Wait, please don't call me Emperor Zhaolie

Chapter 75 Yuan, Cao and Lu in Action
The famous scholars in Hebei finally calmed down after listening to Yuan Gong's words.

Xu You turned to Yuan Shao and said, "Benchu, it is not good to let Liu Xuande take Dongjun. We should send Lü Bu with his infantry and cavalry as soon as possible."

Previously, Gongsun Zan joined forces with the Black Mountain bandit Zhang Yan to attack Yuan Shao.

Fortunately, Lu Bu came to Chang'an to seek refuge and helped Jizhou to break through the enemy lines many times, thus defeating Zhang Yan's troops.

However, he was also proud of his achievements and looked down on the generals and captains under Yuan Shao, believing that they were not appointed by the emperor and that in terms of official position in Jizhou, except Yuan Shao, no one was worthy of his active bowing.

This made many scholars unhappy, and Yuan Shao was also secretly annoyed. Qu Yi had made great contributions in the war with Gongsun Zan and became complacent about his achievements.

The same thing happened when Lu Fengxian came.

"There are many Hu people living in Liangzhou and Bingzhou, and they are really mixed with good and bad people." Yuan Shao thought to himself.

He felt disgusted. The Yuan family had suffered at the hands of Dong Zhuo and had long harbored a grudge against the people of Liang and Bing.

Moreover, Lu Bu often joked after drinking, saying that he had made great contributions to the Yuan family and that he had killed Dong Zhuo to avenge the Yuan family, so Lord Yuan should use him.

It's fine to say this once or twice, but saying it frequently will only make Yuan Shao more dissatisfied.

Just at this time, Cao Cao sent a letter saying that Liu Xuande, the governor of Qingzhou, was about to attack Yanzhou.

Yuan Shao then thought of sending Lu Bu to Dongjun, and Lu Bu also knew that he was going to fight Liu Bei.

He then demanded a large amount of money, food and weapons, and asked Yuan Shao to recommend him as the Inspector of the Imperial Guards, hoping to return to Luoyang and settle down after defeating Liu Bei.

However, Yuan Shao disagreed. If he was allowed to gain power in Sili, wouldn't that mean he would create another powerful enemy?

But Cao Cao was defeated and it would be useless not to give him an official position.

Guo Tu also advised: "Lü Bu is a fierce enemy. If you keep him by your side, you will suffer from him. People at that time said: Lü Bu is the best among men and Red Hare is the best among horses. Sending him to fight Liu Bei is like killing two birds with one stone."

After hearing what Xu You and Guo Tu said, Yuan Shao decided to allocate money and grain to Lu Bu, and submitted a memorial to the court to have Lu Bu appointed as the Inspector of the Imperial Guards.

Lu Bu was so overjoyed that he waited for the military officers to count the money and food, then immediately bid farewell to Yuan Shao and took Cheng Lian, Wei Yue and others to ride south to support Dongjun.

……

After Cao Cao retreated to Puyang, he reflected for a long time and learned from his mistakes.

They made tactical changes. First of all, they resolutely stopped attacking and focused on defending the city and holding the river.

A large amount of fish paste was stockpiled for night lighting, and civilians were mobilized to pile stones and roll logs on the city walls. Strong bows and crossbows were placed to prevent Liu Bei from attacking the city.

He ordered the laborers to cut down all the nearby trees and transport them into the city to store firewood.

The craftsmen were ordered to forge arrows day and night. If there was a shortage of iron, every household in the city, except the wealthy Tian family, could use the iron to melt down and cast arrowheads.

They found the famous family Tian in Puyang and after several tests, they confirmed that the Tian family had no intention of rebelling and was determined to defend the city.

So he recruited 2,000 soldiers from the Tian clan to defend the city, and mobilized food and fodder from Baima County and Yan County to come to Puyang.

Sending soldiers and civilians to guard the city walls together can also consume more of Liu Bei's arrows.

If Liu Xuande dared to chase him, he would drag him under the city until Yuan Shao sent troops to Dongjun.

Cao Cao also heard about Bao Xin's defeat in an ambush along the way. There were also rumors that Bao Xin had surrendered to Liu Bei and led the Qingzhou army to recapture Jibei.

Cao Cao would never believe that anyone in his life would betray him except Bao Xin.

At this time, Bao Yuncheng might have died in battle, and the news was just released by Liu Xuande to undermine the morale of the people in Yanzhou.

But he had no time to grieve for his best friend, he could only defend the city and defeat the enemy, then chase Liu Bei to avenge Bao Xin. At this moment, all his family members were in Puyang City, if he was defeated, he would have no way to escape, so he could only fight to the death.

After working for several days without rest and being under tremendous pressure, Cao Cao looked pale and tired.

Ignoring the dust on the ground, he sat on the top of the city wall and looked silently to the north.

"Mingsir, it's time for you to take a good rest." Chen Gong advised.

He had never seen Cao Cao in this state. He always liked to laugh out loud, but now he did things silently, and his eyes made people feel creepy.

Cao Cao seemed not to hear, still looking towards the north, and after a long while he said: "Gongtai, if we can hold Puyang in this battle, I want to go to Yangzhou as the governor, are you willing to go with me?"

Chen Gong was silent for a while. Cao Cao treated him very kindly and appointed him as Gongcao, whose status was even higher than Cheng Yu.

"I have asked Zhongde, and he agreed to go to Yangzhou with me. I wonder if Gongtai is willing to go with me." Cao Cao turned his head and looked at Chen Gong and said.

Chen Gong thought for a moment and said, "My Lord, don't you want to take Yanzhou to build your foundation?"

Cao Cao pointed to the mountains in the distance with a wry smile and said, "Gongtai, look around. How many of these mountains and rivers belong to me, Cao Mengde? In Yanzhou, I can only be the governor of a county. If I go to Yangzhou, I will be the governor of a state."

"At that time, if we occupied Yu and Yang, we could attack Liu Biao in the south and Tao Qian in the north."

"As for Yuan Shu of Nanyang, he has great ambitions but little talent. He has a rich land, but he does not know how to make good use of it. We will definitely take it. Then we can advance into Yanzhou and achieve great things."

Chen Gong was amazed after hearing this. How could Ming Gong be so thoughtful?

As if seeing the doubt in Chen Gong's eyes, Cao Cao explained: "This is a good plan that Yingchuan Xi Zhicai has planned for me. Do you think it can be implemented?"

Chen Gong nodded and said, "Since the Yellow Turban Rebellion in Xuzhou and Qingzhou, many famous scholars have taken refuge between the Yangtze River and the Huai River. If we can get their help and occupy Yangzhou, Yuzhou, Xuzhou, and Jingzhou, our great cause will surely succeed."

"By then, it is still unclear whether the world will belong to the Yuan family."

"Yuan family!?" Cao Cao suddenly sneered.

"Yuan Benchu ​​is a man of indecisiveness. I sent him a letter a month ago, asking him to send troops to join me in attacking Liu Xuande. He seemed to agree decisively in the letter, but in reality, no troops have been dispatched so far."

"Such an indecisive person has no chance to achieve great things. He is just helping others to guard the house. I dare to say that Jizhou will be taken by others sooner or later."

"Oh! Lord Yuan..." Chen Gong couldn't help but shook his head and sighed.

The letter was still sent out through his hands, but he did not expect that Yuan Shao's reply, which was sincere and convincing, never appeared.

He was quite speechless as this was not what a ruler of a region should do.

Among the many famous people in Hebei, is there no one who can give advice?

The reason why Chen Gong could not understand Yuan Shao's distress was not because no one gave him suggestions. On the contrary, everyone expressed their own opinions, which were contrary to each other.

Everyone has different opinions, and they all sound reasonable.

Yuan Shao finally realized that General He Jin always wavered in the face of the advice of many staff members.

The purposes hidden deep in the hearts of these people are all different. Some good strategies seem to be beneficial in the short term but may cause great harm in the long term, while others are the opposite.

You must listen to good advice and think carefully before making a decision...

Chen Gong no longer thought about Yuan Shao in Jizhou. He bowed to Cao Cao solemnly and said, "Cao Gong has great ambitions. I dare not disobey him. Whether in Yanzhou or Yangzhou, I will obey your orders without any second thoughts."

　The editor informed me that if nothing goes wrong, it will be on the shelves around the 9th. I have to start accumulating some manuscripts now, otherwise it will be too late to upload it, and I still have to go to work by then...

　　
　
(End of this chapter)