I am not an ant thief in the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 427, Yuan Shao's appearance

In the middle of May of the second year of Xingping in the Eastern Han Dynasty (AD 195)
Yuan Shao first wrote a letter to Cao Cao himself, saying that they went to the court together to discuss the prevention of Lei Gong.

Now the defense of the Yellow River is basically managed by Yuan Shao and Cao Cao. Although Cao Cao was surprised that Yuan Shao went to the court to discuss this matter, he just thought that Yuan Shao wanted to ask Liu Bei for help and didn't think much about it. Instead, he took Guo Jia to Xiangyang for a sense!
Yuan Shao himself brought Xu You, Tian Feng, and Xun Kan to Xiangyang City!

However, Yuan Shao's face became ugly when he saw the people who greeted him. When the Xiangyang court was just established, he came here, and all the three princes and nine ministers of the court came to welcome him. Now let alone the three princes and nine ministers, even Liu Bei Even the shabby households were unwilling to come to greet him, only Zhang Wen, who was Situ, came to greet him.

Apparently, Liu Bei conquered the entire south in the past few years in the Southern Expedition and the Northern War, and the territory that the imperial court can control has skyrocketed, and his strength has greatly increased. Yuan Shao naturally occupied the three states of the Central Plains, but he was hit hard by the drought for three consecutive years, and even forced Liu Bei every day. Relief, the three states of the Central Plains will not starve to death. Now he is far inferior to Liu Bei in terms of strength, so the court's attitude towards him is far worse than before!
While accompanying Yuan Shao into the city, Zhang Wen asked Xiang, "I wasn't in the Central Plains to defend against Lei Gong, so why do I have time to come to Xiangyang?"

Yuan Shao said: "The land of Hebei has been occupied by Lei Gong for three years. During these three years, the imperial court has been sending troops to the south, but it has no plan to deal with Lei Gong, the biggest rebellion of the big man. Shao is afraid that if Lei Gong occupies Hebei for a long time, the people of Hebei will He was bought by Lei Gong and forgot about the existence of the imperial court, so Shao planned to write a letter to the imperial court to conquer Lei Gong in Hebei!
Zhang Wen said in amazement: "At first you wanted to deal with Lei Gong?"

In recent years, the territory of the Xiangyang court has continued to expand, and they can be said to have kept half of the Han Dynasty in terms of area alone. Moreover, although the Central Plains suffered severe drought, there were only some floods in Jingzhou, Yangzhou and other places, but these places are not uninhabited areas. It was the place where the barbarians lived, and the flood did not have much impact on the court.

The newly reclaimed lands in Jingzhou and Yangzhou are equipped with water conservancy facilities, and these water conservancy facilities became the best flood control measures when the floods broke out, and even the floods were beneficial to the management of the court. In the imperial court, although Liu Bei has been using troops continuously in the past few years, he has also tried to move millions of barbarians out of the mountains to the Jingzhou Plain to farm.

It can be said that the floods in the south and the drought in the Central Plains have helped increase the population of the entire south by more than 300 million. A large number of small towns have begun to appear on the land in the south of the Yangtze River. Southern counties and counties continue to expand their cities to accommodate more and more people!
And there are tens of millions of people in the three southern states, plus Liu Bei's policy of garrisoning farmland and raising soldiers with land, now the entire Xiangyang court has not only 10 standing troops, but also 20 soldiers in the field. The income is also more than three times that of the Emperor Ling's period. It can be said that such military and financial resources, in the eyes of old people like Zhang Wen, are nothing more than that in the period of the first emperor!

For veteran officials like Zhang Wen and Yang Biao, they are happy to see such a thriving court, so that Zhang Wen, who should have died of illness this year, is now strong and energetic, and it seems that he can still fight for the big man for 10 years look!

But now that Yuan Shao mentions Lei Gong, it instantly shatters their illusion of prosperity in the south. It reminds Zhang Wen that they were driven from Luoyang City to Xiangyang by a rebel named Lei Gong. hands!
Yuan Shao smiled faintly: "The imperial court named me General Chariot and Cavalry, and asked me to guard Luoyang City. Isn't it just to deal with Lei Gong? Now I have 30 troops in Luoyang. The imperial court has used the past few years to quell the rebellion of the Quartet. A central army capable of conscripting and fighting well. Now the whole Han Dynasty has only one rebellion, Lei Gong. As long as we eliminate Lei Gong, the world will be peaceful, and the court can be returned to Luoyang! We can also become famous ministers of the Han Dynasty to prosper again!

Zhang Wen looked at Yuan Shao with a serious face. He also knew Yuan Shao's recent situation. This big man suffered three years of disasters, either in Yanzhou or in Guanzhong. It can be said that Yuan Shao's territory was the most severely affected place in the past three years. Zhang Wen suspected Yuan Shao He might not even be able to support soldiers, and he couldn't figure out why Yuan Shao proposed to go north to Hebei at this time!
Facing Zhang Wen's gaze, Yuan Shao looked indifferent, as if he was so loyal to the Han Dynasty!
At the Xiangyang court meeting!
Yuan Shao respectfully pays respects to the Queen of Heaven!
Then he told the civil and military officials of the court that he wanted to go north to Hebei, and said loudly: "Now the south of the court has been decided, and the ministers have also cultivated armored soldiers for three years. I am a big man with millions of soldiers. Your Majesty will be the commander of the three armies." , Northern Expedition to Hebei, get rid of the rebel Lei Gong, revive the Han Dynasty, and return to the old capital!"

Yuan Shao's words caused an uproar among civil and military officials.

The young Emperor Xian was so excited by what Yuan Shao said, he really thought that as long as the big man eliminated Lei Gong, he could become the master of Zhongxing!
"General Cheqi said well, my man has a loyal subject like Aiqing, why worry about the prosperity of the Han Dynasty!" Then Emperor Xian saw Liu Bei and said: "General, you have to join forces with General Cheqi to eliminate Lei Gong's rebellion!"

Since Liu Bei placed the imperial court in Xiangyang City, he never had the idea of ​​fighting Lei Gong in the Central Plains. His original strategy was to rely on the water towns in the south of the Yangtze River, weaken the combat effectiveness of the Lei Gong cavalry, and keep half of the Han Dynasty. After all, the imperial court was in jeopardy back then. It may not be possible to keep it, let alone want to fight Lei Gong in Hebei.

But now his strategy is going too smoothly. In just three years, the entire southern princes were pacified by the court. Even Shi Xie in Jiaozhou surrendered to the court and asked the court to send an assassin to take over the power of Jiaozhou. It seems that the court is now It's time for the next step in the strategy, which is to eliminate Lei Gong, the most powerful rebel in the conference!
But Liu Bei was still embarrassed when he heard Emperor Xian's words. Over the years, the strength of the imperial court has recovered very quickly, but Lei Gong's strength has grown even faster. Not to mention the entire Xiliang was pacified with only 5 troops, and millions of Qiang people were captured. , You must know that this is stronger than the record of the big man for hundreds of years, which shows how strong Lei Gong is now.

Liu Bei was not sure that he could defeat Lei Gong in Hebei with the current strength of the imperial court. He was even more worried that he led the soldiers of the imperial court to lose to Lei Gong like Huangfu Song and others. In this way, the great situation of the imperial court in the south would be ruined!
So he didn't dare to face the issue of Emperor Xian, and he was also worried that Emperor Xian would really send the elite of the imperial court to fight against Lei Gong!
At this time Taiwei Yang Biao said to Emperor Xian: "Your Majesty, Lei Gong has millions of troops in Hebei, and hundreds of thousands of cavalry. If the imperial court wants to attack Lei Gong, it needs to plan carefully, otherwise it is easy to repeat the same mistakes!"

At this time, Emperor Xian remembered that there was a fat man who was also leading an army of hundreds of thousands of big men to conquer Lei Gong, but this fat man failed, causing the court to lose hundreds of thousands of troops, not to mention, it also caused the Luoyang mutiny, making the whole man almost Fall apart!

Thinking of the fat man who died tragically, Emperor Xian was horrified, if the Han army was defeated by Lei Gong again this time, would there be another mutiny in Xiangyang City!Thinking of such terrible consequences, Emperor Xian no longer dared to express his opinions at will!
So this court will break up unhappy!

Xiangyang General's Mansion!

Liu Bei summoned his confidants and asked everyone to discuss what Yuan Shao wanted to do?Why did you come up with the idea of ​​Northern Expedition Thunder!

Zhang Fei said strangely: "Yuan Shao comes to Jingzhou every year to buy a large amount of grain. He can hardly afford to support his own soldiers. He actually wants to attack Lei Gong in the north. Does he really think that Lei Gong is made of mud?"

Zhang Fei couldn't figure out what Yuan Shao was thinking at all. He had experienced hundreds of battles. Didn't he know that when he went to Hebei, even if the big man had an army of one million, he couldn't be the opponent of Lei Gong's hundreds of thousands of Hu cavalry? Powerful place, this is not dizzy!

Jian Yong sneered and said: "I don't believe that Yuan Shao is loyal to the court. Everyone, don't forget the rumors about Dang Tu who was the Han Dynasty a few years ago. Did he want to kill Hebei, which we lied to, by Lei Gong, so that he can dominate Court!"

But Liu Bei thought for a long time and asked Zhao Yundao: "If we have an army of more than 50, can we resist Lei Gong's cavalry in Hebei?"

Zhang Fei was surprised: "Brother, you don't really want to go to Hebei to fight Lei Gong?"

Liu Bei nodded and said, "Now that the south is under the control of the imperial court, only Lei Gong is the only rebel left in the Han Dynasty. As long as we want to unify the Han Dynasty and revive the imperial court, Lei Gong is the enemy we must face!"

Zhao Yun smiled bitterly and said: "Minggong, now Youzhou, Bingzhou, and Liangzhou are all in Leigong's hands. The big man has lost the land for raising horses, and the cavalry in our hands is used less and less. I really want to go to Hebei to fight Leigong. There are no more than 10 cavalry, and we have also researched the chariot formation, shield formation, and artillery to deal with the cavalry, which should be able to compete with Lei Gong.

But if the cavalry in the hands of Lei Gong exceeds 20, we will definitely lose. The terrain in Hebei is really not suitable for fighting cavalry. The soldiers assembled are looking for death, so Lei Gong has more than 20 cavalry, and we may not even be able to escape! "

At this time, Shi Yuanji, the head of the general's mansion, said: "My lord, if you don't want to destroy the imperial court's foundation in the south, you don't want to defeat Lei Gong in Hebei! Although the imperial court's strength has grown rapidly in recent years, Lei Gong's strength has increased even faster. Da Han It took hundreds of years on the Qiang people. No matter how many powerful officials and generals they had, they could not completely defeat the Qiang people. However, it took less than half a year for Lei Gong to completely pacify Xiliang, and captured millions of Qiang people. Look, now is Lei Gong's most prosperous thing, and now we are going head-to-head with Lei Gong, we must be the ones who lose!"

"Now the imperial court is no better than before. If the great general is defeated, half of the great Han's country will be torn apart again, and the world of the great Han will definitely be taken by Lei Gong, so the general must hold back. What we can do now is to find a way to emigrate from the Central Plains Go to the south of the Yangtze River and make the barren land in the south of the Yangtze River as fertile as the Central Plains, so that we will have the strength to resist Lei Gong's attack on the south of the Yangtze River!"

"The Central Plains will be handed over to Ben Chu and Cao Cao. It is enough for the lord to support them with food, grass and armor. These two are ambitious and talented. It will not be so easy for Lei Gong to completely occupy the Central Plains! The two of them can at least give us 10 Years!"

But Liu Bei thought for a moment and said: "We can now arm an army of 30. Yuan Shao also has an army of 30. Cao Cao has also produced an army of 20 in recent years. Now the imperial court has an army of 80. This should be the largest army in the imperial court for nearly a hundred years. In the period when Feng was at its strongest, if we couldn’t defeat Lei Gong at this time, I’m afraid we would have no chance to defeat Lei Gong. Although I don’t know why Yuan Shao was loyal to the court, he started this matter, and Lei Gong put pressure on him He is the biggest one, and it is impossible for him to hold back the imperial court!"

"So I want to try to see if the big man can defeat Lei Gong! If he really wins this battle, the world will be at peace earlier!"

Yuan Ji could only smile wryly when he saw Liu Bei who was already in a daze!
On the third day after Yuan Shao proposed to attack Hebei, Cao Cao also came to Xiangyang City, and his rank was even lower. The imperial court only sent Wang Yun, one of the nine officials, to meet Cao Cao!

Wang Yun told Cao Cao about Yuan Shao's plan to attack Hebei in the court hall a few days ago!
And asked solemnly: "The imperial court has a total of 80 troops. Can such a powerful army beat Lei Gong?"

Wang Yun has always been in contact with the Wang family of Bingzhou, but the situation in his hometown is very bad. Lei Gong can be said to have exterminated such aristocratic families like them. The former officials of their Wang family were driven away by Lei Gong, and the fields were divided. You can't even be a soldier in politics, that is to say, the Wang family has cut off their official career, and they can only survive as a lowly merchant in the future!

It can be said that Wang Yun is gnashing his teeth against the existence of Daqian, he wants to eliminate Lei Gong and others more than anyone else!So when Yuan Shao proposed the strategy of attacking Hebei, he now asked Cao Cao, the generals closest to Lei Gong, to know whether such a coalition had a chance of winning, and whether they could kill Lei Gong!
Cao Cao and Guo Jia looked at each other with wry smiles. They knew Yuan Shao's thoughts too well. Back then, when they lacked food, they borrowed Tao Qian's food and grass to support soldiers. Now Yuan Shao is more generous than them, obviously wanting to use the court to support his 30 army.

Moreover, when the war broke out, they assembled hundreds of thousands of troops, and at the very least they had to prepare millions of civilians to transport food. These civilians must be recruited in Yanzhou and Yuzhou, which are close to the battlefield.But now the only one who can provide so much food is the imperial court. Yuan Shao is not only asking the imperial court to help people raise soldiers, but also to help him raise the people.

Finally, Cao Cao said earnestly: "Even if the imperial court's [-] troops invade Hebei, it is impossible to defeat Lei Gong. Lei Gong can recruit a million troops and hundreds of thousands of cavalry in Hebei. We are going to Hebei to seek death!"

(End of this chapter)