C228

Dawn, Puyang County, Yanzhou.

Xun You quickly entered the backyard and arrived outside Cao Cao's residence.

Xu Zhu shook his head, his rough face filled with worry.

Xun You sighed lightly, lowered his voice, and asked: "Have the two madam come here to advise against this?"

"This …" Xu Zhu hesitated, as though it was hard to say.

"What is it that even I have to hide from you?" Xun You stared at Xu Zhu in dissatisfaction. As the butler of Cao Cao, there were very few things he couldn't know.

Xu Zhu apologized: "Sir, don't be angry, it's just that this matter will damage your reputation! Actually, Ding Furen has already gone back to her mother's house!"

"Huh?" Xun You was shocked, he had been extremely busy these few days, and after Cao Cao Cao Cao returned to the Yanzhou, he had locked himself in his room and did not see. Xun Yu, Xiahou Yuan and the others who came several times to seek an audience were all rejected, and he did not know what happened to Cao Cao's inner chamber. Ding Furen was Cao Cao's wife, and was highly respected by Cao Cao. If he asked her to come forward and persuade him, there was a high chance of Cao Cao would quickly regain his courage and lead everyone to face the danger. He never thought that Ding Furen would actually return to his home at this critical time! Even though Xun You was always gentle and refined, at this time, he could not help but curse in his heart.

"Is it about the eldest young master?" Although Ding Furen and Cao Ang were not his biological parents, their relationship was extremely deep. Suddenly hearing the news of Cao Ang's death would inevitably cause them to become agitated, and they might even do some irrational things.

"That's right!" Xu Zhu scratched his head in embarrassment as he talked about Cao Cao's family. Even if it was to persuade Cao Cao to leave the room as soon as possible, it was still a difficult thing for him.

"Has Mrs. Bian been here?" Xun You did not give up and asked again. Madam Biao was deeply favored by Cao Cao and might be able to persuade Cao Cao.

Xu Zhu shook his head: "I have, but Master did not see her!"

Xun You stomped his feet and sighed, this time, the defeat of Cao Army had already caused panic among the citizens, and Gongsun Xu had also sent a group of cavalry to the Yanzhou to plunder, if Cao Cao Cao did not come out to control the situation, the people's hearts would very quickly turn into chaos!

"Gong Da, where did you get into trouble this time?" At this time, Xiahou Yuan also walked over, and asked with an angry tone.

"Miao Cai is here too!" Xun You cupped his hands towards Xiahou Yuan and replied helplessly: "This time, it's Pu Yang! Gao Lan did not enter the city, but the surrounding towns had all been looted, and most of the green seedlings in the fields had been destroyed, where the harvest would be reduced by at least 90% this year! If we allow Gao Lan to rob us without restraint, I'm afraid that our hearts will soon be thrown into chaos! "

Four days ago, Gao Lan suddenly led a group of around two thousand elite cavalry s to slaughter their way into the Yanzhou's territory. That night, Gao Lan led his army and appeared under another small town a hundred kilometers away. Fortunately, the city gates were already closed, so Gao Lan just quietly retreated after looting for a while outside the city.

From that day onwards, plundered crazily every single one of them, and the bad news of him burning the farmland's young leaves was sent to the prefectural governor's mansion, causing Xun Yu, Xiahou Yuan and the rest, who were in charge of taking care of the military affairs for Cao Cao Cao, to be unable to do anything., who was in charge of exhausting all the troops in the treasury, had been completely annihilated, and Cao Cao Cao's cavalry army was so small that it was impossible for Gao Lan and his army to stop them even if they wanted to go as far as the wind.

Under the extreme helplessness, Xun Yu could only use the name of Cao Cao to order the various counties and counties to recruit the citizens outside into the city. They strictly guarded the city and did not give Gao Lan the opportunity to enter. However, everyone knew that this was only a temporary measure. If they did not remove the threat brought by Gao Lan as soon as possible, the consequences would be unthinkable.

"Meng De still hasn't come out?" Hearing what Xun You said, Xiahou Yuan's face turned gloomy, and he asked Xu Zhu with an impatient tone.

Xu Zhu nodded his head helplessly. These few days, he could practically hear this question every single day, and sometimes, he could hear it quite a few times a day.

Xiahou Yuan rubbed his forehead, walked back and forth, and suddenly strode towards the closed door.

"General Xiahou, please wait!" Xu Zhu quickly moved his body to stop Xiahou Yuan, and said in a deep voice, "Master has orders, no one is to be allowed!"

"Xu Zhongkang!" Xiahou Yuan bellowed, and said angrily: "This is a life and death situation, do you dare stop me?" With that, she pushed Xu Zhu away and rushed to the front of the door, throwing out a kick.

Ka-cha! * The door was kicked into pieces, and Xiahou Yuan walked in with large strides.

Xun You was dumbstruck by the sight. After regaining his senses, he hurriedly walked over and told Xu Zhu in a low voice to watch the gate carefully so that no one else could enter. Then, he quickly followed behind him into the house.

Xiahou Yuan rushed into the house, seeing the scene in front of him, the anxiousness and annoyance in his eyes disappeared like smoke into thin air, replacing it was a heavy grief — Everything inside the house had already been cleared away, there were a few tables placed on the wall in front of the house, and there were a few spirit tablets standing on top of them. Every name on the spirit tablet made Xiahou Yuan's heart ache.

Cao Cao Cao was sitting in front of a table with his messy hair and dirty face. The floor was filled with empty wine jars. His body was emitting a disgusting sour smell. He stared at the spirit tablet in a daze, he would occasionally mutter a few words, and his entire body would become lifeless like a zombie, he did not even catch Xiahou Yuan's attention when he broke in.

Xiahou Yuan walked to Cao Cao's side. He suddenly realized that in just a few days, Cao Cao's hair had turned white, his haggard face was filled with pain and self-blame. He sighed and went to open the closed window.

The morning sun suddenly shone on Cao Cao's face. He waved his hands in disgust and then shut his eyes tightly.

When Xun You saw this, he could not help but sigh. Was this still the Cao Mengde who was able to point fingers at everything in front of him and his uncle Xun Yu back then?

Xiahou Yuan walked in front of the desk and bowed towards the other tokens except for Cao Ang. Then, he grabbed onto Cao Cao Cao's collar in front of Xun You's shocked eyes and roared: "Cao Mengde! It was time to wake up! Do you want them to die with grievances? "

Cao Cao's body shook. His eyes flashed for a moment and then became deathly silent.

"Zi Xiu, Zi He, Yuan Yuan made them not lose face for the Cao Clan and the Xiahou Clan. They were all men worthy of the memories and admiration of their juniors for the rest of their lives! But don't forget, not only the three of them, but hundreds of clan members are watching you, Cao Mengde! "Ever since you started fighting, the two great families have depended on you for their fortune and misfortune. If you don't hurry up and pull yourself together, when the enemy attacks, the families' hundreds of clansmen will all die with you!" Xiahou Yuan's last sentence was completely shouted out using a hoarse voice.

Cao Cao's body violently trembled. He turned his stiff neck to look at the spirit tablets and suddenly burst into tears.

Xiahou Yuan let go of Cao Cao's shoulder, the pat was just like how it was when Cao Cao was wanted by Dong Zhuo, sneaking back to his hometown to see him.

Xun You awkwardly stood at the side. He didn't know if he should stay or not, so he couldn't open his mouth to console her. He could only lower his head and wait silently.

He rubbed his swollen eyes and stared at Xiahou Yuan for a good while. In the end, he did not say anything and only punched Xiahou Yuan hard in the chest.

Xiahou Yuan heaved a sigh of relief, he knew that the Cao Mengde he was so familiar with had finally returned.

Cao Cao Cao quickly combed his messy hair, walked in front of Xun You and bowed: "Gong Da, you guys worked hard these few days!"

"My lord!" Xun You dodged quickly, and at the same time bowed and returned the greeting, "This is my duty, Master being able to quickly pull himself together, is our fortune, the blessings of the commoners!"

"I'm so ashamed," Cao Cao said with a long sigh. "Gong Da, what urgent news have you received these few days?"

"This is the military emergency report that has been accumulated over the past few days. Please take a look, sir!" Xun You took out a few letters from his sleeve, bowed and gave it to Cao Cao Cao.

The more he looked at it, the angrier he became. When he saw the last urgent letter, which read 'Thieves destroy hundreds of thousands of mu of green seedling farmland, 90% of the fields will be in vain', he ruthlessly crushed the urgent letter into a ball and threw it onto the ground. He ruthlessly stomped on it a few times, breathing heavily.

"What kind of countermeasures did you take?" After a while, Cao Cao regained his senses, and asked Xun You.

Xun You answered truthfully with a look of shame.

Cao Cao Cao shook his head: "Gong Da doesn't need to feel guilty, this is my fault, it has nothing to do with you! Sigh, if my son and my tiger leopard riding still exists, why would I need to fear a mere Gao Lan! Gong Da, how many war horses are there? "

Xun You said softly. "Less than eight hundred!"

Even though Cao Cao Cao was mentally prepared, he still looked gloomy when he heard this number. When they went to the Jizhou, including the tiger leopard riding, there were a total of 3500 war horses. Now, the entire Puyang City could only gather 800 war horses.

Xun You said solemnly: "Gao Lan the little thief is leading the elite cavalry s, there are no less than two thousand of them, it is obviously not feasible to use cavalry to block them! But now that our army has failed and returned, the citizens are panicking and the thieves are ready to make their move. Only with victory can we resolve the crisis in front of us, and destroying Gao Lan's army is the best way! Your humble servant has a plan, please consider it! "

Cao Cao Cao anxiously said: "Please speak, Gong Da!"

"Only by anticipating Gao Lan's next move in advance and placing heavy soldiers on guard, can we solve this disaster in one fell swoop!"

Cao Cao Cao thought that since there were no riders around, Xun You's suggestion was the most viable option. He picked up the few military emergency reports that he threw on the ground a moment ago and looked at each and every place on the map, trying to find Gao Lan's next move.

Xiahou Yuan suddenly said: "Meng De, why not go to the study and discuss the public information map for a while!"

Cao Cao nodded his head, took the lead and walked out of the room, entering the study at the side.

Just as Xiahou Yuan and Xun You walked out of the room, a guard suddenly ran over and reported that Yuan Shao's messenger requests to see his lord.

"No!" Before Xiahou Yuan and Xun You could speak, Cao Cao's angry voice came out from the study room.

Cao Cao Cao was extremely regretful towards the Jizhou, and even wanted to vent his anger on Yuan Shao. If not to save him, Yuan Benchu, how could he possibly be angry at Yuan Shao?