The Three Kingdoms: Hindsight is 20/20, and the Three Revivals of the Han Dynasty

With the arrival of Zhuge Liang, the original strategic intention of simply driving Cao Cao's forces out of Hebei was directly changed to keeping Cao Cao's army stranded in Ye City.

Both Pang Tong and Zhuge Liang were convinced that only Cao Cao could rival Liu Bei in the world, and that everyone else was mediocre. Even if Liu Bei was crippled after Cao Cao was defeated, he could still march south and quell the rebellion after a few years of recovery.

This decision was unanimously approved by Liu Bei and the rest of his civil and military officials.

Since we're going to fight, we should fight Cao Cao to the death. Such a rare opportunity is unlikely to come again.

If they missed this opportunity, the struggle with Cao Cao might continue for ten or even several decades.

If we were to fight Cao Cao for ten or even several decades, even if we won, we would only have a fragmented Central Plains and Hebei.

The ever-increasing fortifications also greatly alarmed Cao Cao in Ye City.

"Does Liu Bei truly intend to fight me here?"

Cao Cao couldn't believe Liu Bei was so aggressive. Just because I didn't share any money or supplies, you want to fight me to the death?

Jia Xu, however, astutely saw through Liu Bei's intentions and urgently advised, "My lord, you must make a decisive decision. Liu Bei intends to keep your army in Hebei, giving Liu Biao and Sun Quan in the south the opportunity to launch a surprise attack on Xuchang. Either fight Liu Bei to a decisive victory, or immediately abandon Ye City and head back to Yanzhou via Henan."

Although Jia Xu claimed that he would either win the decisive battle quickly or abandon Ye City, in reality, Jia Xu hoped that Cao Cao would abandon Ye City.

Even if Cao Cao wanted a quick victory, Liu Bei would not give him that opportunity. The gradually rising fortifications clearly showed Liu Bei's intentions.

Xun You was even more direct than Jia Xu, saying, "In the world today, the only person you can rival is Liu Bei, and Liu Bei also knows that you are his only great enemy. Even if Xuchang is given to Liu Biao or Sun Quan, as long as your army is kept in Ye City, Liu Bei will be the biggest beneficiary. I urge you to make a quick decision and withdraw your troops back to Yanzhou while Liu Bei's camp is still unstable."

Guo Jia agreed with Jia Xu and Xun You's views, saying, "Liu Bei is a cunning and ambitious man. He claims to be supporting the Han Dynasty, but in reality, he wants to become like Emperor Guangwu. As long as the emperor in Xuchang is captured by Liu Biao or Sun Quan, Liu Bei can continue to expand his power under the guise of the imperial edict. Once all the other warlords are defeated, the emperor will surely see Liu Bei as a threat. At that time, with just a ruse, Liu Bei's reputation will be enough to emulate Emperor Guangwu and establish a new legitimate dynasty. Therefore, keeping you in Ye City is Liu Bei's biggest scheme. Please make a decision quickly!"

Although Xun You and Guo Jia's analysis was reasonable, Cao Ren and other generals insisted on fighting Liu Bei. Earlier, when Pang Tong pretended to dig a moat, Cao Ren and others had already proposed to fight Liu Bei. Now they would not back down.

This is why Jia Xu added the option of a decisive battle and a quick victory. Jia Xu knew very well that if they were to retreat directly, not only would Cao Ren and other generals not agree, but Cao Cao would also not be willing to accept it.

Cao Cao did not suffer any military defeats, but he might face a surprise attack on Xuchang by Liu Biao and Sun Quan. It would not be in line with Cao Cao's character to retreat simply because he was worried about Liu Biao and Sun Quan.

Watching the civil and military officials arguing, Cao Cao rubbed his slightly aching forehead, his fighting spirit rising along with the generals' high morale.

"Since Liu Bei wants war, then I will fight Liu Bei. The outcome is still uncertain, how can I easily withdraw my troops?" Cao Cao's tone became increasingly stern, and in the end he still chose to take the risk and gamble with Liu Bei.

Both Cao Cao and Liu Bei were inherently adventurous and gambling, which was both their strength and their weakness.

When facing an indecisive opponent, both players can achieve remarkable results; when facing a cautious and steady opponent, taking risks and gambling will backfire.

When the opponent is also adventurous and gambler-like, the outcome will come down to the purest tactical maneuvering of both sides.

Whoever has the superior troop deployment will ultimately prevail. With the order for a decisive battle issued by both sides, Cao Cao and Liu Bei began a series of attacks and defenses in Ye City.

Since both sides had gathered their strongest strategists, fierce generals, and elite soldiers, it was difficult to determine a winner for the time being.

Jiangdong.

Sun Quan, who was preparing to take advantage of the conflict between Cao Cao and Liu Bei to attack Huang Zu again, also received a secret letter from Zhuge Jin inviting him to join the attack on Cao Cao.

Not long after Zhuge Liang's secret letter was delivered, Cao Cao also sent an envoy to Sun Quan with an imperial edict appointing him as Acting General of Chariots and Cavalry and Governor of Xu Province.

The simultaneous attempts by Cao Cao and Liu Bei to win them over alerted the young Sun Quan, who quickly sent people to recall Zhou Yu, Zhang Zhao, and Zhang Hong to discuss countermeasures.

Zhou Yu returned from Chaisang and brought Sun Quan news of the Jingzhou situation: "Liu Biao has sent his eldest son Liu Qi and general Wen Ping to garrison Xinye. Liu Qi is also recruiting righteous soldiers in Xinye under the banner of Liu Bei, showing signs of attacking Wancheng. I have also heard that Cao Cao has sent envoys to appoint Liu Qi as the governor of Nanyang and Liu Cong as the governor of Qingzhou. He has also sent Man Chong as governor to attack the former Yuan clan of Runan. Now he has sent envoys to establish friendly relations with Jiangdong and appointed you as the governor of Xuzhou. From this, it can be seen that Cao Cao's war in Hebei is extremely unfavorable."

Then, Zhou Yu's tone became even more excited: "I predict that Cao Cao will be unable to withdraw his troops in a short time. This is a golden opportunity to fulfill Bo Fu's last wish. I am willing to take advantage of this opportunity to personally lead a large army to launch a surprise attack on Xuchang. Once it is successful, Lord Wu can replace Cao Cao!"

After Sun Ce was assassinated, the great cause that Zhou Yu and Sun Ce had once conspired to achieve also came to an end. In the past few years, Zhou Yu has often been depressed.

If it weren't for fulfilling his promise to Sun Ce and not wanting to watch Sun Ce's legacy be taken away by others, Zhou Yu would have long wanted to quit his job and retreat to the mountains and rivers.

However, Zhou Yu was also well aware that after Sun Ce's death, Jiangdong could no longer compete with the heroes of the Central Plains. Although Sun Quan was better at winning over talented people than Sun Ce, the key to conquering the world was to forge ahead without hesitation, not to be cautious and content with a precarious existence.

If you don't dare to take risks and win in a battle between two sides, how can you take over the business that others have built up over many years?

Zhou Yu originally thought he had no chance to take control of the Central Plains, so he could only fight Huang Zu to avenge Sun Jian and see if he could seize Jingzhou to build a defense line along the Yangtze River before the Central Plains conflict ended.

As a result, Cao Cao was deeply mired in Hebei, and even appointed Sun Quan as the acting General of Chariots and Cavalry and Governor of Xuzhou. The more Zhou Yu tried to win over Sun Quan with generous rewards, the more he concluded that Cao Cao's war was going badly.

Therefore, Zhou Yu swept away his previous dejected state and regained the heroic spirit he had when he was plotting great things with Sun Ce.

If Sun Ce were here, he would definitely support Zhou Yu's decision without hesitation.

However, Sun Quan was not Sun Ce, and being young and inexperienced, after Zhou Yu volunteered for battle, Sun Quan turned his attention to Zhang Zhao and Zhang Hong.

Unlike Zhou Yu's proactive advocacy for war, Zhang Zhao believed that Cao Cao had been managing Xuchang for many years and would surely be on guard. In addition, Liu Biao was also eyeing Xuchang covetously. If they rashly launched an attack, even if they captured Xuchang, they would not be able to hold it. He suggested that Sun Quan wait and see what Liu Biao would do.

Zhang Zhao was good at governance but not military strategy. Zhou Yu did not refute this statement, but turned to look at Zhang Hong.

Compared to Zhang Zhao, Zhang Hong was more skilled in military affairs, especially in strategic vision, which was unparalleled. (End of Chapter)