Han Dao world

Chapter 418

Yuan Shao stood outside the gate of Zhou's mansion, the smile on his face gradually froze.

This was not within any of his expectations.

He originally thought that Zhou Zhong would greet him warmly, and the host and guest met happily.Then he and Zhou Zhong persuaded him to surrender. Sun Ce and Zhou Yu bowed their heads and worshiped. They took Lujiang without bloodshed, and then marched into Jiujiang together to capture Yuan Shu alive.

It never occurred to him that Zhou Zhong would shut him down.

For a moment, he really wanted to order Zhang Yun to come forward, kick down the gate of Zhou's house, drag Zhou Zhong out of it, and whip him a few times in full view, to let him know what it means to be a virtuous corporal.

But after weighing it carefully, he still gave up and left a sentence.

Come back in three days.

Yuan Shao returned to the camp, ordered the soldiers to feast, and defeated Sun Ce and Zhou Yu the next day.

Many people are looking forward to Yuan Shao's ability to defeat Sun Ce and protect Lujiang without worries, so as to avoid the tragedy of a few years ago from happening again.They rushed to the army to meet Yuan Shao with food, wine, food and all kinds of valuable gifts.

But Zhou Zhong's non-cooperation cast a shadow over everyone's heart.

-

Zhou Yu rode his horse into Sun Ce's camp, and got off his horse in front of the tent.

Chen Wu, who was guarding outside the tent door, opened the tent door and asked Zhou Yu to enter.

Sun Ce, who was standing in front of the map with his hands behind his back, turned his head, looked at Zhou Yu, and said with a smile, "Gong Jin, I guess it's time for you to come too."

Zhou Yu entered the tent, glanced at the map, and knew that Sun Ce was also thinking about facing Yuan Shao, so he couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. "General, Yuan Shao is one step ahead. The situation is not good for our army."

Sun Ce blinked, but said nothing, and led Zhou Yu to sit in front of the case.

"Yuan Shao has at least a thousand riders available." Zhou Yu cut to the chase. "Although there are not many in number, they are the most elite guard cavalry. In addition, the scouts also saw the battle flags of the Euphorbia soldiers and the Hebei crossbowmen."

Sun Ce frowned slightly, and nodded silently.

He is also worried about this.Originally, he hoped to be stationed in Shucheng before Yuan Shao arrived and defend the city.Now that Yuan Shao arrived one step ahead, he could only decide the outcome in a field battle, so he had to consider the threat of Yuan Shao's cavalry.

Jiangdong is short of horses and has no organized cavalry, but he knows how cavalry fights.Cheng Pu and Han Dang are both from Youzhou and are familiar with riding and fighting.When Yuan Shu ordered them to seize the Lujiang River and fought with Lu Kang, they used a small number of cavalry to quickly defeat Lu Kang's troops outside the city.

In field battles on the plains, the power of cavalry cannot be underestimated.

"What is Gongjin's opinion?"

Zhou Yu nodded at the location of Shukou on the map, "We retreat to Shukou and use silence to control movement."

Sun Ce's eyes narrowed slightly. "Is it too weak?"

"The way to use troops is to show weakness by force. Yuan Shao rushed to Shu County not to occupy the Lujiang River, but to see me from my father. My father refused to attach himself, so Yuan Shao had to use force to force him. The general retreated with relief, If Yuan Shao advances, he has no certainty of victory, and if he retreats, he will return empty-handed, so what can we do?"

Sun Ce rolled his eyes, showing a hint of a smile.

He understood what Zhou Yu meant.Retreat to Shukou, if Yuan Shao comes to fight, he can use the advantage of the navy to advance and retreat freely.If Yuan Shao didn't come to fight, he would either return empty-handed or stay in Shucheng, which is not a good choice.

Yuan Shao's death was not peaceful, Cao Cao and Liu Bei waited for the opportunity to move, how could Yuan Shao feel at ease here?

It is Yuan Shao's expectation to rely on the advantages of troops and arms to make a quick battle.

That being the case, then he cannot do what he wished, and must make him very uncomfortable.

Sun Ce immediately invited Zhang Hong and others to discuss countermeasures.

Zhang Hong also agreed with Zhou Yu's opinion that a decisive battle with Yuan Shao outside Shucheng was not suitable for the use of troops. Victory is not happy, and defeat is enough to overwhelm the army.Although the Danyang soldiers are elite, they have no military discipline. Once the battle goes against them, they will easily collapse.It will be a disaster to be chased by cavalry at that time.

Although Sun Ce was somewhat reluctant, he accepted Zhang Hong's suggestion and ordered to retreat to Shukou overnight.

-

Yuan Shao hosted a banquet in honor of the Lujiang clan who had come to be attached to him, and he was relieved of the repression of Zhou Zhong's cold reception. He drank too much alcohol, and slept until noon the next day, still dizzy.

At this time, he received the news of Sun Ce's retreat, and even the vanguard led by Zhou Yu retreated.Judging from the retreat route, it is more than a hundred miles away to Shukou, and it is possible to retreat directly to Jiangdong.

Sun Ce came along the river, originally by boat.When retreating down the water, the speed is very fast.

Yuan Shao was furious.

He boasted that he would defeat Sun Ce within three days.Now that Sun Ce is retreating to Shukou, it will take two days just to march.If Sun Ce persisted in not fighting, how could he keep his promise and make Zhou Zhong bow his head.

Yuan Shao ordered a pursuit, but was opposed by Zhang Yun, the general of Ningguo Zhonglang.

Zhang Yun said that Sun Ce retreated to Shukou because he wanted to take advantage of the navy.If he doesn't want to fight, even if our army chases Shukou, he can still board the boat. Our army has no boats to use, so we can only look at the water and sigh.

Furthermore, our army has just arrived and is not familiar with the terrain, so if we are ambushed, the consequences will be even more disastrous.

The lord's purpose is to take the Lujiang River. Now that Sun Ce has retreated without a fight, the Lujiang River is already in the lord's pocket, so why bother with Sun Ce?
It is the right way to send generals to guard the Lujiang River to force Sun Ce not to go ashore, and then transfer the army to Shouchun to take Jiujiang County.

In order to prevent Yuan Shao from being impulsive, Zhang Xi added another sentence.

Just mere Sun Ce, why does the lord fight in person?The only one who can be the enemy of the lord is Yuan Gonglu.

Yuan Shao's mood was a little relieved, and he also felt that it was meaningless to compete with a junior like Sun Ce, and it was demeaning.

Feng Ji, who accompanied him, also agreed with Zhang He's opinion, and recommended Han Meng as a general to guard Lujiang.Han Meng is from Yingchuan, he is brave in battle, and has made a lot of military exploits under Yuan Shao's command.

Zhang He objected.Han Meng is indeed brave, but he is light-hearted and not stable enough.Zhou Yu is a local and is familiar with the terrain. If he provokes Han Meng to fight, Han Meng will probably fall into his trick and hand over the Lujiang River to Sun Ce.

Yuan Shao disagreed.

He knew that after crossing the river, the Jizhou people were very sensitive, worried that the Ruying people would threaten their position in the army.Zhang Xi's opposition to Han Meng was probably out of such thoughts.

He appointed Han Meng as Hengjiang Zhonglang General, commanded two thousand troops, assisted Liu Xun to stay in Shucheng, and led his troops to Shouchun.

Zhang He was also helpless.

Yuan Shao once again entertained the rich and famous from Lujiang, announcing that Sun Ce and Zhou Yu had fled in anticipation of the wind, retreated from Shukou, and dared not go ashore.He will leave behind elite soldiers and strong generals to guard Shucheng and keep the Lujiang River peaceful, so that Sun Ce and Zhou Yu will never make Lujiang a disaster again.

These people didn't know the inside story, and they all rejoiced and sang praises.

Yuan Shao was in high spirits and got drunk again.

The next day, Yuan Shao led his troops northward to Shouchun.

Sun Ce soon received the news, and immediately led his troops to rush to Shu County in just one day and one night.

As Zhang He expected, Han Meng was eager to make contributions, rejected Liu Xun's suggestion to defend the city, and led his troops out of the city to face Sun Ce, but was defeated.

Han fled on his horse, and Sun Ce took advantage of the situation to attack Shucheng.

For a while, people inside and outside Shu City were in panic, fearing that Sun Ce would retaliate against them and kill them wantonly.

Knowing that he was invincible, Liu Xun sent someone to ask Yuan Shao for help while holding on to the city.

When Yuan Shao received the news, he became angry from embarrassment, rejected Zhang He's suggestion, and personally led the main force to help Liu Xun.

Sun Ce heard the news and withdrew again to Shukou.

Yuan Shao chased to Shukou, looking at the warships on the river, his chest was tight and his throat was sweet with anger.

(End of this chapter)