Three Kingdoms: My Strategy Simulator

However, the urgent news from Youzhou that had just been delivered to Guandu was not that Gongsun Zan had already sent troops south, but that the Wuhuan... had rebelled!
When Gongsun Zan was defeated at Jie Bridge and Yuan Shao launched a massive counterattack in Youzhou, he wanted to win the support of the Wuhuan troops and appease the Wuhuan who had begun to show signs of unrest due to Gongsun Zan's defeat.

Under the suggestion of Liu Yu, the then governor of Youzhou, the collars around the necks of the Wuhuan were greatly loosened, which also eased the relationship between the Han and Wuhuan people.

Relying on Liu Yu's skills and the military strength of the Wuhuan people, they managed to survive the most critical moment of Youzhou and saved Youzhou from falling into the hands of Yuan Shao.

In the following years, Liu Yu continued to ease the relationship with the Wuhuan people, in an attempt to educate these foreign tribes and slowly integrate them into Youzhou.

However, as Liu Yu went south to Shouchun, most of the affairs in Youzhou were handed over to Gongsun Zan. Gongsun Zan, who was extremely tough, immediately tightened the collars around the necks of the Wuhuan people.

However, the military strength of Youzhou had recovered a lot at that time, and under Gongsun Zan's tough style, the Wuhuan people could not cause any trouble at all.

Regarding this matter, Li Ji also sent a letter to Gongsun Zan to inquire about it, asking Gongsun Zan to eliminate potential hidden dangers before the Northern Expedition.

But what no one expected was that at the time when the troops were being deployed, the Wuhuan people rebelled, and they also linked up with a large number of Wuhuan tribes outside the Great Wall. With the support of both inside and outside, they rebelled and began to attack Youzhou on a large scale.

Even though Gongsun Zan expressed confidence in his reply that the rebellion launched by the Wuhuan people would be quelled as soon as possible, Li Ji could not help feeling extremely dissatisfied, and his behavior even showed a hint of anger.

Li Ji was angry not only at the Wuhuan, but also at Gongsun Zan.

"What on earth is Gongsun Bogui doing?!" Li Ji asked with a frown.

It has been ten years since the last Wuhuan Rebellion. Especially four or five years ago, Liu Yu loosened the "collar" that had been originally tight, which indeed allowed the Wuhuan people in Youzhou to gradually relax.

But even so, Gongsun Zan must have been too complacent towards the Wuhuan people who had been seemingly docile for ten years. Otherwise, how could the situation in Youzhou develop to this point in an instant?

This undoubtedly greatly disrupted Li Ji's deployment.

Not to mention whether Gongsun Zan could resolve the rebellion raised by the Wuhuan people as the message said, even if he could, it would be impossible for him to continue to move south to Jizhou in a short period of time.

What worries Li Ji even more is whether the former White Horse General is still capable of doing this...

Thinking of this, Li Ji's brows furrowed even more, and he became a little hesitant.

Li Ji had not seen Gongsun Zan for many years, and his knowledge of Gongsun Zan's changes was limited to written records, making it difficult to make an accurate judgment.

When Li Ji was worried before, due to the relationship between Gongsun Zan and Liu Bei, as well as Gongsun Zan's foundation in Youzhou, he was ultimately unable to directly replace Gongsun Zan.

As a result, the situation in Youzhou, which was originally very favorable for the Northern Expedition, was suddenly in danger of deterioration.

Pang Tong stepped out and spoke.

"Prime Minister, in my opinion, perhaps we cannot blame General Bai Ma entirely. The urgent report sent back from Youzhou mentioned that the reason why the Wuhuan people were able to start a rebellion was related to the migration of several Wuhuan tribes outside the Great Wall to the south, which gave the Wuhuan people in Youzhou the opportunity to rebel."

"This timing is so coincidental that one can't help but wonder if Cao was behind this."

Sima Yi also added, "Cao Wei has opened up a large-scale trade in Bingzhou, and it does have the ability to connect with the other Wuhuan tribes outside the Great Wall."

Zhuge Liang, who knew Li Ji's plans better, pointed out Li Ji's real concerns.

"Whether it was the thief Cao who secretly pushed this is not important. Right now, Youzhou is in chaos. It's not about whether we can still count on General Baima to put pressure on the thief Cao, but whether we should send troops to save Youzhou."

Others were not aware of Gu Wei's movements, but Zhuge Liang was clear about it. He understood that the big network drawn by Li Ji was actually a plan to have Ma Teng and Gongsun Zan attack the two countries of Wei and Zhao at the same time.

The current chaos in Youzhou will undoubtedly have a great impact on Li Ji's arrangements.

"What Kong Ming said is exactly what I am worried about. What do you think we should do?" Li Ji asked. If we don't save Youzhou, we are afraid that Gongsun Zan will be too stubborn and will not send a message for help in time even if the situation is not good.

Once Youzhou falls to the foreign invaders, it will be too late to send troops to rescue it.

If we want to save Youzhou, the imperial court still has some spare capacity. We just need to send a letter back to Shouchun to dispatch a fleet to the north.

However, once the troops were withdrawn north to Youzhou, if something unexpected happened in the Battle of Guandu, it would be extremely difficult to mobilize troops from the rear to provide support.

After these words were spoken, the counselors in the tent looked thoughtful, but it was difficult for them to make a choice.

At this moment, a figure rushed into the tent. It was Guo Jia, who was supposed to go to war with Zhao Yun.

In terms of understanding of Youzhou and Gongsun Zan, Liu Yu, Zhao Yun and Guo Jia are the best.

Therefore, before convening the military meeting, Li Ji sent someone to urgently recall Guo Jia, who was temporarily resting in Zhongmu County.

When Guo Jia saw that everyone looked solemn, he asked the reason and answered almost without hesitation.

"No help!"

"Why?" Pang Tong asked.

Guo Jia smiled and teased.

"Even if you all underestimate the White Horse General, why do you underestimate the men of Youyan?"

After a pause, Guo Jia's expression became serious and he began to explain in a more serious tone.

"General Bai Ma has not only recovered from the defeat at Jie Bridge, but has even been secretly preparing for war for a long time, just to march south again to conquer Jizhou and avenge the previous defeat."

"The spines of the Wuhuan people in Youzhou have been broken for ten years. Even if there are many Wuhuan tribes outside the Great Wall to help them, how can they straighten their spines in one day?"

"In my opinion, what we should worry about is that General Baima can't stop killing people and takes the opportunity to kill and completely exterminate the Wuhuan tribe, which will make our Han Dynasty lose a group of horse slaves."

Guo Jia's conclusion surprised many of the advisers in the tent who had never seen Gongsun Zan.

However, Li Ji did not doubt whether Gongsun Zan had such ability.

It is true that Gongsun Zan was no match for Yuan Shao in the civil war, but it also depends on who the opponent is. Gongsun Zan had to use many tricks to end up with his disastrous defeat at Jie Bridge.

Foreign wars are undoubtedly Gongsun Zan's comfort zone.

Li Ji was more worried about Gongsun Zan's condition. It was difficult to make an accurate judgment without seeing it with one's own eyes, so Li Ji continued to ask.

"Does Feng Xiao have enough understanding of General Gongsun's condition?"

"This concerns the safety of Youzhou and the success of the Northern Expedition. I dare not exaggerate in the slightest." Guo Jia replied.

This also brought a smile to Li Ji's face, as it was considered good news amidst bad news.

As long as Youzhou is safe, the Northern Expedition will not be affected even if Gongsun Zan is missing. (End of this chapter)