Reborn in the Three Kingdoms, I stole Liu Bei's uncle

Xu Chu came up to Liu Yu with a smile on his face.

This time, a large number of Yuan Shu's troops were destroyed and a batch of strategic materials were seized. After returning to Huaiyin City, Xu Chu never stopped smiling.

"My lord, should we make a concerted effort to capture Xuyi and drive Yuan Shu out of Xuzhou completely?"

Looking at Xu Chu who was full of fighting spirit, Liu Yu also showed a smile on his face.

"Although we lost most of Yuan Shu's troops this time, his forces are still stronger than ours in Xuyi City. It will be very difficult for us to easily occupy Xuyi. Once we get stuck, according to the situation in Xuzhou, it will be very disadvantageous to us."

"Are we just going to watch Yuan Shu leave Xuyi City behind?"

"As long as he can behave himself and stay there obediently, it's not impossible. We are facing enemies on both the north and south fronts, and the pressure is too great. If one side makes any mistake, the whole game will be lost."

Judging from the current situation, Liu Yu certainly does not want to fight to the death with Yuan Shu and thus trap himself in the quagmire of war.

Once he was entangled by Yuan Shu, Cao Cao's attack on Xuzhou would become more fierce.

The enemy is strong and we are weak, and fighting on two fronts is not a wise move no matter how you look at it.

Only by stopping one side's attack quickly can we have a chance of winning the next battle.

While the two were talking, the battle report from the north was delivered. Liu Yu opened the report and took a few glances at it, a hint of doubt appeared on his face.

Xu Chu looked at Liu Yu, who was frowning slightly, and asked in confusion: "My lord, is there news about Cao Cao's victory?"

Liu Yu was silent for a moment, shook his head, and said, "No, the army led by Cao Cao was very unusual in this battle. They had low fighting spirit and stopped attacking when they encountered a little resistance."

"My lord, the battle of Yanzhou lasted for a long time. Although Cao Cao won, it was a pyrrhic victory. After days of fighting, his men and horses must have been exhausted, so they were not very motivated to fight."

"What Zhongkang said is not without reason, but I always feel that something is wrong."

"My Lord, what do you think is wrong?"

Liu Yu lowered his head and thought for a moment, then raised his head and said slowly: "It's hard to say. According to Cao Cao's current military strength, plus the soldiers brought by Yan Liang, there are a total of 100,000 soldiers. If these soldiers continue to attack, even if Xuzhou can resist for a while, it will inevitably be defeated.

Judging from the situation in Xuzhou during Cao Cao’s last attack, he was determined to take Xuzhou and would not give Xuzhou any chance to catch its breath.”

Xu Chu nodded, and he also felt that what Liu Yu said made sense. If we follow this logic, Cao Cao's behavior at this time is obviously abnormal.

Liu Yu slowly put down the battle report and stood in front of the sand table, lost in thought.

……

……

Yan Liang's eyes were full of doubts. So many days had passed, and Cao Cao did not seem to be in a hurry to capture Xuzhou, but had been keeping his troops here.

"Lord Cao, my master agreed to send troops to help you because of our friendship and your determination to capture Xuzhou. Now that you have fought a great battle, why do you want to keep your troops here and not move?"

A smile appeared on Cao Cao's face.

"Zang Ba's soldiers are extremely brave, far beyond my expectations. In addition, Zhao Yun and Lu Bu are watching closely. Our army has been fighting in Yanzhou for a long time and is already exhausted. If we don't rest, it will be difficult to win."

Cao Cao paused after he finished speaking, and asked tentatively: "General Yan is extremely brave, and there are few people in the world who can match him. Even if he faces Lu Bu, I am afraid he will not be afraid at all. Most of the soldiers under your command are veterans who have experienced hundreds of battles. If the general is willing to lead his troops to attack Zang Ba, he will definitely be able to win in one battle."

Hearing Cao Cao's praise, Yan Liang smiled.

Before Hulao Pass, he had seen a lot about Lu Bu's fighting ability. At that time, he was not Lu Bu's opponent, but he also let Lu Bu see his methods.

After all these years of experience, he felt that his martial arts had improved a lot, and he was confident that he could fight against Lu Bu.

He originally wanted to agree to Cao Cao's request and send troops to attack Zang Ba, but when he thought of Yuan Shao's instructions, the fighting spirit that had just arisen in him instantly dimmed.

"Don't forget, Lord Cao. My master asked me to come here to assist the general. Now that the general's troops have not moved, I am afraid that it is not in accordance with the agreement if I attack with all my strength."

Cao Cao originally thought that after some deception by him, Yan Liang would not be able to resist sending troops to attack Zang Ba, but who knew that he actually forcibly suppressed his will to fight.

"General Yan was a hero at the time, so he naturally understood the intention of the agreement between Yuan Gong and I. Yuan Gong thought that my soldiers were eager to fight, but he never thought that they were already exhausted after a series of battles. If Yuan Gong knew about this situation, how could he not let the general send troops?"

Seeing that Yan Liang was not fooled, Cao Cao could only continue to deceive him.

Judging from the current situation, even if we attack all the way and capture Xuzhou, most of our troops will probably be lost?

By then, the 50,000 fresh troops led by Yan Liang would be the largest force. If he ever had any ideas, Xuzhou, which he had taken with great difficulty, would probably change hands in a short time.

This was the situation Cao Cao least wanted to see. He didn't want to fight so hard only to end up making wedding clothes for others.

Even though this possibility is very small, so small that it can almost be ignored, Cao Cao is unwilling to take the risk.

"Since Cao Gong's soldiers are exhausted, let's rest for a while. When Cao Gong is ready to attack Zang Ba, send someone to inform me and I will help."

After saying that, Yan Liang turned and left.

Cao Cao looked at Yan Liang's gradually receding back with an ambiguous look in his eyes. After a while, he turned his gaze to a middle-aged scholar beside him.

“Zhicai, Yan Liang refuses to send out troops. If we want to easily capture Xuzhou, we can only wait for Lu Bu.

Does Zhicai really think that Lu Bu will lose his patience and launch a surprise attack on Xuzhou?"

Xi Zhicai had a faint smile on his face.

"My lord, rest assured. Lu Bu has great ambitions. How could he be content to serve under Uncle Liu? His joining Xuzhou is a temporary measure. As long as we make good use of it, we will surely rekindle his confidence."

"Hahaha, great. We just won a victory. When we saw Lu Bu making a move, we stopped attacking and acted as if we were on guard against Lu Bu. We can say that we gave Lu Bu enough face. I just wonder if Lu Bu's inner ambition has been ignited?"

"Although Lu Bu is interested, he has just arrived in Xuzhou. If we want Lu Bu to take action, we need to add fuel to the fire."

"From what Zhicai said, I guess he has a good plan in mind?"

"My lord, I have a plan that I want to tell you."

Xi Zhicai stepped forward and told Cao Cao his plan in detail.

After hearing this, Cao Cao's face became even happier.

"Okay, in this way, we just need to wait for Lu Bu to make a move, and then take the opportunity to seize Xuzhou, which will be easy."