Seeing that Sima Yi was abducted by Zhang He, Liu Xie seemed very anxious. He turned around and said sternly to Cao Zhen:

"Chasing, you must save Zhongda at all costs!"

Cao Xiu was completely dissatisfied with Liu Xie's willful order: "We are under the order of Lord Sikong to protect His Majesty. The situation in Liyang City is not clear. Finally, we will have the responsibility of protecting our elder brother. Sima Yi is just a trivial person, not enough..."

Before Cao Xiu finished speaking, Liu Xie stepped forward and grabbed the armor on his chest and glared at him.

During the process of looking at each other, Cao Xiu was shocked by the rare domineering aura in Liu Xie's eyes. As a general, he had experienced the storms and waves, he was so scared that he was unable to speak for a while by Liu Xie, the "puppet emperor" who was powerless.

Cao Zhenling, who was standing aside, returned to Liu Xie's intention and bowed and said:

"Your Majesty, the safety of Liyang City is now difficult to guarantee. Please return to Xudu immediately, Sima Yi will wait..."

"No need to go after!"

Liu Xie pushed Cao Xiu away, turned around and forced Cao Zhen to shout:

"If you don't send troops to rescue Zhongda now, I won't go anywhere, so let Yuan Shao catch me and kill me!"

Cao Zhen was in trouble now, and in desperation he had to send a group of people to pursue Zhang He in the direction of his escape.

But everyone knows it well. With Zhang He's skills, it would be useless even if he sends more people.

At this time, Sima Yi, who was held hostage by Zhang He, had no "Wuyu Meteor" and had no power to resist at all. He was taken by Zhang He to the woods fifteen miles north of Liyang City. Zhang He stopped for a short rest when he saw that there were no pursuers chasing him.

He placed Sima Yi under a pine tree, and then slowly sat down against the trunk opposite him.

After adjusting his breath slightly, Zhang He pulled out a black cloth from his night clothes and bandaged his right arm that was cut by Cao Zhen. Sima Yi looked at Zhang He opposite him, and without saying a word, he thought about how to get out.

"It seems that Zhang He, the famous gun, is only now, and he is powerless to deal with two younger generations..."

Based on the knowledge of Zhang He in Wen County before, Sima Yi thought he was not a dirty and despicable person, but was full of righteousness. Moreover, cutting off the iron lock and letting Guo Jia go further demonstrated his righteous character.

If Yuan Shao had not ordered him to rob the emperor, he would probably not have done such a ruthless thing.

Zhang He glanced at Sima Yi who was verbally whispering, and slowly recalled that he was Sima Zhonglang from Wen County back then.

"I heard that you almost died in the battle of Dayang to protect him. Now he asked you to pretend to be him to save himself. Although he was successfully rescued, you became my hostage. The misfortune is unpredictable. Do you still have the intention to laugh at me?"

Sima Yi seemed very calm when facing Zhang He's words: "The reason why I saved Your Majesty and the times of crisis was entirely for my friendship with him for many years. It was not that he regarded me as a shield that blocked the gun and covered the feathers, but that I took the initiative to propose it."

Seeing Sima Yi's heroic spirit and loyalty, Zhang He was a little moved. He found that Sima Yi was almost no different from him.

Sima Yi also saw what he was thinking from his eyes, and simply said it directly:

"The reason why the general came to Liyang from afar was to make the sake of the whole king and his subjects. We were all for our close friends, lord, this time the general's operation failed, I think Yuan Shao would definitely blame the general because..."

"Because this action was an adventure for Yuan Shao, and failure was not allowed..."

The night wind was cold, and the shadows of trees were blowing under the moon and stars. Sima Yi looked at Zhang He who saw the current situation so clearly, and immediately felt empathy. He couldn't bear to reveal his scars anymore, so he had to sit there and ask Zhang He:

"So what will the general deal with me next?"

Zhang He looked at Sima Yi, stood up and walked towards Yecheng alone:

"You go back..."

Sima Yi quickly stood up and said to Zhang He's back, "Although the general did not successfully capture the emperor, he captured the subordinate in a dragon robe. Yuan Shao and you have both captured me back and asked Yuan Shao for credit for me to see His Majesty. Even if he discovered it later, he would only blame Cao Cao for his cunning and would not take his anger on the general. If you let me go like this, you will not be able to argue."

After hearing Sima Yi's words, Zhang He smiled faintly: "Yes, no matter what the result is, it will not be any loss to me. However, as Yuan Shao's minister, I must not do anything to deceive my lord in order to protect myself."

After saying that, Zhang He walked forward without looking back.

Sima Yi stood there for a long time, and couldn't help but bent down and bowed to say goodbye to Zhang He's back to show respect.

Soon, the cavalry sent by Cao Zhen to pursue discovered Sima Yi...

Two hours passed and there was still no news about Sima Yi, and Liu Xie was unwilling to evacuate Li Yang, so Cao Zhen had no choice.

It was getting brighter and the sentry in the south of Liyang City discovered that Cao Cao's troops had begun to cross the river. Cao Zhen breathed a sigh of relief after learning: "It seems that the war in Xuzhou has ended, and the pressure on our side has also been reduced..."

Soon Cao Cao sent a mail cavalry into the city to inform him that Cao Zhen and Cao Xiu were all out of the city to greet him.

When welcoming Cao Cao, Cao Zhen and Cao Xiu vaguely felt that there seemed to be an unusual atmosphere around Cao Cao. When they saw the person walking on the right of Cao Cao, they couldn't help but look at each other and were surprised, because the person around Cao Cao was Guan Yu and Guan Yunchang...

"Meet uncle!"

Cao Cao, Guo Jia, and Guan Yu stepped across the suspension bridge on the moat. Cao Zhen and Cao Xiu did not dare to neglect them. They quickly put aside their doubts and saluted their uncle Cao Cao respectfully.

"You two nephews don't need to be polite."

Cao Cao stepped forward and raised his hands and raised his arms of brothers Cao Zhen and smiled and said, "Thank you so much for me during my absence."

Guo Jia, who was on the side, was concerned about Liu Xie, who was in Liyang City. He asked Cao Zhen, who had a good personal relationship with him:

"General Zidan, is there something strange in Liyang City recently?"

Considering that Guan Yu was present, Cao Zhen did not directly explain and seemed a little hesitant. Guan Yu knew that Cao Zhen was afraid of being present, so he turned around and bowed to Cao Cao and said, "Sir Sikong, since you have something important to talk about, Guan..."

"Hey, there is no need to be like this..."

Cao Cao was completely dissatisfied with this. He shook his head and turned around and said to Cao Zhen:

"Zi Dan doesn't need to hide it. Since Chang Yun has surrendered to me, he is his own person. If you have anything to say, you might as well say it."

Since Cao Cao had already spoken, Cao Zhen would not hide it. He told Cao Cao and Guo Jia exactly what he had ambushed Zhang He to Chaoge's grain transport team and pretended to go deep into Liyang City to try to rob the emperor.

When Guo Jia heard that Sima Yi was also involved and was captured by Zhang He for covering Liu Xie, his expression showed panic in a very short time. Although Guo Jia restrained his emotions well and restrained them, the subtle changes in his expression could not escape Cao Cao's eyes, so he asked Guo Jia:

"Is this Sima Yi very familiar with you? He actually made the gentleman care so much."

Guo Jia concealed his anxiety and replied: "When the emperor returned to the east, I and Sima Yi offered a plan to save the emperor and forged a deep friendship. I never thought that he had come to Liyang City so by chance and saved the emperor again."

In fact, Guo Jia received a letter from Hu Zhao from Fei Ge on his way to Li Yang and learned that Sima Yi had left Yangdi and headed towards Liu Xie's place. This was also the reason why he asked about the situation in Li Yang when he saw Cao Zhen.

At the same time, Guan Yu also heard the conversation between Cao Cao and Guo Jia, but he did not show his concern on his face.

Because Zhang He failed to complete the task and lost all the dead soldiers who followed him, he went to Yuan Shao, Yecheng to apologize.

Yuan Shao was very angry when he learned about it. He did not doubt Zhang He's ability in his heart, but he became more suspicious of Zhang He's loyal ministers.

Seeing that the secret was not successful, Yuan Shao knew that Cao Cao would definitely suppress him in the future. He simply broke up and ordered Yan Liang to lead the army to take Li Yang directly. Cao Cao had only one thousand troops deployed in Li Yang, but Yan Liang had five thousand people. He believed that if he suddenly launched a surprise attack on Li Yang, he might be able to encircle Li Yang City and eventually capture the emperor.

After receiving the order, Yan Liang led his army forward quickly. The spies deployed by Xun You around Dunqiu informed Cao Cao who had just arrived in Liyang in advance. Cao Cao knew the reason why soldiers were so fast. At present, he could not easily cross the river with the troops deployed in Yanjin and Baima to fight with Yan Liang. He immediately ordered Cao Zhen and Cao Xiu to escort Liu Xie back to Guandu camp.

However, Liu Xie insisted on leaving because Sima Yi had not returned for a long time and was unclear about his life and death, and even forced Cao Cao to death.

It happened that the cavalry escorted Sima Yi back to Liyang City. When Liu Xie learned that Sima Yi was safe and sound, he finally breathed a sigh of relief in front of everyone. After hearing Guo Jia’s news that Yan Liang’s army had already arose, Sima Yi urged him to return south as soon as he saw Liu Xie. Liu Xie followed Sima Yi’s advice and cooperated with Cao Cao’s next action.

At this point, Sima Yi once again entered Cao Cao's vision and attracted his attention.

In order to avoid losing strength, Cao Cao threw the empty city of Liyang to Yan Liang who was rushing to attack, and led his army back to Guandu camp and immediately convened an emergency military discussion. According to Xun You's estimate, Yuan Shao, who was angry and embarrassed, would definitely take the initiative to attack Baimajin, the closest to Liyang.

The facts were indeed as Xun You expected. After Yan Liang took Liyang, he couldn't wait to ask Yuan Shao for credit. Then Yuan Shao personally led the army and sent Li Yang, ready to reach out to the white horse at any time, intending to break through the Yellow River defense line.

At this time, Sima Yi accompanied Liu Xie to stay in the camp of Guandu camp, and Liu Xie said to Sima Yi:

"Cao Cao is very smart on weekdays, but I don't know what's wrong today. Although I can be called a military officer in the army, won't he have any concerns when he fights? Once I die or gets it by Yuan Shao, he will definitely be defeated."

Sima Yi smiled and said, "This is exactly the result Cao Cao wants. I think once Yuan Shao knows that you are in Guandu, he will definitely turn all the troops that attacked Xu County to Guandu, because what he really wants is you alone, and Xu County has no value to him. On the contrary, it is different for Cao Cao. Xu County is a symbol of Cao Cao's strength and status, and it is also the foundation for Cao Cao's hard work over the years. If Yuan Shao tries his best to attack, the possibility of Cao Cao's desire to defend is very low, but in this way, he can change the main battlefield from Xu County to Guandu."

"And, I think the reason why he went so hard to advance Li Yang was probably because he was worried that Yuan Shao would attack Xuxian from other directions, so he used himself and you as bait to attract his attacking edge..."
Chapter completed!