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

Chapter 202 Liu Bei: First, Mr., Second, Mr., Duke Huan of the past did not necessarily call Guan Zhong to this extent

However, Sun Quan led his troops to attack Liu Xun in Lujiang for half a month.

Someone reported that Zhou Yu wanted to see him for important military matters, and Sun Quan gladly summoned him.

"Gongjin was training the navy in Poyang, so why did he come to Lujiang?"

Sun Quan ascended the throne at a young age and was very humble at this time. As soon as Zhou Yu arrived, he invited him to take the seat.

Zhou Yu did not beat around the bush and said bluntly:
"My lord, do you know the benefits and disadvantages of Dongwu?"

Sun Quan was shocked and said hurriedly:
"I don't know. Why did Gongjin speak like that?"

"Jingzhou is now trapped by Zhang Xian's rebellion, so we can attack Lujiang under the pretext of avenging our fathers and brothers."

"However, Lujiang is located in the south of Huai River, so we must be careful."

Sun Quan was stunned and immediately understood what Zhou Yu meant.

Huainan is the sphere of influence of Cao and Liu. If we attack Lujiang now, it would be like dancing on eggs.

"I have heard that Cao, Liu, and Yuan Shao were at a stalemate at Guandu, and it was hard to tell who would win."

"If we don't seize Lujiang now, it will be even more difficult to act once the victory or defeat is decided."

Sun Quan expressed his opinion.

Zhou Yu shook his head and said seriously:

"Although Hebei is strong and Henan is weak, we cannot defeat these two places."

"Who is your greatest enemy? It is Liu Jingsheng of Jingzhou!"

What Zhou Yu meant was to advise Sun Quan to clearly distinguish between the primary and the secondary.

It is true that Henan is weaker than Hebei, but it is also far stronger than Sun Wu.

Now it is a battle between two heroes, and the Sun family cannot afford to offend either side.

Therefore, the foreign policy must be to deal with Liu Biao of Jingzhou with all our strength.

Then he actively showed goodwill to the Henan court in exchange for Sun Wu's tacit approval to attack Jingzhou.

Both Zhou Yu and Lu Xun advocated making friends with Henan and then focusing all their efforts on dealing with Liu Biao.

Why?

First of all, Liu Biao had a grudge against the Sun family and attacked them with a pretext.

Secondly, Liu Biao’s personal ability is far inferior to Cao Cao and Liu Bei, so he is easy to deal with.

Finally, Jingzhou is prosperous, which is also the most important point.

Even though Sun still had outstanding talents such as Zhou Yu, Lu Dai, and Cheng Pu, all they had were rotten lands.

In terms of national strength alone, the entire Sun family's territory combined is not as good as Zhang Lu's Hanzhong.

So there are only two options for Sun.

Either implement Sun Ce's policy, attack quickly and seize the wealthy territories.

Or we can slowly develop the miasma areas such as Wujun and Kuaiji.

Of course, in history Sun Quan did develop Wu very well, but it also took several decades.

Given the trend of warlords annexing each other and becoming stronger and stronger at the end of the Han Dynasty, who could afford to wait for decades?

"According to Gongjin's opinion, what should we do?" Sun Quan asked.

Zhou Yu answered without hesitation:
"Immediately submit a petition to the court and send an envoy to pay tribute in order to request the title."

"When your brother was alive, he was already canonized by the imperial court. Now that the two heroes are deadlocked at Guandu, we, the Eastern Wu, must make a statement."

"If that is true, Cao and Liu will be delighted to have gained the Lord, and will tacitly allow us to capture Lujiang and even Jingzhou."

……Um.

Sun Quan nodded and followed suit:
"Since this is the case, I will send my brother Sun Yi to Chen to pay tribute in person to show our sincerity."

After he finished speaking, he summoned Sun Yi to his tent and told him the whole matter.

Sun Yi had a strict and violent personality, and his emotions were clearly visible on his face.

After hearing this, he immediately expressed his dissatisfaction:

"To send an envoy to pay tribute, you only need to send an elder to Chendi."

"Why should I go there in person?"

Sun Quan said very seriously:

"Now, Sikong Cao and General Liu are fighting against the enemy for the country and are in need of allies."

"My brother will go there in person to show my sincerity and make sure Lord Cao and Lord Liu do not doubt me."

"I have been selected as a filial and honest official. I am going to Chendi now, but I can stay in the court and serve as an official."

Sun Yi was shocked when he heard this. What did it mean to stay in the court as an official?
Isn't it just holding myself hostage in Henan?
"Since you took over my business, I have served you diligently, and never before has I done so."

"But why is this happening, Brother Quan?"

Sun Yi immediately expressed his dissatisfaction.

Sun Quan's face darkened, he looked stern, and glared angrily:

"Now I am the master of the family, do you dare not obey my orders?"

As soon as he finished speaking, the swordsmen on both sides drew their swords.

Sun Yi was shocked and terrified.

This was the first time that Sun Quan showed his political skills.

He sent his clan brothers to the court as hostages, of course, in exchange for the trust of Cao and Liu.

At the same time, this is also to consolidate one's own position.

When Sun Quan came to power, the clan was not at peace, and many Sun family generals wanted to raise their own troops.

Especially Sun Yi,
When Sun Ce was dying, the ministers led by Zhang Zhao actually supported Sun Yi to succeed him.

The reason is that Sun Yi is very similar to Sun Ce, both brave and resolute.

But Sun Ce finally refused. He thought that it was because Sun Yi was so much like him that it would be difficult to deal with what happened after his death.

Therefore, Sun Quan's succession to the throne was actually a decision made by Sun Ce alone, despite opposition from many others.

Although Sun Quan finally took over Sun Ce's baton smoothly, Sun Yi was still a potential political threat.

Sending him to the court in Chen would be a win-win situation for Sun Quan.

Seeing that Sun Quan was well prepared, Sun Yi knew that he would not be able to escape today no matter what, so he had to agree.

Sun Quan then turned his anger into joy and said with a smile:

"...Good, I have ordered people to prepare silk, food and fodder."

"My brother, you can go north immediately. When you meet Cao Sikong and General Liu, tell them what I want to say."

"I, Sun Wu, must be loyal to the court."

As soon as he finished speaking, Sun Quan sent his cousin Sun Ben and the veteran general Han Dang to lead their troops to escort Sun Yi to Chen.

Of course, it’s called escort, but in fact it’s surveillance.

Sun Yi had no choice but to comply.

Not stated.

……

Guandu, Henan.

Two months have passed since the stalemate between the Hebei and Henan armies.

At this time, Cao Cao and Liu Bei both received the news.

That is, Jingzhou and Wu both sent envoys to the court to show goodwill.

As for the purpose of coming,

Jingzhou hoped that the imperial court would send troops to eliminate the Sun family.

The Sun family paid tribute to the court and requested to be enthroned.

So Cao and Liu discussed the matter together and invited their chief strategist Li Yi to come and discuss the matter.

How to deal with the affairs of the South?

Li Yi said:

"Today, Jingzhou is strong, Sunwu is weak, and the two families have a blood feud."

"We can grant him the title as requested by Sun Quan and allow him to capture Jingzhou."

"As for the envoys from Jingzhou, they will not be received for the time being on the grounds of official business, in order to put them at ease."

Although Li Yi is a modern person, he has always rejected the idea of shooting arrows first and then drawing the target.

That is, we cannot assume that the Sun family will rise in the future and thus choose Jingzhou between Jingzhou and Sun Wu.

Similarly, we cannot assume that Cao Cao will unify the north in the future and ally with Yuan to fight against Cao.

All decisions must be made based on the current situation.

The current Sun Wu is a malaria-ridden area where a large number of talents have been poached and its territory only includes Wujun, Kuaiji, and several counties in the northern part of Yuzhang.

However, Liu Biao of Jingzhou was not much weakened compared with historical situation.

If nothing unexpected happens, Liu Biao and his Jingzhou will soon usher in their "peak period".

For this reason alone, Li Yi had to support Sun Wu in weakening Liu Biao's power.

To prepare for going south in the future.

Because if we really go south, Jingzhou will definitely be more difficult to conquer than Wu.

Unless you endure it slowly, wait until Liu Biao dies, and then it will disintegrate.

But Li Yi didn't want to wait another eight years. He wished the world would be unified as soon as possible.

Cao Cao and Liu Bei followed his advice.

He immediately submitted a memorial to the court, requesting that Sun Quan be appointed General Suppressing the Rebels and that he inherit his brother Sun Ce's title of Marquis of Wu.

As for the envoys from Jingzhou, they will not be received for the time being.

After that, he continued to be in a stalemate with Yuan Shao.

And so the stalemate lasted for another three months.

At this time, Cao Cao and Liu Bei received a very shocking news from the south.

——Liu Biao successfully put down the rebellion in southern Jing!

"So fast?"

Both Cao Cao and Liu Bei were shocked when they heard the news.

Because Zhang Xian had instigated rebellion in the four counties of southern Jing, how could it be easily quelled?

And the initial news was that Liu Biao sent troops to besiege Changsha, but failed to take it after a long siege.

How come it's all leveled all of a sudden?
After further questioning, I found out that Zhang Xian had suddenly died of illness.

After Zhang Xian's death, the people in southern Jing were leaderless.

So Liu Biao took advantage of the situation to sweep across southern Jing and open up more land.

In one fell swoop, he recovered Lingling and Guiyang, occupied Hanchuan in the north, and easily incorporated the people of southern Jingnan.

He actually occupied a territory of thousands of miles and had an army of over 100,000 soldiers.

Liu Biao's great victory enhanced the reputation of Jingzhou.

In addition, there was a war in the Central Plains, so many scholars from Guanxi, Guanzhong, and the north fled to Jingzhou for refuge.

Liu Biao appeased and provided relief to these scholars, and sent troops to eliminate the bandits in Jingzhou.

This made Jingzhou a paradise at the end of the Han Dynasty.

The whole mile was cleared and the people were pleased.

Liu Biao also officially entered his peak period.

After reading the letter, Cao Cao and Liu Bei sighed almost in unison:

"Liu Jingsheng is so lucky!"

On the other hand, he was glad that he had adopted Li Yi's policy of supporting Wu and suppressing Jing.

Otherwise, Liu Biao would be truly invincible in the south.

As mentioned before, Liu Biao's judgment of the world situation was wrong.

That is, he believes that if he keeps surviving, he will have the last laugh.

But Liu Biao himself had experienced a period of being inspired by the idea of "the more you fight, the stronger you become."

It was this time that Jingnan was pacified.

After Liu Biao recovered the four counties in southern Jing, he not only expanded his territory, but also incorporated the people in southern Jing without any effort.

If Liu Biao could react in time and change his ideas, he and his Jingzhou would definitely replace Sun Wu and become the overlord of the south.

Liu Biao's rise to power was undoubtedly bad news for Cao and Liu.

After all, no one wants a powerful enemy to appear out of nowhere behind them.

Fortunately, Li Yi's strategic approach was adopted at the beginning, and an enemy was created for Liu Biao in the east of Jingzhou.

After being enthroned by the imperial court and having the tacit approval of Cao and Liu, Sun Quan boldly and confidently attacked Lujiang.

Finally, Liu Xun of Lujiang was successfully driven away.

Therefore, Sun Quan connected the southern part of Lujiang and the northern part of Yuzhang, two important lands guarding the roads between Jing and Yang.

It officially formed a strategic threat to Jingzhou.

At the same time, another good news came.

Zhang Jin, governor of Jiaozhou, had a bad relationship with Liu Biao, especially the four counties in southern Jing.

At first, Liu Biao did not have strong control over this place, so Zhang Jin also wanted to get involved.

Now, seeing that Liu Biao had taken over all the land in southern Jing, he was very indignant, so he sent troops to invade.

He wanted to seize Jingnan by force before Liu Biao had a firm control over it.

In other words, Liu Biao had just settled one war when he started another war with Jiaozhou.

He still has no time to take care of the affairs in the north.

……

That day, at night, inside the camp.

Li Yi put one hand behind his back and pressed his eyebrows with the other hand.

Seeing the bright moon in the sky, I felt a little relieved.

"Shut up!"

A fast rider on a flying horse came down, and the person who got off was Xu Huang.

"...Grand Commander!"

Xu Huang walked behind Li Yi and bowed to his back.

"how?"

Li Yi did not turn around, but just asked about military affairs indifferently.

"I am following the order of the Grand Commander to lead the light cavalry to harass Yuan's army's food supply route."

Xu Huang replied in a deep voice.

Since the war has now entered a stalemate phase, both sides are competing to see who has more resources.

Although Yuan’s army had plenty of food, their supply lines were very long.

Once its supply lines are cut off, Yuan's army will be in big trouble.

"Just now I saw him on the way and caught a spy from Yuan's army. I will know the truth after asking him."

"General Han Meng of the Yuan army was ordered to escort thousands of carts of grain and fodder."

"If nothing unexpected happens, we'll be there tomorrow morning."

Li Yi was overjoyed when he heard this:

"Han Meng is only a brave man. Now we send light cavalry to harass him and attack him halfway."

"If we cut off their food and grass, Yuan's army will surely fall into chaos."

During this period, Li Yi had been sending light cavalry to capture Yuan's army's grain transport troops.

In fact, no matter how hard a war is fought, the simplest and most direct way is always to cut off the other side's food supply.

If the food supply is cut off, we will be unable to move forward.

"The general will go where he wishes!"

Xu Huang volunteered.

"Don't worry, wait for me to inform the lord."

Li Yi got up and went to see Liu Bei, but Liu Bei was not there at the moment.

He was discussing military affairs in Cao Cao's camp.

Cao Cao was in the camp, looking anxious and panicked. He said to Liu Bei:
"...Xuan De, the war has lasted for a hundred days, and the people of Henan are suffering terribly."

"Today, I have received a report that another group of people have fled to Hebei and joined Yuan Shao."

"If this continues, Cao will have no choice but to retreat."

When a war breaks out, it is always the common people who suffer.

The outbreak of the Battle of Guandu brought the most disaster to the people under Cao Cao's rule.

Because the war was fought in Cao Cao's territory, the people in Cao Cao's territory were unable to engage in normal production labor.

At the same time, they had to be pulled in from time to time to replenish the troops or serve as laborers.

It would be fine if we could just endure it, but the problem is that the war has lasted for more than a hundred days.

The local people were in great distress, and many of them betrayed Cao's army and responded to Yuan's army.

The loss of control over Yuzhou was already making Cao Cao's scalp tingle.

What's worse is that Cao Cao's soldiers were almost unable to fight any further.

After all, if the war is won more and more, they can endure it.

But there was no end in sight to the war, and the soldiers had to leave their homes and had not seen their parents, wives and children for nearly half a year.

The feeling of loneliness spread among the soldiers.

At the same time, the harsh living conditions on the front line also made life miserable for the soldiers.

Today, Cao Hong killed three more deserters, which temporarily stabilized the generals' morale.

But Cao Cao had realized that if he did not fight a decisive battle with Yuan Shao, he would have no choice but to withdraw his troops.

"How many troops does Lord Xuande still have?" Cao Cao asked anxiously.

"There are still ten thousand people." Liu Bei replied.

"I heard that Xuande obtained 5,000 Youzhou cavalry from Youzhou Gongsun clan. Is this true?"

"It's true."

Liu Bei closed his eyes and admitted it generously. "Good!"

Cao Cao was overjoyed. He held Liu Bei's shoulders and said seriously:

"Cao also has 10,000 men on the front line, including the 10,000 that Li Ziyu brought back from Qingzhou."

"We can also deploy 35,000 people to the front line!"

"Although Yuan's army is several times larger than ours, their soldiers and generals are not as strong as those in Henan."

"What we are worried about is that the Hebei cavalry is difficult to defeat."

"Now that Xuande has 5,000 Youzhou cavalry, you can quickly dispatch them to fight a decisive battle with Yuan Shao!"

Even though Liu Bei had experienced many wars, he was still shocked when he heard Cao Cao's decision.

"Does Cao Gong want to fight a decisive battle with Yuan Shao now?"

"…Well, we can't delay any longer."

Cao Cao nodded and said seriously:

"Today, the military and civilians are tired of fighting. If we continue to delay, the people will rebel."

"I'm afraid there will be changes in our army!"

Liu Bei pushed Cao Cao's hands away and shook his head:

"My master said that now is not the best time to fight a decisive battle with Yuan's army."

"Besides, Yuan's army is powerful. No matter how strong our army is, it is not enough to defeat ten Yuan soldiers with one."

"It's better to be patient for a while."

Cao Cao suddenly became anxious and roared in a rare rage:
"If we delay any longer, our army and civilians will surely change!"

"Since the war has not yet begun in Xuzhou, you naturally don't care."

Cao Cao was not angry for no reason, after all, the main battlefield was on his territory.

The destruction of infrastructure, the disconnection of productivity, the cessation of agricultural work, and the loss of population were all borne by Cao Cao.

If the battle drags on, even if we win the Battle of Guandu, we will have exhausted Cao Cao's strength.

Liu Bei raised his eyebrows and said seriously:
"Are you alone in your difficulties?"

"My soldiers and civilians also have many complaints, and I spend a thousand bushels of grain every day to supply Cao's camp."

"For this, the master also blames me a lot."

"Now the food supply in Xuzhou is almost exhausted. Is this what I want?"

Liu Bei also had a bad temper and he retorted back to Cao Cao on the spot.

From what Cao Cao said, it seemed as if I, Xuzhou, was deliberately delaying the decisive battle with Yuan Shao.

Who wouldn’t feel bad after the war has been going on for so long?
Even if there was no war breaking out in Xuzhou, would the people of Xuzhou live well?

First of all, when the cannon is fired, it brings in a ton of gold.

The outbreak of war exacerbated the government's financial difficulties, which indirectly affected the economic situation of the people.

Second, the war consumed a large amount of supplies, making the supply of materials in Xuzhou become tight.

The prices of daily necessities also rose.

Third, as the war progressed, news of casualties came out.

It has increased the worries and fears of those who have lost their loved ones and has further increased the financial burden on families.

For example, a couple, the wife has lost her husband and can only support her children and parents by herself.

The old man lost his child and had to find a way to be self-reliant.

This series of social problems also put Liu Bei under great pressure. Didn't he want to end the war as soon as possible?
"Since Xuande shares the same concern, you can quickly join forces with me to attack and destroy Yuan Shao's camp!"

Cao Cao did not make the decision rashly.

He knew that although the people on his side were uneasy, how much better could the Yuan army be?

They were also forced to leave their homes, and they were even further away.

So these two debuffs can cancel each other out.

The cavalry Liu Bei obtained from Youzhou could also make up for the gap in the number of cavalry on both sides.

At the same time, in the previous battle of "Tushan", all of Yuan's long-range troops were killed and wounded.

Even if it recovers, its long-range firepower is still not as good as that of the Henan Army.

Add to that Liu Bei's and his own personal talents, Li Yi's brilliant strategies, and the powerful generals under his command on both sides.

It is entirely possible to have a bloody battle with Yuan Shao.

"The war has been going on for so long, and I don't think I'd want to have a decisive battle with Yuan Shao."

"But the military advisor said that Yuan's army has not yet reached its end, so we should not fight them lightly."

"If you lose one thing, you lose everything."

Henan's biggest disadvantage compared to Hebei is that Henan cannot afford to lose.

The Battle of Guandu was a defensive battle.

If the Henan army lost, Yuan Shao would be unstoppable and unify Henan.

If the Hebei army lost, then Henan would have won the "National Defense War".

It was just about driving Yuan's army out of Henan.

It doesn’t mean that Hebei belongs to Cao Cao or Liu Bei.

Based on this point, the final decisive battle must be fought with extreme caution, slowly looking for Yuan Shao's flaws.

"……Hahaha."

Cao Cao stroked his beard and laughed, saying to Liu Bei:
"Xuan De, oh Xuan De, ever since you got the Li Ziyu."

"First, sir. Second, sir. Even when Duke Huan called Guan Zhong, he might not have done so."

"You must know that in this military camp, it is you, the lord, who makes the decisions, not Li Yi."

Liu Bei frowned and said in a deep voice:
"Most of your words are profound and valuable, and I have benefited from them."

"Why not follow my advice?"

Although Cao Cao was telling the truth, Liu Bei understood one thing.

He is able to get to where he is today thanks to Li Yi.

If I hadn't adopted Li Yi's strategy
How could he be the Left General of the Han Dynasty, Marquis of Xia Pi, and the Governor of Xuzhou, Liu Bei today?

"……snort."

Cao Cao put his hands behind his back and groaned.

"Where is Li Yi? I'm going to have a discussion with him!"

Seeing that Liu Bei was not convinced, Cao Cao knew that if he wanted to persuade Liu Bei to send troops, he could only persuade Li Yi first.

As they were talking, someone reported that Li Yi had arrived.

Cao Cao urgently invited him in.

Seeing Li Yi striding in, Cao Cao stepped forward and forced a smile:
"...Mr. Ziyu, it's late at night, but you still can't sleep?"

Li Yi smiled with interest:
"The war is urgent now. Minister Cao and General Zuo are both staying in the camp and have suffered a lot."

"As the leader of Henan, how can Yi be lazy and slack?"

Cao Cao sneered and said:

"Then why are you here to see Cao at this late hour?"

"No!"

Li Yi shook his head, "Li is not here to see Cao Gong."

"I came to look for my master, but he is with Cao Gong, so I have no choice but to come here."

This……

Cao Cao was stunned and speechless.

Seeing this, Liu Bei stepped forward and asked:

"It's so late, sir, why are you here?"

Li Yi was not in a hurry to speak, but asked Cao Cao:
"Just now outside the tent, I seemed to hear Lord Cao complaining about Li?"

Cao Cao was stunned again, thinking that he was hysterical and a little out of control just now, but Li Yi who was passing by heard it clearly.

He simply admitted it generously and asked:
"……good."

"Since Mr. Ziyu is here, Cao would like to ask you a question."

"Although Yuan's army is large, it may not be as resolute and good at fighting as our Henan army."

"In the battle of Tushan, Yuan Shao's entire army was wiped out when he first entered the camp."

"And Lord Xuande has five thousand Youzhou cavalrymen. Why can't he fight a decisive battle with Yuan's army?"

"You must know that our Yuzhou land is out of control, and the people of Yanzhou are also suffering."

“If we delay this any longer, the unworthy Yuan army will take action, and changes will occur within the Cao clan.

At this point, Cao Cao's eyes suddenly became sharp, and he looked at Li Yi and said solemnly:

"Therefore, sir, you must give Cao an answer today."

"When will we be able to fight a decisive battle with Yuan's army?"

"If there is no response, or if it is delayed for too long..."

Cao Cao raised his mouth and said fiercely:
"Then it's not that Cao doesn't want to be an ally, it's just that there's a fire in the backyard that has to be put out."

"So if we cannot fight a decisive battle, let Cao withdraw from Guandu and return to Yingchuan to quell the rebellion!"

This was the ultimatum issued by Cao Cao.

If Cao Cao really did this, it would be equivalent to giving up Yanzhou.

Even if he stayed in Yuzhou afterwards, the situation was already hopeless and he would die a slow death.

From this we can see that Cao Cao made such a decision because he was really forced into a corner.

"……well!"

Liu Bei sighed, "I have already advised Cao Gong, but Cao Gong refused to listen."

As he spoke, he also expressed his helplessness to Li Yi:

"...Sir, Beiya feels that we can't delay this any longer."

"Yesterday I received a letter from Zi Jing saying that the food supply is running out and we won't be able to survive for another month."

"If the war cannot be ended within a month, then we will have no choice but to withdraw to Xuzhou."

War consumes much more food than Liu Bei imagined.

Path loss is only one of the root causes.

Another important reason is that food is needed to feed the people.

If there is no food in the market, won’t the people just starve to death?

But the war began,
This caused a large number of people to join the army and serve, resulting in soaring prices and a disconnection between production and labor.

The reduction in food production and the slow production of materials have increased the burden on the government.

"I think our Henan army is having a hard time, but Yuan's army's battle line has extended to Guandu, and their losses are several times greater than ours."

“No matter how rich Hebei is, it won’t last much longer.”

"Perhaps, it's time to fight to the death with Yuan's army."

Deep down, Liu Bei also longed to have a head-on battle with Yuan Shao.

After all, the war has been going on for so long that both sides are suffering.

Li Yi glanced at Liu Bei, then at Cao Cao, took out a letter and handed it to Cao Cao.

"Just now, an envoy from Yingchuan came outside the tent to deliver a letter to Lord Cao."

"Li brought it in along the way. Lord Cao might as well take a look at it first."

Cao Cao took the letter and saw that it was written by Xun Yu.

So he asked cautiously:

"Have you seen it, sir?"

“…Haha, not yet.”

Li Yi smiled and shook his head, "But I can roughly guess what is written in the letter."

"Oh?"

Cao Cao raised his eyebrows, crossed his arms over his chest, and asked with interest:
"Then tell me what Wen Ruo wrote to Cao."

"We should advise Lord Cao to hold on to Guandu and not withdraw our troops."

Li Yi answered without hesitation.

Cao Cao was half-believing and half-doubting, so he opened the letter and read it.

I saw the letter written:

——"I have heard that you are facing many difficulties on the front line and the difficulties are difficult to resolve."

"I believe that Yuan Shao has gathered all his troops at Guandu, intending to fight you to the death."

"You and General Liu have joined forces, and the weakest can defeat the strongest."

"If we cannot win, they will surely take advantage of us. This is a great opportunity for the world and we must not miss it."

"Although Shao's army is numerous, it cannot be used."

"With your wisdom and bravery, and with the help of General Liu, there is nothing you can't accomplish!"

"Although the army has little food, it is not as bad as the stalemate between Chu and Han at Chenggao and Xingyang."

"At that time, Emperor Gaozu and Xiang Yu were both unwilling to retreat first, because the one who retreated first would be at a disadvantage."

"You have occupied one-tenth of the enemy's population, but you have marked out a territory and defended it, strangling their throat and preventing them from advancing for half a year."

"When Yuan's army sees that their momentum is exhausted, there will be changes."

"This is the time to use the extraordinary, and we must not miss it."

"Only the wise lord can make the final decision. Xun Yu pays respect to the emperor."

After reading it, Cao Cao was shocked to see that it was indeed a letter written by Xun Yu to persuade him to continue the war.

"It's just as Mr. Ziyu said!"

Cao Cao still trusted Xun Yu very much. Seeing that Xun Yu advised him to continue fighting, he stopped being upset.

He gave his letter to Liu Bei and Li Yi to read.

The king and his minister took a quick look.

Xun Yu's meaning is roughly,
Although our Henan army has little food now, it is not as difficult as when Emperor Gaozu and Xiang Yu were in a stalemate in Xingyang.

Let me give you an example of idol.

Now, our Henan Army has been holding the throat of Yuan’s army’s attack for more than half a year.

The enemy's strength has been revealed and their fighting spirit has been exhausted.

The situation is bound to change. This is a good opportunity to use a brilliant strategy. Don't miss it!

You must hold on a little longer!
After reading the letter, Liu Bei couldn't help but sigh:

"Xun Wenruo is truly a talent who can assist the king!"

The real brilliance of Xun Yu's letter lies not only in that it clearly explained the situation to Cao Cao.

The key is that the words and sentences used are very clever.

What kind of people are truly great talents for the country?
It's not just that you have to have the talent to assist the king and help the people.

More importantly, it can make the leaders listen to your correct policies and implement them with you.

Because there are many people who can put forward correct opinions and policies, the key is whether the leader listens to you.

People like Ju Shou and Tian Feng, although talented, are very "fatherly" and always teach Yuan Shao how to do things.

I said you are doing it wrong here, you have to follow my guidelines.

I guess even if Yuan Shao knows that what you said makes sense, he doesn't want to use your plan.

Why do we often say that the most talented assistant to Cao Wei was Xun Yu, that of Shu Han was Zhuge Liang, and that of Eastern Wu was Lu Su?

In fact, if you look closely at the resumes of these three people, you will find one thing in common.

These three people are not only talented, but the key is that the leaders really listen to them.

Their speeches always adhere to three premises.

First, flatter with reason and evidence.

Second, put yourself in the other person’s shoes and discuss the problem.

Third, make suggestions with firm conviction.

China has been a society based on personal connections since ancient times. If you have talent, you can also use personal connections well.

That is the true talent of the country.

After Cao Cao received Xun Yu's letter, his confidence increased, and he asked Li Yi:

"Wen Ruo mentioned in the letter that this is the right time to seize the opportunity, which coincides with your courage and strategy."

"Sir, you are a man of great caliber like Zhang Zifang. You must have some extraordinary strategy to defeat the enemy."

"I just spoke rudely, I hope you will forgive me!"

Li Yi then took out another letter and handed it to Cao Cao and Liu Bei.

"……This is?"

Cao and Liu unfolded the letter and found that it was from the spy of Yuan army that Xu Huang had captured before.

"The battle has been going on for so long, and Yuan's army is running out of food."

"If we can intercept Yuan's army's food trucks, there will definitely be chaos within the Yuan army."

"Then we can fight a decisive battle with Yuan Shao and defeat him with one strike!"

Li Yi spoke of his plan in a very confident manner.

Why does it take so long?

First, Yuan’s army is powerful, so we must first eliminate his momentum.

Although the Henan Army also suffered losses, its combat effectiveness was stronger than that of the Hebei Army.

Second, although Yuan’s army had a large number of troops, it also indirectly doubled the consumption of food and fodder.

Especially by extending the battle line to Guandu, it would be possible for Henan to compete with Yuan Shao in terms of consumption.

Third, Li Yi had been looking for an opportunity, waiting for Yuan Shao to reveal a flaw.

Now, Yuan Jun finally brought the opportunity to him.

"When we use our troops, if the enemy does not make mistakes, how can our army defeat them?"

"The time has come and we cannot afford to lose it."

(End of this chapter)