Chapter 1004 Resolute

Chaisang City.

"Wen Lie, I have to thank you very much this time, otherwise my uncle would have been buried in Jiangxia City." Cao Ren said with a bitter smile.

"We are all one family, why should uncle be so polite?" Cao Xiu said in a deep voice, "The most important thing now is how to deal with the enemy."

As soon as these words came out, the generals of Cao's army inside and outside the hall were all silent, not knowing what to say, because the Xiliang army was too powerful, which gave them a feeling of powerlessness.

"If they stick to Chaisang, our army will definitely engage in water battles with them. Most of our navy troops are newly trained. Although most of them are from the south and are accustomed to water battles, they lack combat experience after all. If we fight with the Xiliang Navy A head-on confrontation would be unfavorable." Cao Xiu sighed.

The location of Chaisang City is very unique. It is at a fork of the Yangtze River. The city is surrounded by wide waters that extend in all directions, which is convenient for naval training. Therefore, during Sun Quan's reign, Zhou Yu stayed in Chaisang for a long time to practice naval training. If Cao Jun chooses to stay in Chaisang, he will definitely have to command the newly trained navy and go head-to-head with the battle-hardened Xiliang Navy under Gao Chong. The consequences are naturally conceivable.

Cao Ren nodded: "Wen Lie is right. In this land south of the Yangtze River, the navy is indeed the most important. As the saying goes, boats in the south and horses in the north are true."

"If we don't stick to Chaisang, are we going to retreat to the six counties in Jiangdong? I'm afraid those nobles won't support us by then." Cao Tai said worriedly.

After Liu Biao's death, his son Liu Cong surrendered to Cao Cao, allowing Cao Cao to obtain Jingzhou and more than 100,000 infantry troops for no reason, so he was naturally eyeing Jiangdong. Sun Quan was naturally worried and summoned his ministers to discuss how to deal with the matter. As a result, except for Lu Su and Zhou Yu, most of the ministers, including the important minister Zhang Zhao, advised Sun Quan to submit a petition.

These nobles have always regarded their own interests as the most important, so they do not want a decisive battle between Sun Quan and Cao Cao to harm their own interests. You must know that since Sun Ce swept across Jiangdong, the Sun family has ruled Jiangdong for nearly ten years. These nobles still betrayed Sun Quan without hesitation. It has been less than two years since Cao Cao occupied Jiangdong. Naturally, these nobles cannot fully support Cao's army.

Thinking of this, everyone became even more silent, not knowing how to respond.

At this time, a Cao soldier suddenly broke into the hall and shouted: "Generals, there is an urgent military situation in Huainan!"

"Bring it here."

Cao Ren waved, and Cao Tai stepped forward and handed the intelligence results to Cao Ren.

Cao Ren unfolded it and frowned immediately.

"Uncle, what's wrong?" Cao Xiu realized something was wrong.

"It's over. It's over."

Cao Ren's face was almost desperate, and he said to Cao Xiu: "Wen Lie, Yuan Rang has been defeated again. Now almost all of Huainan has fallen into Liu Bei's hands, and our army has lost contact with the prime minister."

As soon as these words came out, the expressions of Cao Jun in the hall changed drastically. You must know that the land of Huainan is the connection between the six counties of Jiangdong and Xuzhou. Once the land of Huainan falls into the hands of the enemy, the bond between Cao Jun of Jiangdong and Cao Jun of Xuzhou will be completely severed.

"What should we do? What should our army do?"

"Fighting on your own? It's over. If we continue fighting like this, there is no hope at all."

"We have to find a way to contact the Prime Minister."

Whether they were young and inexperienced generals or experienced veterans, they all panicked because the situation was so unfavorable to them.

Suddenly, Cao Xiu's eyes lit up.

"Yes! Our army can go north!"

"Going north?" Cao Ren frowned.

"Yes, just go north!" Cao Xiu said confidently: "Since the six counties in Jiangdong are no longer defensible, why do our troops still stay here?"

"Now Huainan County is almost occupied by Liu Bei, but Liu Bei's military strength does not exceed 30,000. After our army joins forces with Uncle Yuan Rang, our military strength will exceed Liu Bei's!"

"And our navy can come and go freely in Chao Lake in Huainan. With the cooperation, Liu Bei is definitely no match for our army!"

After listening to Cao Xiu's description, Cao Ren couldn't help but nodded, admitting that what he said made sense.

"Wen Lie, you are right." Cao Ren said seriously: "Zhang Jiao and Gao Chong have strong troops. If our army engages in a decisive battle with the enemy in Jiangdong, it will be difficult for us to be a match for the enemy."

"The occupation of Huainan has severed the connection between our army and the Prime Minister. In this case, our army might as well simply cut off our strength, completely abandon the land east of the Yangtze River, go north to meet Yuan Rang, and take advantage of Liu Bei's unpreparedness to attack him. By wiping out Liu Bei's main force, we can also open up Huainan."

This is also the best way at the moment. Instead of fighting independently and being defeated one after another, it is better to decisively abandon the Jiangdong area and concentrate our forces to fight Liu Bei's army. If we can win, stick to Huainan and echo each other with Xuzhou. At least we can persist for a while. .

The generals of Cao's army all agreed: "That's all we can do now."

"Wen Lie, go make arrangements immediately. Before the Xiliang army's front arrives, our army must retreat quickly. Otherwise, once intercepted by the enemy navy, we will not be able to leave even if we want to."

Xuzhou, Pengcheng.

"Alas, I didn't expect that Yuan Rang was defeated again. Now the land of Huainan has also fallen into Liu Bei's hands. It's really... alas!" Cao Cao sighed.

The loss of Huainan was really an unexpected disaster for Cao Jun, which put Cao Jun at a strategic disadvantage.

Footsteps sounded, Cao Cao's eldest son Cao Ang broke in and said breathlessly to Cao Cao: "Father, after Mr. Xi heard the news about Huainan, he insisted on coming to see you, and I can't stop him."

Cao Cao frowned and was about to scold Cao Ang when Xi Zhicai walked in.

"Ahem. Mr. Qi, I insist on coming. Please don't blame me." Xi Zhicai coughed. He used to have a sallow complexion, but now his face is completely gray. Even though Xi Zhicai put a layer of powder on his face before he came, it was still difficult to hide it.

"Zhicai, what are you doing here? Just take good care of your health. The situation has not deteriorated to the point of being uncontrollable. Gu naturally has a way to deal with it." Cao Cao personally supported Xi Zhicai and scolded.

"Haha, I naturally believe in Mr. Qi, but I've been really bored staying in the house recently. Sometimes I want to come out for some air."

Xi Zhicai smiled, and then immediately said: "Qi Gong, although Liu Bei and Liu Ye are both members of the Han clan, they are different from each other, so it is inevitable that there will be dissatisfaction. Moreover, I think Liu Bei has always had great ambitions, and he will definitely not be reconciled." After living under Liu Ye for a long time, our army can carry out alienation tactics."

"A stratagem to divorce?" Cao Cao's eyes lit up. He was originally a master of stratagems and sowing discord. He once wiped out Han Sui's books.