At the end of May, Cao Ang secretly arrived at Xutai.

At this time, tens of thousands of troops had gathered in Xutai City. In order to mobilize these troops, Cao Ang used various methods, even pretending to be a servant, so that Li Daitao was defeated and Yuan Shu was deceived.

Cao Ang didn't know why he was so cautious when facing Yuan Shu. He often said that others were affected by the Yuan family's reputation, but in fact he himself was also the same.

The day after Cao Ang arrived at Xutai, Cao Ang's junior uncle Chen Yu also arrived.

After Chen Yu's defeat, he fled all the way south and reached the Yangtze River. He originally wanted to cross the river and go south, but then he thought about it. Cao Ang was plotting against Yuan Shu, and the two of them would have a battle. He would still be able to do something by then, so why go to the unfamiliar land of Jiangdong?

He then diverted to Xuzhou and ended up in Xutai.

Cao Ang and Chen Yunai met for the first time. Although they had various relationships and spent too much time in Luoyang, Xuzhou and other places, they miraculously avoided each other.

Facing this uncle, Cao Ang, who had done something wrong, did not feel any guilt at all.

Soldiers are deceitful. War is a matter of relying on one's ability and using unscrupulous means. Military commanders are accustomed to intrigues and death. If a general mentioned the word "conscience", he would be a scumbag.

No more left.

Cao Ang even cheated his own father and father-in-law, let alone his uncle.

So when he met Chen Yu, Cao Ang never mentioned why he didn't rescue Shouchun, but instead kept asking him about the situation in Huainan.

Chen Yu was so angry that he had never seen such a shameless person.

It's a pity that Chen Yu still relies on Cao Ang for survival under the eaves, so no matter how angry he is, he can only force a smile.

The descendant of a wealthy family was good at making excuses and making excuses, so the two of them chatted all afternoon, and the guests enjoyed themselves to the fullest.

Chen Yu didn't think twice about Cao Ang's inquiry. He picked up all kinds of inside information at his fingertips and talked about it incessantly, which really surprised Cao Ang.

As a junior uncle, I have some abilities.

Chen Gui is too smart, so it would be a good choice for Chen Yu and Chen Gui to check and balance each other.

Within two days, Chen Ji, Chen Qun and his son fled from Huainan to Xuzhou.

Chen Ji is Chen Yuanfang, the young man who at the age of seven could say, "If you miss the day, you have no faith; if you scold your father, you are rude."

Previously, Chen Ji served as Shangshu Ling in the court, but later he fled the chaos and returned to serve Yuan Shu.

At this time, the father and son saw that Yuan Shu was unworthy and realized that Huainan was about to be in chaos, so they defected to Cao Ang.

Cao Ang was overjoyed for a moment.

These celebrities do not have much ability to influence the battle situation, but they have extremely high appeal, and Chen Ji and his son are the best among the celebrities.

Using their reputation to deal with Yuan Shu is like using a sharp sword to hurt someone. They can make public opinion most favorable to Cao Ang.

From Chen Ji and his son, Cao Ang learned that the people in Huainan were panic-stricken, and even wanted to recruit rebels to surrender and break Yuan Shu's army's will to resist.

Chen Ji and his son came to invest in order to get a good treatment in the future, and they were quite positive about it.

At this time, Chen Yu also took the initiative to ask for help.

Chen Yu also accepted his fate. Since he couldn't defeat Cao Ang, he might as well take the initiative, make more meritorious deeds, become the governor of Yangzhou, and the governor of Jiujiang. He didn't dare to hope for it, but he still had political demands.

Chen Qun was appointed by Cao Ang as the Record Office. As for Chen Ji and Chen Yu, Cao Ang wrote to the emperor and declared them to be Guanglu officials.

Doctor Guanglu, whose rank is equal to that of Erganshi, has no fixed position, and is in charge of discussions and responses, which is a noble position.

Cao Ang established Xuzhou by himself, and there were many local senior officials. Cao Ang didn't want to use them, but he couldn't remove them conveniently, so he named them Guanglu doctor, Taizhong doctor, Zhongsan doctor, admonishing doctor, Yilang and other idle positions.

His power was such that there were twenty or thirty officials of all kinds around Cao Ang.

These people were considered officials of the capital, but were unwilling to go to Chang'an, so they fell beside Cao Ang and became a special group.

Chen Ji and Chen Yu knew Cao Ang's thoughts and did not want to be a freeloader, so they were much more active than before.

······

On the sixth day of the sixth lunar month, news came from Jiujiang County that Yuan Shu had conquered Yinling City, and the governor of Jiujiang County, Zhou Ang, and his younger brother Zhou Zhe were defeated and fled south.

After Chen Wen's defeat, Zhou Ang's tribe stationed in Yinling was already weak. Even if Zhou Zhe later crossed the river and joined his brother, the two tribes did not have much strength.

Since the second year of Chuping, the two of them had been fighting Yuan Shu for more than two years. They were exhausted, their family resources were exhausted, and they could no longer fight.

Therefore, it is reasonable for the city to fall.

However, the failure of the two gave Cao Ang an opportunity. Cao Ang was overjoyed when he heard the news.

For Cao Ang, Chen Wen, Chen Yu, Zhou Ang, Zhou Zhe and other forces were all defeated, which reduced Cao Ang's many stumbling blocks. Otherwise, these local snakes could become allies or enemies.

Yuan Shu fought successive battles, and although he nominally defeated all enemies, he was still at the stage where his old strength had gone and new strength had not yet emerged. His vitality was severely damaged and he was at his most weak.

Giving it the most severe blow at this time can definitely kill it with one blow.

Cao Ang had been preparing for this battle for several years. At this time, around Huainan, Zhang Liao's left-wing army, Ma Tong's right-wing army, Dingxu's front army, Dianwei's Jianwei army, Xu Shang's Taishan army, Huang Zhong's troops, etc.

The three navy divisions, Lu Ben, and the second formation formation division, as well as Cao Ang's personal barracks headquarters, totaled 70,000 troops, all of whom were elites in hundreds of battles.

In the entire Xuzhou, only the rear of the Right Army and Qinjun Camps, the Great Wall, and the Yinshan Army were left behind. It can be said that they spared no effort and came out in full force.

Cao Ang was even worried about the lack of troops, so he recruited 30,000 young men from various counties to serve as auxiliary troops. This shows that Cao Ang attached great importance to this battle.

When a lion fights a rabbit, he also uses all his strength.

On the eighth day of the sixth lunar month, Cao Ang ordered all troops to go out to attack Huainan.

······

Yuan Shu was not defenseless against the powerful enemy at his side.

Although Yuan Shu was proud, Cao Ang was one of the few people he could look up to. For Cao Ang, Yuan Shu had respect, hatred, and even a hint of fear.

That's why Yuan Shu paid special attention to Cao Ang's attitude before sending troops to Yanzhou.

However, for more than half a year, Yuan Shu fought many battles and failed many times, but Cao Ang on the side did not care at all, or even didn't care, which made Yuan Shu lose his guard for a while.

Moreover, Cao Ang was sick and reformed, and even Yuan Shu couldn't stand it.

In Yuan Shu's view, Cao Ang was capable and famous, but he was too pedantic and did not understand the way of heaven, which was the way to his own destruction.

As a result, Yuan Shu paid less and less attention to Cao Ang. Even when he sent troops to Yinling this time, he never considered that Cao Ang would send troops to rescue him.

Some people also suggested that they should be careful about Cao Ang, but Yuan Shu did not take it seriously.

Yuan Shu's reasons are also very good. Chen Wen, Chen Yu, and Cao Ang all ignored them before and just sat back and watched their demise. How could they care about Zhou Ang's life and death.
Chapter completed!