Cao Cao watched Liu Bei leave and let out a long breath.
With Liu Bei leading his army to assist Xuzhou, his last worries were gone. He could concentrate on dealing with the emperor and the ungrateful ministers in the court, and then go to Guandu to fight Yuan Shao.
As soon as Liu Bei left Sikong's mansion, he hurried back to his residence and found Guan Yu and Zhang Fei. The three of them rode horses and ran directly to the camp outside the city.
The tiger talisman was shown and 20,000 surrendered soldiers were mobilized. Liu Bei led 20,000 surrendered soldiers and rushed to the northeast.
Zhang Fei asked curiously: "Brother, where are we going now?"
Liu Bei said gloomily: "Pengcheng!"
Guan Yu asked: "Go to Pengcheng? Aid Xuzhou?"
Liu Bei looked up at the blue sky. After a long time, he looked at Guan Yu and Zhang Fei and said, "No, assist Yuan Tan and attack Xuzhou!"
Guan Yu and Zhang Fei looked at each other with astonishment on their faces.
Liu Bei said: "The plan we planned with the emperor and other ministers to eradicate Cao Cao failed. Cao Cao already knew it, so Xun Lingjun asked you to tell me that you would recommend yourself to lead the army to help Xuzhou."
"Now, neither the emperor nor the ministers can escape."
"Cao Cao is cruel and ruthless, everything is over."
"Cao Cao seems to believe me, but if I really help Xuzhou and defeat Yuan Shao, he will definitely not let me go after returning to Xudu."
"He is the kind of person who can tolerate everything, but he is also the kind of person who 'would rather let me betray the world than teach the world to betray me'."
"By then, we will be of no use, and we will be in a different place."
"So, instead of aiding Xuzhou and helping him and Jiangdong, we have to give them a fire while they are in crisis!"
"Xuzhou is now barely holding on under the attack of Wen Chou and Yuan Tan."
"Whether it's Yuan Shao or Jiang Dong, they must be urgently dispatching troops to help."
"Whoever reaches Pengcheng first may win."
"We are rushing over now. If we can catch up first and help Wen Chou and Yuan Tan capture Pengcheng, we will be worthy ministers to Yuan Shao."
"Yuan Shao IV was born in the third generation, and he also took over the four states of Qing, Bing, Ji, and You. No matter how the world changes, he will definitely have his place."
"Even if Cao Cao and Jiang Dong want to unite at this time, they are still so stretched."
"Even among Cao Cao's subordinates and generals, I have inquired, and they all prefer Yuan Shao to dominate the world."
"Now, we don't have our own foundation, and we are no longer able to support the Han Dynasty alone."
"In this case, we can only go with the flow."
"Besides, I am the Queen of Zhongshan Prince Jing, and I have a good reputation."
"I once recommended Yuan Tan as a person of filial piety and integrity, who is kind to Yuan Shao."
"Yuan Shao's identity, coupled with my timely help this time, Yuan Shao will definitely pay attention to me."
Guan Yu: "Brother, Yuan Shao is very ambitious. With this move, if he really dominates the world, then the Han Dynasty——"
Zhang Fei said with determination: "No matter what big brother does, I will follow him!"
Liu Bei raised his head and sighed: "I want it too!"
"But it is so difficult to imitate Emperor Guangwu!"
"Over the years, we have fought in the north and south and made countless achievements, but we have never been able to grasp even a little bit of foundation."
"Perhaps God is also advising me not to hit the wall and never look back!"
Guan Yu lowered his head and said quietly: "Brother, you, you have changed too."
Liu Bei looked at Guan Yu and said: "Second brother, I will never forget the oath you, I, and Yide made when we raised troops in Zhuojun. However, in this situation now, there is no place for us to stand."
"After so many years of trial and error, I finally understand."
"No matter how the world changes, we can never escape the support of the gentry."
"Today, the world is divided into three parts: Yuan Shao, Cao Cao and Jiangdong."
"Whether it's Yuan Shao, Cao Cao, or Jiang Dong, they all support the nobles."
"The descendants of the Third Prince of Yuan Shao IV, his disciples and former officials are all over the world."
"Cao Cao's grandfather was also one of the Three Dukes. When he raised an army, countless nobles responded."
"Jiangdong Lu Yi is the head of the Lu family, the largest family in Jiangdong, and the leader of the Jiangdong gentry."
"Looking at you and me, who do we have to support you?"
"People like us may really not be able to accomplish anything."
Guan Yu looked lonely.
Liu Bei wanted to say something more, but when the words came to his lips, he swallowed them.
He is not willing to give in!
He even wanted to do what Emperor Guangwu did and create new glory for the Han Dynasty.
But even though he held the title of imperial uncle, he had no one, no soldiers, and no support from the nobles, so nothing could be accomplished.
Liu Bei put his legs under the horse's belly, took one step forward, and shouted loudly: "Command the soldiers, pass my order to the general, and speed up the march!"
He was a little afraid that Cao Cao would react and send someone to intercept him!
The day after Liu Bei led his army to Pengcheng, Cao Cao rushed to the Shangshutai after attending the morning dynasty as usual.
At the Chancellor's desk, Xun Yu, Cheng Yu, Xun You, Guo Jia and others have arrived and are busy.
When Cheng Yu saw Cao Cao approaching, he raised his head and asked, "Sikong, why didn't Uncle Liu come to attend the morning court today?"
Cao Cao said: "Yesterday afternoon I asked him to take 20,000 soldiers outside the city to Xuzhou to help Jiangdong. Xuzhou and we are at loggerheads. Once Xuzhou is captured by Yuan Shao, the next step should be to attack Xudu from both sides."
Xun Yu and Guo Jia looked at each other and said nothing.
When Cheng Yu heard what Cao Cao said, his expression suddenly changed and he lost his voice: "Sikong, are you asking Uncle Liu Huang to lead 20,000 surrendered soldiers outside the city to help Xuzhou?"
Cao Cao nodded and asked: "Yes, what's the problem? Now all the available generals have been transferred to Guandu to prepare for Yuan Shao's march south. Only Liu Bei can appoint them. Moreover, Liu Bei's powerful generals such as Guan Yu and Zhang Fei , this matter won’t be handled poorly.”
Cheng Yu looked desperate and said, "You're confused, Sikong!"
Cao Cao: "."
Cheng Yu was speechless for a while, but still seemed unwilling to give in. He looked at Cao Cao and asked, "Did Sikong find Liu Bei himself? Or was it recommended by someone else?"
Cao Cao frowned and said, "No, Liu Bei recommended himself."
Cheng Yu patted his thigh and said, "That's it!"
Cao Cao glanced at Xun Yu, looked at Cheng Yu with a gloomy face and said, "Zhongde, what do you say?"
Cheng Yu was extremely angry and laughed back: "Xuzhou is in danger. If Liu Bei doesn't have second thoughts, there will be no one available. Doesn't he know?"
"He knows it better than anyone else!"
"He really wants to perform meritorious service. He can't wait to find Sikong and request to fight, instead of waiting for you to come to Sikong!"
"Sikong actually sent him to lead the army to help Xuzhou. This is like a meat bun beating a dog. Once you go, you will never come back!"
"Liu Bei is no different from Lu Bu, they are both villains!"
"He is so ambitious that he has no so-called gratitude!"
"If someone else recommended him to go there yesterday, if he pursues it now, there is still a chance to recover it."
"But it happened that you, Sikong, approached him and he recommended himself."
"This shows that he has already prepared!"
"I'm afraid, yesterday he ordered the entire army to move forward quickly!"
"This time, not only will he be unable to rush to Xuzhou's aid, he may even be stabbed in the back!"
"Xuzhou is in danger!"
"Hurry up and send envoys to Xuzhou and Wujun respectively to remind them."
"Otherwise, if Jiangdong thinks Liu Bei is a reinforcement and Liu Bei stabs him in the back, we will be blamed. Once Jiangdong tears up the agreement, we must finish it before Jiangdong is finished!"
Cao Cao's lips trembled and he looked at Xun Yu.
Xun Yu didn't seem to notice and continued to correct the documents with his head down.
Seeing this, Guo Jia stood up and said to Cao Cao: "Sikong, what Mr. Cheng said is indeed reasonable. However, a big mistake has been made and can no longer be undone."
"Besides, Liu Bei's betrayal is also good."
"If he doesn't betray, we can't kill him."
"After all, he is the emperor's recognized uncle."
"If he dies in our hands, everyone in the world will think that Sikong has no tolerance for others."
"But he took the initiative to betray him first, and then killed him. The blame lies with him."
"There is actually no way to save it now."
"You can send three envoys immediately and set off immediately."
"A messenger went to Xiapi in Xuzhou to remind Zhang Zhao, the current Xuzhou pastor, to be careful of Liu Bei's betrayal. Liu Bei's betrayal is not what we want. We can remove our fault."
"An envoy went to Jiangdong to express to Wu Hou our determination to unite as one."
"Now we and Jiangdong are helping each other. Jiangdong has so many talents. It's impossible not to see this."
"Sikong Haosheng comforted him. Even if Xuzhou is really lost, I believe that Wuhou will not take revenge again when faced with such an unfavorable situation as the loss of Xuzhou. Otherwise, if we fight each other and Yuan Shao benefits, wouldn't it be a 'relative'? Pain makes enemies happy'?"
"The third envoy rushed to Shouchun immediately and asked Shouchun garrison Xia Houyuan to take charge of Shouchun in case of emergency. Then he asked him to send his deputy general Che Zhou to lead Shouchun's three thousand garrison and rush to Pengcheng. Maybe he could be there Liu Bei rushed to Pengcheng to intercept Liu Bei."
Cao Cao was silent for a long time and said, "Just follow what Fengxiao said!"
(End of chapter)
