Ji Han Liu Zhang

"I don't know."

Zheng Du, a shogunate official, took the lead and spoke.

"Yuan Benchu ​​controls the four states of Ji, You, Qing and Bing, and lies across the Heshuo area. He has millions of soldiers and a vast territory with many troops. In terms of apparent strength, no one in the world can compare to him, and he is the number one prince in the world."

"Of course..." After boasting, Zheng Du's tone began to change.

"In my opinion, although Yuan Benchu ​​has a great advantage and takes the initiative in the war when he leads his troops south to compete with Cao Mengde, his plan to achieve success in one battle is somewhat risky."

The governor Zhao Ang became interested and asked, "Then according to Mr. Zheng, how should Yuan Benchu ​​act?"

Those present here, including the chief clerk Xun You, the military officer Jia Xu, and the Yongzhou official Jiang Jiong, were silent, waiting for Zheng Du to express his judgment and insights, while preparing to join the discussion.

These people were either advisers of the shogunate or high-ranking officials in office. Their responsibilities and identities were different, so they did not have many similarities. But one thing was that they were all celebrities with the habit of elegant conversation.

Discussing worldly affairs and evaluating people are necessary qualities for everyone present. Just like now, they were discussing Yuan Shao's army marching south and expressing their personal views on the matter.

Seeing everyone's eyes focused on his seat, Zheng Du first coughed lightly as a prelude to a wake-up call, and then spoke in a clear voice: "In my opinion, Yuan Benchu ​​should make use of his advantage of vast territory and large number of troops, and there is no need to rush south so early."

"Instead, we should first send out elite cavalry, and let brave and wise generals lead the cavalry to harass Yanyu, making Cao Mengde restless. At the same time, we should appease the people's livelihood in Jizhou, cultivate land and store grain. In a few years, Cao Mengde's side will be exhausted, while Hebei will have well-trained soldiers and sufficient food. By then, Yuan Benchu ​​can lead his troops south and conquer the Central Plains in one fell swoop. This is a foolproof strategy."

Zhao Ang nodded, and he agreed with Zheng Du's foolproof plan: "Mr. Zheng is right. If Yuan Benchu ​​acts in this way, Cao Mengde will be helpless and unable to respond. He will be defeated soon."

"Besides," Zhao Ang added, "The emperor is in Xu, and justice is in the hands of Cao Mengde. Yuan Benchu ​​attacked the ancestral temple as a powerful vassal. Although he had the imperial edict as a banner, it was still criticized and a bit far-fetched... Now that Yuan Benchu's army is heading south, he has already lost to Cao Mengde in terms of morality."

Zheng Du and Zhao Ang's words received a lot of responses. Everyone was talking about how Yuan Shao should slow down his attack on Cao Cao and should not be so eager to go south. Only Xun You and Jia Xu remained silent.

As the sun gradually set, people started to leave. When Xun You and Jia Xu were the only ones sitting there, Xun You asked Jia Xu, "Mr. Jia has not said a word in front of everyone's discussion. I know that Mr. Jia has a different opinion on what everyone is saying, that Yuan Benchu ​​should delay attacking the Central Plains. Can you tell me about it?"

"What everyone is saying makes sense." Jia Xu had a faint smile on his face. He actually agreed with everyone's comments, but the next moment there was a turn: "It's just that such a perfect plan is difficult for Yuan Benchu ​​to implement."

"Oh, why?" Xun You leaned forward slightly and made a listening gesture. Among the many counselors in the shogunate, the one he valued most was Jia Xu in front of him. This respect came from Xun You's cognition. He believed that Jia Xu's wisdom was comparable to his, or perhaps even superior.

"Your age." Jia Xu said these three words calmly.

Without much talk, Xun You understood what Jia Xu meant. He nodded, his eyes drifting away: "As Mr. Jia said, Yuan Benchu ​​is getting old and is no longer in his prime. How can he wait for three to five years to implement the strategy of slow attack on the Central Plains?" "So Yuan Benchu, regardless of the years of fighting in Hebei, the suffering of the people, and the lack of surplus in the warehouses, still forced the army to march south, intending to conquer the Central Plains in one battle, and then march west to enter the pass and sweep the world."

After he finished speaking, Xun You and Jia Xu looked at each other. There was a look in their eyes that seemed like the pleasure of meeting a confidant, and also a look of recognition as if they had met an opponent who could compete with them.

……

Jizhou, Yecheng.

Yuan Shao stood in the courtyard. It was midsummer and the courtyard was full of lush vegetation, presenting a prosperous scene.

Despite the beautiful scenery, Yuan Shao had no intention of viewing it. He recalled the opinions of the civil and military officials on the plan to march south to the Central Plains.

As for the army's southward march, some people in the shogunate agreed that the army in Hebei had twice as many soldiers as the southern army, which was in line with the golden rule of military strategy of surrounding a force ten times as strong and attacking a force five times as strong. They should send troops southward as soon as possible to prevent Cao Cao from becoming too powerful.

Of course, there is more than one agreed opinion. Some people suggested that as the Central Plains is surrounded by four fronts, Cao Cao needs to deal with enemies from all four directions, while Hebei only needs to focus on one side, which means that Cao Cao's power is dispersed while Hebei's power is concentrated, which is a geographical advantage.

There are also other opinions that agree that under the rule of Yuan Shao, the Duke of Wei, Hebei was in harmony with the people and the civil and military officials were in harmony, and the internal situation was extremely stable. On the other hand, on Cao Cao's side, the emperor and Cao Cao were not in harmony in heart. Many ministers loyal to the Han Dynasty in the court wrote to Yuan Shao, asking him to send troops south as soon as possible to rescue the emperor from Cao Cao.

Not to mention, the Yuan family had three dukes in four generations and had many students and hometowns in Ruying. Although Yuan Shao had not yet sent troops south, the letters of surrender sent by officials in prefectures and counties south of Xudu were countless, filling several large boxes.

In other words, Yuan Shao had both the advantage of location and the people. He just needed to wait for the clear autumn weather, go south to the Central Plains and seize the right time. When the time came, the advantage of location and the people would come together, and even the gods would not be able to save Cao Mengde, the eunuch's son.

Thinking of this, a slight smile appeared on Yuan Shao's lips, and at the same time a hint of worry appeared between his brows.

Although most of his subordinates agreed with moving south, there were also some who disagreed.

Some people believed that since the emperor was in Xu, morality was also in Xu. Yuan Shao attacked Yanyu as a minister, which violated morality. Without the support of morality, even the most powerful army would be in danger of overthrow.

There are also people who believe that although Cao's troops are few in number, they are strong and brave. Therefore, it is difficult for the Hebei army to have an unstoppable momentum when it marches southward, and it is likely that it will fall into a stalemate. Liu Zhang in Guanzhong is watching closely and may lead his troops to rescue Cao Cao at that time. The Yuan army happens to be exhausted from the stalemate, and the situation will not be good.

Therefore, many people believed that they should be cautious, recuperate while harassing Yan and Yu, and then go south after a few years to use the sharp Hebei soldiers to attack the exhausted Southern Army. This would be a safe and foolproof approach.

"It's a perfect plan." Yuan Shao sighed softly. Although he had a perfect plan, he couldn't wait. He was getting older and older. His hair and beard had turned a few more strands of gray. He didn't know how long he had left to live.
Therefore, how could he waste several years and then implement a perfect strategy of marching south?
He can't wait! (End of this chapter)