dognovel Chapter 227 The Demise of Da Zhong! Sun Ce Wants to Cross the River to Attack Cao Cao?
Chapter 227 The Demise of Da Zhong! Sun Ce Wants to Cross the River to Attack Cao Cao?
"Yuan Shu is dead...?"
“In the past, Cao said that he was a skeleton in a tomb, which was unfair.”
A hint of melancholy appeared in Cao Cao's eyes.
Although, from childhood to adulthood, his relationship with Yuan Shu was never harmonious because of Yuan Shao.
But Yuan Shu, Yuan Shao, and Cao Cao truly fought each other from childhood to adulthood.
Upon learning of the death of his arch-enemy Yuan Shu, Cao Cao couldn't help but feel a sense of melancholy, a feeling of "old friends passing away one after another."
But before Cao Cao could finish reminiscing about Yuan Shu, Su Yu interrupted:
"My lord, this is nothing at all!"
"Since you've embarked on this path, there are only two choices: success or failure."
"If you can't bear to part with Yuan Shu, you might as well send Yuan Shao down to keep him company as soon as possible."
These words instantly dispelled the somber atmosphere.
Cao Cao's eyes once again filled with determination.
Once you embark on the path of vying for supremacy, there is no turning back.
As the saying goes:
The highway is lonely, so let's hurry up and keep it company!
However, defeating Yuan Shao is much more difficult than defeating Yuan Shu.
With Yuan Shao and Ju Shou, the head of a powerful clan and a genius, if internal conflicts didn't erupt, it would be almost impossible for Cao Cao to win!
Moreover, Yuan Shao's diplomatic strategy was quite good.
Liu Biao, Sun Ce, Ma Teng, Han Sui, and others would have preferred to befriend Yuan Shao rather than Cao Cao.
It's unlikely that we'll ever encounter another opponent like Yuan Shu who "self-destructs" again in the future.
……
When news of Yuan Shu's death reached the main city of Runan, the remaining garrison instantly lost all will to resist.
Under Le Jiu's leadership, most of the Runan garrison, except for a few die-hards, chose to surrender.
However, Cao Cao and Su Yu truly looked down on these surrendered soldiers from Yuan Shao's camp.
There was absolutely no military discipline or regulations.
If Yuan Shu hadn't been wealthy and equipped himself well, these soldiers would probably have been no different from mountain bandits and outlaws.
Moreover, at least half of them were originally bandits or outlaws.
With more than half of the troops being bad apples, you can imagine how incompetent this army was.
Nearly 90% of the surrendered soldiers did not meet Cao Cao's recruitment requirements and could only be converted into garrison soldiers or become farmers and craftsmen.
Upon learning from Yue Jiu that Yuan Yin and Yuan Yao had left Runan through an underground tunnel the previous night and fled to Huainan, Cao Cao and Su Yu immediately launched a new round of emergency discussions.
"My lord, Yuan Yin and Yuan Yao are not a threat."
"But Ji Ling and Yang Hong still have 200,000 troops under their command."
"If we allow these troops to be led to Huainan, they may not amount to much, but they will certainly hinder our army from conquering Huainan."
Cao Cao nodded and said:
"exactly."
"Yuan Yao's abilities are not even half as good as Yuan Shu's."
"Cao is worried that these troops will be swallowed up by Sun Ce!"
"Even if Sun Ce also looks down on these Yuan soldiers, gaining 200,000 people for no reason will surely become a great threat in the future!"
Cao Cao saw through it all.
With three thousand of Sun Jian's former troops, Sun Ce swept through the warlords of Jiangdong, defeating Liu Yao and Yan Baihu in just a few months.
Although Wang Lang was still resisting Sun Ce, it was ultimately just a desperate last stand.
Without Yuan Shu, Yuan Shu's forces are nothing but experience points. Cao Cao will come to steal those experience points, and Sun Ce will do the same.
The most important task at present is to intercept Ji Ling and Yang Hong's army of 200,000.
Su Yu suddenly laughed:
"My lord, of the 200,000 troops, as many as 150,000 are local residents of Runan."
"We only need to spread the news that Runan has been captured, that our lord treats the people of Runan well, and that anyone who surrenders voluntarily can reunite with their family. Ji Ling's 200,000-strong army will surely collapse without a fight!"
Cao Cao's eyes suddenly lit up.
The people of Runan were the families of the soldiers under Ji Ling's command.
Surrender to Cao Cao and you can reunite with your family.
This temptation is even more irresistible than real gold and silver!
after all.
The proportion of ruthless people who can abandon their wives, children, and parents is still relatively small.
Without hesitation, Cao Cao immediately dispatched intelligence agents to spread the news.
At the same time, he ordered all units of Cao's army to prepare to intercept Ji Ling and Yang Hong!
……
chaisang
Sun Ce and Zhou Yu stood side by side.
Ten days ago, Wang Lang's forces were destroyed by Sun Ce, who became the true ruler of Jiangdong.
Although he failed to capture Wang Lang, Sun Ce no longer cared whether Wang Lang lived or died.
Even if he loses his territory, how can Wang Lang possibly turn the tables?
now.
Sun Ce and Zhou Yu gazed at the Yangtze River not far away, remaining silent for a long time.
The atmosphere was quite oppressive.
After a long silence, Sun Ce could no longer hold back and asked Zhou Yu:
"Gongjin, you've been telling me to hold back. Am I just supposed to stand by and watch Cao Cao and Yuan Shu fight without doing anything?"
Zhou Yu laughed:
“Bo Fu, I can tell you definitively.”
"The outcome of this war will definitely be a crushing defeat for Yuan Shu and a great victory for Cao Cao!"
"But have you ever considered how the world order will change after this war?"
Sun Ce pondered:
"Cao Cao's power will become stronger, Yuan Shu will be defeated and eventually destroyed."
Zhou Yu nodded, but then sighed:
"This is just the most basic change."
"The deeper change is that Cao Cao will be in direct opposition to Yuan Shao!"
"For Yuan Shao, Cao Cao was originally a pawn to limit Yuan Shu's development."
"But what decision will Yuan Shao make if one day he suddenly discovers that this pawn no longer obeys his commands and even swallows up his former enemies?"
Sun Ce asked in confusion:
"Cross the Yellow River and fight Cao Cao to the death?"
Instead of answering Sun Ce directly, Zhou Yu ordered someone to bring a map of the Han Dynasty and pointed to Youzhou on the map.
"Yuan Shao could not have sent troops south before Gongsun Zan was eliminated."
"Cao Cao will gain huge benefits from Yuan Shu's downfall, but Yuan Shao will also gain a boost in prestige!"
"The only person left who possesses the most prestigious reputation among all the powerful families in the land is Yuan Shao."
"Next, because of Gongsun Zan, he was unable to directly fight Cao Cao."
"Therefore, restricting Cao Cao's development became a necessary step for him!"
"Just like back then, we supported Cao Cao to deal with Yuan Shu."
"Yuan Shao now also needs a new force to counterbalance Cao Cao!"
"Looking around, Liu Biao has troops but lacks drive; the Jingzhou troops are no match for Cao Cao's army."
"Ma Teng, Han Sui, and others were constantly engaged in internal strife; it was rare for them not to cause internal strife."
"They can only serve as assistants, but cannot become the main force to counterbalance Cao Cao."
Sun Ce couldn't help but ask:
"So, who will Yuan Shao support?"
Zhou Yu stared intently at Sun Ce and smiled:
"Of course it's you, Bo Fu."
"Your reputation for bravery and skill in battle must have already reached Yuan Shao's ears."
"In my opinion, you can personally lead the troops to attack Guangling in a few days!"
"If we successfully capture Xuzhou, we can form a pincer movement against Cao Cao."
Even if we can't win, we've still submitted our pledge of allegiance to Yuan Shao.
"Before Cao Cao defeated Yuan Shao, he would never have dared to launch a preemptive attack on Jiangdong."
"Bo Fu, you are actually invincible!"
Zhou Yu's words filled Sun Ce with boundless pride.
He got it!
Right now, he's a complete scoundrel!
He could cross the river to harass Cao Cao, but Cao Cao could not ignore Yuan Shao and lead his troops to attack Jiangdong.
Tell me, Cao Cao, aren't you angry?
What Sun Ce didn't know was...
Cao Cao was indeed unable to invade Jiangdong for the time being.
But besides war, there are many other ways to physically eliminate Sun Ce forever!
……