When Cai Ji saw Yuan Shao again, Yuan Shao was already a body loaded on a boat. "《"/《"/The soaked clothes and scattered buns all showed how the hero was at the end of his journey before he died. The only wound on his neck showed that Yuan Shao chose to break himself. As a person who was competing for the destiny, Yuan Shao's ending would inevitably make Cai Ji feel sad about the death of a rabbit and a fox.

At least Yuan Shao has preserved his last dignity. If I had lost today, the outcome would have been ten times worse than this. After Cai Ji encouraged himself in his heart, he immediately raised his hand and ordered, "Come on, prepare a thick coffin to collect Yuan Shao and send him to Xu Du to wait for the court to fall."

At this moment, Cai Ji was burying Yuan Shao to repay his kindness, and sending him to Xu Du was to perform his duties as a Han minister. Everyone knows that Yuan Shao had "recommendation" for Cai Ji. No matter what purpose Yuan Shao recommended Cai Ji for the first time, it is an indisputable fact that he provided protection for Donglai in the early days. Since this kindness was owed, Cai Ji had to repay it, and it was not something that could be paid off in one or two times. This is not only the custom of this era, but also the way for himself who was a prince. People like Lu Bu who both broke the rules and did too extreme will eventually become public enemies.

Cai Ji's treatment of cutting the tofu with both sides was quite praised by Jia Xu on the side. But compared to the show, there are more important things to deal with. However, Jia Xu walked forward and spoke to Cai Ji, "Master, although Yuan Shao has been killed, Yuan Tan abandoned his father and fled. Please also tell the Lord that Yuan Tan's evil deeds will be announced to the world as soon as possible."

Jia Xu only said that he would announce Yuan Tan’s evil deeds, but did not mention the pursuit. Combined with the allusion of the two brothers Yuan Tan and Yuan Shang who seized the position of head of the family after Yuan Shao’s death, Cai Ji immediately understood the intention, and then nodded and smiled, "Mr. Wenhe said it is reasonable. It is the first thing that filial piety for all virtues. Yuan Tan committed ten evil crimes and will be despised by the people of the world."

Jia Xu saw that Cai Ji understood at one point, so he stopped talking. At this time, a sudden sound of horse hooves came from afar. Cai Ji and Jia Xu both looked in search of the sound, but saw a messenger riding a horse in the southeast direction galloping towards this side. The "Cao" flag on the messenger's back was swaying in the wind. Cai Ji exchanged a look of "Finally Come" with Jia Xu.

At the same time, the messenger had already arrived in front of the Qi army, turned over and dismounted and rushed to Cai Ji, kneeling on one knee, "Sikong asked the Duke of Qi to gather the white horses."

"Cao Sikong has arrived at the White Horse? It's so fast that the soldiers have returned." Cai Ji smiled half-tearedly, and then raised his hand to reply, "Please reply that Sikong Yuan Shao has been killed, I will rush to the White Horse as soon as possible."

"Here." The messenger immediately rushed towards Baimajin with Cai Ji's reply

Looking at the messenger's back, Cai Ji couldn't help but fall into deep thought. Once Yuan Shao died, the Yuan clan would be divided. The three brothers Yuan Tan, Yuan Xi and Yuan Shang were not worth worrying about their mediocre talents. On the contrary, Cao Cao, the ready-made "ally" and elders, became an obstacle between him and the four northern states.

Seeing Cai Ji's expression solemn, Jia Xu lowered his head and said without saying a word. He couldn't help but smile and said, "Is the master worried, I don't know how to get along with Cao Cao in the future?"

Cai Ji sighed and said, "Although Cao Cao was seriously injured in his life this time, he was holding the emperor and was afraid he would not be willing to stop south of the Yellow River."

"Can the Lord take over the four prefectures of Hebei in one fell swoop?" Jia Xu asked without comment.

Cai Ji was stunned at first, then understood what Jia Xu meant, and then smiled awkwardly, "How could he swallow the vast and lonely four states in Hebei in one bite?"

Jia Xu followed the trend and said, "The master knew that Hebei was large, so why should we worry about everything we need?"

Jia Xu's view was very clear, that is, with Cai Ji's current strength, he could not occupy the entire four prefectures of Hebei. Instead of turning against Cao Cao for the sake of what he could not possess for the time being, it would be better to generously take each other with Cao Cao. However, Cai Ji still frowned and hesitated, "I'm afraid that Cao Cao will not give up."

"Although Cao Mengde is a cunning person, he is also a person who knows the current affairs. The master is the first naval commander in the north, so Cao Cao will not give up." After Jia Xu waved his hand, he looked at Cai Ji and said earnestly, "After the Guandu battle, the master has become the second largest prince of the north, and is famous all over the world for his good combat. If the master still shows weakness to Cao Cao like he used to be with Yuan Shao, it will only make Cao Cao doubt and be more afraid of the master."

Jia Xu's words point out Cai Ji's current situation. As she said, Cai Ji, who successfully attacked Yuan Shao, has shown the world the strength she has accumulated over the past six years. If she pretends to be a "little white rabbit" like before, it will not only fail to achieve the goal of keeping a low profile, but will make people more wary of Cai Ji. Especially in the face of famous suspicious people like Cao Cao, Cai Ji's previous set of dealing with Yuan Shao is not applicable at all. Therefore, she urgently needs a new set of diplomatic principles to deal with the new situation.

Cai Ji, who figured this out, naturally asked Jia Xu humbly, "Who can I deal with Cao Cao when Yiwen and Mr. Yi, how should I deal with Cao Cao?"

Jia Xu said four words calmly, "Don't be arrogant or rude."

"Don't be arrogant or not?" Cai Ji thought about it and blurted out, "Mr. I mean, don't be humble or arrogant."

"What is neither humble nor arrogant?" Jia Xu asked back with interest. After spending time with Cai Ji for a long time, Jia Xu found that his master often popped up some words that he had never heard of before, and these words often contain profound meanings.

Cai Ji was asked by Jia Xu, and realized that the idiom "Never Being Humble" may not have appeared in the Eastern Han Dynasty. So she quickly said, "I mean, you should neither be humble nor arrogant when facing Cao Cao."

"That's exactly what it means." Jia Xu nodded, "Cao Cao is not as stubborn as Yuan Shao. The master gets along with Cao Cao, so that he can think that he has seen through the master's thoughts, so that he can retreat to advance."

Want Cao Cao to think that he saw through his thoughts? This is a difficult task. Cai Ji secretly laughed at himself in his heart, and bowed to Jia Xu, "Thank you for your advice, Mr. Wenhe."

Jia Xu seemed to see through Cai Ji's lack of confidence in his acting skills, so he comforted him, "The future is long, and the master will fight Cao Cao a few more times, so he will be able to grasp the right position."

And just as Cai Ji was busy sweeping the battlefield in Yanjin, the messenger also brought her reply to the Baima Cao camp. Baima Jin was actually the closest ferry to Guandu. If Yuan Shao gritted his teeth and crossed the river from Baima, Cai Ji and Cao Cao might have been one step late. But now, if they were both hinds-up. While Cai Ji intercepted Yuan Shao in Yanjin, Cao Cao took down Baima Jin, which had just been severely injured with almost no blood.

In fact, not only Baimajin, but also Yuan’s strongholds south of the Yellow River, lost their fighting spirit after Yuan Shao and his son escaped. The Cao’s army was like a greedy snake. While swallowing these strongholds one by one, they also continued to strengthen their bodies.

When Cao Cao arrived at the White Horse, apart from the reinforcements brought by Zhao Yun, his troops reached 40,000. Among them, there were certainly Yuan Shao's remnants, but they were also very likely to be captured. The so-called "recovery" was a deserter. When Cao Cao obviously fought hard, many of his troops were fence-bearing, some surrendered to Yuan Shao, while others simply became bandits. Among these deserters, Qingzhou's soldiers were the largest. If Cao Cao's previous temper was based on Cao Cao's previous temper, he would definitely kill all the ungrateful people to serve as a warning. However, the Cao army suffered too heavy losses in the Battle of Guandu, and with Cai Ji, the female wolf peeking around, Cao Cao still had no confidence to punish these fence-bearing soldiers. He only found a few bandits with great anger to kill the chicken and respect the monkey. However, there was still good news.

"Cai Anzhen forced Yuan Shao to death in Yanjin?" Cao Cao stood with his hands behind his back in the tent and asked the messenger who came forward to prove it.

The messenger responded truthfully, saying, "The Duke of Qi has collected Yuan Shao's body and sent it to Xudu."

"Benchu ​​Na" Cao Cao, who confirmed the news of Yuan Shao's death, was also sad and mourned for his old opponent. But after a while, Cao Cao regained his usual heroic nature, and even had a hint of pride between his eyebrows.

Of course, Cao Cao would not be proud of Cai Ji's victory in Yanjin. His pleasure came from Yuan Shao's death. It should be noted that Cao Cao captured many surrendered Yuan troops in Guandu this time. Although these troops strengthened the power of Cao's army, Cao Cao was still afraid of the surrendered generals and soldiers in his heart. He was afraid that after Yuan Shao reorganized his troops in Jizhou, these surrendered troops would turn against each other and return to Yuan Shao's command. After all, there are far more surrendered soldiers in Cao's camp than Cao Cao's Qu'er. Cao Cao even made a secret decision that if the surrendered soldiers really had abnormal movements, he would learn from Bai Qi.

Now that Yuan Shao died, his three sons were all incompetent. Cao Cao could finally accept the remnants left by Yuan Shao with peace of mind. But when Cao Cao was excited to cross the tent, he immediately ordered Xiahou Yuan and others behind him, "Miao Cai, Zhao Rui's troops will be under your jurisdiction. Gongming, Ru will go to Wuchao tomorrow and take the remnants there into a camp."

"Here!" Xiahou Yuan and Xu Huang both clasped their fists to take the order.

Xun You, who was standing by, saw Cao Cao so actively recruiting Yuan Shao's remnants, couldn't help but go forward and speak, "Lord, there are more than a thousand navy troops left in Baimajin. How about it, why not be incorporated into a navy?"

"The army without boats?" Cao Cao smiled mockingly. Baimajin's ship had long been burned by the Qi army's navy. The so-called navy remaining in Tianjin now are just fishermen without boats, which is really unworthy of the name.

However, Xun You insisted, "It's better than nothing."

The navy has always been the weakness of the Cao army, and Cao Cao did not care too much about this before. After all, before Guandu, the only time the Cao army used ships on a large scale in the war was during the Eastern Expedition of Lu Bu.

The purpose of the ships in the war was to allow Cao's army to mobilize troops in the flooded Xia Pi Chengwai. Therefore, Cao Cao always believed that the navy was not important in the north. Until this time Cai Ji's navy showed its impressive strength in the Yellow River.

The transportation of grain and grass, cut off the food route, rushing and intercepting it. In just over ten days, the Qi army naval army made people realize that even the northern naval army still had the opportunity to show its strength. It is true that the Yellow River is not open to navigation throughout the year, with a wide range of four or five hundred feet and a narrow range of only twenty or thirty feet. After the river water is frozen in winter, the navy will lose its place to use it. However, as long as the navy can block various ferries in the few months of navigation, it will be an unnegligible threat to any force crossing the Yellow River.

Naturally, Cao Cao would not willingly give up the rich prefectures and counties north of the Yellow River because of the Qi army's naval army. Therefore, after pondering for a while, he raised his head and made a decision with a smile, "Justice will do what Gongda said. Not only will the orphans recruit the navy, but also have to repair the white horses. Only in this way can one experience the style of the Qi army's navy."

Cao Cao's decision to face the difficulties aroused the fighting spirit of civil and military officials present. Yes, this is not the first time that Cao's army was behind. Dong Zhuo, Lu Bu, Yuan Shao, each of them was stronger than Cao Cao in terms of strength, but they were all defeated by Cao Cao in the end. Therefore, the strength of the enemy has never been a problem for Cao's army, and how to defeat the enemy is what they need to consider.

Although Cao Cao and Cai Ji were still in the name of the alliance, everyone present knew in their hearts that Cao Cao and Cai Ji had become secret rivals invisibly. At this time, the most embarrassing person in the tent was Cao Pi, who had been engaged to Cai Ji. It was for the purpose of promoting the Cao Cai Alliance that Cao Pi was sent to Donglai to engage Cai Ji, who was six years older than him. But less than a month later, the relationship between the two parties changed from an alliance to an opponent.

Such a huge gap made it difficult for the young Cao Pi to adapt for a while. But he still plucked up the courage and asked his father Cao Cao tentatively, "Father, will Pier still go to Donglai?"

Cao Cao didn't expect Cao Pi to ask this question at this moment, but saw him sweeping his second son and saying in an indefensive tone, "Of course you have to go. Since you are engaged to the Duke of Qi, you have to accompany him and maintain Cao and Cai's marriage. You must not be left out like this time."

Cao Pi already knew that the reason why his father was angry with him this time was not because he was too late to lead the troops to rescue him. It was because he didn't want to come to rescue him at all. In Cao Cao's opinion, since Cai Ji had sent reinforcements, and Xiahou Yuan, Xu Huang, and Zhao Yun, Cao Pi didn't need to follow him together. It would be better to stay by Cai Ji's side to monitor his every move. This made Cao Pi, who was determined to show his performance in Cao Cao, quite discouraged.

At this moment, seeing that his father was still trying to send him to Cai Jing when he was already secretly competing with Cai Ji, Cao Pi lowered his head even more sadly. At the age of thirteen, he had a certain understanding of the struggle between the princes. What's more, he was able to write at the age of eight, read the ancient and modern classics and books of various schools of thought, and was familiar with the consequences of the protons in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. How could he not imagine what would happen to him in the future when the Cao and Cai families turned against each other?

And just when Cao Pi thought his father had abandoned him, he suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder, and then his father's kind voice came from his ears, "Pi'er, you are wronged this time. You should stay with Cai Anzhen first. If Cao Cai is in a bad relationship, you will definitely not abandon you for your father."

Although his heart was full of uneasiness and anxiety, Cao Pi finally replied obediently, "Children obey the order."

These two days have been busy and the update is not very stable. Please forgive me. The Guandu big pit has been filled~Lalala~~ Although the general direction is similar to what I imagined, there are still many changes in the details during the deduction process. There are even bigger pits to be filled in next, so the revolution has not yet ended, so comrades still need to work hard!


Chapter completed!