Three Kingdoms: My Strategy Simulator

Chapter 630 Yuan Shu Sends Out Troops
"My lord, if you don't enter Xuzhou, how can Cao Mengde be a match for Liu Bei and Tao Qian? If Cao Mengde is defeated, and my lord fails to return to Yuzhou in time after taking Yanzhou, I'm afraid the rear will be damaged."

Yang Hong cried out sadly.

"Besides, the lord had previously promised Cao Mengde that he would help him attack Xuzhou, and Master Ang came in person to ask for help. If we ignore this, I'm afraid we will be ridiculed by the world for breaking our promise."

Seeing this, Yan Xiang also immediately responded with a retort. "My Lord, you must not do this! How can such a big thing be done just because of a verbal promise?"

"Attacking Xuzhou will only bring disadvantages and no advantages. We will not gain much if we win. Even if we win the three counties, they will be useless. Instead, we will constantly face the threat of Liu Bei's army."

"Once we are defeated, everything will be in vain. We should seize the opportunity to quickly seize Yanzhou!"

Upon hearing this, Yang Hong shouted angrily.

"Are you trying to frame the lord as an unkind, unjust, and dishonest person? Besides, the lord has been preparing for war and regrouping over the past year, and his troops are more powerful than ever before."

"Now, before we even start the battle with Liu Bei, are you already shrinking back and worrying about defeat, trying to undermine the morale of the army?"

When it comes to verbal disputes, how could Yan Xiang be a match for Yang Hong?
Seeing that Yang Hong directly escalated to personal attack, Yan Xiang was so angry that his face turned red, and he retorted.

"I'm afraid that you, Yang Hong, went on a diplomatic mission to Cao Mengde and received a lot of benefits, so you tried your best to persuade the lord to rescue Cao Mengde, right?"

Yang Hong sneered. "I am dedicated to the public, how can you slander me with just a few words? On the contrary, you, Yan Xiang, are afraid of Liu Bei and are frightened by what he heard, so you are trying your best to persuade the lord to stay away from Xuzhou."

"You... you are talking nonsense! I am considering the great cause of my lord and the great cause of the Yuan family."

Yan Xiang's face was almost red. Seeing that he could not win the argument with Yang Hong, he turned to Yuan Shu and bowed.

"Although the Lord has the support of many noble families, if he encounters setbacks like in Jingzhou again, it will be difficult to recover quickly with a large amount of money and food in a short period of time. You should act prudently!"

"Take Yanzhou and watch Xuzhou, and you will be able to gain an unbeatable position in the Central Plains battlefield."

However, when Yuan Shu heard Yan Xiang talking about the past of Jingzhou, he felt as if a sensitive spot had been touched, and a look of displeasure flashed across his face.

Although what Yan Xiang said was true.

Although the Yuan family has a deep foundation, they also have the strong support of a large number of aristocratic families.

But whether it was Yuan Shao or Yuan Shu, the consumption of money, food and supplies in the continuous years of recruiting soldiers and fighting wars was actually quite huge, and the accumulated resources were about to be exhausted.

Therefore, although Yuan Shu had completely recovered from the last battle of Jingzhou thanks to his profound background, it would not be so easy for him to recover after suffering another crushing defeat.

But since Yuan Shu could remember, has there ever been such a shameful moment?
Especially the title of "Jingxiang God of Chariots", which Yuan Shu considered to be a great shame and humiliation.

The truth is the sharpest knife that hurts people the most.

Seeing the subtle change in Yuan Shu's expression, Yang Hong was delighted and hurriedly added fuel to the fire.

"My lord, Yan Xiang is a man who has been misleading us with his lies. He has repeatedly said discouraging things and is trying to undermine the morale of our army. Please punish him."

Upon hearing this, Yan Xiang was shocked and looked at Yang Hong in disbelief.

Even if the two sides have different political views and opinions, they should both focus on sharing the worries of their lord.

It's fine that Yang Hong just made a direct personal attack...

As a result, since you can't argue with me on advice, you want the lord to deal with me directly by physically doing it?

Yuan Shu looked at Yan Xiang with more and more displeasure. Yan Xiang repeatedly hinted at him that he would not be able to win the battle in Xuzhou, which undoubtedly greatly ruined Yuan Shu's mood.

Immediately, Yuan Shu waved his hand and said.

"Fork out."

Two burly guards came forward with steel forks, ready to forcibly carry Yan Xiang away.

Yan Xiang struggled and shouted, "No, my lord, if you don't listen to me, you will be doomed..."

Yuan Shu's face turned even darker. He waved his hand and was speared out by his personal guards before Yan Xiang could finish his words.

With Yan Xiang being taken away, even if there were still some aides who supported taking Yanzhou in the north, how could they be compared with Yang Hong in terms of voice?
Immediately, Yang Hong took the opportunity to talk to Yuan Shu about the pros and cons of advancing westward to Xuzhou.

In Yang Hong's words, going west to Xuzhou is naturally beneficial with no disadvantages!
If he won, he would split Xuzhou with Cao Cao, and could also severely damage Liu Bei, making him unable to launch a northern expedition to the Central Plains in the short term.

In this way, Yuan Shu would have no more constraints when he sent troops north to take Yanzhou.

Even if the battle situation in Xuzhou was temporarily unfavorable when they went west, by coming to the aid of Cao Cao, Cao Cao could firmly restrain Liu Bei, and the impact on Yuan Shu was limited.

"My lord, Yanzhou will always be there. With Yuan Benchu ​​threatening in the north, no one dares to compete with you for Yanzhou. You can take it anytime!"

"However, the opportunity to win the battle in Xuzhou is fleeting, and the opportunity to send a large army to support Cao Cao and firmly contain the great enemy Liu Bei is extremely rare."

"Besides, as long as we can break Liu Bei's spirit and make him unable to march north to the Central Plains in the short term, Yanzhou will eventually be in your pocket. Why should we rush?"

In the end, Yuan Shu was completely persuaded by Yang Hong's analysis and invited Cao Ang back.

However, although Yuan Shu had already decided to send troops to Xuzhou, he still asked with embarrassment on his face.

"My dear nephew, Meng De said that he would hand over Pengcheng State, Xiapi State, and Guangling County to me. Did he give you any proof in advance?"

Cao Ang was delighted and said loudly.

"After my father learned that Liu Bei had sent out his troops, he hurriedly sent me to ask my uncle for help. I came in such a hurry that I didn't bring any credentials with me, but I am willing to stay in Runan County as a hostage. Is that possible?"

As Cao Cao's eldest son, Cao Ang's status was naturally sufficient.

This made Yuan Shu feel relieved, but he still said it with a smile on the surface.

"Meng De and I are close friends. Why would you say such polite words? Asking for evidence is just to confirm Meng De's intentions."

After a pause, Yuan Shu continued.

"However, my nephew and I rarely meet, so why don't we stay in Runan County for a while, so that I can take my nephew to see the scenery of Huaibei when I have free time? What do you think?"

"That's exactly what my nephew meant."

Cao Ang quickly agreed.

"Good good!"

Immediately, Yuan Shu's gaze turned to Ji Ling and spoke.

"Ji Ling!"

"Here!" Ji Ling stepped out and responded.

"Order Ji Ling to lead 100,000 elite troops to Xuzhou to attack Liu Bei from both sides and take over Pengcheng State, Xia Pi State, and Guangling County." Yuan Shu responded in a deep voice.

"Ji Ling obeys your command!"

Then, Yuan Shu glanced around and called out the names of his generals.

Yang Hong was the military advisor, and Zhang Xun, Chen Lan, Lei Bo, Le Jiu and others were his generals.

This time, Yuan Shu handed over almost 80% of his troops to Ji Ling, leaving only some defensive forces.

Originally, Yuan Shu wanted to personally lead the expedition to Xuzhou, but when he remembered that Li Ji was also in Xuzhou, he sent Ji Ling as the commander and secretly gave Ji Ling some careful instructions.

(End of this chapter)