Chapter 47: Three-Inch Tongue Sword

  "This...", Zang Hong was also uncertain in his heart, this Qingzhou Yellow Turban was indeed a difficult problem. He had seen the bravery of those Qingzhou Yellow Turbans when he was an official before! For food and land, these people could give up everything! Absolutely crazy masters! Chenliu City was indeed not very stable under their threat;

  Yesterday, Yuan Shao's letter arrived at his mansion. In the letter, Yuan Shao claimed to be a great general of the Han Dynasty and hoped that he could retire and take up the post of Governor of Qingzhou! What does this show? Yuan Benchu already has enough capital! Ji Zhou, Bing Zhou, and Qing Zhou will be in his hands as long as nothing unexpected happens, it's just a matter of time!

  But the only powerful general in the north, Gongsun Zan, would also be eliminated by Yuan Shao after a few years of support. At that time, all the land north of the Yellow River would belong to Yuan Benchu, which was almost half of the world's territory. With abundant population and sufficient grain, Yuan Shao already had the appearance of a new master of the world. How could this not move his heart?

  Yuan Shao had always appreciated him, and at the same time was also wary of him. He transferred Zang Hong away from Zhang Miao and Zhang Chao's hands precisely to avoid future troubles when marching towards Yan Province. In Yuan Benchu's eyes, in Yan Province, Zang Hong was the only one who could deal with him, as for Cao Cao that little rascal, who would pay attention to him?

  It seemed as if Li Yu saw Zang Hong's hesitation and said:

  "Yuan Shao is a man who appears dignified on the surface but is mediocre inside. He likes to associate with talented people, but he can't make full use of their abilities. He relies on the prestige of being from a family that has produced three high-ranking officials in four generations to gain advantages! He is timid when it comes to major undertakings and forgets his own life for petty gains! He really doesn't have what it takes to be a leader!"

  "I advise Mr. Zang Hong not to leave General Zhang Chao, who has been working tirelessly for him, just for his sake! Why not assist General Zhang and cooperate with my family's Cao Gong instead? What do you think? ", Li Yu said persuasively, but he was actually lying. The Yellow Turbans of Qingzhou would indeed rise again, but Li Yu didn't know when that would be, anyway, it could still be used to scare people!

  "Are you, Master Yuan, going to leave me?!", Zhang Chao's eyes were brimming with tears, his face a picture of despair. Zang Hong knelt down and sighed: "Yuan Shao has already sent me a letter, hoping I'll go help him. The condition he offered is that our lord will enjoy prosperity for generations to come. I don't know what choice to make!"

  "Alas!" Zhang Chao also let out a sigh, and helped Zang Hong up, brushing off the dust from his body, patting his shoulder: "Zi Yuan is always right in whatever he does! Staying here would indeed be a waste of your talent! You are a rare scholar in the land! How could a bright pearl be hidden? If Zi Yuan really wants to go, then go! I only hope you can achieve great things!"

  It has to be said that the friendship between these two people is not ordinary. Upon learning of Zang Hong's departure, Zhang Chao did not show any anger, only blessings. It seems that he is not entirely useless, at least in his treatment of Zang Hong, he was truly kind and righteous.

  "My lord!", Zang Hong had nothing to say and simply bowed heavily;

  Li Yu also had a feeling: "How many people can you know in your life? I admire! Mr. Zi Yuan is so lucky! But... did you really see through Yuan Benchu?"

  "Yuan Benchu! ... I really didn't see through him! But... have you seen through Cao Cao?" Zang Hong asked Li Yu, adjusting his mood.

  "Haha! Cao Gong's name shakes the world! He is a true hero! I, Li Yu, may not have other skills, but my ability to recognize people is second to none, dare I say it's even better than anyone else! Don't believe me? You can ask around! Take this Wei Yan behind me for example. He was originally under Meng Zhuo's command, and was exchanged for ten horses by your General Huang. But his martial arts skills are rarely seen in the world, not even a thousand or ten thousand soldiers could match him, isn't that proof of my keen eye?"

  "As for Cao Gong, what can't I see through? The various marquises are fighting against Dong Zhuo each for their own fame and fortune, but only my lord Cao Gong is bravely taking the lead, with ingenious strategies one after another. Why isn't he being utilized?! When Dong Zhuo fled to the west, it was only my lord Cao Gong who dared to pursue him - this kind of courage and determination can't be compared to that of ordinary people! As long as the two noble gentlemen cooperate with my master, with my master's wisdom and the support of the two noble gentlemen, why can't we achieve great things in these chaotic times?"

  "Hum! Cao Cao's so-called cooperation is just a ploy to make the two of you surrender to him! I'd like to ask you: what's your current military strength? How much food and supplies do you have? What advantages do you have that make you dare to contend with Yuan Benchu?" Zang Hong listened to Li Yu's words and roughly understood that Cao Cao was also an unscrupulous mastermind, who wanted to gain a foothold in this chaotic world.

  "Haha! My lord has only 3,000 troops! But it's not the number of soldiers that matters, it's their quality! We have only ten generals, but they are all top-notch warriors! What we lack is a scholar like Mr. Zi Yuan, but I think with my lord's talent, ambition, and ideals, someone will come soon! Compared to having many people and vast lands, we can't match Yuan Benchu, but when it comes to strategy and bravery, three Yuan Benchus tied together wouldn't be a match for us! And certainly not a match for my lord Cao!"

  Li Yu's words were half true and half false, just to confuse Zang Hong. This Zang Hong was indeed not a cover-up, even if his mind was confused, he could still keep a calm head;

  Dian Wei secretly pulled at the corner of Li Yu's robe, but this big fool didn't understand. Everyone else exaggerated their numbers to an absurd degree, so why was Li Yu getting more and more conservative? Cao Cao had 8,000 troops, but made it seem like over 30,000; he was afraid that Zhang Miao and Zhang Chao would discover his true strength was lacking. But Li Yu went in the opposite direction, directly reducing his numbers to 3,000 - as if he was afraid others wouldn't know how few men he had.

  "Hum! Mr. Wei treated me with sincerity! According to my observation, you have at least 30,000 troops! Do you think I'm easy to fool? I won't ask this question again, so I'll ask, what if... the two of you refuse to cooperate with Cao Cao, your lord, how will he react?" The more Li Wei understated their military strength, the more Zhāng Hóng was convinced that Cao Cao had many more troops.

  "Don't worry! After all, we were old friends in the past. Even if I'm rejected, my master will just head to Yangzhou instead and won't cause trouble for either of you gentlemen!" Li Yu smiled in a way that made people wonder, very sinister;

  Zang Hong thought to himself, "This man is ten times more cunning and treacherous than I am. His words are half-true and half-false. Now that the arrow is on the string, it must be shot. What should I do?"

  "I'll ask again, what if... the two of you gentlemen cooperate with Cao Cao, how will he treat you both?" After weighing it, Zang Hong felt that Cao Cao's place might also be a good destination. Although his family background was not very good, he himself was indeed a true hero, much better than the hypocritical Yuan Shao. Zang Hong's thoughts began to slowly shift, this was also a signal, a sign of change.

  Li Yu heard this and immediately said: "Of course, I will still let the two of you guard Chenliu. When I came here, my family's Cao Gong said that as long as he has a mouthful to eat, he will absolutely not let his good friend go hungry; as long as he has a mouthful to drink, he will absolutely not let the two of you drink thin porridge!"

  "Haha! Mr. Cao's words are indeed interesting! I want to have a personal talk with Cao Cao, what do you think?" Zang Hong stared at Li Yu and asked. "Of course it's possible! Extremely welcome!" Li Yu was still smiling, this matter is almost settled, just lacking the last straw;

  "Report! The soldiers in the city have mutinied! The situation is severe! Please, both masters, leave quickly!", a messenger soldier rushed over, "What?", Zhang Mao and Zhang Chao became even more flustered, hastily grabbing the messenger soldier to ask: "What's going on? Speak quickly!"

  "It's said that the Huang family in the city heard that our lord is negotiating with Cao Cao, and they're inciting the soldiers to attack Cao Cao!", the messenger soldier said, covering his wounded arm.

  "Damn it! Bastard!", Zhang Miao cursed angrily. The Huang clan, along with Wei Hong, were among those who had supported Zhang Miao's rebellion, but during the campaign against Dong Zhuo, they thought Yuan Shao would achieve great things and wanted Zhang Miao to follow him. Now that Zhang Miao intended to cooperate with Cao Cao, he naturally sought to sabotage it.

  Most of these soldiers were recruited and trained by the Huang family, Wei Hong only paid the money, and the military power was also controlled by the Huang family. They responded to every call.

  "Alas... open the city and surrender to Cao Cao!", Zang Hong sighed, looking at Li Yu who was smiling, he felt that this matter absolutely had nothing to do with him. In fact, it was Wei Hong who did it, he sent someone to leak the news to the Huang family, just one small step caused a huge reaction;

  They originally thought that the Huang family would force Zhang Miao, and if Zhang Miao got angry, he would immediately turn to Cao Cao's side. Unexpectedly, the Huang family reacted so fiercely, saving Li Yu a lot of trouble!

  When the lord is as tolerant as Zhang Mai and Zhang Chao, it's really rare. Upon hearing Zang Hong's suggestion, these two men didn't raise any objections and directly followed through with it, showing just how much influence Zang Hong has over them.

  "Rattle!" The gate of Chenliu City was pushed open.