After Zhou Yu explained their attack strategy against Xu Province in detail, they began to ask about the situation on Cao Cao's side.
Hearing this, Cao Ren replied on behalf of Cao Cao: "Our main army has been transferred to Guandu to prepare for the offensive of Imperial Court's army."
"With the advantage of the geographical location, it is not a problem to hold back Imperial Court's army for three months. Although Yu Province will eventually have to retreat, I think three months should be enough for Gongjin to capture Xu Province."
In terms of the overall strategy, Yan Province must be given up. The last line of defense is Yu Province and Xu Province, but it needs to be delayed for a while before that.
After all, it will take time for Sun Quan to lead his troops to defeat Xu Province.
Zhou Yu nodded and said, "Xu Province doesn't have many troops. We are well prepared this time. Three months is more than enough."
Imperial Court's current armies are all in the area of Bing Province and Ji Province. If Xu Province cannot defeat Xu Province with empty troops in three months, then there is no need to fight against Imperial Court.
You can just go home and wait to die.
After Zhou Yu and Cao Ren finished their discussion, Cao Cao stood up and said with a smile, "Gongjin, it's rare for you to come to Xu County. I can't do my best to show my gratitude to the landlord."
"I have ordered people to prepare Banquet. I will treat you well later and help you clean up your dust."
Cao Cao's tone and attitude are very enthusiastic.
But when Zhou Yu heard this, he directly refused and said, "Thank you Minister of Works for your kindness, but Banquet doesn't need it. I have important things to do and can't stay long, so I'll take my leave."
After saying that, he took the people away Main Hall.
Watching Zhou Yu go away, Xiahou Dun said with some dissatisfaction, "Lord invites you kindly, but this guy has such an attitude, it's really rude!"
"And he came all the way just to discuss this matter? I think he is really full!"
Although Zhou Yu is very polite on the surface, everyone can feel the coldness behind his politeness, and he doesn't give any face at all.
Besides, if you can just say no to sending troops directly in Letter, why go all the way from Yang Province to Xu County for an interview?
"No."
Xun You shook his head and said, "Coming here to discuss sending troops is just a facade. The real purpose of Zhou Gongjin's trip is to confirm whether we have deployed our troops in Yan Province."
"He's very guarded against us."
If it was just a matter of discussing sending troops, there would be no need for Zhou Yu to make this trip, as it had already been confirmed before.
Zhou Yu came here for this reason, and at the same time secretly sent Scouts to Yu Province and Yan Province to inquire about their troop deployment to see if they had really deployed their army.
Of course, they are doing this kind of thing too.
Both sides are deeply wary of each other.
"This is normal." Cao Cao didn't care about this and turned his attention to Cao Ren, "Have you done everything I asked you to do?"
"Lord Don't worry, everything has been arranged."
Cao Ren nodded and replied, "I have set up a large number of camps Garrison everywhere, pretending to be a large army stationed there, and I will never let them see the flaws."
"Right now, all our main forces have been deployed near Lujiang County. We only need the order from Lord to cross Yangtze River and go straight to Jiangdong!"
Cao Cao nodded slightly and felt relieved.
He had no intention of resisting Imperial Court's army at Yan Province. He only wanted to wait until Sun Quan attacked Xu Province, and then lead his troops to capture Jiangdong.
The so-called troop deployment and plans are just a cover, made for Zhou Yu and Sun Quan to see. Otherwise, how can they be allowed to send troops with peace of mind.
Yan Province is now a complete empty shell.
Supplies, population, etc. were basically moved to Yu Province by him, with only less than 5,000 troops doing what they looked like on the surface.
Not to mention holding back the Imperial Court army for three months.
He didn't plan to delay it for three days!
As soon as he sees the Imperial Court army approaching, his troops in Yan Province will retreat directly and will never confront the opponent head-on.
"Minister of Works, is this inappropriate?"
Xun Yu frowned and said with some worry, "If we take Jiangdong while Sun Quan and Imperial Court's armies are fighting, he may turn his spear and attack us."
He can already imagine how angry Sun Quan will be at that time, and he will probably take back Jiangdong at all costs, or attack Yu Province.
"He doesn't have the energy."
Cao Cao did not agree with Xun Yu's words and said calmly, "With the strength of Jiangdong, how can we fight against me while resisting the Imperial Court army?"
"Besides, there is nothing wrong with this move. If you don't believe me, you can ask Zhongde for his opinion."
Cheng Yu on the side was suddenly called by Cao Cao. He couldn't help but froze for a moment. After pondering for a moment, he said, "There is nothing wrong with Minister of Works's strategy."
"I think after capturing Jiangdong, it's best to take the opportunity to attack Sun Quan with Imperial Court's troops and annihilate them together."
Cheng Yu expressed his opinion and added, "Last time I proposed that the corpses of Soldiers who died in the battle be made into dried meat. How did Lord think about it?"
"This move can greatly reduce Grain and Fodder's losses, and as long as it is done more secretly, Soldierss won't be able to discover it. I've already thought about it..."
"Stop it!"
Cao Cao interrupted Cheng Yu's excited speech with a loud shout, but immediately felt that his tone was a bit too much, and said to him pleasantly, "There is no shortage of Grain and Fodder in the army at the moment. Let's discuss this matter later. Zhongde has taken the trouble."
He has always thought that his character is cruel and ruthless, but since he heard about the dried meat Cheng Yu brought to him last time, he feels that he is Sage compared to Cheng Yu.
"Okay."
Cheng Yu sighed with some disappointment.
Cao Cao withdrew his gaze and then said to Xun Yu, "If I don't take Jiangdong, I will face Son of Heaven of Ye City's army directly. With my current strength, I will definitely not be able to defeat them."
"Wenruo Is it possible that he hopes that I will lose to him?"
When he said this, he stared closely at Xun Yu's face and observed the changes in his expression.
Xun Yu was shocked when he heard this and quickly said, "Minister of Works misunderstood. I'm just worried that Sun Quan will retaliate. Since Lord has his own plan, it's okay."
"That's it."
Cao Cao gave Xun Yu a meaningful look.
Seeing that the atmosphere was not right, Xun You on the side took the initiative to change the topic and asked, "Minister of Works, how are Xu Ziyuan's illnesses? Are they not getting better yet?"
Xu You suddenly reported illness at home three months ago and has not been seen since.
Cao Cao said calmly, "He is seriously ill, but there is nothing serious at the moment. He just needs to rest and rest. There is no need to worry about him."
After saying that, he left Main Hall directly.
The other side.
The three people Embroidered-Clothes Envoys heading to Jing Province have quietly escorted Zhuge Liang into Ji Province.
Chapter 300 Nanyang Recluse Zhuge Liang, see Your Majesty
The trip from Jing Province to Ji Province was very smooth. There were no accidents along the way, so we arrived at Wei Commandery much earlier than expected.
It was not until they entered the realm of Wei Commandery that the three of Qingzhu truly relaxed and slowed down their progress slightly.
After all, Zhuge Liang is from the south. When you first arrive in the north, you may not be accustomed to the climate. In addition, due to the fatigue of traveling all the way, it would be bad if you fall ill.
"Mr. Kongming, we will arrive at Ye City today. I have done a lot of rude things to you before, so I would like to say sorry to you."
"If possible, sir, please help us hide something from Your Majesty, lest Your Majesty blame us for being too rude."
Qingzhu rode next to Carriage and said to Zhuge Liang in the carriage with a trace of apology on his face.
Zhuge Liang was personally summoned by name by Son of Heaven. He will definitely be reused in the future. Needless to say, he will be highly successful and will not be offended.
And he had to use some shameless means to get Zhuge Liang to go with him. If Son of Heaven knew about this, he was worried that he would be blamed.
Of course there is another reason.
Through contacts along the way, he discovered that Zhuge Liang was indeed a gentleman, and that he was a bit of a bully by threatening his two brothers.
"Just don't worry."
Zhuge Liang nodded and agreed. He knew that Qingzhu and others were just helpless, and they were indeed very polite and caring to him along the way.
While chatting with Qingzhu, Zhuge Liang looked at both sides of Official Road outside Carriage. After observing for a moment, he said, "I dare to ask, why since entering Wei Commandery, there are so many more Displaced People here than in other places of Ji Province?"
Displaced People can be seen everywhere in today's world.
However, Zhuge Liang found that there were not many Displaced People in Ji Province. On the contrary, after entering Wei Commandery, the number of Displaced People increased sharply, and Displaced People could be seen everywhere on both sides of Official Road.
But what makes him even more surprised is that these Displaced People are different from ordinary Displaced People, and their expressions and conditions look much better.
"Mr. Kongming doesn't know something."
Qingzhu took a look at the Displaced People people and explained to Zhuge Liang, "Your Majesty cares about the people and spent a lot of financial and material resources to resettle Displaced People."
"After hearing the news, Displaced Peoples from all over the country flocked to Wei Commandery one after another, which resulted in there being many more Displaced Peoples of Wei Commandery than outside."
"Although Imperial Court is working hard to place them, there are too many Displaced Peoples and they cannot all be placed in a short time."
"However, Imperial Court will distribute food and clothing every now and then, which finally allowed these Displaced People to survive this winter. Otherwise, I don't know how many people would freeze to death and starve to death."
Zhuge Liang couldn't help but feel a little moved when he heard this.
Arranging so many Displaced Peoples is undoubtedly a huge burden for Imperial Courts, and can even be said to be a thankless task.
If so much financial and material resources are spent on building an army, a huge army of Elite Troops can definitely be produced.
But Son of Heaven chose to spend all these money and materials on the bottom Displaced People, allowing them to survive this winter.
Zhuge Liang believes that any prince, even Liu Biao, who is known as a gentleman, would not do this.
This kind of kindness cannot but be admired.
However, this is really a waste. If he is allowed to do it, he can definitely maximize the use of these Displaced People.
After Zhuge Liang sighed in his heart, he looked at the Displaced Peoples outside the car window. Their faces were not as numb as ordinary Displaced Peoples, but were much more angry.
Although their situation has not improved much now, at least the attitude of Son of Heaven and Imperial Court is hope for them.
Because Son of Heaven didn't give up on them.
At this time, a group of children passed by laughing and playing on the roadside, and at the same time they sang a song. "On February 2, the dragon raises its head, and Son of Heaven ministers are driving the cattle."
"Spring Plowing Xia Yun leads the world, and the harvest is abundant and the autumn is peaceful..."