Lu Bu: My wife comes from two thousand years later

“It depends on the situation!”

Cao Cao looked at the few words in his hand and smiled slightly mockingly, "It really is Yuan Benchu!"

He waved the other piece of cloth that came with it and said to the civil and military officials present, "Qu Yi has already opened up Jingxing, and Yuan Benchu ​​also plans to send more troops to Taiyuan. And he's telling me to make decisions based on the situation?"

"Oh, and also, Zhang Liao, seeing Zixiao deploying catapults, has abandoned his camp outside Chaoge and retreated to Jixian and Huojia. Zixiao's troops have entered Henei, and the people there are uneasy. The nobles and powerful families leaning towards Jizhou will soon start fires everywhere. Even if Lü Bu had three heads and six arms, he wouldn't be able to stop the collapse of the empire."

He looked at everyone with amusement, "You call it depends on the situation? This is clearly telling me, don't worry about Yuan Shang's life or death, just focus on getting through!"

Cao Cao stood up and said, "I will be the villain. After all, he has asked for his own instructions, so you can't blame me!"

All the civil and military officials stood up, and Xi Zhicai bowed and asked, "Are we going to attack the city today?"

Cao Cao looked up at the sun that had just risen outside. "That Yuan Gonglu has always been against me. This time he will definitely go to Yanzhou to rob me. The sooner we finish fighting here, the sooner I can go back and deal with him. Let's break through the pass!"

Cao Cao's camp was set up at the foot of the pass. The catapults were never pushed back after they were pushed out that day, and the 30,000-strong army was quickly assembled.

On the top of Sishui Pass, a big pot was emitting steam. Yuan Shang was held in the hands of a soldier, kicking his hands and feet and crying in fear. Compared with that day, he was really crying today because he was scared.

The beautiful woman told him not to be afraid and that she would not cook him. However, Fa Zheng, who brought him to the checkpoint, said, "If your father doesn't care whether you live or die and insists on letting your uncle Meng De attack the city, then he will have to cook you."

Yuan Shang looked at the densely packed soldiers below the city and broke down crying, "Dad, Dad, are you really done with me? Don't you love me the most? Dad, save me. I don't want to die. I don't want to be boiled..."

At the foot of the city wall, Yuan Shao's personal guard watched Yuan Shang scream in terror from afar, unable to hold back his tears. His lord had told him to report everything he had seen today. How could he possibly tell his lord such a scene? How could his lord possibly bear it? Such a sweet, well-behaved little boy was about to be boiled alive!

Cao Cao took one last look at Yuan Shang, concealing the trace of heartache and reluctance in his eyes, and finally slowly lowered his raised right hand.

As the first stone was thrown, he saw the soldier turn his back and throw Yuan Shang down. The loud noise of the stone hitting the city wall covered up the child's screams, but he saw the splash of water in the pot. The heat seemed to have magic, and it could burn his eyes from a long distance.

The siege did not last long. Song Xian could not withstand the repeated bombardment of catapults and led his troops to abandon the pass before noon.

The gates of Sishui Pass were wide open. Cao Cao and Yuan Shao's followers rushed to the top of the city wall like flying. They saw that the big pot had been smashed. At the foot of the wall, in the pile of rubble, a boiled headless corpse lay there quietly. Its curled up little body seemed to be accusing them of their sins. What had he done wrong?

…………

At the Yellow River ferry, Yuan Shang sat at the dock in a depressed mood. His mouth was sometimes puffed out like a toothless old lady, and sometimes puffed up like a frog blowing its cheeks. He was obviously very unhappy.

"Isn't it sad?"

Fa Zheng walked over and picked him up, but Yuan Shang slid off him in an instant, looking up at him angrily, "You scared me to death! I thought you were really going to cook me."

Fa Zheng pinched his puffy little face and said with a smile, "If my sister says I can't cook, then you really can't. Are you angry about this?"

Yuan Shang rolled his eyes at him, "What else? I was really scared when I saw that hot pot!"

"Aren't you sad that your father doesn't care whether you live or die?" Fa Zheng asked curiously.

"What's there to be sad about? I even forgot what my father looks like. He probably doesn't love me anymore. I just miss my mother, Tian Zhan, Ju Hu and Xu Ziran. They must be very anxious and sad to see me missing. I want to go back to the mountain stronghold..." Yuan Shang's mouth pouted and his eyes were instantly filled with tears.

Fa Zheng bent down and picked him up again, saying, "After you repay your kindness, I will find a way to send you back to the village."

"Really?" Yuan Shang wiped his eyes with his little hand and extended his pinky finger. "Let's make a promise. A man should keep his word."

Fa Zheng hesitated as he looked at the serious-looking little fellow in front of him. If he sent him back to Yuan Shao, he would never be able to return to the stronghold. He had just said that only because he still wanted to use him.

"Hey, are you a man or not?" Yuan Shang shouted when he saw him in a daze.

Fa Zheng held him in one hand, stretched out his other hand to hook his little hand, and said with a smile, "I keep my word!"

The two men boarded the ferry, and the big boat slowly left the river bank. The bow of the boat pierced the yellow waves, and opened a waterway to the other side.

…………

After Sishui Pass was breached, Cao's army crossed the Yin River in Henan and headed north. Anti-Lü forces in Hanoi emerged one after another, and many counties voluntarily opened their cities and surrendered. Some clans even expressed their willingness to send troops to join Cao's army in dealing with Zhang Liao's army to show their loyalty.

"Where should we fight now?"

Seven days later, in the lobby of Wen County government office, Cao Cao looked at the intelligence sent by various parties and asked.

After Song Xian retreated from Sishui Pass, he went to guard Ji Pass leading to Hedong County. Zhang Liao's 8,000 soldiers still persisted in Jixian and Huojia. The 2,000 troops previously reserved by Zhang Liao also abandoned Huaixian and retreated to Gongxian, forming a triangular force with Jixian and Huojia.

Xiahou Dun said, "Jiguan must be the last one to be attacked. We must first eliminate these Bingzhou troops in Henei so that we don't have to worry about the rear. After that, we can take Taihang Xing to enter Shangdang and attack Lü Bu together with Benchu ​​Gong."

"Oh, by the way, the 20,000 troops that Lord Benchu ​​had prepared in Changshan State have already gone to Taiyuan to join Qu Yi. This time, Lü Bu will have no chance of escaping."

After breaking through Sishui Pass, the situation has become very clear. Cao Cao now has 50,000 troops gathered in Henei County, so it is not too difficult to capture Zhang Liao's 10,000 troops.

However, Cao Cao set his sights on Taihang Xing and said, "How about ignoring Zhang Liao and attacking Shangdang directly?"

He then explained, "Lü Bu and Yuan Benchu ​​are currently in a stalemate. Bingzhou is short of troops, and there are almost no troops stationed at Taihang Pass. If our army marches directly into Shangdang and sends another 10,000 men to defend Taihang Pass against Zhang Liao, Cao and Yuan combined forces will attack Lü Bu's 80,000, ten times his strength. No matter how brave Lü Bu is, he will find it difficult to resist."

Xiahou Dun nodded, "That seems pretty good."

Xi Zhicai shook his head, "Not appropriate!"

"Why is it inappropriate?" Cao Cao asked.

"Our strategic objectives this time are Hanoi and Hedong. My lord, don't forget that there's Gao Shun in Hedong. Although he doesn't have many troops at the moment, he's a skilled fighter. He once defeated Guo Tai's tens of thousands of bandits with only a few thousand men. This is a tough nut to crack. Besides, no matter how weak Lü Bu is, he's still Lü Bu. Eighty thousand against eight thousand isn't likely to win, but the casualties will certainly be significant. Why should we get involved?"

Cao Cao said, "That's true, but I'm afraid Benchu ​​can't defeat that fellow Lu Bu."

"My lord, rest assured. Jinyang isn't heavily defended right now. General Qu will surely capture it quickly. He will then lead his troops south to join Lord Benchu. Let's clean up Henei first. Then, we can simply deploy our troops at Taihang Pass. Even with hundreds of thousands of troops surrounding them, we won't have to resort to any direct action. Even a siege by the combined might of hundreds of thousands will scare Lü Bu's few men into losing their nerve. Yu Fuluo will undoubtedly be the first to surrender."

Hearing Xi Zhicai's words, Cao Cao could only nod reluctantly, "Just as Zhicai says!"

In fact, Cao Cao also knew that it was unwise to join the expedition to Shangdang. Although he and Yuan Shao were allies at present, with the successive demise of Lu Bu and Gongsun Zan, the former allies would soon become enemies. For Cao Cao, the most appropriate and perfect strategy was to eliminate Lu Bu and occupy Henei and Hedong while preserving his own strength.

After deciding on the next goal, Cao Cao waved his hand and said, "That's all for today. Everyone, disperse!"

Everyone stood up and bowed to take their leave. Cao Cao called out to Xiahou Dun again, "Yuan Rang, stay!"

After everyone else left, Cao Cao said to Xiahou Dun, "Send a reliable man to Jinyang to find Qu Yi. Tell him to capture Lü Bu's wife after he captures the city. I will reward him handsomely afterwards."

Xiahou Dun curled his lips. "My lord, are you still thinking about that girl from the Wang family? She's been married and had children, what's so special about her? She's just pretty, there are so many beautiful women in the world, why do you have to have her?"

Cao Cao narrowed his eyes and smiled, "What do you know? Ah Mo's beauty is secondary. As long as I can make her willingly follow me, even if it means exchanging Hedong County for me, it will be worth it."

"My lord, are you going to emulate King Zhou of Shang or King You of Zhou?"

Cao Cao slapped him in the face and said, "Just go when I tell you to. Why are you talking so much nonsense? Remember, you must capture her alive. Don't hurt her."

"Oh!" Xiahou Dun touched his head and turned to go out.