Chapter 377 Great Opportunity

All the counselors had followed Yuan Shao for quite some time. When they saw Yuan Shao's expression, they understood that he had made up his mind.

Because the timing of this military dispatch is good from all aspects!

But no one took the lead in expressing their views because the risks involved were very high.

Xun Chen said, "Master Xianyi's proposal does sound good. If we can take advantage of this opportunity to defeat Yuan Shu, it will weaken his strength."

"But the premise is that the information provided by Master Xianyi is true, and if Jizhou sends troops now, it will still be in time to catch up."

"If we send troops there now, the war will be over, or if Master Xianyi has received false intelligence and the enemy's goal is not Huaicheng, but the soldiers from Jizhou who are going to reinforce us, and they are setting a trap, then we will be in trouble."

When Xun Chen said this, everyone was puzzled. Although his words seemed flawless, the underlying intention was to oppose sending troops!

After hearing this, Yuan Shao said, "Then according to You Ruo's opinion, shouldn't we send troops to Henei?"

Xun Chen hesitated for a moment, "It's not that we shouldn't do that, but right now most of Jizhou's troops have been taken away by Master Xianfu, and the rest are still besieging and attacking Dongwuyang."

"If we mobilize more troops at this time, the defense of Yecheng will be weakened. If some of the real forces take advantage of the opportunity to cause chaos, I am afraid that the crisis of the Yecheng chaos a few years ago will repeat itself."

Mentioning the chaos in Yecheng, everyone had a look of fear on their faces. The most taboo in frontal combat is the base camp being raided. If all the troops in Yecheng were deployed, the defense would inevitably be weak and would indeed leave a big loophole.

If it were any other time, troops could be transferred from other places, but Yuan Xi's letter came urgently, and most of Yuan Shao's allies or Yuan's forces were too far away.

For example, Yuan Tan in Qingzhou, Liu Bei in Xuzhou, and Liu Biao in Jingzhou, even if they are willing to send troops, it will take at least half a month to notify them immediately, which is definitely too late.

By this calculation, only by sending troops from Yecheng, or directly withdrawing a part of the army attacking Heishan, can we get to Huaicheng in time.

Since people needed to be retained in Yecheng, the fastest way was naturally to send troops from Yuan Shang's attack on the Black Mountain Army to Huaicheng.

This brings us to the question: Is this the result that Yuan's enemies want to see?

Because this would weaken Yuan Shang's forces, giving the Black Mountain Army a chance to catch their breath. If they could take advantage of the opportunity to counterattack and defeat Yuan Shang...

All the counselors had thought of this possibility and were silent and thoughtful. None of them could guarantee that this worst-case scenario would not happen.

The atmosphere fell into silence for a moment, and a thought arose in everyone's mind.

It would be better if we didn't fight Zang Hong!

Originally, after the Battle of Yijing, Jizhou was going to rest for a while, but the situation in the world changed suddenly, and the princes were all ready to make a move around the emperor's convoy.

Unfortunately, Zang Hong rebelled at an inopportune time, which made Yuan Shao furious. He ordered Yuan Shang to lead troops to attack and requisitioned a considerable portion of Jizhou's troops.

Moreover, compared with Cao Cao who faced similar problems, he gave up attacking Chenliu without hesitation, leaving only a small number of troops to hold the line, and all the main forces rushed to Hedong.

As for Yuan Shao, who was very concerned about his reputation, he would never let Zang Hong, who betrayed him, go. From this point of view alone, he was not as decisive as Cao Cao.

Zang Hong's betrayal was also different from Lu Bu's. Lu Bu had undermined the military discipline of Jizhou that day, and Yuan Shao used this as an excuse to take action, but Lu Bu himself had no intention of betraying Yuan Shao at that time.

Therefore, Yuan Shao was not so resistant to Yuan Xi and Lu Bu joining forces.

Tian Feng saw that Yuan Shao was struggling, and said, "I have a plan."

"Why not send a letter to Liu Bei in Xuzhou, promise him benefits, and order him to help besiege and attack Zang Hong."

"I heard that Liu Bei has been expanding very fast recently. This move can also weaken his strength a little."

"Then call back the soldiers besieging Dongwuyang, and send some to Heishan to reinforce Master Xianfu."

"At the same time, mobilize General Zhang He's troops to head directly south to Hanoi for reinforcement."

"This way, we can solve the problem of troop mobilization."

After hearing this, Shen Pei exclaimed, "Yuan Hao's plan is brilliant!"

"If Liu Bei can capture Dongwuyang, we might as well take advantage of the situation and give this city to him so that he can send a general to garrison there."

"Liu Bei and Cao Cao don't get along well. If he were in Dongwuyang, he could help us stop Cao Cao's moves!"

"This way he will not be able to expand and will be quiet for a few years."

After hearing this, everyone felt that Tian Feng's plan was indeed feasible.

If there were advisers who previously said that Cao Cao had no ulterior motives, Cao Cao's actions now have made it impossible for anyone to defend him.

From secretly crossing the Yellow River during the Battle of Yijing, to secretly expanding into Yuzhou and Sili without Yuan Shao's permission, to now welcoming the emperor, all of these show that he has the intention to break away from the Yuan family!

Especially the matter of welcoming the emperor, Yuan Shao and his advisers have realized that what Jizhou does not want to do, others may not want to do. At least at the moment, there are still many benefits to welcoming the emperor!

In particular, many officials appointed by Emperor Liu Xie conflicted with the appointments of officials by various princes, which often turned into opportunities for mutual attacks, causing headaches for the various princes.

It is meaningless to discuss whether to welcome the emperor now. Yuan Shao's advisers are not stupid. They understand that although welcoming the emperor is a waste of time for them, it will be a big trouble if Cao Cao succeeds!

Another reason is that Yuan Xi was willing to take the risk himself to do such a thing, which in itself speaks volumes about his attitude and prediction.

Yuan Xi's influence within the Yuan family over the past few years has been far greater than he imagined, because the decisions he participated in have ultimately proven that Yuan Xi's ideas were correct.

In addition, Yuan Xi had been writing letters to Yuan Shao constantly over the past two years, trying to influence Yuan Shao's thinking indirectly, and finally made Yuan Shao understand that the matter of welcoming the emperor in Hanoi was extremely critical.

The last and most important reason is that the location of Henei County is extremely critical, which involves Yuan's route to unify the world.

The struggle for supremacy among the princes of the world today is actually mainly between the two Yuans. If Yuan Shao wants to defeat Yuan Shu, he has to find the best route to cross the Yellow River and go south.

Henei County is located on the north bank of the Yellow River, with several ferry crossings heading south. If Henei is controlled, it will be difficult to go north from the south bank of the Yellow River. On the other hand, Yuan Shao can cross the river to the south at any time.

The next suitable crossing point is only a few hundred miles east of Henei. From Yecheng, go south to Liyang, cross the river to Bai Ma on the south bank of the Yellow River, go south for more than a hundred miles to Wuchao, then to Guandu, and then go south to Xudu. Only then can you enter Yuzhou from Yanzhou and attack Yuan Shu's base camp.

Now that this passage is controlled by Cao Cao, it is not easy for Yecheng to send troops.

Then the next suitable place to go south would have to be Xuzhou, because it was blocked by the big river and swamps, and it was not easy to mobilize troops.

And if Yuan Shao controlled Henei County now, he could go south into Sili, open up the road to Jingzhou, and then enter the western part of Yuzhou. This route is the safest and most feasible route to the south.

So when Yuan Xi and Lu Bu joined forces, Yuan Shao was not angry. Instead, he found an opportunity to attack Yuan Shu.

Although Yuan Shao sometimes cares about his reputation, he is not the kind of person who would throw his interests behind for that. Yuan Xi has now shown him a new possibility. Although it is risky, it is worth a try!

When Yuan Shao finished expressing his ideas, all the counselors and subordinates present agreed with him, and they could not think of any reason to object.

Shen Pei smiled and said, "I don't know if it's a coincidence or not, but of the three routes we have to attack Yuan Gong Road, except for the Guandu route which is in the hands of Cao Mengde, the other two are in the hands of Master Xian Yi."

After hearing this, everyone came to their senses and thought to themselves, this is indeed the case!

Not to mention Huaicheng occupied by Yuan Xi and Guandu occupied by Cao Cao, the route to Xuzhou is from Guangling to Yangzhou, or from Xia Pi to Jiujiang County, which is jointly controlled by Yuan Xi and Liu Bei.

Everyone pondered, was this a coincidence, or was it premeditated?

If it is the latter, Master Xian Yi, or the counselor behind him, is too scary!

This is because the closer you are to Yuan Shu, the more benefits you will get after defeating Yuan Shu in the future.

Several counselors couldn't help but have this thought in their minds: it would be great if Yuan Xi was the eldest son!

Seeing that no one had any objection, Yuan Shao thought to himself that this was really rare. Usually, each side would argue over the same issue with their own opinions, so why was it going so smoothly this time?

He suddenly realized that only three of the eight counselors had come, and the remaining officials were not qualified to interrupt and speak.

With fewer people, there are naturally fewer disputes. Even if there are different opinions, it is easy to see the position clearly, and after a few discussions, it will become clear.

Yuan Shao was a little depressed. With fewer people involved, the work could be done more efficiently than with more people. So what was the point of finding so many counselors?

After the plan was decided, Yuan Shao ordered someone to send a letter to Liu Bei and Yuan Shang, and everyone dispersed.

Xun Chen followed him out, walked alone on the road, looked up at the sky and sighed.

As Cao Cao's ambition gradually became apparent, he, as the strategist, became less and less popular within the Yuan family. Therefore, he was always cautious in his words and actions. Just like what happened today, he said less out of concern.

Because Xun You and Xun Yu, both members of the Xun family, were highly valued by Cao Cao, Xun Chen was also suspected.

Of course, there were also people with ill intentions who were eyeing his position as the leader, but Xun Chen was unable to prove himself on this matter.

He was in a very awkward situation now. He had his own problems and had secretly defected to Yuan Tan, but there was no wall that was impenetrable. He was afraid that Yuan Shao had already known about this, so he suspected that Xun Chen was being indecisive and naturally had less trust in him.

Therefore, Xun Chen could see the end of his own future at a glance. As a strategist who was not valued, even if the Yuan family achieved great things in the future, he could only hold an idle position.

This is already the best case scenario. I can't just surrender to Cao Cao. Even if he can defeat Yuan in the end, can my position surpass Xun Yu and Xun You?

Xun Chen felt a little disappointed. Although he had no worries about food and clothing following the Yuan family, as a counselor, who wouldn't want his strategies to be adopted by his lord and to change the world situation with his own efforts?

Thinking of this, he was extremely puzzled that Yuan Xi did not show any intention of recruiting him that day.

I heard that Guo Jia, whom he later took care of, did not have a very good family background. Why was he favored by him?

Xun Chen guessed correctly. In Yuan Xi's little notebook, his name was not at the top.

The person at the front of the line said helplessly to Yuan Xi who was refusing to leave: "Your Excellency has been visiting for several consecutive days, and Shun also knows your intention."

"I have no intention of changing my allegiance, so please go back."

Yuan Xi smiled and said, "Brother Gao, nothing in this world is absolute."