Since the assassination of Liu Xie, there has been a lot of trouble in the court. Everyone has been speculating about the mastermind behind the assassin who instructed the assassin, but there is no way to reach a unified remark without conclusive evidence.

In order to happen again before the war, Cao Cao specially strengthened the guards of the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry deployed in the palace and ordered Cao Zhen and Cao Xiu to make no mistakes in the Qinglong Camp.

In fact, Cao Cao seemed to have long determined who the assassin was.

The death of the emperor caused a devastating blow to Cao Cao's stability in the rear, and who would be the most beneficial to him?

The assassin's matter gradually subsided, but Cao Cao's current urgent needs have not been resolved substantially. The situation has even begun to deteriorate. Yan Liang and Wen Chou's soldiers are ready to march south, and the crisis of being surrounded by enemies has not been resolved. Once he forcibly uses all his strength to confront Yuan Shao, the princes from all sides will rush forward to divide their territory in a comprehensive manner.

By then, not only will he not be able to beat Yuan Shao, but he will fall into a comprehensive passiveness.

When convening the military discussion, this kind of worry that had to be concerned was fully reflected on Cao Cao's face. Xun Yu, Guo Jia and others on the side naturally understood. Guo Jia used a color towards Xun Yu, and Xun Yu pondered for a moment and said to Cao Cao:

"Lord, don't worry. Although Yuan Shao's army is crowded, his purpose is very clear. That is, he will take the capital Xuxian directly to achieve his goal of controlling the royal family, so there is no need to divide his troops to meet the enemy. I think his march route is very clear."

Xun You, who was standing by, took the speech: "Yes, according to my speculation and Fengxiao, Yuan Shao's marching route must be to cross the Yellow River south along Liyang, and then penetrate deep into the hinterland of Yanzhou to directly take Xu County. Therefore, the elite troops only need to deploy the area with Guandu as the base camp and set up a defense line from Henoi to Juancheng, which will avoid the unfavorable situation of dispersed forces."

Cao Cao nodded frequently as Xun You's story. At this time, he looked at Guo Jia, who never spoke.

Guo Jia knew that Cao Cao was going to ask him next, so he stood up and spoke:

"Guandu is located in the upper reaches of Honggou, and the Honggou Canal is connected to many passes in the west, and goes east to Huai and Si, which is the only place to capture Xu County."

Although he had a rough confirmation of Yuan Shao's march route, Cao Cao was still worried about the forces around him. Xun Yu explained: "The Han Sui and Ma Teng in the West only know how to keep the land. Moreover, today you are different from Dong Zhuo in the past. The possibility of the princes from all sides forming a coalition force is very low. In addition, they have occupied Hanzhong in the south and have a stable force as a threat, and it is difficult for them to make up their minds to advance eastward. As long as you send someone with capable people to comfort and state the pros and cons, I think they will surrender to you."

"In accordance with Mr. Wenruo's opinion, who can bear this important task?"

Cao Cao was very concerned about this candidate, so Xun Yu recommended Zhong Yao, who was also the "Eight Scholars of Yingchuan".

Cao Cao was very clear about Zhong Yao's talent, but Zhong Yao never made his political position clear. As the teacher of the queen's sister, he was a quirky personality. Cao Cao did not have the confidence to let him serve as the Sili Captain.

"Lord, don't worry. Zhong Yao has always admired you in his political position. He just hates uncle Dong. As long as he goes down and talks, I think Zhong Yao will accept this position and complete it well."

With Xun Yu's guarantee, Cao Cao felt confident, but soon he frowned again:

"Although the hidden dangers in the West were lifted, Liu Biao and Zhang Xiu in the south had had a feud with me, especially Zhang Xiu was the most trouble for me. Sun Ce from Jiangdong defeated Liu Yao and Yan Baihu one after another, and recently annexed the territory of Yuan Shu in Huainan. Now his brother Sun Quan is sending his brother to attack the southern part of Xuzhou. If they want to fight against Yuan Shao, their existence will have to worry me."

Guo Jia smiled and said, "Although Liu Biao commanded a large area of ​​land in Jingzhou and was known as a gentleman, in my opinion, he is just a character who can only talk big. He has no clear ambitions for so many years, nor will he lead his army north rashly. At most, he cooperates with Yuan Shao in name, but will not show any obvious military operations in substance, so there is no need to worry about him."

When talking about Zhang Xiu, Guo Jia deliberately paused: "Although Zhang Xiu is a general of war, he has not many troops in his hands. Besides, he has a deep hatred with Liu Biao, and there is a gap. Even if he wants to attack you, Liu Biao will not give him too much military power, but just treat him as a goalkeeper who guards the door for him."

Cao Cao was surprised by Guo Jia's accurate analysis: "Although Fengxiao has never seen Liu Biao and Zhang Xiu, you can see them very thoroughly."

"However, Sun Ce, who was entrenched in Jiangdong, is exactly the opposite of Liu Biao. He has always been ambitious and not only conquered the six counties and 81 prefectures in Jiangdong, but also sent troops to conquer our Xuzhou one after another. He is a very dangerous person."

Faced with Cao Cao's concerns, Xun Yu, Cheng Yu and others felt it was very reasonable. Sun Ce lived in Jiangdong and was strong in his army and horses. He has always maintained a strong idea of ​​expansion. This time it is a great opportunity to embezzle Yuzhou and Xuzhou, and he will not miss it.

But Guo Jia seems to have his own unique insight: "It is undeniable that Sun Ce inherited his father's bravery and command skills. He is a very difficult person, but his fatal weakness is killing. Not only that, he often kills people with reputation and influence in the local area, not to mention that he is very arrogant. I heard that every time he goes out, he only has two or three guards and entourages around him. According to my judgment, Sun Ce will soon die at the hands of an assassin. By then, the Jiangdong group of dragons are without leaders, and he will definitely only think about how to stabilize the situation, and naturally he will not raise an army to attack you again."

Although Cao Cao always retained his opinions on Sun Ce's opinion, he was still impressed by Guo Jia's incisive analysis. He immediately asked Xun Yu to entrust Zhong Yao to Chang'an to stabilize Ma Teng and Han Sui.

Before Xun Yu could arrive at Zhong Yao's mansion, he ran into Zhong Yao halfway.

"Wen Ruo, do you want me to go west to Chang'an to reinstate my post?"

His words surprised Xun Yu, and he asked Zhong Yao back: "How did Brother Yuan Chang know?"

Zhong Yao took out a roll of bamboo slips from his sleeve and handed them to Xun Yu. After Xun Yu opened it, he looked at Zhong Yao in surprise:

"I didn't expect that Uncle Zhi could see the whole situation so thoroughly in another place..."

"When I was wondering whether I should be involved in this trouble, the unfilial son sent someone to send this bamboo slip, saying that Cao Cao would definitely ask me to go west to Chang'an to appease the soldiers of Xiliang, and told me not to refuse."

What surprised Xun Yu was that in the letter Zhong Yu sent to Zhong Yao, the content of the analysis of the situation was almost exactly the same as what Guo Jia said...

At the same time, Sima Yi, who was listening to Hu Zhao telling him the essence of the bamboo slips in the bamboo slips, was also thinking about the tension around Cao Cao, and did not listen to what Hu Zhao taught at all.

"Even if you want to break your head, it won't help."

Hu Zhao put down the bamboo slips and saw what Sima Yi was thinking, he stopped teaching.

"I..." Sima Yi was speechless for a moment, so he had to express his true thoughts:

"Your Majesty and I grew up together with a deep friendship. Now that he is stabbed by others, although his life is not dangerous, I think..."

When Sima Yi continued to say this, Hu Zhao reached out to stop him and said, he stood up and walked to the window and turned his back to Sima Yi: "You think this kind of assassination cannot be only once. Once Liu Xie dies, Cao Cao's strength will be defeated at once. Whether it is Yuan Shao or those who are hostile to Cao Cao, it is impossible for him to miss this great opportunity to eradicate Cao Cao. Is that right?"

"Yes." Sima Yi stood up with his legs straight, supported the table with his right hand:

"I can't watch my friend sit still and ignore him, I hope the gentleman can understand."

"I don't want to understand what you think..."

Seeing that Sima Yi was so concerned about love and friendship, Hu Zhao couldn't help but feel moved, but he immediately thought of another thing and completely dispelled the movement. Hu Zhao shook his sleeves and turned around to look at Sima Yi:

"Don't let me remind you again, you have made a poisonous oath that you will never use your talent to loyal to anyone, otherwise you will have a sharp sword piercing your heart and corpses sink into the sea. In order to protect that emperor friend, you have died once, do you want to die again?"

Thinking of Liu Xie's safety, Sima Yi didn't care about so much, he retorted:

"A person will die once, and it is worthy of being worthy of heaven and earth. Even if he dies, I will have the word "righteousness". Before, I died for a lifetime. God did not let me die early, which shows that my life should not be lost. Even if I try my best to live, I must protect Your Majesty..."

As soon as he finished speaking, Hu Zhao saw his sleeves floating past Sima Yi, and his face was full of anger looked very scary: "You really think you are lucky and lucky, right? Don't overestimate yourself. If someone hadn't been protecting you and guarding you for so many years, you would have died many times, and you would have dared to speak out here!"

After listening carefully, Sima Yi felt that Hu Zhao's words seemed to have another meaning.

When he realized that he was in a hurry and seemed to say something he shouldn't say, Hu Zhao quickly opened up the topic to avoid making Sima Yi suspicious:
Chapter completed!