Three Kingdoms: Fusion of Entries, Change of Destiny

Chapter 63 Chen Gong's Plan

Nanyang County Magistrate's Mansion.

Before Cao Cao could firmly establish his control over Yanzhou, several powerful figures had already begun to secretly covet it.

The court controlled by Li Jue appointed a new governor of Yanzhou, Jin Shang, who naively wanted to take advantage of the situation in Yanzhou.

At this moment, Jin Shang was standing in front of Yuan Shu, but the back of his official robe was soaked with sweat.

Jin Shang showed Yuan Shu his appointment document and said with a barely perceptible tremor in his voice:

"General Li Jue has promised that if General Gonglu is willing to submit to the imperial court, he will be promoted to Grand General, Grand Tutor, and granted the title of Marquis of Wanhu!"

Yuan Shu emptied the wine in one gulp, then slammed the bronze jug at Jin Shang's feet, shouting, "Li Jue is just a warrior from Liang Province, yet he dares to expect me, Yuan Shu, to submit to him? This is simply absurd and the greatest joke in the world!"

Behind Yuan Shu, General Ji Ling placed his hand on the hilt of his sword, a sneer on his lips.

Another fierce general, Zhang Xun, stared at Jin Shang's neck and made a throat-cutting gesture.

At this time, not only was Jin Shang's back soaked with sweat, but sweat also began to drip from his forehead and temples.

"We can discuss this later." Jin Shangqiang swallowed his saliva, trying to calm himself down, and continued, "The Yellow Turbans are rampant in Yanzhou now. If you are willing to help me wipe out the Yellow Turbans and take control of Yanzhou, I am willing to support you with Yanzhou's money and grain."

Before he could finish his words, Chief Secretary Yang Hong sneered, "Your Excellency is out of touch with the news. Apparently, you don't know that Cao Mengde has already defeated the three Yellow Turban factions and, with the support of the local Yanzhou nobles, has jointly submitted a petition to the court requesting the appointment of Governor of Yanzhou."

"Ah?!" Jin Shang was stunned.

I just heard a few days ago that a million Yellow Turbans from Qingzhou swept across Yanzhou. How come they were wiped out by Cao Cao today?

When Li Jue received the news that Liu Dai had died at the hands of the Yellow Turbans in Qingzhou, he immediately sent Jin Shang to take advantage of the opportunity.

However, the Yellow Turbans were powerful, and Jin Shang was afraid to enter Yanzhou rashly. So he came to Yuan Shu, hoping to use Yuan Shu's power to defeat the Yellow Turbans and take over Yanzhou.

Who would have thought that Yanzhou would be occupied by Cao Cao before they knew it!

Jin Shang was unwilling to give in, so he pleaded again, "Why not send troops to Yanzhou while Cao Cao is still struggling to gain a firm foothold?"

Yang Hong waved his hand and said solemnly, "Cao Cao has already gained the support of the Yanzhou nobles and has recently recruited hundreds of thousands of Yellow Turban refugees. He will soon be able to raise an army of 100,000. If we attack aggressively, our army will suffer losses and the gains will not outweigh the losses."

There was no expression on Yuan Shu's face, making it difficult to guess what he was thinking.

Seeing this, Jin Shang continued, "Are we just going to watch Cao Cao become more powerful? Yuan Benchu ​​has a close relationship with Cao Cao. If Cao Cao becomes powerful, it won't be a good thing for you!"

Upon hearing this, Yuan Shu suddenly laughed, his laughter filled with sinisterness and confidence: "What kind of person is Yuan Shao? Don't I know him?

If Cao Cao takes Yanzhou, Yuan Shao will definitely not tolerate it.

"Wouldn't it be wonderful if I could just sit back and reap the benefits while they're fighting?"

"General..." Jin Shang wanted to say something else, but Yuan Shu waved his hand and said, "Your Excellency, please go down and rest first. I will inform you when there is any news!"

"This...Alas..." Jin Shang had no choice but to retreat.

After Jin Shang left, Ji Ling asked, "My lord, with the arrival of the imperial envoy, we can now launch our campaign with a legitimate reason. Why not seize Yanzhou while Cao Cao's foothold is still unstable?"

Yuan Shu did not reply.

Yang Hong explained on Yuan Shu's behalf, "Liu Biao has been mobilizing troops frequently recently, seemingly intent on cutting off our food supply. If we attack Cao Cao now, we'll be attacked from both sides and face a crushing defeat."

"Liu Biao, you little brat, thinks you can stop respecting our lord just because you killed Sun Jian. I beg for permission to go and teach Liu Biao a lesson!" Zhang Xun stepped out and asked loudly.

Yuan Shu's original goal was the wealthy Jingzhou, but unfortunately Sun Jian died at the hands of Liu Biao, which made Yuan Shu realize the reality that he was alone and was unable to take Jingzhou.

Liu Biao had now moved his capital to Xiangyang, and established a defense line relying on the Han River and the terrain and cities in southern Nanyang, gradually advancing northward and threatening Yuan Shu's food supply.

Liu Biao's goal was to control key strongholds such as Rangcheng, and then he could directly block Yuan Shu's land grain route from northern Nanyang to Yuzhou.

The Yingchuan County of Yuzhou, which was originally controlled by Yuan Shu, had long been destroyed by the Yellow Turbans and Li Jue.

Xu Qiu, the governor of Runan, and Yuan Zhong, the prime minister of Pei, turned to support Tao Qian and refused to provide food and fodder to Yuan Shu.

King Chen Liu Chong established his own regime and blocked the grain transportation route from Yuzhou to Nanyang.

Yuan Shu is now gradually falling into isolation.

Furthermore, Yuan Shu's failure to enforce laws and regulations in Nanyang, relying on plunder for financial resources, led to the decline of people's livelihoods and the inability to secure local food. If this situation continued, the people would be trapped until they died, if they did not find a new way out.

Yuan Shu was aware of the current predicament, but he did not say it out loud for fear of affecting the morale of the army.

How to break the game?

Originally, according to Yang Hong's plan, they wanted to go north to Yanzhou, eliminate the Yellow Turbans, and then occupy Yanzhou.

But just as they finished integrating Sun Jian's old subordinates,
However, Cao Cao had defeated the million-strong Yellow Turban Army in a lightning-fast manner, which made Yuan Shu dare not move.

Even if we exclude the elderly, the weak, women and children, the Yellow Turbans still had nearly 300,000 combat-ready soldiers, but they were defeated by Cao Cao in one encounter.

Then, they drove the Yellow Turbans out of Yanzhou with overwhelming force, and the whole process took less than a month!

The powerful fighting capacity displayed by Cao's army caught Yuan Shu off guard.

Yuan Shu was afraid of Cao Cao's strength and did not dare to act rashly.

Now, Yuan Shu can only wait for an opportunity, and wait for Yuan Shao and Cao Cao to fall out.

However, before Yuan Shao's opportunity came, another opportunity suddenly appeared in front of Yuan Shu!

"Report! My lord! Lu Bu leads more than a hundred riders and asks for a meeting outside the city!" As he said this, the messenger handed over the visiting card.

Zhang Xun quickly presented the visiting card.

Yuan Shu took the visiting card, but found that the person who wrote it was not Lu Bu, but Lu Bu's military advisor - Chen Gong!
Chen Gong only said a few simple greetings in the visiting card, and then told Yuan Shu a plan that could help him take over Yanzhou!

The letter said: I have heard that Cao is a tyrant and allows his men to bully the gentry; he measures the land and seizes the profits of the powerful; he forcibly conscripts young men and disturbs the peace of the people.

Today, the people of Yanzhou are complaining bitterly, like fish in a boiling pot, waiting for the right time to move.

…………

Now, I, a humble person, offer the general a strategy to defeat Cao:

First, contact the nobles who were dissatisfied with Cao Cao and use them as internal support...

Second, to sow discord between the Yuan-Cao alliance. Although Cao Cao had taken Yanzhou, Yuan Shao would not allow him to become too powerful...

Third, instigating the remnants of the Yellow Turbans...

After reading thousands of words, Yuan Shu was so happy!

"Hahaha! The opportunity has arrived, hasn't it?!" Yuan Shu laughed loudly, and then said to Ji Ling, Zhang Xun and other generals: "Pass on my military orders, prepare the troops and horses, and give Cao Mengde a 'cordial' greeting someday!"

"I obey your command!" the generals responded in unison.

Yuan Shu then asked Yang Hong, "Lü Bu has come to surrender. Should we accept him?"

"General, have you forgotten Ding Yuan and Dong Zhuo?" Yang Hong frowned and reminded.

"..."

"Lu Bu is an ambitious man and cannot be trusted. Give him some food and let him go find Yuan Shao!" Yang Hong continued when he saw Yuan Shu hesitate.

"This is a very good plan!" Yuan Shu nodded in agreement.

The conspiracy of Yuan Shu, Chen Gong and others has begun, and they are ready to give Cao a hard blow on the ass!
Cao Cao was completely unaware of this at this time.

Under the guidance of local villagers in Qiao County, he finally arrived at Xujiawu Fort.

But when Cao Cao didn't notice,
Along the way,

Cao Yandu seemed to be a little worried.

There are a lot of transitions and foreshadowing in these chapters, so I apologize for adding an update.

By the way, I would like to ask for your support and votes.



(End of this chapter)