The Three Kingdoms: Zhaolie, the strategist, and the rise of the Han Dynasty

Chapter 258 Though the world changes, our lord remains our lord, and Yi remains Yi.

Meanwhile, Liu Bei personally went to Hebei, and with the joint efforts of his key and capable ministers...

They killed Xiahou Yuan, the commander-in-chief of the Wei army's eastern region, and achieved a great victory at Qinghe.

This great victory annihilated Cao Cao's remaining forces in the eastern region.

The State of Wei has lost the advantage of taking the initiative in Hebei.

Throughout the state of Qi, everyone firmly believed that Hebei's victory was only a matter of time.

Therefore, Liu Bei first bestowed titles and rewards upon his meritorious officials.

Li Yi prepared the commendation in advance and handed it to Liu Bei.

Ma Chao and Huang Zhong were the key figures in the victory at Qinghe.

Since Ma Chao was recommended by Li Yi, Li Yi requested that Ma Chao be appointed as Left General in the list of rewards and honors.

The four generals of the Eastern Han Dynasty were of equal rank, with no distinction of rank.

Previously, Zhang Fei was the Right General, Guan Yu was the Vanguard General, and Ma Chao was promoted to Left General.

He then became equal to the two brothers.

Liu Bei actually had no objection to this reward.

Still influenced by the game, I always felt that rewarding officials only depended on their abilities.

If you read history books carefully, you will find that many extremely capable historical figures were always overshadowed by some inexplicable people.

These people are not famous in history, but they hold higher official positions than many others.

Ultimately, it's about the composition of a political team.

The core factor has always been political considerations, rather than competence.

Ma Chao was very famous in Liangzhou. Historically, he successfully persuaded 70,000 Di soldiers to join Liu Bei.

Even in this version of Ma Chao, he still commands a Liangzhou army.

Therefore, even if Liu Bei disregarded personal feelings, he would still give Ma Chao a high position.

Just like when Jiao Chu was appointed governor of Youzhou.

Many people may not have even heard of Jiao Chu's name and wonder what merit he has to be appointed as a high-ranking official at the level of governor.

There was no other reason than that Jiao Chu and Zhang Nan were former officials of Yuan Shikai and powerful figures who held military power.

Anyone who holds military power will inevitably hold a high official position.

Their rebellion in Youzhou, responding to Li Yi's Northern Expedition, played a leading role.

He helped Li Yi quickly pacify Youzhou and eliminate the remaining forces of Yuan Xi.

Although these warlords had a high degree of autonomy, as far as Liu Bei was concerned, as long as they did not openly rebel.

If you stay in your original territory and cooperate well with the government, you can accept any official position.

After all, military power and autonomy can be gradually reduced.

For example, Liu Bei, on Li Yi's advice,
He successively appointed Tian Yu as Provincial Governor, Zhang Xiu as Northern Garrison Commandant, and Tian Chou as Director of the Yuyang Salt Administration.

Administrative power, military power, and financial power were gradually taken back by the central government.

After their power was reduced, powerful local clans like Jiaochu and Zhangnan naturally became more subdued.

If you act too hastily and force them to turn against you, it will be a lose-lose situation for both sides.

Therefore, power politics is the most fascinating and the most challenging aspect of wisdom.

Don't say anything else,

For the sake of Ma Chao's Liangzhou army alone, Liu Bei wouldn't mind placing him on equal footing with Guan Yu and Zhang Fei.

Therefore, Liu Bei considered Li Yi's arrangement to be reasonable.

From Li Yi's perspective, even if it were just out of personal motives, Li Yi would still need to give Ma Chao a high position.

After all, it was he who personally facilitated the arrangement for Ma Chao to stay and develop in Bingzhou.

They abandoned their families and even their fathers.

If you don't offer him a big reward at this point, Li Yi's prestige will plummet.

How can I gain the respect of others and lead my subordinates in the future?

"Meng Qi is a renowned general of our time. I have no objection to appointing him as the Left General."

Liu Bei unfolded the bamboo scroll and took another look.

"It was only when Hansheng accompanied me on my campaign in Hebei that I killed Xiahou and defeated the Wei army at Qingshui."

"Outstanding achievements and great contributions."

"If I don't offer generous rewards, how can I gain the respect of the people?"

At this point, Liu Bei closed the scroll and said to Li Yi with great interest:

"Aren't there still vacancies for the positions of the four generals?"

"...I intend to appoint Han Sheng as General of the Rear."

"To be on equal footing with Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, and Ma Chao—what does the Prime Minister think of that?"

This……

Li Yi hesitated slightly, "Just now, Your Majesty appointed Han Sheng as General Who Conquers the West."

"Now, in just a few decades, he has been promoted to Rear General."

"I fear that if the promotion is too rapid, the generals will not be satisfied."

"Moreover, Han Sheng's reputation has never been comparable to that of Guan Yu and Zhang Fei."

"Does Your Majesty need to reconsider?"

Huang Zhong was not only an old soldier, but more importantly, he came to join Liu Bei alone.

Generally speaking, those who have their own retinues to recruit will have a higher starting point.

For example, Ma Chao.

Those like Huang Zhong, who didn't have their own private armed forces, could only rely on their military achievements to survive.

If you think about it carefully, you'll find that...

Not only among the scholar class, but even among the military class, there was a hierarchy of contempt.

Those military generals who come from prestigious families and have been dukes and marquises for generations mostly look down on those who come from humble backgrounds and have risen through the ranks purely on seniority and military achievements.

Li Yi objected because he simply felt that although Huang Zhong had made contributions, he could not be directly ranked alongside Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, and Ma Chao.

Not only Li Yi, but also Zhuge Liang in history opposed ranking Huang Zhong alongside Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, and Ma Chao.

Although Zhuge Liang's reason was that Guan Yu was arrogant and might not accept it.

But this was clearly just an excuse from Zhuge Liang.

Even if Guan Yu didn't understand Huang Zhong, how could Liu Bei's explanation possibly become a reason to hinder Huang Zhong's promotion?
In fact, Zhuge Liang's considerations were the same as Li Yi's.

The hierarchy of contempt among scholars in the Eastern Han Dynasty was extremely rigid.

For a military officer like you who doesn't have a strong background, you can only rely on your military achievements and seniority to slowly climb the ranks.

Huang Zhong's slaying of Xiahou was indeed a remarkable achievement.

But you immediately want to jump up there.
They were on equal footing with veterans like Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, and with wealthy young masters like Ma Chao who joined the group with their own investment.

That can easily cause resentment among subordinates.

But Liu Bei did it anyway.

Do you think Liu Bei was just acting impulsively because he liked Huang Zhong?
That would be underestimating a politician who has been an entrepreneur for many years.

Historically, Liu Bei mainly relied on the Yuan Cong faction and the Jingzhou faction.

For Liu Bei's group, which lacked talent, Liu Bei had to broaden his talent selection channels and recruit talented people from all over the country.

Huang Zhong, an old general half-buried in the yellow earth, was promoted four ranks in a row, leaping from a miscellaneous general to a general of the four directions.

This was a signal that Liu Bei wanted to break the monopoly of prestigious families on talent.

Let me tell you, it doesn't matter what your background is.

Even if you come from a humble background, as long as you make contributions, I will still give you an important position.

Liu Bei's act of sending Huang Zhong to a meteoric rise was a performance art of seizing the opportunity for Huang Zhong to make meritorious contributions, spending a fortune to acquire his talent.

The same principle applies to promoting Huang Zhong now.

Although Liu Bei now has many talented people under his command, apart from Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Zhao Yun, Li Zicheng, Jian Rong, and others who were originally from his faction.

Most of the talented individuals come from prestigious families or have joined the group with their own resources and hold military power.

Liu Bei had already become the King of Qi, and he wanted to change this situation.

Huang Zhong, however, was an old soldier with no background who came alone.

He happened to have made a contribution in Hebei, which gave Liu Bei an opportunity to promote him.

To know,
Today's Liu Bei has more talented people and a wider territory than his historical counterpart.

The factional struggles under his command were naturally more intense than in history.

Historically, the Shu Han state, with its relatively small territory, was divided into the Yizhou faction, the Dongzhou faction, the Jingzhou faction, and the Yuancong faction.

Moreover, Liu Bei now spans most of China?
Since establishing itself in Xuzhou,

Liu Bei had at least a dozen factions under his command.

Among them, the most influential,
This was the Yuan Cong faction, led by Li Yi, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, and Jian Yong.

This is the faction that Liu Bei relies on most.

Because these followers were absolutely supporters of Liu Bei's rule.

Therefore, when Liu Bei was dividing up the territory, he had to make these few officials the ones in charge of the overall area.

For example, Li Yi was in charge of Hebei, Guan Yu was in charge of Qingzhou, and Zhang Fei was in charge of Xuzhou.

These founding leaders were further divided into many factions.

For example, Xuzhou,
There was the Danyang faction led by Cao Bao, the Xuzhou faction led by Chen Gui, and the Mi family, which controlled enormous national wealth.

Besides these factions, the more influential ones include:

Examples include the Taishan School led by Zang Ba and Chang Xi, the Huainan School led by Chen Deng, and the Yuzhou School led by Chen Qun.

Because the three provinces of Qing, Xu, and Ji were Liu Bei's most core territories, they were his main source of income and military recruitment.

Therefore, Liu Bei had the strongest control over these three provinces.

By firmly controlling the three core states, any other areas with greater autonomy will be suppressed.

Among them, Youzhou and Liaodong had the highest degree of autonomy.

Because the area here is vast and the climate is cold.

In addition, Li Yi vigorously promoted reforms, allowing Youzhou to adopt a high degree of autonomy and achieve self-sufficiency.

Therefore, too many people in Youzhou hold real power.

Zhang Xiu, Tian Yu, Tian Chou, Qian Zhao, Xianyu Fu, Zhang Nan, Jiao Chu, and so on.

Since we can't firmly control Youzhou, we might as well divide the power.

Once power is distributed, major troubles are unlikely to arise.

Anything that happens will be reported directly to the central government.

These factional divisions have nothing to do with loyalty.

It is an inevitable consequence of the formation of a political group.

Political groups are like a community of shared interests.

People come together for common interests and to gain more benefits.

Liu Bei was the leader of this community, and he had to protect the interests of his "members" while also expanding new interests.

Li Yi was both a member of Liu Bei's original faction and the leader of the Hebei faction.

Because the Eastern Han Dynasty was a dual monarchy, subordinates could address local officials as subjects.

This led to particularly pronounced factional divisions at the end of the Han Dynasty.

Those who stayed in Hebei with Li Yi to start their own businesses included Zhang Liao, Xu Huang, Zhang He, Gao Lan, Xu Shu, and Zhen Yao.

Unless they stay in Xuzhou, right under Liu Bei's nose.

Otherwise, they would have to rely on Li Yi for food.

This campaign to pacify Hebei,
Zhang He, Xu Huang, Gao Lan, and others believed that since the battle was taking place in Hebei, it should be fought by the people of Hebei.

We need to at least let people from Hebei play the main roles.

As a result, when Liu Bei previously dispatched a vanguard general, he appointed Huang Zhong, who had no background, as the vanguard.

He had Zhang He and Xu Huang assist him.

In the end, they achieved a great victory at Qinghe, including the glorious feat of beheading Xiahou Yuan.

However, when people talk about this great achievement, the number one contributor will always be Huang Zhong.

The positions of the four generals have now been divided among three.

Guan Yu and Zhang Fei each took one.

Ma Chao, who commands the elite troops of Liangzhou and is likely to become the future leader of the Yongliang faction, has taken the third share.

It is reasonable for Ma Chao to take one of the four general positions, solely for the sake of pacifying Yong and Liang in the future.

But this last position of the Four Generals was to be given to an old soldier with no background.

How could the Hebei generals be convinced of this?

After all, there's one in Qingzhou and one in Xuzhou.

As a major province in the country, the people of Hebei believe that they should also have a province of Ji.

Not to mention that Jizhou was one of the economic, cultural, and political centers of the State of Qi.

As the most powerful state in the land, it has not a single general in any of the four directions.

Li Yi was also afraid that his men would resent him for not fighting for the interests of his old comrades in Hebei.

But there was nothing he could do; although he was the leader of the Hebei faction.

But as the Prime Minister of Qi, he often had to consider the bigger picture.

In his first attempt, Li Yi said that Huang Zhong was already the General Who Conquers the West, and there was no need to promote him to the General of the Four Directions.

This is already something he's done to fight for his old friends in Hebei.

"The sons of Hebei have served the emperor for a long time, but have not yet attained a prominent position."

"If we were to place these veterans from Jingchu here, wouldn't that chill the hearts of the northerners?"

Li Yi made one last attempt, hoping that Liu Bei would reserve one of the four generals positions for someone from Hebei.

But Liu Bei's attitude was very firm, and he said:
"Han Sheng killed Xiahou Yuan in battle, laying the foundation for my rule over Hebei."

"If great achievements are not rewarded, how will we gain the respect of the people in the future?"

"Prime Minister, there is no need to persuade me further; my mind is made up."

"As for the generals in Hebei, I request that the Prime Minister personally go and appease them."

After speaking, he looked at Li Yi.

Li Yi met Liu Bei's gaze, remained silent for a long time, and then bowed his head and said:

"...Your Majesty...is wise."

Li Yi silently left the tent.

He did not continue to try to win over Liu Bei.

He knew Liu Bei's temperament; once he made up his mind, no one could persuade him otherwise.

Furthermore, Li Yi did not intend to continue persuading him.

Having worked with Lao Liu for over ten years, how could he not know what Lao Liu was thinking?
Li Yi could tell that Lao Liu wanted to take advantage of the people from Hebei.

After all, Hebei was not the core of Liu's politics; Xuzhou was.

However, Hebei was too wealthy and had many capable generals, each with their own independent troops.

Old Liu wasn't targeting Li Yi himself, but rather Li Yi's men.

As a ruler, you can't afford not to play the balance of power game.

Liu Bei has already handed over the second most powerful position in the country to Li Yi. If he doesn't keep an eye on Li Yi's subordinates, he'll have to do something about it.

I'm afraid Li Yi might also be coerced by his subordinates.

Take the positions of the four generals as an example.
Li Yi's two attempts to advocate for the people of Hebei further solidified Liu Bei's determination to suppress them.

Because he discovered that Li Yi was somewhat influenced by the people of Hebei.

Liu Bei could understand this; he never doubted Li Yi's loyalty.

But precisely because Li Yi held a high position and wielded great power, many people with vested interests were involved with him.

Don’t be afraid of ten thousand, just be afraid of what happens.

If Li Yi were to pass away one day, who would keep his men in check?
At that time, everyone from Hebei will hold high positions and wield great power, becoming too powerful to control.

This would undoubtedly be a major headache for Liu Bei.

That night, Li stood alone in the cold wind, gazing at the moon and sighing deeply:

"Lord Xuande is no longer the chivalrous swordsman of Xuzhou he once was."

"In the past, we rode side by side through the rivers and lakes, generous and unrestrained."

"Now they strategize and command with impunity, wielding both kindness and power arbitrarily."

"Do heroes emerge from the times, or do heroes change the times?"

Li Yi held his wine cup in the breeze, his heart filled with mixed emotions.

Should I rejoice that he has become a tool of emperors, or grieve that he has lost the true essence of his former friends?

Liu Bei's political skills were no longer what they used to be.

This is what Li Yi wanted to see.

Because if a monarch is too emotional, he is destined not to rise to a higher level.

these years,
Li Yi had been trying to help Liu shed his wandering, chivalrous air and become a true political figure.

Now, Li Yi has achieved his wish.

I saw the true qualities of an emperor in Lao Liu.

But when he actually saw that day, Li Yi felt a mix of emotions, a feeling he couldn't quite describe.

Just as Li Yi was overwhelmed with emotions, he suddenly felt a warmth on his shoulder.

A fox fur coat was draped over his shoulders.

Li Yi glanced back at him; it was Xun You, the military advisor.

Xun You was also a member of the Prime Minister's office. Although he was in charge of affairs in Hebei, he was not bound by the interests of the people of Hebei.

He was more like a staff member in the Prime Minister's office, someone whose interests were aligned with the Prime Minister's.

"...The night is cold and the dew is heavy, Prime Minister, please take good care of yourself."

Xun You draped a coat over Li Yi and said gently.

Ah.

Li Yi waved his hand and laughed:

"...Gongda, there is no prime minister at this time, only old friends."

He paused slightly, then couldn't help but ask again:

"Did you hear everything I just said, Gongda?"

Xun You was a calm and reserved person who did not like to talk much.

Perhaps it was because he had worked with Li Yi for a long time and developed feelings for him, or perhaps it was simply a spontaneous expression of his feelings.

After a moment of contemplation, Xun You said slowly:
"In my opinion, it is not Your Majesty who has changed, but you who have changed."

Have I changed?
Li Yi was somewhat taken aback and quickly asked:

"Why do you say this, Gongda?"

Xun You looked at Li Yi with a meaningful gaze and said in a deep voice:

When You first met you, you were unrestrained and often had thoughts of the distant future.

"Like the bluebird, soaring in the nine heavens, untouched by worldly dust."

"now……"

He paused for a moment, then continued, "You claim to be devoted to the country, yet you hold tightly to the power in your hands."

"All matters, large and small, in Hebei are decided by the government."

"Just now you lamented that 'heroes change with the times,' but isn't His Majesty the King of Qi also changed because of you?"

At this point, Xun You couldn't help but sigh:
"...Ten years have passed. What you have gained and lost can only be weighed by your own heart."

What we gain and lose, only our hearts can weigh...?
Upon hearing this, Li Yi remained silent for a long time.

The wine cup in my hand reflects the moon, its clear light swaying gently.

Yes, the environment shapes people.

Having lived in this era for over a decade, Li Yi seems to have almost forgotten that he is a modern person.

He tries hard to integrate into the lives of people of this era, always playing the role of an ancient person "skillfully".

But it's unclear when it started, but he seems to be enjoying playing the role of an ancient person.

I've gradually gotten used to thinking about problems using the mindset of the ancients.

"...In my entire life, no one has ever dared to speak so frankly about my tyranny."

Li Yi faced Xun You directly and joked to himself:
"Without your heartfelt words, how could I know my own gains and losses?"

"As you said, there are many gains, but also many losses."

“Yi has always been arrogant and conceited, and refused to compromise his principles. Only today do I realize how foolish he was.”

“…Excellent! I will keep Gongda’s words in mind.”

"Though the world changes, our lord is still our lord, and Yi is still Yi."

May we retain this true nature even when the world changes.

After saying this, Li Yi affectionately punched Xun You in the chest.

Both of them laughed, and Li Yi felt relieved.

"Gongda is right. For now, let's focus on the current war."

"I wonder what strategy the Prime Minister thinks Cao Cao should take to support our Qi army after losing Xiahou Yuan and suffering a major defeat at Qinghe?"

"Now that Wei's elite troops have been lost, I do not expect him to dare to confront us head-on."

"However, Cao Cao had set up many strongholds in Wei and stationed a large army there."

"If my master launches a strong attack, it will take many more years."

Oh?
Xun You raised an eyebrow. "Is the Prime Minister already planning something?"

Li Yi smiled and said:

"The best course of action now is to rely on Guan Yu's efforts."

On the Hebei battlefield, Li Yijun has now gained a comprehensive advantage.

It was only a matter of time before Cao Cao's Hebei territory was seized.

The previous victory at Qinghe had annihilated Cao Cao's main force, causing him to lose the initiative to launch an attack.

However, he still had an army at his disposal to defend his homeland.

What needs to be done now is to rely on Guan Yu's southern army to further annihilate Cao Cao's main force in the south.

This presented Cao Cao with a choice.

Should we use our existing military strength to protect the North or the South?

After all, if the Southern Army were to fail, Cao Cao would inevitably lose a core territory.

The north was Cao Cao's political center, so it was definitely something he wanted to protect.

Runan was the second largest prefecture in the country and a rich territory that Cao Cao had cultivated for many years.

It was also an important granary for Cao Cao.

It is unknown whether Cao Cao was willing to give up the prosperous Runan.

Of course, if you absolutely have to choose one of the two.

Jizhou is definitely more important than Runan.

However, from a strategic perspective,

Runan is the gateway connecting to Jingzhou.

Previously, Liu Bei's territory did not border Jingzhou.

Once Liu Bei gains control of Runan, he can expand his sphere of influence to Jingzhou.

Besides Henan and Hebei, Jingzhou was the third strategically vital location that military strategists fought over.

By acquiring Jingzhou, we can simultaneously control Yizhou and Yangzhou.

By then, there will be absolutely no way to restrain Liu Bei.

Of course, protecting Jizhou or Runan is like drinking two cups of poison.

It will be up to Cao Cao to choose which cup to drink.

"……Well."

Li Yi suddenly reached up and touched his forehead, as if he had just been touched by something.

I stretched out my hand and felt the raindrops dripping into my palm.

"...It seems to be raining."

"...Yes, it is now the end of summer and the beginning of autumn, a time of continuous rain."

Xun You gazed at the dark, cloud-covered sky and sighed softly:

“Even in the dry north, where water is scarce, there is still so much rain.”

"I'm afraid the south will be hit by torrential rains and devastating floods."

Upon hearing this, Li Yi asked again:
"Has Chen Yuanlong's navy already marched north from the Huai River?"

Xun You nodded and replied:
"...I heard that Chen Yuanlong has already led his navy north."

“Runan is a watery place. If the water rises, General Guan should be able to handle it.”

Xun You assumed that Li Yi's question about the naval forces stemmed from concerns that the flooding in Runan would affect military operations.

But Li Yi couldn't help but chuckle and said:
"...This year's rain is much heavier than in previous years."

"I thought that if Guan Yu were in Runan, he would surely defeat Cao Ren and Yu Jin."

"Oh?" Xun You became interested. "How do you know that?"

Cao Ren was among the top three military generals from Cao Cao's clan, while Yu Jin was the number one military general from outside the Cao family.

This demonstrates the great importance Cao Cao attached to the battle of Runan.

"Our army has gained the upper hand in Hebei, and General Guan will not be hindered by Hebei in Runan."

"General Guan's military strength in the south is as many as 80,000 men."

"At least 30,000 men can be directly deployed to the front lines."

"With such a force, we should be able to take Runan."

Li Yi analyzed the situation for Xun You, who nodded in agreement with Li Yi's view.

Now, it remains to be seen how Cao Cao will respond to the war between the north and south.

Speaking of Cao Cao, they turned to Cao Cao's camp.

After Cao Cao suffered a major defeat at Qinghe, he withdrew his troops and retreated north of Qinghe.

They stayed in the city, no longer daring to take the initiative.

He must preserve the remaining manpower; any further mishap would mean the loss of Hebei.

"How is the battle in Runan progressing?"

Cao Cao rubbed his temples, his brows furrowed, and asked the aide beside him.

The person on the left and right answered:

"General Cao Ren fought Guan Yu in several battles, with each side winning and losing, but..."

"but what?"

Cao Cao was most annoyed by people only speaking halfway through their sentences, and impatiently urged them on.

"But Guan Yu had acquired Chen Yuanlong's navy and had already occupied the Huai River."

"General Cao Ren was afraid of being trapped by Guan Yu, so he had no choice but to retreat to Xincheng and wait for General Yu Jin's reinforcements to arrive."

We'll make other plans.

Xincheng, located on the banks of the Huai River, is the most fortified city in Runan.

Having one more side facing water means one less side of the city wall to defend.

But it is precisely for this reason that it is necessary to fight for control of the Huai River.

Whoever controls the waterways controls Runan's shipping and transportation hub.

After Guan Yu captured the Huai River, it meant that he could deploy any number of troops he wanted along the river.

Therefore, losing the Huai River is tantamount to losing the initiative.

Cao Ren's failure to seize the Huai River from Guan Yu meant that he would have no choice but to stay in the city and be beaten.

Wait patiently for the situation to change.

"...Hmph, having lost the Huai River, how can you claim there was a victory or defeat on both sides?"

Cao Cao slammed his fist on the table in anger.

But then he thought again, Liu Bei's navy was indeed more powerful than his own.

Although the two acquired Huainan at the same time, Liu Bei started developing his navy much earlier than Liu Bei.

They also value online trolls more than I do.

Not only did they set up a shipbuilding company, but they also purchased a large number of existing ships from Liu Jingsheng during the early stages of shipbuilding.

Initially, Cao Cao was reluctant to spend so much money to build a navy.

Because training an online army is very expensive, but the returns are very low.

Especially in the north, it is almost never used.

Cao Cao valued the army more than the navy.

Therefore, even with the enormous expenses of the army, Liu Bei still gritted his teeth and continued to develop the navy.

Cao Cao initially remained indifferent and observed the situation.

Only now does Cao Cao realize the importance of developing a navy.

It's too late to cram now, so I asked:
Where is Liu Jingsheng?

"Could we ask him to send troops north from Guanshui to help me defeat Guan Yu?"

Cao Cao no longer expected Liu Biao to send many soldiers; he just hoped that Liu Biao could send a few ships.

To help myself regain control of the Huai River, so that I wouldn't be in such a passive position.

"...This, Duke Chu said, is that the Sun family of Jiangdong has cut off the Yangtze River waterway."

"Sun Quan ordered Zhou Yu to garrison troops at Ekou, and Zhou Yu blocked them there."

"The Chu Duke's Jiangxia navy cannot break through."

"I fear we will be unable to cooperate with General Cao Ren to retake the Huai River."

hiss……

Cao Cao took a deep breath, covered his head with both hands, and scratched his ears and cheeks.

He had never been so overwhelmed in his life.

"...No, no."

Cao Cao stared at the map, muttering to himself.

Both the people on the left and right asked why it was impossible.

After a long silence, Cao Cao slowly said:

"Runan must not be lost!"

"Now I am in Hebei, and the war is not going well."

"The only hope is that Cao Ren can break the deadlock in Runan and turn the tide of the battle."

"If Guan Yu is defeated, Liu Bei will surely send troops to rescue Runan, and our predicament in Hebei will be resolved immediately."

"If Cao Ren's army is defeated, not only will Runan be lost."

"Liu Bei will surely have no more scruples and will wholeheartedly attack Hebei."

"At that time, Hebei and Runan will be lost."

"I am alone in Hebei, and I am powerless to do anything."

"Then how can we talk about competing with Liu Bei for the world?"

Cao Cao frowned, clearly seeing the current situation very clearly.

Those around him, however, held a pessimistic view of the Runan battlefield, saying:
"At present, Guan Yu has captured the Huai River, and General Cao Ren is trapped in Xincheng."

"How can we talk about breaking the deadlock in the South?"

Cao Cao snorted coldly and said resentfully:
"The decline is only temporary. Once Yu Jin's 30,000 troops arrive in Runan, the siege of Xincheng will surely be lifted."

"At that time, we will be able to retake the Huai River without relying on the Chu navy."

"Then how can you say that the situation in the South cannot be broken?"

……

(End of this chapter)