Ji Han Liu Zhang

On the way from Xudu to Bai Ma, Cao Cao had a solemn expression on his face. While marching, he speculated on the current situation on horseback.

Ever since Dong Zhuo rebelled, the whole country has been in turmoil and disputes, with countless people ruling over different states and counties, and warlords ruling over different areas as numerous as stars.

However, after nearly ten years of fighting, the big fish ate the small fish, and the small fish ate the shrimps among the princes in the universe, and there were not many princes left.

Among the princes of the universe, there were some like Zhang Lu of Shangyong, who knew that he was not talented enough to establish his own regime and not strong enough to resist the enemy, so he surrendered Shangyong to Liu Zhang in exchange for the title of a marquis with a thousand households, so that his descendants could be protected and enjoy wealth and honor.

As for today, among the princes who ruled one side, such as Yuan Shao in Hebei, Liu Zhang in Guanzhong, Liu Biao in Jingzhou, and Sun Ce in Jiangdong, only these few remain.

It can be said that none of the surviving princes were weak opponents. They all had strong armies and many talented generals under their command. Among them, Yuan Shao, who ruled Hebei, was the most powerful.

The person Cao Cao was facing at the moment was Yuan Shao, the number one warlord in the world. Yuan Shao occupied Hebei and had soldiers, such as the Daji soldiers, Youyan Tuqi, and the famous Wuhuan cavalry; he had food, and Jizhou had a population of one million. The people were rich, the land was fertile, and the produce was abundant; Yuan Shao also had the advantage of weapons. Jizhou's powerful crossbows were famous throughout the world, and he had hundreds of sets of horse armor.

Although Cao Cao acted confident and thought it would be easy to defeat the enemy in front of outsiders, he was actually unsure in his heart because Yuan Shao's side was too powerful. In terms of strength, they were several times stronger than his.

In addition, apart from the difference in strength, Yuan Shao's situation is better than his.

Hebei is backed by Yanshan Mountain, embraced by Bohai Sea on the left, and leaning against Taihang Mountain on the right. The only road to it is the south. It is a typical place with advantageous geographical location, as it is called blocking three sides and guarding one side.

However, the Central Plains occupied by Cao Cao was well connected and had no dangers or obstacles. Yuan Shao in the north, Liu Zhang in the west, Liu Biao and Sun Ce in the south could all pose a threat to him. He could not slack off in the slightest, otherwise he would end up in irreparable disgrace.

Cao Cao sighed deeply in his heart. As it stands now, he not only has to deal with the Hebei army marching southward, but also has to guard against Liu Zhang in Guanzhong and Sun Ce in Jiangdong.

Sun Ce occupied Jiangdong and had his eye on Huainan, with the intention of advancing northward. At first, he heard that Sun Ce was not satisfied with his current position. In order to appease Sun Ce and seek peace in Huainan, he sent people to Jiangdong at the beginning of the year and appointed Sun Ce as Marquis of Nanchang and Right General.

However, Sun Ce's greed was insatiable. Cao Cao learned from the envoys who went to Jiangdong that Sun Ce was dissatisfied with the promotion of Right General and complained privately: "I conquered Jiangdong, pacified the area, and made contributions to the Han Dynasty. Today, the emperor has made me the Right General, which is very unworthy. Why can't I be a cavalry general?"

Cao Cao guessed that Sun Ce's private statement had some true meaning, and that he wanted to bargain with Sikong, who controlled the government, to gain more benefits in terms of titles and salaries. This was why Sun Ce's private conversation was heard by the envoy.

However, considering the public resources of the court and the dignity of the country, and also to whet Sun Ce's appetite, Cao Cao never agreed to Sun Ce's request for the position of General of Cavalry. At the same time, in order to prevent Sun Ce from eyeing Huainan, he made a decision.

Liu Fu was appointed governor of Yangzhou.

Liu Fu took refuge in Yangzhou in his early years and was familiar with the geography and customs of Yangzhou. At the beginning of Jian'an, he persuaded Yuan Shu's generals Qi Ji and Qin Yi to surrender to the court with their troops. He made great contributions to the country and was extremely talented, so Cao Cao entrusted Liu Fu with the task of pacifying the southeast.

On the one hand, he tried to appease Sun Ce, and on the other hand, he was on guard against Sun Ce. Cao Cao used both kindness and force, hoping to suppress Sun Ce's warlike spirit so that when he fought against Yuan Shao, there would be no trouble in Huainan and the situation in the southeast would be unstable.

Leaving aside Sun Ce in Jiangdong, Cao Cao looked to the west with a puzzled look on his face. At this moment, the war between Hebei and the Central Plains was about to start, but Guanzhong was very calm. There was no sign of mobilizing the masses, and it seemed that they did not intend to get involved in the war between him and Yuan Shao. At the same time, Cao Cao was puzzled. He thought that Yuan Shao was alone now, and Liu Zhang in Guanzhong could help him. With two weak forces against one strong, this was the tacit understanding that he and Liu Zhang should have, and there was no need to explain.

However, with this idea in mind, he went to Guanzhong in March on the pretext of the emperor's order and issued an imperial edict requesting Liu Zhang to send troops to Bingzhou to attack Yuan Shao from both sides in order to block Yuan Shao's southward offensive.

The envoy returned from Guanzhong and reported that Liu Zhang used the excuse that Guanzhong had suffered from wars over the years and the three prefectures were empty, and did not intend to send troops to threaten Taiyuan and Shangdang. He also advised Cao Cao to live in harmony with Yuan Shao. Cao Cao regarded this as nonsense.

Yuan Shao was powerful, so Cao Cao naturally wanted to get along with Yuan Shao, store up food and grass, train soldiers, and develop his army. He would then go against Yuan Shao when he had enough food and soldiers. But how could Yuan Shao allow him to become so powerful?

Look, Yuan Shao, whose troops were blocked from advancing into Hedong last year, sent his troops south this year to compete for the Central Plains.

Cao Cao discussed with many advisers about Liu Zhang's behavior of staying out of the matter and roughly knew what Liu Zhang was thinking. He guessed that Liu Zhang wanted to let the crabs and clams fight each other so that he could benefit, so he did not take any action for a while.

In addition, according to the opinions of first-class advisers such as Xun Yu and Guo Jia, Liu Zhang planned to wait until Yuan Shao and he had been in a stalemate for a long time and both sides were exhausted. This would be the best time to join the war, and then he would come out in full force to gain the greatest benefits.

"What a good plan." Cao Cao sighed in his heart, and at the same time he was a little puzzled. Isn't Liu Zhang afraid that he will be conquered by Yuan Shao within a few months? By then, the Central Plains will fall into Yuan Shao's hands, and Yuan Shao will have 60% to 70% of the world. By then, Yuan Shao will lead his troops westward, and Guanzhong will be in danger.

Could it be that Liu Zhang believed that he could hold out against Yuan Shao's army for several months and might be able to compete with Yuan Shao?

"You think highly of me, Cao Cao."

Thinking of this, Cao Cao shook his head. It didn't matter whether Liu Zhang looked up to him or not. What he needed to think about now was how to fight against Yuan Shao. Yuan Shao's army was several times larger than his, and he had the support of Hu cavalry, and more food and grass than his. On the surface, he was a formidable enemy who surpassed him in every aspect.

Facing such a powerful enemy like Yuan Shao, Cao Cao thought in his heart that at this moment, the only way was to be surprising, otherwise there would be no possibility of breaking the impasse.

But it is not so easy to come up with a surprising strategy. In Cao Cao's view, although Yuan Shao is not a genius, he is not a mediocre person either. He has many counselors under his command. Even if Yuan Shao is good at making plans but lacks decision-making, there are still strategies to deal with him.

He had to fight against one or two enemies first, and then look for an opportunity to fight. Cao Cao, who was now at a loss, gave up thinking, and he could not think of any good strategy at the moment. He had to fight with Yuan Shao, and when the two sides were entangled and the battle situation was chaotic, he might find a chance to win.

'Yuan Benchu!'

Cao Cao felt no regrets when he encountered such a desperate fight with his childhood friend. After all, after so many years and so many things happened, he and Yuan Shao had already parted ways and were no longer an accomplice.

Since Yuan Shao had invited him to fight, he accepted the challenge. (End of this chapter)