Chapter 409 Yuan Shao's Choice
Accompanied by Tianze dispelling the celestial phenomena in the sky.
Xi Zhicai, who was almost dying in Xun Chen's arms, could not help but widen his eyes, looked at the scorching sun in the sky unwillingly, and stretched out his right hand as if he wanted to hold it.
But in the end, it fell down helplessly.
"Zhicai! Zhicai!"
Xun Chen called out hurriedly.
The doctor who had been prepared by Mao Jie in the back immediately came forward to check.
While his face looked grim, he also breathed a sigh of relief.
"how?"
At this time, Yuan Shao also came over.
Seeing this scene, he, as wise as he was, immediately understood the cause and effect.
In addition to being amazed, I couldn't help but feel many complex emotions in my heart, including regret, jealousy, fear, and relief... and so on.
"His life is saved, but I'm afraid he won't wake up."
The doctor's answer made Yuan Shao and others feel even more complicated.
"Take him away and take good care of him."
With Xi Zhicai's departure, the situation on the field changed again.
After the celestial phenomenon ended, Cheng Yu's expression changed slightly.
Looking at the coalition forces that had just broken through halfway, he felt very anxious.
"Go a little deeper!"
At this moment, he suddenly regretted that the effect of his talent was too strong, which made the coalition forces advance so slowly.
The seemingly fragile rear army and left and right wings were just baits he threw to the coalition forces. Xu Huang's killer weapon was already ready and waiting to be launched.
But at this moment, the sky changed again.
What Cheng Yu was most worried about at the moment was the withdrawal of the coalition forces.
However, his worries soon became a reality.
Although Cao Cao and his men enjoyed the killing, the new recruits before them made them regain the pleasure of being the strong for the first time. The casualty ratio of both sides was reversed from 2:1 to nearly 2:3.
They had a rare and huge advantage in terms of casualties.
However, the terrifying tenacity of these recruits severely hampered their breakthrough speed.
As the celestial phenomenon that Xi Zhicai exchanged his life for disappeared, the same problem was placed before Cao Cao and others.
Fight or retreat?
It is really hard to say who will win or lose if we fight now.
After all, Yuan Shao still left some defensive trump cards in the central army, and the halberd soldiers had not yet been used.
Cao Cao also retained a certain amount of strength to deal with possible crises.
The chances of winning this battle are not small.
But, is it worth it?
This is the most straightforward problem facing Cao Cao and others.
If you have a weak foundation, you will need to consider more when fighting a war.
The battle has been going on for so long that even if they win, they will not be able to stop Guan Yu's vanguard troops.
Even whether the central army where Cheng Yu was located could be retained was uncertain, after all, Xu Huang and Le Jin had not moved yet.
Although the two have never appeared in person, Cao Cao would never ignore their existence.
Le Jin is fine, but Xu Huang is also a talented general who can be compared with Guan Yu.
Although he has always been the last of the five great generals of the Great Qi, to be able to sit at this table, he is no ordinary person.
In this case, even if you win, is it worth it?
The fighting seems fierce so far as neither side has suffered a large-scale defeat, but the casualties on both sides are still under control within a certain range.
Once the battle continues, and it turns from a siege into a chaotic battle or even a war of annihilation, the casualties cannot be guaranteed at all.
Judging from the tenacious performance of Guan Yu's troops, the outcome will inevitably be a lose-lose situation for both sides.
Cao Cao was already thinking of backing out, but he was not the commander-in-chief and could not make a decision.
He looked anxiously towards the direction of Yuan Shao's central army.
Now is the time to test Yuan Shao.
Benchu, I hope you can see the situation clearly and don’t let me down!
In Yuan Shao's central army, the extremely clear-headed Yuan Shao could see the current situation, but now he was a little hesitant.
Guo Tu, who was standing by, quietly walked over and whispered in Yuan Shao's ear.
"My lord, why don't we take this opportunity to make Guan Yu's army and Cao Sun's army both lose? In this way, Yanzhou, Yuzhou and Yangzhou..."
That’s right, the pros and cons facing Yuan Shao now are more complicated.
As the commander-in-chief, he now has the opportunity to kill Cao Cao and Sun Ce with justification.
After all, his main force is now holding the rear, so he can rest assured.
The only cavalry led by Yan Liang and Wen Chou who fell into the enemy camp were cavalry.
As long as he gave a slight hint, the two of them would be able to break out of the encirclement when the three parties were entangled.
In this way, he could quickly expand the population of his territory by at least double.
Liu Bei is currently entangled with Zhang He. Due to the overall situation, he will definitely not conflict with him. At most, he will seize some territory in Yuzhou.
As for Tian Ze, based on his understanding of him, he had no intention of coveting the Central Plains in the short term, and the most he could do was to take over one state.
What a great temptation!
With such huge benefits, even the commander-in-chief Shen Pei couldn't help but be tempted.
He looked at Lu Su and Jia Kui standing beside him calmly.
The two of them seemed not to notice anything unusual and looked in the direction of the battlefield with normal expressions.
Xun Chen stood aside and shook his head gently.
These two are obviously not that simple.
Apart from anything else, the fact that Jia Kui's actions were slower than theirs when Xi Zhicai had a problem just now was enough to show that he was shouldering a special mission.
The two seemed not to have noticed anything wrong, but in fact they were keeping a close eye on Yuan Shao's movements.
"My lord, how will you decide?" Xun Chen thought to himself.
As a counselor, he was well aware of the dilemma Yuan Shao faced.
Even he didn't know how to choose.
From the overall perspective, it seems that it is not appropriate to turn against Cao Cao and Sun Ce at this time, because even if they win, the overall strength of the princes in the Central Plains will be greatly reduced.
Without these two princes, Yuan Shao's subsequent resistance would be more difficult.
However, the account cannot be settled so simply.
Without these two princes, Yuan Shao was able to integrate the power of the four states.
Without internal friction, no hidden worries, and no vigilance, it is entirely possible to unleash even more powerful force.
Apart from anything else, if the three parties could really unite in this battle, there would be no need to adopt this helpless tactic of attacking against attack.
Gao Lan could have led the main army alone to withstand Guan Yu's attack from the very beginning and then look for an opportunity to counterattack.
Although Guo Tu had always come up with crooked ideas, this time, what he said really made no sense. The key lies in how Yuan Shao chooses.
And Xun Chen had already made preparations.
He knew that although Cao Cao and Sun Ce were truly allied with Yuan Shao, they were definitely still on guard and had a backup plan.
Once Yuan Shao decided to watch the three parties fight among themselves and reap the benefits, Xun Chen would immediately secretly control Lu Su and Jia Kui, and at the same time use his talents to disrupt the decision-making of Cao Cao and Sun Ce in order to create a fait accompli.
At this moment, the power of choice was in Yuan Shao's hands.
Under the attention of countless people, Yuan Shao looked extremely solemn.
Looking closely at the direction of Guan Yu’s central camp.
After a long time, he uttered two words.
"Ming Jin!"
(End of this chapter)
