HLnovel Chapter 50: The Showdown Between Su Yu and Chen Gong! The Outcome Remains Uncertain
Chapter 50: The Showdown Between Su Yu and Chen Gong! The Outcome Remains Uncertain
"Ziyi, don't scare me."
"One hundred thousand Yellow Turban rebels from Qingzhou, isn't that a lot of people?"
Cao Cao also wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.
What Su Yu said really made him unable to remain calm.
"My lord, if I were to say that the enemy numbered not 100,000, but 300,000, how would you respond?"
"Pfft!"
Cao Cao's body trembled violently, and he almost fell backward.
Su Yu quickly steadied him and sighed:
"My lord, the Yellow Turbans of Qingzhou are not just the Yellow Turbans of Qingzhou now."
"The Yellow Turbans from Youzhou and even Liaodong fled to Qingzhou."
"They are starving, like locusts swarming across the land, and are preparing to use Yanzhou as sustenance!"
"This is definitely not the kind of small-scale disturbance that occurred in the past when remnants of the Yellow Turban Rebellion broke out within the territory."
"Their goal is food!"
"And where is the place with the most grain?"
"Undoubtedly, it is the core city of each prefecture!"
"Even our Dongjun is doomed."
Cao Cao fell silent.
For a moment, I even felt like I was about to get a headache.
Even at the height of the Yellow Turban Rebellion, Yanzhou never faced 300,000 Yellow Turbans alone!
The enormous disparity in troop strength was enough to bury everything!
Even if Cao Cao had tens of thousands of troops under his command, he still wouldn't be confident of victory!
but.
Just as Cao Cao shook his head and smiled bitterly.
A sly glint suddenly appeared in Su Yu's eyes.
Cao Cao astutely detected this cunning tactic and, in a fit of rage, said:
"Ziyi, are you deliberately trying to scare me?"
Su Yu shook his head and smiled:
"My lord, the number of 300,000 Yellow Turban rebels in Qingzhou is probably very close to the truth."
"But we are not without any power to fight back!"
"As long as we prepare early, we can not only turn a desperate situation into a safe one."
"It can even transform countless Yellow Turban rebels of Qingzhou into aids for our lord's conquest of the world!"
"boom!"
Cao Cao's gaze became incredibly intense as he followed Su Yu's description.
In 193 AD, during the great battle between Cao Cao and Tao Qian, Cao Cao mobilized an army of 100,000.
Where did this army of 100,000 come from?
A large portion of them were reorganized from the Yellow Turban rebels of Qingzhou who had been recruited by Cao Cao.
Of course, don't assume that all 300,000 Yellow Turban rebels from Qingzhou will become Cao Cao's soldiers.
A significant portion of them died in the Battle of Yanzhou.
Another group escaped back to Qingzhou.
For example, Guan Hai, the famous leader of the Yellow Turban Rebellion.
Because he was defeated by Cao Cao in Yanzhou, this man turned his attention back to Kong Rong in Beihai, Qingzhou!
It was precisely because of Guan Hai's defeat in the Battle of Yanzhou that the story of Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei leading troops to rescue Kong Rong came about.
In other words, these two events are interconnected.
If Guan Hai successfully establishes a foothold in Yanzhou.
He wouldn't have bothered going back to that remote corner of Qingzhou to plot against Kong Rong, a minor vassal.
Simultaneously.
If Cao Cao had not risen to prominence in the Battle of Yanzhou and had not incorporated a large number of Yellow Turban rebels from Qingzhou...
He also lacked the strength to launch a major battle against Tao Qian in 193, and to force Tao Qian to sue for peace several times!
Difficulties also represent opportunities.
The Yellow Turban Rebellion in Qingzhou was a huge danger, but also a huge source of profit!
By incorporating the Yellow Army of Qingzhou, Cao Cao will achieve a meteoric rise in his career.
Conversely, if Cao Cao were defeated by the Yellow Turbans of Qingzhou, he would have no future.
"My lord, bring me the map."
"We need to do this and that... and that and that..."
……
A few days later
Jibei
Bao Xin received replies from Cao Cao and Zhang Miao.
Both men were willing to send troops to support Bao Xin and jointly resist the Yellow Turban Rebellion in Qingzhou.
Bao Xin was extremely excited about this.
Only Liu Dai didn't send Bao Xin a single reply.
"That Liu Dai is truly hateful!"
"Shanyang County is not far from Qingzhou, it's just west of my Jibei County."
"If Jibei is captured, how can Shanyang remain uninvolved?"
Yu Jin cursed and berated Liu Dai.
Bao Xin waved his hand:
"Wenze, there's no need to say more about this matter."
"Even if Liu Dai is unwilling to send troops, this general will absolutely not allow the Yellow Turbans of Qingzhou to wreak havoc on the people of Yanzhou!"
"You shall immediately lead your troops to set up defenses in the border areas and slow down the advance of the Yellow Turbans in Qingzhou as much as possible."
"Once we receive reinforcements from Mengde and Mengzhuo, we will have nearly 50,000 troops."
"Even if the enemy has 100,000 Yellow Turbans, we can still launch a counterattack!"
"Here!"
Yu Jin bowed and withdrew, then led a portion of his troops to the border to reinforce defenses.
Bao Xin also began to busy himself with various military affairs.
But just two days later, Bao Xin was completely dumbfounded!
According to the latest military report, the number of Yellow Turban remnants gathered in the Funiu Mountains of Qingzhou has exceeded 200,000 and is still growing!
For a moment, Bao Xin was so nervous that he almost couldn't stand up straight.
It is worth mentioning that.
Liu Dai was starting to panic.
However, Liu Dai still did not respond to Bao Xin's call.
Perhaps in Liu Dai's mind, Bao Xin, as the second-in-command, was not qualified to issue a call to action to him.
Impressed by the immense power of the Yellow Turban Rebellion in Qingzhou, Bao Xin hoped to reunite with Cao Cao and Zhang Miao as soon as possible.
Another five days passed.
Cao Cao and Zhang Miao each led their troops to Jibei.
Bao Xin treated them to a very warm welcome.
When Cao Cao saw Chen Gong sitting next to Zhang Miao, his expression clearly froze.
Chen Gong's gaze did not linger on Cao Cao at all; instead, it was fixed on Su Yu.
"I am Chen Gongtai, and I have met Mr. Ziyi."
Chen Gong greeted Su Yu first.
"Mr. Gongtai, there's no need for such formalities."
"Speaking of which, I truly admire Mr. Gongtai for not using my lord to curry favor with Dong Zhuo when he was the magistrate of Zhongmu County."
"Come, let me offer a toast to Mr. Gongtai."
After saying that, Su Yu picked up his wine glass and, without waiting for Chen Gong's response, downed it in one gulp.
Chen Gong's expression immediately changed.
Su Yu's words seemed to be a recollection of Cao Cao's past with Chen Gong.
But in reality, it was a demonstration against Chen Gong.
It means that we acknowledge the past kindness shown to our lord.
But if you have any bad intentions, I'm sorry, I'll take care of you!
As one of the most intelligent men in the world, how could Chen Gong not understand the unspoken meaning in Su Yu's words?
But he didn't expect that Su Yu could see through Chen Gongtai's deep-seated impulse to get rid of Cao Cao!
For someone like Chen Gong, there is no distinction between good and bad people in the world, only between enemies and friends.
If they're not friends, then they can only be enemies!
Cao Cao and Zhang Miao were destined to be different people.
Given this, Chen Gong believed that if an opportunity arose, Cao Cao should be dealt with as soon as possible to avoid any unforeseen complications.
Coincidentally, Su Yu thought the same thing!
Chen Gong was the one who personally introduced the "foreign species" Lü Bu to Cao Cao, causing the "Great Collapse of Yan Province".
Leaving this person behind is too dangerous.
……