The reinforcements from the west city were wiped out, and the captured flags and war drums, and thousands of prisoners were pushed to the city. The defenders in the city looked like soil and their morale was depressed. No one dared to go out of the city to invite a battle. Xu You watched Huang Zhong harvest the crops outside the city, using soldiers and civilians brought by Pang Xi, who were so depressed that he vomited blood. If Pang Xi had not been killed in battle, his head would be hung outside the city, and he even doubted whether Pang Xi had sent labor for Huang Zhong.

Fortunately, there is still a city. No matter how good the Wu army is to fight, it can rush to the hillside, and it cannot fly directly to the top of the city. Xu You boosts morale and is ready to be prepared. He believes that Wu Yi will definitely send reinforcements again. Shangyong is not Fangling. Once Huang Zhong occupies Shangyong, he may cross the Bashan and bypass the Three Gorges, posing a threat to defending the pass. In this way, Yizhou will be in danger. Wu Yi cannot bear such a responsibility, and he will definitely take Shangyong with all his might.

Xu You is a famous scholar in Henan and a veteran party member. Shen Yi admires him very much and obeys his will.

To Xu You's surprise, a few days later, Huang Zhong finished harvesting the crops outside the city and left.

Seeing the army outside the city gradually faded away, Xu You was confused and didn't know what trick Huang Zhong was doing. He sent people out of the city to investigate the situation. During the more than a year of battle, everyone had already known the reputation of the Wu army scouts. Going out of the city to find out the news is no different from sending death. Xu You forced and tempted, and even led the team himself. After a few days, he finally figured out the general situation.

Huang Zhong left Xu Huang to guard the white horses and led the main force to block the water. It seemed that he might have gone to take San County.

Xu You was puzzled. He knew that although Xian County was not as important as Shangyong's geographical location, it was related to Hanzhong's finances. There were two important gold-producing places in Chu: one was Rushui and the other was Han River. Han Aquatic Gold-producing Land was located in this section of river beach from San County to Yunyang. Because the flow rate slowed down, gold-containing river sand accumulated in the river beach area, and gold-pushing was an important local industry. But the question is, even if Huang Zhong occupied this gold-producing land, what's the use? Hanzhong will not collapse immediately, and it will be affected a few years later.

Does Huang Zhong want to use his old tricks again, and if he can't defeat Shangyong, he will be besieged for a long time? Or may he want to control this gold-producing land and force the local tyrants to make a choice and rely on Sun Ce? Most of the local tyrants' industries are related to gold digging. It is normal for Huang Zhong to have such an idea, but it is difficult to avoid being slow. Unless he robs it clearly, the proceeds of gold digging cannot offset the expenses of the army, and may affect grain prices.

No matter how much gold is, it cannot satisfy your hunger.

Although Xu You felt that Huang Zhong would not just take a handful and leave, he couldn't figure out what Huang Zhong's intention was. In desperation, he had to send someone to inform Wu Yi and Zhang Lu, so that they could prepare for the response. Pang Xi's entire army was wiped out, and the baggage and food were robbed by Huang Zhong. There was a shortage of food in Shangyong City. Wu Yi must send reinforcements to deliver food as soon as possible, otherwise he would have to abandon the city and hand over the strategic location of Shangyong to Huang Zhong.

If you don’t have food, you won’t be guarded. This is common sense for using military forces.

Considering that Xu Huang was guarding Baimasai and blocked the road leading to Xicheng through Qin Gushui, Huang Zhong's army blocked the waterway again. Xu You sent more than a dozen envoys to divide them into two routes, walking along Canglang Mountain, going to Mulan Sai, crossing Bashan, and going to Wu County. He suspected Wu Yi and Zhang Lu's ability and felt it was necessary to directly inform Cao Cao of the situation in Hanzhong and let him prepare as soon as possible.

——

At the end of August, the fish regained.

For more than a year, Cao Cao himself has been stationed in Yufu, except for the time of last summer and autumn. The reason is that Sun Ce himself is in Xiangyang, and the direction of Hanzhong is undoubtedly more important. Although Zhou Yu is coming in a fierce manner, He Qi was blocked from Qinglangtan for a year and failed to move forward, which is exactly the same as Ma Yuan back then. Although he has made some achievements, he still cannot overcome the disadvantages of the geographical environment. It can be imagined that even if Zhou Yu can defeat the Wuxi Man, through Qinglangtan, and through Wuling, it will not be a one-day achievement, and the danger is limited.

Hanzhong is different. Once Sun Ce controls Hanzhong and colludes with Ma Teng to control Liangzhou, Yizhou will be blocked from three directions and can only sit and wait for death. The threat is second only to breaking through the Three Gorges head-on and entering the hinterland of Yizhou.

After receiving news from Xu You, he learned that Fang Ling was trapped for a year and lost his troops, Pang Xi was wiped out again. The situation in Shangyong was critical, and Cao Cao was very anxious. Not only was he anxious about the situation in Hanzhong, but he also added some concerns about Wuling.

"The Jiangdong Army is good at fighting so well, what can you do?" General Cao Cao threw the newspaper to Fa Zheng and sighed repeatedly.

After reading it, Fa Zheng was a little uneasy. The Jiangdong Army's ability to fight in the mountains far exceeded his estimates, and it should be the result of this year's intensive training. Of course, Zhou Yu can do it. In this way, Zhou Yu's speed of advancing in southern Yizhou will be much higher than expected. The entire strategy needs to be re-planned, at least the possibility of the confrontation that could continue like this no longer exists.

The attack between the north and the south seems to be slow but urgent, and the situation is very unfavorable to them.

"Although Hanzhong is critical, it will not affect the hinterland of Yizhou for a while, so don't worry about the king." Fa Zheng pondered for a long time. "In my opinion, Wuling is even more critical. Once Zhou Yu breaks through Qinglangtan, Cao Hong and Zhang Ren may not be able to defend Fuling (now Pengshui County) and Xi County (now Zunyi City)."

Cao Cao turned around and looked at Fa Zheng with thick eyebrows frowned. He knew the problem that what he wanted was a solution.

"We have done our best to inform the court. If the Jizhou direction cannot launch an attack and restrain Sun Ce's troops, Yizhou will not be able to hold on for too long."

Fa Zheng twisted his fingers, feeling a little embarrassed, and he wanted to speak but stopped. Cao Cao saw it with sincerity, his eyes flashed. "Are you worried about my son cultivating?"

Fa Zheng nodded and sighed softly: "Sun Ce was cunning. When he married his son, Yanzhou became a buffer. Yuan Tan could only advance from both sides and his troops were dispersed. Yuan Tan must use this as a reason to fight passively. If the son could break up with Sun Ce and join forces with Yuan Tan, the situation would be very different."

Cao Cao's eyes flashed and he pondered silently.

Fa Zheng then said: "It is difficult to break through the middle, so you must use force from the side. Liu Yao and the senior officials obeyed Yuan Tan's orders. Yuan Tan refused to use force, and of course they refused to use force. Sun Ce's wings were worry-free, so that he could advance west with all his might. Originally, Yizhou could barely support it with the advantage of the local area. Now Huang Zhong and Zhou Yu have achieved success in training, and the situation is not good for me. If Sun Ce does not adjust in time, who in the world can still be his opponent? Junhou, this is not the gains and losses of Yizhou, but the gains and losses of the world, and we must observe it. Moreover, father and son are enemies, which is very unfavorable to Junhou's reputation."

Cao Cao lowered his head, paced back and forth for a few steps, with a little hesitant expression. "Xiaozhi, I have thought about what you said, it is indeed not a solution to go on for a long time. But I have two worries."

“Which two?”

"One is how far can Sun Ce go, and the other is how the situation in Shandong will change if Zi Xiu gave up Yanzhou. Is it more beneficial to Sun Ce or Yuan Tan. Yuan Tan has the support of a noble family, and after returning from Yuzhou, there is indeed a change of change. But can he defeat Sun Ce in the end? If Sun Ce is not eager to make progress, compromise with the court, and slowly seek it, will Yuan Tan still be his opponent?"

Cao Cao raised his hand and scratched his temples. He was 45 years old this year, but he felt like he was unable to do so. His temples had white hair. Emperor, Sun Ce, and Yuan Tan, these three young people each have their own advantages. The victory or defeat depends on them, not on themselves. Yizhou has more self-defense and insufficient offense. In contrast, Cao Ang’s choices are more important than his life and death victory or defeat.

For the Cao family, if the Han Dynasty falls, there is no difference between Yuan Tan and Sun Ce who can win the world. It depends only on how much benefit the Cao family can get from it. Cao Ang and Sun Ce have a marriage relationship and have Yanzhou. If he always supports Sun Ce, he will not be rich or noble in the future. However, Yuan Tan may not be able to give him such high treatment. The Cao family has no background in classics, and when the aristocratic family cannot be ranked, the Cao family still has some uses. Once the world is peaceful, it will definitely be excluded by the aristocratic family.

It was not a wise choice for the Cao family to give up Sun Ce and instead support Yuan Tan.

As for the court, it is enough to have him, why bother to drag Cao Ang again? Sun Ce was suspected of radicalism, and the emperor was not the same as the emperor. He led the people of Liangzhou into the court. The emperor had become a barbarian king and was not friendly to them. However, this cannot be said to Fa Zheng, who was also a Guanzhong native. He was not disgusted with the court moving the capital to Chang'an and even leading the people of Liangzhou into the court. Geographically, Guanzhong belonged to Guanxi. Psychologically, Guanzhong people were often excluded by Guandong people and were closer to Liangzhou people.

Fa Zheng said: "The king and the king think that Sun Ce still has the possibility of compromise with the court?"

Cao Cao nodded. "Although Sun Ce is brave, he is not a fool. He just hasn't met an opponent yet. Once he is frustrated, he may not change his mind and use judo to get it. He is filial and straightforward, and is easy to value Yin and Yang. Although Sun Ce has little study, he is well versed in Yidao. Otherwise, he would not have created boxing techniques such as Tai Chi and spear methods."

Fa Zheng did not agree with it. The country was easy to change, but the nature was difficult to change. Sun Ce always used his troops to attack and attack hard, and was mainly close to each other. He did not see any cleverness in strategy. However, he also saw that Cao Cao was unwilling to use Cao Ang as bets, so he could only find another way.

"Since that's the case, please send troops to help. Jia Xu is from Liangzhou. If he can attack from Hongnong, the pressure on Hanzhong will be much less. As for Zhou Yu, the lord will still send a letter to urge Liu Yao and the high-ranking cadre. Winter is approaching and they can use troops."

Cao Cao agreed. He was under too much pressure and had to find someone to share it. Liu Yao and the senior officials probably couldn't help much, but Jia Xu could still consider it. The large number of Liangzhou people entered the court, which was a good opportunity for the rise of Liangzhou people, and Jia Xu could not remain indifferent. Sun Ce was named king, but he has not made any statement yet. He even drove Jiang Gan out of Hongnong a few months ago, which is a clear proof.
Chapter completed!