Three Kingdoms: My Strategy Simulator

When is the time?

Right now!

When he led his troops out of Sili without gaining anything and had no idea what to do next, Xun Yu of the Yingchuan Xun family visited him.

Moreover, what Xun Yu said at the banquet made Cao Cao feel as if the fog had cleared and the light had appeared, and it pointed out to Cao Cao where he should find his place.

The world is in chaos right now, and the trend of warring states has become inevitable.

In the north, there were Liu Yu, Gongsun Zan, Yuan Shao and Han Fu. In the south, Liu Bei was the only powerful one. The three states of Yi, Jing and Xu were also governed by provincial governors.

Jiaozhou is far from the Central Plains and is controlled by Yangzhou. Liangzhou is in turmoil and is blocked by Sili and Yizhou respectively. Yuzhou is the base camp of the Yuan family...

Only Yanzhou and Qingzhou can be taken!

However, Lu Bu is eyeing Yanzhou from the west and will attack it from the east soon. There are also a large number of county governors who are in power and check and balance each other. Qingzhou has been ravaged by the Yellow Turbans for many years, the people's livelihood is ruined and withered, and its potential is greatly lost.

If Cao Cao had roughly figured out all of the above after many days, then Xun Yu's final conclusion surprised Cao Cao.

We should temporarily abandon Yanzhou and take Qingzhou!

Yanzhou is a place surrounded by wars, with internal and external troubles. It would be extremely difficult to take it now.

The people's livelihood in Qingzhou may be ruined, but the millions of Yellow Turbans in Qingzhou can be subdued one by one, either as soldiers or as civilians. In addition, Xun Yu also offered a "military farming strategy" on the spot to maximize Qingzhou's current advantages.

In the blueprint drawn by Xun Yu, only with Qingzhou as a base could he advance westward to Yanzhou and fight against Lu Bu.

As long as he can defeat Lu Bu, Yanzhou and Sili will belong to Cao Cao. He will control the three states and dominate the Central Plains, saving the emperor and supporting the Han Dynasty.

Then wait for an opportunity to move north or south...

The strategy proposed by Xun Yu was not long-term, but it solved Cao Cao's urgent problem at the moment, so that Cao Cao could not help but praise it as "the best strategy at the table."

The biggest concern of this strategy is that Qing and Ji provinces are too close to each other, and Cao Cao's military force is extremely weak. Once Yuan Shao glares at Qingzhou across the Yellow River, he can kill Cao Cao directly.

Moreover, if Yuan Shao really occupied Jizhou and Bingzhou in a very short period of time, then even if Cao Cao successfully established himself in Qingzhou, he would face Yuan Shao's military attack at any time and would find it difficult to resist Yuan Shao.

Therefore, the prerequisite for the realization of this "Xi Zhong Strategy" is that Yuan Shao, who has a very high prestige in Jizhou and a strong army, is temporarily in deep trouble.

Therefore, while Cao Cao's troops stayed in Yingchuan to continue recruiting soldiers and talents, they were also very likely to use their connections to undermine the relationship between Yuan Shao and Gongsun Zan and Han Fu.

It was almost consistent with Xun Yu's prediction that Yuan Shao was ambitious and vain. After returning to Jizhou, Yuan Shao, who claimed to be the leader of the alliance, was so proud of his status that he ambushed and killed Gongsun Zan's envoy.

This allowed Yuan Shao, who originally had the opportunity to force Han Fu to give up Jizhou through various political means, to push Gongsun Zan directly in front of Han Fu, thus promoting the alliance between Han Fu and Gongsun Zan.

How could this news not make Cao Cao excited and feel that the future is promising?
Even though Xun Yu looked calm and composed, his slightly uneasy heart finally calmed down.

Soon after, Xun Yu discussed with Cao Cao a lot of details about the march to Qingzhou to suppress the Yellow Turbans, and then he saluted and withdrew.

As Cao Cao watched Xun Yu leave, the warm and friendly look on his face slowly faded away, and a cold look appeared in his narrow eyes. With Cao Cao's suspicious nature, how could he easily trust Xun Yu?

During his stay in Yingchuan, Cao Cao not only recruited soldiers, but also sent people to investigate the news related to Xun Yu.

And after daily secret tests, Cao Cao had completely understood the reason why Xun Yu joined him.

In the first year of the Yonghan period (189 AD), after Emperor Liu Bian ascended the throne, Xun Yu, who was recommended as a filial and incorruptible official, was promoted to the position of "Palace Guardian" and was favored and trusted by Emperor Liu Bian.

Later, after Dong Zhuo entered the capital and seized power, he deposed Liu Bian and enthroned Liu Xie. Xun Yu, who was unwilling to go along with Dong Zhuo but was powerless to change him, could only find an excuse to leave Luoyang and resign from his official position and return home.

(PS: To put it simply, the so-called Guardian of the Palace is in charge of the emperor's pens, ink, paper and other items. It is a lowly position but one that allows frequent contact with the emperor. This was also Xun's bet on the new emperor at that time.

The above is also Xun Yu's experience in history, which also reasonably explains why Xun Yu remained loyal to the Han Dynasty throughout his life, and his goal was always to support the Han Dynasty and assist Cao Cao in returning power to the emperor.)
Moreover, Cao Cao heard a lot of what Xun Yu said after he resigned and returned home. He understood that what Xun Yu had in his heart was the Han Dynasty, what he was loyal to was the Han Dynasty, and what he wanted to repay with his talents was the emperor.

And from what he had sounded out recently about Xun Yu's attitude towards the other princes, he also understood why Xun Yu, who was loyal to the Han Dynasty, would choose to join him.

In Xun Yu's eyes:
The capricious Lu Bu and Dong Zhuo are birds of a feather, holding the emperor hostage, undermining the emperor, and stealing the country;

Xun Yu saw clearly the intentions of Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu. Ambitious people only wanted to go one step further. The day they dominated the world, there would be no Han Dynasty.

As for Liu Yan, Liu Biao, Liu Bei, Liu Yu and other relatives of the Han Dynasty, they were also deeply wary and cautious of Xun Yu.

The rest are mostly mediocre people and are not worth mentioning.

Rather than saying that Xun Yu was loyal to the Han Dynasty, it would be more accurate to say that Xun Yu was loyal to Emperor Liu Bian.

After Emperor Liu Bian was murdered by the thief Dong, Xun Yu transferred his loyalty to Emperor Liu Xie.

In Xun Yu's view, since Emperor Liu Bian was dead, Emperor Liu Xie was undoubtedly the legitimate emperor.

But if the imperial court is weak and the local clans are strong, the best outcome for Emperor Liu Xie would be to abdicate and let others take over, which is also unacceptable to Xun Yu.

Therefore, when Liu Bei came to Yingchuan to visit talents before Cao Cao, Xun Yu even avoided him.

Therefore, Cao Cao was still unclear about why Xun Yu chose him.

Cao Cao once established the five-colored sticks, governed Jinan, and assassinated Dong Zhuo alone. His reputation to the outside world was that of an upright and incorruptible person, a loyal minister who loved the people, and a righteous man.

In addition, Cao Cao was retaliated by Chen Gong, so he was driven out of Sili in disgrace without getting even a bit of the "cake".

However, "Misfortunes often bring blessings", which made Xun Yu feel that Cao Cao was a loyal and upright person who was completely different from the princes who had their own ambitions.

Therefore, after Cao Cao arrived in Yingchuan, even before Cao Cao started to visit talents, Xun Yu took the initiative to recommend himself and proposed the "Xi Zhong Ce", and recommended a large number of friends to Cao Cao.

Unfortunately, Cao Cao knew very well that when he was in Luoyang, it was not that he didn't want to eat a bite of cake, but that he didn't eat it at all... (End of this chapter)