Three Kingdoms: My Strategy Simulator.

What Yan Xiang had always worried about was Yuan Shu's inexplicable confidence.

Yang Hong's intentions were indeed reprehensible, but Yuan Shu's attitude of fighting Li Ji to the death also made Yan Xiang's scalp tingle.

If the 100,000 troops led by Ji Ling were still around, even if Li Ji really led 200,000 troops to attack, Yan Xiang would still feel that it wouldn't be difficult to hold them off by defending the city step by step.

But does Yu Province have that much military strength now?

Obviously not.

Therefore, Yan Xiang almost forced himself to say,

"Can Your Lordship listen to my advice?"

"Do you perhaps have a plan to defeat Li Ji?" Yuan Shu asked rhetorically.

Yan Xiang unconsciously revealed a bitter smile, but gritted his teeth and continued to speak,

"Your Lordship, now the enemy's forces are strong and Yu Province's troops are few. We should avoid their sharp edge."

A look of anger flashed across Yuan Shu's face, but he still restrained himself and asked, "What do you mean by avoiding their sharp edge?"

Yan Xiang cupped his hands and advised, "Withdraw from Yu Province and preserve our strength. Go north to join Yuan Benchu. In the future, we can raise the banner of the Yuan family together, and we won't have to worry about Yu Province being lost and regained."

This plan was undoubtedly quite conservative, but in Yan Xiang's view, it was the best choice at the moment.

With Yuan Shu suffering such heavy losses and Liu Bei's reputation soaring after gaining the aura of "Heaven's Mandate," it was undoubtedly impossible for Yuan Shu to hold onto Yu Province. Yan Xiang had even given up on the idea of Yuan Shu retreating to Yan Province.

In Yan Xiang's view, the best course of action for Yuan Shu now was to recognize the situation, stay away from the Central Plains, go north to join Yuan Shao, and combine the strength of the two Yuan brothers to raise the banner of the Yuan family.

However…

Even Yuan Shu's previous alliance with Yuan Shao had been quite strained, let alone relying on Yuan Shao by surrendering to him.

"The Yuan family is the Yuan family of Runan. If I abandon Yu Province and flee north, would that still be the Yuan family?"

"I would rather die than tarnish the reputation of the Yuan family's four generations and three dukes."

Upon hearing this, Yan Xiang's face turned somewhat ashen.

Even though Yan Xiang understood that this was Yuan Shu's consistent style, he still couldn't hide the sorrow in his heart, knelt on the ground, and shouted loudly,

"Please reconsider, Your Lordship! Even Marquis Huaiyin once endured the humiliation of crawling between someone's legs. As long as Your Lordship preserves your strength, you can retake Yu Province in the future. If you stubbornly defend Yu Province, you will surely end up with your head in a different place from your body."

Yuan Shu's face turned very ugly, and he shouted,

"My mind is made up, say no more!"

Yan Xiang couldn't help but close his eyes and shed tears, shouting,

"Yan Xiang is incompetent and cannot assist Your Lordship in achieving hegemony, but he is even more unwilling to see Your Lordship defeated and killed…"

As soon as these words came out, anger erupted on Yuan Shu's face.

However, before Yuan Shu could get angry, Yan Xiang took the lead and shouted, "Please reconsider, Your Lordship!" while suddenly crashing into a pillar beside him.

"Bang!"

A dull sound rang out.

Yan Xiang, with the determination to die, didn't give himself any way out, crashing headfirst into the pillar, and blood blossomed.

Yuan Shu's face changed drastically, and he quickly stepped forward to check, only to find that Yan Xiang, covered in blood, was no longer breathing.

For a moment, Yuan Shu showed some sadness, his eyes were complex, and the others also had expressions of sorrow.

After a long time, Yuan Shu said,

"Yan Xiang disturbed the morale of our army and should have been severely punished, but considering his meritorious service in assisting me for many years, give him a proper burial."

After the armored soldiers carefully carried Yan Xiang's body away.

In this conference hall, which was still filled with the smell of blood, Yuan Shu returned to the main seat, staring at the civil and military officials below, and said,

"The enemy is about to attack, and Yu Province's military strength is insufficient. Immediately order all commanderies and counties to conscript young men to strengthen our forces and defend the cities."

Perhaps what Yang Hong and Yan Xiang said were both ways to preserve oneself.

With the identity of the Yuan family represented by Yuan Shu, whether he surrendered to Liu Bei or relied on Yuan Shao, he could still be sealed as a guest of honor and not lose a lifetime of wealth.

Even if Yuan Shu preserved considerable strength to rely on Yuan Shao, there would still be a possibility of returning to Yu Province in the future.

However, these two choices were unacceptable to Yuan Shu.

What's more, in Yuan Shu's view, Yu Province still had seven or eight million people, and countless aristocratic families were following my Yuan family's lead.

In terms of foundation, how could Liu Bei, a weaver and sandal seller, compare?

Defending Yu Province to the death was Yuan Shu's attitude.

As long as they could hold out until the winter snow, then even if Li Ji had the strategies of ghosts and gods, he would only have to retreat from Yu Province in dismay.

And with Yuan Shu's order, even though the civil and military officials under his command had different thoughts, orders flew like snowflakes to the various commanderies, counties, and cities of Yu Province.

Moreover, in Yuan Shu's orders, each commandery and county had to directly conscript young men into the army at a ratio of one out of two based on the household register.

For a time, the entire Yu Province was almost in chaos, and the people wailed and resented, vying to flee Yu Province.

However, in order to guard against Li Ji, Yuan Shu had already ordered the closure of all official roads and passes in advance, prohibiting anyone from entering or leaving, and those who violated the order would be killed on the spot without mercy.

When the changes and trends within Yu Province were transmitted to Xu Province, Li Ji's brows couldn't help but furrow deeply.

Yuan Shu was undoubtedly arrogant.

When the Yuan family's foundation was still there, what he pursued was laissez-faire governance, and he didn't care about the people's trivial matters.

But when Yuan Shu was in a hurry, he wouldn't put the survival of the people in his eyes either.

Under Yuan Shu's orders, the entire Yu Province was already in chaos. A large number of people were unwilling to endure such heavy military service and couldn't escape, so they had to abandon their fields and drill into the wilderness and forests to avoid disaster.

However, Li Ji still needed some time to further reorganize his army, and Xu Sheng in the direction of Shouchun also needed time.

Just as Li Ji was raising his tent to summon the generals to discuss matters, Liu Bei, who had gone to sit in Xiapi City, sent a fast horse to deliver a military order.

【Zikun, you must also send troops into Yu Province, prioritizing the protection of the people and subordinating the siege of cities.】

Having received Liu Bei's order, Li Ji no longer hesitated. While ordering Xu Sheng to send troops in advance, he immediately led a large army to attack Pei State with a mighty force.

… …

At the same time.

North of the Yellow River, within Bohai Commandery.

With the help of Zhu Ling, a turncoat, Cao Cao almost smoothly captured Nanpi, the seat of Bohai Commandery.

This was also Yuan Shao's major rear area where he stored money, food, weapons, and equipment. Even the family members of Yuan Shao and his civil and military confidants were all in Nanpi City.

After Cao Cao inspected the granaries and warehouses, his whole person was already excited, and his face had a few more blushes.

Yuan Shao also knew that his rule in the other commanderies and counties of Ji Province was unstable, and there were occasional remnants of Han Fu causing trouble, and the Black Mountain bandits were constantly looting in all directions.

Therefore, after unifying Ji Province, Yuan Shao almost transported most of the money and grain from the various commanderies and counties to Nanpi City for storage.

At this moment, Cao Cao clearly didn't drink alcohol, but looking at the city's full warehouses of money, grain, weapons, and equipment, he felt like he had drunk three hundred cups of Du Kang and was floating like an immortal.

Afterwards, Cao Cao went straight to the Yuan family's mansion, which had already been surrounded by Cao's army, and strode into it.

Inside the mansion, all of Yuan Shao's family members had been gathered in a courtyard.

After Cao Cao entered, he glanced around, then looked at Madam Liu, who was Yuan Shao's wife, and cupped his hands in salute.

"Mengde pays his respects."

(End of this chapter)