Chapter 275: The victory of Guandu has been decided! The three-way confrontation has begun to emerge! We must seize the time to grab the territory!

The next day, 70,000 infantry and cavalry of Liu's army chased to Xiaxiang one after another.

Considering that Xiaxiang City was the only way to go north to Shangpi, and Yuan’s army did not abandon the city and flee north, Liu Bei ordered the army to stop pursuing and besiege the city on the spot.

Within half a day, the 70,000-strong army set up camps on all sides and surrounded Xiaxiang City, making it impossible for anyone to get in or out.

At dusk, inside the central military tent.

Liu Bei gathered everyone and was about to discuss a plan to break the city.

Chen Dao hurried into the tent and delivered an urgent report that had just been sent back from Guandu to Liu Bei.

"Cao Cao is defeated!"

Liu Bei unfolded the silk book and took only a glance at it. His face changed slightly and he blurted out the answer.

Everyone was shocked and looked at the silk book in unison.

"The Battle of Guandu has finally been decided. Shuzhi, please read it to everyone."

After a sigh, Liu Bei returned the information on the silk book to Chen Dao.

Chen Dao hurriedly unfolded it and read it aloud.

Eight days ago, Cao Cao's surprise attack on Wuchao failed, resulting in heavy casualties and a defeat.

The next day, Yuan Shao mobilized his entire army and launched a fierce attack on the Guandu fortress.

Three days ago, Cao Cao was forced to abandon the Guandu fortress overnight and retreat to Xuchang as his food and fodder ran out and his army was in chaos.

Yuan Shao's 150,000-strong army successfully broke through Guandu, and the road to Xuchang was smooth!
The Battle of Guandu ended with Yuan Shao's complete victory.

Inside the big tent, there was silence for a moment, then there was a flurry of discussion.

"Jinglue, just as you expected, Cao Cao really attacked Wuchao and wanted to fight to the death!"

"What a pity, he ultimately failed to turn the situation around!"

Liu Bei sighed with emotion and looked at Xiao Fang with admiration.

Everyone then remembered that when they were in Shouchun, Xiao Fang had predicted that when Cao Cao was desperate, he would take a risk and launch a surprise attack on Yuan’s grain camp in Wuchao.

Facts have proved that Xiao Fang was indeed very good at predicting things, and Cao Cao indeed played his cards according to Xiao Fang's predictions.

Everyone was amazed.

Xiao Fang just smiled faintly, seeming not surprised at this result.

As long as Xu You is still in Xia Pi City, it would be strange if Cao Cao was not defeated.

Wuchao is an important granary, seventy miles away from Guandu. There are so many checkpoints deployed in between. Unless you, Cao Cao, have opened the map, how could you have hidden yourself from the heavy guards of Yuan’s army and sneaked seventy miles behind them to burn the granary?

Historically, Boss Cao was able to successfully reach Wuchao thanks to the help of Xu You, the guide who provided him with the secrets of Yuan’s army’s deployment.

The direction of the Guandu battlefield has not changed, but the situation in Xuzhou is completely different from the historical trajectory. Xu You was transferred to Xia Pi by Yuan Shao to assist Yuan Tan.

Without Xu You, it would be strange if Cao Cao was not defeated.

"Now that Guandu has fallen, Xuchang has no strategic location to defend. Cao Cao is in imminent danger and may be destroyed in no time."

"My lord, it seems that we must be prepared to fight Yuan Shao alone."

Pang Tong stroked his short beard, his brows gradually furrowed, and his tone became serious.

The atmosphere in the big tent immediately became tense.

"My lord wants to unify the world, and Yuan Shao also wants to unify the world, so confrontation is inevitable."

"However, Shi Yuan said that we have to fight Yuan Shao alone, which is not necessarily true."

Xiao Fang gently waved his feather fan, but his expression was calm as usual.

Pang Tong was stunned and looked up at Xiao Fang.

Liu Bei also looked surprised and asked hurriedly, "Jinglue, what do you mean?"

Xiao Fang called Xu Chu, brought the map of Central Plains and spread it out in the tent.

"Although Cao Cao lost Guandu, he retreated mainly because he ran out of food, and his main force did not suffer a devastating blow."

"Cao Ren's army on the eastern front also abandoned Xuzhou ahead of time and retreated to the Ruying line basically intact."

"This means that Cao Cao's main force is still alive and still has the strength to fight."

Xiao Fang pointed at the map with his feather fan and analyzed it slowly.

Liu Bei seemed to be thinking about something, and nodded slightly.
"Cao Cao's main force was indeed not seriously damaged. Does Yi Jinglue mean that Cao Cao intends to gather his main force and continue to defend Xudu?"

Xiao Fang shook his head and pointed his feather fan toward the west of Xuchang:
"If Guandu falls, the people in Yan and Yu will lose their morale. All the counties will surrender to Yuan Shao. Cao Cao's rule in Henan will fall apart."

"And Xuchang has no strategic location to defend. If Cao Cao defends Xuchang to the death, the final result will only be the annihilation of his entire army and his death and reputation."

"So I thought Cao Cao would use part of his troops to hold on to Xuchang and hold back Yuan Shao, but he would lead the main force to hold the emperor hostage, head north to Luoyang, and then move the capital to Chang'an!"

Everyone was shocked, and their eyes followed Xiao Fang's finger and fell on the word "Chang'an" on the map.

Liu Bei's mind was instantly opened up, and he nodded:

"No wonder Cao Cao sent Zhong Yao to Guanzhong in advance. Now it seems that he wanted to retreat to Guanzhong as a backup after the fall of the Central Plains."

"Well, Jinglue is right. Cao Cao will most likely not defend Xudu to the death. He will definitely hold the emperor hostage and move to Chang'an, and use Guanzhong as a base to fight Yuan Shao again!"

The generals also recognized Xiao Fang's judgment and nodded in agreement.

At this time, Zhang Liao said:
"As far as Liao knows, although Cao Cao sent Zhong Yao to manage Guanzhong, the area he actually controlled was Jingzhao County where Chang'an is located, and part of Fengyi County."

"Most of the rest are actually controlled by the princes of Xiliang. For example, Ma Teng, the largest of the Xiliang generals, actually controls Fufeng County."

"Further west, the northern areas such as Tianshui, Anding and other counties in Longxi Liangzhou are either controlled remotely by Ma Teng and other generals in Guanzhong, or occupied by other small groups of Xiliang generals."

"Given the current situation, it will not be easy for Cao Cao to continue to fight against Yuan Shao by relying on Guanlong." Zhang Liao had followed Lu Bu through Guanzhong in the past and was well aware of the situation in Guanlong. He immediately pointed out the dilemma Cao Cao was facing.

Zhang Liao was just a military general, but he could make such a judgment. Xiao Fang couldn't help but nod his head slightly with a look of approval on his face.

"Wenyuan is right. Cao Cao does not actually control Guanlong. This is indeed his dilemma."

"But Wenyuan, don't forget that Yuan Shao has a grudge against the Xiliang people and has always hated them. The Xiliang generals are naturally aware of this."

"This is also why Ma Teng and other Xiliang princes chose to side with Cao Cao when faced with the simultaneous attempts to win him over by Cao Cao and Yuan Shao."

"Even if it's just an open side towards Cao Cao, it shows the attitude of the people of Xiliang and their fear of Yuan Shao."

Hearing this, Zhang Liao seemed to understand something.

Liu Bei had understood Xiao Fang's intention, so he nodded and said:
"What the military advisor means is that now that Yuan Shao has defeated Cao Cao, the next step is very likely to march westward and seize Guanzhong."

"In this way, the people of Xiliang will no longer be able to stay out of the matter and will have to face the Yuan family's military attack head-on."

"Given Cao Cao's political strategy, he will definitely take advantage of the Xiliang people's fear of Yuan Shao and further integrate the forces of Guanlong to continue to fight against Yuan Shao."

Xiao Fang smiled and agreed with what Lao Liu said.

Pang Tong also nodded slightly, stepped forward and pointed at the map:
"Cao Cao integrated the forces of Guanzhong. Although they were still weak, Guanzhong had the danger of Tongguan and the Yellow River."

"As long as Cao Cao makes good use of these natural defenses and holds his ground without fighting, he will be able to protect himself."

"In this way, the world will enter a situation where the lord, Cao Cao and Yuan Shao will form a three-way confrontation!"

Three pillars.

These four words rang in the ears of Lao Liu and the generals for the first time.

However, Xiao Fang was extremely familiar with these four words, and his ears were almost callused from hearing them so many times.

In the past there were Wei, Shu and Wu, and today there are Liu, Cao and Yuan, all of which are the three powers. He is very familiar with this plot.

However, the three-way balance of power back then is completely different from the three-way balance of power today.

At that time, Cao Wei was the only powerful state, occupying the entire north including Yongliang Guanlong, and had an overwhelming advantage.

The Shu Han only controlled a corner of Yizhou, and the Eastern Wu occupied half of Jingzhou and half of Yangzhou. Their combined strength was less than that of Cao Wei alone.

It is said that there were three forces, but in fact, Cao Wei was the only powerful one, and the other two were lame.

The current three-way balance of power is different.

Cao Cao's entire army retreated to Guanzhong. If he could integrate Guanzhong and Liangzhou for his own use, his strength should not be underestimated.

Old Liu controls Jing and Yang states, and now the battle line has advanced to Xuzhou and Yuzhou, and his strength is equally strong.

Although Yuan Shao had the strongest power on paper, he had not reached the level of Cao Wei's unshakable dominance in the north.

In such a new three-way situation, it is still unknown who will win the world!
"Shi Yuan is right. There is indeed a three-way confrontation in this world!"

Liu Bei nodded slightly, agreeing with what Pang Tong said, and turned to look at Xiao Fang:
"Jinglue, in your opinion, now that Cao Cao has been defeated at Guandu, how should we deal with this new situation?"

Everyone's eyes were once again focused on Xiao Fang.

"Three words: grab territory!"

Xiao Fang raised three fingers and pointed at the map slowly with Yushan.

"If Cao Cao takes the emperor hostage and moves west to Guanzhong, his rule in the Central Plains will collapse, especially the two states of Yu and Yan, which will become ownerless for a short period of time."

"My lord, you should lead General Yide and Lu Boyan to advance northward quickly from Shouchun and seize Runan, Chen and other counties in southern Yuzhou."

"In Nanyang, the lord should order Wei Wenchang and Xu Yuanzhi to lead the troops north to seize Luyang, Kunyang and other cities in the southern part of Yingchuan."

"After hearing about Yuan Tan's defeat, Yuan Shao is very likely to withdraw some of his troops to attack our flank to the east to support Yuan Tan."

"Most of these troops will go east along the Sui River and attack Xiaxiang, and attack Liang, Pei and other counties in southern Yan."

"I think that the Lord should order Huang Hansheng and Shi Yuan to divide 10,000 troops and march westward along the Sui River to capture the cities of Pei State, especially to seize its seat of government, Xiangcheng, first!"

"If we capture this city, we will be able to block Yuan Shao's reinforcements west of Xuzhou and prevent them from threatening our flanks."

"And you, my lord, should continue to lead the main force, first take down Xiang, then break Xia Pi, and recapture Xuzhou before Yuan Shao captures Xu Du and the whole army can be transferred eastward!"

Xiao Fang seemed to have a strategy in mind and offered Liu Bei several countermeasures.

"It seems that the military advisor is a man of foresight and has already made up his mind."

"Okay, let's follow the military advisor's strategy!"

Liu Bei nodded in approval, then gladly accepted Xiao Fang's suggestion and issued an order.

The next step was how to quickly capture Xiaxiang and march to Xia Pi.

"This Yuan Tan obviously treats Chen Gong and Hao Meng as abandoned pawns, sacrificing them to defend Xiaxiang in order to delay us."

"But Chen Gong is quite resourceful, Hao Meng is also a strong general under Lu Bu, and there are still 3,000 soldiers and horses available in the city."

"If they are determined to hold out, I'm afraid it will take us some time to break through the city."

"Jinglue, what do you think?"

Liu Bei's gaze returned to Xiaxiang City in front of him.

Xiao Fang smiled, his eyes were playful:
"My lord, in my opinion, Xiangcheng may be able to fall without a fight."

Self-destruct?

Liu Bei was stunned and failed to understand the meaning of Xiao Fang's words.

Just as he was about to ask again, the guard entered the tent and said:
"My lord, someone has come from across the city, claiming to be Hao Meng's confidant, and wants to see you!"

(End of this chapter)