Wait, please don't call me Emperor Zhaolie

Chapter 74 Yuan Shao: Having a headache because of too many people

Liu Dai had just returned to Shanyang County Changyi when he saw the official running towards him. He bowed anxiously and said, "Mr. Liu, Cao Mengde was defeated in Liaocheng and has now fled to Puyang."

It made his heart tighten.

Before he could recover from the shock, a few days later he heard the news that Jibei Xiang Bao Xin was defeated by Qingzhou cavalry while marching, and he was also captured.

Later, the news about Bao Xin's surrender to Liu Xuande spread, and the counties and prefectures in Jibei State surrendered and were easily occupied by Qingzhou soldiers.

The areas north of the Puyang River in Dongjun also surrendered.

These news made Liu Dai suddenly feel dizzy.

Previously, Cao Mengde had made a solemn promise to him, which made him happy to entrust the military power to him.

The results of it?
Not only did they suffer a military defeat, but they also lost Jibei.

It was of no use for Liu Dai to regret, so he consulted with his subordinates and staff to discuss what to do next.

An official suggested that they should quickly send someone to ask Liu Xuande for peace. The soldiers had suffered heavy losses and any further stalemate would only result in greater losses.

"Mr. Liu, the nobles and powerful families in various places are all watching and waiting, and few people are participating. You and Mr. Xuande are both relatives, so why do you have to fight against each other and make others laugh at you?"

"It would be better to offer more benefits so that Qingzhou will withdraw its troops and return home."

Liu Dai said worriedly, "I wanted to, but Liu Xuande sent the people I sent back without even seeing him."

"At this moment, I am at the mercy of others. If he asks for half of Yanzhou, should I give it to him?"

Someone sneered and said, "Yuan Benchu ​​instigated us to attack Qingzhou earlier. I heard that he and Gongsun Zan have been fighting for several years and he has won a little recently."

"Dongjun has been captured by Liu Xuande. Lord Yuan will probably be more worried than us. My lord should wait and see what happens. When the two families fight, we can take the opportunity to retake Dongjun and Jibei."

"Yes, the chief official has a point. Lord Liu can follow the example of Feng Ting in the past and use Shangdang as bait to trigger the Battle of Changping between Qin and Zhao. When two tigers fight, one will die and the other will be injured, and Yanzhou can sit back and gain the benefit."

"Very good, very good!"

Everyone praised him, saying that if they could tolerate him for a while, they could drag in Yuan Benchu, who was sitting still, and vent their anger.

Let them fight each other, and we will just sit back and watch the fight.

Liu Dai was sitting in the hall and was somewhat tempted when he heard the advice offered by his trusted aides.

There is nothing wrong with what you said. Yuan Shao, you asked me to offend Liu Xuande, which clearly shows that you have no good intentions.

In this case, I won't talk to you about morality. Even if I suffer and lose Dongjun and Jibei, I will not let you have an easy time.

Aren’t you, Yuan Benchu, afraid that Liu Bei and Gongsun Zan will join forces?

Now that Dongjun has been captured by Liu Xuande, he can station troops next to your Yecheng at any time. With a strong force on the sidelines, you can see whether Jizhou can still turn a deaf ear and dumb.

Liu Dai thought about it and decided that he couldn't swallow the bitter fruit himself, so he had to at least let Yuan Shao have a taste of it.

If he sent someone to contact Liu Xuande again, he could tacitly allow him to ignore the occupation of the two places and only send troops to garrison the remaining counties of Taishan, Dongping, Shanyang, Jiyin and Chenliu.

South of Puyang, which is separated by a big river, please be merciful, Liu Qingzhou, and give Cao Mengde a place to stay.

Even though Liu Dai felt a little resentful towards Cao Cao, he also knew that Meng De also wanted to win, but Liu Bei, a member of the royal family, was too strong... Just as Liu Dai was taking action, Yuan Shao, who was stationed in Wusui, also received news of Cao Cao's defeat.

He could not help but slam his palm on the table in anger, complaining: "Meng De is too unworthy of his position. Tens of thousands of troops were defeated by Liu Xuande in just a few days."

Before Lu Bu set out for Dongjun, you retreated to Puyang, and most of Dongjun fell into the hands of Liu Xuande.

Now, I can threaten his plain, and he can threaten my Yecheng in return. Meng De, look at what you have done.

Yuan Shao handed the letter sent by Cao Cao to his many aides in Hebei for their review.

Xin Ping said enthusiastically: "Lord Yuan, Liu Xuande wants to take Dongjun, so we must be on guard. Gongsun Zan's food and grass are running out. If we make peace with him and then lead our army to attack Pingyuan County, the siege of Dongjun will be easily resolved."

"No!" Xun Chen retorted, "Gongsun Zan has been fighting with us for many years and is now in trouble. Now is a good opportunity to defeat the enemy. How can we let him go back to the mountains and attack Qingzhou?"

"What should we do if Gongsun Zan makes a comeback next year? Lord Yuan must not lose the big picture for the sake of small things. The most urgent task is to eliminate Gongsun Zan and have someone to contain Liu Bei."

Xin Ping laughed at him and said, "What do you mean by letting a tiger go back to the mountain? What do you mean by losing the big picture for the small? In my opinion, Liu Xuande is the biggest threat. He is not as threatening as Gongsun Zan at the moment because the people have not recovered from the Yellow Turban Rebellion in Qingzhou. It will be too late to regret after a few years when Liu Bei has recovered his strength!"

"Could it be that Youruo said a few good words for Xun Wenruo because he worked for Liu Xuande?"

"Zhongzhi, don't talk nonsense." Guo Tu hurriedly dissuaded him.

Don't make things worse, as we are just fighting among ourselves.

Guo Tu knew that his relative Guo Jia had also gone to Liu Xuande, and was afraid that Xin Ping would drag him into the trouble.

The rest of the staff were also puzzled. Xin Ping had been targeting Liu Bei ever since he came back from Qingzhou. Perhaps it was because Liu Xuande had embarrassed him that he bore such a grudge.

Xu You, Ju Shou and others understood something in their hearts, and stroked their beards without saying a word.

"Mr. Yuan." Xin Ping bowed again and said, "Liu Xuande has the spirit of Emperor Gaozu. He is kind and loving, and is good at winning people's hearts. He is the biggest threat among the Liu clan members, so it is better to deal with him as soon as possible."

"Zhongzhi is wrong. Liu Xuande was able to win over the nobles only because he was good at business. Besides, if he had inherited the spirit of Emperor Gaozu, he should have occupied all the prefectures in Hebei by now. Why is he still in Qingzhou and has not expanded outward?
Emperor Gaozu conquered Qin in three years and Chu in four years. Who is Liu Bei, and how dare he compare himself to Emperor Gaozu?
Speaking of the threat from clan relatives, Liu Yan of Yizhou occupied the land of abundance and secretly controlled Hanzhong. He was eyeing Liangzhou and Guanzhong covetously, so he should be the most serious threat.

There is also Liu Biao of Jingzhou, who actually killed the fierce tiger Sun Wentai in one battle. His military strategy should not be underestimated. Liu Dai of Yanzhou and Liu Yu of Youzhou were both famous scholars. Whose reputation among the literati was higher than that of Liu Xuande.

Everyone in the Han clan is a threat to Benchu, so why bother to exaggerate and speak nonsense? You just want to take advantage of the opportunity to take revenge."

Xu You originally just wanted to sit down and listen to the discussion, but the more he listened, the more he felt something was wrong.

Seeing that Xin Ping seemed to be overturning his strategy of first pacifying Gongsun Zan and then pacifying Hebei, he could not help but refute it.

You, Xin Zhongzhi of Yingchuan, are the only sober person in the world, and we are all good-for-nothings.

You are a new councilor under Benchu's command. I don't care if you step on others' heads.

But it's too much to think of stepping on me, Xu You. Everyone knows that I have been good friends with Benchu ​​and Mengde since I was young. We can be said to be old friends. How can I allow you to speak nonsense here?

"Okay, everyone, please stop talking. I will make the decision myself." Yuan Shao could no longer sit still when he saw that his staff were arguing with each other until they were red in the face.

Speak up immediately to stop it and don't let the discussion affect the friendship among colleagues.

(End of this chapter)