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Wancheng fought until dawn all night, and the battle was unprecedentedly tragic, and the smell of blood filled the whole city.

Until the afternoon of the next day, Liu Biao accompanied the emperor and all officials to climb the south gate tower and persuaded the six princes to stop the troops and make peace. For this reason, Liu Biao did not hesitate to mobilize 100,000 Jingzhou troops to suppress the formation, and went out with the emperor to stop the troops and try his best to resolve the melee of the princes, hoping that the six princes would turn the sword into jade and quell the war, so as not to cause more and greater unnecessary casualties and weaken their respective strengths.

However, more than 200,000 soldiers fought for a day and night, and many soldiers were already red-eyed. How could they fight and stop when they called?

Therefore, the great melee did not stop the army. Fortunately, the six princes including Yuan Shao, Yuan Shu, Cao Cao, Liu Bei, Lu Bu and Sun Ce also knew that if they continued to fight in this way, the result would be that both sides would suffer losses and no one could take any advantage. After carefully weighing the pros and cons, they knew the pros and cons and were very concerned, so they came forward to stop the fight.

After a fierce battle for a day and night, the six princes' troops were divided into two camps outside the South Gate, confronting and staring at them, and no one dared to withdraw their troops first. Otherwise, it would undoubtedly be very dangerous if the enemy left their backs to the enemy; if the enemy takes advantage of the situation to attack, the consequences will be unimaginable.

Faced with such a stalemate, Liu Biao finally came forward to protect himself and put the Jingzhou army across the two armies, which completely quelled the melee.

As night fell again, Wancheng, which was in a raging war, finally returned to peace again. More than 100,000 princes' army returned to their camps. They licked the wounds of the calf, and were glad that they were still alive.

After a one-night melee, no less than 50,000 corpses were scattered in the wilderness over ten miles outside the South Gate. The corpses were everywhere, and blood stained the land red. There were tens of thousands of disabled soldiers, who were both lucky and the biggest victims after this unprecedented melee. Although they were lucky enough to save their lives, they were disabled for life. The difficulty of their livelihood after leaving the army was self-evident.

After the calm, the six princes who finally calmed down were heavy and full of doubts. They felt that the melee was strange and full of doubts. But they couldn't figure out where the problem was.

Outside the north gate, Cao Cao's camp.

"Hahaha!" The central army commander's tent was filled with smug laughter, full of cheerful and bold smiles. There was also a little madness mixed in it.

At this moment, there are only five people in the camp. The upper rank is the commander Cao Cao, and the lower rank is the side of Xun Yu, Mao Jie, Man Chong, Cao Ren and Le Jin.

"This war was so exciting that it not only weakened the strength of the soldiers and horses of all the princes, but also aroused the struggles and suspicions between them. Only in this way can we take advantage of the chaos to make a profit and make a long-cherished wish." When Cao Cao and Cao Ren and the other four laughed loudly, Xun Yu had a faint smile on his face, which seemed a little reluctant. And his words at this time were actually a kind of concealment, so as not to make people feel that he was not in the same place and had two ambitions.

Man Chong, whose courtesy name is Boning, was from Shanyang. He was not well-known before and did not stand out until Yanzhou fell and made his mark and officially entered Cao Cao's sight. He was able to be literary and martial, calm and smart, pragmatic but not show off. He knew the current affairs and knew how to advance and retreat, and was a wise man. This melee in Wancheng was his plan, or he was the planner and implementer of this melee.

At present, there were seven princes entrenched in Wancheng, with Liu Biao of Jingzhou, the strongest. Among the remaining six princes, Cao Cao had the least soldiers and horses, with only five thousand tiger and leopard cavalry and hundreds of personal soldiers, which was completely inequality with the soldiers and horses under the command of other princes. However, Cao Cao's own strength was not weak, and he was ranked among the middle of the six princes, second only to the brothers Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu. Therefore, three equally powerful princes joined forces to attack Liu Bei, Lu Bu and Sun Ce. If they defeated each other one by one, it would be easy to get rid of them; but this was not good for Cao Cao. Only by weakening the strength of the five princes at the same time was the situation he wanted to see most and was the most beneficial.

Therefore, as early as the moment Cao Cao suggested moving to Nanyang County, he began to plan this melee between the princes. The more chaotic the better, the more fierce the battle, the better. Only in this way can Cao Cao seek victory in chaos, take the chestnuts in fire, and finally achieve his goal of holding the emperor to command the princes.

So a carefully designed plan was carried out quietly, and the strategy was offered by Man Chong, so he was naturally responsible for the implementation. When Cao Cao, Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu brothers reached an alliance, the news had already reached the ears of Liu Bei, Lu Bu and Sun Ce, which directly prompted them to unite and join forces to resist the powerful alliance formed by the two Yuans and Cao Cao.

After the two camps were formed, the melee started immediately, with almost no interruption in the middle, so that the other five princes kept in the dark had no time to verify, and they rushed to take action, which triggered this unprecedented melee.

This strategy itself is not clever, and can even be said to be very inferior. It is nothing more than pretending to be good people at both ends, falsely spreading news, provoking both sides, and finally provoking two major camps to fight. However, this strategy is just right to prescribe the right medicine, planning, application and timing. Because all the princes are in the same city, a little disturbance can arouse the alertness of other princes; in addition, the princes distrust each other, and most of them are hostile forces, and have been a long-standing resentment. These potential contradictions and special environments are the natural soil for sow discord, and the opportunity is like a few piles of dry firewood, just one point.

Therefore, when Liu Bei sent a team of troops to inspect and inquire the outside of Yuan Shao's camp, Yuan Shao, Yuan Shu and Cao Cao had gathered their troops and were ready for battle. When the scout found out that Liu Bei's troops had been dispatched, he immediately sent troops without saying a word to wipe out the troops responsible for inquiring about information, and then rushed to Liu Bei's camp.

However, Liu Bei's camp was also prepared. Liu Bei, Lu Bu and Sun Ce received a secret report in advance, forcing them to join forces to form an army of 100,000, ready to go. Then the two camps met in a narrow road, just like two fire groups suddenly colliding, and they were out of control. The chaos was like a mess, killing the sky and the earth, and they could not get along.

After the emperor Liu Xie and Liu Biao came forward to make peace and quit the war, the six princes except Cao Cao had suffered heavy casualties, with the few five or six thousand soldiers and tens of thousands of soldiers under Cao Cao's command. Cao Cao had only five thousand tiger and leopard cavalry under his command. He was well-trained and ordered to prohibit them. In the melee, Cao Ren led him to leave the main battlefield early and hovered in the wilderness in the northeast corner, taking advantage of the chaos to pick up all the advantages.

So much so that after a fierce battle, the other princes suffered losses of their soldiers and generals. Only Cao Cao not only did not lose his troops, but instead captured more than 2,000 prisoners of war. However, Cao Cao was always cautious in his work and never gave him a handle. After the war, he lost more than 2,000 tiger and leopard cavalry under his command. Like all the princes, he had "hard casualties".

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In the tent of the Central Army Commander of Cao's army, when Cao Cao restrained his laughter and gradually calmed down, a shiny light suddenly appeared in his sharp eyes, and he said in a serious voice: "Although the melee of the princes is well planned, it cannot stand scrutiny and verification. Sooner or later, it will be known to the five princes. Therefore, the matter of welcoming the sage to Yanzhou should not be delayed. It must be completed as soon as possible, so as not to have too many dreams at night and fail!"

Xun Yu agreed happily and thoughtfully said, "What the lord said is very true. Such opportunistic things can only be hidden for a while, but they cannot be hidden for a lifetime. At present, the five princes are all in the situation. They are confused by the authorities and fall into a trap without investigating them for a while. After they wake up and calm down, they will immediately think that they have received secret reports from our army, which will lead to such a fierce melee, resulting in a loss of soldiers and generals. At that time, they will inevitably be angry and point the finger at our Yanzhou army. At that time, we will be in a disaster. Therefore, it is not advisable to wait for the matter of greeting the emperor. Be sure to leave Wancheng before the five princes notice it. The faster the better, the later the change will occur."

Cao Cao nodded slightly: "Well, Wen Ruo's words are very suitable for me. However, even though the strength of the princes has weakened the strength of all the princes, their troops are still far better than us, and their strength is still above our army. Therefore, it is unlikely to openly invite the emperor and the officials to Yanzhou. The other princes are not willing to say, after all, they have no intention of greeting the emperor, but Yuan Shao and Liu Bei are in great trouble. Both of them have the intention of holding the emperor and the officials, and they are consistent with our goals. They are the two most difficult forces that pose the greatest threat to us. What countermeasures do Wen Ruo have in response to this?"

Xun Yu looked solemn, his eyes narrowed slightly, and his eyes flashed with a light of wisdom. He said slowly: "After this battle, we have made enemies with all the forces. If we combined with the many previous grievances and entanglements, our Yanzhou army and all the princes have become in power, and it is really hard to give up. It is like a broken bronze mirror. In the future, it is an enemy but not a friend, and there is no possibility of joining forces.

It is precisely based on this consideration that in the next few days, we have been secretly contacting the officials in the court and asking them to persuade the emperor to move to Yanzhou. As long as the emperor agrees, we will not be afraid of any princes. We can take the emperor out of the city without knowing it, and then return directly to Yanzhou. When the emperor enters Yanzhou, the officials will be useless to the princes. At that time, we can take the officials back to Yanzhou, re-establish the capital, reorganize the court, and command the world."

Cao Cao was overjoyed when he heard this and laughed: "If this strategy is very good, it is really a good plan for the country. I don't know how it is going, and when can I start doing it?"

"This,,," Xun Yu was stunned when he heard the sound, his cheeks were slightly red, his face looked puzzled, and he whispered: "Most of the officials have been persuaded by the subordinates. The most important thing now is that Dong Hong, the Central General, who has served His Majesty all year round, has no objection. But Your Majesty trusts him the most and calls him "Zhongfu" privately, and has always followed his advice. Now, if Dong Hong nods his head and makes his promises, this matter will be accomplished; but if he interferes with it, he is afraid that this matter will be over."

"The Central General Service Dong Hong?" Cao Cao frowned and pondered, his eyes cold and dark, he casually stroked his long beard under his jaw and said thoughtfully: "It is another eunuch who is abusing power, and my Han Dynasty is destroyed in the hands of these eunuchs!"

Xun Yu continued, "What the lord said is very good. It is said that Dong Hong is a member of the Empress Dowager Dong, a member of the Longyou family in Liangzhou. He had a close relationship with Dong Zhuo. After Li Thief took power, he thought that he was a member of the Dong clan, so he let him go, otherwise he would have died a long time ago. However, Dong Hong did not do any evil and was a close servant by His Majesty for a long time. He has served His Majesty for more than ten years. Compared with this person, although Dong Cheng has achieved the merit of saving the Lord, he is far from comparable to Dong Hong. In His Majesty's mind, it is far less than Dong Hong's weight in His Majesty's mind. Therefore, it is very important to pick up the emperor quietly. If he assists him, it is easy to move to Yanzhou."

After Cao Cao heard this, a trace of cold light flashed in his eyes and said in a deep voice: "Then start with Dong Hong, and agree to him no matter what he wants. When the task is completed, he will not be able to do anything. The eunuchs can never keep them."

——————To be continued——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
Chapter completed!