Super Cultivation System of the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 558 Strategies of All Parties
"Report... Yesterday, Cao Cao and Yuan Shu fought fiercely outside Luoyang City. Yuan Shu's ambush on Cao Cao failed and was discovered by the enemy. Xiahou Dun killed Yuan Shu's general Zhang Xun. The two sides fought until dusk. Cao Cao led Xiahou Yuan's army to launch a surprise attack and joined forces with the troops left outside the pass to break through Hulao Pass. Yuan Shu's guarding general Lei Bu was killed in the battle. All 15,000 soldiers guarding the pass were either killed or surrendered. None of them escaped."

"Early this morning, both sides announced to the world that Cao Cao accused Yuan Shu of being a traitor, and Yuan Shu called Cao Cao a traitor. After castrating the traitor, they both vowed not to give up."

After listening to the scout's report, Liu He waved his hand, and the scout bowed and quickly left the hall.

"The two thieves, Yuan and Cao, really fell into the trap. According to the report from the Flying Eagle Guard, Cao Cao has 30,000 troops under his command, and they are heading to Chenjun in Yuzhou. Yuzhou also has 30,000 troops, and they are also heading to Chenliu from Chenjun. The two sides happened to meet last night, fought fiercely in the middle of the night, and then retreated. Now Yanzhou and Yuzhou are involved in a full-scale war. It may be difficult to tell the winner for a while, so Bingzhou should not have to worry."

"My lord, you are wise. This tactic of retreating to advance and giving them the four-strike area of ​​Luoyang is truly brilliant. Our army will retreat from Luoyang to Henei, and Henei has Shangdang as its back, so we can advance or retreat. After the two of them are both defeated, our army can easily recapture Luoyang, and we can also take the opportunity to destroy the two major princes and take back the two states of Yan and Yu. I really admire you very much."

Cui Jun's words may seem like compliments, but every word comes from the heart.

"Zhou Ping's compliments are good, but he shouldn't have said that to me. This plan was all Gongda's. Everyone else wanted to turn the tables, but Gongda did the opposite. He turned the tables and became the guest. This was really unexpected and he should be credited with a great achievement."

Xun You was sitting next to Xun Yu at this time. He slowly stood up and bowed to Liu He, saying, "My lord, you are too kind."

Liu He was in a very good mood at this time: "Wen Ruo and Gong Da are the best of Xun Clan. With their help, I will be like a tiger with wings. There is no need to worry about not being able to accomplish great things."

Xun Yu said, "Now that the Luoyang issue has been temporarily resolved, the disaster situation in Xihe County has stabilized, Tong Jian has already set out to survey the various sections of the Yellow River, and he is accompanied by hundreds of officials who have participated in flood control in various counties. I think the lord can rest assured about the Yellow River issue. Everything is going well, the morale of the army is high, and it is time to attack and plan for achievements."

"Well, what Wen Ruo said is exactly what I want." Liu He nodded.

"I don't know what our army's future strategy will be. Does Wenruo have any suggestions?"

Xun Yu seemed to be prepared for Liu He's questions and started talking immediately.

"In the art of war, the most important thing is to have a legitimate reason for going out on a campaign. If the reason is right, then the words will flow smoothly, and the army will be united. The capital of our Han Dynasty is Luoyang. Now that my lord and your majesty have moved to Henei, the first thing to do is to have a legitimate reason for going out on a campaign."

Liu He asked: "How to correct the name?"

"Yuan Shu is a traitor who has seized Luoyang. This is an act of treason and is inappropriate. My lord, you can issue an imperial edict to announce that the central government will be temporarily moved to Jinyang. At the same time, you can denounce Yuan Shu's crimes and make them known to the world. Then order Cao Cao to capture Luoyang as soon as possible. If he succeeds, you can promise to make him a general of cavalry and the Marquis of Puyang."

Liu He understood: "Well, that day, the military advisor used Zhong Yuanchang to forge a letter in which Cao Cao and I colluded, and the reward mentioned in the letter was also true. By then, the princes of the world, especially Yuan Shu, would have believed that Cao Cao had firmly surrendered to me. Even if Cao Cao wanted to escape from the battle in Luoyang, Yuan Shu would have pursued him relentlessly. Wen Ruo had a good idea, and a piece of imperial edict would have made Cao Mengde very anxious."

"That's exactly what I mean. Yuan Shao is Yuan Shu's cousin. He has made many moves to invade Bingzhou. My lord, you can rebuke him and reiterate that the two Yuans have colluded with the noble families, rebelled against the court, and brought disaster to the people. You should declare that they will be attacked after the beginning of spring. In this way, Yuan Shao will definitely rely more on General Xu Huang's Baibo Army. The more he trusts the Baibo Army, the sooner he will die."

"Liu Yu of Youzhou, Jiao He of Qingzhou, Kong Rong of Beihai, and Tao Qian of Xuzhou are all benevolent rulers, not warlike. Since Lord Zhuan entered Luoyang, the four of them have always been law-abiding. After Yuan Shao's demise, Youzhou, Qingzhou, and Xuzhou can be taken without a fight."

"Then, my lord, you can promote Cao Cao in public but surrender secretly, and order him to go to Jiaozhou to quell the rebellion in Nanyue. If he agrees, that would be the best. If he doesn't agree, he is a traitor and a traitor, and my lord can justifiably punish him. Then Henei will send troops to take Luoyang, Ji and Qing will send troops to take Yanzhou, and Xuzhou will send troops to take Yuzhou. Then you can recruit Ma Teng of Xiliang to surrender and appease his people. Then, everything north of the Yangtze River will belong to my lord. The country will be unified, and the Han Dynasty will be revived. It will be easy to achieve."

"Okay!" Liu He was excited when he heard this.

"Wen Ruo has described the general situation of the world in just a few words, and each word is a pearl. Now that winter is approaching, I have something to prepare during this period. Once it is ready, I will complement the Baibo Army, one light and one dark, one yin and one yang, and it will be a piece of cake to capture Jizhou."

At this time, Gong Saner suddenly ran over in a hurry: "General, His Majesty has summoned you."

Liu He was stunned: "Oh? Your Majesty is awake?"

After all, Liu Xie was young and weak. It was late autumn and he had to leave the city in the middle of the night. He had to change his carriage to a boat and then to another carriage. He was so frightened that he fell ill again as soon as he arrived in Hanoi.

Gong Saner replied: "Your Majesty just woke up and has been crying and shouting...shouting..."

Seeing that he was a little hesitant, Liu He said, "There are no outsiders here, so feel free to speak."

Gong Saner breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Your Majesty has been saying that he doesn't want to be the emperor anymore..."

Everyone was shocked when they heard this.

"Let's go and take a look." Liu He walked out of the hall quickly.

Since Hulao Pass was occupied by Cao Cao, there have been frequent conflicts between Cao and Yuan, but neither side has won a major victory.

It was inconvenient to station troops inside Hulao Pass, so Cao Cao left 10,000 soldiers inside the pass, and the rest of the army set up camps on both sides of the road leading to Luoyang. The camps and the pass formed a triangle of defense, supporting each other.

Ji Ling had just led his army to test the waters. After a while of fighting, he saw that he could not gain any advantage, so he quickly retreated. The walls of Luoyang City were high, and it was not easy to conquer them. Cao's army had attacked the city twice in the past few days, but made no progress, and the two sides were deadlocked. At Hulao Pass, the atmosphere in the meeting hall was a bit depressing.

Cao Cao sat in his seat and didn't say anything for a long time. Everyone else could only remain silent.

Suddenly, Cao Cao drew out his sword, and with a "swoosh", he inserted the sword into the wooden board on the ground.

"Liu He of Bingzhou is really powerful. I worked hard for more than a year, but he easily defeated me with a tactic of retreating to advance. Not only did I fail to capture Luoyang, but I was also forced to be trapped here and fight with Yuan Shu for days. It's really annoying."

Cheng Yu also sighed and said, "Now that he has issued an imperial edict, plus the lord's previous statement that he would eliminate the thieves and rebellion for the country, our army has been tied to him. Even if we want to retreat, Yuan Shu will surely come from behind. It's really difficult to deal with."

"I can't believe it. I thought I could conquer Luoyang overnight, but now I'm shooting myself in the foot."

Cao Cao said this hatefully, and then looked at Jia Xu.

"Now that things have come to this, what do you think, Wenhe?"

Jia Xu lowered his head and said, "I am incompetent and failed at the last moment. Now I have no solution. Please punish me, my lord."

Cao Cao's eyes tightened. "Forget it. It's not your fault. The situation was originally very good. Who could have expected Liu He to be so bold as to abandon Luoyang and leave? Now Luoyang is just an empty city, totally useless."

"I think Luoyang is not a useless city." A voice sounded, Cao Cao looked over and his face lit up with joy.

"Does Fengxiao have any other ideas?"

Guo Jia stood up and said, "Liu He sent an imperial edict ordering our army to capture Luoyang. Luoyang is the capital of the Han Dynasty, and everyone knows it. As long as our army occupies this place and invites the emperor to return to the palace, Liu He will definitely lead the army in person to welcome the emperor. Our army is active and his is passive. It will be easy to take Liu He's life."

Cao Cao pressed on, "How can it be so easy?"

"When Liu He arrives in Luoyang, he will definitely send troops to replace the city defenses. My lord, you can pretend to be obedient to lower his guard, and at the same time set up an ambush in the palace and dig out a secret compartment under the dragon throne. When the emperor returns to the palace and ascends the throne, the person hiding in the secret compartment will activate the mechanism and take the emperor away. Then immediately seal the hall with all kinds of heavy objects, and the swordsmen, axemen, and crossbowmen will rush forward. Liu He will definitely die."

"Then the lord supported the emperor and said that Liu He had evil intentions and wanted to assassinate him, but was killed by our army. At that time, the emperor was in the lord's hands, and who was loyal and who was rebellious was entirely determined by the lord's words. Liu He and Yuan Shu were both dead, and the lord could easily take Yu and Bing provinces, as well as Sili."

After hearing his plan, Cao Cao's eyes sparkled again.

"Good, Fengxiao, this plan is bold and careful. Since I defeated Dong Zhuo, I have been subservient to Liu He and obeyed his orders. He will not doubt me. Zhongde, you should write a letter on my behalf and send it to Jinyang to express my loyalty and obedience. The words must be sincere."

"Here!"

"Midwinter is approaching, and our army's food and grass are about to run out. We will truce with Yuan Shu and wait until spring comes to capture Luoyang in one fell swoop."

All the generals shouted in unison: "Yes, sir!"

Yuzhou, Lujiang County.

After the alliance against Dong Zhuo, Sun Jian took refuge under Yuan Shu and fought for him in all directions. Lujiang County was the last county he attacked when he conquered the entire Yuzhou province for Yuan Shu, so he was appointed as the prefect of Lujiang by Yuan Shu.

On this day, Sun Jian, Han Dang, Huang Gai, Cheng Pu and other generals gathered together, apparently discussing something important.

"Yuan Shu is such a despicable man. He asked us to charge in the front during the war, but never gave us any reward. He pretended to make us the governor of Lujiang, but never sent us any food. Instead, he often asked us for food in the name of Lujiang's wealth. When we attacked Luoyang this time, he thought he had a sure victory, so he asked Ji Lingleibu to lead the army. Now that the situation is not favorable, he asked us to go out again. This is really too much."

Although Huang Gai's temples were beginning to turn gray, his temper was still as bad as ever.

"Gong Fu is right. The lord has fought for Yuan Shu for many years. He was a prefect of Nanyang, but his current status is mostly due to the lord's contribution. He has come to ask for food and grass repeatedly, but he is afraid that the lord will recruit troops in Lujiang. We have been here for a long time, but we still only have 8,000 troops. How can we gain a foothold in this chaotic world? The lord should plan early."

Sun Jian's eyes were determined as he looked at the generals.

"What Generals Han and Huang said is actually what Jian was thinking. I summoned you all here today to discuss this matter."

When everyone heard this, they seemed to have guessed something. They all sat up straight in an instant, their spirits completely different from their previous resentful expressions.

(End of this chapter)