Chapter 69: The Unlucky Liu Lao Da

  Xuchang, the current location of the Han imperial court.

  Bang! Bang!

  The study in Cao Cao's mansion was occasionally filled with angry roars and the sound of objects shattering.

  "Has Master been like this for several days?!" a middle-aged scholar outside the study asked one of the guards.

  "Reporting to Chancellor Cheng! The master has been like this for several days!" The guard replied to the middle-aged scholar on the side.

  The visitor was Cheng Yu, who can be considered one of Cao Cao's top strategists. His courtesy name was Zhongde, and he was from Dong'a, East Guangzhou, Shandong Province. His original name was Cheng Li, but he changed it to Cheng Yu after dreaming of holding up the sun on Mount Tai. He once led the people of Dong'a to resist the Yellow Turbans. In the third year of the Initial Peace period, he was recruited by Cao Cao as the magistrate of Shouchang, and from then on, he provided strategies and advice for him, and fought battles in all directions.

  Cao Cao went to Yuzhou and Xuzhou, both of which had the presence of Cheng Yu. After Cao Cao welcomed Emperor Han, he even gave Cheng Yu a Shangshu official position, leading Jiyin Taishou, and governing Yanzhou appropriately.

  "Zhong De Gong, it's our duty as hosts to dispel your worries, but alas! Another literary-looking figure has appeared."

  "I said it long ago, that big-eared thief is not a good person to get along with. Let the lord kill him, but someone on the side has been slandering and released this big-eared thief. Now it's fine, just drove away Lü Bu and lost Xuzhou again!" Cheng Yu's tone was full of sarcasm and regret, his words seemed to be hinting at something, with a tendency to question guilt.

  "Ha ha!" Another scholar on the side awkwardly smiled, the one who spoke ill of Liu Bei was his uncle, although he also advised Cao Cao to kill Liu Bei, but a junior cannot speak ill of a senior, right?

  "Gongda! What do you think we should do now?" Cheng Yu asked. The embarrassed scholar by his side was Xun You, also known as Gongda, a top strategist, and it was largely thanks to him that Cao Cao had such a strong foundation of power.

  "Liu Xuande killed Che Zhou Jiangjun, seized Xuzhou, and now our army is facing Yuan Benchu at Guandu. A big battle may break out at any time, and this war will certainly be a matter of life and death. We cannot afford to make any mistakes or oversights. Xuzhou is an important place, and when we attacked Lü Bu earlier, it was precisely because Xuzhou is a straight path to our Yan state's key location. At any moment, they could strike us with a single blow and send our army into a desperate situation! Therefore, whether it is Liu Bei or Lü Bu occupying Xuzhou, we must drive them out. We must grasp Xuzhou in our own hands!" Xun Yu proved himself to be a top-notch strategist, instantly seeing through the crucial point of Xuzhou.

  "This Liu Dai'er must have a powerful backer!" Guo Jia also spoke up, now three of Cao Cao's four great strategists had arrived. Guo Jia shook the feather fan in his hand with a rogue expression, which made Cheng Yu on the side very displeased.

  "What's the use of having a superior man? Are you going to give up Xuzhou just like that?" Cheng Yu shouted.

  Cheng Yu didn't like himself for not just one or two days, so Guo Jia wasn't angry and just smiled "The superior person I'm talking about isn't someone who helped Liu Xuan De, but rather someone who harmed Liu Xuan De!"

  "Has Liu Xuande gone mad?!" Xun Yu and Cheng Yu were both thinking that when Liu Bei was hiding his abilities in Xuchang, he was like a grandson. Now, taking advantage of Cao Cao and Yuan Shao's standoff at Guandu, he had gained Cao Cao's trust, killed Che Zhou, taken over Xuzhou, and could be sold at a high price. If Yuan Shao won this battle, the Cao army would definitely seek allies to defend against Yuan Shao's southern advance, and Liu Bei would become extremely valuable. He could open his mouth wide and let the Cao army fall into his trap. As one side rose and fell, Liu Bei's military strength grew stronger, while the Cao army might grow weaker with each battle.

  If Cao Cao wins this battle, the Yuan family will be prosperous and even if they lose one game, they can recover their energy and it is impossible to go south again in a short time. Cao Cao, even if he wins, is a miserable victory, can only self-preservation, Liu Bei can advance to get Qing Yang Yu four states, retreat also can take down Yang Yu two states.

  It can be said that no matter what the outcome is, Liu Xuande will always benefit! There must be a mastermind behind this.

  But Guo Jia said this superior man was harming Liu Bei.

  Xun You was about to ask Guo Jia why, but Guo Jia didn't say anything. He pointed to his mouth with his hand, indicating that he was thirsty and would only speak if given water. If it were one of those generals or just Xun You alone, they might have handed him the water. But now there was Cheng Yu, a stubborn person who had always been displeased with Guo Jia's attitude.

  Got it! These two are going to clash again! Xun Yu said with a bitter smile.

  "Guo Fengxiao, are you going to speak or not? You're always so careless and lazy, without even a hint of being an official. I'm going to report you to the lord, this kind of person is not worthy of discussion, not worthy of discussion!" Cheng Yu's temper flared up again, Cheng Yu belonged to the serious faction, while Guo Jia belonged to the easy-going faction. When the stubborn and strong-willed Cheng Yu met the carefree and adaptable Guo Jia, conflicts were bound to arise.

  Ordinary people would have jumped up and argued with Cheng Yu, but Guo Jia wouldn't. He was as calm as still water. Guo Jia used one hand to hold up his feather fan to block the spittle flying from Cheng Yu's mouth, while using the other hand to dig in his ear.

  Cheng Yu's words are already familiar to him, can't he change to another one?

  "You, you, you!" Cheng Yu pointed at Guo Jia, so angry that he couldn't speak. He puffed out his chest and glared, but Guo Jia just ignored him.

  "Alright, alright! Gongxiao, you just say it, Zhongde is also for the lord's good!" Xun Yu wanted to persuade but seeing Guo Jia without any expression, he whispered in Guo Jia's ear "A jar of hundred-year-old Du Kang wine!"

  Guo Jia's eyes flashed with a hint of sharpness, but his face remained casual, and he stretched out one hand with his fingers spread apart.

  "You're too ruthless? Five jars?! " Xun Yu directly pinched up three of Guo Jia's fingers, "Two jars!"

  Guo Jia stretched out two fingers again! Meaning four urns.

  "Three stanzas at most, three stanzas. Why don't you go grab the fourth stanza? Three stanzas love to talk or not, if not then forget it!" The hundred-year-old Du Kang in Xun Yu's home wasn't easily obtained either, it was bought with a hefty sum of money, and he himself couldn't bear to drink it.

  "Three platforms are just three platforms!" Guo Jia put down his feather fan, a smile spreading across his face.

  At this time, Xun You did not know that he had been deceived by Guo Jia. Even if there was no wine, Guo Jia would still say it out loud.

  "This damned rogue!" Xun Yu looked at Guo Jia's smiling face with gritted teeth.

  "Liu Xuan De's backer, on the surface, gave Liu Xuan De a way to dominate, but in reality, it was a road to death!" Guo Jia said, "Xuzhou is a place of four battles, with fertile land and abundant grain! The population is large, it can be considered a good place for dominance! But that was before Tao Qian!"

  "Taoyan?!" Xun Yu seemed to think of something "Tao Gongzu!" Before Liu Bei and Lü Bu took the stage in Xuzhou, this Xuzhou was his old Tao family's, with grain and fodder numbering tens of thousands, and just in Pengcheng alone there were a million grains.

  There were tens of thousands of soldiers and horses, and there were also elite soldiers from Danyang, so it can be said that the military was very powerful.

  However, Tao Qian was old and his two sons were useless, so he had no choice but to let go of Xuzhou.

  "Before Tao Qian, Xuzhou was a fertile land with many people, and the common people were rich and content! However, after Tao Qian, Liu Bei and Lü Bu both wanted to dominate Xuzhou, and our lord's three expeditions against Xuzhou have left it devastated, the people scattered and homeless, and the grain and fodder consumed in these years of war. The people of Xuzhou now hope for a stable life, but with Liu Bei having taken over Xuzhou, it will fall into chaos again, so he has lost the hearts of the people. Originally, there was not much grain and fodder, and now that Liu Bei has lost the hearts of the people, can he still occupy Xuzhou? Moreover, the soldiers and horses Liu Bei took away are my lord's Qingzhou troops! Who do you think is more important in their eyes, our lord or Liu Bei?"

  "So this battle is inevitable, and the fate of the world will be decided in one war!" Suddenly, a black fat man walked out of Cao Cao's study, who was none other than Cao Cao himself!

  "Your Excellency!" The three scholars bowed in unison.

  "Your Excellency, please lead the expedition to Xuzhou yourself, and we can settle this in one battle!" Guo Jia suddenly knelt down on the ground and said.