My father Liu Xuande

Chapter 496 Appointment of Xu You
Ju Shou suggested taking Hanoi first, and Guo Tu volunteered for the mission. In addition, Hanoi was indeed rich, with a flat terrain that was easy to attack but difficult to defend, and it also served as a common barrier for Ye City and Luoyang.

Between Yuan Shao and Cao Cao, whoever controlled Hanoi held the strategic initiative.

With so many benefits, it was impossible for Yuan Shao not to be tempted.

However, Yuan Shao did not make a decision immediately. Instead, after praising Guo Tu, he asked for the opinions of Tian Feng and Xu You.

"Yuan Hao, Zi Yuan, what are your thoughts on this?"

Tian Feng was upright and incorruptible, and hated evil as if it were his enemy. When Yuan Shao asked him a question, he naturally supported Ju Shou without reservation.

"My lord, Hanoi is right next to Ye City. Putting aside everything else, the safety of Ye City alone should be of paramount importance."

Xu You waited until Tian Feng finished expressing his opinion before leisurely stroking his short beard and smilingly saying, "I have a plan to make Zhang Yang beheaded, so that Mengde will be unable to save him, and Henan will be easily obtained by our lord."

Upon hearing this, Yuan Shao thought to himself, "Is there really such a good thing?"

However, Xu You was known for his boastful and deceptive words. If Tian Feng had said these words, Yuan Shao would have been overjoyed by now. But since it was Xu You, Yuan Shao dared not believe him completely.

However, Xu You was, after all, an old friend of his. He had worked hard for him when he was young. Although he had become increasingly greedy in recent years and had overstepped his bounds, he still had to give him some face.

So Yuan Shao replied, "Since you have such a good plan, why didn't you present it to me sooner, Ziyuan?"

Faced with Yuan Shao's words, which were half praise and half warning, Xu You remained unfazed and simply chuckled, saying, "As the saying goes, 'A great reward will surely bring forth brave men, and true heroes are revealed in times of crisis.' My lord did not inquire about it beforehand, so my oversight is understandable."

Yuan Shao was quite displeased upon hearing this. Others might not understand, but he knew perfectly well that Xu You was blatantly seeking credit and reward.

Before anything even began, they were already asking for rewards. Naturally, Yuan Shao was not happy about it.

However, Yuan Shao was a very cunning man, and the saying "outwardly lenient but inwardly suspicious" best describes people like Yuan Shao and Liu Biao.

Therefore, Yuan Shao not only did not reprimand Xu You, but instead showed a gentle smile and comforted him, saying, "Since Ziyuan has such a brilliant plan, how could I be stingy with rewards? If you can achieve great success with your brilliant strategy this time, I will reward you with a thousand pieces of gold!"

At the critical moment, Yuan Shao remained clear-headed. If a mere thousand pieces of gold could buy him the Hanoi Commandery, he would be overjoyed. Xu You's slight offense was naturally insignificant.

If the other party's plan fails, then we can settle accounts with both principal and interest at that time.

Xu You, however, was unaware of Yuan Shao's thoughts and still believed that the other party was the young gentry leader of the past who valued righteousness over wealth, had lofty ambitions, a wide circle of friends, and a large following.

Upon hearing Yuan Shao's offer of a thousand pieces of gold as a reward, Xu You became immediately excited.

Urged by Yuan Shao, Xu You finally spoke: "Back when Mengde was the governor of Dongjun, he defeated the bandits led by Yu Du and others. Among them was a man named Sui Gu. This man is now under Zhang Yang's command, with 6,000 soldiers. He is very powerful, but he still harbors resentment over the grudge from back then. He would rather befriend a junior like Liu Zisheng than serve Mengde."

Xu You deliberately kept everyone in suspense, saying, "There are 20,000 troops stationed in Hanoi, most of whom are under Zhang Yang's command, including Sui Gu. The army that Mengde sent was only 4,000 men under Yu Jin, stationed in Heyang County, guarding Mengjin. Does Yuan Shao know why?"

Yuan Shao was displeased, but on the surface he maintained a magnanimous demeanor, feigning interest, and guessed, "Could it be that Sui Gu is the one who is causing trouble?"

"Exactly!"

Xu You said loudly, "Zhang Zhishu's total force is less than 20,000, of which the Sui family accounts for one-third, and the local strongman Yang Chou has more than 3,000 soldiers, ranking third. The number of soldiers truly under Zhang and Yang's direct command is only seven or eight thousand, which is only slightly stronger than Sui Gu's. Sui Gu firmly opposes Cao's troops entering Hanoi. Yang Chou was originally quite at odds with Sui Gu, but now both of them have been won over by Liu Zisheng, so naturally they will not come out to undermine each other."

"the most important is……"

Xu You chuckled coldly twice: "I think Zhang Zhishu himself is not happy about Mengde's troops entering Hanoi, and he is happy to use Sui Gu and Yang Chou as shields."

Yuan Shao listened to Xu You's words and suddenly understood that the other party wanted to use Sui Gu as a tool for rebellion. However, he asked with some confusion, "Since Sui Gu has already pledged allegiance to Liu Zisheng, why would he be willing to work for me?"

"The Primordial One was unaware of this."

Xu You said smugly, "Sui Gu submitted to Liu Zisheng because Liu Zisheng's army was very strong when he marched on Hanoi to welcome the emperor, and he subdued him by force. But now the two sides are thousands of miles apart, so how can there be any talk of loyalty? In my opinion, it's just a facade. Liu Zisheng wants to use Sui Gu to learn about the situation in Hebei, while Sui Gu is happy to hide under the other side's banner in order to oppose Mengde. Even Zhang Zhishu would probably be happy to see this happen."

Yuan Shao suddenly realized the truth, pondered it carefully, and found it to be very reasonable. Even Ju Shou, Tian Feng, Guo Tu, and others, after careful consideration, also felt that Xu You's analysis was very reasonable and hit the nail on the head.

“If only Sui Gu were to side with us, Uncle Zhi would be caught off guard and unable to resist, and Hanoi would fall without a fight.”

Xu You smiled broadly, clearly very satisfied with his strategy: "When the lord's army is pressing in, we can use our past relationship to persuade Zhi Shu to surrender. If he comes to surrender with his flags down, that's fine. But if he still dares to defy the lord's might, we will surely make him beheaded on the spot."

Yuan Shao pondered for a moment and felt that Xu You's plan was indeed ingenious and would not cause any future troubles. He had already made up his mind.

However, he did not make a decision immediately. Instead, he asked Tian Feng, Ju Shou, Xun Chen, and Guo Tu, "Yuan Hao, Zi Fu, You Ruo, and Gong Ze, what do you think of Zi Yuan's plan?"

Although the Hebei and Henan factions under Yuan Shao were already at odds, the factional strife had intensified to the point of targeting individuals rather than the issues at hand.

However, Ju Shou, Tian Feng, Xun Chen, Guo Tu, and others are all at the top level, and they still need to maintain appearances. Besides, Yuan Shao is not stupid. If it is a really good plan, and you insist on opposing it without coming up with a better solution, you will undoubtedly lose points with Yuan Shao.

Another point is that although Xu You's plan came from Henan, its essence actually suited the wishes of the people of Hebei.

The people of Henan wanted their army to cross the river and engage Cao Cao in a decisive battle.

What the people of Hebei need is to recuperate and allow the people to rest.

Ju Shou had just proposed a strategy of taking a step back, which was to first take Hanoi.

Xu You's plan actually aligned with the interests of the people of Hebei.

If this plan fails, Tian Feng might even criticize it out of his honesty. But this plan is clearly quite feasible, and there will be no loss even if it fails. Under such circumstances, only a madman would Tian Feng and Ju Shou oppose it.

The Henan faction wouldn't object either. Although they hadn't achieved their strategic goals, seizing the credit for Hanoi from the Hebei faction was precisely their objective; otherwise, Guo Tu wouldn't have volunteered earlier. More importantly, the core ideology of the Henan faction was to follow Yuan Shao.

The fact that Guo Tu, who was the first to propose welcoming the emperor, managed to make a complete 180-degree turn and become a staunch opponent of welcoming the emperor is already excellent proof.

Now, both Xun Chen and Guo Tu are among the most astute people, and they have naturally discerned Yuan Shao's inclinations.

Therefore, Xun Chen and Guo Tu naturally would not oppose Xu You's plan. Seeing that his trusted ministers were unusually united in their support for Xu You's plan, Yuan Shao was very pleased. He immediately made the decision and ordered in a deep voice: "Ziyuan, since that's the case, you will be in charge of this matter. You can draw money and provisions from the headquarters. Amounts under a thousand taels of silver are not required. You can take it yourself without reporting to me."

Yuan Shao was not an incompetent ruler after all; his abilities and courage far surpassed those of other warlords of the time, and he actually granted Xu You full authority.

Upon hearing this, Xu You was overjoyed and quickly rose from his seat to express his gratitude.

Yuan Shao spoke gently and earnestly, wanting Xu You to serve him to the death.

He then instructed Ju Shou to act according to his requirements, and to begin selecting elite troops and dismissing the old and young.

Among them, the first to be trained was the army of 100,000 men under the Grand Marshal's command, equipped with 10,000 armored soldiers and 10,000 warhorses.

Subsequently, he ordered the formation of five armies: Jizhou, Qingzhou, Youzhou, Bingzhou, and a reserve army, each with 50,000 men.

The total strength is temporarily set at 350,000, and the elderly and children will be laid off and transferred to local farms.

Neither the Hebei nor the Henan faction had any objections to this, and they would comply with the order.

For a time, both the emperor and his ministers were delighted.

**
Yuan Shao had already devised a strategy, and Cao Cao was also gathering his trusted advisors and ministers to discuss how to respond.

At present, Cao Cao can be considered the weakest of the three powers, with an army of only over 100,000, including a large number of auxiliary troops, such as Zhang Yang's army of over 10,000, Zhang Ji's army of 20,000, Dong Cheng's army of over 3,000, and Yang Feng's army of over 6,000.

Once a war breaks out with Yuan Shao, Liu Bei, and Liu Feng and his son, it remains to be seen whose side these troops will ultimately be on.

Cao Cao truly trusted and commanded only the 60,000 Qingzhou soldiers and his own 20,000 personal guards. The remaining 20,000 Yanzhou soldiers and 10,000 Yuzhou soldiers were relatively trusted, though not as much as the former two, they were still his core troops.

Now, more than 20,000 Xiliang soldiers have surrendered from Guandong, more than half of whom are rare veterans who have been on the battlefield for a long time and are very experienced.

Cao Cao was naturally reluctant to dismiss them all, so he naturally conceived the idea of ​​expanding his army.

Strictly speaking, Cao Cao's strength was not weaker than that of the same period in the original timeline; on the contrary, it was much stronger.

During the Battle of Guandu, Cao Cao's total military strength was only about 80,000 to 90,000 men. Of these, only about 40,000 were actually selected to participate in the battle. Of the remaining 40,000, 10,000 were stationed in Yuzhou to suppress local rebellions, 10,000 in Yanzhou, 10,000 in Guanzhong, and 10,000 in Sili.

Even among the 40,000 troops who participated in the Battle of Guandu, a quarter of them were scattered in various strategic passes and fortified cities. For example, Cao Ren, Xiahou Dun, Xiahou Yuan, Yu Jin, and others were all sent out to lead troops separately and did not stay with Cao Cao throughout the entire battle.

Otherwise, Cao Cao would not have entrusted the safety of his camp to Cao Hong during the Battle of Wuchao. Cao Ren and Xiahou Dun would both have been more reliable and experienced than Cao Hong.

Only 30,000 men actually followed Cao Cao in fighting against Yuan Shao's main force at Guandu, and they couldn't even be considered the most elite troops in Cao Cao's army.

At least elite troops like the Vanguard Battalion led by Yue Jin, the Taishan Battalion led by Yu Jin, and Cao Ren's direct subordinates were scattered around, giving Yuan Shao's flanking forces a good beating. They were only recalled to Cao Cao's side when necessary.

However, in this dimension, Cao Cao's direct army alone exceeded 100,000 men, and because of his alliance with Liu Bei and his son Liu Feng, his forces were far more concentrated than in the original timeline.

After all, in this dimension, he no longer needs to send troops to guard Yuzhou.

Cao Cao was unaware of these things. At this time, he was very worried and concerned about the lack of troops.

Fortunately, his income from money and food at this time was far greater than that of the same period in the original timeline.

In the original timeline, Yuan Shao, Liu Bei, and Liu Biao would never pay him tribute on time. But in this timeline, the Liu family alone sends Cao Cao more than 600,000 shi of grain every year. This is pure income, and the losses on the way are subsidized by the Liu family themselves.

This amount of 600,000 shi does not include the taxes levied by the State of Chen. When both are added together, the total approaches one million.

This exceeds what Cao Cao gained from his military colonies in Sili and northern Yingchuan.

Besides, although Yuan Shao was stingy, he still paid tribute of 200,000 shi of grain every year. Liu Biao originally paid the same amount, but now that he has been destroyed by Liu Feng, he naturally no longer pays tribute.

However, similarly, although he lost the tribute, Cao Cao gained the entire Nanyang.

Nanyang Commandery was once the best in the land. Although it was in ruins, it has recovered some of its vitality under Liu Biao's years of hard work, and it can still pay the annual tax of 200,000 shi.

With this back and forth, Cao Cao gained 1.4 to 1.5 million shi of grain every year, making his life much more comfortable than in the original timeline.

This is also the source of Cao Cao's confidence in expanding his army.

Cao Cao had wanted to expand his army for a long time; which warlord didn't want to have more weapons in his hands?

However, he had been persuaded by Xun Yu and others all along, and even Cheng Yu did not support Cao Cao's expansion of his army.

However, the situation is becoming increasingly tense. He had just taken over Guanzhong and hadn't even had time to expand eastward according to the original plan when Liu Feng actually swallowed up the entire Jingzhou.

If it weren't for a stroke of luck that allowed him to be based in Guanzhong and decisively defeat Li Jue and Guo Si, he probably wouldn't have even been able to get a share of Nanyang County.

Therefore, Cao Cao made a special trip back to Luoyang this time to discuss the matter of expanding the army.

That might not be the case either. Cao Cao was actually expanding his Iron Army this time. What he wanted to discuss were the specifics of the expansion and the number of troops.

"fifty thousand!?"

Upon hearing this, Xun Yu almost lost his composure.

Given Xun Yu's keen sense of timing and situation, it was impossible for him not to see Cao Cao's resolute desire to expand his army. In fact, this time he did not even consider trying to dissuade Cao Cao again.

He never imagined that Cao Cao would have such a huge appetite, wanting to expand his army by 50,000 in one go, which is almost one-third of his current total strength and half of Cao Cao's direct troops.

(End of this chapter)