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

After a long while, Zhang Xiu's tiger-like eyes widened, and he looked at Jia Xu with surprise.

"Mr. Wenhe, is this... your own idea?"

Zhang Xiu stammered, finding Jia Xu's instructions somewhat unbelievable.

"Heh, if you want to gain a higher position with Qin Xuan, you have to do this. Otherwise, how will you demonstrate your value?"

"I'm leaving now. If you've thought it through, do as I say; otherwise, pretend I was never here!"

Jia Xu had anticipated Zhang Xiu's reaction, patted him on the shoulder, and left the hall.

After a long silence, Zhang Xiu took a deep breath, his astonished gaze softening, as if he had made up his mind:

"Mr. Wenhe, I'll listen to you this once. I hope you won't betray me!"

·····

As dawn broke, Zhang Xiu, after having breakfast, eagerly ordered his guards to bring Guo Jia, who was still waiting for news in the city, to his residence.

About the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, Guo Jia hurriedly arrived at Zhang Xiu's residence. Upon seeing Zhang Xiu, Guo Jia made a joke:

"General Zhang, have you thought this through? These past few days have been agonizing; I haven't been able to eat, just waiting for your news."

"Hahaha!" Zhang Xiu was amused by Guo Jia's joke and laughed heartily. His tense mood gradually dissipated, and he cupped his hands to Guo Jia and said:

"Lord Guo, after these days of consideration, I have made up my mind to pledge allegiance to Lord Cao!"

"real?"

Upon hearing Zhang Xiu's words, Guo Jia was overjoyed. After waiting for so many days, he was finally rewarded with such good news.

"That's right, but I have a condition. If you don't agree, this deal is off."

Before Guo Jia could even rejoice for a few seconds, Zhang Xiu uttered another sentence that froze the smile on his face. After a long while, he slowly uttered these words:

"General Zhang, please speak!"

Guo Jia was surprised that Zhang Xiu had pulled such a trick on him, but in order to maintain the overall situation and get Zhang Xiu to surrender, he was willing to agree to any conditions that were not too outrageous.

Zhang Xiu then delivered the prepared remarks:

"Lord Guo, I'm willing to pledge allegiance to Cao Cao, but Cao Cao must personally come to Nanyang for talks. After all, I can't just agree to it so easily!"

"You think Cao Cao should at least personally intervene?"

Upon hearing this, Guo Jia nodded without any doubt. Zhang Xiu's request wasn't too unreasonable, and Cao Cao should indeed come to Nanyang to meet with him.

"Alright, I'll go back and inform the lord immediately. General Zhang, please make preparations!"

After speaking, Guo Jia left the hall and that afternoon, he and his entourage left Nanyang and returned to Chang'an.

When Jia Xu learned that Guo Jia had left, he had the Black Ice Guard send an urgent letter to Qin Xuan, informing him that everything was going smoothly and that he was awaiting further instructions from the highest authority.

Although Qin Xuan granted Jia Xu temporary supreme command authority, Jia Xu reported everything to Qin Xuan, allowing the latter to keep track of all movements.

Jia Xu, who was well-versed in political maneuvering, knew how to put his lord at ease.

·············

Inside the governor's mansion in Xuzhou, Qin Xuan was discussing with Liu Bowen and Zhang Juzheng whether Yuan Shao would use the emperor's name to order the various warlords to attack Xuzhou.

The three argued endlessly about this when a series of hurried footsteps approached. Looking in the direction of the sound, they saw a soldier dressed as a messenger walk in.

"My lord, urgent report from the front!"

The messenger took a piece of silk from his armor and handed it to Qin Xuan before retreating.

"Urgent report?" Qin Xuan took the book and quickly unfolded it to read it carefully, but the contents surprised him greatly.

"My lord, what's wrong? Has something terrible happened?"

Seeing Qin Xuan's shocked expression, Liu Bowen and Zhang Juzheng were very curious about the contents of the letter.

"Look, take a look!"

Qin Xuan didn't say anything, but handed the finished book to the two of them. "I love Niuwogu's die-hard fans. The latest chapter of 'Three Kingdoms: Rise from Intercepting Liu Bei' has been released!"

Liu Bowen and Zhang Juzheng immediately huddled together to look at the contents of the book, and gradually their expressions became extremely shocked.

"My lord, what exactly is Yuan Shao up to? He actually wants to negotiate with us. How strange!"

Zhang Juzheng was the first to raise his head and voice his doubts.

The book recounts that Yuan Shao sent his strategist Xu You to negotiate, with Pingyuan County as the boundary. Most of Qingzhou was to be given to Qin Xuan of Xuzhou. If they dared to break through Pingyuan, Yuan Shao would definitely launch a major attack on Xuzhou.

Faced with Zhang Juzheng's question, Qin Xuan did not answer, but instead looked at Liu Bowen, who was staring intently at the scroll.

"Bowen, what's your opinion?"

However, Liu Bowen did not answer Qin Xuan's question. Instead, he took the book and quickly went to the map, where he carefully observed it for a long time.

Time passed slowly, and Qin Xuan did not disturb Liu Bowen, because he knew that Liu Bowen must have thought of something.

"My lord, come and see!"

Just then, Liu Bowen suddenly called out, attracting the attention of the two men. Qin Xuan and Zhang Juzheng came to Liu Bowen's side, their eyes fixed on the spot where the latter was pointing.

Before the two could even ask, Liu Bowen promptly analyzed the situation:

"Based on my careful observation, Yuan Shao's purpose in doing this is likely to gain control of Youzhou."

"Look, Yuan Shao has now occupied most of Youzhou and has surrounded Gongsun Zan's main force in the Yijing area, conducting a long-term siege tactic in an attempt to starve him out."

"And a large number of troops have been prepared for this purpose."

"Once~~~~"

"If Ji Province faces a serious threat, he will definitely divert a large number of troops to patch up the existing problems, thus giving Gongsun Zan a chance to regroup!"

Before Liu Bowen could finish speaking, Zhang Juzheng interrupted him, saying what he was about to say.

"That's right, and according to the map, Pingyuan County is located in a very important position for Ji Province, serving as a strategic buffer zone."

"Yuan Shao had limited troops deployed in other parts of Qingzhou, which is why we were able to reach Pingyuan so quickly. Therefore, other parts of Qingzhou were dispensable to Yuan Shao."

"But Gongsun Zan is a major concern for Yuan Shao. It is impossible for him to spare a large number of troops to fight against us. He must want to use negotiations to make us cease fire so that he can quickly eliminate Gongsun Zan."

This demonstrates the terrifying insight and extraordinary intelligence of the top strategist Liu Bowen, who analyzed the profound meaning behind Yuan Shao's actions using only a map.

"Sigh, why doesn't Yuan Shao just hold the emperor hostage to command the other warlords, and get them to send troops to attack us? Wouldn't that be much more threatening?"

Qin Xuan suddenly thought of a question: Yuan Shao has the young emperor, a powerful political weapon, so why doesn't he use it?

He had advisors like Ju Shou and Tian Feng by his side, so it's impossible that he didn't know the significant role of holding the emperor hostage to command the feudal lords, yet he still allowed Yuan Shao to propose peace talks.

"This~~~~"

Liu Bowen and Zhang Juzheng shook their heads, unable to fathom Yuan Shao's thoughts at all.

"My lord, General Li Jing is still waiting for your reply. It is undoubtedly good news for us that Yuan Shao has not used the emperor's name."

"In my opinion, we should agree to Yuan Shao's terms for peace talks. As for Gongsun Zan's life or death, that's none of our business. We've already taken action, so this is enough to settle things."

Zhang Juzheng began by saying that their initial idea was to send troops to Qingzhou to relieve the pressure on Gongsun Zan, and as for the fate of the enemy, they left it to fate.

But who would have thought that Yuan Shao would abandon Qingzhou in order to eliminate Gongsun Zan?

"Bowen, what do you mean?" Qin Xuan asked.

"We can agree to Yuan Shao's negotiation terms. After all, our preparations are insufficient to sustain a prolonged conflict with him. As for Gongsun Zan, we have no alliance with him, and that envoy has also left."

Liu Bowen also agreed with Zhang Juzheng's idea and offered his own perspective.

"Alright, I'll write to Li Jing right away and put him in charge!"

Qin Xuan then wrote a lengthy letter and had it delivered to the front lines by fast horse.