Chapter 349: The three-legged tripod is unbreakable! You still don't believe it! Conquer without fighting? It's too dreamy!
Is the Pseudo-Wei beyond salvation?

Cao Cao's eyes moved slightly, and he looked at Jia Xu with a hint of surprise.

Although Liu Bei's strategy of taking advantage of the enemy's situation was successful, his army unexpectedly crossed the Yellow River and surrounded the important town of Liyang.

But Liyang is still in the hands of the Yuan family after all, and the four prefectures in Hebei are also still in the hands of the Yuan family.

Yuan Shang still has nearly 80,000 main forces in his hands.

The foundation of the Pseudo-Wei was still there, but at this time Jia Xu made a shocking statement, saying that the Pseudo-Wei was hopeless?
It's probably too early to draw this conclusion.

Cao Cao and everyone else had the same thought in their minds.

"Liyang is still in the hands of the Yuan family. The Yuan family does nominally hold four states, and it is also true that Yuan Shang still has a major force."

"But as far as I know, Yuan Shang recently used the post of Qingzhou governor as a lure to win over Chunyu Qiong, and cut off nearly half of Yuan Tan's military forces."

"It's obvious that Yuan Shang can't tolerate his elder brother and is ready to take action against Yuan Tan and put him to death to get rid of this thorn in his side."

"The Yuan family had just lost Henan and the country had not recovered. Under such difficult circumstances, the two brothers of the Yuan family were still keen on fighting among themselves and ignored Liu Bei, the external enemy who was right in front of them."

"With such a powerful enemy at hand, a country that is still obsessed with fighting among brothers and still has constant factional strife and contradictions within, how can it be a match for Liu Bei?"

"This time, the Yuan brothers were played by Liu Bei and their defense line along the Yellow River was easily breached. This is the best example."

Jia Xu used a sarcastic tone to expose the Yuan family's superficial weakness.

Then his tone changed and he said firmly:
"Based on this alone, the Yuan brothers are definitely no match for Liu Bei. I think they will be defeated very quickly, and even if the king intervenes, it will be too late to save them."

"So I think that since the fall of Yuan Wei is inevitable, why should we waste our precious time on such a futile effort to save the pseudo-Wei?"

"Why don't we take advantage of Liu Bei's attack on Wei and immediately turn south to destroy Liu Zhang and complete the unfinished task of taking Yizhou last year?"

"This way we can improve our national strength as much as possible. When Liu Bei swallows up the pseudo-Wei in the future, we will have the confidence to compete with him and confront him from the east and the west!"

Perhaps Jia Xu was thinking about his own future and destiny, so he spoke so much for the first time in a long speech, revealing his intentions in detail.

Cao Cao stroked his beard slightly and fell into silence.

Jia Xu's analysis of the pros and cons obviously touched him and made him begin to re-examine the current situation.

"Your Majesty, what Jia Wenhe said is indeed reasonable."

"The quarrel between the Yuan brothers has given Liu Bei an opportunity to take advantage of. If it is true as Wen He said, Liu Bei will quickly capture Liyang City and march north with his army, and we will not be able to rescue them in time!"

Guo Jia's tone of voice also began to change.

"Your Majesty, what Wenhe said does make sense, but it is not the best solution!"

Cheng Yu, however, spoke out and directly opposed Jia Xu's argument:

"Conquering Shuzhong and occupying Yizhou will indeed greatly enhance the national strength of our Great Qin."

"But compared with the huge improvement in national strength that Liu Bei brought by destroying the pseudo-Wei, taking over the four states of Hebei, and occupying Guandong, our capture of Shu seems insignificant."

"If Liu Bei takes over Guandong, how can we fight him with only the three states of Siliang and Yi?"

"I still think that sending troops to Tongguan to rescue the pseudo-Wei and forcing Liu Bei to return is the best strategy."

"As for Liyang City, it is the strongest city in the Pseudo-Wei. Yuan Tan still has at least 15,000 soldiers and horses. I don't believe Liu Bei can conquer it quickly!"

"I have always believed that time is still on our side. It is not too late to send troops to rescue Wei now!"

Cheng Yu still insisted on sending troops to attack Chu and besiege Chu to rescue Wei.

Liu Ye, Xun You and most other advisers advocated sending troops out of Tongguan to stop Liu Bei from destroying Wei.

After weighing the pros and cons for a long time, Cao Cao's eyes regained their determination.

"Taking Yizhou completely is not enough for our Great Qin to contend with the Pseudo-Chu!"

"Liu Bei will never be able to break the three-way balance of power."

"I have made up my mind. I will lead my troops out of the pass immediately to rescue Wei!"

...

Liyang.

Zhang Fei and Pang Tong had led an army of 70,000 to the north, taking Dangyin first and blocking Yuan Shang from going south to rescue Liyang.

Liu Bei personally led more than 100,000 main forces and set up camps on all sides of Liyang City, turning this pseudo-Wei gateway into an isolated island.

Inside the account.

"According to General Yide's report, Yuan Shang is indeed leading an army of nearly 80,000 soldiers from Yecheng to rescue Liyang."

"The main force of the enemy has been blocked by General Yide in the north of Dangyin City. General Yide has followed the king's instructions and stayed behind closed doors. Please rest assured and take Liyang."

"As for Shan County, General Guan has sent an urgent report that Cao Cao has led his entire army out of the pass and is heading straight for Shan County."

"Cao Cao's move is probably to save the pseudo-Wei and force us to withdraw our troops back to rescue Luoyang."

Deng Zhi, who had just been transferred to the front line, temporarily took over Pang Tong's task of collecting information and reported the latest enemy and our own military intelligence one by one.

Liu Bei stared at the map and nodded slightly:

"It seems that Cao Cao has made a choice and is determined to save the Yuan brothers instead of taking advantage of the situation to seize Shu."

"Fortunately, Jinglue had anticipated this. I have left Yunchang with 30,000 elite soldiers to guard Shan County and prevent Cao Cao from advancing eastward and threatening Luoyang!"

Deng Zhi put away the silk book in his hand, bowed and said:

"I think that the top priority for our army right now is how to quickly capture Liyang to avoid any further complications!" Liu Bei agreed.

Next, he discussed with his advisers and generals how to quickly capture the Liyang City.

"Liyang is the strongest city in Hebei. The city walls are already high and thick. After Yuan Tan moved in, the walls were thickened. We may not be able to break the city with the Hanwei Cannon."

"Although half of Yuan Tan's troops have been taken away, there are still more than 15,000 people in the city, and this thief Yuan Tan still has some talent as a general."

"I believe that we must take advantage of the enemy's unstable morale and attack from all sides day and night at all costs!"

"In this case, I am confident that we can capture Liyang within a month!"

Taishi Ci finally made a summary for all the generals.

Attack from all sides and capture the city in one month!
Although Liu Bei nodded slightly, agreeing with Taishi Ci's opinion, he was a little dissatisfied with the time it took to capture the city in a month.

"Although Yunchang has 30,000 elite soldiers, he has to face the attack of Cao Cao's 100,000 troops. I think it takes a month to capture Liyang. I am afraid that the longer the night, the more troubles he will face."

Liu Bei expressed his concerns, and then looked at Xiao Fang:
"Jinglue, what do you think of what Ziyi and the others said?"

Xiao Fang, who had been fanning himself with a feather fan and sipping his tea, finally put down the bowl of soup slowly and spoke.

"Don't worry about Shan County, my king. I have left a secret plan for Yun Chang. If Cao Cao's army attacks, Yun Chang can act according to the plan and scare Cao Cao away and temporarily delay his attack on Shan County."

When Liu Bei heard that Xiao Fang had left a secret bag for Guan Yu, he was immediately cheered up.

Xiao Fang pointed his feather fan in the direction of Liyang City, with a strange look on his face:
"As for Liyang City, I don't think it is necessary to attack it with a large army and sacrifice soldiers as Ziyi said, nor does it need to take a month to capture it."

"I have a plan that may save a single soldier from death and take Liyang City without a fight in a few days."

As soon as these words were spoken, the atmosphere in the tent became boiling.

Liu Bei, Taishi Ci and the others all looked extremely surprised.

No need to waste a single soldier!
We can capture Liyang within a few days!
Or surrender without a fight?

This is too dreamy!
You must know that as Taishi Ci said, Liyang City is the strongest city in Hebei, and Yuan Tan is not a waste, there are still more than 15,000 soldiers in the city!

They have an army of 100,000. Even if every one of them spit, it would take ten days or half a month to drown all those 10,000 people!

Xiao Fang actually said that the city could be defeated without a fight within a few days!

How could everyone not be surprised?

"Jinglue, do you have a brilliant plan in mind that can take Liyang without fighting?"

After Liu Bei was surprised, he immediately asked excitedly.

Since Xiao Fang dared to "speak wildly", he must have had an idea in mind and must have some brilliant plan.

"I have told the king before that Yuan Shang transferred Chunyu Qiong away and reduced Yuan Tan's troops in order to kill Yuan Tan!"

"Yuan Tan must be fully aware of Yuan Shang's murderous intentions."

"He should also be aware that even if we don't attack the pseudo-Wei and the army doesn't surround Liyang, Yuan Shang will still take action at this time. With his current strength, he is still no match for Yuan Shang and his hope is still slim."

"For Yuan Tan, the only hope to survive is to surrender to our Great Chu and rely on the king's support to fight against Yuan Shang!"

Xiao Fang's words revealed Yuan Tan's predicament, and then he said:
"So my strategy is to take advantage of Yuan Tan's predicament and send lobbyists to Liyang to persuade Yuan Tan to surrender the city."

"Your Majesty, you can offer him a generous condition, promise to make him the Marquis of Pingyuan, grant him the county of Pingyuan as a fief, and allow him to inherit the title."

"If he doesn't surrender, he will either die at the hands of the king or at the hands of Yuan Shang."

"If you surrender, you can still live and have a rich and prosperous life."

"I believe that no matter how stupid Yuan Tan is, he should be able to distinguish the pros and cons of life and death, and will certainly open the city and surrender to the king."

"Then your Majesty, won't you take over Liyang City without a fight?"

After saying this, Xiao Fang pointed towards the direction of Hongnong:
"I predict that after Cao Cao learns that I have captured Liyang, he will know that the pseudo-Wei is hopeless. After weighing the pros and cons, he will most likely withdraw his troops and attack Shu instead."

"In this way, the pressure from the Qin army on the Wanluo line will be relieved."

"Your Majesty, you can now have no worries at all and head north to Yecheng with all your strength to kill Yuan Shang and wipe out the pseudo-Wei in one fell swoop!"

The whole plan is revealed.

There was a heated discussion in the big tent.

Be it Liu Bei, Taishi Ci and the others, all of them suddenly became enlightened.

"Yes, persuading Yuan Tan to surrender is indeed the best strategy!"

"Jinglue, you are indeed very insightful and have understood Yuan Tan's thoughts perfectly!"

Xiao Fang smiled faintly and said nothing.

It can be said that he had foresight in understanding Yuan Tan's thoughts.

Once in history, Yuan Tan could not withstand the blow from Yuan Shang. When he was about to lose the dispute between brothers, he chose to surrender to Cao Cao and lure Cao Cao into Hebei to deal with Yuan Shang.

After all, for Yuan Tan or Yuan Shang, in the eyes of their brothers, their own interests are far more important than the foundation of their Yuan family.

Since Yuan Tan could surrender to Cao Cao, why couldn't he surrender to Liu Bei?
This is the confidence behind Xiao Fang's plan.

Liu Bei clapped his hands and praised loudly, saying happily:
"Okay, I will use Jinglue's plan and immediately send people to Liyang City to persuade Yuan Tan to surrender!"

(End of this chapter)