He Qi walked back and forth with his hands behind his back for a few times, and stopped in front of Huo Jun, with an ugly face.

"What's wrong with you? You can't understand people's words?"

Huo Jun was embarrassed and bowed to salute. "The general was incompetent, his opportunity became insufficient, and he delayed the general's plan. Please deal with it."

"Dispute?" He Qi sneered: "Faced with the attack from Jin's troops, he held his position for two days and nights, killing and killing more than 400 opponents with less than 30 casualties. How can I deal with you with such a beautiful record? Even if I report to Jianye, the king cannot agree."

Huo Jun's face turned red and could not say a word.

He Qi glared at him, returned to the table and sat down, holding a knife with one hand and the other with the other, and tapping his fingers on the table, as anxious as a war drum. There was no sound in the tent, and no one dared to make a sound. Countless pairs of eyes fell on Huo Jun's body, with a complicated expression.

Huo Jun was recommended by Zhou Yu. He was a good at fighting, especially good at defending, and was able to say that he was a good person. He was a master of the most important things several times, which made He Qi's subordinates very embarrassed. Even He Qi himself felt a little uncomfortable, but he just couldn't say it. This time Cao Cao came to attack, and Huo Jun fought head-on, but he defeated He Qi's plan, which made He Qi furious.

After confronting Cao Cao for half a year, He Qi felt that Louguan was easy to defend but difficult to attack, and the cost of a strong attack was too high, so he proposed a plan to lure the enemy into depth, to lure Cao Cao away from Louguan, send people to cut off Cao Cao's retreat, and fight Cao Cao near Zheng County, severely hurting his main force. The plan was well designed and won the praise of Zhou Yu and Xun You, but there was a problem during the implementation. Huo Jun defended too well, and the proportion of casualties was huge, which led to Cao Cao giving up the offensive plan and withdrawing his troops.

After preparing for the war for several months, Huo Jun made contributions in the end, and the others followed him to watch a performance, and He Qi's efforts were wasted.

He Qi was very angry, but he had no choice. He could not punish Huo Jun, not because Huo Jun was recommended by Zhou Yu. After all, it was because he was not good at employed people. He should have considered that Huo Jun was too young and competitive, so it was not easy for him to deliberately let him go. The country is easy to change, but his nature is difficult to change. When the critical moment, people will make choices based on their instincts. Huo Jun's instinct is to keep it, not give the other party any chance, and at the same time minimize his casualties.

These are the things he thinks about every day.

This is naturally a good thing in normal times, but now in special circumstances, his strengths ruin He Qi's plan. Cao Cao withdrew from Louguan and could lure him out again next time, He Qi was not sure whether he could lure him out again. The biggest possibility was to continue confronting each other and compete for patience.

He Qi was very angry and helpless. Are these Jingchu people's brains made of stones? They were not at all enlightened. He thought for a long time and asked Deng Zhi to write a report to Zhou Yu, truthfully report on the battle process, and ask for merit for Huo Jun. He didn't say anything else, but he could only say that Cao Cao retreated. As for the reason, Zhou Yu and Xun You will guess it himself.

After receiving He Qi's report, Zhou Yu suddenly smelled He Qi's resentment. "Zhong Miao's stone has made Gong Miao angry again." He smiled.

"No." Xun You looked at the fire. "He Gongmiao played with it himself, so he should have sent others to lure the enemy. Of course, the bait should be sweet and delicious, and it looks delicious and edible. How can you use stones as bait? As the saying goes, victory is easy to defeat, but once it is not controlled well, fraudulent defeat may turn into real defeat, especially when facing strong players. He dares not take risks, so he can only use Huo Jun. After all, he is still very competitive and pursues perfection too much."

Zhou Yu nodded. "I heard that Yu Jian is very well-organized."

Xun You nodded, looked up at the large map in front of him, and was silent for a moment, and suddenly said: "Cao Ang got several generals in Yanzhou. Yu Jin is one of them, but he is not the most clever one. Chen Gong is Cao Ang's think tank. Governor. I think Cao Cao's retreat is probably not because Huo Jun defended too well, but for another reason."

Zhou Yu pondered for a moment. "Guanzhong?"

"That's right, Guanzhong." Xun You slightly said. "The world cannot be without a master for a day. Liu Xie died in a battle and the eldest son of the emperor succeeded to the throne, but he was disturbed by Fa Zheng, and the throne has remained empty. Although Fa Zheng is smart, he has insufficient experience and is not familiar with the methods in the court. Cao Cao is afraid that he will take Chen Gong to Chang'an to solve the predicament and establish a new emperor to control Guanzhong."

Xun You stretched out his hand and circled the map. "The current situation is like Qin and the Six Kingdoms back then. However, the Six Kingdoms are one, but Qin is three points. If you cannot complete Guanzhong and Yizhou, when the king is mourning and send troops again, neither Guanzhong nor Yizhou will be able to defend. This is the last opportunity, and Cao Cao cannot do anything without striving for it. He is an assassin and is very good at taking risks."

Zhou Yu glanced at Xun You and smiled. "Gongda had also been an assassin, as expected."

Xun You also laughed. "I am not as good as him in terms of being an assassin. I have to be at least seven or eight points to dare to take action, but he only needs to be five or six points to grasp it. When necessary, even if there is only one chance, he will do his best. Governor, you must be careful of such opponents who are highly bet-in-arms, they are often the biggest surprise. In the Luoyang Incident, Yuan Shao underestimated Dong Zhuo, and the situation collapsed and was defeated."

Zhou Yu nodded, feeling deeply. He and Cao Cao had been fighting for so long, and knew that Cao Cao was not weak. If it weren't for the elites he had led, and Zhuge Liang was raising food and supplies for him in Jingnan and continuously supplying supplies, he would have been squeezed out by Cao Cao long ago.

Xun You suddenly said, "Governor, have you ever obeyed orders under the tent of General Cavalry?"

"When I attacked Xiangyang, I obeyed the orders under his tent."

Xun You turned around and his eyes were bright. "You haven't met the king for a long time. Although the king trusts you, you should also report your duties in person to avoid criticism. Moreover, if the General of the Cavalry passed away, you should also be mourning Yu Li. It's better to take this opportunity to go to Jiangdong."

Zhou Yu pondered silently. If Cao Cao came to attack during his rush to Jiangdong, he would be unsure whether He Qi could stop him. Sun Jian's death was originally the result of Cao Cao and others' deliberateness. Whoever dares to guarantee that Cao Cao's retreat would not be a fake move. Xun You just said that Cao Cao was good at taking risks, and seeing the situation was stalemate, it was normal for him to come up with a surprise attack.

"Who will I give it to here?"

"There are two routes in the north and south. He Gongmiao and Zu Yuanda (Zu Lang) are each responsible for the same route. If Cao Cao intends to be in Guanzhong, there will be no major war here. The general situation is certain, and the goal is exhausted, and the real fierce battle will begin. If Cao Cao goes back and returns, our army will be able to hold on and will not be defeated."

Seeing Zhou Yu suspicion, Xun You laughed again: "Governor He Qi is good at fighting, and Zu Lang is brave, both of them are not mediocre. But sometimes winning every battle is not a good thing, and it is still necessary to suffer some setbacks appropriately. In the future, they will always have to go to the other side of the country to fight in India. Taking this opportunity to experience it is not a bad thing. Taking the initiative to seek war will not be careless. If you can attract Cao Cao and delay him from going north, it will be good."

Zhou Yu suddenly realized that since his victory, the soldiers were a little arrogant and not calm enough. If they failed to attack Louguan, the whole army was a little restless. He Qi's failure to lure the enemy was also related to his desire to win. This is true from He Qi himself to ordinary soldiers. Taking this opportunity to make their decisions on their own, it is not a bad thing even if they encounter some trouble.

"Just follow Gongda."

Zhou Yu immediately sent a letter to He Qi and Zulang, informing him of returning to Jiangdong, and assigned the war zone. Therefore, Zulang was responsible for the south of Qilan, and He Qi was responsible for the north of Qilan, and Qilan was responsible for the central army led by Xun You.

Zhou Yu did not have a hard requirement to fight or defend, and he didn't even mention it. When He Qi and Zulang received the news, they naturally understood the intention. This was the peace before a large-scale counterattack and it was also a test for Zhou Yu to fight them. Facts proved that fighting in this mountain was more difficult than Yuzhang and Danyang. In the future, the Western Expedition would be more difficult. Whoever could take on the heavy responsibility depends on who could achieve greater results this time. The central army was only responsible for defending Gu Qilan, a key to Yijin, and other areas were their battlefields, and Xun You would not intervene easily.

Whether to fight or not or how to fight is all up to them.

He Qi and Zulang's mind suddenly became alive, and he was ready to make preparations for the attack.

The scouts under He Qi soon reappeared near Louguan, and their scope even expanded to the upstream of Anle Water (Chishui River). Xiahou Dun received the news and did not dare to neglect it. He was not worried that He Qi would go down the Anle Water and attack Louguan, but he had to guard against He Qi going up the Anle Water, climbing over Fenguan Mountain, and entering the Fuhei Water Basin. Although this was not very consistent with the method of using troops, He Qi would not be able to attack Louguan for a long time, and it was reasonable to find a surprise victory.

As the contact between the scouts on both sides became more and more frequent, Xiahou Dun felt the pressure and immediately sent someone to send a letter to Cao Cao.

As soon as Cao Cao arrived at the Yi (Yinbo) Road, before receiving the news from Xiahou Dun, Cao Hong, the prefect of Jianwei stationed at the Yi Road, reported to him a news he had just received. Yang Hong, the eldest son of Nanguang, sent people to say that a large number of merchants claiming to be from Jiaozhou in the north of Fenguan Mountain. Although there were indeed merchants from Jiaozhou passing by this place in the past, the number was not large, and most of them still went to Zhuti. The number of merchants suddenly increased, and there might be frauds among them. If we consider the Wu army in Jingke County, this is likely to be a harbinger of a large-scale attack and we must be careful.

Yang Hong was recommended by Fei Shi not long ago and was appointed by Cao Cao as the chief of Nan Guangchang because he was considered to be from Jianwei County, familiar with the customs and customs, which may be helpful to the war. Cao Cao did not dare to ignore his call to the police, and decided to stop on the road for a few days and wait and see the situation. Soon, Xiahou Dun's report was chased, and within two days, Cao Ren also sent an emergency message.

Cao Cao hesitated. Although the situation in Guanzhong is important, he cannot leave the front line when the war is about to begin. Cao Ren has no big problem, and Xiahou Dun is loyal and has a slightly inferior ability to command troops. If He Qi seizes the opportunity and breaks through Louguan, the hinterland of Yizhou may be in danger.

After repeated thinking, Cao Cao ordered Chengdu to order Chen Gong to arrive at Guanzhong first to assist Fa Zheng in handling the situation in Guanzhong, and then ordered Cao Ang to come to Wudao to discuss the major plan.

At the end of September, outside Linyuan City, Zhilanjin.

Zhuge Liang stood at the dock, and the autumn wind blew his clothes, blew the thin and soft short beards on his lips, but could not blow his firm eyes.

The boat was docked, and the ropes were dropped from the boat. A soldier stepped forward to help the soldiers on the boat fix the boat and put down the springboard. Zhuge Liang stepped on the springboard and got on the boat, his steps were light and steady. He got on the deck, went straight to Feilu, and came to Zhou Yu.

Zhou Yu stood at the entrance of the stairs, stretched out his hand, and gently held Zhuge Liang's arm. "Kong Ming, if you haven't seen each other for two years, you are becoming more and more dazzling."

Zhuge Liang is twenty-one years old this year, eight feet tall, with a straight facial features. No matter where he is, he is a handsome young man. However, in front of Zhou Yu, he dare not be arrogant. Whether it is body, appearance, demeanor, or official title, Zhou Yu steadily surpassed him. Zhuge Liang bowed and smiled, "With the governor's beautiful jade in front of him, Liang is so proud."

"Why should Kong Ming be as humble as this? When I was as old as you, I was not as good as you."

"That's because of the difficulty of starting a business. Wu Kingdom was first established. Now the King of Wu has half the world. The governor is in the southwest and is a famous general in the world. How could Liang hope for this life?" Zhuge Liang said with a smile: "Liang is already trembling with the ability to raise food for the governor and cannot bear the responsibility. When the governor sees the king, if the king asks, I hope the governor will have more good words."

Zhou Yu laughed loudly, causing Zhuge Liang to sit on the Feilu. The autumn wind was cold, but the two did not feel it at all, and they were chatting and laughing. "Kong Ming, speaking of it, it is difficult to distinguish between you and Bo Yan and Bo, but the choice is different. Bo Yan follows Wu, commands military battles, one is better than Chenliu, and then Junyi, and three is more than Dingtao. He became a first-class general under the age of twenty. Even I have to avoid three geniuses. He is indeed a rare genius. But you don't have to hurry. If you accumulate and make a fortune, your future achievements will not be weaker than him, and it is also expected to be a marquis."

Zhuge Liang smiled slightly and did not continue the topic. This kind of thing was enough to stop. If you talk too much, it would be a big deal. "Then let me borrow the Governor's words. Governor, this time when the king returns to Beijing, he will definitely ask about the situation. Does the Governor have a strategy?"

Zhou Yu looked at Zhuge Liang. "I'm not hiding it from Kong Ming, I'm just worried about this matter. If Kong Ming can inspire me, I will not be able to ask for it."

"The governor is humble, which makes the boy panic. However, it is a rare opportunity to teach the governor. Liang has some insights, so he would like to ask the governor to give some advice."

Zhou Yu reached out to signal. On the way to Linyuan, he received Sun Ce's order. During his departure from Jingnan and to Jiangdong, the affairs of Jingnan would be temporarily managed by Zhuge Liang, including military power. Sun Ce's respect for Zhuge Liang can be seen, and of course Zhuge Liang deserves such trust. In recent years, Zhuge Liang has been in charge of Jingnan and raised food for him. All matters have been handled very safely. What's even more rare is that he is good at getting along with others, and even Gan Ning, who has always been rebellious, is willing to listen to Zhuge Liang.

Zhuge Liang is young and promising, and is proud of his youth. If there are regrets, then his regret is that he cannot lead troops like Lu Xun. Young people are inevitably competitive, let alone a talent like Zhuge Liang. Many times, he does not fight or fight not because he is peaceful in nature, but because no one is worth fighting, such as most people, or they cannot fight or fight, such as Zhou Yu. Lu Xun is about the same age as him and is his natural opponent. If he cannot lead troops to fight, he can only show his excellence in strategy.
Chapter completed!