C180

At the end of the morning, just as the sun had risen into the sky, Gongsun Xu arrived at a place 150 steps away from the city wall under the escort of a large group of Black Armored Cavalry. He shouted towards Cao Cao Cao, "Cao Mengde, do you want to stubbornly resist until the end, or do you want to agree to this general's request? This general does not have much patience to wait for your reply! "

Cao Cao Cao held back his anger and replied loudly: "Gongsun Xu, this is a very important matter, and I am unable to make up my mind, how about I give you a reply tomorrow at this time? "If you don't agree, then come and attack the city. You will never return!"

Cao Cao Cao had already made his decision to break through, he didn't want to fight another round with Gongsun Xu, but he was also afraid that Gongsun Xu would see through his plan, so he turned his head and muttered to Xun Yu and the others for a while, pretending to agree to Gongsun Xu's ultimatum with great difficulty.

"Very good! This general will listen to your reply again at dusk! " Gongsun Xu said as he flew away with the rest of the cavalry.

Yesterday, the casualties caused by the violent attack of the White Horse Camp were too great, not to mention that a piece of the city wall had collapsed. If Gongsun Xu were to attack from that gap, regardless of the cost, no one would dare guarantee that he would be able to defend against the city wall.

"Wen Ruo, do you think that what Gongsun Xu said was true?" Cao Cao Cao waited for Gongsun Xu to get far away before turning his head to ask Xun Yu. Naturally, he was not asking Gongsun Xu if he would come back again at dusk to listen to his answer, but rather asked Gongsun Xu if he was really prepared to let them go back to Yanzhou.

"This subordinate thinks that there's a seventy percent chance that it's true!" Xun Yu replied softly. After pondering for a moment, he then explained: "If Gongsun Xu had intended to lie to us and deceive us out of the city and betray us and use his superior cavalry to kill us, he would have agreed to Master's request with good words. He would not have arrogantly given us an ultimatum."

Xiahou Yuan agreed: "What Mr. Wen Ruo says is extremely true, the reason why Gongsun Xu led his troops to the Henei County is to obstruct our army, and now that his objective has been achieved, he will definitely be anxious to escape and join forces with Gongsun Zan to attack the Qing He City! I am afraid in Gongsun Xu's eyes, our Yanzhou Army is not a threat! Sigh, our strength is still too weak. If we were as strong and strong as Yuan Benchu, we wouldn't need to fear Gongsun Zanfuzi! "

After hearing this, Cao Cao couldn't help but sigh. Ever since he established his sect, he had been fighting everywhere, and his hard work over the years had finally resulted in him gaining the Yanzhou as his base. It was a pity that Yanzhou was one of the four battles, and there were also Lv Bu and the remnants of the Yellow Gown Army who would often rush over to disturb the battle. As for the commoners who were fleeing, Cao Cao Cao, who did not have the chance and time to properly manage the various lands of Yanzhou, his soldiers were short of food, which made him much weaker than Gongsun Zan and the rest.

Xun You straightened his clothes, and cupped his hands as he advised: "Master does not need to be so worried. As long as we successfully form an alliance with Liu Bei and defeat him to save Yuan Benchu after our return to the Yanzhou, we will have enough time to increase our strength in the future! Even though there are many powers in the world today, but at the moment, it seems like other than Gongsun Zanfuzi, no one else is enough to be afraid of.

Cao Cao Cao was a man with a strong will, and was only slightly depressed a moment ago, but after hearing Xun You's advice, he immediately became spirited, and his eyes quickly recovered his self-confidence. He cupped his hands towards Xun You and said: "Thank you for your wise words, I will always remember them, please accept my bow!"

Xun You quickly dodged to the side, not daring to receive the greeting, and said humbly: "Master, no need to be so polite, this is your duty."

Cao Cao smiled, then cupped his hands towards the others and said, "I beg of you to help us as much as you can!"

Xun Yu, Xiahou Yuan, Xiahou Dun, Xu Huang and Sima Yi bowed together and said, "Please do not worry, Master. We will definitely pledge our loyalty to you!"

"Very good!" Cao Cao shouted while clapping his hands, "As long as the lords and I work together, we will definitely be able to start a big cause! "Monarchs, listen up!"

Everyone cupped their fists and said, "Please give the order, sir!"

Cao Cao Cao looked at Xiahou Yuan, and said in a low voice: "Miao Cai, I'll leave the details of the retreat to you. Other than those who are severely injured and are unable to leave, the rest will be brought back to the Yanzhou!"

Xiahou Yuan punched his left chest with his right fist and said loudly: "Rest assured my lord, this general will definitely not abandon any of my brothers!"

Cao Cao Cao nodded in satisfaction, his gaze sweeping across the Xun's Uncle and Nephew for a while before instructing Xun You: "Gong Da, you should go and find General Gao Gang now to get more money and food, you know what to say."

The Cao Army was withdrawing his troops, and asking Gao Gang for food and money was definitely the last replenishment, so of course, he could not tell him that the Cao Army was preparing to leave.

Xun Yu frowned, although he was unhappy about this, but he did not say anything.

After Xun You left, Cao Cao looked at Sima Yi and asked, "Zhong Da, are you willing to follow me back to the Yanzhou?"

Sima Yi had a serious expression as he bowed and said, "Since this subordinate has already pledged my allegiance to the Lord, I will not leave you at all times! If the lord allows it, the subordinate will try to persuade some soldiers to follow them! "

"Good!" What a Sima Zhongda! " Cao Cao lifted Sima Yi up, the pat was on his shoulder, and said with a sorrowful expression: "The biggest harvest from this expedition to the Jizhou is Zhong Da! I am very happy with your suggestion, tell those people that you want to recruit, and that you will definitely not suffer a loss if you follow me to the Yanzhou! "

Sima Yi repeatedly expressed his humble thanks with a face full of gratitude, yet he was endlessly sneering in his heart.

At this time, Xiahou Yuan suddenly said: "If Zhong Da were to follow Master to the Yanzhou, then there is an eighty to eighty percent chance that he would have done so. For the sake of the safety of Sima Family, why not invite Mr. Sima and the others to go to Yanzhou too! "

Sima Yi's heart shook. Xiahou Yuan obviously did not believe his actions, which was why he wanted his family members to be hostages. Agreeing to this matter was not a problem for him at all, as the city would be open for Gongsun Xu's army to enter soon anyway, so what if he agreed to a hundred things? However, in order to not arouse suspicion from Cao Cao and the rest, Sima Yi still hesitated for a moment before nodding his head in agreement.

Cao Cao asked unhappily: "Does Zhong Da have any concerns?"

Xiahou Yuan quietly stared at Sima Yi, trying to discern some suspicious points from his face.

Sima Yi's face revealed an appropriate amount of worry before he said in a soft voice, "Reporting to my lord, this subordinate and my brother can follow my lord to the Yanzhou. It's just that my lord father is old and weak, and cannot bear the bumpiness on the road, so I ask my lord's permission to stay at home. That Gongsun Xu is a person with a head full of prestige after all, he would definitely not make things difficult for a drooping old man. "

Xiahou Yuan's expression eased for a moment. He didn't discover any inklings from Sima Yi's actions or speech, so he took the opportunity to give Cao Cao Cao a meaningful glance.

Cao Cao Cao laughed heartily: "Zhong Da is right, Mr. Sima is an old man, and it is not suitable for us to travel together with the great army. I agree to Zhong Da's request, let old sir temporarily rest at home!"

"Thank you, my lord, for your understanding. This subordinate will be forever grateful!" I would like to ask Master when you are preparing to return to Yanzhou so that I can prepare as soon as possible. "

Cao Cao Cao muttered to himself, "How about this, today at dusk, I will agree to Gongsun Xu's conditions. If he really orders the retreat of fifteen kilometers, we will return to the Yanzhou tomorrow, so please prepare yourself."

Originally, he had planned to open the west gate to welcome Gongsun Xu's army into the city within three days. But now, with many details that he had yet to settle in coordination, he would definitely be unable to take action tonight. Suddenly, his eyes lit up as he thought of a great idea. He was going to do something after he left.

At this time, Xun Yu suddenly said, "Master, this subordinate is still a bit worried!"

Cao Cao Cao was surprised: "What other worries does Wen Ruo have?"

Xun Yu frowned: "Master, if Gongsun Xu were to suddenly go back on his promise, once my army leaves the city, leading the elite troops to attack us, what can we do?"

"Haha." Cao Cao laughed: "This old man has already thought about Wen Ruo's concerns many times, by doing that, Gongsun Xu will definitely bring about a despicable and shameless reputation, that little thief is ambitious, and also a strong party. This old man believes that he wouldn't do such a thing. Furthermore, this old man had been preparing to retreat at night to begin with, and that way the Thief Gongsun would not be able to display his superiority. Even if he wanted to go back on his word, it would be very difficult to stop our army's main forces! But now that I have Zhong Da's help, this old man has another choice! Zhong Da, you said earlier that you wanted to recruit elite soldiers to follow them to Yanzhou, this old man proposed for them to bring along their families, do you think that would be possible? "

Sima Yi immediately reacted and cursed in his heart. Cao Cao was indeed a thick-skinned fellow; this fellow actually wanted to use his recruited strong men and his family as shields to attract Gongsun Xu's attention! Luckily he did not turn to Cao Cao, and that was just a casual comment. If he really recruited a large group of people and followed Cao Cao Cao's instructions, once Gongsun Xu sent his army to kill him, the reputation of the Sima Clan would be ruined!

"What does Zhong Da think?" Xiahou Yuan followed up with a question. Actually, he wanted to ask Sima Yi if he understood Cao Cao's words.

Sima Yi's expression was the same as usual. He said in a low voice, "This subordinate understands Master's meaning. This subordinate will have the recruited able-bodied men bring along the elderly, women, and children!"

Cao Cao Cao laughed: "Zhong Da is so loyal! This old man guarantees that in the future, I will not treat Sima Family unfairly! "

Sima Yi cupped his hands together and said, "Thank you, my lord! If there is nothing else, this subordinate will go and prepare. "

Cao Cao waved his hand in satisfaction, "Go!"

Sima Yi turned around and walked towards the staircase of the city wall. The instant he turned around, a fierce light flashed within his eyes.

Cao Cao Cao watched as Sima Yi steered his horse into the distance before suddenly asking Xiahou Yuan in a low voice, "Is Sima Zhongda trustworthy?"

"I can only believe half of it!" Xiahou Yuan casually replied, and then asked: "Why does Meng De insist on letting this man gather all of the people under his command?"

Cao Cao Cao said indifferently: "Sima Zhongda is truly talented, and is also a member of the Henei County's Prominent Class. In the future, he will definitely help this old man! Miao Cai, is there anyone else who is following Sima Zhongda? "

Xiahou Yuan laughed coldly: "Meng De, do not worry, I have never given up on monitoring him!"

"Very good!" Cao Cao raised his head to look at the sun and whispered, "I hope we can return to the Yanzhou successfully this time!"