flstandardbreds Chapter 137 The Number One Sage of Ji Province! Su Yu Wants to Do Business with Gongsun Zan?
Chapter 137 The Number One Sage of Ji Province! Su Yu Wants to Do Business with Gongsun Zan?
Ju Shou's calm demeanor and aristocratic air seemed to be innate.
He smiled calmly and said softly:
“What my colleagues have said is all reasonable.”
"But there is one point I disagree with."
“Youzhou is a border region, and it has been fighting with the Wuhuan for many years. The people are fierce and the whole population is a soldier.”
"Among them, some people were tired of the war and supported Liu Yu's benevolent rule, so they welcomed Liu Yu's arrival."
"But at the same time, there are also many people who firmly support Gongsun Zan."
"They are the pro-war faction in Youzhou, hoping to exterminate the Wuhuan clan and solve the border troubles once and for all."
"The ferocity of these people can be seen from the fact that no intact corpses could be found after the Wuhuan people were killed."
"To completely defeat Gongsun Zan in one battle would be no less difficult than the Han Dynasty producing another Emperor Guangwu."
Having said that, Ju Shou flicked his sleeve, and several goose feathers floated out from it.
Everyone, including Yuan Shao, fell into deep thought.
Tian Feng sighed:
"What you said was like a wake-up call, suddenly waking us up!"
Guo Tu, Feng Ji, and others did not echo Ju Shou like Tian Feng.
But their furrowed brows also indicate that they cannot refute Ju Shou's point of view.
Yuan Shao sighed softly.
As expected, it was impossible to completely defeat a powerful opponent like Gongsun Zan in just one battle.
In fact, Ju Shou's prediction was correct.
Historically, Yuan Shao and Gongsun Zan fought for eight long years!
Although there were also periods of truce during this time.
However, this also demonstrates that Gongsun Zan was the biggest obstacle to Yuan Shao's unification of Hebei.
Gongsun Zan's killing of Liu Yu was a devastating blow to his reputation.
But it cannot be denied that...
Many of the pro-war faction under Gongsun Zan are now more loyal to him than before!
This principle is very simple; an example from later generations will make it instantly clear.
Are there many feminists?
Of course a lot.
However, there are also many people who oppose feminism.
Those who supported Liu Yu's benevolent rule hated Gongsun Zan.
The pro-war faction that supported Gongsun Zan's northern campaign against the Wuhuan became even more supportive of Gongsun Zan after Liu Yu's death.
With the support of these people, Yuan Shao was destined to only gradually widen the gap between himself and Gongsun Zan.
One big win isn't enough, and neither are two.
However, if Yuan Shao could win four or five consecutive matches, the gap would become quite obvious.
At this moment, Ju Shou's words left Yuan's advisors speechless, unable to voice any objections.
Yuan Shao glanced around, a hint of impatience flashing in his eyes.
……
A few days later
Under Feng Ji's persuasion, Xianyu Fu chose to join Yuan Shao's camp and wrote a proclamation expressing his determination to fight Gongsun Zan to the death!
Upon receiving the news, Gongsun Zan was furious and immediately launched a large-scale attack on Dai Commandery.
On Yuan Shao's side, Yuan Shao himself led the expedition and appointed Wen Chou as the vanguard general to rescue Xianyu Fu.
The two armies engaged in a major battle near the border bridge.
At first, Gongsun Zan's army advanced with unstoppable momentum, nearly reaching Yuan Shao's main camp.
But Qu Yi, who had been lying in ambush for a long time, led the vanguard suicide squad out from the rear of Yuan's camp and used the vanguard crossbows to snipe at the White Horse Cavalry!
The White Horse Cavalry encountered their natural enemy and suffered heavy casualties.
Yan Gang, Gongsun Zan's chief general, was also killed in battle.
This is known to later generations as the Battle of Jieqiao.
Helpless, Gongsun Zan had no choice but to abandon his attack on Dai County and retreat to Youbeiping City.
Yuan Shao and Xianyu Fu joined forces and pursued the enemy, intending to further seize Youzhou.
Unexpectedly, they were ambushed by Gongsun Zan, resulting in the deaths of nearly 20,000 soldiers.
This was the Dragon's Counterattack.
Yuan Shao hastily withdrew his troops, regretting that he had not heeded Ju Shou's advice.
The news reached Pengcheng.
Cao Cao immediately took the battle report to Su Yu for discussion.
"Ziyi, the Youzhou army under Gongsun Zan is incredibly brave!"
"I never expected that after that bastard Yuan Shao wiped out the White Horse Cavalry, he would suffer such a crushing defeat at Longcou!"
Cao Cao was somewhat shocked.
Everyone knows that the White Horse Cavalry was Gongsun Zan's prized possession.
Unexpectedly, even after the White Horse Cavalry was crippled, the Youzhou army's fighting power remained so terrifying.
Su Yu sighed softly.
Due to his planning, the three major events—the Battle of Jieqiao, the Battle of Longcou, and the death of Liu Yu—all went awry.
Why do you say that?
Because Han Fu lost Ji Province much later than originally recorded in history.
Instead of immediately turning against Yuan Shao, Gongsun Zan turned his attention to Liu Yu.
This resulted in Liu Yu, who should have died in the fourth year of the Chuping era (193 AD), being killed by Gongsun Zan in the third year of the Chuping era.
The Battle of Jieqiao and the Battle of Longcou, which took place in the second year of the Chuping era, were delayed until after Liu Yu's death.
Fortunately, apart from the change in time, there were no major changes in other aspects.
Gongsun Zan was exceptionally strong. Although he was defeated at Jieqiao, he turned the tide at Longcou and won a decisive victory. He was not so easily defeated by Yuan Shao.
Otherwise, if Yuan Shao were to unify Hebei ahead of schedule, it would definitely not be a good thing for Cao Cao.
"My lord, Gongsun Zan and Yuan Shao will soon reach a stalemate."
"But Gongsun Zan killed Liu Yu, which was a huge blow to his reputation."
“A few years later, he will surely be defeated by Yuan Shao.”
Cao Cao stroked his beard:
"Several years... That means that Cao only has these last few years left."
Cao Cao was always very clear about this.
Once Yuan Shao unifies Hebei, the first person he will have to deal with will definitely be Cao Cao.
Unless, Cao Cao had already been annexed by other forces before this.
But was Cao Cao such a weakling?
Obviously not.
His goal was to defeat all the warlords, including Yuan Shao!
"Ziyi, should we contact Gongsun Zan's side?"
Cao Cao looked worried.
Deep down, Cao Cao still hoped that Gongsun Zan could hold out as long as possible, gain more time to develop his strength, and not be defeated by Yuan Shao.
Su Yu smiled and said:
"Doing business with Gongsun Zan might have been difficult before."
"But now that we have the Mi family's caravan, it's a piece of cake."
"Rest assured, my lord, Gongsun Zan will soon receive the rice from Yanzhou."
"But the items to be traded must be specialties from Youzhou."
"For example, warhorses, salt, iron, and the like."
Cao Cao's eyelids suddenly twitched.
Thanks to the promotion of the Xuanyuan plow and the implementation of the military-agricultural system, Yanzhou is now completely free of food shortages.
There is still a large surplus from exports.
Not to mention, land reclamation will also be carried out in Xuzhou in the future.
By then, let alone other warlords, even the wealthy and powerful Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu would not have as much grain as Cao Cao.
But would Gongsun Zan really trade such valuable items as warhorses and salt and iron?
Su Yu saw Cao Cao's worries and analyzed:
"Given Ju Shou's wisdom, he will definitely advise Yuan Shao to completely block all sales channels in Youzhou."
"Yuan Shao will also blockade Kong Rong's territory in Qingzhou."
"Gongsun Zan's only remaining neighbor is Gongsun Du of Liaodong."
"But Gongsun Du was even worse off than him, and couldn't give him much food."
"Under these circumstances, Gongsun Zan had no choice!"
"Either you go hungry, or you do business with us!"
……