Chapter 20: Fool! Evil! Sage!

  "Oh?" Hearing Cao Cao's disappointment, Li Yu continued to persuade: "Then should the lord make early arrangements?"

  "No!", Cao Cao waved his hand: "I want to make a last effort! If it succeeds, the Han Dynasty will be saved now! If not, then I'll do it myself!" At this moment, Cao Cao's heroic appearance was exposed without a doubt, and his loyalty to the Han imperial house had almost disappeared. He would inevitably take the path of a hero!

  "My lord, not everyone thinks like you do. I advise you not to have too much hope! Make early preparations, do you know what the Yuan brothers are thinking?"

  "I wish to hear more," Cao Cao said with a serious expression.

  At the same time, in Yuan Shao's large camp.

  Yuan Shao said in a fit of rage, "You're really muddled! It's bad enough that you've antagonized Cao Cao, why do you also have to seize Sun Jian's grain? Aren't the number of people you've offended already numerous enough?! Who is Sun Wentai anyway? He's the vanguard general of our allied army!"

  The inferior Yuan Shu sneered: "I know all these, I not only know Sun Jian's military achievements, but also that he has never taken our alliance leader seriously!"

  Yuan Shao sat in the main seat, unguarded: "Since you already know, why bother offending him!"

  Yuan Shu's face was like a pleading expression: "Big brother, just listen to me for one sentence! The Han dynasty's fate is already exhausted! It's about to perish! Only fools would stupidly support the Han! Villains like Dong Zhuo have long since usurped the Han and established themselves! What Dong Zhuo wants to do is what many heroes want to do but dare not do!"

  "Are you trying to make me a fool or a villain?"

  "Be neither an idiot nor a villain! Be a sage!"

  Yuan Shao smiled disdainfully with his head lowered, but Yuan Shu didn't see it!

  Yuan Shu muttered to himself: "At present, the eighteen lords are forming an alliance! But the true motive of the eighteen lords is not necessarily to eliminate the bandits for the country. They just want to find the largest territory for themselves after the world is broken and chaotic. The most terrifying one is Sun Jian, the governor of Changsha. If Sun Jian breaks into Luoyang and beheads Dong Zhuo, will he put the Western Liang army in his own hands? Ah! Will he sit on the throne with his troops and establish himself independently? Will he replace Dong Zhuo as the overlord of the world and become an even more terrifying hero than Dong Zhuo? Ah!"

  Yuan Shao's ears turned red again: "This... is also possible!"

  "So! Our best strategy is to weaken the military power of Sun Jian and other lords while eliminating Dong Zhuo! It's best if they perish together, then the world will naturally fall into the hands of the Yuan family!"

  "I knew all this, but what you did was too much!" Yuan Shao said discontentedly.

  "Why?!"

  "You think, Sun Jian is the vanguard general of the allied forces. This defeat, it's not just Jiangdong Sun Jian, nor is it just the 500,000-strong coalition army! It's also the reputation accumulated by my Yuan family over four generations and three public offices! If this provokes the dissatisfaction of the various lords, the alliance army will collapse in an instant, you and I will be ruined and our names will be tarnished! What's the point of even talking about achievements and great undertakings?"

  At the same time, Li Yu also said that Yuan brothers had said. He told Cao Cao to act as a mediator and maintain the alliance's camp to fight against Dong Zhuo, the longer they fought, the more beneficial it would be for Cao Cao!

  "Be a wise man!" Li Yu's words made everyone present tremble with fear! This lord, apart from showing respect to Cao Cao, didn't even care about the current emperor.

  Of course, there is even more exciting, Li Yu: "Think about it, Han Gaozu Liu Bang was a green skin and a vagabond, didn't he also achieve great things?! At this moment, the Han dynasty has lost its deer, and everyone is chasing after it!"

  With a thud, Le Jin was startled and sat on the ground! The others were also stunned.

  "Hold your tongue, speak less of such words!" Cao Cao shouted in anger. "I am still a subject of the great Han! I should contribute to the Han! If you utter such treacherous words again, beware that I will behead you!"

  "Yes!" Li Yu bowed his head and saluted, very respectfully. He clearly saw the hint of a smile in Cao Cao's eyes! This proved that Cao Cao's ambition had awakened!

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  Compared to the bleakness of the Allied side, Hua Xiong's army was in high spirits and charged straight at Han Zhong. Dong Zhuo learned that Hua Xiong had defeated one of the vassals first and was overjoyed, sending him gold, silver, and jewels, and lavishly praising him.

  Hua Xiong was overjoyed, and at least he had achieved some merit. In the old forces of Dong Zhuo, he also gained some prestige. At the same time, Hua Xiong looked down on the coalition forces with disdain.

  What a mighty tiger in the east, but isn't it also not his own opponent? I reckon that Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu are nothing more than this! Thus, Hua Xiong made up his mind to wait for the allied army at Bomaoguan, and then relying on the current morale of his troops, he would defeat the allied army!

  Sun Jian's defeat directly affected the morale of the allied army, and the contradictions and cracks that had long existed within the alliance quickly expanded and emerged. Many vassals became restless, forming cliques and factions, and no longer seemed like a unified body.

  Yuan Shao was extremely anxious, pacing back and forth in his tent, frowning deeply for a long time. "Summon Mr. Xu, Mr. Guo, and Mr. Ou to the tent." In an instant, the tent door opened, and three men walked in. They were precisely the three strategists that Yuan Shao had brought with him on this campaign against Dong Zhuo: Xu You, Guo Tu, and Ou Xing.

  "Your Excellency!" The three men bowed and sat down, Xun Yu spoke first: "What's the matter that makes Your Excellency so worried?" Yuan Shao's expression did not escape Xun Yu's eyes, although he knew what it was about, but as a strategist's habit, he still asked.

  "Alas!" Yuan Shao shook his head and sighed, roughly recounting the defeat of Sun Jian to the north, saying: "You all know that the greatest responsibility for this matter should fall on my brother's shoulders, but..."

  "Ah!" Xu You stroked his beard, pondered for a moment, and said: "What our lord is worried about is nothing more than not having achieved merit yet, and the matter of the allied army splitting up."

  Yuan Shao nodded. In fact, Yuan Shao didn't care about thoroughly defeating Dong Zhuo and rescuing the imperial court. What he cared about was the face of the four generations of three dukes. That stupid Yuan Da Tou, even if he wanted to do something bad, didn't need to be so obvious!

  Yuan Shao thought: Under his leadership, the allied army had not yet achieved any merit, but it had already split up. In that case, wouldn't Yuan Shao become a laughing stock?

  "Master, it's filtered!" Xu You laughed and said: "The allied forces were originally a loose sand, with contradictions everywhere. They will split sooner or later. And the second young master's move just played a catalytic role." Xu You paused for a moment, then continued: "It would be better for Master to think about the future path instead of focusing on Dong Zhuo!"

  Campaign against Dong Zhuo, for Yuan Shao, the fundamental purpose is not to rescue that weak little emperor. All sorts of things, as Yuan Shao's chief strategist, Xu You naturally understood very clearly.

  "What about the future?" Yuan Shao's expression changed, filled with deep thought, and finally said: "Mr. Xu taught me!"

  Xu You's face was full of joy, just about to respond, when Guo Tu snickered and spoke up first: "My lord, on the premise that our allied army remains undefeated, I plan something as a backup."

  "Not bad!" Xiang Ji also spoke up: "If the Allied Army is not defeated, then the Lord's reputation will not be damaged. But today, the people are struggling to survive, and the Han dynasty cannot avoid its blame, destruction is imminent, and there will be wise men who will take over. If you want to take over, you must hold onto one or several states, only then can you succeed!"

  Xu You glared fiercely at Guo Tu and Feng Ji, sneering coldly in his heart, and said no more. Guo and Feng exchanged a sly smile, pretending to be nonchalant, but kept staring at Yuan Shao.

  Yuan Shao paced back and forth, his expression changing several times. Finally, Yuan Shao's eyes narrowed, and he said in a low voice, "Do the three of you have any good strategies to teach me?" Xu You, Guo Tu, and Feng Ji exchanged a glance, temporarily putting aside their grudges - as advisors, their lord's affairs should come first, and other matters could be set aside for the time being.

  "The Lord is the governor of Bohai, and Bohai is already in his grasp." Xu You said, after a moment's consideration, "However, Bohai belongs to Hebei Province, which has vast territory, dense population, and is rich beyond compare. It would be an excellent choice to incorporate it into our fold. Nevertheless, apart from the Lord, there is another great power in Hebei!"

  "Not bad," Guo Tu continued: "It's Ji Zhou Mu Han Fu." "Hmmm," Feng Ji also said: "Han Fu, as the state shepherd, has taken root in Ji Zhou. Wanting to drive him out will be difficult, difficult, difficult!"

  "Not bad, Master should take Ji Province. The premise is to get rid of Han Fu!" Xu You said: "Yes, Han Fu is a man with great ambition but little talent, easy to deal with, but the one under his command is a real problem!"

  "Pan Feng?" Yuan Shao's eyes widened and he said in a deep voice.

  "It was precisely Pan Feng." Xu You slapped his palm and said, "If not for Pan Feng's assistance, with Han Fu's talent, how could he have held onto Ji Province for over a decade?"

  "Pan Feng!" Yuan Shao's eyes flickered with complex light: "Yes, if not for Pan Feng, I would have already obtained Qinghe County!", he was referring to a rich and large county next to Bohai County.

  Xu You, Guo Tu, and Feng Ji nodded in deep agreement. "Hehe, Pan Feng is indeed formidable with his literary and military skills. I, Xu, am inferior to him... Hehe!" Seeing Xu You's confident demeanor, Yuan Shao's spirits lifted, saying: "Zi yuan has a plan in mind!"

  "What does the lord think of Hua Xiong?" Xu You shifted the topic to Hua Xiong. "Hua Xiong?" Yuan Shao was unclear, but still replied: "Hua Xiong can defeat Sun Jian, he's not bad!" "Then, what does the lord think about borrowing Hua Xiong's strength to deal with Pan Feng?"

  "It won't do!" Yuan Shao said decisively: "Even if Hua Xiong is formidable, he's probably no match for Pan Feng." As Yuan Shao spoke, he recalled the 180-catty heavy mountain-opening axe, and the scene of Chunyu Qiong being easily defeated, and the scene of Yan Liang and Wen Chou being unable to withstand him, and couldn't help but shiver.

  "Really!" Xu You's eyes sparkled with keenness: "As long as the lord is willing, Hua Xiong can kill Pan Feng!", "How did you come up with this?" Yuan Shao hastily asked.

  Xu You smiled slyly and said: "In that case... Pan Feng will definitely fall into the trap!"

  "Ah! ——" Yuan Shao exclaimed in surprise, and then a doubt arose: "Deliver to Pan Feng, he may not accept!"

  "Who said to send it directly to Pan Feng?" Xu You laughed and said: "This matter should be done by Han Fu himself!"

  Yuan Shao and others were stunned.

  "Pan Feng is dead. Your Excellency can immediately send a message to Bohai, ordering Gao Ping to lead the army to attack. Thus, Qinghe and Anping can be pacified!"

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