Chapter 41: Swallowing Zhang Chao?

  "I say... Master! The brothers are all waiting for you to make a decision! Ah, ah, ah! Don't snatch food from me!", Li Yu looked at Cao Lao Da discontentedly as he snatched meat from his bowl to eat, but the other was the boss who paid him salary, so he had to endure his dissatisfaction.

  "Cut! ——, aren't you a strategist? This matter should be thought of by you, why ask me?" Cao Cao pushed extremely irresponsibly, his original intention was to go to Yangzhou. Li Yu told him that the journey was long and far away, and they had more than 10,000 soldiers and horses in their hands, including the remnants of the defeated troops, the surrendered Western Liang army, and the two thousand or so trained by Li Dian in Chenliu.

  But most of these troops are cavalry, and the terrain in Yangzhou is not suitable for cavalry deployment. Once they encounter the enemy, it's like colliding with their own weaknesses against others' strengths - what good can come of that? Moreover, the southern climate will be unbearable for these northerners, and if a large-scale epidemic breaks out, how will we cope? What about soldiers who cannot withstand the local climate and flee?

  There are too many disadvantages, Yangzhou is not a good place to go! Why can't these tens of thousands of people make a living somewhere else? Why do they have to run so far?

  Cao Cao's current camp is located in Fengqiu, not far from Chenliu County. As the vassals fought against Dong, this place was once used as a rear logistics transfer station, and it had been evacuated long ago, so there were no residents left; In such a large city, only more than 8,000 people are stationed here.

  "By the way, what about Xu Rong? He's as silent as a mute!" Li Yu asked. After Xu Rong was captured by Xu Chu, Cao Cao cherished his talent and couldn't bear to kill him, wanting to persuade him to surrender. However, his family was in Chang'an, and if he were to betray Dong Zhuo, his fate would be the same as that of Hua Xiong - total annihilation! Therefore, despite being treated with courtesy, he remained completely silent.

  "Alas! Such a talent is not for me to use! What a pity! ", Cao Cao wiped his mouth and let out a long sigh: "Finally had enough to eat! Xu Rong, let him go! Not my dish, can't force it!"

  Xu Rong left, and Cao Cao sent him 500 soldiers' armor to escort him. Anyway, those Western Liang soldiers were originally his subordinates, so Old Cao didn't care, but it made Li Yu's heart ache! Five hundred people said they would send them off, and he really didn't know what was most important in this world!

  "Never mind! After all, you are the master! Let's talk about the future first!", Li Yu brought back Cao Cao's thoughts that were sent to see Xu Rong off;

  "What can you teach me, sir?" Cao Cao bowed and seemed very sincere; Li Yu knew nothing! He was just a foodie who came to eat for free. "This...", he hesitated for half a day, Li Yu decided to divert Cao Cao's question first, then think slowly.

  "What is most important in this chaotic world?" Li Yu asked with a serious face. "The foundation of great achievements, the first priority is talent! I think I've said that before!", Cao Cao asked in confusion;

  "After all, the foundation of a great undertaking lies in - people! With talented people, there will be heroic talents, soldiers and horses, food and grass, and land to cultivate! So I ask again: We now have excellent conditions! We have brave generals when we need them, we have soldiers and horses when we need them! But we lack supplies of food and grass, and a place to rest and recover! What can be done about this?"

  "Go to Yangzhou! I have acquaintances there!", Cao Cao said with a smile, "I'll go!——", Li Yu let out a mournful cry, has this old Cao gone crazy?! He just vetoed going to Yangzhou, how can he think of going there again?! Is it because there are many married women there?!

  "We! Now there are two paths to take! One! Surrender to a lord and become his watchdog! Two! Overthrow one and seize his territory! Anyway, the little emperor can't control anything now! We have nothing to worry about! ", Li Yu's temper is not very good, he speaks impulsively, fortunately, he met Cao Cao, a tolerant and enduring hero, if it were Yuan Shao, he would have ended up like "田"户川柯“丰”!

  "This... doesn't seem quite right!", Cao Cao hesitated, looking at Li Yu, but his small, dim eyes emitted an unusual glow, he had something in mind! He wasn't someone to be kept as a watchdog for others;

  "I know what you're worried about, my lord! It's just that our Cao family has gained a great reputation in the alliance of the lords against Dong Zhuo. You're afraid of losing this hard-won reputation! Reputation is indeed a good thing! I can already foresee the talented scholars coming to us from all directions!"

  "But before that, you still have to show off your skills. Those people won't be like me, following a lord who doesn't even have a piece of land!", Li Yu looked at me with a pitiful expression, Cao Cao covered his face with his hand: This rascal is mocking me for being indecisive!

  "Please, Mr. Wei, teach me your good plan!"

  I'm so careless! I was too busy to think about the main issue. Li Yu rubbed his hands and walked back and forth, pretending to be thoughtful: "The forces south of the Yangtze River, Sun Jian, Liu Biao, and Liu Yan are not considered for now, they're too far away; The northern regions north of the Yellow River have almost all been booked by Yuan Benchu, so they're not considered either. Chang'an would be a good place to go, unfortunately... that's Dong Zhuo's territory."

  Alas! Li Yu's words became more and more fluent: "The governor of Hebei, Wang Kuang, is dead. Although the land there is fertile, it will be threatened by both Yuan Shao and Dong Zhuo. Our forces are still too weak, so it won't work! To take over Yuzhou, we would have to fight against Yuan Gonglu, who now has more than 100,000 soldiers under his command. The aristocratic families of Yuzhou are all his loyal supporters, and we are no match for him!"

  "The situation in Xuzhou is almost the same as that in Yuzhou! The imperial capital Luoyang, located in both Shiji and Sizhoucheng, was originally a good place, but now it's the emperor's capital. Although no one takes the emperor seriously anymore, the remaining prestige of the Han dynasty, which lasted for 400 years, is still deeply rooted. If we occupy that place rashly, we will be attacked by people from all over the world!"

  "So! We have two options again! One! Flee to Qingzhou Governor Jiao He! This man has no ambition, no great aspirations, and no talent or virtue. We can temporarily take refuge with him, and within two or three years, we will surely replace him! Two! Directly confront Chenliu Governor Zhang Miao and Guangling Governor Zhang Chao, these two brothers, capture them! Occupy Chenliu! Plot against Yanzhou!"

  Wow! Looking at Cao Cao's thoughtful face, Li Yu suddenly admired himself. It seems that deceiving people is also a skill! The most important thing is that others must believe it.

  "What route shall we take then?" Cao Cao asked.

  "Article two! Annex Zhang Miao's forces! Use Chenliu as the foundation and plan to expand in Xuchang! Compared to Qingzhou, Yanzhou is much smaller, but it is a crucial location in the Central Plains! It is a place of four battles! Qingzhou is too close to Yuan Benchu for my taste, according to my predictions we won't have the qualifications to challenge him for five years, let's avoid him for now!"

  "And now it's the spring equinox, the land is awakening, I think the Yellow Turbans who have been lurking in Qing, Ji, and Yan provinces will make a move! The governor of Yan province, Liu Dai, has ambition but lacks strategy, he really thinks that just because he has a distant relative in the imperial family, he can conquer the world? We can take advantage of this opportunity to annex Yan province! The great sage Mencius once said: 'Born in hardship, died in comfort!' As long as our boss's ambitions are still there, we can occupy Yan province! Do you have such intentions?"

  Alright! Li Yu is someone who has read historical texts, he doesn't want to change the course of history either, and he still needs to make a living from it! He thought to himself, the revival of the Yellow Turbans in Qingzhou should be this year... hopefully there won't be any unexpected twists.

  "Survive in worry, die in comfort! Good! Since that's the case, we should think about how to annex Chenliu and Zhang Miao's troops!" Cao Cao walked back and forth with his hands behind his back: "Zhang Miao and Zhang Chao are biological brothers, they are sycophants of Yuan Shao, it's really a bit difficult to make them give up Chenliu!"

  "However, the two of them are timid and afraid of trouble. I'll lead the army to Chenliu for a show of force, then send an envoy to persuade him with reason and emotion, intimidate him with military might! Maybe we can take him down! But who should be sent as the envoy? ...Mr.?"

  "Huh? Am I... going...?"