In the third year of Jian'an,

Autumn is the beginning of July.

The first battle between Cao and Chu ended. Because Cao Cao was suspicious, he divided his troops to guard Shouchun, resulting in no absolute advantage on the front, and he was ultimately defeated.

In this battle, the Chu army killed nearly 10,000 prisoners.

The Chu army itself suffered more than half losses.

The left and right wings were okay. Almost all the more than 5,000 people in Chu Feng's central army were killed in the battle. There were only about 20 people in the Tiger Guard. The iron cavalry that was finally built was less than a hundred.

If you add one yuan to those who are alive, it will be three hundred.

This battle was tragic for both sides.

If Cao Cao had not retreated in the end, he would not have been pursued and killed, and I am afraid that Cao Cao's army would have completely won this battle.

————

At this moment, inside Cao's camp.

Cao Cao's face was as cold as frost, and he frowned gloomily.

Inside the tent, all the generals lowered their heads, while the civil servants were thinking in their minds.

After a long time, Man Chong returned to the tent and said: "My lord, most of the soldiers and horses from all the ministries have returned."

"How is the battle going?" Cao Cao asked in a deep voice.

"Back to my lord, the damage to each unit exceeds tens of thousands. Three generals, Cao Xiu, Shi Huan and Cai Yang, died in the battle," Man Chong lowered his head and said in shame.

Although Cao Cao was mentally prepared, his body still trembled and his pupils were filled with anger. In this single battle, he lost tens of thousands of his elite troops.

Moreover, there are three generals including Cao Xiu, plus the previous Cao Chun, wouldn’t it mean that four generals have been lost? Cao Hong also lost his arm.

Thinking of this, Cao Cao felt a throbbing pain in his head and shouted: "It hurts, it hurts me! Chu thief Zhu Zi, you and I are at odds with each other!"

As he said that, he fell directly on the seat in pain, with cold sweat pouring from his face.

"Lord," all the civil and military officials shouted with concern.

"Quick, send the military doctor!" Guo Jia turned around and shouted.

After a long time, Cao Cao got better.

I think he has been on the battlefield for more than ten years, but today he was defeated by Chu Feng, how disgusting!

Now that the matter has come to this, it is useless to say more.

"Everyone, do you have any good ideas to help me defeat the enemy?" Cao Cao looked around the crowd and asked sincerely, his voice less confident than before.

"My lord, victory or defeat is a common thing for military officers. Although our army was defeated in this battle, most of Chu Feng's troops were also destroyed. In this case, it is better to continue to deploy troops to fight, otherwise they will surely perish."

Cao Hong marched out of the queue,

I saw that his forearm was cut off. He did not participate in this battle and was eager to fight at this moment.

"My Lord, what General Cao Hong said is absolutely true. If he continues to fight Chu Feng to the death, he will definitely lose." Zhu Ling also said sonorously.

"The last general invites you to fight!"

Immediately, all the generals clasped their fists and asked for a fight.

However, these people did not necessarily rush up to fight Chu Feng when he rushed into the formation before.

Cao Cao didn't find a suitable answer, so he glanced over and looked at Guo Jiadao: "Fengxiao, what do you think we should do?"

"Lord, although Chu Feng suffered a lot in this battle, the morale of his three armies is at a high level. On the other hand, the morale of our army is low. This is not a good thing."

"What's more, Shouchun is Chu Feng's foundation. He will inevitably fight for it. If it continues for a long time, it will be detrimental to our army." Guo Jia frowned and said in a deep voice.

Cao Cao frowned,

Xun You then said: "My lord, Chu Feng's troops suffered a lot in this battle. Although our army still has 20,000 troops including Sun Ce's army, we have to defend against Shouchun and attack Chu Feng, so we are stretched thin."

"If the stalemate continues, it will be detrimental to our army."

"What do you think?" Cao Cao asked.

"While Chu Feng has not yet established a firm foothold, plan to seize Lu Bu in Xuzhou, occupy the entire Central Plains, and recharge your batteries to wait for Yuan Shao in Jizhou." Xun You said in a deep voice.

"Elaborate!" Cao Cao frowned.

"Let Sun Ce lead his troops to station in Danyang and take root in Chu Feng's hinterland. Let the defeated army station in the north of the Huaihe River to check and balance Chu Feng's invasion."

"My lord personally led the rest of his troops and pretended to retreat, but actually marched directly to Xuzhou with a light force and captured Lu Bu in one fell swoop. Otherwise, if Chu Feng had established a firm foothold, he would definitely not sit back and watch Lu Bu perish."

Xun You said in a deep voice, planning carefully.

Xun You saw clearly that as long as Chu Feng wanted to defend, it would be unrealistic for Cao Cao to rely on more than 20,000 people to capture Chu Feng.

Instead of doing this, it is better to do the opposite.

Cao Cao frowned, feeling somewhat moved in his heart, but he was still unwilling to do so. Was he going to let Chu Feng go? He failed to kill him this time.

It is tantamount to raising tigers to create trouble!

Seeing that Cao Cao was struggling, Guo Jia chuckled and said: "My lord, the only thing you are struggling with is Chu Feng. I think it is better to let Sun Ce lead his troops to station in Ruyin."

"Let Liu Bei take over from Sun Ce and station in Danyang!"

"With the checks and balances of these two people, Chu Feng will not be able to make waves in a short time."

"Liu Bei is stationed in Danyang? Danyang is the land of the Sun family. If I let Liu Bei station there, he will definitely have many complaints. What's more, didn't you say that Liu Bei can't let it go?"

Cao Cao frowned and said in confusion.

"There are many people in Sun Ce's army from Danyang, and many of his close relatives are in Wu County. If Sun Ce returns to Danyang and these people are familiar with the landforms, wouldn't they all disperse? How can we talk about garrisoning?"

"At this moment, he can control these soldiers with nothing more than military rations, so it would be better to let him stay in Ruyin. The lord only needs to promote him to a high rank and make him a Xuzhou Mu."

"As for Liu Bei, this person is on the same level as Chu Feng. Even if he really lets the tiger return to the mountain, then this tiger will still bite Chu Feng, right?"

Guo Jia explained while stroking a small tuft of beard.

After hearing this, Cao Cao made a plan in his mind. Let Sun Ce garrison Ruyin and Liu Bei garrison Danyang. One sword will hang on Shouchun and the other will hang on its hinterland. It's quite cruel.

Unless Chu Feng uproots these two places, he will be controlled by them.

"Is this the end of this battle?"

"Lord, if we win this battle, it might be good to try to conquer Yangzhou, but now that we have lost this battle, there is no point in continuing the stalemate!"

"What's more, the lord just changed the way to stalemate with him and took this opportunity to seize Xuzhou!" Xun You waved his hand and explained.

Cao Cao finally nodded this time.

Although he is unwilling to do so, what Guo Jiaxunyou said is absolutely true. If the stalemate continues, we will only lose the chance of fighting. Instead of doing so, it is better to be resolute.

"Send an order to declare Liu Bei to be the herdsman of Yangzhou, and to garrison Danyang with three thousand additional troops. Together with Wu Jing, he will guard Danyang against Chu Feng."

"My cousin Sun Ce is the shepherd of Xuzhou, and he will lead his troops to garrison in Ruyin to check and balance Shouchun Chu Feng. In addition, let the news spread, and prepare to withdraw the troops."

Cao Cao said immediately.

"My lord is wise, but before leaving, you might as well give Chu Feng another big gift!" Guo Jia raised the corners of his mouth and said with a chuckle.

Xun You narrowed his eyes, sighed and then said: "Fengxiao means...this batch of autumn grains?"

"Exactly, the autumn grain will be ripe. Our army can harvest the wheat to strengthen the army. In addition, we can send people to destroy all the wheat fields in the surrounding areas."

"Isn't Chu Feng a kindhearted person? Then let him support these people, drag down his finances, and prevent him from disturbing my rear with no military needs."

Guo Jia narrowed his pupils and said coldly.

Obviously, Guo Jia wanted to increase Chu Feng's burden while Cao Jun had the initiative. Of course, this was not the first time for Cao Jun.

There had been widespread looting and massacre in Xuzhou before.

Hearing this, Cao Cao laughed loudly: "Haha, okay, this is what I want. I will order all the ministries to destroy all the wheat fields around Shouchun City first."
Chapter completed!