Chapter 319 Zhou Yu's Strategy
Cao Cao and others were not surprised to hear Yuan Shao's request.
There was some truth in Yuan Shao's words, but they did not believe it because it was more about the pros and cons.
In order to fight against Tian Ze, they must unite all the forces they can, including Yuan Shu.
But it was not Yuan Shu, the monarch.
Yuan Shu was not a qualified lord, but his temperament and talent were indeed unique. Otherwise, it would have been impossible to build such a great foundation relying solely on the foundation of the Yuan family.
To Cao Cao and others, Yuan Shu was worthless and the only option was to kill him.
But this was not the case for Yuan Shao.
As long as this battle goes smoothly and Yuan Shu's arrogance is completely shattered, Yuan Shao will have a certain degree of confidence that he can control Yuan Shu.
After all, the two sides are of the same clan and are brothers. Even if they can't stand each other, they will still leave some room for each other.
There are countless heroes in the world, and many civil officials and military generals have very strong talents, but the talents of the various princes are the best among them.
Tian Ze's talent makes him almost immune to the risk of surprise attacks, giving him an absolute advantage in strategy and intelligence. It is also of great benefit to the production and security under his rule, and is also very effective in combat.
Yuan Shao's talent meant that he didn't have to worry about the drawbacks of having too many and too mixed soldiers. As long as he had enough resources and manpower, he could completely sweep the country. He could also unleash terrifying power in times of adversity, which was truly terrifying.
Cao Cao's talent enabled him to firmly seize the initiative in battles. When the forces of both sides were equal, he was almost invincible. He was even able to defeat the strong with the weak and find opportunities for survival in desperate situations.
Liu Bei's talent enabled him to fight again and again despite repeated defeats. He had numerous veteran soldiers under his command who refused to disperse even after defeat. The people and his civil and military officials were all on his side, and unless he died, he would soon make a comeback.
Sun Ce's talent is to use force to overcome cleverness and ignore everything, which is quite similar to the style of the former overlord Xiang Yu.
Although Yuan Shu's talent is slightly inferior to these five, he is still among the best among the heroes in the world.
The more chaotic the environment, the stronger Yuan Shu would be, especially at the beginning of troubled times. Yuan Shu's power was so strong that he was the leader in the world, but his successors were a little weak.
And the most rare thing is that his talents are a perfect match with Yuan Shao's.
Yuan Shu is responsible for the explosion of troops, Yuan Shao is responsible for crushing, this pair of combinations...
If it were the beginning of a troubled time, Cao Cao and others would never agree to Yuan Shao's request, because that would be tantamount to asking for trouble.
The two Yuans don't get along, but to some extent they have a very good understanding of each other. Coupled with their talents, their threat is not much less than Tian Ze's.
But the current situation does not allow Yuan Shu much room to maneuver, so it seems that it is not a bad idea to agree to this matter.
Seeing everyone pondering, Yuan Shao continued to raise the stakes without hesitation: "I am willing to give up the land of Jiujiang, how about it?"
When Cao Cao and the other two heard what Yuan Shao said and saw the determination in Yuan Shao's eyes, they thought for a moment and had no choice but to agree.
They knew clearly that the so-called Jiujiang area was actually not much territory occupied by Yuan Shao when it was divided among the four princes, and it actually meant little to them.
But Yuan Shao has retreated again and again. If they don’t agree, the land-chasing alliance will probably be in trouble.
Yuan Shu was not alone, he also brought Ji Ling and a large group of bandits loyal to him. As long as they gave in, Yuan Shao would surely make a fortune.
Cao Cao felt a little depressed and looked at Liu Bei helplessly.
Yuan Benchu is still Yuan Benchu!
It's really difficult.
Yuan Shao had grasped their minds and knew that once the arrow was shot, there was no turning back. If he proposed this matter at this time, there would be absolutely no way they would refuse.
If Yuan Shao had mentioned this matter before sending troops, although they would have agreed, I am afraid that Xia Pi would have had nothing to do with Yuan Shao.
At the beginning of the alliance, they had to suffer a loss. On the other hand, Sun Ce was stupid and had no feelings, and did not notice Yuan Shao's little thoughts at all.
Although Yuan Shu didn't treat him well, he had taken him in after all. Sun Ce still had some feelings for his old boss and didn't want to kill him.
In his opinion, since Yuan Shao was willing to keep Yuan Shu, it might not be a bad thing.
If Zhou Yu hadn't been stepping on his feet, he would have agreed long ago.
"Thank you all!"
Seeing that all three parties had tacitly agreed to this matter, Yuan Shao expressed his gratitude.
"Benchu, now that this matter has been decided, we should discuss how to take Shouchun City next." Cao Cao said in a deep voice.
Although he felt a little uncomfortable, since he had accepted the matter, Cao Cao no longer worried about it.
"This is easy. We each stand on one side of the city wall and then we can just attack the city directly, right?" Sun Ce said carelessly.
Yuan Shao, Cao Cao and Liu Bei had no reaction when they heard this and ignored Sun Ce's intention at all.
This guy is just a reckless man, but he is really reckless enough.
You can listen to Sun Ce's advice on the battlefield, but in this situation, you can completely ignore Sun Ce's words.
The three of them calmly looked at Zhou Yu beside Sun Ce.
"Cough cough!"
Zhou Yu coughed lightly.
"Envoy Yuan, Envoy Cao, Envoy Liu, Shouchun City has strong walls and high defenses. Yuan Gonglu has stationed more than 100,000 soldiers in the city and has stored a lot of food and fodder. It may not be that easy to capture it."
"I think we should attack one side, feint two sides, and leave one side empty. This will also break the resistance of the defenders in the city and prevent them from fighting desperately."
Upon hearing this, Yuan Shao and the other three nodded.
Sure enough, Sun Ce's brain was completely given to Zhou Yu. In this situation, it would be better to discuss with Zhou Yu.
Seeing this, Zhou Yu said again: "We all have our own strengths."
"Envoy Yuan has a large number of troops and abundant military equipment, Envoy Cao has elite soldiers and generals who are good at surprise attacks, Envoy Liu has tenacious soldiers and good coordination, and our Jiangdong soldiers are good at bows and crossbows."
"In Yu's opinion, since we are an alliance, we might as well cooperate with each other and show our strengths. This will also reduce a lot of losses and help us capture Shouchun City as soon as possible."
Although there was no war in other places at this time, Tian Ze was busy cleaning up Sili and had no time to spare.
However, the reforms of Yuan Shao and others had already begun. If the war ended one day earlier, they would be able to speed up the reforms and would have more confidence in the future conquest of Tianze.
Therefore they are also very anxious.
"What Gongjin said is very true. He truly deserves to be called one of the two heroes of Jiangdong together with Bofu." Cao Cao looked at Zhou Yu with admiration.
He and Zhou Yi were old friends, and in the past they were superiors and subordinates. Now that his friend has passed away, he was really moved that his friend's son had grown to this point.
Thinking about his eldest son Cao Ang, although he was outstanding, he still seemed a little inferior to the two in front of him. Cao Cao couldn't help but sigh in his heart.
If I had a son, I would hope he would be like Sun Bofu and Zhou Gongjin!
(End of this chapter)
