"Your Majesty, the lord's family and a large amount of property have been sent to Linzi, but the time is too short, I don't know if they will be intercepted." Suiyang and Xunyu, although worried about Cao Cao's situation, still told Cao Cao about the matter.

Cao Cao's journey was quite embarrassing. Ma Chao, Zhang Xiu, and Pang De were all acquaintances. After so many battles, Cao Cao had a good feel for the temperament of most of these people, but the remaining Cao Xing, Hua Rong, and Xu

Kai and Han De are very unfamiliar generals, and their fighting methods are closer to the Hu people's fighting methods. Cao Cao used tactics of doubting soldiers one after another, but failed to completely get rid of these people. After a battle of wits and courage along the way, he finally managed to catch up.

When I returned to Suiyang, I looked as if I had aged ten years.

"Wen Ruo also thinks that Suiyang can't be defended?" Cao Cao pressed his waist a little tiredly and did not kneel down. The waiter on the side very wisely helped Cao Cao find a bed for Cao Cao to sit on. Running all the way, Cao Cao

Not only was my energy gone, but the bones in my body felt like they were about to fall apart.

"After the defeat of Guandu, it is difficult to find a suitable battlefield to stop Chen Mo in the Suiyang area. Unless Chen Mo is willing to gather troops and horses for a decisive battle with the lord, and the lord is sure to win, otherwise..." Xun Yu couldn't help but sigh at the end.

, the current situation is too unfavorable for them.

"This abandonment is the land of the Three States!" Cao Cao closed his eyes and said bitterly.

He was definitely not willing to give up, but he also knew that Xun Yu was cutting off the strength of his strong men. Even if every city must be defended and every inch of land must be fought for, it would only delay the defeat. In the end, I am afraid that even Qingzhou will not be able to hold it.

.

As for the decisive battle with Chen Mo, the lack of cavalry puts Cao Cao at an absolute disadvantage. Although cavalry is not the main combat unit, the enemy has cavalry on the battlefield but he does not. This gap is huge, and he must allocate more cavalry.

Soldiers and horses were used to consolidate the food route and guard against enemy cavalry attacks.

What's more, now that Guandu is defeated, Cao Cao's side can be said to have lost troops and generals. The Cao family alone has lost Cao Ren, Cao Chun, and Le Jin. They don't know whether they are alive or dead, and the other generals who died on the battlefield are even worse.

Quite a few, less than half of the troops followed him back to Suiyang. How can he still have the strength to fight Chen Mo again?

Xun Yu's method can indeed delay the decline and give up a lot of territory to Chen Mo, and he shrinks all the resources he can gather to Qingzhou, where he sets up checkpoints based on the dangerous mountains and terrain. With Cao Cao's current military strength, he can

Coupled with the troops in the plain area, it will not be a problem to defend Qingzhou, but it will be difficult to fight back.

With the power of Qingzhou, no matter how hard it works, it can't match Chen Mo's development speed, population, financial resources, and military strength. The longer it takes, the greater the disadvantage will be for Cao Cao.

Unless something new happens in the world, such as Chen Mo's defeat on the battlefield in Jingzhou or Yizhou, Cao Cao still has a chance to join forces with Jiangdong and Liu Bei, but this possibility is not high, and...will Chen Mo give him the time?

Based on Cao Cao's understanding of his brother, after he completely annexes Yanzhou, Yuzhou and Xuzhou, the next step is probably not Jingzhou, but Qingzhou.

Although Qingzhou is dangerous, it is not as dangerous as Shuzhong or Jiangdong. In front of Chen Mo, who has the Central Plains, Guanzhong, and Hebei most of the world, how long can Qingzhou hold on?

And more importantly, Cao Cao is now over fifty!

How old is Chen Mo? He has just passed the age of 18, which is when a man is most energetic and powerful, and Cao Cao is already on his deathbed. Even if he can barely block Chen Mo during his lifetime, what will happen after his death? Which of his sons is Chen Mo?

opponent?

Cao Cao didn't want to think about these issues, but he had to think about it. It was good that he could live for another twenty years, but Chen Mo could live for another forty years as long as nothing happened.

"My lord..." Xun Yu looked at Cao Cao, hesitated and said, "My lord, have you ever thought about surrendering?"

When Cao Cao heard this, he was moved for a moment, but then he smiled bitterly and shook his head: "I ask myself, given my friendship with Bo Dao, if I surrender to him, he will definitely accept it, but in a different place, if I fight here

If Bo Dao comes to surrender, I will be on guard. Even if I surrender, most of them will be under strict supervision. Cao has been fighting for his whole life and is used to freedom. Now I feel uncomfortable living in such a restrained life.

The two have been fighting for nearly twenty years, and they have been fighting for half a lifetime. They have always been rivals. Now I suddenly go to work for him to make concessions, which is not what I want. If Wen Ruo is willing, he can stay. I believe it.

The Tao is a human being and will never make things difficult for you."

Xun Yu shook his head when he heard this and did not answer. He just turned around and said: "If this is the case, my lord will send an advance general to occupy Pengcheng. Our army will retreat from Suiyang to Qingzhou. Pengcheng is a must-pass and is defended by Xiaoguan.

If we can block it for a while, it is enough for our army to safely retreat into Langya. This Langya is the barrier of Qingzhou. The lord must hold it in his hands, and we cannot give up this place!"

Hearing this, Cao Cao nodded with a smile and said: "I have ordered Yuan Rang to rush to Xiaoguan to garrison, but how to retreat still needs some further planning."

Although Cao Cao has been defeated, the emperor and his family have all been sent away, so he has no worries anymore. Since he is ready to give up these three states, Cao Cao is going to use these three states as a chessboard to play another game with Chen Mo.

Even if you want to leave, you can't let him underestimate you.

"We will leave matters in the city to Wen Ruo first. Fengxiao has been unwell recently. I have arranged for him and Zhongde to be sent to Linzi. You and I are the only ones left here. Let me rest for a night and then discuss it with Wen Ruo tomorrow.

This matter." The matter of retreating to Qingzhou has been decided, and Cao Cao is relieved. This journey has been tiring. Cao Cao is exhausted. Now that he is safe for the time being, the tight string relaxes, and he is tired.

Feelings came like a tsunami.

"My lord, rest at ease. The matters in the city will be handled by Yu." Xun Yu looked at Cao Cao's skinny face, stood up and bowed.

"Zhongkang, send Wen Ruo off." Cao Cao waved his hand, signaling Xu Chu to see Xun Yu off.

"No need, take care of your lord." Xu Chu sent Xun Yu outside the house. Xun Yu pressed Xu Chu's shoulder and said: "After my lord goes to bed, Zhong Kang also has a good rest. I'm afraid there will be a big battle next.

, I’m afraid there won’t be any extra time to rest.”

Xu Chu nodded and said, "Sir, walk slowly."

"Yes." Xun Yu got on the carriage and left slowly. Xu Chu then returned to the mansion to see Cao Cao.

"Zhongkang, give me a hand~" Cao Cao held on to the bed and wanted to stand up, but as soon as he relaxed, his whole body seemed to be stiff and he couldn't exert any strength.

"Lord, be careful!" Xu Chu stepped forward quickly, stretched out his hand to help Cao Cao, and helped him up.

"Old~" Cao Cao stood up with Xu Chu's support and walked all the way to the hall next to the couch. He sighed: "During the battle, I didn't sleep for three days and three nights and I never felt so tired~"

"My lord is not old." Xu Chu shook his head and said.

"You should go and rest too, there will be a big battle next!" Cao Cao sighed.

Xu Chu nodded and wanted to say something, but saw that Cao Cao had closed his eyes and fell asleep soundly. Xu Chu had to help Cao Cao remove his shoes and socks, and covered him with a quilt, and then exited the room and let several personal guards guard him.

If there is any movement outside the door, he will immediately inform himself before going to rest. His room is next to Cao Cao.

…

Just when Cao Cao returned to Suiyang, in Gexiang, less than a hundred miles away from Suiyang, Lejin was at the end of his rope and was surrounded by the main forces of Ma Chao, Pang De, Han Qiong and Chen Mo.

There were less than five hundred men and horses, and they were all covered with wounds. As the general, Le Jin was stabbed several times. He used the red-hot Huanshou knife to stop the bleeding. This fierce and

Juejue, even the veterans under Chen Mo who had been away from the battlefield for a long time, felt a sense of respect for him.

"My lord, General Xu Kai has sent word that Cao Cao has withdrawn to Suiyang." Cui Geng rode his horse to Chen Mo and bowed.

"We still failed to intercept in the end?" Chen Mo was not surprised when he heard this. He nodded and looked at Le Jin and the Cao army soldiers who were surrounded by soldiers from the three armies at the foot of a low slope and were still fighting bloody battles. He couldn't help but sigh.

Said: "I didn't expect that Brother Meng De would have so many brave men under his command!"

"My lord, Le Jin is at the end of his battle, I will send him off!" Dian Wei looked at Le Jin with some unbearability. He was a man after all, and it would be somewhat worthless to die in the hands of ordinary soldiers.

"No need, let the fighting soldiers move away. I have something to say to him." Chen Mo shook his head. No matter Le Jin's ability or bravery, Chen Mo had a love for talents. If such a talent died here,

What a pity.

"Here!" Dian Wei nodded, raised the flag and waved it.

"Woooooo~"

A long string of trumpet sounds echoed over Gexiang with the waving of the command flag. The surrounding Guanzhong soldiers quickly retreated, only to surround Le Jin and his party and no longer attack.

At this moment, Cao Jun, who had more than 500 people around him just now, only after a short time, less than 100 people were left.

Three days of continuous fighting had brought their physical and energy to the limit. They were relying on their will to support them, but by now, this will has been exhausted. Dian Wei was right, these people were at the end of their tether.

.

The army suddenly retreated, leaving Le Jin and others at a loss for a moment. Then they looked into the distance. A passage appeared in the Guanzhong Army. Chen Mo rode out from the crowd under the protection of Dian Wei and Han Qiong.

Chen Mo?

Although he had never actually seen this person, when he saw this person, Le Jin was immediately sure that this person was Chen Mo. The aura on his body was quite similar to that of his lord, which was not something ordinary people could have.

For a moment, a fierce light flashed in Le Jin's eyes. If Chen Mo could be killed here, would the situation be reversed?
Chapter completed!