Three Kingdoms: My Strategy Simulator.

“Lord, if you don't advance into Xu Province, how can Cao Mengde be a match for Liu Bei and Tao Qian? If Cao Mengde is defeated, and you fail to take Yan Province in time to return to Yu Province, I fear we will lose our rear,” Yang Hong cried out sorrowfully.

Yan Xiang, seeing this, quickly stepped forward to refute, “Furthermore, you previously promised Cao Mengde that you would aid him in attacking Xu Province, and Gongzi Ang has personally come to seek assistance. If we disregard this, I fear we will be ridiculed by the world for breaking our word.”

“Lord, you must not! How can such a major matter be decided based on a mere verbal promise?”

“Attacking Xu Province has more disadvantages than advantages. Even if we win, the gains are minimal. Even if you obtain those three commanderies, they are nothing more than a chicken rib. On the contrary, it will leave you constantly threatened by Liu Bei's forces.”

“And once we are defeated, everything will be lost. We should seize the opportunity to quickly take Yan Province instead!” Yang Hong retorted angrily.

“Are you trying to make our lord an unrighteous and untrustworthy person? Moreover, you have been training troops and rebuilding our strength for the past year, and our military strength is even greater than before.”

“Now, before even engaging Liu Bei in battle, you are already shrinking back in fear of defeat, trying to undermine the morale of our army?”

In terms of verbal sparring, how could Yan Xiang be a match for Yang Hong?

Seeing Yang Hong directly resorting to personal attacks, Yan Xiang became flushed with anger and retorted, “Perhaps you, Yang Hong, received many benefits during your mission to Cao Mengde, which is why you are so eager to persuade our lord to relieve Cao Mengde's siege?”

Yang Hong sneered, “My heart is devoted to the public good, how can you slander me with a few words? On the contrary, you, Yan Xiang, are probably afraid of Liu Bei, terrified at the mere mention of his name, and therefore so strongly urge our lord to stay away from Xu Province.”

“You… you're talking nonsense!! I am considering the grand cause of our lord, the grand cause of the Yuan clan.” Yan Xiang's entire face turned red. Unable to outargue Yang Hong, he turned to Yuan Shu and bowed, saying,

“Although you have the support of many aristocratic families, if we suffer another setback like we did in Jing Province, it will be difficult to quickly recover our strength with a large amount of money and supplies in a short period of time. We should act cautiously!”

“By taking Yan Province and observing Xu Province, you can secure an invincible position in the Central Plains battlefield.”

However, when Yuan Shu heard Yan Xiang mention the past events in Jing Province, it was as if a sensitive spot had been touched, and a hint of displeasure flashed across his face.

Although what Yan Xiang said was true.

Although the Yuan clan had a deep foundation and the strong support of many aristocratic families,

both Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu were actually consuming a considerable amount of money and supplies in the continuous recruitment of soldiers and battles, and their accumulated wealth was about to be exhausted.

Therefore, although Yuan Shu had completely recovered from the previous Battle of Jing Province thanks to his deep foundation, it would not be so easy for Yuan Shu to recover if he suffered another crushing defeat.

However, since Yuan Shu could remember, when had he ever experienced such an embarrassing moment?

In particular, Yuan Shu regarded the title of "God of Cars in Jingxiang" as a great humiliation.

Facts are often the sharpest knives.

Seeing the subtle change in Yuan Shu's expression, Yang Hong was overjoyed and quickly added fuel to the fire, saying,

“Lord, Yan Xiang is a bewitching person who repeatedly makes discouraging remarks, deliberately undermining our army's morale. I ask that you punish him.”

Yan Xiang's expression changed in shock as he looked at Yang Hong in disbelief.

Even if the two sides had different political views and opinions, they should both be concerned about sharing the burden for the lord.

It was fine that Yang Hong had just resorted to personal attacks…

But now that he couldn't win the debate on suggestions, he wanted to directly have the lord solve me from a personal level?

Yuan Shu's gaze towards Yan Xiang also became increasingly displeased. Yan Xiang repeatedly implied that he could not win the Xu Province battlefield, which undoubtedly greatly spoiled Yuan Shu's mood.

Immediately, Yuan Shu waved his hand and said,

“Take him away.”

Two burly guards with steel forks stepped forward, preparing to forcibly drag Yan Xiang down.

Yan Xiang struggled and shouted, “No, Lord, if you don't listen to my words, I fear there will be a danger of eternal doom…”

Yuan Shu's face darkened even more as he waved his hand, and Yan Xiang was directly forked out by the guards before he could finish speaking.

With Yan Xiang being dragged away, even if there were still some advisors who supported taking Yan Province to the north, how could they compare with Yang Hong in terms of speaking rights?

Immediately, Yang Hong took the opportunity to talk at length in front of Yuan Shu about the pros and cons of advancing west into Xu Province.

And in Yang Hong's mouth, advancing west into Xu Province was naturally all advantages and no disadvantages!

If they won, they would divide Xu Province with Cao Cao and severely damage Liu Bei, making Liu Bei unable to launch a northern expedition to the Central Plains in the short term.

In this way, Yuan Shu could then send troops north to take Yan Province without any constraints.

And even if the battle situation in the west of Xu Province was temporarily unfavorable, it would be through aiding Cao Cao, allowing Cao Cao to firmly contain Liu Bei, which would have limited impact on Yuan Shu.

“Lord, Yan Province will always be there. With Yuan Benchu threatening from the north, no one dares to compete with you for Yan Province. You can take it whenever you want!”

“However, the opportunity in the Xu Province battle situation is fleeting. The opportunity to send a large army to aid Cao Cao in firmly containing the great enemy Liu Bei is extremely rare.”

“Furthermore, as long as we break Liu Bei's spirit and teach him that he will no longer be able to launch a northern expedition to the Central Plains in the short term, Yan Province will ultimately be in your pocket. Why rush for a moment?”

In the end, Yuan Shu was completely persuaded by the analysis listed by Yang Hong and invited Cao Ang back over.

However, although Yuan Shu had decided to send troops to Xu Province, he still pretended to be embarrassed and asked,

“Nephew, did Mengde give you any credentials in advance regarding what he said about handing over the Pengcheng State, Xiapi State, and Guangling Commandery to me?”

Cao Ang was overjoyed and said loudly,

“After my father learned that Liu Bei had sent troops, he hurriedly sent me to seek help from Uncle. I came in a hurry and did not bring any credentials, but I am willing to stay in Runan Commandery as a hostage. I wonder if that is acceptable?”

As Cao Cao's eldest son, Cao Ang's status was naturally sufficient.

This made Yuan Shu feel relieved, but on the surface, he still said with a smile,

“My relationship with Mengde is very close, why should Nephew say such polite words? Asking for credentials is just to confirm Mengde's intentions.”

After a pause, Yuan Shu continued, “However, it is rare for me and Nephew to meet, why not stay in Runan Commandery for a while, so that I can take you to admire the Huaibei scenery when I have free time, how about that?”

“That's exactly what I want.” Cao Ang quickly agreed.

“Good, good, good!”

Immediately, Yuan Shu's gaze turned to Ji Ling and he said,

“Ji Ling!”

“Here!” Ji Ling stepped forward and responded.

“Order Ji Ling to lead 100,000 elite troops to Xu Province to attack Liu Bei from both sides and take Pengcheng State, Xiapi State, and Guangling Commandery.” Yuan Shu said in a deep voice.

“Ji Ling obeys!”

Then, Yuan Shu glanced around and made some more appointments.

Yang Hong was appointed as the military advisor, with Zhang Xun, Chen Lan, Lei Bo, and Le Jiu as his subordinate generals.

This time, Yuan Shu almost handed over 80% of his troops to Ji Ling, leaving only some defensive forces.

Originally, Yuan Shu wanted to personally conquer Xu Province, but thinking of Li Ji also being in Xu Province, he sent Ji Ling as the commander to Xu Province and secretly carefully instructed Ji Ling.