The Three Kingdoms: Zhaolie, the strategist, and the rise of the Han Dynasty

Chapter 157: There is always someone stronger than the strongest. One soldier can defeat a million soldiers.
But when Liu Bei was talking with Li Yi, someone suddenly reported that an envoy from Wancheng had arrived.

Liu Bei was surprised. "Since you are an envoy from Wancheng, you must be Zhang Xiu's man. Why did you come to see me?"

Li Yi said, "It must be for help."

Liu Bei nodded. He had previously sent money and food to Cao Cao, which had already made his attitude towards Xuzhou clear.

How dare Zhang Xiu come to Xuzhou to ask for help from me?

Does he really think that his strategic value is higher than Cao Cao?
"Since he is a distant envoy, my lord, you might as well take the time to meet him and see what he has to say."

Li Yi suggested from the side.

Liu Bei gladly agreed and went to the posthouse to meet the Wan envoy.

During his mission to Xuzhou, Envoy Wan brought several fine Xiliang horses, a specialty of Liangzhou.

At the same time, he expressed Zhang Xiu's respect to Liu Bei.

Liu Bei got straight to the point:

"I understand General Zhang's good intentions. If you have anything to say, please feel free to speak directly."

The Wan envoy replied:

"My Lord has heard that Lord Xuande is known for his benevolence and righteousness, and that he is kind and generous to others, respectful to the wise and humble, and tolerant."

"So I am willing to surrender the whole city to Lord Xuande."

Oh?
Liu Bei raised his eyebrows, quite surprised by Zhang Xiu's action.

"I heard that your lord has surrendered the whole city to Cao Sikong. Why are you coming to me to surrender now?"

At this time, Xuzhou received the latest news, but Zhang Xiu had already surrendered the city to Cao Cao.

The news that the two armies have already engaged has not yet been reported back.

Plans can't keep up with changes.

The Wan envoy naturally did not know that something had happened in Wan City, but he still followed Mr. Jia Xu's plan and said to Liu Bei:
"Cao Cao is powerful, and my lord's surrender to him is only a temporary measure."

"The only person my lord truly respects is General Liu, not Cao Aman."

Li Yi smiled and said:
"Did you also say this in front of Cao Cao?"

The implication is just irony, that is, you say one thing to one person and another thing to another.

The Wanshi's expression changed, but he still tried to remain calm and said seriously:

"Sir, you are wrong. Cao Cao is tyrannical and his army is in a hurry, so we have no choice but to submit to him temporarily."

"But I really respect General Liu, so I was sent here to make peace with Xuzhou."

Liu Bei's eyes twitched, and then he said calmly:

"I understand General Zhang's intention. You may rest at the posthouse first."

"I will also prepare a return gift. Please take it back to Wancheng."

Envoy Wan was overjoyed and thanked him repeatedly.

He was then taken away by servants to rest.

"Sir, why do you think Zhang Xiu came all the way to Xuzhou to befriend us?"

After Envoy Wan left, Liu Bei and Li Yi were the only ones left in the room.

Only then did Liu Bei come to Li Yi to clarify his doubts.

Li Yi analyzed:
"Today, the north has one superpower and two strong forces. Yuan Shao is the most powerful, followed by you and Cao Cao."

"Zhang Xiu's forces are small, but he is among the powerful ones."

"If you want to protect yourself in troubled times, you must be prudent and play both sides, make friends far away and attack those near."

"If he surrenders to Yuan Shao, Hebei will become strong and Yuan Shao will not value him."

"If we surrender to Cao Cao, Yingchuan is adjacent to Nanyang and will be controlled by him."

"So Zhang Xiu thought of Xuzhou, if Xuzhou could contain Cao Cao."

"Zhang Xiu could have kept all his people safe and remained a powerful figure in Nanyang without being captured by Cao Cao."

Unless it is absolutely necessary, who would be willing to live under someone else's roof and be a humble and submissive general of a defeated army?

Liu Bei nodded, secretly admiring Zhang Xiu's strategy of pleasing both sides.

"Then according to the military advisor, should I accept Zhang Xiu or not?"

Li Yi smiled and said:

"He came to us on his own initiative, so how can we not accept him?"

"What about Cao Cao..."

Liu Bei also had to consider the alliance. If Cao Cao knew that Zhang Xiu, whom he had just accepted, was undermined by him, he would be furious.

"Zhang Xiu of Nanyang is just a minor disease, why should he be a big problem?"

Li Yi's brows were as calm as a mountain, and he analyzed in an orderly manner:

"The biggest enemy in Henan today is still Yuan Shao in Hebei."

"Cao Cao's expedition against Zhang Xiu was nothing more than an attempt to eliminate the threat from the southwest."

"Now we can come forward to protect all the troops. We will come forward to guarantee that Zhang Xiu will not act rashly."

The implication is that Xuzhou is willing to act as a guarantee for Zhang Xiu.

As long as he did not attack Cao Cao, Xuzhou was willing to maintain his rule in Nanyang.

If he dared to attack Cao Cao, Xuzhou would join forces with Cao Cao to destroy him.

"If Cao Cao really accepts Zhang Xiu's troops, it will not be a good thing for us."

After all, Zhang Xiu's troops came from the Liangzhou Legion, one of the most powerful legions in the late Han Dynasty.

"But if we can attract Zhang Xiu's troops and join forces with us to fight against Yuan Shao, wouldn't that be killing two birds with one stone?"

Li Yi put forward his own proposal, which was to let Zhang Xiu join Cao and Liu's anti-Yuan alliance as an independent prince.

Instead of making him someone's vassal.

After all, even if Zhang Xiu was really willing to become a vassal of Xuzhou, Xuzhou would not be able to remotely control the enclave far away in Nanyang.

It would be better for him to remain independent and join forces with Cao and Liu to fight against Yuan.

Zhang Xiu and his troops were very capable fighters.

In many storytellings, Zhang Xiu is given the title of "Spear King of the North", and his martial arts value is always above 90.

He was selected as one of the 24 famous generals from the public, ranking before Yan Liang and Wen Chou, who were the bravest of the three armies.

A big part of the reason was the Battle of Wancheng.

The real Battle of Wancheng, although not as dramatic as in the novel, is more legendary.

Zhang Xiu defeated a larger force with a smaller one, and not only killed Cao Cao's general Dian Wei, his eldest son Cao Ang, and his nephew Cao Anmin.

In addition, Cao Cao’s second son, Cao Pi, who was only ten years old, almost died in Wancheng.

After this battle, Cao Cao never dared to underestimate Zhang Xiu and his troops again.

So when Zhang Xiu later surrendered to him, he was very happy.

Not only did he appoint Zhang Xiu as General Yangwu, he also formed an alliance with Zhang Xiu by marrying his son Cao Jun to Zhang Xiu's daughter.

Another piece of evidence that proves Zhang Xiu's fighting ability comes from Jia Xu's evaluation.

Jia Xu's evaluation of Zhang Xiu is:
"Although the general is good at commanding troops, he is no match for Duke Cao."

"Although the other generals are brave, they are no match for you."

In other words, in Jia Xu's view, Zhang Xiu was not as good at fighting as Cao Cao.

But the generals under Cao Cao were no match for Zhang Xiu.

According to Jia Xu's point of view, Cao Cao is greater than Zhang Xiu and greater than the generals of Cao's camp.

There are many reasons why Zhang Xiu is so good at fighting. Although he and Lu Bu are both warriors from the border areas, Zhang Xiu is more honest and basically obeys Jia Xu's orders.

But Jia Xu is an SSR, so Zhang Xiu will not suffer any loss if he listens to him.

In addition, Zhang Xiu's troops were very capable in fighting, although they were from the Liangzhou Group.

Running to Jingzhou seems like leaving home.

But Zhang Xiu was a Xiliang noble, and he could continuously replenish knights and horses from his hometown of Wuwei.

It’s just like Zang Ba recruited Taishan soldiers from his hometown, Taishan County.

Wancheng is connected to Guanzhong. From Chang'an to Wancheng, you can take the Wugu Pass Road.

It is equivalent to saying,
Zhang Xiu was in Wancheng, receiving the money and food given to him by Liu Biao while recruiting soldiers from his hometown of Wuwei.

Life can be said to be quite comfortable.

So there is a reason why they say “the heroes of the north are invincible in troubled times”.

Historically, when Yuan and Cao were fighting, Zhang Xiu was also in Hebei and "fought hard and made great contributions."

He was promoted by Cao Cao to the rank of General Defeats the Qiang and was granted a fief of 2,000 households.

If you just regard Zhang Xiu as a mercenary or a thug.

Then he was very valuable in the anti-Yuan alliance.

Liu Bei adopted Li Yi's suggestion and urgently summoned the envoy from Wan to indicate that Xuzhou was willing to guarantee Wancheng.

Ensure the independence of Zhang Xiu's regime.

The prerequisite is that Zhang Xiu must join the Cao-Liu anti-Yuan alliance and must not stab Cao Cao in the back.

Otherwise, Cao and Liu will join forces to wipe it off the map.

After receiving Liu Bei's guarantee, Envoy Wan happily said goodbye.

After Liu Bei sent him out of Xuzhou, he still felt a little uneasy.

"Since Cao Cao has accepted Zhang Xiu's surrender, I don't know if we can save Zhang Xiu in time before Cao Cao gathers his troops."

Liu Bei was worried that by the time his envoy arrived, Cao Cao would have already incorporated Zhang Xiu's troops.

Li Yi said:

"Cao Cao was arrogant because of his strength, and he looked down on those who surrendered without a fight."

"If he bullies Wan with his arrogance, I wonder if Zhang Xiu will still be loyal to Cao Cao."

Liu Bei was slightly surprised and asked:

"Military Advisor, does it mean that Zhang Xiu dares to rebel against Cao Cao?"

“It’s still unknown.”

Li Yi replied with a smile that he couldn't guarantee that this would happen 100%.

It depends on whether Cao Cao has improved after going through so much.

"My lord, you know the truth that animals bite when they are in trouble."

Liu Bei was stunned for a moment, then smiled and said:

"When an animal is in dire straits, it will bite. But if it is a ferocious animal, it is not a big deal."

"Young animals have tender teeth, so biting them does not hurt."

"Cao has dominated the battlefield for many years and has established great prestige among the three armies."

"Even if Zhang Xiu is brave and strong, he is no match for Cao Cao."

Li Yi curved his lips and smiled, and did not argue with Liu Bei.

"In that case, we just need to wait for news from Wancheng."

Another day passed.

The battle report from Wancheng was sent back.

The guard Xu Chu hurriedly brought the battle report back to Liu Bei and Li Yi.

It turned out to be just as the military advisor expected.

Zhang Xiu followed Jia Xu's strategy, put on armor and passed through Cao Cao's camp, then launched a surprise attack.

Cao's army was caught off guard and fled back to the Yu River.

Liu Bei was shocked and said, "My military advisor has come true again!"

He never expected that Cao Cao would actually be defeated by Zhang Xiu.

Li Yi was actually quite emotional.

Man proposes, God disposes. Even if he has strategies, he can never control the current situation.

Cao Cao was defeated because of himself.

"My lord, I wonder what our army should do next?"

Xu Chu asked Liu Bei.

Looking at Xu Chu, Li Yi thought to himself that Boss Cao had lost his personal bodyguard Dian Wei, and now he had lost another "Fan Kuai of mine".

I'm afraid we will become more passive afterwards.

Don't underestimate your personal bodyguard. If it weren't for Xu Chu, Cao Cao would have died many times in history.

Like the famous Weishui arrow avoidance.

Xu Chu escorted Cao Cao onto the ship and used a saddle to cover Cao Cao.

At that time, arrows rained down on the Wei River and the boatman was shot to death by a stray arrow.

It was all thanks to Xu Chu who protected Cao Cao with one hand holding the saddle and rowed with the other hand that he managed to push the boat to the north bank and land.

Ma Chao then returned in disappointment, saving Cao Cao from disaster.

From this incident, we can also see that Xu Chu is indeed more meticulous than Dian Wei.

Although they are both bodyguards, their styles of protecting the emperor are obviously different.

Dian Wei stayed behind to guard the gate and let his lord go first.

Xu Chu followed Cao Cao all the way and served as his personal guard. Wherever the lord goes, I will be there.

In addition to this incident, there was actually another incident in which Xu Chu killed Cao Cao's close attendant.

When the Battle of Guandu broke out, Yuan Shao's intelligence system was so powerful that it successfully instigated Xu Ta, a close confidant of Cao Cao, to rebel.

Xu Ta and his men specifically targeted Xu Chu when he was resting and not around Cao Cao.

It turned out that Xu Chu was a workaholic and felt uneasy whenever he took a break.

So I didn't rest for long and went back to work.

Xu Chu happened to run into Xu Ta and others. He noticed that something was wrong with their expressions and immediately killed them.

As a result, Cao Cao became closer to and trusted Xu Chu even more, and always kept him by his side wherever he went.

Now Cao Cao has lost Dian Wei and has failed to subdue Xu Chu.

It will be more convenient for Li Yi to make a fuss afterwards.

Liu Bei asked Li Yi again what to do now.

"The plan remains unchanged. We will continue to recruit Zhang Xiu to join the anti-Yuan alliance."

Li Yi analyzed seriously.

After Cao Cao was defeated by Zhang Xiu, he no longer dared to look down on Zhang Xiu.

Cao Cao knew his priorities and knew Zhang Xiu's abilities, and with the mediation of Liu Bei, he was able to give him a way out.

Otherwise, historically, it would have been impossible for Cao Cao to put aside his personal grudge and accept Zhang Xiu's surrender.

"In addition, Cao Cao was defeated this time, and lost many soldiers and generals, and his son."

"As an alliance, we should send people to offer condolences and give them some money and food."

Liu Bei nodded, "I have the same idea."

Cao Cao was defeated so miserably by Zhang Xiu, which was something Liu Bei had not expected.

Out of sympathy and as an alliance, Lao Liu did intend to send some money and food.

After all, politicians are all about face.

"I'll ask Sun Qian to take the food and fodder and send it to Xu County."

"And by the way, I extend my condolences to his sons and nephews."

At this point, Liu Bei couldn't help but sigh.

"It's a pity for Cao Zixiu. I heard that this young man was selected as an honest official at the age of 20. He usually follows Cao Mengde and is good at fighting and has made many military achievements."

"It is a pity that he died in Wancheng today."

At the same time, he secretly thought that the son he, Liu Bei, would have in the future must not lose to Cao Cao.

Soon Sun Qian arrived and Liu Bei explained the matter to him.

Sun Qian gladly accepted the order, and the money, grain and gifts in the treasury were already prepared.

Sun Qian was about to resign to Liu Bei when he was suddenly stopped by Li Yi.

"Gongyou, when you go, you can convey one more thing to Cao Gong."

Sun Qian stopped and bowed to ask:

"I wonder what you want me to tell you, sir?"

"In addition to condolences, Gongyou can ask Cao Gong to come to Chendi to discuss matters. My lord and I will go there at that time."

Sun Qian nodded in agreement and left.

After leaving, Liu Bei asked Li Yi:
"Sir, why did you do this?"

"It's just to discuss how to deal with Yuan Shao."

Li Yi explained.

Yuan Shao is now a serious threat. Since Cao and Liu are allies, they discuss specific cooperation plans to facilitate communication.

We must meet.

But where should we meet?

It is not appropriate to go to Cao Cao's territory, and Cao Cao will definitely not want to come to Xuzhou.

After much thought, is there any better place than the imperial court?
The current Han court is similar to the United Nations.

Its function is to deter weak forces, and when facing powerful forces like Cao and Liu (the Five Constant Virtues), it is just a place for meetings and offices.

Although the Han Dynasty was in decline, its destiny was not over yet, and the weight of the tripod was not something to be questioned.

Today's Cao Cao and Liu Bei are just like Duke Huan of Qi and Duke Wen of Jin.

The role played was "respecting the king, expelling the barbarians, and maintaining Zhou rituals."

The location of the State of Chen was just right, neither too far nor too close to the Cao and Liu families.

Then it would be legitimate to go to the court to pay homage to the emperor.

"...Good, I haven't been to see the emperor for a long time."

"I'd like to take this opportunity to go and pay you a visit."

Liu Bei readily accepted Li Yi's suggestion.

Not stated.

……

However, it is said that Cao Cao was defeated at Yu River and gathered his remaining troops.

The Qingzhou soldiers under Xiahou Dun took advantage of the situation and went to the countryside to loot people's homes.

Yu Jin, the captain of the Pinglu Rebellion, led his troops to intercept and kill the rebels on the road, and then led the army himself to pacify the villagers.

The Qingzhou soldiers were driven back by Yu Jin. When they met Cao Cao, they reported that Yu Jin was rebelling and sent troops to kill them.

Cao Cao was skeptical, just as Li Dian and Le Jin arrived.

Cao Cao ordered two generals to organize the army to meet him, in order to prevent Yu Jin from killing him.

When Yu Jin saw Cao Cao's army arriving, he did not rush to meet them. Instead, he led his troops to shoot at the enemy's formation and set up camp.

The soldiers advised:
"The soldiers of Qingzhou said that the general was rebelling. Now that Sikong Cao has arrived, why don't you go and investigate instead of setting up camp here?"

"If Cao Sikong leads his troops to attack us, what should we do?"

Yu Jin explained:
"Zhang Xiu's troops are behind us and will arrive soon."

"If you don't prepare first, how can you resist the enemy?"

"Distinguishing is a small matter, but repelling the enemy is a big matter."

After setting up camp, Zhang Xiu's two armies arrived.

Yu Jin went out of the camp first to meet the enemy. Seeing that Cao's army was prepared, Zhang Xiu led his troops back to Wancheng.

Cao Cao gathered his troops and selected his generals, and summoned Yu Jin to see him.

Yu Jin then explained that he killed the Qingzhou soldiers because they were looting and had lost the support of the people, so he had to kill them.

Cao Cao asked:

"In that case, why don't you tell me first?"

"Anti-establishment camp to resist the enemy?"

Yu Jin explained that they had to set up camp first in order to repel Zhang Xiu's army.

Cao Cao sighed:
"A general can organize his troops and fortify his fortresses in a hurry, and endure slander and hard work."

"To turn defeat into victory, even the famous generals of the past could not have done anything better!"

He ordered people to give him a set of forbidden gold utensil, and also submitted a memorial to recommend him to be the Marquis of Yishou Ting.

Then he severely reprimanded Xiahou Dun for his lax military management.

Now, all the soldiers have arrived and they all asked Cao Cao what his next plan was.

Cao Cao sighed:

"The fighting spirit has been lost and the soldiers have no desire to fight."

"You can withdraw your troops and return to Xu County first, and come back to attack Zhang Xiu next year."

There was a slight pause, followed by another long sigh.

"But before I withdraw my troops, I want to offer sacrifices to Zixiu, Anmin, and Dianwei."

Afterwards, Cao's army began to commemorate the three people.

Cao Cao held his head and cried bitterly. When the generals saw this, they all shed tears and sighed.

After the memorial service, Cao Cao also stopped crying.

He turned around and said to the generals:
"Do you know why I was defeated by Zhang Xiu?"

This……

The generals did not expect Cao Cao to ask such a question and they were all unable to answer it.

Xiahou Dun said first:
"Zhang Xiu broke his promise and attacked our army midway, which led to this defeat."

Cao Cao shook his head and replied, "No."

"In ancient times, there were countless surrendered generals who rebelled midway."

"Those who were defeated by surrendered generals were unable to stop their rebellion."

"I was able to capture Zhang Xiu this time because I failed to take his hostage first."

"If our army had taken Zhang Xiu's children first, why would it have come to this?"

"Gentlemen, please watch. From now on, I will never be defeated again!"

He then ordered people to collect the bodies of Cao Ang, Dian Wei and Cao Anmin, intending to bury them in their hometown.

Then he withdrew his troops back to Xu and regrouped.

Not long after arriving in Xu County, someone came to report that Sun Qian from Xuzhou had arrived.

Cao Cao asked about Sun Qian's purpose and found out that he came to express condolences.

Li Yi also asked Sun Qian to bring some money and food.

Cao Cao couldn't help but sigh:

"Li Yi is actually a loyal and honest man!"

Then, he blamed Cheng Yu:

"When I sent troops to attack Zhang Xiu, you said that Li Yi had ulterior motives and bad intentions."

"Now that my army was defeated at Yushui, instead of taking advantage of our misfortune, they sent people to send money and food and to express condolences for the funeral."

"How do you say it?"

Cheng Yu was speechless when asked by Cao Cao. He did not expect Li Yi to be so honest. Before the expedition, he sent money and food to cheer him up.

After losing the battle, they sent money and food to comfort the enemy.

It seems that they really treat the Cao family as allies, and Cheng Yu is judging others by his own mean standards.

"In this matter, Yu indeed misjudged Li Ziyu."

"This man is truly an honest gentleman. With him, the alliance between Cao and Liu will be more stable."

"If you have this help in dealing with Yuan Shao in the future, I should congratulate you, my lord."

Therefore, Cao Cao received Sun Qian with great ceremony to demonstrate his importance to Xuzhou.

Then he ordered people to select a few rare items from the treasury as a return gift and let Sun Qian take them back.

To express his gratitude to Xuzhou.

Sun Qian thanked him and told Cao Cao what Li Yi had entrusted him with.

After hearing this, Cao Cao immediately said:
"Now that Yuan Shu has been destroyed, his remaining forces can no longer cause any trouble."

"When Yuan Shao sees that his great enemy is dead, he will certainly make a move in Henan."

"Even if General Liu doesn't want to do this, I will find an opportunity to discuss the matter of resisting Hebei with him."

"Since the envoy has raised this matter, please tell General Liu that Cao will arrive in Chen soon."

"I hope General Liu will arrive soon."

Sun Qian was overjoyed and thanked him repeatedly.

"Thank you, Sikong Cao. If that is true, Qian can go back and report now."

Afterwards, Cao Cao rewarded Sun Qian handsomely and personally sent him back to Xuzhou.

……

However, since Yuan Shu's demise, the remaining people have found it difficult to stir up trouble again.

Yuan Shao, who was far away in Yecheng, was overjoyed as he had lost one of his most powerful enemies.

But when he heard that Cao Cao and Liu Bei were dividing the land south of the Huai River, he felt even more uneasy.

Huainan was prosperous, so Cao and Liu joined forces to attack Yuan Shu on the grounds that he had secretly kept the imperial seal and was plotting treason.

Destroy it.

According to Yuan Shao's idea, Cao Cao, as his younger brother, should have been used by him at this moment.

After eliminating the threat from the north, he would naturally sweep the Central Plains.

However, the power of Cao and Liu was growing stronger and stronger, which was beyond Yuan Shao's expectations.

In particular, although these two people welcomed the emperor to Chen, the State of Chen was surrounded by Yan and Xu states.

No one else could enter the court without the help of these two people.

So although the emperor seemed independent, he was actually controlled by the Cao and Liu families, and all government affairs, big or small, went through the hands of Cao and Liu.

Originally, Yuan Shao was appointed Grand Marshal, making him equal to his younger brother Cao Cao, which already made him very unhappy.

Now that the Cao and Liu families controlled the emperor, Yuan Shao felt even more uneasy.

"I originally wanted to create a rift between the Cao and Liu families so that they could attack each other."

"I will pacify Gongsun Zan and eliminate the threat to the rear, and then we can go south."

"I didn't expect that these two people would unite. If they unite, they will definitely fight against Hebei!"

Yuan Shao is not a fool. Logically speaking, if Cao Cao and Liu Bei wanted to expand outward.

They should attack each other. After all, the two places are adjacent to each other and there are border frictions.

As a result, the two families not only did not attack each other, but instead turned hostility into friendship and showed signs of uniting.

So the question is, if the two families don't attack each other, who will they attack?
Even a fool can see that Cao and Liu united Henan just to deal with Hebei.

Another reason why this is true is that

Just a month ago, the strategist Ju Su suggested that his younger brother Cao Cao attack Liu Bei.

If he did not comply, it would be sufficient to prove that the Cao and Liu families had secretly signed an alliance and were ready to resist Hebei.

Cao Cao is not trustworthy enough, so you can be prepared in advance.

Yuan Shao followed his advice and secretly sent someone to inform Cao Cao, ordering him to attack Liu Bei.

Unexpectedly, Cao Cao replied that Liu Bei had done nothing wrong and there was no legitimate reason to attack him.

Therefore, he rejected Yuan Shao's proposal.

After rejecting Yuan Shao, Cao Cao immediately sent someone to inform Liu Bei, telling him that Yuan Shao might have become alert.

When Liu Bei found out, he was shocked and angry.

At Li Yi's suggestion, Cao Cao and Liu Bei jointly wrote a letter to the emperor.

He requested Emperor Liu Xie to issue an edict to accuse Yuan Shao of his mistakes.

Liu Xie had no choice but to obey. He drafted an imperial edict and sent it to Hebei, pointing out Yuan Shao's mistakes.

The imperial edict mentioned Yuan Shao.
——"The territory is vast and the troops are numerous. They have set up their own faction, but their loyal troops have not come to Chendi to pay tribute."

"On the contrary, he repeatedly sent troops to attack other counties and prefectures, treating the imperial court as if it were nothing. This is truly a great act of treason."

Politics is the most face-conscious game.

When Cao Cao and Liu Bei were fighting against Yuan Shu, they specifically accused Yuan Shu of privately keeping the imperial seal, which gave him a good reason to fight against him.

However, Yuan Shao's expedition against Gongsun Zan did not follow the formal procedures and was illegal.

After the imperial edict was sent to Jizhou, Yuan Shao was furious.

People report that many people in Hebei are uneasy and should be appeased.

Yuan Shao had no choice but to write a letter to the court to apologize to the emperor. The letter said:
"Although I am a villain, I am committed to maintaining my integrity."

"If I can make my true feelings known and live up to the late emperor, I will willingly bow down to the sword and throw myself into the boiling cauldron."

"I hope Your Majesty will not let me die in shame, and stop the flattery and slander. Don't let this humble minister bear the grudge in the afterlife!"

Yuan Shao's words in this book are very convincing, and for the first time he put down his proud head.

After being outmaneuvered by Cao and Liu, Yuan Shao finally realized the importance of the emperor.

Although he did not want to welcome the emperor to his side, he could not allow Cao and Liu to control the emperor.

You still have to keep him in front of you.

Therefore, he urgently summoned his civil and military officials to discuss the matter.

Yuan Shao stood with his hands behind his back and said angrily:
"Cao Cao is doomed to die when he encounters danger."

"If I hadn't saved him, how could Peter have survived?"

"I ordered him to attack Liu Bei before, but he refused to obey and instead joined forces with him. He wrote to me and blamed me for my mistakes."

At this point, Yuan Shao felt extremely humiliated and said angrily:
"Cao Man is a very unkind man, and now he has betrayed his kindness."

"Are you trying to control me by uniting with Liu Bei?"

"I called you all here to discuss this matter."

"The emperor is far away in Chendi, so I cannot make him pay tribute. If I were to go on a diplomatic mission, Cao and Liu would surely interfere."

"That is why I want to move the capital and welcome the emperor closer."

"What do you think?"

Because Yuan Shao attached great importance to this matter, he summoned almost all of his elite ministers.

The Ruying faction was headed by Xu You, Guo Tu and others.

The Hebei faction was powerful, led by Ju Su, Tian Feng, Shen Pei and others.

The counselor Shen Pei said:
"Cao Cao did not listen to Yuan Gong's advice and did not attack Liu Bei. Instead, he allied with him and wanted to resist Hebei."

"His rebellious intentions are already evident, so it is better to act now."

"As the Art of War says, if you surround the enemy ten times and attack five times, then the enemy will be able to fight."

"Now our Hebei troops are strong, while Henan troops are weak. With your majesty's might, Heshuo will be strong."

"To defeat Cao and Liu is like turning over one's hand."

"If you don't take it now, it will be difficult to plan later."

Shen Pei was a radical who suggested that Yuan Shao immediately send troops to Henan to destroy Cao and Liu in order to avoid raising a tiger to cause trouble.

The reason is that we have more troops, stronger combat power, and speed is of the essence.

Solve the problem in Henan in one go, otherwise it will be difficult to deal with once Cao and Liu recover.

But this move was still too radical for Yuan Shao.

Although he hated Cao Cao's rebellion, he would not immediately send troops to harm Henan.

After all, Cao and Liu were both powerful and held the throne.

If you really want to conquer, you have to prepare first.

"This is not right, Lord Shen."

The person who spoke out against it was Tian Feng.

Although the two are from the Hebei faction, they still hold different opinions at this moment.

This shows how fierce the internal strife in Hebei is.

"Cao Cao is good at using troops and has many changes. Liu Bei is a dragon among men and is not an ordinary person."

"Now that the two families have united, even though their forces are small, they should not be underestimated."

"It is better to hold on for a long time. You have a stronghold of mountains and rivers and the support of the people of four states."

"Make friends with heroes outside, improve agriculture and warfare inside, and then select the best troops and divide them into special forces."

"They took advantage of the opportunity to disturb Henan."

"If Cao Cao rescues Liu Bei, then attack Cao; if Liu Bei rescues Cao Cao, then attack Liu."

"If the enemy is exhausted, the people of Henan will not be able to work in peace."

"Our army has not yet exhausted itself, but the enemy is already in trouble. In less than two years, we can defeat them in one sitting."

"Such a place in the Central Plains will be yours sooner or later!"

Tian Feng's suggestion was much more conservative and reasonable than Shen Pei's.

He believed that the alliance between Cao and Liu was obviously aimed at Hebei.

Unless the Yuan family is destroyed, it would be impossible to split the Cao and Liu families and provoke conflicts between them before that.

Since Cao and Liu came well prepared, Yuan Shao should play to his strengths.

That is to make good use of the largest, richest and most populous land in the world.

Fight a protracted war with Cao Cao and Liu Bei!
After all, Yuan Shao had many soldiers and generals, and sufficient food and fodder, so he could definitely afford the consumption.

On the contrary, the Cao and Liu families fought each other. Although they united, they were unable to unify their territories.

It is no exaggeration to say that both families were engaged in large-scale military farming.

But productivity is still far behind that of Hebei.

Xun Yu and Li Yi set up military farms for Cao Cao and Liu Bei simply to narrow the gap with Yuan Shao.

No matter how well they do it.

During the Three Kingdoms period, it was unrealistic to expect the productivity of the south to surpass that of the north.

In addition to fighting a protracted war, Tian Feng also put forward another suggestion, which is to "make friends with heroes outside."

Of course, this refers to Liu Biao and Sun Ce.

Because these two people are behind Cao Cao and Liu Bei respectively, and both have certain strength.

If we can unite these two families and cooperate with the strength of Hebei, wouldn’t it be easy to destroy Cao and Liu?

One focuses on combat, the other focuses on slow maps.

Yuan Shao hesitated for a while and could not make up his mind.

He asked Xu You for advice, and Xu You said:
"The words of Lord Tian and Lord Shen are not those of wise men."

"From Xu You's point of view."

"Your Excellency, there is no need to attack Cao and Liu. Just send out a surprise force and divide it among the troops to hold the fort."

"And if we go straight to the emperor through another road, the matter can be accomplished immediately."

Xu You's suggestion was to launch a surprise attack and seize the emperor first.

With an emperor around, everything is easy.

Following Cao Cao and Liu Bei to seize a city or a pond is too narrow-minded and lacks a grand strategic perspective.

Yuan Shao asked his deputy Ju Su for advice again.

Ju Su expressed his agreement with Xu You's opinion.

"All Cao and Liu could rely on was to use the emperor to control the other princes."

The word "叼" here does not mean to hold hostage, but to rely on.

Therefore, things like using the emperor to control the princes can be said openly.

Ju Su continued speaking.

"Now we should first pacify Gongsun Zan, then send an envoy to present our victory to the emperor, and then work on farming and the hermits."

"If we cannot get through, we should report to Cao and Liu to block our way, and then we can advance and station at Liyang."

"We gradually built up our base in Henan, built more boats, repaired equipment, and dispatched elite cavalry."

"We will attack the borders of Cao and Liu, making them feel uneasy, and we will take advantage of their leisure."

"Within three years, the matter can be settled."

Ju Su neutralized the suggestions of Xu You and Tian Feng.

That is, first seize the emperor, and then slowly target Cao Cao.

Compared with Xu You, Ju Su explained the specific steps of seizing the emperor.

That is to invite the emperor to Hebei under the pretext of offering victory.

If Cao Cao or Liu Bei dared to block the way, it would be regarded as a declaration of war.

Advance directly to Liyang and dispatch elite troops to attack Henan.

By using the tactic of tiring out the troops, Cao and Liu were exhausted and could not spare any time.

In this way, great things can be accomplished in just three years!
Everyone was arguing fiercely and Yuan Shao was unable to stop for a while.

Since we are determined to fight, we must unite all the forces that can be united.

Otherwise there will be internal divisions and quarrels.

However, in Yuan's camp, the Hebei faction and the Ruying faction were fighting fiercely, and the battle for succession between Yuan Tan and Yuan Shang was also going on.

Yuan Shao was now old and no longer had the energy he had when he was young.

In addition, his indecisive character caused him to repeatedly miss opportunities to destroy Cao Cao even though he had unprecedented advantages.

For example, during the war between Yuan and Cao, some people discussed:

If Yuan Shao had listened to Xu You, he could have won earlier.

If you listen to Tian Feng, you can win later.

If you listen to Ju Su, you will win sooner or later.

Listen to Guo Tu, you can win even if you lose a little.

But Yuan Shao chose "or" between yes or no.

This is the real reason why the Yuan family ultimately lost to the Cao family.

"Don't argue anymore, I have made my decision."

After some consideration, Yuan Shao finally made up his mind.

"I intend to send an envoy to meet the emperor first."

"I ask for the title of Grand General, to hold the imperial seal, and to supervise the troops of Ji, Qing, Bing, and You."

"If Cao and Liu disagree, then we will raise our army and attack them."

"If Cao and Liu follow my advice, we can slow down our plan and destroy Gongsun Zan first, eliminating our worries."

"After the north is stabilized, we will then attack Henan."

Between the radicals and the conservatives, Yuan Shao decided to strike a balance.

Get the court's approval first.

How can a mere Grand Marshal be worthy of the current Yuan Shao?

He must at least ask for the title of general to suppress Cao and Liu first.

The court is now controlled by the Cao and Liu families, so this is a good opportunity to test the attitudes of Cao and Liu.

If the two agreed, it would prove that they did not have the strength to resist themselves.

In terms of reputation, Hebei can also surpass Henan.

If the two disagree, then adopt the advice of the radicals and attack Henan directly in advance!

Although Yuan Shao rarely made decisions, once he made one, no one could persuade him to stop.

Seeing that Yuan Shao had made up his mind, the counselors decided not to try to persuade him any further.

Led by the loyal minister Ju Su, they could only patch up Yuan Shao's decision and offer further suggestions on this basis.

"Mr. Yuan, since you are sending an envoy to the emperor, focus on dealing with Gongsun Zan."

"Why not write a letter first to seek peace with Gongsun Zan?"

"First, to slow down their hearts and make them no longer prepared."

"Secondly, if Cao and Liu do not comply, we can focus on dealing with the troops in Henan without having to worry about the dangers in the rear."

This suggestion was quite sensible, and Yuan Shao readily agreed.

He immediately sent an envoy to Chen to pay homage to the emperor.

At the same time, he personally wrote a letter and sent it to Yijing.

He used gentle words to appease Gongsun Zan and asked for reconciliation between the two families.

This is basically what happened in Hebei, so I won’t go into details.

……

It is said that in Henan, Cao Cao and Liu Bei planned to go to Chen together.

Under the pretext of paying tribute to the emperor, they discussed strategies to counter Yuan Shao.

The two men each brought their own troops and stationed the main army outside the city, while each brought only a small number of troops into the city to pay homage to the emperor.

After entering the court, performing formalities and presenting tribute.

So they prepared to discuss how to deal with Hebei.

Before he could open his mouth, he received news that an envoy from Hebei had come to Chen.

Because the State of Chen was located between the forces of Cao and Liu, other princes could not hide their desire to enter the court to see the emperor from the eyes of Cao and Liu.

The envoy from Hebei was intercepted by Cao's troops.

Cao Bing hurriedly reported the news to Cao Cao.

Liu Bei happened to be nearby, and to show his sincerity, Cao Cao told Liu Bei the news truthfully.

"What is Yuan Shao's intention in sending an envoy here?"

Liu Bei asked.

Cao Cao laughed and said:

"You'll know if you ask."

So he ordered someone to bring Yuan's envoy before the two men.

Cao Cao was about to interrogate him when another scout came with a report.

Sun Ce also sent an envoy to Chen, intending to meet the emperor.

This time he was intercepted by Liu Bing.

Of course Liu Bing did not dare to hide it and quickly reported the news to Liu Bei.

Liu Bei also told Cao Cao the truth.

Cao Cao clapped his hands and laughed:

"What day is today?"

"Why did all the princes of the world come to Chendi to pay homage to the emperor?"

Then he turned around and asked Guo Jia behind him:

"Fengxiao, guess why Sun Ce came here?"

Yuan's envoy was intercepted by Cao Cao, and Sun's envoy was intercepted by Liu Bei.

But Cao Cao deliberately asked Guo Jia about Sun Ce's affairs instead of Yuan Shao's, intending to give Guo Jia a chance to perform.

Guo Jia grinned and said:

"Ce Xin annexed Jiangdong, and those he killed were all heroes and heroes who could win people's death."

"But Ce has no title and is traveling in Jiangdong, which is treason."

"Even if there are millions of people, it is no different from walking alone in the Central Plains."

"So Jia guessed that he was trying to submit a petition to the emperor and request for canonization."

"It would be a good excuse to occupy the land of Jiangdong."

Cao Cao laughed loudly upon hearing this and asked:
"Sun Ce is so brave, can he be a threat to me?"

This was a clever question, because most of Sun Ce's territory bordered Liu Bei.

However, Cao Cao asked whether Sun Ce would become a hidden danger to him, which was a profound metaphor.

Guo Jia smiled and said:

"Sun Ce was careless and unprepared, and he also killed heroes in Wu."

"If the assassin were to lie in wait, he would be the enemy of only one person."

"From Jia's point of view, Sun Ce will surely die at the hands of an ordinary man."

Upon hearing this, Cao Cao couldn't stop laughing and praised Guo Jia again and again.

"Feng Xiao is truly talented and strategic, a rare talent in the world."

"The one who helps me achieve great things must be filial!"

As he spoke, his eyes looked intentionally or unintentionally at Liu Bei and Li Yi behind him.

Seems to be showing off intentionally.

Although the two are allies on the surface, they are competing with each other secretly.

What Cao Cao meant was, although you, Liu Bei, have Li Ziyu, I, Cao Cao, also have Guo Fengxiao.

His strategy is not inferior to that of your military advisor.

Moreover, Guo Jia and Li Yi were equally young and promising.

Who is afraid of who?

Liu Bei could naturally see the surprise of Cao Cao's provocation, and he immediately refused to admit defeat.

He turned around and asked Li Yi behind him:
"Zi Yu, guess why Yuan Shao sent an envoy here?"

Li Yi also answered:

"Yuan Shao was previously appointed as the Grand Commandant, a position ranked among the Three Dukes, the same as Cao Sikong."

"I think Yuan Shao will feel insulted and will not accept this, knowing that the emperor is the most important."

"I want to send an envoy to Chendi to ask for a title."

While interpreting Yuan Shao's behavior, Li Yi also made some comments about Cao Cao.

That is, Yuan Shao felt that being on an equal footing with Cao Cao was a humiliation to him, so he asked for a high position.

What I mean is, don't forget that you, Cao Cao, were just Yuan Shao's guard dog before.

……

(End of this chapter)