[Three Kingdoms] Burning incense and sacrificial wine

Jushou repeatedly suggested that Yuan Shao should slow down his troops and work slowly, and fight a protracted war, but Yuan Shao ignored them.

Ju Shou saw that Yuan Shao didn't want to listen to what he said, and became more eager for quick success after defeating the white horse. He couldn't help but sigh: "My lord is arrogant and arrogant, and my ministers have different ideas. I'm afraid that the Yellow River will be our end."

Jushou's emotional words were immediately passed on to Yuan Shao's ears.

Yuan Shao was furious: "Usually you talk alarmistly, but at this critical moment, you actually come to curse me!"

When news came that Jushou claimed to be ill, Yuan Shao sneered and said, "Is this using a hanging seal to express his dissatisfaction to me? Pass my order. Since the superintendent is ill, we should carry him on the march and take the best medicine." cure."

Leaving aside Jushou's distress for the time being, Guo Tu, who seemed to be trusted by Yuan Shao, was actually very distressed in his heart.

Others thought that Yuan Shao was suspicious of Jushou, but had great trust in Guo Tu.But only Guo Tu knew that Yuan Shao's trust in him was superficial, and the several promotions were all to use him to restrain the prestigious Jushou.

Not only that, "Yuan Shao often adopts Guo Tu's proposal" in the eyes of everyone is also very watery.

Whether Guo Tu's strategy is good or bad, Yuan Shao only listens to half of it.

This made Guo Tu extremely depressed.

On this day, Guo Tu received Yuan Shao's "reward" again, and when he walked out of the camp, he ran into Xun Chen, who was also an aide.

Xun Chen and Guo Tu were both from Yingchuan, they came from the Xun family, a big family, and they were the brothers of Xun Yu, the servant.

Because they are fellow villagers, the relationship between Guo Tu and Xun Chen is pretty good.

He greeted Xun Chen and chatted casually, Xun Chen said goodbye to him politely and walked away.

Looking at Xun Chen's modest and low-key back, Guo Tu couldn't help feeling a little emotional.

Xun Chen is a talented person, if it weren't for his lobbying, Han Fu would not have offered Jizhou so readily back then.

It's a pity that the relationship between him and Yuan Shao has always been like water, and he has not performed outstandingly in recent years and has stagnated.

After Guo Tu sighed with emotion from his hometown, he thought of Yuan Shao again.

Yuan Shao was born in a high-ranking and famous family, with great reputation, brave and powerful.In the past, with his noble birth and unique personality charm, he attracted a large number of scholars to come to pledge their allegiance. However, as time passed, his shortcomings were gradually exposed, and his relationship with his staff also fell into a delicate freezing point.

He is used to judging others by his background and appearance, and he is easily influenced by his emotions.

When you don't offend him, he is very good to you. Once you make him feel bad, or let his face be embarrassing, he will treat you like an enemy and will hold a grudge for a long time.

Thinking of Tian Feng who was imprisoned for offending Yuan Shao, Guo Tu felt sorry for him, and decided that in the future he must take Yuan Shao's mood as the leader, and any loyal plans would be false.

It's not that Guo Tu never planned to defect to Cao Cao, but Cao Cao already had talents like Xun Yu and Xun You on his side.If he were to vote under Cao Cao's account instead, he would definitely not be able to enter the central level. It would take him many years to get ahead, and it would be more cost-effective to stay.What's more, in this battle, Yuan Shao's strength is much stronger than Cao Cao's. Everyone in Yuan's army thinks that they will win, the difference is only how much time it takes.

Therefore, even if Yuan Shao became more arrogant because of his strength and hegemony; even if he became less fond of "Chana Yayan" and began to do his own thing, unable to distinguish the importance, Yuan Junzhong didn't want to defect much. , turned to serve Cao Cao's side.

Compared with Yuan Jun, the situation in Cao Cao's army is just the opposite.

Due to the difference in strength, no matter how many strategies Cao Cao used to appease the people, even if Cao Cao won the battle beautifully at the beginning, few civil servants and military generals in the Cao camp believed that Cao Cao would win in the end, and they all accepted it on the surface. Appeasement, loyalty to seek things, in fact, there are different plans behind the scenes.

Cao Cao knew this well, but he also knew that this was human nature, so he could only urge the logistics to manufacture ordnance, and at the same time use small tricks to stimulate Yuan Shao to march south.

Although he didn't have much chance of winning the battle with Yuan Shao, Cao Cao was very sober: If he could not use the extension of Yuan Shao's battle line to increase his dependence on supplies, he would wait for Yuan Shao to gain a firm foothold in Yangwu, build granaries, and accumulate grain widely. There is really no chance of winning.

Yuan Shao received Cao Cao's letter and really didn't want to open it.

Ever since the Shanghui received two proclamations that almost made him die of anger, he has had a shadow on what Cao Cao sent.

He wanted the soldiers to burn it, but before the brazier was heated, he withdrew his hand again.

Even if Cao Cao used a small trick to kill two of his generals, but according to the current overall situation, it is still Yuan Shao who has the absolute advantage.

What if this is Cao Aman's letter of weakness or peace appeal?

Yuan Shao and Cao Cao were childhood friends, and they played together when they were very young.At that time, he had not yet been adopted, and was just a concubine of the direct branch of the Yuan family, but even so, the blood of four generations and three fathers flowed on him, ten thousand times better than Cao Cao, who was born in an eunuch family.

Although Yuan Shao didn't despise Cao Cao like other gentry sons, he would bypass him when he saw him, but in fact he looked down on him secretly.

When he was a child, he regarded Cao Cao as a good friend, and at the same time regarded him as his younger brother.

When he grew up, the world fell apart, the four seas were separated, and all the heroes ruled together. He became the leader of the rebel army and the leader of Jizhou.

Cao Cao is still the same Cao Aman who has a bit of cleverness but can't catch up with him.Therefore, when Cao Cao first raised his troops, he took care of him without any grievances, hoping to cultivate a strong "little brother" who would watch and help Cao Cao and conspire with the world.

But he never expected that this kind of care would actually support himself a formidable enemy.

Cao Cao welcomed the emperor to Xu County. The emperor wanted to make him a general, and appointed him Yuan Shao as a lieutenant under Cao Cao.This deeply humiliated Yuan Shao, who had always attached great importance to his identity and looked down on Cao Cao's birth.

Even if Cao Cao later showed weakness to him and gave him the position of general, this humiliation could not be weakened in the slightest.On the contrary, as Cao Cao grew stronger and stronger day by day, he gnawed at his self-esteem every day.

It was precisely because of this humiliation that he became impatient whenever he encountered Cao Cao, wishing to immediately eliminate Cao Cao's power and make him bow his head and proclaim himself a vassal.

Under the control of this emotion, Jushou and Tian Feng, who repeatedly prevented him from attacking Cao Cao, became his enemies.

Yuan Shao's thoughts gradually drifted away, and when he came back to his senses, his fingers followed the subconscious thoughts, and he opened the bamboo tube containing the ruler neatly.

It's all open, why don't you take a look.

With unexplainable expectations, Yuan Shao took out the silk and silk inside, and unfolded it for a look.

"At the beginning, is it rooted out today?"

"Damn Cao Aman!"

Yuan Shao resentfully threw the silk on the ground, stomped on it with his foot, and then threw it into the brazier together with the bamboo slips.

Even though the silk was burned, he still remembered that sentence, as if Cao Cao's face that had been flattened since he was a child jumped out of his mind, pointing at him with a sly and fearless expression:

"At the beginning, break—"

"Ahhhh!"

Yuan Shao immediately interrupted the picture in his mind that made him want to vomit blood, and kicked the brazier hard.

He knew that Cao Cao was trying to anger him on purpose.

But even if he knew, he still couldn't help but bristle with anger, and his blood surged.

If others wrote such insulting letters, even if he was angry, he would not lose control as he is now.

Yuan Shao knew that Cao Cao's influence on him was too deep. If he could not solve this hidden danger as soon as possible, he would be overwhelmed by his self-esteem and lose his true self.

"Pull out the army and go south!"

At this time, Cao Cao still used aggressive methods against him, looking for death.

Even if he is eager for quick success and does not use the safest way to fight, how can he be his opponent with the disparity between Cao Cao and him?

Xun Chen, who happened to pass by the edge of Yuan Shao's tent, walked towards his own tent without stopping.

He lifted the curtain and entered, sat on the temporary desk, and spread out the letters placed on the desk.

What is written on the slip is an article in "Zuo Zhuan".

Then, Xun Chen took out a small piece of wooden tablet from his arms, and searched for the sequence in the letter according to the marks on it.

"Two, four, eight..."

Skip the above words one by one in order, and finally, Xun Chen's hand clicked on a sentence.

"There is no end."

Xun Chen silently read out the last number.

--three.

The third word is You.

Xu You.

Xun Chen stretched his eyebrows.

Not long after, news came that Xu You's family members had committed a crime and were arrested by the interrogator and awaiting execution.

Xu You immediately ran to Yuan Shao to intercede, implying that the interrogator had avenged his personal revenge, but Yuan Shao stopped him lightly.

When Xu You saw Yuan Shao's intent to secretly protect and judge the match, he was shocked and angry.He returned the account with anger, and remembered that his previous plan was rejected by Yuan Shao, and he felt resentful.

"It's abhorrent to connive at the villain without a decision."

Thinking of the unlucky Tian Feng and Ju Shou who was suspected of not being able to use it, Xu You sighed in his heart, secretly thinking that Yuan Shao would be finished sooner or later.

He found an opportunity to leave the camp quietly, and immediately ran to Cao Cao's place.

When Cao Cao heard that Xu You really came, he messed up his hair and clothes, kicked off his shoes, and went out dressed backwards.

He pretended to be surprised, and rushed over to grab Xu You's hand: "Ziyuan is here, sit down quickly!"

Xu You took his seat slowly, and it was not at all obvious that he escaped hastily.

Xu You asked inscrutably, "How long can your food last?"

As the mastermind behind the scenes, Cao Cao knew Xu You's intentions.

But he still felt a little unhappy when he heard Xu You's pretending to ask about important military affairs directly without any pleasantries.

"It can be eaten for a year."

Actually much more than that.Since Cui Song presented the water conservancy strategy, personally supervised Yuzhou's water conservancy, and put forward the "breeding" plan, the grain production of the territory has increased significantly.

This also improved Cao Cao's confidence in the battle against Yuan Shao.

But in the face of Xu You who came to defect, no matter whether he was sincere or false, Cao Cao couldn't tell the truth.

However, after listening to his "one year" answer, Xu You didn't feel that he was talking about Shaoli, but secretly smiled in his heart, thinking that Cao Cao was slapping his swollen face to pretend to be fat.

Xu You said casually: "Meng Demo is going to lie to me, tell the truth."

Cao Cao held back his displeasure with his attitude, deliberately showing a little embarrassment.

"Half a year is enough."

Xu You raised his nostrils, and said with a half-smile: "You still lie to me at this time? Don't you know that I'm here to help you? If you want me to help you deal with Yuan Shao, why don't you be more frank?"

Cao Cao was speechless for a long while, then suddenly brushed his hands over his face, and said in a state of extreme despondency, "The food...is only enough for one month."

Xu You laughed loudly, and patted Cao Cao's shoulder vigorously: "Don't be afraid of Meng De, I'll help you!"

Everything is going according to plan.But for some reason, Cao Cao suddenly had the idea of ​​throwing people out...