Three Kingdoms: I switched to Liu Bei, why are you crying, Cao Cao?

Chapter 16 Qin Zhen went south, Cheng Yu panicked

After Qin Zhen and others left Xinji, they went south and entered Runan.

Here we need to mention the situation in the Central Plains.

Traditionally speaking, when people talk about the Central Plains in the late Eastern Han Dynasty, they always feel that the territories of Cao Cao and Yuan Shu were far apart.

After all, one is in Yanzhou and the other is in Huainan.

In fact, this is not the case. In the early days, Yuan Shu's territory was actually much larger than Cao Cao's, and even exceeded Yuan Shao's.

The reason why Yuan Shu dared to proclaim himself emperor was that he occupied most of Yuzhou, Huainan, and a small part of Xuzhou.

Even Sun Ce in Jiangdong was nominally under Yuan Shu's command.

Therefore, Yuan Shu nominally occupied almost a quarter of the land of the Han Dynasty and directly bordered Xuchang, the heartland of Cao Cao.

And Runan is Yuan Shu’s hometown and base.

In addition to Yuan Shu, there was also a State of Chen between Cao Cao and Yuan Shu, which was occupied by King Chen Liu Chong.

If you want to go to Xiaopei without being noticed, the fastest route is to go down to Runan first, then go north to Chen State, pass Liang State, and then you can reach Pei County under the jurisdiction of Pei State.

In fact, Qin Zhen did the same.

He first went south to Ruyang, then sold his carriage and horses to traveling merchants at a low price. He then walked out of the city and changed for a train heading north on the outskirts of Ruyang.

At this time, in Xuchang City, soldiers led by Cao Hong officially began searching for Qin Zhen.

Teams of soldiers surrounded Qin Zhen's mansion, and after searching in vain, they turned their attention to Qin Zhen's properties in the surrounding counties.

Anyone who has had any contact with Qin Zhen should be questioned.

Seeing this scene, any sensitive official in the city knew that the problem was serious.

The city's pursuit of Qin Zhen revealed a message.

Lao Cao and his first military advisor officially broke up!
It would be fine if Qin Zhen was unknown, but Qin Zhen's name has already spread throughout the world.

A talented scholar, young and promising, a disciple of Cai Yong, with brilliant literary talent and unparalleled wisdom!
Each title is enough to become a topic of conversation among the people in Xuchang city after dinner.

Moreover, Qin Zhen was a kind person, known for his benevolence and righteousness, and he strongly advocated the establishment of military farms and the taking in of refugees.

In the eyes of the people, he is a first-class official!

For a time, rumors spread throughout Xuchang City and people were in unrest.

Some people felt regretful about this, some were worried about Qin Zhen, and some were just watching the fun as it had nothing to do with them. The reactions were varied.

Of course, there is also a group of special people who were very happy to hear this news.

This group of people can be divided into two types: one is the old ministers of the Han Dynasty, and the other is spies from various families.

After receiving this news, a large amount of information about Qin Zhen's departure began to spread in all directions.

Faced with this situation, Guo Jia couldn't stand it anymore!

Two days after the manhunt for Qin Zhen began, Guo Jia angrily marched towards the Secretariat.

When he arrived at the mansion and asked where Cheng Yu was, he walked straight into the mansion. When he saw Cheng Yu, he said in a deep voice:

"Mr. Cheng, we can't continue searching like this!"

"If we continue to search like this, our army will be in chaos!"

At this time, Cheng Yu was sitting in the main seat, checking the files about Qin Zhen.

Hearing this, he frowned and said:
"Our army is only searching for Qin Zhen, why is there chaos?"

"Why is Mr. Cheng so stubborn?"

Seeing Cheng Yu like this, Guo Jia immediately said sternly:
"May I ask if Mr. Cheng still remembers what Mr. Cao wrote in the letter?"

"What Cao Gong said was that we should do our best to keep Zixuan, not that we should capture him!"

"Now that Mr. Cheng is making such a big fuss, do you know how big a commotion it has caused?"

"Qin Zixuan had a very high prestige in the army. After his departure, the army has long been in disarray. To date, many generals have written to us to inquire whether this matter is true or not!"

"Similarly, rumors are spreading everywhere in the city that Qin Zhen left this time because Cao Gong was too intolerant and wanted to find an excuse to get rid of him!"

"The behavior of our army now proves that the rumor is true!"

"Mr. Cheng, why don't you think about who Qin Zixuan is? He has been in our army since the campaign against Dong, and has made great contributions to you, my Lord."

"Now he has not plotted a rebellion, but our army has sent troops to search for him. If the news gets out, everyone in the world will think that Cao Gong has put away his bows and birds, so who would join our army?"

"Besides, Lord Cao has just welcomed the emperor back to Xu, and many of the old officials in the court are dissatisfied with Lord Cao."

"Our actions are giving these old officials an excuse to criticize Lord Cao!"

"Mr. Cheng is also a man of wisdom and strategy. Don't you know that if this continues, our army will be in chaos?"

Listening to Guo Jia's analysis, Cheng Yu did not react, but just looked at the file silently.

After pondering for a while, he stood up and said seriously:

"Feng Xiao is right, but Cheng has something to ask you!"

"May I ask what Fengxiao thinks of Qin Zhen?"

"you still need to ask?"

Guo Jia was annoyed for a moment and said:
"Although I have only known Zixuan for a short time, he is an open-minded person with great potential."

"If I hadn't been so humiliated, I would never have left!"

"No, I'm not asking about the person, I'm asking about his talent!"

Cheng Yu shook his head and looked at Guo Jia and said:
"What do you think of this person's ability, Feng Xiao?"

Upon hearing this, Guo Jia frowned and said:

"Zixuan's talent is ten times greater than mine!"

He was not being modest when he said this. If we were talking purely about strategy, he had never fought with Qin Zhen, so perhaps they were on par with each other.

But in terms of talent, he really can't compare to Qin Zhen.

Because this guy knows so many things!

He was good at general trends and tactics, could lead troops on horseback and govern the people on foot, and was well versed in astronomy, geography, local customs, poetry, and calligraphy. He was a versatile person. Compared with him, Guo Jia, who specialized in strategy, naturally felt inferior.

As soon as Guo Jia finished speaking, Cheng Yu stroked his beard and nodded:
"I agree with what Fengxiao said. Qin Zixuan is a man of great talent. We can't even compare to him!"

"But this is also the reason why Cheng is pursuing us so hard now!"

"If this person is a friend, then we can sleep peacefully. But if this person is an enemy, then we can't sleep or eat peacefully!"

"Whether they join Yuan Shao or Yuan Shu, they will become a formidable enemy of our army. The lord is unwilling to give up his talent and still has a lucky hope. As his subjects, we should share his worries and not show the slightest mercy!"

Hearing Cheng Yu's words, Guo Jia frowned and said:

"That being said, we are not sure that Zixuan will join other people's forces!"

"If Zixuan still wants to return, then we are putting him on fire!"

"I hope this person is willing to return!"

Cheng Yu listened, his expression darkened and he said:

"But this person's behavior doesn't show any intention of returning!"

"I'm afraid Fengxiao doesn't know?"

"Qin Zixuan has arrived in Yingchuan for several days. The first thing he did was to spend all his wealth and take his family away!"

As he spoke, he stood up, picked up a piece of silk book and handed it to Guo Jia:

"This person has already decided to leave!"

"Sending Cai Zhaoji to the north this time is actually just a feint!"

"After our army arrived, we found out that he had ordered his servants to go north in three groups, but he had secretly sent Cai Zhaoji and others south!"

"If he didn't have the intention to leave, he would never act like this!"

Guo Jia took the silk book and looked at it carefully. He moved his lips and was unable to speak for a while.

Based on his understanding of Qin Zhen, it would be fine if he didn't come up with a plan, but once he did, it would definitely be the whole thing!

In other words, Cai Yan's trip to the north was actually part of Qin Zhen's plan to leave, just to delay time!

After thinking for a while, he had some ominous premonitions in his heart:

"Where did Cai Zhaoji go after she went south?"

"How do we know?"

Cheng Yu turned around suddenly and said with a smile:

"However, even the wisest man can make mistakes. Fortunately, I have two plans. On the one hand, I sent people to chase Qin Zhen's family, and on the other hand, I also captured Li Shun from Qin Zhen's family!"

"Qin Zhen is a very cunning person. He used a letter to cover up and told Li Shun to let Cai Yan go north, but in fact he set out to the east!"

"He can hide it from others, but he can't hide it from me!"

"Zixuan is heading east?"

When Guo Jia heard this, he said in a deep voice:

"To the east is the State of Chen. Could it be that Zixuan is going to join Liu Chong?"

"Who cares who he votes for!"

Cheng Yu returned to his seat and sneered:
"I sent troops to chase him last night. I think he can't get far with the old and the young!"

"If there is any news, it will be sent back today!"

Seeing this, Guo Jia paced back and forth for a while. In his opinion, Qin Zhen's actions were extremely confusing, and this was also Qin Zhen's way of using troops.

On the surface it is heading east, but in fact it may go to any direction!
Before you know his destination, you can only be led to run.

However, seeing Cheng Yu was so confident, he didn't want to discourage him. After thinking for a while, he could only stop and said:

"Mr. Cheng, if I really catch up with Zixuan, can you do me a favor?"

"Whether Zixuan votes for someone else or not, you must not harm him!"

Cheng Yu nodded and smiled:

"Don't worry, Fengxiao. Qin Zhen and I have no personal grudges. If he is willing to surrender, I will not harm him!"

"But if he is determined to go against Lord Cao, then don't blame me for being ruthless!"

Guo Jia listened and said nothing more. He walked back and forth a few steps and was about to leave when he saw a soldier running towards the mansion.

"Report! Lord Cheng, our army's Cao Xiu has sent an urgent report!"

Hearing this, Cheng Yu hurriedly stood up and said:
"What's the urgent news?"

Guo Jia also looked at the soldiers.

Seeing this, the soldier hurriedly saluted and said:
"We have not found any trace of the military advisor, but after inquiring about the news, we have confirmed that the military advisor and his entourage arrived in Xinji two days ago, and then went south to Runan!"

"What did you say? Qin Zhen went south?"

Cheng Yu's eyes widened when he heard this.

Guo Jia said again in a deep voice:
"Now that Yuan Shu has occupied Pingyu, if the military advisor goes south, he will definitely go here!"

Before he finished speaking, Cheng Yu said coldly:

"Chase, chase quickly."

"We must not let Qin Zhen join Yuan Shu's army!"

"Once we catch up with Qin Zhen and his group, we will capture them if we can, or kill them if we can't. We must not make any mistakes!"

When Guo Jia heard this, he looked at Cheng Yu in astonishment.

But this time, he couldn't persuade her at all!

Because Qin Zhen can go anywhere except Yuan Shu!
Yuan Shu’s power was already great enough by now, but he was defeated time and again because of the incompetence of his advisers.

If Qin Zhen went to seek refuge again, it would be a disaster for them!

(End of this chapter)