "It is certainly beneficial to go to Chang'an to rescue the emperor, but our army is short of food and cannot go, so I think that the army should rest and collect food."
At this point, Xi Zhicai coughed a few more times, and then continued, "When there is enough food, it is not too late to consider going to Chang'an or to attack Lu Bu."
After hearing this, Cao Cao finally made up his mind and nodded, "That's fine. Let's raise food first, and we'll talk about the rest later."
These two things are not easy to do, so Cao Cao decided to rest and recuperate.
Going to Chang'an to rescue the emperor is a long journey and will consume a lot of food.
Going to Xuzhou to pursue Lu Bu is also not a short journey and will consume a lot of food.
When fighting Lu Bu in Yanzhou, as long as enough food is prepared for 10 days, both sides can fight for a while.
But if you can't go to Xuzhou, the consumption on the road is not a small amount.
When we get to Xuzhou, the distance to transport food is lengthened, which will increase even more consumption.
Therefore, whether you go to Chang'an or Xuzhou, you must have enough food.
The most important point is that Cao Cao knows it very well!
Fight against Lu Bu in Yanzhou. If you lose, you can go to Jizhou for help.
Yuan Shao hated Lu Bu very much, so he would definitely send troops to help.
But if you go to Xuzhou and want Yuan Shao to send troops to support, the journey is far away, which is almost impossible.
Therefore, if you want to conquer Xuzhou, you must be fully prepared.
…
Xiaopei.
"Xiaopei originally had a population of 250,000, but now it has more than 100,000."
Xu Bang was slim and had a short beard under his chin, which made him look somewhat lean.
He was the person sent by Lu Bu to receive Xiao Pei. At this moment, he was reporting the handover information.
When Lu Bu heard Xu Bang's words, his brows gradually wrinkled, and then he snorted coldly.
Lu Bu led his troops to Xuzhou. He did not go to Xiapi to meet Liu Bei. He just sent a messenger to express his gratitude and went directly to Xiaopei.
The officials of Xiaopei had long received Liu Bei's order. When they saw Lu Bu coming, they immediately handed over the affairs of the county government and left Xiaopei.
A wry smile appeared on Xu Bang's face, "And among the more than 100,000 people, most of them are women, the elderly and the weak."
Cheng Lian said angrily, "It's not easy for such a small number of people to regain their strength."
At this point, Cheng Lian raised his hand to Lu Bu and said, "Marquis Wen, why don't we attack Xuzhou and occupy Xuzhou?"
Hearing these words, Zhang Miao, who came from Dingtao, waved his hands hurriedly, "No, our army's strength will be damaged. If we attack Xuzhou by force, I'm afraid we won't be able to capture Xuzhou, and our troops will be exhausted."
Hearing this, Lu Bu frowned even more tightly.
Cao Mengde had a strong army and strong horses. He attacked Xuzhou twice but failed. With his remaining 7,000 men, could he conquer Xuzhou?
impossible!
Lu Bu turned to look at Chen Gong, but said nothing.
Chen Gong shook his head with a wry smile, "It will definitely not work to attack Xuzhou by force. We must wait until we regain our strength before we can have a glimmer of hope."
Zhang Liao frowned and said, "However, Xiaopei's population is so sparse and mostly old and weak. It is not easy to restore strength."
Xu Bang suddenly said, "How about recruiting some refugees, which can supplement the local population shortage on the one hand, and supplement the military's needs on the other?"
As soon as these words were spoken, Zhang Miao waved his hand again, "Dexian, recruiting refugees can solve these problems. However, our army now not only lacks soldiers, but also lacks food. Once refugees are recruited, what will they eat?"
Hearing this, Xu Bang smiled bitterly and shook his head, "We can recruit a small amount. We still have some food left, so we should be able to cope with it for a while."
Zhang Miao shook his head, "So what if we have to deal with it for a while, once we run out of food, all our previous efforts will be in vain."
After hearing what the two said, Lu Bu smiled bitterly in his heart.
There is plenty of food in the mall, but unfortunately he has no points, so naturally he cannot exchange for food.
The terrain of Xiaopei is very embarrassing. It originally belonged to Pei County, and Pei County belonged to Yuzhou.
However, Xiaopei is close to Xuzhou and is occupied by Xuzhou, so it has always been regarded as Xuzhou's territory.
Xiaopei is now regarded as the gateway to Xuzhou, leading to Yanzhou, and is also an important transportation route. Therefore, Xiaopei was the first to bear the brunt of the Yellow Turban turmoil.
Xiaopei's terrain is complex. Although its territory is small, it is threatened by all parties.
Yanzhou is to the north of Xiaopei, Yuzhou is to the west, and to the east is the territory of the Taishan Army. The local residents may be plundered by the Taishan Army at any time, and there is the danger of Huainan to the south, so the situation is very unstable.
Xiaopeicai is truly the place of the Fourth War. It is indeed not easy to develop here!
Chen Gong frowned and thought for a while, then suddenly said, "If our army wants to develop, we must not attack Xuzhou. Don't forget, there is still the threat of Yanzhou in the north.
If we are attacked by Cao Mengde at this time, we can contact Xuzhou Liu Bei to come to help.
Liu Bei was worried that Cao Mengde would attack Xuzhou, so he would definitely come to help.
But if we attack Xuzhou, once Cao Mengde comes to attack Xiaopei, we will have no reinforcements. "
