Three Kingdoms: My Strategy Simulator

This possibility is certainly not impossible.

Before Cao Cao went south to Xuzhou, triggering this round of war in the Central Plains, Yuan Shao also realized that this was a good opportunity to go north to Youzhou, and he hastily integrated his forces with the intention of taking Youzhou by force.

Even if he could not take over the entire Youzhou at once, Yuan Shao planned to first gain a foothold in Youzhou and then use it to gradually erode Youzhou.

This strategy is undoubtedly feasible.

Even though Liu Yu had cleared the countryside early on, Gongsun Zan was seriously injured in the Battle of Jie Bridge, and the Youzhou cavalry also suffered heavy losses. Youzhou had very limited available soldiers and generals, and was at its weakest.

If Yuan Shao waited until Youzhou had recovered, the difficulty of attacking Youzhou across the hundreds of miles of well-fortified territory would only increase dramatically.

After the Battle of You and Ji broke out, relevant information was naturally sent back to Liu Bei and Li Ji.

When Gongsun Zan was seriously injured and unable to command the troops, and Liu Yu was not good at military affairs, Liu Yu showed the magnanimity of trusting the people he employed and not employing those he did not trust.

Although Liu Yu personally led the troops and integrated the available troops in Youzhou, he actually handed over the military power to Zhao Yun and Guo Jia.

Therefore, during the Central Plains War, the fighting on the You-Ji border was so intense that the enemy was almost going crazy.

Guo Jia was alone facing the collective conspiracy of Hebei, and he came up with various strategies. Both sides won and lost alternately, but in terms of the result, he assisted Zhao Yun in keeping Yuan Shao outside the gate of Youzhou.

At this time, if Cao Cao led an army of 60,000 north to support Yuan Shao, it would undoubtedly be a force enough to break the balance.

No matter how brave Zhao Yun was, or how many brilliant strategies Guo Jia had, they could not stop Cao and Yuan from joining forces to enter Youzhou.

Therefore, after Liu Bei expressed this guess, a look of deep worry appeared on his face.

The importance of Youzhou is self-evident.

In addition to Liu Bei's personal relationship with Liu Yu and Gongsun Zan, what is more important is that Youzhou is, in a sense, Liu Bei's horse breeding ground.

Without Youzhou, Liu Bei would almost lose his source of war horses.

Without war horses, Liu Bei's plan to unify the world from south to north would undoubtedly become much more difficult, and he would even be put in a passive position on the battlefield in the Central Plains.

Even before the discussion of sending Zhao Yun and Guo Jia to Youzhou in the north to assist Gongsun Zan, Li Ji had already discussed the worst-case scenario with Liu Bei.

That is, once Youzhou is lost, it is possible that the strategy of unifying the world will have to be completely adjusted.

Instead of directly conquering the Central Plains from the north, he chose to enter Yizhou first, unite with the Ma family of Xiliang, unify Liangzhou, and regain control of Liangzhou as a horse-breeding area.

This will undoubtedly pose a huge obstacle to the progress of unifying the world.

However, Li Ji shook his head and said.

"What the lord said makes a lot of sense, but Ji feels that Cao Cao did not leave to help Yuan Shao, but has other plans."

"Another plan?"

Liu Bei asked in confusion. "The only place north of Qingzhou is Jizhou, what else could it be?"

Li Ji said solemnly.

"Cao Cao's goal is Jizhou, but what Cao Cao wants to do may not be to help Jizhou. On the contrary, Cao Cao is probably eyeing Jizhou's emptiness and intends to attack Jizhou."

"what?"

Liu Bei's face changed slightly.

This guess is undoubtedly quite bold.

But after Liu Bei calmed down and thought about it, he suddenly realized that this did not seem impossible.

It is true that Yuan Shao shocked the world with his victory at Jie Bridge and unified Ji and Bing provinces. However, it is also true that Yuan Shao did not unify Ji province for long and the people were unstable.

In particular, Yuan Shao's base was in Bohai County, which was under the threat of Cao Cao's troops. Moreover, Yuan Shao's troops were all in the north, and the troops in the rear and hinterland of Jizhou were extremely empty.

"My lord, please look..."

Li Ji led Liu Bei to the map hanging in the big tent, pointed his finger towards the north of Jizhou, and said, "Now all Yuan Shao's troops are in the north, only Chunyu Qiong and Zhu Ling are in the south."

"Since Cao Cao dared to go north to Jizhou, it is expected that he has solved the problem of Zhu Ling. The only remaining Chunyu Qiong is a man with great ambitions but little talent, so he is stationed in Liyang, the southern part of Wei County, far away from Bohai County."

"Even if Cao Cao captured Bohai County, Chunyu Qiong would be unable to come to its aid and would not be able to stop Cao Cao at all."

"If Cao Cao was a little bolder, he might even send a detachment of troops to attack Chunyu Qiong first, as long as he could capture Chunyu Qiong as well."

"Then the entire southern Jizhou will undoubtedly be at the mercy of Cao Cao, without any ability to fight back or resist."

At the end, Li Ji couldn't help but sneer and said.

"I thought Cao Cao betrayed Yuan Shu and helped my lord, but I didn't expect that sending Zhao Yun and Guo Jia to help Youzhou resist Yuan Shao also gave Cao Cao an opportunity."

"For a while, the overall situation in the world has become a trend of Liu and Cao joining forces to destroy Yuan."

The more Liu Bei listened, the more shocked he became. This was undoubtedly an idea that was as wild as a fantasy, and more importantly, it was entirely possible to achieve.

After a while, Liu Bei said with a frown.

"But when Yuan Shao learns that the rear is damaged, he will definitely turn back. Cao Cao's foundation is unstable and his troops are insufficient. How can he stop him?"

After hearing this, Li Ji thought for a while and then analyzed.

"How can Cao Cao's foundation be unstable? Although Qingzhou borders Yanzhou and Xuzhou, Yanzhou has not yet been unified. Lord Tao of Xuzhou is also unable to go north to Qingzhou. We are now fighting with Yuan Shu and have no time to take care of Qingzhou."

"Even if the part of Jizhou that Cao Cao initially occupied was considered unstable, how solid was Yuan Shao's foundation?"

"Yuan Shao had already lost Bohai County, and the remaining territory had been managed by Han Fu for a long time. Han Fu's death also planted many hidden dangers for Yuan Shao in Jizhou."

After a pause, Li Ji pointed at Yuan Shao's position with his folding fan, sighed, and said.

"If Yuan Shao had remained strong, he could have easily taken some time after the war to deal with those hidden dangers one by one, but it is undoubtedly fatal at this moment."

"As for the lack of troops, it is not a problem either. Cao Cao still has more than 60,000 soldiers available for combat. They are experienced in many battles. Even if the number is inferior to Yuan Shao, it is enough to maintain the balance of power."

"Therefore, what I am worried about is not Yuan Shao defeating Cao Cao, but Cao Cao's desperate struggle to survive and defeat Yuan Shao in one fell swoop, which will become a great disaster!"

It is true that Qingzhou is poor, but Jizhou is rich and fertile.

Once Cao Cao defeated Yuan Shao and took control of Ji and Qing states, Bing state would also be in Cao Cao's pocket.

In this way, Cao Cao undoubtedly achieved an incredible reversal, escaped from the Qingzhou predicament in one fell swoop, and became a behemoth second only to Liu Bei.

More importantly, Li Ji had finally destroyed Ji Ling's army in one fell swoop, and destroyed most of Yuzhou's available troops.

Yuzhou has already begun to appear on Liu Bei's dining table.

At this moment, it was impossible for Li Ji to give up this great opportunity to seize Yuzhou, and he mobilized all his troops to the north to seek the unknown outcome.

After hearing this, Liu Bei paced back and forth in the tent with his hands behind his back, thinking.

The fight between Yuan and Cao is actually what Liu Bei wanted to see.

But what Liu Bei wants to see most is mutual destruction, rather than one party dominating. Now Li Ji is inclined to believe that Cao Cao will defeat Yuan Shao and swallow up Hebei, and occupy the three states of Qing, Ji and others.

Although Liu Bei himself did not think that Cao Cao had such ability, he did not think that Yuan Shao would be such an easy person to deal with.

But Li Ji’s predictions rarely turned out to be wrong.

"This thief Cao is extremely cruel and treacherous. If he becomes powerful, it will not be a blessing for the people."

Liu Bei muttered something, then spoke.

"Zikun, why don't we send a message to Sun Ce and Zhou Yu, asking them to temporarily station their troops in Yunting, Langya State, to threaten Qingzhou. After Tao Gongzu sends people to retake Langya State, we will then have them attack Qingzhou to threaten Cao Cao's rear. What do you think?" (End of this chapter)