Regarding the issue of being called "solitary", I have checked on Baidu. The highest official position in the government, such as the prime minister, can be called "lone".
The next day, Yuan Xi’s study room
"Chen Gong and Zhao Yan's presence in Guanzhong is always a threat, and they should be removed while their newly defeated Hedong base is not yet stable." Guo Jia suggested.
"But there are really no soldiers, horses and food supplies to fight again." Tian Feng complained after hearing this.
"Actually, we don't have to do it ourselves. Haven't Ma Teng and Han Sui settled down? It's better to contain Cao Cao's army in Xuzhou, and then let our army reap the benefits." Guo Jia waved his fan and said with a smile. .
"Even if Ma Teng and the others capture Guanzhong, they may not give our army a chance! If our army attacks the Ma family, they will be under the attack of Cao and Ma. Even if they occupy Guanzhong, they will not be able to defend it." Feng Ji He also objected.
"Just make the Ma family and Cao Cao become mortal enemies." Jia Xu, who had always been silent, suddenly said.
"Cao Cao is a very shrewd man, how can he make a plan?" Xun Chen rarely asked.
Jia Xu nodded and explained, "From the news returned by the spies, although Cao Cao is smart, he is not without his weaknesses. The most fatal one is his suspicion! We can start from now on."
Yuan Xi motioned for him to continue with interest. Cao Cao was indeed suspicious at times, especially after he was in a high and powerful position.
"And I heard that when Cao Cao ordered the attack on Xuzhou, Chen Gong opposed it and was dissatisfied with Cao Cao's actions in Xuzhou. Moreover, with the new defeat in Hedong, Cao Cao may be dissatisfied with Chen Gong..." Jia Xu gave a rare smile. , continued, "It doesn't matter whether Chen Gong is dissatisfied with Cao Cao or not, as long as Cao Cao feels that Chen Gong is dissatisfied with him. And Chen Gong is a smart man. He knows that he will be jealous of Cao Cao. In that case, it will not be difficult to get Guanzhong with some tricks!" "
"Good!" Yuan Xi couldn't help but praise. This move firmly grasped Cao Cao's destiny, and Cao Cao couldn't help but try not to get in. It was indeed vicious and ruthless. "What about the Ma family?"
Jia Xu nodded, and then explained, "As for the Ma family, it will be easier. Ma Teng claims to be a loyal minister, so he can give him a secret edict from His Majesty the Emperor, asking Ma Teng to send troops to attack Chen Palace in Guanzhong. After our army takes over Guanzhong, we can then Let your majesty send Ma Teng to the court to discuss the revival plan. Cao Cao must also hope to take the opportunity to control the Ma family. He will not let Ma Teng leave easily. As long as he does some tricks, it will be difficult for Ma Teng to leave Xu County alive."
As soon as Jia Xu finished speaking, everyone felt the north wind coming in from outside the house, making their backs feel cold. He was indeed a poisonous man.
As the saying goes, it is disrespectful to reciprocate. Cao Cao plotted against himself, but now he has his hands free. As the eldest nephew, it is time for him to return the favor, right? Cao Cao is the elder after all.
Guanzhong, Chang'an
After the continuous summer rain, the land of Guanzhong is full of vitality, and bursts of green are repairing this war-torn land. After a series of government orders issued by Cao Cao and Chen Gong, the people in Guanzhong who had been exiled in various places gradually returned to their hometown.
Cao Cao followed Xun Yu's advice and issued decrees one after another to restore the normal tenancy system and prevent powerful tyrants from annexing small farmers. In this way, they also moved a group of landless farmers from Yanzhou to Guanzhong for resettlement. Chen Gong lived up to his expectations and restored some vitality in Guanzhong within a year.
Chang'an Meiwu is the westernmost stronghold controlled by the Yanzhou Army. Further west is the sphere of influence of the Xiliang warlord Ma Teng and Han Sui.
On the border of Chang'an, the villagers continued to repair canals under the organization of officials, and some strong men from the farming households were also organized into troops to practice weapons in the fields.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!" A rapid sound of gongs came from the distance, and officials and villagers all looked at it. I saw two cavalry soldiers galloping towards me, and the signal they sounded could not be more obvious - enemy attack!
The soldiers in the fields were organized, and several hundred generals also distributed weapons.
"Lao He, are they Xiliang soldiers?" A hundred-man general asked anxiously, "We didn't bring bows and arrows with us. Let's retreat to the city quickly!"
He called the old Hediya gatekeeper the leader in charge of this place. He grabbed his spear and shouted: "Let the villagers go first, and those who have weapons should take it easy. Don't let the Xiliang soldiers chase you without knowing it!"
After receiving the order, the soldiers all lined up and slowly retreated towards Huayin City. The villagers picked up their farm tools and ran faster.
"Tick-tock! Tick-tock!" Before the Yanzhou soldiers could retreat calmly, hundreds of Xiliang soldiers on horseback had already galloped up to them.
"Whoosh! Whoosh!" A burst of feather arrows were shot out, without any
The Yanzhou soldiers who brought the shields suffered heavy casualties immediately.
The Xiliang cavalry put away their bows and replaced them with spears and Huanshou swords. They skillfully controlled their horses and rushed past the Yanzhou soldiers. And wielded ruthless swords and guns.
The Yamen general named Lao He was also a veteran. He yelled for his men to run to dangerous places.
Lao He squatted down slightly, thrust out his spear and stabbed the horse of a Xiliang soldier. The next moment, the Yanzhou soldier beside him quickly fired a shot, killing the Xiliang soldier who fell from his horse.
"Tsk!" A cold silver light flashed through, and the two Yanzhou soldiers in front immediately fell to the ground and died. Lao He subconsciously turned sideways and raised his spear to block. This was his instinct that he had developed in many deadly battles.
"Tsk!" The big iron gun with its tiger head swallowing its blade bounced away Lao Hedi's weapon. Straight towards his throat.
Lao He's eyes widened. He never thought that he would die like this. The last image in his mind was of a tall man riding a white horse. The man was holding a big iron gun with a tiger head, and his eyes were wild and unruly.
Ma Chao withdrew his tiger-headed golden gun and pointed at the city in the distance, "Kill!"
Looking at the Xiliang cavalry rushing in the distance. The city gate captain of Chang'an Meiwu ordered the city gate to be closed.
However, the constant influx of soldiers and people made it impossible to close the city gate. The Yanzhou soldiers guarding the city could only surround the city gate and be on guard.
"Shoot!" the city gate captain shouted, and then the Yanzhou soldiers on the city wall shot arrows one after another.
However, the Duoxiliang cavalry were all elites who had fought many battles. They held swords and guns in one hand and shields in the other, and they blocked most of the arrows.
Ma Chao trampled the Yanzhou soldiers with his horse. He rushed into the city gate first. Several sharp thrusts forced away a circle of Yanzhou soldiers behind the city gate.
"Hey," Ma Chao yelled. He rushed straight to the city gate captain in the middle of the soldiers. The spear drew several rays of light, and the cold murderous aura surrounded Chengmen Lieutenant's body.
"Gudong!" a sound. The body of the city gate captain fell to the ground.
The Xiliang cavalry who followed them shouted and charged towards the Yanzhou soldiers.
The attack of these hundreds of Xiliang cavalry was so swift and fierce that the Yanzhou soldiers were caught off guard. Meiwu was captured in less than two quarters of an hour. More than half of the Yanzhou soldiers were killed or wounded, and the rest surrendered to the Xiliang Army.
The handsome and arrogant Ma Chao stood upright behind the city gate. After a while, a group of cavalry entered the city. The general at the head was Ma Teng.
Ma Teng nodded with satisfaction, "Meng Qi, you did a good job!"
Ma Chao took Ma Teng's horse and said, "In total, more than a thousand Yanzhou soldiers were killed, and more than a thousand more were surrendered."
Ma Teng turned around and asked, "Mr. Li, what do you think our army will do next? Should we attack Chang'an immediately?"
"Of course we will send troops immediately. The Major General should immediately lead his troops to capture the outer city of Chang'an in order to prepare for the attack on Chang'an." Li Ru said from behind Ma Teng.
Recently, Ma Teng received a secret edict from Liu Xie. Li Ru tried his best to persuade Ma Teng and his son to take the opportunity to occupy the land in Guanzhong, so this attack was launched.
"But I heard that Chen Gong and Zhao Yan are building a dangerous pass near Chang'an. I'm afraid it will be difficult for Qingqi to pass." Ma Teng said worriedly.
Li Ru nodded and analyzed, "The Yanzhou Army abandoned Meiwu and built a pass near Xianyang. I asked the major general to go for a surprise attack. It does not necessarily have to capture Xianyang. If you can capture it, it's good. If you can't, it doesn't matter. .”
"If we can't attack the ground and Chen Gong and Zhao Yan are on guard, it will be difficult. Our army is not good at attacking fortresses." Ma Chao said.
Li Ru smiled and explained, "Although other roads are remote and dangerous, there is more than one road to Chang'an. It would be great to be able to drag a large number of Yanzhou troops here!"
"Well, sir, this is called avoiding the truth and attacking the fictitious." Ma Chao said.
Li Ru nodded and said with a smile, "Yes, we can attack his weak points after the Yanzhou army is mobilized. This can achieve the goal of a quick victory for our army. Otherwise, if the war drags on for a long time, there will be serious changes."
"The road to Xuzhou is so long. I don't think Cao Cao will be able to return to the army for a while. Why do you say something serious has happened?" Ma Teng asked.
Li Ru pointed to the north and said, "Let's not talk about whether Han Sui will take the opportunity to share the spoils. Jizhou will not miss such a good opportunity."
"So what about the Jizhou Army? They have just experienced several battles, first the Battle of Hedong, and then the Battle of Liyang. I don't believe that Yuan Xi can still mobilize a large army to invade Guanzhong." Ma Chao shook his head. Ma Chao was defeated in the Battle of Hedong
Yuan Xi was still not convinced.
"Young General, it's a long way to go to Jizhou to mobilize troops, but Yuan Xi still has many troops stationed in Bingzhou. If we take advantage of the opportunity to fight with the Yanzhou army and lose both sides, wouldn't they take advantage of it?" Li Ru reminded.
"Mr. Li thinks Yuan Xi will have plans for Guanzhong?" Ma Teng asked.
Li Ru affirmed: "Yuan Xi is an ambitious man. He is more talented than his father. He was appointed as a general by the court at the beginning of the year. Now he has defeated Cao Cao, which shows that his ambition is not small. I have carefully studied Yuan Xi's military tactics. From the rebellion of the Kwantung Allied Forces to the Battle of Qingzhou and Xuzhou, and then the Battle of Cao Yuan and Baima, the Battle of Wuhuan, the Battle of Hedong, and the Battle of Liyang, he always liked to make dangerous moves and win by surprise. This is somewhat similar to Cao Cao. Similar. As long as our army provokes chaos in Guanzhong, it would be strange for him not to get involved."
"Doesn't this mean we have to resist the Cao and Yuan families?" Ma Teng asked worriedly.
"It doesn't matter if Yuan Xilai interferes. As long as my Xiliang cavalry is here, Yuan Jun is not worth mentioning!" Ma Chao said proudly.
"That's not the case." Li Ru shook his head and said, "Cao Cao and Yuan Xi are mortal enemies. But our army and Yuan Xi are not mortal enemies. Why don't you, Major General, want to unite Yuan's army to resist Cao Cao?"
"That's the truth. If I want to occupy the land in Guanzhong, I have to fall out with Cao Cao. But as long as I handle it properly, I may not be unable to form an alliance with Yuan Xi." Ma Teng said understandingly.
Sure enough, there is only eternal interest and no eternal enemies. I was still a sworn enemy before turning over, but now I want to cooperate.
"In this way, we must take advantage of the Bingzhou army's exhaustion in dealing with the northern foreigners and Black Mountain bandits to capture Guanzhong in one fell swoop. When the general takes over Guanzhong, Yuan Xi will have to admit this fact." Li Ru said.
"Unite the Yuan family to resist the Cao family, but in the future after the Yuan army defeats Cao Cao, one family will always be our biggest enemy." Ma Chao said.
"Young General, don't you hear that when two tigers fight, one of them will be injured?" Li Ru secretly said, "Our army is actually firmly in Guanzhong and does not want to help. When Cao Yuan is fighting, we will take the opportunity to march west to Hanzhong and south to capture Bashu, forming a strong Qin Dynasty. The power. Or capture the rich and fertile land of Nanyang, obtain grain, grass and goods, and then send troops to Guandong to compete with the heroes."
Li Ru's strategy is roughly the same as that of Li Yuan and Li Shimin's father and son, but after all, Ma Teng is not Li Yuan, and Ma Chao is not Li Shimin. Yuan Xi, who is most like Li Shimin, is still his Ma family opponent.
Ma Teng was moved by what he said, and he sighed: "If such a big thing can be achieved, it's just that my desire to fight for supremacy is not like Dong Zhuo and others who supported the Han Dynasty and established Huo Guang for personal gain."
"Whether it is fighting for hegemony or supporting the Han Dynasty, the general must secure Guanzhong, and then disrupt the war situation in the Central Plains. After our army has accumulated enough strength, we can then march eastward to intimidate the world!" Li Ru said, although he knew that Guanzhong was weak. , great achievements are not easy to achieve, but Li Ru believes that with his own planning, achieving this grand goal is not a dream.
Chang'an government office.
Chen Gong anxiously sorted out the documents. He wrote an urgent report and gave it to his cronies. He also ordered: "Huangji, hurry up and send it to Xu County and hand it over to Lord Xun Wenruo personally, so that he can send more troops, horses and ordnance to Guanzhong."
"Sir, Prime Minister Cao has already sent troops to Xuzhou, and Master Xun won't have many troops to mobilize." The confidant named Huang Ji said worriedly.
"I can't care less. You should explain the situation in Guanzhong clearly to Xun Wenruo. Tell Xiliang that Ma Teng has raided Kengguan in the east. General Zhao Yan is struggling to hold Xianyang. But Yuan Xi is sending a new army to Shangdang. I'm afraid it will be detrimental to Guanzhong." ." Chen Gong ordered.
"Sir, have you spoken to the supervisor?" Huang Ji asked.
Chen Gong frowned and said displeasedly, "Chewei is a man with great ambitions but little talent. He likes to talk too much. He is very confident that he can defeat Ma Teng. It is useless to talk to him."
"Sir, don't blame me for saying that Prime Minister Cao no longer trusts you as before. This supervisor is supposed to supervise General Zhao Yan, but he... I heard that Prime Minister Cao asked him to succeed you as the governor of Chang'an. ." Huang Ji shook his head.
"Come on!" Chen Gong shouted to stop him, "If General Che hears this, it will cause more trouble."
Chen Gong naturally heard some rumors, but he still tended to assist Cao Cao because he believed that Cao Cao was a wise master who could calm the world, although he was dissatisfied with some of Cao Cao's actions in recent years. However, Cao Cao was skeptical of those rumors. Chen Gong was the hero who welcomed him into Yanzhou, and he had also worked conscientiously for Yanzhou over the years. It can be said that Cao Cao was a man of great talent and great strategy, but he was not
With no flaws, apart from being suspicious, Cao Cao also held grudges. Chen Gong knew about the capture of Xuzhou and the murder of Dong Cheng. At that time, he was angry and opposed. Although Cao Cao did more to appease him, he was still dissatisfied. So before the expedition, he sent a close confidant, Chewei, to supervise the army.
"Sir, the envoy from the north wants to see you again." Huang Ji said.
Chen Gong waved his hand and interrupted, "If you have official business, go to Xu County, otherwise we will arrest him as a spy!"
