si-mexico Chapter 264 Su Yu Worried About Lü Bu's Southern Expedition? Various Warlords Gather in Guanzho
Chapter 264 Su Yu Worried About Lü Bu's Southern Expedition? Various Warlords Gather in Guanzho
Xuchang
Sikong Mansion
This was the day after Cao Cao returned from his southern expedition to Xiangyang.
According to intelligence reports, Yuan Shao has recently taken new actions.
He dispatched several envoys into the Guanzhong Plain, seemingly intending to win over the minor lords of the Guanxi region to serve him.
Here I should mention who these "minor lords" in the Kansai region are.
First, the Kansai region includes the Guanzhong Plain and Liangzhou.
That is, the territory of Dong Zhuo in the past.
After Dong Zhuo died, Li Jue, Guo Si, Fan Chou, Zhang Ji, and others experienced different fates.
Fan Chou was killed by Li Jue and Guo Si during an internal power struggle.
Zhang Ji was recently killed off.
Li Jue was killed on the spot by Cao Cao's army in the battle to welcome Liu Xie!
Guo Si was luckier than Li Jue, and managed to escape back to Chang'an with his remaining troops.
However, not long after, Cao Cao sent Xiahou Yuan with troops to quell the rebellion near Chang'an. (This event is not described in detail in the book, but it is mentioned briefly when welcoming Liu Xie.)
Guo Si suffered another defeat, and even Chang'an was lost.
However, due to Yuan Shu's sudden declaration of himself as emperor, Xiahou Yuan did not have time to consolidate the Guanzhong region before he hurriedly led his troops to join Cao Cao.
This resulted in the Guanzhong region becoming a no-man's land.
Only a small number of Cao Cao's troops were stationed there; most of the cities were still in the hands of local powerful clans and remnants of the Xiliang faction.
Li Jue, Guo Si, Fan Chou, and Zhang Ji were the four largest remnants of the Liangzhou faction after Dong Zhuo's death.
Besides them, other small and medium-sized forces also emerged.
For example, Duan Wei.
This person is a true member of the Duan family.
The Duan family, also known as the Duan Jiong family, was the family that Jia Xu claimed to be his maternal grandfather.
After Duan Jiong's death, the Duan family declined significantly.
But even a starved camel is bigger than a horse; the Duan family can be considered one of the top military families in the Guanzhong region.
Duan Jiong and Dong Zhuo had a feud, and Duan Jiong was forced to submit when Dong Zhuo entered the capital.
After Dong Zhuo's death, they temporarily submitted to Li Jue and Guo Si.
But seeing that Li Jue was dead and Guo Si was finished, Duan Jiong certainly wouldn't continue to follow the two of them down the same path, but instead jumped out and went it alone!
There are many people like Duan Jiong.
Suddenly, the number of small and medium-sized warlords in the Guanzhong region increased dramatically, giving the impression that when the eldest brother died, a bunch of underlings jumped out to take his place.
Further west in Liangzhou, things became even more chaotic.
The forces of Ma Teng and Han Sui were the largest separatist warlords in Liangzhou, far surpassing the strength of ordinary minor lords.
Besides the two of them, there were dozens of other minor vassal states.
These are the people who originally followed Han Sui in raising an army and fought the Battle of Weinan with Cao Cao.
The ten most powerful warlords, such as Liang Xing, Zhang Heng, Cheng Yin, and Li Kan, were the legendary "Ten Generals of Liangzhou".
But while Dong Zhuo was still alive, all of these people bowed their heads and acted subserviently, not uttering a single word of complaint.
Seeing that the Kansai region was in complete chaos without its leader, he dared to step out and establish his own independent regime, claiming to be a warlord as well.
A mosquito, annoying, but not deadly.
But if a bunch of mosquitoes gather together, that's a real disaster.
What's more, this also includes the two super giant mosquitoes, Ma Teng and Han Sui!
If Yuan Shao could win over these people to form a coalition and launch a fierce attack on Cao Cao's territory from the west.
One can imagine what kind of natural disaster this would turn into for Cao Cao!
thus.
Controlling the situation in Kansai became another urgent matter before the decisive battle between Yuan Shao and Cao Cao.
"Ziyi, what should I do?"
"If Yuan Shao were to turn the warlords in the Guanzhong region against their will, I, Cao Cao, would be attacked from both sides."
Cao Cao rubbed his forehead.
The headache has improved a lot and is almost completely cured.
But when faced with frustrating situations, Cao Cao still maintained the habit of pinching his forehead.
Su Yu sighed:
"What Su is worried about is not the same thing that the lord is worried about."
"It's not difficult to get these feudal lords in the Kansai region to stand by and watch."
"After all, these guys are constantly fighting amongst themselves."
"For example, the so-called sworn brothers Ma Teng and Han Sui."
"One moment they're drinking and laughing together, the next they might be turning on each other with swords!"
"It's all about self-interest."
"And in the entire Kansai region, the only person with the power to unify it is Dong Zhuo."
"Now that Dong Zhuo is dead, there is no second Dong Zhuo to be found in Guanzhong. They are destined to be nothing more than a rabble."
"My lord only needs to issue an imperial edict, granting official titles and ranks to this rabble, and verbally promise them great benefits, and they will stop in their tracks!"
"Even if there are some guys who don't buy into this."
"But my lord doesn't need to make everyone accept this approach."
"If even half of the people remain on the sidelines as a result, the remaining half will no longer be swayed by Yuan Shao's attempts to win them over!"
After Su Yu's analysis, Cao Cao instantly understood the true nature of these warlords from Guanzhong.
Back then, the Kwantung Army was so powerful, but it all ended in a disappointing way.
Moreover, what about the Kansai lords, whose strength was far inferior to the Kanto Alliance, yet whose chaos was many times greater?
A mob can be persuaded with benefits!
Suddenly, Cao Cao became puzzled.
Su Yu has already come up with a solution for him, so what is Su Yu worried about?
Su Yu then pointed in the direction of Jizhou.
"My lord, do not forget that Lü Bu is still under Yuan Shao's command!"
"If Yuan Shao were to send Lü Bu to the Guanzhong region under his banner to command the various minor warlords."
"Those minor warlords will surely side with Yuan Shao's camp out of fear of Lü Bu's martial prowess and Yuan Shao's prestige!"
Upon hearing this, Cao Cao felt a sharp pain in his chest.
He almost forgot about Lü Bu, a man from Guanzhong!
Although Lü Bu was born in Bingzhou, he spent almost all of his years under Dong Zhuo in Guanzhong.
The reason we didn't defeat Li Jue and Guo Si wasn't because of Lü Bu and Chen Gongcai, but because Jia Xu was too overpowered!
If it weren't for Jia Xu uniting the Xiliang army back then...
By today's standards, these minor warlords in Guanzhong might have already been conquered by Lü Bu, or even brought under his command.
If Yuan Shao were to send Lü Bu on a "revisit to familiar territory"
This is definitely not good news for Cao Cao's camp!
"Ziyi, do you have a way to break this deadlock?"
Cao Cao clenched his fist.
The atmosphere of a major battle between Yuan Shao and Cao Cao has gradually spread.
This meant that Cao Cao could no longer freely mobilize armies of tens or hundreds of thousands to conquer other places.
Otherwise, if Yuan Shao were to seize the opportunity and launch a full-scale southward attack into Cao Cao's territory, the consequences would be absolutely unbearable for Cao Cao!
"My lord, we do have a plan."
"But I'm afraid it will require my lord to make a small sacrifice."
……