Lu Bu: My wife comes from two thousand years later

Yanzhou, Puyang, Dongjun.

Snowflakes were flying and plum blossoms were blooming. At this moment, Cao Cao and Guo Jia were sitting leisurely opposite each other in the pavilion in the yard, drinking wine and appreciating the plum blossoms while discussing the affairs of Jizhou.

"Gongsun Bogui's army has successfully entered Zhongshan State. News has also reached us from within Changshan that Qian Zhao is also interested in surrendering to Yanzhou. If nothing unexpected happens, Changshan State will be ours."

Cao Cao drank the wine in his cup and smiled at Guo Jia, his face unable to conceal his pride. "Julu County is sandwiched between Zhongshan, Changshan, and Anping. Taking it is not difficult. The collapse of Jizhou is obvious. Fengxiao, how do you think Lu Bu will respond this time?"

When Xi Zhicai was dying, he suggested that Cao Cao form an alliance with all possible forces to fight against Lu Bu. The most important alliance partner was Gongsun Zan. Gongsun Zan had strong military strength, but lacked strategists. Xi Zhicai suggested that Cao Cao send advisers to Youzhou to help him.

At that time, Cao Cao agreed verbally, but he actually disagreed in his heart, because he knew that Gongsun Zan was very arrogant and looked down on others. Even if he agreed to the alliance, he might not be willing to employ the advisers he sent.

Although he did not quite agree, Cao Cao still sent Xun You to Youzhou. As he expected, Gongsun Zan not only ignored Xun You, but also thought that Cao Cao's move was an insult to his intelligence. He completely treated Xun You as a transparent person and even took precautions against him.

This situation continued until more than two months ago, when Guo Jia proposed to Cao Cao a strategy of disrupting the enemy from the inside out. After Xun You presented this strategy to Gongsun Zan, his attitude improved.

Since Yuan Shao was eliminated, Gongsun Zan had been thinking about how to seize the entire Jizhou from Lu Bu. However, Lu Bu's strength in fighting on two fronts last time really shocked him. No matter how arrogant Gongsun Zan was, he dared not send troops rashly without being sure. Therefore, this strategy was a timely help for Gongsun Zan. After taking over Zhongshan Kingdom without bloodshed, Gongsun Zan almost treated Xun You as his chief strategist.

With Gongsun Zan going to compete with Lu Bu, Yanzhou now only needs to sit on the mountain and watch the fight between the tigers, while cultivating crops, storing military supplies, enriching the country and strengthening the army, and finally coming out to clean up the net.

"My lord, how do you want him to respond?" Guo Jia occasionally stroked the fat little fox lying beside him, glanced at the complacent Cao Cao, and asked back.

Cao Cao laughed and said, "I naturally hope that he will fight the Jizhou nobles to the end. When he is embroiled in a conflict with Gongsun Bogui, the Hongnong Yang family will seize the opportunity to rebel again. If Yuan Shu can then send troops to seize the Henan Yin, then our Tang Kingdom will be dismembered."

Guo Jia shook his head. "Don't count on Yuan Gonglu, my lord. Last time, he sent troops to support Yuan Benchu, but upon entering Liang County, Lü Bu, with only two hundred cavalrymen, killed their commander and seized their provisions. He's probably scared out of his wits. Unless Gongsun Zan achieves a crushing victory in Ji Province, he won't dare to provoke Lü Bu."

He drank a glass of wine and continued, "Furthermore, after proclaiming himself emperor, Yuan Gonglu's ambition to conquer the world gradually faded. He has been building palaces in Shouchun, living a life of luxury and extravagance. I heard that he has hundreds of wives and concubines in his harem, all of whom are lavishly dressed and fed with fine food, while the people of Jianghuai are starving. I don't think he needs an external enemy to conquer his country. If he continues to do this for a few more years, the people will revolt first."

Cao Cao picked up the wine jug and leaned against the small couch beside him, laughing, "I'm surprised he's fallen so quickly. The south is no longer a threat, no longer a threat! But that kid from Sun Wentai's family was able to defeat Yan Baihu of Wujun in just three months. He's a natural military genius, and he's like his father."

Guo Jia fed the little fox a piece of meat and warned, "Sun Bofu is not one to be content with being inferior to others. Yuan Gonglu appointed him as the governor of Wujun and even returned the former subordinates who had followed Sun Wentai. In my opinion, this is raising a tiger to cause trouble. My lord, you need to pay attention to this."

Cao Cao said, "The cub can't hurt anyone yet. Come back and tell us how Lu Bu will respond. We should think of a countermeasure in advance to avoid being caught off guard."

"Lü Fengxian only has the talent of a general, not the ability to govern. The interests involved in this matter and its impact on the future of the Tang Dynasty are enormous. I'm afraid he can't make a decision."

Guo Jia lifted the little fox onto his lap and gently patted its furry little head, thinking, "The little fox fairy will have the final say on this matter!"

Thinking of Amo, a faint smile appeared on his lips. He was looking forward to her response. The little fox fairy should not let him down, right?

"Feng Xiao is right! This matter is up to Amo to decide. Let me guess what she will do..."

Cao Cao put down his wine glass and reclined on the couch, squinting his eyes in comfort as he spoke slowly, "Judging from the various measures implemented by the Tang Kingdom, she has been preparing to confront the nobles from the very beginning. This time, the nobles of Jizhou have united to resist her. If she compromises, Jizhou will be able to achieve some stability. However, doing so will make it more difficult to implement her new policies in the future, and I'm afraid that the official selection system, which has not yet been established, will also be stillborn."

As he spoke, he suddenly opened his eyes and said with emotion, "To be honest, I really admire her. What she does is what I want to do but can't and dare not do!"

Cao Cao, seemingly drunk, babbled, "She and I are actually completely the same kind of people. We share the same ambitions and vision, and we have the same attitude towards many things. Yet, we each pursue our own ends. I really regret it! I regret it!"

"If I had resolutely snatched her away from Wang Situ back in Yingchuan, everything would have been different! Fengxiao, don't disbelieve me, I could really treat her as a daughter, no, as a daughter-in-law... If she had married Ang'er, she could have inherited my legacy and continued my ideals and beliefs. What a pity! What a pity! The first person she met back then was clearly me, but that bastard Lu Bu overtook her. It's truly despicable..."

Guo Jia stroked the little fox's fur and complained silently in his heart, "If I had kidnapped her first, how could you and Wang Situ have gotten into this?"

At this time, a cold wind carrying fine snowflakes blew into the pavilion. The biting cold made Cao Cao shiver. His somewhat blurred eyes gradually became clear. He sat up from the couch and returned to the previous topic.

"As for Jizhou, I don't think she will compromise. She will definitely fight to the end with all the power of the Tang Dynasty. Bingzhou has been at war for the past few years and should be as poor as Yanzhou now. Without food and grass, what will she do?"

Guo Jia said, "She has borrowed grain from the nobles of Jizhou. Those who obey her will be her own people, while those who disobey will have their property confiscated and their families exterminated. This move can not only solve the food problem, but also eliminate the internal thieves."

Cao Cao nodded. "Now that you've guessed her tactics, does Fengxiao have any countermeasures?"

"Tang is short of food, making it difficult to mobilize a large army all at once. My lord, you can have Gongsun Bogui accelerate the advance into Changshan and Julu, and then have the various clans gather their forces to directly capture the cities. If Qian Zhao truly surrenders to my lord, Changshan can be easily taken without resorting to force. Send another force to guard the Jingxing Pass to cut off reinforcements from Bingzhou. There are clan rebels in Julu, and Gongsun Bogui can lead an assault to capture it without difficulty. After occupying these two counties, my lord can station troops in Dongjun, and then encircle Zhao and Weijun, and Jizhou will be in our hands."

Guo Jia said it bluntly. In his opinion, almost all the nobles and powerful people in Jizhou were against her. With the powerful enemy Gongsun Zan, it would be difficult for her to turn the tide even if she was really the reincarnation of a fox fairy. He just wanted to see how she could lose gracefully.

"What if she compromises?" Cao Cao asked again.

Guo Jia disagreed and said, "Then we can only let Gongsun Bogui's soldiers fight hard. With his army's strength, it should be no problem to capture Changshan and Julu. Zhao and Weijun are more difficult to say. My lord, you can still sit on the mountain and watch the tigers fight."

He looked up at the falling snow outside, his sight seeming to see the woman on her way through thousands of mountains and rivers. He murmured softly, "I'm really looking forward to it. Will you compromise?"