My father Liu Xuande

Chapter 397 The Relationship Between Cao Cao and Liu Bei

This time, Liu Feng had a private conversation with Cao Cao. Even Dian Wei and Xu Chu were not in the room, but stood outside the door as guards.

Cao Cao was somewhat surprised by Liu Feng's formality: "Everyone else has been dismissed. I wonder what instructions you have for me, Zisheng?"

Liu Feng remained unmoved by Cao Cao's somewhat teasing words and said seriously, "General, I have received news from Hebei that the Grand Marshal has made up his mind to negotiate peace with Gongsun Zan."

"What!?"

Cao Cao was genuinely frightened. Firstly, he was unaware of the news, and secondly, the news was truly terrifying.

"Is this serious?"

Cao Cao's small eyes widened as if he were glaring angrily at Liu Feng.

Liu Feng sighed, "General, would I need to lie to you?"

Cao Cao's face was pitch black, and his already dark skin became even more somber.

This was a bolt from the blue for Cao Cao, shattering his joy at having just taken control of the court.

Yuan Shao had basically unified Hebei, but his title of King of Hebei was still somewhat hollow.

His core territory was still Ji Province, but it was incomplete, lacking Yi County, the northernmost part of Hejian State, which was Gongsun Zan's fiefdom and his last stronghold.

As for the other three states, their figures are so exaggerated that they are unreadable.

Of the nine commanderies in Bing Province, Yuan Shao only truly controlled Shangdang and Taiyuan. The northern and western parts of Taiyuan were still threatened by the Xiongnu and Xianbei.

Qingzhou occupied four commanderies and kingdoms, but in reality, only Pingyuan Kingdom in Hebei could be effectively controlled. The three commanderies and kingdoms in Henan were more like those that obeyed orders but not proclamations, and later, under the oppression of Yuan Tan, they simply rebelled.

As for Youzhou, it was directly divided equally between the north and south with Xianyu Fu and ethnic minorities such as the Wuhuan.

Even so, with only Ji Province, Yuan Shao completely overwhelmed Cao Cao in terms of manpower, food, weapons, and supplies.

Gongsun Zan now only has the strength to put up a last-ditch resistance; he is merely clinging to life.

But Yuan Shao actually went so far as to negotiate peace with them. Is it even necessary to ask who he was targeting?
Cao Cao's face was as black as ink, a surge of resentment stuck in his chest, and he wished he could unleash a torrent of angry curses on Yuan Shao.

I'm your childhood friend, aren't I?
They played back-to-back games for several years before, right?
Are you so eager to kill me?

"General, do not be anxious."

Liu Feng deliberately waited a short while, allowing Cao Cao to process the news, before speaking: "The former general has a fiery and volatile temper, and his beloved younger brother, Gongsun Yue, was murdered by the Grand Marshal's subordinates. Furthermore, he was fooled by the Grand Marshal in the matter of Ji Province. Although he is currently in a weak position, he may not be willing to bow down to the Grand Marshal."

Cao Cao blinked, as if he had finally come to his senses.

"What does Zisheng mean...?"

Instead of answering, Liu Feng said, "I am willing to describe the current situation to the General."

Cao Cao stared at Liu Feng for a moment, then immediately sat up straight, extended his right hand, and made an inviting gesture: "Please, Zisheng, speak."

Liu Feng immediately said, "The world is in turmoil, and heroes are rising up everywhere. Only the Grand Marshal is unparalleled in this era, leaving others far behind. The four provinces of Hebei will soon fall to the Yuan family. This is the Qin Dynasty of our time."

Cao Cao nodded solemnly. Liu Feng's statement had struck a chord with him, and it had given him even greater expectations for what followed.

“In the late Warring States period, the only powers capable of resisting Qin were Zhao, Chu, and Qi. The rest, such as Wei, Han, and Yan, were powerless to influence the overall situation. If we compare it to today, the General would be the mighty Zhao, my father the southern Chu, and Liu Jing the powerful Qi. The rest, such as Wei, Han, and Yan, are nothing more than Lü Bu, Zhang Yang, Liu Zhang, and the generals of Guanzhong.”

"Liu Jingsheng and the Grand Marshal have long been on good terms, and they are located in a remote area. I am afraid that they are not friends but enemies."

Cao Cao narrowed his eyes and quickly analyzed the situation in his mind: was Liu Feng plotting against Liu Biao, or was what he said true?

Cao Cao quickly came to the conclusion that Liu Feng's words were true, but he could not rule out the possibility that Liu Feng had some ulterior motives towards Liu Biao.

"Therefore, if we cannot unite to fight against the Grand Marshal, we will surely be defeated by him one by one!"

Liu Feng's final summary deeply moved Cao Cao.

In fact, Cao Cao had long been wary of Yuan Shao. Otherwise, he would not have been so tolerant of Liu Bei and his son. His real purpose was to win over Liu Bei and his son.
Moreover, for Cao Cao, the increase in the strength of Liu Bei and his son was actually more beneficial than harmful.

The downside was that the stronger Liu Bei and his sons became, the greater the threat they posed to Cao Cao.

But there are more advantages. First of all, if Liu Bei and his son only had the territory of one and a half counties in Xuzhou, why would they be willing to cooperate with Cao Cao to fight against Yuan Shao?

Liu Bei and Yuan Shao had no deep-seated hatred for each other, so wouldn't it be better to sell his territory and follow Yuan Shao?
Secondly, if Liu Bei's strength was limited to Xuzhou, he wouldn't be able to offer much help to Cao Cao.

Even if the two sides cooperate, the disparity in strength will make it largely meaningless.

After listening to Liu Feng's words, Cao Cao remained calm, but inwardly he breathed a sigh of relief and even developed a strong appreciation and fondness for Liu Feng.

Isn't Liu Feng's current words the best reward for him?
His forbearance and concessions over the past few years were all for the purpose of winning Liu Bei over.

Now that Liu Feng has so tactfully inquired about the price of the boat tickets, how could Cao Cao not be overjoyed?

“What my nephew says is exactly what I think!”

Cao Cao's voice was loud and clear, exuding the domineering aura of a superior.

His eyes flashed with a sharp light as he stared intently at Liu Feng and asked, "Then, according to my nephew, how should we unite as one?"

After pretending to ponder for a moment, Liu Feng slowly said, "In my humble opinion, there are three routes that the Grand Marshal can take when he travels south from Hebei."

"Please grant me a picture, Uncle."

Upon hearing this, Cao Cao personally got up and went to fetch a map for Liu Feng to spread out.

Liu Feng bent down and drew three lines on the map with his hand.

"Firstly, we should head south from Qingzhou, attack Xuzhou, and then detour into the Central Plains."

Liu Feng drew an arc in the upper right corner of the map: "This road can fully utilize the advantage of Yuan's strong military force, but the Grand Marshal will never take it, at most he will send a detachment to harass them."

There were two points Liu Feng didn't explicitly mention: taking this route would place immense logistical pressure on them. While the land route between Qingzhou and Xuzhou was relatively easy, the rivers were not interconnected. Transporting supplies by water would require transferring them overland for hundreds of miles, which was extremely troublesome.

However, taking this path may not be without its advantages.

Under the diligent governance of Liu Bei and his son, Xuzhou is no longer as desolate as it once was.

If Yuan Shao takes this route, he can obtain a large amount of food and supplies in the wild if Liu Bei and his son soften their hearts even slightly.

If we calculate that eating one ounce of enemy food is equivalent to eating ten ounces of our own, the logistical pressure will undoubtedly be greatly reduced. If Liu Feng were to choose, he would probably enhance the effectiveness of this route, but in most cases, he would not use it as the main offensive route.

Because Liu Feng was extremely cautious in his military tactics, liked to be cost-conscious, and relied on momentum to defeat the enemy, he often used surprise attacks but rarely took risks.

Even in cases like the raid on Shouchun, which seemed dangerous, they were actually able to advance and retreat with ease. Even if the raid failed, they could safely retreat back to their own territory.

“I am truly surprised that my nephew is so familiar with the Primordial Beginning.”

Cao Cao nodded in agreement with Liu Feng's view: "As my nephew said, Yuan Shao would certainly not choose this as the main target. Yuan Shao's intention is the emperor, and Xuzhou is undoubtedly the opposite of what he wants. He will not take it."

Liu Feng deeply agreed with Cao Cao's words, estimating that Yuan Tan would most likely come, and that it wouldn't be long before they were driven back to the main battlefield.

Liu Feng's mind raced, and he drew a straight line on the left side of the map.

"The second route is to cross the Yellow River from Yanjin, take Baima, and then go through Yanxian, Suanzao, and Guandu. In this way, the water and land connections between Yanzhou and Sili in the east can be cut off. Although such a cut-off cannot completely sever the connection between the two places, the waterway is blocked, and the land connection must also go south and detour through Yingchuan to the north to Sili, which will take at least several hundred miles."

This is the path that Yuan Shao chose in history, but in this timeline, Liu Feng believes that Yuan Shao may not choose the same path again.

Firstly, in the original timeline, the emperor was in Xuchang, but in this timeline, he is currently still in Luoyang and is doing well, showing no signs of moving away. Moreover, Xuchang is not as safe as it was in the original timeline; Runan is now in the hands of Liu Feng and his son, only a hundred miles away from Xuchang.

Whether Cao Cao would dare to place the emperor in Xuchang remains a serious question mark.

Secondly, the presence of Liu Feng and his son's elite cavalry made this route of advance far more dangerous than in history. Once the cavalry pressed in from the right, Yuan Shao's army would immediately be caught in a three-pronged attack. In particular, the course of the river was extremely unfavorable to Yuan Shao's army. Yuan Shao was not ignorant of military strategy and would certainly consider this carefully.

"This route is not worth considering; the Primordial One would never take this route."

Cao Cao was even more confident than Liu Feng, and he rejected Liu Feng's guess outright.

Conversely, Cao Cao asked, "In my opinion, it is very likely that after conquering Baima, Yuan Shao would use the Yellow River as a bulwark, go upstream, and attack Hulao Pass."

Liu Feng was slightly taken aback, but after seeing the map clearly, he couldn't help but exclaim in admiration.

Cao Cao's abilities were indeed exceptionally gifted.

Despite suffering countless defeats throughout his life, Cao Cao was truly gifted.

Since ancient times, the only dynasty that came closest to unification was Cao Wei, which started from scratch and swept across the world, based in the Central Plains.

No wonder even someone as capable as Li Erfeng praised Wei Wu's military abilities.

The route Cao Cao mentioned was the very route that later led to Li Erfeng's siege of Luoyang, and Dou Jiande's massive army crossing the river from Hebei to provide relief.

However, after careful consideration, Liu Feng slowly shook his head under Cao Cao's gaze.

“What my uncle said is indeed true, but there is still one condition missing if we want the Grand Marshal to choose this path.”

"oh!?"

Upon hearing this, Cao Cao looked surprised, then turned his gaze to the map and pondered: "Don't say anything yet, let me think about it carefully."

Cao Cao pondered for a good half hour.

Liu Feng simply went back to his seat to rest, so as not to disturb Cao Cao's train of thought.

Nearly half an hour later, Cao Cao suddenly slammed his hand on the map and shouted, "Is this Heyang?!"

Liu Feng stood up and nodded emphatically, saying, "Uncle's insight is brilliant!"

The Heyang mentioned by Liu Feng and Cao Cao is the Sanmenxia Pass of the Yellow River. The three cities of Heyang in the future directly blocked the Northern Zhou's all-out offensive against the Northern Qi during the Three Kingdoms period.

Ultimately, this forced the Northern Zhou to abandon this route and cross the Yellow River at Longmen, passing through Hedong, and attacking Pingyang and Taiyuan from the north.

This demonstrates the importance of Heyang.

What Cao Cao just said was that Yuan Shao didn't need to cross the river at all; he could have gone directly into Henan, driven straight to Heyang, passed Mengjin, crossed the Yellow River, and reached the walls of Luoyang.

Among them, Heyang is the most crucial.

Only by holding Heyang can we force Yuan Shao to change his route to the south bank of the Yellow River, as Cao Cao just mentioned.

If Yuan Shao cannot hold Heyang, he can go down to Mengjin from here, cross the Yellow River, and not only enjoy the logistics brought by the Yellow River, but also avoid key passes such as Hulao Pass, Gongxian, and Yanshi County to the east of Luoyang, and arrive directly at the city of Luoyang.

This route was historically rejected by Yuan Shao because the emperor was not in Luoyang but in Xuchang.

Although this route would allow for the successful capture of Luoyang, it would still require attacking Hulao Pass before advancing east to Yanzhou. This is far less convenient and faster than going directly from Baima through Yan County, down to Suanzao, and heading straight for Yingchuan.

But things are different now; the emperor is in Luoyang.

“Uncle, Heyang is a strategic pass and is likely to become the focus of the whole situation. Zhang Qi and Yuan Shao are sworn enemies, and Yuan Shao wants to kill him as soon as possible. This is our God-given ally.”

Liu Feng understood Cao Cao's covetousness of Hanoi. If it weren't for the fact that Hanoi was close to Yuan Shao, and given the close relationship between Liu Feng, Zhang Yang, Yang Chou, and Sui Gu, he would have already taken action against Hanoi.

However, the situation has changed now. Heyang is so important that Liu Feng is certain that Zhang Yang cannot hold Hanoi.

If possible, Liu Feng actually hoped that Cao Cao would take over the defense of Heyang as soon as possible, so that he would have enough time to strengthen the city's defenses.

Upon hearing this, Cao Cao was overjoyed. If he could seize this opportunity to take over Hanoi, wouldn't that be a golden opportunity?

"What my nephew says is quite right. However, Zhang Yang's troops are of mediocre strength. I fear they are not up to the task."

After feigning hesitation, Liu Feng said, "Even so, I will write a letter to persuade you to cede Heyang to your uncle."

"Is this true!?"

Cao Cao was overjoyed, never expecting that his wish would come true.

Liu Feng immediately declared, "I will do my utmost."

Cao Cao exhaled a breath of turbid air: "If we can persuade the chariots and cavalry, I can rely on the city of Heyang to resist Yuan Shao for more than half a year."

Liu Feng, understanding the implied meaning in the song, immediately declared, "At the appropriate time, my father and I will lead our elite troops northwards overnight, directly to Baima, to threaten Yanjin, and force the Grand Marshal to withdraw his troops!"

Although Liu Feng and his son are far from the Yellow River, if they really set out, they could lead a large army and reach the Yellow River within a month.

In the original timeline, Cao Cao launched a lightning attack on Xuzhou and quelled the rebellion of Liu Bei and Chang Xi in just one month. He then returned to the Yellow River front. What was the secret to his success?
It's all thanks to the unobstructed waterways!
Cao Cao traveled by water, starting from the Yellow River, entering the Honggou River, then the Yingou River, and then the Ji River and the Si River, which would take him directly to the city of Xiaopei. The speed and speed of his attack made Liu Bei unable to believe that Cao Cao was already at his doorstep.

(End of this chapter)