Three Kingdoms: My Strategy Simulator

This possibility is, of course, not nonexistent.

Previously, when Cao Cao went south to Xu Province, triggering this round of war in the Central Plains, Yuan Shao also realized that this was a good opportunity to go north to You Province, and hastily integrated his forces, intending to forcibly seize You Province.

Even if he couldn't take the entire You Province in one fell swoop, Yuan Shao intended to first gain a foothold in You Province and then gradually encroach upon it.

This strategy was undoubtedly feasible.

Even though Liu Yu had implemented a scorched earth policy early on, in the Battle of Jieqiao, Gongsun Zan was seriously injured, and the You Province cavalry also suffered heavy losses. You Province's available troops and generals were quite limited, making it the weakest it had ever been.

If You Province were to recover, it would be much more difficult for Yuan Shao to cross the hundred-mile scorched earth area and attack You Province.

After the outbreak of the You-Ji War, relevant intelligence was naturally continuously sent back to Liu Bei and Li Ji.

With Gongsun Zan seriously injured and unable to command troops, and Liu Yu not being skilled in military affairs, Liu Yu showed the magnanimity of trusting his subordinates and not doubting those he employed.

While Liu Yu nominally personally took command and led the troops, integrating the available forces of You Province, he actually handed over military power to Zhao Yun and Guo Jia.

Therefore, during the Central Plains War, the border between You and Ji Provinces was also fought fiercely.

Guo Jia faced the strategists of Hebei alone, coming up with various plans. The two sides had their own victories and defeats, but in the end, he assisted Zhao Yun in always blocking Yuan Shao outside the gates of You Province.

At this time, if Cao Cao led 60,000 troops north to support Yuan Shao, this would undoubtedly be a force sufficient to break the balance.

No matter how brave Zhao Yun was, and no matter how many ingenious plans Guo Jia had, they could not stop Cao Cao and Yuan Shao from joining forces to enter You Province.

Therefore, after Liu Bei voiced this guess, a deep worry couldn't help but appear on his face.

The importance of You Province was self-evident.

Apart from Liu Bei's personal friendship with Liu Yu and Gongsun Zan, more importantly, You Province was, in a sense, Liu Bei's horse-breeding ground.

Without You Province, Liu Bei would almost lose his source of warhorses.

Without warhorses, the difficulty for Liu Bei to unify the world from south to north would undoubtedly increase sharply, and he might even fall into a passive position in the Central Plains battlefield.

Even before, when dispatching Zhao Yun and Guo Jia north to You Province to assist Gongsun Zan, Li Ji had told Liu Bei about the worst-case scenario.

That was, if You Province was lost, the strategy for unifying the world might have to be completely adjusted.

From directly marching north to the Central Plains, they would instead choose to enter Yi Province first, unite with the Ma family of Xiliang, integrate Liang Province, and regain control of Liang Province as a horse-breeding ground.

In this way, the progress of unifying the world would undoubtedly be greatly hindered.

However, Li Ji shook his head and said.

"What Lord has said is very reasonable, but I think Cao Cao is not going to help Yuan Shao, but has other plans."

"Other plans?"

Liu Bei asked in confusion. "North of Qing Province, there is only Ji Province, so what else could it be?"

Li Ji said in a deep voice.

"Cao Cao's goal is Ji Province, but what Cao Cao wants to do may not be to help Ji Province. On the contrary, Cao Cao is probably eyeing the emptiness of Ji Province, intending to attack Ji Province."

"What?"

Liu Bei's expression changed slightly.

This guess was undoubtedly quite bold.

But after Liu Bei calmed down and thought about it, he suddenly realized that it seemed not impossible.

Yuan Shao unified Ji and Bing Provinces by force, but the time Yuan Shao unified Ji Province was not long, and the instability of people's hearts was also a fact.

Especially since Yuan Shao's base was in Bohai Commandery, Bohai was right under the threat of Cao Cao's army, and Yuan Shao's forces were all in the north, the rear and hinterland of Ji Province were extremely empty.

"Lord, please look..."

Li Ji led Liu Bei to the map hanging in the big tent, and pointed his finger at the north of Ji Province, saying.

"Now Yuan Shao's forces are all in the north, only Chunyu Qiong and Zhu Ling are in the south."

"And since Cao Cao dares to go north to Ji Province, it is expected that he has solved the problem of Zhu Ling. The only remaining Chunyu Qiong is an ambitious and incompetent person, and he is stationed in Liyang, in the south of Wei Commandery, far away from Bohai Commandery."

"Even if Cao Cao attacks Bohai Commandery, Chunyu Qiong's desire to support Bohai Commandery is also beyond his reach, and he cannot stop Cao Cao at all."

"Even if Cao Cao is bolder, he might send a partial army to attack Chunyu Qiong first, as long as Chunyu Qiong is also captured."

"Then the entire southern part of Ji Province will undoubtedly be at Cao Cao's disposal, without any resistance."

Speaking of the end, Li Ji couldn't help but sneer and said.

"I thought Cao Cao's betrayal of Yuan Shu was making a wedding dress for Lord, but I didn't expect that sending Zhao Yun and Guo Jia to You Province to resist Yuan Shao was also giving Cao Cao an opportunity."

"The overall situation of the world has temporarily become a situation where Liu and Cao join forces to destroy Yuan."

The more Liu Bei listened, the more alarmed he became. This was undoubtedly a dreamlike idea, and more importantly, it was entirely possible to realize.

After a long while, Liu Bei frowned and said.

"But if Yuan Shao learns that his rear is lost, he will inevitably return his army. Cao Cao's foundation is unstable and his troops are insufficient. How can he resist?"

Hearing this, Li Ji thought for a while and analyzed.

"How is Cao Cao's foundation unstable? Although Qing Province borders Yan and Xu Provinces, Yan Province has not yet been unified, and Tao Qian of Xu Province is also unable to go north to Qing Province. We are now fighting Yuan Shu and have no time to take care of Qing Province."

"Even if Cao Cao's initial part of Ji Province can be considered unstable, how stable is Yuan Shao's foundation?"

"Yuan Shao's Bohai Commandery has been lost, and the remaining territory has been managed by Han Fu for a long time. Han Fu's death has also planted many hidden dangers for Yuan Shao in Ji Province."

After a pause, Li Ji pointed to Yuan Shao's location with his folding fan and sighed.

"If Yuan Shao had always been strong, he could have easily dealt with those hidden dangers by taking some time after the war, but at this moment, it is undoubtedly fatal."

"As for insufficient troops, it cannot be said either. Cao Cao still has more than 60,000 available soldiers, who have been through many battles. Even if the number is inferior to Yuan Shao, it can still maintain a balance."

"Therefore, what I am worried about is not Yuan Shao defeating Cao Cao, but Cao Cao seeking life in death, defeating Yuan Shao in one fell swoop, and becoming a great threat!"

Qing Province is barren, but Ji Province is fertile.

Once Cao Cao defeats Yuan Shao and owns Ji and Qing Provinces, Bing Province will only be in Cao Cao's pocket.

In this way, Cao Cao has undoubtedly achieved an incredible reversal, shaking off the predicament of Qing Province in one fell swoop and becoming a behemoth second only to Liu Bei.

More importantly, now that Li Ji has finally destroyed the main force in Ji Ling's hands in one fell swoop, disintegrating most of the available forces in Yu Province.

Yu Province has already begun to be placed on Liu Bei's table.

At this moment, it is impossible for Li Ji to give up this great opportunity to seize Yu Province and fully mobilize his forces north to seek the yet unknown fisherman's benefit.

After listening, Liu Bei also paced back and forth in the big tent, pondering.

Yuan and Cao fighting each other is actually what Liu Bei wants to see.

But what Liu Bei wants to see most is both sides suffering, not one side dominating. Now Li Ji tends to think that Cao Cao will defeat Yuan Shao and annex Hebei, occupying the three provinces of Qing, Ji, and Bing.

Liu Bei himself does not think that Cao Cao has such ability, nor does he think that Yuan Shao is such an easy person to deal with.

But Li Ji's predictions have always been rarely wrong.

"Cao Thief is very cruel and treacherous. If he becomes strong, it will not be a blessing for the people."

Liu Bei murmured, then opened his mouth and said.

"Zikun, why not order Sun Ce and Zhou Yu to temporarily station troops in Yunping of Langya State to threaten Qing Province, and after Tao Qian sends someone to take over Langya State again, let them attack Qing Province to threaten Cao Cao's rear, how about that?"