Chapter 500: Conversion between Friend and Foe
On the issue of surrender, after the loss of Qingzhou, Yuan Shao's men and women had reached a tacit understanding.
The reason is simple: we really can’t beat them.
They have tried their best.
They fought so many battles, big and small, and each time they almost exerted their combat power to the utmost.
There were no decisive mistakes; the military strength, commander, strategy, and tactics had all been used to the fullest extent.
That's it, still no way to win.
Moreover, their military strength is getting smaller and smaller, their territory is getting smaller and smaller, and their population is getting smaller and smaller. Their next battle will definitely not be as strong as the previous one.
But the enemy is getting stronger and stronger.
From being "equally matched" at the beginning, to barely being able to fight back later, to being able to only defend before, to now not even having the ability to defend.
Anyone with a little bit of common sense can see the situation clearly.
If there had not been the precedents of Lu Bu, Gongsun Zan and Liu Fan, Yuan Shao might have risked his life.
but now……
Even if he managed to hold on for a few more years, he would only be making things difficult for Liu Bei and Sun Ce, and he would only become weaker and weaker.
Why bother?
Wouldn't it be great to keep enough troops and population to expand the territory in the Western Regions like Gongsun Zan, and become the General of the Western Expedition or the King of Zhao?
If we keep our bodies useful, our descendants can endure hardships for hundreds of years, and maybe we will have a chance to fight back.
Yuan Shao was a man of blood, but he had already seen clearly the general trend.
When he was defeated in this battle, the morale of his civil and military officials had already dispersed.
As for those powerful families, they had already prepared to go to the Western Regions with him, but they just watched his final struggle in silence.
Not a drag, but not much support either.
No one would spend money on a war that is bound to fail. It would be better to give Yuan Shao some strength as he still has a long way to go.
In fact, the situation on Cao Cao's side was similar, but Cao Cao was unwilling to give up. Relying on the support of Cao and Xiahou clansmen and Xun Yu and others, he was determined to fight this final battle.
When it comes to mental tenacity, Cao Cao and Liu Bei must be ranked top two in the world.
Both of them are people who refuse to accept their fate.
Although the powerful families in the Central Plains were troubled, they did not try to stop it too much. Instead, they maintained the same attitude as the powerful families under Yuan Shao.
Try your best to give money and food, after all, they are just material possessions. But if you don't have people and soldiers, you have to solve it yourself.
Our population and troops will be left to you in the future; they are our capital and cannot be moved.
To some extent, this magical situation was caused by Tian Ze.
Tian Ze's hopes for Cao Cao, Yuan Shao and others are different from those of ordinary aristocratic families.
Yuan Shao, Cao Cao and others, even the worst ones like Liu Fan and Gongsun Zan, the civil and military lineups under their command are enough to support a large country the size of half the Han Dynasty.
Tian Ze has always treated people according to their abilities.
The treatment of these princes was much better than that of the aristocratic families and powerful people. After all, the latter were better at education and infiltration, and there were more of them.
The former are the vanguards and pillars of conquering the world in the future, and they are rare.
The aristocratic families and powerful people had already seen this point, so even though Yuan Shao, Cao Cao and others had no hope of winning, they were still popular in the eyes of the aristocratic families and powerful people.
Those who like to place bets everywhere will naturally not miss it, and they will position themselves very well.
They had already seen it as the princes in the Central Plains were carrying out reforms.
Yuan Shao, Cao Cao and others may have to copy Tian Ze's ruling style in the future, and it is impossible for them to return to the previous model. In this case, they have to take the initiative to seek change, only take shares, and not participate in decision-making.
The era of internal fighting and playing badly has passed, the tide of history is rolling in, and under Tian Ze's rules, only by making the cake bigger can you eat more. When the benefits of external fighting far exceed those of internal fighting, they will naturally prefer the former.
At this time, the one who felt the heaviest among all the princes in the world was not anyone else, but Liu Bei.
The defeat of Yizhou and Central Plains was undoubtedly a double blow to Liu Bei.
When Cao and Yuan were resisting Tian Ze, Liu Bei even forcibly overcame difficulties and stopped 50,000 troops from marching north, wanting to help Cao Cao defend the Central Plains and resist Zhao Yun.
But unexpectedly, the war ended not long after they entered Cao Cao's territory.
After all the trouble, the army had to retreat again.
And this is nothing, Jingzhou has plenty of money and food.
But the current situation made Liu Bei feel deeply desperate.
"After the defeat in the Central Plains, Yuan Benchu once again lost Qingzhou. What can we do in the current situation?" Liu Bei couldn't help but sigh as he stood in front of the map of the Thirteen States of the Han Dynasty.
"I'm afraid Yuan Benchu is no longer able to make it." Chen Qun said in a deep voice.
"After the defeat of Qingzhou, Yuan Benchu only had Xuzhou left, and the northern gate of Langya was occupied, and the southern Huaihe area was also under the control of Sun Ce."
"The territory is small and there is no strategic location to defend. We are powerless to resist."
Liu Bei sighed with a complicated expression.
Who could have imagined that the once world-famous leader of the princes and role model for the world would end up in this situation step by step.
It's really the right time! It's fate!
"Although Yuan Benchu is in decline, he still has more than 100,000 troops. If we give our all to help, we may be able to hold on." Wen Pin said.
Although there is no strategic location to defend, as long as there are people, there will be a way.
Wen Pin had experienced this kind of war many times, so he did not feel there was no hope.
Pang Tong shook his head: "It can't be defended."
"At this point, it's no longer just a matter of manpower and territory. It's that Yuan Benchu's men, and even Yuan Benchu, no longer want to defend."
"And it's not just Yuan Benchu. I'm afraid Cao Cao's situation is not optimistic either."
"The situation in the Central Plains is irreversible. We must be prepared to lose the entire Central Plains next year."
"Can we take advantage of the confrontation between Cao Yuan and Tian Ze to seize some people?" Kuai Yue asked.
Today, they all realize the importance of population, and the first thing they target is the population problem in the Central Plains.
Chen Qun looked towards the Central Plains with a gloomy gaze: "I'm afraid that the Central Plains won't be in chaos. Even if a war breaks out, it will only be a small-scale local battle. We won't have the opportunity to rob the population."
Coming from one of the four great families in the Central Plains, he understood the thoughts of the powerful families very well.
Now, I'm afraid that the powerful families in the Central Plains are much more wary of them than they are of Tian Ze.
If Tian Ze sent troops to attack the Central Plains, they might not resist.
But if they want to go north to steal people, this group of people will definitely fight to the death.
The reason is simple: there are no eternal enemies or eternal friends, only eternal interests.
After the two battles in Zhongyuan and Yizhou, the situation in the world was settled.
In this case, they have transformed from collaborators to potential competitors.
Sooner or later, everyone will roll to the west. By then, although they will be allies who rely on each other, they will also be opponents.
Even if they were competing for development, who would be willing to fall behind? This was related to their future inheritance and foundation, and there was no room for compromise.
(End of this chapter)
