The Three Kingdoms: Rise to Power Starting with Intercepting Liu Bei

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In the days that followed, Qin Xuan lived a very comfortable life. He dealt with government affairs during the day, spent his evenings sowing seeds with his family members, and would occasionally go to the school to discuss education with Cai Wenji.

There's a feeling of being so happy here that I don't want to leave.

While Qin Xuan was enjoying a comfortable life, Cao Cao in Chang'an was in trouble.

Since Liu Bei retreated to Shanyang, Cao Cao has amassed a large force to defend this area and dispatched spies to strengthen intelligence gathering. Otherwise, it would be too late if the enemy launched a surprise attack and caused chaos.

"Wenruo, are you sure the intelligence is correct? Is Liu Bei really trying to establish contact with the Wuhuan and other tribes?"

Cao Cao was skeptical when he heard the intelligence. After all, Liu Bei's strength was weak at the moment. Instead of thinking about building up his strength, he was becoming more and more courageous in battle and planned to join forces with nomadic tribes to attack Youzhou, Bingzhou and other places.

What is this if not incredibly audacious?

"That's right!" Xun Yu, standing in front of Cao Cao, nodded solemnly.

"This is what our deepest-rooted spies found out. They should be taking action now. Even the strategist Zhuge Liang is not in the city; he must have gone to the north to visit someone."

"Wuhuan~~Xianbei~~Xiongnu~~~" Cao Cao's expression became extremely solemn after hearing Xun Yu's explanation. He paced back and forth in the hall, muttering to himself.

Liu Bei's behavior made him uneasy, because he was unsure to what extent the other party could form an alliance with those nomadic tribes, or even whether he would be the ultimate target and take the opportunity to eliminate him.

It's no secret that Cao Cao is currently short of troops; Han Sui in the west and Qin Xuan in the east are both heavily fortified.

If they collude with Qin Xuan and use Bingzhou to directly bring those nomadic tribes into Sili, they'll be finished.

"My lord, what are you worried about?"

Seeing Cao Cao's worried and distressed appearance, Xun Yu quickly asked him what was wrong.

Cao Cao quickly told the other party his conjecture. After listening to Cao Cao's worries, Xun Yu also frowned a little. He did not criticize Cao Cao for being crazy.

Because this is something that could actually happen; who can guarantee that two sides that were enemies one second won't form an alliance to deal with other forces the next?

As long as the benefits are sufficient These are all achievable.

"Wenruo, do you have any good ideas on how to break this deadlock?"

Cao Cao was already in a state of utter distress and confusion, and could only place his hopes on the other side.

Xun Yu shook his head. He couldn't think of any countermeasures either, but suggested that he call Cheng Yu, Sima Yi and others over to ask them what methods they had to deal with the situation.

Cao Cao immediately adopted the suggestion and sent someone to summon everyone to discuss it.

After a few cups of tea's time, Sima Yi, Cheng Yu, Chen Qun, and the others arrived. When they saw Cao Cao and Xun Yu with solemn expressions and furrowed brows, their hearts sank.

This seems to indicate an extremely urgent situation. Are we about to have to resort to force again?

For a moment, everyone's eyes met, and their minds wandered.

When Cao Cao saw that all his strategists had arrived, he quickly cleared his mind and explained the purpose of his summons.

As expected, the crowd erupted in chatter after hearing Cao Cao's account, with everyone whispering among themselves. Only Sima Yi and Cheng Yu remained aloof. Leaving the latter aside, Sima Yi stood aside, feigning maturity.

Seeing this, Cao Cao glanced at him in surprise. Could it be that this kid had already foreseen this?

Just as he was about to ask a question, Cheng Yu spoke up.

"My lord, if this intelligence is true, it will be very detrimental to our army. Your guess may come true. We must guard against the future, and expanding the army is of utmost urgency."

"That's right, we are currently short of troops and must expand our army again..."

"Yes, I agree with Lord Cheng Yu's suggestion..."

"I agree..."

As soon as this suggestion was made, those people echoed it without any regard for the consequences.

In stark contrast to the ministers in the palace was Sima Yi, who remained silent and respectfully standing in place, his eyes slightly narrowed as if he were asleep, unnoticed by anyone.

When Cao Cao heard his ministers unanimously agree to the proposal to expand the army, he immediately felt a splitting headache.

Is it really that easy to expand the military just like that?

Weapons, horses, armor, and provisions—which of these four items isn't a huge drain on resources? Where does the money come from?

Almost all the tombs of princes and nobles around Sili have been excavated.

Speaking of this, Cao Cao sighed. Ever since he occupied Sili, he thought of tomb raiding in order to solve the problem of financial losses.

After all, Sili was the capital of two dynasties, and countless princes and nobles were buried there. A considerable portion of Cao Cao's army's expenses depended on it.

If they expand their army again, where else can they find more troops?

"Zhongda, what are your thoughts?"

Cao Cao rubbed his forehead and looked at Sima Yi. The strategists also stopped talking and looked at Sima Yi.

Despite being scrutinized by everyone's gaze, Sima Yi showed no fear and clearly articulated his thoughts when questioned by Cao Cao:

"My lord, my lords, my idea is to go with the flow. Since Liu Bei has a plan to collude with nomadic tribes to deal with our army and the Qin army, we might as well explain the situation to Qin Xuan or Han Sui of Liangzhou, clarify the advantages and disadvantages, and form an alliance with either of them to completely eliminate Liu Bei, this major threat to our hearts."

"·····"

The hall fell silent for a moment as everyone present digested Sima Yi's idea.

"Great idea, this plan will work!"

After an unknown amount of time, someone suddenly spoke up in praise.

It was this shout that pulled everyone back from their thoughts and turned their attention back to the youngest figure in the hall.

Among these people, Sima Yi was the youngest, but his ideas were more profound and far superior to simply expanding military equipment.

"Excellent, truly excellent!"

Xun Yu looked at Sima Yi with the expression of an elder appreciating a younger man, clearly having high hopes for Sima Yi.

In their eyes, Sima Yi was just a kid, but this kid had recently led an army into battle. Although he ultimately failed, no one mocked or comforted him.

But only today did they discover that this child was quick-witted, unconventional, and had wildly imaginative ideas that were even unexpected.

"Zhongda, your idea is good. If it works, you will be highly commended!"

Cao Cao nodded in approval, clearly very pleased with Sima Yi's bold idea.

The negotiations with Qin Xuan a while ago were out of necessity, but now Sima Yi wants to take the initiative again. He is truly a force to be reckoned with.

The group then began to discuss the idea proposed by Sima Yi, since negotiating is easier said than done.

All necessary countermeasures must be in place before implementation.

After a full day of discussion, they finally settled on the basic tone.

They adopted a two-pronged approach, sending people to both Qin Xuan and Han Sui simultaneously, employing different strategies to persuade them.

As a trusted strategist, Cheng Yu was once again entrusted with an important mission by Cao Cao, who sent him to Liangzhou. Sima Yi, on the other hand, went to Yuzhou to discuss matters with Xue Rengui, as Jinling was too far away and going there would be a waste of time.