Chapter 236 Is Lu Bu useless or Liu Bei too strong? My life is hard too! Outsiders cannot be trusted, father and son fight together!

Guandu, Caoying fortress.

At this moment, Cao Cao was standing at the door of the tent with his hands behind his back, looking at the earthen hills outside the camp from afar, and shooting arrows at his fortress from a high position.

His soldiers could only huddle on the wall like turtles, enduring the suppression of Yuan army's rain of arrows.

Some Yuan soldiers even urinated on the hill to humiliate Cao's army.

Cao Cao clenched his fists secretly, with hatred flashing across his face, but in the end he could only sigh helplessly.

Since the Yellow River defense line was lost, he was forced to retreat to the Guandu defense line that had been built in advance. Relying on several water systems as barriers, he confined Yuan Shao's 150,000 troops to the narrow terrain of Guandu.

Yuan Shao was naturally no pushover, and he quickly took advantage of his military strength to pile up dozens of earth hills in front of his fortress, and shot arrows at him from above.

Faced with Yuan Shao's tactics, Cao Cao was helpless and could only encourage his soldiers to endure and persevere.

But as time went by, the soldiers gradually became unable to endure such humiliating defensive tactics, and their morale gradually declined.

"General Zixiao from the east reported that due to the severe shortage of troops and the lack of strategic locations to defend Xuzhou, General Zixiao had to abandon the counties and states in the north of Xuzhou, such as Donghai Langye, and withdraw the limited troops to Xiapi for defense."

"General Zixiao begs the Minister of Works to send reinforcements to Xuzhou as soon as possible, otherwise he will not be able to hold out for long under the threat of Yuan Tan's 50,000 troops."

Cheng Yu behind him silently read out Cao Ren's emergency document.

Every word was like adding insult to injury, making Cao Cao even more depressed.

"If we can take Huainan ahead of time, we can get tens of thousands more Huainan warriors, and Xuzhou will have enough troops to stop Yuan Tan."

"Under the current situation, how can I have extra troops to reinforce Xia Pi?"

"Reply to Shu Zixiao and tell him to hold on a little longer."

Cao Cao looked helpless, sighed and waved his hands.

Cheng Yu also sighed and accepted the order silently.

Cao Cao returned to his tent and stared at the map, seemingly eager to come up with a strategy to defeat Yuan Shao.

Footsteps were heard, and Guo Jia walked into the tent with a silk book in his hand and an unusual expression.

"Sikong, Lord Xun has just sent an urgent report from Xudu. Lu Bu has sent people to ask for help from the court."

Cao Cao's heart trembled, and he turned around suddenly, with a hint of ominousness in his eyes.

"Liu Bei dispatched Guan Yu to lead the Xiangyang Army eastwards, and unexpectedly attacked Huainan, successively capturing the cities of Lu'an and Yangquan."

"Lü Bu failed to save Yangquan and was ambushed by Guan Yu, losing more than half of his soldiers. Liu Bei took the opportunity to capture Chengde City."

"Now Liu Bei's two armies are approaching Shouchun. Lü Bu is afraid that he can't defend Shouchun, so he has to send an envoy to Xudu to ask the emperor for help!"

Guo Jia spoke in a serious tone as he told everyone the contents of Xun Yu's book.

Cao Cao snatched the letter from Guo Jia's hand, looked at him in surprise and read it again.

After a long time, he took a breath.

"I besieged Yangquan City for more than two months but failed to make any progress. However, Liu Bei easily broke through it."

"Should I say that Lu Bu is too incompetent, or that Liu Bei is too strong, so strong that no matter who stands in front of him, they can't stand a single blow?"

Cao Cao threw the letter on the table, a helpless smile flashed across his lips.

"Sikong, since Liu Bei got Xiao Fang's assistance, his strength has become like a snowball, getting bigger and stronger."

"After he conquered Jiangdong, he gained the support of many of Jiangdong's counselors and generals, and his strength has become unimaginable."

"He was able to capture cities and reach Shouchun so quickly. Although it was beyond our expectations, it was also reasonable."

After Guo Jia's analysis, his face turned grim and he said,
"But no matter what, it is a fact that Liu Bei's troops have surrounded Shouchun, and it is also a fact that Huainan is about to change hands."

"Once we lose the barrier of Huainan, Liu Bei's army will be able to go north along the Yingshui River and attack Xudu directly, stabbing us in the back."

"Now all our troops have been transferred north to resist Yuan Shao. We are completely powerless to stop Liu Bei's attack!"

"By then we will be attacked from both north and south by Yuan Shao and Liu Bei, and everything will be over!"

"So Jia believes that we must rescue Lu Bu and never let Liu Bei capture Shouchun and seize Huainan!"

After a pause, Guo Jia added:
"At least, we can't let Liu Bei swallow Huainan before we win the Battle of Guandu!"

Cao Cao shuddered, sat up suddenly, and came to the map again.

"Feng Xiao is right. If Liu Bei takes Huainan, he can attack our Xudu from both Nanyang and Huainan at the same time."

"My main forces are all fighting against Yuan Shu. How can I resist his 100,000-man army's two-pronged attack?"

"If Liu Bei seizes Xudu and kidnaps the emperor, I will die without a burial place..."

"Lü Bu's four servants must not die, and Huainan must not be taken by Liu Bei!"

Cao Cao slammed his fist on the map, his eyes determined and solemn.

"Sikong, if we can save Lu Bu, we will save him."

"But right now we are so short of manpower that we can't even send reinforcements to Xuzhou. How can we save Lu Bu?"

However, Cheng Yu poured a bucket of cold water on Cao Cao's head.

Cao Cao was immediately chilled to the bone. He shivered all over, and the iron-like determination in his eyes turned into bitterness and helplessness.

"Yes, you are right. I can't even save Zixiao, so how can I save Lu Bu's four servants?"

Cao Cao shook his head and sighed, then sat down again helplessly.

"It may not take many troops to save Lu Bu."

Guo Jia raised a strange expression on his face and pointed at the map:
"Our army is stretched thin and unable to rescue Lu Bu. Liu Bei must be aware of this."

"So he will definitely ignore our army and gather his troops in Shouchun without hesitation, while neglecting to take precautions in Yangquan upstream."

"Then we can take them by surprise. We only need to gather five or six thousand soldiers and march south along the Ying River day and night, cross the Huai River quickly, and attack Yangquan by surprise. We will surely be able to capture it in one fell swoop!" "Once Yangquan City is lost, Liu Bei will certainly not be able to fully besiege Shouchun, and can only divide his forces to retake it."

"In this way, we only need to hold Yangquan to tie down Liu Bei's tens of thousands of troops, thus alleviating the pressure on Shouchun City."

"With Lu Bu's strength and the solidity of Shouchun City, it should be no problem for him to defend until we win the Battle of Guandu."

Guo Jia pointed at the location of Yangquan with his fingertips and told his plan with a sly smile.

Cao Cao seemed to be enlightened, and his eyes, which were full of bitterness, suddenly lit up with brilliance.

"Feng Xiao, this is a brilliant plan, but even if we have five or six thousand soldiers, I'm afraid we can't mobilize them now."

Cheng Yu continued to pour cold water on him.

Cao Cao looked at Guo Jia anxiously. Since Guo Jia dared to offer this plan, he must have a plan to solve the problem of insufficient military force.

"Sir, don't forget, we still have more than 7,000 soldiers in Xudu that have not been deployed yet."

"These troops must be kept for surveillance...protection of the emperor. Naturally, not all of them can be used, but at least 3,000 troops can be mobilized."

"Besides, since Guanzhong Ma Teng has already offered his sons and nephews as hostages to the court and submitted to the court, Sikong can order him to send thousands of Xiliang troops to Xudu to join forces on the pretext of offering horses in the name of the court."

"Although Ma Teng will not send a large number of troops to help, he will definitely send out 3,000 to 4,000 soldiers. If we gather them together, won't we have more than 7,000 soldiers available?"

"Sikong can send this army to attack Yangquan unexpectedly and save Lu Bu from danger!"

Cao Cao's eyes lit up, and his gloomy face suddenly glowed.

He stared at the map, chewing on Guo Jia's advice, his eyes becoming more and more excited.

Suddenly he slapped the table and laughed:
"Feng Xiao is really my son, Zi Fang. I didn't expect that you could gather 7,000 soldiers by just piecing together everything."

"Okay, okay, let's follow Feng Xiao's plan and quickly send someone to Guanzhong with the imperial edict to mobilize troops from Ma Teng!"

Cheng Yu's expression remained solemn, and he bowed and said:
"Feng Xiao's plan is certainly feasible, but these 7,000 soldiers will be our army's only mobile force, so we must have a reliable person to lead them."

"Otherwise, if this army gets out of control, the consequences will be disastrous!"

Cao Cao's smile gradually faded and his brows furrowed again.

Cheng Yu's subtext was, of course, that this mobile army should be commanded by military generals from the Xiahou and Cao clans.

Otherwise, if a general from another family were in charge, and if he changed his mind at this critical moment and turned against us and launched a surprise attack on Xu Du, the consequences would be unimaginable.

However, Cao Ren, Xiahou Yuan and other generals of other surnames were already burdened with heavy responsibilities and were unable to return to Xu Du to lead the army.

Although Xiahou Dun was not on the front line, he was responsible for the important task of guarding Xu Du, and there seemed to be no one available among the royal family.

"Brothers fight together to fight tigers, fathers and sons fight together in battle. Now only my son can be trusted..."

Cao Cao took a deep breath and suddenly shouted:
"Dian Wei, you must quickly take my secret order back to Xudu and order Ang'er to lead these 7,000 soldiers and horses to march south from Yingshui day and night to launch a surprise attack on Yangquan!"

...

North of Guandu is Yuan’s main camp.

Inside the central army tent, Yuan Shao had also received Lu Bu's letter for help.

All the counselors were discussing endlessly whether they should rescue Lu Bu.

Some people suggested that Yuan Tan should proceed step by step and not get involved in the war in Huainan before taking Xuzhou.

Some people also believe that with Yuan Tan's strength, he was able to capture Xuzhou while sending troops to intervene in the battle of Huainan.

Some people thought that Lu Bu was fickle and untrustworthy and should not be rescued.

Some people also believe that compared with Lu Bu's fickleness, Liu Bei's threat of swallowing up Huainan is a greater threat, and they should go to rescue Lu Bu.

"My Lord, You thinks that we need to save Lu Bu, but we can't save Lu Bu in vain!"

Xu You, who had been silent all this time, suddenly spoke loudly.

Such mysterious words immediately attracted everyone's attention.

Yuan Shao's eyes moved slightly, and he waved his hand to signal Xu You to continue.

"If we don't save Lu Bu, Liu Bei might capture Huainan before the eldest son takes Xuzhou."

"In this way, Liu Bei can intervene in the battle between our army and Cao Cao at Guandu to the west, and intervene in the battle in Xuzhou to the east."

"Then my lord, you fought to the death with Cao Cao, but let Liu Bei reap the benefits. This is naturally intolerable."

"So this Lu Bu must be saved."

Xu You changed the subject and sneered:

"As for Lu Bu's fickleness, it is also a fact, so we must be on guard against it."

"So the lord must first order Lü Bu to send his wife, children and family members as hostages. Once the lord has the means to restrain Lü Bu, he will send troops to rescue him."

After hearing Xu You's suggestion, none of the counselors argued anymore.

There was no other way, because Xu You's plan was carefully considered and filled all the loopholes, which could be said to be a best of both worlds strategy.

The hesitation on Yuan Shao's face disappeared, and he nodded:
"Ziyuan's plan is indeed a foolproof one!"

"Just as you said, let Lü Bu's messenger reply to Lü Bu and ask him to send his wife and children as hostages."

"Ziyuan, you should take my order and go to Xuzhou to assist Tan'er in preparing to send troops to rescue Lu Bu."

Xu You accepted the order and was about to leave.

At this time.

Ju Su stood up and bowed, saying:
"My lord, I believe that in addition to asking Lu Bu to send his wife and children as hostages, you also want him to send something most important."

Yuan Shao was startled, and asked with a mysterious look in his eyes: "What else do you want Lu Bu to send?"

(End of this chapter)