Chapter 174 Angry Yuan Shao "boom!" The table in front of him was cut into two pieces by a sword, and Yuan Shao's eyes were filled with uncontrollable anger. "Too deceiving!" Compared with Cao Cao, Yuan Shao, Liu Biao and other princes who mainly relied on their aristocratic families were the biggest victims after the emergence of the Hundred Families Inheritance List. Seeing that Tian Ze was clearly restricted in Youzhou but still kept making bold moves, Yuan Shao felt extremely aggrieved, but since the other party was more skilled, he had to accept it. However, after receiving letters of friendship from various princes, Yuan Shao could no longer bear it. In just one year, Yuan Shao went from being a role model that all the princes feared to an unlucky guy who had to resist Tian Ze. Except Yuan Shu, almost all the princes chose to make friends with him. This sounds like a good thing, but the reasons behind it and the attitudes of the various princes dealt a severe blow to Yuan Shao's strong self-esteem. When did he, Yuan Benchu, fall to the point where he needed pity from others and was treated as a pawn by others!
Even Tao Qian handed over a letter of friendship. How could Yuan Shao not be angry? What an insult! Even Tao Qian, a useless guy who was about to die, treated Yuan Shao as a guard dog! Under heavy pressure and in a state of extreme anger, Yuan Shao's mind became increasingly clear, and he completely abandoned all distracting thoughts. "Zhengnan! Gongze!" Shen Pei and Guo Tu stepped out: "My Lord!" "You two, take Gao Lan and Jiang Yiqu and lead a hundred thousand troops to Qingzhou immediately. Within a month, I want Qi and Beihai County to be completely under my rule." "promise!" "You Ruo!" Xun Chen stepped out: "My Lord!" "Arrange people to go to Bingzhou, Yanzhou and the northern grasslands to try to form an alliance with Lu Bu, Cao Cao and Xianbei to resist Tian Chengshou together." "promise!" "My lord, our army is launching a massive attack on Qingzhou. What should we do if Tian Chengshou comes to attack?" Xu You asked carefully. "Then let's fight!" Yuan Shao's eyes were full of determination: "I, Yuan Benchu, would rather fight to the death with Tian Chengshou than wait to die in Jizhou!" At this moment, Yuan Shao's aura dominated the entire place, making people dare not look directly at him. Seeing this, Ju Su smiled slightly. Crisis often coexists with opportunity. Although they are at a disadvantage now, they also have an excellent opportunity to break through. He was the first one to notice Tian Ze's strength. He thought it was a good thing that it was revealed now, otherwise they would have no hope. Only when the princes in the Central Plains realize the power of Tian Ze will they be likely to acquiesce when they march into the Central Plains and expand their territory.
"My lord, we should plan the affairs of Xuzhou next." From the beginning to the end, Ju Su's eyes were on Xuzhou. Only by using Xuzhou as a springboard could he attack the Central Plains. "But we still need to wait for an opportunity, an opportunity to take Xuzhou." Xu You said, and at the same time glanced at Xun Chen calmly. He had personally experienced how terrifying Xun Chen's talent was. If anyone could create such an opportunity, it would be him. "It is not difficult to defeat Tao Qian, but it is difficult to take Xuzhou when surrounded by Cao Cao, Liu Bei and Yuan Shu." Yuan Shao's eyes darkened slightly, as if he was thinking about something. Although he became the leader of a region, as the former best director of the Han Dynasty, Yuan Shao's ability to maneuver was extremely strong, and his control over the situation was no less than that of Xu You, Ju Shou and others. "This opportunity should not be far away. But for now, we should take these two counties first. Let's ignore Donglai County for now. The terrain is too steep and rugged. Tian Ze regards it as a forbidden delicacy. The defense line he has built is extremely solid. If we can't take it down in a short time, we will only be dragged into a long tug of war." Shen Pei and Guo Tu, with Yan Liang, Wen Chou and an army of 100,000, attacked Qingzhou. After hearing the news, Tao Qian couldn't help feeling a little worried. Although he had defeated Yuan Shao before, even if he was arrogant, he could see that there must have been a factor of Yuan Shao's carelessness. Although he had the elite soldiers of Danyang at his disposal, but... looking at the generals under his command, such as Cao Bao and Zhang Kai, Tao Qian couldn't help but feel a headache. After all, he had fought in Xiliang with Huangfu Song before, so he could not see the strength of these generals very well, but he could still tell their average talents and mediocre abilities. These are basically "good generals" recommended by local aristocratic families. Even if they were tied together, they might not be enough to defeat Lu Bu with one halberd. Yuan Shao has Yan Liang and Wen Chou under his command, who are known to be able to fight Hua Xiong. Even if they are a little weak, they should have no problem taking three or five moves from Lu Bu. A horizontal comparison will make it clear who is stronger and who is weaker. But fortunately, the two people sent by Yuan Shao this time were unknown, so there shouldn't be any major problems. "Yuan Shao has come to attack again without any reason, with 100,000 soldiers. Do you have any strategy to defeat him?" Hearing Tao Qian's question, Cao Bao stepped forward without hesitation. "My lord, Yuan Benchu is leading only a group of defeated and weak soldiers. My lord, please give me 10,000 elite Danyang soldiers and 40,000 infantrymen. I will definitely take the enemy general's head to thank you!" Seeing Cao Bao's confident look, Tao Qian frowned slightly. However, the generals under his command praised him highly. "General Cao is the best general in Xuzhou. With him on the battlefield, Yuan Shao can be destroyed in a snap!" "My lord, why do you need a butcher knife to kill a chicken? With me, Zuo Rong, I can easily destroy Yuan Benchu!" "My lord, I am willing to lead the troops to attack Hebei and capture Yuan Benchu alive and present him to you!" Hearing these people's words becoming more and more exaggerated, Tao Qian couldn't help but sigh. Forget it, this group of people is not as good as Cao Bao! It seems that I can only pick the tallest one among the short ones. How come there are not a few brave generals like Lu Bu in such a big city like Xuzhou?
"Yuanlong, what do you think?" Tao Qian looked at Chen Deng who had remained silent. What do I think? How can I see it? Chen Deng sighed silently in his heart. Perhaps he was the only one under Tao Qian who was still sober. Although Xuzhou seemed powerful now, it was actually just a piece of meat on the chopping board. There is a lot of money, food, and soldiers, but the ruler is incompetent, the generals are weak, and the culture is internally strife. The Xuzhou aristocratic families have been spoiled and are unwilling to open their eyes to the world. All they care about is Xuzhou, their only land, and fighting for power and profit. Tao Qian was old and foolish, and he offended and squeezed out most of the talented people in Xuzhou, and instead used a group of flatterers and idiots from aristocratic families. In a Xuzhou like this, even if he was possessed by the three heroes of the early Han Dynasty, he would not be able to save it. Wasn't the lesson from being bitten hard by Yuan Shu enough? Yuan Shao got cocky after winning the battle by chance. Little did they know that the surrounding princes did not take them seriously at all, they just wanted to eat alone and check and balance each other. If not, Xuzhou would have been divided up long ago. The fact that Yuan Shao dared to attack Qingzhou at this time showed that he had made sufficient preparations, rather than underestimating the enemy as he had done before. On the contrary, our side became inflated and even dared to talk about attacking Hebei, thinking that they were Lu Fengxian. "My lord, I feel that Yuan Shao is a great man, and he is invading at this time with an army of 100,000. We should be cautious." Feeling the increasingly unfriendly looks from the civil and military officials on both sides, Chen Deng sighed in his heart, and finally did not dare to say the word of defending. But even so, Cao Bao and others looked at him with rather unfriendly eyes. The previous battle had already fully boosted their confidence. How much stronger were the Hebei elite than the Yellow Turban bandits? They were easily defeated by the Danyang elite. Yuan Shao's attack was a good opportunity for them to build up their merits and reputation. Once Tao Qian died, they would have the opportunity to take control of Xuzhou with their merits. "Haha, I didn't expect Yuanlong to be so cowardly. Yuan Benchu is just a boy, a mere fame-seeker. He has never won a few battles and was pinned down in Jizhou by Tian Ze and unable to move. How can he be a match for our lord?" Zuo Rong said sarcastically. "My lord, give me 50,000 soldiers and horses. If I cannot defeat Yuan Shao, I will be willing to accept the punishment." Cao Bao said in a deep voice. After hearing this, Tao Qian thought about it and nodded in agreement. He could also see what Cao Bao and the others were thinking, but it didn't matter to him. If he really had made a mistake and Cao Bao did have the ability to protect Xuzhou, it might not be a bad idea to hand Xuzhou over to him. (End of this chapter)