Cao Cao stood on the city tower of Wancheng City, looking at Yuan Shu's camp in the distance, frowned slightly.

He Xian stood aside, his eyes were deep and his face was thinner. He had already received news from his mother Zhang that the He family was captured by Sun Ce. Because of the Zhang family, Sun Ce let her go and returned to the Zhang family in Rang County. His wife Yin E was not spared, and together with the entire He family, they became Sun Ce's spoils.

The hatred of destroying the family and the hatred of taking his wife made He Xian almost run away, wishing to leave the city and fight with Sun Ce. But he did not have such courage, nor did he have such strength. Cao Cao was beaten by Sun Ce and fled. Cao Chun and Cao Ang were injured and were still bedridden. If Sun Ce faces each other, it would probably be a matter of one or two swords, and he would not last until the third round.

"I don't know what Sun Ce used to do, so he succeeded so soon." Cao Cao patted the battlements and sighed. Two days ago, Yuan Shu forced himself to Wancheng again and lined up through the water. At first he didn't care much, but the constant people joined Yuan Shu's camp in the past two days, which made him very uneasy.

Xiangyang has been lost, and the majority of Jingzhou tribes fell into the hands of Yuan Shu, Nanjun and Jiangxia counties. Recently, as long as Yuan Shu sends people to accept them, the troops and money and food of these two counties will be sent continuously, and Yuan Shu's strength will increase rapidly. Once Nanyang is also controlled by him, he will have the strength to go hand in hand with Yuan Shao, at least in the short term.

Jingzhou has only a lot more household registration than Jizhou. Besides Nanyang, Jingzhou has no strong enemies around it, but has broader development space. It can control Yangzhou to the east, connect Yizhou to the west, and Jiaozhou to the south. Jizhou is the sea to the east, Taihang to the south, and Youzhou in the north has the strong and hostile Gongsun Zan. Before defeating Gongsun Zan, Yuan Shao had no energy to go south to capture Yanyuqing Xu.

But Yuan Shu has sent Sun Jian to Yuzhou, and his intention to compete for the Central Plains is very obvious. If Wancheng had not been brought down, Yuan Shu might even attack Yanzhou himself. He is now the last nail to hold Yuan Shu. If Wancheng is lost, he will be Yuan Shao's sinner.

But he had no idea how long it could be delayed. He originally thought that the manors of each family were strong, and even if they could not stop Yuan Shu's attack, they could delay some time, but Sun Ce only took half a day to break through the He family and also broke through their last glimmer of hope. At this speed, it won't take long to take Yuan Shu to take the initiative and force the powerful Nanyang to make the final choice.

In the face of the life and death of the family, these century-old families may not be more conscientious than ordinary people.

Cao Cao was worried and had a dilemma.

The sound of rapid footsteps sounded behind him. Cao Cao turned around and saw Lou Gui walking quickly, and bowing to him far away. "General, Yuan Shu has sent an envoy."

Cao Cao quickly put away his thoughts and said in a light tone: "Do you know what he is going to say?"

Lou Gui glanced at He Xian and showed some embarrassment. He Xian's heart skipped a beat, and his heart seemed to be being held by someone, and he couldn't breathe. Cao Cao reached out and pressed his hand on his shoulder and sighed. "Does Yuan Gaolu want to surrender? If he doesn't surrender, he will kill the He family completely?"

Lou Gui nodded, lowered his head awkwardly, and did not dare to look at He Xian again. He led 10,000 troops to save the He family, but was defeated by Sun Ce and lost more than half of it. If Cao Cao had not placed the heads of each family in a small town in advance, he would have been torn to pieces by those people. Now that Sun Ce's revenge is coming, He Xian is facing a life-and-death choice, he will not have the face to see He Xian.

"I know, I'll treat you well, let the messenger wait for a while."

"Here." Lou Gui saluted respectfully and turned around.

Cao Cao turned around and looked at He Xian, wanted to speak but stopped, and sighed again. "You decide whether to go or stay."

He Xian's face twitched for a moment, and he said hatefully: "Even if I surrender, what can I do? Yuan Gaolu can return the He family to me, can Sun Ce return my wife to me? Hehe, even if Sun Ce is willing to repay, that bitch may not be willing. She married into my He family to try to cling to my He family. Now the big tree in the He family has fallen, so she doesn't need me."

Cao Cao sighed again. "A real man is rare in this world, only fame and fortune. Once fame is established, why not have a wife?"

He Xian turned around and left without saying a word.

——

"You dare!" Yuan Shu was furious and kicked the desk in front of him, drew his sword in his hand, and was full of murderous intent. "Did he think I dare not destroy his He family?"

Yan Xiang quickly stood up and stopped Yuan Shu. "General think twice, don't be impulsive."

Yuan Shu's eyes slanted. "What do you want to say?"

Yan Xiang smiled bitterly and said, "General, don't forget that our family is all in the city. If you destroy the He family, Cao Cao will take revenge. He Xian can't do anything to Cao Cao, but is the general willing to see his subordinates being disloyal and unhappy? "

Yuan Shu suddenly became short of breath and embarrassedly put the knife into the sheath. "What should I do?"

"If you attract but don't trigger it, you will also be able to jump. With these hostages in your hands, our family members in the city will be safe. If they are safe, the generals will be at ease. Why don't you think about it? But if the Nanyang family united to negotiate with Cao Cao, will Cao Cao still dare to do it alone? If you really annoy the Nanyang family, even Yuan Benchu ​​will not be able to explain it."

Yuan Shu rolled his eyes and returned to his seat.

Yan Xiang breathed a sigh of relief and leaned forward a little closer. "General, Sun Bofu, and Zhou Gongjin's young man were so energetic that he was not doing enough. They took away the wealth of each family, but left the murder to the general. The general could no longer let them do whatever they wanted."

Yuan Shu touched the scabbard around his waist, rolled his eyelids, and was about to scold Yan Xiang. When the words came to his mouth, he swallowed them again and changed his expression to follow the advice. "Yuantu, what should I do?"

"General, I have three strategies for generals to advise him."

Yuan Shu looked at Yan Xiang and couldn't help laughing, and felt rude again. He quickly forced himself to be serious, but could not hide the smile in his eyes. "Oh, there are three more stories, tell me."

Yan Xiang pretended to be missing. "The best plan was to send an envoy to make peace with his brother Yuan Benchu ​​and ask him to order Cao Cao to withdraw from Wancheng. He got Jizhou and you got Jingzhou. The brothers joined forces to fight against the enemy and divide Yan, Yu, Qingxu evenly."

Yuan Shu rolled his eyes and refused to comment. "Where is Zhongce?"

"Send envoys to negotiate with Cao Cao and exchange hostages. We return the families of the Nanyang family to him, and he returns our families to us and withdraws from Wancheng."

Yuan Shu touched the beard on his chin and nodded repeatedly. "What about the worst plan?"

Yan Xiang stared at Yuan Shu's eyes with a bright look. "Call Sun Bofu to attack the city and dispatch other generals to capture the various families in Nanyang."

Yuan Shu's eyes shrank slightly, he glanced at Yan Xiang, and sneered: "You are jealous of Sun Bofu's wealth, and you also want to get a share of the pie? Yuantu, how much benefit do they promise you?"

Yan Xiang was unmoved. "General, the general should be based on checks and balances, and should not be biased towards one side. The Sun family's father and son are not bad at the end, which is not only unfavorable to the general, but also to them. It is also a plan for the Sun family's father and son, so the general should not be favored."

Yuan Shu raised his eyebrows and thoughtful.

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Chapter completed!