sovbooks Chapter 102 Waiting for the Right Opportunity
Chapter 102 Waiting for the Right Opportunity
Even Li Zhao became interested upon hearing Xu Shu's explanation.
He gestured for the others to sit on the map like him, and to speak freely about their thoughts without any reservations.
"My lord, please look!" Xu Shu sat down cross-legged and pointed to the location of the white horse.
"Now that this place has been breached, the left flank army led by Zhang He, which, according to intelligence, numbers around 20,000 to 30,000, is all here."
"These 20,000 to 30,000 people in Baima won't be making any moves in the short term."
"Because they can't determine their next move. Even if they were to attack Yanzhou, they would need to make corresponding plans, which takes time!"
"If I'm not mistaken, this is exactly the time Cao Cao wants!"
talking.
He cleared his throat and turned his gaze to Guandu and Yanjin, "If anything goes wrong in these two positions during this period!"
"The White Horse Army will be mobilized quickly, and its strength will be greatly weakened."
"And this back-and-forth movement also requires a lot of energy and time."
"On the surface, Yuan's army has the advantage in all three points, but they are also in great danger. If their plans are disrupted, they could be wiped out."
He hadn't thought about this before, partly because he hadn't considered Cao Cao's determination.
Secondly, it overlooks the impact of Yuan Shao on the course of the war.
If this had happened to someone else, Cao Cao's tactic might not have been effective.
For example, Li Zhao, or any of them.
Because as long as these three points are held, even if the battle drags on, Cao Cao will inevitably lose.
Liu Bei asked thoughtfully, "But there's a prerequisite: Cao Cao must be certain he has a way to mobilize Yuan Shao's army at Baima!"
"That's it!" Chen Gong, who had been frowning, suddenly realized.
"This move of his was specifically designed to target Yuan Shao, because that man was always indecisive and extremely slow to react."
"Mobilizing him is actually quite simple..."
In an attempt to anticipate Cao Cao's thoughts, they put themselves in his shoes.
If we follow this line of thinking to target Yuan Shao, there are indeed many ways to do so.
The simplest, most direct, and most effective approach was to target Yuan Shao, who was heading to Guandu.
He would immediately mobilize troops from both sides without hesitation if he sensed any danger to himself.
As long as the army in Baima gets moving, Cao Cao will have more room to maneuver.
"That makes sense..." Li Zhao nodded thoughtfully, but did not continue.
At this moment, everyone's gaze fell on him, with a strange look in their eyes.
"What's wrong?" Li Zhao asked, looking at them.
Liu Bei raised his eyebrows. "My lord, this is our chance!"
"If we act now, we can reap huge benefits, whether against Cao Cao or Yuan Shao!"
"In my opinion, it would be best to launch a surprise attack on Yanzhou, since His Majesty the Emperor and the court are in Cao Cao's hands."
"If we can...save the court from its perilous situation, we will be able to take the initiative from now on!"
Upon hearing Liu Bei's statement, both Xu Shu and Chen Gong wanted to refute it.
But after hesitating for a moment, I finally held back.
After all, it concerned the imperial court and the emperor, so whatever they said seemed unreasonable.
It's best not to express an opinion on matters that involve one's stance.
Let the lord decide for himself!
"I understand Xuande's feelings!" Li Zhao sat up straight, deciding to take this opportunity to have a good talk with him about matters related to the court.
"As the emperor's uncle, you always have something on your mind—to save the emperor and the court. Many of your actions are driven by these concerns!"
"But have you ever considered what it would be like if we actually brought the imperial court to Qingzhou?"
"First of all, the advantages we currently possess will vanish in an instant."
"The grain that could be distributed to ordinary people, the opportunities created for them, will immediately be snatched up by numerous officials within the imperial court!"
"What if the emperor now disagrees with these grains, or even many of our strategies, and tries to force us to do something else?"
"Secondly, there are many people in the court who rely on their family background, so-called power, and reputation. We all know what will happen."
"I absolutely will not hand over everything I've worked so hard to create, and the hopes of the people for a peaceful and prosperous life!"
The entire lobby was deathly silent...
Both Liu Bei and Xu Shu were extremely intelligent individuals.
They understood all too well what Li Zhao meant by saying that.
The current imperial court is not trustworthy at all, even if it is fundamentally rejected.
more importantly.
Li Zhao didn't really need to explain so much to them in such detail.
But he still did it, which proves how important Liu Bei was to him.
Liu Bei took a deep breath, cupped his hands in a salute, and said, "Everything is up to my lord to decide!"
"It's true that Xuande has the court in his heart, but what's even more important is that he has the people of the world in his heart!"
"Without millions of ordinary people, where would the imperial court be? Where would the emperor be?"
These words were so powerful and thought-provoking that Liu Bei felt ashamed.
But Li Zhao quickly changed the subject, not dwelling on it further. "Your analysis was all correct. Now we'll see how the situation develops!"
"If Yuan Shao really gets bogged down on the battlefield, then we'll have something to do!"
"Go and fetch Fengxian..."
Chen Gong's eyes lit up instantly. "Good!"
……
Outside Yuan Jun's temporary camp.
Under a big tree.
Yuan Shao, who had been sitting on a rock, suddenly stood up, holding a sheepskin letter in his hand.
He looked incredibly excited, even pacing back and forth in his excitement.
"wonderful……"
"That's wonderful! He's truly my son!" came his excited voice.
In an instant, it attracted the attention of strategists such as Xu You!
"My lord, what's wrong?" Xu You asked first.
"Yuan Shang has discovered Cao Cao's secret..." Yuan Shao handed the sheepskin letter in his hand directly to Xu You.
The latter took it and quickly read it, his expression filled with shock.
"This is truly a gift from heaven!"
"If Cao Cao is indeed secretly transporting people from the imperial court, and if we can take control of him, this war will be over soon!" Xu You said excitedly.
But he always had a feeling that things weren't that simple.
This is indeed very similar to Cao Cao's methods, audacious and reckless, trying to take advantage of the chaos to send the court officials out so that they would not lose all their support when Yanzhou fell.
But the problem is...
Is it really necessary to make such a big fuss when we've only just begun?
Furthermore, how could Yuan Shang discover something so secret so easily?
In his eyes and those of many others, Yuan Shao's youngest son was not very capable.
If even he could find out, can it really be considered a secret?
"Make preparations immediately, I want to go there in person!" Yuan Shao immediately ordered his men to change his armor.
Xu You and the others didn't even have a chance to speak before they watched him mount his horse and ride away...
……