Yuan Shao, the father of Fanghua in the Three Kingdoms

625 Balance of Interests
Yuan Xi and Lu Xun stood on the temporary wooden building, holding telescopes to observe the battlefield situation, while looking at the fireworks rising from time to time in the distance.

Lu Xun recognized the fireworks signal, and after careful consideration, he asked the soldiers to also start setting off fireworks.

Two or three fireworks continued to rise into the sky and exploded. Yuan Xi knew that when these signals were sent out, they should be seen by the other three friendly forces.

Looking down from a high altitude, several troops of the Jizhou Army began to mobilize on the battlefield when they saw the fireworks signal.

Lu Xun's command level is actually not as sophisticated as the combination of Xun Chen and Chen Qun, but his advantage lies in the real-time transmission of fireworks signals.

The counselor receives the intelligence, makes a decision, and then passes the order to the front line. As time goes by, most of the day may have passed. The battlefield situation has changed a long time ago. Maybe the previous decision no longer works. It was originally correct. An incredible decision may turn out to be a foolish move as circumstances change.

If a counselor wants to avoid this situation, he must predict the enemy's movements in advance and give the frontline generals temporary decision-making power to decide whether to adopt the previous strategy.

Either the counselor can predict local trends and make predictive strategies in advance to restrain the enemy, but this requires too much ability of the counselor. After all, no one can guarantee that reality and prediction will be exactly the same.

But now Lu Xun can rely on the transmission of fireworks signals to sense battlefield trends in real time and make decisions in a short time. Using fireworks signals to transmit them is equivalent to personally commanding in front of the battle.

The advantage of this is that it can grasp the situation of multiple battlefields at the same time, so as to maximize their cooperation in combat and accumulate advantages on the battlefield.

Therefore, even though Lu Xun's strategic ability was slightly inferior to that of Xun You and others, relying on the huge advantage of information transmission, he still gradually led the situation between the enemy and ourselves on the battlefield to a situation that was beneficial to several parties!
Zhang He and Wen Chou had already united their troops, and the Cao army on the opposite side had also united their troops. However, due to the width of the battlefield, the formation could not be deployed effectively, and the effect was obviously not as good as that of the Jizhou army.

Taishi's road was at a slight disadvantage for imprisoning Cao Xiu, so Taishi Ci retreated a few miles. He was very cautious when facing the approaching Cao army, fearing that he would be flanked by the opposite flank, so he fought steadily and adopted a defensive posture.

On Yu Jin and Cao Xiu's side, after fighting for a long time, news came for the first time that Cao's army had the advantage on both wings. After hearing this, Cao Xiu felt relieved and advanced with Yu Jin.

The two chased for several miles, but unexpectedly two cavalrymen rushed out. It was Yan Rouxian Yufu who rushed thousands of miles away to help!

Although most of the Youzhou cavalry fell behind due to the rapid march, and the first to arrive were unarmored light cavalry, these nearly two thousand horse archers who suddenly entered the battlefield still put great pressure on Cao's army.

They only harassed and fired arrows on the flanks, which made Cao's army miserable. Fortunately, Yu Jin had rich experience in dealing with it and immediately deployed shield troops on both sides for defense, leaving the Chinese forward to Cao Xiu to advance.

In his eyes, as long as the opponent's main force Taishi Ci is defeated, the outcome of this battle will be decided!

Of course, Taishi Ci also knew the key to this battle. He immediately brought out all the strong bows and crossbows in front of the formation and fired fiercely. Together with the cavalry on both wings, the battle formation duel turned into a live exchange of bows and arrows.

After all, not everyone in Cao's army was wearing armor. They were unable to move forward in the face of the overwhelming rain of arrows. People kept falling. Seeing this, Yu Jin shouted to Cao Xiu: "If this continues, I'm afraid everyone will die before they can reach the front of the formation!"

"Have to think of a way!"

Cao Xiu gritted his teeth and said, "We've been beaten to this point, and we can't retreat anymore!"

"Right now, our group is the strongest enemy. As long as we hold on, the other three groups will surely come to save us if they win!"

"Hold on for a long time, no, two or three hours, wait for the friendly forces to come to help, and the winner will be decided!"

After Yu Jin heard this, he had to order his soldiers to take turns to make up for it, but he was also a little uneasy. At present, Cao's army had the advantage in the other three routes, but would things really develop so smoothly?

Xu Huang once again struggled to push back Xu Chu who rushed into the formation. He only felt that his hands and feet were so weak that he could hardly hold the ax in his hand.

He gasped for breath and retreated. From the corner of his eye, he saw Yuan Xi on the high building. He found that the face on the other side was as usual, so he turned his head and prepared for the next battle.

Xu Huang didn't know when the reinforcements would come, or even whether they could come. After all, even Zhao Yun was dispatched, but they couldn't make up for the numerical disadvantage on the battlefield.

Cao Jun, led by Xu Chu and Li Dian, brought considerable damage to Youzhou Army with every wave of attack. Although Cao Jun also suffered a lot of casualties, if the exchange continues like this, Cao Jun will undoubtedly make a profit. After all, they can afford the exchange with more people. .

Xu Chu returned to the formation, reported back to Xiahou Dun, and said, "The enemy army can hardly hold on any longer!"

"As long as Mancheng and I charge into the formation two more times, the other side will definitely collapse!"

Xiahou Dun couldn't hide the joy on his face. He could naturally see that the Youzhou Army on the opposite side was at the end of its war effort!
But what he couldn't figure out was why the Youzhou cavalry went to support Taishi Ci instead of here?
But now he can't help but think too much. The outcome of the situation is now in his own hands. The top priority is to charge into the battle with all his strength and defeat the enemy as quickly as possible!
Xiahou Dun thought of this and said solemnly to Xu Chu: "Success or failure depends on this one move. You and Mancheng charge into the formation, and I will support you in the middle army and press forward together!"

After Xu Chu heard this, he loudly received his order, got on his horse, and rushed out of the camp with his soldiers. His impact greatly increased the pressure on the Jizhou soldiers and they couldn't help but retreat.

Xiahou Dun saw it and saw that he had indeed led his soldiers to support Xu Chu. He thought that as long as he gave him one more stick of incense, he would be able to seal the victory!But at this moment, he heard commotions and shouts coming from the military formation behind him.

The sound gradually became louder and came over, making Xiahou Dun's hands and feet feel cold.

"Enemy attack!"

"We were attacked from behind!"

"So many enemies!"

"Turn around!"

Xiahou Dun quickly returned to the army. While shouting down the chaotic sergeants, he led his people to the rear army quickly. What he saw next made his eyes darken.

The soldiers who suddenly came from behind were flying the banner of Jizhou Army!

Looking at the number of people rushing towards the opposite side, there must be at least thousands of people!
A thought flashed through Xiahou Dun's mind. Why didn't Xun You and others, who were on both sides of Cao's camp, send a warning?

But now he had no time to think about it, so he could only shout loudly: "Arrange the rear troops to block the enemy!"

Gao Lan endured the pain from the wound on his back, rode his horse and charged towards Xiahou Dun with his gun drawn.

Previously, with the cooperation of Yuan Shang, after he killed Shi Huan, Cao's army collapsed. The Jizhou army was busy watching and killing the defeated troops, looting baggage, and the battlefield was in chaos.

After Gao Lan saw this, he decisively returned to the central army and advised Yuan Shang that he should not waste time cleaning the battlefield, but should immediately go north to attack Cao's army's retreat!
Otherwise, some of these defeated Cao troops will report to various Cao troops. If Cao troops are alerted, their intention to sneak attack on the rear army will be exposed, and the results of the battle will be greatly reduced!
Yuan Shang immediately confirmed Gao Lan's idea and asked him to lead most of the main force to immediately attack the rear of Xiahou Dun's army. He supported the central army, leaving only a few hundred people to clean up the battlefield.

Gao Lan immediately marched his army for more than ten miles, and finally successfully attacked the back of Xiahou Dun's army, leaving it surrounded from both sides and trapped in a desperate situation!
Yuan Xi saw Yuan Shang coming from the watchtower, and finally felt relieved with a knowing smile on his face.

This time, due to various reasons, the cards in my hand were really not very good. After throwing them all on the card table, my chance of winning was actually less than half.

But the good news is that Yuan Shang's backup finally worked.

Those in Cao Ying's camp may not understand why the Yuan brothers, who were at odds with each other before, suddenly reconciled, and even Yuan Shang risked his life to personally lead his troops into battle.

But what Yuan Xi saw slightly more clearly than his opponent was that no matter how miserable Yuan Shang was, he was still Yuan Shao's son. His actions were indeed a bit despicable, but at such a critical moment, he could still distinguish the serious from the serious.

After all, from Yuan Shang's point of view, if Yuan Xi loses, Yuan Shang will not only have no benefits, but will also face a series of negative consequences.

His attitude of sitting idly by in such a battle will definitely be exploited by Yuan Tan's side. If Yuan Shao dies and cannot suppress the Yecheng nobles, Yuan Shang will lose power.

Both Yuan Xi and Yuan Shang understand that Yuan Shang's power in Yecheng is actually far inferior to Yuan Tan. This is because many nobles in Yecheng support Yuan Tan, not Yuan Shang!
Although Yuan Shang was Yuan Shao's designated successor, in order to suppress the Jizhou nobles and prevent them from taking over the throne, Yuan Shao adopted the method of employing foreign nobles and suppressing the local nobles.

This approach is actually used by all the princes in the world, including Cao Cao and Liu Bei, which is not surprising.

But the bad thing is that when Yuan Shao was alive, he could still suppress the Jizhou gentry, but what if he died?
His designated successor, Yuan Shang, naturally had most of his closest friends and relatives from outside the country. The local nobles could not see a way out, so they all joined Yuan Tan.

As long as Yuan Shao dies, these Jizhou nobles will definitely join forces to support Yuan Tan and fight against Yuan Shang in order to seek greater benefits!

Yuan Xi believed that Yuan Shang had already understood this truth, so when he had a deep conversation with Yuan Shang, he did not try to emphasize this point because it was unnecessary.

What he wanted Yuan Shang to understand was that it was very important for Yuan Shang to personally lead the troops to repel Cao's army.

This not only allowed Yuan Shangbo to gain the reputation of protecting Yecheng and let the Jizhou nobles share their feelings, but also allowed him to take advantage of the military merit awards to re-arrange the positions of Yecheng officials and subordinates after this battle, and justifiably replace them with his confidants. And he can use this to prove to the world that he is qualified as the heir of the Yuan family.

Otherwise, who would be willing to rely on a coward hiding in the city during a crucial battle?

Under Yuan Xi's words of encouragement and encouragement, Yuan Shang was not so much fooled as he finally figured out a truth.

If you want to get something, you must take it with your own hands, otherwise everyone will look down on you and will not sincerely join you.

(End of this chapter)