Can I get to the other side?

Da Sikong Mansion.

The meeting hall.

After receiving the news from Cao Cao, Xun Yu, Xun You, Cheng Yu, Xu You, and brothers Cao Ren, Cao Chun, and Xia Hou all rushed over and gathered together.

When he saw Xu You again, although Xun Yu didn't directly rebuke him like last time, he didn't look good either.

And Xu You was about the same, not even looking at Xun Yu.

I just felt in my heart that Cao Cao really had many talents under his command.

But the smell of gunpowder between him and Xun Yu was so strong that everyone present could smell it.

Everyone was puzzled and extremely curious at the same time. Xu You had only been here for two days, what kind of conflict could he have with the old-fashioned Xun Yu?

While they were secretly guessing, Cao Cao walked into the meeting hall.

"I've seen Sikong."

Everyone stood up and saluted.

Cao Cao glanced around, raised his eyebrows and asked, "Where is Dezu? We have important matters to discuss today. Why didn't you see him?"

Cheng Yu replied: "Mr. Yang just sent someone here, saying that Chief Yang has caught wind and cold and is quite unwell. I'm afraid he won't be able to participate in the discussion for a while."

Cao Cao didn't pay attention when he heard this. He walked directly to the main seat and sat down, and then said to everyone: "You must have heard the news that Lu Bu defeated Sun Ce not long ago and killed him."

"Just this morning, I received a letter from Zhou Yu, who wanted to form an alliance with me to fight against Lu Bu. Please take a look."

Cao Cao said as he took out the letter.

Pass it on to everyone for circulation.

After reading the letter, Xiahou Dun took the lead and said: "My lord, please let me lead the army! I will personally cut off the head of the thief Lu Bu to avenge that arrow!"

Xiahou Dun almost said this through gritted teeth.

Lu Bu's arrow not only blinded his left eye, but also shattered all his dignity. He wished he could eat Lu Bu's flesh and sleep on Lu Bu's skin!

"ridiculous."

As soon as he finished speaking, Xu You couldn't help but sneer, looked Xiahoudun up and down, then shook his head and said nothing.

Xiahou Dun immediately said angrily: "What are you laughing at? I asked you what you are laughing at!"

"Why am I laughing?"

Xu You curled his lips, took a sip of the wine from the gourd, and then said calmly: "I'm laughing at you for not knowing how high the world is! How dare you dare to kill Lu Bu with your own abilities? The little bully has been beheaded, who do you think you are? , Overlord Xiang Yu? You’re just going to die in vain!”

"you--!"

Xiahou Dun was furious and wanted to teach Xu You a lesson with his eyes wide open, but he was held back by Xia Houyuan beside him, so he could only give up with hatred.

Cao Cao's eyes moved slightly and he asked Xu You: "Ziyuan, do you have any ideas? Why don't you just say it and let everyone listen and brainstorm for discussion."

"I can't talk about my thoughts, I just have some offending words." Xu You put his wine gourd on the table, glanced at everyone, and said unceremoniously: "First of all, Lu Bu's Qianqi was ambushed. He defeated Sun Ce's ten thousand troops and killed Sun Ce. Needless to say, his strength is great."

"Ah, none of the generals under your command can be a match for Lu Bu. Even if they are added together, they may not be able to do it."

"And this is just Lu Bu's personal bravery. It should be noted that Lu Bu's military strength is not only that one thousand, but a full 30,000. Even if 10,000 went to Yecheng, there would still be 20,000 tigers and wolves. The generals under his command are also all Brave!"

"Secondly, there is Yuan Tan on the edge of Yanzhou. If Ah Man really lets go and goes to war with Lu Bu, will Yuan Tan sit idly by and do nothing? He will definitely take the opportunity to come straight to Yanzhou!"

"The reason why Zhou Yu wants to make an alliance with you is just because Sun Ce is dead, Jiangdong is in chaos, internal and external troubles, and he doesn't want to give up Yangzhou, so he wants to draw you to share Lu Bu's pressure."

"Do you really expect Jiangdong's gang to help you defeat Lu Bu? They have too much to take care of themselves!"

Xu You's words can be described as merciless.

The words are even more sharp.

But it is undeniable that every word he said hit the point. Whether it was Lu Bu's strength, the weakness of Jiangdong's power, or Yuan Tan's threat, they were all ironclad facts.

"I don't think so."

As soon as Xu You finished speaking, before Cao Cao could speak, Xun Yu stood up and spoke with a calm expression: "Although Lu Bu is strong, he is not invincible. Otherwise, why would he be defeated by Li Jue and Guo Si in the first place?" And escape?"

"Now Lu Bu has sent an army of 10,000 to Yecheng, with only 20,000 horses in hand. Although Sun Ce is dead, his troops are still there. In addition, there is his younger brother Sun Quan, who is young but capable, and Zhou Yu Assistance is not necessarily that weak.”

"If my lord unites with Zhou Yu and flanks Lu Bu on both sides, he may not be able to surround him and annihilate him. In order to eliminate this serious problem, he can annex Yangzhou or even Xuzhou!"

In Xun Yu's opinion, it is feasible to unite with Zhou Yu.

This is not to deliberately contradict Xu You, but out of practical considerations, because Yangzhou must be fought for and Lu Bu must be eliminated, so joining forces with Zhou Yu is a good opportunity.

If Lu Bu had waited until Zhou Yu was defeated and Yangzhou was fully occupied, there would be no chance for him to take action at that time.

"What, you care about the head but not the tail? Do you want Yangzhou instead of Yanzhou?"

Xu You sneered and said: "Indeed, it is not impossible to unite with Zhou Yu to defeat Lu Bu, but the prerequisite is that all forces must be used."

"But doing this is undoubtedly giving Yuan Tan a chance! Do you think he will leave the empty Yan and Yu states untouched? Do you think he is a fool!"

Xun Yu said expressionlessly: "Yuan Shao is eager to repel Gongsun Zan and send troops to Yecheng. He will mobilize Yuan Tan's troops to support him in less than a month. He will wait until then to send troops."

The two held their own opinions, and although they did not curse each other, they were tit-for-tat with each other and neither one was convinced by the other. Their eyes collided and almost sparked fire.

Cao Cao saw that the two of them were starting to fight with each other again. In order to avoid a bad ending later, Cao Cao quickly said, "Zhongde, what do you think?"

"Huh? Me?"

Cheng Yu was watching the play with great interest. He didn't expect that Cao Cao would suddenly ask him a question. After pondering for a moment, he said: "I think what Brother Ziyuan said is reasonable, and Mr. Xun's analysis is also unique... "

"Zhongde!"

When Cao Cao saw that Cheng Yu didn't want to offend anyone and talked nonsense, he couldn't help but feel extremely annoyed. His tone became a little more serious, and his eyes became even more unkind.

If you don't say something useful, you're screwed!

Cheng Yu understood the meaning of Cao Cao's look, sighed inwardly, and said seriously: "As long as there is no threat from Yuan Tan, it is feasible to form an alliance with Zhou Yu to attack Yangzhou."

"Yangzhou is very important. If Lu Bu annexes Yangzhou, his power will surely grow again. The next target is Ming Gong's Yanzhou and Yuzhou."

Cheng Yu believed that it was necessary to send troops.

It's okay to sit on a mountain and watch a tiger fight, but now one of the tigers is about to be mauled to death while the other tiger is still unharmed. This is not okay.

"What Zhongde said is absolutely true."

Xun You also spoke at this time, "But instead of just waiting for Yuan Shao to transfer Yuan Tan away, we should take the initiative and create more trouble for Yuan Shao."

Compared to Lu Bu, Cao Cao's biggest enemy is always Yuan Shao.

Yuan Shao, who holds the land of three states, is too scary, even when he loses Yecheng.

It would be great if Yuan Shao could be defeated or even lose his troops.

Cao Cao quickly asked: "What is Gongda's advice?"

Xun You smiled slightly: "Ma Teng from Liangzhou."

As soon as these words came out, everyone was stunned.

Cao Ren nodded in agreement and said: "Ma Teng occupies Liangzhou and the three auxiliary lands in Gyeonggi Province. If he sends troops to merge with the state, it will definitely increase the pressure on Yuan Shao."

"When the time comes, Yuan Shao will definitely mobilize Yuan Tan to rush for reinforcements, and we will have the opportunity to free up our hands to surround Lu Bu."

"This is a great plan."

Cao Ren has a very strategic vision. Although the current situation is chaotic, his thinking is very clear and he knows what to do.

The senior cadres guarding Bingzhou are currently leading troops to Yizhou to quell the rebellion. Bingzhou is empty, with only 10,000 troops left. If Ma Teng leads his troops to attack, Bingzhou will have no resistance at all.

But will Yuan Shao watch Bingzhou lost?

Absolutely not!

However, Yuan Shao's own Jizhou army was restrained by Gongsun Zan, so he had only two choices - either to mobilize troops to return, or to mobilize Yuan Tan's troops to rush for reinforcements.

"good."

Cao Cao also nodded with satisfaction.

As long as Yuan Shao and Yuan Tan are both busy, he will no longer have to worry.

After destroying Lu Bu, and then annexing Sun Ce's forces, he will be able to occupy Yanzhou, Yuzhou, Yangzhou, Xuzhou and a large area of ​​southern land, and his strength will undergo an earth-shaking change!

When the time comes to face Yuan Shao again, he will not fall behind.

"pity."

Xu You felt a little regretful.

In fact, Xun You's idea had already occurred to him, and he also understood that sending troops was the best option at the moment. The reason why he advised Cao Cao not to send troops was to buy time for Lu Bu to swallow up Sun Ce's power.

But the counselors on Cao Cao's side are not idlers, and they are not like the group of people under Yuan Shao who are fighting against each other and have serious faction fights. They know what is the best choice.

It shouldn't be easy here.

After the negotiation, Cao Cao made the final decision: "I will write letters to Ma Teng and Zhou Yu respectively, and form an alliance with them at the same time."

"Ziyuan, your idea is correct, but sometimes you still have to take a chance, so as to gain greater benefits, isn't it?"

Cao Cao did not forget to smile and comfort Xu You with a few words.

Xu You smiled and didn't say much. He knew Cao Cao's character and sometimes his stance should not be too firm, otherwise it would arouse Cao Cao's suspicion.

Just click until you reach it.

There will be opportunities in the future.

…

After Yang Xiu left Xu County, he headed non-stop to Jizhou and left the Yanzhou border in a few days.

It's June now and the weather is very hot.

Yang Xiu was walking in the bright sun and couldn't bear it anymore. At this moment, he happened to see a melon field on the roadside in front of him, and there was an old farmer selling melons next to him. His eyes suddenly lit up.

He led the horse outside the shelter set up by the old farmer, tied the horse and asked: "Old man, are you selling this cold melon? Can you quench my thirst with one?"

Seeing that Yang Xiu was well-dressed and well-behaved, the old farmer stood up quickly and said, "Master, it's just a melon, not worth much."

"You sit down and rest for a while. I'm going to kill a melon for you."

Yang Xiu bowed and said, "Thank you, father-in-law."

"Don't dare, don't dare."

The old farmer waved his hands repeatedly, then went to the field to pick a melon, washed it and split it with his bare hands, then picked the largest piece and handed it to Yang Xiu.

Yang Xiu thanked him, took the melon and ate it.

The old farmer watched Yang Xiu eating melons. While fanning himself with a cattail leaf fan, he asked, "Looking at the direction the young master is traveling, are you planning to go to Yecheng?"

Yang Xiu nodded and said: "Yes, but the weather is really too hot. I'm afraid I won't be able to travel today... May I ask my father-in-law, is there a place to stay nearby?"

The old farmer nodded and said: "Yes, if you go straight along this official road for a few miles, you will find a post house. I heard that there is a war in Jizhou recently, so you should be careful when you go there."

"Thanks, I'll pay attention."

Yang Xiu and the old farmer were chatting without a word, but at this moment, another person came on horseback from a distance and reined in his horse and stopped next to the melon shed.

The young man on horseback dismounted, wiped the sweat from his forehead and said, "Old man, can you sell this melon?"

Hearing this familiar voice, Yang Xiu was stunned for a moment, then looked up, and his eyes suddenly widened!

"Dong Xi?"

The person in front of me is Dong Xi, the son of the cavalry general Dong Cheng!

Dong Xi also noticed Yang Xiu's gaze, so he looked over, but Yang Xiu turned around before him, leaving him with nothing but his back.

Dong Xi frowned, feeling that the person sitting in the melon shed looked familiar, but he didn't think much about it and took a piece of melon from the old farmer's hand and ate it.

However, Yang Xiu was already stiff at this time.

"Why is Dong Xi here? Could it be that he is here to chase me? No! No one knows about my going to Yecheng except my father!"

"Could it be that...he is also going to Yecheng?"

Yang Xiu held the melon in his hand and his thoughts were running wildly.

This road is the official road leading to Yecheng. It is definitely not a coincidence that Dong Xi appears here. There is no other possibility except going to Yecheng!

What can you do in Yecheng?

In a flash, Yang Xiu came to the conclusion that Dong Xi was most likely going to meet the Emperor of Yecheng!

"Okay! It turns out it's not that my father didn't tell the truth, but that old guy Dong Cheng was so tight-lipped that he even hid it from my father!"

Yang Xiu cursed in his heart.

He felt that Dong Cheng was not a human being and even his father was not informed of such a big thing as secretly sending the emperor to Yecheng!

Isn’t this a clear distrust of people?

"I can't let him discover me now. I have to follow him quietly to see how many secrets he still hides from my father."

Yang Xiu made secret calculations in his heart.

Then, not long after, he heard the sound of horse hooves again, accompanied by a more familiar shout.

"Old man, do you want to sell this melon?"

Yang Xiu and Dong Xi looked at it at the same time, and then their eyes widened, because the person coming was Fu Wan's son - Fu De!

"Why is he here?"

This idea came to Yang Xiu and Dong Xi's minds, and then before Fu De cast his eyes, they both turned away, leaving Fu De with his back.

Dong Xi even sat inside the pergola and lowered his voice to Yang Xiu: "Brother, please go inside... Yang Dezu?"

After seeing the appearance of the young man in the pergola, Dong Xi couldn't help but be shocked.

"W-why are you here?"