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

After all, Cao Cao was different from Liu Bei and Lü Bu.

Deceitful as a devil.

He has a wealth of talented people under his command.

Whether it's Xun Yu or Guo Jia, they are both among the most outstanding strategists in the world.

If there is no legitimate reason, or a reason that would force him to send troops.

The other party is absolutely not going to fall for the trap so easily.

Especially at this critical juncture.

The two Yuan brothers are now the first and second most powerful warlords in the land.

Even if Cao Cao was arrogant.

It's also impossible for him to go against the grain and help Zhou Heng send troops to attack Yuan Shao.

.............

However, before Zhou Heng could figure out how to get Cao Cao to send troops to help him...

A month later.

A piece of news came and directly solved his problem.

Yuan Shu declared himself emperor.

Yes, it is Yuan Shu, the eldest son of the Yuan family, who is the most powerful warlord in the land today.

Yuan Shu, who commanded hundreds of thousands of troops and controlled Yangzhou, both sides of the Yangtze and Huai Rivers, and parts of Xuzhou, Yuzhou, and Jingzhou, was a powerful figure in the region.

Finally unable to suppress his loneliness, he declared himself emperor.

This news shocked the world.

Zhou Heng naturally received this news as well.

"Haha, I was just thinking about how to get Cao Cao to send troops to help us."

"Yuan Shu's declaration of himself as emperor is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for us!"

Inside the council hall.

Upon receiving this news, Zhou Heng immediately summoned his civil and military officials to discuss important matters.

A month has passed since the last meeting.

During this month, in addition to diligently training troops and developing his own power, he also sent more people to Jizhou to disrupt communications.

What Zhou Heng wanted most was to find a way to get Cao Cao to send troops to help him.

I tried several methods, but none of them were quite satisfactory.

Unexpectedly, at this critical juncture, Yuan Shu actually declared himself emperor.

How could this not make him happy?

"My lord, Yuan Shu's claim to the throne is Yuan Shu's own doing; what does it have to do with Yuan Shao?"

"Even if Cao Cao sent troops to attack, it was Yuan Shu who was the target."

"How could we possibly offend two powerful warlords like Yuan Shao at the same time?"

"How does this relate to our plan?"

Mi Zhu was somewhat puzzled.

Although Zhou Heng had already calculated that Yuan Shu would inevitably declare himself emperor.

And corresponding arrangements were made.

Mi Fang was arranged in advance to enter Jianghuai and wait for an opportunity to act.

I was so impressed that I fell to the ground.

However, Yuan Shu's claim to the throne was his own affair.

What does this have to do with Yuan Shao?

Not to mention that the two Yuan brothers have always been at odds.

Even if Cao Cao were incredibly foolish, he couldn't possibly afford to offend two major warlords at this critical juncture.

After all, you have a legitimate reason to attack Yuan Shu, who declared himself emperor.

They could even issue proclamations to send orders throughout the land.

We invite all the feudal lords of the land to join us in this struggle.

However, Yuan Shao did not declare himself emperor.

The feudal lords of the land would not join Cao Cao in attacking Yuan Shao.

Cao Cao alone.

How can we offend two powerful warlords at the same time at this critical juncture?

If things go wrong, Yuan Shu might not even be dealt with yet.

It's still possible to get yourself involved.

"Hehe, Zizhong, you only see the discord between the two Yuan brothers. Cao Cao would not offend both Yuan brothers at the same time."

"But what he didn't see was that there were some things that Cao Cao couldn't simply avoid offending if he wanted to."

"Yanzhou borders Jizhou."

"If Cao Cao launches a major attack on Yuan Shu, Yan Province will inevitably be left vulnerable."

Do you think Cao Cao might worry that Yuan Shao is taking advantage of this opportunity to make a move?

Zhou Heng said calmly.

"There will definitely be concerns."

"However, it's unlikely that we would launch a surprise attack on Cao Cao's Yan Province while he is attacking Yuan Shu."

"After all, most of Yuan Shao's troops are currently in Youzhou, so attacking Cao Cao at this time would not benefit him at all."

"It could also delay his process of dealing with Gongsun Zan."

"Even if Yuan Shao is incredibly stupid, he wouldn't start a war with Cao Cao at this time!"

"And if he does that..."

"Won't this make the other warlords think that Yuan Shao wants to save Yuan Shu?"

"Once we get involved with Yuan Shu, that will be a problem."

"That would be a very bad thing for him."

"Even if Yuan Shao is stupid, he shouldn't be unaware of this principle."

Mi Zhu shook his head.

After all, according to normal human thinking, both Yuan Shao and Cao Cao...

At this point, both sides harbored deep fear of each other.

I haven't even finished dealing with my own affairs.

Where do I find the time to deal with other people's affairs?

At this point, it would be of no benefit to either side if the two sides confronted each other.

He couldn't think of any reason why the two of them could be in agreement.

Even if there is indeed this concern, the two sides will at most just stand by each other.

"Neither they themselves nor their subordinates could allow such a thing to happen."

Others also shook their heads.

It is clearly considered impossible.

"Yes, at most there's just some apprehension and a standoff between the two sides."

"But I don't need them to take the initiative; I just need them to be wary."

"Besides, you can create opportunities even if you don't have them. After all, opportunities are for those who are prepared."

Zhou Heng said calmly.

"Creating opportunities, is that what you intend, my lord?"

Zhang Liao's eyes lit up, as if he had thought of something.

"That's right, they don't want a conflict to break out for now, but we can help them break one out!"

"After all, whether it's taking over Jianghuai in the future, or the Zhen family now."

"If we want to succeed, we must have a prerequisite."

"That would be a clash between Yuan Shao and Cao Cao."

"Since they are unwilling to confront us, why can't we lend them a hand?"

Zhou Heng smiled.

At this point, Zhou Heng paused suddenly and then continued.

"I've heard that Yuan Shao values ​​his son the most. What if his son suddenly dies at Cao Cao's hands?"

"Can Yuan Shao still sit still?"

This statement came out.

The people around were immediately shocked.

"Does our lord intend to take this opportunity to eliminate Yuan Shao's son and then frame Cao Cao?"

"In this way, even if the two sides are unwilling, they will have no choice but to confront each other."

Everyone's eyes lit up as they spoke.

However, some doubts arose afterward.

"Yuan Shao did value his son, but at this time he was about to have a decisive battle with Gongsun Zan."

Even if Yuan Shao is furious, he will probably suppress his anger for the sake of the overall situation.

Zhou Heng shook his head: "You underestimate how much Yuan Shao values ​​his son. You could say that if something were to happen to Yuan Shao's son, not only would the decisive battle with Gongsun Zan be postponed, but everything else could be put on hold."

Zhou Heng thought of the original work.

Yuan Shao actually let go of such a major event as the surprise attack on Xuchang because his youngest son was seriously ill.

Enraged, Xu You began to curse loudly.

Finally, he surrendered to Cao Cao.

This led to the disastrous defeat at the Battle of Guandu.