Three Kingdoms: Wolong's brother-in-law, tricking Liu Bei into seizing Jingzhou

Cao Cao finally understood.

Zhang Song wanted to exterminate Yu Jin's three clans himself to punish Yu Jin for his treasonous act of betraying Qin and surrendering to Han.

He even exterminated Yu Jin's three clans to establish his prestige and intimidate his subordinates so that they would not dare to follow Yu Jin's example.

"Pass on my order, find Yu Jin's family members and exterminate them immediately, behead them and display their heads to the public!"

Cao Cao, who was furious, issued the killing order without hesitation.

All the ministers were awed.

"Your Majesty, calm down!"

Huang Quan immediately stood up and advised:
"It is shameful for Yu Jin to surrender to the Han Dynasty, but he did it to cover your majesty's retreat. He risked his life to defend the isolated city, and only surrendered to Liu Bei after the city was broken."

"Although Yu Jin is guilty, he also had his own reasons. I don't think his crime is serious enough to result in the extermination of his entire clan."

"I beg Your Majesty to show mercy and exile Yu Jin's wife, but do not kill her!"

After hearing Huang Quan's defense of Yu Jin, Cao Cao hesitated again.

Zhang Song glared at Huang Quan secretly, his resentment growing.

We are both from the Shu faction, so we should be in the same boat. Why do you, Huang Quan, always refute me and contradict me?

What do you want to do?
Are you dissatisfied with me?

Want to compete with me for the position of leader of Shu faction?

Zhang Song was furious and said angrily:

"Your Majesty, Huang Gongheng is wrong!"

"As a minister of the Great Qin, it is only natural for me to die for my country. There is no excuse for this."

"If, as Huang Gongheng said, our generals can justifiably betray their country and surrender to the enemy when they are in desperate situations, then who will still be willing to fight to the death for the country in the future?"

"If Yu Jin's three clans are not exterminated, wouldn't everyone be taking chances and thinking that even if they betray their country and surrender to Liu, their families in Qin would not be implicated."

"If this is the case, when the Han army attacks in the future, won't everyone surrender after a little resistance?"

Faced with Zhang Song's rebuttal, Huang Quan could not think of any rebuttal words.

The hesitation in Cao Cao's eyes was instantly destroyed by Zhang Song's words.

"Zhang Yongnian's words make sense. Yu Jin is an important minister of the country, but now he is afraid of death and surrenders to the enemy. If I don't punish him severely, how can I enforce the law of the country? Will everyone follow suit in the future?"

Cao Cao slammed the table and stood up, saying sternly:

"My mind is made up and cannot be changed. Pass the order to exterminate the three clans immediately!"

Huang Quan didn't dare to persuade him anymore. He could only sigh and close his mouth silently.

After Cao Cao vented his anger, his emotions finally calmed down a little and he sat down with a thud.

"Jicheng has already fallen, and the 30,000-strong army has failed to break out. The situation has come to this point. Tell me, what should I do?"

Cao Cao leaned on the table and asked his ministers weakly.

As soon as he finished speaking, Zhang Song couldn't wait to say:
"Jicheng has been lost, and there is no longer a single soldier of our army in Longxi. The counties of Tianshui, Nan'an, etc. will surely surrender to the Han Dynasty."

"The fall of Longxi is basically a foregone conclusion."

"But fortunately, your majesty, along with the ministers and 40,000 elite troops, successfully withdrew to Yizhou, preserving a fresh force that can fight against the Han army." "With these 40,000 soldiers and horses, plus the garrison in Hanzhong, relying on the dangers of the Qinling Mountains and the strong passes such as Yangping Pass, even if Liu Bei's army of one million comes to attack, our army will not be afraid!"

Listening to Zhang Song's analysis, Cao Cao nodded slightly, and his gloomy face finally brightened up a little.

"Therefore, I think that Your Majesty should immediately set off for Hanzhong and assign elite soldiers and generals to guard Yangping Pass and other fortresses, as well as the various valley entrances, while Your Majesty will stay in Nanzheng to preside over the overall situation."

"If Liu Bei leads his army to attack, Your Majesty will command us to defend the various passes and valleys. The Qinling Mountains are rugged and dangerous. Even the pseudo-Han country is unable to support the pressure of transporting food and grass for hundreds of thousands of troops."

"The Han army will attack us and will only last for three months at most. They will surely run out of food and retreat."

After taking a breath, Zhang Song continued:
"Once Liu Bei retreats, Your Majesty can move to Chengdu, command the millions of people in Yizhou, rest and recuperate, and prepare for war."

"At the same time, Your Majesty can go north to form an alliance with Gongsun Du and bribe the Xianbei people with a large sum of money to induce them to lead their troops into the Great Wall."

"We can also send spies deep into the Pseudo-Han, secretly win over and bribe those noble families whose interests have been encroached upon by Liu Bei's imperial examination system and who are dissatisfied with the Pseudo-Han, and use them as internal supporters."

"When the time is right, Your Majesty can take advantage of the fact that Liu Bei's army is stationed in the north, being held back by the Xianbei people and Gongsun Du, and the noble families in the country are rising up. Then, lead our elite troops from Yizhou to the north through the Qinling Mountains, and you will surely be able to recapture Guanlong in one fell swoop."

"Then we can march eastward through Tongguan, and then the Central Plains, the two rivers, and the whole world can be pacified!"

Zhang Song wrote a grand blueprint for Cao Cao in a very eloquent manner.

Cao Cao had lost cities and territories, and suffered heavy casualties. He fled to Yizhou like a stray dog. At this time, he was hit hard by Yu Jin's surrender to the Han Dynasty. He was disheartened and had lost all his spirit.

After hearing the blueprint described by Zhang Song, a ray of hope miraculously rekindled in Cao Cao's gloomy eyes.

"That's right, Yongnian is right!"

"I still have Yizhou. I haven't lost yet. I still have hope of turning the tide and regaining the north!"

Cao Cao jumped up, pointed to the north, and a domineering air reappeared in his body.

Huang Quan, Yan Pu, and even Cao Zhen, Xu Huang and other followers all raised their heads and looked in surprise at Cao Cao, whose heroic spirit had been rekindled, and at Zhang Song, who was boasting.

These two, the emperor and his minister, are really bold in their thinking.

Even though he dominated four states in the past, he was no match for Liu Bei. He lost cities and territories, suffered heavy casualties, and lost three states. He fled to Yizhou in disgrace.

Now that we only have this one state left, shouldn't we be thinking about how to make use of existing resources, hold on to this little piece of land, and survive behind closed doors?
You two are so good that you even dream of regaining Guanlong and even the Central Plains.

Should we say that you are optimistic, or should we say that you are dreaming and deceiving yourself?

Huang Quan and others looked at each other, but did not dare to say a word. They did not dare to vent their anger on Cao Cao and ask him to face reality.

After venting his heroic fantasies, Cao Cao felt a little more encouraged and immediately ordered the entire army to withdraw to Nanzheng.

At this time.

Yan Pu remembered something and reminded him:
"Your Majesty, don't forget that we only lost Longxi, but we haven't completely lost Liangzhou."

"His Royal Highness the Prince of Rencheng is currently leading more than 20,000 soldiers and horses, stationed in the counties of Liangbei, resisting the attack of the enemy general Zhang Fei."

"After Liu Bei takes Longxi, he will certainly lead a large force northward to attack the King of Rencheng."

"With the current military strength of the King of Rencheng, I am afraid he will be unable to resist and will surely be defeated by Liu Bei."

"We can safely retreat to Yizhou, but the King of Rencheng is cut off in Liangzhou. Once he is defeated by Liu Bei, he will not be able to retreat to Yizhou at all."

"By that time, wouldn't King Rencheng be facing a desperate situation with no way out?"

Cao Cao's heart was shocked and his face suddenly changed. (End of this chapter)