Chapter 230 Cao Cao's ideology finally sublimated! (6k, ask for a monthly ticket)
Outside Luoyang City, the Allied Forces Camp.
Central army, big tent.
Liu Bian put his pen aside and raised his eyes to look down at Xun or: "Yuan Shao really went to Cao Cao's camp?"
Xun You nodded affirmatively: "That's right! Yuan Shao did not return to his camp, but went straight to Cao Cao's camp in Mang Mountain, presumably for the war horses that Cao Cao captured at Sishui Pass."
"Um."
Liu Bian affirmed this: "Cao Cao has already rejected Yuan Shu. There is no reason for Yuan Shao to come, so he agreed to go west to fight against Dong. However, the friendship between the two parties is here, so borrowing some war horses should not be a problem."
The development of the current situation is completely within the expectations of the Military Advisor Alliance, and is even much better than what the Military Advisor Alliance expected. Especially Cao Cao's prediction was extremely accurate.
"Wen Ruo."
Liu Bian was too much looking forward to Cao Cao's reaction: "How many war horses do you think...Cao Cao will give to Yuan Shao? Although the two have friendship here, war horses are strategic materials. Cao Cao is poor and afraid of people.
How can you give it up?"
Xun You pinched a strand of beard under his chin and quickly fell into deep thought. Based on his understanding of Cao Cao and his judgment of the current situation, he gave an answer:
"should......"
Xun You frowned slightly and said in a long voice: "It won't exceed three thousand horses."
"Three thousand horses?"
Liu Bian was quite surprised.
You know, 3,000 war horses have already occupied it, and Cao Cao captured more than half of the horses.
Although the two had known each other since childhood and had a deep relationship, Cao Cao had always been cunning and cunning and never engaged in loss-making business. In addition, the two had a quarrel when they were in Yanjin. These three thousand horses were indeed a bit too much for Liu Bian.
.
He slowly shook his head and said with a long voice: "Even if Cao Cao doesn't have many soldiers in his tent, it would still be unrealistic to give more than half of the horses to Yuan Shao."
"Then I wonder how many horses your Highness thinks Cao Cao will give to Yuan Shao?"
"this......"
Liu Bian paused for a moment and based on his current judgment on Cao Cao: "Based on the relationship between the two and the current situation of the war against Dong, I think that two thousand horses is still possible."
"Two thousand horses?"
Xun You quickly made an inventory of the situation of each army in his mind: "If Yuan Shao is really only given 2,000 war horses, and then gathers the original war horses in Yuan Shao's account, Yuan Shao can barely make up about 3,500 horses."
"You want to kill Dong Zhuo with such a force?"
"snort!"
Xun You snorted disdainfully, shook his head and said sarcastically: "It's simply fantastic. Even if Yuan Shao is so eager to achieve success, he won't seek death, right?"
Liu Bian knew very well that Xun probably came up with the guess of three thousand war horses based on his consideration of the battle situation and his basic understanding of Yuan Shao and Cao Cao.
After all, in this way, Yuan Shao searched for war horses everywhere, and then asked King Hongnong for support. It should not be a problem to gather five thousand cavalry, so that he would be able to fight.
"or......"
Liu Bian tentatively said: "Shall we help Yuan Shao?"
Xun Or twisted his beard and pondered for a moment: "We should help Yuan Shao, but it should not be too obvious, otherwise it will arouse suspicion. If Cao Cao can give 3,000 war horses, we can think of another 500."
"As for two thousand horses..."
Xun or shook his head indifferently: "It means that we have to provide 1,500 war horses to help Yuan Shao gather a cavalry of 5,000 people. Too many will definitely arouse suspicion."
"Xu You, Yuan Shao's aide, comes from the Xu family in Nanyang. Although he is greedy by nature, he is quite resourceful. Your Highness, acting this way may arouse Xu You's suspicion and be counterproductive."
I have to admit that Xun Yu's analysis is very reasonable.
Liu Bian was a little confused when he heard this, and asked secretly: "Teacher, do you think Yuan Shao will give up this operation?"
The voice of the Military Advisor Alliance followed: "Of course it is possible! However, the probability is not high, only 38.5%. But judging from his performance in the big account, the possibility of going west to challenge Dong is as high as 85.2%."
"Xun You's analysis is indeed quite reasonable. It is a judgment based on a certain actual situation. However, based on his current understanding of Cao Cao and Yuan Shao, it is not enough to make the most accurate judgment."
"Historically, after Xun Yu took refuge in Jizhou, he spent a long time observing the princes of the world. Experts guessed that his first choice target should be Yuan Shao. However, after the inspection, he did not meet the lord's wishes, so he went south to Yanzhou and defected to Cao Cao.
.”
"Analyzing from this point of view, Xun's understanding of Cao Cao and Yuan Shao is only at the primary stage. It is far less profound than Cao Cao's understanding of Yuan Shao, and it is not as deep as the expert's understanding of Cao Yuan."
"If the experts guess correctly..."
The voice of the military advisor alliance was slightly longer, paused for a moment, and continued: "Cao Cao will definitely continue to test Yuan Shao's psychological bottom line, combined with the current situation of challenging Dong, and finally come up with a solution that can not only go west to challenge Dong, but also protect himself to the maximum extent.
Plan."
"ah?"
Liu Bian was surprised and thought to himself: "Is Cao Cao capable of this?"
The Military Advisor Alliance smiled lightly and said, "Experts say, let's wait and see."
Liu Bian breathed: "Okay."
Immediately.
He turned to look at Xun He and said softly: "Okay, let's stop guessing and wait for the final result. In any case, I don't think Cao Cao will compromise so easily, and Yuan Shao won't give up so easily."
Xun You nodded in agreement: "Your Highness is right. If Cao Cao can really convince Yuan Shao with two thousand cavalry, his subordinates will really look at him with admiration."
*****
now.
Mangshan Caoying.
Central army, big tent.
Cao Cao seemed to have expected that Yuan Shao would open his mouth. He was not surprised at all. He just stared at Yuan Shao with a hint of melancholy on his face:
"Origin."
Cao Cao sipped his tea and looked worried: "You should know that in the battle against Sishui Pass, it was not only me, Cao Cao, but also Prime Minister Bao and Liu Shijun. Even if the horses were captured, they definitely did not belong to me alone."
"Your request is really making things difficult for our brothers."
Cao Cao put down the tea cup, frowned, shook his head and sighed.
Yuan Shao naturally knew the process of the Battle of Sishui Pass, but he also knew that Cao Cao was the leader, and Bao Xin obeyed his words and never disobeyed in the slightest.
but......
Cao Cao didn't lie, he really needed to consider Bao Xin's feelings.
Yuan Shao nodded slowly in agreement, and then asked: "Mengde, how many horses can you get? I heard that you were the one commanding this battle, and you are indispensable!"
"It is indeed me who is directing."
How could Cao Cao lie about such an obvious matter?
but......
How could Yuan Shao know about more internal matters?
Cao Cao had plenty of room for display, and Yuan Shao had never won a battle since he was a child: "But in terms of spoils, Yuncheng and I divide the division according to the number of troops."
"You should know how many troops Bao Xin and I have. When Chen Liu raised his troops, Wei Zi scattered all his family to support me, but we only had 5,000 soldiers and horses, while Wei Zi only had 3,000 troops. I, Cao Cao, only had 2,000 troops."
"But Prime Minister Bao is not like that."
Cao Cao analyzed it bit by bit for Yuan Shao: "At the beginning, he led the army back to his hometown, recruited soldiers and horses, and recruited 20,000 disciples. He also received funding from wealthy merchants from the Jibei Kingdom, and had 700 horses and more than 5,000 baggage."
"Our combined forces totaled 27,000 men. According to this proportion, Cao Cao could only get one and a half percent of the spoils. Although thousands of war horses were captured, only more than 700 horses were actually in Cao Cao's hands.
"
Cao Cao really knows how to bargain!
Yuan Shao's lion opened his mouth and asked for all the horses.
However......
Cao Cao was more shrewd and well-founded, so he reduced the sky-high price to the price of land.
There were only more than 700 horses, even if Yuan Shao's cavalry was included, it was not enough to fill Dong Zhuo's teeth.
This is no longer an attempt to go west to seek revenge on Dong. He is simply throwing himself into a trap and voluntarily committing suicide!
"What?"
Yuan Shao was furious when he heard this and stared like bells: "You only have more than 700 horses?"
Cao Cao naturally knew that Yuan Shao would not agree. His purpose in doing so was to lower Yuan Shao's psychological expectations and pave the way for the subsequent bargaining.
"Alas~~"
Cao Cao sighed and hurriedly reassured: "There is no way, who left Cao with no soldiers? Now that we have finally reached Luoyang, Cao is really unwilling to take risks, so he decided to help defend at the north gate."
"But don't worry Benchu!"
Cao Cao patted his chest and promised: "You and I have known each other since childhood, and have been friends for decades. Now that you are in need, Cao Cao will do his best to help you. I will give you all these more than 700 war horses!"
"snort!"
Yuan Shao has always been rich and wealthy, so how could he value these war horses: "Mengde, you should know that although Dong Zhuo's strength has been weakened, in the battle between Guangcheng and Dagu, it was the Northern Army, Wolf Cavalry, and Xiliang Xiaoqi that were killed in the battle.
exist."
"If you want to go west to defeat Dong and win, you will never be able to do it without five thousand horses. You have more than 700 horses, even if you add our cavalry, it will be difficult to compete with Dong Zhuo."
How could Cao Cao not know Dong Zhuo's strength? He nodded affirmatively: "What I said makes sense at first, but it is really difficult to gather five thousand war horses."
"Fuck I thought..."
Cao Cao immediately put forward his own ideas for Yuan Shao's reference: "At first, you should take advantage of your infantry to attract the attention of Dong Zhuo's army, so as to share some of the pressure."
Yuan Shao frowned: "What does Meng De mean?"
"It's very simple."
Cao Cao had already made a strategic plan for Yuan Shao: "At the beginning, we should gather troops and horses, set off first, attract the attention of Dong Yue from Mianchi, use the strong strength advantage to force Dong Zhuo to send troops to support, and then quickly make a detour and go straight to Shaanxi.
county."
hiss-!
Yuan Shao frowned and took a breath: "Meng De means... to attack in the east and attack in the west?"
Cao Cao nodded affirmatively: "That's right! As a result, Dong Zhuo's number of soldiers and horses will inevitably decrease. It is possible to defeat Dong Zhuo without five thousand cavalry, right?"
"That makes sense."
At this moment, Yuan Shao's eyes suddenly brightened, as if he was enlightened: "Meng De, you are smart when you take a pee. I really regret not listening to your opinion now. Otherwise, I, Yuan Shao, would have contributed a lot to conquering Sishui Pass."
"The past is over, why bother mentioning it again."
Cao Cao waved his hand and wrote off the previous events: "I led the heroes to the west to challenge Dong. If I win, it will be comparable to a small Sishui Pass."
"Mengde!"
Before Cao Cao could finish speaking, Yuan Shao interrupted directly and said with great solemnity: "I know that you are dedicated to supporting the Han Dynasty and want to kill Dong Zhuo. Now that the opportunity is right in front of you, how can you give up?"
"If you and I join forces, why can't we kill Dong Zhuo?"
Having said this, Yuan Shao stared at Cao Cao with bright eyes, threw out an olive branch and said: "I, Yuan Shao, can assure you that as long as we can kill Dong Zhuo, with Meng De's talent, there will be no problem in joining the Nine Ministers in the future."
How could Cao Cao not know what the Yuan family was capable of?
Now in Chang'an City, hundreds of officials are led by Grand Duke Yuan Wei, and among the allied forces fighting against Dong, most of the princes are led by Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu. Most of the world's power revolves around the Yuan family.
I'm just afraid...
After the war against Dong is over, the power of the Yuan family will quickly surpass Dong Zhuo and become a being capable of controlling the imperial power.
At this moment, Cao Cao somewhat understood why King Hongnong delayed the fight against Dong Zhanji and did not give the Yuan family a chance to make contributions.
Because the power of the Yuan family is really terrifying!
King Hongnong could destroy Dong Zhuo openly, but he had no confidence that he could check and balance the power of the Yuan family.
He is obviously just a governor of Bohai, a general and governor of Yuzhou, but he dares to lie and lie to get himself promoted to the Jiuqing. Does this Han Dynasty belong to the Liu family or your Yuan family?
Yuan Shu is like this!
The same is true for Yuan Shao!
So, what will happen to Grand Duke Tai Fu Yuan Wei?
Cao Cao did not dare to think that the family that he once envied now made him feel afraid.
Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu want to help the Han Dynasty, or are they ambitious and want to be Dong Zhuo's second?
"Origin."
Cao Cao pondered for a long time, and finally refused: "I only have these soldiers and horses in my hands, and I really don't want to take risks. Don't try to persuade me again. I, Cao Cao, can give you advice, but I will never participate in this operation."
"How about this?"
Cao Cao immediately changed the subject: "I will personally go to Yuncheng and try to help you borrow some more horses. I can get you two thousand. In this way, plus the cavalry of the princes, I can get three or four thousand."
Riding won’t be a problem.”
How could Yuan Shao not know the strength of the armies: "Three thousand five hundred horses!"
Cao Cao frowned: "There are only so many of the allies?"
"Um."
Yuan Shao nodded: "There are only so many."
Cao Cao didn't quite believe it. He always felt that Yuan Shao still had reservations: "Under Zhang Yang's command..."
Yuan Shao explained: "There were originally more than a thousand fine cavalry at first, but after leading the army to attack Huguan, losing troops and generals, and then conquering various counties, the team grew to thousands, but it only had 800 cavalry."
"I see."
From Yuan Shao's demeanor, Cao Cao knew that the other party was not lying, so he stopped pursuing it and continued to think of a solution.
After a while, Cao Cao had an idea and said loudly: "At this beginning, you can reach out to King Hongnong. Although Yuan Shu and others have no credit, they have also worked hard. It will not be a problem to get hundreds of war horses."
"What's more, challenging Dong is a righteous act for heaven. As the deposed emperor, King Hongnong will definitely give support even if he is unwilling to take risks."
"In this case..."
Cao Cao grinned and was full of confidence: "We can gather at least four thousand cavalry at the beginning, and maybe even more. If we cooperate with the infantry to attack from behind and attack Dong Zhuo from behind, we should be able to fight."
Yuan Shaoshen nodded in agreement: "Meng De's words are reasonable. King Hongnong has captured so many war horses. If you allocate some at will, it will be enough for us to go west to attack Dong."
"good!"
After saying this, Yuan Shao stood up and said loudly: "I will rush to the Central Army to seek help from King Hongnong! Meng De, you should rush to Bao Xin's camp and help me get two thousand horses."
Cao Cao agreed: "Don't worry, this matter will be taken care of by me."
Yuan Shao nodded: "In that case, Shao will leave."
Cao Cao personally escorted him outside the camp and watched him leave before he let out a sigh of relief.
"Come here, prepare your horses."
"promise."
Even if it is a show, treat it as a complete set.
Although Yuan Shao reacts slowly, he is not stupid. Wouldn't it be embarrassing if he saw through it?
*****
South Gate.
Allied camp.
Central army, big tent.
When Liu Bianzheng was communicating with the military advisor alliance about the upcoming war.
Suddenly, Xun Yu came outside the tent. He stepped forward and bowed his head: "Your Highness, Yuan Shao came out of Cao Ying and went straight to the south gate. He should be looking for Your Highness."
"oh?"
Liu Bian couldn't help but be surprised, and once again admired the judgment of the military advisor alliance: "So, Yuan Shao didn't get much support from Cao Cao, so he can only come to us."
"Um."
Xunor nodded affirmatively.
He simply couldn't believe that King Hongnong had a deeper control over Cao and Yuan than he did: "His Highness still knows these two people better. This time Yuan Shao came to see him on his own initiative. No matter how much His Highness gave him, it would not cause any trouble.
The other party is suspicious."
According to the previous analysis, Cao Cao could not give Yuan Shao too many war horses, so King Hongnong needed to make up for it so that Yuan Shao would have enough ability to go west to challenge Dong.
But now...
Yuan Shao took the initiative to seek help, but instead made himself passive. No matter how rich his reasons were, the initiative was still in the hands of King Hongnong.
Liu Bian nodded with interest: "Having said that, I still don't want to give more. After all, Dong Zhuo is not easily defeated. Yuan Shao will lose in all likelihood during this trip."
Xun You agreed: "If Yuan Shao can be sent away with 500 cavalry, it would be the best. Within 1,000 cavalry, it is acceptable to His Highness."
Nowadays, Liu Bian is not short of war horses, but even so, Liu Bian will not dispose of strategic materials such as horses at will. After all, the young horses from the Central Plains will be Liu Bian's capital in galloping around the world.
"Report—!"
At this moment, a report sounded outside the tent.
Liu Bian raised his eyes and looked.
But I saw a soldier hurriedly enter the tent, bowed and handed over his hands: "Your Highness, Yuan Shao is outside the camp, requesting an audience."
"It came so quickly."
Liu Bian smiled and waved his hand: "Let him come in."
The soldier raised his hand and said, "No."
Immediately.
He bowed and left the tent.
Not long after.
Yuan Shao hurriedly entered the account with a respectful attitude and bowed his hands: "General Yuan Shao, please pay homage to His Royal Highness King Hongnong."
Liu Bian waved his hand to indicate to him: "Get up!"
Yuan Shao then straightened up: "No."
"how?"
Liu Bian took the initiative to ask: "The general left and returned, but did he agree to help defend Mang Mountain?"
Yuan Shao was too lazy to talk nonsense and said straight to the point: "The only remaining defeated generals in Luoyang City are Li Jue and Lu Bu. Why waste so many troops and horses?"
"The final general will still go west to fight against Dong and contribute his own strength to help the Han Dynasty."
"but......"
When the conversation changed, Yuan Shao once again cupped his hands and said: "Now, Shao is encountering some difficulties and it is difficult to send troops. I hope that His Highness can lend a helping hand and provide some help."
Liu Bian had expected it, but he did not refuse: "It is a righteous act to challenge Dong. Even if the general does not come to Gu, I will help him. If you ask for anything, just ask, and Gu will provide as much help as possible."
"I will thank you, Your Highness."
Yuan Shao secretly breathed a sigh of relief and thanked him: "The general hopes that your highness can support two thousand war horses. In this way, our army will be more confident in killing Dong Zhuo."
hiss-!
When Liu Bian heard this, he took a breath: "How many? Two thousand war horses?"
Yuan Shao was extremely calm: "Well, two thousand horses!"
Liu Bian looked at Yuan Shao with burning eyes.
Although he expected that Yuan Shao would ask for more, he never thought that he would be so arrogant and ask for two thousand war horses with just one mouth.
Even if one war horse costs 10,000 yuan, two thousand war horses would cost 20 million yuan!
You're just using investors' money to play around. You deserve to be from a wealthy family. You really don't regard money as money!
"hehe!"
Liu Bian had no unnecessary nonsense: "Could the general be joking? Why don't you grab two thousand horses?"
Yuan Shaoyun was calm and always remained calm.
Obviously.
He had already expected that King Hongnong would not agree easily: "His Royal Highness won successively at Guangcheng Pass and Dagu Pass, and captured countless horses. Two thousand horses are no pressure for Your Highness."
Liu Bian snorted coldly: "The war horse was captured alone, so what does it have to do with you? Your risk of heading west was originally against military orders, but now you dare to be so arrogant. It is simply unreasonable."
"Your Highness, your words are wrong."
Yuan Shao took a deep breath and suppressed the anger in his heart: "Although the last general did not participate in the battles of Dagu Pass and Guangcheng Pass, his younger brother Yuan Shu, Pei Guo Prime Minister Yuan Zhong and others all participated."
"Even if they have no merit, they have worked hard, and it is natural for them to receive some of the trophies captured by His Highness. These two thousand horses should be His Highness's compensation for his younger brother."
Speaking of this, Yuan Shao tentatively said: "Your Highness, is it necessary for the general to call my younger brother here?"
Damn it!
Yuan Shao, a wealthy man, actually cares about these small coins.
Obviously, he was influenced by Cao Cao and acquired the temperament of a profiteer.
Liu Bian waved his hand and smiled: "I didn't expect that General Yuan, who was born in the fourth generation and the third generation of the Runan family, actually understood the essence of calculating business affairs."
"good!"
Liu Bian nodded with great interest: "Since the general wants to make calculations, I will do the calculations for you. By the way, I will tell you why your brother-in-law didn't come to ask Gu for the war horse."
Yuan Shao Jian's eyebrows were slightly furrowed, and he felt something bad in his mind.
indeed.
How could Yuan Shu, such a shrewd man, not think of asking King Hongnong for a war horse?
Since he didn't do this, there must be a reason why he didn't do it.
"During the Battle of Guangcheng Pass."
Liu Bian's voice was like a bell, sonorous and powerful: "Yuan Shu, Yuan Zhong and others insisted on requesting a change of defense, but when the Tunqi camp raided the rear, they could not resist and deserted."
"Although Yuan Zhong, Chen Yi and others did not escape, their defense lines were all broken. If they had not made a temporary decision and mobilized their troops, how could they have won the battle at Guangchengguan."
"Ask the general!"
Liu Bian leaned forward slightly and said coldly: "What should happen to those who escape from battle?"
Yuan Shao's expression changed: "This..."
Liu Bian raised his hand and pointed to the outside of the tent: "You'd better go back and ask why your brother Yuan Shu has no military exploits. What happened in the battles of Guangcheng Pass and Dagugu Pass? How dare he separate the captured war horses?"
Yuan Shao didn't dare to dig deeper, so he quickly changed his words: "Even so, it is a righteous act for us to go west to attack Dong. Now that we are short of troops, Your Highness should provide support."
Liu Bian waved his hand: "Five hundred war horses, one more horse, none, do you want me?"
Yuan Shao had no choice but to hand over his hand: "Okay! Five hundred is five hundred."