Yuan Shao, the father of Fanghua in the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 602
When Zhao Yun saw Cao Ying's men entering Lei Bo Chen Lan's camp, he initially wanted to launch a surprise attack and defeat them while both sides were weak in defense.

But after thinking about it again and again, Zhao Yun decided to wait and see for the time being, because the actions on the other side were really a bit abnormal.

Logically speaking, with this army, Cao Cao had no reason not to devote it to the battlefield in Jizhou, but he placed it in Jibei County at the junction of Qingzhou and Yanzhou. What's the reason?
Until Cao Ying's people left, Zhao Yun did not take any action for the sake of caution. After thinking for a long time, he decided to bypass this place to the north, and Cong Pingyuan Kingdom of Qingzhou entered Qinghe County of Jizhou, and then entered Wei County.

The reason for this is that Zhao Yun was unable to detect whether there were other forces in Yanzhou. Facing an enemy several times his own, it was not suitable to march along the river, so he bypassed Lei Bo and Chen Lan's garrison and rushed to Yecheng. Dealing with Yuan Xi from behind is the best way at the moment.

Zhao Yun ordered the entire army to march quietly. It took three days to bypass the pass in Jibei County and enter Pingyuan Country from Taishan County. Although it took some time, as long as they entered Jizhou, there would be a vast plain. We can arrive at Yecheng in a day.

But at this moment, a spy reported that there was something strange happening at the pass of Jibei County ahead!
Zhao Yun was stunned. Has his whereabouts been discovered?

He quickly ordered the whole army to lurk, and he took his people to a high place to check. However, he saw people pouring out at the junction of mountains and ridges in Jibei County in the distance. Zhao Yun looked carefully and became even more surprised.

Because the soldiers who came out were not using the banner of Lei Bo and Chen Lan, but the banner of Yuan Tanjun!

Logically speaking, if Yuan Tanjun wanted to rush back to Yecheng from Xiapi, he had to bypass Yanzhou, so he could only take the route from Xuzhou to Donghai and Langya counties, and then through the Taishan Mountains to Qingzhou and Beihai.

But in this way, the marching route could not help but be extremely long, and there were many detours. The marching distance would take an extra 20 days.

The appearance of this army here means that it did not take this route, but entered Taishan County of the East China Sea from the East China Sea and went directly to Jibei County!
This greatly shortens the route and saves a lot of time, but it also means another thing.

Yuan Tan and Cao Cao reached an ulterior agreement!
Moreover, when Cao Cao openly attacked Yecheng, he actually gave way to Yuan Tan's army to clear the marching route. What does this mean?
Zhao Yun vaguely felt that he seemed to know something terrible, but now he had another difficult choice before him.

How is he going to do it?
Should we continue marching to Yecheng without asking, or should we stay and do something else?
If he chooses the former, his marching route will already coincide with that of Yuan Tan's army, and the expected time to arrive at Yecheng will be much later. But if he chooses the latter, facing Yuan Tan's army whose purpose is unknown, can Zhao Yun really break up with him?

At the pass of Jibei County, Yuan Tan watched waves of soldiers passing by in formation, feeling extremely conflicted in his heart.

When he learned that Cao Cao had raided Yecheng, he realized that he had been tricked, but he had also received a lot of benefits before, so he could only admit that he was unlucky.

He wanted to rush back to Yecheng as soon as possible, but no matter how time he calculated, it was not as fast as Yuan Shang could go all the way back.

In the end, Yuan Tan had no choice but to send people to contact Cao Cao's forces in Taishan County with the idea of ​​giving it a try when passing through Taishan County.

The two parties had colluded before the attack on Xuzhou and soon contacted each other again. However, to Yuan Tan's surprise, Cao Ying actually agreed to his request for a passage and happily gave up the route from Taishan County. The passage to Jibei County!

When Yuan Tan heard it at first, he couldn't believe it. Could it be that the other party was cheating?

He invited Guo Tuxin to discuss the matter. Xin Ping thought about it again and again and said, "Cao Cao is cunning, so you really shouldn't trust him."

"When we attacked Yuan Shu before, although Cao Cao and Master Xian Yi had a falling out, there was no conflict with us, and it was still okay to negotiate with him."

"But now that he is attacking Yecheng brazenly, he has become the enemy of the Yuan family. If you do this at this time, even if you achieve your goal, how will you tell the difference when you come before Lord Benchu?"

Yuan Tan had a gloomy expression after hearing this, but Guo Tu shook his head and said, "Zhongzhi's words are wrong!"

"We need to understand why we are going back this time!"

"The reason why the army returned this time is because we want to fight for that position!"

"If, as the intelligence says, Duke Benchu ​​is ill and will die soon, then whoever gets to Yecheng first will be able to occupy Yecheng and become the Lord of Jizhou!"

"If it's later than others, then everything is over!"

After hearing this, Xin Ping also knew that Guo Tu meant to take a gamble, and if he didn't succeed, he would be benevolent.

Because according to the current route, it is too late anyway, and if Cao Jun gives way to Yanzhou, the army can enter Pingyuan Kingdom from Taishan County, then cross the Yellow River and rush directly to Yecheng, saving at least ten days of time.

Everyone knew very well and said they were rushing back for rescue, but according to Yecheng's strength, normally, there would be no problem in blocking for a month.

So the key to the matter became the question of who rushed back first, Yuan Tan or Yuan Shang.

For Yuan Tan, if Yuan Shao is seriously ill, he can take control of Yecheng, but when Yuan Shao dies, doesn't Yuan Tan have the final say?

On the other hand, if Yuan Shang arrived, Yuan Tan would have no choice but to return to Qingzhou sadly and live in a single place from then on.

After hearing Guo Tu's words, Yuan Tan's expression changed several times. He finally made up his mind and punched the table, "Okay, I'll take the gamble!"

"If you are deceived by this guy Cao Cao, the worst thing you can do is fight him to the death!"

Seeing that Yuan Tan was already paying attention, Xin Ping could only accept the order together with Guo Tu.

However, the process of passing through the two counties was unexpectedly smooth. Only when passing through the pass of Jibei County, Yuan Tan discovered that the other party had so many troops stationed here, and he couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat.

Because although the troops on the opposite side are not as strong as Yuan Tan's army, if they occupy key areas and launch a surprise attack, Yuan Tan's army will inevitably suffer heavy losses!

But there was no action on the other side. Yuan Tan's army passed the pass without any danger and headed straight for the plain.

Yuan Tan urged the soldiers to march quickly, and they traveled 67 miles in a day and a night before the exhausted soldiers could set up camp. Calculating the distance, he only needed to march another [-] miles tomorrow to reach the Yellow River ferry in Pingyuan Country, and then they could cross the river!

At this time, Xin Ping walked in with a worried look on his face and said to Yuan Tan: "Your Majesty, I always feel that something is wrong with this matter." "If Cao Cao really wanted to attack Ye City, how could he allow us to pass so easily? "

"I calculated the time. If we march normally, Shijun and Master Xianfu should arrive at Yecheng at the same time."

"So I had a half-baked idea."

"Did Cao Cao deliberately create this situation?"

"According to Cao Cao's strength, it would have been impossible to capture Yecheng within a month, especially after the two armies returned for reinforcements."

"I guess that its real purpose is to make the envoy and Prince Xianfu fight, thereby weakening the Yuan family's power, so that he can have the opportunity to plot against Jizhou!"

Yuan Tan was startled and his face became serious. What Xin Ping said seemed to make sense!
If this is the case, Yuan Shao is seriously ill, and he and Yuan Shang will definitely start a fight after they rush back to Yecheng. This will indeed give Cao Cao an opportunity!
At this time Guo Tu walked in and said: "I actually agree with Zhongzhi's idea."

"But has Zhongzhi ever thought about how we will deal with it in the future even if this is the case?"

"Should we continue our journey as usual, or should we rush back slowly to avoid conflict with Yuan Shang?"

"If we arrive later than Yuan Shang, will he let us enter the city?"

"If it's true, we might as well return to Qingzhou now!"

Xin Ping hesitated, and he naturally understood that what Guo Tu said was right.

Yuan Shang will never let Yuan Tan enter the city. As long as he arrives late, it means failure.

Guo Tu said in a deep voice: "Now we have no way out, and Yuan Shang will never tolerate us. Only by getting to Yecheng before Yuan Shang can we have a chance."

Xin Pingshen said: "There is another variable."

"Yuan Xianyi."

"He goes by water, which is probably the fastest."

Guo Tu nodded, "Yes, but in my opinion, if Cao Cao really wants to cause internal strife in the Yuan family, he must not let the fierce tiger get his way."

"Cao Cao did throw us a bait that we had to eat, which was to make the three sons fight. But now we have no other choice but to eat it first."

"As for whether he will be poisoned to death, that is a matter for the future."

"We originally had no hope of competing for the position of the head of the family. Now that this opportunity is in front of us, will you give up?"

After hearing this, Yuan Tan suddenly stood up and said, "How is that possible!"

"Break camp early tomorrow morning, rush to Pingyuan Pier, and have the whole army cross the river!"

"When the time comes, no matter whether it is Xianfu or Xianyi who stands in front of me, I will defeat them all!"

Guo Tu and Xin Ping heard this and thought that this was indeed the only and best opportunity for their faction!
However, early the next morning, the army broke out of camp and headed to Pingyuan Pier. They were shocked to find that the piers on both sides of the river had been destroyed and there were no ships at all!
Yuan Tan immediately sent people to investigate upstream and downstream, and the news that came back made him instantly depressed.

Previously, an army was divided into four branches on both sides of the river and marched in two directions along the Yellow River, destroying all the docks along the coast!

Yuan Tan was furious when he heard that the ships were either burned or carried down the river, but in the end he had no choice but to follow Xin Ping's suggestion. While looking for a suitable ferry, he cut down trees on the spot to make rafts and forcibly crossed the river.

After all, although this move would take several days, rebuilding the dock and finding a ship would be even more unreliable, so it was a last resort.

What makes Yuan Tan even more puzzled is where did this force come from?

However, Yuan Xi did not know what was happening in Pingyuan at this time. He was taking the opportunity to rectify the hidden dangers in Yecheng.

All the Taiping Taoist alchemists were found one by one, many of whom were members of wealthy families, but Yuan Xi still ignored their pleas and detained them for interrogation, hoping to learn the enemy's intentions.

He said to Xun Chen in front of him: "Mr. Lao has to deal with this matter."

Xun Chen smiled bitterly and said, "By doing this, isn't it like putting me on the fire to roast me?"

Yuan Xi pretended to be surprised: "Huh?"

"Sir, weren't you on the fire before?"

After hearing this, Xun Chen sighed, "Your Majesty, you have really impressed me in recent years."

"What exactly do you want me to do?"

(End of this chapter)