Cao Cao waved his hand hurriedly, "Liu Xuande, a man who weaves mats and sells shoes, should be content with being a prince for one place and become king? Don't even think about it. Now we are at war with Sun Quan. This must be the plan of the rats from Jiangdong. It is nothing more than trying to cause chaos in a lonely heart. And then retreat."
"The King of Wei is wise, but if the rumors are not stopped, sooner or later the rumors will spread all over the world..." Xiahou Dun reminded.
"There are many people who hate Gu Jinjue and the title of king. In addition to Liu Bei and Sun Quan, there are others who are secretly adding fuel to the flames. We just happened to take advantage of this wave of evil to investigate the 'spies' in the rear..." Cao Cao's eyes became sinister as he spoke.
"What about Sun Quan..." Xiahou Dun asked.
Cao Cao sneered: "Sun Quan has not given any merit to the Han court. If he wants to become a king, unless..."
"Unless you become the King of Wu in the Wei Dynasty?" Xiahou Dun asked.
Cao Cao laughed after hearing this: "Hahaha, Yuan Rang is just joking. It is enough for Guji people to obey their wishes, how can they have the intention to usurp the Han Dynasty again?"
"Mengde is so humble." Xiahou Dun complimented.
Cao Cao's expression suddenly changed: "I will lead the army back to Yecheng in a few days and check out the rumors about Xu Du. Yuan Rang, you will stay here. Remember, you can't fight on land but not on water."
"If the water in Chaohu Lake rises..." Xiahou Dun hesitated.
"Sun Quan is eager to retreat and the stalemate will not last long. If the tide really rises and the troops are sent back to Hefei and Shouchun, there is no doubt that he will send people to sue for peace. When the time comes, you can go along with the flow and agree." Cao Cao Very sure.
Xiahou Dun nodded, "Meng De can go back in peace, I will take care of everything here."
"Zhang Wenyuan is both wise and brave. If you are unsure about the use of troops, you can ask him for advice. Biyan'er will lose three points after hearing his name." Cao Cao instructed.
"Wei." Xiahou Dun cupped his fists and accepted the order.
A few days later, Cao Cao led his army to leave the Huainan battlefield, leaving General Xiahou Dun of Fubo to garrison in the commander's nest. Commander Zhang Liao and other twenty-sixth army had nearly 100,000 troops.
Jiangdong soldiers and horses heard that Cao Cao had led the main force to retreat, and his generals Xu Sheng, Song Qian and others were ready to make a move. Lu Meng, Pan Zhang and others suggested to stick to Ruxuwu.
When Sun Quan was hesitating to advance or retreat with his brows furrowed, he happened to catch a glimpse of Zhang Zhao, who was escorting the army rations, closing his eyes and concentrating. Sun Quan's eyes rolled up and thoughts came to his mind.
"Zibu has always been very wise. Now that Cao Cao has led the main force to retreat, and the generals have different opinions on retreating, I wonder if you have any advice for me?" Sun Quan asked politely.
Zhang Zhao's eyes widened slightly. He looked around at everyone and then raised his hands and said, "Zhao was delayed in hosting Yu Zecheng's wedding in Jianye recently. He doesn't know the war situation in Huainan as well as other generals. It's still inconvenient for me to speak..."
Sun Quan hurriedly urged: "Zibu is my military advisor. My eldest brother entrusts Gu's important minister. How can I have a plan and not teach him?"
Zhang Zhao was so irritated by Sun Quan that he understood that Bi Yaner wanted to offend him. He slowly stood up and asked in an arrogant manner: "How can we rely on blood and courage to fight on the battlefield? Have you generals forgotten the previous battle at Hefei?"
Because Zhang Zhao glanced at Sun Quan intentionally or unintentionally, this made the anxious Boss Sun feel very uncomfortable. What do you mean by coming to see me? Are you afraid that I won’t be able to remember the past?
The Battle of Hefei was a thorn in the heart of Jiangdong soldiers. Sun Quan felt depressed after hearing this. Song Qian lowered his head in shame. Zhang Zhao saw that Xu Sheng was still unhappy, so he added: "Wen Xiang, your hand is completely gone." ? Can you still hold the weapon safely?"
Zhang Zhao's venomous tongue rubbed salt into Xu Sheng's wounds, saying to himself that everyone was from the Huaisi sect, should they expose their shortcomings like this?
"Mr. Mr. Zibu is not worried. Sheng faced such a strong wind a few days ago and his weapons were never blown away." Xu Sheng responded unconvinced, but his overall momentum weakened.
A few days ago, the Wei army launched a large-scale attack on Hengjiang. Xu Sheng was ordered to lead his troops to fight. Unexpectedly, a strong wind broke out on the river and blew their Mengchong warships to the Wei army's shore.
The accompanying generals were too frightened to fight. At that time, Xu Sheng led his soldiers ashore alone to kill the enemy. The defending Wei army was frightened by Xu Sheng's desperate retreat. Later, Xu Sheng brought back the soldiers after the wind stopped, and was commended by Sun Quan.
Sun Quan saw that Zhang Zhao had laid the groundwork, and then stretched out his hand to stop the quarrel, "I am very happy that the generals are willing to charge into the battle, but Cao Cao's troops are full of tricks and tactics. Maybe he left Xiahou Dun's 100,000 elite soldiers in the nest, and took advantage of our army During the attack, he led the main force to seize Ruxuwu. Once Ruxu is lost, Jiangdong will be in danger..."
"My lord's concerns are not unreasonable. I think it's better to stick to it." Lu Meng suggested again.
Sun Quan personally set the tone, and all the generals in the room stopped talking.
After the accounts were dismissed, Sun Quan left Zhang Zhaoji behind and said, "Zibu's fierce words just now may be hated by the generals..."
"It doesn't matter, if I can do my best for my lord's hegemony, Zhang Zhao's personal honor and disgrace will not matter..."
After Zhang Zhao finished speaking, he snorted in his heart. Ever since Chibi advocated surrender, who among the Jiangdong generals has truly respected him? But how do these warriors understand politics?
"A few years ago, we fought with Cao Cao here. At that time, we followed Zibu's plan to retreat. Now that the situation is similar, how should we retreat?" Sun Quan came over and asked sincerely for advice.
Zhang Zhao stroked his beard and frowned, "Cao Cao has now become the king of Wei and is very satisfied with his ambition. Although he hastily retreated, he left behind general Xiahou Dun. If you just say nice words, you may not be able to sway his heart..."
"The only thing we can do is wait for the spring water to rise, and use the Jiangdong navy to attack it. If we don't severely defeat the Wei army, it will be difficult for Cao Cao to remember." A stern look flashed in Sun Quan's eyes.
Zhang Zhao quickly waved his hand: "Although Xiahou Dun is missing one eye, he is not completely blind. If my lord waits for the rising water to attack, he only needs to retreat to higher ground to the north. As long as the Wei army does not withdraw, it will always threaten Jianghuai and Yangzhou." How can the land’s food and grass be used up by Cao Cao?”
"What Zi Bu said is true..." Sun Quan patted his chest. It was hard for him to be so convinced by Zhang Zhao's words.
Zhang Zhao: "I have a plan to retreat the Wei army."
"Zi Bu, speak quickly." Sun Quan urged.
"My Lord, you can send someone close to Cao Ying...please surrender..." Zhang Zhao frowned and said.
Sun Quan thought Zhang Zhao had some clever plan, but it was still a familiar formula, "Zibu wants me to surrender to Cao Cao? Then Jiangdong..."
Zhang Zhao quickly explained: "My lord, please don't get me wrong. This surrender is not the other's surrender. It is just a verbal agreement to give Cao Cao some comfort. My lord is still the lord of Jiangdong."
"Although you surrender, it is not a complete surrender?" Sun Quan raised his eyes.
Zhang Zhao nodded and said: "That's why Cao Cao got his name, and my lord got the truth."
"If Liu Xuande knew about it, wouldn't he scold me for collaborating with national thieves?" Sun Quan hesitated.
"My lord, even if you fight against Cao Cao so hard, isn't the Lingnan News scolding you? In fact, politics is so hypocritical. If you criticize an alliance, you still need an alliance." Zhang Zhao smiled bitterly.
Sun Quan thought for a while and nodded in agreement, "I will edit the book myself and let Xu Ziming go see Xiahou Dun."
"Xu Ziming acts smartly and will certainly live up to his master's expectations." Zhang Zhao affirmed.
In March of the 22nd year of Jian'an, Sun Quan sent Xu Xiang, the governor of the left wing of the Jiefan Guard, to Cao's camp to ask for surrender. Xiahou Dun went to Shuye City on behalf of Cao Cao and slowly withdrew his troops toward Hefei and Shouchun.
