Chapter 420: Ambition Remains Unshakable
In Dongping, Yanzhou, Cao Cao captured several military outposts of Qingzhou.

After the routine slaughter and burning, the surrounding Qingzhou soldiers finally remembered their proper relationship with each other.

After forcibly gathering and hastily mobilizing 70,000 Qingzhou soldiers as the vanguard, Cao Cao's power was greatly boosted.

At this time, Li Dian could not afford to ignore the military order he sent to Juye Lake.

No matter how reluctant he was, Li Dian led his clan members to the north to join Cao Cao's central army.

As for Li Tong from the distant Runan area, he also took the initiative to lead his troops to follow; not only Li Tong, but also the Runan prefect Man Chong found that he could not control the situation and might be retaliated and killed by Runan tyrants at any time.

Man Chong also gathered some of the garrison troops in the Runan area, and supported Li Tong, and they converged on Cao Cao's central army one after another.

The reason why Li Tong did not dare to stay in the Runan area was very simple. During the Battle of Wancheng, he tricked more than 10,000 fellow villagers to the front line to reinforce Cao Cao, which enabled Cao Cao's army to regain momentum and finally dragged down Zhang Xiu's troops in the stalemate.

Originally, he still had a future to look forward to, but with the demise of the Xudu court, Li Dian was surrounded by the pressure of backlash from his fellow villagers.

Upon hearing that Cao Cao had withdrawn from Heluo, Li Tong immediately gathered his troops and went to join him.

After losing Li Tong, Man Chong, the cruel official who came to power by killing people from Runan, is now sitting on a fire pit?

Under such circumstances, Man Chong no longer dared to act arrogantly. He just pulled up his belt and followed Li Tong north.

Unfortunately, the arrival of Man Chong and Li Tong significantly increased the cohesion of Cao Cao's troops.

But the happy reunion party had not yet ended, and secret letters sent by some people far away in Guanzhong just happened to arrive.

Cao Cao was just drinking from his wine with a smile on his face when he saw Cao Zhang striding towards him with a serious look on his face.

Everyone around him put down their chopsticks and wine glasses. Cao Cao waved his hand and said drunkenly, "Today we are welcoming Bo Ning and Wen Da to celebrate the wedding. If it's good news, tell us at the same time. If it's bad news, we'll talk about it after the banquet."

Cao Zhang's face turned red, and he clasped his hands together and said, "Yes!"

Then he took a few steps back, turned around and walked away very honestly.

Cao Cao was stunned, then smiled and said to Man Chong and the others, "It seems that this bad thing is also a small matter, otherwise Ziwen would not be like this."

Under the current situation, this son is good in every way except that he is a little particular about principles and rules.

Cao Cao noticed Cao Xiu was looking at him, so he turned around and looked at Cao Xiu: "Since Wen Lie is worried, why not go and ask him."

"Here."

Cao Xiu stood up and clasped his fists, and also bowed to Man Chong and other generals. Now the status of these generals from other families has risen, which is different from before.

Although Man Chong was exhausted on the journey and was afraid of being ambushed and killed by the powerful people of Runan, he calmly accepted the change in his status after escaping from the danger and being treated very well by Cao Cao.

Anyway, he is a cruel official. Where can he go now if he leaves Cao Cao?

With such a big reputation as the Grand Marshal, if he dares to go over there, the Yang family will skin him alive.

As for the Huangchu Emperor who established his capital in Jianye, an emperor who established his capital in Jiangdong, although his capital was right on the Yangtze River... could such an emperor of the southeast who attempted to rule the southeast from the very beginning be considered an emperor?

Looking around, Man Chong had no choice but to surrender to Cao Cao.

There are also Yuan Shang in Hebei and Yuan Tan in Jiaozhou. As for Man Chong, he had the blood of so many Runan people on his hands. The Yuan brothers could tolerate him, but the Runan people around the Yuan brothers would not. He came to Cao Cao, but he really had nowhere to go.

Therefore, at the banquet, Man Chong and Li Tong felt truly happy. Only by returning to this big collective could they have a basic sense of security and existence.

The wedding banquet was finally over, and Cao Cao was drinking sour soup to sober up.

Cao Xiu and Cao Zhen followed Cao Zhang in, one on the left and one on the right. Although Cao Zhang was young, he had grown rapidly and was now seven feet two or three inches tall, taller than Cao Xiu.

Cao Cao was lying on the warm couch, holding a half bowl of sour soup. Seeing the three people's expressions getting uglier than each other, he asked, "What's going on?"

The three of them looked at each other, and Cao Zhang stepped forward and whispered, "Father, Guanzhong reported that after the Grand Marshal was forced to land in Hanzhong, he personally led thousands of elite troops to fly over the mountains, seized Jiameng Pass and Jianshan Plank Road at night, and suddenly surrounded Mianzhu City. The defending general Wu Kuang was persuaded to surrender."

Cao Zhang handed over the silk book in his hand. Cao Cao pretended to read it. Cao Zhang continued to talk about the changes in the war situation speculated by the messenger in Guanzhong: "When the Grand Marshal conquered the Hu people in Hexi, he ordered to confer Liu Zhang's brother Liu Mao as the King of Ba. Mianzhu was lost, and Liu Mao led his troops to expel Liu Zhang and took Chengdu to welcome the Grand Marshal. Liu Zhang led the remaining troops to Yufu City and did not leave Yizhou. The remaining troops were scattered and only a few hundred people were left. In addition, Liang State Prime Minister Zhang Song and Shu County Governor Wang Shangjin occupied Luo City and also sent envoys to beg for surrender."

"King Ba?"

Cao Cao looked calm, but his eyes were full of energy. Finally, he couldn't help but smile and asked the three people, "Have you heard of this before?"

Cao Zhen replied: "I have heard that Liu Zhang called himself the King of Liang, and the Grand Marshal made his brother the King of Ba, intending to split Yizhou. I never thought that the angry act at that time would actually create a King of Ba."

"Yizhou is so big... He may not be able to swallow everything he puts in his mouth."

Cao Cao gestured with his hands as if hugging each other, and said with a smile: "I was worried that after we occupied Qingzhou, he would send troops to harass me, making it difficult for me to concentrate on my business. Now it seems that the world will be at peace for a rare time."

Cao Zhang asked, "Father, do you mean that Yizhou is in such a state of chaos that it can tie down the Grand Marshal for several years?"

"Not only Yizhou, but also Jingzhou, Xiongnu and Xianbei."

Cao Cao drank a mouthful of sour soup and raised his lips. "How many people can he trust in this world? How many people want him dead? As for the matter of Chen Xianwang, this guy will not trust the heroes from all over the country, let alone grant them great power. The only people he can trust are bandits like Gan Ning."

"Even Ma Teng and his son were reluctantly employed because of their in-laws."

As Cao Cao spoke, his appetite opened up and he felt extremely happy. He handed the empty bowl to Cao Xiu, who took the bowl and filled it with half a bowlful.

Cao Cao took it and blew on it, then continued to sip, savoring the rich sour taste: "This is a good thing, why didn't Ziwen say so earlier!"

Cao Zhang had a wooden face and tried to defend himself, "Father, the Grand Marshal's actions cannot be judged by common sense. Yizhou is vast, populated and rich in products, which is the foundation for a king. What the Grand Marshal lacks is food and fodder. With Shuzhong, Hanzhong and Guanzhong, there will be no shortage of food from next year. I think that the food from Shuzhong and Hanzhong alone can save the Grand Marshal three years of recuperation time."

Cao Cao lowered his head to drink the sour soup. Cao Zhang continued, "Before, Guanzhong was insufficient. The Grand Marshal wanted to go east to Hulao, but he had to accumulate for five years. Now it seems that by the autumn of next year at the latest, the troops in Guanzhong can reach the vicinity of Dongjun."

Cao Zhang felt that his analysis made sense, so he looked at Cao Cao's profile and said, "From this perspective, our army only has two years to manage Qingzhou. We expect the enemy to be strong, so I think we should set up defenses in Dongping and Rencheng and prepare for war next autumn."

"What Ziwen said makes sense."

Cao Cao put down his sour soup, lost his appetite, turned his head and looked at Cao Xiu and Cao Zhen: "Ziwen's words have reached your ears, don't tell others. If someone else says such words that boost others' prestige and reduce your own ambition, I will kill them."

Then he raised his head and glared at Cao Zhang: "Don't I know what you know? War is all about courage! You can only think about this kind of talk in your heart, but never say it out loud!"

Under Cao Cao's gaze, Cao Zhang was awed, took a step back, and bowed: "Yes, I will remember this!"

(End of this chapter)