Three Kingdoms: My Strategy Simulator

Currently, the situation in Youzhou is worse than Li Ji anticipated.

The deaths of Yang Zhong, the Governor of Liaodong, Liu Zheng, the Governor of Youbeiping, and Gong Qichou, the Protectorate of the Wuhuan, have effectively severed Youzhou in the middle, and the Wuhuan have already begun to enter Yuyang Commandery in large numbers.

Furthermore, the Yuyang, Guangyang, and Zhuo commanderies of Youzhou are mostly plains, which allows the Wuhuan cavalry to maximize their advantage.

At this juncture, the situation in Yuyang Commandery is unclear, and the Wuhuan have already gathered in large numbers within Yuyang Commandery.

It's too late to protect Yuyang Commandery!

The number of Wuhuan cavalry that can be mustered reaches over a hundred thousand.

Li Ji assessed his own forces: 30,000 soldiers from Wu Commandery, just over 10,000 from Gongsun Zan's unit, and over 30,000 soldiers from Youzhou Governor Liu Yu stationed in Ji County.

In addition, a considerable portion of the Han border army is stationed on the borders of Dai Commandery and Shanggu Commandery, but those border troops cannot be moved.

Otherwise, the borders in the direction of Dai Commandery and Shanggu Commandery would also be lost, and it would not only be the Wuhuan causing chaos, but the Xianbei would also join the turmoil in Youzhou.

At that time, the entire northern Central Plains would likely fall completely.

At this moment, Li Ji inexplicably thought of the terms "Five Barbarians' Invasion of China" and "Two-Legged Sheep," and his eyes became fierce.

The Wuhuan must be stopped in Guangyang Commandery, and their spines must be completely broken, so that they dare not show their fangs to the Han people again.

However, the Wuhuan currently have as many as 100,000 cavalry, while the Han army, even including Li Ji, has less than 80,000 at most, and most of them are infantry.

The disparity in strength between the two sides is obvious at a glance.

And...

While constantly weighing the intelligence of both sides, Li Ji turned his gaze to Gongsun Zan, who was standing beside him with a firm and heroic spirit, and the idea of supporting Gongsun Zan as much as possible sprouted in his heart.

Gongsun Zan values righteousness over profit, is forthright, is tough on foreigners, and has an extremely deep friendship with Liu Bei.

If it is said that when the troubled times arrive, who will be Liu Bei's most natural and solid ally, then it will undoubtedly be Gongsun Zan.

Domestically, as long as Gongsun Zan firmly controls Youzhou, he will not only be able to continuously provide a large number of war horses and good horses to Jiangdong, which lacks horses, but also be able to form a north-south pincer against the Central Plains.

Externally, Gongsun Zan's extremely tough and aggressive personality towards foreigners not only suits Li Ji's taste, but is also a general who can steadily deter the three foreign tribes bordering Youzhou after gaining power.

Therefore, Li Ji's judgment differs from Jia Xu's idea that assisting Gongsun Zan in resisting the Wuhuan is all harm and no benefit.

Li Ji's judgment is that if he can help Gongsun Zan firmly grasp the power of Youzhou before the troubled times, then the help to Liu Bei in pacifying the troubled times will be no less than that of conquering Yingzhou.

After all, in the original trajectory, Gongsun Zan faced the predicament of being restrained by Liu Yu internally, being at odds with Yuan Shao in the south, and being threatened by the Wuhuan, Xianbei, and others in the north, before finally being defeated and killed due to internal and external troubles.

However, Gongsun Zan also has major and minor problems: he does not care for the people, he is vindictive, and he is too headstrong...

Therefore, in Li Ji's view, Gongsun Zan's defeat was not due to his martial prowess, but due to his character flaws.

Compared to the group of insidious and shoulder-to-shoulder strategists under Yuan Shao, Gongsun Zan probably wouldn't know how many schemes he had fallen into until his death.

In Li Ji's view, Gongsun Zan can definitely be regarded as a double-edged sword.

The key to this battle is to make this double-edged sword sharper, not hurt Liu Bei, and be used by Liu Bei.

How could Gongsun Zan know that Li Ji's thoughts beside him had turned thousands of times in just a moment, and even from the military situation marked on the map, he had already associated it with the overall gains and losses on the map?

On the contrary, Li Ji's gaze with a hint of inquiry made Gongsun Zan think that he had said something wrong, and said.

"Zikun, is there anything else that is unclear?"

Li Ji naturally shook his head and frowned as he replied.

"The situation... is difficult!"

The disparity in military strength, coupled with the difference in philosophy between Liu Yu and Gongsun Zan, meant that Li Ji could actually mobilize only 40,000 troops.

More importantly, the area between Yuyang Commandery and Guangyang Commandery is all plains, with only a few rivers running through it.

But for the Wuhuan cavalry, which numbered as many as 100,000, it was almost like throwing a whip to stop the flow of water, and it was not enough to rely on as a favorable terrain for field battles.

Therefore...

Li Ji asked Gongsun Zan in detail about all of Liu Yu's actions and decisions, and combined them with the current situation.

Li Ji found that Liu Yu, on the one hand, gathered troops and intended to defend Ji County to the death, and on the other hand, sent people to constantly try to negotiate peace with the Wuhuan. It cannot be said that it was useless, but it could be regarded as a conservative and prudent strategy.

As long as Ji County is not lost, then the Han army will always leave a nail that the Wuhuan is afraid of firmly nailed in Youzhou.

In this way, even if the Wuhuan loot wantonly, they will eventually have to retreat to the grassland.

And to prevent the Wuhuan from really being similar to the great defeat in the sixth year of Xiping, when Emperor Liu Hong of the Han Dynasty forcibly ordered the Han army to fight the Xianbei, causing the four commanderies of Shuofang, Wuyuan, Yunzhong, and Shangjun in Bingzhou, as well as a part of the Xihu Commandery, to completely fall into the hands of the Xianbei.

Unlike Liu Yan, Liu Yu is indeed a loyal person, with a conservative and steady personality, and cares for the people. He can be regarded as a thorough conservative gentleman.

Therefore, after careful consideration, Li Ji found that Liu Yu's idea was roughly to try to recapture Yuyang Commandery, risking a huge risk to fight the Wuhuan in Yuyang Commandery.

It is better to rely on the strong city walls to defend Ji County to the death, so as to ensure that Youzhou will not be completely lost.

In addition, the relationship between the Wuhuan and the Xianbei is not good, and the Wuhuan's wanton looting of Han land will also lead to the emptiness of the rear, thus attracting the covetousness of the Xianbei.

Therefore, it is not impossible for Liu Yu to try to negotiate with the Wuhuan to return to the grassland.

Of course, even if Liu Yu's strategy can succeed, the ultimate price to be paid will inevitably be Youzhou cutting off flesh, and a large number of people will also be looted by the Wuhuan.

It can only be said that Liu Yu is by no means a stupid person, but simply a conservative personality and style.

However, this is also the biggest contradiction and problem in Youzhou at present. Gongsun Zan and a large number of Youyan men have a fierce and aggressive attitude towards foreigners, but the foreign Governor Liu Yu is always conservative.

This also makes it impossible for Youzhou to integrate its forces to resist the Wuhuan, even though it is clearly facing the Wuhuan Rebellion.

"Bogu, if you want to resist the Wuhuan right now, it is especially important to integrate all available forces." Li Ji said in a deep voice the key to the current situation.

"I have already tried to persuade Liu Yu, but that Liu Yu is a cowardly and fearful person. Not only is he unwilling to give up the idea of defending Ji County to the death, but he also asks me to lead troops into Ji County to assist in defending the city."

Gongsun Zan said with a gloomy face.

"If Zikun really wants to integrate the forces in Ji County, give me seven days!"

"I am confident that I can send someone to forcibly control Liu Yu and seize the seal of command in his hands. In addition, with my prestige in the Youzhou army, I can guarantee that the vast majority of the troops in the city will be used by us."

Looking at the ruthlessness revealed on Gongsun Zan's face, Li Ji realized that this idea of Gongsun Zan's was probably not a temporary one, but that he had already had this plan for a long time.

And...

Even though Li Ji realized that forcibly controlling the Governor of the Han Dynasty and seizing military power would have extremely bad consequences and effects, from another point of view, this was undoubtedly the most effective and quick way to cut through the mess.

More importantly, this was done by Gongsun Zan and would not have any impact on Liu Bei and Wu Commandery.

The huge personality difference between Gongsun Zan and Liu Yu meant that the conflict between the two of them could never disappear.

Therefore, if Gongsun Zan wants to control Youzhou, he will inevitably have to face the conflict with Liu Yu.

"Bogu, please allow me to think about it carefully."

Li Ji waved his hand, his eyelids drooping slightly, and decided to use the "Strategy Simulator" to deduce this direction in order to determine the advantages and disadvantages.

[Under your unremitting efforts, you have finally created a base for Liu Bei.]

[However, you know that this is not enough to quickly pacify the troubled times, so you intend to attack Yingzhou in order to accumulate strength, which can not only train troops, but also continuously obtain gold and silver minerals, and also plunder a large amount of labor to develop Jiangdong, and also eliminate hidden dangers for future generations in advance.]

[A move that kills four birds with one stone!]

[However, the chain reaction caused by the weakness of the Han Dynasty has led to the Wuhuan's large-scale invasion of Youzhou!]

[In less than a month, more than half of the Han land in Youzhou has fallen, and the best place to store grain that you have prepared for attacking Yingzhou will be threatened by foreign troops.]

[After weighing it again and again...]

[In order to bury a chess piece in Youzhou and not to bear the Han people being trampled by foreign iron hooves, you have decided to pacify the Wuhuan first, and then settle Yingzhou.]

[Currently, your choices for pacifying the Wuhuan Rebellion are:]

[1. Settle internal affairs before resisting foreign aggression; 2. Lure the enemy deep...]

The "Strategy Simulator" often shows three of the most feasible choices, but now only two appear, one of which "Settle internal affairs before resisting foreign aggression" may have appeared under the influence of Li Ji's subjective ideas.

Even without deduction, Li Ji naturally knew that the choice of "Luring the enemy deep" was a feasible strategy.

After the Wuhuan test out the reality of the Han Dynasty today, they will inevitably abandon Ji County, which is difficult to attack, and instead continue to move south into Ji, Qing, and Xu prefectures to begin wanton looting.

According to the habits of foreigners and the discipline of the Wuhuan, they are often organized into a group based on tribes, either hundreds of people or thousands of people, scattered and looting.

In this way, only when those Wuhuan cavalry are scattered to a certain extent, then Li Ji and Gongsun Zan's 40,000 troops, which have been hidden and not moving, will strike with thunderous force.

Or guard the key passes, or take advantage of the situation to ambush and kill...

The more than 100,000 Wuhuan cavalry gathered together may be able to roam the plains, but how can the small groups of Wuhuan cavalry be a match for the Han cavalry led by the three fierce warriors Zhao Yun, Zhang Fei, and Gongsun Zan?

Li Ji only needs to lead the majority of the infantry to block the paths through strategic locations, preventing the Wuhuan cavalry from retreating back to Youzhou. Zhao Yun, Zhang Fei, and Gongsun Zan can then lead their cavalry to continuously engage and eliminate them.

However, the cost of doing so would inevitably be a large number of civilians suffering from looting and the ravages of war.

Moreover, given the fierce temperaments of Gongsun Zan and Zhang Fei, they might not accept victory achieved in this manner. Li Ji also believes that such a method would be contrary to benevolence and virtue.

(End of Chapter)