Zhou Yu held his arm and stood in front of the sand table, with his sword eyebrows slightly raised, and his sharp eyes staring at a small flag at the guard position.

This small flag symbolizes the main force led by Cao Cao.

Cao Cao personally arrived at Yu Fu, somewhat beyond his expectations. He was a little moved. After the Battle of Chaisang, he was almost idle in the past few years. Seeing Sun Ce fighting south and north, Taishi Ci and others made contributions, and the war zone was supervised one after another. Now there were nine people, and he was a little anxious. Now that he met Cao Cao, he was eager to fight.

Zhou Yu glanced at Xun You opposite him. Xun You stroked his beard, his eyes were as quiet as water, and there was no sign of turmoil. Guo Youzhi stood aside with his hands arched.

"Tu tu tu." The rapid footsteps sounded, and Wei Yan rushed in and shouted: "Governor, military advisor, the king has news."

"Long Wen!" Zhou Yu coughed and looked reproachful. Wei Yan woke up, stopped suddenly, slowed down, changed his tone, and reported it again, and at the same time handed over the official document he had just received. When facing Zhou Yu, he showed a naughty smile. Zhou Yu signaled him to give it to Xun You. Wei Yan turned around, and the smile on his face disappeared instantly, tense and even a little nervous. Guo Youzhi looked at Wei Yan with a little disgust, took the official document, checked the seal, pried open the sealing paint with a book knife, took out the document inside and handed it to Xun You.

Xun You picked up the official document and scanned it, his eyelids trembled slightly, and a smile flashed from the corner of his mouth.

Zhou Yu saw it clearly, but didn't say anything. Xun You stood up, came to Zhou Yu, and handed him the official document. "In the fifth year of Xiping, Huang Long saw Qiao, and someone was about to attack Cao Ang."

Zhou Yu was also stunned for a moment and quickly browsed the official documents. "The court is a little anxious."

Xun You sneered: "Young man is so determined to make contributions, it's understandable." He paced back and forth twice, and said: "Governor, let's give up Wu County and retreat to Zigui to see Cao Cao's reaction."

Zhou Yu thought for a moment and nodded in agreement. He immediately arranged for people to rush to Wu County and informed the adjusted plan to the guard general Pan Hua, asking him to withdraw the entire army to Zigui after a little resistance.

Guo Youzhi wrote a letter at his desk and prepared an order. After Zhou Yu read it, he stamped the official seal and sent someone to send it out.

Xun You paced back and forth twice. "Does the governor plan to fight Cao Cao?"

Zhou Yu smiled but said nothing. He knew that Xun You was quick-witted. The two had worked together for so many years and had already had a tacit understanding. He could not hide any changes from him.

Xun You shook his head. "Governor, if you can't bear it, you will be in trouble. Although Cao Cao is a very valuable goal, he may not be more valuable than Gongsun Du. It's better to wait a moment. Since the king promises you, why should you be anxious?"

"Gongda, are you worried that you can't win?"

Xun You shook his head. "Governor, this battle is not important for me, and victory or failure is not important. What is important is that the king takes the opportunity to attack the court, seize Hanzhong, and cut off the connection between Yizhou and Guanzhong. But for Cao Cao, the gains and losses of the Three Gorges are related to his survival, and he must do his best. Even if he can win this battle, he will win miserably, and may even suffer setbacks."

Zhou Yu's eyes flashed slightly and he nodded. "Just follow Gongda."

Wei Yan raised his little face and stared at his shiny black eyes, looking at Zhou Yu and Xun You.

In Wu County, Cao Cao stood on the warship, holding the railings, looking at the city wall from afar.

The city was heavily guarded, and several powerful crossbows stared at the city, with cold light flashing on the steel arrows. Nearly a hundred soldiers stood behind the city wall, revealing only a little shadow. A man of medium size walked back and forth on the city wall, looking at the river from time to time. Even with hundreds of steps, Cao Cao could feel his contempt.

I found it very clearly. Cao Cao also heard Zhao Wei say that this man was named Pan Hua and his courtesy name was Zhongren. He was from Xia Pi. He was a little famous wanderer when he was young. Later, he followed Xu Chu and became Sun Ce's general. He was arranged to fight me in Jingzhou. He made meritorious service when fighting Gan Ning a few years ago and was promoted to Wuling. He has been stationed here. This man has a low character and a scattered personality, but he still has a bottom line, especially in his battles. He has killed many Jiang thieves in Wuling in recent years. He has calmed his territory and is considered a person of meritorious service.

Wu County is easy to defend but difficult to attack, and with such a brave man, the outcome of this battle is unpredictable. Even if he has a ten-fold advantage in military strength, Cao Cao is still not sure.

"Xiaozhi, do you have a good plan?" Cao Cao patted the railing and sighed: "This Wu County is not easy to attack."

Fa Zheng squinted his eyes and stared at the top of the city without saying a word. Xi Zhicai was in poor health and did not follow him, staying at Guanguan for news. However, Fa Zheng felt that Xi Zhicai had other plans. Last time in the battle of the second debate, he was attacked by Ma Teng and Cao Chun died in battle, which became his biggest stain. Xi Zhicai was very worried about him. If it weren't for Xi Zhicai's loss in Jiaozhou and was very ill, he would never have given him this opportunity.

Xi Zhicai may soon be born, so he wants to choose someone who can replace him and assist Cao Cao. He is one of them, and Wu County is his touchstone.

He not only wants to win, but also wants to win beautifully, proving that he has such ability, not just because Cao Cao trusts him.

"Wu County is easy to defend but difficult to attack. If you want to seize Wu County, you must first take Zigui. At least you must cut off Zigui's reinforcements and make Wu County an isolated city." Fa Zheng tried not to see the turbulent river water. He was a little seasick. He had never seen such a surging river in Guanzhong. The Wei River was not as wide as the river water, and the river water was not as fast as the river water. The loess on both sides were not as steep as Wushan.

Cao Cao reached out and pressed Fazheng's shoulder to show comfort. "You mean, do you want to surround him and not attack?"

"Junhou has surrounded Wu County and entered Jingzhou territory. It is in line with the emperor's wishes. Wu County is easy to defend difficult situations. This is a fact. I believe the emperor can understand it and will not force others to make things difficult. Now the court is in danger, and there are only a limited number of generals that can be trusted. The emperor must be one of them, and the emperor will not hope that the emperor will be easily challenged."

Cao Cao nodded. The purpose of the court was not to defeat Sun Ce. For now, this was not realistic, but to restrain Sun Ce. Sun Ce's front was thousands of miles and divided into more than a dozen war zones. It required more than 100,000 heavy troops to maintain the front line. Money and grain consumption is a huge burden. Money can be earned, but it is difficult to increase food. Over time, it will inevitably be difficult to sustain.

Moreover, it is not easy to go upstream from Jingzhou, and it is far less convenient than transporting grain from Yizhou, and it is more beneficial to him.

Wu County was built on the high ground, with deep ditches on three sides. Once facing the river, Cao Cao set up a camp downstream and sent people to conquer the surrounding high ground one after another, preparing for a long-term siege. Pan Hua sent people to resist the attack, and the two sides fought repeatedly. Due to the terrain restrictions, Cao Cao had the advantage of military strength but was unable to play, so he could only compete with Pan Hua with a small group of people, paying a considerable price.

After half a month of competition, Cao Cao paid nearly a thousand people to encircle Wu County and successfully repelled reinforcements returning from Zi.

One night, Pan Hua voluntarily gave up Wu County. Hundreds of soldiers took part in more than a dozen warships, taking advantage of the night to break through the encirclement and go down the water. The water flowed rapidly, and the level of these soldiers' boat driving was very high, as fast as galloping horses. When Cao Cao received the report, they had disappeared from the cry of the apes.

Cao Cao was happy and worried when he successfully captured Wu County. What he was happy was that Wu County came easier than he thought, but what he was worried about was what to do next? If Wu County didn't go down, he could still stagnate in the name of siege, and the emperor could not say that he did not work hard. Now that Wu County has succeeded, he can't stay in Wu County.

However, Zigui is much farther away from Wu County. It is only twenty miles from Yufu to Wu County, and more than three hundred miles from Wu County to Zigui, and the distance has increased by more than ten times. Although Wuxia Xiling Gorge is not as dangerous as Kui Gorge and the water flow is not that fast, it is not an ordinary waterway after all. Siege to Zigui, it is more difficult to contact Yufu, and it is easy to advance. If it is not smooth, it will be difficult to retreat.

More importantly, Cao Cao felt that Pan Hua retreated too casually, and obviously meant to lure the enemy.

Fa Zheng agreed with Cao Cao's analysis, but he still suggested continuing to march. Cao Cao had no other choice but to attack. All they could do was be highly vigilant and not be caught by Zhou Yu and Xun You. .
Chapter completed!