Three Kingdoms: My Strategy Simulator.

When was the opportune moment?

Right now!

It was at this moment, after leading his troops away from Sili with nothing to show for it and unsure of what to do next, that Xun Yu of the Yingchuan Xun clan paid Cao Cao a visit.

And the words Xun Yu spoke during their meeting gave Cao Cao the feeling of seeing the sun through parting clouds, pointing out where Cao Cao should establish himself.

Currently, the world is in chaos, and the warlords have already established their separate territories.

In the north, there are Liu Yu, Gongsun Zan, Yuan Shao, and Han Fu; in the south, Liu Biao's family dominates; and the three provinces of Yi, Jing, and Xu also have their governors managing them.

Jiao Province is far from the Central Plains and controlled by Yang Province; Liang Province is plagued by constant warfare and blocked by Sili and Yi Province; Yu Province is the base of the Yuan clan...

Only Yan and Qing Provinces are worth taking!

However, in the west of Yan Province, Lu Bu is eyeing it covetously and will inevitably attack it from the east, and there are also numerous commanderies that are mutually divided and checked; Qing Province has been ravaged by the Yellow Turbans for many years, its people are destitute, and its potential has been greatly diminished.

If Cao Cao had already roughly sorted out the above points over the past few days, then Xun Yu's final conclusion was astonishing to Cao Cao.

Temporarily abandon Yan Province and take Qing Province!

Yan Province is a place of contention, with internal and external troubles. Taking it now will inevitably lead to exhaustion.

Qing Province may be destitute, but the million Yellow Turbans in Qing Province can be subdued one by one, either as soldiers or as civilians. Moreover, Xun Yu also presented the "Military Agricultural Policy" on the spot to maximize the current advantages of Qing Province.

In the blueprint drawn by Xun Yu, with Qing Province as the foundation, one can advance westward into Yan Province to compete with Lu Bu.

As long as Lu Bu can be defeated, Yan Province and Sili will belong to Cao Cao, possessing three provinces and dominating the Central Plains, rescuing the Emperor, and revitalizing the Han Dynasty.

At that time, one can seize the opportunity to act, either going north or south...

The strategy offered by Xun Yu is not long-term, but it solves Cao Cao's immediate needs, prompting Cao Cao to praise it as a "strategy from the meeting."

The biggest concern of this strategy is that Qing and Ji Provinces are too close, and Cao Cao's forces are extremely weak. Once Yuan Shao glares at Qing Province across the Yellow River, he could directly scare Cao Cao to death.

Moreover, if Yuan Shao truly dominates Ji and Bing Provinces in a very short period of time, then even if Cao Cao successfully establishes a foothold in Qing Province, he will still face Yuan Shao's military might at any time and will be difficult to resist.

Therefore, the prerequisite for the implementation of this "strategy from the meeting" is that Yuan Shao, who is highly prestigious and powerful in Ji Province, is temporarily caught in trouble.

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

Almost consistent with Xun Yu's prediction that Yuan Shao was fond of grand achievements, Yuan Shao, who considered himself the leader of the alliance, became arrogant and complacent after returning to Ji Province, and even presumptuously ambushed Gongsun Zan's envoy.

This made Yuan Shao, who originally had the opportunity to force Han Fu to cede Ji Province through various political means, directly push Gongsun Zan to Han Fu's side, promoting the alliance between Han Fu and Gongsun Zan.

How could this news not make Cao Cao feel greatly encouraged and deeply feel that the future is promising?

Even Xun Yu's seemingly calm and composed face, with a slightly uneasy heart, completely settled down.

Immediately, after Xun Yu discussed a large number of marching details for suppressing the Yellow Turbans in Qing Province with Cao Cao, he bowed and retreated.

Watching Xun Yu leave, the close and enthusiastic expression that Cao Cao had been maintaining on his face slowly faded away, and a cold look appeared in his slender eyes.

With Cao Cao's suspicious nature, how could he easily believe Xun Yu?

During his stay in Yingchuan, in addition to recruiting soldiers and buying horses, Cao Cao also sent people to investigate news related to Xun Yu with all his strength.

And after daily secret probing, Cao Cao had completely understood the reason why Xun Yu had come to him.

In the first year of Yonghan (189 AD), after Emperor Liu Bian ascended the throne, Xun Yu, who was recommended as Xiaolian, was promoted to "Shou Gongling" and was greatly favored and trusted by Emperor Liu Bian.

After Dong Zhuo entered Beijing and seized power, he deposed Liu Bian and established Liu Xie. Xun Yu, unwilling to collude with Dong Zhuo and unable to change the situation, could only find an excuse to leave Luoyang and resign from his official position to return to his hometown.

(PS: The so-called Shou Gongling, to put it bluntly, is in charge of the emperor's pens, ink, paper, and other items, but it is a humble position that can often come into contact with the emperor. This is also the Xun family'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 was always loyal to the Han Dynasty throughout his life, and his goal was always to revitalize the Han Dynasty and assist Cao Cao in returning power to the Emperor.)

Moreover, Cao Cao inquired about a large number of Xun Yu's remarks after he resigned and returned to his hometown, and understood that Xun Yu's heart was with the Han Dynasty, that he was loyal to the Han Dynasty, and that he wanted to repay the Emperor with his talent.

And from the recent period, he also clearly understood why Xun Yu, who was loyal to the Han Dynasty, would choose to take the initiative to join him from Xun Yu's attitude towards the other warlords.

In Xun Yu's eyes:

The capricious Lu Bu and Dong Zhuo are birds of a feather, holding the Emperor hostage, hollowing out the Emperor, and stealing the country;

Xun Yu can see Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu's hearts clearly, they are ambitious people, and the day they dominate the world will be the day when there is no more Han Dynasty;

As for Liu Yan, Liu Biao, Liu Bei, and Liu Yu, these members of the Han imperial family are also deeply guarded and vigilant by Xun Yu.

As for the rest, they are mostly mediocre people, not worth mentioning.

And rather than saying that Xun Yu is loyal to the Han Dynasty, it is better to say that Xun Yu is loyal to Emperor Liu Bian.

Now that Emperor Liu Bian has been murdered by the traitor Dong, Xun Yu has transferred this loyalty to Emperor Liu Xie.

In Xun Yu's view, with Emperor Liu Bian dead, Emperor Liu Xie is undoubtedly the legitimate heir.

But if the court is weak and the local clans are strong, the best result for Emperor Liu Xie would be to abdicate to a virtuous person, which is also unacceptable to Xun Yu.

Therefore, when Liu Bei came to Yingchuan to visit talents one step ahead of Cao Cao, Xun Yu even directly avoided meeting him.

Therefore, how could Cao Cao not know why Xun Yu would choose him?

Cao Cao once set up five-color clubs, governed Jinan, and assassinated Dong alone. His reputation to the outside world was that of a righteous and upright, people-loving, virtuous minister, and a loyal and righteous man of the Han Dynasty.

In addition, Cao Cao was retaliated against by Chen Gong, and it can be said that he was driven out of Sili in a disheartened manner without even getting a bit of "cake."

It's just that "misfortune may be a blessing in disguise," which instead made Xun Yu feel that Cao Cao was a loyal and upright person of the Han Dynasty, completely different from a group of warlords with ulterior motives.

Therefore, after Cao Cao arrived in Yingchuan, without even waiting for Cao Cao to start visiting talents everywhere, Xun Yu took the initiative to come to the door to recommend himself and proposed the "strategy from the meeting", and recommended a large number of good 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 get to eat it at all... (End of this chapter)