The Rebellious Officials and Traitors of the Late Han Dynasty

Chapter 288 Yuan Shao's Mysterious Confidence
Qin Shou came quickly and left quickly, leading the cavalry to personally pursue Xun Yu.

Xun Yu was also a smart man. He knew that the counties along the way were unable to resist Qin Shou's attack, so he abandoned the major counties without hesitation, and even did not want the local garrisons, and just fled with the families of Cao's army.

He knew that if he stopped or escaped with everyone, he would be captured alive.

By the time Qin Shou arrived at the riverside, Xun Yu had already left on a boat, leaving Qin Shou with only the vast river and the sailing boat.

"I don't know if I'll have a chance to return to Yingchuan in the future."

Xun Yu looked at the vast river behind him and took a deep breath.

Man Chong didn't say anything, and his face was full of worry.

They are all smart people. Qin Shou is becoming more and more powerful. Once Yuan Shao is defeated, he will occupy the entire north and dominate the world. Cao Cao can only occupy Jiangdong and cannot compete with him.

"We just have to wait for the right time." Man Chong sighed, "If the lord can occupy Jingzhou and Bashu, we may not be without a chance."

"The population of the south is far less than that of the north. We have lost our inherent advantage. Moreover, if we want to attack the north, we need war horses. Without war horses, we cannot roam the world. Qin Shou will not give us war horses."

"Although we have boats, they can only protect ourselves."

Xun Yu shook his head. To conquer the north with the south, a large number of cavalry would be needed, otherwise it would be quite difficult.

Not everyone is Zhu Yuanzhang. Even if it was Zhu Yuanzhang, he was able to conquer the north by using the south, which was because he had the right time and people. Otherwise, the Ming Dynasty might not have been established.

Cao Cao is even worse now. It is barely possible for him to occupy Xuzhou, and it is extremely difficult and almost impossible for him to march north to attack Qin Shou. Therefore, Xun Yu and the others did not have much confidence in this.

"Separate yourself from the enemy and wait for the right time. This is the only way."

Man Chong shook his head.

He looked back towards the north, and he didn't know whether he would be able to return to the north, to his hometown, in his lifetime.

"It's all because of this incompetent Yuan Shao. He has hundreds of thousands of soldiers but can't do anything to Qin Shou's army of more than 100,000."

Xun Yu, who had an elegant appearance, also started to curse at this time.

At this moment, he was filled with more resentment.

In Jiangbei, Qin Shou rode on his war horse, looking at the ships disappearing before his eyes, and sighed in his heart.

"At this moment, if Gan Ning's navy has been built, and we have dozens of ships going down the river, how could Xun Yu escape?" Qin Shou felt regretful.

After all, it was because the navy was formed in too short a time. Building ships and training soldiers require a lot of time. The time required to build a qualified navy is calculated in years.

"I believe that one day our navy will be able to dominate the great rivers."

Xun You comforted him.

"Gan Ning alone cannot support a strong navy. We need someone to help us. I just don't know if the other party will come."

Qin Shou looked towards the south and said quietly.

"My lord, are you talking about Zhou Yu?"

Xun You instantly thought of someone.

"Yes, it's him. He is a talented general. He may not be able to charge into battle, but he can command a large army, fight in battles in the south and the north, and lead thousands of troops. His talent is far superior to mine."

"I wanted to bring him to Chang'an when I recruited his father. Unfortunately, his father died of illness, so Sun Ce got him. What a pity."

Qin Shou felt sorry.

Currently, he has relatively few talented generals under his command, including Zhang Liao, Xu Huang, Zhang He, and Wei Yan. The others can only be considered generals. If he gets Zhou Yu, his strength will increase significantly.

"My lord, Sun Quan is definitely not a match for Cao Cao. I believe that Zhou Yu will submit to you sooner or later."

Xun You was very curious about Zhou Yu.

"Let's go! With Chen Deng in Guangling, it won't be easy for Cao Cao to attack Jiangbei." Qin Shou quickly put these things behind him. These were all things for the future.

"My lord, Chen Gui has been making big moves in Xia Pi recently." Xun You chuckled and said, "Some people think that Chen Gui is taking advantage of the opportunity to attack the aristocratic families in Xuzhou to avenge his personal grudges."

"Why, someone contacted you?"

Qin Shou was a little surprised.

"My lord, they are all aristocratic families after all, and there are some connections between them, but I just ignored them."

Xun You said with disdain.

After all, he is a wise man, so how could he easily believe these things?

"Send someone to tell Hua Tuo to be more serious. Chen Deng is a talented person and cannot die early."

Qin Shou thought of Chen Deng in history, who died too early. Otherwise, his achievements might not be inferior to Sima Yi.

"It seems that you and I cannot go back to Xia Pi City. Otherwise, we will be entangled by those aristocratic families, and it will be difficult for me to do anything."

Qin Shou chuckled and said, "Let's go back to Guandu. I wonder what Yuan Shao's reaction will be at this time."

"Yuan Shao will definitely think that our next target is Qi, and he may even plot against Pingyuan, Gaotang and other places."

Xun You felt very proud when he thought of Yuan Shao.

"Yuan Shao must be trembling with fear right now."

Qin Shou laughed heartily and gave his horse a spurt. The horse neighed and led the army northward.

The news that Qin Shou had captured Xuzhou in less than half a month soon spread across the country, both inside and outside the Great Wall.

"Stupid Cao Aman, he lost Yanzhou, and now he has lost Xuzhou. What else can he do?"

Yuan Shao roared in the big tent.

"My lord, the loss of Xuzhou means that we have a huge loophole on the eastern front, and the enemy can attack us from Qingzhou." Ju Su was a little worried.

"Yes! In the past, with Cao Cao blocking the way and Xuzhou being there, it was very difficult for the enemy to attack Qingzhou. Now it is different." This time, Guo Tu rarely went against Ju Su.

The current situation is before us. If we are not careful, the enemy troops will rush out from the direction of Qingzhou, bypass the Yellow River defense line directly, and attack into our rear. Losing the gateway to Qingzhou means that Yuan Shao will need to divide his troops.

"Xuzhou has just been captured by Qin Shou. Does Qin Shou intend to invade Qingzhou?"

Yuan Shao hesitated.

Everyone fell silent.

On the battlefield, anything can happen. The gates of Qingzhou are wide open, and it is natural for the enemy to attack Hebei from Qingzhou.

"Let Yuan Xi lead 50,000 troops to the front plain to monitor Qingzhou and prevent Qin Shou's army from heading north."

Seeing this, Yuan Shao finally sighed.

"Lord Shengming."

Ju Su and others immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

"There is a big river between us, so there is no other way except to attack. Qin Shou is obviously very afraid of the lord. The scouts reported that the enemy has built a large number of beacon towers along the Yellow River. I think they are worried that the lord will cross the river from other directions."

Guo Tu comforted.

"That's right, how can a mere Qin Shou be my opponent?"

Yuan Shao said with disdain.

(End of this chapter)