The Three Kingdoms: Starting as a county magistrate in Pingyuan, he rose to power and conquered the

Chapter 101 An Irresistible Temptation

About ten miles from Guandu, Yuan Shang was personally leading a small force, marching forward.

His mission this time was to scout out the surrounding area and report any unusual activity to Yuan Shao immediately.

Such a task is neither dangerous for him nor detrimental to his training.

Yuan Shao clearly shared the same idea!

But for Yuan Shang and many of his subordinates, this arrangement had another meaning.

Of Yuan Shao's three sons, he was the only one who was taken along by his side.

This means that Yuan Shang will be the one to succeed Yuan Shao and possess everything he has.

Given this premise, Yuan Shang's so-called military operations were practically no different from going on a vacation.

Everyone doted on him and coaxed him, afraid that he might make the slightest mistake.

at this time.

Yuan Shang sat in a spacious carriage, leisurely traveling forward.

People kept coming to report back, and the results were always the same: nothing unusual happened.

"Young master, I already said that..."

"Besides bluffing, what else can Cao Cao do? If I remember correctly, Cao Cao used to be nothing more than a follower who followed his lord around."

A guy named Chen Yue was standing next to the carriage, muttering to himself.

These words reached Yuan Shang's ears at just the right moment, making him very pleased.

"You're right!" Yuan Shang rubbed his fingers together and raised his voice deliberately.

This ensured that the surrounding guards could hear it clearly.

"My father once said that back in Luoyang, Cao Cao was nothing more than a servant who could be summoned and dismissed at any time."

"What right does someone like him have to oppose us? He's probably already so terrified he can't eat or sleep, and is already thinking about how to surrender to Father!"

Just then, a fast horse came galloping in, kicking up clouds of dust.

Chen Yue reacted quickly and rushed forward.

After a while.

He ran over excitedly, deliberately lowering his voice, "Young master, there's some incredibly good news!"

Yuan Shang glanced at him. "Speak!"

"We spotted Cao Cao's men up ahead; they seem to be transporting some important person!"

"Hmm? An important person?"

Yuan Shang immediately ordered him to bring the messenger to him.

Then, looking at him intently and saying each word clearly, she asked, "Explain yourself clearly. What exactly happened?"

The man took a deep breath and repeated what he had just said.

"Small units of Cao Cao's army are moving around; judging from their formation, who are they protecting?"

"Besides the fully armed soldiers, there were also many attendants in the entourage, so I guess they're transporting some important figure!"

No sooner had she finished speaking than Chen Yue chimed in, "Perhaps they are Cao Cao's men who have withdrawn from Yanzhou."

"We're preparing to escape while our lord is off guard, if we can catch him..."

He stopped at just the right moment, his gaze falling on Yuan Shang.

really.

At this moment, Yuan Shang instantly became excited.

If we can seize this opportunity, we can capture one of Cao Cao's important subordinates.

Or it could threaten him and directly affect the course of the battle.

That's unimaginable, such a great contribution!

How much face can one have in front of one's father and all those old folks?

"Let's go!" Yuan Shang jumped directly down from the carriage.

He abandoned his usual affectation and personally led everyone to rush forward quickly.

Sure enough, he spotted Cao Cao's army in action at a narrow pass ahead.

Just as the scout had said, Cao Cao's army had a large number of followers.

Whether by coincidence or sheer luck, Yuan Shang suddenly noticed that some of the so-called followers in Cao Cao's army were wearing different clothes.

He had seen his father wear this kind of clothing before; it was an official robe that only officials in the imperial court could wear!

"No!" Yuan Shang pointed ahead and said, "These are all important figures!"

"They are all high-ranking officials in the court. Cao Cao is using this opportunity to relocate people from the court!"

"maybe……"

Suddenly, he swallowed the rest of his words.

Because if these were all high-ranking officials, and with so many people protecting them, given Cao Cao's personality, the people in this entourage...

It's probably the emperor!

He couldn't even imagine what it would be like if he could snatch the emperor back.

"Listen up, everyone! Follow my orders completely! We must take down this army!"

Following Yuan Shang's instructions, they quickly took action and made their way there.

however.

Unbeknownst to them, Cao Ren, disguised as a follower, glanced up in that direction and a cold smile crept onto his lips...

……

at the same time.

Qingzhou.

Linzi.

A huge map was placed in front of Li Zhao.

During this period, he has been researching and studying many maps, trying to piece them together as accurately as possible.

Then, using the intelligence they had access to, they made many annotations on it.

By this time, the map was filled with various colored arrows and symbols, representing the armies of Cao Cao and Yuan Shao respectively.

Xu Shu, Liu Bei, Chen Gong, and others stood by the map.

Looking at the content above, I couldn't help but gasp.

They had never seen such a labeling method before, and they never imagined that there would be a way to present all the information clearly at a glance.

"Look..."

Li Zhao pointed to three places that were highlighted.

They are Guandu, Baima, and Yanjin!

"Based on the timeline, Yuan Shao's three armies are basically close to their destination."

"Now that Baima has fallen, Yuan Shao is approaching Guandu, and the situation at Yanjin remains unclear!"

"Judging from the current situation, Yuan Shao holds a huge advantage."

"If nothing unexpected happens, we will likely receive news of the fall of Yanzhou in less than a month."

Upon hearing Li Zhao's statement, Chen Gong was the first to deny it, saying, "That's not right..."

He walked over quickly and pointed to the location of the white horse.

"Now that Baima has been captured, this intelligence is certainly reliable, but based on my understanding of Cao Cao, he won't give up this place so easily."

"But according to intelligence, Cao Cao's army took this place very easily!"

"This can only mean one thing: Cao Cao wanted them to get it!"

Li Zhao remained noncommittal, then turned to the others, "What do you all think?"

"That makes a lot of sense!" Liu Bei narrowed his eyes slightly. "But what is his purpose?"

"Once the White Horse is breached, regaining it will require paying many times the price!"

Xu Shu's gaze kept sweeping back and forth between the three locations.

He sensed something was off, but quickly realized, "Oh, I see!"

"My lord, Cao Cao is playing a very long game, with great risks... but the rewards will be even greater!"

"We have the same opportunity!"

……