Chapter 434

In just five days, the Jiangxia navy, the Xiangyang navy, and others set sail, heading toward Jiangdong.

Other land forces also quickly set out, heading straight for Yuzhang Commandery.

Such a large movement could naturally not be hidden from Sun Ce, Cao Cao, or even Lord Yuan Shao and the others.

Of course, Su Xuan had never intended to hide it from them; in fact, he wanted them to know.

"Haha!"

Cao Cao could not help but laugh aloud upon receiving the news that Su Xuan was deploying troops to Jiangdong, feeling a great weight lifted from his heart: "Su Boyuan has actually deployed troops to Jiangdong at this time? This is clearly intentional!"

"This is to put my mind at ease, so that I can focus entirely on dealing with Lord Yuan Shao!"

"He clearly hopes more that I can win, so that he can have a decisive battle with me later!"

"In that case, how can I fail to live up to his intentions?"

"I must win the decisive battle against Lord Yuan Shao, and I must win it beautifully! Wenruo, what do you think?"

"Alas!"

Xun Yu sighed slightly: "I did not expect Prince Zou Qian to have such courage! He is truly not afraid of letting you grow into a formidable enemy!"

"This shows that in his view, even if you defeat Lord Yuan Shao and take the three or even four northern states, he still has the confidence to defeat you!"

"For a moment, I don't know whether to be happy or worried!"

"But at least for us right now, this is good news!"

"In this way, we have no need to worry or guard against Prince Zou Qian, and can focus on dealing with Lord Yuan Shao!"

"Thus, our chances of winning against Lord Yuan Shao increase by twenty or thirty percent; our odds are even better!"

"Hmm!"

Cao Cao nodded with a smile: "That is enough! As for Su Boyuan being difficult to deal with? That is not something we should be considering right now!"

"As long as I defeat Lord Yuan Shao, even if I lose in the final struggle against Su Boyuan, I will be satisfied!"

He had reasons why he had to defeat Lord Yuan Shao.

Back then, because of his background, he had to grovel and curry favor with Lord Yuan Shao, acting extremely humble before him; even when Lord Yuan Shao mocked him and drove him like a dog, he had no way to resist.

But now, he would use his strength to prove to Lord Yuan Shao that he, Cao Cao, was never inferior to him.

In fact, in terms of talent, he was far superior to Lord Yuan Shao.

Being from a family of four generations of high officials was not something that could not be surpassed.

A good background did not mean one’s achievements would surpass those of Cao Cao.

"That is true!"

Xun Yu nodded with a smile: "Only by first taking down Lord Yuan Shao and absorbing his forces and strength will we have the qualifications to think about how to deal with Prince Zou Qian!"

Immediately, Xun Yu and Cao Cao continued to discuss the details of the war against Lord Yuan Shao.

Jizhou, Yecheng,

"Oh? Su Xuan has actually gone to war with Jiangdong at this time?"

Lord Yuan Shao frowned upon receiving the news, feeling somewhat confused: "Why do I find this hard to understand?"

"Shouldn't he be preparing his army and waiting for us to go to war with Cao Cao, so he can seize Cao Cao’s Yuzhou, Xuzhou, or even Yanzhou?"

"Why would he make such an unwise choice to attack Jiangdong?"

"Isn't this intentionally allowing Cao Cao to fight us without any worries about his rear?"

He felt that Su Xuan was clearly favoring Cao Cao.

But Su Xuan and Cao Cao were destined to be great enemies in the future!

Isn't it a bit excessive and stupid to help your opponent like this?

It is simply unreasonable!

"It really is!"

Xu You and the others also looked confused.

Xu You stroked his beard and pondered: "I have long heard that Prince Zou Qian Su Xuan and Cao Cao Aman have a very good relationship; I didn't quite believe it before, but now it seems it might be true!"

"However, no matter how good the relationship is, when it comes to hegemony, Prince Zou Qian shouldn't be so unwise, right?"

"Or perhaps, he has another purpose in doing this?"

Lord Yuan Shao frowned slightly: "What purpose could it be? To let Cao Cao fight me with all his might without any worries?"

"That is not impossible!"

Xu You narrowed his eyes: "My lord, think about it! Cao Cao’s strength is already inferior to ours; if he still had to divide his troops to guard against Prince Zou Qian Su Xuan, he would have absolutely no chance of defeating you!"

"And you, my lord, are from the Lord Yuan family, which has served for four generations as high officials; you have extremely high prestige among the aristocrats and can gain the support of the vast majority of them;"

"Compared to such a powerful lord, I fear Su Xuan would rather deal with Cao Cao in the future, as that would be much simpler for him!"

"Furthermore, if the gap in strength between us and Cao Cao is too large, we will surely defeat Cao Cao quickly, and Cao Cao will not be able to cause us much damage;"

"This clearly does not serve Su Xuan’s interests; only if we both suffer heavy losses is that what he wants to see!"

"Therefore, he is intentionally attacking Jiangdong at this time so that Cao Cao can free up all his troops to fight us with peace of mind."

"It must be so!"

As he spoke, Xu You felt more and more convinced of his reasoning.

"Xu You, what you say is not without reason!"

Lord Yuan Shao narrowed his eyes slightly.

It seemed that was indeed the case.

"My lord! I do not think so!"

At this moment, Guo Tu could not help but retort: "Xu You’s view is possible, but it is more likely that Cao Cao and Su Xuan have reached some agreement to secretly join forces to deal with you;"

"First let you be eliminated, and then they will have a showdown between themselves to decide the victor;"

"After all, judging from the current situation, you are the strongest warlord in the world, are you not?"

"They are merely employing the strategy of vertical and horizontal alliances!"

"Furthermore, Su Xuan attacking Jiangdong is probably just to help Cao Cao contain Sun Ce of Jiangdong, so that he cannot come out to cause trouble while Cao Cao is fighting us, right?"

Actually, he also felt that Xu You’s words were more reasonable and more in line with reality.

But since those points had already been made by Xu You, he could only say something different to argue.

You have to admit that what he said was not entirely unreasonable, right?

This was Guo Tu’s little trick.

Xu You sneered: "Absurd! Su Xuan’s territory does not even border ours. If Su Xuan really helped Cao Cao deal with you, it would be fine if Cao Cao lost, as it would at least deplete your strength, which would be beneficial for Su Xuan in the future;"

"But what if Cao Cao wins?"

Hearing this, Lord Yuan Shao frowned, feeling somewhat displeased.

Do you actually think there is a possibility that Cao Cao could defeat me?

Simply unreasonable!

Fortunately, Xu You saw Lord Yuan Shao’s thoughts and immediately continued: "Although I do not think Cao Cao can defeat you, the key is what Su Xuan thinks;"

"If Cao Cao really defeats you, he could take the three or even four northern states and control the better part of the world, which is also the most prosperous territory!"

"By then, Su Xuan would be facing a terrifyingly powerful Cao Cao; does he really have a chance of defeating Cao Cao then?"

"Absolutely impossible!"

"It is the same logic as if you were to take the three states of the Central Plains; Su Xuan would not be able to defeat you!"

"Therefore, your point that Su Xuan is helping Cao Cao is fundamentally invalid, hehe!"

"You..."

Guo Tu was so angry that his face flushed red.

He wanted to retort, but for a moment he had no good ideas, so he could only shut his mouth and sulk on the side.

He had lost to Xu You again.

But it didn't matter; he held leverage over Xu You, and there would always be an opportunity to kill him directly.

"Indeed!"

Lord Yuan Shao said: "If I were Su Xuan, I would not join forces with Cao Cao to deal with me; that is not a good choice for him!"

"Therefore, I believe your previous view, Xu You, is more credible;"

"Do you have any countermeasures?"

— Author's Notes —

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