"Gentlemen, something serious has happened!"
The soldier looked nervous and said,
"Third Young Master has just sent out a team of soldiers, who are conducting a large-scale search in the camp. They will be coming here soon!"
When Xin Ping and others heard this, their expressions changed drastically.
They never expected that Yuan Shang would actually attack them all before Yuan Shao's body was still cold!
"What are you three gentlemen still hesitating about? Why don't you leave with me quickly?"
Guo Tu was anxious and hurriedly urged.
"Okay, let's leave now!"
Xin Ping and the others no longer hesitated and immediately followed Guo Tu and left the camp.
By the time Su You arrived with his people, the camp was already empty.
"waste!"
Hearing that Guo Tu and others fled, Yuan Shang couldn't help but become furious and yelled at Su You.
Su You looked embarrassed and stood here with his head lowered, not knowing what to do.
The judge on the side said comfortingly,
"The lord's seals and ribbons are all in the hands of the lord. We only need to forge a copy of the lord's will. Even if Guo Tu and the others escape, what will happen?"
Yuan Shang's expression softened, he nodded and said,
"What you said is absolutely true!"
At this moment, Su You seemed to remember something and said quickly,
"Sir, Tian Feng is still in prison. How should we deal with him?"
Yuan Shang said without thinking,
"This man is disrespectful to my father. Just behead him and show him to the public!"
Regarding the issue of successors, Tian Feng had previously suggested to Yuan Shao many times that he appoint the eldest son Yuan Tan as his successor.
This was also resented by Yuan Shang.
Now that he has the power, he will naturally choose to take revenge on Tian Feng!
"I obey my orders!"
Su You led a team of troops and went straight to the prison where Tian Feng was imprisoned.
Tian Feng already knew the news of Yuan Shao's death. When he was secretly sad, he couldn't help but be startled when he saw Su You and others arriving.
"What are you doing?"
"Mr. Yuan Hao, under the orders of my lord, I am here to send you off!"
Su You smiled ferociously.
"My lord, which lord?"
Tian Feng said subconsciously.
"Of course it's the Third Young Master!"
Su You chuckled and winked at the soldiers on the side.
The soldiers stepped forward and handed over the wine glasses in their hands.
Looking at the poisonous wine in the glass, Tian Feng smiled sadly.
"My lord's body is still cold, and the third son is busy fighting for power with the eldest son. How can we compete with Cao Cao for the world?"
"It is pitiful that my lord was so wise and wise, but was finally defeated at the hands of Yang Ling. Not only did he create such a huge family business, he also had to be destroyed by his son who was worse than a pig or a dog."
"It's so pitiful and ridiculous!"
"My lord, I'm here to accompany you!"
He took the wine glass and drank the poisonous wine in one gulp.
After a while, the poison took effect, and Tian Feng swayed and fell to the ground.
"There was so much nonsense before I died!"
Su You kicked Tian Feng's body, signaled others to bury him, and then walked away!
…
A few days later, Cao Jun was in the camp.
Cao Cao is summoning Yang Ling, Guo Jia and others to discuss military affairs.
At this moment, a scout hurried over.
"Prime Minister, we just received news that Yuan Shao recovered from a serious injury a few days ago!"
Upon hearing the news, everyone in the tent was happy!
Yuan Shao is Cao Cao's number one enemy. Now that he has given up and goes west, it means that Cao Cao can unify the north without a lot of trouble!
However, Cao Cao's expression in the hall became extremely complicated, and he even sighed.
This made everyone a little confused.
However, others didn't understand Cao Cao, but Yang Ling knew his thoughts very well.
Although the two are at war with each other now, they were sworn friends decades ago!
How could Cao Cao not feel sad now that his childhood friend had passed away?
"Prime Minister, no matter what, Yuan Benchu is also a hero, and he should be rewarded generously in the name of the imperial court."
Yang Ling suggested softly.
"What Ziyi said is absolutely true."
Cao Cao said to Guo Jiaqi with some disappointment,
"Fengxiao, please draft an official document for me in the name of the court."
"I obey my orders!"
Guo Jia nodded.
At this moment, Xu You suddenly said,
"Prime Minister, what should we do next?"
Cao Cao touched his chin and looked at the crowd in deep thought.
"What do you mean?"
Xu You has served under Yuan Shao for so many years and knows the internal situation well.
Based on his understanding of Yuan Tan and Yuan Shang, after Yuan Shao's death, the two brothers would definitely fight for power.
Therefore, he planned to advise Cao Cao to stay put for the time being, and wait until Yuan Tan and Yuan Shang were beaten to a bloody head, and then reap the benefits!
However, before Xu You could speak, Yang Ling smiled and said,
"My subordinates feel that it is best for the Prime Minister to withdraw his troops."
"Why?"
Cao Cao said with a surprised look on his face.
"Although Yuan Shao was defeated previously, he has not been injured yet. There are still hundreds of thousands of soldiers and horses hoarded in Hebei."
"If the Prime Minister insists on attacking now, even if he can capture Hebei, he will probably lose miserably."
"Instead of that, it's better to retreat proactively."
"Yuan Tan and Yuan Shang have always been at odds over inheriting Yuan Shao's power."
"If the lord takes the initiative to press hard, they will definitely join forces to deal with the lord first."
"But if the lord withdraws his troops, the two of them will gradually develop dissatisfaction, and it is very likely that they will fight."
"After they are both defeated, my lord will use the mantis to catch the cicada, with the oriole behind. Wouldn't it be beautiful?"
Yang Ling smiled calmly.
After hearing this, Cao Cao's eyes couldn't help but light up, and he praised with a smile,
"Zi Yi is indeed smart!"
"What the general with five senses said is very reasonable."
Xun You twirled his beard and said with a smile,
"Besides, we have been fighting Yuan Shao for so long, the army is already exhausted, and the supplies at the rear are also somewhat tight."
"The right way is to retreat first and watch the fire from the other side!"
Seeing that everyone agreed with Yang Ling's view, Cao Cao smiled and nodded.
"Okay, as Zi Yi said, let's retreat first!"
Xu You on the side couldn't even say a word, and suddenly felt a little angry.
This bastard Yang Ling, why was the plan he thought of offered to Cao Cao in advance?
It really pisses me off!
But looking at Yang Ling, who was trusted by Cao Cao, Xu You could only grit his teeth and suppress the anger in his heart.
…
Following Cao Cao's order, the mighty army once again returned to the north bank of the Yellow River in warships.
After several days of long journey, they finally returned to Xudu.
Although Cao Cao did not capture Hebei this time with his troops, anyone who is not blind can see that it will be a matter of time to unify the north.
After all, even the talented Yuan Shao was no match for Cao Cao, and he even died because of it. Who in the world can stop Cao Cao?
Outside Xudu City.
The emperor Liu Xie took his queen Fu Shou and a group of civil and military officials to personally greet Cao Cao outside the city gate.
I saw a mighty army coming from the north, led by Cao Cao.
Before arriving at Liu Xie's car, Cao Cao dismounted and bowed.
"I have met your Majesty!"
