Chapter 135: The Strategy in the Tent
"But I don't want to fight. Can Tian Chengshou just retreat like this?" Yuan Shao said with a wry smile.
He directed the situation himself, but he never expected that he would end up hurting himself.
If he had known this, he would not have chosen Jizhou. Or he would have taken advantage of the fact that the princes' campaign against Dong had not yet disbanded and marched north directly.
Now all the princes are busy developing, and it is basically impossible for him to reorganize them in a short period of time.
"If the lord and Tian Chengshou were in the same situation, what would they do?" Ju Su asked, changing his mind.
He had already seen through Yuan Shao's plan, and even thought about it more comprehensively and deeply than Yuan Shao.
"Development, I will buy time and do my best to develop it." Yuan Shao was stunned when he heard this, then he reacted, a gleam in his eyes, and said decisively.
He had thought this way before, because he needed time to digest the entire Jizhou and sort out the noble families and powerful people under his rule. Tian Ze must have thought the same way.
Although the other party does not need to deal with the powerful families under its rule, it still takes time to train officials, appease refugees, and sort out the local affairs.
An appropriate war might be able to be sustained, but the other side may not be able to afford such a large-scale military stalemate.
"So, Tian Chengshou doesn't want to fight unless he is sure that he can completely defeat the lord, kill the lord or take over Jizhou." Ju Su said.
"Neither of these is possible," Yuan Shao said decisively.
With Yan Liang and Wen Chou around, he would never die. And Tian Ze's desire to take over Jizhou was just a pipe dream.
Even if he was defeated, as long as Tian Ze dared to go south, Yuan Shao guaranteed that those aristocratic families would definitely be able to quickly raise an army of more than 200,000 for him.
Moreover, if Tian Ze wants to pacify the occupied areas, he must deploy a large number of troops and spend a lot of time.
Conquering Jizhou and occupying Jizhou are not the same concept. The former may be possible with tens of thousands of elite troops, but the latter may not be easy even with hundreds of thousands of elite troops.
Jizhou is not Youzhou. The local aristocratic families are extremely powerful and have long been fully integrated into the local area. Almost everyone cannot escape their influence.
Massacre will only provoke greater resistance. Unless all the local people are killed, the powerful families will surely rise again.
Sun Ce in history is a typical example. At the beginning, he resolutely slaughtered all the powerful families, but what was the result? The powerful families could not be killed completely. Even in places like Youzhou, Liangzhou, and Bingzhou, it was not so easy to eradicate the powerful families.
Yuan Shao was sure that there must be a large number of powerful families hiding in Youzhou, ready to take a heavy bite when Tian Ze was defeated and rise again.
Tian Ze at this time was just like Yuan Shao who competed with Gongsun Zan in the original historical trajectory.
It is not difficult to win, but starting a war is not worth the cost.
After Ju Su's enlightenment, Yuan Shao suddenly felt enlightened.
Not only did he not want to fight, Tian Ze also did not want to fight this battle.
"Moreover, I suspect Tian Chengshou will make big moves internally next. He must want a relatively stable external environment." Ju Shou said in a deep voice.
After noticing the changes in Youzhou, he realized that Tian Ze was definitely not a simple person, so he investigated everything about Tian Ze, including some of his past actions in Liaodong.
I also gradually figured out what kind of person this is.
He was shocked by Tian Ze's courage, far-sightedness, steady actions and strong will.
Simply calling him Wang Mang is not enough to describe him. He was a person who wanted to change the world.
After learning all this, Ju Su felt a deep sense of awe and even had the desire to join the army.
But it was a pity that he came from a prominent family in Jizhou and was not alone. He had no control over many things, so he quickly nipped this trend in the bud.
"Since neither of us wants to fight this battle, how should it end?" Yuan Shao asked.
Ju Su's words gave him a lot of confidence, but he was still a little worried. "I am willing to be a lobbyist and persuade both sides to stop fighting." Ju Su bowed and said.
Yuan Shao nodded. He believed in Ju Su's ability and was also certain about Tian Ze's character. He knew that he would not detain an envoy.
"In this way, the current crisis can be resolved. But what should I do in the future?" Yuan Shao couldn't help but ask again.
Ju Su looked at Yuan Shao with a sharp gaze: "My lord, are you willing to endure the pain for a while?"
"As long as it can solve this situation, there is nothing I can't give up." Yuan Shao said with a smile.
He is Yuan Benchu, the Yuan Benchu who was able to manipulate the world situation when he was weak!
Even if he failed, what would happen? The world was so big, there was no place where he could not make a comeback.
When people have a lot, they tend to worry about gains and losses. When they have nothing, they can be fearless and move forward courageously.
After all his arrogance and complacency were dispelled by Ju Su's intelligence, Yuan Shao was at his strongest state at this time, possessing the purest motivation and the most tenacious fighting spirit, and was not afraid of failure or strong enemies at all.
"Tian Ze is now in a dominant position, just like the powerful Qin during the Warring States Period. Only by uniting with other princes can we break this situation." Ju Su said in a deep voice.
"Youzhou is located in the north, with only Bingzhou and Jizhou bordering it. However, Bingzhou is in chaos, and it is difficult for the Southern Xiongnu and the Baibo bandits to defend it, let alone attack Youzhou."
"It is basically only a matter of time before Daxianbei Mountain is taken by Tian Chengshou. We are currently unable to stop it. I am afraid that Xianbei will not be able to contain too many of Tian Chengshou's troops in the future."
"Tian Ze faces little pressure from external enemies, so he can develop with peace of mind. This is his advantage, but also his disadvantage. Because he has very few directions to develop."
Having said that, Ju Shou went to the map beside him and pointed to the area of Hebei.
"If Tianze was not too powerful, you should have annexed Qingzhou to the east and Bingzhou to the west, then go north to eliminate Tianze and pacify the Hulu. Sweep north of the Yellow River, merge the four states, recruit heroes and talents, and have a million men and horses, then you can accomplish your great cause."
"And now, Qingzhou has become an empty state. The land is fertile, and there are no strong enemies around. My lord, you can easily take it and recruit refugees from the Central Plains to settle there to expand your power."
"But you may take a portion of Bingzhou to recruit soldiers and horses, but you may not take all of it."
"Why?" Yuan Shao couldn't help but ask.
"Because the situation in Bingzhou is too complicated, it is not easy to occupy it. I am afraid that Tian Chengshou will not sit idly by and watch us take it. He will definitely fight for it and it is easy for us to become his dowry."
"Besides, it is too difficult to resist Tian Ze with our strength alone. It is better to bring in external aid to share the pressure and seal Tian Chengshou in Youzhou, so that he cannot expand outward."
Just like Sun Quan facing Cao Cao after the Battle of Chibi, Yuan Shao would find it difficult to resist Tian Ze even if he had taken over all of Bingzhou. He could only introduce external forces to resist together.
"With this, we can free up some energy and focus our development goals on the Central Plains." Ju Shou looked towards Yanzhou and Xuzhou.
"Yanzhou Governor Liu Dai is incompetent and Xuzhou Governor Tao Qian is old and incompetent. If there is no external obstruction, it will not be difficult to take over these two states."
"By then, Tian Ze will stop in Youzhou, but we can grow rapidly in the Central Plains, gather the strength of Ji, Qing, Yan and Xu states, and establish our rule in the north." Ju Su said in a resounding voice.
Although Ju Su's intelligence only covered the situation in Youzhou among the nine states under Tian Ze's command, it was quite detailed. He felt the power of Tian Ze's rule from all aspects.
The large number of militiamen, checkpoints, money and food are enough to show that Tian Ze is not a warmongering warlord like Dong Zhuo and Gongsun Zan, but a real prince with a ruling foundation and development concept.
Being able to fight is not scary, and being able to manage is not scary either, but being able to fight and being able to manage is really scary.
Especially with Liaodong being a stronghold that had been operating for nearly ten years, it would take more than three to five years to take over Tianze. If Yuan Shao continued to fight with Tianze, his hope of unifying the world would be slim.
Therefore, Ju Su proposed the idea of taking control of the Central Plains ahead of time.
When Yuan Shao heard this, he was immediately delighted.
"Who do you think is suitable to be brought into Bingzhou?" Yuan Shao asked.
"The most suitable candidate is Cao Cao!" Ju Su said without hesitation.
(End of this chapter)
