A thousand-year-old family begins with one fighting against ten thousand.

The battle hasn't even started yet, and they've already lost half of their most elite vanguard and their most trusted general, Ju Yi. The morale of the army has also dropped considerably.

Yuan Shao grew angrier the more he thought about it.

"Zheng Nan, this war, including myself, is entirely under your command. I am determined to capture Cao Mengde alive!"

Yuan Shao nearly ground his teeth to powder. His demeanor and image had been completely ruined today. Now, besides cursing Cao Cao's character, the whole world was probably laughing at him.

He now wishes he could just stab Cao Cao to death.

He kept cursing himself for being a fool for believing Cao Cao and reminiscing about the past with him, only to have Cao Cao stab him in the back.

Damn it, he's a scoundrel too!

Knowing full well that Cao Cao was treacherous, they still believed his lies.

He swore that even if he died, he would never believe Cao Cao's lies.

"Yes, my lord, rest assured, I will definitely capture Cao Cao alive to avenge you."

When the ruler is distressed, the minister is disgraced; when the ruler is disgraced, the minister dies.

Yuan Shao was outmaneuvered by Cao Cao, and Shen Pei was furious. A proper battle between the two armies would determine who would rule the land.

Cao Cao actually handled this formal matter like this; he deserves to die!

The entire state of Jin, from top to bottom, was ashamed of this and was united in their desire to defeat Cao Cao.

Dian Wei even felt guilty and his appetite decreased, from 8 bowls of rice per meal to 7 bowls; he was so angry that he felt full.

Cao Cao's army camp.

"What a waste of such a good opportunity."

Cao Cao said regretfully.

"Yes, if we can capture and kill Yuan Shao, we can declare victory in this war."

Wei Xue and others also looked regretful. Under the influence of Cao Cao and Wei Xue, they were all pragmatists.

What's a little loss of face and credibility compared to ending this great battle quickly?

"It's alright. Since we failed, we'll capture Yuan Shao alive with our own strength."

"It's just a little troublesome, and it requires a bit more effort."

Cao Cao's tone was full of confidence; he was confident in his own strength.

"Gentlemen, victory is assured in this battle!"

"Your Majesty, since Yuan Shao rose to power and established himself in Hebei, his character flaws have gradually become apparent."

"His advisors were divided into two groups, one supporting Yuan Shao's eldest son and the other supporting Yuan Shao's youngest son."

"One of them, led by Shen Pei and assisted by Feng Ji, supported Yuan Shao's youngest son, Yuan Shang."

"Secondly, with Xu You as the main supporter and Guo Tu as the assistant, they supported Yuan Shao's eldest son, Yuan Tan."

"This is also a struggle between local strategists in Hebei under Yuan Shao's command and strategists from outside the region."

"Shen Pei, Feng Ji, and others represented the local forces in Hebei, while Xu You and Guo Tu represented the forces from outside the region. For example, Guo Tu represented the forces in Yingchuan."

"The two sides fought fiercely for the prince they each supported."

"Now that Shen Pei is in charge of the army, given his character, he would never let his own selfish motives interfere in the war; he would always prioritize the overall situation."

"But Feng Ji is different. He is too power-hungry and will never let go of this opportunity to strike at Xu You and Guo Tu."

"He will definitely take action in secret to weaken Yuan Tan's power, strengthen Yuan Shang's faction, and give Yuan Shang more opportunities to make contributions."

"Not to mention Xu You and Guo Tu, it is currently wartime and all the troops are controlled by political enemies. Given their personalities, they will definitely fear the Imperial Censor taking action against them."

"Add to that Feng Ji's underhanded tactics, and they'll all be on edge. That's our chance."

Wei Xue offered his advice.

Everyone's eyes lit up; they hadn't expected that Yuan Shao's forces had become so divided.

The struggle for succession was no less brutal than the current war between Yuan Shao and Cao Cao.

Even worse.

Heretics are often more deserving of death than enemies!

This sentence is most appropriate here.

For Yuan Tan and Yuan Shang, winning this war might not necessarily be as important as completely defeating the other.

Even if they lose this war, they can still come back stronger.

But if they lose the competition for succession, what future do they have?

In the struggle for the throne, it's a matter of survival or death.

No one will keep someone who once competed with them for the throne.

Even he, and his subordinates, would not allow it.

Cao Cao also took this as a warning. Fortunately, he had confirmed the status of his eldest son Cao Ang as the heir apparent early on and even had Cao Ang study under the Wei school.

Cao Ang's position was secure and unshakeable, and none of the other children had considered competing for it.

Moreover, this was also because his father and his younger brother Cao De were still alive. With Cao De around, the relationships within the clan were extremely close and harmonious, and the relationships among his sons were also very good.

Cao De was extremely talented in managing interpersonal relationships, and it was thanks to Cao De that his generation was able to unite closely around Cao Cao.

It was Cao De's death that led to the brutal infighting within the Cao clan during the later period of Cao Wei.

"Indecisiveness is a major taboo in military strategy, and deposing the eldest son in favor of the youngest is a path to chaos."

"Destiny is in my hands!"

Cao Cao was overjoyed, as this greatly increased his chances of defeating Yuan Shao.

"Shen Pei is a loyal and upright man, and he will certainly not surrender to me. However, I know Xu You, who is greedy and cowardly. If we can instigate Feng Ji to attack him, Xu You will definitely collude with us to undermine Shen Pei's leadership in order to protect himself."

"I recently acquired a pair of fine jade pieces, so I'll have someone deliver them to Xu You to strengthen our relationship."

The man Cao Cao sent was one of his spies planted in Yuan Shao's Jin army. Taking advantage of his position, he easily met Xu You.

"Mr. Xu, this was a gift from the King of Qi."

"King Qi misses Mr. Xu very much."

Xu You's eyes lit up when he saw the pair of jade discs that this person had brought. The quality of these jade discs was top-notch, 99% perfect, and extremely rare.

He held the jade disc in his hand, examined it carefully for a while, and then arranged for someone to put it in a box and place it in his tent.

"Are you one of Cao Cao's men?"

Anzi's expression changed. Xu You actually dared to address the Prince of Qi by his childhood name so frivolously!

Xu You noticed Anzi's expression and smiled disdainfully.

"I have known Cao Cao since we were young. In your eyes he is the high and mighty Prince of Qi, but in my eyes he is still just the eunuch's daughter who stole someone else's new bride."

"With my assistance, the Prince of Jin will surely win this battle, and Cao Cao will soon become the Prince of Jin's prisoner."

"Originally, he could have survived after being imprisoned by relying on his relationship with the Prince of Jin."

"But I never expected him to be so foolish as to cut off his own escape route. Even I might not be able to save him then."

"However, for the sake of these jade discs, I will say a good word for him."