Three Kingdoms: I, the eldest son of Cao, a loving father of a great man!

"The situation in Yanzhou is very complicated. Cao Sikong is very powerful and the Yanzhou nobles are difficult to shake.

The aristocratic families in Yanzhou are intertwined and intertwined. Even if Cao Sikong takes control of Yanzhou, it is probably difficult to change the attitude of the Yanzhou aristocracy."

Yuan Shao said: "The Yanzhou nobles have always been conservative. They are unwilling to take risks."

Cao Cao frowned and said, "I heard that the Xuzhou and Yuzhou nobles are willing to support the young master. Is this true?"

Yuan Shao smiled and said, "Zhongde, this is true. When Cao Sikong sent troops to attack Dong Zhuo, the governor of this state led his troops to stop him.

But he was defeated by Lu Bu and suffered heavy losses. Fortunately, Dong Zhuo's advisers Jia Xu and Chen Gong offered advice, which enabled Dong Zhuo to escape with his life.

Chen Gong and Jia Xu joined Lü Bu and became his military advisors.

Cao Cao snorted coldly. What did Yuan Shao mean by this? It was clearly telling him that Lu Bu was ambitious, and if he, Cao Cao, did not know what was tactful, he would probably suffer.

"The situation in Xuzhou is very complicated. The relationship between Xuzhou, Yuzhou and Yanzhou is not good, especially the Runan gentry, who are extremely hostile to Jizhou.

If given the chance, they will betray us without hesitation. Therefore, I think we should weaken their influence and not let them have the opportunity to threaten our Jizhou."

Yuan Shao continued, "The Yanzhou nobles are the strongest, and they are the foundation of Xuzhou.

So I think Yanzhou should be controlled by our Jizhou. What do you think, Zhongde?"

Yuan Shao's words did have a deeper meaning, and were also meant to win over Cao Cao.

Cao Cao can be said to be the strongest general under Cao Cao. As long as Cao Cao agrees to his request, Yanzhou will be in his pocket.

Cao Cao pondered for a moment. He was very satisfied with Yuan Shao's words, but he did not express his opinion immediately. Instead, he asked.

"May I ask, Governor, are you aware of the feud between the Yanzhou noble families and the Xuzhou gentry?
The conflicts between them are unsolvable. If they unite, Jizhou will be in danger."

"Don't worry about that!" Yuan Shao said, "There are conflicts between these noble families, but they are minor and will not harm our interests.

The hatred between them is all personal and will not affect the interests of Xuzhou as a whole."

"Oh?" Cao Cao asked in confusion, "Why is that?"

Yuan Shao smiled slightly and said, "I, the governor of this state, also occasionally heard the news that the Yanzhou nobles' target is not only Jizhou, but also Xuzhou.

It is the entire Qingzhou, and also includes the Xiliang Cavalry in Xuzhou.

They want to take Xuzhou into their hands and use it as a support."

"Hiss." Cao Cao took a breath of cold air. The Yanzhou gentry had too big an appetite.

They actually want to take the entire Xuzhou into their arms. Aren’t they afraid that Cao Ang will come and kill them?
Yuan Shao seemed to see through Cao Cao's thoughts and explained: "The Yanzhou nobles have been thinking this way for a long time.

Moreover, their backers are very strong, and Cao Ang may not be able to eliminate them in one fell swoop."

"What about the governor?" Cao Cao asked.

"The governor of this state intends to recruit the nobles of Yanzhou." Yuan Shao said: "The nobles of Yanzhou are in a bad situation now, and they need someone to help them through the difficulties.

The Xuzhou nobles are very suitable to be their allies. As long as we can help the Yanzhou nobles tide over the difficulties.

Then they will definitely help us to deal with Cao Ang with all their strength.”

Yuan Shao was very smart. He wanted to use the Yanzhou gentry to deal with Cao Ang in order to avoid being targeted by Cao Ang.

After all, Cao Ang was a powerful hero, and Cao Cao was also worried that the fight between the two of them would affect Yuan Shao.

"So that's how it is." Cao Cao suddenly realized that Yuan Shao's tactic of diverting trouble to others was a great move.

Yuan Shao smiled and said, "Zhongde, what do you think?"

"This." Cao Cao hesitated. "Don't worry, Zhongde. The governor of this state will never treat Zhongde unfairly.

"I, the governor of this state, promise that as long as you are loyal to me, then the noble families of Yanzhou will certainly submit to me," Yuan Shao promised.

Cao Cao shook his head and said, "Governor, although I am young, I have not forgotten my identity.

I can’t abandon the people of Yanzhou for the sake of the Yanzhou family.”

"Haha, I don't expect you to betray Yanzhou." Yuan Shao said, "I hope you can consider the issue from the perspective of the Yanzhou nobles."

Cao Cao smiled bitterly. He had already felt Yuan Shao's ambition from his words.

Cao Cao was very unhappy. He thought that an ambitious man like Yuan Shao would sooner or later lead Yanzhou to destruction.

"Governor, please forgive my stupidity," said Cao Cao.

"Zhongde, don't be anxious. Let me talk to you slowly and in detail." Yuan Shao motioned Cao Cao to sit down, and then continued.

"The Yanzhou gentry consists of three forces: the native gentry and the aristocratic families of the foreign relatives."

"I, the governor of this state, know what you mean. These nobles or relatives will definitely not agree." Yuan Shao said.

"Because once we attack the local noble families, the foreign relatives' families will no longer be able to survive."

"That's right. Therefore, this governor decided to win over these foreign relatives first. As long as this governor bribes their people, they will have no power to resist." Yuan Shao said.

"Zhongde is a man of both wisdom and courage. The governor of this state believes that with Zhongde's intelligence, this problem can be solved perfectly."

"You are too kind to praise me, Governor. I am unworthy of it," said Cao Cao.

"Haha, Zhongde, there's no need to belittle yourself. This governor admires you very much." Yuan Shao said.

Cao Cao cupped his hands and said, "I will follow the governor's orders."

"Okay, this governor will write a secret letter and send it to the Beihai Kingdom, and you will convey it, asking Cao Ang to send troops to Yanzhou." Yuan Shao made the decision excitedly.

"Thank you for your kindness, Governor. I will definitely complete the task." Cao Cao said respectfully.

Yuan Shao left the hall happily, as he was finally going to implement his plan.

Cao Cao fell into deep thought, he always felt that something was wrong.

Yuan Shao's departure made Cao Hong feel relieved. He was really worried that Yuan Shao would put forward some unreasonable conditions.

"Brother Meng De, the governor is gone, what should we do?" Cao Hong asked anxiously.

"Fengxiao, what conditions do you think the governor will put forward?" Cao Cao asked Guo Jia for his opinion.

Guo Jia said calmly: "My lord, I guess Yuan Shu is testing us."

"Testing us?!" Cao Cao said in surprise.

"That's right, it's a test. Yuan Shu is not a fool. He knows our defense against him, so he wants to test whether we are willing to support him.

It's just that the way of testing is a bit strange." Guo Jia said.

"If the lord rejects Yuan Shu, then Yuan Shu will pester the lord no matter how shameless he is.

But if we agree to Yuan Shu, then Yuan Shu will definitely be our biggest enemy in the future.

Our confrontation with Cao Ang will become even more intense. My Lord, I think Yuan Shu sent an envoy for this purpose. " (End of this chapter)