Chapter 286: Planning the Battle, the Battle between Cao and Xun To be honest, Cao Cao was very shocked when he heard that Qin Zhen had destroyed Lu Bu. Because in his impression, Liu Bei's main force had already moved south to Jiangdong, and Lu Bu was Liu Bei's ally. How did things turn out to be the point where Lu Bu was destroyed before Sun Ce was destroyed? Similarly, Lu Bu was also a tough nut to crack for him. How did Qin Zhen manage to destroy Lu Bu while fighting on two fronts? But after reading Guo Jia's military report, he realized that the destruction of Lu Bu was the foundation he laid for Qin Zhen. Originally, he wanted to appoint Chen Deng as the governor of Guangling, which would make it easier to capture Xuzhou in the future. Unexpectedly, Chen Deng not only did not help him, but was instead won over by Qin Zhen. As a result, forces from various places such as Zang Ba and Lei Xu were also incorporated one by one. Several families joined forces to attack Lu Bu and finally captured Xuzhou. Looking at this news, Lao Cao naturally felt mixed emotions, wondering if Qin Zhen was still alive.

Will Xuzhou fall into his hands this time? Thinking of this, he naturally felt regretful. If he had known this would happen, he would never have let Qin Zhen leave. However, amidst his regret, he was also grateful. Although Qin Zhen had left, this time he got Jia Xu. Together with Xun Yu, Xun You, Cheng Yu and Guo Jia, the five great counselors under his command, they can definitely make up for Qin Zhen's vacancy. In addition, he also had Dong Zhao, Lou Gui and others under his command. Each of them is a wise man, not inferior to Liu Bei in any way. Moreover, although Liu Bei took most of Jiangdong and Xuzhou this time, he also got Nanyang, Xiliang and Henei. In fact, his speed of expanding territory was no slower than Liu Bei's. As he calculated the accounts back and forth, Lao Cao's worries gradually faded away, and he began to recite Qin Zhen's words from the past, saying: Changfeng Wanli sent Qiuyan, which can be a tall building. Penglai’s articles have the style of the Qin and Han dynasties, while Xiao Xie in the middle has a clear style. I want to fly in the blue sky and see the moon. The water will flow even more when the knife is cut off, and the sorrow will be relieved by a toast. Life is unsatisfactory in the world, the Ming Dynasty distributes flat boats. After chanting for a while, Lao Cao felt much better and he led his troops back to Xu Du. When Lao Liu arrived in Shouchun, Cao Cao had just returned to Xuchang City. At this point, Xun You's westward migration strategy planned for Cao had been completely accomplished. Seeing that Yuan Shao was still entangled with Gongsun Zan in the north, Cao gathered a group of ministers to hold a meeting and prepare to arrange a war with Yuan Shao! Faced with this issue, Shangshu Ling Xun Yu proposed to Cao Cao: "Yuan Shao now controls four states, with strong troops and horses, and it will be difficult to conquer him quickly!"

"If we want to fight Yuan Shao, we must first secure the rear, use troops to hold the strategic locations, and achieve a stalemate." "Wait until their troops are exhausted, then we can use surprise attacks to defeat them!" "So in my opinion, Sikong should first make friends with the princes from all directions and take the land of Hedong first, so that you can gain an advantage in this battle!" "At present, our army's Lu Bu in the east has been destroyed, and only Liu Bei has a large number of troops. He is the first person our army should make friends with!" "This person is a relative of the Han Dynasty. Perhaps we can send an envoy to him first and invite him to join us in the fight against Yuan Shao!" "There are also Liu Zhang and Liu Biao. Although they control large states, they have no ambition to advance further." "We can send an envoy to Hanzhong to make friends with Zhang Lu and ask him to guard against Liu Zhang." "Send another envoy to Jingnan to urge Zhang Xian to advance and engage Liu Biao's troops!" "Now that the four directions have been secured, once Hedong is taken, our army will have the upper hand!" Although Xun Yu was not good at making strange plans, he was undoubtedly the best in Cao's army in terms of strategy. With just a few words, the general layout was laid out to Lao Cao. But there is a problem in this plan. Liu Zhang and Liu Biao are easy to deal with, but the key is Liu Bei! In everyone's eyes, Liu Bei is not the kind of person who is easy to deal with! Therefore, when Guo Jia heard this proposal, he directly refuted it: "Although your words are good, they may not be feasible in practice!" "Because Liu Bei has now occupied the southeast, Sun Ce only has Wujun left, so it is difficult to contain Liu Bei." "What Qin Zhen is thinking is beyond the comprehension of ordinary people." "If he knew that our army had already taken Xiliang and could advance and retreat freely, how could he easily join forces with our army?" "If Liu Bei first accepts our request and then sends a surprise attack on Xu County, how should our army respond?" In the original history, it was Guo Jia who took over the southeast direction of Cao. Regardless of whether he planned to assassinate Sun Ce or not, his accurate prediction of Sun Ce's death reduced much of Cao's pressure. At this moment, the person who was most worried about the movements in the southeast direction was Guo Jia. After all, Liu Bei is not Sun Ce, and Qin Zhen’s mind is unpredictable. So even if Liu Bei agreed to join them in attacking Yuan Shao, he didn't believe that Qin Zhen would not have other ideas. But when Xun Yu heard this, he rarely disagreed with Guo Jia and said: "From my point of view, Fengxiao has nothing to worry about!" "I dare to say that Liu Bei will unite with our army for three reasons!" "First, although Qin Zhen betrayed Cao Gong, he knew what justice was." "Since then, he has assisted Liu Bei and has never disobeyed his orders."

"If the Minister of Works could ask the Emperor to issue an edict to jointly attack Yuan Shao, even if Qin Zhen was a good planner, he would not persuade Liu Xuande to send troops!" "Even if Liu Bei sent troops, it would most likely be against Liu Biao." "If Liu Biao and Yuan Shao form an alliance at that time, the prime minister can order Liu Bei to attack Liu Biao, and Qin Zhen will gladly respond!" "Secondly, although our army has taken Xiliang, Yuan Shao's power is still the greatest!" "Liu Bei has just conquered Xuzhou, and Jiangdong has not yet been conquered. He is still inferior to our army." "If he turns against us and attacks us, we can take the land but we can't hold it!" "This is nothing short of drinking poison to quench thirst, and it is not something Qin Zhen is willing to do!" "Third, Liu Bei's current power is entirely due to his obedience to the emperor's orders." "All his civil and military officials followed his lead for this reason." "Now that the emperor has issued an edict, if Liu Bei does not obey it, the morale of his subordinates will be dispersed." "This is a move that would destroy the Great Wall. Liu Bei would definitely not want to do this!" "Given these three things, I dare to assert that Liu Bei will only help our army, not attack it." "If we follow Fengxian's advice, it will not only divide our troops, but also make Liu Bei more worried." "This will not only make it difficult for our army to deal with Yuan Shao with all its strength, but will also cause dissatisfaction in Liu Bei, adding to the hatred between the two families!" Naturally, his words could not convince Guo Jia, so the two of them started arguing about it. At a meeting, the two of them insisted on their own opinions and neither of them could convince the other. It would be fine if it was someone else arguing, but Lao Cao himself also has his own opinion. However, Xun Yu and Guo Jia were both loyal ministers, and their arguments made sense, which caused the meeting to come to a standstill for a time. In desperation, Cao Cao had to stop the meeting and let the two go back to discuss it carefully before coming up with a solution. He originally thought that with their talents and friendship, they would be able to come up with a solution quickly. But for several days, neither Xun Yu nor Guo Jia made any proposal. As time moved closer to spring, Cao Cao became more and more anxious. Seeing that the two could not come up with a solution, he wrote a letter to Cheng Yu and privately summoned Xun You and Jia Xu. However, what he didn't expect was that Xun You and Jia Xu also had different opinions! Xun You's opinion was almost the same as Xun Yu's. He felt that now that they had captured Xiliang, the best option for Liu Bei was to take the opportunity to seize Jingzhou. Because now even if Liu Bei turned against them and attacked, he couldn't hurt their foundation. As long as they bite the bullet and give up the Central Plains, the final bitter fruit will fall on Liu Bei. From a strategic point of view, Liu Bei should not and would not take action against them. Jia Xu's opinion was similar to Guo Jia's. He felt that Qin Zhen's actions had always been unexpected and could not be judged by logic.

In the face of such a major event, don't use human nature to challenge your own interests! It can be said that when facing the issue of Liu Bei, Xun Yu, Xun You and Guo Jia, Jia Xu were clearly divided into two factions. This made Lao Cao, who was already hesitant, even more hesitant and he didn't know how to make a decision. But at this time, Cheng Yu's reply arrived in Xuchang, and the reply letter only had two sentences: "What you are worried about is that the capital is in the rear and could be easily attacked by Liu Bei." "If you can't trust them, why don't you move the capital first?" This proposal was like a bolt from the blue to Cao Cao, an epiphany! He suddenly realized that the situation had changed so much. Since Liu Bei could not be trusted, why not move the capital directly? If he moved the capital back to Chang'an, he would have a strategic advantage by simply capturing Hedong. Because the terrain in Hedong is complex, it is not as indefensible as Xu County. Similarly, as long as he could move the capital to Chang'an, he would not be afraid even if Liu Bei changed sides. At worst, we can just give up, withdraw our troops to Nanyang, and hold the pass. Wouldn't this be in line with the westward strategy proposed by Xun You earlier? After thinking it over, Cao Cao felt that this plan was more and more brilliant, so he simply stopped summoning people privately. Taking advantage of the good weather, he invited all his ministers into the mansion again. This is how the current scene of all the ministers gathered in the palace came about. After reading the military report, Cao Cao directly asked everyone if they could persuade the emperor to move the capital. When this proposal came up, all the ministers present frowned and thought hard. Only Xun Yu remained silent for a while, then slowly raised his head and looked at Cao Cao and said: "May I ask Sikong, who brought up the idea of ​​moving the capital?" Cao Cao saw that his face was not right, so he twirled his beard and raised his head and replied: "That's what Cheng Zhongde said. I think Xu County was originally a temporary capital." "When Li Jue and Guo Si were still in power, Yongliang was not at peace, and Chang'an could not be the capital." "Now that Yongliang has been pacified, we should persuade the emperor to return to the old capital." "This way, we can avoid the danger of Liu Bei's surprise attack on our army. What do you think?" But as soon as he finished speaking, Xun Yu's face darkened and he said: "If Yuan Shao is about to attack Xu County, it is okay to move the capital." "Yuan Shao has not yet started his army, and Liu Bei is in the southeast. How can Chang'an be a better place to be the capital than Xu County?" "If the Minister of Works proposes to move the capital, will the Emperor agree to it?" What Xun Yu was worried about was naturally not whether moving the capital was feasible, but whether Liu Huihui would agree! The reason is very simple, even though Cao Cao is so worried now. But in Liu Xie's eyes, the situation was very good. Internally, Cao Cao pacified Yongliang and stabilized the overall situation; externally, Liu Bei, the General who Conquers the East, was also very capable and loyal.

So for Liu Xie, there was no place safer than Xu County, which was jointly guarded by the two families. Now that Yuan Shao has not yet moved south, Cao Cao has proposed moving the capital. Would Liu Xie agree? In terms of political impact, Cao Cao's move was tantamount to treating Liu Xie as a member of his family. Not to mention getting Liu Xie to agree, just saying this would cause the political situation in Xuchang to be shaken again. At that time, a large number of loyal ministers of the Han Dynasty will jump out to oppose Cao! Given Cao's temper, he will certainly not give up and will definitely start a war. Once the conflict breaks out, there is no doubt that the emperor will lose face. This was obviously a situation that Xun Yu, a die-hard Han Dynasty loyalist, did not want to see. Therefore, when he heard this suggestion, he felt a chill in his heart. But Cao Cao was not the kind of person who spoke without thinking. He had already thought about Xun Yu's reaction and sneered: "I am not asking whether the emperor is willing to agree to this proposal, but only whether it is feasible." "Now that Yuan Shao is about to take over Hebei, he will definitely move south sooner or later." "If our army moves the capital to Chang'an now, will it be beneficial to the situation?" The meaning of his words was very clear: Liu Xie no longer had the final say. Once the situation is favorable to their overall situation, they have to do it regardless of whether Liu Xie agrees or not. Having said this, he naturally turned his gaze towards everyone, directly passing by Xun Yu. But when everyone faced his gaze, they all fell silent. Their eyes were all on Xun Yu's back, and no one spoke. Xun Yu sat in the first seat, his back hunched high, looking at Cao Cao with eyes full of pleading. But his look was of no use. Seeing that no one was saying anything, Cao Cao slammed the table and said: "I have been discussing state affairs with you gentlemen, why are you keeping silent? Is there something else going on?" After hearing this, everyone present bowed their heads, but one person sat up straight and said loudly: "According to Zhao's opinion, Sikong's proposal is in the interests of our army and should be implemented." When these words were spoken, everyone present was startled and looked up. However, the person who spoke was none other than Dong Zhao, the governor of Henan under Cao Cao's command. (End of this chapter)