Not long after Cheng Yu left, Xun Yu, Xun You's uncle and nephew came to the Prime Minister's Mansion hand in hand.
Xun Yu and Xun You saluted Cao Cao and said, "I have met the Prime Minister!"
Cao Cao smiled and replied: "Let's go to the study to talk. Tea is already prepared there."
"Here!"
When they came to the study, the three of them sat opposite each other. Xun You said to Cao Cao directly, "My lord, Gongsun Zan is dead, and Youzhou is already in Yuan Shao's pocket. According to reports from northern spies, the four southern counties of Bingzhou have also fallen into the hands of Yuan Shao."
In the hands of Yuan Shao..."
Hearing this, Cao Cao's face became solemn and he replied, "Gongsun Zan will be defeated. This is an outcome we have already expected. But what is unexpected is that Gongsun Zan will be defeated so quickly."
Xun Yu also sighed at this time and said: "Yes! I think Gongsun Zan was able to suppress Yuan Shao and fight, how arrogant he was. In the end, he ended up burning himself to death..."
"That's all his fault. Haven't you seen that even Liu Bei took the initiative to leave Gongsun Zan?" Cao Cao snorted coldly.
Besides Yuan Shu, the only one who can beat a good hand of cards to pieces is Gongsun Zan.
The two of them have one very similar thing, that is, they do not cherish the soldiers, do not care about the people, are arrogant and extravagant, and ultimately lead to their own destruction.
"Now in the Han Dynasty, Yuan Shao alone almost occupies the three counties of Jiyou and Qingzhou, and he seems to have replaced Yuan Shu as the largest prince in the world! The strength of the Yuan family is really terrifying!" Xun You said with emotion.
Cao Cao looked at the turbid tea soup in his hand and said: "Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu are divided into one north and one south, with the intention of each taking half of the world, and finally putting the entire Han Dynasty into Yuan's pocket."
Xun You smiled and said: "It's a pity that Yuan Shu can't hold up the wall after all, so he dared to brazenly proclaim himself emperor despite the disapproval of the world. After my lord wiped him out, half of Yuan's plot has been thwarted."
"But Yuan Shu fell, but Yuan Shao became more powerful, because all the resources of the Yuan family are now concentrated on Yuan Shao alone." Xun Yu's words were worried about Yuan Shao's rapidly expanding strength.
"Now that we have occupied the two states of Yanxu, we have become a blockade for Yuan Shao's march south. This means that there will inevitably be a life and death battle between the lord and Yuan Shao!" Xun You told Xun Yu the hidden meaning in his words.
The solemn expression on Cao Cao's face remained unchanged, "Yuan Shao has already occupied the land north of the Yellow River. If he wants to take over the world, he must first get rid of me as a stumbling block!"
"After Yuan Shao annexed You and merged the two states, he claimed to have millions of armored men. With our current military strength, I'm afraid it will be difficult to defeat Yuan Shao." After Xun You finished speaking, he looked at Xun Yu.
There was deep worry in his eyes.
After Yuan Shao defeated Gongsun Zan, he basically had no worries. Hebei was a vast territory with a large population. In addition to the garrison troops stationed in various places, Yuan Shao could mobilize at least 100,000 troops.
Cao Cao wanted to guard against Liu Biao and Sun Ce in the south, so he couldn't rely on Yuan Shao without thinking about the defense behind him like before.
With such a division of troops, Cao Cao may finally be able to mobilize less than 50,000 troops.
"It would be great if Gongsun Zan could delay it for another year or two... Xuzhou should have recovered by then, and maybe we won't be at such a big disadvantage with Yuan Shao..." Xun You sighed, this Gongsun Zan
It's simply too incompetent.
The strange thing is that Cao Cao's expression has not changed from the beginning to now. Although he is serious and dignified, he does not seem to be too worried.
Just when Xun You and Xun Yu were wondering, Cao Cao suddenly said, "Yuan Shao also has to spend time digesting the newly acquired territory, but before that, I am more worried about another person."
"Who?" Xun Yu and Xun You asked at the same time.
Cao Cao narrowed his eyes slightly and whispered a name: "Liu Bei!"
"Liu Bei?"
The animal husbandry was successfully taken back..."
Cao Cao shook his head and said slowly, "Liu Bei is very good at forbearing. Don't be fooled by his appearance."
Xun You pondered for a moment and asked: "May I ask my lord, what do you think of Liu Bei?"
"Find an excuse to trap Liu Bei to death in Xudu!"
But Xun You said, "My lord, Liu Bei is very deep in the city and has great ambitions... Keeping him in Xuchang will be a disaster after all. It's better to just..." Xun You said, and made a gesture of wiping his neck with a knife, his intention was obvious.
But that's it.
Before Cao Cao could reply, Xun Yu took the lead and objected, "No! Liu Bei has always been respectful to the Han court, and he was the first prince to respond to the call to attack Yuan Shu... If there is not enough reason, he will kill him.
When the time comes, it will definitely arouse the anger of others, and it will be almost impossible for the lord to order the princes again in the future. The gain outweighs the loss, lord!"
One is from a tactical level, the other is from a strategic level, both of them are right.
Keeping Liu Bei behind would be a disaster after all, but killing him directly would affect the persona and reputation he had finally established...
After thinking about it, killing Liu Bei would have a greater impact, so Cao Cao said to Xun Yu and Xun You: "Whether we kill him or keep him, let's lure Liu Bei to Xuchang first."
Xun Yu nodded in agreement: "That's all we can do now..."
Xun You suggested again: "The secret monitoring of Liu Bei cannot be relaxed. If he is found to have made any changes, you still suggest that the lord kill Liu Bei immediately!"
Cao Cao finally made up his mind and said firmly: "Okay! I'll leave this matter to you two. You must appear natural and gentle so as not to make Liu Bei suspicious!"
"Here!"
"As you command!"
...
After talking about the main business, the next step came to the recommendation part that everyone loved to see... Xun Yu said with a hint of embarrassment in his tone: "Lord, the two of us are here to ask for something..."
"Needless to say, I have already reserved a place for you, your uncle and your nephew. You can decide which of your juniors to send to the Imperial Academy..."
Hearing this, Xun You let out a burst of hearty laughter, turned to Xun Yu and said: "How about it, uncle? I just said that the lord will definitely not embarrass us in this kind of thing, right?"
"Haha..." When Xun Yu heard this, the embarrassment on his face became even worse. In order to cover up his discomfort, Xun Yu stood up and cupped his hands and said to Cao Cao: "Here, I thank my lord."
Cao Cao looked into the eyes of Xun Yu and Xun You, suddenly laughed, and said: "You guys are still too thin-skinned... You should learn more from Fengxiao..."
"Fengxiao? Isn't his son only seven years old?" Xun Yu said in surprise.
"Yes, so he came to me specially and asked me to convince Zhao Ji for him to enlighten his precious son."
"Cai Zhaoji? Is this okay?!" Xun You was shocked.
But Xun Yu suddenly said: "I just said that during this period, people keep inviting me to family dinners and asking me to see how childish they are..."
"You can also seize this opportunity, because Zhao Ji will not only teach Guo Yi..." Cao Cao gave meaningful guidance.
"In that case, the two of us will not disturb the Prime Minister and say goodbye!" Xun Yu stood up to say goodbye and hurried away.
Xun Yun, the eldest son of Xun Yu, is exactly seven years old this year...