The battle of Guandu had settled the situation in the north.
Cao Cao had only lost 40,000 men, but he had defeated Yuan Shao's 420,000 men and even forced Yuan Shao to his death in Liyang City!
It could be said to be a complete victory.
Including Zhang He's 30,000 cavalrymen and 60,000 captives.
Boss Cao had definitely made a killing this time.
Without considering the quality, the quantity satisfied Cao Cao's vanity.
He stood at the head of Liyang City and looked down at the soldiers training in the square formation below. A sense of heroism arose spontaneously.
Towards the surrendered generals, Cao Cao also showed the magnanimity of a wise ruler. As long as they were willing to surrender, he would ignore the past and accept them all.
Especially Xu You and Zhang He.
Xu You was Cao Cao's classmate, and had already surrendered before defeating Yuan Shao. Although he had made a mistake that affected Cao Cao's acting, he still received a guarantee of the position of Chancellor.
This was Guo Jia's current position, so this kind of courtesy could not be said to be small.
Of course, after returning to Xuchang, the four strategists would definitely be promoted.
As a famous general in the north, Zhang He was not weak and had the ability to command an army. With the addition of 30,000 cavalrymen, Zhang He was promoted to a fifth-grade general in Pingxi.
However, there was one thing that Cao Cao found strange. There were clearly thirty thousand cavalry, but there were pitifully few warhorses.
It was said that there was a shortage of food and grass, so they killed horses to satisfy their hunger.
Fortunately, Boss Cao's wealth was expanding, so he did not delve into this matter.
As for the civil officials and generals under Cao Cao, Cao Cao had already promised that after this battle, they would be rewarded according to their achievements and would at least be promoted by one rank.
After settling down and gathering all the troops, the problem that Cao Cao faced once again appeared.
Right now, Qingzhou was unclear.
Yuan Shang led 40,000 cavalry back to Bingzhou. Adding on the original soldiers of Bingzhou, it was not difficult to gather 100,000 to 200,000.
Yuan Xi of Youzhou also had 200,000 soldiers. If the two of them worked together, 500,000 soldiers would be no problem.
On this day, the four strategists gathered in Cao Cao's camp to discuss their next strategy.
"My lord, our army has won a great victory, but to swallow the four northern regions in one go is equivalent to a snake swallowing an elephant.”
"This subordinate suggests that we divide our forces to guard Liyang and guard the Yellow River passage.”
"The army will withdraw from Xuchang and then divide its forces into the provinces to maintain the development of the salt industry and agriculture.”
Xun You and Xiahou Yuan were in charge of the development of the salt industry. Now, Guanzhong salt covered the nine states of the Great Han Dynasty, and the profits were terrifying.
Without Yuan Shao's threat, Xun You believed that he could easily defeat Yuan Shang and Yuan Xi in less than three years.
"This subordinate also agrees with Gongda's opinion.”
"My lord," Xun Yu chimed in,"Xuzhou has also begun to implement corn planting and Jiangdong plowing. As long as there is sufficient grain in a few days, I believe that the people along the Yangtze River will also begin to migrate to Xuzhou."”
"If the people were to migrate on a large scale, it would have a huge impact on Liu Biao of Jing State.”
Jia Xu nodded and said,"What Wen Ruo said is exactly what I'm worried about. Liu Biao, Liu Zhang, Sun Quan, and the other dukes are absolutely unwilling to see our army grow so rapidly. I'm afraid they will make a move at that time. My lord, you must be on guard."”
"Fengxiao, what do you think?"
Cao Cao didn't want to retreat just like that. Now that Yuan Shao was dead, the Northern Kingdom would be in chaos.
The morale of his troops was high. If they pursued the victory and expanded the results of the battle, they might really have a chance to take down the three northern provinces in one go. Then, the remaining Qingzhou would not be a concern.
But now, even the most radical Jia Xu did not agree with doing this.
"Lord, last night I discussed the current situation with the Mystic Immortal…"
As soon as Guo Jia spoke, Cao Cao's eyes lit up. Jia Xu and the others were all ears.
This battle with Yuan Shao truly established Guo Yun's status.
There might be a dispute over who was the number one general in the group.
However, the position of chief strategist was none other than Guo Yun.
Whether it was defeating Liu Bei or defeating Yuan Shao, the greatest credit was Guo Yun, not to mention refining salt in Guanzhong, invent Jiangdong plow, introducing corn and making hot air balloons.
"My lord, if you want to expand the battle results, you can take over the cities of Jizhou. The rest of the tribes can return first, leaving one-third of the troops to guard Jizhou.”
"Once Yuan Shao dies, his three sons will definitely fight. Now that Yuan Tan was killed by the abstruse immortal, only the two brothers Yuan Shang and Yuan Tan are left.”
"There is no need for our army to get involved in this muddy water and sit back and watch the tigers fight.”
Guo Jia said slowly,"As long as the army moves south, pretending to attack Jingzhou, and loses the threat of our army, these two brothers will definitely fight for the control of the north."”
"This technique is very good!"
Cao Cao also understood that this was not the time for him to be willful.
The north would be taken down sooner or later, but if they spent a large number of troops here, their base in the rear would probably be unstable.
After combining many factors, Cao Cao finally decided to expand the territory of Jizhou, gather two-thirds of his troops, and return to Xuchang.
"It's already past Si Shi, why hasn't the abstruse immortal come yet?”
Cao Cao asked.
Now, Boss Cao was very used to Guo Yun's character. It was impossible for him to be summoned to discuss matters.
Fortunately, Cao Cao did not care about Guo Yun's small problems. After all, he had made countless contributions and was his future son-in-law. He was not greedy for power or money. Where could he find such a capable general and a talented strategist?
In Cao Cao's opinion, even the Crouching Dragon and Phoenix Chicks added together were not worth a single strand of Guo Yun's hair.
Xun Yu replied,"My lord, Xuan Xian left the camp with 500 cavalry this morning."”
"Leave the camp?"
Cao Cao was startled and frowned,"Wen Ruo, why didn't you stop him? Right now, Ji Province wasn't stable and Yuan Shao still had many survivors. If something happened to the abstruse immortal, how could they be worried?”
"Fengxiao, you too. How can you let your own brother do this?!”
Xun Yu,"(TL)"
and Guo Jia,"…"
Boss, you think too highly of us!
That guy can fight Xu Zhongkang head-on. Can we stop him?
A moment later, Cao Cao realized that he had lost his composure.
"Where did he go? He immediately ordered Xiahou Dun to lead the Tiger Leopard Battalion and the Tiger Troop to reinforce them!”
Hearing this, Guo Jia's heart warmed.
"My lord, Xuan Xian is only going to Wuji, there is no big deal.”
Guo Jia understood the principle of being concerned and explained,"Wuji is just a small county. With Zilong and the five hundred cavalrymen here, there will definitely be no problem with safety.”
They had truly witnessed Zhao Yun's strength.
In the battle of landing in Liyang, even the number one fighter of the group, Xu Zhongkang, was injured, but Zhao Yun was unharmed. This skill really made them admire him.
"Zhongshan Wuji?"
Hearing this, Cao Cao slapped his head and reacted,""This is a big deal. It's all my fault!”
"Pass down my order. The Tiger Leopard Battalion and the Tiger Troop will gather immediately. In addition, have Cao Hong and Xu Huang lead 50,000 infantrymen to follow me to Wuji.”
Hearing this!
Guo Jia's face suddenly changed and turned pale."My lord, could it be that Wuji has Yuan Shao's remnants lying in ambush?”
With two elite troops, 50,000 infantrymen, and 100 air battalions, this was almost half of the group's military strength!
From the looks of it, Wuji was no ordinary city!
"Fengxiao, don't panic!"
Cao Cao looked at the four strategists and laughed,""I was just worrying about how to reward the Mystic Immortal. His fourth wife is in Zhongshan Wuji. As the lord, I have to snatch her back for him no matter what!”
Guo Jia: "o()o"
Xun Yu: "(⊙ ⊙)b"
Jia Xu: "|Xun
You:||| What
?
Gathering an army just to steal his wife?
F * ck, isn't this too childish!
Cao Cao looked around and saw the four of them looking at each other. He deliberately raised his voice and asked,"Everyone, do you have any objections? Or is it not worth it for me to do this?”
"It's worth it, it's worth it..."
Jia Xu thought to himself,"But the Lord is personally leading the army. I'm afraid it's not convenient, right?”
Cao Cao didn't forget to take advantage of him and said,""Why not? I treat Mystic Immortals as my own
…"
"You're Xuan Xian's father-in-law?!”
Cao Cao: !”
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