Lu Bu: My wife comes from two thousand years later

The speed at which Yuan Shao retreated was beyond Lu Bu's expectations. He had hardly rested along the way and rushed from Jinyang in a hurry, fearing that Yuan Shao would send troops to attack Hukou Pass. He didn't expect that the other side would be scared and retreat.

"Am I that terrible?"

When he reached the door of the general's tent, Lu Bu touched his chin covered with stubble and couldn't help turning his head to ask Jia Xu.

Jia Xu nodded seriously, "A little, but not to the extent that it would scare him away."

He followed him into the tent. "If Yuan Benchu ​​turns back now and joins Cao Mengde in attacking Wenyuan, and then deploys his troops together at Shangdang, the battle will drag on. What Jizhou fears least is wasting time. His retreat is indeed strange."

"Qiao Yi surrendered. He was afraid that I would attack Changshan, so he was scared and hurried back to defend." Lu Bu said with a smile.

Even someone as clever as Jia Xu couldn't guess the real reason behind Yuan Shao's hasty retreat. After much thought, he could only conclude that this was the reason. He asked, "My lord, are you planning to send troops to Changshan?"

Lu Bu sat down in the main seat and motioned Jia Xu to take a seat as well.

"We must fight. It depends on whether we deal with Cao Mengde first or take Jizhou first. What are your thoughts, sir?"

Jia Xu said, "In my opinion, it would be better to reclaim Henei first. Madam deliberately gave up Sishui Pass and ordered Wenyuan to retreat to Baixing. Wasn't it just to see who in Henei would revolt? Bo Hou should have a list of names, and we can wipe them out while we're driving out Cao's army. Then Henei will be completely under Bingzhou's control, and we won't have to worry about fire in our backyard in the future."

"Sir, you're right!" Lu Bu narrowed his eyes. "I've been wanting to fight Cao Mengde for a long time. If he doesn't know what's best for him this time, he's dead!"

After Yuan Shao withdrew his troops, Lu Bu did not stay in Shangdang and returned to Jinyang the next day. Before leaving, he sent the more than 1,800 cavalrymen led by Qu Shu, whom he had picked up on the road, to help Song Xian defend Jiguan. At the same time, he asked Cao Xing to bring 2,000 people to help Zhang Liao.

That day, Qu Shu did not go far after escaping from Jinyang. Due to lack of food, he led his troops to rob a farm near Yangyi. Later, he sent someone back to Jinyang to inquire about the news, only to find out that his master had surrendered to Lu Bu. He wanted to go back to find Qu Yi, but happened to meet Lu Bu's troops on the way, and Lu Bu took him directly to Shangdang.

Qu Shu was a general of Qu Yi's family and was loyal to him. He would be loyal to whoever Qu Yi was loyal to. He thought that since his master had just joined Bingzhou, he had to make some achievements to show his loyalty, so he followed Lu Bu here.

…………

When the news of Yuan Shao's retreat reached Hanoi, Cao Cao was trying to undermine Lu Bu's power.

Du Ji, Sima Lang, Yang Jun and Zhang Cheng looked in astonishment at Cao Mengde, who had been very humble and polite a moment before, and saw his expression change instantly. He kicked over the tables in front of him, veins bulged on his forehead, his eyes were bloodshot, and he roared to the sky.

"Yuan Benchu, you son of a bitch! You cowardly son of a bitch!! You coward!!! If you don't lose, who will? This is the second time, the second time!"

Cao Cao was really furious this time. He forgave Yuan Shao for being stood up the first time. After all, no one had officially started the rebellion at that time. But this time, once Yuan Shao retreated, all the troops in Bingzhou could be transferred to Henei. How could he not be angry?

"Yuan Rang, mobilize the troops and attack Weijun!"

"Zhicai, send an envoy to Taiyuan to invite Lu Bu to join the army. I will help him conquer Jizhou!" Cao Cao roared!

"My lord, please calm down, calm down!"

Xi Zhicai hurried forward to comfort him. The lord was really mad this time and even said that he would invite Lu Bu to attack Jizhou!

Xiahou Dun snorted, "The most despicable one is Qu Yi. If he can't win, he won't run away? If he can't run away, won't he commit suicide? He actually surrendered, and brought so many soldiers with him. This Lu Bu is already strong enough, but this time he is really... hopeless..."

Du Ji and his three companions kept their eyes on the noses and their noses on the hearts, trying hard to be invisible. A few days ago, they had received news from the flying eagle that Qu Yi had surrendered, Yuan Shao had retreated, and their lord was organizing his troops in Jinyang, preparing to clean up Henei.

After Cao Cao finished cursing, his head started to throb again. He walked to the couch beside him, panting slightly, and lay down on it, rubbing his temples and closing his eyes to rest.

He is now in the same difficult situation as Yuan Shao. He is unwilling to retreat to Yanzhou, but he is afraid that he will not be able to win if he stays. Some time ago, Xun Yu sent a letter from Yanzhou, saying that Tao Qian, that old fellow who has one foot on the verge of death, actually joined forces with Zang Ba of Mount Tai to send troops to Rencheng, and Yuan Shu, that lingering dead boy, is also looking for trouble for him. They all deserve to be dealt with.

Cao Cao pondered for a long time, his anger slowly subsiding. He sat up from the couch. Xiahou Dun had already straightened the table that had been kicked over. Cao Cao walked over to the table, knelt down, and wrote a letter, handing it to Xiahou Dun. "Send it to Liu Jingsheng!"

"Yes!" Xiahou Dun took the letter and hurried out.

Cao Cao then said to Xi Zhicai, "Tell Yu Jin to withdraw from Jiguan and station his troops in Yewang County."

"My Lord, what is your intention in making such an arrangement?"

Cao Cao said, "Qu Yi has just surrendered to Lü Bu, so he must first demonstrate his loyalty by performing some feat. His troops will soon be marching out of Taihang Pass, and Yewang County is the only way through. If our army holds this place, we will be able to secure the western part of Henei."

He sighed and said, "I've been attacking these checkpoints for a long time but still can't take them. Now that Yuan Shao has retreated, I can only switch from offense to defense."

"What about Jiguan?"

Cao Cao said, "Learn from Wang Kuang and drive a group of people to block the pass."

Xi Zhicai frowned slightly. "This...isn't right. Our army has just entered Hanoi and is treating the people like this. It will damage your reputation and will also arouse hostility from the people of Hanoi. Moreover, this is definitely not a long-term solution."

Cao Cao scoffed, "Reputation is like the salt in a bowl of food. When you're not hungry, you seek the right balance of saltiness. But when you're starving, you'll wolf it down even without salt."

He walked back to the couch and lay down, saying slowly, "Yuan Benchu ​​may be a bit of a coward, but he still has ambitions and a clear mind. The people around him are all very capable people. Although his retreat this time is very disloyal, he must have a backup plan. I will delay for a while and wait and see. If all else fails, I will withdraw."

"Oh, send someone to deliver a letter to Yuan Benchu. He has to give us some food and fodder after he retreats. With me here to contain Lu Bu, Jizhou can breathe a little easier. He's making a good living from this expense."

Cao Cao made his decision. Xi Zhicai said nothing more and went out to do his work. Cao Cao then looked at Du Ji and the other three and asked, "Have you thought it through?"

Du Ji bowed and said, "As officials of Henei, we are loyal only to the people of Henei and the Emperor of Han. If Cao Gong can repel my lord, we will obey his orders."

Cao Cao's eyes turned cold. "Are you sure I can't defend Hanoi? Aren't you afraid I'll kill you?"

Du Ji said, "If we were cowards who cowardly seek life, we wouldn't deserve Cao Gong's courtesy. If you really kill someone for this, you're even less worthy of a scholar's loyalty."

Cao Cao smiled and said, "You are indeed a loyal and righteous man. Then wait until I defeat Lu Bu, and then you and your companions will come to pay us a formal visit. Go back first. Stay quiet for the time being and don't try to do anything to me."

Du Ji and the other three bowed and took their leave!