Emperor Xian frowned, "You have an army, so why can't you defend the city? Based on what you said, the destruction of that traitor Cao is not far away. Xudu City has thick walls and is perfect for defending. "
Bai Xiaowen shook his head, "Your majesty, that traitor Cao has been in Xudu for a long time and has many henchmen. When I broke into the city, the granaries of Xudu were burned down. The army has no food and cannot defend, so we can only retreat. "
Emperor Xian said angrily, "That traitor Cao's henchmen are poisonous. Since you are in charge, we cannot let them go! The remaining members of the Cao Clan, led by Minister Xun Yu, should be collected and killed to prevent future troubles. "
Bai Xiaowen thought to himself that this Emperor Xian probably had a lot of grievances in his heart.
If Emperor Xian took power, heads would roll and blood would flow like a river. Who knows how many people he would have to clean out.
Bai Xiaowen said, "Your majesty, that traitor Cao is strong, and most of the officials are being threatened by him. Now is the time to fight for the people's hearts. If we kill them, we will push them towards him and break their hopes of making things right. "
Emperor Xian's face was still filled with rage.
Bai Xiaowen tried to persuade Emperor Xian to follow the army up north and move the capital to Ye City.
Emperor Xian was hesitant.
After going through the tough days of not having enough food to eat, Emperor Xian of Han knew the value of a stable life.
Even though Yuan Xi appeared to be very loyal, his father, Yuan Shao, and his uncle, Yuan Shu, were not pure officials.
What if they moved to Ye City and Yuan Shao was worse than Cao Cao?
Wouldn't that be like meeting a pack of wolves right after leaving the tiger's den? If they were to encounter tyrannical people like Li Jue and Guo Si, even the current stable days and the dignity of the imperial family would be completely thrown away.
Bai Xiaowen tried to persuade him, but Emperor Xian still shook his head, "The officials are all in Xudu and cannot be moved easily."
Bai Xiaowen said, "I will be leading twenty thousand troops this time. It will be enough to protect Your Majesty and the Duke as they head north to Ye City."
Emperor Xian shook his head, "Ye City has never been the capital. Without a palace, there is no ancestral temple. Even if I go to Ye City, how can I worship my ancestors? Don't say anymore. "
Emperor Xian of Han was clearly making an excuse.
Bai Xiaowen had no choice but to set aside the matter of moving the capital. He said, "Your Majesty, please rest. Tomorrow there will be a court assembly where the ministers will discuss this matter and then make a decision."
…
Bai Xiaowen left the palace and ordered the winged cavalry to guard the palace gates. Then, he met with his three teammates, Qiao Rui, Cecilia, and Han Xu.
"The emperor doesn't want to move the capital? Is there something wrong with his head? "Qiao Rui said.
Bai Xiaowen said, "Emperor Xian of Han was raised by Cao Cao in the Imperial Palace. He has already developed a cautious personality. He must be worried about my cheap father, Yuan Shao, so he did not want to move the capital."
"Why don't we force the emperor and the officials to go north to Ye City?" Cecilia suggested.
"It seems feasible. Back then, when Cao Cao welcomed the Emperor, he persuaded him to move to Xudu in a semi-forced manner," Qiao Rui said.
Bai Xiaowen shook his head, "No. That was then, and this is now … Oh, I'm talking about words with you guys. It was a slip of the tongue.
"Anyway, back then, the nobles were not willing to welcome the Emperor. Only Cao Cao went. The only person the Emperor could rely on was Cao Cao, so he had no other choice. Now that the nobles know the value of the Emperor, the Emperor thought that he was a rare commodity.
"So, when we fight with Cao Cao and the other nobles, we fight for the Emperor's heart and the hearts of the officials. It's best not to use force! Otherwise, we will be seen as Li Gui and Guo Si. We can't force the Emperor to order the nobles. "
"Then what should we do?" Cecilia asked.
Bai Xiaowen smiled, "Don't worry, I already have a plan … Where is Empress Fu's family? I'll go visit them. "
…
South of Guandu, Cao Army camp.
At night, Cao Cao's officials and generals were all called to participate in the military meeting.
Cao Cao personally held Xu You's hand and met with the officials and generals of Cao Group. He smiled and said, "Xu Ziyuan is here to join the Emperor. Ziyuan, why don't you tell us about your brilliant plan? "
Xu You faced the complicated gazes of everyone and said, "Yuan Chao's grain is in Chao Chao.
"Yuan Shaozhi's provisions are mostly stored in Wu Chao, and he has appointed the general Chunyu Qiong to guard it. I know Chunyuqiong. He's greedy for good wine and can't take on big responsibilities. Yuan Chao using this person to take on the grain is asking for death! Meng De only needs to send elite soldiers to burn the grain in Chao Chao. Yuan Chao's army will be defeated! "
Cao Cao smiled and looked at the strategists, "What do you think?"
Cheng Yu said, "Stealing grain is a big deal. We can't be careless. In my humble opinion, we need to send elite soldiers to investigate before we can make a decision. "
The rest of the strategists, including Guo Jia and Xi Zhicai, nodded.
These strategists didn't think that the surprise attack on Chao Chao was bad, but they didn't know Xu You and the Yuan Army. They were afraid that Cao Cao would fall into the trap. Besides, Xu You calling Meng De by his courtesy name made them unhappy.
Cao Cao shook his head, "I know that you don't trust Ziyuan. However, you need to be clear about the current situation. Our army has run out of grain, and the letters asking for grain have been intercepted by Ziyuan. If he really wants to, he can just sit there and watch. Why would he personally come to our camp to fake a surrender? "
Pausing for a moment, Cao Cao continued, "Now that the two armies are in a stalemate, we lack grain. This is the time to take risks! If we continue to wait, we are just sitting there waiting for death. "
The strategists and generals all agreed.
Cao Cao was pumped up. Just as he was about to send troops, he suddenly heard an urgent report from Hedong Prefecture.
"Report! An unidentified army has been spotted passing through the countryside of Hedong County! "
"Oh? How many? What flag are they using? "Cao Cao asked.
"Prime minister, there are around twenty thousand of them. They are using the flag of Xiahou!"
"Impossible. Although we have many generals with the surname Xiahou, no one has led twenty thousand troops past Hedong. This is definitely a disguise for the Yuan Army! "Cao Cao exclaimed," Where are they now? "
"Prime minister, when I set off, this army had already passed Xinzheng!"
Before this envoy finished his report, another urgent report from Yingchuan arrived.
Cao Cao smacked the table and stood up, "Not good, Xudu is in danger!"
Yingchuan's urgent reports came one after another.
"Report! Yingchuan Prefect Xiahou Yuan discovered that Xudu was attacked by bandits. He led two thousand troops to deal with the bandits! "
"Report! General Xiahou was on his way to assist Xudu and was ambushed by bandits. Unfortunately, he died in battle! "
"Report … reporting to prime minister! Xudu's killing cries shook the heavens. The city has been broken! Prime minister's family and all the nobles in the city are all dead! "
Cao Cao was extremely shocked. He sat down on the table and said, "Impossible! Even if the Yuan Army has twenty thousand men, how could they break the city so quickly? What about Xun Yu? Why didn't he defend the city? "
The last emissary added carefully, explaining that the Yuan army had split into two groups. One group consisted of twenty thousand Yuan soldiers, traveling at a slower pace, while the other group consisted of eight hundred elite cavalry as the vanguard. They were lightly armored and traveled at double speed, traveling day and night.
The ones who broke through Yanling Pass, sealed off Xudu, and killed Xiahou Yuan were the vanguard, eight hundred elite cavalry. As the enemy's horses were fast, they were able to seal off the news. Therefore, the news of the twenty thousand Yuan Army breaking through Xudu only spread out today.
"This vanguard army is well suited to the art of war! Who is the commander? He is definitely not a normal general! "Cao Cao quickly calmed himself down and gritted his teeth.
"I heard that he is the second son of Yuan Shao, the current governor of Youzhou, Yuan Xi!"
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
