After Cao Cao hosted a banquet for his generals that evening, he convened a council of war the next morning.
Seated at the head of the tent, Cao Cao surveyed his officers and advisers and said:
"My four sons recovered from their poisoning yesterday. That was cause for celebration, so I held a feast. But Yuan Xi must have been behind the poisoning. He pretended to be merciful and let my sons return to the city, all while plotting to kill them with poison. I swear I'll avenge them!"
His adviser Liu Ye said, "My lord, please think carefully. Yuan Xi is hateful, but our hold on the provinces south of the Yellow River is still shaky. He forged an imperial edict ordering the other lords to attack us. I hear Ma Teng of Western Liang and Zhang Lu of Hanzhong are both making moves."
"Zhang Lu is no great concern, but we cannot ignore Ma Teng, the Inspector of Western Liang!" Cheng Yu agreed with Liu Ye. "With supplies running short, my lord should have the troops farm the land and stockpile grain. We can march once the summer harvest comes in."
Xi Zhicai stepped forward. "I disagree with them both. Our forces may be hard-pressed, but are the Four Provinces of Hebei any better off? Yuan Xi is not the eldest son! With Yuan Shao dead, his three sons will refuse to submit to one another. They're bound to fight and throw Hebei into chaos. If we don't advance while they're still finding their footing, we'll face another formidable enemy once they recover."
At that point, Bai Xiaowen was moving on Ye City and had yet to seize command of Yuan Shang's troops. The spies Cao Army had sent to Jizhou also needed time to get their reports