Cao Cao wanted to plot against Xuzhou, and Yuan Xi also wanted to plot against Cao Cao. Under the planning of their respective advisers, both sides thought of this at the same time.
The key question is, if it's just a confrontation between two forces, that's it, but what if there are other forces involved?
Jushu said: "The appearance of Taishan bandits in Qucheng is extremely abnormal. After the Taishan bandits were attached to Yuan Qingzhou, they really wanted to act so unscrupulously. How could Yuan Qingzhou not know?"
"Master, have you ever thought about the impact that giving birth to two boys would have on the situation in Jizhou and the changes in the hearts of the Yuan family?"
"What worries me the most is that Yuan Qingzhou's bottom line is probably very low."
After Lu Xun heard this, he couldn't help but look at Yuan Xi and found that his face twitched unconsciously.
"Also," Jushou held up a secret letter, "this is the information that came back from Xiapi City the day before yesterday."
"Cao Cao once sent a secret envoy with the intention of joining forces with Liu Yuzhou!"
"Not only did he promise to give Liu Yuzhou a petition and grant him an official title, but he also planned to marry a woman from the Xiahou family. Maybe he has already sent him there by now!"
"The secret agent did not find out what the outcome of the contact between the two parties was, but Liu Yuzhou obviously did not inform the Young Master of the matter afterwards."
"As an ally, but unable to be honest and honest, can Liu Yuzhou really be trusted on this matter?"
"What if this incident in the East China Sea is a show between him and Cao Cao?"
"Cao Cao promised him a lot of benefits. Liu Yuzhou used an East China Sea in return. Isn't it reasonable?"
"Master, in his eyes, is this also one of the rewards?"
After saying this, the three people present fell into silence.
After a while, Yuan Xicai said: "I still want to try, because this time, I choose to believe Liu Yuzhou."
"Isn't it possible that Cao Cao deliberately spread the rumors to make me doubt Liu Yuzhou and make me suspicious?"
"And this is the best opportunity to weaken Cao Cao's strength."
"If you miss this time, you may never have such a good opportunity again in the future."
"He used the East China Sea as bait to lure me into taking the bait. Why didn't I use myself as bait to let him reveal his trump card?"
"Since he has played his cards, there is no need to hide the cards in my hand."
"If he wants a fight, I'll give it to him!"
When Yuan Xi finished saying this, his momentum suddenly increased, making Lu Xun couldn't help but look sideways, this is the fierce tiger of the Yuan family!
Jushou smiled bitterly and said, "Young master, since you want to fight, you must be well prepared before taking action."
"That's natural," Yuan Xi said: "If he takes action on the border of Xuzhou, I won't let him come and come back whenever he wants like the previous two times!"
"I'd like to trouble you two gentlemen and send a letter immediately to Youzhou, Guangling, Jizhou, Yangzhou, and Qingzhou. In addition to our Youzhou and Guangling, we promise Sun Ce, Yuan Tan, and Yuan Shang the greatest benefits we can give!"
"Send as many troops as Guangling, Youzhou, can mobilize, and fight with all your strength!"
"In order to defeat Cao Cao, I will pay any price!"
"I don't believe it. I fought with Cao Cao until the end, and Jizhou can still turn against him?"
This is also one of Yuan Xi's purposes. If the situation between himself and Cao Cao deteriorates, he will use this as an excuse to encourage Yuan Shao to attack and destroy Cao Cao!
Jushu and Lu Xun quickly accepted the order. They thought that this time the young master really risked everything.
This is how fighting for the world is. If you don't have the consciousness to risk all your wealth, you are not qualified to be a chess player.
In Xiapi City, Liu Bei summoned his subordinates and said, "I have decided to personally lead the troops during this rebellion in the East China Sea."
Mi Zhu was shocked when he heard this, and quickly stood up to stop him and said: "My brother is incompetent and fell into thick hills. Cao's army surrounded him but refused to attack. If I send you forward, I will definitely fall into his treacherous plot!"
"There are still Yuan Highway outside the city to attack the city, so you must not act rashly, lest Xiapi be defeated. Then it will be all over."
"Your Majesty has joined forces with Fierce Tiger. He is in Haixi. Why not send troops to ask him to rescue Houqiu?"
Seeing everyone saying yes, Liu Bei looked gloomy and said: "I have already fallen into Cao Cao's trick!"
"Last time, he sent a secret envoy and promised me to report to the Han court and request me to be crowned a marquis. This matter immediately spread in the city!"
"I thought it wasn't a secret, but now that I think about it, I'm afraid Cao Cao spread it on purpose!"
"Think about it, what would Fierce Tiger think if he heard the news?"
"He will definitely doubt my intentions. How can he help me go to Houqiu to rescue me?"
"I just woke up now. This is Cao Cao's plan to alienate me and make the fierce tiger jealous of me!"
"The viciousness of Cao Cao's plan made me lose trust in others. Now I can only prove my innocence!"
Everyone listened and remained silent. They were also responsible for this matter. When Cao Cao sent the emissary, they were still complacent. They felt that as long as the matter was not leaked, they could have a good relationship with Cao Cao and join forces with Fierce Tiger. Isn't that right?
Best of both worlds?
And although there are rumors that Cao Cao and Xiu Hu are not on good terms, Cao Cao is still helping Yuan Shao, Xiu Hu is still a descendant of the Yuan family, and both parties have even welcomed the emperor together. There should be no unsolvable conflicts, right?
As a result, within half a month, they were severely beaten in the face. We don’t know whether Cao Cao was on the list, but he did indeed send troops to attack Xuzhou for the third time!
Now, no matter how stupid everyone under Liu Bei's command is, they still know that they are being plotted by Cao Cao, and the other party is taking advantage of them, so now Liu Bei must be suspected by others!
Not to mention Yuan Tan, who had always been confusing, and Yuan Xi, who had been helping him, Liu Bei felt that he had really done something wrong.
But he still can't explain it!
Moreover, after everyone learned that Chen Qun was responsible for sending the secret envoy to Cao Cao, they felt as sick as if they had eaten shit. After Chen Qun left Liu Bei and joined Cao Cao, he was very appreciated. He had a good understanding of the psychology of Liu Bei's subordinates.
Toru, step by step, let everyone step into the trap!
Liu Bei sighed: "And have you ever thought about how long Xiapi City can be defended?"
"Yuan Jiujiu has increased his troops again!"
"It's not like he doesn't have talents under his command. He can clearly see that if he wants to break the situation now, he must either attack Jingzhou or Xuzhou!"
"At first I thought he would continue to attack Jingzhou, but I didn't expect that he had already secretly deployed troops and accumulated heavy troops at the Xiapi border!"
"Even if we don't mobilize troops, there are nearly 100,000 soldiers and horses surrounding Shouchun. How can we stop him?"
Jian Yong sighed: "This fact is due to the incompetence of my subordinates. No one thought that he would dare to fight north?"
"He and Yuan Benchu are at loggerheads. Isn't this an early confrontation? I thought he would at least clear Jingzhou and Yizhou before he would have a decisive battle with Yuan Benchu!"
Liu Bei's face was gloomy, "What is his self-proclaimed imperial title? Can you guess its meaning?"
Yuan Shu established the Zhong family on his own, and his brother Zhong Shuji ranked second. Its meaning is similar to that of the two emperors.
When everyone heard this name at first, they all thought that Yuan Shu was worried about the prestige of the Han Dynasty, so he took up the title of emperor under the emperor.
Mi Zhu wondered: "Isn't it because he was afraid of the Han court's attack that he gave him such a name?"
Liu Bei sneered: "It's too simple!"
"He appears to be submissive, but he may not be the emperor, but probably Yuan Benchu!"
"The Yuan family originally had a heart for the world. Yuan Gongdao, the second emperor, might be willing to be subordinate to Yuan Benchu and use the Yangtze River as the boundary to rule the world with him!"
Everyone was horrified after hearing this. It was really possible to say this!
At the same time, everyone felt ashamed. As Liu Bei's subordinates, they didn't understand as well as Liu Bei!
Guan Yu remained silent the whole time, thinking that his elder brother was outstanding in both martial arts and intelligence. Now that he was forced to do this, it completely stimulated his hidden talents.
Liu Bei suddenly stood up and said, "If two Yuans are fighting, if we are so weak and caught between them, we will definitely become enemies!"
"Now we are the first to bear the brunt. We should avoid its edge, retreat to the East China Sea, use Tancheng as the front line, and let Yuan Shu enter Xiapi!"
"If he occupies Xiapi, with Yanzhou Cao Mengde in the west and Guangling Yuan Xianyi in the east, we can use our strength to resist Yuan Shu!"
"Otherwise, how long can we hold on if we stand alone in front now?"
"Even if we can hold it, our strength will be severely damaged. When Cao Cao also seizes the East China Sea, we will only have Pi. Sooner or later, we will be attacked and destroyed. When we fail, where can we go?"
"In this case, it's better to save our troops, return to defend the East China Sea, drive Cao Cao away, and get closer to Fierce Tiger's territory to seek help. We still have a chance to make a comeback!"
Guan Yu spoke up and said: "A strong man cuts off his wrist, Yu agrees with my elder brother's words!"
Zhang Fei hurriedly said: "Me too!"
Seeing that everyone was in agreement, Liu Bei nodded and said: "In that case, prepare to abandon the city!"
"If the people want to stay, let them stay in the city. If they are willing to come with us, I will lead my troops to escort them to Tancheng!"
"At the same time, we sent a letter to Yuan Benchu and Yuan Xianyi asking for help, telling us where we were at a loss the day before yesterday. If necessary, we were prepared to go and apologize!"
After hearing this, everyone nodded silently and secretly connected with Cao Cao, but they tasted the consequences. Now they can be regarded as bringing the blame on themselves.
They were too optimistic before, thinking of surviving in the cracks and trying to get the best of both worlds, but when Yuan Shu's army arrived, they suddenly discovered that they were not strong enough and nothing would work!
The final trump card must be your own strength, everything else is false!
In the military camp, a sealed letter arrived in front of Xun You's desk like snowflakes. He shook open the tubes of bamboo slips and exclaimed: "The fierce tiger is really generous."
"If this continues, if you let it connect with all parties and make your plan of doubting the enemy's tactics, it will be self-defeating."
Cao Ying spread information through half-truths and half-falsehoods to drive a wedge between Yuan Xi and Yuan Tan and Liu Bei. In the final analysis, it was all out of thin air. If the other party figured it out, they would still turn to Yuan Xi!
Cao Ren sighed: "Liu Bei is not ordinary. He is willing to give up Xiapi. I heard that he has taken the people and is preparing to escape to Tancheng between Xiapi and Houqiu."
Now Cao Cao's army relies on the offensive of Yuan Shu's army, but it is hard to say what will happen after that, because Liu Bei's Xiapi is captured, Cao Cao will inevitably face Yuan Shu, and there will be more variables.
Xun You smiled and said: "That's true. We don't have many opportunities left. We only have three to five days. If we let the fierce tiger connect all parties and call in reinforcements, our plan this time will almost fail."
"So now is the time for us to give it our all!"
"Send a group of elite troops to raid Liu Bei's troops retreating to Tancheng. He committed a major taboo and actually marched with soldiers and civilians mixed. Once attacked, there will be a huge rout!"
"Fortunately, his generals Guan Yu and Zhang Fei stayed in Xiapi to stop Yuan Shu's army. There are no generals in his army who are unable to fight!"
"This road will trouble the General!"
Cao Ren smiled and said: "Don't worry, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei are not here, I will definitely try my best to capture him!"
Xun You nodded with satisfaction, "Then the most critical step is how to lure the vicious tiger out within three days!"
"This is the key to the whole thing. To capture the thief and capture the king, as long as he is killed at all costs, the relationship between all parties involved will inevitably be broken, and Xuzhou can be saved!"
"At this point, even if we exchange the lives of ten thousand soldiers for one of his, it's worth it!"
After hearing this, Cao Ren's eyes flashed, "Sir, what do you think we should do?"