Ji Han Liu Zhang

June of the fifth year of Jian'an.

The summer harvest, which was in full swing, is now over. The rice that has been dried has been collected by the officials and stored in the warehouse. The granaries in Guanzhong are now full of rice and are close to overflowing.

Except for Guanzhong, in the prefectures and counties under Liu Zhang's rule, such as Bashu, Hedong, and Liangzhou, the reports submitted by the local governors were mostly good news of bumper harvests.

Ten years of hard work to sharpen a sword, today I show it to you! If we talk about Liu Zhang's current state of mind, this poem is the most appropriate to describe it.

After ruling Guanzhong for several years, he had never made any major moves. All he had done was to accumulate strength and wait for the opportunity. Now that his fist was hard, all he lacked was an opportunity.

Now, the time seems to have come.

Xun You was the chief of the army and was in charge of confidential information. He reported to the king, "Your Majesty, news has come from Yecheng that Yuan Shao is recruiting elite soldiers and hoarding rice and money. There are also envoys from the Yuan army going to the Wuhuan in the three counties and the Xiongnu in Bingzhou to give orders. It seems that there will be a big move."

"What do you think?" Liu Zhang asked. It went without saying that he was asking about the direction in which Yuan Shao should mobilize his troops. As the leader of the princes with unique strength, Yuan Shao's every move was watched by the princes of the world and was also of concern to Liu Zhang.

Xun You smiled and said, "Guanzhong is surrounded by mountains and rivers. It is blocked on three sides and guarded on one side. If Yuan Shao is wise, he will not lead his troops to attack Guanzhong... Moreover, last year when Yuan Shao invaded Hedong, he was blocked for months in front of Yubi City. He has learned this lesson. It is expected that the direction where Yuan Shao will mobilize his troops should be the land of Yanyu."

Although Xun You's words were speculation, he was certain and 70% sure of them. This was his confidence as a strategist, and it was also the result of his solid inference after he had a deep understanding of the current situation.

"That means we will send troops to Cao Cao." Liu Zhang nodded. Yuan Shao, who lived in Hebei, had only three directions to mobilize troops: Guanzhong, Yanyu, and Liaodong. However, Liaodong was far away and not important, so the only directions Yuan Shao could mobilize troops were Guanzhong and Yanyu.

However, when Yuan Shao invaded Hedong last year, he lost two big teeth. It is very likely that, as Xun You said, he will not go to Yubi City to cause trouble again, but may turn to Yanyu, which seems easier to attack.

Zheng Du, an official at the court, raised his eyebrows. He was puzzled. "Yuan Shao and Cao Cao have known each other since childhood and have been friends for a long time. In the past, Yuan Shao regarded Cao Cao as a southern vassal to resist Yuan Shu. Although there is a little discord now, it can't be said that they have fought against each other."

"What's more, the emperor is in Xu, and the ancestral temple is there. If Yuan Shao invades Yanyu, he will be criticized by the world for being a minister and bullying the emperor. At the beginning of this year, Cao Cao pretended to be the emperor and made Yuan Shao the Duke of Wei. This is a great favor and courtesy. Yuan Shao must be grateful to Cao Cao."

"For some reason, I think it's hard to say whether Yuan Shao will invade Yanyu."

Zheng Du gave his opinion. He did not agree with what Xun You said and the disagreement was almost opposite.

Xun You did not show any displeasure when Zheng Du refuted his argument. He simply responded calmly: "Yuan Shao and Cao Cao were in harmony as one family during the Xingping era, but as the situation changes, we should not stick to the old ways."

"At first, Cao Cao welcomed the emperor to Xu, but Yuan Shao wanted to move the emperor to Zhencheng to be closer to him. Cao Cao refused with an excuse. This is the first one."

"Then Cao Cao appointed himself as the general and Yuan Shao as the grand marshal, ranking above Yuan Shao, as if he was going to be the emperor. This is the second reason." "Then last year, Yuan Shao invaded Hedong, and Cao Cao secretly prepared troops and horses, intending to use light cavalry to capture Yecheng and cut off Yuan Shao's way back. This is the third reason."

"With these three things, the kindness between Yuan Shao and Cao Cao has probably vanished long ago, and all that remains is the murderous intent to kill each other."

After clarifying the current relationship between Yuan and Cao, Xun You went on to analyze: "As for the emperor being in Xu, if Yuan Shao invaded Yan and Yu, it would be suspected of insubordination. With Liu Bei, the governor of Yuzhou, in Hebei, he could make an excuse."

"What? When Liu Bei was in Xudu, he and General Dong Cheng, Lieutenant Wang Zifu, Lieutenant Zhong Ji, and Counselor Wu Shuo received the imperial edict from the emperor, which contained the will to kill Cao Cao and support the Han Dynasty... Now Liu Bei is a guest in Hebei, serving under Yuan Shao. Yuan Shao can use the imperial edict from the emperor to march south to Yanyu."

"As for what Mr. Zheng said about Duke of Wei." Xun You smiled softly and said, "Since ancient times, favors have always come from the superiors. If Yuan Shao does not want to accept Cao Cao's favor, he can say that he became Duke of Wei by the order of the emperor, not by Cao Cao... Yuan Shao's being named Duke of Wei does not necessarily mean that he has to thank Cao Cao. Yuan Shao can just shamelessly acknowledge the emperor's favor and ignore Cao Cao's help in the Duke of Wei matter."

"In addition, as You said before, Guanzhong is difficult to advance due to the dangers of mountains and rivers. We can go south from Yecheng to Yanyu. The roads lead to all directions and there are no dangers of mountains and rivers. It is easier to advance than Guanzhong."

Zheng Du seemed to be thinking about something. After a while, he nodded and said, "Xun Zhu has a good insight into the situation, which is beyond my reach."

Over the next ten days, news kept arriving in Chang'an from Yecheng, saying that Yuan's army had gathered in large numbers and that the food and supplies needed by the army had already been shipped, which proved that the food and supplies must be shipped before the army moves. Most of the food and supplies were transported to Liyang.

'Liyang.' When Liu Zhang saw this place name, he had a clear idea of ​​the direction Yuan Shao would send his troops.

Liyang belonged to Wei County, with Li Mountain to its south and the Yellow River flowing through its east. Therefore, it was named after the mountain and the river "Yang" as its title.

After passing Liyang, you will reach Henan, which means that the enemy Yuan Shao will attack this year is none other than Cao Cao.

"I, Yuan Shao, accept the Duke of Wei, but that doesn't mean I accept your offer, Cao Cao." Liu Zhang said this in his heart with a bad taste. He was delighted by Yuan Shao's behavior of accepting the Duke of Wei and then planning to lead his army south.

A war is about to break out in Guandong, and Liu Zhang seems to need to take advantage of this opportunity to do something. After all, once the armies of Yuan and Cao meet, it will be difficult to advance or retreat quickly, so it is most convenient to do something at this time.

However, Yuan Shao has not really gone south yet, so Liu Zhang will not get involved in the dispute between Yuan Shao and Cao Cao at this time. He needs to wait patiently for a while, and then act according to the situation when the day comes when Yuan Shao and Cao Cao really fight.

Within a few days, at the end of June and the hottest time of July, Liu Zhang learned from spies in Yecheng that Yuan Shao's army was heading south. He also learned that Yuan Shao had sent additional troops to defend Shangdang, Henei, Taiyuan and other counties adjacent to Guanzhong.

It can be seen that Yuan Shao made sufficient preparations for his trip south this time, and also took measures to guard against the invasion of Guanzhong. He had to do both well.

Liu Zhang climbed up the high platform in Chang'an and felt the cool breeze, but it was about to rain. (End of this chapter)