Zhang Xiu fell silent. Cao Cao was indeed very powerful, but Yuan Shao had given him too much.
Seeing Zhang Xiu deep in thought, Jia Xu continued to earnestly persuade him, "General, let's not even talk about whether we can take Qingzhou even if we send troops."
"How can you be so sure that Yuan Shao won't discard you after you've served your purpose?"
After Jia Xu finished speaking, he paused and then said, "If Yuan Shao really breaks his promise, then your end will be extremely miserable!"
“This…” Zhang Xiu’s expression changed.
He was a mere martial artist who only knew how to practice martial arts and had never experienced such scheming and intrigue.
Zhang Xiu was extremely conflicted, torn between Yuan Shao on one side and Cao Cao on the other.
Jia Xu was in no hurry and leisurely sipped his tea.
After a long silence, Zhang Xiu looked up at Jia Xu and asked, "Mr. Wenhe, if I were to pledge allegiance to Cao Cao, would he treat me well?"
Jia Xu laughed and said, "Among the generals around Cao Cao, only Tiger General Xu Chu is capable of fighting. Even the brothers Xiahou Dun and Xiahou Yuan have not reached the ninth level of martial arts."
"If you, General, are truly willing to pledge your allegiance, Cao Cao will certainly cherish you as a treasure and dare not neglect you."
"Moreover, with your abilities, General, you will surely be given an important position. At that time, what will the mere Governor of Qingzhou matter? Why don't you look at Xu Chu, who has already been appointed as the Tiger Marquis?"
Every word Jia Xu said struck a chord with Zhang Xiu, deeply moving him.
Zhang Xiu took a deep breath and solemnly said, "In that case, I will lead my army to surrender to Cao Cao!"
"Excellent!" Jia Xu smiled slightly.
Zhang Xiu nodded, then asked Jia Xu, "We can't go empty-handed, can we? Should we give Cao Cao a big gift?"
"Haha, General, rest assured, I have already prepared a gift for you!" Jia Xu said confidently.
Zhang Xiu asked in surprise, "Oh? What have you prepared, sir?"
“Xuzhou!” Jia Xu slowly uttered the two words.
Zhang Xiu was taken aback. Wasn't Xuzhou originally Cao Cao's territory?
"General, you may not know this, but Yuan Shu is currently attacking Xuzhou. If we rush there to support Xuzhou, we can certainly solve Cao Mengde's urgent problem!"
"The troops in Qingzhou are enough to deal with Yuan Shao!"
Offering help in times of need is always better than adding to someone's already good fortune.
Even if Zhang Xiu's 10,000 troops went to Qingzhou, it wouldn't have much of an impact on Cao Cao's army.
But going to Xuzhou is a different story. There aren't many troops stationed there, so if Zhang Xiu leads his troops there now, he's sure to achieve something!
Upon hearing this, Zhang Xiu's eyes lit up with excitement, and he exclaimed, "Good! We'll do as you arrange, sir!"
Zhang Xiu then wrote back to Yuan Shao, expressing his willingness to help him, but his goal was to attack Xuzhou to mislead Yuan Shao.
They also seized the grain and fodder sent by Yuan Shao, intending to use it for attacking Xuzhou!
This move was truly insidious and ruthless!
When Yuan Shao saw this, he was so angry that he almost started cursing.
However, considering that he still needed to rely on Zhang Xiu, Yuan Shao suppressed his anger. He only hoped that Zhang Xiu could arrive in Xuzhou quickly, so that Cao Cao would have no choice but to abandon Qingzhou and return to Xuzhou.
At the same time, Cao Cao also received a letter from Zhang Xiu.
The letter stated that he had led 10,000 troops to Xuzhou and asked Cao Cao to inform Xiahou Dun to cooperate with him from within and without to jointly attack Yuan Shu!
Zhang Xiu's sudden arrival triggered Cao Cao's paranoia once again.
Because he had thought about it for a long time and still couldn't understand why Zhang Xiu would suddenly come to rely on him.
"Wenruo, what do you think of this matter?" Cao Cao turned to ask Xun Yu, since Xun Yu was the person he trusted most at the moment.
Xun Yu frowned and pondered for a moment before saying, "My lord, I think Zhang Xiu is truly loyal to us."
"Oh? Why do you say that, Wenruo? If he secretly allies with Yuan Shao or Yuan Shu, wouldn't we be in danger?"
"My lord, let's talk about Yuan Shao first. If Zhang Xiu joins forces with Yuan Shao, the greatest benefit will come from a surprise attack on us in Qingzhou!"
"Therefore, he is definitely not allied with Yuan Shao!"
"Next, let's talk about Yuan Shu. This man is entrenched in the Jiangnan region and is utterly vulgar. Zhang Xiu was once a follower of Dong Zhuo, so how could he possibly look down on a mediocre ruler like Yuan Shu?"
Xun Yu's words were clearly a compliment to Cao Cao.
Because Cao Cao was too suspicious, Xun Yu could only try his best to make him trust Zhang Xiu.
"Wenruo is right! I will write a letter to inform Yuanrang right away!" Cao Cao suddenly realized what he meant, quickly picked up his pen to write a letter, affixed his seal, and sent it to Xiahou Dun in Xuzhou.
Xiahou Dun was overjoyed upon receiving the letter. He had previously worked with Zhang Xiu and held him in high regard.
It's certainly a good thing that such a formidable general has joined us!
This gave him even more confidence in resisting Yuan Shu's army.
Zhang Xiu arrived in Xuzhou in less than ten days.
At this time, Ji Ling, Yuan Shu's top general, was fiercely attacking Xiapi City, and the battle was extremely intense.
"Hmph! That brat Yuan Shu has gone too far, actually besieging my Xiapi!" Xiahou Dun was furious!
Cao Cao only ordered him to stall, not to take the initiative to attack.
"General! Zhang Xiu! Zhang Xiu is here!!!" Xiahou Dun's deputy shouted urgently.
"Hmm?" Xiahou Dun raised an eyebrow and quickly walked towards the city wall.
Sure enough, a dense swarm of cavalrymen was charging towards them from afar, their numbers enormous.
Although these cavalrymen were dressed in old armor, their morale was high and they were full of killing intent.
"They're here! They've finally arrived!" Xiahou Dun exclaimed excitedly.
Xiahou Dun immediately issued an order, commanding his troops to be on high alert and ready to go out of the city to meet the enemy at any time, so as to coordinate with Zhang Xiu from the inside and outside.
"My lads! Charge with me!" Zhang Xiu swung his spear and spurred his horse forward, galloping towards Ji Ling's army.
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