It was already noon when the two returned to Wancheng County Sheriff's Mansion.
There is only one month until Cao Cao's army goes south next year, and Zhang Xiu must make all preparations before Cao Cao's Nanshan Mountain.
Originally, Zhang Xiu was planning to let Jia Xu go to Xudu in person, but when he returned to the room, he changed his mind.
Cao Cao is treacherous.
If he refused to make peace and detained Jia Xu in Xuchang, he would have lost both his wife and his army.
After thinking about it, he asked Jia Xu to write a letter and send it to Cao Cao.
Then he ordered the three generals Hu Cheer, Lei Xu, and Zhang Xian to post notices recruiting brave soldiers and advertise them throughout Nanyang County.
The next day, Jia Xu wrote the letter and sent it to Xuchang.
…
Xuchang, Yuzhou.
Cao Cao's appearance is 70% similar to the characters in later film and television dramas, and he is 70% more majestic and ruthless.
At this time, Cao Cao had just transferred Han Xian Emperor Liu Xie to Xudu, and there was some chaos both inside and outside. Dong Cheng and other ministers in the court were very wary of him.
But foreign troubles gave him even more headaches.
With the help of Chen Gong, Lu Bu in the east drove Liu Bei out and took Xuzhou City to himself. He was eyeing Yanzhou and other places, so he had to guard against Yuan Shao in the north and Yuan Shu in the south.
It can be said that his situation is also surrounded by enemies on all sides.
He originally made an agreement with Liu Bei to attack Lu Bu. Liu Bei had been appointed as the herdsman of Yuzhou by Cao Cao and stationed troops in Xiaopei, preparing to attack Lu Bu from a flank and eliminate this hidden danger.
But this morning, the meteor horse came to report: Zhang Ji is dead, and Zhang Xiutun's 20,000 cavalry are in Wancheng.
This is more threatening to him.
Wancheng is only two hundred kilometers away from Xuchang, and the cavalry can reach it in two days. Zhang Xiu's men are all Liangzhou cavalry, which is really a hidden trouble behind him.
But because Lu Bu was in Xuzhou, he did not dare to leave.
Then he asked Xun Yu who was next to him: "Now Zhang Xiu is stationed in Wancheng. If he joins forces with Liu Biao, he may be in serious trouble. If we break it, we are afraid of Lu Bu's invasion. What can I do?"
Xun Yu thought for a while and said: "This matter is simple. Lu Bu is just a man with no plans. My lord can send an envoy to Xuzhou, give him an official title, and let him reconcile with Liu Bei. After Lu Bu gets an official title, he will naturally not raise an army." There’s an invasion.”
"Now Zhang Xiu's foothold in Nanyang is not stable, and with the death of Zhang Jixin, the morale of the army is weakened, and it can be broken quickly."
Cao Cao smiled and said: "Well... I can send people to Xuzhou."
At this time, Meteor Ma came to report: "My lord, Zhang Xiu sent a letter from the envoy."
As he spoke, he handed over a letter.
Cao Cao narrowed his eyes slightly, hurriedly opened the letter, read it carefully, and showed a happy smile on his face: "Zhang Xiu is really cowardly and weak. I haven't even raised an army to attack him, but he has already written to beg for surrender."
Then he gave the letter to Xun Yu next to him.
Xun Yu looked carefully.
In the letter, Zhang Xiu asked Jia Xu to belittle himself endlessly, elevate Cao Cao, and ask Cao Cao to let him go because he was just a beggar.
This is also the reason why Cao Cao is smiling.
But Xun Yu did not laugh. Instead, he narrowed his eyes and pondered. After thinking for a while, he asked Cao Cao: "What do you think, Duke Ming?"
Cao Cao smiled more and more confidently: "Ah ha! Although this letter contains words of begging for surrender, it is not sincere. It is just Zhang Xiu'er's tactic to delay the attack."
Seeing that Cao Cao had seen through it, Xun Yu nodded and said: "Ming Gong is wise, but Ming Gong will not refuse the reply to this letter."
"Well..." Cao Cao nodded, stroking his beard and thinking carefully, his eyes sparkling with wisdom, "I will personally write a letter to surrender to Zhang Xiu to expose his hypocrisy and ask him to go to Xudu immediately to plead guilty. I can click on it. We have 150,000 soldiers and we are sending troops to Wancheng."
Xun Yu nodded.
After a while, Cao Cao wrote a letter and asked the man to send it back.
Then he began to prepare food, grass, soldiers and horses, and sent troops to Wancheng.
…
In seven days, Zhang Xiu recruited 5,000 soldiers throughout Nanyang County.
These five thousand people are all infantry. Their training time is only more than a month. It is impossible to train these people into the standard soldiers and bravery required by the laws and regulations.
Their role is only one: cannon fodder.
They were the cannon fodder used by Zhang Xiu to conquer Wuguan. His men were all cavalry from Xiliang. Attacking the city was a weak point, so he could only rely on these Nanyang soldiers recruited.
At this time, training was in full swing on the training ground.
With Liu Biao's strong support, Zhang Xiu had plenty of food, grass and weapons, and he didn't feel bad about squandering it.
At this time, the person who replied also came.
After receiving the letter, Jia Xu hurried to the military camp to see Zhang Xiu.
In the military camp, Zhang Xiu was wearing a yellow robe and dancing on the open ground with a tiger-headed spear in hand. He was tall and mighty, and the tiger-headed spear was thick and long. Both of them were big guys.
The marksmanship is majestic, the momentum is like a rainbow, the spear cuts through the air and makes a sharp sound, making the tiger and tiger powerful.
This was the first time Jia Xu saw Zhang Xiu dancing with a gun. He stood there and watched, feeling heroic in his heart.
"The Spear King of the North is truly worthy of his reputation!"
When Zhang Xiu saw Jia Xu entering the camp, he knew there was news about Xu Du's arrival. He stopped dancing, pierced his spear into the ground, took the towel and wiped his sweat and asked, "Is there news about Xu Du's arrival?"
Jia Xu nodded: "Cao Cao wrote a personal reply, saying he was willing to accept the general's surrender, but felt that he was not sincere enough, so he asked the general to go to Xudu to ask for surrender."
Zhang Xiu took a sip of tea, casually sat on a wooden post and asked Jia Xu, "Can Cao Cao's letter be trusted?"
Jia Xu said with a smile on his face: "Can the general's letter be trusted?"
Zhang Xiu laughed heartily.
Since his letter is false, then Cao Cao's letter cannot be trusted.
After laughing, Zhang Xiu looked at the military camp ahead. Hu Che'er was shirtless in the winter, showing his exaggerated muscles and training the new recruits.
Calculating silently in my mind.
Then he asked Jia Xu, "What do you think my uncle will win if I face Cao Jun alone?"
"If Cao Cao raises 100,000 troops, and 20,000 against 100,000, there is still a three-point chance. If it exceeds 15..." Jia Xu shook his head.
"Can we defeat Liu Biao if we unite with him?"
"Liu Jingzhou is mostly infantry, and Cao's army focuses on cavalry. I'm afraid it will be difficult to resist. If Jingzhou soldiers come, they can only help defend the city."
"Then don't let Liu Biao go!" Zhang Xiu stood up and said decisively.
Jia Xu saw the firm determination in Zhang Xiu's gaze.
He has to face Cao Cao's army alone.
Only by defeating Cao Cao head-on can he really gain a foothold in Nanyang.
All the powerful nobles in Nanyang are waiting and watching, and some have even begun to contact Cao Cao secretly, intending to seek opportunities after Cao Cao defeats Zhang Xiu.
If he defeats Cao Cao, those wavering nobles will definitely return.
Seeing that Zhang Xiu seemed to have a plan, Jia Xu was curious: "Does the general have a plan?"
Zhang Xiu asked, "Does my uncle know the plan to surround Wei and save Zhao?"
Surrounding Wei and rescuing Zhao?
Jia Xu's mind flashed with lightning, and an eight-hundred-watt light bulb immediately lit up in his mind. He asked in surprise: "General, are you going to abandon Nanyang and go straight to Xudu?"
clever!
Zhang Xiu couldn't help but admire Jia Xu's wisdom, which can be revealed at a glance.
He explained: "Not entirely. Giving up Nanyang would be a big loss for me." Then he pointed to the five thousand people who were neatly arranged and training enthusiastically. "My uncle led these five thousand people to guard Duyang City, the gate of Nanyang. I I will lead 20,000 cavalry and station them on Hanshan Mountain to the north of Duyang City. As long as Cao Cao dares to come, I will rush hundreds of miles to attack Xudu."
Now Liu Xie and his officials have just entered Xudu, and they are all dissatisfied with Cao Cao. However, Cao Cao is so powerful that he dare not move lightly. If Zhang Xiu suddenly leads troops, it will inevitably cause civil strife in Xudu.
Zhang Xiu knew that later Liu Xie also brought up the issue of the dress and belt edict.
It can be seen that Liu Xie is not a peaceful master.
After hearing Zhang Xiu's plan, Jia Xu thought of the situation in Xudu and praised the cleverness of the plan, forcing Cao Cao to return to Xudu.
But Nanyang doesn't just come and leave when it wants. He added: "The general does not need to go to Xudu in person. He only needs one general to lead an army of five thousand to attack Xudu. The general will lead the troops to ambush and follow the road that must be passed. In this way, Cao Cao will be defeated."
Zhang Xiu nodded: "My uncle's words are very wonderful."
