I am Li Shimin of the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 83
Judging from the records of historians and classics, Li Shimin felt that Cao Cao actually wanted to be a loyal minister at the beginning. He has been committed to rejuvenating the Han Dynasty. Traitor, that's unlikely.

There is a troubled world between this capable minister and the traitor...

It's just that the suppression of the Yellow Turbans, the fight against the eunuchs, and the alliance against Dong made this man of lofty ideals who wanted to rejuvenate the great man disappointed and helpless.

This is also the reason why other princes from all walks of life watched the fire from the other side and did not work hard, but Cao Cao was always keen to ask for Dong. From the bottom of his heart, Cao Cao still hoped to save the Han Dynasty.

This is Li Shimin's overall impression of Cao Cao, a judgment based on history books.

It's just that people's hearts are the most unpredictable. Did Chen Shou whitewash Cao Cao under the pressure of the court, or did Chen Shou not understand Cao Cao at all, and it was just a subjective judgment?
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"Meng De, we are going to fight side by side again this time. I have a hunch that Dong Zhuo will die." Li Shimin is also very much looking forward to fighting with Cao Cao.

"According to Mengde's opinion, how should we act?" Li Shimin knew that he had a good plan in his chest, and wanted to hear his opinion.

Cao Cao naturally didn't hide it, and told Li Shimin his thoughts very excitedly: "If Yuan Shao leads Hanoi soldiers to Mengjin, we will lead the troops to Chenggao, occupy Aocang, and set up camps in Shenyuan and Taigu. , the control is dangerous, Yuan Shu will go from Nanyang to Dan and Xi, enter Wuguan and attack Guanzhong, then the situation will be stable. Our coalition forces will definitely be able to take Luoyang and force Dong Zhuo to retreat."

Cao Cao's proposal is naturally very strategic. Dong Zhuo occupies Chang'an and Luoyang, occupying the center of the world, and Chang'an is also his old nest, and it is a strategic buffer between him and the Kwantung princes. Naturally, he does not want to be taken by the coalition forces.

If it is true as Cao Cao said, the princes acted according to the plan, under pressure, Dong Zhuo will definitely strengthen the defense of Guanzhong and weaken the defense of Luoyang, so that the Kwantung coalition forces will be more confident in capturing Luoyang and lose less.

Hearing what Cao Cao said, a terrible thought suddenly flashed in Li Shimin's mind, "No, I'm afraid I've been tricked by Cao Mengde!" A faint cold sweat broke out on his back, and the more he thought about it, the more he felt that it might be true.

This strange idea comes from a premise, that is, he knows Cao Cao better than everyone now.

Since Cao Cao could come up with a strategy of sneak attacking Guanzhong and weakening Luoyang's troops, wouldn't he have thought that he could go all the way south from Bingzhou and directly threaten Guanzhong?
Why bother to invite myself to travel thousands of miles from Bingzhou to Suanzao to attack Dong Zhuo together? Isn't this the opposite?
In Li Shimin's view, Cao Cao was so eager to invite him to join the alliance and join the Kwantung Allied Forces to fight against Dong Zhuo because he was worried that he would raid Guanzhong and take Chang'an in one fell swoop while the Kwantung Allied Forces were fighting Dong Zhuo.

And now the reason why Yuan Shu wanted to sneak attack Guanzhong was naturally to "remind" Dong Zhuo to defend Guanzhong well. In this way, even if he wanted to sneak attack, he would lose the chance of surprise attack.

Li Shimin looked at the excited Cao Cao calmly. It seemed that he could not see the feeling of calculating him from his expression, but he seemed very sincere.

This made Li Shimin feel very scary, "I am afraid that he is not weaker than himself in his scheming, and I was almost confused by his appearance of being a big man."

"Could it be that Cao Cao knew that I was ambitious and had already started to guard against me? Or was he afraid that he would take advantage of the opportunity to rise up and dominate the family, which would not be conducive to his striving for hegemony?" Li Shimin asked himself repeatedly in his heart.

No matter what the reason, Li Shimin paid more attention to Cao Cao. This Cao Mengde really deserved his reputation, he should not be underestimated, and he should not be confused by the ancients.

Although Li Shimin was a little depressed by Cao Cao's calculations, he was not too worried.

Cao Cao's plan like this, I'm afraid it can only be done in vain. With Yuan Shao, Yuan Shu and other pig teammates, it's no wonder that they can succeed.

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Dong Zhuo has many generals under his command, and his own strength is not weak.Due to geographical factors, Xiliang is bordered by Xiqiang and Xiongnu, and has long been in conflict with these sturdy ethnic minority armed forces, so the folk customs are very sturdy, and the army is very powerful.

Although there is no Lu Bu under his command, it is still not to be underestimated. For example, Niu Fu of the Xiliang Five Tigers, this man is very skilled in martial arts, and Sun Jian was once defeated by him.

Dong Zhuo's family relative Dong Yue who was extremely loyal to Dong Zhuo, Duan Yao from a well-known family, and his clan brother Duan Yanguan to Sangong.

There is also Xu Rong who almost killed Cao Cao. If Cao Hong hadn't given up his life to save him, there would probably be no history of the Three Kingdoms.

As well as Hu Zhen, Li Meng, Fan Chou, Yang Ding, Wang Fang, Hua Xiong and others, they can be described as strong soldiers and strong horses.

When Dong Zhuo learned that the Kwantung Allied Forces had nearly 20 troops coming to attack Luoyang, he was really terrified. He quickly invited his brains over to discuss strategies to retreat from the enemy.

"You are all my confidantes. Right now, the Kwantung Allied Forces are eyeing them fiercely. Those who come are not good. How can we defeat the enemy? What good strategy do you have? Tell us quickly." Dong Zhuo hurriedly asked Ji Yu as soon as he came up. Also bottomless.

"My lord, I think that the Kwantung coalition army sent troops here. Naturally, because of your move to abolish the emperor, they are in the name of welcoming the abolished emperor Hongnong to restore the king. If we kill Liu Bian, the Kwantung coalition army will send troops without a name, maybe it will be the same I will retreat." Li Ru smiled sullenly.

Jia Xu, who had been stroking his goatee, was obviously taken aback when he heard this, and frowned slightly, but he didn't say anything.

After Dong Zhuo heard Li Ru's suggestion, he laughed loudly: "Wen You's words fit my heart very well." As he spoke, he nodded subtly towards Li Ru, and Li Ru immediately understood.

At this time, Jia Xu said with a worried face: "My lord, there are hundreds of thousands of mercenaries from the Kwantung Allied Forces, and they are coming in menacingly. In fact, most of them will just sit on the mountain and watch the tigers fight, preserving their strength, and will not really make a move. And we With the natural danger of the Yellow River and the favorable location of the Hulao Pass, the princes of the Guandong can't do anything to us, but there is one person who poses a great threat, and we have to guard against it."

Dong Zhuo also had a dignified face, and asked with some worry: "Who is Wen He talking about?"

"This person is very familiar with General Ding Yuan, and he is Li Shimin, Shepherd of Bingzhou." Jia Xu said to Dong Zhuo.

Ding Yuan's expression became a little unnatural, and he also hated Li Shimin in his heart.

I thought that after taking refuge in Dong Zhuo, prosperity and wealth would be at your fingertips, but as Dong Zhuo stabilized Luoyang and continued to send troops to come, he is now reduced to a dispensable role.

Moreover, Zhang Yang, his confidant, heard that he had taken refuge in Dong Zhuo, so he cut off his robes and defected to Yuan Shao. Now he is completely alone, very miserable.

"Mr. Wen He's words are right. Li Shimin has always been ambitious and very strategic. Even King Xiutu died in his hands. He really shouldn't be underestimated." Ding Yuan was not completely overwhelmed by anger.

(End of this chapter)