All the generals around him were surprised.
Cao Ren said anxiously," After our army retreated from Wan City, we rushed straight to Xiaopei. It's impossible for Liu Bei to have received the news in advance. He should have taken Xiaopei before us!"”
Cao Cao's brows were tightly knitted together in confusion.
"Unless Liu Bei predicted that we would lose in Wan City and that we would take Xiao Pei. Only then would we have enough time to take Xiao Pei!”
Guo Jia guessed.
Cao Cao's expression changed as he nodded,"Feng Xiao's words make sense. This is the only explanation.”
"Could it be that Chen Deng was the one who calculated all of this for Liu Bei?”
Cao Ren asked curiously.
Guo Jia shook his head." Chen Deng is indeed resourceful. But from what I know, he's definitely not someone who can predict things like a god."”
"If it's not Chen Deng, who else can it be?"
Cao Ren's expression became more and more confused." Could it be that Liu Bei himself predicted that our army would lose to Zhang Xiu and would come to seize Xiaopei?”
Cao Cao's expression turned cold, as if he had been reminded of something.
"Perhaps, Liu Bei really did calculate everything!”
Cao Cao's expression was solemn and his tone was meaningful.
" Liu Bei defeated Lu Bu and easily conquered Xiapi," Guo Jia said with a serious expression." Now, he has also predicted that Sikong will come to take Xiaopei. It is not impossible, but…"
The topic changed.
Guo Jia was confused." Liu Bei has been famous for a long time. All these years, other than his reputation of benevolence and righteousness, his literary skills and martial arts were ordinary. How did he become so intelligent and brave in a short time? It's really unbelievable!"”
"Could it be that he was just pretending to be mediocre and hiding his abilities?”
Cao Ren guessed.
Guo Jia shook his head again." This person claims to be a descendant of the Han Dynasty. He clearly wants to dominate the world and become the overlord of a region. In that case, why should he hide his great talent and strategy? Shouldn't he show his strength to the world's talents so that he can attract the strategists and generals to join him?”
Cao Ren was speechless.
"Liu Xuande, ah, Liu Xuande, you have really given me many surprises. I really want to meet you again.”
Cao Cao laughed coldly and raised his whip,""No matter what, the army will continue south. Let's first reach Xiaopei City.”
Tens of thousands of Cao troops continued to march south.
A day later, the Cao army arrived at Xiaopei City and set up camp.
Cao Cao had just set up his tent and had yet to rest when an envoy came from the city with a letter from Liu Wu.
Tomorrow afternoon, each of you will bring a guard to meet in front of the city!
Liu Wu's invitation was exactly what Cao Cao wanted.
He wanted to see with his own eyes if the Liu Bei who had made him look at him in a different light was still the same Liu Bei he knew when the 18th vassal attacked Dong.
Cao Cao immediately replied, meeting as promised.
…
The next day, noon.
The sky was high and the clouds were light.
The north gate of Xiaopei opened wide. Liu Wu rode out calmly on a dark horse in the snow. Chen Dao rode on his horse with his sword and followed him to protect him.
At the same time, the gates of Cao Camp opened.
Cao Cao slowly walked out with a sword in his hand and a mountain axe in his hand.
Dian Wei had died in Wan City, so Cao Cao could only send Xu Huang, who was the strongest among the Cao camp generals, to protect him.
The four riders faced each other and stopped seven steps apart.
Liu Wu's gaze was sharp as he sized up Cao Cao.
"Although he doesn't have an outstanding appearance, he has a dignified aura. He is indeed Cao Cao.”
Liu Wu secretly nodded, a hint of pity flashing through his eyes.
At this moment, Cao Cao was also sizing him up.
This 'Liu Bei' in front of him had not changed at all even after so many years. In fact, he looked even younger than before.
"Not only does he look young, but why does he look less reserved and more domineering…"
Cao Cao's thoughts turned and his eyes changed.
"Meng De, long time no see."
Liu Wu nodded and greeted him.
Cao Cao nodded and smiled." Xuande, I didn't expect to see you again after we parted in Tiger Prison."”
"This is called fate."
Liu Wu sighed and said," Meng De, you had less than a thousand soldiers in the past. Now, you have several states under your command. You are the Sikong of the Great Han Dynasty. You command the princes with the Son of Heaven. I really admire your great talent and strategy."”
His words weren't a compliment but came from the bottom of his heart.
Among all the heroes in the world, Cao Cao was the one he admired the most.
Originally, he had the intention to assist Cao Cao in unifying the world and become the founding hero of Wei. Not only would he enjoy glory and wealth, but he would also be able to avoid the tragedy of China being ravaged by the five factions. It was the best of both worlds.
However, his identity as Liu Bei's younger brother forced him to give up on this idea.
Even so, it did not affect his admiration for Cao Cao.
"Xuande, you were defeated by Yuan Shu, then you lost Xuzhou to Lu Bu, and retreated to Haixi. You were in dire straits, and I thought you were going to die.”
"Who would have thought that in just a month, you would come up with so many strange schemes, defeat Lu Bu, recover Xu Prefecture, and even make Chen Deng and Zang Ba submit!”
"Xuande, if we're talking about admiration, you're the one who has made me look at you in a new light.”
Cao Cao was also a man of character, so he sincerely expressed his respect.
After the two of them boasted to each other.
Liu Wu laughed coldly." Meng De, you played around with Zhang Xiu. You lost your eldest son and your beloved general. You should be recovering your strength in Xudu. Why did you let the soldiers come all the way here to snatch my Xiaopei? It was a wasted trip."”
As expected, Liu Wu already knew about his defeat in Wan City.
"Xuande," Cao Cao sneered,"I'm curious. How did you predict that Zhang Xiu would surrender and rebel?"”
"Zhang Xiu is a feudal lord, so he is naturally someone who cares about his reputation.”
"Meng De, you're good. You were so proud of yourself that you actually forced Zhang Xiu's aunt into your arms.”
"Not to mention Zhang Xiu, if it was someone with a bit of backbone, would he not retaliate against you if you humiliated him like this?”
Liu Wu didn't stand on ceremony and exposed Cao Cao's good deeds.
Cao Cao gasped, his eyes filled with shock.
It was one thing for Liu Wu to deduce Zhang Xiu's rebellion, but he was also very clear about how he forced Zhang Xiu's aunt to marry him.
One had to know that only Dian Wei, Cao Ren, and a few other close officials knew about this matter.
"How did Liu Bei know?"
"It was as if he was there and saw it with his own eyes?”
Cao Cao was confused and lost in thought.
"Meng De, since I've already arrived at Xiao Pei, you should lead your army and retreat. Let's part on good terms so as not to hurt our harmony.”
"Yuan Shao is about to unify Hebei. Your true enemy is him, not me.”
"I advise you to conserve your strength and prepare for the decisive battle with Yuan Shao. Don't waste your soldiers and money on the battle with me.”
Liu Wu pointed out Cao Cao's situation in a few words.
Cao Cao sneered." Liu Bei, your army is here. I don't think there are many soldiers in Wei Tai. You can defend against me, but can you defend against Yuan Shu?"”
"There's no need for Meng De to worry about that."
"I've already laid out a foolproof plan in Xutai," Liu Wu said disapprovingly."Even if Yuan Shu has a million soldiers, they won't be able to use them.”
Cao Cao's expression changed, and suspicion rose in his eyes. He wondered where Liu Bei's confidence came from.
"Moreover, in a few days, Yuan Shu will do something stupid that will embarrass you, Meng De.”
"At that time, Meng De, I'm afraid you'll have to beg me to make peace and take the initiative to retreat.”
Liu Wu's eyes flickered, and his words had a deeper meaning.
"Stupid?"
Cao Cao said,"I want to hear what stupid thing Yuan Shu will do to embarrass me."”
"Emperor!"
Liu Wu said in a solemn tone.
Cao Cao's expression changed.
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