Your Majesty, please spare Diao Chan; your yang energy is too strong.

Soon, half a month passed in the midst of the hustle and bustle.

And in these two weeks.

A piece of news was deliberately publicized by Zhou Heng.

It spread throughout the world, moving the entire world.

Cao Cao killed Yuan Shao's son.

As soon as this news came out.

The whole world was shaken.

Especially when Xu You went to negotiate but did not meet Yuan Shao's son.

Instead, they were subjected to all sorts of difficulties and were prevented from seeing Yuan Shao's son.

This further amplifies the credibility of the news.

Yuan Shao was furious.

They immediately mobilized all the troops in Ji Province to launch a fierce attack on Yan Province.

If it weren't for Cao Ren, who brought 30,000 troops back to Yuan at the crucial moment...

It's likely that Yanzhou will fall into Yuan Shao's hands.

The two sides were locked in a standoff at Guandu.

For a while, no one could do anything to anyone.

Even so, things still developed in ways that Zhou Heng had not anticipated.

In his view originally...

Yuan Shao will surely go completely mad after learning of his son's death.

By drawing troops from Ji Province, or even from other provinces, they could annihilate Cao Cao in one fell swoop.

He asked Cao Cao to help him withstand most of the pressure.

Then he calmly left Jizhou.

result..........

It is unknown whether it was Yuan Shao who harbored deep hatred for the person who had ambushed his son.

Or perhaps someone is deliberately spreading rumors.

In short, the 30,000 troops surrounding Zhongshan were not recalled by Yuan Shao.

Instead, the encirclement tightened.

They looked ready to start a fight at the slightest disagreement.

How could this not annoy him?

It should be noted that, in order to execute his plan perfectly, he needed the help of Cao Cao.

But now, even in this dire situation, Yuan Shao still hasn't transferred those 30,000 troops.

Instead, there are signs that they are heading towards Zhongshan.

How could that possibly frighten him?

"What's going on?"

Why haven't Cao Cao and Yuan Shao started fighting yet? Instead, there are signs that they're shaking hands and making peace.

"But they are so close to us."

"And what's going on with Zhang Yan? There hasn't been a single word from her so far."

Zhou Heng frowned deeply.

Although his plan is half successful, he still needs to make a clean getaway.

Even though he now has the five beauties of the Zhen family.

It was also impossible for them to withdraw from Jizhou safely.

In that case, the trip would be considered a failure.

Because even if he led the five beauties of the Zhen family to break through the encirclement.

However, most of the resources that the Zhen family has now saved will inevitably fall into Yuan Shao's hands.

It's like doing someone else's work for them.

This is definitely not what Zhou Heng wanted to see.

To put it another way...

If it really comes to this final step, then Zhou Heng will be completely exposed.

At this point, Cao Cao is only speculating and has no substantial evidence.

Yuan Shao was even less likely to believe it.

But... what if I were to fight Yuan Shao?

That would be equivalent to being completely exposed.

At that point, we would not only offend Cao Cao, but also Yuan Shao.

In addition, there are the people he offended before.

He had offended almost every feudal lord in the world.

Even with the support of the Zhen family, further development would be extremely difficult.

"According to news from our people."

"The main problem is that Yuan Shao's civil and military officials all disagreed with starting a war with Cao Cao at this time,"

"To the best of their ability, we tried to stop it."

"Furthermore, it seems that Cao Cao paid a huge price to reach a reconciliation with Yuan Shao."

"This made Yuan Shao hesitate."

"That's why we're in this situation now."

Liao Hua thought for a moment and then said.

"What about Zhang Yan?"

Zhou Heng's expression was rather unpleasant.

Although he knew long ago that no plan could always go smoothly.

There will always be times when you fail.

Therefore, he laid out three backup plans when he entered Jizhou this time.

These are Cao Cao, Zhang Yan, and finally...

However, at this time, Cao Cao and Yuan Shao showed signs of reconciliation, and even Zhang Yan did not make any move.

This undoubtedly caused his two previous plans to completely fail.

If that's the case.

This time, leaving Jizhou will come at a considerable cost.

It might even expose your presence.

When Yuan Shao finds out, he will realize that he is the real mastermind.

The pressure involved is immense.

You should know that the two Yuan brothers are now the second most powerful warlord in the land.

Zhou Heng's strength at this moment was worlds apart from theirs.

Therefore, unless absolutely necessary, he absolutely does not want to start a war with Yuan Shao now.

"We don't know anything about Zhang Yan yet, and there has been no movement from the Taihang Mountains."

Zhang Liao said.

"Forget it, it's better to rely on yourself than to ask others for help."

"We've integrated the Zhen family's resources during this period, so this is the maximum number of troops we can muster now."

"How is their combat strength?"

Zhou Heng waved his hand and immediately asked.

"We have drawn 13,000 guards from the Zhen family, which, together with our original troops, brings the total to nearly 20,000."

"They are capable of fighting Yuan Shao head-on."

"However, I do not recommend doing this."

"This is Yuan Shao's main base after all. If we start a war with Yuan Shao here..."

"He can mobilize a large army in the shortest amount of time."

"At that time, we will be isolated and helpless, and our army will be deep in enemy territory, and we will surely be defeated."

"This is our last resort, and the Zhen family's production capacity is too large."

"We need a lot of manpower, and it's impossible to entrust all the guards to us."

"Therefore, we can only spare a maximum of 10,000 people."

"If there are too many, the Zhen family won't be able to move."

"Furthermore, although these people can temporarily serve as an army, they are not well-trained elites."

"There are still shortcomings in various aspects."

Zhang Liao thought for a moment and then said.

During this period, Zhou Heng did not do nothing.

After forcibly marrying the five beauties of the Zhen family.

The entire Zhen family belongs to him.

Therefore, those guards had already been incorporated into Zhou Heng's combat system.

But the time is too short.

It's very difficult to truly contend with those armies.

It's not that the team leader this time was Zhang Hegaolan, one of the Four Pillars of Hebei.

Whether it's commanding troops or personal martial prowess, he is among the best in the world.

His troops were all elite.

This is not comparable to the troops under Yuan Xi's command before.

Once they engage in combat.

This is definitely not a good thing for him.

"Ten thousand people?"

"enough."

"Since Cao Cao, Yuan Shao, and Zhang Yan don't want to fight, let's add fuel to the fire and force them to fight."

Zhou Heng thought for a moment and said.

Only when they started fighting did Yuan Shao transfer those 30,000 troops away.

Only then was he able to escape unscathed.

"Does my lord mean... to add fuel to the fire?"