I did it all for the Han Dynasty!

Chapter 312 Assassination of Xun Yu!
First, kill Yan Liang!

Wen Chou was executed later!

Combined with Liu Miao's earlier capture of Hedong, Yuan Shao had already fallen into a complete disadvantage in the early stages of this war!

Originally, the pro-war faction members Shen Pei and Guo Tu were completely silent.

Ju Shou then took the opportunity to advise Yuan Shao again, requesting that Yuan Shao adopt a strategy of slow advance and harassment against Cao Cao, rather than seeking a decisive blow!
However, Yuan Shao not only did not listen to this, but instead divided the army into three parts, assigning Ju Shou, Guo Tu and Chunyu Qiong to each command an army, in order to dilute Ju Shou's military power!

"Although we have lost Yan Liang and Wen Chou, the foundation of our army remains intact. We still have 100,000 troops and 10,000 cavalry, which is enough to defeat Cao Cao!"

Yuan Shao personally went to the front line and led a large army to fight Cao Cao north of Guandu.

In the first battle, Cao Cao suffered a crushing defeat!
Without the advantage of strategy, Yuan's army on the main battlefield was completely crushed!

After resting in his camp for a month, Cao Cao once again led his troops to attack Yuan Shao, but was defeated by Yuan Shao again!

Two consecutive defeats have resulted in two or three out of ten men in Cao Cao's camp being injured, leaving less than ten thousand soldiers capable of fighting on the front lines!
This caused Cao Cao to lose the momentum he had after beheading Yan Liang and Wen Chou, and instead gradually lost confidence.

He wrote to Xun Yu: "Now that the front line can no longer withstand Yuan Shao, may I return to Xuchang?"

Xun Yu's reply, however, advised Cao Cao: "Yuan Shao has concentrated his main force at Guandu, intending to fight you to the death. You are facing the strongest with the weakest; if you cannot subdue him, you will surely be taken advantage of! This is the key to determining the fate of the world. Back then, when Chu and Han were at Xingyang and Chenggao, neither Liu Bang nor Xiang Yu was willing to retreat first, believing that retreating first would weaken their position. How can you retreat at this time?"

Once Yuan Shao crosses Guandu, with no river to hinder him, countless Hebei cavalry will gallop across the Central Plains. Who can stop them?
In his letter, Xun Yu comforted Cao Cao: "I have already corresponded with Liu Biaoji, and he has agreed to provide additional supplies and provisions. These are not things you should worry about. However, Liu Biaoji said that it is cold in Hedong this year, and the soldiers from the south cannot launch an attack in Hebei. As long as we can wait until spring, that will be the moment when the tide of war turns!"

If Cao Cao can just get through this winter and free his soldiers in the south from the cold, then Liu Miao can proceed with his original plan to attack Bingzhou and Hebei, keeping Yuan Shao busy and thus relieving the pressure on Cao Cao!

After reading Xun Yu's letter, Cao Cao still sighed, but at least he had hope and rallied. He fought fiercely against Yuan Shao at Guandu, determined to prevent Yuan's army from crossing the river!

At this time, in Yuan Shao's camp, Pang Ji, Guo Tu, and others also noticed the problem of the battle lines being unable to advance for a long time.

"Although we defeated Cao Cao twice in the battle, Cao Cao still seems unwilling to surrender easily, which is really puzzling!"

At this time, Guo Tu also vaguely guessed that the reason why Cao Cao was still holding out at Guandu was probably because he was waiting for some variable.

Guo Tu couldn't think of any other variable besides Liu Miao, who was lying low in Hedong.

"It is winter now, and Liu Miao's troops are all southerners who are afraid of the cold."

"Cao Cao must be planning to wait until the spring of next year to cooperate with Liu Miao in order to resist our army!"

Pang Ji also agreed with Guo Tu's speculation.

"In that case, we can't give Cao Cao that time!"

Liu Miao and Cao Cao.

This battle has already brought Yuan's army far too many surprises.

Although no one believed that Liu Miao would actually be able to threaten Bingzhou, or even Hebei and Yecheng in the future.

But what if?
What if Liu Miao actually manages to win the battle?
By then, Yuan Jun's entire operation will be in complete disarray!

Therefore, no one dared to gamble on what kind of miracles Liu Miao and Cao Cao would create once the pace of the war fell into their hands.

Pang Ji offered advice to Yuan Shao—

"Many ambitious men in Yuzhou want to join Lord Yuan. Why not send an envoy from Chenliu to Yuzhou to call on them to rise up and rebel against Cao Cao!"

"Moreover, there are many righteous men in the court who have grievances against Cao Cao's perverse actions! If we can get in touch with him and make some noise in Xuchang, Cao Cao will surely be terrified and lose his will to fight!"

At this moment, Guo Tu narrowed his eyes, and in a daze, he thought of someone.

"Lord Yuan, I have a plan that can cause Cao Cao to collapse immediately! But before that, I need Lord Yuan to pardon one person."

Yuan Shao was quite satisfied with the progress of the war at this time, and naturally agreed more with the strategies of Pang Ji and Guo Tu. Upon hearing Guo Tu's words, he immediately laughed and said, "Surely you can spare whoever you want to pardon! As long as we can quickly defeat Cao Cao, even a death sentence can be spared!"

Guo Tu's expression shifted, as if he had been mentally preparing himself for a long time, before he spoke to Yuan Shao—

"He was a good friend of Yuan Gong and a fellow townsman of Yuan Tu..."

"Nanyang, Xu You! Xu Ziyuan!"

------

Pang Ji's plan was indeed effective.

Under Yuan Shao's diplomatic offensive, Yu Province crumbled on all sides, with people looking to different regions for their own interests and submitting to various orders. Only Cao Cao's stronghold of Yingchuan Commandery and Yang'an Commandery under the jurisdiction of Li Tong, who served as the Commandant of Yang'an, remained unshaken.

For a time, Cao Cao was no longer using the two provinces of Yan and Yu to resist Yuan Shao, but rather using the two commanderies to fight against Yuan Shao, who had almost occupied the entire Hebei and Central Plains!

In Xuchang city.

Xun Yu's eyes were bloodshot, and white hair had even grown at his temples!
Even though he was praised by the world as a "talented advisor to the king," and even though Cao Cao admired him as "my Zhang Liang," he was inevitably somewhat powerless at this time.

The war between Cao Cao and Yuan Shao was never limited to military matters.

Politics, righteousness, public sentiment... In these invisible battlefields of all aspects, it was not Cao Cao who was fighting, but Xun Yu.

It is precisely because of this that Xun Yu felt the difficulty of his situation at this time even more deeply.

Now that rebellions are breaking out in various counties and prefectures, the powerful and wealthy families who used to fawn over him are now unwilling to associate with Xun Yu, fearing that they might get involved with him at this time.

Even when the imperial court held court assemblies, the officials and nobles laughed openly, as if the Han Dynasty was now a time of peace and prosperity, with efficient governance and harmonious people!
Both internally and externally, it has almost completely collapsed!
If Liu Miao hadn't been firmly on Cao Cao's side, constantly supplying Xuchang with resources, even Xun Yu wouldn't know how they could possibly defeat Yuan Shao in this situation!
But what I feared most came to pass!
A few days later, Man Chong, the prefect of Runan, came to report that Pei Yuanshao, a member of the Yellow Turban rebels in Runan, had broken off the connection between Yuzhou and Yangzhou.

To make matters worse!

Xun Yu was now walking unsteadily, but he still gritted his teeth and went to various powerful families in Xuchang to borrow money and supplies!
Apart from Cao Hong, who had considerable wealth, few of Cao Cao's other civil and military officials were rich.

The remaining powerful families always made excuses and refused to contribute a single penny of money or grain to help Cao Cao's dilapidated hut, which was on the verge of being torn apart by the storm.

Left with no other choice, Xun Yu had to visit one person—

Xu You.

Xun Yu knew that Liu Miao had given Xu You a generous reward after he helped Cai Yan return to Han.

This money and supplies might just solve Cao Cao's urgent problem!
Xun Yu, the dignified Minister of the Imperial Secretariat of the Han Dynasty, who was always as pure as ice and as clear as jade, lawful yet not awe-inspiring, and harmonious yet not disrespectful, had actually stooped to visiting Xu You's residence with a slightly ingratiating smile.

Xu You was initially all smiles, but his expression changed immediately when he heard that Xun Yu was actually asking him for money.

"Wenruo, don't you know me?"

Xu You said regretfully, "I made a mistake last time! I lost so many warhorses and provisions to Mengde, where do I have any left now?"

"If you don't believe me, come with me to my treasury and see for yourself! Not even a mouse would want to go in there!"

Xu You's eyes darted around, noticing Xun Yu's predicament, and he asked worriedly, "Why did Wenruo suddenly ask me for grain? Could it be that something has gone wrong in the war?"

"Nothing."

How could Xun Yu reveal the truth? It would only cause widespread panic.

"It's just that Lord Cao has achieved a great victory at the front and wants to reward his soldiers, which is why I had to prepare an extra batch of provisions, haha!"

This is a lie!

Xu You was able to extricate himself from the matter of changing the emperor back then, so how could he not distinguish whether Xun Yu was telling the truth or not?
Xu You immediately smiled, but unfortunately, the smile looked even uglier than a cry.

"I see! I see! Congratulations! Congratulations! Hahaha!"

Seeing that Xu You had no intention of helping Cao Cao, Xun Yu smiled wryly and said, "Since that's the case, then I won't bother you any longer."

"Lord Xun, please wait! Haha!"

As soon as Xun Yu left, Xu You's face darkened.

Although he did not think that Cao Cao could resist Yuan Shao, he did not expect that Cao Cao would be defeated so quickly!

If I were to fall into Yuan Shao's hands, would I be in a good position?
Xu You immediately began to plan his escape route.

Should we head directly east to Jiangdong, or go west to Shu?
Just as Xu You was pondering this, another guest arrived.

"What day is it today? Why are there so many people?"

Xu You examined the visiting card and found that although the person was also a member of a powerful family, he was not familiar with him, which made him feel strange.

But after welcoming the guest in, one sentence from the other party made Xu You's hair stand on end!

"Ziyuan, how far do you think Yuan Gong's army is from reaching Xuchang?"

Xu You felt a chill run down his spine. Recalling Xun Yu's hesitant attitude, he immediately realized that Cao Cao's situation was probably worse than he had imagined!

"However, Lord Yuan is known for his benevolence. He has already promised that if Ziyuan helps him accomplish something, not only will he forgive past transgressions, but he will also treat Ziyuan with the same respect he always had and reward him handsomely!"

Xu You's eyes lit up immediately, and at the same time, he felt a little more at ease.

I still have value to Yuan Shao!
Moreover, based on Xu You's understanding of Yuan Shao, he knew that Yuan Shao would not go back on his word once he publicly agreed to something.

Moreover, he fled Hebei in a hurry and did not leave any evidence, nor did he admit to interfering. Therefore, there is room for mediation between the two parties!
Xu You actually did not want to go to Shu or Jiangdong.

Needless to say, I was unfamiliar with the place and its people in Sichuan.

Although he had some past ties with Liu Miao, he had heard about Jiangdong's policies and was quite resistant to them!

If one can stay in the Central Plains, in Hebei, why not?

Xu You immediately asked, "What does Lord Yuan want me to do?"

"Kill Xun Yu! This will shake Xuchang and make Cao Cao lose his will to fight!"

(End of this chapter)