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Text Chapter 173 "The Depressed Cao Cao"

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    Chapter 173 "The Depressed Cao Cao"

    It was only then that the counselors came back to their senses.

    Jia Xu said carefully: "It's difficult for us, but it's even more difficult for Liu Jia!"

    "Oh¡ª¡ª" General Xiahou Dun, who was still warming himself by the fire, finally understood and uttered a long word.

    Cao Cao looked at Xiahou Dun proudly and nodded, then turned to several counselors and said, "Guess what is written in Liu Jia's letter?"

    Several people began to ponder, but several generals knew that they could not think of it and did not bother to think about it: I am not the roundworm in Liu Jia's belly, how do I know what he wrote?

    Cao Cao looked at Yang Xiu again and said with a smile: "Ancestor De, tell me?"

    Yang Xiu was stunned, glanced at the world-famous counselors around him, such as Jia Xu, Cheng Yu, Xun Yu, Xun You, etc., and said carefully: "After the reminder from King Wei just now, Xiu believes that the reason why Liu Jia wrote this letter is  Come, mainly because of the heavy snow. His southern soldiers must be unable to move in such a cold north. Even our soldiers freeze to death every day, so their casualties are even greater. Besides, the coldest time has not yet come, as long as  More than a month later, after the New Year, the severe cold became even more serious. The longer the time went on, the more serious the disaster would be, and the greater their losses would be. With such morale, and with us trying to avoid fighting as much as possible, we would not fight with them. In this way  Come, they can't afford to wait, and they can't attack us, so they are anxious. As for breaking the blockade of Yumi City, breaking through our two camps in front and behind, and opening up the road to contact Ma Chao, it is absolutely impossible. So they wrote a letter  coming."

    Cao Cao smiled and said: "Why is it another reminder from the lonely king? Haha, by the way. Dezu just mentioned the reason why Liu Jia wrote the letter but did not say what Liu Jia wrote in the letter, or what he planned to do?"

    Seeing Cao Cao smiling, Yang Xiu seemed to be inspired, and his tone became louder, and he spoke eloquently: "Liu Jia wrote this letter for two purposes. One is to invite a fight, and he wants to fight with us. Victory.  Then he took Ma Chao out and retreated to the south to rest and recuperate. If he was defeated, he retreated to the south to rest and recuperate, but he did his best to Ma Chao's 20,000 men. He felt at ease and others had nothing to say. The second possibility of writing the letter was to stop fighting and make peace.  Prisoners and land were exchanged for Ma Chao and the others. Besides, Xiu couldn't think of anything else he, Liu Jia, wanted to write about."

    Several people nodded, but Xun Yu still looked thoughtful.  It seems that there is more meaning in the letter.  Cao Cao looked at Xun Yu and asked, "Does Wen Ruo have different ideas?"

    Xun Yu said: "If the letter was so simple, there would be no need to write a letter. Or maybe it's not the time yet."

    The smile on Cao Cao's face slowly solidified, his expression became solemn, and he asked: "Why did Wen Ruo say this?"

    Xun Yu said: "If the letter only means these two aspects, then they are obviously admitting defeat by writing the letter. Under the current circumstances, a letter with such content can only boost our morale and expose their weaknesses. Invite  Going to war, striking out and asking for peace all show that they can no longer hold on and need to end the war as soon as possible. In turn, they remind us that as long as we hold on, we will always be able to seize the initiative in the war. If we publish this letter, everyone will  The local people will know that Liu Jia is on the verge of danger, but we are sitting firmly on the Diaoyutai. Doesn't this harm themselves? So this letter will not be so simple. Of course, Yu also felt that the reason why he wrote this letter was because of the heavy snow.  "

    Cheng Yu said: "Yu felt that Liu Jia had no choice but to do this. He knew that he had no choice but to show his weakness to the world."

    Sima Yi agreed with Xun Yu's words and said: "Yi thinks what Wen Ruo said makes sense! If it really can't be maintained, the Shu soldiers can abandon their horses and ignore the 20,000-strong army and retreat quietly. There are only disadvantages in writing a letter like this.  Nothing good comes of it.¡±

    Cheng Yu retorted: "If he retreats so quietly and abandons 20,000 cavalry, how can Liu Jia face the elders of Guanzhong and the people of Chengdu? How can he hide it from the world? It is absolutely impossible for him to retreat like this, at least.  Yu can¡¯t do it!¡±

    Sima Yi snorted and said: "The most important thing for a general is to make a prompt decision. Doing something when you know you can't do it is called stupidity. Who is more important, an army of more than 200,000, or horses of 20,000? Besides, even if the 200,000 horses are lost, it will be more important."  It may not be possible to save Ma Chao and others? As long as we talk about the actual situation, what can't we face? Originally, Ma Chao went deep into the field alone because he violated the law of war. Ma Chao made the mistake first. Liu Jia's loss of troops and the loss of future rescue has already exhausted his benevolence. The commander of the world's soldiers  Who in the war can guarantee victory in every battle, not to mention that this time Liu Jia came out of Chengdu and returned to Chengdu now. It can be said that he has achieved a complete victory. Others will only say that he returned in triumph, not that he fled in defeat"

    At this point, Sima Yi realized that he only refuted Cheng Yu and went too far: Liu Jia's great victory was naturally due to Cao Cao's defeat. Even if Ma Chao's 20,000 troops were included in his pocket, it could not cover up the failure.Facts: Zhang He lost all his 110,000 troops, his general Zhang He was captured, Man Chong was beheaded, all the territory of Xiliang Province belongs to Liu Jia, and now Yongzhou has lost six out of ten. Even if Liu Jia retreats now, it will threaten Chang'an and the Central Plains.  .

    Seeing the embarrassment on Sima Yi's face, Cao Cao said kindly: "Zhongda doesn't have to worry about my face, that's the way it is. The reason why I bother so much to surround Ma Chao's 20,000 troops is just to earn some face back in the end. Everyone knows this.  . Of course, if Ma Chao is not eliminated, the tens of thousands of cavalry he leads are like a knife hanging over my head, making it difficult for me to sleep and eat. Whether it is for the sake of the country or for myself, Ma Chao should be eliminated."

    Sima Yi stood up and gave a serious salute and said: "Thank you, King Wei, for not punishing the minister for disrespecting me. I admire King Wei for his broad mind."

    Cao Cao laughed and said: "Haha, Zhongda said something serious."

    Seeing that Cao Cao's face was full of pride at this time, Sima Yi put his uneasy heart back and sat down slowly.  I have blamed myself countless times in my heart.

    Seeing that he was a little cold, Cao Cao said with a smile: "Go on, everyone, let's play some more. The letter on the case will be the answer to the mystery." Then he turned to Cheng Yu and said, "Does Zhongde agree with Zhongda?"

    Cheng Yu said: "Yu somewhat disagrees. If Liu Jia just retreats, then Zhongda's words seem to make sense. But what if Liu Jia wants to trade General Cao Hong and General Zhang He for Ma Chao and the others? Don't you write a letter?"  "Although Cheng Yu knew that he was in the wrong, he did not compromise in his words, and deliberately avoided the retreat and proposed an exchange as a possible matter to distract everyone's attention.

    Sure enough, when Cao Cao heard the names of Cao Hong and Zhang He, his face showed a different look. He stood up and walked towards the case.

    When everyone saw Cao Cao going to get the letter, they all shut up.  They all looked at Cao Cao.  Cao Cao said with a relaxed smile while receiving the letter: "We have been discussing for so long, now let's see if what we are talking about is right? Haha"

    No matter it is Cao Cao who is showing off his letter and wants to read it.  All the other advisers and generals were sure that Liu Jia's letter could not escape what everyone had just expected.  Sure enough, Cao Cao, who was reading the letter, quickly read it with a slight smile on his face.

    However, after reading it, Cao Cao's face became serious and his reading speed became slower and slower.  After reading, Cao Cao slowly walked to the place where he was warming himself by the fire.  He handed the letter to Xun Yu wordlessly, and then slowly sat down, with his palms open as if warming himself by the fire, and his eyes looking at the white sky and earth through the open door: Was he warming himself by the fire or thinking?  ?

    Xun Yu read the letter in a hurry and handed it to Jia Xu who was a little impatient beside him without opening it a second time. When Jia Xu read the letter, Yang Xiu also leaned his head over:

    ¡­I have long wanted to see the King of Wei, but I am in a closed area of ??the Southern Barbarians.  The king of Wei is sitting high above the temple and sitting with the emperor. How far is the distance between the two?  Wei heard the name of King Wei, but could not look at King Wei's face or listen to King Wei's teachings. It was really a pity.  At that time, the king of Wei led a million troops to massacre Xiangyang and killed Liu Cong's mother and son.  The hero is stationed in Wulin, and the world is shocked.  I was eager to see the King of Wei, so I hurriedly led 20,000 southern barbarian troops to meet the King of Wei in Wulin. However, the fire prevented the King of Wei from returning north in a hurry. I will never have a chance from now on, which is a pity.

    Your Majesty, Your Excellency, sent General Zhang He to massacre Xiliang, a land without soldiers. I have pity on the people of the world. Before I could kill him at night in the south, I sent my troops to the north to save the people from water and fire. Because God favored me, I was able to fulfill my mission.  Xiliang lived and worked in peace and contentment since then.  My surviving soldiers and the tens of millions of people who are still alive all remember the great virtue of King Wei.  Now the King of Wei personally leads the troops to meet with me to hunt at the foot of Wei Mi City.  This will realize my king's great wish to meet the king of Wei. It can be said that I am sincere in my sincerity.  Gold and stone are open.

    "However, General Xu Huang set up a stronghold to block my king's advance, and the king of Wei settled in the city of Wei Mi behind him. In addition, it was cold and snowy, so although I tried my best, I could not move even an inch.  This king often sighs today: It is far more difficult for the king of Wei to follow the road of Shu.  At the beginning, this king was hesitant and full of ambition, and wanted to mobilize all the troops in Yizhou and Jingzhou to help the king of Wei prosper.  It¡¯s not like what the world says: When war breaks out, thousands of people will die.  Cao Hong and Zhang He, the generals under King Wei of Wei, also advised me to stop thinking about war.  I have been hesitating for many days, and now I am writing a book in front of the King of Wei, asking the King of Wei to consider it.

    I would like to exchange General Cao, General Zhang, tens of thousands of captured soldiers from the Central Plains, and the land west of Guangwei County in exchange for the good fortune of the King of Wei.  The king is open to the current plight of our army: General Ma Chao is short of food and clothing, and there are many soldiers around me who cannot withstand the severe cold.  One day later, the morale of the Japanese king dropped by one point, and dozens of soldiers froze to death.  Therefore, I am eagerly looking forward to the return of General Ma Chao and his early return to Chengdu.

    I also know that this revision of books is a taboo for our army, but seeing that our soldiers are suffering from the cold, I have no choice but to do it.  I think that although the cold-resistant soldiers of the King of Wei are superior to the others, the freezing cold may not be a blessing at all: although the death of the people is less than that of our army, it is inevitable; the snow is deep and the road is slippery and it is difficult to transport food and grass.  The truth is: The King of Wei has not won a single battle to this day. Although he is better able to withstand the cold and frost than our army, the morale of our army is not so high. Our soldiers are more powerful than the King of Wei, otherwise they will be defeated.?Why did the King of Wei avoid the battle and stay strictly guarded, allowing my soldiers to roam around and abuse me?

    "I am determined to save General Ma Chao. Even if I fight to the last man, I will rescue 20,000 of my soldiers."  Now the troops from Jingzhou, Yizhou, and Hanzhong are moving, and the troops from Jiaozhou, Beiwu, and Nanmian are moving north.  I ask the King of Wei to think twice, what is the gain and loss of the two armies?  The King of Wei has the severe cold to take advantage of, and I have the infinitely powerful gunpowder to rely on; the King of Wei has 400,000 tiger and wolf troops to drive, and I also have nearly 300,000 victorious troops to charge and kill; if the King of Wei wins, it goes without saying, but if he loses, it goes without saying.  It will be difficult to get ahead. Not to mention whether I have the ability to march forward, at least Sun Quan from Jiangdong will not wait for the world to take advantage of him.  This is not the case for this king: win?  Can command troops in the Central Plains!  defeat?  He retreated to Hanzhong and relied on the natural dangers of Yizhou to accumulate strength and try again.  This king can have the power of several states in one county and join forces with the King of Wei to hunt for Yongzhou. How can he not succeed in Yizhou and Jingzhou?

    I and the King of Wei have made an agreement: within three days, the King of Wei will comply with the promise, and I will return to the Central Plains after meeting with General Ma.  Otherwise, in three days' time, I will personally lead the three armies to defeat General Xu Huang's camp and drive straight to the city of Mi.

    ¡­¡­

    Soon.  Almost all the counselors have read this letter.  But seeing that Cao Cao had no intention of speaking, they all remained silent, thinking silently in their hearts.

    I don¡¯t know how long it took before Cao Cao looked away, glanced at the people around him, sighed and said, "What on earth do you want to do, little Liu Jia?"

    Seeing that everyone was just looking at Cao Cao, they still didn't say anything.

    Cao Cao wanted to ease the atmosphere.  He smiled and said in a relaxed tone: "Let's talk about it. Is this letter a rescue and withdrawal of troops or an ultimatum?"

    Jia Xu first said: "Xu thinks this letter can be summarized in four words."

    After finishing speaking, Jia Xu paused deliberately, but unfortunately no one continued.  Jia Xu saw Cao Cao looking over and said quickly: "These four words are: fierce in appearance but soft in heart!"

    Hearing this, Cao Cao asked: "You mean Liu Jia is helpless now? Just bluff us if you can?"

    Jia Xu said: "Yes, compared with their huge difficulties, the difficulties we are facing now can be said to be not difficulties. Which year in our north is not a cold place? And which year does not freeze to death? If we are lucky  If they have a problem with food, it will be even more difficult for them, more than 10,000 times more difficult than for us."

    Cao Cao asked: "Does Mr. Wenhe mean to ignore this letter? Or wait for them to attack according to the original plan. Or wait until their morale has dropped and eat them?"

    Jia Xu said with certainty: "That's right, we just used Ma Chao as bait to catch Liu Jia here tightly."

    Cao Cao said: "I also want to do this, but the lives of General Cao Hong and General Zhang He are hanging by a thread, so I really can't bear it. He, Liu Jia, can endure hardships in this barren mountain for the sake of Ma Chao with 20,000 troops, but I have no choice but to treat these two generals  Ignore it, right?¡±

    Jia Xu said: "Everyone knows what is important and what is clear. I think the two generals will also understand the painstaking efforts of King Wei. As long as we defeat Liu Jia'er, the two generals can return safely. In fact, only Ma Chao was captured.  , you can also use Ma Chao and Pang De to replace the two generals. Xu believes that Liu Jia just shouted a few words like this, and he will have to withdraw his troops after a few days."

    Seeing Jia Xu finish speaking, Cao Cao turned his attention to Xun Yu, Cheng Yu, Sima Yi, Yang Xiu and others, hoping that they would speak.

    Cheng Yu said: "Yu thinks Wen He is right. Liu Jia's son is a stern person. Even mentioning the battle at Chibi in Wulin at the beginning of the letter is just to anger the King of Wei. Later, saying that he will use all his troops is also a threat."

    Cao Cao asked: "So Zhongde is saying that Liu Jia's dispatch of troops is just a lie? Isn't he really going to dispatch troops?"

    Cheng Yu was actually not sure, but seeing Cao Cao questioning him like this, he had no choice but to bite the bullet and answer: "Yes."

    Yang Xiu said: "We finally got this opportunity, so we should persevere to the end. Xiu is responsible for the logistics of food and grass, and Xiu can ensure the supply of food and grass. Xiu thinks that as long as we stick to the camp and the city wall, Liu Jia will be unable to do anything. In one or two more days  By the end of the month, we will be victorious."

    Cao Cao shook his head and said: "It's impossible to just stick to it. Didn't Dezu know that Liu Jia had gunpowder? At that time, Zhang Lu and the hundreds of thousands of allied troops in Chengdu suffered from gunpowder. As long as the Shu soldiers still dig trenches, we will  If you want to take the initiative, the gunpowder will explode. No one can stop it. By the way. How is the effect of the gunpowder you are responsible for? "

    Yang Xiu said with shame: "Now we only know that the raw materials of gunpowder are composed of three kinds, but what are the ingredients. We don't know how high the purity requirements are. The gunpowder we make has no power."

    Cao Cao let out a disappointed sigh, and then comforted him: "Don't rush, take your time. Now that we know the rules of gunpowder, the problem is not that big."

    At this time, Jia Xu smiled and said: "Actually, in this kind of weather, we can??Go to sleep with peace of mind.  "

    Cao Cao and others looked at Jia Xu in confusion. Jia Xu smiled proudly and said: "It's such a cold day, doesn't dripping water turn into ice?".

    Cheng Yu understood immediately, nodded and said: "Yes, once the snow water seeps into the soil, it will soon freeze into ice. It will not be so easy for the Shu soldiers to dig trenches."

    "Ha ha¡­¡­"

    "Ha ha¡­¡­"

    Cao Cao also smiled and said: "Haha, God helps me!"

    Jia Xu continued: "If Liu Jia is desperate to attack General Xu Huang's camp, we can temporarily abandon it. Let General Xu Huang and others retreat back to the city, and use the city wall that we have greatly repaired to deal with them, leaving them with nothing to do.  We can only retreat."

    Sima Yi said: "That won't work. One more camp means more security. Once they dig a trench under our city wall, it will be in danger. Don't be afraid of ten thousand, just be afraid of the worst."

    Jia Xu said: "Xu also said that if Liu Jia's soldiers are extremely vicious and determined to attack our camp regardless of sacrifice, we can deal with them like this. You must know that there is stone ground outside our city. It is not easy for them to dig trenches.  And even if they do dig trenches, if we carry a few loads of water and pour them in, their work will be in vain."

    Cheng Yu also said: "Why don't we gather sand into a city like we did in Tongguan. Use the sand in the distance and the water in the well to build another ice wall outside our city?"

    Cao Cao smiled and said: "The camp still needs to hold the ground, but the ice wall must also be built, or it might not be a bad idea to thicken the current city wall with ice. At least it can make them crawl slower when attacking the city. Wen Ruo, in  What are you thinking? Why haven¡¯t you said a word?¡±

    Xun Yu said: "I have been wondering whether Liu Jia's letter was written too straightforwardly? Facing the severe cold and facing our army that cannot avoid fighting, they can only make a desperate move? Are they prepared to make a final struggle?"

    Jia Xu said: "Wenruo, you think too much. You also think highly of Liu Jia'er. He didn't mention the difficulties they encountered in his letter, but we don't know it clearly. Even we have soldiers who freeze to death."  Can they avoid killing people? Ma Chao's 20,000 troops are surrounded by us, and they are definitely hungry and cold now, so they want to trade with us, hoping to use a small price in exchange for their escape or safe retreat. Haha,  Do we agree? The King of Wei would not be so, our King of Wei is very resourceful. How can Liu Jia and his like be deceived?"

    Xun Yu said: "Because the situation is obvious, these demands they made are impossible to achieve. They know that they can't do it. What good can they get except humiliating themselves? Isn't this surprising? Liu Jia has behaved in such a bad way for so many years.  He is reasonable and orderly, and has never suffered from others, not to mention that he has Pang Tong, Xu Shu and others to guide him. Can he do such a self-humiliating thing?"

    Jia Xu retorted: "He was just humiliating himself! In his current situation, if it were Wen Ruo and you, what would Wen Ruo do?"

    Xun Yu said: "If it were Yu, Yu would abandon Ma Chao and quietly return to Hanzhong for the time being, and come back in the warmer spring next year."

    Jia Xu asked: "Wen Ruo really doesn't want to write a letter to scare? Maybe the other party will be more lenient for the sake of two generals and tens of thousands of prisoners?"

    Xun Yu asked unhappily: "Does Wen He think this is children's play? Who doesn't know the dangers of letting the tiger return to the mountain? Hundreds of thousands of troops, long-term hidden dangers, and the two generals' tens of thousands of prisoners who don't know who is more important and which is less?"  At least Ma Chao, Pang De, and Zhang Ren in the encirclement are a huge bargaining chip. Why don't they retreat quietly with minimal losses? Telling us so blatantly that we should make more preparations is of no benefit. I think they are using their strategy to attack the east and attack the west.  It¡¯s understandable, but I won¡¯t do something stupid like this to alert others.¡±

    Jia Xu said: "But they have done it now."

    Xun Yu responded tit for tat: ¡°That¡¯s not what we understand by alerting the enemy!¡±

    Jia Xu said: "That's Wen Ruo, you said it yourself to scare off the grass and scare the snake."

    Cao Cao saw the two of them lock eyes.  He quickly pressed it with his hand.  Said: "You two should be quiet, aren't you still discussing? I really think Liu Jia will not be that simple. What do Wenruo think Liu Jia will do next?"

    Xun Yu also seemed to feel that he had lost his temper in arguing with Jia Xu just now.  He quickly calmed down and said carefully: "King Wei, what I just said is just Yu's guess. I can't figure out what Liu Jia's next move will be. But I think Liu Jia will have a big one."  Otherwise they would not have reminded us and not retreated. It may be that they are showing weakness to us openly, but secretly they still want to use force to open up the connection with Ma Chao and break our encirclement."

    Jia Xu was still in a confrontational state. After hearing Xun Yu's words, he snorted and whispered: "Some people are scared out of their wits. It is obviously a dead tiger, but they are still scared to death. Maybe seeing the tiger?You'll also be pissed off, right?  "

    Xun Yu didn't answer. Cao Cao glared at Jia Xu a little unhappy, and Jia Xu lowered his head and stopped talking.

    Cao Cao said to Xun Yu: "How do Wen Ruo think we can deal with it? How should we reply to this letter?"

    Xun Yu said: "The first is to send more detective horses to collect information on the mobilization of troops and horses in Hanzhong, Jingzhou, Yizhou and other places. The second is to strictly monitor the current situation of Liu Jia's camp and report any changes immediately. The third is to strengthen Xu Huang  The general's power leaves no opportunity for the Shu soldiers to take advantage of. We should remain calm. As for the reply, Yu thought that it should be the same as Liu Jiadi's letter, which is true and false, true and false, and write these things in it"

    Chapter 173 "The Depressed Cao Cao"
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