Three Kingdoms: My Strategy Simulator

(Thank you all for your concern. Today I just have an intermittent low-grade fever and I am in much better condition.)
Li Ji fell into deep thought, stroking the fan bone with his thumb, secretly deducing the impact of the Cao-Yuan dispute on the general situation of the world.

Now, after Cao Cao had made a series of preparations to launch a surprise attack on Jizhou, which had been left empty in the rear, if no powerful force came from heaven to turn the tide, it was inevitable that Bohai County would change its owner.

Even in Li Ji's opinion, with Cao Cao's ability, it was not impossible for him to sweep across the entire southern Jizhou before Yuan Shao could react.

In this way, although Yuan Shao may still have a clear military advantage over Cao Cao on the front battlefield, at the strategic level, Yuan Shao will be in an extremely unfavorable situation.

Bohai County was Yuan Shao's base. Losing Bohai County would almost cut off most of Yuan Shao's sources of money and food.

However, it had only been half a year since Yuan Shao actually controlled the entire Jizhou and nominally took over Bingzhou. In addition, the death of Han Fu caused a lot of dissatisfaction.

Moreover, although Yuan Shao controlled the entire Jizhou, he was actually unable to replenish any money or grain. In the Battle of Jie Bridge, which lasted for about a year, Han Fu had almost exhausted all the money and grain he could mobilize.

Therefore, Yuan Shao, who was ambushed in Bohai County, was no different from a snake that was hit in the weakest part.

It is for this reason that Li Ji always believed that Cao Cao only needed to gain a foothold in the face of Yuan Shao’s first wave of counterattack.

So, after Cao Cao seized the money and grain of Bohai County, he also had the constant financial support from Qingzhou.

If this drags on, Cao Cao will undoubtedly have a great chance of winning!
For Li Ji, the rise of either Yuan Shao or Cao Cao would be disadvantageous to his side, and the best outcome would be mutual destruction.

Now, Sun Ce's troops in Langya and Zhao Yun, whose troops are entrusted by Liu Yu in Youzhou, undoubtedly have the ability to influence the war situation from both the north and the south.

Of course, Liu Yu's personality was always conservative, which meant that Zhao Yun would not be able to mobilize many Youzhou troops to counterattack Jizhou, and Sun Ce only had 20,000 troops in his hands.

With this kind of military force, it is far from enough to play the role of a fisherman and settle the matter, but if one wants to disrupt the situation, it is still possible.

If Zhao Yun or Sun Ce attacked the rear during the fierce battle between Cao and Yuan, it would have a huge impact on the war situation.

Therefore, the judgment made by Liu Bei is feasible.

However, Li Ji undoubtedly had a clear understanding of Cao Cao's treachery and decisiveness. Cao Cao was aware of the risk of death in order to survive, but he was by no means a blind gambler.

Li Ji spoke slowly.

"My lord, what you said is a good strategy, but the emptiness of Qingzhou and the threat from Xuzhou will definitely be taken into consideration by Cao Cao."

"Even if Cao Cao was desperate, Xun Yu, Xun You, Xi Zhicai and other resourceful men would certainly be prepared."

Liu Bei frowned slightly and nodded in agreement.

Even though Liu Bei was extremely disgusted by Cao Cao's brutal massacre, he had to admit that the world underestimated him, Cao Mengde.

When the situation in the Han Dynasty was that Liu Bei and Yuan Yuan were fighting each other, no one expected that it was Cao Cao, who occupied the barren Qingzhou, who was stirring up the world situation and dragging most of the princes of the time into a vortex.

Cao Cao was even more desperate and tried to fish in troubled waters, and even began to seek Jizhou.

If Cao Cao really defeated Yuan Shao, and Yuan Shu was betrayed and defeated by Cao Cao, then the once powerful Yuan family would be ended by Cao Cao.

Hero.

This is also Liu Bei's objective evaluation of Cao Cao. It is not surprising that such a person has a backup plan in Qingzhou.

"However, Cao Cao only has a limited number of troops. What else can he do? Moreover, Cao Cao has a very bad reputation in Qingzhou. Even if he intends to follow the example of the Yellow Turbans and use civilians as soldiers, there will certainly be very few people who will respond."

Liu Bei said with some confusion.

"My Lord, what you said is absolutely right. Whether Cao Cao has a backup plan in Qingzhou or what it is is just speculation at the moment. We should not throw away such a good plan just because of speculation."

After a pause, Li Ji then spoke.

"Furthermore, Cao Cao implemented the military farming system in Qingzhou, and it was difficult for the Jinyi Division to collect and transmit intelligence. There might be omissions in the intelligence about Qingzhou. Even if we send a message to Bofu, we should let him be careful."

Liu Bei nodded and understood that this was the most appropriate choice at the moment.

Today, the two states of Jing and Yang are at war on two fronts. Not to mention the war in Nanyang County, Liu Bei has to quickly annex Yuzhou and not give Yuan Shu a chance to breathe. It is impossible for him to withdraw troops to the north to Jizhou and take advantage of the situation.

However, the military strength of Youzhou was severely damaged. The conservative Liu Yu had to guard against Yuan Shao and be vigilant against other ethnic minorities on the grassland at all times. This made it impossible for Liu Yu to transfer a large number of troops to Zhao Yun for a surprise attack on Jizhou.

Even Liu Bei and Li Ji tacitly did not suggest that Zhao Yun go south to launch a surprise attack on Jizhou. Not only did they feel that Cao Cao had greater advantages and posed a greater threat, but they also considered that recuperation and stabilizing the territory were more important for Youzhou at the moment.

As long as Youzhou remains stable, no matter how the conflict between Cao and Yuan goes, it will not threaten Youzhou in the short term, allowing Liu Bei to always own an important horse-breeding land.

Just as several fast horses escorted the secret order out of the camp, they traveled day and night to deliver the secret order to Sun Ce.

The twists and turns of the Xuzhou battle began to reach the ears of everyone who was paying attention to it at an astonishing speed.

First, Cao Cao launched an attack on Xuzhou in the name of revenge, forcing Tao Qian to retreat step by step. He lost Langya State and Donghai County in succession and had to retreat to Xia Pi.

Moreover, Cao Cao's massacre in Donghai County not only shocked the Han Dynasty, but also triggered a series of reactions, causing Liu Bei, Yuan Shu, Lu Bu and other princes to fight each other one after another.

From that moment on, the Xuzhou battlefield undoubtedly attracted most of the world's attention.

In contrast, even when Yuan Shao led his troops north to attack Youzhou, it seemed so calm.

After destroying the army led by Ji Ling, in order to boost his momentum and allow Liu Bei to sit on the throne of destiny, Li Ji did not deliberately block the events of the battle in Donghai County.

The fact that Li Ji borrowed three quarters of north wind from heaven in the name of Liu Bei and defeated Cao's army shocked countless people.

The key point is that after Cao Cao was severely damaged by Li Ji's fire, he did not hesitate to hide it from Yuan Shu and quietly evacuated Xuzhou.

Later, Li Ji used the strategy of "ambush from ten sides" to destroy Yuan's army led by Ji Ling overnight. He then headed straight for Yuzhou, intending to annex Yuzhou in one fell swoop.

"God's will will bring us hegemony!"

For a moment, countless people who were paying attention to the direction of this war in the Central Plains couldn't help but have this thought in their minds.

It was as if when the Han Dynasty was about to fall, the figures of Emperor Gaozu and Emperor Guangwu seemed to appear behind Liu Bei.

Li Ji, the Marquis of the State, was like the gathering of the talents of the three great men of the early Han Dynasty, paving the way for Liu Bei to support the Han Dynasty and revive the Han Dynasty. (End of this chapter)