Chapter 432: Xu You

After Xun Yu’s analysis, Cao Cao also felt that the situation had become completely clear; not only was he not at a disadvantage, but he actually held a significant edge!

The other civil and military officials, each harboring their own thoughts, felt the same way upon hearing this.

"It seems! Following Cao Cao has better odds of winning than following Lord Yuan Shao! It looks like I must continue to observe and stay on Cao Cao’s side for now to contribute; what if Cao Cao wins?"

Quite a few people held this thought!

"Since that is the case, then let us proceed as you suggested, Wenruo!"

"Immediately dispatch envoys to Jia Wu and Zhang Yan of the Black Mountain Army, and persuade them to launch an attack on Lord Yuan Shao once we go to war with him!"

"Furthermore, all armies must quickly reorganize and prepare for battle!"

"Understood!"

The civil and military officials all accepted the order and swiftly began to act.

A few days later, Cao Cao successfully reached an agreement with Jia Wu and Zhang Yan. Jia Wu and Zhang Yan successively deployed troops along the border to intimidate Lord Yuan Shao.

This forced Lord Yuan Shao to dispatch troops separately to deal with them.

Combined, these two fronts drained him of 100,000 soldiers, leaving him with only a little over 300,000 troops that he could mobilize for the time being.

"Damn it! Well played, Cao Mengde, I didn't expect you to play such dirty tricks! This is simply outrageous!"

"Guo Tu, what is going on with Zhang Yan? Didn't he form an alliance with us? Why has he turned to Cao Cao now?"

Lord Yuan Shao glared at Guo Tu with extreme rage and demanded an explanation.

"Uh..."

Guo Tu, upon hearing this, defended himself with a bitter expression: "My lord! This was unavoidable! Ever since we eliminated Gongsun Zan and took Jizhou, he began to guard against us, and you also issued orders to target him;"

"Not only did we strictly blockade him, denying him opportunities to raid from the mountains, but we also severed his external trade routes; our relationship had long since broken down!"

"It was inevitable that Zhang Yan would make such a choice!"

How could this be blamed on him?

If anyone were to be blamed, shouldn't it be Lord Yuan Shao himself?

You said that since you felt Zhang Yan was a threat, you should have either struck him down with one blow or held back and waited for the right moment to deal with him.

By leaving things in this state of limbo, clearly targeting and suppressing the other party, others are not fools—how could they not have defenses and reactions?

"This...~"

Lord Yuan Shao had actually forgotten about this matter; his brow furrowed, and he felt somewhat embarrassed.

He remembered that he did indeed seem to have issued such orders.

Because, back then, he had plotted against Zhang Yan, sending him to deal with Jia Wu, but in the end, Zhang Yan had actually slacked off and colluded with Jia Wu to play him.

The original strategy to weaken Zhang Yan and Jia Wu had no effect at all; instead, it made them vigilant.

What was to be done?

"Is there any way to deal with this?"

Lord Yuan Shao found it difficult to respond, so he immediately changed the subject and asked instead.

Guo Tu shook his head directly; clearly, he had no good solution for the moment.

Xu You and Ju Shou also furrowed their brows and began to ponder deeply.

After a long while, Ju Shou cupped his hands and said: "My lord, there is no perfect solution right now! The only feasible one might be that we could send people to contact the Xiongnu, the Xianbei, and even the Wuhuan, asking them to attack Zhang Yan and Jia Wu. We do not ask them to directly eliminate Zhang Yan, but at least to pin down their forces so that we can fully free up our hands and concentrate our power to deal with Cao Cao;"

"After we finish off Cao Cao, we can turn back and eliminate them."

"That won't work, will it?"

Lord Yuan Shao frowned upon hearing this: "Back then, we contacted the Xiongnu and the Xianbei to target Jia Wu, but it resulted in them suffering heavy losses, and they already have quite a bit of resentment toward us!"

"Especially since Zhang Yan didn't truly exert himself; it is unlikely they would be willing to send troops against Zhang Yan and Jia Wu now!"

The foreign tribes are not fools; they cannot be used as his tools forever.

"Not necessarily!"

At this moment, Xu You couldn't help but stroke his beard and speak: "While we did cause some dissatisfaction among the Xiongnu and Xianbei due to previous events, their hatred for Jia Wu and Zhang Yan is even greater;"

"They would certainly be tempted to send troops to deal with Jia Wu and Zhang Yan. Although they might not be willing to take action, everything in this world has a price. If they are unwilling to send troops, it can only be because the benefits are not enough;"

"What if my lord is willing to promise Bingzhou to them?"

"What if my lord is willing to provide a certain amount of money and grain? I do not believe they would not be tempted!"

"Hmm?"

Lord Yuan Shao’s eyes brightened slightly upon hearing this; the logic held up, and he was about to say something.

"No! My lord! Absolutely not!"

The next moment, Ju Shou shouted loudly, glaring at Xu You: "Xu You, what kind of malicious intent do you have in proposing such a terrible idea? Money and grain can be given, but the matter of promising Bingzhou is absolutely out of the question!"

"If this matter leaks out... no, no! If this is truly done, it will inevitably be exposed. By then, my lord will likely be infamous for ten thousand years, pointed at by the people of the world, and reviled by the masses!"

"Colluding with foreign tribes to attack Han forces has already affected my lord's reputation, but it is still bearable. However, promising Han territory to foreign tribes is a path to self-destruction. My lord, this method must absolutely not be used!"

"Exactly!"

At this time, Guo Tu ignored Xu You’s ugly expression and added: "Xu You, have you forgotten how the people of Jizhou and parts of Youzhou have suffered for generations from the raids and massacres of the northern foreign tribes?"

"If my lord truly dares to promise Bingzhou to the northern foreign tribes, let alone how other warlords and scholar-clans in the world will view my lord and how they will react, are you not afraid that the people of Youzhou and Jizhou will rise in rebellion?"

"You are digging up my lord's foundation! Your heart is punishable!"

Having said this, Guo Tu immediately bowed solemnly to Lord Yuan Shao: "My lord, Xu You intends to harm you; please punish him for his crime of harming the lord!"

Although Guo Tu knew this would not truly make Lord Yuan Shao punish Xu You,

he was very willing to do it if it could disgust Xu You.

Xu You stared at Guo Tu with a gloomy face; if looks could kill, Guo Tu would have been hacked to pieces by Xu You by now.

He did not hate Ju Shou at this moment, because Ju Shou was not targeting him intentionally but was speaking based on the facts.

Moreover, he had also realized that what Ju Shou said made a lot of sense; indeed, this could not be done.

At least, one could not make such a clear statement.

Allowing something to happen and explicitly stating it are two completely different things.

"Xu You, what do you say?"

Lord Yuan Shao did not reply to Guo Tu but instead looked at Xu You and asked.

— Author's Notes —

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