Guo Jia looked confident and said with certainty: "The war has continued until now. It is foreseeable that the scale of the Hanzhong Battle will expand and the war will become more difficult. Therefore, it is extremely necessary to mobilize the troops of Han Sui and Ma Teng. .”
"If you want to mobilize, you must promise huge profits."
"I suggest that the king adopt the method of killing three soldiers with two peaches, and clearly tell Han Sui and Ma Teng that they will lead their respective armies into Hanzhong to rush for reinforcements. Whoever makes greater contributions in defeating Lu Xuan will be given the imperial edict. For King Liang."
"With Lu Xuan's King of Wu and Yuan Shao's King of Jin in the world, it doesn't matter if there is another King of Liang."
"After all, Liangzhou is dominated by two people."
Guo Jia talked eloquently: "It involves the lord of Liangzhou, and he is crowned king by the imperial court. Ma Teng and Han Sui must not be able to bear it. With their wisdom, Ma Teng and Han Sui both know that this is the king who asked them to send troops. The price is high, but they have to come because this is the king."
Cao Cao's eyes were bright and he praised: "Fengxiao's arrangement is indeed brilliant."
Guo Jiadao: "Your Majesty, thank you very much."
Cao Cao continued: "After Ma Teng and Han Sui intervened in the war, they fought with Lu Xuan's army and must have been damaged. If we defeat Lu Xuan and the two of them suffer heavy losses or die in Hanzhong, I will take advantage of the situation." Go to Liangzhou."
"Even if the two of them have retained a lot of strength after the fight, I can still use the imperial title to provoke internal fighting between the two. Once the two fight internally and kill each other, the next step can be to seize Liangzhou. "
"Great King Shengming!"
Guo Jia solemnly said: "We have been unable to take Liangzhou. The root cause is that Han Sui and Ma Teng are in power and have troops. There was no reason to arrange it before. This time with the help of the Battle of Hanzhong, we can mobilize them and we can plan Liangzhou.”
Cao Cao said: "Know me as a filial piety."
Guo Jia said quickly: "I immediately wrote a letter, arranged for sentries to go to Ziwu Road, and sent them back to Luoyang at an accelerated speed of 800 miles. Please ask Xun Shangshu to make arrangements."
Cao Cao nodded, Guo Jia turned and left.
Cao Cao thought for a while and then said: "Come here, please invite Liu Bei to discuss the matter."
The soldiers went to inform him, and Liu Bei followed him, cupping his hands and saying, "King Qin."
Cao Cao said calmly: "Xuande, Lu Xuan came to shout earlier, saying that Zhou Yu, the commander-in-chief under his command, sent troops to seize Chen State and forced Xiahou Dun back, causing Xiahou Dun to retreat into Yanzhou. Do you know this?"
Liu Bei said: "I just got the news."
His eyes were deep and he could not see any sadness or joy, and he asked: "Is King Qin planning to evacuate Hanzhong now?"
Cao Cao asked, "What do you think Xuande wants?"
Liu Bei solemnly said: "Hanzhong is the barrier to the north of Yizhou. If Hanzhong is captured, King Qin can go south to attack Lu Xuan at any time. Once Hanzhong is captured by Lu Xuan, it means that King Qin's passage south to Yizhou will be controlled."
"The most troublesome thing is that when Lu Xuan is in Hanzhong, he can take the Ziwu Road, Baoxie Road, and Chencang Road north to Guanzhong at any time to raid the rear of the King of Qin. For the King of Qin, this is a danger."
"So, I strongly disagree with retreat."
"I believe that although the situation is bad, it is not necessary to retreat. No matter how difficult it is, the army is still there and the soldiers' fighting spirit is still there, so they can still fight. Why does a wise man like King Qin have the intention to retreat?"
The hatred between Liu Bei and Lu Xuan was deep.
From the bottom of his heart, Liu Bei hoped that Cao Cao and Lu Xuan would fight to the end and did not want Cao Cao to withdraw his troops.
If there was a place for him in the world, Liu Bei would have left the court long ago and gone to the local area to develop his own strength. However, the world was divided into three parts. Yuan Shao occupied the north of Jizhou, Lu Xuan occupied the south, and Cao Cao occupied Yanzhou in the Central Plains and the west of Guanzhong. The world was completely divided.
Liu Bei had no place to stand.
In desperation, he could only continue to follow Cao Cao in the name of Uncle Liu Huang.
Cao Cao looked approvingly and said with emotion: "Xuande's words are indeed penetrating like morning bells and evening drums. The battle between me and Lu Xuan has just begun, and we cannot retreat. If we give in now, when Lu Xuan captures Yizhou, the consequences will be disastrous."
Listening to Cao Cao's tone, Liu Bei raised his brows and felt a hint of regret in his heart.
Seems to have been fooled.
Cao Cao was waiting for him to express his stance.
Liu Bei suppressed his thoughts, calmed down his emotions, and asked calmly: "What is King Qin's plan?"
Cao Cao said in a deep voice: "I plan to lead troops to Ziwu Road to lure Lu Xuan to attack. By then, Lu Xuan's army has left the camp, and Xuande will lead his troops out of the city and quickly raid Lu Xuan's camp."
Liu Bei's cheeks twitched.
Cao Cao went to Ziwu Road and left him here. Once Lu Xuan attacks Nanzheng, he will be in a desperate situation. On the contrary, Cao Cao can flee north to Guanzhong at any time.
The dangerous person is Liu Bei.
Cao Cao got out of trouble.
What kind of person is Cao Cao? He noticed the change in Liu Bei's demeanor in an instant and comforted him: "Xuande, you and I have been friends for more than ten years. I will not lie to you, let alone abandon you. This time, I will protect you from all aspects." If we start a war with Lu Xuan, you will defend Nanzheng, and I will contain Lu Xuan at Ziwu Road. In addition, there are other arrangements."
Liu Bei asked: "What other arrangements are there?"
Cao Cao replied: "I have arranged for someone to send a message to Xun Yu, asking Zhong Yao to coordinate and summon Ma Teng and Han Sui to lead their troops south to join the battle."
Liu Bei said directly: "I'm afraid it won't be easy."
Cao Cao nodded and said: "Xuande is right, so I made a promise. As long as Lu Xuan is defeated, whoever makes the greatest contribution will be canonized as the King of Liang. Although Ma Teng or Han Sui can be crowned the King. , broke the rules again. But everything we did was to defeat Lu Xuan. It was worth it."
Liu Bei frowned slightly.
Become a king?
This condition indeed made it easy for Ma Teng and Han Sui to send troops, but it also made it easy for them to raise tigers.
Liu Bei thought of Lu Xuan. Compared with such a big problem as Lu Xuan, Ma Teng and Han Sui's title of king could only be regarded as a trivial matter.
Seeing Liu Bei's hesitation, Cao Cao continued: "After Lu Xuan is defeated and Hanzhong is taken back, Ma Teng and Han Sui return to Liangzhou. Hanzhong still needs people to govern. I have made a plan and canonized Xuande as the King of Hanzhong. After all, I will defend Han. The royal family needs someone like you who is loyal to the royal family."
Liu Bei's heart suddenly trembled.
There was a look of surprise in his eyes. Cao Cao also used him, but he was always on guard against him and controlled him in Luoyang.
Now, he actually promised the King of Hanzhong.
Liu Bei thought about it for a moment and suddenly understood. Cao Cao was in a difficult situation and needed everyone's full strength, and Liu Bei also needed to go all out, so he promised.
In addition, even if Liu Bei serves as King of Hanzhong, it will only be Cao Cao's barrier in Yizhou, and Cao Cao will not lose anything.
Liu Bei was thinking about it, but he became excited and his heart was beating fast.
Even though he was used by Cao Cao, as the king of Hanzhong and controlling Hanzhong, he still made his own decisions and would not rely on others. This was something Liu Bei was willing to do.
Cao Cao looked at the brooding Liu Bei and sighed, "That's all. Since Xuande doesn't want to, I won't force myself to choose someone else."
Liu Bei solemnly said: "King Qin, I am willing."
Cao Cao asked: "Seriously?"
Liu Bei said loudly: "In these years, I have followed the King of Qin in east and west expeditions. If it weren't for the King of Qin's care, I would still be wandering around. Where would I be today? The orders of the King of Qin are my responsibility."
Cao Cao smiled and said, "Xuande doesn't regret it?"
"No regrets!"
Liu Bei answered decisively that he wanted to stay in Hanzhong.
Cao Cao praised: "With Xuande's support, everything will be easy to handle. In fact, you don't have to worry. I am guarding Ziwu Road. If Lu Xuan comes to attack Nanzheng County, I will raid his rear."
"When Lu Xuan attacks me, you go and attack Lu Xuan's rear. I, Xuande, and you are each other's horns and help each other. Moreover, I will not leave Nanzheng immediately, it will take a few days."
Cao Cao said: "I need to estimate the time for Ma Teng and Han Sui to go south before leaving Nanzheng for Ziwu Road. During this time, Xuande can recruit more soldiers and prepare for the defense of Nanzheng."
Liu Bei said: "I will obey King Qin's arrangements."
Cao Cao stroked his beard and said: "Xuande is a man of benevolence and righteousness, and he is also a man of faith. I believe that. You guard Nanzheng and have more than 6,000 direct troops, right?"
Liu Bei nodded and replied: "The King of Qin is wise, and he indeed only has more than 6,000 people."
Cao Cao said: "Although you can recruit people, do you want me to leave some of my elites for you?"
The forces of Cao Cao and Liu Bei were separated. Liu Bei's army eats Cao Cao's military rations, but it is an independent system and only obeys Liu Bei's dispatch.
Although Cao Cao was dissatisfied with this, he recognized it because Cao Cao needed Liu Bei's assistance.
Liu Bei said: "I accept King Qin's kindness. Six thousand people are enough."
Seeing Liu Bei's confident expression, Cao Cao also smiled and nodded: "In that case, Xuande will make arrangements. In a few days, I estimate that if Wen has made arrangements, he will withdraw his troops from Nanzheng and garrison at the exit of Ziwu Road. "
Liu Bei said: "I sincerely follow the instructions of King Qin."
There was a look of expectation in his eyes. Although it was dangerous to guard Nanzheng alone, Cao Cao restrained Lu Xuan on Ziwu Road, so he was generally relatively safe in Nanzheng. By staying in Nanzheng, he can give full play to his own advantages, win over people's hearts and develop his own strength.
Liu Bei knew that there was danger, but he was happy with it.
