Yuan Shao, the father of Fanghua in the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 581 The enemy situation is urgent
After listening to Yuan Shao's words, the two doctors looked at each other, took the vials one after another, poured a little powder into their palms, and then hesitated briefly.

But when the two of them raised their heads and saw Yuan Shao's expressionless face, they were heartbroken. They first put it under their noses and smelled it, then stretched out their tongues and licked it, and then began to think deeply.

After a while, the two of them raised their heads, and one of them said hesitantly: "This seems to be, Five Stones Powder?"

Another person also said: "I have also refined some, it should be right."

Yuan Shao said in a deep voice: "Is there any poison in it?"

After hearing this, the two of them said one after another: "I'm not sure."

"If it is really poisonous, it shouldn't be too toxic."

After hearing this, Ms. Liu breathed a sigh of relief and said, "I'm just telling you, how could Shang'er's medicine be so good?"

Yuan Shao interrupted him and said to the two doctors: "In the next few days, I will have to trouble you two to help me treat him."

"Whenever it's cured, you two can go back."

After hearing this, the two doctors put on smiles that were uglier than crying, and said quickly: "I will obey the envoy's order."

Yuan Shao asked two doctors to go down and prescribe the prescription, and also asked the interrogator: "I'd like to trouble Zhengnan Haosheng to interrogate that maidservant, and be sure to find out whether she put anything into the bottle."

Shen Pei went to receive the order, and Mrs. Liu came over and said uneasily: "I was careless this time. The bitch must have tampered with it. It is definitely not the problem of Shang'er Wushisan. He is also here." Eat!”

Yuan Shao felt unhappy and interrupted Liu: "Don't talk too much about this matter. I have my own reasons."

"Remember not to spread this matter, otherwise don't blame me for being ruthless."

Mrs. Liu was startled and agreed repeatedly. Yuan Shao said calmly: "You go back first, I will sit for a while."

Mrs. Liu knew that Yuan Shao was right, so she had no choice but to turn around and go back. After Yuan Shao and others left, her sitting body tilted and she almost fell down.

He held on to the desk, feeling cold in his heart, why did it happen at this time!
Yuan Shao has been coughing for years, but he has always behaved as if nothing happened. However, only a few people who are very close to him know that his physical condition is very bad.

Yuan Shao also secretly consulted doctors, but no definite diagnosis was made. Some said it was a cold, some said it was a lung ailment, some said it was gastrointestinal erosion, and some said it was more serious.

Later, when Yuan Shang learned about it, he found some newly refined Five Stone Powder from nowhere, saying that it could cure timid illnesses.

At that time, Wushi Powder was not long after its invention and was classified as medicine. Yuan Shao was very cautious at first. He first tested it on rabbits and found that there were no abnormalities before taking it with confidence.

He was also forced to have no choice. His cough became more and more severe, causing him to sleep all night. His body was deteriorating, but he could not find the cause and medicine could not eradicate it, so he had to try various methods as a last resort.

But what surprised him was that after taking Wushi Powder, his symptoms were relieved a lot!
In the days that followed, Yuan Shao relied more and more on Wushi Powder, but some side effects followed, such as sore throat, chest tightness, and occasional abdominal pain.

But Yuan Shao always felt that he was old and had some common problems, so he didn't take it to heart. It wasn't until he vomited blood today that Yuan Shao realized something was wrong. No matter how bad his health was, he wouldn't have reached this point!

His face was gloomy, and the hand in his sleeve was holding the bottle tightly. He didn't want to believe that it was Yuan Shang who wanted to murder him.

Because it makes no sense, he has already appointed Yuan Shang as his successor, and he has no reason to murder him!
Could it be that he thinks he has lived too long and is in a hurry to get to the top?

Yuan Shao felt irritable, managed to stand up, and walked a few steps inside the house.

Now is the most critical moment. You must not let outsiders know your situation at this time, otherwise the people of Yecheng will be in chaos!
Yuan Shao suddenly found that when he felt that his time was running out, he rarely wished that all the children of the Yuan family would be in front of him.

It's a pity that all three of them have gone out to fight, and they don't know when they will be able to come back or if they will be able to come back in time.

Who will be the first to enter the city?
Dongwuyang in Wei County is to the north of the Yellow River, and a few dozen miles to the south is Cangtingjin, the most important ferry crossing from Jizhou to the south of the Yellow River.

Dongwuyang was also the seat of Dongjun. The previous governor was Zang Hong. Later, after Zang Hong left with the people, Tian Feng took charge of it.

Dongjun is divided into north and south parts by the Yellow River. The north side is taken over by Yuan Shao's forces, so its governor is also a confidant appointed by Yuan Shao, while the south side is controlled by Cao Cao's forces. Its governance is in Juancheng, and the governor is Xiahou Dun.

Therefore, Dongjun was actually divided and ruled by Yuan Cao. The two sides were bounded by the Yellow River, and they had a tacit understanding not to cross each other's territory until the relationship between the two sides broke down.

When Yuan Shao attacked Gongsun Zan who was refusing to defend Yijing, Cao Cao sent people to secretly cross the Yellow River and approach Yecheng. However, they were blocked by Gao Lan and forced to retreat. From then on, the relationship between the two parties became increasingly tense.

But now that Cao Jun's army has crossed the Yellow River, it is obvious that he has completely broken up with Yuan Shao. Yuan Shao sent Gao Lan to station in Dongwuyang to prevent Cao Jun from crossing the river.

Gao Lan rushed over with a hurried march, but found that Cao Jun did not attack Cangtingjin, but crossed the river from other crossings, leaving Gao Lan in vain.

The question facing Gao Lan now is whether he should still refuse to defend Dongwuyang, or should he lead troops to intercept Cao's army?
He stood at the top of the city, hesitant in his heart. Although the general was outside and military orders were not obeyed, Dongwuyang had obviously lost its role in blocking Cao's army. If he continued to stay here, he would not be able to return to Yecheng to aid immediately. , wouldn’t the situation be worse?
But if he leaves Dongwuyang, Cangtingjin will be in an undefended state. If Cao Jun takes the opportunity to occupy it, food, grass, soldiers and horses will be continuously transported, and the situation will be even worse by then.

Gao Lan couldn't help but feel extremely irritated. Why did the situation become like this?
Yuan Tan and Yuan Shang's armies were outside, and no one could arrive in time. Is this a coincidence, or did the other side have a premeditated plan?
While he was hesitating, he saw a little light flickering in the distance below the city, and it kept approaching the city gate.

Gao Lan asked the soldiers to take precautions. After a while, the bright spot was already approaching, but a small school came on horseback holding a torch. He rushed to the city, held up a sign and said: "Urgent report, open the door!"

Gao Lan ordered people to lower the suspension bridge and let him enter the city. The primary school recognized Gao Lan and quickly knelt down and said: "Cangtingjin has been lost!" Gao Lan was surprised: "How could it be?"

"There are at least a thousand defenders placed there. It will take time to cross the river on the other side, right?"

"Besides, Cangtingjin has a lot of shipbreaking equipment. How did the other party successfully land on the beach?"

The principal said anxiously: "It didn't come from the south bank, but Cangtingjin was attacked from both sides of the land and was caught off guard and fell!"

"The first one on the opposite side is extremely fierce. The flag has the characters "乐" and "yu" in it!"

"We waited for hundreds of people to break through, but only the last general escaped!"

Gao Lan's face became extremely ugly. The banners were Le Jin and Yu Jin, the two generals in Cao's army who were best at attacking cities!
And according to what the small school said, the opponent crossed the river from elsewhere, then went around behind Cangtingjin to launch a surprise attack and took control of the ferry. The opponent's next step is definitely to attack Dongwuyang!

Sure enough, not long after, dense stars appeared on the horizon in the distance. It was the scene of soldiers rushing on their way holding torches.

Gao Lan looked at the countless spots of light and shouted: "Order the entire army to go to the city and prepare for battle!"

As more and more light spots appeared on the road, Gao Lan used the starlight to see that the opposing soldiers were high-spirited and fierce. He knew that Cao Jun had sent out elite soldiers and generals in order to trap him and prevent him from supporting Yecheng.

There are almost no generals in Yecheng now, so it may be dangerous.

Yuan Xi stood on the bow of the boat, looking at the Huaihe River outlet in the distance, and said to Lu Xun, "The other party still hasn't replied?"

Lu Xun smiled bitterly and said, "I didn't know where Yuan Tan was in the first place. I'm afraid it would be difficult for the messenger to find his location."

"Besides, I am Yuan Tan, and I don't want my sworn brother to rush back first. Even if I get the letter, it is unlikely that I will reply."

After hearing this, Yuan Xi became impatient and said, "Gather everyone together, I have something to discuss."

The fleet followed the Huai River all the way out to sea, then sailed northward along the Qingzhou coastline. Everyone had gathered in the cabin, Jushou Lu Xun, Zhao Yun Taishi Ci, Gao Shun Xu Huang.

In order to do his best to rescue Yecheng, Yuan Xi even transferred Zhao Yun who was stationed in Xiapi. At this time, even if Cao Cao counterattacked Xiapi, he didn't care. Now the two sides were already in a critical life and death battle, and the focus of the battle had been changed to The battle between Yecheng and Xu County!

Yuan Xi got straight to the point: "If we disembark from the Bohai Sea and rush to Yecheng by land, I'm afraid we won't be able to make it in time."

"Mr. Gongyu previously proposed that we go from the mouth of the Yellow River to Yanzhou, Qingzhou, and finally disembark at Cangtingjin, south of Dongwuyang. I think it is the fastest and can save at least ten days."

"But the road is very dangerous. Not only will the Yanzhou section in the middle be attacked by Cao's army, but we also need Yuan Tan's permission to enter from the mouth of the Yellow River in Qingzhou."

"But he has not replied so far, but we can't afford to wait. In more than a day, the fleet will arrive at the mouth of the Yellow River in Lijin, Qingzhou."

"There must be Yuan Tanjun guarding there. I would like to ask you, how to deal with it then?"

Zhao Yun said: "Just inform them."

"If they dare to stop them, I will lead my own troops to kill them."

Taishi Ci smiled and said: "Zilong is still happy. At this time, if you don't stop, you will be disturbed."

After hearing this, everyone agreed and Yuan Xi said, "Okay!"

"Be ready for battle at any time, and anyone who dares to stop us will be killed without mercy!"

"I will bear the consequences!"

Everyone dispersed and reorganized their armaments. Jushou looked at the map and sighed: "It would be great if the chasm can pass large ships, and it won't be such a big circle."

The chasm was dug by the Wei State during the Spring and Autumn Period to connect the Yellow River and the Huaihe River. If Yuan Xi's fleet could use its passage, it would save nearly ten days.

But in the Eastern Han Dynasty, as the sediment brought by the Yellow River increased day by day, the divide became increasingly blocked, and the water level became low due to drought and other reasons. Especially during the dry season of autumn and winter, many places and river beds bottomed out, making it even more unsuitable for large ships to pass.

After Yuan Xi and Jushou discussed it, they could only choose the route out of the Huai River. Otherwise, if hundreds of ships were unable to advance or retreat in the shallow water gap, they would be completely ruined.

Yuan Xi sighed: "Did Cao Cao even consider this?"

Jushou nodded and said, "Cao Cao is indeed a powerful enemy."

"But when fighting, the temple is only one part. There are countless surprises and opportunities for remediation. Everything may change the final result. There is no need to be discouraged, Sir."

After hearing this, Yuan Xi solemnly said: "Sir, what you said is that you have learned a lesson."

"Sir, the talents of all of you are no less than those of Cao Ying's counselors. I will do my best to live up to you!"

(End of this chapter)