The Three Kingdoms: Zhaolie, the strategist, and the rise of the Han Dynasty

Chapter 97: Lao Cao is trying to steal Lao Liu's girlfriend! (Please subscribe!)
Liu Bei was still able to accept the proposal made by Cao Cao.

After all, it was impossible for him to swallow the entire Yuzhou in one bite.

Anyone who has played EU4 knows that if you take too much land at one time, your administrative capacity and AE will explode.

And it takes time to create cores from the land that has been eaten.

Although reality is not a game, it is more exaggerated than a game.

A territory does not really belong to you just by conquering it.

The local people need to be appeased, and the local scholars and nobles need to be won over.

Especially for local officials, their backgrounds also need to be checked in order to transfer or demote them.

This will take a lot of time and administrative resources.

Take the dispute between Yuan and Cao for example.

After Cao Cao won the Battle of Guandu, it took him seven years to unify Hebei.

The digestion of land requires a lot of time and cost.

"anything else?"

Liu Bei knew that Cao Cao would definitely not be satisfied with this, he must have other conditions.

Man Chong secretly admired him, and after thinking for a while, he slowly said:

"My lord fought a great battle with Lu Bu in Puyang. The day before yesterday, he was trapped in the army due to lack of food, so he was defeated by Lu Bu."

"Later, Cheng Zhongde raised enough military rations in Dong'e County and overcame the difficulties."

"And the food supplies that Lu Bu received from the Yanzhou scholars are not sufficient. Logically speaking, it should be Lu Bu's turn to be short of food now."

"But Lu Bu is still active in Yanzhou."

Having said this, Man Chong looked around and glanced at the people in Xuzhou.

It was as if I was saying to everyone in Xuzhou, you know who I’m talking about.

But no matter whether it was Liu Bei, Li Yi or other officials, almost everyone remained calm.

Some people really don't know that Xuzhou was secretly supporting Lu Bu.

After all, this is a top secret, and only the top leaders in Xuzhou know about it.

Li Yi, who knew about this, remained calm and took it indifferently.

We just organized a caravan to go to Yanzhou to do business. How can it be called supporting Lu Bu?
Although our caravan only sells food to Lu Bu, and sells it at a very low price.

Man Chong said seriously:

"No matter where Lu Bu got the food from."

"My Lord is determined to wipe out Lu Bu and put down the civil unrest in Yanzhou this year!"

Man Chong was troubled by the lack of evidence, and even if he had one, he would not be able to speak it out in public.

So I never pointed it out.

"So my lord's intention is to send you to deal with Yuan Shu or to station troops in Lu and Pei."

"Please let my Lord deal with Lu Bu in peace."

Although it was not pointed out, it clearly pointed to Liu Bei.

To sum it up simply,
Big Ear Brother, I know you are having an affair with Lu Bu, so I, Cao, admit defeat.

Let's each take a step back.

Just focus on dealing with Yuan Shu, I won't interfere.

I will focus on dealing with Lu Bu, so don't interfere.

Let's each take care of ourselves.

"……Um."

Liu Bei pondered for a while and did not immediately respond to Man Chong.

This matter is of great importance, he needs to stop and think about it, or discuss it with Li Yi and others before making a decision.

However, Man Chong understood that the longer this matter was delayed, the more unfavorable the situation in Yanzhou would be.

So he withstood the pressure and said the most crucial sentence.

"Yuan Shao is now occupying Hebei Province and is about to swallow up the four provinces of Ji, Qing, Bing and You."

"Their military might is truly unstoppable."

"It's just that they were busy with the war with Gongsun Zan in Youzhou, and the army had no time to cross the river to the south."

"I heard that you are a classmate and old friend of Gongsun Zan. Do you think Gongsun Zan can defeat Yuan Shao?"

"If Gongsun Zan dies, Yuan Shao's army will surely move south and cross the river."

"If you do not want to serve the north, you should find an ally who can help you resist the powerful enemy in the north."

This is considered Man Chong's ultimate move.

Once Yuan Shao unified the north and marched south, the first to bear the brunt of the attack would be Cao Cao and Liu Bei in Yanzhou and Xuzhou.

Cao Cao was originally Yuan Shao's younger brother, let alone resisting Yuan Shao in the future.

If he really couldn't defeat Lu Bu, he would now take his family and go directly to Hebei to join Yuan Shao.

After all, Cao Cao really had this idea, but he was temporarily persuaded by Cheng Yu.

So now Cao Cao is barefoot and not afraid of wearing shoes.

It's a fight to the death, giving Liu Bei two choices.

Either stop funding Lu Bu and let me defeat him and pacify Yanzhou.

In this way, in the future, we can work together to resist Yuan Shao's troops.

Or you can just support Lu Bu to the end and let him defeat me.

Then I can only take my whole family to the north to join Yuan Shao.

I will definitely take revenge for this in the future.

And will the Lu Bu you support really work together with you to fight against Yuan Shao in the future?

That's hard to say~
Xu Shao once said to Cao Cao:
"A king is a capable minister in a peaceful time, and a treacherous hero in a chaotic time."

This evaluation is very appropriate to describe Cao Cao.

Although Cao Cao is now imprisoned, he can threaten Liu Bei in turn.

If not a traitor, what is he?
Liu Bei and Li Yi exchanged glances, and Li Yi nodded at Liu Bei.

It means that you can trust Man Chong’s words.

Although Li Yi could judge Yuan Shao's future failure from the perspective of a later comer.

But there is no doubt that Yuan Shao was the top boss in the late Han Dynasty before his death.

On the contrary, Cao, Liu, and Lu are the weakest.

From a God's perspective, many people think that Cao Cao poses a greater threat than Yuan Shao.

But in fact, Yuan Shao, who unified the four states of Ji, You, Bing and Qing, was far more powerful than any other princes.

Under what circumstances did Cao Cao challenge Yuan Shao?
Answer: He challenged Yuan Shao after he had pacified the four provinces of Yan, Yu, Yong and Xu and unified Henan.

It seems that Cao Cao has already taken control of four states and unified the entire Henan Province, and seems to be able to compete with Yuan Shao.

However, Cao Cao at that time still did not dare to attack Yuan Shao and wanted to continue to pretend to be a grandson.

It was Yuan Shao who realized that Cao Cao, his little brother, could no longer be controlled, so he launched the attack.

Cao Cao was forced to go to war.

Cao Cao, who had unified Henan and was at the peak of his career, had many talented civil and military officials under his command.

However, the Yuan Shao he faced was already old and confused. The dispute over succession in Hebei became more and more intense, and the various factions were not united.

In this way, Cao Cao was always suppressed by Yuan Shao in the early stage.

Cao Cao once wanted to admit defeat, but was persuaded by Xun Yu.

In the end, we won a beautiful victory in the Battle of Guandu.

Then Yuan Shao died of illness within two years, and the Yuan family fell apart.

The brothers Yuan Tan and Yuan Shang began to fight with each other.

It took Cao Cao seven years to pacify this situation.

This is the influence of the Yuan family in Hebei.

Cao Cao controlled four states, and he started off with a disadvantage when fighting Yuan Shao.

Now Lao Liu only has Xuzhou in his hand, and it’s not even warm in his pocket.

Do you dare to challenge Yuan Shao who is at the peak of his power?

"You are a great hero of our time, Lord. Look around, are there any other allies in Xuzhou who can stand shoulder to shoulder with you?"

"My Lord wants you to let go of the old hatred. Yanzhou and Xuzhou complement each other and are like lips and teeth to each other."

"Together we stand together, divided we all perish."

"Please understand my words, sir!"

Man Chong has said everything he can say. If Liu Bei still disagrees, then he really has no other choice.

Liu Bei glanced at Li Yi and told Li Yi what he was thinking just with his eyes.

Li Yi could read it from Liu Bei's eyes.

Cao Cao is treacherous. Is it worthwhile to sign this alliance? Is it reliable to divide Yuzhou together?

Li Yi immediately returned a look.

That is to say, the covenant is worth signing and dividing Yuzhou is reliable.

The only person who is not very reliable is Cao Cao.

"This……"

Liu Bei wondered if he had failed to understand Li Yi's meaning.

Since he said he wanted to cooperate for mutual benefit and divide Yuzhou together, he said he did not trust Cao Cao.

So is this suggestion reliable or not?

Of course it's reliable! Li Yi whispered in Liu Bei's ear:

"Our strategic plan remains unchanged. Let's focus on dealing with Yuan Shu first, and just appease Cao Cao."

"Although Cao Cao is a treacherous man, we have left a nail in Yuzhou."

Liu Bei seemed to be enlightened.

This nail is Guo Gong!
Cao Cao ceded Lu and Pei to Liu Bei.

Little did he know that Liu Bei had already planted the seed of Guo Gong in the southern part of Yanzhou and the northern part of Yuzhou, namely Liang State.

Now Cao Cao is busy fighting Lu Bu, and Liu Bei is busy fighting Yuan Shu.

We can temporarily put aside our hatred and divide Yuzhou together.

As for how to divide it, Cao Cao must have had some ideas in mind.

But Li Yi was different. He directly left a backup plan for Lao Liu.

Left Guo Gong in Liang State.

Guo Gong had already surrendered to Liu Bei, and Liang State was nominally a vassal state of Xuzhou.

In the future, when Cao and Liu each settle their own affairs, the division of Yuzhou will certainly not be as harmonious as originally agreed.

It is hard to say whether bloody conflict will break out.

But Liu Bei must have enough backup plans.

"…Is this within your expectations?"

Liu Bei uttered a sigh.

Did Li Yi already foresee the current situation when he refused to allow Guo Gong to enter Xuzhou and instead let him stay in Liang State, Yuzhou?
Liu Bei was amazed, looking at the diplomatic environment that Li Yi had planned for Xuzhou.

In the north, we formed an alliance with Yuan Shao and established good relations with him.

However, he secretly formed an alliance with his eldest son, Yuan Tan of Qingzhou, and supported him in the dispute over the succession.

A nail was planted in Hebei in advance.

Cao Cao in the west ostensibly agreed to form an alliance to divide Yuzhou together.

In fact, Guo Gong was planted as a thorn in the side of Liang State in Yuzhou.

Finally, there is a time bomb in Yanzhou that may explode at any time, Lu Bu.

This person is definitely a troublemaker among the Three Kingdoms.

Wherever you go, you'll have bad luck.

Li Yi used money and food to drive him to harm Cao Cao in Yanzhou, but no one knew where he would be driven next.

He is truly a man of brilliant plans and a rare talent in the world.

Liu Bei thought for a moment, raised his head and said:

"I have fully understood your intention."

"Since Lord Cao intends to make peace between Yanzhou and Xuzhou."

"I certainly don't want to bring disaster to the people of the two states."

"Your Excellency may reply to Lord Cao and tell him that I have no intention of becoming his enemy."

"It's just that whether Xuzhou should form an alliance with Yanzhou remains to be discussed."

"In the past, Cao Yanzhou burned, killed and looted in Xuzhou, which greatly hurt the hearts of the people of Xuzhou. Even a three-foot-tall child in Xuzhou hated it deeply."

"That is why I cannot agree to Duke Cao's request for an alliance."

"However, Lord Cao has ceded Lu, Pei, and Mount Tai to show his sincerity, and I will order Mi Zizhong to withdraw the caravan in Yanzhou."

After saying this, he said to Mi Zhu who was standing beside him:

"Mi Beijia, please withdraw the caravan from Yanzhou. There is no need to sell grain there anymore."

"Yes!" Mi Zhu gladly accepted the order.

Man Chong also breathed a sigh of relief, even though Liu Bei did not agree to form an alliance with Cao Cao.

But judging from the fact that he stopped supporting Lu Bu, it shows that his attitude has softened somewhat.

In this way, Man Chong could go back and report to Cao Cao.

Next, Liu Bei ordered people to hold a banquet to entertain Man Chong.

During the banquet, he even took Man Chong's hand and introduced the officials of Xuzhou to him one by one.

This surprised Man Chong very much.

He thought to himself that his mission had been accomplished, so why did Liu Bei treat him like this?

Man Chong was surprised and delighted by Liu Bei's actions.

When he was young, Liu Bei introduced Li Yi to Man Chong.

The two of them finished their greetings.

Man Chong had heard of Li Yi's reputation a long time ago. When he was with Liu Bei just now, he felt like a fish in water and was highly trusted by Liu Bei.

Looking at it today, it is indeed of extraordinary appearance with the bearing of a dragon and a phoenix.

"I have heard of your great name for a long time, and today I finally get to meet you."

Man Chong held Li Yi's hand tightly and took the initiative to get close to him.

Because he came here with one last hidden task to complete.

"...Well, Berning also knows me, Li Yi?" Li Yi replied with a laugh.

"Yes, Mr. Li is a master at using troops. Last year, he defeated our army in Pengcheng. All the generals in Cao's camp know your name."

"Everyone praises your brilliant strategy and your military deployment, which is rare in history."

When Li Yi was a senior executive in a company, he had heard countless compliments of this kind.

No matter how eloquent Man Chong was, he would just let it go in one ear and out the other.

Not cold at all.

Just replied calmly:

"I am just an idler in the mountains, not a talented person."

"It was luck that we were able to penetrate Cao's army formation before."

Man Chong's eyes narrowed slightly, and he thought to himself that this young man was very patient.

No wonder he could reach such a high position at such a young age and was respected by Liu Bei.

"To be honest, sir, I came here with another letter from Lord Cao."

As he spoke, he took out a document from his bosom and handed it to Li Yi.

Li Yi expanded it and looked at it.

It turns out that the book said that Cao Cao wanted to recommend Li Yi as the prime minister of Chen State and promote him to the title of Marquis of Gaoyangting.

"Mr. Cao hopes that you can take up your post as soon as possible."

Man Chong handed Li Yi a brocade box and said, "This is what Cao Gong asked me to give to you, sir."

Li Yi looked like this and opened it.

It turned out that what was inside was a traditional Chinese medicine - "Danggui".

"……Hahaha."

Li Yi closed the box and a smile appeared on his face.

Cao Cao really spent a lot of money to poach people.

He was both the prime minister with a salary of 2,000 stones and the title of Marquis of Gaoyangting.

Finally, he came to stir up some emotions and sent a box of angelica to express his longing for her.

He is really Cao Aman!
Li Yi cursed in his heart, Old Cao, you don’t think that what you are doing is touching, do you?

in fact,

Look at people like Cao Cao, Yuan Shu, Yuan Shao and Yuan Tan.

You will find that these people actually have the common problems of rich second-generations.

That's arrogance.

Yuan Shu was the most serious.

Cao Cao was actually not much behind.

As the saying goes,
When a bird is about to die, its cry is mournful.

When a person is about to die, his words are also good.

You can see this by comparing the last words of Liu Bei and Cao Cao.

When Liu Bei died, he said:
"Your father has a weak virtue, so don't imitate him."

When Cao Cao died, he said:
"I have never failed in my actions."

One said that his moral character was shallow and told his children not to learn from him.

One who says that he has absolutely no regrets or guilt about anything he has done in his life.

Then you compare what the two have done in their lives, and you will sigh -

The mean is the pass of the mean, and the noble is the epitaph of the noble.

In fact, Cao Cao also had the same arrogance as Yuan Shu, but it was not as serious as Yuan Shu.

This is because they all come from wealthy families, belong to different classes, and naturally have different levels of thinking.

Therefore, the way to win people's hearts is naturally different from others.

In Cao Cao's view, he was both giving a title and sending angelica.

He has given enough respect and kindness, so Li Yi will definitely be deeply moved by him.

Not to mention that he immediately came to the State of Chen to take up the post, at any rate he could not help Liu Bei to deal with him, right?
"I understand Lord Cao's intention."

Li Yi closed the brocade box and a faint smile appeared at the corner of his lips.

……

(End of this chapter)