In the eleventh month of the seventh year of the Jian'an Era, just as Yuan Shao was plotting to seize Guanzhong, Guan Yu of Liu Bei's army suddenly appeared once more, shattering Yuan Shao's plans.
To explain this, one had to begin with Qin Tian's northward advance. At the time, Qin Tian had followed Xun You's counsel and adopted the strategy of besieging Wei to rescue Zhao.
Besides hastening north with his troops, he dispatched two messengers to inform Guan Yu's and Liu Bei's respective armies.
After receiving their letters, the messengers traveled north, then headed east, arriving inside Luoyang right under Yuan Shao's nose.
Ever since Xu Shu had entered Luoyang, he had continually gathered nearby bandits and armed forces, ever ready to march north.
Their territory had now formed a U shape. There was an extra section in eastern Qingzhou, and after taking Chenliu and Luoyang, another section had been added there.
In other words, before they had fully taken Yanzhou, Yuan Shao's forces could break through from Yanzhou into the heartland of Yu Province at any time.
Therefore, after taking Luoyang, they had to occupy favorable terrain in order to gain the upper hand in future battles against Yuan Shao.
Under such circumstances, the soundest course would have been to seize the many commanderies and counties south of Dong Commandery while Yuan Shao's main force was in the west.
But Xu Shu thought otherwise. After careful deliberation, he believed that taking Hedong and advancing north into Bing Province was far better than taking Yanzhou.
After all, their main direction of attack was not the Central Plains alone. Once Liu Bei took Chang'an and Luoyang in the future, he would most likely continue to use this place as his capital.
If they missed this opportunity and chose to