There is a jackal at the front door, and a hungry wolf at the back door. The jackal at the front door is somewhat humane and can negotiate, but the wolf at the back door bites anyone he catches, or bites him as long as he has the chance without any courtesy and no room for negotiation. Smart.

Mr. Cao naturally made a smart choice and bet his last hope on Deputy Director Tao's consistently good reputation.

Boss Cao, who is good at gambling, won again. When Cao's army, which was almost all old, weak and wounded soldiers, withdrew from Xuchang City, not only countless Xuzhou soldiers asked Deputy Director Tao to order an attack, but even the soldiers in Xuchang City

Many civil and military officials of the Han Dynasty, led by Zhang Fuwan, asked Deputy Director Tao to launch an attack immediately to annihilate the remnants of Cao's army, which had basically no power to resist, and avenge the crimes that Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty had suffered in the past five years.

In order to make Deputy Director Tao make up his mind, Fu Wan also said that he could come forward to persuade Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty to renege on his promise, and issued an edict ordering the Xuzhou army to take action to share the blame for Deputy Director Tao.

"If you don't trust someone, I will never go back on what I promised!" This was the only reply given by Deputy Director Tao. Then, no matter how everyone tried to persuade him, Deputy Director Tao immediately issued a military order, ordering all the soldiers in the army.

You will never be allowed to actively harm or attack Cao's troops leaving the city. Anyone who disobeys the order will have their entire family executed!

In order to ensure that his orders were carried out, Deputy Director Tao also arranged for Xu Chu to lead the army to assist Shiyi to supervise the army, and clearly marked the restricted area. Anyone who came within three hundred steps of Cao's camp without permission would be killed immediately.

!At the same time, he also asked Cao's army to implement his ban. Anyone who left the camp for 300 steps would be killed immediately! The order was promulgated, and the entire Xuzhou army was shocked. All officials in the Han Dynasty were helpless, but the beneficiary, Boss Cao, did not do anything.

He appreciated the favor and said in front of the Xuzhou envoy Jiang Gan who came to announce the order: "Go back and tell Tao Thief that he can win the trust of the world and it will be easier to deceive him in the future."

Of course, Deputy Director Tao did not care about Boss Cao's ingratitude. Firstly, there was no need, and secondly, there was no time. After leading the army to Xuchang City, Deputy Director Tao was immediately surrounded by the Han Dynasty civil and military forces in Xuchang City. Not only did he get his brother

The pottery merchant bowed in front of him and greeted his sister-in-law and nephew. He also had to go into the palace to kowtow to Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty and greet the Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty and Concubine Dong Guifei, who did not know her appearance. At the same time, he had to arrange for the army to take over the defense of Xuchang City and protect the imperial city.

.Rectify the public security in Xuchang City, prevent disharmonious elements from taking advantage of the situation, post notices to appease the people in the city, and arrange for manpower to transport the promised food out of the city to deliver to Boss Cao. I was so busy that I didn’t sleep for another night, even after entering the city.

If you have completely forgotten all the important things about achieving good things with Guo Huan, then you still have time to pay attention to Boss Cao’s whining as a defeated dog?

The military ranks first in troubled times. While busy with these tedious government affairs, Deputy Director Tao had to take time out to discuss with a group of advisers how to deal with Uncle Liu who came to fish in troubled waters with his own dry food. Originally, the advisers, including Jia Laohu, suggested that Deputy Director Tao

They resolutely fought back and led the reinforcements to attack Uncle Liu Huang's arrogance. The new neighbors in Nanyang did not dare to take a peek at the Xuzhou army. However, after repeated calculations, Deputy Director Tao ordered: "Send orders to Xu Huang's troops to withdraw to Xuchang."

Join the main force and let Zhao Yun lead the army to the rear. The distance between the rear group and the main force should not be more than ten miles. Slowly withdraw to Xuchang and beware of sneak attacks by big-eared thieves."

Jia Laoduhu, Liu Ye and others looked at each other, and then Liu Ye asked cautiously: "My lord, the Jingzhou army is far less elite and good at fighting than Cao's army. Even if there are 100,000, there is nothing to fear. Liu Bei only has a few thousand soldiers in his hands. I don't know my lord."

Why are you so vigilant? It seems like you are still worried about General Gongming and his friends being defeated again."

"I am indeed worried." Deputy Director Tao nodded calmly and said with a sullen face: "An enemy more dangerous and despicable than Thief Cao is coming. You must be careful. Be careful of a man named Zhuge Liang next to Thief Cao.

In terms of talent and strategy, he is by no means inferior to you, nor is he inferior to Xun Yu and Guo Jia, Cao Cao's advisers. He is especially good at exploiting the enemy's psychological weakness. I must be careful when fighting him, and you must be cautious too.

"

Jia Lao Poison, Liu Ye and Shi Yi who were present all took a breath, because this was the first time they saw Deputy Director Tao being so wary of an enemy since they called Deputy Director Tao to act as an accomplice and lackey, but Jia Lao Poison and others

People also knew that Deputy Director Tao was very accurate in judging people and never played tricks on military affairs, so they no longer dared to object to Deputy Director Tao's prudent decision and quickly followed the order while keeping Zhuge Liang's name in mind.

The night passed quickly. In the early morning of the next day, in view of the large number of injuries and illnesses in the team and the large number of women and family members, Boss Cao did not evacuate Xuchang immediately. He only sent Mao Jie into the city to negotiate with Deputy Director Tao and requested to leave Xuchang outside the city.

They rested for another day and then evacuated. At the same time, they asked Deputy Director Tao for a batch of medicine to treat injuries. Deputy Director Tao agreed. In response, the generals in Xuzhou were worried that Deputy Director Tao was a legacy of raising tigers, and they were even more worried that Boss Cao was playing a trick.

, wanted to wait until Liu Bei's reinforcements arrived, and then work together to recapture Xuchang City, but Deputy Director Tao explained for Boss Cao: "If Cao Cao wanted to wait for the reinforcements of the Big Ear Thieves to arrive, then he would not withdraw from Xuchang and hide in the city.

It's safer inside than outside the city."

Trouble soon came. In the evening, Xu Huang, who was still retreating, suddenly sent a messenger back to Xuchang and reported an amazing event to Deputy Director Tao. When the Xuzhou army retreated in the morning, Liu Huangshu led his army to catch up with Zhao Yun who was behind the throne.

As a result, not only did the two armies not engage in battle, but Uncle Liu and Zhao Yun whispered alone on the battlefield for a long time, and then led the army to withdraw. Qu Yi's brother Qu Mian, who was killed in the battle, was furious. Xu Huang was also shocked when he received the news.

He quickly led his troops back to question Zhao Yun face to face, but Zhao Yun insisted that he and Uncle Liu Huang were just talking about the past, and did not involve military affairs. Xu Huang, who was suspicious, did not dare to take it lightly, so he sent a messenger back to report and asked Deputy Director Tao to make a decision.

After listening to this report, Deputy Director Tao suddenly smiled bitterly and said: "Sure enough, the alienation plan is here. It's my fault for not thinking carefully. I only thought that Zilong has a stable character and the queen will not easily fall into the plan, but I forgot that the big-eared thief is still here.

With this hand, he took advantage of the opportunity given by his old friend Zilong Dianhou to plot a rift and destroy the internal unity of our army."

"My lord, are you sure this is just a quarrel between big-eared thieves?" Liu Ye did not dare to take it lightly and reminded: "My lord, don't forget. Liu Bei and Zilong are old friends, and they were once as close as brothers. It is said that the three brothers Liu, Guan, and Zhang once called Zhao Yun

As the fourth brother, with such a close relationship, my lord is not afraid that Zhao Yun will have different intentions?"

"Zilong is not that kind of person!" Deputy Director Tao shook his head resolutely and said: "Zilong is not greedy for money, not lustful, he is virtuous, and it is impossible for him to do anything sorry to me. I can conclude that this matter must be from Zhuge Village.

Husband's trick. Its purpose is nothing more than to make our army suspicious of Zhao Yun. If our army takes precautions, the big-eared thieves will have an opportunity to take advantage of him."

Liu Ye was still a little hesitant, but Jia Laopo next to him sighed: "My lord is really good at recognizing people. This Mr. Zhuge also has an extremely accurate grasp of the enemy's thoughts. Regarding General Zilong, although I believe that Zilong

General Long’s character, but his heart is full of suspicion and estrangement. It’s because our Lord is wise and magnanimous. If it had been anyone else, this matter would have probably led to a catastrophe.”

Deputy Director Tao nodded and admitted that what Jia Lao said was true. If Zhuge Liang's trick was used on others, such as Yuan Sangong and Yuan Sangong, then Zhao Yun would basically be forced to rebel or die innocently.

There are two ways to go.

"Lord, the enemy is so cunning, our army had better act cautiously." Shiyi suggested: "Fenqiu is only eighty miles away from Xuchang. Just in case, Cao Cao cannot be allowed to stay at the gate of Xuchang.

, If Cao Cao sends an envoy to ask for a grace period tomorrow, my lord must not agree, and must ask Cao Cao to withdraw immediately to avoid giving Liu Bei an opportunity."

"Mr. Ziyu is wrong." Deputy Director Tao shook his head and said with a smile: "I not only agreed to extend the time for the thief Cao to evacuate, but also gave the thief Cao a batch of medicine to treat his injuries. Sir, do you think I am really a benevolent woman?

Random show of goodwill?"

"Does the lord have other purposes?" Shi Yi was stunned. After thinking about it again, Shi Yi immediately woke up and said in surprise: "Could it be that the lord wants to use Cao Jun to lure the enemy, so that Liu Bei and Cai Mao think they have something to do with Cao Cao?

There is an opportunity to join forces to defeat Xuchang, so continue to march to the gates of Xuchang City to fight our army decisively?"

Deputy Director Tao smiled, and Jia Laohu and Liu Ye, who had already guessed Deputy Director Tao's true purpose, also laughed. Then Liu Ye asked with a smile: "Mr. Ziyu, why don't you think about it, our army has already taken over

The fortified city of Xuchang is in an invincible position, so why haven't you tried to lure the big-ear bandits to the city for a decisive battle? The big-ear bandits joined forces with Cai Hao and Han Fu to kill General Qu Yi and more than 3,000 soldiers of our army.

If my lord does not take revenge, wouldn’t it be a great loss to our army’s military prestige and chill the hearts of our soldiers?”

Shiyi suddenly realized it and scolded himself for being stupid. How could he suspect that his cunning lord had made a mistake and taken danger? Finally, Shiyi, who was good at scheming, also suggested: "In this case, Cao Cao is unwilling to believe Liu Bei, so the lord might as well take the initiative to send Liu Bei."

An envoy went to contact Cao Cao. On the pretext that he cared about the many injuries and illnesses among Cao Cao's soldiers, he allowed Cao Cao to stay outside Xuchang for one more day and then evacuate the day after tomorrow. In this way, Liu Bei could march with confidence. As long as Liu Bei crossed the Lishui River,

Our army can be considered to have achieved its goal of luring the enemy."

"I took the initiative to allow Cao Cao to stay one more day. With Cao Cao's cunning, wouldn't he immediately understand our army's intentions?" Deputy Director Tao asked doubtfully.

"It doesn't matter. I dare to conclude that after Cao Cao understands our army's intentions, he will not only not destroy our army's plan, but will also actively cooperate with our army's plan." Shi Yi smiled and replied: "My lord, have you forgotten that after Cao Cao withdrew to Runan?

, If you want to make a comeback, who will be your first target? Our Xuzhou army with strong soldiers and horses, or Jingzhou army with weak infantry and cavalry?"

Deputy Director Tao laughed loudly and hurriedly ordered: "Mr. Ziyu, why don't you lie down and negotiate with the traitor Cao face to face? Tell him that I am compassionate and for the sake of pitiful Cao Ah Man, let him go again."

Let's rest for a day, and then retreat to Runan." He Yi promised, and quickly took the order to act.

What is a conspiracy? A conspiracy means that you have to jump into the trap even though you know it is a trap! After Shiyi, on behalf of Deputy Director Tao, rushed to Cao Ying to negotiate with Boss Cao face to face, Boss Cao was surprised and quickly

He understood Deputy Director Tao's malicious intentions, but after he cursed Deputy Director Tao as a traitor in front of Shi Yi, Boss Cao still hummed and ordered to Shi Yi: "Go back and tell Tao, because he did this to me."

For the sake of profit, I'm doing this favor for him, but I can't guarantee whether the big-eared thief will fall into the trap."

"Thank you very much, Mr. Meng De." Shi Yi said with cupped hands: "As long as Mr. Meng De is in a hurry to send someone to contact General Han Fu and ask General Han Fu to terminate the alliance privately concluded with the Big Ear Thief, Yi thinks that the Big Ear Thief will fall into the trap.

"

"Woman. Our army camp is surrounded by you. Can my messenger get out?" Boss Cao snorted impatiently, "Also, I have something to say first. Once it is confirmed that the big-eared bandits have crossed the Lishui River, I will

The army will withdraw immediately, and the Tao thieves must fulfill their promise and cover our army's retreat."

"Of course, the promises made by my lord are always worth a thousand pieces of gold." Shiyi handed over his hand, then said goodbye and went back to report the message.

The next morning, the partial divisions led by Xu Huang and Xun Chen withdrew to the gates of Xuchang City. Deputy Director Tao personally came out of the city to greet them. He comforted the defeated partial division generals and said that victory and defeat were commonplace for military strategists. Losing a battle was not a terrible thing.

The terrible thing is to lose confidence and other good words. Zhao Yun, who knew that he had caused a big disaster, also knelt down in front of Deputy Director Tao to apologize. He admitted that he was negligent and fell into Liu Huangshu's trick, which caused the army's morale to be unstable and destroyed.

In order to show the unity of the Xuzhou army, Deputy Director Tao laughed loudly and said: "You must be punished if you have done something wrong. Zilong, I will punish you by not being allowed to enter Xuchang City. You will be stationed in a camp outside the city and stationed in my Chinese army camp to show that."

What do you think about punishment?"

What else could Zhao Yun say? Not only could he quickly thank Deputy Director Tao for his magnanimity, but he was even more grateful for Deputy Director Tao's trust in him. Seeing that Deputy Director Tao had entrusted his safety to Zhao Yun, the Xuzhou generals

I also understood that Deputy Director Tao did not have any doubts about Zhao Yun, but he was very envious of the trust and favor Zhao Yun received. After handling this matter, Deputy Director Tao immediately called Xun Chen to him and asked in a low voice: "Big Er

Where are the thieves’ team?”

"I dare not cross the Yingyin Ferry in Yanshui River," Xun Chen replied.

"Sure enough, he is cunning." Deputy Director Tao cursed and asked, "Have you ever found out what the big-eared thief's food and grass situation is like?"

"No." Xun Chen shook his head and explained: "After the death of General Qu, our army's sentinels no longer had the opportunity to cross Ru River, so it is impossible to judge the amount of food and grass he had. But it stands to reason that from Wancheng to Xuchang

There are more than 400 miles of grain roads, and there is only a short water transportation distance along the way, so the big-eared thieves will not have enough food and grass."

Deputy Director Tao nodded, agreeing with Xun Chen's point of view, and said in a deep voice: "In this way, as long as nothing unexpected happens, the outcome of this battle will be known within three or two days. Can our army avenge General Qu?

, it depends on whether the big-eared thief can pass through Lishui."

"My lord is so cunning, can't he think of a way to lure the big-eared thieves across the Lishui River for a decisive battle?"

Why not try to cut off the Big Ear Bandits' food route and return route, encircle and annihilate the Big Ear Bandits' team?"

"Don't underestimate the enemy, be careful." Deputy Director Tao shook his head and said with a smile: "In front of Zhuge Villager, our army had better stay on the defensive, wait for Zhuge Villager to make the first move, and then strike later. Fortunately,

We don’t need to be anxious about this matter, the only ones who are anxious are Cai Hao and the big-eared thief.”

After saying this, Deputy Director Tao naturally thought of the old thief Sima, Zhuge Villager's lifelong rival. This time Cao's army withdrew from Xuchang, and brothers Sima Lang and Sima Yi followed Cao out of the city. Although it is not yet clear whether this is

The Sima brothers were voluntary or Boss Cao was forced, but Deputy Director Tao still felt quite regretful. If he could get Sima Yi in his hands earlier, he would have an extra bargaining chip to compete head-on with Zhuge Liang and Boss Cao. Of course, if

It's also very troublesome to make the tail big enough to keep it from falling off.

……………………

Just as Deputy Director Tao had guessed, because of the retreat strategy adopted by the Xuzhou army, our Uncle Liu Huang was indeed so anxious that his head was about to smoke. Zhuge Liang, whom Zhuge Xuan recommended to Uncle Liu as his counselor, judged that the Xuzhou army's initiative to retreat was an inducement.
To be continued...