My younger brother Zhuge Liang

Chapter 330: Cao Mengde is glad to hear criticism

"Brother Benchu... Alas, there is a jealous woman in the family, and in the end, the affairs of the deceased were ended in such an ignominious way, which is a loss to the true character of a hero! Brother Benchu, Brother Benchu, you did not lose unfairly. You are not as good as me on the battlefield and in employing people. You are also not as good as me in Qi Jiaxiu!"

In the Sikong Mansion in Xudu City, Cao Cao heard about Yuan Shao's death and sighed for a long time.

Cao Cao was mentally prepared for this day to come. He had been waiting for several months, but he didn't expect it to end in such a mess.

Especially when they learned that Liu had handled Yuan Shao's affairs after his death in a disgraceful manner, not only killing innocent people but also going back on her word and ruining her reputation, causing panic among the people, some counselors fled Yecheng and went to Qingzhou to join Yuan Tan.

This made Cao Cao feel even more worthless and despised.

He is very capable in managing the rear house and has great prestige.

If she were Cao Cao's woman, who would dare to interfere with his affairs out of jealousy? Who would dare to interfere in his decision about which son he would appoint as successor? If a woman interfered in government affairs and touched Cao Cao's reverse scale, he would punish her severely.

That night, Cao Cao invited several key advisers who were in Xudu to drink with him. Xun Yu, Xun You and Guo Jia were all present. At first, everyone thought Cao Cao wanted to ask for advice, so they made a lot of preparations.

Who would have thought that in the end they just drank. Cao Cao basically said nothing until he was drunk. He spoke occasionally, and all he talked about were old things in Luoyang and past events. He did not mention any strategies or military tactics to deal with the Yuan family.

"Wen Ruo, Feng Xiao, you don't know, thirty years ago, um... it doesn't seem that long ago, maybe only twenty-seven or twenty-eight years ago, I was still young and hadn't entered the government yet, Benchu was just a palace official in Luoyang, and I went with Benchu to steal someone's new bride.

He fell into a thorn bush, and I shouted to scare him. He was so scared that he struggled to get out, and the thorns left a long bloody groove on his thigh. He recovered for more than half a month after returning home. Hahaha, Benchu was not as clever as me back then..."

"But not long after that, he returned to his hometown because of his mother's death. Later, he tried to gain fame by saying that he felt sad that he had never seen his stepfather and wanted to mourn for another three years. For more than five years, he never played with me again.

In the past five years, I, like him, have been successfully selected as a civil servant and was recommended by Sima Gong to be the Northern Commander of Luoyang. When I killed Jian Shuo's uncle with a five-colored stick, Benchu was still in his hometown to observe mourning. Although he could not come in person, he also wrote a letter to express his regards, saying that he could help me mediate and not to worry about the eunuch's revenge... Well, considering our friendship back then, this cup of wine will be regarded as a remote sacrifice to Brother Benchu."

Cao Cao was drunk and kept mumbling. As he drank, he began to splash the liquid without any pattern.

If he could think of a reason, he would just pour the wine on the ground as a toast to Yuan Shao. If he couldn't think of a reason, he would just continue drinking and fall asleep.

Xun Yu and Guo Jia had prepared a lot of strategies and answers, but in the end, they were not used.

……

Cao Cao got so drunk that he didn't even take care of government affairs the next morning.

It was Xun Yu who helped him take a look first. If it was not a big deal, he would deal with it. If it was a big matter that required Cao Cao's personal decision, then he would stay for now.

Cao Cao slept until noon, ate lunch and breakfast together, and strolled around for a while. It was not until late afternoon that he summoned the two Xuns and Guo Jia again to discuss the next stage of the strategy against Yuan.

Although he said it was a discussion, Cao Cao actually had some preconceived ideas in his mind.

After all, everyone knew that Yuan Shao's death was bound to happen, and they had been looking forward to it for several months.

Moreover, last winter, when Cao Hong was besieged in Nanpi, he was defeated by Yuan Tan and Taishi Ci's counterattack. At that time, Guo Jia offered advice to Cao Cao.

Now all we have to do is to review the template that Guo Jia mentioned three months ago to see if there are any new situations or circumstances that require improvisation and adjustment.

Therefore, the meeting process was very brief. Cao Cao did not play tricks and got straight to the point:
"Last winter, when I was in Hebei, Fengxiao made plans for me, and advised me that when Yuan Yuanchu died, I should take my time in Hebei, so as to let Yuan Shang and Yuan Tan fight among themselves and consume each other.

Our army can withdraw and head south, pretending to put pressure on the eastern part of Langya, which now nominally belongs to Yuan Tan, but actually consume Liu Bei. First, we can test Liu Bei's current strength. If all goes well, we can first take over half of Xuzhou except Guangling.

Even if it doesn't go smoothly, it can be stopped at the beginning, and it can also reassure the two Yuans and encourage them to go to war. At that time, I thought this plan could be left for discussion. The specific situation would depend on whether the struggle among Benchu's sons after his death would be fierce and whether a war would be possible.

Now that everything has been settled, you can discuss whether Fengxiao's original idea can be implemented?"

After the three counselors heard it, Guo Jia was the least likely to offer any opinions, because this was the plan he had proposed last year. So after Cao Cao finished speaking, he immediately added a few more sentences, stating the advantages and merits of his plan, and Guo Jia did not think it was self-boasting.

It’s not that he is thick-skinned, but Guo Jia has been like this all his life.

He is too path-dependent in his idea of "relaxing the pressure on a few enemies who already have internal conflicts, and inducing these enemies to fight and strife among themselves to weaken themselves."

In history, he persuaded Cao Cao to let Yuan Shang and Yuan Tan fight each other, which was the same move. Later, when Yuan Shang and Yuan Xi fled to Liaodong, the so-called "Guo Jia's legacy to settle Liaodong" was also the same move, inducing Gongsun Kang to help Cao Cao kill the two Yuans.

It is truly a one-trick pony that can make you successful everywhere.

Although this time, it seems a bit forced and the situation is slightly different from the same period in history, it cannot be said that Guo Jia's strategy is completely unreasonable and it can still be used with a little modification.

But it was the first time that Erxun heard of this plan, and he felt it was a bit awkward at first.

Fortunately, the atmosphere of discussion among the civil servants and advisers under Cao Cao was still good, unlike Yuan Shao's group of advisers who attacked and sabotaged each other.

Although the two Xuns had their opinions, they did not directly refute Guo Jia's plan.
Xun Yu was the first to speak in a serious tone, saying, "This plan does make sense. It is indeed the best for us to let the two Yuans fight each other. At the same time, Liu Bei now dares to secretly help Yuan Tan and even let Taishi Ci compete with us directly in the Qingzhou battlefield. If we can test and deter him, and be able to advance and retreat freely, it will indeed be beneficial to us.

But the situation has changed over time. The situation when Fengxiao first proposed this plan is very different from our current situation. Three or four months ago, we had not yet penetrated deep into Jizhou. If Benchu could have died quickly at that time, there would have been a greater chance that Yuan Shang and Yuan Tan would have fought each other directly.

Now our army has almost penetrated Jizhou and captured many of the indefensible plains in the central part. The four counties of Qinghe, Hejian, Anping and Pingyuan have already been captured.

Yuan Shang was left with five counties, namely Weijun, Zhaojun, Julu, Changshan and Zhongshan, while Yuan Tan was left with Bohai.

Of the ten counties in Jizhou, Yuan Shang got five, our army got four, and Yuan Tan got one. However, Yuan Tan's county was the largest. At that time, that one county accounted for a quarter of the population of Jizhou.

Under such circumstances, our threat to Yuan Shang is no less than that posed by Yuan Tan. Even if we pretend to move our troops south to fight Liu Bei, does Yuan Shang have the guts to attack his brother?"

Cao Cao listened very carefully, without any bias in his expression. After listening quietly, he did not comment. He just gave Guo Jia on the other side a look, indicating that Guo Jia should explain Xun Yu's question himself.

Guo Jia quickly cleared his throat and explained, "So our army needs to use more tricks to deceive Yuan Shang into thinking that the opportunity is rare, or to help Yuan Shang or Yuan Tan add fuel to the fire and accuse the other party of having major hidden dangers.

For example, Yuan Shang tarnished the reputation of his ancestors, saying that Yuan Tan did not follow Yuan Shao's will, or spread the rumor that Yuan Shang used Shen Pei to falsely convey Yuan Shao's will. As long as the public opinion can melt gold, three people can make a tiger, and Yuan Shang and Yuan Tan will always misjudge the situation and lose control. These are all technical issues in the subsequent execution of the strategy. "

Xun Yu shook his head and murmured to himself, "I'm afraid it's far from enough and we can't do it at all. Unless we show weakness to the point of really dismantling our own military equipment." Guo Jia's face was a little embarrassed, but he couldn't directly refute Xun Yu's qualitative judgment. He just looked at Cao Cao innocently.

He can refute arguments based on empirical evidence, but it is useless to refute accusations.

Moreover, Guo Jia knew very well that Cao Cao was not a man who would be easily influenced. It was useless to try to be clever and speak beautifully in front of Cao Cao. It would be better to stop while the going is good and be humble when it is necessary.

Cao Cao noticed this and spoke up for Guo Jia, saying, "Wen Ruo, let's talk about reason. Let's put forward the evidence and inferences instead of making arbitrary judgments."

Xun Yu was not good at making strange plans, and he could not explain it for a while. Fortunately, Xun You beside him immediately interrupted and helped his uncle to improve it, saying: "Please don't blame me, my lord. I also think that Feng Xiao's plan has good intentions, but it is extremely difficult to implement.

Jizhou has been almost divided into two parts, east and west. Can we still expect Yuan Shang to leave our army alone and attack Youzhou controlled by Yuan Tan from Changshan County and Zhongshan County in the north of Jizhou?
After all, there is the Yishui River between Youzhou and Jizhou, and there are also some remnants of the Yanshan Mountains between Zhongshan and Zhuojun, with undulating hills, unlike the flat plains in the middle of Jizhou, which have no strategic locations to defend. No matter how much Yuan Shang hated his brother for not submitting, he would not give up the easy way and seek the difficult.

Therefore, there is only one possibility for Feng Xiao's strategy to be realized, that is, unless our army directly and completely withdraws! The four counties of Qinghe, Hejian, Anping, and Pingyuan that have been conquered are returned to Yuan Shang! Let Yuan Shang regain a complete Yellow River defense line!

If we really want to do this, we can immediately repair our relationship with Yuan Shang, and even make Yuan Shang approach us and admit his mistakes to the court, but how can this be cost-effective? Those are the four counties that the court soldiers fought hard to conquer last autumn and winter!"

After hearing this, Cao Cao finally stroked his beard and fell into deep thought.

He did not care about the temporary gains and losses of a city or a place, and historically, he did withdraw his troops for more than a year after Yuan Shao's death, giving the two Yuans the courage to fight.

But historically, his progress in 201 was not that great, not to the extent of four counties, at least not as far north as Hejian.

If it was to give up the occupied areas of two counties, and to plunder the population and resources and take them to Henan, and leave the vacant land in Hebei to Yuan Shang, in exchange for Yuan Shang and Yuan Tan going to war directly and wasting time, then Cao Cao would definitely agree without hesitation.

Now the four counties have nearly twice as many chips as in the same period in history, and this loss aversion becomes unacceptable.

Moreover, the further north the territory is, the more difficult it is to capture the migrating population.

In Qinghe County along the Yellow River, even if Cao Cao wanted to abduct more than half of the population to Henan and leave a desolate land for Yuan Shang, he could do it.

In Hejian, the northernmost part of Jizhou, it would be a luxury to abduct even 20% of the population, unless it caused great damage to the local area and lost the support of the people.

But if that happened, Cao Cao, who already regarded Yuan Shao's territory as his own, would certainly be reluctant to give it up.

It is true that Cao Cao would massacre cities and abduct and relocate people, but that was all based on the premise that he could not hold on to the land and it was a one-time deal.

For example, in history, when he went to Xuzhou, and later in history, when he was in Hanzhong, he planned to retreat and leave Hanzhong to Liu Bei, so he moved all the people of Hanzhong and forced them back to Guanzhong Chang'an.

How could you destroy something that you will get in a year or two?

After Xun You pointed out the problem of loss aversion, Cao Cao finally became worried and anxious. When he looked at Guo Jia again, his eyes were no longer as expectant.

Guo Jia also knew that his plan had reached a critical juncture, so he quickly followed Xun You's words and said:

"Don't be suspicious, my lord! The four counties in the central part of Jizhou may seem to be in the hands of our army, but in fact they are not safe. They came quickly and left quickly.

To hold the land of Jizhou, one must make all efforts to capture one side. Taking the empty land in the middle is just a temporary measure.

If we seize it by force, we will only be attacked by Yuan Shang and Yuan Tan, which will only hinder the overall situation! I also know that it is a pity to give up the four counties to Yuan Shang directly, but we can use this as bait to mediate with Yuan Shang and Yuan Tan.

We proposed some conditions of exchanging lands and requiring the other party to admit their mistakes and express their recognition of the court. Whoever of Yuan Shang and Yuan Tan agreed would be handed over to him by us!

In my opinion, Yuan Tan has embraced Liu Bei, and since he did not receive Yuan Shao's direct will, he certainly cannot betray Yuan Shao's ideas during his lifetime. Therefore, Yuan Tan will most likely choose to continue to obey the so-called "Yidai Forged Edict", and we cannot have too high expectations of him.

However, it is still possible to use Yuan Tan as a threat to lure Yuan Shang, so we can send two groups of envoys at the same time.

At the same time, we went to Yuan Shang and asked him to immediately give up the land of Hedong and Henei counties that the Yuan family had previously occupied, in exchange for our army's withdrawal from the four counties in central Jizhou, including Hejian and Qinghe, and give the four counties of Jizhou back to him, and let them level and restore the Yellow River defense line in central Jizhou.

On the other hand, go to Yuan Tan and ask him to give up Langya, Donglai, and even Beihai in exchange for the four central counties of Jizhou.

For the specific handover, our army can first withdraw from Hejian County as a show of sincerity, and then the party that is willing to take over Hejian County can submit a letter to the court to confess its guilt and admit that Yuan Shao had mistakenly believed the evil words of Dong Cheng and Lu Bu and made a big mistake.

Then we withdraw our troops from the second county, and ask them to take over Hedong or Beihai, and then we withdraw our troops from the third and fourth counties. In this way, it seems that we have exchanged four counties for two counties, and the party we exchanged with has gained more.

However, we flattened the salient between the two Yuan armies, forcing the two Yuan armies to once again come into full contact on the indefensible Hebei Plain, which would inevitably lead to another war sooner or later.

And we can tell both sides clearly: we are contacting both sides at the same time, and the one with the highest offer will win. If you don't accept it, but your brother does, then the difference in strength is not four counties, but eight counties! One side loses four counties, and the other side gains four counties!

But the party that cooperates with us will have to bear the name of "admitting mistakes to the court on behalf of his deceased father". The other person will definitely seize this point and make a big fuss about it, attacking it fiercely to show his filial piety, to show that he is the one who inherited Yuan Shao's legacy, and that the other party is a puppet who sold his father for fame and fortune.

Therefore, I beg you to send these two groups of envoys to give it a try before making the final decision. If either of the two Yuan states accepts our terms, you can implement my plan of two tigers competing for food. If neither of the two Yuan states accepts our terms, then my previous discussion is no longer possible, and you can prepare your troops for war and use all your strength to destroy either of the two Yuan states by force. "

When Cao Cao heard this, he thought it made sense. He could just send two groups of envoys to ask first, which would cost nothing.

Even if the envoy was killed, the only loss would be the envoy, and our side would be even more united in our hatred of the enemy.

If the trick succeeds, it won’t be too late to implement the subsequent strategies.

Cao Cao is now invincible.

-

PS: I had planned to resume two updates today, but after thinking about it, I decided to update to 4,500 words, so this will be the only update during the day.

Because yesterday's news said there will be a recommendation tomorrow, I will update three times tomorrow. Today's second update will be a little after 12: in the evening, which will be considered as tomorrow's first update.

That means there will be an update after 12 o'clock tonight. Don't wait, there will be two more updates during the day tomorrow.

(End of this chapter)