Chapter 3: The Plan to Attack the Heart

  Guo Jia smiled faintly and said, "As Sunzi said: 'A sovereign of a state may not launch an expedition out of anger; a general may not attack out of irritation.' My lord, ask yourself, what was the reason for this expedition to Xuzhou?" As he spoke, Guo Jia's expression turned serious.

  Cao Cao heard Guo Jia's words, remained silent for a moment, then burst out laughing and nodded: "Fengxiao said it well, indeed worthy of congratulations! Although this time I claimed my ambition was in Xuzhou, yet it was actually anger that led me to take up arms. If we had slaughtered the city, I fear Xuzhou would have been hard to capture. Fortunately, a great mistake has not been made, good! Truly good!"

  Xun Yu, who looked frail and timid in appearance and was always serious, couldn't help but squeeze out a smile when he heard this. He said: "What the lord has said is absolutely right, this time the fourth young master should be remembered for his merit. Especially since he is only five years old and understands many things that people may not understand their whole lives, even Gan Luo reborn would not be better than this. Especially that sentence 'Prosperity, the people suffer; death, the people suffer.' It's really wonderful to the extreme, this saying will surely be famous for thousands of years!"

  Cao Cao was delighted in his heart, but he didn't want to praise his son too much in front of others. He just chuckled and smiled faintly: "Gongda is overpraising him, this might not be what that young man thinks."

  Facing Cao Cao's joking words, Xun Yu shook his head seriously and said: "Not necessarily, such famous sayings should have been spread all over the world long ago, but I, Xun Yu, also heard it for the first time. The fourth son has been intelligent since childhood, with his consistent performance and recent remarks, it is not impossible that this saying came from his mouth! In ancient times, there was Gan Luo who paid homage twelve times, our lord having a son like this is something to be happy about!"

  Cao Cao heard this, and burst out laughing. He pointed at Xun You and said, "Gongda, you're being too serious. If that young whippersnapper hears this, he'll probably become even more arrogant."

  Xun Yu thought for a moment and then bowed his head respectfully, saying: "Your words are reasonable, I understand." After finishing speaking, he sat up straight and remained silent.

  Cao Cao saw him and, unable to help it, rubbed his forehead with his hand, saying in a low voice: "Gong Da is fine in every way, but he's just too serious."

  Unlike Xun Yu, on the other side, Guo Jia was lying sloppily in front of the desk, and after drinking and eating, he said with a somewhat drunken look: "My lord, whether those words came from the fourth master's mouth, I'll try to find out. However, it seems that we are still discussing military affairs now." After finishing speaking, he picked up his wine cup and drank it all in one gulp.

  Looking at the two most trusted advisors with two completely different postures, Cao Cao couldn't help but cough a few times and said: "Feng Xiao is indeed a prodigal son." After a pause, Cao Cao spoke in a serious tone: "Everyone, what are your thoughts on attacking Xuzhou? Don't hesitate to speak up."

  Xiahou Dun and Cao Ren were not present, in the Cao camp, Xiahou Yuan was considered the first of the military generals. He spoke out: "General, since the Yellow Turban Rebellion, Xuzhou has been peaceful for nearly ten years, without war, and the military preparations have been slack. The key to using troops is speed, our army should advance into Xuzhou with lightning speed, and capture it before Tao Qian can react. At that time, General's family feud can be avenged, and the rich Xuzhou can be obtained with minimal damage, achieving a dual success!"

  Xiahou Yuan analyzed from a military perspective that this strategy was mediocre and didn't have any major flaws. However, after he finished speaking, Yu Jin, who had newly defected to Taishan, said: "My lord, although General Miao's words are reasonable, the Dan Yang army of Xu Zhou is famous for its bravery throughout the land, and Wen Qian is skilled at attacking cities. Nevertheless, when they attacked the small city of Guangwei, which didn't have many soldiers defending it, they still took half a day to capture it, showing that the Dan Yang army isn't an easy opponent."

  When Yu Jin finished speaking, Cao Cao's eyebrows also furrowed slightly. Xiahou Yuan saw this and said: "Although Wen Tiren's words are not unreasonable, the Dan Yang army is good at fighting, but it still needs a general to lead them to exert their strength. Xu Zhou has Cao Bao leading the troops, this person's ability is mediocre, the Dan Yang army is strong, but under his leadership, it's like a flock of sheep, and it's not an enemy of our army!" When he said this, Xiahou Yuan showed a proud expression on his face.

  Xiahou Yuan's words came out, and all the generals nodded in agreement. Even Yu Jin was among them. However, just at this moment, Guo Jia, who had been quietly drinking, suddenly straightened his face and said to Cao Cao: "My lord, what the generals have said is reasonable. But Sun Tzu has said: The highest form of warfare is to attack strategy, next is to disrupt alliances, next is to attack troops, and the lowest is to besiege a city. It can be seen that attacking a city should be the last resort. Now that my lord has already taken the initiative, shouldn't we hear that attacking a city is inferior, while attacking the heart is superior?"

  Cao Cao listened to Guo Jia's words, a hint of joy flashing at the corner of his mouth. When Guo Jia stopped, he stared at him and said: "Fengxiao, why don't you go on? Hurry up and continue!"

  Guo Jia picked up his wine cup and smiled: "The lord probably already has a plan in mind, so why bother with this extra move."

  Cao Cao heard this and stroked his beard, laughing loudly: "The one who knows me is Xun You." As he spoke, Cao Cao drew his sword and stood up, shouting: "Xun Yu, Yu Jin, listen to my orders!"

  "Subordinate ( lowest general) is present."

  "Gong Da, order you to immediately spread the words of today's discussion with Zhi and the debate within the account to all cities in Xuzhou. Wen Ze, your troops will be under the command of Master Xun."

  The two men listened and responded in unison: "Yes, sir!"

  Cao Cao nodded slightly and waved his hand: "Miao Cai, send someone to pass on the order to Yuan Rang, the vanguard, to stop the army for a while and not attack Xiaopei for the time being. First, take down all the small counties near Guangwei, and do not kill any civilians. Those who disobey will be beheaded! Feng Xiao, after handling other matters, you also go to assist Gong Da's efforts. The rest of the generals, stay with me in Guangwei for a few days before making further plans."

  Everyone in the account is not a fool, and at this time they have already understood Cao Cao's so-called heart-attacking plan. They responded in unison: "Yes!" Cao Cao's order has been issued, and the crowd has dispersed.

  ……

  At this time, Cao Zhi was hurrying to the city gate with Cao Hong. Cao Zhi walked very quickly, as if he feared that the civilians would be killed. Seeing Cao Zhi, a young child, walking so fast, Cao Hong couldn't help but call out: "Zhi-er, big brother's order has been given, whoever dares to disobey and kill civilians, you don't have to worry."

  Cao Zhi stopped in his tracks, turned around and said to Cao Hong with a smile that was even uglier than crying: "Uncle Zi Liang, I'm not hurrying because I'm worried about General Le You disobeying orders and killing the civilians, but because I want to get away from Father's big tent as soon as possible."

  Cao Hong, this rough man, heard this and was first stunned, then pointed at Cao Zhi and burst out laughing: "Just now I saw you being calm and composed, Brother Zi thought you... didn't expect that you would also be afraid. Haha...".

  When Cao Hong heard that proud laughter, Cao Zhi couldn't help but counterattack: "Uncle Zi Liang, don't mention me, weren't you afraid just now?"

  Cao Zhi heard this, his face immediately changed. Cao Cao's power had grown since he took over Yan Province. When Cao Song was killed, Cao Cao was furious and no one in the Cao or Xiahou families dared to come forward to advise him, fearing they would be killed by Cao Cao. Now hearing Cao Zhi's words, Cao Hong couldn't help but think of Cao Cao's angry face and felt a pang in his heart. Being seen through by a junior, Cao Hong's face was a bit unbearable, so he dryly laughed twice and said: "Zhi, let's not talk about this anymore. Let's hurry up, if we make Wen Qian wait too long, it won't be good for those civilians." After finishing, he pulled Cao Zhi's small hand and quickened their pace.

  Xiao Xiao Di won against Cao Hong in a small victory, Cao Zhi smiled slyly and revealed his newly grown adorable little tiger teeth.