Chapter 601

During the Battle of Guandu, it was when Cao Cao was at his weakest.

For Yuan Shao, it was when he was at his strongest!

Of course, Cao Cao's efforts in the previous two years naturally had rewards.

His territory directly encompassed the entire Central Plains.

The territories of warlords like Lu Bu, Yuan Shu, Li Jue, and Guo Si were annexed by Cao Cao one by one.

And what about Yuan Shao?

Although his strength was above Cao Cao's.

But if he really let Cao Cao digest the large piece of land he had just taken.

I fear the strength gap between Yuan Shao and Cao Cao would shrink significantly!

For example.

In the fifth year of Jian'an (200 AD), Yuan Shao could bring out one hundred thousand troops to confront Cao Cao at Guandu, while Cao Cao could only bring out twenty or thirty thousand troops.

If the three-year strategy to wear down Cao were really adopted.

Three years later, Yuan Shao could bring out one hundred and fifty thousand troops, while Cao Cao could very likely bring out eighty or ninety thousand troops!

Ten thousand versus twenty or thirty thousand, one hundred and fifty thousand versus eighty or ninety thousand—which one has a higher winning rate is self-evident.

So the question arises.

What were Ju Shou and the others aiming for?

They were aiming to hollow out Yuan Shao, or rather, hollow out Yuan Shao's successor!

The Hebei aristocracy supported Yuan Shao's third son, Yuan Shang.

How did Yuan Shang's ability compare to Yuan Shao's?

Naturally, it was far inferior!

Therefore.

Before the Battle of Guandu, Yuan Shao delayed in establishing a successor.

One must know, he was already fifty-one years old at this time!

This age was really not young in ancient times.

However, until two years after the Battle of Guandu.

On the eve of Yuan Shao's impending death.

Only then did he hurriedly establish his third son, Yuan Shang, as his successor.

The checks and balances in the Yuan camp, up to this point, were considered completely unbalanced.

In fact, similar problems existed in the Cao Wei regime.

Cao Pi had ability.

Cao Rui also had ability.

If these two were both idiots.

I fear the fruits of the Cao Wei regime would have been usurped by the aristocratic class one step earlier.

But as the saying goes, wealth does not last beyond three generations.

Cao Cao, Cao Pi, and Cao Rui could suppress the aristocracy so that the aristocracy could not threaten the supreme ruling power.

But just because they could do it didn't mean those who came after them could.

After the Gaoping Tombs Incident, the victory belonging to the aristocratic class arrived.

But within the aristocratic class, there were also struggles.

The Huainan Rebellion proved the severity of this internal strife.

The Wu and Shu countries shouldn't laugh either; they were no better than Cao Wei.

Shu Han was because of the appearance of Zhuge Liang.

Otherwise, falling forty years early would not be empty talk.

Eastern Wu, although Sun Shiwan was truly terrible at fighting.

But he was the most powerful person in the last hundred years of the late Han and Three Kingdoms period when it came to checks and balances, bar none.

Toward the aristocracy, Sun Shiwan was truly ruthless!

Whether it was toward Lu Xun or Zhang Zhao.

Or toward Zhuge Jin and Quan Cong.

As well as countless young talents of the Eastern Wu aristocracy.

Sun Shiwan's main theme was "heartless and ungrateful; kill if you must."

Of course, to kill these people.

His methods were also unscrupulous.

He sent people to seal the gate of Zhang Zhao's house with mud;

He personally wrote more than twenty letters to insult Lu Xun;

He bestowed "health medicine" containing poison upon Quan Cong;

He forced Zhuge Jin, who was over seventy, to go to the battlefield while ill...

These were all the "romance" exclusive to Sun Shiwan!

And the Er Gong Incident, which shocked the world.

The number of aristocratic children who died at Sun Shiwan's hands exceeded all events in the late Han and Three Kingdoms period!

It can be said that Sun Shiwan was the true "executioner of the aristocracy" of the late Han and Three Kingdoms period.

To consolidate his own rule, his methods could be described as unscrupulous.

……

PS: Sun Shiwan: Didn't expect it, right? The MVP is me!