Three Kingdoms: My Strategy Simulator

While Liu Bei felt relieved about the situation in Yu Province, he also gained some insights.

Throughout the entire process, were Sima Yi and Gan Ning's influences significant?

Naturally, they cannot be ignored.

However, if Yu Province had been in a stable period, how could Sima Yi and Gan Ning have instigated such a large-scale uprising with just a few men, provisions, and weapons?

Ultimately, it was Sima Yi and Gan Ning who guided it from behind, but it was undoubtedly also the choice of the people.

If everyone in Yu Province had enough to eat, it would have been impossible to stir up an uprising of this scale.

【The people are like water, the ruler like a boat; water can carry the boat, but it can also capsize it】

At this moment, Liu Bei couldn't help but recall Li Ji's words, feeling deeply moved and lost in thought.

Even the chaos that has plagued the Han Dynasty to this point is, in fact, a validation of this saying.

“Lord?”

It wasn't until Xu Shu called out softly that Liu Bei embarrassedly came back to his senses.

“I was lost in thought for a moment; I've made Yuan Zhi laugh.”

Xu Shu was already of age to undergo the capping ceremony, and after preliminarily demonstrating his abilities in the previous advisory group.

With Li Ji's support, Liu Bei transferred Xu Shu to his side to fill in gaps and assigned him an official position as a clerk in Wu Commandery.

This official position might not be high, but the important thing was that Xu Shu was now Liu Bei's true “secretary” in every sense of the word.

To show his regard for Xu Shu, Liu Bei personally held the capping ceremony for Xu Shu in Xia Pi City, bestowing upon him the courtesy name “Yuan Zhi.”

And Xu Shu did not disappoint Liu Bei. Although he was somewhat inexperienced as a newcomer and a bit inexperienced in governing a region alone, with Xu Shu's intelligence and talent, he was more than capable of filling in gaps for Liu Bei.

Especially with the families of officials in Xu Province, led by Chen Gui, having fully aligned themselves with Liu Bei, Liu Bei had now substantially taken control of all military and political matters in Xu Province with Xu Shu's assistance.

Moreover, ten days ago, Tao Qian once again humbly offered Xu Province to Liu Bei. Liu Bei declined for the second time, but Tao Qian also took the opportunity to retreat to his residence and remain out of sight, merely retaining the title of Governor of Xu Province.

Once Tao Qian's report to the imperial court requesting to relinquish the governorship had been answered, Liu Bei would be able to rightfully bring Xu Province under his rule with Tao Qian's repeated offer.

And Xu Shu interrupted Liu Bei's thoughts to report on the progress of summoning the people to return to Langya State and Donghai Commandery.

Due to the previous devastation caused by Cao Jun in Langya State and Donghai Commandery, a large number of people fled south to seek refuge, which not only caused a sharp increase in pressure on Xia Pi State and Guangling Commandery but also led to a large number of fertile fields in Donghai Commandery and Langya State being left uncultivated.

Therefore, to restore order in Xu Province, the top priority was to summon as many refugees as possible to return to their place of origin.

“Yuan Zhi has handled this quite well. Please pay more attention to this matter in the future, and be sure to take care of the people's wishes as much as possible, and do not cause any public resentment.”

After Xu Shu finished his report, Liu Bei, feeling very satisfied, instructed Xu Shu while also naturally delegating authority to Xu Shu.

Having become accustomed to Li Ji overseeing a large number of military and political affairs, Liu Bei had almost reached perfection in the skill of “delegating authority” and understood that “delegating authority” was the ability that a lord should master most.

However, this act of delegating authority, which implied trust, undoubtedly caused a great shock to Xu Shu's still somewhat young heart.

Xu Shu immediately gave Liu Bei a deep bow and said excitedly.

“Shu will surely dedicate his life to the Lord's great cause!”

While helping Xu Shu up, Liu Bei said softly.

“You and I are lord and subject, both servants of Han, focusing on sincerity and working together to support the Han Dynasty is all that matters.”

“Yes, sir.”

Xu Shu replied with tears in his eyes.

Immediately afterward, Xu Shu took a few deep breaths to regain some composure, then flipped through the documents in his hand again and reported on the current situation in Ji Province.

Due to the distance, it took at least five to seven days for the war situation in Ji Province to be transmitted back to Xu Province.

The latest news that had been transmitted back was that Yuan Shao had gradually withdrawn his troops from the northern battlefield of Ji Province and was mobilizing his heavy troops to begin moving south.

However, it seemed that because Nanpi City was in Cao Cao's hands, which not only contained Yuan Shao's family members but also the families and relatives of a large number of Yuan Shao's civil and military confidants, Yuan Shao was afraid to act rashly.

Yuan Shao was afraid that his excessive pressure would cause Cao Cao to wield the butcher's knife in Nanpi City, leading to the disintegration of his subordinates' loyalty.

Yuan Shao's hesitant and slow marching speed undoubtedly bought Cao Cao a lot of time, and Cao Cao actually took control of the southern counties of Ji Province, such as Bohai Commandery, Qinghe State, and Wei Commandery.

For a time, a rather dramatic scene appeared in the situation in Ji Province.

At the beginning of the year, Yuan Shao occupied Bohai Commandery, Qinghe State, and Wei Commandery, relying on the territory of the three commanderies and states to defeat Gongsun Zan and Han Fu at Jieqiao.

In less than a year, Yuan Shao's original base of operations had all fallen into Cao Cao's hands, while Yuan Shao had occupied a portion of Bing Province and Han Fu's original territory.

“Lord, judging from this trend, Cao Cao will obviously no longer retreat from Ji Province, and Yuan Shao will inevitably realize this sooner or later…”

“The war between Yuan and Cao is imminent, and it is very likely that the battleground will still be… Jieqiao.”

Finally, Xu Shu gave his judgment with some hesitation.

“Still Jieqiao?”

Liu Bei couldn't help but be a little dumbfounded when he heard this familiar name, and then asked.

“Then what does Yuan Zhi think, who will win and who will lose in the war between Yuan and Cao?”

Xu Shu considered it for a moment and gave his opinion, saying.

“Yuan Shao has confronted General Gongsun at Jieqiao for more than a year, and he knows the advantages and disadvantages of the terrain around Jieqiao like the back of his hand.”

“Moreover, the autumn and winter seasons are already the dry season, and it is impossible for Cao Cao to replicate Yuan Shao's previous achievements.”

“In terms of military strength, Yuan Shao has mostly elite soldiers and fierce generals at his disposal, and Cao Cao's defeated army is probably still unable to recover to this day.”

“Cao Cao's only chance of winning is to drag it into winter, forcing Yuan Shao to retreat, and taking advantage of the winter to quickly digest the territory in the south of Ji Province, so that he can have enough troops to compete with Yuan Shao next year.”

“Yuan Shao has the advantage in terms of geographical location and popular support; only the timing is slightly more favorable to Cao Cao.”

Liu Bei nodded upon hearing this.

Xu Shu's analysis was undoubtedly quite objective and accurate. At least, based on the currently known intelligence of Ji Province, Yuan Shao indeed had the advantage in terms of the strengths and weaknesses of both sides.

In Liu Bei's eyes, Yuan Shao and Cao Cao were obviously not easy people to deal with.

The best result would undoubtedly be a mutually destructive battle between two tigers.

However, Liu Bei greatly loathed Cao Cao's brutality, and in addition, Li Ji's previous judgment was that Cao Cao had a higher chance of winning, and that Cao Cao's occupation of the north was a greater threat than Yuan Shao's.

Therefore…

“Order Sun Ce and Zhou Yu to take the opportunity to attack Qing Province and cut off Cao Cao's retreat.” (End of chapter)