At the end of the Han Dynasty: a stingy husband from his hometown

Chapter 217 Xun You designed to defeat Gongsun
When being interviewed by Liu Bei alone, Zhuge Jin lost his sharpness as before and began to become humble and polite.

The reason for this is that the Zhuge family in Langya at that time was far less prominent than in history. In addition, Xuzhou was the place where the Fourth War was fought. The Zhuge family had lived in Xuzhou for generations and was in a worrying situation.

Zhuge Jin changed from his normal behavior at the banquet and became so sharp. In addition to really wanting to share Liu Bei's worries, he also intended to use this as a way to advance into the army.

Although Zhuge Jin was young, he was keenly aware that Liu Bei did not lack good generals, but only counselors.

As long as you perform well enough, you may not be unable to be appreciated by Liu Bei and rise to the top in one step.

He looked at Liu Bei with a sad face, but did not express his thoughts directly, but also sighed: "Xuzhou is indeed the place of the Four Wars, and the neighboring princes are all powerful."

"As the lord of Xuzhou, your Majesty, who among the neighboring princes can be your friend and who must be your enemy?"

Liu Bei pondered for a long time and then said: "Xuzhou and Cao Cao have a blood feud that cannot be resolved. Sooner or later there will be a life and death battle. We cannot be friends."

"Yuan Shao has the potential to sweep across Hebei. If he goes south in the future, Xuzhou will be the first to bear the brunt. Unless I abandon Xuzhou's foundation, I cannot be a friend."

"As for Yuan Gongli and Zhou Ziyi, they are still elusive."

"Although I am separated from Gongsun Bogui, I still have a friendship after all, which may be used as foreign aid."

After listening to Liu Bei's words, Zhuge Jin already knew what the other party was thinking, and immediately started to make plans.

Zhuge Jin said: "As the envoy said, Yuan Benchu ​​and Cao Mengde cannot be friends. Sooner or later they will definitely seek Xuzhou."

"As for Yuan Gongdao, although he comes from the Yuan family in Runan, he has a false reputation. He is arrogant by nature, blind and arrogant, and has no position to speak of."

"If my prediction is correct, he will take Xuzhou sooner or later."

When Liu Bei heard this, he felt awe-inspiring in his heart.

In fact, long before Mi Zhu welcomed Liu Bei as the shepherd of Xuzhou, Chen Qun had advised Liu Bei that Yuan Shu was so powerful that if he took Xuzhou from the east, he would fight with him.

Liu Bei was eager to have his own territory, and considering that the two sides were nominal allies after all and were attacking Cao Cao together, he didn't take it seriously.

Unexpectedly, Zhuge Jin actually made this assertion, so Liu Bei had to pay attention to it.

If Yuan Shu can't rely on him as an ally, then the only ones Liu Bei can rely on are Tian Kai and Kong Rong.

Not to mention that the former was slightly unhappy with Liu Bei. Even if the other party was really willing to help Liu Bei, Yuan Shao's offensive in Qingzhou continued, and Tian Kai was unable to do so.

As for Kong Rong, he couldn't even defeat the Yellow Turban Army, so how could he count on him?
Seeing the sad look on Liu Bei's face, Zhuge Jin advised him at the right time: "General, there is no need to worry too much."

Liu Bei smiled bitterly and said: "Strong enemies are looking around, but I live in Xuzhou and fight every day. How can I not worry?"

Zhuge Jin comforted him and said, "Don't forget, there is a powerful prince in the south."

Liu Bei's expression moved slightly and he said, "But the chariot general Zhou Ziyi?"

Zhuge Jin nodded.

Liu Bei smiled bitterly and said: "The Chariot and Cavalry Generals are indeed powerful, but I have no friendship with them. It's fine if they don't plan to seize Xuzhou. How can they make enemies of other princes for my sake?"

Zhuge Jin shook his head and said, "What you said is wrong."

"Looking at the current situation, the two most powerful princes are divided into the north and the south. Yuan Benchu ​​has the tendency to unify Hebei, but Zhou Ziyi has the intention to annex the south of the Yangtze River."

"If what I predict is correct, the two of us will definitely regard each other as lifelong enemies in the future."

"Yuan Benchu ​​used the emperor to command the princes this time in an attempt to prevent Zhou Zi from entering Shu. This can be seen from this."

"If Yuan Benchu ​​is allowed to occupy all the land north of the Yangtze River, even if Zhou Ziyi takes over the four southern states, who is stronger and weaker between the two?"

Liu Bei said directly without any hesitation: "Of course Yuan Benchu ​​is strong and Zhou Zi is weak."

Zhuge Jin nodded and said: "Although the north has suffered from war since the Yellow Turban Rebellion, resulting in a large loss of household registration, the population of the Central Plains and the north will eventually far exceed that of the south."

"Moreover, most aristocratic families are gathered in the north. Yuan Benchu ​​was born in the Yuan family in Runan. He was the fourth generation of the Three Dukes, and he used the emperor to control the princes. The talents under his command must far surpass Zhou Ziyi."

"What would you do if you were put in a different situation than Zhou Zi?"

Liu Bei pondered for a moment, then his eyes widened and he said: "Of course we are looking for allies!"

Zhuge Jin smiled and nodded, "That's exactly it."

"Cao Cao only followed Yuan Benchu's lead. If the general of chariots and cavalry wants to find an ally, he must find an ally between the envoy and Yuan Gongdao."

"Although Yuan Gongdao and Yuan Benchu ​​are not on good terms, they are brothers of the same clan after all. Moreover, he is greedy, arrogant, and has a volatile temperament. He is not the best candidate for an ally."

"On the other hand, the envoy has an excellent reputation and occupies an important military location such as Xuzhou."

"If Yuan Benchu ​​did not annex Xuzhou, he would not easily go south to confront Zhou Ziyi. Yuan Benchu ​​knew this, and Zhou Ziyi naturally knew it too."

"Therefore, if Yuan Benzhu attacks Xuzhou, the chariot and cavalry generals will not sit idly by."

When Liu Bei heard this, he felt mixed joy and sorrow.

Fortunately, with Zhou Qi as his backing, at least he wouldn't have to face the behemoth Yuan Shao alone.

The worry is that although Zhou Qi will send troops to help Xuzhou, he ultimately regards this place as a bridgehead to resist Yuan Shao. Xuzhou may be in constant war in the future.

But soon, he said dejectedly: "But now, Yuan Benchu ​​is suppressing me with the emperor's edict. If I don't send troops to Yangzhou, I will be disloyal to the court; if I send troops to Yangzhou, Zhou Ziyi will definitely be resentful."

When Zhuge Jin heard this, he smiled and said, "This is easy."

"You can put up more flags, send [-] troops, deceive them into [-], and attack Yangzhou with great fanfare."

"But the envoy secretly sent someone to see the general of chariots and cavalry in advance, informing the other party that sending troops was a helpless move, and secretly entered into an alliance. In this way, he would not violate the imperial edict, but would not have any grudge against the generals of chariots and cavalry. Isn't this the best of both worlds? "

"I predict that Yuan Benchu ​​will not allocate money and food to Xuzhou. At that time, the envoy could use Xuzhou's food supply as an excuse to lead his troops to retreat, and he would not be blamed."

Liu Bei was overjoyed when he heard this. He immediately held Zhuge Jin's hands tightly and said, "Tzuyu, are you willing to go on a mission to Jingzhou for me?"

Zhuge Jin said: "I am willing to do my best to make you a dog and a horse!"

Liu Bei was delighted to have acquired such a great talent as Zhuge Jin. Unfortunately, Zhuge Jin was not Zhuge Liang after all, and he had not yet reached the height he had reached in his own history.

Although Zhuge Jin's plan can solve the temporary crisis for Liu Bei and point him in the direction, he can find a backer like Zhou Qi.

However, this kind of plan can only allow Liu Bei to be trapped in Xuzhou and become a pawn in the game between other powerful princes.

If the adult Zhuge Liang was planning for Liu Bei, it would probably have a different ending.

It's a pity that Zhuge Liang is still too young after all. What will happen to the world situation when the other party really grows up to be able to stand alone?

Let’s not forget that Liu Bei raised troops to attack Yangzhou with great fanfare, but secretly sent Zhuge Jin as an envoy to Jingzhou.

At the same time, Yuan Shu was weighing the pros and cons. When he saw Liu Bei sending troops to attack Zhou Qi, and Cao Cao began to worry about his future, he immediately stopped hesitating and directly mobilized all Yuzhou troops to attack Jiangxia County.

The reason why Yuan Shu did not attack Xiangyang was because he knew that Xiangyang was difficult to fight.

Jizhou, Yecheng, General Mansion.

Seeing that Yuan Shu, Cao Cao, and Liu Bei all acted as Xun You expected, Yuan Shao couldn't help but become more serious about Xun You, saying: "I want to go to the north to conquer Gongsun Zan and unify Hebei, is that okay?"

Xun You said in admiration: "The general is indeed a wise monarch, and he agrees with what you want!"

When Yuan Shao heard this, he couldn't help but look pleased, and he stroked his beard with a proud look.

Seeing that Yuan Shao was in a good mood, Xun You continued: "If the general wants to conquer Gongsun Zan, he must first allocate soldiers, horses, money and food, which will cost at least more than a month. I have a plan to make Youzhou free without fighting while the general allocates money and food. There was chaos, and Gongsun Zan had no time to take care of himself."

In fact, according to Xun You's thinking, it was not a wise move to attack Gongsun Zan with a large army at this time.

Although Gongsun Zan lost people's hearts after killing Liu Yu.

However, Youzhou and Jizhou fought many times, and countless people in Youzhou died on the battlefield. The people of Youzhou did not have a good impression of Yuan Shao.

Once Yuan Shao raises troops to attack Youzhou at this time, it will push those who are dissatisfied with Gongsun Zan to oppose Jizhou, which is obviously not a wise move.However, Xun You was not like Tian Feng or Ju Shu. He would try to figure out the monarch's feelings before admonishing him, and would not offend the monarch by directly admonishing him.

In this way, not only will it fail to serve as a remonstrance, it will even cause the monarch to be dissatisfied.

When Yuan Shao heard this, he immediately became interested and asked, "What good plan does Gongda have?"

Xun You said: "Gongsun Zan killed Liu Yu, the shepherd of Youzhou, and greatly lost the hearts of the people. Liu Yu's old tribe and the Wuhuan people all felt resentful."

"When the general is preparing food and fodder, he can send eloquent people with heavy gifts and official positions conferred by the court to instigate them to lead troops to attack Gongsun Zan."

"No matter who wins or loses in the confrontation between the two, once the result is determined, the general can lead his army to capture the entire territory of Youzhou and reap the benefits."

When Yuan Shao heard this, he couldn't help but be overjoyed and said: "Gongda Zhenwu's son's wife!"

It has to be said that counselors like Xun You are indeed good at grasping people's hearts.

If he had directly spoken out against Yuan Shao's proposal to attack Gongsun Zan, and then said something about inciting Liu Yu's old tribe to rebel, Yuan Shao would definitely be displeased.

After such processing, Xun You's strategy became a supplement to Yuan Shao's attack on Youzhou, and it also catered to Yuan Shao's character of being very happy about success, and directly drew a big cake, which naturally made Yuan Shao very happy.

But it is said that after Gongsun Zan killed Liu Yu and gained the entire Youzhou, he became increasingly arrogant, disrespectful of the people, forgetful of his faults and good deeds, and will surely retaliate.

Unexpectedly, Gongsun Zan's various atrocities made Liu Yu's old tribe and the people of Youzhou feel a huge gap, and the seeds of hatred took root in their hearts.

this day.

While working under Liu Yu's account, Xian Yufu, a native of Yuyang, secretly summoned his younger brother Xian Yuyin and said: "Liu Shijun treated us very kindly during his lifetime, but he was killed by Gongsun Zan. After Peter Youzhou, he did not know how to show consideration for the people. , On the contrary, they are arrogant, extravagant and licentious, and impose excessive taxes and expropriations, causing the people to live in dire straits.”

"I want to unite with the envoy's old troops and summon the soldiers and horses in the state to fight against Gongsun's traitors. In order to avenge the envoy, are you willing to help me?"

Hearing this, Xian Yuyin almost didn't hesitate at all, and said directly in a deep voice: "Even if you are so kind to you, even if you are broken into pieces and your body is broken, it is difficult to repay you. How can I refuse?"

Xian Yufu was overjoyed when he heard this and said: "In addition to us, the Wuhuan people have also been favored by the envoy and have a grudge against Gongsun Zan. They have been massacred and oppressed by Gongsun Zan in recent years."

"It was only because of Gongsun Zan's power and the brave soldiers and horses under his command that I didn't dare to resist."

"Yan Rou, a native of Yan, has won the trust of Wuhuan and Xianbei people. We can jointly appoint him as Wuhuan Sima for great things!"

When the two brothers were discussing a rebellion, someone suddenly came to report that an old friend was visiting.

Xian Yufu didn't know who was visiting, but he didn't dare to neglect and hurried to meet him. After seeing the face of the visitor clearly, his expression changed slightly.

He drew his sword in his hand and shouted sternly: "Shen Pei, how dare you come to my camp!"

But Shen Pei smiled slightly and said, "I came here with the emperor's edict, why is the general like this?"

When Xian Yufu heard this, he couldn't help but frown slightly and asked, "Where is the edict?"

Shen Pei calmly took out the edict from his arms and handed it to Xian Yufu. He said seriously: "The imperial court learned that Zongzheng Liu Youzhou was killed by Gongsun Zan and oppressed the people of Youzhou. Knowing that the general is a loyal man, he specially named the general as a protector of the black people. Captain Huan can gather troops in Youzhou to kill the rebellious Gongsun Zan."

"If Lieutenant Xian Yu needs help, he can ask for troops, horses, food and grass, and the imperial court will definitely help him."

Hearing this, Xian Yufu opened the edict and read the contents. His eyes flashed involuntarily, and he saluted, "Thank you so much for the court's love. I will fulfill my mission and kill Gongsun Zan to avenge Liu Youzhou!"

Xian Yufu didn't trust Yuan Shao very much, so he didn't mention the matter of food, grass, soldiers and horses.

But he said that Xian Yufu had the title of Colonel Hu Wuhuan, and he could do things more legitimately.

The two brothers went to visit Yan Rou and cried: "Shijun Liu treated the people of Youzhou kindly, and even the people of Xianbei and Wuhuan also received his kindness."

"Now that Liu Shijun has been killed by Gongsun Zan, the officials and people of Youzhou and the old people of Shijun are all weeping and gnashing their teeth."

"Since Gongsun Zan took possession of Youzhou, he has imposed exorbitant levies and expropriations, making the people miserable."

"Brother Yan is also a citizen of Youzhou, so he should feel the same way. The imperial court has conferred on me the title of Wuhuan Colonel. I want to worship Brother Yan as the Wuhuan Sima, recruit the envoy's old troops, and unite to attack Gongsun Zan and avenge Liu Envoy. , to avenge the people of Youzhou."

"I wonder if Brother Yan is willing to work with me to achieve great things?"

Yan Rou heard this and immediately said: "Since I am avenging Liu Shijun, I will not hesitate."

"A certain person has many contacts with the Wuhuan and Xianbei people. Xianyu Xiaowei first went to contact the envoy's old department, and a certain person went to contact the Xianbei and Wuhuan people."

Xian Yufu was overjoyed when he heard this. The three of them raised their arms and tried to lure the Wuhuan people to their advantage. They soon recruited tens of thousands of Hu and Han troops.

The three men led an army to attack Yuyang County. Zou Dan, the prefect of Yuyang, led his troops out of Lubei. He stepped forward on horseback, pointed at Xian Yufu and others from afar, and cursed: "How dare you invade our borders, traitors who are rebels against the country?"

Yan Rou clapped her horse and came out, pointed at Zou Dan and cursed: "General Xianyu is the Wuhuan Colonel who was personally appointed by the imperial court. You are no more than a pseudo-prefect under Gongsun Zan's command, yet you dare to speak nonsense here?"

Zou Dan was furious, stepped forward on horseback, and shouted: "Stop using your words, the traitor will die!"

Yan Rou was not afraid at all, and charged towards him with a gun. The two fought for more than ten times, but Zou Dan lost strength and fled with his horse.

Yan Rou shouted: "Don't leave, the traitor!"

The war horse under Yan Rou's lap was a gift from Master Xianbei. It was extremely fast, even though it was very rare in the entire Youzhou, and the two sides quickly closed the distance.

Zou Dan didn't escape for long before he was caught up by Yan Rou and stabbed him to death. Then he drew his sword and chopped off Zou Dan's head. He held it up in the air and shouted sternly: "The thief is dead. Please follow me and kill him." enemy!"

"kill!"

When tens of thousands of Han and Hu troops saw this, their morale greatly increased, and they charged forward on horseback.

On the other hand, when Zou Dan's subordinates saw that their general was dead, they dispersed one after another. Xian Yu sent his troops to cover up the killing. In order to avenge Liu Yu, they did not take prisoners at all and beheaded more than [-] people.

After the allied forces had a great victory in the first battle, Yan Rou immediately said: "The Wuhuan tribes are deeply afraid of Gongsun Zan's power and dare not bring troops to help. Today we have defeated Gongsun's generals. If we borrow troops from the Wuhuan tribes again, it will be miraculous."

Yan Rou sent people to borrow troops from King Wuhuanqiao.

Sure enough, King Wuhuanqiao felt grateful for Liu Yu's kindness, and seeing that Gongsun Zan's men were so vulnerable, he immediately led his fellow clan members and more than [-] Xianbei cavalry to join forces with Xian Yufu, and went south to meet Liu Yu's son Liu. and, regard him as the master.

When Liu He arrived, Yuan Shao took the opportunity to announce that he was the governor of Youzhou.

Liu He raised his arms and shouted, and officials and people from all over Youzhou responded one after another. In a short time, hundreds of thousands of people gathered.

Yuan Shao even asked his general Ju Yi to lead his troops to help. The two sides joined forces and defeated Gongsun Zan in Baoqiu. He took no prisoners and beheaded more than [-] people.

Seeing Gongsun Zan's defeat, Daijun, Guangyang, Shanggu, and Youbeiping each killed the officials appointed by Gongsun Zan and joined forces with Xian Yufu and Liu Hebing.

Gongsun Zan was defeated repeatedly in battles and fled back to Yijing. The army was short of food and grass, so he could only make ends meet by setting up farmland.

At this time, Xian Yufu and others had other ideas. They were not in a hurry to destroy Gongsun Zan. Instead, they occupied the land of six counties, and then submitted a petition to Yuan Shao to claim vassalage.

Qu Yi had only a few thousand men under his command, so it was difficult to conquer Yi Jing.

After the news came back to Yecheng, Xun You immediately said to Yuan Shao: "General, it's time to mobilize all the troops in Jizhou and go to destroy Gongsun Zan."

Yuan Shao hesitated at this time and said: "Gongsun Zan's defeat has been determined, with Xian Yufu and others on his side, and there is a severe drought this year, why waste money and food and lead an army to go on an expedition?"

Xun You said: "The so-called centipede insect is dead but not stiff."

"Although Gongsun Zan has been defeated in consecutive battles, he still has tens of thousands of troops. Xian Yufu and others have their own agenda. They only want to occupy the counties in Youzhou and are unwilling to spend their troops to attack Gongsun Zan."

"If things continue like this, even if the general annihilates Gongsun Zan in the future, he will still make wedding clothes for others!"

Xun You's words are not alarmist.

Historically, it took three years for Yuan Shao to make up his mind to completely eliminate Gongsun Zan. As soon as he eliminated Gongsun Zan, he couldn't wait to launch the Battle of Guandu.

At that time, the six counties of Youzhou were nominally under the jurisdiction of Yuan Shao, but in fact they were controlled by Xian Yufu and others.

Even Xian Yufu and others stabbed Yuan Shao in the back and took the initiative to defect to Cao Cao, causing Yuan Shao to be attacked from both sides.

(End of this chapter)