Chapter 391 Huge Hole
The south of Mianchi is covered with a layer of new snow.

Cao Cao drove out of the camp four or five miles south and stopped the car in a leeward valley.

Looking at the snow-covered mountains and fields in the distance, Cao Cao held a wooden stick, pounded the charcoal fire, and boiled in a copper pot.

As the steam began to boil, he began to brew the tea.

Pushing the tea bowl in front of Jia Xu, Cao Cao said calmly: "Since the troops were dispatched, there has been no unusual movement in Guanzhong, which shows that the thief is under strict supervision."

Jia Xu held the tea bowl in both hands. He was nearly eight feet tall, with a long waist and short legs, so he looked much taller than a normal person when he was kneeling.

But in front of Cao Cao, Jia Xu stood tall, sniffed the aroma of the tea, and said carefully: "Mingsir, Liu Xuande has entered Youzhou, and the Yuan family is uneasy."

Cao Cao narrowed his eyes and stared at Jia Xu: "Wenhe means that the troops in Hebei have reached the end of their road?"

"Yes, as the saying goes, make friends with those far away and attack those near; unite with the weak to attack the strong. Previously, Guanzhong, Hebei, and Jingzhou swore to be friends because you are so powerful. Now Guanzhong is the only one that is powerful, Liu Jingsheng and his son have Jingxiang to rely on, and Liu Xuande has entered Youzhou and won the hearts of the people. Hebei is at the end of its rope."

Jia Xu took a sip and said, "As the saying goes, when you are poor, you must change."

"Yes, Hebei is like this, and so is our army?"

Cao Cao looked up at the blue sky after the snow and suddenly smiled: "It seems that Wenhe and I have the same idea. It's better not to have this Heluo land."

Upon hearing this, Jia Xu smiled humbly and said no more.

The reason why they continued to strengthen Xiahou Dun and forced him to defend Heluo was because they were holding the emperor hostage to control the four states of Yan, Yu, Qing and Xu.

He was deeply afraid that Guanzhong would break through the Heluo Three Rivers and then occupy Hulao Pass. Relying on the advantages of the upper reaches and cavalry, the two states of Yan and Yu would be disturbed and production would be difficult.

But now the situation is really different. I thought that after Liu Fu became emperor, he would lead his victorious army to conquer the rebellious people in Guanzhong.

As a result, after Liu Fu proclaimed himself emperor, he moved the capital to Jianye and watched from across the river.

And because of the assassination of the emperor, they had no choice but to give up the two states of Yan and Yu.

Now it seems that we should not have given up the two states of Yan and Yu so easily in the beginning. Although we could not defeat Hebei with the two ruined states, there was another way.

But Cao Cao did not regret it. He chose to come to Heluo at that time because he still had some pride in his heart.

But now, Gan Ning's night attack with a thousand men has dashed his rage.

How to retreat to one side, observe the changes in the world, and live a peaceful life has become the most urgent goal at present.

Only by achieving this goal can the army be stabilized.

We must not stay in Heluo any longer. Even if we gain a small advantage this time and retreat safely, the peace after returning to Heluo will only be temporary.

As long as Black Bear returns from the Hexi battlefield, the internal situation will not be stable and changes are inevitable. The only difference is who will initiate them.

Cao Cao laughed softly and felt relieved. He said to Jia Xu in a serious tone, "I have seen through the little thief's mind. It is safe to withdraw our troops this time."

"You are wise and capable, but we must be on guard."

Jia Xu held the tea bowl and squinted his eyes to look at the dazzling snowy mountains and fields, imagining the next changes: "If we give up Heluo, how can Hebei just sit back and watch?"

Cao Cao even laughed when he heard this. Heluo was definitely a difficult problem that gave Yuan Shang and the people of Hebei a headache.

Too few soldiers will be useless, but too many soldiers will put too much pressure and will continue to weaken Hebei's recovery.

Even if Guanzhong does not take the initiative to start a war, the pressure of defending Heluo will make Hebei tired.

It is necessary to divide troops to defend Heluo and be vigilant against Youzhou. Hebei is bound to be exhausted.

Under such circumstances, the people of Hebei naturally have to consider new allies.

Evacuating from Heluo was a major decision that shocked everyone. As for where to evacuate, the two did not discuss it, but it was almost clear that they could only go to Qingzhou.

It was simply impossible for Xuzhou to do so as it lacked the support of local scholars and people and would attract a joint attack from Zang Ba and Liu Fu.

If he insisted on going to Xuzhou, Liu Fu would most likely appoint Zang Ba as the governor of Xuzhou, which would inspire Zang Ba and the people of Xuzhou to resist.

If Zang Ba becomes the governor of Xuzhou, things will become even more difficult to get along with him in the future.

Therefore, we can only go to Qingzhou, which can achieve four effects. The first is to stay away from Guanzhong, so the morale of the army can be basically guaranteed.

Secondly, migration is relatively convenient. When passing through Dongping, Rencheng State, and the eastern part of Dongjun, you can try to enlist the Qingzhou soldiers.

Cao Cao felt a little uncomfortable being separated from the Qingzhou soldiers during this period.

Secondly, it could force the Yuan family to give up Qingzhou. With such a big hole in Heluo, how could the Yuan family have the energy to fight for Qingzhou? Zang Ba in the south was easier to talk to, so there was no external competition, and it only needed to wipe out all the rebellious forces in Qingzhou.

The last point is that Cao's army had never attacked or controlled Qingzhou on a large scale... The big families and tombs in Qingzhou were relatively well preserved, and attacking Qingzhou could quickly solve the problem of military pay.

Attracted and motivated by generous military pay, the efficiency and enthusiasm of the army's migration and expedition are guaranteed; this can also attract Qingzhou soldiers to counterattack and return to Qingzhou.

In fact, there are some other benefits, and this benefit is even the most critical!
There are fairy mountains outside Qingzhou Penglai. People there develop sea vessels and go out to search for the fairies.

If we can successfully find the immortals, not to mention the various benefits, we can also counterattack Guanzhong; even if we fail, we can also search for large islands overseas. When the situation is urgent in the future, leading the people to sea will not be a bad idea.

Having a way to go out to sea can also ensure the morale and cohesion of a certain group of people.

At this point, the most important thing is to quickly jump out of this big hole of Heluo.

Otherwise, no matter how many troops we have, we will not be able to withstand the consumption.

The situation now is different from before. It is difficult to replenish the dead soldiers and damaged equipment and armor.

Cao Cao and Jia Xu were enjoying the snow here, and the north gate of Mianchi was wide open.

A team of a thousand cavalrymen was entering the city in an orderly manner. They started from Chiyang, bypassed Pubanjin, entered Hedong, marched all the way by land, and then crossed the river and came directly to the south bank north of Mianchi City.

We traveled such a long way just to deliver 200 big white geese safely.

Gan Ning led his personal guards to send all the geese to the goose shed, and the Taoists guarding the goose shed handled each one of them.

Although male geese and female geese can be identified through observation, some are inevitably gifted.

The Taoists confirmed that there were 200 male geese after they had handled them. If there were female geese among them, they would conduct an in-depth investigation of the military officers at all levels who escorted them and the soldiers who handled the situation.

Geese start laying eggs when the weather turns cooler. If some goose eggs are lost and fall into the hands of people in Hebei or Huainan... they will inevitably be in a passive position in the future.

After checking that everything was fine, the chief priest asked, "General, the Grand Marshal has given me two hundred large white geese. Do you want to attack the enemy army again?"

"I don't know. Waiting for the order from Grand Marshal."

Gan Ning didn't want to talk much about military affairs with the other party. He looked through the fence at the clean goose shed. There was a big kang in the goose shed, and a little Taoist priest would light the kang before nightfall.

The feed is crushed grains that are steamed.

Fortunately, white geese are vegetarians. If they ate meat, Gan Ning suspected that these Taoists would go to the Yellow River to catch river fish or go into the mountains to hunt.

When the chief priest heard Gan Ning say this, he guessed that the war might have to stop and couldn't help but sigh.

Seeing him sigh, Gan Ning turned his head and stared at him.

The chief priest then smiled awkwardly, and Gan Ning then withdrew his gaze and said nothing more.

(End of this chapter)