The cry against thieves became a tool for people to sing, and it soon spread to Xudu. At that time, Cao Cao's headache came back. He happened to be lying in bed, and he passed the thief's appeal to Cao Cao. After reading it, Cao Cao was very happy and excited. He broke out in a cold sweat and felt that his headache was relieved. Many jumped up from the bed and said to Cao Hong, "Who wrote this?"
Cao Hong replied: "This is written by Chen Lin."
Cao Cao was not angry, but laughed and said: "A writer like this must use force and strategy to cooperate. Although Chen Lin's writing ability is very strong, Yuan Shao's strategy is obviously insufficient!"
So he discussed with all the counselors how to meet the enemy.
After Kong Rong heard the news, he went to see Cao Cao and said: "Yuan Shao's power is too huge. We cannot fight him. We can only make peace with him."
Xun Yu sneered: "Yuan Shao is a useless person, why should he negotiate for peace?"
Kong Rong said: "Perhaps you don't understand that Yuan Shao has a large territory and many soldiers, and he has outstanding counselors such as Xu You, Guo Tu, Shen Pei, and Feng Ji. Tian Feng and Ju Shou are both loyal and good, and Yan Liang and Wen Chou are both good." He is a powerful general, and the other Gao Lan, Zhang He and Chunyu Qiong are also famous generals in the world. How can you say that Yuan Shao is a useless person?"
Xun Yu smiled and said: "Although Yuan Shao's soldiers are many, they are not well trained. Tian Feng is strong and easy to fall into. Xu You is greedy and not careful enough in his work. He is too arbitrary in his selection. As for Feng Ji, he loves to show off. These people are all They have their own shortcomings, they are incompatible with water and fire, and they will definitely change over time. Yan Liang and Wen Chou are both brave men, but without the talents of generals, they can be captured in one battle. As for the others, they are all mediocre people, and there are What is there to be concerned about?”
Kong Rong was speechless after hearing this and stood aside.
Cao Cao smiled and said: "Sure enough, everything escapes Xun Yu's eyes."
So he sent the front army Liu Dai and the rear army Wang Zhong to lead 50,000 troops, under the banner of the prime minister, to Xuzhou to attack Liu Bei. Liu Dai was the governor of Yanzhou before. After Cao Cao captured Yanzhou, he surrendered to Cao Cao. Therefore, Cao Cao used him as a partial general and let him and Wang Zhong lead the army together. Cao Cao himself led an army of 200,000 to Liyang to fight. Yuan Shao.
Cheng Yu suggested: "The prime minister sent two people to attack Liu Bei this time, but I'm afraid they won't be able to complete the mission."
Cao Cao smiled and said: "I also know that they are no match for Liu Bei, so just call it a bluff."
So he told the two of them: "Don't attack easily. Wait until I defeat Yuan Shao, then go back and destroy Liu Bei."
So Cao Cao personally led his troops to Liyang, where they met for eighty miles, with deep ditches and high fortresses, and they held a stalemate without fighting. From August to October.
According to the previous plan, they should be ready to attack, but there were different opinions within Yuan Shao. Xu You was not satisfied with the matter of selecting and leading troops, and Jushou had objections to Yuan Shao for not adopting his suggestions, so he did not think of going. Attack, but fight in the nest.
Yuan Shao didn't know what to do at this time, so he didn't consider sending troops quickly, and the stalemate was like this. So Cao Cao called Zang Ba, the surrendered general from Lu Bu, to guard the Qing and Xu states, and Yu Jin and Li Dian gathered their troops. On the river, Cao Ren, as the general governor, garrisoned at Guandu. Cao Cao himself led a group of troops and quietly returned to Xudu.
Liu Dai and Wang Zhong led a team of 50,000 troops and set up camp a hundred miles away from Xuzhou. They were on standby under the banner of Prime Minister and did not dare to enter the army. They only sent people to frequently inquire about the war in Hebei and Cao Cao. Liu Bei did not Knowing Cao Cao's strategic intentions, it was difficult to take the initiative, so he did not dare to act rashly. At the same time, he was also snooping for news in Hebei to see how Yuan Shao's advance was going.
After a stalemate for a period of time, Cao Cao sent someone to deliver a message to the two, requesting an immediate attack. The two actually quarreled in the camp. Liu Dai said: "The prime minister has urged us to attack the city. Just lead the troops and I will come soon."
Wang Zhongdao: "The Prime Minister clearly sent you, I will support you from behind."
Liu Dai said: "Don't you know clearly? I am the commander-in-chief. There is no reason for the commander-in-chief to attack first."
Wang Zhong was unyielding and said, "I definitely won't go first, or it's better if we go together."
Liu Dai immediately denied it and said: "If both of us go, who will guard our base camp? Let's do it. We will draw lots, and whoever we catch will go."
As a result, Wang Zhong caught the word "Xian" and had no choice but to send half of his troops to attack Xuzhou.
The reason why both of them didn't go was because they were self-aware. Everyone knew how brave Zhang Fei and Guan Yu were and they didn't want to risk their lives.
When Liu Bei heard that someone was attacking over there, he came to Chen Deng for discussion and said: "Although Yuan Shao stationed troops in Liyang, several of his advisers did not have the same opinion, so he did not take any action, and he did not know where Cao Cao was. I heard that there is no banner of Cao Cao in Liyang, why is there his banner here instead?"
Chen Deng analyzed: "Cao Cao is a man with many treacherous tricks, but he will definitely focus on Hebei and supervise personally, so he deliberately did not build a banner and was bluffing here. I think Cao Cao's strategic intention is not here."
Liu Bei said to the two people standing next to him: "Which of you is willing to explore the truth?"
Zhang Fei said: "Leave this matter to me."
Liu Bei shook his head and said, "You have a bad temper and I cannot let you go."
After hearing this, Zhang Fei became unhappy and said, "Why can't I go? Even if Cao Cao really comes, I will catch him with you and issue a military order."
Guan Yu said: "Let me go. Don't worry, third brother, just stay with me and observe what's going on."
Liu Bei said: "Second brother, I will feel relieved if you go." So Guan Yu led 3,000 soldiers and horses out of Xuzhou and headed outside.
After Guan Yu left, Liu Bei suddenly felt that something was missing. He always felt that there was something wrong with Chen Deng's words, but the person he wanted to find was no longer there, that is, his fourth brother Yu Yi. Under normal circumstances, he would definitely speak out, although Most of my thoughts are something I have trouble dealing with.
It was early winter, the weather was covered by clouds, snowflakes slowly fell from the sky, and the army horses were covered with a thin coat. Guan Yu mentioned it and shouted to Wang Zhong to answer.
Wang Zhong came out and said, "The Prime Minister has arrived at this place in person. Are you still going to resist and not surrender?"
Guan Yu said: "Since the prime minister has come, please trouble him to come out and speak."
Wang Zhong felt a little guilty and said: "Who are you? How can you meet the Prime Minister just by asking?"
Guan Yu was furious and said: "In that case, let me see how much you weigh." Then he drove his horse forward and took Wang Zhong directly.
Wang Zhong knew that Guan Yu was highly skilled in martial arts, but for the sake of face, he could only draw his gun and fight. Before the two could fight, Guan Yu turned his horse and prepared to escape.
