Chapter 137 Tian Yuan Withdraws
"Gongyu, how are you?" Tian Ze looked at Ju Su and said with emotion.
This was not the first time he met Ju Shou.
As early as the Yellow Turban Rebellion, Tian Ze had visited Ju Shou and personally invited him, making every effort to do so, but unfortunately he still failed to recruit him under his command.
"Tian Youzhou, your charm remains the same." Ju Su couldn't help but feel a little warm in his heart when he heard the regret and intimacy in Tian Ze's tone, but it turned into determination in an instant.
Hearing the deliberate alienation in Ju Su's words, Tian Ze smiled bitterly.
"Well, since you have chosen Yuan Benchu, I will not force you. Let's talk about business. You are here to seek peace on behalf of Yuan Benchu, right?"
"I also came here for Tian Youzhou's wish." Ju Su said neither humbly nor arrogantly.
Tian Ze looked at Ju Su deeply and said, "What a pity! What a pity! You are probably the only one in Yuan Shao's army who can see this."
Both parties knew what the other was thinking, and Tian Ze was not the type to play tricks, so he gave the negotiating position to Xun You and Guo Jia.
The three of them exchanged sharp words, neither of them giving in.
Ju Su was worthy of being Ju Su. He fought one against two without revealing any flaws. He was measured in his words and did not let the two men gain any advantage.
The two sides argued for half an hour before finally reaching an agreement.
All the land occupied by Tian Ze became his. At the same time, Yuan Shao ceded Changshan County.
The two sides ceased fighting for two years and announced to the world that they were no longer enemies of each other.
As a result, nearly three of the ten counties in Jizhou were controlled by Tian Ze.
Both sides got results that were above their bottom line, and Ju Shou left without hesitation.
He was very grateful for Tian Ze's attention and respect for him, but now he had already recognized his master and a loyal minister would not serve two masters.
Watching Ju Su's departing figure, Guo Jia couldn't help but say with some regret: "Ju Gongyu is worthy of his reputation! It's a pity that he is under Yuan Shao's command and will definitely be a great enemy for us."
"Yuan Benchu is a great man! He has many civil and military officials under his command, and none of them are ordinary people!" Xun You said.
"That's why the situation in the world is so exciting!"
"It's a pity that it's too late. They no longer have a chance." Tian Ze sighed.
Now is when he is at his weakest, and it is also the last chance for the princes of the world to stop him.
But unfortunately, Yuan Shao did not seize the opportunity. He saved his chance to compete for the world, but also ruined this last possibility.
But this is not Yuan Shao's fault. After all, if it were him, he would not sacrifice himself to fight such a powerful enemy for the sake of the princes of the world. Moreover, there is a huge information gap between the two sides. Yuan Shao does not know how terrible his hidden strength is.
"Such a good opportunity must not be missed. Send a message to the emperor and ask him to be prepared. Now that everything is ready, it's time to give a warning to the aristocratic families in the world." Tian Ze said meaningfully.
……
Tian and Yuan confronted each other, then each side stopped fighting and made a two-year agreement, and the news soon spread throughout the world.
While the various princes were amazed at the strength of the two, they couldn't help but feel a strong sense of urgency in their hearts.
Others have already occupied a state and have more than 100,000 soldiers. What are we doing here? We are all princes. It has only been half a year since the alliance was dissolved. How can the gap be so big!
Those who knew some of the inside story secretly cursed Tian Ze and Yuan Shao for their treachery.
While he was fighting Dong Zhuo on the front line, these two were hiding deeper than each other, planning their own affairs in secret. They did not believe that the armies of both sides appeared suddenly, and they must have been planned for a long time.
"My lord! We can't just sit there and wait for death any longer. Yanzhou must be taken as soon as possible." After Xi Zhicai handed the information to Cao Cao, he said in a slightly urgent tone.
Nowadays, various warlords are fighting for territory.
Even powerful people like Tian Ze, Yuan Shao and others have occupied an entire state, but now they are only prefects of a county. The difference is too great.
In the past six months, they have been recruiting soldiers, farming and making weapons, expanding the army from more than 5,000 people to nearly 20,000 people, and they were originally somewhat complacent.
As a result, they could easily send out 100,000 troops. The gap was really too big. If they continued to develop steadily like this, their chances of winning the world would be slim. With a weak foundation, they could only fight and gamble, swallowing an elephant with a snake, and supporting war with war, and practice the method of hegemony.
"But Liu Dai is a relative of the Han royal family and a famous scholar. If we seize Yanzhou by force, I am afraid that the powerful families in Yanzhou will be dissatisfied." Cao Cao said with some hesitation.
The mines that Li Ru had designed for Dong Zhuo have always been a headache for all the princes. The people he arranged had no ability, great reputation, and strong connections, so it would be too costly to replace them.
Yuan Shao at least had the ability to direct a play, but Cao Cao did not have that ability.
At this time, the Yellow Turbans of Qingzhou invading Yanzhou was no longer possible because of Tian Ze's intervention. Although Cao Cao was now much stronger than before, he lacked righteousness.
"My lord, the Baibo bandits are heading south, they must be planning to surrender to Yuan Shu."
Just when the two were having a headache, Xun Yu brought them a crucial message.
Cao Cao and Xi Zhicai's eyes lit up when they heard this.
After being tricked by Yuan Shao, the Baibo bandits suffered heavy losses, and as there were already many factions within them, even greater divisions arose.
Before this, they had been divided into two factions over whether to help Yuan Shao, one being the pro-Yuan faction and the other the pro-independence faction.
The pro-Yuan faction believed that the Yuan family had provided great help to the Baibo Army in order for it to survive and grow. They also felt that there was no future in being a thief and that there was hope only if they followed the Yuan family.
The faction of independence was because the world was in chaos now and only those who had troops could become kings. They were worried that the Yuan family would abandon them, especially Yuan Shao, whom they did not trust at all.
After the Battle of Jizhou, the pro-Yuan faction's strength was greatly reduced, but it gained a lot of money and food, which aroused the covetousness of the neutral faction, and they once wanted to annex the former.
But how could the pro-Yuan faction be willing to do that? They sold their lives themselves, so why should the spoils be given to you guys who are just sitting back and reaping the benefits?
But they couldn't win the battle, so after much deliberation, they decided to go to Yuan Shu, the "wise leader".
Although Yuan Shu had many serious shortcomings, he was not completely useless. At least in the eyes of these bandits, Yuan Shu was a very loyal person, and he was also known as a three-generation official, so they were not surprised that the Baibo bandits took the initiative to join them.
If the Baibo bandits wanted to surrender to Yuan Shu, they would inevitably pass through Yanzhou, which gave Cao Cao a lot of room to maneuver.
"How many are there?" asked Cao Cao.
"About 100,000, most of them are young and strong." Xun Yu said.
"My lord, this is a godsend opportunity!" Xi Zhicai said with a little excitement.
As expected, just when I was worrying about what to do, the Baibo thieves showed up at my doorstep.
Although in their eyes, the Baibo bandits were easy to deal with, this was not the case for Liu Dai.
Thieves are thieves, they are extremely greedy and with just a little guidance, they can complete their plan of killing someone with a borrowed knife.
"Zhicai, this matter will be arranged by you, and you must not reveal the beginning or the end."
"Don't worry, my lord." Xi Zhicai said with a sharp look in his eyes.
"I'll have to trouble you to make some arrangements for Wen Ruo, Bao Xin and the others." Cao Cao looked at Xun Yu solemnly.
If one wants to take control of Yanzhou legitimately, the key lies in the attitude of the Yanzhou aristocratic families and powerful people, and only Xun Yu can do this.
"Yes!" Xun Yu said.
After Xun Yu surrendered to him, Cao Cao deeply felt how great it was to have a top strategist from a top family.
The internal affairs were arranged in an orderly manner, the general situation of the world was clearly seen, and all kinds of talents were invited to come to him. He, who was originally penniless, suddenly had the potential to become a powerful leader.
In Yuzhou, Liu Bei had the same feeling as Cao Cao.
He was equally poor, with even less background than Cao Cao. But with the support of Chen Qun and the Chen family behind him, he leapt from a small governor with only a few thousand soldiers to occupying half of Yuzhou.
Although he was only the nominal governor of Yuzhou and did not have complete control over the area he governed, with Chen Qun around, all this was only a matter of time.
(End of this chapter)
