Chapter 223 Li Ru's Thoughts Yuan Shao and Cao Cao still withdrew and took Tianjing Pass by surprise. Although this place was not suitable for a large army to pass through, with Lu Bu guarding the front, they transported troops to Henei County little by little and finally escaped from Bingzhou. At the same time, after learning that Yuan Shao and Cao Cao had evacuated, Jia Xu suddenly appeared secretly in Shiling Pass and came to Li Ru's tent as an old friend. Looking at the haggard Li Ru lying on the bed, Jia Xu, who was dressed in a black robe, shook his head gently: "Why are you fighting so hard?" "Isn't this what you want?" Li Ru said lightly. In this battle, he helped Yuan Shao and Cao Cao, but also betrayed them badly. However, neither Yuan Shao, Cao Cao nor Tian Ze blamed him. Instead, they were quite grateful to Li Ru. Without Li Ru, Yuan Shao and Cao Cao would not have had this only chance. Li Ru had tried his best, but they were not strong enough and did not seize it. Without Li Ru, Tian Ze would not have dealt a heavy blow to Yuan Shao and Cao Cao. He would have achieved great results at a relatively small cost and cleared most of the obstacles to the unification of Hebei.
Li Ru had seen through everything long ago, so he fought with almost no reservations in this battle. "Then there's no need to arrange for the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry to do that. Aren't you afraid that something really might happen?" Jia Xu rolled his eyes. "If I don't do this, will Yuan Shao and the others be willing?" "If Tian Chengshou doesn't even have this ability, his death is not a pity. Even if I don't take action, Yuan Shao and others will do the same in the future. You are not unaware of Xun Youruo's talent." Li Ru said bluntly. "Tsk, you've said all the good things. Well, let's just let this matter go." Upon hearing this, Jia Xu smiled and shook his head. "Yuan Shao and Cao Cao haven't evacuated yet. Can you make some room and capture these two? This will save you a lot of trouble in the future." Li Ru silently looked at Jia Xu's face, then looked at his shoes: "I still have some dignity." "If we sell out Yuan Shao and Cao Cao now, how will the world view us? Will Fengxian and I still be able to survive in the future? Besides, this is probably not what Tian Chengshou wants." Although the alliance was led by Yuan Shao, it was he who initiated it. Stabbing an ally in the back, is this something a human being can do? If he lets go now, even if he has a clear conscience in the previous battle, it will be like mud in his crotch, and he won't be able to explain himself. Would Yuan Shao and Cao Cao be willing to accept that? They would only feel that Li Ru and Tian Ze had colluded with each other to betray them, that they had not given their best efforts, and that they might even have held back. Otherwise, they would not have lost. Not to mention that he and Lu Bu might have encounters with Yuan Shao and Cao Cao in the future, and how they would get along with each other at that time, he still wanted to live well. If he did this at this time, he would definitely be targeted by the assassins under the command of the two men. "Given your reputations, are you still concerned about these things?" Jia Xu raised his eyebrows slightly. "Fengxian has always been loyal to the Han Dynasty and worked for it. But I was coerced by the thief Dong and had to do it." Li Ru said lightly. "Besides, will Tian Chengshou protect the Han Dynasty in the future? Who will care about these things when the Han Dynasty is gone?" Li Ru, who has already met the future, is not worried about his dark history at all. Jia Xu looked at Li Ru meaningfully and said, "That's right. If something unexpected happened to the current emperor, this matter would be easy to handle." Li Ru was silent for a moment. He understood what Jia Xu meant.
Although the Xiliang Army in Chang'an is now controlled by Li Jue and Guo Si, there are still some who listen to him. After all, the Xiliang Army was built by him and Dong Zhuo, so he still has some reputation. It's not that he can't do something secretly against Liu Xie, he is just weighing the pros and cons. "I'm afraid this isn't the right opportunity." Li Ru said after thinking about it. Now that Liu Xie is dead, the blame will definitely be placed on the Xiliang Army. Although Li Ru is cruel and selfish, he is from Xiliang after all, and he has a close relationship with the Xiliang Army, so he can't bear to see this happen. "Let's talk about it later." Jia Xu said calmly: "Find an opportunity to let the emperor return to the east. Luoyang is a good place, but it's a pity that Cao Mengde is there. There are still some bandits near Hongnong." Li Ru looked at Jia Xu deeply, said nothing, and nodded slightly. He was under someone's roof and had no other choice at this moment. Although Tian Ze values talents, there must be an explanation for this matter, otherwise they will find it difficult to hold their heads up under Tian Ze's command in the future. "When do you plan to open Shiling Pass?" Jia Xu asked the last question. "After Yuan Shao and Cao Cao return to Jizhou and Yanzhou, they will be badly weakened and will not make any moves. We can surrender since we are isolated and helpless." Li Ru said nonchalantly. Surrender is surrender, there is nothing to hide. Li Wenyou does not need to deceive himself. The current situation in Bingzhou is like this, and they have no other choice. At most, they can rely on the geographical advantage to hold on for another year or two, which is not very meaningful. Because he couldn't see any possibility of breaking the deadlock. If they could wait until problems or flaws appeared within Tian Chengshou, they might still be able to struggle. But now Yuan Shao and Cao Cao have suffered heavy losses, and it may take them two years to recover. How can there be any variables or hope? As for going south to the Central Plains. Today's Central Plains is no longer something they can covet. After this battle, Yuan Shao and Cao Cao will certainly concentrate their energy on competing for the Central Plains. Plus, there is also Liu Bei, so he and Lu Bu alone really can't handle it. After all, these three people are now deeply rooted and have their own base. As outsiders, it is not easy for them to get a piece of the pie. "Yes, this is good for everyone. After this battle, Lu Fengxian and you can still conquer foreign races, and the lord will be your most solid backing." Jia Xu said. "I hope so." A glimmer of hope flashed in Li Ru's eyes. Although he said it very well, he actually still had doubts about Tian Ze. Originally, he was suspicious by nature, and his style of doing things was to rather kill the innocent than let them go, otherwise he would not have led the killing of Liu Bian, Empress Dowager He, Empress Dowager Dong, etc. Since Dong Zhuo, he no longer trusted anyone. Before this, he really planned to kill Tian Ze here. Once successful, there will inevitably be chaos in the north, and he and Lu Bu will have the possibility to take advantage of the situation, or at least protect themselves. He was not used to entrusting his life to the hands of others, and it was safest to keep it in his own hands.
But now the matter is done and he has no other choice. Jia Xu naturally knew what Li Ru was thinking. People like them would never trust others easily. Even towards himself, Li Ru was wary. But, he doesn't care. No one can go against the trend, especially a smart person like Li Ru, who knows exactly what choice to make. As for Lu Bu's thoughts, Jia Xu didn't care at all, because Lu Bu would only listen to Li Ru. After seeing the vastness of the world, Jia Xu deeply understood Tian Ze's thoughts. There are so many heroes in the Central Plains, why should we stick to one corner? There is so much potential in expanding the territory! Especially after seeing the existence of the steam engine, Jia Xu could already foresee that in the future the territory under their rule alone would be able to expand several times. (End of this chapter)