Three Kingdoms: My Strategy Simulator.

Especially since almost immediately following Ji Ling's corpse being sent to Runan, Li Ji personally led troops, preparing to dispatch 200,000 soldiers from both Xu and Yang provinces, their spears aimed directly at Yu province.

And now, Yuan Shu only has a little over 20,000 soldiers available in Yu province.

The fall of Yu province seems imminent.

Anger, fear, worry...

Amidst the interweaving of these complex emotions, Yuan Shu could only find a bit of reassurance by wielding the three-foot sword in his hand and constantly slashing, using the rage to vent all sorts of negative emotions.

It wasn't until Yuan Shu had almost slashed through all the objects in the hall, to the point where the three-foot sword in his hand became nicked, that he breathlessly threw the sword aside, then glared at the group of civil and military officials waiting outside the door, and shouted.

"Has that Cao thief brat's head been brought here?"

"Cao Ang's head is here."

Immediately, someone came forward holding a tray, upon which was placed Cao Ang, whose features still displayed a hint of heroism.

However, as Yuan Shu got up and examined Cao Ang's head, the more he looked, the more uncomfortable he felt.

It wasn't that Yuan Shu couldn't bear the sight of the head's bloodiness, but rather that the expression on Cao Ang's head revealed calmness and composure, not the fear that Yuan Shu wanted to see.

"Who cut off this head?" Yuan Shu questioned.

The group of civil and military officials outside the hall, seeing this, slowly filed in and stood in front of Yuan Shu, then quietly looked at each other for a while, each one showing a sense of shirking responsibility, afraid of further angering Yuan Shu and suffering unwarranted disaster.

In the end, Yan Xiang steeled himself and stepped forward to answer.

"According to the soldiers' report, when they went to capture Cao Ang, Cao Ang seemed to have known some news in advance, exclaiming that he was unwilling to be a hostage to restrain his father, and then drew his sword and committed suicide, after which the soldiers cut off his head."

After hearing this, Yuan Shu's expression changed several times, and he sighed.

"That Cao thief is treacherous and cruel, yet he has such a loyal and filial son. Forget it, forget it. Such a loyal and filial son should not be humiliated. Sew up the corpse, do not erect a tombstone, and bury him on the spot."

After Yuan Shu waved his sleeve, ordering people to take Cao Ang's head away, his gaze swept over the group of civil and military officials below with their heads bowed, and then he spoke.

"That Liu Da'er, with Li Ji as the commander, is about to invade our borders, with an army claiming to number 200,000. Does anyone have a good plan to repel the enemy?"

Silence...

Silence...

Still silence...

Two hundred thousand!

Li Ji personally leading the troops.

In addition, the 100,000 Yu province soldiers were all lost within Pengcheng. To this day, less than two thousand soldiers have managed to escape back to Yu province, with no more than five generals, which is no different from complete annihilation.

Anyone with eyes can see that Yuan Shu's power is waning.

Especially since among Yuan Shu's civil and military officials, there are many representatives of powerful families. Now, these representatives of powerful families are already subconsciously considering their escape routes, so where would they dare to speak up, lest Yuan Shu appoint them to fight like a mantis trying to stop a chariot?

"I have always treated you with generous salaries and bestowed monthly rewards. When your services are needed, not a single person speaks?"

Yuan Shu said self-deprecatingly, his voice carrying a hint of sadness.

These words also made many of the civil and military officials present blush, filled with shame.

Immediately, more than a dozen military generals knelt on one knee with a crash, shouting loudly at Yuan Shu.

"We are willing to serve the lord with our lives, vowing to block the invading bandits to the death."

Seeing this, Yuan Shu's expression finally showed a trace of comfort, but he also understood that wanting to block Li Ji was not something that could be achieved with a single-minded effort to die.

Immediately, Yuan Shu once again turned his gaze towards those civil officials and strategists.

But the military generals could still say they would fight with their lives, but with Yu province's military strength so weakened, and the invading enemy being the state scholar Marquis personally leading an army of 200,000, even if these strategists wanted to speak, what good plan could they offer?

Many of the strategists present, when faced with such a dilemma, felt their minds were blank, and even believed that even if Marquis Liu Zhang Liang were reborn, he could only sit and wait for death.

However, scholars ultimately care about their reputation.

Being stared at so directly by Yuan Shu, each of the civil officials and strategists only felt sweat dripping from their foreheads, their expressions awkward.

Especially when Yuan Shu's gaze finally completely settled on Yang Hong, he spoke.

"Yang Hong, Chief Clerk Yang, do you have no good plan to teach me?"

This made Yang Hong's expression even more awkward and ugly.

After all, Yang Hong had not only supported Yuan Shu in forming an alliance with Cao Cao, but had also played a major role in persuading Yuan Shu to send troops to Xu province.

Yang Hong showed a hesitant and uncertain expression, gritted his teeth and stepped forward, cupped his hands and saluted, saying.

"Lord, in the past, Emperor Gaozu of Han raised an army by slaying a white snake and established the Han Dynasty. Now, Uncle Liu Huang actually obtained the blessing of heaven, borrowing the north wind to defeat Cao's army, could it be said that the fate of the great Han has not yet ended, and heaven's will is with the Han?"

"And we are also those who have been fed by the Han Dynasty for generations. Previously, Dong Zhuo caused chaos in the court, and the people were in dire straits, so we had no choice but to seek refuge in one place, protecting the territory and securing the people. Now that there is a trend of reviving the Han, why don't we follow the will of heaven..."

The more Yang Hong spoke, the more unsightly Yuan Shu's face became.

Sure enough, after Yang Hong gave himself, and also Yuan Shu, a good bit of flattery, his tone changed and he said.

"The Yuan family was originally a family of meritorious officials of the great Han for generations, assisting the Han Dynasty for generations. Now, why doesn't the lord inherit the ambitions of his ancestors, respond to the expectations of the common people, and join forces with Uncle Liu Huang to revive the Han Dynasty?"

As soon as these words came out, many of those present had drastic changes in their expressions.

Yang Hong's words sounded good, but in reality, what he expressed was undoubtedly one meaning, and that was to surrender.

In any case, the Yuan family had been Han officials for generations. Now that Liu Bei has the resources to revive the Han Dynasty, he will definitely become an emperor in the future. Even if they surrender to Liu Bei, they will not lose the face of the Yuan family's ancestors, and will allow the Yuan family to be safely passed down.

It must be said that Li Ji's borrowing of the north wind from heaven in the name of Liu Bei for three quarters of an hour was, in the eyes of the world, no less shocking than Emperor Gaozu's uprising by slaying a white snake, and also had a shadow of Emperor Guangwu's heavenly meteorite helping him to defeat the bandits.

This made Liu Bei's already rising reputation in the great Han even higher, and it can even be said that Li Ji was quietly paving the way for Liu Bei to claim the title of emperor after unifying the world.

Moreover, the huge impact generated by this matter is also slowly spreading.

At least, this made many civil officials and strategists, including Yang Hong, subconsciously feel a bit of awe, and at this moment, there were not a few people who secretly agreed to surrender.

However, just as Yang Hong's voice fell, Yuan Shu casually picked up a wine cup and threw it at Yang Hong, smashing Yang Hong's forehead and causing blood to flow straight down, and he fell to the ground.

Immediately, Yuan Shu slowly got up, his face showing a bit more ferocity, and opened his mouth.

"Liu Bei, who is he? A weaver and sandal seller."

"Li Ji, who is he? A commoner scholar."

"My Yuan family has been in high office for four generations, with disciples and former officials all over the world. If I raise my arms, the response will be like clouds. How can I be subordinate to such lowly people? Whoever dares to speak of surrender again, I swear to kill without mercy."

Everyone quickly responded.

"Yes, Lord!"

Only Yan Xiang, who had been frowning and thinking hard, looked even more miserable.

Some people worry that the lord is too timid and weak, while others worry that the lord is too content with pleasure, or worry that the lord is too cruel and unkind...

But Yan Xiang is different.

(End of chapter)