The news that Yuan Shu proclaimed himself emperor spread throughout the Central Plains, making other princes surprised and happy.
Yuan Shu failed to do any of the so-called accumulating grain and slowly becoming king.
As Zhao Chen expected, the first person who couldn't sit still was Cao Cao. As soon as Yuan Shu's surrender document arrived, Cao Cao went up to the emperor and sent out a petition to punish the traitor.
Before the documents of Yuan Shu's surrender in the hands of various princes were warmed up, Cao Cao's presumptuous document of begging for thieves was sent over.
History always moves forward according to its own trajectory. What can be changed is only the details, but the human heart cannot be shaken.
There were two documents placed in front of Liu Bei's desk, and everyone was sitting across the desk.
Everyone in the hall was discussing countermeasures.
Zhao Chen briefly analyzed it and then revealed that he had a plan.
When Liu Bei heard this, he was overjoyed and said hurriedly: "Military advisor, please come quickly."
Zhao Chen calmed down his thoughts and said slowly.
"Yuan Shu proclaimed himself emperor, and Cao Cao took the opportunity to do his own thing in the name of the emperor. There are many advisers from various princes, and they will understand the truth. Therefore, it is expected that there will be no more than two people who respond to Cao Cao's appeal to the thieves."
Liu Bei was a little puzzled. Zhao Chen had just analyzed that after Yuan Shu became emperor, all the princes coveted his city, so they would naturally take action.
But now it is said that there are only two people who responded to Cao Cao's appeal to punish thieves. Isn't it contradictory?
Zhao Chen laughed and said: "In the Central Plains today, the only ones who are as fast and fierce as tigers are Cao Cao and Sun Ce'er. To the north, Yuan Shao has dry bones in the tomb. He is eager for public good and profit. Even if he has the intention, he will be stopped by Ju Shou, Tian Feng and other counselors. Besides, Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu are good or bad. The clansmen will never use Cao Cao's Yanzhou to send troops to Runan because of this, and Cao Cao will not agree to this matter. At this time, what is beneficial to Yuan Shao is to point his sword at Gongsun Zan of Youzhou in the north, and take advantage of Cao Cao's conspiracy against Yuan Shu to pacify the rear Chaos, unify Youzhou. In the future, when Cao Cao and Yuan Shu are fighting to the death, wouldn't it be better to send troops to reap the benefits of Yu Wen? "
Everyone listened and nodded in agreement.
Zhao Chen continued: "Although Sun Ce in the south was defeated by our army, Jiangdong is still strong. Qu'a Liu Zhengli is Sun Ce's biggest target at this time. Facing Cao Cao's call, Sun Ce will definitely respond, and his first move is to fight with Yuan Shu Break away, drive away Yuan Shu's appointees in the counties of Yangzhou, replace them, so that they can grow rapidly, and then concentrate on dealing with Qu A and Liu Zhengli. Therefore, Sun Ce will not be distracted from actually sending troops."
"As for Liu Biao and others to the west, they can only express neutrality at most. They guard the three-acre area and have no strength to compete with Cao Cao."
After hearing this, Cheng Yu secretly admired Zhao Chen for his ability to understand everyone's thoughts and make reasonable judgments. This ability is truly rare in this world. The only ones who can rival him are Guo Jia and Guo Fengxiao.
But he was still puzzled, so he walked out from behind Zhao Chen and asked: "Since none of the princes around Yuan Shu will take any action, who exactly is the military advisor referring to sending troops to Yuan Shu?"
Liu Bei looked at Cheng Yu who stood up in surprise. Seeing that Zhao Chen had no intention of questioning at all, he suddenly understood the reason.
He stood up immediately and greeted Cheng Yu with a smile.
Cheng Yu was also very sensible. Although the person he admired in his heart was Zhao Chen, he still saluted Liu Bei: "Yu has met my lord."
Liu Bei smiled and helped Cheng Yu up, full of joy.
Then he cast a grateful look at Zhao Chen.
Zhao Chen responded with a smile, but he admired Cheng Yu in his heart.
His words of lord successfully freed Zhao Chen from Liu Bei's suspicion of Zhao Chen's intentions.
After the interlude, Zhao Chen continued his analysis: "The two people Chen mentioned will send troops are the Lord and Cao'er."
"Chen heard that a month ago, Cao Cao's attack on Zhang Xiu was unsuccessful, and Yanzhou was too small to tolerate Cao Cao's ambition. Cao Cao was worried that there was no suitable reason to devour Runan in the south, so Yuan Shu gave him an excuse. This was what Cao Cao wanted. .”
Cheng Yu answered, "Exactly. Cao Cao wants to send troops to Yuan Shu. Firstly, he is worried about Yuan Shao in the north. The military advisor has analyzed that Yuan Shao will not take action against Cao Cao at this time. Secondly, he is worried about Liu Biao. The best way is to connect Liu Zhang of Xichuan checks and balances Liu Biao, and the one who worries the most is the lord."
Zhao Chen immediately clapped his hands and praised: "What Zhongde said is absolutely true."
Several generals on one side couldn't hold it anymore after listening to Zhao Chen's analysis.
Guan Yu was the first to ask: "Military advisor, Cao Cao used this opportunity to go south to attack Yuan Shu. Sun Ce and Yuan Shao both have goals, so I can't just sit back and watch everyone cannibalize Yuan Shu, right?"
Zhao Chen signaled Guan Yu to be calm and calm, and then asked: "Can Yun Chang learn how to make friends from far away, attack close by, and take surprise?"
Guan Yu looked guilty.
Zhao Chen smiled and explained: "My lord, do you still remember the road to reviving the Han Dynasty that you discussed with Chen?"
Liu Bei replied passionately: "First take Qingji, then Tuyan and Youyou, then take Xiliang, and move forward in three directions, taking Xichuan, Jingzhou and Jiangdong, the Central Plains can be settled."
Zhao Chen nodded and said yes: "Those who plan for the overall situation should take advantage of the surrounding forces. The land of Yuan Shu and Xuzhou are inseparable."
Xuzhou, Yanzhou and Yuyang are a typical triangle area.
Historically, Yuan Shu knew that Lu Bu was an enemy of Cao Cao, so he took the initiative to send people to form an alliance with Lu Bu, hoping to use Lu Bu to contain Cao Cao.
It's a pity that Lu Bu listened to other people's words and refused to accept it because he wanted to kill Dong Zhuo's meritorious officials and to be loyal to the Han Dynasty.
The result was a battle between Yuan Shu and Lu Bu.
If both sides suffer losses, the one who benefits is Cao Cao.
And today, since Zhao Chen is here, he will never let this happen again.
"If Cao Cao sends troops, Yuan Shu will definitely seek help from the lord. The lord only needs good words to appease him. The real target of our army is Yuan Shao's Qingzhou. The first is to make friends from far away and attack at close range. To the north, Gongsun Zan of Youzhou is a good friend of the lord. The lord can write to him and explain the interests. The two families make friends to contain Yuan Shao; to the south, the lord can form an alliance with Qu'a and Liu Zhengli. After the previous defeat, Sun Ce wants to completely defeat Liu Zhengli. It may not take him more than a year and a half. During this period, our army happens to be heading north. Second, the one who is unexpected, When everyone's eyes are on Yuan Shu, it is the time for our army to capture Qingzhou, and by the time other princes react, our army has captured most of Qingzhou."
At this point, Cheng Yu understood why Zhao Chen wanted to use this half month to conquer Zang Ba of Taishan, and let Zang Ba still guard Kaiyang.
Going north from Xiapi to Qingzhou, one must either detour through Yanzhou, or pass through Donghai and Langya. No matter which route, they are closely connected with Zang Ba.
If Zang Ba is not conquered, the road to the north will be blocked, the food route will not be established, and there is a danger of being cut off at any time.
Now that Zang Ba is guarding the Taishan area, not only is the food route guaranteed, but more importantly, the rear is stable.
There is no one who can match such foresight and foresight. Cheng Yu can't stop admiring Zhao Chen.
As soon as Zhao Chen's plan came out, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei and others were immediately excited and wanted to go to the battlefield as soon as possible.
It's just that although the strategy is set, the specific arrangements still have to be made by Zhao Chen.
Everyone turned their attention to Zhao Chen again.
Liu Bei asked: "Military advisor, according to this strategy, how should our army send troops?"
Zhao Chen was not in a hurry to return to Liu Bei, but asked Sun Qian: "Gongyou, how many people are there in Xuzhou now?"
"Military advisor, including the more than 10,000 people recently recruited, there are about 45,000 people in total. The new soldiers are scattered among the camps of General Zhang and General Guan."
Zhao Chen asked Zhang Fei and Guan Yu again: "Yide, Yun Chang, how long will it take for the new soldiers to go to the battlefield?"
The two of them replied in unison: "It will take another two months."
After hearing this, Zhao Chen frowned.
"My lord, Xuzhou needs my lord to take charge personally and guard Guangling, Huaiyin, Xiapi and Pengcheng with thirty thousand troops, so that we can sit back and relax."
"Although our army now only has more than 10,000 soldiers available, time waits for us not to wait. As soon as Cao Cao sends out troops, our army can go north. The leading generals are Yide, Wenyuan, Shuzhi, and the accompanying army counselors Zishan and Zhongde."
