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

"Whether we can even survive in this chaotic world is still uncertain."

"But he had one thing that others couldn't match: he was extremely ambitious and his heart was higher than the sky. As the eldest son of the Yuan family, which had produced three dukes for four generations, he was ambitious and had long wanted to replace the Han Dynasty."

"Otherwise, they wouldn't have gone to such lengths to obtain the Imperial Seal from Sun Jian."

"If he had no ambition to become emperor, why would he want to seize the imperial seal?"

"Now that he has the imperial seal in his hands, do you think he can still be controlled given his ambition?"

Zhou Heng said calmly.

"That's true, but it's just speculation. If Yuan Shu doesn't declare himself emperor, our plan will fall apart."

Mi Zhu shook his head.

Clearly, they have not yet accepted the news that Yuan Shu declared himself emperor at this time.

"Who says this is just speculation?"

"To be honest, I have already ordered secret investigations and found out that Yuan Shu started building the palace and sewing dragon robes last year, and now I'm afraid everything is ready."

"If I am not mistaken, Yuan Shu will surely declare himself emperor within a few months at most."

"And that is our opportunity."

Zhou Heng has released another bombshell announcement.

"Is this true?"

"It's true."

"hiss."

Everyone gasped in shock.

"If that's really the case, then what my lord wants might actually come true."

Mi Zhu paced back and forth to suppress the unease in his heart.

"No, it's not just possible, it's certain."

"Let me think about it."

"Once Yuan Shu declares himself emperor, heroes from all over the land will surely respond."

"Sun Ce of Jiangdong, although nominally in Yuan Shu's hands, has long been dissatisfied with Yuan Shu, but he has no legitimate reason to break away."

"If Yuan Shu declares himself emperor, Sun Ce of Jiangdong will be the first to send troops."

"Secondly, there's Cao Cao."

“Yuan Shu and Yuan Shao were both members of the Yuan family, and each of them was far more powerful than Cao Cao.”

"If these two join forces, Cao Cao will surely die without a burial place, and the world will fall to Yuan Shao."

"Cao Cao was very wary of him, so he always wanted to defeat him one by one. He would never let go of such a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to eliminate Yuan Shu openly and legitimately."

"Liu Bei is a member of the Han imperial family and has always been known for his benevolence and righteousness. He would certainly not miss such an important event."

"Moreover, there has always been a conflict between Yuan Shu and Liu Bei. It was Yuan Shu who launched a major attack on Xuzhou a month ago, which is why Liu Bei lost Xuzhou. Liu Bei must hate him to the bone and cannot be absent."

"Although Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu are both members of the Yuan family, they have always been at odds. It is highly likely that they will not take action and will wait and see."

"Other feudal lords will respond to some extent, but they don't border the Jianghuai region, so even if they do, they won't gain any benefits..."

"Therefore, if Yuan Shu is defeated, we will only have three major opponents: Cao Cao, Sun Ce, and Liu Bei."

"Liu Bei is the weakest, so we don't need to pay him any attention. Therefore, we are left with only Cao Cao and Sun Ce as our opponents."

“Cao Cao is easy to deal with. If Yuan Shu is defeated and killed, then only Yuan Shao and Cao Cao will remain in the Central Plains, the two largest warlords.”

"Yuan Shao certainly didn't want to sit idly by and watch Cao Cao grow stronger."

"At that time, as long as Cao Cao had the ambition to occupy the Jianghuai region, we could use the strategy of driving away the tiger and chasing away the wolf."

"No strategy is even needed. Just hold out for a few months. Cao Cao will be worried about the emptiness of his rear and Yuan Shao's surprise attack on Xuchang. He will definitely not dare to fight for a long time."

"Therefore, we only had one opponent from beginning to end, and that was Sun Ce."

"Shouchun is the capital of Yangzhou, a place teeming with talented people and economically developed. Sun Ce would never let it go."

"However, although Sun Ce was a hero, the troops under his command were all from the Jiangnan navy."

"There is not much advantage on land."

"If this plan succeeds, perhaps we can truly occupy the Jianghuai region and leverage its abundant resources to strengthen ourselves, using it as a foundation..."

Mi Zhu became more and more excited as he spoke.

It must be said that although Mi Zhu was not a top strategist in the Three Kingdoms period, he still possessed a broad perspective and considerable talent.

The following situation was easily analyzed.

And the guess was pretty accurate.

Historically, after Yuan Shu's defeat, half of the territory on both sides of the Yangtze and Huai Rivers fell to Cao Cao, and the other half to Sun Ce.

From then on, Yuan Shu officially withdrew from the stage of history.

Furthermore, Cao Cao and Sun Ce had a significant conflict over Yuan Shu's territory.

However, there was no large-scale war.

The main problem is that it's difficult for a fight to break out.

Sun Ce was incapable of crossing the river and defeating Cao Cao.

Although Cao Cao had the ability to cross the river, there was also Yuan Shao, the most powerful warlord in the land, who was eyeing him covetously.

It's impossible to go against Sun Ce at this time.

And now, Mi Zhu's speculation is actually quite accurate.

“That’s right, that’s exactly what I think. Besides, the geography of Jianghuai is also very good. Apart from the six counties of Yangzhou, which fell into Sun Ce’s hands, the other places such as Runan, Chen and Pei counties of Yuzhou, Guangling of Xuzhou, and Nanyang County, where he started, are all strategic locations that are contested by military strategists. They are also rich in resources, densely populated, and have abundant resources. They can be attacked or defended.”

"Once we become strong enough, we can march straight into Yuzhou to the north, take control of the East China Sea to the east, send troops from Guangling to Xuzhou, and threaten Jiujiang and Yuzhang to the south."

“From Nanyang to the west, one can go directly into Jingzhou.”

"Whether it's trade or anything else, it's an excellent choice."

Zhou Heng nodded.

Compared to Xuzhou, which has a well-connected transportation network, the Jianghuai region is far superior to Xuzhou.

Because no matter which aspect he takes, he completely satisfies the requirement of dividing the world into four parts.

"However, this matter requires further consideration."

"As the saying goes, 'An army marches on its stomach.'"

"This is also why I intended to send Zifang to Jianghuai first."

“Zifang is from the Mi family, the richest family in Xuzhou. Now he has broken away from Liu Bei and entered Jianghuai as a merchant. Yuan Shu will not be able to stop him.”

"At that time, once Yuan Shu declares himself emperor, we can travel light and enter the Jianghuai region ahead of Cao Cao, Liu Bei, and Sun Ce."

"However, this mission is extremely difficult. If it is leaked, my life may be in danger, Zifang..."

Zhou Heng hesitated.

Mi Fang is a master of business, but if you put him in charge of troops or do anything else, he's a complete mess.

"My lord, there is no need for further words. Such a great responsibility is mine alone."

Mi Fang waved her hand and said firmly.

"I'm relieved to hear Zifang say that," Zhou Heng said with great joy.

"However, I have a small request."

"Please speak freely, Zifang."

“I remember when you first came here, you asked me if I still remembered the bet we made. I replied, ‘A gentleman’s word is as good as his bond.’ Now that my siblings and I have all served under you, why have you gone back on your word?”

"What do you mean by that?" Zhou Heng asked in surprise.

"My lord once said that he would marry my sister in a month, so why is he now silent about it?"