"Well, let's talk about your short-term strategy first."
"Now if you want to save the siege of Jiangling, repelling Guan Yu and restoring the food route is the top priority. But I heard that our army has difficulty finding Guan Yu's movements. When I was young, I often caught butterflies in the fields. If I wanted to catch butterflies, Use a bamboo net to chase them away, then tire them out before catching them.”
Seeing that Cao Cao was listening attentively, Song Xin continued: "The previous encirclement by several armies arranged by the Prime Minister failed. First, the reinforcements in the direction of Xiakou were blocked by Zhang Fei, which caused Guan Yu to retreat from Hanjinkou."
"Now it can be predicted that Guan Yu is currently in the triangle formed by Jiangling, Dangyang and Hanjinkou. Our army can deploy an ambush north of Jiangling. Once Guan Yu is discovered, surround him from the north, west and east, leaving an opening for him to go south. , our army followed him and drove him, and sent another army to capture Hanjinkou. We waited to drive Guan Yu to the place where our army set up an ambush, and then sent out several groups to repel Guan Yu."
"Well, tell me your long-term strategy." Cao Cao continued to ask without expressing his position. But his body leaned back slightly.
"My long-term strategy...is to abandon Jiangling."
"Abandon Jiangling?" When everyone heard this, everyone had different expressions. Some were surprised, some were puzzled, and some nodded. Cao Cao asked expressionlessly: "Why give up?"
"Because the terrain is unfavorable to our army. Although the area from Jiangling to Xiangyang is rich, it is a flat plain. If our army wants to fight the enemy here, it will inevitably require a large amount of food and soldiers. We cannot rely on mountains for defense. A few months ago The Prime Minister invaded Nanyang and occupied Xiangyang and Fancheng because Liu Bei had no geographical advantage. Song Xin remembered that when he came, he crossed the mountain road to the north and entered Nanyang County. From Nanyang to Jiangling, it was all rivers and plains. Our army had no danger to defend. , if the enemy army takes over Nanjun, there will be no danger to defend it."
Cao Cao asked: "What about after giving up? After giving up Jiangling, how can we defend Nanyang and prevent the enemy from attacking Xudu?"
Song Xin recalled Cao Ren's sand table and map at that time, and said: "Concentrating all the current forces on the Han River in Xiangfan can stabilize the situation. Our army has the advantage of the location, temporarily blocking the enemy's northward movement, and holding Fancheng to form a stalemate. The promise is guaranteed. At the same time, relying on the food in Nanyang behind him, the soldiers and soldiers in the north, and the strong city and Han River as barriers, the food area in Jingxiang can be attacked southward, and the enemy's northward march can also be blocked. The land in the north is vast, with more people and food than in the south. A long-term stalemate is good for us, but bad for the enemy. If Sun and Liu become enemies in the future, our army can go south again. We can also contact Sun Quan and attack Liu Bei from the north and south."
At this time, Xun You asked: "You said our army occupies a favorable location. How can we occupy it?"
Song Xin recalled the terrain. The land north of the Yangtze River in Jingzhou is surrounded by mountains on three sides and faces the river on one side. If the northern army wants to enter here, it must either pass through the northern mountains of Nanyang County or enter through the trails in the Dabie Mountains. If the southern army wants to capture this place and stabilize the situation, it must also occupy these favorable terrains. The importance of this place to Jingzhou is equivalent to the later Youyun Sixteenth State to the North China Plain. Thinking of this, Song Xin said: "Hui Sir, to enter Jingzhou from the north, you must pass through the mountains in the north of Nanyang County and the Ming'e Ancient Road. Now that both of these places are in the hands of our army, this is the geographical advantage."
Xun You nodded and said, "I'd like to hear the details."
"There are Xiang and Fan in the north of Nanyang County as barriers. As for the three fortresses of Ming'e, the terrain is dangerous. If the enemy wants to attack, they can only attack the northern part of Jiangxia County first. I believe Zhou Yu does not have so many troops to attack two places at the same time, and Ming'e The terrain of Sansai is so dangerous that only a few thousand men can resist tens of thousands of troops. With Zhou Yu's shrewdness, he will never attack there."
Jia Xu asked: "What if the enemy makes a surprise attack?"
"Sneak attack..." Song Xin thought for a while and said, the north of Jiangxia is still in the hands of our army. If the enemy army wants to make a sneak attack, even if it is an accidental attack, it will fail due to lack of food and fodder..."
Cao Cao said at this time: "Okay, gentlemen, please don't embarrass him. Let's end the exam here."
Xun You, Cheng Yu and Jia Xu among the counselors nearby looked at each other and said nothing. They looked at Cao Cao. I could see his brows frowning sometimes and relaxing at other times, looking uncertain.
After Song Xin finished speaking, he just knelt and sat motionless, waiting for Cao Cao to ask questions.
Hua Xin was a little excited. He didn't expect Song Xin to observe the situation in such detail. Facing the repeated questioning from Cao Cao and several great advisers, he could still answer fluently. He couldn't help but feel that it was a face-saving thing. After all, Song Xin was still a school official in the Dian School Office.
At this time, Cao Cao also inadvertently looked up at the two counselors. When the two men saw Cao Cao's eyes, they immediately understood something and nodded.
"Well, Song Xin, you can go down first. Just forget about today's battle report." Cao Cao said.
"Yes, Prime Minister, Song Xin has forgotten about it." Song Xin lowered his head and said.
"Back off." Cao Cao said.
Song Xin stood up and backed away slowly. When he reached the door, he turned around to go out when suddenly Cao Cao shouted: "Song Xin!" This sound startled the young masters around him.
Song Xin was excited, immediately turned around, took a few steps forward, and said calmly: "Do you have any other orders, Prime Minister?"
"I ask you to go to the Jiangling front line to kill the enemy. Do you dare?"
"dare!"
"You just said you wanted to give up Jiangling, why do you want to save it now?"
"Of course I have to give up and make long-term plans. But for me, General Cao Ren calls me his brother. In order to help him get out of trouble, Song Xin is willing to go." Song Xin said without hesitation.
"Hahahaha." Cao Cao laughed suddenly, "It's a good idea to go there. You are quite heroic at a young age. Aren't you afraid of death?"
"Not afraid."
"Okay. You go down." Cao Cao laughed again, but this time it could be seen that he was really happy. You can also feel their relief from the expressions of the surrounding counselors and attendants.
"This...Song Xin is stupid and doesn't understand military orders. Is the Prime Minister ordering me to go to Jiangling?" Song Xin asked.
"You don't need to go now. You can go back and wait." Cao Cao said.
After Song Xin returned, Cao Cao asked, "Gentlemen, what do you think of this Song Xin?"
"Does the Prime Minister plan to use this person?" Cheng Yu asked.
"Cao wants to arrange for him to follow one of my sons." Cao Cao said, leaning on the table. As soon as these words came out, these counselors did not expect it, and they all looked surprised. The position of servant of a young master is generally only available to the sons of the noble family, because the noble family represents a political force. Once the young master succeeds in taking office in the future, he will become a strong political alliance with the noble family.
"Then the prime minister wants him to follow the young master? This position...Song Xin seems inappropriate..." Jia Xu asked tentatively. His doubts were understandable. After all, he hired someone with no background like Song Xin. Many people will not understand.
Cao Cao knew that Jia Xu was reminding him that for this position, one should look at his family background, "Don't worry about his family background. In the future, he can find a girl from a prominent family for him to marry."
When several counselors heard what Cao Cao said, they looked at each other and waited for Cao Cao to speak. This kind of thing has happened before.
Cao Cao waited for a while and said, "Gentlemen, can you tell me which young master he should be allowed to follow?"
"I think he should be allowed to follow Mr. Zihuan." Xun You said and glanced at the young man beside Cao Cao. At the same time, he also glanced at Jia Xu and Cheng Yu beside him and gave them a look.
The young man also looked at Xun You, with a trace of gratitude flashing in his eyes. This young man is Cao Pi, Cao Cao's son. He had also read about Song Xin's deeds in previous battle reports, and he had just heard Song Xin's views on the situation, which made him very interested in Song Xin, and he also wanted to take this child under his command and train him well. , for your own use in the future.
However, Cao Cao was noncommittal after hearing this suggestion, and continued with his usual expression: "What do you two gentlemen think?"
"Prime Minister, I think that Song Xin can be ordered to follow Mr. Zijian." After hearing what Cheng Yu said, Cao Cao's expression seemed to have changed. At this time, Cao Zhi was surrounded by a large number of close-knit gentry disciples, and Song Xin was afraid that he would not be able to enter their circle.
Then he looked at Jia Xu: "Mr. Wenhe? What do you think?"
Jia Xu looked at Cao Cao and Cao Pi. At this time, Cao Pi also looked at Jia Xu with a hint of expectation in his eyes. He lowered his head and said, "Prime Minister, Song Xin is of the same age as Mr. Chong, so why not let him follow Mr. Chong."
After hearing this, Cao Pi looked very disappointed and glanced at Jia Xu with some displeasure.
When Cao Cao heard Jia Xu's suggestion, his face finally showed a happy look. When Cao Pi saw it, he immediately said, "Father, my son also thinks it is very appropriate for Song Xin to follow Chongdi."
Cao Cao looked at Cao Pi and said, "Oh? You really think so, that's good, very good.".
"Then it's decided that Song Xin will return north with his true identity and study with my son Cao Chong first." Cao Cao made the decision.
"Ziyu, what is Song Xin's position in the Dian School Office?"
Hua Xin replied: "Now it is a secret report of school affairs."
"Well, I will promote him to the rank of Captain of the Dian School, but his identity will not be registered with the Dian School Office for the time being."
"No!" Hua Xin responded, but he was a little surprised. From being a secret lecturer to the captain of the school, he was directly promoted by two levels, and he was on the same level as Lu Ying at that time.
About an hour later, Cao Pi took Jia Xu's sleeve and asked, "Mr. Wenhe, could you please take a moment to speak?"
"Oh? What's your advice, Master?" Jia Xu asked.
Cao Pi and Jia Xu walked to a secluded place. Cao Pi asked, "Mr. Wenhe, what happened today? Why did you ask Song Xin to follow my brother Chong?"
Jia Xu bowed and said: "I know the young master wants to keep this person, but when the prime minister asked me, he had already made a decision in his heart. The other two gentlemen mentioned different young masters. If I agree with Mr. Gongda, the prime minister Do you suspect that you, the Young Master, are secretly trying to win over his close associates?"
Cao Pi was stunned for a moment. He really didn't expect that he would leave such a dangerous situation. His father was very suspicious, and he knew it. Today is also a test question for him and these counselors...
"Thank you sir for your advice." Cao Pi bowed gratefully and said.
"Oh, I didn't say anything just now, did I?" Jia Xu suddenly showed a confused look.
"Yes, yes, sir, he didn't say anything, nothing. The weather is really nice today." Cao Pi said quickly.
Jia Xu smiled, bowed to Cao Pi and left. Cao Pi stood there in a daze for a while, not knowing what he was thinking, and then left in a hurry.
Today's interview is a test question for Cao Cao to Song Xin, Cao Pi, and the counselors. Fortunately, everyone who took the exam passed successfully...
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