Chapter 39: Xun Yu's Plan

  Xun You's judgment reassured Cao Cao, who then ordered: "Miao Cai, since you have captured this Cao Jiao, take good care of him."

  "Hello!"

  Upon hearing Xiahou Yuan's response, Cao Cao slightly nodded his head and continued: "Everyone, although Pengcheng has been taken by our army, Tao Qian has escaped. Although he is old and frail, escaping in the heavy rain may cause him to fall gravely ill, but we cannot rely on luck. If Tao Qian does not die, Xuzhou will be difficult to pacify. Now that the problem of provisions for our army has been temporarily resolved, I had thought that this was the time to pursue and attack while Tao Qian had yet to regroup his forces and defeat him once again!

  Xiahou Dun smiled and responded loudly: "The general's words are reasonable, our army should advance immediately!"

  Xiahou Yuan also refused to show weakness and immediately responded: "As the saying goes, 'an army values speed', I am willing to be the vanguard!"

  With Xiahou brothers leading the way, Le Jin, Yu Jin, Cao Chun and Cao Xiu among others clamored to go into battle, and for a time the atmosphere in the tent was turbulent.

  Looking at the generals so excited, Cao Cao was delighted and laughed. As for Cao Zhi, he had never seen such a scene before. To know that Xiahou Dun, Xiahou Yuan and others, who were usually serious and stern in front of him, were now like this, left Cao Zhi staring in amazement.

  However, after a while, Cao Zhi withdrew his gaze, rubbed his nose and muttered to himself: "It's not even certain where to start, why get so excited."

  Cao Zhi was muttering to himself, but Cao Cao was right next to him and heard every word. He glanced at him and nodded slightly. Then he waved his hand and said, "Let's wait for now, our target is not yet determined, let's discuss it first before deciding who will be the vanguard."

  A group of generals listened intently, their eyes fixed on the strategist. They were now fighting for the general rather than the commander, and where to fight was still decided by the strategists. Of course, the generals also concentrated on listening to the strategist's analysis. Although they had not yet gained enough experience to become commanders, it was impossible to guarantee that they would not take command in the future, so they were extremely concerned about the strategist's analysis of the battle situation, which was a rare knowledge and experience.

  The chief of the strategists, Xun Yu, listened to Cao Cao's words, and everyone's eyes focused on this ordinary-looking wise man. Guo Jia and Liu Ye looked at each other, smiled and looked towards Xun Yu together. The two had made achievements in the strategy of attacking the heart and the Battle of Pengcheng respectively, but now they were not going to compete for credit in this battle.

  Xun Yu smiled slightly and analyzed to Cao Cao: "Xuzhou has five counties, namely Langya, Donghai, Pengcheng, Xiaopei, and Guangling. Among them, Pengcheng is already in the hands of the lord, while Langya is far away and mountainous, not rich and prosperous, so it can be ignored for the time being. The remaining three counties are all rich and prosperous counties in Xuzhou, but Guangling is also relatively remote compared to Donghai and Xiaopei. The county seat of Donghai is Tancheng, which was also the county seat of Xuzhou for over 400 years since the Han dynasty. It should be the first stronghold of Xuzhou. With Tao Qian's ability, it's not difficult to judge that if Pengcheng falls, retreating to defend Tancheng in Donghai would be the best choice."

  Xiahou Yuan hastily asked: "According to Gong Da's judgment, should Tao Qian retreat and defend Tan City?"

  Xun You smiled calmly and shook his head, saying, "No." Upon hearing Xun You's words, the other generals all looked puzzled. Xun You then explained in a relaxed manner: "If Pengcheng was breached by our army's fierce attack, Tao Gongzu would indeed retreat to Tancheng. However, since our army launched a surprise attack on Pengcheng and caught Tao Gongzu off guard, he hastily retreated. If he were to go to Tancheng, he would miss the opportunity to regroup and reorganize his troops. Therefore, in my judgment, Tao Gongzu must retreat to Xiapi!"

  Xun Yu's analysis was reasonable and to the point, and everyone nodded in agreement. Cao Cao lightly stroked his short beard under his chin and asked: "In that case, should our army attack Pei?"

  Xun Yu smiled faintly and said: "What our lord has just said is only one of the plans, but I have two other plans for our lord to choose from."

  "Oh?" Cao Cao did not expect that Xun Yu, who was normally stern and serious, would also have a playful side. He smiled and said, "I'd like to hear more about it."

  Xun Yu nodded and said, "The best strategy is to bypass Xiaopei and attack Donghai County instead. Since Tao Gongzu has fled to Xiaopei, Donghai County must be empty now. Although Donghai is not as prosperous as Xiaopei, it's still quite wealthy. Now that our lord has taken control of Pengcheng, taking Donghai will allow us to connect with Taishan County in the east. Since our lord defeated the Yellow Turbans in Qingzhou, he hasn't paid much attention to the eastern counties like Taishan, Jibei, Lu, and Dongping. But if we take Donghai, we can use its wealth to support the eastern counties of Yanzhou and solidify our foundation there. Moreover, once Donghai falls, Langya County in the north will be cut off from our lord's territory. This is where Tao Gongzu's most elite troops are stationed, led by Zang Xuan, a man from Taishan. However, Zang has always been secretly disloyal to Tao. If our lord cuts off contact between Xiaopei and Zang, once the Taishan army runs out of food, they will have no choice but to surrender to our lord. This way, our lord will control three of the five counties in Xuzhou, leaving only Xiaopei and Guangling to be taken later."

  "Good plan!" Cao Zhi thought to himself after hearing it, and he secretly praised Xun Yu's superior strategy. With this plan in place, no matter how Lu Bu or Liu Bei struggled, they would not be able to escape the clutches of the Cao army. And Cao Zhi was deeply supportive of it. However, when he looked up and swept his gaze across the expressions of the people in the tent, his heart couldn't help but skip a beat.

  But saw among the crowd, from Cao Cao to all the generals, they all furrowed their brows. Cao Zhi hastily looked at Guo Jia and Liu Ye, but saw that they had worried expressions on their faces, but couldn't guess what they were thinking.

  Indeed, after a short wait, Cao Cao furrowed his brow and waved his hand, saying: "Gong Da's plan is indeed a good strategy, and it's also very stable, but the progress is too slow. Now that Yuan Shao has suffered a defeat in Jingzhou and has set his sights on Xuzhou, if we can't quickly take down Xuzhou, I'm afraid we'll be giving an advantage to Yuan Shao. With Gong Da's plan, it's not difficult to take down the three counties, but considering Tao Qian's alliance with Yuan Shao, it's hard to guarantee that after our army takes down Donghai County, he won't rely on him again, and what's more, he might even hand over Xiangyi and Guangling counties. If we let Yuan Shao get his hands on them, with the richness of Xuzhou, even if it's just two counties, it would be enough for him to recover most of his strength. Right now, Bian and Gongsun Zan are still stuck in a stalemate, I'm afraid they can't spare any troops to help me, so under no circumstances can we let one county fall into Yuan Shao's hands!

  Cao Zhi heard this and felt a chill in his heart. It was only then that he truly understood Cao Cao's difficulties, and vaguely grasped why Cao Cao had to slaughter the city of Xu Zhou in history. The fact was that Yuan Shu was too strong, and once he got Xu Zhou, Cao Cao, who was just starting out, would not be his match. Since Cao Cao knew it was impossible to quickly obtain Xu Zhou, he decided to burn everything down, taking the grain and supplies back to Yan Zhou, leaving behind a ruined Xu Zhou.

  With Cao Cao's character, the plan of two defeats would be carried out without batting an eye. However, with Cao Zhi's arrival, the situation in Xuzhou has undergone a drastic change!

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