Chapter 430

Xu You narrowed his eyes at Ju Shou and thought: "Today, why did you old boy run out to tear down my stage? That's too much!"

At this time, Guo Tu looked at Ju Shou happily, then at Xu You, whose face was a bit ugly, and couldn't help but cup his hands to Lord Yuan Shao: "My lord! I think Gongyu's words make a lot of sense! Currently, we should still rest for a year or so before starting a war with Cao Cao;"

"Xu You's words earlier were completely wrong! Cao Cao has just taken Xuzhou, and Xu You wants to digest the results and benefits of Xuzhou. Don't we need to digest the results and benefits of Youzhou and Qingzhou first?"

"My lord is favored by heaven and comes from the Lord Yuan family of the four generations and three dukes. Even if we currently control three provinces like Cao Cao, in terms of foundation and power, Cao Cao is clearly far from being comparable to you, my lord!"

"Therefore, I think it is better to rest for a year or so."

"Hmm..."

Lord Yuan Shao was conflicted: "What you both said makes a lot of sense!"

"Resting is indeed good! But this is undoubtedly the weakest time for Cao Cao. If we don't take the opportunity to take Cao Cao, I'm worried that he will become too big to be controlled!"

"I know Cao Mengde very well! This guy is not simple!"

"Besides, we cannot simply consider Cao Cao's problem. Su Xuan is actually our real great enemy!"

"I remember you analyzed for me before that Su Xuan is just accumulating strength and cultivating talents for reform, which is why he hasn't expanded outward!"

"But the time left for us is at most a year or so, right?"

"By then, Su Xuan will inevitably start expanding outward with all his strength!"

"If we can't take Cao Cao and the three provinces of the Central Plains before then, and integrate the power of these six or even seven provinces to continue our strength to deal with Su Xuan, we might not be Su Xuan's match;"

"Therefore, I have made up my mind to launch a full-scale attack on Cao Cao in three months. We must decide the outcome in one battle, take Cao Cao, and then prepare to fight Su Xuan!"

"What do you think?"

He couldn't wait, worried that if he waited any longer, his chances of winning would be even smaller.

"This..."

Ju Shou and the others were stunned. Clearly, they didn't expect Lord Yuan Shao to value Su Xuan so much and see things so thoroughly.

Indeed, Cao Cao is just the current enemy; Su Xuan is the real great enemy!

Although Su Xuan currently only occupies one province, Ju Shou and the others know very well through intelligence from all sides how powerful Su Xuan is.

This is only on the surface; it is unknown how many means and training Su Xuan has hidden in secret.

After all, there are many things Su Xuan has shown now that they can't see through.

For example, that iron car.

Su Xuan's steel is so abundant that it can be used to build bridges and pave roads, which shows the strength of his foundation.

Nowadays, only by gathering the power of seven or even ten provinces can we ensure that we can steadily surpass Su Xuan.

The key is that Su Xuan's new policies are too targeted for Xu You, Guo Tu, and these scholar-official clans.

They don't want to see Su Xuan win.

Even if Cao Cao wins over Lord Yuan Shao, they can still defect to Cao Cao to ensure the continuation and prosperity of their families.

But if Su Xuan is the final winner, then the good days of their scholar-official clans might be over.

Admittedly, Su Xuan's new policies didn't kill the scholar-official clans, just limited them to a large extent.

But this is also something the scholar-official clans cannot accept.

They can contribute, but want them to cut their own meat?

That is absolutely impossible.

Therefore, Ju Shou, Xu You, Guo Tu, and others looked at each other, thought comprehensively, and immediately cupped their hands in unison: "My lord is wise! Time waits for no one! We second the motion."

"Haha! Very good!"

Lord Yuan Shao was happy to see that the few people under his command were rarely of one mind when he made a decision, so he waved his hand: "Since that's the case, you should go and prepare quickly!"

"The logistics and the stability of the provinces and commanderies will be left to you!"

"In addition, we must carry out large-scale conscription, levy money and food from various scholar-official clans, etc.;"

"This time, I want to take Cao Cao in one battle, and then prepare for the war with Su Xuan."

Of course, it was only because he needed Ju Shou and the others to be of one mind at this time that he was happy.

If it were normal times, he would still hope that the people under his command would oppose each other and divide into different factions, so that he could play balance and not be held hostage by those below!

If the people under his command were all twisted into a rope and stood together completely, that would be what he needed to worry about!

Wouldn't that be a repeat of their Lord Yuan family back then?

Think back then, wasn't it their Lord Yuan family that united and won over most of the scholar-official dukes in the court, so they could gain incomparable power, force the imperial power, and even take the relatives of the Emperor as dogs?

Therefore, in Lord Yuan Shao's view, dividing his subordinates and mastering the balance is very important.

However, everything has advantages and disadvantages.

Lord Yuan Shao playing this balance is naturally a good choice in a peaceful and prosperous age.

But if it is placed in such a chaotic age, it will only make most of his power fall into internal friction, greatly reducing his ability to fight externally.

At the same time, the infighting of subordinates, fighting for the sake of fighting, and constantly giving conflicting suggestions will also make Lord Yuan Shao, as the lord, increasingly difficult to make accurate judgments and become indecisive.

This is reality.