Three Kingdoms: Cao Cao is stunned when he reveals his time-traveling identity.

Upon hearing Cheng Yu's words, the surrounding strategists couldn't help but nod in agreement.

This was a conclusion Cheng Yu reached after much deliberation.

Su Chen nodded slightly, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.

Cheng Yu was absolutely right.

Although Sun Ce nominally became Yuan Shu's subordinate.

But deep down, he was absolutely unwilling to be subordinate to others.

Yuan Shu, in particular, was extremely arrogant and disliked everyone.

Helping Sun Ce was merely a ploy to seize Jiangdong.

Jiangdong was a small territory that Sun Jian fought desperately to conquer.

How could Sun Ce possibly give it up so easily?

Historical records also confirm this.

After Yuan Shu declared himself emperor, Sun Ce was the one who showed the most anger.

They also took the lead and went directly to attack Yangzhou.

As it turned out, his decision was absolutely correct.

Although Sun Ce did not receive any territory in Yangzhou after defeating Yuan Shu.

However, this led to the liberation of the entire Jiangdong region, laying the foundation for his complete control of Jiangdong.

Without pressure from Yuan Shu, and with Sun Ce having the pretext of punishing traitors.

No one has any reason to attack Jiangdong.

This laid the foundation for the initial stage of the tripartite balance of power in the Wu Kingdom.

Cao Cao simply nodded slightly upon hearing this.

They clearly agree with what Cheng Yu said.

But he did not express his opinion; instead, he turned to Jia Xu and said:

"Wenhe, what do you think?"

Upon hearing this, Jia Xu's expression changed slightly.

He didn't expect that Cao Cao would call him out by name again.

Since arriving at Cao Cao's camp, he has kept a low profile as much as possible.

After all, there was the incident of the ambush at Wancheng, and who knows if Cao Cao still held a grudge.

Therefore, whenever there was a meeting, he always stood at the back, remaining silent.

But now that Cao Cao had spoken, he couldn't very well remain silent.

He had no choice but to stand up and say:

"In my opinion, it is not necessary for us to bring up this matter of cooperation."

"In other words, we should not contact Sun Ce, nor Lu Bu and Liu Bei."

Upon hearing this, everyone was stunned.

Cheng Yu asked, puzzled:

"Does Wenhe perhaps believe that we can conquer Yangzhou with a single army?!"

"150,000 troops are stationed in Yangzhou!"

"Our army currently has fewer than 50,000 troops available!"

Cheng Yu was getting desperate.

He really didn't understand why Jia Xu dared to say that.

At present, Cao Cao has gathered 100,000 Qingzhou soldiers.

However, many of these 100,000 troops need to be stationed in various places, and there are still quite a few that cannot be used.

After all the calculations, I only have 50,000 available.

Su Chen was also aware of this situation.

The current Cao Cao is not as wealthy and powerful as he was during the Battle of Red Cliffs.

At that time, Cao Cao could easily muster hundreds of thousands of troops to fight.

Cao Cao is currently short of money, food, and troops.

Boss Cao is not a boss yet.

By the time of the Battle of Guandu, the number of troops available for combat was only about 20,000.

Otherwise, the famous story of Guandu, where a smaller force defeated a larger one, would not have occurred in later generations.

Upon hearing this, Jia Xu smiled slightly and shook his head, saying:

"That's not the case."

"Even if our army uses all its strength, it is indeed impossible to contend with Yuan Shu's army."

"Although Yuan Shu was incompetent and tyrannical, his troops were truly formidable."

This immediately puzzled even Cao Cao:

"If that's the case, then why did you say we shouldn't unite?"

Jia Xu said in a deep voice:

"What I'm about to say might be something Sikong won't want to hear."

"I earnestly hope that you will not take offense."

Cao Cao immediately waved his hand and said:

"Speak freely!"

Jia Xu then spoke:

"Even if Yuan Shu dared to declare himself emperor."

"But his incompetence is known to all."

"If you have troops but no soldiers, you will surely die once you are attacked by the masses."

"But Sikong is the same."

"Now that the emperor is in Xuchang, all the feudal lords are extremely envious of him."

"If the Minister of Works were to issue such a proclamation against the rebels, it might actually make these feudal lords hesitant and timid."

"They were afraid of being the vanguard for our army."

"Just like...the eighteen warlords of yesteryear."

Upon hearing this, the expressions of everyone around changed instantly!

Even Cao Cao's expression became somewhat subtle.

Su Chen also raised an eyebrow slightly.

Good guy.

Jia Xu, oh Jia Xu.

You really dare to say that!

This cunning strategist is not only cunning in his schemes, but also in his sharp tongue!

What does that mean?

It simply made it clear that the eighteen allied forces at that time all had ulterior motives.

Does that mean whoever takes the lead will suffer the consequences?

Is Sun Jian's example not enough?

Back then, if Yuan Shao had provided enough provisions when Sun Jian led the charge...

I'm afraid Hulao Pass would have been captured long ago.

But Jia Xu's words were actually quite reasonable.

He was definitely a participant at the time.

Cao Cao was not angry at all; instead, he laughed heartily.

"That's exactly what I like about Wenhe!"

"Your words are incisive and to the point, without beating around the bush!"

"Given the current situation, it's really time to study hard for the exam!"

"In that case, Wenhe, what do you think would be the most appropriate course of action for us?"

Seeing that Cao Cao had spoken, Jia Xu continued:

"Minister Sikong, in my humble opinion..."

"Actually, we might as well continue to wait and see how things develop."

"According to Zhongde, Sun Ce currently wants to break free from Yuan Shu's control."

"He must be the most eager."

"When Sun Ce is eager to make his move, the Minister of Works can use the Emperor's name to support Sun Ce."

"In this way, the question of whether the other lords will respond will be left to Sun Ce."

"Once we've captured it, our army can then launch another attack, striking after the enemy has taken the initiative!"

Brilliant plan!

Upon hearing this plan, Cao Cao couldn't help but applaud inwardly!

What a brilliant strategy of striking after the enemy has made their move!

In this way, it would not be Cao Cao who stepped forward, nor would it cause other warlords to turn their spearheads against him.

They could also use Sun Ce and others to destroy Yangzhou!

As long as Yangzhou is pacified, it will be a great thing for Cao Cao, no matter what.

Moreover, as long as Cao Cao was alive, it was impossible for Yangzhou to be entirely occupied by anyone else.

But Xun Yu couldn't help but speak up:

"What Wenhe said is indeed a completely different approach."

"But that would be too risky."

"There are just too many unstable factors."

"Let's set aside whether Sun Ce is willing to lead the way."

"Even if he were willing to send troops, no one would agree to join him."

"They all harbor the idea of ​​striking back after the enemy has made their move."

"With his limited forces, how could he possibly be a match for Yuan Shu?"

"In my opinion, Zhongde's suggestion is the most prudent!"

Two different opinions quickly emerged on the scene.

Both sides have valid points.

Cheng Yu's approach is the safest, while Jia Xu's approach maximizes the potential gains.

Cao Cao thought both sides were good.

However, making a choice is indeed a difficult problem.

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but look at Su Chen:

"Jingming, what do you think?"

Guo Jia's attitude goes without saying.

From the very beginning, he had already stood with Cheng Yu.

Now, he is looking forward to Su Chen's answer.

Su Chen was the first to foresee this.

If it were him, he might choose the best answer for himself.

He saw his father-in-law point him out.

Su Chen then calmly stood up:

"Actually... there's no need to go through all that trouble."

……