Three Kingdoms: My Strategy Simulator.

After Yuan Shu finished venting, he slammed the table and said in a deep voice.

“Send troops! I want to retake Ruyin City.”

Yuan Shu could accept the defeat in the Battle of Jingzhou, even though he was unwilling.

However, the Yuan family originated in Runan Commandery, with most of their roots in Runan Commandery, and Runan Commandery was one of the most populous commanderies in the world, the true foundation of Yuan Shu.

Therefore, Yuan Shu could barely accept the failure to occupy Jingzhou, but he could not accept that Runan Commandery was under the threat of Liu Bei's military force at any time.

However, now that both Jingzhou and Ruyin City had suffered major defeats, Yuan Shu's military strength was already severely depleted, and even defense was extremely difficult. Where would he have the strength to organize troops to retake Ruyin City?

More importantly, the successive defeats had not only depleted the military strength but also the morale of the army from top to bottom.

At this moment, continuing to use troops would not only be futile but would also continue to expand the losses.

Therefore, as soon as Yuan Shu said this, the civil and military officials almost all spoke out to dissuade Yuan Shu from thinking twice.

Just as Yuan Shu couldn't help but fly into a rage again, Chen Lin, who had come as Yuan Shao's envoy, sent a greeting card in advance.

However, the moment Yuan Shu saw the greeting card, he angrily threw it to the ground and said.

“How dare a son of a concubine insult me?”

Yuan Shu's sudden reaction made the people below a little confused.

However, everyone was happy to see Yuan Shu's attention diverted, no longer insisting on immediately sending troops to retake Ruyin City. Yan Xiang quickly came out and asked.

“Why is the lord so angry?”

“You will know when you see it.” Yuan Shu pointed to the greeting card that had been thrown out and said angrily.

Yan Xiang picked up the greeting card and read it again, even more puzzled, and asked.

“Yuan Benchu sent an envoy to visit the lord, this is a good thing.”

“A good thing?”

Yuan Shu sneered and said. “That son of a concubine sent an envoy at this time, definitely to mock my defeat… … ”

The more Yuan Shu spoke, the angrier he became, and with a wave of his sleeve, he said loudly.

“Come on, cut off that envoy and send his head back to Yuan Benchu.”

Yan Xiang was shocked and quickly said.

“Absolutely not, my lord! Not to mention that envoys are not killed in battle between two armies, let alone that the lord and Yuan Benchu are brothers.”

“Furthermore, that envoy Chen Lin is also a famous scholar in the world, and rashly killing him will be very detrimental to the lord's reputation.”

Yuan Shu paused slightly and asked back. “Chen Lin?”

Yuan Shao, Yuan Shu, Chen Lin and others had all worked together under General-in-Chief He Jin, and had some contact with each other. Moreover, Yuan Shu also appreciated Chen Lin's talent in writing, and the two sides could be considered to have some friendship.

Immediately, Yuan Shu waved his hand and said impatiently. “Since it is Chen Lin, then spare his life and just drive them all away, I won't see them.”

Seeing this, Yan Xiang had no choice but to carefully persuade him.

“My lord, Yuan Benchu is now also fighting fiercely with Gongsun Zan in Jizhou. I don't think he would send an envoy for some trivial matters. Maybe he has important matters to discuss. Why not meet him?”

At the end, Yan Xiang did not forget to wink at Yang Hong.

Regardless of whether Yuan Shao sent an envoy for good or bad, letting Yuan Shu meet Chen Lin could at least divert Yuan Shu's attention and prevent Yuan Shu from insisting on trying to retake Ruyin City.

The Yuzhou of today is truly unable to send troops in a short period of time.

Yang Hong, who had never been on good terms with Yan Xiang, hesitated for a moment and also came out to flatter him.

“My lord, Yuan Shao has always been arrogant. Now that he has sent an envoy from afar, it shows his sincerity. It is also harmless for the lord to take time out of his busy schedule to meet him.”

“Furthermore, if the lord insists on avoiding him, others may think that the lord is afraid of him.”

These words undoubtedly completely persuaded Yuan Shu.

Immediately, Yuan Shu looked at the somewhat messy conference hall, went straight to the inner room to tidy up his clothes, and changed to another hall to receive Chen Lin.

After Chen Lin respectfully met Yuan Shu, he directly took out Yuan Shao's handwritten letter.

Yuan Shu took the letter, and a look of disgust flashed in his eyes. While opening it, he had already prepared to find an excuse to explode.

However, the more Yuan Shu looked, the more relaxed his expression became, and in the end, he even smiled.

This abnormality made Yan Xiang, Yang Hong and others look at each other in dismay.

The discord between Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu has a long history. They are brothers in name, but in reality, they are almost enemies. This is the first time Yuan Shu has shown a smiling face when reading Yuan Shao's letter.

After Yuan Shu read it once, he smiled and read it again before carefully putting down the letter and said to Chen Lin below.

“Good, good, good, that son of a concubine has some self-awareness, knowing that he is no match for Gongsun Zan, and has taken the initiative to ask me for help.”

Chen Lin, who had some demeanor of a famous scholar, said.

“That General of the White Horse, Gongsun Zan, relies on his power and prestige, and is pressing step by step. My lord has had to defend Jieqiao for half a year, but he is unable to counterattack, so he has to ask the family for help. I also ask Prefect Yuan to advance north to help my lord.”

Ask the family… … for help?

As soon as these five words came out, Yuan Shu only felt a burst of numbness and pleasure all over his body.

Yuan Shu looked down on Yuan Shao, the son of a concubine, and was even more unhappy that his demeanor, appearance, behavior, and reputation had always steadily surpassed him.

The number of times the two had fought for many years and Yuan Shu had won over Yuan Shao could be said to be very few, which made Yuan Shu's idea of surpassing Yuan Shao almost an obsession.

Now that Yuan Shao took the initiative to bow his head, how could Yuan Shu not feel a sense of satisfaction?

“Easy to say, easy to say, Yuan Benchu is in trouble, in terms of emotion and reason, I, as the direct son of the Yuan family, should also help. Tell me, is Yuan Benchu short of money or food?” Yuan Shu said generously.

Immediately, Chen Lin stated the strategy of hoping that Yuan Shu could give up Nanyang Commandery and instead advance north to Yanzhou to meet with Yuan Shao.

After these words, Yuan Shu, who was originally smiling, unconsciously darkened his face again and asked.

“Chen Kongzhang, do you know how many people are in Nanyang Commandery? And what a key place it is, to give it up lightly based on a word from a son of a concubine?”

“Even if Prefect Yuan does not abandon Nanyang Commandery, can he defend Nanyang?” Chen Lin asked.

Yuan Shu almost blurted out that he could defend it, but the figure of Li Ji unconsciously flashed in his mind. When the words came to his lips, he couldn't say them.

In the past, when he was friends with Li Ji in the Alliance Against Dong, he only felt that it was very worry-free to have this person make suggestions;

But when he was an enemy with Li Ji on the battlefield and was defeated, Yuan Shu's feeling was that every step seemed to be within the other party's calculations.

Can he defend it?

When Li Ji really used his troops to go north to attack Nanyang Commandery, could he defend it?

Moreover, Xinye City had also fallen into Li Ji's hands, which was tantamount to sticking a nail in Nanyang Commandery in advance, plus Wancheng was still in Huang Zu's hands.

This feeling of being stuck in the throat, like Runan Commandery being captured by Guan Yu, made Yuan Shu very uncomfortable.

Just as Yuan Shu was silent, Chen Lin continued to speak.

“Moreover, when Prefect Yuan advances north to Yanzhou, my lord will not only fully assist him, but also promise not to take an inch of land in Yanzhou. Yanzhou will all belong to Prefect Yuan.”

“Yuan Benchu is so generous?” Yuan Shu asked, squinting.

Yuan Shu looked down on and hated Yuan Shao, but it didn't mean that Yuan Shu didn't understand Yuan Shao.

Did Yuan Shao have such courage and determination?

This made Yuan Shu quite disbelieving.

Chen Lin cupped his hands to the north, showing a look of admiration, and said.

“Before leaving, my lord also asked me to convey a sentence to Prefect Yuan: If you and I prosper, then the Yuan family will prosper; if you and I fight, then the Yuan family will decline.”

Yuan Shu frowned, pondered for a long time, and said.

“There is no need for him, a son of a concubine, to remind me, the direct descendant. Go back and tell Yuan Benchu, a mere Nanyang Commandery is nothing in my Yuan Gonglu's eyes.”

(End of chapter)