"Yes, Yang Bowen is so unkind. He just gave me a general to the East, and then he gave Tao Qian a general to the East. That's not all, he gave Yuan Shu another position as the governor of Qingzhou. Now, that guy Yuan Gaolu has placed his troops in Chen State, so we can't move."

Cao Cao was angry and scolded in resentment.

Cao Cao was scolding, but he was helpless in his heart. Who told Yang Fan to use the emperor to command the princes? This is the benefit of controlling the right to speak.

"Lord, since everyone in the world knows that Tao Qian is the lord's enemy of killing his father, then we have to avenge him. He still has to fight, otherwise, it will definitely make people all over the world laugh!"

Cheng Yu said with a wry smile.

"How should we fight? Yuan Shu is in Chen State with 100,000 troops, and the front of the army is directed at Chenliu and Jiyin County. Maybe as soon as we left, Yuan Shu will come to stab us in the eye of the butt!"

Xiahou Dun said angrily.

"Zhongde is right. We still have to fight, but how to fight is up to you!"

Cao Cao's forehead was leaping with blue veins. Although Xiahou Dun's words were rough, his reason was not rough, which made him a little difficult to deal with.

The Han Dynasty ruled the world with filial piety. If a person is not filial, everyone will think that there is something wrong with this person. This is Cao Cao's embarrassing situation at this time. He really digs a hole and jumps by himself.

"Lord, we may not necessarily lose this battle."

Liu Ye suddenly smiled.

"Is Ziyang thinking of having a plan?"

Cao Cao was overjoyed and hurriedly urged him.

"Now our army gathers the forces of Yan and Qing states, with a total of more than 200,000 troops. In addition to the necessary personnel to defend various places, our army has 160,000 troops to mobilize. The lord can order a general to lead 50,000 troops to guard Wuxian to guard Yuan Shu; then a hundred thousand troops will be launched to attack Langya from Taishan County. Tao Qian will surely lead his army to the north to fight with our army. At that time, General Xiahou Yuan will lead 10,000 light cavalry to stay in Yanzhou. When most of the Tao Qian's army's troops head north to enter Langya, General Xiahou can lead his army to attack Hexiang and then raid Tao Qian's nest, Tancheng!"

Liu Ye walked to the map and said Kuankui.

"If Tao Qian returns to help, wouldn't Miaocai be in danger?"

Xiahou Dun frowned and said.

"Tao Qian originally had only 60,000 to 70,000 combat soldiers, and the 200,000 new troops he had just recruited, his strength was less than 300,000. Our main force of 100,000 can restrain Tao Qian's troops at least 200,000. Tao Qian's troops deployed in other counties will be short of strength. At that time, our army will fight a little harder in Langya Kingdom, which will definitely make him dare not act rashly. General Xiahou will not be dangerous, but on the contrary, it will be very safe. However, the key to this plan is the word "fast". When Tao Qian has not reacted, the soldiers will be detained in Tancheng. Tao Qian is old, and maybe he will be scared to cause any problems!"

Liu Ye smiled in a silence.

"Zi Yang's plan sounds quite dangerous at first glance, but after careful consideration, there is an opportunity to take advantage of it. However, just as Zi Yang said, our army would catch Tao Qian off guard before he could react."

After carefully pondering Liu Ye’s plan, Cheng Yu agreed.

"Tancheng is Tao Qian's old nest, and there will inevitably be a large army left behind!"

Cao Cao frowned.

"Lord, this is a two-pronged approach. If Tao Qian returns to help, our army will take down Langya and follow Tao Qian's army, so that they will not dare to act rashly. Perhaps they can find an opportunity to defeat Tao Qian in one battle. If Tao Qian does not return to help, General Xiahou can drive straight in and gallop freely in Xuzhou. At that time, people will be in panic and Tao Qian will still withdraw his troops. As long as Tao Qian's army moves, we can take advantage of the opportunity!"

Liu Ye explained.

"Well, Ziyang is right. Tao Qian has 200,000 new troops. If the turtle is hiding in the city, it will be difficult for us to start!"

Cao Cao immediately understood what Liu Ye said and then smiled.

"So, who would like to guard the county?"

Cao Cao glanced around the people in the room and asked.

The generals immediately remained silent. Everyone knew that defending the county might not be able to make contributions to war, but if they follow the army eastward, there would be wars, so no one was willing to defend the city.

"If the lord can trust me, I will be willing to guard the county!"

Seeing that everyone was unwilling to defend the city, Li Dian hesitated for a while and asked for a request. This resulted in his low qualifications. Even if he followed the army to fight, he might not be able to lead the army alone. However, defending the county was different. It was to command a 50,000 army. This was the best opportunity for Li Dian to show himself.

"Well, then Mancheng will lead 50,000 troops to guard the county. Remember to be careful in everything and not lose the city. This is a great achievement!"

After Cao Cao thought about it, he decided to give Li Dian a chance.

"Thank you, lord, I will definitely not give Yuan Shu the opportunity to take advantage of it!"

Li Dian originally asked for his order with a nervous mood. He actually didn't know if Cao Cao would give him this opportunity. Now it seems that he did not follow the wrong person. During the decisive battle, Cao Cao showed courage that ordinary people could not have.

"After the autumn harvest, I will set up 100,000 cavalry troops to Gai County, Taishan County, Cheng Yu stayed in Puyang and mobilized food and grass for our army. Chen Qun went to Qingzhou and mobilized Qingzheng, Xiahou Dun, Yu Jin, Cao Hong, Cao Chun, Cao Ren, and Liu Ye with the army to go out to fight. Xiahou Yuan led 10,000 light cavalry and stayed in Puyang. When my order arrived, you will rush to Hexiang again."

Since the strategy has been decided, Cao Cao would not hesitate at all and directly determined everyone's responsibilities. Then Liu Ye and others added some more.

Half a month later, Cao Cao's army of 100,000 left Puyang and headed towards Taishan County.

This move made the princes from all over the country look at each other, and everyone focused on the battlefield in the Central Plains.

As Cao Cao's opponent, Tao Qian of course arranged a spy in Puyang. As soon as Cao Cao's army arrived in Dongping Kingdom, Tao Qian, who was far away in Tancheng, received the news.

In a hurry, Tao Qian quickly summoned his subordinates to discuss matters.

"Lord, Cao Cao's 100,000 troops are old soldiers who have fought for a hundred battles. Our army should not be strong against him. It is best to seize the city and defend the city!"

Chen Gui took the lead in saying.

"Hanyu said it well. Judging from the direction of Cao Cao's marching, he must have wanted to attack the Langya Kingdom of Xuzhou from Taishan County, so that he could connect Qing and Yanzhou into one."

Mi Zhu followed.

"What do you think about Xuande?"

During this period, Tao Qian and Liu Bei were very close, and their relationship was heating up rapidly. The main reason was that Liu Bei's philosophy of governing the world was very similar to Tao Qian, so there were naturally many topics between them. Tao Qian was old and needed a person to speak, while Liu Bei wanted to get close to Tao Qian. One person was willing to speak and the other deliberately welcomed him, so the relationship naturally got along very well.

"Bi, I think Zizhong and Hanyu are right. Cao Cao's purpose is very clear, that is, Langya Kingdom, our army should go north to seize the city and guard it to stop Cao Cao."

Liu Bei would not refute the face of Mi Zhu and Chen Gui, and said with a smile.

"Since Xuande also thinks so, then send Cao Hong to lead an army of 100,000 north to Langya Kingdom to resist Cao Cao."

Tao Qian said after considering it.

Cao Hong took the order and left. Xuzhou's army 100,000 troops followed north to Langya Kingdom. Because Cao Cao stationed troops to build a county, Cao Hong divided the 100,000 troops under his command into two, guarding Dongguan and Dong'an counties respectively.

Outside the county town, inside the Cao army camp.

"Tao Qian sent his general Cao Hong to lead an army of 100,000 to Dongguan, Dong'an County, and Hexiang areas. There are 50,000 troops from Liu Bei, and more than 100,000 troops in Tancheng. What do you think?"

Cao Cao distributed spies in Xuzhou, so Cao Hong's army moved, and he received the news a few days later.

"Tao Qian really took a gamble. The total number of troops in other counties will not exceed 20,000. It seems that we have to beat Cao Hong up. Otherwise, the 100,000 Xuzhou troops in Tancheng and the Liu Bei troops in Hexiang would not set off."

Liu Ye frowned slightly. This battle was difficult to fight, and the troops on both sides were 2 to 1, while Cao Cao, who had fewer troops, was still the attacking side.

"Since you want to fight, then you'll fight hard, Xiahou Dun!"

When he was about to fight, Cao Cao never feared the future. He was well versed in the art of military strategy, had a gap in his heart and had good plans in his mind.

"The last one will be here!"

Xiahou Dun immediately stepped out of the line to respond.

"Xiahou Dun, you take 30,000 troops and horses to detour Qingzhou and capture Gumu, Zhuxian, Dongwu and Langya from behind. You should move slowly, attack one city and slaughter one city!"

Cao Cao's face was gloomy and said.

"What...what? Massacre... Massacre?"

Xiahou Dun was startled and asked again uncertainly.

"That's right, massacre the city. If you fight slowly, it's probably that after we slaughter a city, Cao Hong will be unable to hold back and lead the army out of the city. At that time, it will be the time for us to wipe out Cao Hong's 100,000 troops."

In order to lead Cao Hong's 100,000 troops out of the city, Cao Cao made up his mind.

The other generals in the tent also looked shocked and did not understand Cao Cao's actions.

"Lord, the massacre of the city will hurt Tianhe. Since you want to lead Cao Hong's army, there is no need to massacre the city?"

Liu Ye advised anxiously.

"Zi Yang, I can't wait. In the southwest of Yanzhou, Yuan Shu's 100,000 troops were eyeing him. In the West, Lu Bu's troops in Sili area were also shown to be mobilized. Although Yuan Shao in the north wanted to fight Gongsun Zan, there was still Yang Fan in Bingzhou. I want to take Xuzhou within a month. Otherwise, our army would be dragged to death on the battlefield in Xuzhou."

Cao Cao had a better understanding of the overall situation than anyone else. Yang Fan's various actions a few months ago were to tie the princes of the Central Plains together. When they were hindering each other, Cao Cao wanted to expand outside, and only Tao Qian's Xuzhou was the best to bully him. Xuzhou also had the most strategic purpose. With Xuzhou, Cao Cao's chassis could be connected together. You could cross the river in the south to plan for Yangzhou, and hunt Yuan Shao's Jizhou in the north, and go west to compete with Yuan Shu for Yuzhou. In addition, Xuzhou is rich, and the annual grain output is the highest in the Central Plains. How can Cao Cao not be jealous of it?

"Master..."

Liu Ye was about to persuade him again, but Cao Cao interrupted him and said, "Ziyang, I know what you want to say. I have decided. Even if I bear the eternal infamy, I, Cao Mengde, will do whatever I want!"

Cao Cao's expression was cold, and it was afraid to look at him. In fact, he issued such an order because he was helpless. First, there was not enough food in Yan and Qing prefectures; second, time was tight, and the battle between Yuan Shao and Gongsun Zan was about to begin. Cao Cao would not wait until the Hebei area was unified, and the Central Plains were still fighting and quarreling, and he needed to quickly integrate the Central Plains forces.
Chapter completed!