Yuan Shao, the father of Fanghua in the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 1039: Change the road
The chaotic fighting continued until dawn. Zhang Liao sent someone to report back, saying that when Cao Cao withdrew, the rear army was in full preparation. He had obviously been prepared. He could not find any loopholes that could be exploited, and asked Yuan Xi what his next order was.

Yuan Xi thought for a moment and finally asked someone to call Zhang Liao back. With Zhang Liao's current number of cavalry, even if he caught up with Cao's army, it would be difficult to cause much damage to him. Instead, he might be ambushed by the opponent.

At the same time, Yuan Xi sent spies to investigate everywhere, and finally determined that apart from tens of thousands of injured and exhausted refugee civilians, Cao Jun was nowhere to be found outside Shouchun City. He then asked Zhang He and Xu Huang to lead troops out of the city, gather the fleeing civilians, and temporarily resettle them nearby. Villages and towns simultaneously opened warehouses to store grain and sent doctors to treat the victims.

These people have become refugees. If they become refugees again, the Jianghuai region will be in turmoil, so relief is necessary. However, this will make Shouchun, which already has insufficient food reserves, even more stretched.

Yuan Xi deeply felt how much savings a war would cost. Within a year, it was difficult for him to launch a battle involving tens of thousands of people.

However, he gained a lot from this battle, the biggest being that he seemed to have underestimated his own strength before.

Cao Cao, who was able to force him, did not make a desperate attempt to attack the city and then retreat. Although there were factors in this that many of his capitals were attacked, when facing Cao Cao on the frontal battlefield, Yuan Xi was able to face Cao Cao with a proactive attitude and possess the ability to do so. This gave Cao Cao the psychological advantage to retreat without a fight.

It can be said that the battle in Shouchun was the result of Yuan Xi's accumulation of knowledge over the past few years. With the cooperation of counselors and generals, Yuan Xi won a triumph that was completely unexpected. It can be said that from this moment on, everything will be the same. No one dares to question Yuan Xi's qualifications to dominate the world.

However, this battle was full of surprises. Jiangdong and Cao Cao made many responses that Yuan Xi had not expected. Moreover, Cao Cao's attack on Shouchun also frustrated Yuan Xi's plan to completely destroy Jiangdong.

The soldiers under the city led the wailing and crying people to the granary to collect rice. Yuan Xi couldn't help but feel heavy in his heart after seeing it, and slowly walked down the city.

"First, in Shouchun City, the food reserves collected before the war were stretched thin due to the refugees. At this time, the food in the city is not enough for a month."

Xu Huang was speechless for a moment, "But this is a great time to send troops. Liu Yuzhou is attacking Xudu. If we sit idly by and ignore it, we may be criticized by the world."

Liu Ji knew that this was his official duty and had exceeded his responsibilities, so he had no choice but to say: "Ji doesn't understand military affairs, so he doesn't dare to speak nonsense."

"I have seen the Yellow Turban Army, and I have also seen refugees. Without soldiers to suppress them, good people will turn into mobs, let alone tens of thousands of them."

In the next few days, the victims received proper treatment, and the people in Shouchun City were also happy because the military disaster was finally eliminated safely.

Lu Xun said hurriedly: "After reorganizing the army in the past few days, the damaged warships have been removed and repaired. There are still two to three hundred ships that may be used now."

Now Xu Huang is attacking Liu Ji, "Shou Chun is certainly important, but stabilizing the hearts of the people in the city is a matter for civil servants, right?"

He turned to Lu Xun, "Bo Yan thinks, what is the possibility of chasing Cao Cao by mobilizing the navy to go upstream from the Huai River?"

Yuan Xi's deputies were not idle. They performed their duties and rectified internal and military affairs. They were then summoned by Yuan Xi to discuss the next step.

"When Director Cao captured them, he destroyed their homes and took away their food. Now that they are back home, they don't even have the food for the day, let alone the food for farming. How can they survive?"

“But there are some ideas on how to help.”

Yuan Xi saw everyone looking at him and said, "Liu Yuzhou must help, otherwise I won't be able to give him an explanation."

The opinions of the civil servants and military generals were divided into two groups. Zhang Liao, Zhang He and others proposed to send troops to Yuzhou immediately to chase the repelled Cao Cao army. Liu Ye, Liu Ji and others believed that Jianghuai's vitality was seriously damaged, and there were many refugees nearby. Soldiers are needed to stabilize order. If enemy spies instigate chaos at this time, it will be difficult to control.

After hearing this, Liu Ji replied: "The general is right, but stabilizing the situation cannot rely on us civil servants to just use our words."

The focus of the dispute between the two sides is actually the difference in strategic issues. The military generals hope to pursue the victory, while the civilian officials focus on stabilizing the Jianghuai River. Both sides are not wrong, they just have different views.

"If we move all our troops, nearly 10,000 people will not be a problem, but there are two problems."

Xu Huang thought to himself that these civil servants are really cunning, but in this matter, it is true that the public is justified and the mother-in-law is justified. The only one who can make the final decision is Yuan Xi.

Liu Ji replied: "This is the most troublesome part."

Xu Huang said indifferently: "Can't we just let them go home separately?"

"We generals only know how to fight. This is a great opportunity to weaken Cao Cao. If he comes back, more people here will definitely die. Is this okay?"

"Second, Cao Cao operated very well in Yuzhou on the upper reaches of the Huai River. Especially the closer to Xudu, the tighter the defense. The fleet would be raided by Cao's army on the north bank of the Huai River at any time. It is not so easy to break in."

Everyone was silent. It was almost impossible to be satisfied with the long expedition, enough army rations, tight time, and causing substantial damage to Cao's army at the same time.

After hearing this, Yuan Xi asked another question, "What do you think is the possibility of Liu Yuzhou capturing Xudu?"

This time the servants were almost in complete agreement.

"almost none."

"Absolutely impossible."

Yuan Xi saw that Zhang He and others were also like this, so he continued to ask: "Not even Guan Yu?"

Zhang He smiled bitterly and said, "I have fought against Cao Jun many times. He has many talents, is difficult to deal with in field battles, and is also very good at defending the city."

"General Guan relies on surprise. If he really wants to attack a strong city like Xudu, even if Liu Yuzhou gathers all the troops, it is unlikely that he can defeat it."

"After all, Liu Yu has been defending the city before, but siege warfare is completely different. It not only requires a large number of soldiers and siege equipment, but also experienced siege generals. It is difficult for Liu Yuzhou, who has insufficient background, to do this. After hearing this, Yuan Xi sighed: "So I admire Liu Yuzhou very much. He knew that the situation was impossible, but he still sent troops without hesitation. This shows that he still has a very firm belief in his heart."

"So I can't sit back and watch Liu Yuzhou being cut off by Cao Jun."

"I have an idea about that."

"The Huai River is difficult to travel, so let's go along the Yangtze River."

Everyone was startled after hearing this, and then their eyes lit up, and they heard Yuan Xi say: "We sent troops from Shouchun and entered Cao Cao's territory. We are unfamiliar with the place and it is almost impossible to pose a threat to him."

"But another path has been opened."

"Xiakou in Jiangxia is the intersection of the Han River and the Yangtze River, which is extremely critical."

"I heard that Cao's army retreated during the Battle of Chaohu a few days ago and occupied Jiangxia. This was equivalent to stabbing Jiangdong in the back."

"Although Cao Cao's navy is not as good as ours, if Xiakou is left to them, they can block the lower reaches of the Han River and cut off Liu Yuzhou's retreat. I will help Liu Yuzhou clear this hidden danger."

"Commander Zhuge has already led troops to attack Wu County and contained the main force of the Jiangdong navy. Now most of the Jiangdong navy should be rushing to defend Wu County and will not hinder us if they have any spare power."

"So my idea is to gather all the ships in Shouchun and go south out of Ruxushui to attack Cao Jun's Jiangxia and defeat them, so as to relieve Liu Yuzhou's worries."

"There are also benefits to attacking Xiakou, which is that the navy can save military rations. If it doesn't work, we can also recruit from Yuzhang County in Jiangdong."

After hearing this, everyone agreed and sighed in their hearts. Yuan Xi was plucking his feathers and plotting against Jiang Dong until he died.

Yuan Xi smiled and said: "This time we should have rewarded based on merit, but many people are away and have not come back. We will wait until the war stops at the end of the year. I'm sorry, everyone; I'm hungry."

Everyone burst into laughter and said in unison: "It is an honor for us to serve our lord!"

These are their words from the bottom of their hearts. When they were in other forces, how could they ever win so many battles and be so proud?

It was immediately decided that Yuan Xi would not conduct the expedition in person this time, but sent Lu Xun as the commander-in-chief to act as his agent for the Xiakou war.

After everyone dispersed, Lu Xun stayed and said, "Sister-in-law, there is one more thing. Now General Taishi is seriously injured, General Gan has gone to Wu County, and the navy lacks capable generals. What can we do?"

Yuan Xi thought for a while and said: "I will send Zhang He to help you this time."

Lu Xun was startled and thought, "Who can't swim and still gets seasick?"
Can he have a water fight like that?

When Yuan Xi saw it, he knew that Lu Xun had misunderstood, so he smiled and said, "I didn't ask him to fight on the water."

"When he was in Jizhou, he went to Jingzhou as an envoy on behalf of Duke Benchu ​​and had some friendship with Huang Zu. When you arrive near Xiakou, let him off the boat to find Huang Zu, and ask Huang Zu to send some navy generals to help you."

"Now that Huang Zu is surrounded in the mountains, the navy generals must be feeling aggrieved because they can't show their full potential. Knowing that we are coming to fight against Jiangxia, we will definitely come to help."

As he spoke, he compiled a letter and gave it to Lu Xun. He said, "When the time comes, let Junyi be handed over to Huang Zu to attack Cao's navy from land. He will not refuse."

Yuan Xi thought about it again and said to Lu Xun: "Cao Cao's navy has a large number. Boyan has a chance of winning if he cooperates with water and land. If he can capture Xiakou, he should use his strength to go upstream. It is best to control the Han River in Xiangyang. fully control."

He seemed to see the confusion in Lu Xun's heart and said, "I know that the troops you lead do not pose much of a threat to Cao Cao, but I asked Zilong to make preparations before I left Bingzhou."

"Qin Zhidao from Jiuyuan leads directly to Guanzhong!"

After hearing this, Lu Xun suddenly realized: "That's it!"

"Xun understands!"

Seeing Lu Xun going out, Yuan Xi thought to himself that the next thing was to wait for the news.

The previous strategic direction, because Shouchun was besieged, changed from dealing with Jiangdong to blocking Cao Cao, but now Cao Cao retreated and returned to suppressing Jiangdong.

From beginning to end, bleeding Jiangdong and killing him while he was sick were Yuan Xi's primary goals.

This was actually unbelievable to Cao Cao and Sun Quanfang, because for thousands of years, they had not given up on the Central Plains and fought for the miasmatic land of Jiangdong first.

But Yuan Xi was already ahead of others with his vision beyond the times. He now relied on sea power, using a large number of ships to control waterways, and then developed transportation and trade to promote industry and commerce.

This road has already begun to bear fruit. Compared with the battle for the Central Plains, which involves infantry expeditions, the cost of waterway is lower and transportation is more convenient.

At this point, Jiangdong and Yuan Xi have a direct competitive relationship, so Yuan Xi puts the elimination of Jiangdong before Cao Cao. As long as he takes Jiangdong, nine out of ten waterways in the world will be controlled by Yuan Xi. Even if Cao Cao Occupying the Central Plains, the war cost is much higher than that of Yuan Xi!
Continuous battles made Yuan Xi so sleepy that he couldn't help but fall asleep on the table.

In a daze, he felt that someone was putting clothes on him again. When he slowly opened his eyes, he saw that it was Ms. Feng.

(End of this chapter)