After hearing the news that Xun Yu's messenger had killed a good horse, no matter how calm and confident Boss Cao was, he broke into a cold sweat. The God of War, Lu Bu, was instigated by Boss Cao's nemesis Chen Gong to send troops to Yanzhou.

Cao Ren, the general of Cao's army who stayed behind in Yanzhou, fought hard and retreated steadily. He also captured the strategically important city of Puyang and captured almost all the cities in Yanzhou. Cao Cao's hometown of Yanzhou now only has Juancheng left.

The three cities of Dong'a and Fan County are struggling to support themselves and may be breached by Lu Bu at any time!

"If there is a loss in Yanzhou, I will be homeless!" After being silent for a long time, the always optimistic and confident Boss Cao gritted his teeth and said a dejected sentence.

"Xuzhou can no longer be fought. The lord must return to Yanzhou immediately!" Guo Jia said categorically: "All the five counties in Xuzhou were attacked by war and their vitality was completely damaged. Even if the lord takes Xuzhou, he will not be able to gain a foothold. The gain of exchanging Yanzhou for Xuzhou is not worth the loss!

Moreover, the three supporting armies of Kong Rong, Tian Kai and Liu Bei have already arrived on the battlefield. It will be very difficult for our army to attack Xuzhou. It may also lead to the five armies of Lu Bu, Tao Qian, Liu Bei, Tian Kai and Kong Rong forming an alliance to jointly attack our army.

,The consequences could be disastrous!"

Boss Cao nodded slowly and admitted that what Guo Jia said was true. In order to avenge Boss Cao's father, Cao Song, Cao Jun killed four of the five counties in Xuzhou until rivers of blood flowed and corpses piled up like mountains. Everyone in Xuzhou was targeting Cao Jun.

Fearing him as much as a tiger and hating him as much as his bones, when he heard the news about Lu Bu's attack on Yanzhou, he would most likely not let go of this opportunity to beat him up. Kong Rong and Tian Kai, who were friends with Tao Qian, might also get involved.

Legs, take advantage of the situation!

"Lord, if that's the case, why not sell a favor to Liu Bei?" Xun You pointed at the Liu Bei letter on the case and suggested, "For now, let's make peace with Tao Qian and retreat to recover Yanzhou?"

Boss Cao raised his eyebrows and was about to agree, but Guo Jia suddenly stopped him and said, "No! Master, this favor must not be sold to Liu Bei!"

"Why did Fengxiao say this?" Boss Cao asked in surprise.

"Liu Bei is a great hero! Guan Yu and Zhang Fei are enemies of ten thousand people!" Guo Jia said seriously: "If you give Liu Bei the help of Xuzhou's rescue, the soldiers and people of Xuzhou will regard Liu Bei as their reborn parent and burst into tears of gratitude. Tao Qian will also do it at any cost.

Win over Liu Bei and use Liu Bei's power to prevent our army from returning. Once Liu Bei establishes a foothold in Xuzhou, it will be extremely difficult for our army to capture Xuzhou and avenge our lord's father!"

"The words of filial piety are reasonable." Boss Cao came to his senses and agreed: "Liu Bei is good at winning over people's hearts. Guan Yu and Zhang Fei are extraordinary in martial arts. Lu Bu is even afraid of them. If Liu Bei is allowed to gain a foothold in Xuzhou, given time, he will become our formidable enemy!"

"

Seeing that Cao Lao agreed with Guo Jia's opinion, Xun You did not insist on it, so he suggested: "In this case, the lord can behead Tao Ying in public to pay homage to the Grand Duke, and then immediately return with troops and quickly withdraw from Xuzhou."

"Lord, it's still not possible!" Guo Jia seemed to have worked up all his energy to go against Xun You today. He once again stopped him and said shockingly: "Lord, according to Guo Jia's opinion, not only can this Tao Ying not be killed, but he should also

Give Tao Qian all the great contributions our army made to saving the people by accepting his peace request!"

"Why did Mr. Fengxiao say this?" Xun You was shocked and said: "Tao Ying is Tao Qian's son, and he has a grudge against his lord for killing his father! Now that Tao Ying has thrown himself into a trap, how can we let him go?"

"But now Tao Ying is of great use to my lord!" Guo Jia asked with a smile: "Mr. Gongda, have you ever thought about who shot the arrow book announcing Tao Ying's identity from Xuzhou City to me?

A military scout?"

Xun You was stunned for a moment, and then he remembered an important question - who shot that informant arrow from Xuzhou City? After a second thought, Xun You exclaimed: "Could it be Liu Bei?"

"It's not Liu Bei. Liu Bei just entered Xuzhou and would not take the risk of shooting the book to expose his ugly face." Guo Jia said confidently: "But the person who shot the book must have been ordered by Liu Bei!"

"That makes sense." Boss Cao said, "If I kill Tao Ying and my hatred against Tao Qian deepens, Tao Qian will definitely rely on Liu Bei even more, which will be very helpful for Liu Bei to gain a foothold in Xuzhou and then control Xuzhou's power!"

"Not only that, there is another possibility." Guo Jia smiled and said: "Old Tao Qian is already over sixty years old and frail and sick. If he hears the bad news about his beloved son again, even if he does not die on the spot, his condition will definitely get worse, regardless of

Whether Tao Qian's condition worsens or he dies on the spot, only Liu Bei can benefit from it!"

Boss Cao blinked his triangular eyes and asked: "Then Fengxiao proposed to give the relief of Xuzhou to Tao Ying's son, is he planning to drive a wedge between the Tao family and Liu Bei?"

"As my lord said, it is exactly the case." Guo Jia nodded and admitted, and said with a bad smile: "If the contribution of Xuzhou's rescue of the siege is given to Tao Ying, the soldiers and people of Xuzhou will only be grateful to Tao and his son, but not to Liu Bei. The Liu Bei brothers are

Tao Qian is not that important to the people of Xuzhou. Naturally, it will be difficult for the Liu Bei brothers to gain a foothold in Xuzhou. They might withdraw from Xuzhou in despair. Once Liu Bei leaves, when the lord comes to attack Xuzhou again, there will be no resistance.

Much smaller?"

Boss Cao stood up from the table and walked around the tent with his hands behind his back, weighing the pros and cons while walking on tiptoe. Guo Jia's eyes followed Boss Cao's figure and said calmly: "My lord, Guo Jia knows that he killed his father."

The hatred is irreconcilable, but people are divided into high and low levels, and enemies have strong and weak choices. Liu Bei is a powerful man in the world. He is both civil and military and good at winning over people's hearts. If he is allowed to stabilize his foothold in Xuzhou, the lord will definitely be defeated if he wants to capture Xuzhou again.

They have to pay a higher price. But Tao and his son are different. Tao Qian is old and sick, Tao Qian's eldest son Tao Shang is cowardly and incompetent, and his second son Tao Ying only knows poetry and songs. He has no courage and no scheming. They are all far better than Liu Bei.

Easy to deal with.”

"Mr. Guo Jia, I think that kid Tao Ying is very courageous and talented. Why do you say he has the courage of an ordinary man and no scheming?" Cao Hong, Cao's favorite general, asked curiously.

"How could a scheming person personally deliver a message to our army's camp?" Guo Jia said with a smile: "A gentleman does not stand under a dangerous wall. Tao Ying's son is Tao Qian's second son, but he shows off the courage of a single man and rides alone.

He went to our army camp to deliver a message without considering the consequences of his actions. How can he not be brave and reckless?"

Cao Hong suddenly realized that he was right. Several of the peace envoys sent by Tao Qian earlier were killed by the lord. Tao Ying still dared to come to deliver the message. What else could he be stupid? Unless he, Tao Ying, could predict the future and knew who he was.

Send the letter to our army's camp, and the news of Lu Bu's attack on Yanzhou also happens to be sent to our army's camp!

"Our army can also take advantage of Tao Ying's bravery." Boss Cao suddenly stopped, turned to Guo Jia and said with a fierce smile: "Fengxiao, put the arrow book away, and when you release Tao Ying later, put it away

Give him the arrow book and let old Tao Qian and Liu Bei fight like dogs!"

Guo Jia smiled slyly and nodded, understanding - Tao Ying is a foolhardy boy, but old Tao Qian is a real old fox. After seeing the arrow book, he still doesn't doubt Liu Bei. Finally, Guo Jia suggested:

"My lord, Guo Jia thinks that it would be a pity to let Tao Ying's son go directly. Guo Jia has a plan that can make Tao Ying's son famous in Xuzhou City and make Liu Bei's son feel ashamed in Xuzhou City. He may even be embarrassed to stay in Xuzhou and be with Tao Qian.

We parted ways."

"What's the clever idea of ​​being a filial piety? Tell me quickly." Boss Cao said happily: "The higher the reputation of Tao Ying in Xuzhou, the easier it will be for me to capture Xuzhou next time!"

……………………

After a while, the camp of Cao's army, which had been calm for a while, suddenly became commotion. All the troops of Cao's army came out in full force and formed a group outside the gate of the camp. Boss Cao personally mounted his horse and led the group, leading tens of thousands of Cao's troops towards the north of Xuzhou.

People came to the door, and our poor deputy director Tao was also dragged out by Cao Jun's soldiers, his arms were tied behind his back, and he was escorted southward with Cao Jun.

Cao's army suddenly mobilized in full force, and the Xuzhou defenders naturally did not dare to neglect. The Xuzhou troops led by Xuzhou generals such as Cao Bao, Cao Hong, and Tao Ji naturally went to the city in full preparation to defend the city. Liu Bei's team, which had been in the city for less than half a day, also quickly boarded the

A large number of Xuzhou people also rushed to the inside of the city wall spontaneously, carrying stones and wood to transport weapons for the defenders and help the army defend the city.

Tao Ying's father, Xuzhou Mu Tao Qian, also went up to the city wall. He heard the news that Tao Ying left the city in person to Cao Ying. As a father, Tao Ying fainted on the spot, but after being rescued, Tao Qian unexpectedly

He refused Liu Bei's request to send troops to rescue Tao Ying, and asked the Xuzhou Army and Liu Bei Army to hold on to the city and not allow a single soldier to leave the city. The reason given was that Cao's army was powerful and no matter who left the city, they would die in vain. Xuzhou's civil and military personnel

All the officials were in tears, and the three generals Guan, Zhang and Zhao in Liu Bei's army were also deeply moved. They felt that Tao Qian was indeed a rare and loyal old man who could consider others - even though the three generals Guan, Zhang and Zhao were all enemies of ten thousand people, he really wanted to go

It is basically an impossible task to break into the heavily guarded Cao Jun camp and rescue a large number of people alive.

When Tao Qian climbed onto the Xuzhou city wall with the support of his entourage, Cao Cao's army had already established a position in the wilderness outside the north gate of Xuzhou. They were in the lead with long shields, strong bows and crossbows behind them, and they also set up blocking cavalry.

The attacking deer antlers resisted the horses, and the tactics were very cautious. At the same time, what puzzled Tao Qian, Liu Bei and others was that Cao Bing actually built a large earthen stove in front of the formation, lit firewood under the stove, and finally put it on the fire

I got a big iron pot.

When Cao Jun's soldiers poured green oil into the iron pot, Tao Qian, Liu Bei and others finally understood Cao Cao's evil intentions - it was obvious that the notoriously ruthless Boss Cao planned to kill Tao Ying with boiling oil in public!

Understanding this, Tao Qian was of course ashen-faced and burst into tears, while Liu Bei was filled with righteous indignation and shouted: "Master Tao, please order the city to be opened. Be prepared to personally lead the troops out of the city and rescue the second young master at any cost!"

"Cao Cao is a thief, what's the point of bullying a child?" Zhang Fei also shouted on the city wall with eyes wide open, roaring like thunder: "If you have the ability, come out and fight with me, Lao Zhang, for three hundred rounds.

!”

Tao Qian was extremely hesitant. Of course Tao Qian did not want his son to be fried to death by Boss Cao in public, but Tao Qian knew better that with Liu Bei's two to three thousand rabble and the remnants of Xuzhou City's defeated generals,

It would be extremely difficult to rescue his beloved son from the wolf-like tiger army of Cao Cao, and at the same time, he would lose all his last bit of money! But if he did not go out of the city to rescue his beloved son Tao, who had just been admired by Tao Qian,

If you do, you will be fried into dried meat in front of everyone!

At this time, Tao Ying, who was wearing a Confucian scholar's robe, had been pushed to the front of the formation and escorted to the big oil pot. At the same time, Boss Cao, dressed in pure white filial piety clothes, also came out surrounded by a large group of Cao Jun warriors and trotted to the front.

Standing on the top of the Xuzhou city wall outside the range, he raised his voice and shouted: "Old Tao Qian, come out and answer!"

With tears streaming down his face, Tao Qian walked tremblingly to the arrow stack and shouted with difficulty: "Ming Gong, Tao Qian is here."

"Old man, you gave birth to a good son!" Boss Cao raised his riding crop and shouted with a ferocious smile: "How dare you disguise yourself, change your name, and sneak into my camp under the pretense of sending a letter to spy on my military situation!

After seeing through it, he actually said something sweet, saying that he was willing to die for the lives of Xuzhou, and that he was willing to die in exchange for retreating from the army. How bold!"

There was a cry of exclamation on the city wall. The soldiers and civilians of Xuzhou, as well as the civil and military officials, were all surprised by Tao Ying's awe-inspiring righteousness, and he even made a request to exchange his life for Boss Cao! Only Liu Bei secretly laughed in his heart and cursed: "What Zizhong said

It’s true, Tao Qian’s sons are all as stupid as dogs!”

Tao Qian burst into tears, raised his hands to Cao Lao on the city wall and said: "Ming Gong, I am an ignorant child who tells lies. I hope Ming Gong will forgive me. Qian is guilty of God, causing Xuzhou to suffer this disaster. He must have died a long time ago."

I still hope that Duke Ming will forgive Quanzi and the people of Xuzhou, and I am willing to give my life in exchange!"

"Hahahahahaha!" Boss Cao laughed wildly, pointed his riding whip at Tao Qian and shouted: "Old man, stop talking so sweetly. If you really died for Xuzhou, why didn't you kill yourself early and wait until I will kill you?"

When your son is captured? Today, I will not kill you first, I will kill your son first!"

"Ming Gong..." Tao Qian burst into tears.

"Old man, listen up!" Boss Cao roared: "Today, I want to expose the hypocrisy of your father and son who are greedy for life and afraid of death! Didn't your son Tao Ying say that he is willing to die in exchange for my retreat? Okay, I

Give him a chance. I have set up a frying pan and put boiling oil on it. If your son Tao Ying dares to jump into the frying pan by himself, I will immediately retreat and leave Xuzhou. I will never break my promise! If your son dares not

, I will cut off his limbs first, rip out his heart and liver alive, and then attack the city with my troops!"

"Ming Gong——!"

"Good brother——!"

"Brother——!"

Tao Qian screamed, and cousins ​​Tao Shang and Tao Ji also screamed at the same time, but Cao Lao did not give the Tao family father and son brothers a chance to plead for mercy. He turned around and rode away. The walls of Xuzhou were once again filled with people.

, the soldiers and civilians in Xuzhou either screamed, gnashed their teeth, or looked happy, hoping that Tao Ying could get into the frying pan in exchange for Boss Cao retreating and leaving Xuzhou - Boss Cao's reputation was pretty good.

"Ming Gong, please open the city gate quickly and let Bei lead the troops to rescue the young master!" Liu Bei yelled with his eyes wide open, his expression was angry and crazy. The three strong men of Guan, Zhang and Zhao also asked for tassels one after another, expressing their willingness to lead the army out of the city.

Save Tao Ying.
To be continued...