Three Kingdoms: My Strategy Simulator

Cession of Nanyang?!
Liu Bei walked up to the sand table and personally changed the flag of Nanyang County to Lu Bu's territory.

In an instant, the situation in the Central Plains seemed to become clear, and a large network with the two Yuans as the center was formed to restrict Liu Bei.

Once Nanyang is captured by Lu Bu, it will restrict Liu Bei from going north to the Central Plains from Jingxiang. Even if Liu Bei becomes weak, Lu Bu may go south to capture Jingbei at any time.

At present, Yanzhou is dominated by some small princes with limited influence and strength.

Once the two Yuans joined forces, with no one competing with them for Yanzhou, those small princes would not even be qualified to be fence-sitters. Wherever the Yuan flag passed, they would have no choice but to surrender.

In this way, Yuan Shu would not have to put in much effort, and Yuzhou would not reveal many flaws.

The only remaining route for the Northern Expedition to the Central Plains seems to be Xuzhou.

But no matter how good the relationship between Liu Bei and Tao Qian was, "borrowing the road" was a hundred times more dangerous than "borrowing money".

Tao Qian had to be cautious about whether Liu Bei was planning to destroy Guo under a false pretext, and Liu Bei also had to always be on guard against the possibility that Tao Qian would betray him and directly cut off Liu Bei's food supply.

"Once Yanzhou is captured by Yuan Gonglu, the two Yuans will unite and occupy four states. This will be a big problem."

Liu Bei said this in a serious tone, his brows furrowed.

Li Ji lowered his eyes slightly, realizing that this was also a kind of butterfly effect.

The rise of Liu Bei suppressed Yuan Shu, who originally controlled the four states of Yu, Xu, Jing and Yang, and forced him to retreat to Yuzhou alone. He might even become the first target of Liu Bei's northern expedition to the Central Plains at any time.

No matter how deep the conflict between the two Yuans was, Yuan Shu was facing a fatal threat and Yuan Shao was in a period of wisdom and bravery. It was not surprising that the two Yuans would put aside their past grudges and temporarily unite.

"And once the Jingzhou direction is pinned down by Lü Bu who has occupied Nanyang, it will be impossible to stop Yuan Shu from taking over Yanzhou with the support of Yuan Shao by relying on Yangzhou alone..."

Liu Bei muttered something, and then asked subconsciously.

"Zi Kun, do you have any ideas? The two Yuans were able to lure Lu Bu with benefits, but I wonder if we can lure him back?"

Li Ji shook his head and said, "The temporary benefit can buy Lu Bu a moment of peace, but it will eventually bring disaster to you if you raise a tiger."

"How about sending Gong You to Luoyang to explain the pros and cons to Lu Bu and make him aware of the hidden dangers of the two Yuans joining forces?" Liu Bei asked again.

"Now that Yuan Shao has deployed his troops in Liyang, he can threaten Dongjun. It is not difficult for him to move south from Bingzhou to Luoyang. Without a very good opportunity, Lu Bu will certainly not dare to go to war with Yuan Shao easily." Li Ji explained.

Perhaps Yuan Shao and Liu Bei were both his biggest enemies in Lu Bu's heart.

However, after Yuan Shao occupied the north of the Yellow River, he could threaten Yanzhou from Jizhou, and directly attack Sili from Bingzhou in the south.

In contrast, Liu Bei has no proximity to Lu Bu at the moment, so he is out of reach.

When choosing between Yuan Shao and Liu Bei, Lu Bu would undoubtedly rather fight Liu Bei for interests than easily fall out with Yuan Shao.

"So, the opportunity for the Northern Expedition to the Central Plains is far away, isn't it?"

At this moment, under Li Ji's explanation, Liu Bei has also understood the situation in the Central Plains.

Liu Bei is powerful, so the princes in the Central Plains will naturally unite to resist Liu Bei.

However, the situation will naturally not remain unchanged. After Yuan Shu captures Yanzhou, whether he maintains a peaceful alliance with Yuan Shao or the two sides become enemies, opportunities favorable to Liu Bei will gradually emerge.

The two Yuans have always maintained an alliance, and their power will be so great that they will really overwhelm Liu Bei, thus prompting the other princes to join forces to deal with it, which will be a great help to Liu Bei.

If the two Yuans turned against each other, the princes from all sides would not miss the opportunity to dismember the two Yuans.

It was just that Liu Bei had to choose to watch the chaos continue while he himself waited for the right time. He couldn't help but feel unwilling. As a relative of the Han Dynasty, he should draw his three-foot sword to quell the chaos as soon as possible and revive the Han Dynasty.

Li Ji's expression now showed a hint of hesitation.

The situation has changed to this point, and it is just like the saying goes, "Either the east wind prevails over the west wind, or the west wind prevails over the east wind."

Now the two Yuans are showing signs of uniting, fully demonstrating the strength and influence of the Yuan family, which has had three officials for four generations. This will inevitably suppress Liu Bei's momentum for a while.

Waiting for the right time will undoubtedly be a good policy.

At present, Liu Bei controls both Jing and Yang provinces. It would be a little difficult for him to force a northern expedition to the Central Plains, but it is more than enough for him to defend the territory.

Just wait for the conflicts among the heroes in the Central Plains to arise, and then follow the trend, and there will be a good opportunity to march north.

However, Li Ji knew that Liu Bei would not accept this, and even Li Ji was not willing to accept this either.

With each additional year that the war continues, the losses caused by the internal friction of the Han Dynasty will continue to rise, and more and more people will be affected by the war.

At this moment, Li Ji had a good idea in mind, but...

Liu Bei and Li Ji had known each other for many years. When he saw the change in Li Ji's expression, he immediately understood what was going on and asked.

"Zikun, do you have a good idea to help me out of this dilemma, but you're not willing to tell me directly?"

"Ji, I do have some humble opinions," Li Ji replied.

Liu Bei pretended to be angry and said, "Zi Kun knows my character, so just say whatever you want. No matter what you say, I will never blame you for the slightest."

Li Ji sighed inwardly.

It was precisely because Li Ji knew Liu Bei's character well that he felt embarrassed about whether to speak out this strategy.

However, there were no outsiders around at the moment, and there was nothing unspeakable between Liu and Li, so Li Ji spoke.

"The two Yuans have united. If you want to march north to the Central Plains, you should change the route."

Upon hearing this, Liu Bei glanced at the sand table, looked at the states and counties adjacent to Jing and Yang, and asked in confusion. "Zi Kun's intention is to enter Shu?"

Right now, the Liu Zhang brothers are still fighting among themselves in Sichuan and Shu, and to some extent, it is a land without a master.

If Liu Bei led his troops into Shu at this moment, there would be no problem in terms of justice.

However, for a powerful ruler who wants to unify the world, the greatest significance of Sichuan and Shu lies in accumulating money and grain through the land of abundance.

But now Jingyang two states are not short of money and food. It is far better to put these energies directly north to the Central Plains than to go through the trouble of attacking Sichuan and Shu.

So, Li Ji shook his head and said in a deep voice.

"My lord, now that the two Yuans have taken Yanzhou and Lu Bu has occupied Nanyang, this is actually a great opportunity for you to seize Xuzhou."

"You must know that Xuzhou borders Yu, Yan, and Qing. If we take Xuzhou, we will completely open up the passage to occupy the Central Plains."

"My lord, whether you want to advance north to Qingzhou, or take Yanzhou in the west, or even attack Yuzhou from both sides, you need to hold Xuzhou in your hands."

"Whoever controls Xuzhou can control the Central Plains."

"And now Yuan Shu wants to take Yanzhou, so he can go. You only need to leave a part of your army in Shouchun to threaten Runan County and tie down Yuan Shu's forces, and then lead your army to take Xuzhou directly. No one will be able to stop you." (End of this chapter)