Three Kingdoms: My Strategy Simulator

Chapter 629 Cao Ang Seeks Help
Runan County, Yuzhou.

"Great! Great!!"

After learning that Liu Bei had led his troops into Xuzhou, and even the plague god Li Ji had followed him, Yuan Shu was so excited that he almost danced with joy.

"Cao Mengde did a great job. He simply sacrificed himself to help others. It was a righteous act!"

What is a good brother? This is a good brother!

Yuan Shu was so moved that he almost cried.

Yuan Shu was originally planning how to take Yanzhou, and he felt tremendous pressure, fearing that if he was not careful, he would lose Yuzhou even if he took Yanzhou.

For this reason, even though Yuan Shu had the support of Yuan Shao, he still wanted to borrow troops from Cao Cao to relieve the pressure.

What Yuan Shu didn't expect was that Cao Cao agreed to lend the troops without saying a word and called him brother.

Although Cao Cao turned to attack Xuzhou in the south with all his troops in Qingzhou because of the killing of Cao Song, Yuan Shu was able to sympathize with Cao Cao.

Yuan Shu even went so far as to station troops in Pei State to threaten the west side of Xuzhou to cheer for Cao Cao.

Cao Cao's performance earned Yuan Shu even more praise. He defeated the Xuzhou army with great momentum and captured Langya State and Donghai County.

Immediately afterwards, Cao Cao carried out a massive massacre in Donghai County, which aroused the wrath of heaven and the people, causing Liu Bei to lead an army of 100,000 into Xuzhou in anger.

This is undoubtedly a good thing for Yuan Shu.

Although heavy troops were deployed along the Shouchun City front line, those troops were more than enough for defending the city, but were not enough to actively attack Runan County.

As a result, Yuan Shu, who was originally trapped in Runan County by Liu Bei like a thorn in his side, gained the strategic initiative.

Next, whether Yuan Shu advances west to Xuzhou or north to Yanzhou, he does not have to worry about the threat from Yangzhou in the rear.

In Yuan Shu's view, Cao Cao completely ruined his reputation, but greatly alleviated his own predicament.

"Yuan Benchu ​​is the fake brother, but Cao Mengde is the real brother!"

Yuan Shu sighed with emotion.

As Liu Bei led his troops into Xuzhou, Yuan Shu was somewhat unsure about whether to advance west to Xuzhou or north to take Yanzhou next, and his subordinates all had their own opinions.

The staff, led by Yan Xiang, supported the northern conquest of Yanzhou and the establishment of a connection with Yuan Shao;
The staff led by Yang Hong supported the westward advance to Xuzhou and jointly took Xuzhou with Cao Cao to resist Liu Bei.

Both sides held their own opinions, and when Yuan Shu heard that he was also hesitant, Cao Ang came to visit Yuan Shu as an envoy.

Yuan Shu and Cao Cao were equals, and now he regarded Cao Ang as a brother. He immediately sent people to entertain Cao Ang warmly and also received Cao Ang with great ceremony.

However, the first thing Cao Ang did when he entered the governor's mansion and saw Yuan Shu was to kneel down on the ground and say.

"Uncle, please send troops quickly to help my father."

Seeing this, Yuan Shu quickly stood up and personally helped Cao Ang up, and asked with concern, "What are you doing, nephew? Get up quickly."

Cao Ang cried out in pain with a sad face.

"My grandfather was murdered by a traitor, and my father spared no effort to mobilize all the troops in Qingzhou to avenge him. If that old villain Tao Qian had any sense of shame, he should have surrendered to his death."

"However, the old villain Tao Qian repeatedly used the people of Xuzhou to block my father's troops, trying to make my father afraid to make any progress, so that my father had no choice but to bear the pain and start a killing spree with tears in his eyes."

"But that uncle Liu took the opportunity to enter Xuzhou and attack my father. My father knew very well that his military strength could not be compared with that of uncle Liu, but he was unwilling to see the old villain Tao Qian survive by chance..."

"So looking at the whole Han Dynasty, only my uncle can help my father. Otherwise, that old villain Tao Qian will have the help of Uncle Liu, and my father will have no choice but to withdraw his troops and return to Qingzhou soon."

After hearing this series of words, Yuan Shu frowned.

Cao Cao is preparing to retreat?
This won't do! Yuan Shu still counted on Cao Cao to hold Liu Bei back and consume Liu Bei's troops. If Cao Cao chose to withdraw his troops, all his efforts would be wasted, and the predicament faced by Yuzhou would return to the starting point again.

Seeing this, Yan Xiang, who was standing by, couldn't help but stood up and scolded.

"How dare you, you idiot, use such words to force my lord to send troops? Cao Cao has been slaughtering and looting in Xuzhou, causing the wrath of heaven and the resentment of the people. Now he still wants to borrow my lord's troops to rescue him. It's ridiculous."

Cao Ang did not answer Yan Xiang either, but played the emotional card towards Yuan Shu and said.

"Uncle, do you still remember the agreement you made with my father in Luoyang?"

Upon hearing this, Yuan Shu recalled the conversation between him and Cao Cao outside the palace gate when they were both excluded by Chen Gong.

"Uncle, do you still remember the military alliance agreement that my father agreed to without hesitation?" Cao Ang asked again.

This sentence undoubtedly hit Yuan Shu's pain point.

Yuan Shu's moral standards were not high, but he was quite loyal.

Although Yuan Shu had not yet made up his mind whether Yuzhou should move westward or northward, he still made the promise on the spot.

"Meng De and I have a brotherly relationship. Now that Meng De is in deep trouble, I will help him. In this way..."

Yuan Shu pondered for a moment and then spoke.

"I have 50,000 elite soldiers stationed in Pei State. How about sending a general to lead 40,000 troops to Xuzhou to help Meng De?"

When Yuan Shu said this, Yan Xiang wanted to stop him, but he also knew that Yuan Shu was a very loyal person.

Precisely because Cao Cao had previously agreed to lend 30,000 troops, even though he had not done so, Yuan Shu still chose to send 40,000 troops to provide assistance out of loyalty.

However, Cao Ang's target was not these 40,000 elite soldiers.

Cao Cao knew very well that if he wanted to compete with Liu Bei, Yuan Shu had to suffer the same fate as Liu Bei.

Otherwise, even if Liu Bei insisted on defending, relying on the strength of Yangzhou, he would be able to force Cao Cao to retreat.

Immediately, Cao Ang saw that Yuan Shu had shown signs of giving in, so he spoke again.

"Please send a large army to help us. If we can defeat Emperor Liu, my father will only take the head of the old villain Tao Qian, and Pengcheng State, Xiapi State, and Guangling County will all belong to you."

As soon as these words were spoken, Yuan Shu was instantly moved.

This is a rare good thing that he can use Cao Cao's power to resist Liu Bei's attack on Xuzhou and benefit himself in the end.

Just as Yuan Shu was about to agree, Yan Xiang hurriedly stepped out to interrupt Yuan Shu and spoke loudly.

"My lord, why don't you ask Master Ang to go down and rest first, so that we can come up with a suitable way to assist General Cao as soon as possible."

Upon hearing this, Yuan Shu immediately sent someone to invite Cao Ang to rest, and then he discussed the matter with all the gathered staff.

However, these staff members also held different opinions and split into two factions, continuing to argue fiercely without giving in.

Among them, taking Yanzhou in the north was a strategy that had been previously agreed upon in alliance with Yuan Shao, and it was a repetition of the old tune.

According to the analysis of Yang Hong and others, the benefits of advancing westward to Xuzhou are obvious.

Tao Qian was half dead after a series of defeats, while Cao Cao's army was at its peak.

Once Yuan Shu chose to send troops to attack Xuzhou, he would not only be able to use Cao Cao's power to attack Liu Bei, but he might also be able to divide Xuzhou with Cao Cao and completely block Liu Bei's way to the north to conquer the Central Plains.

Once Liu Bei's momentum is lost, Yanzhou will subsequently become part of Yuan's possession.

(End of this chapter)