Chapter 867

Wang Yan advanced his troops to Gaoyang, expanded his territory by two hundred li, and the pressure on Yuan Shao soon bore fruit. In May, Kong Rong surrendered, and Yuan Shao annexed Qingzhou.

Kong Rong had no choice but to surrender; he had once maintained independence, but now Yuan Shao had lost his temper, and his letter made it clear: if Kong Rong refused to surrender, Yuan Shao would mobilize three hundred thousand troops to attack him. Under these circumstances, even his closeness to Cao Cao was useless—Cao Cao had no intention of breaking with Yuan Shao yet, and Kong Rong's own strength could not match Yuan Shao's, so he surrendered.

Afterwards, Yuan Shao appointed Kong Rong as Biejia of Jizhou, ordering him to remain in Gao Yi, making him merely one among the lower-ranking participants in council meetings—effectively ending his political career.

The truth was this: the defeated must be removed from the center of power; even the twentieth-generation descendant of Confucius counted for little. Though the Kong clan held some real power, it was not yet the hereditary lineage of the Duke Yansheng.

On Cao Cao's side, he still fought the original Battle of Kuangting, repelled Yuan Shu's expansion, and seized most of Yuzhou.

At this time, Sun Ce began to harbor ambitions. He knew the feud between his father and Yuan Shu, and understood that his father had nearly been destroyed by Yuan Shu. But he had previously been too immature, forced to serve under Yuan Shu. Now that Yuan Shu was being crushed by Cao Cao and Liu Biao, and had little regard for him, and with the northern "bandit" Wang Yan eyeing the Central Plains, Sun Ce felt urgency and no longer wished to serve Yuan Shu.

So he advanced his plans by a year, producing the imperial jade seal left by his late father, demanded three thousand troops from Yuan Shu, crossed the Yangtze River to attack Wu Commandery, and began his venture…

Cao Cao, because Yuan Shao had annexed Qingzhou, now controlled Yanzhou and Yuzhou, and thus wished to bring his father back.

This time, the incident where Zhang Kai murdered Cao Cao's entire family and fled with their wealth would never occur, for only now did Cao Cao learn that Yuan Shao had brought his father to Gao Yi—after Cao Cao withdrew his troops, Yuan Shao had sent a letter specifically explaining this, in the winter of 193.

After Kong Rong surrendered, Yuan Shao, eager to expand, also seized Langya and invited Cao Song and others to Gao Yi. Yuan Shao, now cornered and fiercely determined, also feared Cao Cao's current strength; capturing Langya would benefit his future campaign against Cao Cao. Langya contained Taishan, with its natural defenses and elevated position, granting strategic advantage.

Old Cao was furious, yet helpless; he had wanted to seize members of the Yuan clan, but all had been killed by Dong Zhuo, and the survivors posed no threat to Yuan Shao.

So Old Cao could only seethe, and in the spring of 194, launched an offensive against Xu Province.

There were no such elaborate justifications—it was simply that Tao Qian held so much territory, and it was an eyesore. Anyone else in Old Cao's position would still attack Xu Province. Unless they surrendered and came to Old Cao's side to take a sinecure.

But Old Cao was different: even if he took a sinecure, even if he caused no trouble, after a while, if he took a dislike to someone, he would find an excuse to execute them, crushing potential threats at their roots.

Relatively speaking, Old Cao had a great appetite for killing—massacring cities, exterminating powerful clans, capable of ruthless action. Yet even so, his reputation was better than Wang Yan's, because Old Cao killed fewer powerful clans, while Wang Yan specifically targeted them. As for the hundreds of thousands of commoners slaughtered by Cao Cao, no one cared.

If one must give Old Cao a reason, it was this: Langya fell under Xu Province's jurisdiction, and Tao Qian had failed to protect his father, allowing him to be seized by Yuan Shao…

Liu Bei was troubled, for in 193, Cao Cao had already sent troops to attack Xu Province, but Liu Bei and others had repelled them. Cao Cao had then been fully occupied with Yuan Shu, so he paid little attention. Now that Yuan Shu had been driven off, Cao Cao was concentrating his strength and personally led one hundred fifty thousand troops to attack Xu Province.

"Ah…"

In Pengcheng (Xuzhou city), Liu Bei sighed helplessly, lamenting Cao Cao's strength.

Zhang Fei, drinking below, slammed his wine cup hard on the table and shouted: "It's just a bandit Cao! Why does Brother sigh so bitterly, undermining morale? Now Cao Cao advances in three columns, targeting Donghai and Xiapi. You hold the center; I and Brother Guan split our forces. What of his one hundred fifty thousand troops? We'll surely rout him, topple his army, and take his dog's head!"

Mi Zhu was weary—not had he studied under Wang Yan? From what he knew, Wang Yan's generals were each smarter than the last, and their combat prowess was no less. How had Zhang Fei learned none of it? Look at Guan Yu: stroking his beard, eyes half-closed, not rushing to speak—how perfect.

He waved his hand: "General Zhang, Xu Province's terrain is flat, with no natural defenses. We have only fifty thousand troops; Cao Cao's forces outnumber us threefold. If we divide our troops to attack, Cao Cao, skilled in strategy and tactics, will seize every opportunity. Our only course now is to defend the city and wait for the right moment to strike."

"If fifty thousand troops concentrate in one place, Cao Cao will easily take the rest of Xu Province, then trap us in this isolated city—what then?" Zhang Fei retorted.

This remark made Mi Zhu nod slightly—reckless, yes, but still possessed some sense.

"General Zhang, don't rush—the people have all relocated south. What use is Cao Cao's empty land? When he divides his forces, gaps will appear; there will surely be an opportunity to strike."

Beside him, Jian Yong bowed to Liu Bei and said, "Lord, our urgent task is to ally with Yuan Shu against Cao Cao—lips and teeth depend on each other; if lips perish, teeth will feel the cold. We must send a letter to Yuan Shu, urging him to attack Yuzhou from the north. We shall resist to the death; if Cao Cao cannot break through, he will surely retreat."

Jian Yong, style name Xianhe, was from Zhuo Commandery. He had long been acquainted with Liu Bei and was part of Liu Bei's original core. When Liu Bei fled to Liaodong, Jian Yong returned to Zhuo Commandery. Later, when Liu Bei decided to settle in Xu Province during the coalition against Dong Zhuo, he wrote to Jian Yong, asking him to come and help build greatness. At that time, Youzhou was already under Wang Yan's control; Jian Yong was fortunate to have escaped death.

This man was self-centered, careless about appearances, and treated Liu Bei with no formality, never indulging in any pretense. When Zhuge Liang first emerged, during council meetings, he would lie down while speaking. Later, when Zhuge Liang proved truly brilliant, he finally gave him some respect. Yet though this man was self-willed and unrestrained, he never harmed civilians; his family were minor landowners, so seizing excess land was enough.

Liu Bei wrote directly to Wang Yan, knowing that Wang Yan's domain was easy to enter but hard to leave, and requested permission for Jian Yong to travel south.

Wang Yan still showed face, not blocking him, nor needing to. Not even Jian Yong mattered—had Zhuge Liang been here, he wouldn't have missed one man. He lacked vast numbers of grassroots officials and teachers; even if Zhuge Liang worked himself to death, he couldn't fill such a massive personnel gap…

"We have no choice…" Liu Bei nodded in agreement.

They were right: their forces were already inferior; dividing them would be suicide. But concentrating them meant letting Cao Cao seize the rest of Xu Province, eventually surrounding them—also a defeat.

Cao Cao was no fool—he had truly campaigned across south and north; direct confrontation was impossible to win. They had to seek external aid, look elsewhere—and the only option left was Yuan Shu.

Moreover, Yuan Shu must be attacked: he and Cao Cao had already fought to the death. Liu Biao, allied with Yuan Shao, constantly harassed Yuan Shu from the west; Cao Cao, from the north, also attacked Yuan Shu. Why hadn't Cao Cao deployed all his forces? Some remained in Yanzhou, some in Yuzhou—Yanzhou to guard home, Yuzhou to guard against Yuan Shu.

Now Cao Cao had attacked Xu Province, previously wavering, and deployed one hundred fifty thousand troops. Such a golden opportunity—how could Yuan Shu sit idle? But Yuan Shu's intelligence may have been inaccurate, so he was still observing.

With this understanding, no envoy needed to be sent to persuade him—Yuan Shu would be more eager than anyone. Liu Bei personally wrote a letter, detailing the situation and military intent, and dispatched a fast rider to deliver it to Yuan Shu.

At this point, Liu Bei was de facto Governor of Xu Province. Tao Qian's health worsened, and with support from local powerful clans like Mi Zhu, there was no opposition—indeed, widespread welcome. He had governed for three years, far surpassing his earlier role as a mere fire-fighter.

But letters take time; Liu Bei and his men still faced Cao Cao's storm-like assault.

Liu Bei dispatched Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, assigning each fifteen thousand troops to garrison Liuxian (southeast of Pei County, Xu Province) and Xiao County, forming a pincer with Pengcheng. He sent out many scouts to gather intelligence, and responded to Cao Cao's maneuvers, barely holding the line.

The terrain was unfavorable, lacking critical passes to block the enemy; they could only rely on constant troop redeployments, seeking gaps in enemy movements, striking at timing gaps to win local victories, gradually gaining advantage.

Liu Bei certainly possessed military talent; had he been utterly incapable, he could never have held one-third of the realm. Moreover, he had studied under Wang Yan—truly studied, for he was a Clerk in the General's Office, holding a post privy to core secrets.

The Supervising Army Office had its own military academy, offering numerous training classes to teach how to wage war. At the rank of Deputy Hundred-Commander, one could join training, up to the highest level of Title Captain. Compared to courses run by individual armies, the Supervising Army Office was clearly more professional, with General Wang Da himself teaching.

Thus Liu Bei had learned much, and gained considerable improvement.

But correspondingly, Cao Cao was no pushover, and Old Cao's forces outnumbered Liu Bei's threefold.

So during combat, they were ambushed twice, and Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, through their personal valor, rallied their troops to fight outnumbered, inflicting heavy damage; additionally, their Mobile Corps Commander tactics, deeply learned from Liao Hua on the grasslands, allowed each to lead over a thousand elite cavalrymen to harass Cao Cao's detachments.

After Cao Cao became cautious, Liu Bei's night raids failed, and fighting outnumbered, they suffered defeats, largely being crushed by Old Cao. Only Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, outside with their cavalry, continued Mobile Corps Commander raids—targeting small units and disrupting Cao Cao's supply lines—barely maintaining the stalemate.

Thus, Cao Cao dared not launch a full-scale assault—he couldn't take the city. If he divided his forces too much, Liu Bei's troops would sortie; if he divided too little, he couldn't match the brothers' killing power. They were stuck.

Liu Bei's forces were not all of Xu Province's troops—most were under his command, but over twenty thousand troops still garrisoned Xiapi, where the people and powerful clans resided, protecting them—a wise arrangement.

Though twenty thousand was not many, Cao Cao could not possibly capture Xiapi with twenty thousand troops unless someone betrayed the city. If he sent more, Liu Bei would sortie—and might even counterattack Yuzhou, threaten Yanzhou, and launch a desperate counterstroke.

Thus both sides stalled, fighting from March through April. At this time, Yuan Shu, driven off by Cao Cao, fulfilled expectations by mobilizing one hundred thousand troops to attack Runan.

Worse still, as Cao Cao prepared to withdraw, a devastating message reached him: Zhang Miao and others had welcomed Yuan Shao into Yanzhou.

The pace of development never ceased; intertwined interests made many events inevitable. Cao Cao's attack on Xu Province was inevitable expansion; originally, Lü Bu's betrayal and seizure of Yanzhou was inevitable expansion. Likewise, Zhang Miao and other Yanzhou powerful clans and officials welcoming Yuan Shao into Yanzhou was an inevitable consequence of Yuan Shao's expansion.

The main reason was that Yanzhou's powerful clans resented Old Cao—his methods were too ruthless; they couldn't outmaneuver him, and this was not the fun they wanted. At this moment, Yuan Shao, pressured southward by Wang Yan and with Cao Cao attacking Xu Province, had a vulnerable rear. Leveraging the Yuan clan's vast network of old connections, he sent envoys to persuade them; mutual interest aligned perfectly, and Yuan Shao's takeover of Yanzhou became inevitable.

At night, Cao Cao, returning empty-handed from Xu Province, felt ill.

Inside his tent, Cao Cao read word by word the letter sent by Yuan Shao, then smiled and wrote another letter, sealed it with his private seal, placed it in a brocade pouch, and slowly walked to the trembling messenger, patting his shoulder.

He said: "Please deliver my letter into the hands of Benchu."

The messenger nodded, his voice trembling. He couldn't help it—this was a death mission; even if Cao Cao tortured him, no one would blame him.

Cao Cao slipped the pouch into the messenger's chest, gave two firm but not heavy slaps to his breast: "Go. Eat well tonight, receive your reward. Depart tomorrow to meet Benchu."

Watching the messenger hurry away, Cao Cao turned back, sat at the head seat, drank a full cup of wine, slammed the cup hard on the table, and painfully rubbed his forehead.

"I just sent a letter requesting my father return to my side. Now Yuan Shao has seized Yanzhou; we are forced to retreat to Yuzhou, while Yuan Shu's Liu Siming attacks us. And since Yuan Shao has revealed his intent to swallow us, he will never let us settle peacefully in Yuzhou. Gentlemen, what should I do…?"

Old Cao's words were filled with exhaustion; he truly was exhausted. Just moments ago they were like brothers, yet now he had bound his father, and worse still, seized his land. Yuan Shao was no son of a man—he had gone too far. Old Cao's head throbbed, his spirit utterly drained, and he had lost all will.

After speaking, he buried his face again in his drink.

"My Lord, at this moment, we must swiftly crush Yuan Shu, consolidate our foundation, ally with Liu Bei, and then turn against Yuan Shao."

The speaker was Cao Ren, Old Cao's blood brother, who had long ago gathered troops and roamed between the Huaihe and Si rivers, later joining Cao Cao as one of his earliest followers and a trusted companion.

Of course, what he said was essentially nonsense—only the suggestion to ally with Liu Bei held any merit. After all, they were currently marching back in haste—wasn't that precisely to attack Yuan Shu? Was this even worth saying?

Old Cao was asking about the future, about long-term planning, the next grand strategy. Thus, the phrase "ally with Liu Bei" was correct. Liu Bei was in Xu Province, bordering Yan and Qingzhou. Even if they did nothing more than march north and strike Langya—not to fight Cao Cao—it would play a crucial role.

Cao Cao glanced at Cao Ren, grunted in acknowledgment, and went back to drinking.

Cao Ren smiled wryly, knowing he had spoken foolishly. He sat back down and drank. He had seen Old Cao's poor state and hoped to liven things up. But clearly, Old Cao's condition was abysmal—he could not be livened. This campaign lacked even a young wife…

Among the civil officials on the other side, they exchanged glances, then Xun Yu bowed slightly. Xun Yu was a senior figure, possessing sufficient strategic insight, strong administrative ability, and had recruited many talents for Cao Cao—including Guo Jia, who had already joined Wang Da's generalship, recommended by this very man. The policy of "holding the Son of Heaven to command the lords" had originated from his mind.

He said: "My Lord, Zi Xiao's words are sound. Ally with Liu Bei—it is an essential move. I have heard Tao Qian is gravely ill, unlikely to survive this year, and has often expressed his desire to yield Xu Province. Liu Bei has great ambition—he is a hero of this age, has won the hearts of Xu Province's people, and will surely understand the necessity of allying with us."

Yet even with Liu Bei, Yuan Shao's strength is too great to be checked. Moreover, we face Yuan Shu in Huainan and Liu Biao in Jingzhou. We have lost Yan Province and cannot muster full strength to attack Yuan Shao. If Yuan Shao consolidates Yan Province over time, we are surely doomed."

"At this moment, there is only one strategy to resolve this crisis."

Cao Cao turned to Xun Yu, raised his head: "Wenruo, speak plainly—do not hesitate."

Xun Yu bowed again: "Our situation is now as precarious as stacked eggs, our survival hanging by a thread. We must ally with Liu Youzhou's Wang Yan, causing him to…"

Before Xun Yu could continue, Old Cao's eyes flashed sharply—he immediately shook his head, cutting him off: "Wenruo, say no more. I eat the Han's grain, I serve as the Han's minister. Wang Yan is a rebel. How could I, for my own benefit, ally with a rebel?"

Saying this, he shook his head again and returned to his gloomy drinking.

Seeing that Old Cao no longer rubbed his head, Xun Yu understood. He continued: "My Lord, you are mistaken. I know you are a loyal minister of the Han. But your survival is not yet assured—you may be shattered by Yuan's bandits, your great cause unfulfilled—how then can you serve the Han? You must preserve your useful body, reclaim Yan Province's foundation, and then strike down Wang the rebel to serve the Han. Now, allying with Wang the rebel is merely a temporary expedient for preservation."

"The Yuan family has served as Three Excellencies for four generations—their Han stipend exceeds yours. Yet they refuse Jizhou, border Liu Youzhou, do not think of slaying rebels and serving the state, but instead seize Yan Province and draw swords against you, the loyal Han minister. Moreover, you have long been close to them—how can they commit such disloyal and unrighteous acts? Thus, Yuan Shao is the true Han rebel, and must be exterminated. You, using a rebel to control the Han rebel, aligns with Heaven and follows the Dao—what sin is there?"

Xun Yu's words were merely an opening—everyone here knew exactly what Old Cao was like. If he truly disagreed, he would have slammed the table and shouted loudly. But now? His headache was gone, his drinking had flavor—he sipped slowly, sip after sip…

Thus, as Xun Yu finished speaking, the civil and military officials below—Xun You, Cheng Yu, Cao Ren, Cao Hong—all voiced unified support, urging Cao Cao, listing advantages, justifying the sin of allying with the rebel.

Cao Cao wore a look of deep reluctance. After a moment, he took a sip of wine: "All of you wish to ally with Wang the rebel—for my sake. If so, then as you say: ally with Wang the rebel!"

"My Lord, wise indeed!"

Old Cao smiled broadly: "All of you speak of allying with Wang the rebel. But he is in the north, cautious in warfare, never rash. To make him attack Yuan Shao, we must offer great incentives. Yet he governs well, his lands are rich—what incentive shall we offer to lure him into action? Speak your minds."

With the tone set, the atmosphere instantly brightened—everyone began debating what exactly to offer Wang Yan to make him attack Yuan Shao…