Three Kingdoms: Madam, I am a decent person

Chapter 736 Play Zhicai: Lure the snake out of its hole
However, although Cao Cao was filled with hatred, he still managed a smile, helped up Cao Chun, Ma Teng, Ma Xiu, Ma Tie and others, and glanced at the civil and military officials on the city wall, saying, "Hey~ you people."

"The vast majority of people have followed me, Cao Cao, in his campaigns across the north and south for many years."

"Although General Ma Teng did not follow me before, he fought for decades."

"Don't you know a saying—"

"Victory and defeat are common occurrences in war!"

"Throughout history, how many generals have been able to remain undefeated throughout their lives?"

Even a powerful figure like Xiang Yu, the Hegemon-King of Chu, committed suicide at the Wujiang River.

"How can we possibly compare to Xiang Yu, the King of Chu?"

"Defeat is a natural part of life."

"As long as we learn from the experience and avoid making the same mistake again, it's worth it."

Looking at Cheng Yu again, Cao Cao smiled and said, "Zhongde, give the order to hold a banquet in the main hall of the government office tonight."

"Summon all the prostitutes in the city."

“Every general will receive a share tonight.”

"Have a good time, everyone. Tomorrow, wake up refreshed and ready to start again."

"Next time we fight, I will definitely take the head of my good son-in-law!"

Cheng Yu responded.

The generals then breathed a sigh of relief.

Cao Cao took the lead and walked towards the foot of the city wall.

Once separated from the crowd, Cao Cao's face turned grim.

How is this played?
How can we fight like this?!
Even their most elite Tiger and Leopard Cavalry suffered heavy casualties!
That damned Cao Chun.

If they weren't relatives...

If it weren't for the fact that he had followed him in his campaigns across the country, this would have been a different story.

He absolutely must be sentenced to death!

When Cao Cao drove them down the city wall, Zhang Sui led his army back to the Guandu camp.

Zhang Sui led his generals straight to the commander's tent.

This battle allowed them to understand Cao Cao's true strength and weaknesses.

Although Cao Cao had developed his power in recent years, he was able to deal with Ma Chao and others with ease.

However, they were far from strong enough against the Hebei army.

Zhang Sui stood in front of the sand table, scanning Tian Feng, Chen Deng, Chen Gong, and the others one by one, and said in a deep voice, "The plan has changed."

"Previously, we adopted Ju Gong's strategy of gradual advancement, which made us invincible."

"However, as everyone saw in the battle just now, the difference in strength between Cao Cao and us is not just a little bit."

"In this situation, I don't want to be on the defensive."

"In a passive defensive situation, who can predict how long Cao Cao will fight?"

"The longer he drags things out, the more suffering the people will endure."

"Furthermore, according to intelligence from the Qilin Pavilion, Liu Biao, the governor of Jingzhou, has been poisoned with a slow-acting poison that has been accumulating for too long, and he will soon die."

"Jingzhou is in a state of panic."

"Although we do not currently have specific intelligence on Jiangdong."

"However, Jiangdong is too peaceful."

"The fact that Sun Quan could remain so calm after his 100,000-strong army was defeated by Zhang Liao's 6,000 defenders is quite strange."

"Furthermore, they preferred to form a marriage alliance with us, sending Sun Quan's younger sister as a gift."

"Furthermore, Zhou Yu took Jiangxia County, but then ceased all further action."

"Considering all these factors, we can conclude that Jiangdong is plotting to seize Jingzhou."

"Although we have already united the Huang family and the Kuai family in Jingzhou, and Guo Jia and Li Ru are helping with the planning."

"But Zhou Yu is no pushover either."

"Zhou Yu has a good chance to take advantage of the chaos in Jingzhou and lead the Jiangdong army to take Jingzhou."

"If Jiangdong takes Jingzhou, it's not that we can't defeat them, but it will take us several times, or even dozens of times, more effort to pacify it."

"Therefore, I now want to change the strategy, take Xudu in the shortest time, then send the army south, sweep through Jingzhou in one fell swoop, pacify Jiangdong, and finally take Yizhou."

After hearing Zhang Sui's words, everyone looked at each other in bewilderment. Zhang Sui did not interrupt.

He picked up a teapot, sat down heavily, drank his tea, and watched the civil and military officials discuss the matter.

He was a feudal lord, a ruler.

He believed that what he should do was to take control of the overall situation and put forward relatively reasonable tasks.

The rest should be left to the people under my command.

He reiterated his previous point: he wanted to avoid the fate of Zhuge Liang in history, who "exhausted his energy and effort."

He wants to delegate authority.

Delegate authority to these civil and military officials, allowing them to broaden their horizons and demonstrate their abilities.

After discussing the matter for a long time in the command tent, Xi Zhicai stood up and said, "My lord, we have just fought against Cao Cao, and both sides have gained a certain understanding of their opponent."

"Cao Cao will surely be at a loss for the time being."

"My idea is that Cao Cao will not dare to provoke us for a long time to come."

"He must rack his brains to find our weaknesses and strike."

"It's like a venomous snake facing a powerful enemy, trapped for a long time, wanting to go out and hunt for food."

"It must be extremely cautious."

"And Cao Cao was a very suspicious man."

"He also has a fatal flaw."

Zhang Sui looked at Xi Zhicai with great interest and asked, "A fatal flaw?"

He hadn't seen anyone mention it before he traveled through time.

Xi Zhicai said, "That is, the more critical the moment, the less Cao Cao trusted others, the more stubborn he became, and the less he listened to the opinions of others."

Chen Gong, who had been silent all along, nodded and said, "That's true. Cao Cao may seem to be appointing people based on their abilities, but deep down, he doesn't trust anyone but himself."

Xi Zhicai pushed everyone aside, stood in front of the sand table, pointed at Hedong County and said, "My lord, do you still remember that Hedong County is not yet in our hands?"

"Although Ma Chao fought and won before with our support, he did not take this place."

"And here, there is a seemingly very strong army."

"The Xiongnu cavalry."

"And the Xiongnu people hate us to the bone."

"Firstly, my lord, when you were a cavalryman, you followed General Yan Liang to kill the Left Wise King of the Xiongnu and capture nearly ten thousand Xiongnu cavalrymen."

"Secondly, everyone knows that you, my lord, are funding Ma Chao's attack on them."

"It is possible that the Xiongnu will launch a full-scale attack."

"Therefore, we can use this group of Xiongnu people as bait."

"First, let General Cheng Lian, who occupies Jiguan Pass, be attacked by the Xiongnu."

"After that, let the Xiongnu attack the Hanoi Commandery."

"Hanoi County feigned defeat and opened up the road to us."

"At this time, the lord ordered General Zhao Yun and General Zhang He to go south to Zhongmu and Changshe respectively."

"There are two large armies here, led by Xiahou Dun and Xiahou Yuan."

"It's normal for Generals Zhao Yun and Zhang He to be tied down by them."

"At this moment, the Xiongnu cavalry attacked from the rear. Our lord dispatched General Yan Liang to rush to the aid of the Wuchao granary, looking ready to fight to the death."

"Our lord himself fled in a sorry state."

"Protected by the Enemy of Chen, the Flying Bear Army, and the White Feather Army."

"To ensure the safety of our lord."

"In the end, with the retreat of the Trapped Camp, the Flying Bear Army, the White Feather Army, and General Yan Liang, the lord annihilated the Xiongnu cavalry during the river crossing."

"Cao Cao must have planted spies in our army."

"Seeing that you, my lord, have put yourself in such a sorry state in order to save Wuchao, Cao Cao will surely become suspicious of the situation in Wuchao."

"General Tian Yu's 10,000-strong army should not move."

"When Cao Cao led his army to launch a surprise attack, General Tian Yu blocked their path."

Xi Zhicai breathed a sigh of relief and pointed directly at Xingyang City, saying, "My lord, lead your army to pretend to be Cao Cao's defeated army, enter Xingyang City, and then head directly south to Xuchang."

(End of this chapter)