"What?!"
"Attack Yuzhou!"
Leif looked at Lu Li in surprise, thinking that Lu Li wanted to get involved in the war between Yuan Shao and Cao Cao.
Lu Li said calmly, "Yuzhou is a prosperous land. If we take over Yuzhou, we can quickly expand our strength and unify the world in no time."
Lu Li's words made Leifu fall into deep thought.
"Understood, Master!" After a long while, Leif nodded.
...
A year later, Cao Cao had completely stabilized Qingzhou, and Zhou Yu had completely brought Yangzhou under the control of Jiangdong.
Currently, the forces in the world are as follows: Qingzhou Army occupies Yizhou, Jingzhou, Bingzhou, and Liangzhou; Cao Cao occupies Yanzhou, Xuzhou, and Qingzhou; Yuan Shao occupies Jizhou and Youzhou; Yuan Shu occupies Yuzhou; and Sun Quan occupies Yangzhou.
Among the five major forces, the Yellow Turban Army was the most powerful, with more than a million soldiers. It also occupied the most important Jingzhou, and its strength was distributed in a C-shape, allowing it to launch attacks on the Central Plains from either the north or the south.
However, there are constraints. If they were to launch a northern expedition to the Central Plains, they would have to worry about whether Sun Quan would send troops to attack Jingzhou.
Similarly, if they marched south into the Central Plains, Cao Cao and Yuan Shao would also launch a surprise attack on Bingzhou.
For the Yellow Turban Army, Yuzhou was of paramount importance. Once they captured Yuzhou, they would sever the connection between Jiangdong and the Central Plains, forcing them to retreat to a corner of the country.
Lu Li's goal is also very clear: if he wants to unify the world, he must do it step by step, like eating one bite at a time.
This era is different from the Warring States period, when the Zhou Dynasty had already fallen and the various feudal lords fought only for their own interests.
But the Han dynasty has not yet fallen, and Cao Cao, Sun Quan, and Yuan Shao are all powerful figures with numerous outstanding generals under their command.
In particular, since Lu Li has broken the shackles of the Heavenly Connection, the strength of these generals has improved rapidly. Even Wei Yan is about to enter the ranks of ninth-level martial artists.
Therefore, Lu Li must accelerate his advance; otherwise, once they have all risen to power, it will be too difficult to deal with them.
In 200 AD, Cao Cao and Yuan Shao launched a decisive battle, resulting in a large-scale conflict.
Cao Cao led an army of 200,000 to defeat Yuan Shao's 350,000 troops, and Yuan Shao fled in defeat.
Cao Cao pressed his advantage and captured Ye City within half a month. Yuan Shao, with nowhere to turn, died spitting blood!
Within six months, Cao Cao had completely annexed Ji Province and You Province.
With the four provinces of Qing, You, Xu, and Yan under his control, and a million soldiers, his military might is invincible!
During these six months, the Yellow Turban Army was not idle either. Xu Huang led an army of 300,000 out of Jingzhou to attack Yuzhou.
Yuan Shu couldn't even hold out for a month before Nanyang City was captured.
Yuzhou fell, the Yellow Turban army occupied Yuzhou, and Yuan Shu was defeated and committed suicide.
In just six months, the global situation has once again undergone tremendous changes.
The tripartite division of the country is becoming increasingly evident.
After Cao Cao controlled four provinces, he then took over the Sili region, bringing his total control to five provinces, indicating his intention to challenge the Yellow Turban Rebellion.
His target was Yangzhou, because according to the advice of Xun Yu, Guo Jia and others, if they went to war with the Yellow Turban Army, it would only give Sun Quan of Jiangdong an opportunity to develop.
However, if Yangzhou is destroyed, only Cao Cao's army and the Yellow Turban army will remain. With six provinces in hand, Cao Cao will have the opportunity to engage in a decisive battle with the Yellow Turban army!
At that time, the fate of the world will be decided!
Cao Cao's ambitions were obvious, and Lu Li had long guessed that Cao Cao would definitely set his sights on Yangzhou.
He wasn't afraid of Cao Cao attacking Yangzhou; what he feared was Cao Cao attacking the Yellow Turban Army, because if the Yellow Turban Army and Cao Cao's army were to engage in a major battle, the world would inevitably be divided into three kingdoms.
This is not what Lu Li wants to see, because it would inevitably lead to the historical correction of the Heavenly Dao.
This is an outcome that Lu Li absolutely does not want to see.
Therefore, Lu Li personally went to Xuchang to meet Cao Cao and plotted with him to divide Yangzhou together, forming a powerful alliance to first eliminate Sun Quan.
Cao Cao was very wary of Lu Li's frankness.
After all, Lu Li is known for his cunning and treacherous nature. His blatant visit to Xuchang to find him must be for some purpose.
Lu Li knew Cao Cao's concerns, so he said frankly, "Mengde, the world is now divided into three. If we go to war, Jiangdong will benefit."
“But if we join forces to eliminate Sun Quan first, the world will be divided in two, and then it will be our decisive battle. At that time, we can decide who will rule the world. What do you say?” Lu Li continued.
After listening to Lu Li's explanation, Cao Cao began to seriously consider it, because what Lu Li said made a lot of sense.
Cao Cao naturally did not want to see the world divided into three kingdoms, but he was also afraid that Lu Li would play tricks, so he was still somewhat hesitant.
"How about this? I'm willing to withdraw from Yuzhou and pave a road for you to head south. Then my Jingzhou army will join forces to wipe out Jiangdong. What do you say?"
As soon as Lu Li finished speaking, Cao Cao immediately stood up!
Give up Yuzhou? Are you kidding me?
Yuzhou is a wealthy land. Once the Yellow Turban Army withdraws from Yuzhou and Yangzhou is captured, Cao Cao will not return it. Has Lu Li not considered this issue?
Therefore, Cao Cao became even more convinced that Lu Li had some other conspiracy.
However, as Lu Li said, once Cao Cao's army marches into Yuzhou, his southward advance will be unimpeded.
This was too tempting for Cao Cao.
After a moment's hesitation, Cao Cao finally succumbed to the temptation and said, "Alright, I grant your request!"
"Hahaha... Mengde is so straightforward!"
Lu Li laughed and said, "In that case, we can sign the alliance agreement now!"
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