In fact, it was not just Gongsun Sheng who was interested in Bingzhou...
Xie Bian, who had been silent for a long time, had already regarded the general and the state as meat in a bowl. Seeing that Gongsun Sheng sent troops in three directions, Cao's army was bound to shrink, so he sent troops in three directions and embarked on the road of expansion.
Along the way, Pang De led the army, with Yan Yan and Yang Ren as lieutenants, to attack Bingzhou; along the way, Xu Huang led the army, with Yan Xing and Wu Lan as lieutenants, to attack Sizhou; and finally, Ma Chao led the army, with Ma Dai and Dianjie as lieutenants, to attack Jiaozhou!
As for Huang Zhong, Xie Bian's intention is to let him guard the door and ensure that the experimental subject Liu Biao is not invaded by Cao's army. It is also possible to plunder Yuzhou and Yanzhou appropriately.
Sun Quan, who had been forgotten all the time, had no intention of resting. It was clear that the problem of the aristocratic families in the territory had not been truly solved, and more than 200,000 mountain Vietnamese bandit troops were always threatening his rear, but he still ordered without hesitation, and asked his confidant General Deng Jin to lead the troops.
, Ling Cao and Lu Meng were appointed as deputy generals and went north to attack the Huaizhong area.
To put it bluntly, it is to seize the territory on the other side of the Yangtze River to facilitate further expansion.
In such a situation surrounded by enemies on all sides, it is really difficult for Cao Cao to survive. Especially at present, he only has more than 50,000 tired soldiers under his command, which is simply not enough to guard so many places. Not to mention, in the hearts of those soldiers,
I'm afraid I'm tired of war already.
Don't think that robbing rewards can cheer up the soldiers. Women's lives are in danger if they do too much, and if they don't spend too much money but don't spend it, that is a matter of life worse than death.
It can be said that even a few soldiers began to wonder: Are those bastards above planning to make us desperately grab money, and then force us to fight continuously until we die on the battlefield, and finally gave us a small amount of pension?
, I gave them all the money I worked so hard to steal?
Under such circumstances, Cao Cao could only summon his ministers to discuss and see if there was any other way to break the situation.
"Lord, there is no need to worry!" Guo Jia walked out with a smile.
"Is there any clever way to honor one's filial piety?" Cao Cao perked up and asked excitedly.
"I can't calculate it well, let's just analyze the current battle situation." Guo Jia said with a smile.
"Speak!" Although Cao Cao was still excited, he was still a little less interested when he saw that there was no clever plan.
"The first is Gongsun Zan's army. This man is just a common man, brave and face-saving. From west to east, there are also jungles and mountains. The Black Mountain Army that has just surrendered to our army can be of some use;
Then there are the troops from east to west by Pang De and others. Pang De is also a brave and resourceful general in Liangzhou, and his deputy Yan Yan is even more mature and experienced. However, the main function of this army is to raid, so
All we need to do is to tell General Zi Lian to defend himself well and not to attack easily, and at the same time to build strong walls and clear the country. If this drags on for several months, then Pang De's army will inevitably retreat due to lack of food.
The third route is Ma Chao's army. This is what I am least worried about. Because Zhong Yao is stationed in Sizhou, and two famous generals from Hebei, Zhang He and Gao Lan, are stationed there. It is not a big deal to keep Ma Chao's army out of Sizhou.
question.
The fourth route is Gongsun Duyi's army. Although his subordinate Tai Shici can be regarded as a first-rate warrior, Xuzhou has Chen Deng, a local, responsible for guarding it, and General Xiahou Dun is stationed there. Even if it cannot stop Gongsun's army from going south, it cannot.
There is a risk of losing the city and the land.
The fifth line is Deng Jin's army, so there is no need to worry about this. Not to mention that the Sun family is short of horses, and the internal affairs are not monolithic. Sun Quan's succession to the position of head of the Sun family was inherently controversial. For this reason, he had many veterans who rejected Sun Ce.
He promoted a group of ministers who were loyal to him.
Deng Jin was an old minister of Sun Ce and was not convinced by Sun Quan, especially Ling Cao and Lu Meng. The reason why he let them command the army was just to show that he would reuse them. However, Sun Quan asked Zhu Zhi to be responsible for the transportation of grain and grass, but he
It makes people think about his intentions.
As long as you tell this information to General Zhang Liao who is stationed in Shouchun, I believe he will make good use of this information to stage an excellent defensive battle." Guo Jia analyzed one unit after another.
"Well, it makes sense... But what about Gongsun Sheng's journey? Also, if the soldiers' war weariness cannot be resolved, I'm afraid..." Cao Cao asked anxiously.
"The morale problem is easy to solve, all you need is a random auspicious sign..." Guo Jia said eloquently.
"Auspicious?" Cao Cao still didn't quite understand.
"For example, 'Cao's army will surely win, everything will be prosperous, and great achievements will be accomplished' and so on..." Xun You muttered in a low voice.
"Wonderful! So wonderful!" Cao Cao understood.
In this superstitious age, as long as there is God's "instruction", it seems that Cao's army will not only win, but also achieve great achievements. Then the soldiers' complaints will be temporarily put back in their stomachs.
Although this strategy is only effective for three or four months at most, according to Guo Jia's analysis, this battle will only last three or four months. In this way, maybe it can survive safely?
"Commander Guo, how should we deal with Gongsun Sheng's problem?" Cao Ren suddenly asked.
Cao Cao then remembered that it seemed that the biggest problem had not been solved yet?
"This problem is directly challenged. Unless Gongsun Sheng accidentally dies, there is little chance of victory. However, if we actively defend for three or four months, there will be a chance of improvement.
But these three or four months can also be used by our army to actively look for opportunities." Guo Jia felt a little embarrassed.
"What the military advisor means by 'turning around' is..." Cao Ren was a little impatient.
"Go to Huaxia Academy immediately and ask Master to mediate!" Guo Jia said bluntly.
"It would be better to surrender directly. You must know that Gongsun Sheng is his sworn brother!" Cao Ren complained unhappily.
"But there is a premise, that is, the teacher is a Chinese citizen!" Guo Jia said loudly, "Master, what he hopes is for China to be peaceful and prosperous; what is most annoying is the constant civil war and killing each other.
Looking at the whole of China, he values three parties: one is the Gongsun family, the other is the Xie family, and finally the Cao family!
In order to unite the three families to govern China, he had set up the project ten years ago and handed it over to the research institute for research. Presumably, he did not want to see us being beaten too badly by the Gongsun family.
Therefore, as long as conditions permit, he may come forward to mediate. I dare not say if there will be more by then, but at least five years of peace can be obtained. With five years to develop, we can naturally attack and defend, and we have the greatest ambition in the world.
Go wherever you go!"
"But what if, when the time comes, someone else uses our trick and asks him to mediate?" Cao Ren asked noncommittally.
"First of all, what I want to say is that he only values the three of us. In other words, if he attacks other forces, he will generally not intervene. Even if we go north to attack the grassland, he might be happier.
It’s just that I still want to advise my lord: How about following Master’s idea and thinking about how the three families can rule the world together? Then it will be time for the years of civil war to end peacefully.” Guo Jia hesitated at the end, but
He gritted his teeth and said it.
"Is it possible for three families to rule the world together? How can aristocratic families in the world allow such a situation to occur?" Cao Cao asked rhetorically.
"This problem is also the fundamental problem that the institute needs to break through most. After years of research, there may be a direction. If talents from the three companies are gathered together to discuss it, maybe it can be solved." Guo Jia finished.
He bowed to Cao Cao cautiously.
"Forget it!" Cao Cao waved his hand, "Give me a horse, and I will go to Nanyang County myself! As for you, before I come back, I don't want my territory to suffer any losses, do you understand?!"
"Here!" Cao Cao said, and the generals naturally did not dare to neglect him.
About ten days later, when Xie Xin began to organize students to perform radio gymnastics, Cao Cao came to the gate of Huaxia Academy and informed the guard that he wanted to meet Xie Xin.
Seeing that Cao Cao had arrived in person, Xie Xin temporarily asked squad leader Huang Yu and deputy squad leader Cao Zhi to lead the team, and he came to the reception room in person.
"My dear brother, it's time to say goodbye to Bingzhou. I haven't seen you for a long time!" Cao Cao saw him coming in and greeted him cordially.
Xie Xin has been keeping a deaf ear these days, so he doesn't know anything about Cao Jun being besieged. Seeing him coming so kindly, it's natural that he can't put on a bad face.
"Brother Cao, what brought such a big shot like you here?" Xie Xin was straightforward. After all, he didn't want to waste time in class by being polite for a long time.
"My dear brother has indeed become a lot colder. It's a rare visit for my brother, so why don't you have some good intentions?" Cao Cao said with an aggrieved look on his face.
"Okay, I know I was wrong! It's just that I just feel that when you come here, brother, you always feel like you are going to the Three Treasures Palace for nothing...
We all know each other, and we have been calling you brother for more than 20 years, so if you have anything to say, just tell me." Xie Xin said with a smile.
"Sigh... I really can't hide it from you, my dear brother..." Cao Cao smiled bitterly, "Cao came here this time to ask my dear brother to come forward for something. I hope my dear brother will not refuse!"
After saying that, he knelt down directly towards Xie Xin.
Xie Xin naturally wouldn't let him kneel down, so he used his true energy to hold him up.
"Brother, please don't stop me. Just let me kneel down. Otherwise, I would be too embarrassed to say this request..." Cao Cao insisted on kneeling down.
"I'm too lazy to pay attention to you... Just tell me if you have something to say, otherwise I won't say anything at all!" Xie Xin was also annoyed, and after being polite to him, he directly planned to force himself to agree.
"Forget it..." Cao Cao stood up, "Actually, my brother is already besieged on all sides at the moment. His territory was attacked by Gongsun Sheng, Xie Bian and Sun Quan at the same time. The other brothers don't ask too much. I just hope that my virtuous brother can help me.
Mediation one or two..."
"Sure enough, it's really a big deal for you to make such a gesture..." Xie Xin sighed.
"My remuneration, the object of negotiation, and your bottom line. You have to tell me these three basic factors, and then I can decide whether to help you!" Xie Xin thought for a while and said straightforwardly.
"The Cao family is willing to accept the suggestion that the three families rule the world together. At the same time, they can also negotiate with the Xie family on business issues. This is the condition I can give...
There aren't many people to negotiate with, they just need to make the sworn brother willing to let the sworn brother go for a few years!
The final bottom line is to give up Xuzhou..." Cao Cao gritted his teeth, but still said it decisively.
"There is still room for negotiation... Although I don't want to leave, but for the sake of you and my brother, I will help you once!" Xie Xin replied after thinking for a while.
"So, Brother Lao Xian is here!" Cao Cao breathed a decisive sigh of relief.
"Tell me, how did that boy Guo Jia arrange it?" Xie Xin suddenly asked.
"Brother Xian, what do you mean?" Cao Cao pretended not to understand the situation.
"Stop pretending, the only one who can suggest you ask me to mediate is Guo Jia under your command." Xie Xin said bluntly.
"Haha..." Cao Cao smiled awkwardly and finally revealed Guo Jia's plan.
"That's not bad. You go back and make preparations. I will intervene in three months!" Xie Xin said to Cao Cao after hearing this.
"Okay, brother, go back and prepare now!" Cao Cao was overjoyed.
"Don't be in a hurry to go back!" Xie Xin said suddenly.
"Why?" Cao Cao didn't understand.
"It's a rare day to have a day's rest here...by the way, I'll also take a look at the homework of your two sons." Xie Xin said to him with a smile.