Your Majesty, please spare Diao Chan; your yang energy is too strong.

"I suspect that Yuan Shao's son, Yuan Xi, is probably dead by now."

"And he didn't die when he was sent to our camp, but he died in our camp."

"That's why I said something bad was going to happen."

Guo Jia said with a grave expression.

He directly stated his guess.

"what?"

As the words fell.

Not to mention Cao Cao, all the civil and military officials present changed their expressions drastically.

Because everyone knows that if Yuan Shao's son really dies?

What does this mean to them?

This means that Yuan Shao will fight them to the death at all costs.

Even if they were to ally with Yuan Shu, it was still possible.

If that's really the case, then they will be attacked from both sides.

The consequences could be disastrous.

"No way, does Zhou Heng really have such audacity to kill Yuan Shao's son?"

Cao Cao clearly still harbored a sliver of hope.

However, this stroke of luck was quickly shattered by Guo Jia.

"Under normal circumstances, this would not be the case."

"But now, if we don't confront Yuan Shao, he won't be able to withdraw from Ji Province safely."

"If he can't leave Jizhou, then all the plans will be in vain."

Do you think he would allow such a thing to happen?

"Besides, it was us who killed Yuan Xi, what does it have to do with Zhou Heng?"

"The world will only know that Yuan Shao's son died in our camp."

"Does my lord still think Yuan Shao won't go mad?"

Guo Jia said.

Upon hearing this, even someone as composed as Boss Cao couldn't help but turn pale.

if it is like this.

Then even the things he least wants to see will erupt in a very short time.

The consequences could be disastrous.

Upon realizing this, Cao Cao couldn't help but feel a little flustered.

Keep in mind that he is currently attacking Yuan Shu.

The entire army was concentrated in the Jianghuai region.

If Yuan Shao were to launch an attack from behind at this moment...

Then Cao Cao would surely die without a burial place.

How could he not panic?

But retreating would be even worse.

This essentially gave Yuan Shu a chance to catch his breath.

Once Yuan Shu recovers, and they attack from both sides, Cao Cao, no matter how capable he is, will surely be defeated.

How could he not panic?

"Help! Help! Someone come quick!"

Cao Cao roared furiously.

"Lord."

Soon a messenger came in.

"Now, you must get to Yanzhou as quickly as possible and inform Che Zhou that at all costs, Yuan Xi must not be allowed to die."

Cao Cao, his hands trembling, gripped the messenger's clothes and roared.

"Yes."

The messenger was startled and immediately nodded.

"return."

However, just as he stepped out of the council hall, Cao Cao called him back again.

"If I mean if, if Yuan Shao's son really died, I will do everything in my power to keep this news from me."

"Absolutely not a single detail could be leaked."

"Tell Che Zhou that if this news leaks out, he should come back with his head."

"Furthermore, order Che Zhou to guard the area at all costs."

"No matter what happens, do not leave the city to fight. There is only one objective: to defend to the death."

"We must hold on until I come back and we'll talk about it then."

Cao Cao said through gritted teeth.

"Yes."

The messenger nodded.

After the messenger left, Cao Cao collapsed to the ground, completely exhausted.

Although I don't want to believe it.

But he had no choice but to believe it.

Guo Jia's guess was definitely not unfounded.

Because he felt that if he were in Zhou Heng's position, he might have done even more ruthlessly.

Therefore, he couldn't help but feel nervous.

Because this was almost a matter of his life or death.

He had no choice but to prepare for the worst.

"My lord..."

A look of worry crossed everyone's faces.

"Don't worry about me, I'm fine. Cao Ren, I now order you to stop worrying about any battles in Jianghuai and immediately lead your 30,000 troops to reinforce Yanzhou."

"We must get back to Yanzhou as soon as possible."

"Yanzhou is our stronghold, and we must not allow anything to happen to it. Otherwise, even if we defeat Yuan Shu, we will be powerless."

Cao Cao waved his hand, then looked at Cao Ren beside him and said.

"As ordered."

Cao Ren accepted the order and left.

"Xun Yu, I hereby order you to retreat with the army back to Yanzhou and take charge of the overall situation."

"I have only one request: Yuan Shao must not be allowed to set foot in Yanzhou."

"As long as Yanzhou still exists, even if we are defeated, we can make a comeback."

"If Yanzhou is lost, then we will be utterly defeated."

Cao Cao said solemnly.

"Yes."

Xun Yu nodded.

"Alright, you can all go now and go back to your posts."

After giving all these instructions, Cao Cao waved his hand weakly.

"Yes."

Everyone nodded.

"Fengxiao, stay."

A moment later, after everyone in the hall had left.

Cao Cao then looked at Guo Jia beside him and said seriously.

"Fengxiao, do you think I should withdraw to Yanzhou?"

"Our lord absolutely cannot leave now. If he does, the campaign against Yuan Shu will be a half-hearted effort, and the other warlords will have no legitimate reason to launch their campaigns. After all, if even our lord retreats, what will the other warlords think? If that happens, it will be like giving Yuan Shu an opportunity to take advantage of us. Once he recovers, he will definitely not let us go. That will be the real dead end."

"But... if something happens to Yanzhou, then we're completely finished."

"I think our lord should trust Cao Ren, and even more so Xun Yu. Although Yuan Shao is formidable, most of his forces are currently concentrated in Youzhou. He cannot mobilize a large army in a short period of time. He can only mobilize his full army after he has completely wiped out Gongsun Zan. So even if he is willing, he is powerless at this moment. We still have time. As long as we can defeat Yuan Shu within this period of time and before he defeats Gongsun Zan, we still have a chance."

"Before Yuan Shao defeats Gongsun Zan? But given how much Yuan Shao values ​​his son, I'm afraid he won't do as we wish. If he finds out his son is dead, he might even abandon Gongsun Zan and attack us with all his might."

“Given Yuan Shao’s character, he would certainly do that, but his men would not be willing, at least not those powerful families. With them around, we can definitely buy a lot of time. We cannot afford to lose our composure now.”

"Hopefully."

Cao Cao sighed deeply.

Looking into the distance, the scene between herself and Zhou Heng couldn't help but come to mind.

"Zixiu, you've really given me a tough problem. Are you really this heartless after leaving me?"