Chapter 331 You are still a little naive. Those who look down on Xiao Fang will have a bad ending! This is Yuan Shao's last hope!

"Give me the map! Give me the map!"

Yuan Shao shouted excitedly at his ministers.

Feng Ji was the first to jump up. He picked up the map with joy and excitement and spread it in front of Yuan Shao.

Obviously, he had not anticipated Yuan Shang's unexpected request for battle.

With Feng Ji's wisdom, he quickly realized that Yuan Shang's plan was a brilliant one that could turn the tide.

Once Yuan Shang succeeded in this plan, he would become a great contributor to reversing the predicament of Wei State in Henan, and it would not be an exaggeration to call him the savior.

Yuan Shang's prestige will instantly soar to an unprecedented level.

What qualifications does Yuan Tan have to compete with Yuan Shang for the throne?

Not even the slightest qualification!
Yuan Tan, this fly, will be slapped to death by Yuan Shang!

"Your Majesty, this plan of the Third Young Master is truly a brilliant plan that can turn the tide!"

"I think this plan is feasible!"

Feng Ji understood Yuan Shang's spirit and naturally agreed with him without delay.

Yuan Shao stared at the map, the clouds on his face disappeared, and a look of surprise gradually appeared on his face.

"What a good plan! What a brilliant plan!"

Yuan Shao slammed the table, raised his head and looked at Yuan Shang excitedly, praising him:

"Xianfu, your plan to retake Xuchang is truly a brilliant plan to turn the tide!"

"I really didn't expect you to have such insight and wisdom. You really gave me a huge surprise!"

"I have long said that among all my sons, you are the most like me!"

Yuan Shao praised his son highly and also pasted some gold on his own face.

The counselors and generals of the Hebei faction naturally agreed with it, and they could hear endless flattering words such as "A good father will have a good son."

Chunyu Qiong and other members of the Ruying faction were unhappy. They looked at each other and were sweating in their hearts.

"Once the Third Young Master has come up with this plan, I'm afraid the position of the First Young Master and the Crown Prince will really be separated from each other."

"Should we find another way out..."

The same helpless and desperate thoughts suddenly emerged in the minds of Chunyu Qiong and others.

Yuan Shao slapped the map heavily and was about to decide to adopt Yuan Shang's suggestion.

"Your Majesty!"

Ju Su spoke again, interrupting what Yuan Shao was about to say.

"Third Young Master, this plan is indeed a brilliant plan to break the impasse. If it is used against someone else, I think the chances of winning are quite high."

"But we must not forget that it was Xiao Fang who commanded the 7,000 Chu troops in Xuchang."

"We are all well aware of this man's methods. I'm afraid that even if we put our wisdom together, we are still no match for him."

"With this man in charge of Xuchang, even if the eldest son leads an army far superior to his opponent, is it really possible to recapture Xuchang?"

"I think we should take a long-term view, lest we fail to recapture Xuchang and suffer more casualties!"

Ju Su reminded with a solemn look.

Being of upright character, he could not sit idly by and watch Yuan Shang act arrogantly and take risks, further exacerbating the already precarious situation of the Wei State.

Yuan Shao shuddered suddenly, and his hand, which had been raised high to make the decision, remained suspended in the air without falling.

His originally excited face was now replaced by a look of horror.

"That country bumpkin really can't be judged by common sense..."

Yuan Shao frowned and muttered to himself, with fear clearly revealed in his expression.

Yuan Shang walked up to the hall, bowed and said solemnly:
"Father, when I was guarding Yecheng, I did hear about Xiao Fang's various ingenious strategies, and I have never looked down on this villain."

"But I think that although he is called the Saint of Strategy, he is still a human being, not an omnipotent immortal saint."

"He has only 7,000 men, and he has just taken Xuchang and has not yet established a firm foothold. Once I lead my 20,000 troops to attack, the righteous men in the city who are loyal to our Great Wei will surely respond in unison."

"I just don't believe that Xiao the thief has the means to defend Xuchang under our attack from both inside and outside!"

Yuan Shang's heartfelt analysis seemed to give Yuan Shao a shot of adrenaline, and his frown suddenly relaxed.

Feng Ji rolled his eyes a few times, and hurriedly stepped forward and bowed:

"Your Majesty, I think what the Third Young Master said makes sense!"

"Besides, given our army's current predicament, if we only passively defend, I'm afraid it will be extremely difficult to resist the offensive of the Chu army. It's only a matter of time before we lose the area south of the Yellow River."

"I believe that only by using the Third Young Master's strategy can we reverse the passive situation and defend Henan!"

The two of them sang and shouted together, thus dispelling Yuan Shao's fear of Xiao Fang.

After pondering for a moment.

Yuan Shao waved his hand and said sternly:
"You are right. Xiao Fang is not an omnipotent god. Taking back Xuchang is our only hope to hold on to Henan!"

"Xianfu, I will give you 20,000 soldiers and horses. You and Fengji will march south immediately to capture Xuchang for me!"

"I will be in Suiyang to hold back the main force of the big-eared thieves for you, and wait for the good news of your victory in retaking Xuchang!"

Yuan Shang secretly breathed a sigh of relief and immediately accepted the order.

After a brief hesitation, Yuan Shao continued solemnly:

"In this battle, Xianfu, if you can recapture Xuchang, I will immediately make you the crown prince!"

He wanted to use the position of crown prince to motivate his son to fight.

Yuan Shang volunteered to recapture Xuchang because he was aiming for the position of crown prince. Yuan Shao's words were exactly what he wanted.

In an instant, a look of ecstasy flashed in Yuan Shang's eyes, and he clenched his fists suddenly in excitement.

"Don't worry, father. I will live up to your expectations!"

"Within ten days, I will capture Xuchang!"

"If Xiao Fang dares to resist stubbornly and defend the city of Xuchang to the death, I will definitely cut off his head and bring it back to present to my father!" Yuan Shang expressed his position again, and was even so excited that he made a boast and issued a military order.

Yuan Tan was very pleased and naturally gave him more praise and encouragement.

When Ju Su saw Yuan Shang being so conceited, he couldn't help but feel worried and a shadow fell on his face.

"Third Young Master, those who underestimated Xiao Fang will never have a good ending."

"You are so confident and look down on Xiao Fang. I'm afraid you will suffer a great loss..."

Ju Su could only sigh inwardly.

Let’s look at Yuan Shao.

At this moment, he stroked his white beard, smiled as he watched Yuan Shang's back as he left, an expression of relief and pride emerging on his face.

"Shang'er is indeed the son who is most like me among all my sons."

"As the old saying goes, brothers fight together to fight tigers, and fathers and sons fight together in battle!"

"In the end, the only person I can rely on is my son Shang'er..."

...

Xuchang, inside a certain government hall.

Xiao Fang had just received the victory news that Guan Yu had captured Luoyang.

All the generals in the hall were excited by the good news and discussed it excitedly.

"Yu Jin is known as the best general among Cao Cao's non-Cao Cao generals, and he has 7,000 soldiers under his command. I didn't expect him to be so vulnerable and flee without a fight!"

"General Guan took Luoyang without losing a single soldier in this battle!"

Wei Yan had a sneer on his face and spoke with sarcasm and contempt for Jin.

"Cao Cao's so-called defense of Luoyang was just a symbolic defense. It was simply because Luoyang was the eastern capital of the Han Dynasty and he had to defend it."

"If he was really determined to defend Luoyang, he would not have sent Yu Jin, a foreigner, but a relative like Cao Ren to take charge."

"Luoyang is just a piece of chicken ribs to him. No matter whether it is our army or the Wei army, as long as whoever attacks Luoyang first, Yu Jin will abandon it without a fight."

Xiao Fang threw the victory report on the table and revealed Cao Cao's trump card with a sneer.

"I see."

Wei Yan seemed to understand something, and suddenly raised his head to look at Xiao Fang:
"Could it be that Prime Minister Xiao had already predicted that Yu Jin would not defend Luoyang to the death and that our army could easily take it without any effort, so he asked General Guan to lead the army to attack?"

Xiao Fang smiled but said nothing.

Wei Yan suddenly realized and couldn't help but sigh:

"The Prime Minister's control over people's hearts has truly reached perfection."

"Whether it's Yuan Shao or Cao Cao, their every thought is under the control of the Prime Minister!"

Zhang Xiu also echoed the sentiment, and then smiled optimistically:
"Now that General Xiaguan has captured Luoyang, the next step is to go east through Hulao and cut off the Yellow River."

"The king used Pang Shiyuan's strategy again and ordered Gan Xingba and his men to launch an offensive in Qingzhou, and we took Xuchang."

"In the current situation, Yuan Shao has suffered defeat on all fronts, and total defeat is inevitable. It won't be long before Your Majesty completely takes over Henan."

Wei Yan nodded repeatedly, and all the generals were optimistic.

Xiao Fang sipped his tea, but found the taste interesting:
"Everyone, it's too early to be so optimistic now."

"A lean camel is bigger than a horse. Yuan Shao still has hundreds of thousands of troops in Henan. He will not sit there and wait for death."

"If my calculations are correct, Yuan Shao will most likely send troops to seize Xuchang so that he can make a desperate attempt."

Wei Yan, Zhang Xiu and others were stunned.

Just as he was about to ask, Xu Chu hurried in.

"Prime Minister, my scouts in the north just sent me an urgent report."

"Yuan Shao ordered Yuan Shang to lead 20,000 troops from Suiyang to the south. The vanguard has passed Chenliu and is heading straight for Xuchang!"

"It seems that Yuan Shang wants to take back Xuchang!"

All the generals were shocked, and their eyes turned to Xiao Fang in amazement.

Their Prime Minister Xiao had guessed it right, and Yuan Shao actually sent out a large number of troops in an attempt to retake Xuchang!
"Prime Minister Xiao is truly a god. Yuan Shao's every thought is indeed under his control!"

Zhang Xiu came back to his senses and gave a thumbs up in admiration.

Wei Yan was impressed, but his brows furrowed:

"The Prime Minister is indeed very good at predicting things. Yuan Shao was able to allocate 20,000 troops to recapture Xuchang. It seems that he really wants to give it a try!"

"The enemy is numerous and we are few, so we can only hold on to Xuchang and wait for the king or General Guan to make a breakthrough in Suiyang or Hulao."

"At that time, Yuan Shang's army will surely fail in its mission and flee north in panic."

Wei Yan's strategy was recognized by many military generals.

"What Wenchang said, the enemy is numerous and we are few, that is indeed the case."

"It's just that we have just conquered Xuchang, and the people in the city are not loyal to us. I believe there are many people who are loyal to the Yuan family."

"I am worried that if we just hold on, Yuan Shang's army, three times larger than his, will attack fiercely from outside, and those loyal to Yuan Shao in the city will take advantage of the situation to start a rebellion, so that we can cooperate with the outside forces."

"Under this kind of attack from both inside and outside, our situation is not very optimistic."

After being reminded like this, Wei Yan and the other generals were all shocked and a shadow fell on their faces.

Everyone discussed it over and over, but no one could come up with a foolproof plan to defend Xuchang.

"Bang!"

Xiao Fang placed the tea bowl on the table, interrupting the generals' discussion.

Then, under the gaze of all the generals, he waved his feather fan majestically:
"Yuan Shang and 20,000 Wei troops are all he has to fear!"

"I will send out all my troops to destroy these 20,000 enemy troops and cut off Yuan Shao's last hope of holding on to Henan!"

(End of this chapter)