Chapter 333: Ju Su's plan, Cao Ang in charge It can be said that a letter from Qin Zhen almost changed the entire course of the Battle of Guandu. Although Cao Cao himself was not ambushed to death in Fengqiu, as a large amount of food and fodder was delivered to Yuan Shao's camp, the defeat of Cao's army became a foregone conclusion. But this is understandable, as Cao Cao did not have the advantage in this battle from the beginning. It was only because Cao Cao's men were united that they were able to stop Yuan Shao from advancing south. But compared to Cao Cao, Yuan Shao is always a behemoth. The huge gap in strength allowed Yuan Shao to make mistakes and still continue to advance. Once Cao Cao makes a mistake, it will bring about a series of chain reactions. Just after Ju Su returned with food and fodder, Yuan Shao personally led his ministers to the outside of the camp to greet him. Ju Su, who had been reprimanded by Yuan Shao many times before, was now held by Yuan Shao's hand and said with emotion:

"I didn't believe your words before, which almost led to the defeat of our army." "Luckily you set an ambush yesterday, otherwise we would all have been captured by Cao Cao!" He didn't feel anything because of Guo Tu's advice last night. But as the sky brightened, he felt a sense of fear. If Ju Shou had not reacted in time, he could hardly imagine the consequences. So at this moment, Ju Su almost became Yuan Shao's savior. When Ju Shou saw this, he confessed his guilt first, saying that it was he who arranged the battle that led to the deaths of the two generals. He then said that all the food and grass he had transported had been irrigated and would probably not last long. Faced with this situation, Yuan Shao naturally didn't care at all, and waved his hand and said: "This is also a helpless move, it is difficult to avoid, you don't have to worry too much!" Not to mention the death of two generals, even if Chunyu Qiong and others died in battle, he would not blame Ju Shou. After all, it is common for people to die in war. Didn’t they kill thousands of Cao Cao’s cavalry? In addition, watering the grain is not a big deal. You can just let it dry in the sun for a few days when the weather is clear. Even if it gets moldy, he can hold on as long as his subordinates are not cut off from food. He then reappointed Ju Su to supervise the three armies, and Guo Tu, Feng Ji and others had to obey his orders. After this arrangement, everyone was convinced, except Guo Tu who was unhappy. After Yuan Shao had made all the arrangements, he called everyone back into the camp to discuss the strategy of advancing. At this time, with Xu You surrendering to the enemy and Guo Tu losing power, Yuan Shao's army naturally consisted of Feng Ji and Ju Su. Feng Ji immediately stood up and suggested to Yuan Shao to attack Cao’s camp immediately! Let Zhang He and Gao Lan break through Cao Cao's defense line as soon as possible and go directly south to Yanzhou. However, Ju Su gave Yuan Shao, who was delighted, some advice: "My lord, Cao Cao was besieged by our army yesterday in the north of Fengqiu. Although he was not captured, he must have fled to the north." "Therefore, I conclude that Cao Cao's subordinates do not know whether Cao Cao is alive or dead!"

"If we attack now, they will be afraid of Cao Cao's punishment and will definitely hold on to their stronghold." "So in my opinion, our army might as well release the letter of death." "Send back the charred corpses we captured yesterday, and attack in three directions at the same time." "We will stay here to guard against the enemy troops, and take Waihuang and attack Yongqiu to pretend to cut off the enemy's retreat." "Finally, we will head east to take Jiyin and Liang State, pretending to divide Yanzhou into several sections." "They don't know whether Cao Cao is alive or dead. Seeing our army like this, they must be afraid that their retreat will be cut off!" "Once they retreat, our army will chase them closely, and then we can capture Yanzhou!" When Yuan Shao heard this plan, he readily agreed and immediately ordered Zhang He, Gao Lan and others to return. According to Ju Su's strategy, he divided his troops into three groups to seize important places in Yanzhou. At the same time, in Cao’s army camp, with the return of Ma Chao and Xu Huang, news of Cao Cao’s disappearance also came back. Seeing this, everyone was shocked, especially Cao Cao's eldest son Cao Ang. Don’t think that Cao Cao disliked Cao Ang because of the affairs of Qin Zhen and Xun Yu. But when the war was about to begin, he still brought Cao Ang with him to study. Upon hearing that his father Cao Cao was missing, the first thing Cao Ang did was to block the news. Such a major event as Cao Cao’s disappearance could not be covered up at all. In less than one morning, the news spread throughout Cao’s camp. Naturally, the morale of the people in Cao's camp was unsettled, and some seemed to have lost their will to fight. Seeing this, Cao Ang had no choice but to invite Guo Jia, Xun You, and Jia Xu to ask for advice: "The three of you are my father's loyal followers. When he was alive, he would often ask me to seek your advice!" "Now my father went north to raid for food but failed to obtain any and now he is nowhere to be found!" "Now the people in the village are in turmoil, and I am also confused and don't know what to do!" "All three of you are wise men. I wonder what advice you have for me?" Faced with this, Guo Jia and others looked at each other, with a solemn look on their faces. The thing that those counselors fear most is that no one is in charge! If something really happened to Cao Cao now, they would have no good plan. But when he saw Cao Ang asking for advice, Guo Jia immediately gave him some advice: "As a last resort, we can call Ma Mengqi to ask him what happened." "Find out where the lord is now and have someone search for him as soon as possible!" But when Cao Ang heard this, he sighed and said: "I have already asked Brother Mengqi about this matter, but to no avail."

"I only know that my father fled into the woods and has not been seen since." "Now East County is full of enemy camps. Even if I want to search, it may be difficult to do so!" "Having said that, we must do our best and live up to the trust of our lord!" Guo Jia stood up and said to Cao Ang with some excitement: "Our army is already at a disadvantage. If we can't find the master, our army will be in chaos in just a few days!" Seeing him like this, Cao Ang felt helpless and could only nod. But at this time, Xun You shook his head and looked at Guo Jia and said: "Feng Xiao, please don't force me like this. The lord is missing, and you are more anxious than us." "If you were not helpless, why would you not try your best to find it?" When Guo Jia heard this, he realized that he had lost his composure and quickly apologized to Cao Ang. Seeing this, Cao Ang sighed indifferently and waved his hand: "I know that you are concerned about my father's safety, but even though I am willing, I can't do anything about it!" After explaining this, he looked at Jia Xu standing aside and said: "My father once told me that you are very wise and you can always come up with a brilliant plan in desperate situations!" "I wonder what advice you have for me, sir, given the current situation?" If there is anything Cao Ang learned from Qin Zhen, there are only two points. First, he should not panic no matter what situation he encounters. Second, he should know his own limitations, know the right people to the right positions, and listen to other people's opinions. Although Cao Ang did not have the domineering attitude of Lao Cao, he kept these words in mind. He knew he couldn't think of any good solution, so he placed his hopes on these three advisers. As for Jia Xu, Cao Cao warned him that no matter how Jia Xu refused, he must force him to come up with a solution! Because Jia Xu is different from Xun You and others, he is very good at protecting himself. Many times, even if he had a plan, Jia Xu would not say it out loud. So we must ask questions and let Jia Xu express his thoughts! Facing his question at this time, Jia Xu's expression was as calm as ever: "I really don't have a brilliant plan, but I do have a humble one!" "I'm afraid you won't want to do it, so it's better not to tell me!" When Cao Ang heard this, he couldn't help but smile bitterly, thinking that this old man was just as his father said. When it comes to strategies, there are usually no brilliant ones, most of them are just "stupid strategies"! This humble suggestion is not a humble statement, but it represents some taboos! But in the current situation, even if there are any taboos, he has to ask clearly. "No matter if it's a good idea or a bad one, as long as you are willing to speak, I will do it!" Having said this, he bowed respectfully to Jia Xu to show his respect. Seeing his series of actions, Jia Xu nodded secretly, and after a moment of silence, he said: "According to my humble opinion, Lord Cao is not in the camp right now. If we conceal the truth, it will only shake the hearts of the generals and officers!"

"Since Yuan Shao's army besieged you yesterday, they probably knew that Cao Gong had not returned yet." "So, the enemy's counselors may have devised this plan, falsely claiming that Cao Gong is dead, in order to disrupt our army's morale." "In that case, you might as well announce in advance that Lord Cao is dead and lead the troops to retreat!" "When Yuan Shao sees this, he will definitely chase us. All we need to do is ambush him on the road and we can guarantee a crushing defeat for Yuan Shao!" "In this way, you can establish yourself, stabilize the situation, and then proceed slowly!" Having said this, he said no more and waited for Cao Ang's reply. The reason why he called this strategy a stupid one was because he didn't know whether Cao Cao was alive or dead yet! Cao Ang did not receive the news, so he lied that Cao Cao was dead, which was considered unfilial. But this approach has one advantage, which is that it allows Cao Ang to take up his post earlier! In this way, even if the news of Cao Cao's death really came in the future, Cao Ang could stabilize the situation. The key lies in whether Cao Ang can stabilize the current situation of Cao’s army with his own abilities! After hearing what Jia Xu said, Cao Ang's mouth curled up into a bitter smile again. Asking him to lie that his father is dead, isn't that breaking the law? No wonder his father secretly loved and hated Jia Xu. If there is no plan, it’s fine. But if there is one, he will have to pay a price. After thinking about it, he glanced at Xun You and Guo Jia and said: "I wonder what you two gentlemen think of Mr. Jia's plan? Can it be implemented?" Xun You and Guo Jia listened with complicated expressions for a moment. In their view, this strategy is certainly feasible and very practicable. As long as Cao Cao was not captured by Yuan Shao, Yuan Shao would definitely pursue them when he saw them retreating. But if they agreed to this plan, it would be equivalent to supporting Cao Ang to abuse power! It would be fine if Cao Cao didn’t come back, but once he comes back, how will he deal with Cao Ang? Therefore, both of them are now somewhat conflicted, not knowing whether they should agree or not. Just as the two of them were hesitating, they suddenly heard a burst of crying and noise coming from outside the camp. Upon hearing this, Cao Ang hurriedly took the three of them out of the tent, and then saw Cao Chun, Xu Huang and others crying bitterly. Cao Hong held a big knife and glared at Ma Chao. The two men were facing each other with swords. Seeing this, Cao Ang immediately became anxious and quickly stepped forward and said: "I told you to guard the camp, but you are not in the camp. What are you doing here?" He shouted loudly, and everyone looked over. Then they saw Cao Xiu coming forward and crying loudly: "Brother Zixiu, my uncle has been killed by Yuan Shao's army, and his body has just been sent back!" When Cao Ang and others heard this, they were shocked and hurried forward to see what was happening. But I saw a crowd surrounding a coffin, and inside the coffin was a charred corpse.

People could no longer see his face clearly, but his figure was similar to Cao Cao's. Seeing this, Cao Ang could no longer hold back and went forward to support the coffin and cry. Seeing this, Guo Jia, Xun You and others also burst into tears, except Jia Xu who was frowning. At this moment, Cao Hong, who was far away, saw Cao Ang like this, and pointed at Ma Chao and shouted: "Zixiu, don't worry. Now that my brother has passed away, I will send this man down to be buried with my brother!" Seeing this, Ma Chao was naturally indignant. He looked at Cao Hong coldly with a long sword in his hand and said: "My lord was not killed by me. If you continue to slander me like this, don't blame me for being merciless!" When Cao Hong saw his rebuttal, he became angry and rushed forward with a knife to fight him. When Ma Chao saw him running towards him, he quickly drew his sword to block the attack, preventing Cao Hong from getting close to him. The two of them were fighting like this, and everyone tried to persuade them to stop. But at this moment, Cao Ang suddenly turned around and said: "Come here, help me capture these two men and beat them each with fifty sticks!" He shouted angrily, and everyone was stunned. Cao Hong withdrew from the battle group and said: "Zi Xiu, I came to avenge my brother, why are you punishing me like this?" When Cao Ang heard what he said, he pointed at the charred corpse and shouted at Cao Hong: "The one who killed my father was Yuan Benchu, not General Ma. My uncle attacked him without permission, which is a private fight!" "Although Ang is the youngest, my father is not here, so I have to take charge!" "Uncle, do you think that because I am young, you can humiliate me at will?" After drinking like this, he looked at Ma Chao and said solemnly: "If you see him provoking you, you can report it to me. How can you fight him without permission?" "My father has always been strict about military law. You are disrespectful to your superiors. Should you be punished?" When Ma Chao heard this, he frowned and remained silent for a moment, while Cao Hong was stunned. Only Jia Xu saw this and hurried forward to bow to Cao Ang and persuade him: "Sir, now that we are facing a powerful enemy, punishing the general in this way will not be beneficial to the army." "Why not remember your mistakes first, and then we can talk about them after this matter is over!" When Cao Ang saw him leave the line, he remembered Jia Xu's plan and immediately looked around at everyone and said: "Yuan Benchu ​​used a treacherous scheme to murder my father. You all have received my father's kindness, and now it is time to repay him!" "I want to lead an army to attack Yuan Shao and avenge my father. Who is willing to follow me?" The reason why everyone is in confusion is that no one is in charge and they don’t know what to do. But as Cao Ang stepped forward, everyone saw the backbone, and Xu Huang shouted: "If you want to fight the enemy, I will follow you, even if it means death!" As soon as he expressed his position, everyone followed suit, and Cao Chun, Cao Xiu and others all supported him. Upon seeing this, Cao Hong was stunned for a moment and had to bow down. When Ma Chao saw this, he also bowed down. For a moment, Cao Ang pulled everyone together into a rope, and they became a desperate army. Seeing Cao Ang like this, Xun You and Guo Jia couldn't help but feel surprised. They didn't notice it when Cao Cao was here before, but now they see that this kid Cao Ang has some of Cao Cao's charm! He is not afraid of big events and does not panic in chaotic situations. He has the demeanor of a leader! (End of this chapter)