The story turned to Yuan Shao, who led the Hebei Army to attack Youzhou.
He dared to march north with such peace of mind naturally because Cao Cao and Liu Bei, south of Jizhou, could not advance north to attack him.
Ever since Yuan Shao drove Liu Bei out of Qingzhou, Liu Bei had never stopped thinking of taking it back. But how could that be easy?
Zhang Yan, his former ally in attacking Cao Cao, had become Yuan Shao's vassal and was responsible for defending Qingzhou for him.
The Lü Clan, a prominent Qingzhou family, had originally supported him. But after Yuan Shao took control of Qingzhou, the clan arranged a marriage with Yuan Shao's son for the sake of its own security.
The Lü Clan was now divided in two, with one branch of the Lü Clan of Linzi having migrated to Xuzhou alongside Liu Bei.
Qingzhou had become an entirely different world, no longer resembling the place he had first entered.
Cao Cao, meanwhile, had begun plotting to seize the foundation of a hegemonic enterprise from Yuan Shu ever since the Zhao City Agreement in the fifth year of Jian'an.
If one were to ask where warfare was most frequent in All Under Heaven today, it would undoubtedly be between Cao Cao and Yuan Shu.
Yanzhou and Yuzhou were almost entirely flat, without any mountains or rivers barring the way.
Cao Cao held Yanzhou as well as Yingchuan and other commanderies in Yuzhou, yet Yuan Shu could contend with everything Cao Cao possessed using Runan Commandery alone, and could even thrash him when it came to money and grain.
Yet despite his overwhelming military advantage, Yuan Shu had suffered defeat after defeat against Cao Cao's army over these two years of war. Whenever they fought in the