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

After hearing Qin Xuan's plan, Li Jing immediately got up and went to the map hanging to the side, where he fell into deep thought.

Seeing this, Qin Xuan didn't disturb him. He picked up the tea in front of him, took a sip, and waited for Li Jing's reply.

"My lord, please come and see!"

After an unknown amount of time, Li Jing suddenly called out. Qin Xuan put down his tea and went to Li Jing's side, looking at the spot Li Jing was pointing to, his heart filled with curiosity:

What are your plans?

"According to our intelligence, our lord, our army will be able to reach the Pingyuan area and capture most of Qingzhou in less than half a month."

"But this is contingent on the availability of follow-up troops to take over and provide support."

"Pingyuan City has high walls and deep defenses. If we attack it using conventional methods, it will take at least ten days to half a month to take it down."

"To capture Pingyuan before Yuan Shao's army arrives, we must coordinate an attack from within and without; otherwise, a swift victory is impossible!"

"Moreover~~~"

"What's more, Yuan Shao still has a young emperor in his hands, right?" Qin Xuan voiced Li Jing's concerns.

Now, Yuan Shao holds the emperor hostage and commands the other warlords, giving him the upper hand in politics, which makes it impossible for the other warlords to compete with him.

A conflict with Yuan Shao would put Qin Xuan at a disadvantage, but this was not a problem for him at all.

He already had a plan when he handed the young emperor over to Yuan Shao.

"Pharmacist, do you know why I handed over control of the young emperor to Yuan Shao?"

Li Jing shook his head; he truly had no idea what Qin Xuan was planning.

"Yuan Shao's greatest fear in controlling the emperor and commanding the other warlords was actually Cao Cao, and Yuan Shao's primary target was also Cao Cao."

"If Yuan Shao dares to threaten us with the emperor, he will have to consider the significant impact of my alliance with Cao Cao."

"Moreover, Yuan Shao has three sons: the eldest, Yuan Tan; the second, Yuan Xi; and the third, Yuan Shang. They are all at odds with each other. If Qingzhou is lost, the other two will definitely take advantage of the situation and may even try to persuade Yuan Shao to give up Qingzhou for the sake of the overall situation."

Historically, Yuan Shao enfeoffed his three sons in the three provinces of Qing, Ji, and You, allowing them to govern their respective regions. Among them, Yuan Tan and Yuan Shang had sharp conflicts. Yuan Xi did not care about the power struggle and instead favored Yuan Shang, disliking Yuan Tan.

Therefore, once Yuan Tan loses Qingzhou, these two brothers will definitely take advantage of his misfortune.

"My lord, I understand!"

After listening to Qin Xuan's analysis, Li Jing's last worries vanished.

"Good! Good!" Qin Xuan patted Li Jing on the shoulder and said:

"In that case, I will have the Black Ice Guard provide you with intelligence support, and I will also find a way to mobilize a group of troops to support you from the rear, eliminating any worries you may have about your conquests!"

Qin Xuan currently has a severe shortage of troops, and the newly trained soldiers have not yet fully formed combat capability, but they are enough to handle the aftermath.

"Thank you, my lord. I will certainly fight a brilliant battle and capture Qingzhou as quickly as possible to relieve the pressure of Gongsun Zan's siege!"

With Qin Xuan's support, Li Jing gained confidence and solemnly pledged his military commitment.

After discussing the main matters, Li Jing prepared a simple dinner for Qin Xuan. After the two finished eating, Qin Xuan went to bed early as arranged by Li Jing.

The next day, after breakfast, Qin Xuan led the Great Snow Dragon Riders back to Tancheng, preparing to mobilize a large army to provide logistical support for Li Jing's attack on Qingzhou.

···········

Just as Qin Xuan returned to Tancheng, Guo Jia, with seven or eight followers, finally arrived at Zhang Xiu's territory. After a thorough inspection, they met Zhang Xiu.

When Guo Jia was brought to the county government office of Li State, Zhang Xiu, a burly man with a resolute face, was curiously sizing him up.

"I am Guo Jia, Guo Fengxiao, greetings, General!"

Guo Jia was the first to bow and greet him.

Seeing that the visitor was actually a frail scholar, Zhang Xiu became even more vigilant. The other party was so young, he must have something extraordinary about him, otherwise Cao Cao would never have sent him.

Zhang Xiu immediately returned the greeting, saying, "Mr. Guo, please have a seat. Someone bring tea!"

After the maid served the tea and left, Zhang Xiu politely asked, "May I ask what brings you here, Mr. Guo?"

Upon hearing this, Guo Jia did not speak immediately. Instead, he calmly picked up the steaming tea in front of him, took a small sip, and said with a smile:

"I'm sure you already know why I've come. Now that the Xiliang army has been destroyed, you have nowhere to go. You're here confronting Liu Biao, hoping to seize Nanyang County in order to expand your territory."

"But now, no breakthrough has been achieved for a long time. What are your plans, General?"

Zhang Xiu was taken aback when he heard this. The implication was that the person had come as an envoy to persuade him to defect to Cao Cao.

"Heh heh, who says I haven't achieved anything? I've already conquered most of Nanyang, only Wancheng remains. But it won't be long before I occupy the entire Nanyang Prefecture!"

"Cao Mengde wants to expand his territory without lifting a finger? There's no such thing as a free lunch in this world, is there?"

Zhang Xiu said with great disdain.

In his view, what could he gain by joining Cao Cao? Cao Cao was not the strongest among the various warlords, nor did he represent the Han Dynasty. Not to mention, their Liangzhou army had caused Cao Cao great losses. Would the other party be so kind as to forgive past grievances?

They might surrender one day and be stripped of their military power the next, becoming lambs to the slaughter.

Guo Jia, seeing Zhang Xiu's disdainful attitude, was not discouraged. His slightly pale face still wore a smiling expression, showing no change in emotion whatsoever.

"General Zhang, your thinking is correct; of course, there's no such thing as a free lunch. But have you considered your own situation?"

"Now that you occupy Nanyang Commandery, which is very close to my lord's Sili Commandery, no one can tolerate this. Moreover, Liu Biao of Jingzhou is a cunning and suspicious old fox."

"It's not easy for you to survive between the Cao and Liu families, not to mention that Nanyang Commandery is the most important commandery in the Central Plains, and there are more than just these two warlords who covet it!"

"Does General Zhang still believe he has the ability to expand and strengthen his forces?"

"My lord Cao Cao sent me here hoping that General Zhang would see the situation clearly and take the initiative to surrender to him; otherwise, it will be too late to regret it later!"

"General Zhang, please consider this carefully. I will take my leave now, and I hope you can give me an answer as soon as possible."

Guo Jia's analysis left Zhang Xiu bewildered, causing him to fall into deep thought, so much so that he didn't even notice Guo Jia leaving.

When Zhang Xiu came to his senses, he found that Guo Jia had already left.

After Guo Jia left, Zhang Xiu walked out of the hall into the courtyard, gazing at the distant blue sky, his heart filled with conflicting emotions.

Guo Jia's words were like a heavy stone thrown into water, stirring up huge waves in his heart.

The geographical location of Nanyang Commandery was extremely important. It was bordered by Cao Cao to the north, Liu Biao to the south, Yuan Shu to the east, and Hanzhong was under the control of Zhang Lu, who also had Liu Yan as his backer.

There is no way I could rise to prominence so quickly.

"Should I really surrender to Cao Cao?" Zhang Xiu muttered to himself, still feeling some resistance.

After all, Cao Cao was cunning and hated the Xiliang army to the bone. There was no guarantee that he wouldn't find an opportunity to seize military power and kill him the moment he defected to them.

"What should I do? What should I do?" Zhang Xiu asked himself repeatedly, but he still couldn't make up his mind.

Just then, Zhang Xiu's confidant approached. Seeing Zhang Xiu's worried expression, the man was slightly startled and asked, "General, what's wrong?"

Upon seeing that the man was a trusted confidant and quick-witted, Zhang Xiu immediately summoned him back to his room and confided his worries.

"General, have you forgotten Duan Wei?"

After listening to Zhang Xiu's account, the confidant replied indifferently.

This gave Zhang Xiu a sudden insight, and he immediately understood the meaning behind his confidant's words.