Before he finished speaking, he saw General Xiahou Dun hurriedly walking into the tent outside the camp.
Xiahou Dun raised his hands to Cao Cao and said: "Mengde, the scouts from Yecheng have sent news that Tian Feng and Shenpei of Yecheng are already distributing grain seeds, sending troops to help the people reclaim wasteland, and posting notices. , saying that farmers whose fields have been destroyed can receive tax-free tax within three years..."
"Snapped--!"
Before Xiahou Dun finished speaking, he saw Cao Cao slamming the table and roaring angrily: "The boy from the Yuan family is so shameless! I'll let him take the blame while he takes advantage and pretends to be a good guy...I, I...immediately send an order for all three armies to be sent out, divided into two groups, to attack Liyang along the way, and Yuan Xi and Gao Rou along the way. Within one day, we must defeat Yuan's army and capture this shameless man alive!"
Cheng Yu who came with the army hurriedly stood up and admonished: "Master, please don't be so extreme! Acting like this will only play into the hands of the Yuan family boy, which is not advisable! Now the two armies are in a stalemate. If you want to break Yuan, it will take a day or two." We still need to carefully consider our actions, my lord, think twice!"
Cao Cao closed his eyes, took a deep breath, glanced at Cheng Yu coldly, and said hoarsely: "Then what do you think we should do? Let the boy from the Yuan family continue to be arrogant?"
Cheng Yu heard this and did not answer.
However, Xun You stood up, bowed deeply to Cao Cao, and said: "My lord, during the last meeting, You once warned that if you want to defeat Yuan Xi, you need to use some clever tactics, otherwise your vitality will be seriously damaged... these few days." I have been thinking about it day and night, and finally I have thought this strange plan through, and I can implement it now, but I still need to get the Lord’s consent before I can implement it!”
Cao Cao perked up after hearing this and asked quickly: "Gongda, what a strange plan is this? Please tell me quickly!"
Xun You smiled slightly, with a strange smile on his face, and said: "How Yuan Xi defeated the Guanzhong Allied Army back then, we will use whatever method to defeat his four states today!"
*******************
Jizhou, Yecheng.
It was midsummer at this time. Although there was a war in Jizhou, the people in Yecheng were not disturbed by it. They went about their business as usual every day. Ordinary people were running around for a living. The aristocratic families drank and played the sheng every day. They went about their own business and worked together. It was a peaceful scene of joy and peace.
In a wine shop on Huangshi Street in the southeast, Guo Tu was holding a wine cup, his face flushed.
Time flew by and almost half a year passed. During this period, Pang Ji and others were not idle. They quickly disintegrated and seized all the power in Guo Tu's hands.
In addition, Yuan Tan was captured and killed. Yuan Shang was put under virtual house arrest, and as a supporter of Guo Tu, Yuan Xi used his name to take away all the rights from Guo Tu.
Although his injuries have been healed now, he has truly become an unemployed man with no one to rely on anymore! He can only be tied to Yuan Xi's chariot and become a courtier like Shen. He will take the blame for all dirty things.
As a result, he could only indulge in wine shops every day and use wine to relieve his worries. But no wonder, if it were anyone else, who would not be worried?
While Guo Tu was drunk and drinking, he saw a man slowly walking up to Guo Tu, sitting opposite him, taking a cup of wine, slowly pouring it for himself, and raising his head to drink it without looking at anything else. .
Guo Tu looked up drunkenly, curled his lips and said with a smile: "Who do I think it is? It turns out to be you... Why are you stealing my wine?!"
Xin Ping smiled bitterly and sighed: "When you encounter an unkind master, you have no one to help you. You have all your passion and skills but nowhere to put them to use. How can you drink wine without worrying?"
Guo Tu snorted and said, "Why, you were demoted by the general too?"
"It's not derogatory, but... I'm in my position but can't do my job. It's the same as being in the countryside."
Xin Ping's eyes were blue and his voice was calm.
But unknowingly, he already showed his deep dissatisfaction with Yuan Xi.
Guo Tu laughed heartily and said: "I usually support the eldest son on the surface, and it is reasonable for me to be hated by the general. But you, Xin Ping, have always been secretive. Although you support the eldest son, you have always hidden it. There was no clue in the dark, so why did he end up like this?"
Xin Ping shook his head and sighed: "The letters that were exchanged between me and the Third Young Master fell into the hands of the General after Liucheng was captured. Although they were burned by him to appease the public, he had no idea who belonged to the First Young Master. The general already knows about the factions, who is the confidant of the eldest son, and who is secretly colluding with the third son. Therefore, although he has never blamed me, I am afraid that he will be difficult to use again in the future."
Guo Tu grinned when he heard this, raised his hand to pour a glass of wine for Xin Ping, and sighed: "This is the case, but it may be inexplicable. Since you and I made the wrong bet at the beginning, we should have suffered such a bitter consequence today... Let's just let it go. Come on, come on, Mr. Guo invites you today, you and I will have a drink! We’ll stop after we get drunk!”
After saying that, he raised his hand as if to call the wine lady to serve the wine again, but Xin Ping held him down and shook his head gently at him.
"What do you mean?" Guo Tu looked at Xin Ping with blurred eyes.
Xin Ping looked solemn and said coldly: "Brother Gongze, don't get me wrong. Xin came to you today not for drinking!"
Guo Tu took a drink and said in a daze: "Guo is not even a shit now. If you don't want to drink with me, what can you do?"
Xin Ping narrowed his eyes slightly and looked around at the guests around him, but saw that no one was paying attention to them.
He then lowered his voice and said to Guo Tu: "There are no heroes here, there are heroes of their own! Since the general is no longer willing to use you and me, why don't we choose another lord for ourselves?"
Guo Tu stretched his body for a long time and said disdainfully: "The world is huge, and the most powerful person is Hebei. If you want to choose another wise leader to serve as an official, who can you choose? Who can give you, More than the favor here?”
Xin Ping bared his teeth slightly and said with a cold smile: "Gongze, what do you think...Cao Cao?"
A stone stirred up a thousand waves, and Xin Ping's words were like a bolt from the blue, hitting Guo Tu hard on the chest, almost shattering his spirit.
A face that turned red due to drunkenness turned pale in an instant, and a large amount of cold sweat flowed down his forehead and cheeks, and penetrated towards his neck drop by drop.
"You're crazy!" Guo Tu lowered his voice and roared at Xin Ping: "You dare to tell me such rebellious words? You abandoned Yuan Tou Cao, how can you tell me?! Believe it or not, I will go to Tian Fenggao Go ahead, report you spy!"
Xin Ping's expression did not change at all, he just looked at Guo Tu and sneered, saying: "Why, is there something wrong with what I said? Guo Gongze, now that the eldest son and the third son have fallen, you and I are in an embarrassing status. Although we are not alive yet, The danger... But it is only temporary, because Yuan Xi's reputation in Hebei is not yet stable, and he cannot touch the family without reason. Even the last time he got a letter from the eldest son, he did not take action. , but you and I have had nothing to do for three years, and we have nothing to do for five years. There is no guarantee that in ten or twenty years, when Yuan Xi's prestige in Hebei has reached its peak, even surpassing the old lord, do you think he will still touch you and me? ?”
As Xin Ping finished each sentence, Guo Tu's face became paler, and his hands hidden in his sleeves began to tremble uncontrollably.
His eyes flickered on and off, and the light and darkness intertwined, showing that his heart was shaken beyond words.
"You said you would surrender to Cao Cao... but this is purely your own wishful thinking. Who is Cao Cao? What Cao Cao wants, and whether he can accept you and me, are all entirely his own speculation!" Guo Tu said sarcastically.
Xin Ping smiled and shook his head, saying: "If it was indeed my own conjecture, how could I dare to come over and tell you in detail? It's true! Cao Jun's military advisor Xun You had sent someone to find me quietly the day before yesterday. I have been invited to join the Cao Cao with the intention of being re-employed by the feudal lord! I think that you, like me, were the confidants of the former eldest son, so I sincerely invite you to join me. Guo Gongze, the opportunities in life are all in a moment, once I will regret it if I miss it!”
Guo Tu suddenly trembled when he heard this, thought for a long time, and suddenly said: "Now the general is confronting Cao Cao's army in Liyang. The two sides have a mixed victory and defeat, and they are restraining each other. With Cao Cao's heroic temperament, he will win over you at this moment. There must be some conspiracy! Don’t you know?"
Xin Ping sneered: "It is common sense in the world that no reward will be received without merit, so why is it so strange? If we want to be reused by Prime Minister Cao, we should make meritorious deeds as a way to get ahead. What do you think, sir?" Brother Ze."
Guo Tu's lips trembled slightly and he whispered: "What does Cao Cao want you to do?"
The cold wind, the cold moon, the rolling ice and the turbid waves are nothing compared to the cold light in Xin Ping's eyes at this moment...
"Kill Tian Feng and seize Ye City!"
"Plop~~!" Guo Tu tilted his body and almost fell off the kneeling platform of the wine shop.
****************
Liyang, Yuan Xi's army camp.
"My lord, all the scattered soldiers sent by Cao's army to invade the Aocang farmland have been completely wiped out!"
In the handsome tent, Sima Yizheng reported the results of the battle to Yuan Xi with a happy face.
Yuan Xi quietly stared at the sand table, nodded slowly, and smiled at Sima Yi: "Thanks to Zhongda and you guys disguised as Cao Jun, you were able to defeat Cao Cao's poisonous plan in one fell swoop. Thank you for your hard work this time. I will definitely reward you greatly when you return."
Sima Yi's expression remained unchanged, and he did not express his gratitude directly. He just lowered his head and looked at the sand table in front of Yuan Xi.
Sima Yi couldn't help but asked doubtfully: "Since I reported to my lord after I entered the account, my lord's face has been unhappy. My lord, are you worried about something?"
Yuan Xi touched his chin and thought carefully for a long time, and then said quietly: "Zhongda, please do the math, how many days has it been since Cao Jun attacked us?"
Sima Yi lowered his head, pondered for a while, and then said slowly: "Probably, it will be five days..."
Yuan Xi touched his chin and rolled his eyes: "When Gao Rou and I first arrived in Liyang, Cao's army had to attack us five times a day on average. But now, they are waiting for help and stand still. They can't attack us even once in five days. What happened before and after this The contrast is too great! What do you think they are trying to do? I don’t understand..."
Sima Yi thought for a while and said hesitantly: "Could it be that midsummer is here, and Cao Jun plans to recharge his batteries before sending out troops to continue competing with us?"
Yuan Xi was slightly unhappy: "..." "Let's get to the point."
"Hmph! Okay..." Sima Yi hurriedly changed his tone and said: "Although Yi has only been around for a short time, he served as the lord's envoy and went to Xudu to negotiate with Cao Cao. I think that Cao Cao is actually He is an overlord, and his subordinates such as Xun Yu, Xun You, Dong Zhao, Cheng Yu and others are even more talented. Every time he acts, he must have a plan! Now Cao Jun has slowed down his attack, ostensibly to recuperate. , waiting for the opportunity, but in fact there must be a huge conspiracy secretly to plot against our army."
Yuan Xi thought carefully for a while, nodded and said: "Zhongda, your words may sound reasonable and clear at first glance, but if you think about it carefully..."
"How?" Sima Yi asked cautiously.
"It's all fucking nonsense! It doesn't make any sense! I didn't know that Cao Cao had a conspiracy? Why are you here nagging me about the conspiracy? Do you know?"
Sima Yi looked embarrassed and said uneasily: "Zhongda can't figure out Cao Jun's intention for the time being."
Yuan Xi took a deep breath, pointed at Sima Yi and wanted to say something, but after thinking about it carefully, he found that what he said was really the truth and there was nothing to argue with.
"Zhongda, please pass my order to the generals, ordering all the troops to guard the camp and take turns to rest, and ask the generals in Liyang City to take turns to go out and call the formation in front of Cao's camp. If Cao's army cannot escape the battle, we will send troops to attack! If they don't come to fight, Let's fight over there, I must see what kind of tricks the old thief Cao Cao wants to play!"
"No!" Sima Yi said after receiving the order.
****************
Jizhou, the back door of Yuan Shang's residence.
Xin Ping, who was dressed in black, finally got the right to visit Yuan Shang after working hard and spending a hundred gold on it. However, he could only sneak in through the back door in the dead of night when the officials were not checking. , and can only stay for half an hour at most.
Yuan Shang at this moment is completely different from when he was high-spirited in the past. His face is haggard and wrinkled, and his shiny black hair has become tangled with white silk. It seems that he has aged twenty years all of a sudden. From a bright and energetic young man, he suddenly The child then reached the age of an old man who knew his destiny.
"Third Young Master~~!" Seeing Yuan Shang's depressed look, Xin Ping's eyes couldn't help but tremble, and he knelt down in front of Yuan Shang tremblingly.
Suddenly seeing Xin Ping, Yuan Shang's eyes couldn't help but flash a hint of surprise.
"It's you...Xin Zhongzhi?! You, why are you here? Didn't Yuan Xi arrest you?"
Xin Ping stood up, bowed to Yuan Shangchang, and said, "I am ashamed to say that it is my incompetence that has caused the three young masters to suffer here. I should have died to apologize for my sins, but you can't escape, and I can't abandon you. Therefore, I am lingering on my last breath. Now Yuan Xi is gathering The soldiers and horses are confronting Cao Cao in Liyang, and all the eyes of Yecheng are focused there. Tian Feng has no time to prepare food and grass, so I got the opportunity to come and see the Third Young Master!"
When Yuan Shang heard this, he smiled bitterly and sighed: "That's it, why are you suffering?"
Yuan Shang waved his hand, asked Xin Ping to sit down, and said with emotion: "The winner is the king and the loser is the bandit. I lost to Yuan Xi. I got this fate for myself. Unfortunately, I am just a rich man now. Every day I'm just waiting to die, but I can't do anything to help you..."
"Third Young Master, please don't be so depressed and miserable. No one can easily win the world's affairs until the end! Now, there is still a way in front of Young Master. It depends on whether Young Master is willing or not!" Xin Ping's eyes sparkled. Fierce and precise in his words.
Yuan Shang seemed to have gained some energy after hearing this, but he still said bitterly: "I am already trapped here, but is there any way I can get out of this mess?"
Xin Ping hurriedly stood up, walked outside the house, and carefully observed the movements around him.
"Don't worry. Although Yuan Xi put me under house arrest in Yecheng, he still maintains some respect for me. There is no one else in this house, only a few old servants of mine. What do you have to say? Don't worry. That's all." Seeing Xin Ping's careful look, Yuan Shang couldn't help but feel a little funny, and then he started to persuade him.
Xin Ping sighed deeply, closed the door gently, ran to Yuan Shang, lowered his head, held his head by his ear, and muttered a few words.
