Yuan Shao, the father of Fanghua in the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 108
Yuan Tan's army attacked the city, and scouts were constantly sent out in all directions along the way to inquire about news from all walks of life.

Several cities were captured ahead, and the journey was smooth, so Yuan Tan felt that it was possible that Tian Kai would stick to the rear big cities in Donglai and other places, and retreat when Yuan's army ran out of food.

Before the station opened this morning, scouts reported that an army of 6000 to [-] people came from the direction of Xuzhou, more than a hundred miles to the south, but Yuan Tan didn't care.

It will take at least two days to come across, and he is confident that he can break through Yu Lingcheng in front of him before that.

But at the beginning of the war, spies reported that they had found Kong Rong's soldiers and horses more than a hundred miles to the east.

At this time, Yuan Tan was still not in a hurry, he still had the advantage in numbers, as long as he captured the city, he could advance, attack, retreat, or defend.

But after fighting for two hours, when another spies reported that Tian Kai's [-] soldiers were attacking more than a hundred miles to the north, Yuan Tan couldn't sit still.

It turned out that the opponent was already prepared, and wanted to encircle himself at the same time, and let himself be attacked on three sides!

At this time, his troops were only a little more than the opponent's, and because he was in a hurry to cross the river and attack the city, he hadn't established a camp yet!
It was too late to build a camp on the spot. If he stormed Yuling City, entered the city to defend, and was surrounded by three sides, food alone would drag him to death.

If you don't fight it down, your opponent can enter the city to defend and take the initiative, and you can only retreat the entire army.

But the problem is, Jishui is behind it!

The siege and retreat just now almost turned into a collapse of the formation. If I retreat in a big way, I will really become a rout and be chased and beaten by the opponent. My trip to Qingzhou will be in vain!

He said to Jushou: "Sir, is the current plan to retreat temporarily and set up camps and trenches along the way to resist the enemy's offensive?"

After hearing this, Ju Shou said, "This is the safest way." He looked at the generals, "What else do you think?"

Yan Liang, Zhang He, Gao Lan and the others are all veterans, and they all said in unison: "It's all up to the young master and sir."

Just kidding, we are responsible for going to battle, this form is so complicated, no one is sure, if we make a mistake and lose the battle, let us take the blame?

Ju Shou's expression remained unchanged, seeing Yuan Xi was silent at the side, he said, "Second Young Master also has no objection?"

Yuan Xi thought to himself that you are not a military supervisor, so you must have made up your mind a long time ago. Ask me what to do?
He said, "I'm just like everyone else..."

Yuan Xi saw a hint of disappointment on Jushou's face at this time, and suddenly realized that Jushou did not agree to retreat!

He suddenly had a connection, and blurted out: "The safest way, of course, is to retreat and set up camp, so that we can remain invincible."

"But if it were me, I probably wouldn't do it."

As soon as these words came out, not only Yuan Tan Jushou, but all the generals looked over.

Ju Shou flicked his beard: "Second Young Master seems to have a different opinion, can you tell me?"

Yuan Xiqian said: "I also said it casually, if I say something wrong, don't blame me, sir."

"Now we are surrounded on three sides. If we retreat, not only will the morale of the army be unstable, but it will also allow the opponent to take the initiative. It will be difficult to regain the opportunity later."

"In this way, the two sides may eventually become a confrontational situation. We are working on an expedition. The food and grass must be exhausted first, and we have to be forced to retreat in the end."

Hearing this, everyone nodded.

"But we have an opportunity right now," Yuan Xi said: "The three parties on the opposite side obviously planned ahead of time, but there is a big problem in it."

"They haven't joined forces yet!"

"The way to break the situation now is to attack the whole army, and take advantage of the encirclement of the three roads to defeat them one by one!"

"But this opportunity is fleeting. If one is not good, we will be dragged by it, fall into the quagmire, and instead be trapped in a tight siege. It can be said that this is a very risky strategy."

Yuan Tan and the other generals were shocked when they heard this. They had similar thoughts, but they were suppressed as soon as they appeared, because it was too dangerous!

It is possible to win a big victory, and it is even more likely to wipe out the entire army!

Jushou's face showed a hint of imperceptible excitement, "According to what the second son thinks, which side should we attack first?"

The idea Yuan Xi expressed this time was even more unexpected.

"Tian Kaijun."

After Yuan Tan heard this, he couldn't help but said: "For every attack, we always find the weakest one to fight first. How can we fight with the most numerous people?"

Yuan Xi thought for a while and said, "This is just my feeling, it may not be accurate."

Ju Shou said: "I don't feel anything on the battlefield, please tell me clearly."

Why does Yuan Xi Xin Dao Ju Shou seem to be targeting me?
You are a counselor, don't say a word, just test me?
He thought for a while and said, "In my opinion, Tian Kai is the weakest side."

Ju Shou said: "Evidence."

Yuan Xi could only say: "The following is just my guess."

"Tian Kai gave up so many cities and only came here now, which means that his tens of thousands of troops are very wet, otherwise he would have built the strongest city before our arrival."

"It's very likely that his army was assembled in an emergency, and there are not many elites among them."

"Besides, it is very troublesome to mobilize and march tens of thousands of troops. If the troops come from far away, their physical strength will inevitably be exhausted."

"If we attack with all our strength and catch them by surprise, we will have a chance to defeat them all."

With the siege these days, Yuan Xi gradually understood that it was extremely difficult to mobilize an army of tens of thousands of people, whether it was marching or fighting, and there would be many problems in the process.

Even Yuan Tan, who has been fighting for several years, with the help of Ju Shou, took a lot of effort to command, let alone himself.

Yuan Xi thought to himself that the upper limit of his current command is about 2000 people.

Therefore, what Yuan Xi wants to build in the future is elite soldiers. The advantage lies in the fact that the command is easy to mobilize and the individual combat power is high.

Sometimes, fighting a war is not something that can be killed by piles of numbers.

Ju Shou said again: "What about Kong Rong's army and Liu Bei's army?"

Yuan Xidao: "I don't know much about Kong Rong's army, but if the Xuzhou army is led by Liu Xuande, there are two strong generals under him, and it should be difficult to deal with. I think it's better to save it until the end."

Yan Liang said for the first time: "Then Liu Bei also confronted the eldest son in the plain, and nothing happened."

Zhang Yun said at this time: "I encountered them a few days ago, and they are much stronger than they were more than a year ago."

"Especially that Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, fighting alone, I may not be able to compare with any of them!"

Everyone knew Zhang He's martial power, and they were all shocked when they heard him say that. Yan Liang said in surprise, "You can't beat me? I don't believe it."

"If there is a chance, I will meet them!"

Everyone can't help talking, no one is sure about the three enemies.

Ju Shou said at this time: "My thoughts are the same as the second son."

Everyone was stunned.

Ju Shou said calmly: "Although the reasons are slightly different, I also think that Tian Kai is the best to deal with."

"One is the march of thousands of people, and there will be chaos."

"The second is to wait for him to set up camp and focus on holding us back. It will be difficult for our army to find a chance to defeat it."

"Third, they came from the north, and our army attacked them from the north, which can simultaneously shorten the distance between the reinforcements from the east and the south, thus gaining more time."

"Fourth, Tian Kai came here and concentrated most of Qingzhou's troops. If he can be defeated in one fell swoop, Qingzhou will lose its ability to resist. Otherwise, if he gradually defends the city, our army will suffer even greater losses."

"Tian Kai probably thought that Kong Rong and Liu Bei's two armies would help him, so he would come out with confidence. In normal times, we would never encounter his main force in the wild."

"That's why this old man believes that this is a golden opportunity that comes once in a thousand years. In the moment of victory or defeat, our army should march at full speed and catch the opponent by surprise!"

"Even if the loss is greater, if Tian Kai can be wiped out, the battle of Qingzhou will be considered a success nine out of ten!"

"I also hope that the eldest son will immediately order the whole army to go north. The responsibility for this victory will be borne by this old man!"

Yuan Tan listened, lowered his head to think for a while, and then raised his head suddenly.

He is now used to winning with the more and the less, so he hesitated to take such a risk this time, but it is hard to find a chance to fight. Could it be that he will stop fighting when he encounters more enemies than himself in the future?

He said decisively: "The whole army is heading north, marching at full speed!"

Above the city wall, the young man and the old corporal peered out from the arrow holes in the city wall.

The old corps leader clicked his tongue and said: "It's really weird, the other side won't fight anymore."

"Something must have happened."

The young man breathed a sigh of relief, "Then have you settled for lunch?"

The old corps leader hated iron and said: "Aside from eating, what else do you think about!"

The boy muttered: "Then you can't starve to death."

The old Wuchang sighed: "That's right, if my grandson is here, he should be about the same as you."

"By the way, it is estimated that they will attack the city again later, you..."

Before the words were finished, the sound of the drum below made the old corporal leader push Wu Dalang's head down in fright, and the two of them lay on the ground together.

As a result, after waiting for a long time, there was no sound of stone bullets and arrows, but sounds of surprise kept ringing from all over the city wall.

The old wuchang and Wu Dalang poked their heads out and couldn't help but widen their eyes when they saw the scene below the city.

The enemy army under the city abandoned the siege equipment, bypassed Yuling City, and hurried to the north!

Thousands of defenders in the city survived the catastrophe, so naturally they did not dare to go out of the city to chase after them. They looked at the enemy in the distance and couldn't help shouting with joy.

As for whether the opposite side wants to attack the city in the north, and whether they will return, that is not their concern.

They are happy that they can finally live for a few more days.

Yecheng.

In Zhen's mansion, Zhen Rong and Zhen Mi sat on the main seat.

In the guest seat opposite them was Yuan Xing.

Wu Zhao knelt behind Yuan Xing, she looked at Zhen Mi's smile like a flower, and felt a little envious in her heart.

Zhen Mi's current appearance reminded Wu Zhao of when he was unmarried five or six years ago.

I used to be young and carefree, but in the time when I should be the happiest, I encountered so many things, and my mood is completely different.

So seeing Zhen Mi's appearance that has not been polluted by the world, probably everyone will feel pity and protection, right?
What Zhen Rong and Yuan Xing were talking about were all family matters among the gentry in Ye City, and they gradually brought the topic to some recent rumors.

Zhen Rong whispered: "I heard from my third brother that the most rumored person in Ye City recently is Second Young Master Yuan."

She mentioned Yuan Xi unconsciously, and then she came to her senses and said shyly, "My husband sent me a letter, saying that everything is safe, and he is fighting with the second young master in Qingzhou."

"Last time I was really..."

Yuan Xing waved her hand: "It's all over, why mention it again."

Zhen Mi stared wide-eyed, and secretly glanced at Zhen Rong. Every time sister Xindao mentioned the young master, her voice was unnatural. Did nothing really happen that night?

Zhen Rong was even more flustered when Zhen Mi saw it, and said, "What do you think I am doing, want to hear about the Second Young Master Yuan?"

Zhen Mi blushed and said, "Fourth Sister made fun of me again, but I didn't say anything."

Yuan Xing smiled and said: "Okay, don't bully your sister, she will be the daughter-in-law of our Yuan family in the future."

Zhen Mi's face turned even redder: "The two elder sisters are not polite, but you are still noble women."

Yuan Xing said with a smile: "What kind of gentry, there are still few things that are done by chickens and dogs. Even in Yecheng, there are not many people who are not sanctimonious."

"It's not like you haven't heard of it. To be filial and honest, to live away from your father, to be talented, but not to know the book?"

Everyone nodded one after another. There are too many hypocrites in the gentry who have one thing on the surface and another on the back.

Zhen Mi pouted: "Let's not talk about anything else, just talk about the third son, hum!"

Yuan Xing sighed: "Third brother lost his composure when he heard the second brother's name recently."

When the girls heard this, they became curious and said, "What's going on?"

(End of this chapter)