Historically, Yuan Shu gave up Nanyang County and moved to the southeast, which was really a helpless move.

Originally, Yuan Shu and Yuan Shao's two brothers did not deal with each other, Yuan Shao has been causing chaos for Yuan Shu, and then Cao Cao chose to ally with Yuan Shao, Cao Cao became a hostile force, and Yuan Shu had to turn his attention from the south to the north.

Yuan Shu led his army northward, intending to eliminate Cao Cao and occupy the Central Plains, but he didn't want to be rubbed on the ground by Cao Cao and Yuan Shao in Kuangting, and returned defeated.

Yuan Shu's forces have been hit hard, although Nanyang is rich and is also the place where Yuan Shu made his fortune, but Runan, or Yuzhou, is impossible to give up.

In order to avoid the battle line being stretched too long, and in order to temporarily avoid the edge of Cao Cao and Yuan Shao, Yuan Shu had to give up Nanyang and shrink his forces.

Then the west attacked the land of Huainan to expand its strategic depth, but it was also a pity that there were no characters in Yangzhou, and it didn't take much time to be eaten up by Yuan Shu, and since then, Yuan Shu has turned over and become the master.

But now the situation is different, although Cao Cao and Yuan Shao are very close, they have not yet become allies.

The most important thing is that Yuan Shu's troops are still there, and his strength is still there, why should he give up Nanyang County.

Yuan Shu very decisively rejected Yan Xiang's proposal, even if Yan Xiang had all kinds of plans, he could not match Yuan Shu's words.

"Since the lord refuses to give up Nanyang County, there is only one way left." Yan Xiang said.

"Which way? Say it! Yuan Shu hurriedly urged.

"Half of Nanyang, seek help, and then attack Jingzhou." Yan Xiang said.

"What do you mean by that?" Yuan Shu was puzzled.

"Now that the war is in full swing, there is no possibility of reconciliation between us and Liu Biao, unless Liu Biao is willing to give up Nanyang County, but this is basically impossible."

"Although our army is unable to capture Nanyang County, it is still no problem to occupy a small half of Nanyang, and it can be regarded as a bridgehead for future offensives."

"All that's left is to find help." Yan Xiang explained.

"I've thought about what you said, but Liu Yan is sick in bed, and he can't bring the hungry wolf of Xiliang Army into the Central Plains again, and Jiang Hong is also making enemies with us, is it true that he wants to fall into the name of colluding with foreigners?" Yuan Shu was very hesitant.

Looking at the entire decades from the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty to the establishment of the Western Jin Dynasty, there were very few cases of collusion with foreigners, and everyone still attached great importance to their reputation.

In the north, Wuhuan Xianbei and other clans were first pressed to the ground by Gongsun Chan and rubbed and rubbed, and then Gongsun Chan was gone, and it was Yuan Shao's turn to take over.

But Yuan Shao didn't eat white rice, and he also beat the Mobei groups so that they couldn't take care of themselves. And then there is Cao Cao, who inherited the will of the first two, and Cao Cao did not give these foreigners good fruits to eat.

As for the south, Liu Bei and Sun Quan have been committed to eliminating or ruling the Nanban and Shanyue, and Liu Bei has also suppressed the Xiqiang by the way.

As for the Qiang people in the Xiliang Army, it was Dong Zhuo who beat many Qiang tribes so that they didn't know their own mothers, and forced them to join the army, which can be regarded as ruling these foreign tribes.

In the end, most of the collusions with foreigners occurred in the last years of the Three Kingdoms, and everyone really couldn't fight, and they could only contact the foreigners, otherwise it would be too difficult to destroy the enemy by themselves.

Having said so much, I just want to show a concept, and it is also the concept of various princes and bigwigs.

We have internal strife in our own house, and we fight by ourselves, and we fight in the dark, but it is not the turn of foreigners to intervene, and if we dare to intervene, we will chop off your dog's paws.

Therefore, Yuan Shu was particularly resistant to colluding with foreign clans and the Wuxi barbarians, which would damage the reputation of his Yuan family, but fortunately, Yan Xiang didn't want Yuan Shu to hook up with these barbarians.

"The helper of the minister is not those barbarians in the south, but Jiang Hong in Yangzhou." Yan Xiang said.

"Jiang Hong? But didn't we beat Jiang Hong enough some time ago, can he help us? Yuan Shu asked very skeptically.

"Yes, as long as the lord wants to."

"What do you mean by that?" Yuan Shu was puzzled.

"Whatever he wants, we'll give." Yan Xiang explained. "The lord has the support of the Yuan family, he Jiang Hong wants money, gives, asks for food, gives, asks for people, and gives, I am not afraid that Jiang Hong will not comply."

"As long as Jiang Hong is willing to send troops, Changsha and Jiangxia counties are all under the front of Yangzhou, he Liu Biao not only can't send troops to Yuzhou, but also has to transfer troops to rescue, otherwise the courtyard will catch fire, this Jingzhou is in danger." Yan Xiang didn't give Yuan Shu a chance to interrupt, and said continuously. "At that time, it will also be the best time for us to counterattack Nanyang County."

Obviously, Yuan Shu was a little moved by Yan Xiang's words, Yuan Shu touched his chin, thought for a long time, and finally asked hesitantly:

"Are you sure?"

"Nine times out of ten."

"Good! Let Han Yin come to see me. Yuan Shu gritted his teeth and agreed.

"No."

Since he didn't plan to suspend the war and needed help, Yuan Shu also withdrew from Wancheng, stopped fighting, and no longer entangled with Cai Mao, wasting his troops.

Seeing Yuan Shu retreating, Cai Mao was still very cautious, still unmoved, and finally confirmed it several times before Cai Mao handed the battle report to Liu Biao in Xiangyang.

In these days, Liu Biao waited for the battle report from the front line every day, and his heart never fell, and he was always hanging, and the black hair that was still a little left was now all white.

Liu Biao looked at the battle report from Cai Mao excitedly, his hands trembled uncontrollably, and there were still some tears in his eyes.

"Hahaha!" Liu Biao laughed happily, he won the bet, and the reward he won was naturally very rich, and from then on, he turned his serf into a master, and Yuan Shu had to look at his face to live.

Yan Xiang said that it was half according to Nanyang, which was to coax Yuan Shu, but in fact, what Yuan Shu could occupy was only half of Nanyang County, a few counties.

It's really big, it's all in Liu Biao's. Open the map, the bottom of Wancheng, near Xiangyang, is dense, there are more than a dozen counties, and now all of them are owned by Liu Biao.

Liu Biao basically achieved his strategic goal, not only captured most of Nanyang County, but also made Xiangyang no longer exposed to the enemy's troops.

At the peak of Nanyang, there were more than 500,000 households and more than 2 million people.

A few families are happy and a few are sad, Liu Biao is happy, and the sorrow is naturally Yuan Shu.

Although Yuan Shu temporarily gave up fighting for Nanyang with Liu Biao, Yuan Shu would not give up, his envoys were already on the way to Yangzhou, and Yuan Shu would not hand over Nanyang to Liu Biao in vain.

At the same time, Yuan Shu was still constantly wooing Cao Cao, not asking Cao Cao to form an alliance with him, as long as he didn't get too close to Yuan Shao, and the backyard couldn't catch fire.