Chapter 19: The Deployment of Yuzhou

  Indeed, Guo Jia pointed at Cao Zhi and said: "I have been ordered to take care of the Fourth Young Master. You'd better spare me, Gong Da."

  As for Guo Jia's plea, Xun Yu shook his head decisively and said: "Fengxiao, you can't escape this time. The army is about to set out, and everyone is busy beyond measure. Fourth Master is also a member of the Cao family, and in the future, he will also have dealings with military affairs. Let him come along together, so that I can keep an eye on him, and Fengxiao won't need to worry."

  Guo Jia wanted Cao Zhi to follow him, so he nodded in satisfaction. In his opinion, Cao Zhi had grown up in the Cao Mansion since childhood and was spoiled, while outside it was scorching hot, letting him suffer a bit would be a small revenge.

  Cao Zhi, however, was overjoyed when he heard that he could go out and respectfully cupped his hands, saying, "Yes."

  Seeing Cao Zhi's calm demeanor, Guo Jia was somewhat perplexed, but now that things had come to this pass, he couldn't turn back, so he helplessly shrugged his shoulders and said to Xun Yu, "Well, let's go."

  Five people left the marching camp, Cao Zhi followed Liu Ye's side, away from Guo Jia. But what surprised Cao Zhi was that as soon as Guo Jia left the marching camp, his whole temperament changed, and he completely restrained himself, with a rare serious expression on his face. After seeing this, Cao Zhi nodded secretly in his heart, thinking: "It turns out that this is the real genius."

  Guo Jia asked Xun Yu in a low voice: "Gong Da, how is the preparation of our army going?"

  When he saw Guo Jia, Xun Yu's expression turned serious and his face regained its calmness. In a low voice that only the five of them could hear, he said: "The situation is not good. My younger brother sent a trusted envoy to convey a message. The drought in Yan Province is severe, with more than half of the crops withering and dying. I'm afraid this year's grain harvest will be less than two-tenths of last year's. Most of the grain used by our army now comes from the granaries of various cities in Xuzhou. In order to store up grain for the winter, the grain transported from Yan Province is not much."

  Xun Yu described the general situation that Cao's army was currently facing, and Guo Jia also furrowed his brow after hearing it. Mao Jie said with some concern: "Grain and grass are fundamental, this year is a great drought, last year's 1 million Yellow Turbans not only failed to increase our lord's strength, but instead became a hindrance."

  Liu Ye sighed and said: "If we don't accept this million taels of silver, how can Master have such wealth? It's not that Master is not capable, it's just that heaven doesn't favor Master."

  Xun Yu also sighed and said: "There is no way, we can only do our best, can Filial Piety have any extraordinary strategy to get out of this situation?"

  Guo Jia heard this and bitterly smiled, saying: "Gong Da, don't joke around. I'm not a divine being, how can I conjure up food out of thin air? For now, our army can only use battle to sustain ourselves, we must quickly capture the major cities in Xuzhou, only then can we alleviate our grain shortage."

  Hearing Xun You and others, one word at a time, Cao Zhi also understood the current situation of Cao's army quite well. As for the historical record of Cao's army this time conquering Xuzhou, Cao Zhi still remembered it relatively clearly. Cao's army marched to conquer Xuzhou, slaughtering cities along the way, causing shock and panic in Xuzhou. Later, Tao Qian sent out a plea for rescue troops. This plea brought his father Cao Cao's greatest opponent of his lifetime, Liu Bei (Liu Xuande). Then came Lü Bu's raid on Yan Province, forcing Cao's army to retreat, giving Liu Bei the opportunity to take over Xuzhou.

  Now, due to his own appearance, Cao Cao did not slaughter the city, and under the plans of Guo Jia, Xun Yu and others, the people of Xuzhou were slightly inclined towards the Cao army. However, Cao Zhi only changed a small situation, whether Tao Qian would invite Liu Bei or not, Cao Zhi didn't know, but what Cao Zhi had changed now was just this side of Xuzhou, that is to say, no matter what, Lü Bu would enter Yanzhou.

  Thinking of Lü Bu entering Yan Province, Cao Zhi was shocked in his heart. This battle can be said to be the most miserable defeat since Cao Cao's debut. The vast Yan Province only had three small cities left. And this year's grain situation in Yan Province was also clear to Cao Zhi, just as Mao Jie said, grain is the foundation.

  At this thought, Cao Zhi suddenly brightened up and secretly thought: "Since Lü Bu has already entered Yan Province, and our army only has three cities left, plus Yan Province is short of food. If we take advantage of the fact that Lü Bu has not arrived yet, and concentrate all the grain into the three cities that Cao's army has kept, even if Lü Bu captures Yan Province, without food to eat, his strength will inevitably plummet. And our army will be able to recover Yan Province next year!"

  Cao Zhi's thoughts had reached this point, and he couldn't help but touch his nose with his hand, thinking to himself: "This is a good plan, but how should I put it to them? If I directly say that I guessed Lü Bu would come to attack, that definitely won't work." He was too young, and this was where Cao Zhi truly found himself in difficulty.

  "But we can't just sit back and do nothing. Although Father has not suffered a major defeat before the Battle of Red Cliffs, he has taken risks several times. Now I don't know what kind of chaos this butterfly will stir up, and if things go wrong, it could be disastrous."

  At the time when Cao Zhi was thinking hard about how to offer his plan, Mao Jie said: "Now the army's grain and forage are all stored in Puyang, and our lord has already decided to abandon the western Chenliu Commandery and other places to protect Dong Commandery."

  Yanzhou is adjacent to the imperial countryside of Nanyang and the imperial capital Luoyang in the west, and has always been a rich and prosperous land. However, since the Yellow Turban Rebellion, Yanzhou is no longer prosperous, and Chenliu County was the vanguard of the princes' expedition against Dong Zhuo, and those princes' troops, although nominally to suppress the bandits, were like locusts passing through the territory, causing disaster to the west of Chenliu County. Therefore, after two major upheavals, this place has become a thousand holes, and the center of Yanzhou has shifted to Dongjun (Puyang is the seat of Dongjun).

  Cao Cao and Xun Yu's move was originally unobjectionable, but in the heart of Cao Zhi, who knew history well, a huge wave rose. Historically, Puyang was captured by Lü Bu, and Cao Cao tried every means to retake it but failed. Now, most of the Cao army's food was stored in Puyang... Thinking of this, Cao Zhi dared not think further. His eyes kept rolling, wanting to advise Xun Yu and others not to store all the grain in Puyang.

  Cao Zhi was anxious in his heart, but he also underestimated the intelligence of Cao's advisors. He only heard Guo Jia frown and say: "Xiao Xian, it is not appropriate to store all the grain and fodder in Puyang... a cunning rabbit has three burrows..."

  Guo Jia had not finished speaking when Liu Ye burst out laughing and said: "Fengxiao, I didn't expect you to actually believe the words of Xiaoxian."

  "Oh?" Liu Ye's reaction raised an eyebrow from Guo Jia, who sneered and said: "Just a severe drought, and you're already getting restless?"

  Liu Ye smiled mysteriously and nodded, "Wen Ruo has already consulted with the master, it's a good opportunity to clean up Yanzhou, so next year's policies will be easier to implement."

  Guo Jia nodded slightly, but soon frowned and said: "Wen Ruo's plan is good, but the internal situation in Yan Province is complex and complicated. If we want to clean it up at once, I'm afraid there will be changes in the middle."

  Mao Jing smiled faintly: "Feng Xiao has been filtered out, and as the saying goes, 'a thousand changes don't leave their ancestors'. Even if there are some minor variations in Wen Ruo's plan, it won't be a big wave. Moreover, besides Wen Ruo, there is also Zhong De in Yanzhou. With his cunning, who can calculate him?"

  Although Guo Jia had some concerns in his heart, what Mao Jie said was indeed not unreasonable. With Cheng Li's experience, there were only a few people in the world who could calculate him. Moreover, Xun Yu's overall strategic direction, no matter how many variables there were, would ultimately be just a matter of countering each move at the right time. In terms of strategic vision, Guo Jia also acknowledged that he was not as good as Xun Yu. Therefore, after thinking it through, Guo Jia nodded lightly and did not ask any more questions.

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