Three Kingdoms: My Strategy Simulator

In a sense, the current situation in the Central Plains is like a large number of balls of thread mixed together in a mess.

There are many thread ends, but pulling one of them often affects the entire body, and the line that can be pulled out may not be what the person pulling the thread wants.

It was precisely for this reason that not only Liu Bei was accumulating strength and waiting for an opportunity to march north to the Central Plains, but the other princes in the Central Plains were also undercurrents in their military preparations, and for the time being, none of them dared to act rashly.

This actually brought back a rare, brief period of peace to the Central Plains, like the calm before another storm.

However, what is different from the Central Plains is that in the vast land north of the Yellow River.

After about a year of confrontation, both Yuan Shao and Gongsun Zan knew that the decisive battle was imminent.

Inside the central military tent of Yuan’s camp on the southeast side of Jie Bridge, Yuan Shao sat in the seat of honor, with a group of trusted aides sitting below him.

Previously, Chen Lin, as Yuan Shao's envoy, was lobbying the princes in the Central Plains, and at this moment he was bowing and reporting the results.

Under the tremendous pressure brought by Gongsun Zan, Yuan Shao's thinking became clearer.

It is true that Gongsun Zan is a formidable enemy at present, but the situation in the Central Plains cannot be ignored. We must prepare for the future and restrain Liu Bei's growth, otherwise he will become a serious threat.

Chen Lin traveled between Cao Cao, Yuan Shu and Lu Bu, and also brought back the latest status of these three families.

Yuan Shu was still licking his wounds, actively recovering from the heavy losses in the Battle of Jingzhou.

Lu Bu could be said to have a strong army and was ready to march eastward through Hulao Pass to sweep across the four directions at any time.

Cao Cao was also constantly accumulating money and food, ready to take action.

After hearing what Chen Lin said, all the trusted aides carefully considered it in their minds for a while.

Tian Feng was the first to step out and said with some shame.

"My lord, I'm afraid what I thought before is not enough. Yuan Gonglu's vitality has not yet recovered, Cao Mengde seems to be ambitious, and the soldiers under Wushuang Hou are so strong that they are likely to go out and dominate the Central Plains."

"In this case, a mere Nanyang County may not satisfy Wushuang Hou's appetite. Moreover, if Cao Mengde has other intentions, Yuan Gonglu alone will not be able to advance north to Yanzhou."

Tian Feng has always been mature and prudent, and there was nothing wrong with his previous plans.

However, after learning more about the current situation of Lu Bu and Cao Cao, he still allowed Yuan Shu to exchange Nanyang County for an alliance with Lu Bu, and then use Cao Cao's power to take Yanzhou in the north. The risks were undoubtedly too great.

It is even possible that Yuan Shu would be divided up among Liu Bei, Lu Bu and Cao Cao.

In such a situation, Tian Feng naturally did not dare to continue persuading Yuan Shao to do it.

Having spent so much time and effort on the situation in the Central Plains, the advisers would undoubtedly be unwilling to give up.

What's more important is that we must find a way to curb Liu Bei's power, otherwise Yuan Shu will not be able to stop Liu Bei at all.

If Yuan Shao did not intervene and allowed the situation in the Central Plains to develop on its own.

Soon, Lu Bu will go out of Hulao Pass to the east and compete with Cao Cao for Yanzhou.

Cao Cao, who controlled the barren Qingzhou, found it difficult to compete with Lu Bu and was very likely to be defeated by Lu Bu, allowing Lu Bu to seize Yanzhou and Qingzhou in one fell swoop and dominate the Central Plains.

At that time, when war broke out in the Central Plains, Liu Bei would definitely not miss this opportunity and would launch a northern expedition to attack Yuzhou.

Anyone with a discerning eye could see that Yuan Shu could never be Liu Bei's opponent. Even if Yuan Shu continued to defend the city, he could only delay his death.

If the situation develops to this point, even if Yuan Shao defeats Gongsun Zan and sweeps across Hebei, he may not be able to match the two giants of Lu Bu and Liu Bei. More importantly, under the joint efforts of his advisers, Lu Bu is unlikely to be Liu Bei's opponent.

If Liu Bei swallowed up Lu Bu before Yuan Shao completely unified Hebei, Yuan Shao would not even be qualified to rule the country along the Yellow River with Liu Bei.

Therefore, the counselors who realized that Yuan Shu could not be defeated racked their brains and continued to discuss, trying to come up with a feasible plan.

At least, Yuan Shu could not fall until Yuan Shao defeated Gongsun Zan and swept across Hebei.

However, faced with the complicated situation in the Central Plains, all the advisers worked together but could not come up with a foolproof plan. Even Guo Tu suggested sending assassins to kill Li Ji.

However, whenever Li Ji traveled, he was either accompanied by a large army or stayed in the heavily guarded Shouchun City. He was always protected by Xu Chu and the Tiger Guards. The possibility of successfully assassinating Li Ji was extremely low.

The household registration system implemented in Yangzhou was so difficult that it was difficult for assassins to sneak into Shouchun City, let alone sneak into the city with hidden crossbows and other assassination weapons to attack Li Ji.

In addition, Feng Ji also suggested that Yuan Shu could marry one of his unmarried daughters to Lu Bu as his concubine.

In this way, the two families of Yuan and Lu became related by marriage, which might prevent Lu Bu from having second thoughts after taking Nanyang County and continuing to attack Yanzhou.

However, this strategy was also rejected by Yuan Shao.

It was not for any other reason, but simply because after Feng Ji proposed a marriage between the Yuan and Lu families, Yuan Shu was Lu Bu's father-in-law, and Yuan Shao could be considered Lu Bu's uncle, Yuan Shao inexplicably felt a chill on the back of his neck, and his heart was pounding with fear.

"If even my adoptive father was killed, what about my father-in-law?"

Shen Pei's words of opposition really won Yuan Shao's heart.

The importance of a "godfather" in this era is not a simple physical relationship like the godfather of later generations, but a relationship second only to that of a biological father, and filial piety is also required.

He said that he killed her once because of a slip of the hand, and he said that he killed her twice because of a momentary impulse. Who would believe that?

It is precisely for this reason that even though Lu Bu has now become a relative of the emperor and a general, his prestige is still far less than that of the former pig butcher He Jin.

The imperial court controlled by Lu Bu was not taken seriously by the world.

The Han Dynasty also ruled the country with filial piety, but the one who controlled the court was Lu Bu, who had killed two of his adoptive fathers out of filial piety. This was a huge joke.

The advisers discussed for a long time, and the final result came back to how to form an alliance with Lu Bu.

In order to contain Liu Bei, Lu Bu is indispensable.

But Lu Bu is a fickle person. No matter how much you value profit, it will be useless. Only by emphasizing power can you force Lu Bu not to have a fickle heart.

However, seeing the gloomy faces of his advisers, Yuan Shao suddenly smiled, stood up and laughed out loud.

"Why do you need to worry about how to pressure them?"

"If I, Yuan Benchu, could defeat Gongsun Zan and sweep across Hebei, I wonder if his power would be great enough?"

Yuan Shao's sudden arrogance startled the counselors who were discussing heatedly under the tent. Then they almost subconsciously bowed and shouted in unison.

"That's enough!"

Tian Feng also seemed to be enlightened and added without thinking.

"At that time, my lord, you only need to send a part of your army to station in Liyang, overlooking the eastern county of Yanzhou. This will be enough to make Lu Bu feel apprehensive and not dare to enter Yanzhou lightly." (End of this chapter)