Three Kingdoms: My Strategy Simulator

“More than that!”

Following Tian Feng, Xu You also excitedly added.

“Cao Cao may harbor ulterior motives, but as long as our lord establishes a strong position, he will still be constrained within Qingzhou and will have no choice but to submit as our lord's hound.”

“Even if Lü Bu is fickle, he should know that the situation in the Central Plains is a struggle between the Liu and Yuan families in the north and south. After he obtains Nanyang Commandery and temporarily restrains Liu Bei, he will inevitably adapt to the circumstances and shift his target to the Three Auxiliary Regions and Liangzhou, seeking future opportunities.”

“At that time, our lord can use Yuan Shu and Cao Cao to check Liu Bei. After sweeping through Hebei and ruling over You, Bing, and Ji provinces, he can then command all directions, defeat Liu Bei in one fell swoop in the south, and achieve hegemony.”

For a moment, everyone in the tent felt the haze that had been shrouding their hearts dissipate considerably.

Previously, the pressure on the strategists came not only from Gongsun Zan but also from Liu Bei, who had already occupied Jing and Yang provinces in the south.

Liu Bei's rapid advancement made the strategists feel overwhelmed, fearing that Liu Bei would successfully launch a northern expedition into the Central Plains before Yuan Shao could completely defeat Gongsun Zan.

All of this made the strategists who had placed their bets on Yuan Shao feel a sense of uncertainty about their future.

Even if they defeated Gongsun Zan by overcoming the odds, they would still be unable to withstand the momentum created by Li Ji.

Yuan Shao scanned the strategists below, who seemed to have regained their confidence, and said with a domineering smile.

“The path to hegemony begins at Jie Bridge. I ask for your assistance, gentlemen.”

The strategists rose and returned the salute, bowing and saying.

“How dare we not devote our lives?”

“Good!”

Yuan Shao couldn't help laughing loudly, saying. “With your full assistance, gentlemen, it's better than having an army of a hundred thousand. Why worry about not defeating Gongsun Zan?”

“Based on the movements and changes of Gongsun Zan's forces, they will inevitably launch a general offensive in a short period of ten days to half a month. At that time, I will fight Gongsun Zan to the death at Jie Bridge!”

“Success will mean the hope of hegemony, failure will mean our souls will be lost in the Qing River.”

At this moment, Yuan Shao's bright eyes seemed to reveal a gleam of light, without a trace of retreat, only the spirit of a desperate battle that disregarded life and death.

This spirit also infected the strategists, not only making them sincerely convinced but also allowing them to abandon their previous grudges and work together to continuously devise strategies for Yuan Shao, plugging any loopholes.

Half a month!

Which is exactly two and a half weeks later!

Gongsun Zan, who intended to deplete the resources of both Han Fu and Yuan Shao through confrontation, finally moved.

He gathered all available troops under his command.

Including the cavalry led by Zhao Yun, seventy thousand cavalrymen were like a large shadow, slowly spreading from afar towards Jie Bridge.

Even though Yuan Shao's soldiers had seen countless cavalry formations during the long confrontation, they still couldn't help but feel cold when they actually saw the vast expanse of black cavalry.

In the past, only the alien tribes of the grasslands could gather such a large-scale cavalry force.

Gongsun Zan was also able to build such a mighty army after the Wuhuan tribe knelt in submission and with the money and grain obtained from the Tianjin Port trade.

Against the backdrop of the seventy thousand cavalry, Han Fu's fifty thousand infantrymen, who had arrived together, seemed so inconspicuous.

The sound of hooves resounding from the slow advance of the seventy thousand cavalry was like the earth being used as a war drum.

For a time, with the Qing River as the boundary and Jie Bridge as the distance.

Yuan Shao's army was on the southeast side of Jie Bridge, while the army led by Gongsun Zan began to adjust its formation after approaching the northwest side of Jie Bridge.

The cavalry led by Zhao Yun was deployed by Gongsun Zan on the left flank, in addition to the original three thousand White Horse Volunteers and two thousand Wuhuan cavalry.

Gongsun Zan also generously gave Zhao Yun another five thousand Wuhuan cavalry, allowing Zhao Yun to gather ten thousand cavalry for his use.

Of course, in Gongsun Zan's eyes, there was no need to use Zhao Yun's force at all.

The reason why he specifically transferred five thousand Wuhuan cavalry to Zhao Yun was entirely out of a desire to reciprocate Liu Bei's kindness.

Since his brother Liu Bei had traveled thousands of miles to send Zhao Yun to support him, bringing five thousand cavalry, then Gongsun Zan, who had always been generous, also generously gave Zhao Yun five thousand Wuhuan cavalry.

There are not many generals in the world who are capable of commanding more than ten thousand cavalry.

Gongsun Zan happens to be one of them.

Zhao Yun, who is modest in nature, knows his shortcomings. He can command a few thousand cavalrymen like his own arms, but when the number reaches tens of thousands, he clearly feels a bit strained.

Therefore, during the confrontation at Jie Bridge, Zhao Yun never slackened, often asking Gongsun Zan for advice on the art of war and training his cavalry.

After nearly a year of continuous training, Zhao Yun, wearing white armor, also clearly had a few more traces of wind and frost and maturity on his face, commanding his ten thousand cavalrymen, protecting the left flank of the army and advancing to the Qing River.

Guo Jia, who was also wearing a light armor to defend against stray arrows, still looked so unruly, riding his horse and stopping beside Zhao Yun, squinting his eyes and looking at the Yuan army lined up in full array across the Qing River.

This place is the narrowest part of the Qing River channel, and the water flow is the gentlest.

However, it is now May, and there are frequent rains.

Even at this moment, the Qing River's water level is quite high, and the current is turbulent. Once a soldier falls into the water, he will probably be swallowed by the river in an instant.

Jie Bridge is a bridge across the Qing River, wide enough for several horses to pass side by side, and about fifty feet long.

At a distance of fifty feet, Guo Jia couldn't see the details of the Yuan army's formation clearly.

However, Guo Jia, who learned from Li Ji, has mastered a bit of the ability to judge the weather. He raised his head and scanned the sky for a while, muttering.

“It was a good day to choose, I'm afraid there won't be any raindrops today.”

Immediately, Guo Jia looked at Zhao Yun and asked. “Zilong, can you see anything from the Yuan army's formation?”

Any general who is good at shooting has extraordinary eyesight and hearing. People like Zhao Yun and Gongsun Zan, who are good at shooting, are not so bad that they can't see anything.

Zhao Yun pondered for a moment and replied. “The army formation is strict, layer upon layer, with hidden killing intent. Today, General Gongsun is afraid that he will have a hard fight.”

Hard fight?

Guo Jia was not as optimistic as Zhao Yun.

Gongsun Zan's strength is indeed far greater than Yuan Jun's.

Guo Jia roughly judged the number of troops based on the number of formations. The Yuan army stationed on the southeast side of Jieqiao was about 60,000 to 70,000.

However, over the past year, the strategists under Yuan Shao's command have used countless strategies to weaken Gongsun Zan, giving Guo Jia a considerable understanding of that group of strategists.

One by one, they are by no means easy to deal with.

People with many plans rarely do unwise things.

The two sides have been confronting each other for about a year, and the intelligence on the strength of both sides has gradually become clear.

Under such circumstances, that group of strategists would still support Yuan Shao in a decisive battle with Gongsun Zan at Jieqiao, which shows that there must be calculations.

It's just that, over the past year, Guo Jia has repeatedly advised Gongsun Zan, cracked many schemes to weaken Gongsun's army, and also solved some troubles for Gongsun Zan.

However, Gongsun Zan still did not take Guo Jia as seriously as he did Li Ji, only occasionally praising Guo Jia for "having amazing strategies at a young age."