Late Han Zhao Tang

Chapter 311 How can I go down to Long in one year!
Yuan Shao faced a difficult choice as to who to fight.

According to Ju Su's prediction, after Zhang Yu conquered Guanzhong, he would most likely march west to Longyou. Ju Su's suggestion was to have Yuan Shao send troops to attack Henei when Zhang Yu marched west to Longyou, threatening Zhang Yu's capital Anyi. He also contacted Han Sui, Ma Teng and other generals in Longshang to harass the three prefectures in Guanzhong. Even if Zhang Yu could not be destroyed, he could still make him exhausted.

To use Ju Su's original words, we should advance into Henei, gradually build camps in Henei and Henan, repair weapons, connect with Longshang, station troops at the mountain passes, send troops from the east and west, attack Youzhou in the north, and make them restless. Within three to five years, Shanxi will be in decline, and our plan will be accomplished!
Regardless of whether Ju Su's strategy could eliminate Zhang Yu within three to five years, Yuan Shao was tempted by it and planned to implement it. However, after the emperor was seized by Yuan Shu, Yuan Shao was worried that Yuan Shu would use the emperor to expand rapidly into the Central Plains, so he had to consider adjusting his strategic focus.

Yuan Shao was quite interested in Xu You's strategy of "annexing the Central Plains to defend against Guanxi". If he could take advantage of the civil strife in Yanzhou and lead his troops to conquer and annex the counties of Yanzhou, he would not only be able to control the He and Ji rivers, but also be able to put pressure on Xuzhou and help his nephew Gao Gan take control of Xuzhou. After all, Xuzhou was nominally dominated by Tao merchants, but in reality it was internally divided.

After hesitating for a long time, Yuan Shao slowly said: "Cao Cao is weak. Although he has temporarily defeated Lu Bu, he is still afraid of being defeated by Lu Bu and Zhang Miao. Now I lead a large army to station in Liyang, manage between He and Ji, and connect with Qing and Xu in the east. Then I can contain Yuan Shu in the south and control Zhang Yu in the west. This year, I will order Qu Yi and Gongsun Zan to send troops to Youzhou to see if they can help Jizhou solve the threat from the north."

Ju Su was unwilling to accept this and said, "Mingsir, Zhang Yu should not be underestimated. He is young, a frontier warrior, but he was able to sweep across the two states of Guanxi, destroy Li Jue in the south, and defeat Gongsun in the north. He is a man of extraordinary military strategy. If we ignore Zhang Yu's expedition to Longyou and let him wipe out the trouble and focus on Hebei, it will be a great threat to you."

"otherwise!"

Xu You refuted and said, "In the past, Emperor Guangwu sent many generals to attack Longyou but failed to conquer it. It took three years to defeat it. Our dynasty sent 100,000 troops to the west to fight against the rebels but still failed to recover the lost territory. The military expenditure was as high as 1 billion. Longyou has the dangers of Longshan Mountain. It is difficult for troops to attack it. Can Zhang Yu conquer Longyou in one year?"

"Frog at the bottom of the well!"

Ju Su sneered and said, "We still have counties in Longyou. We share the danger of Longshan Mountain. Longyou has been in chaos for many years and people are looking for peace. It is easy to defeat Ma and Han with Zhang Yu's ability, and it is even easier to pacify the people of Longyou!"

Seeing Ju Shou praising Zhang Yu, Yuan Shao felt jealous and couldn't help coughing, signaling everyone to be quiet.

Feng Ji understood what he meant and shouted at the top of his voice: "Silence!"

Yuan Shao said calmly: "I will write a letter to Han Sui, asking him to be careful to resist Zhang Yu. But now Yuan Shu is more harmful than Zhang Yu. If he succeeds, the situation in the Central Plains will be very unfavorable to us, so we can't ignore it. Once I stabilize the situation in Yan, Xu and You, it won't be too late to attack Zhang Yu."

Tian Feng could not help but remind him, "If you fight with Yuan Shu, you will not be able to stop the war in the short term. And if Zhang Yu pacifies Longyou, you will have troubles in the west. So in my opinion, you can manage Liyang, but you need to recruit Cao Cao and let him defend the south for you, just like Gongsun."

Yuan Shao glanced at Tian Feng, feeling slightly dissatisfied that Tian Feng had interrupted him, and said, "I already know what Yuan Hao meant."

"All generals, listen to my order. The entire army will rest in Chaoge for five days and will soon move to Liyang to manage Henan."

"As ordered!"

Not to mention that Yuan Shao was determined to take action himself and wanted to seize counties while Yanzhou was in turmoil.

After welcoming the emperor, Yuan Shu, in order to make the princes of the world obey him, first sent an envoy to recommend Zhang Yu as the general, concurrently the Inspector of the Capital, the Commander-in-Chief of Shanxi military affairs, in charge of Bing, Yong and Liang states, and also the Governor of Yong state.

At the same time, Yuan Shu thought he was very magnanimous and recommended Yuan Shao as General of Cavalry, and appointed him as Governor of Jizhou and Commander-in-Chief of the military affairs of Qing and Ji.

Tao Shang of Xuzhou was recommended by Yuan Shu as the Governor of Xuzhou and General Pingdong.

In the Western Expedition, Sun Jian and Yuan Shu went through the formalities and recommended him as the Governor of Yizhou and the General of Zhenxi.

Lü Bu and Zhang Miao's official positions remained unchanged, and they were given the title of general and the title of nobility. Whether it was intentional to disgust Cao Cao, Yuan Shu simply ignored Cao Cao.

Of course, it was not only Cao Cao who suffered. The governor of Yangzhou, Liu Yao, was replaced by Yuan Shu's cousin Yuan Si.

Among all the princes, the first to receive rewards from Yuan Shu was Yuan Shao, who stationed his troops in Liyang.

When Yuan Shao saw that Yuan Shu recommended Zhang Yu as the general but only gave him the title of General of Cavalry, he immediately became dissatisfied. He wrote a letter accusing Yuan Shu of despising his clansmen and favoring outsiders, demanding Zhang Yu's title of general and threatening Yuan Shu that if he did not give him the title, he would welcome a new emperor.

Yuan Shu was annoyed by Yuan Shao's letter, but in order to improve his reputation in the court, he generously gave up his position as Grand Marshal to Yuan Shao. After giving up the position of Grand Marshal, Yuan Shu directly named himself Prime Minister. In the matter of asking for the title of Prime Minister, Yuan Shu only sent someone to greet Liu Xie. Yuan Shu's behavior of accompanying him hurt Liu Xie's fragile self-esteem, but he could only sulk alone.

Not to mention that after Yuan Shao received the position of Grand Marshal recommended by Yuan Shu, he realized that he was superior to Zhang Yu, and felt much more balanced psychologically, so he stopped making trouble.

When Zhang Yu received the official position recommended by Yuan Shu and the feedback from Guo Tu, he burst into laughter.

Zhang Yu said to his trusted aides, "Yuan Shu really knows how to share the profits. Not only has he let me take charge of Hongnong, he has also promoted me to general. If he ever usurps the throne and becomes emperor, I wonder what title he will give me?"

"Your Excellency is in charge of Shanxi. If we want you to surrender, only the title of king can do it!" Jia Xu said jokingly.

Zhong Yao was worried, so he looked at Guo Tu and asked, "You are visiting Yuan Shu this time. What do you think of Yuan Shu?"

Guo Tu stroked his beard and smiled, saying, "Yuan Shu's reputation for arrogance is well-deserved. When he questioned me, he often made sarcastic remarks about the emperor, thinking that he had made great contributions to the Han Dynasty, and he showed respect to you, the prince, in his words."

Hearing this, Zhong Yao felt relieved and said with a smile: "As you said, Yuan Shu has the intention to usurp the throne."

"Oh?"

Zhang Yu was curious and asked, "Why did Yuan Chang say that?"

Zhong Yao said: "The emperor is the common ruler. Although the Han Dynasty is in decline, the Han Dynasty's grace still exists. Yuan Shu is not afraid of the emperor, but respects the princes. It can be seen that Yuan Shu is determined to seize the throne."

"To see the big picture from the small details is what Yuan Chang is capable of!" Zhang Yu praised.

"Sir, there is a secret letter concerning the movement of Yuan Shao's troops!"

While everyone was talking, Wang Ling handed over a letter.

As Zhang Yu's brother-in-law, Wang Ling and Guo Huai had served in Xu Huang's army for many years. Now, due to his outstanding achievements, he was promoted by Zhang Yu to the position of Menxia Du and was ready to be transferred to serve as an official at any time.

Zhang Yu opened the letter and read its contents. He suddenly laughed, surprising everyone.

"What happened to Yuan Shao's troops that made you laugh like that?" Xun You asked.

Zhang Yu handed the letter to everyone to read and said with a smile: "Yuan Shao moved his troops to Liyang. I am afraid that he intends to cross the river, conquer Henan, and take Yanzhou in the chaos. If Yuan Shao covets the benefits of Yanzhou, he will inevitably clash with Yuan Shu, and he will be unable to take care of my western expedition to Longyou."

"Good thing!"

Xun You couldn't help but applaud and said with a smile: "Although Yanzhou is in chaos, it involves Yuan Shu. Now Yuan Shu is welcoming the emperor and is aiming at the Central Plains. If the two heroes fight, one of them will be injured."

Guo Tu stroked his beard and thought, and said, "I was afraid that Yuan Shu would welcome the emperor and his power would be difficult to stop. Now Yuan Shao is plotting to take over the Central Plains, which can contain Yuan Shu. Once you have conquered Longyou, you can take Hebei first."

"Yuan Chang, how is the wheat harvest today?" Zhang Yu asked.

"The wheat harvest in Shanxi is good, and the people in the two states are harvesting it. We have food for the Western Expedition!" said Zhong Yao.

"good!"

(End of this chapter)