The revival of the Han Dynasty must start with Dong Zhuo

Chapter 340 Volume Chen Gong
After hearing Xiahou Dun's cry, Cao Ren's reason regained the upper hand with great difficulty.

In this situation, withdrawal is the only option!

The impregnable Jinyong City and the unpredictable crossbows were completely beyond Cao Ren's expectations.

If the attack continues, even if Cao Ren were to die under Jinyong City, I'm afraid the emperor still wouldn't be harmed in the slightest!
Instead of losing all the soldiers under the city, it is better to gather as much strength as possible and then think of a good strategy!
"withdraw!"

Cao Ren knew that what Xiahou Dun said was right, so he also ordered his troops to withdraw and planned to go back to report to Cao Cao.

On the high platform, Guo Jia bowed to the emperor and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Now Xiahou Dun is under the control of the emperor. If the emperor forcibly stops him, how can Xiahou Dun stick his head out to speak to Cao Ren?
At this moment, Xiahou Dun saw Cao Ren and Cao Chun leading their troops to retreat, and felt a little embarrassed when facing the emperor again.

"Thank you, Emperor..."

If the emperor had not allowed Xiahou Dun to shout this, Cao Ren, who had already become angry, might have really wiped out his troops under the Jinyong City.

If the troops of Cao Ren and Cao Chun were completely wiped out, it would be a huge blow to Cao Cao!

Liu Xie raised the teacup to his lips and said, "Xiahou Yuanrang, do you know why I asked you to shout like that?"

Xiahou Dun shook his head.

"It's because although the Zhuge Crossbow has the power of ghosts and gods, it is very easy to damage."

"If Cao Ren really sends his soldiers to charge towards Jinyong City without regard for their lives, I'm afraid they might really take advantage of the damage of the crossbows to charge in."

"As for the second layer of grease, Luoyang had been abandoned for quite some time, so I didn't prepare much..."

At this moment, Xiahou Dun's expression was extremely interesting, as if he realized what the emperor wanted to say.

really!

After Liu Xie finished drinking the tea in the cup, he said, "If Cao Ren really charges into my Jinyong City regardless of the lives of his soldiers, he might have a 50% chance of breaking through it."

"But now, thanks to your advice, Xiahou Yuanrang, Cao Ren gave up his plan to attack Jinyong City. At the same time, it also eliminated Cao Cao's last chance of a comeback. I have to thank you no matter what!"

Putting down the teacup, Liu Xie waved at Xiahou Dun who was standing there in a daze.

"Since you have personally gone out to make the announcement, Cao Cao will no longer consider attacking Luoyang."

He got up and walked downstairs.

"In this case, I don't have to stay here to resist Cao Cao, but should prepare how to attack Yuan Shao."

Liu Xie's voice fell into Xiahou Dun's ears, like a heavy hammer hitting his chest, making him unable to even stand for a moment!
Fortunately, Guo Jia was quick to step forward and support Xiahou Dun.

"Yuan Rang, don't take the emperor's words to heart. The emperor must be blaming you for talking back to him, which is why he said these hurtful words."

Guo Jia said the essence of the matter: "The reason why the emperor asked you to go to the top of the city and shout to Cao Ren is because the emperor is kind by nature and can't bear to see the Han people being slaughtered like this! Otherwise, do you think you can really defeat the emperor who is waiting for you with Cao Zixiao?"

Xiahou Dun felt better after receiving Guo Jia's comfort.

But he still looked gloomy and said: "But what the emperor said just now is right."

"Letting Cao Ren attack Luoyang is the only way Meng De can turn defeat into victory."

"If Cao Ren had continued his attack, even if he didn't have the 50% chance of winning that the emperor said, he might have had a 10% or 20% chance of winning, and he could have really captured Jinyong City and forced Lu Bu and Liu Bei to come to the rescue."

"But right now... we don't even have that 10% or 20% chance of winning!"

Tears welled up in Xiahou Dun's one eye, and it was obvious that he had foreseen Cao Cao's fate.

And Guo Jia beside him kept lamenting.

Son of Heaven.

Jia Xu, Xun Yu, Xun You, Zhong Yao, Sima Yi, Yang Xiu, Zhuge Liang, Pang Tong...

So many people have spent years preparing for this battle, so how could they not be unstoppable?
The only thing we can pray for now is that something unexpected will happen and the emperor's plan will be shelved...

But if an accident really happens, who can guarantee what kind of accident it will be?

………………

Chenliu.

Cao Cao's trusted confidants Chen Gong and Zhang Miao as well as his clan general Cao Hong were stationed here to guard.

"Everyone!"

The generals in the city will gather together to discuss how to deal with the war.

"Lü Bu has already captured Zhongmu and will arrive in Chenliu soon. What should we do?"

After leaving Hulao Pass in the east, Lu Bu made unstoppable progress and headed directly for Chenliu, the core of the Central Plains.

Now all the troops have been taken away and deployed by Cao Cao, and there are only about ten thousand soldiers left in Chenliu to defend the city. How can these soldiers resist the aggressive Lu Bu?

Zhang Miao said worriedly: "We should have Meng De lead his troops back as soon as possible to avoid the loss of Chenliu!"

Cao Hong was displeased when he heard Zhang Miao's words: "Meng De is currently in Xu County confronting Liu Bei, how can he return so easily?"

Lu Bu is hard to stop, so is Liu Bei an easy character to deal with?
Moreover, if Xu County was lost, Lu Bu and Liu Bei would be able to join forces! At that time, it would be a huge disaster!

Zhang Miao blushed when he heard Cao Hong's words seem to belittle him, "Cao Zilian! Are you going to watch Chenliu fall into Lu Bu's hands?"

Cao Hong: "I am still in Chenliu City! What are you afraid of?" "As long as we hold on to the city, Meng De will surely lead his troops back to support us after he defeats Liu Bei!"

Zhang Miao: "What if Meng De can't come back?"

Cao Hong glared at him: "Can't come back? If you can't come back, let's all die together! Is there anything else you want to ask?"

After saying this, Cao Hong left in a huff, leaving only Zhang Miao and Chen Gong sitting in the hall.

"Snapped!"

Zhang Miao slammed the table and pointed at Cao Hong's back: "What's his attitude? Even Meng De wouldn't dare to treat me like this! How dare he do this!"

Chen Gong turned his head away impatiently: "Meng Zhuo (Zhang Miao's courtesy name), stop talking!"

"Now the imperial court has suddenly changed the direction of attack. Instead of attacking Hebei, they are attacking Henan from two directions. Cao Gong has only two ways to break the deadlock."

Zhang Miao knew that Chen Gong was much smarter than himself, so he immediately asked, "Which two?"

Chen Gong: "Or! Cao Gong defeats Liu Bei, and then comes back to defeat Lu Bu!"

"Or! We defeat Lu Bu, and then lead the troops to repel Liu Bei!"

"Tell me, which of these two methods of breaking the deadlock is more reliable?"

As soon as Zhang Miao heard this, he knew that Chen Gong was teasing him.

Putting aside the fact that Cao Cao defeated Liu Bei, how could these soldiers from Chenliu defeat Lu Bu?
"Gongtai! It's already this time, and you're still joking with me?"

Zhang Miao could only ask tentatively: "Is it really impossible to let Meng De retreat and then defend Chenliu?"

Chen Gong shook his head.

"If we allow Lü Bu and Liu Bei to join forces, and then the emperor comes out from Luoyang and thrusts his dragon banner into Henan, the battle will be lost without even having to be fought!"

Allowing Lu Bu and Liu Bei to join forces would mean that the connection between Jingzhou and Luoyang would be completely opened up, and the imperial court could continuously transport soldiers, money and food to Henan. How could this war be fought then?
Zhang Miao had no choice but to ask again: "So the only hope now is that Meng De can defeat Liu Bei?"

"Gongtai, in your opinion, what are the chances of Meng De defeating Liu Bei?"

This question rarely made Chen Gong lower his head to think.

But Chen Gong quickly came up with the answer -

“Not even one cent!”

"how is this possible?"

Zhang Miao screamed.

"Did Gongtai make a mistake? Liu Xuande was just a defeated general of Meng De in the past. How come he doesn't even have a 10% chance of winning now?"

Chen Gong was helpless: "What was Liu Bei's situation at that time? What is Liu Bei's situation now?"

"At that time, Liu Bei was just a knight-errant who had made military achievements. With the support of Gongsun Zan, he could get a small official post as the magistrate of Pingyuan County. The area under his jurisdiction was only ten miles, and the soldiers under his command were no more than a thousand people! Without support from outside and no talents at home, how could he compete with Yuan Shao and Cao Gong?"

"But what is Liu Bei now? He is the pillar of the court! He is the governor of Jingzhou who took over Liu Biao's position! He has many famous generals under his command, with tens of thousands of soldiers in armor! He is no longer the grasshopper that could be easily crushed to death!"

"and……"

Having said so much, the last point is the key to Chen Gong's certainty that Cao Cao could not defeat Liu Bei -

"Behind Liu Bei now is the emperor who won the Battle of Anyi just after he came of age and stabilized the entire court situation!"

"Let's not talk about anything else. As long as the emperor continues to supply Liu Bei with food and grass from Jing and Yi, so that Liu Bei does nothing but pin Cao Gong down near Xu County and make him unable to move, it will be considered a great victory!"

"Now one side wants to repel the other side, while the other side can win by just defending! Even if Meng Zhuo doesn't know anything about military affairs, he should be able to realize whose situation is more difficult!"

Cao Cao must defeat Liu Bei, and Liu Bei only needs to defend himself.

This war was unfair to Cao Cao, so Chen Gong said that it would be too difficult for Cao Cao to win this battle!
"Right now, I just hope that Lord Cao can come up with some strategy to lure Liu Bei's army away from the mountain, so that we can have a chance of survival!"

Chen Gong is indeed someone who shares the same thoughts with Cao Cao.

Although they were thousands of miles away, they came up with the same strategy, which was to transfer Liu Bei's army away!

But when the news came that Cao Ren and Cao Chun had failed in their attack on Luoyang, both Cao Cao and Chen Gong felt a pang in their hearts!
Finished!

It's all over!
When Lu Bu captures Chenliu, Cao Cao's forces will be completely destroyed!

Zhang Miao also came to look for Chen Gong again later.

"Gongtai! Now we can always send an urgent letter to Meng De and ask him to come back, right?"

Cao Ren and Cao Chun's attack on Luoyang was unsuccessful and they were unable to force Liu Bei and Lu Bu to change direction. The overall situation in the Central Plains had been completely settled.

Even though we know it's impossible, we can only unite our forces and fight a desperate battle with the imperial court!
……

Chen Gong did not rush to answer Zhang Miao, but asked Zhang Miao a question in return:

"Meng Zhuo, do you think...even if Cao Cao comes back, can he resist Lu Bu, defeat the imperial court, and defeat the emperor?"

Zhang Miao was about to scold Chen Gong for saying such discouraging words, but in a flash, all the hair on his body stood up!

"Gongtai, do you want to..."

(End of this chapter)