The Huainan Army in Ku County originally had more than 120,000 troops, with sufficient supplies of food and grass, and inexhaustible supplies of baggage. It was difficult to say that they could overthrow Cao Cao, but Zhang Xun was very confident.

As a result, the Heavenly Punishment Incident occurred, and seventeen formations were defeated in a row, and nearly half of the troops and horses were lost.

Misfortunes never come singly, Shouchun's home was stolen, and the information that Yuan Shu was defeated and fled to Anfeng was transmitted to the front line. The morale of the army, which was originally in danger, suddenly collapsed, and deserters were calculated according to the number of troops every day.

Then Cao Cao launched an all-out general attack, which was as easy as rolling thunder striking rotten trees and leaves. Zhang Xun and his remaining troops fled to Anfeng to join Yuan Shu.

After this battle, Cao Cao also captured more than 20,000 Huainan troops, as well as countless supplies and supplies.

Logically speaking, it was a good harvest, and at least 70% of the losses during this expedition were replenished. However, Cao Cao couldn't be happy, and when he thought of Jiujiang, he felt an unknown fire.

Perhaps because of this unknown fire, or perhaps because Cao Cao's paranoia relapsed, he was somewhat hesitant about his original plan to pursue Yuan Shu and annex the three counties of Anfeng, Geyang and Nanyang as soon as possible.

"Sikong wanted to pull off a trick and leave Yuan Shu behind so that he and Lu Bu could form a stalemate in the Huainan area, so that Lu Bu's troops could be dispersed when taking Xuzhou in the future."

Cao Cao stood on the hill with his head held high, behind him were Wang Yue holding the Yitian Sword in both hands and Guo Jia holding the red wine gourd.

"I can't hide it from you."

Cao Cao sighed, "Right now Yuan Shu is at the end of his rope. If I pursue him for a long distance, I'm worried that he will be killed and defeated. Even if he wins in the end, the damage will be huge.

Yuan Shu has a high self-esteem and is narrow-minded. He will definitely blame Lu Bu for this defeat. After taking a break, he will not let it go and will attack Lu Bu."

I have to say that Cao Cao's strategic vision is very long-term, and Guo Jia admires this.

At present, Yuan Shu and Lu Bu are bound to be at odds with each other. If Yuan Shu is left alone, a fight between the two will be inevitable. If we take action at that time, it is very likely that they will be captured in one fell swoop.

"What do you think?" Seeing Guo Jia not speaking for a long time, Cao Cao couldn't help but ask.

"Maybe you can give it a try."

After pondering for a moment, Guo Jia tied the wine gourd back to his waist and said in a deep voice: "But I still got it back from Nanyang. It is the gate of Jingxiang and the throat that isolates the intruders from Guanzhong. It must be held in Sikong's hands."<

/p>

"This is natural."

Cao Cao looked far into the distance towards Huainan and was very worried about his failure this time. "What great mountains and rivers."

After a while, Cao Cao finally said: "Let's send an order to the squadron. Send another fast horse to report to the emperor. General Lu Bu has done great work in destroying Yuan. He is specially designated as General Zuo."

"Here." The person holding the pen not far away responded and left in a hurry.

Lu Bu's title is Marquis Wen, but his official position is General Fenwei. He is just a general. Now he mentioned General Zuo in one breath, which can be said to have been promoted to three levels in a row.

Among the generals in the Quartet, General Zuo's status is second only to the former general, ranking second, receiving the gold seal and purple ribbon, and ranking higher than the Qing Dynasty.

Of course, Cao Cao did this just to make Yuan Shu completely angry at Lu Bu.

In Cao Jun's camp, the sergeants were busy packing their bags, and the marching army was already one step ahead under the protection of the cavalry.

Liu Bei sat alone on his knees in the camp, his eyes blank, not at all in the mood to end the war.

In fact, judging from the current situation, it is still Liu Bei's expected route.

He hoped to make some achievements by attacking Yuan Li this time, and after gaining Cao Cao's trust, he would find a suitable opportunity to lead his troops out of his control.

After this battle, it can be said that Cao Cao's trust in him has indeed increased. The price is that the 10,000 troops and horses he brought from Pei State were defeated by only 4,000 people.

Although there are sacrifices, it is worth it, so Liu Bei feels that he should be happy, because he has taken a crucial step towards his great cause of supporting Han.

But after learning that Lu Bu defeated Shouchun and Jiujiang's strength had greatly increased, he found that he couldn't be happy anymore.

Although he repeatedly comforted himself that this was a good thing, after all, Lu Bu had killed the national traitor Dong Zhuo, and he was a Han minister, while Cao Cao was a Han traitor. The one was ebbing and the other was increasing, which was a good sign for saving the Han Dynasty.

In fact, when he was in Pei State, he resented Lu Bu for taking Xuzhou from him but was still willing to join forces with him. This was also what he valued. Although this man was capricious, he would not kill innocent people indiscriminately and could be an ally against Cao Cao.

So Liu Bei himself didn't understand why he felt depressed.

It's just this era. If Liu Bei traveled to a world two thousand years ago, he would know that this is a common mentality.

I'm afraid of my brother's hardship, and I'm also afraid of my brother driving a Land Rover.

While one's own failure is terrible, a friend's success is even more heart-wrenching.

What's more, deep down in his heart, Liu Bei, like Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, despises Lu Bu. Now he not only owns Xuzhou, but also extends his hand to Huainan.

Lanshou.

"Brother, why did Cao Cao not take down Yuan Shu in one go, but instead chose a class teacher after the victory?" Guan Yu, who was kneeling opposite Liu Bei, thought about it for a long time but still couldn't figure it out.

"Cao Cao often deploys troops unexpectedly. Perhaps he is worried that his army will be exhausted after fighting for several months, so he wants to rest first." This is the only reasonable explanation Liu Bei can think of.

"If the false emperor is not eliminated, how can we speak of our teacher?" Guan Yu sighed, stroking his two-foot-long beard.

Zhang Fei snorted coldly, "That guy didn't want to kill the thief. Seeing that the slaves of the three surnames took over Jiujiang and Yuan Shu lost all his money and food, he felt that he had no thoughts."

"Third brother!" Liu Bei immediately gouged him out to remind him. Zhang Fei had no choice but to give up and drink wine in depression.

"Then, brother, should we go back to Peiguo or go back to Xuchang with Cao Cao?" In this place, you have to be careful when speaking. Guan Yu and Zhang Fei don't like it here either. If you ask this, you naturally want to go back to Peiguo.

In fact, Liu Bei's contribution this time was not small. In addition to defeating Li Feng in the first battle, Liu Bei participated in a total of twelve battles in the seventeen-game winning streak, and he can be regarded as a model pacesetter.

He knew that if he opened his mouth, Cao Cao would most likely be willing to let him go. After all, he still needed someone on the front line to block Lu Bu's attack.

But when I think about the fact that after working hard for half a year, I got nothing and lost more than 5,000 soldiers and horses, it’s not worth it no matter how I calculate it.

The most important thing is that when he returns to Pei State, he will once again be trapped in a situation of trying to survive. How can he revive the Han Dynasty?

"Go back to Xuchang and wait for the opportunity." After a long time, Liu Bei made his decision.

"Brother, why should we follow Cao Cao's back and suffer?"

"I have my own plan. Third brother, please be more patient."

Seeing that Liu Bei had made up his mind, Guan Yu also comforted him: "Brother, bear the humiliation and bear the burden. We brothers should share the worries of eldest brother. Don't bother eldest brother anymore."

"Go, I didn't say not to go." Zhang Fei shrugged.

Liu Bei's strategy is not as good as Cao Cao's, and his command of the army is not as good as Lu Bu's, but his tenacity, even if they are tied together, they may not be able to match him.

After clearing up his messy thoughts, Liu Bei stood up, took Guan Yu and Zhang Fei to the military camp, and helped the soldiers pack their bags.
Chapter completed!