There was a dead silence in the hall.

Liu Biao froze for a while, slowly got up and bowed. "Eunuch, my wife and children are in Gaoping, I want to go back and have a look."

Yuan Tan's face turned blue and red, but he had no choice but to swallow his anger and said, "Brother Jingsheng, be careful. If you meet Sun Ce, don't have any conflicts with him. Be patient for a while. I will definitely take Gao Ping back."

Liu Biao sighed softly, nodded, turned around and hurried out of the court.

As soon as Liu Biao left, the atmosphere in the hall became even more awkward. After a while, Wang Yu said, "I was unintentional. Cao Ang was so careless. He first stayed and watched Hulu lose, but then left without fighting. He handed over a fortress like Gaoping. The situation in Shanyang is unfavorable, and it is even more difficult to retake Hulu."

Lu Qian didn't say a word, and Mao Jie was silent. Seeing this, Yuan Tan sighed secretly. At this point, it seemed that Cao Ang was the only one who sacrificed himself. He was about to speak, but Xin Pi shook his head calmly. When Yuan Tan saw it, he had to swallow the words to his mouth. After saying a few gossips, comforting Lu Qian a few more words, and then announced the end of the meeting.

Mao Jie and others left one after another, leaving only Yuan Tan and Xin Pi. Yuan Tan moved to Xin Pi and bowed and said, "George, what should you do with Cao Ang?"

Xinpi said: "Cao Ang has no faults, why should he deal with it?"

"Cao Ang has no fault?" Yuan Tan looked at Xin Pi in confusion, wondering what Xin Pi meant. "Is that Lu Qian's responsibility?"

"Lu Qian certainly has a responsibility, but to be honest, his lack of troops is indeed not Sun Ce's opponent." Xin Pi took the offensive and defensive map and shook it gently. "From this picture, the difference in troops is more than ten times, but if we talk about the combat power of both sides, coupled with the repetition of the powerful Hulu, the strength of both sides is even greater. It is wise to Lu Qian defend Hulu, break through early, and still retain some of the troops."

Yuan Tan nodded, but became even more angry. "Cao Ang has more than 10,000 people. If he is willing to do his best, even if he cannot enter Hulu, he can still restrain half of Sun Ce's troops. Unexpectedly, he will fight lazyly and watch Hulu lose. George, even if he can't blame Cao Ang all, he has the responsibility, right?"

"Cao Ang probably doesn't have ten thousand people."

"No?"

Xin Pi raised his eyelids and said lightly: "If there are ten thousand people, he will at least fight with Sun Jian, restrain some of Sun Ce's troops as much as possible, or send one or two thousand people into the city to assist in the defense. Even if Sun Jian, Sun Ce and his son are brave and Cao Ang are unable to reinforce Hulu, he will not give up Gao Ping. There are many families in Gaoping, so he will not know the consequences of Gao Ping's defeat. He does this, probably like Lu Qian's consideration, knowing that he can't defend, so he simply retreats all the way, preserves his strength, and sticks to Rencheng. Only by defending Rencheng and Lu County can he gain a foothold."

Hearing the four words "preserve strength", Yuan Tan understood Xinpi's meaning. Cao Ang must have divided his troops and sent people to seize Rencheng, Hulu, and Gao Ping had long been not within his plan. This was what he promised Cao Ang's plan at the time, but now he cannot go back on his word and accuses Cao Ang.

"But Gao Ping's fall has a great impact." Yuan Tan gritted his teeth. Gao Ping's fall, and Liu Biao could only say goodbye. Sun Ce was extremely ruthless in the aristocratic family that was his enemy. Liu Biao would stay here and he would probably follow the footsteps of the Shan family. You can't blame Liu Biao for this matter, you can only blame him for not being able to protect Liu Biao.

"Compared with Changyi, Gaoping is nothing. You should rush back to Changyi as soon as possible to prepare for war. Sun Ce easily captured Hulu and would rush to Changyi at any time."

Yuan Tan nodded. He didn't have to worry about Rencheng, Cao Ang would definitely do his best. Understanding this would not make him feel relaxed, but he would become even more angry. But he could not make any statement that Sun Ce was coming in a fierce manner. He needed Cao Ang to defend Rencheng so that he could do his best to prepare for Changyi. If Sun Ce could be repelled, it would not be too late to deal with Cao Ang then.

——

Chen Gong paced back and forth, with one hand behind his back, and gently tapped his forehead with the other hand, frowned.

Cao Ang looked at Chen Gong in confusion, not knowing what happened.

After retreating back to Rencheng, Cao Ang communicated with Cao Ren as soon as possible. Rencheng Prime Minister Xu Yu went to Kang's father to meet Yuan Tan. Cao Ren forced to take over Rencheng's protection and contacted Rencheng's aristocratic families and powerful people, especially those who had a manor outside the city, so that they could immediately move the main personnel of the family to the city, so as to move as much as the grain and various materials to avoid falling into Sun Ce's hands. Those who really don't want to move, in addition to having enough strength to protect the manor, it would be better to avoid it nearby.

After Cao Ren's dispatch, Rencheng was now in good condition and food, even if Sun Jian, Sun Ce and his son came, they had no choice but to do anything. In this case, Chen Gong was so nervous that Cao Ang was very confused. After waiting for a while, Chen Gong still stopped talking, and Cao Ang couldn't help it.

"What's wrong with the public station?"

Chen Gong stopped and looked at Cao Ang with guilt in his eyes. "Mr. Fu, we give up Gaoping and concentrate our troops to retreat to Rencheng. Although it is beneficial to the war, it is reasonable but it is very inappropriate. I have not thought it carefully and have implicated Fujun."

Cao Ang was puzzled. "What's wrong with this?"

"Fu Jun, when it comes to Gao Ping, who will the first person you think of?"

"The Wang family of Gaoping, two generations of three dukes, Wang Gong, Wang Chang and his son are both famous ministers. Wang Qian was the chief minister of General He Jin, and had some friendship with his father. And... Liu Biao." Cao Ang said halfway, his face changed. Liu Biao was Wang Chang's disciple and is now an official next to Yuan Tan. Gao Ping was lost, and for the sake of his family's safety, Liu Biao would temporarily leave Yuan Tan even if he did not transfer to Sun Ce.

This is undoubtedly slapping Yuan Tan in the face.

Cao Ang complained secretly. The situation was urgent at the time. He always trusted Chen Gong's wisdom, but forgot that Chen Gong had a fatal weakness: he needed to think for a long time and weighed all factors in order to come up with a perfect plan. Lu Qian left without fighting, Chen Gong did not expect this situation in advance, and Sun Jian was too close to him and could launch an attack at any time. Chen Gong hurriedly made a plan to abandon Gao Ping and retreat directly to Rencheng. From a military perspective alone, it was right to do so. But in terms of politics, this was a huge mistake.

This is the first mistake Chen Gong made since he was in charge of his staff, but it was very fatal. Yuan Tan was a person with good face - most of the children of aristocratic families were like this - he would not say anything about this, but he would definitely take revenge. After Fang Yuxin's defeat, Yuan Tan was at a sensitive time, and Gao Ping's loss would make him even more embarrassed.

Cao Ang's eyes shrank slightly. "Then let's take Gao Ping back."

"Take it back?" Chen Gong was surprised. "How to take it back?"

"From Nanpingyang, leave Zuo County, bypass Gaoping Mountain, take Fan County, Gong and the Duke."

Chen Gong looked at Cao Ang and shook his head. "Mr. Fu, this plan is very good, but you should not be eager to achieve success. Sun Jian and his son are brave, but we will not be able to attack, but we will have more rules. Let him occupy Gaoping and protect the flanks of Hulu, and he dares to attack Changyi. When he fights with Yuan's envoys, we will attack again, not only can we regain Gaoping, but also can resolve the siege of Changyi. In this way, the Umbrella will be rewarded by Yuan's envoys, and the merits and demerits will be settled. Yuan's envoys will not care too much."

Cao Ang suddenly realized. "It's still Brother Gongtai who thinks it thoroughly."

Chen Gong sighed lightly. "I have missed it first, so I can't make mistakes again and again. Guo Jia's plan is no less than Xinpi. Yingchuan is very talented and has indeed become famous."
Chapter completed!