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

Chapter 319 Zhou Qi worships the general and teaches Zhuge the sword

Jizhou, Yecheng.

When Zhong Yao, Shen Pei, and Yuan Ba ​​returned one after another and informed Yuan Shao that Cao Cao, Liu Bei, and Shi Xie had been persuaded, everyone in the civil and military circles of Zhao State was in joy.

Yuan Shao was high-spirited and said in a deep voice: "Everything is ready. I will lead the army to march south and destroy the Chu Kingdom in one fell swoop. Who among the generals is willing to be the vanguard?"

As soon as Yuan Shao finished speaking, Chunyu Qiong jumped out impatiently and said: "The last general is not talented, but I am willing to be a pioneer!"

Chunyu Qiong was born in the Yingchuan noble clan. She was appointed by Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty long ago as the right captain among the eight captains of Xiyuan. She was close friends with Yuan Shao and Cao Cao.

However, Chunyu Qiong was self-aware and knew that it would be difficult for him to become a prince, so he followed Yuan Shao early on and worked under him for many years, achieving a high status.

As one of the leaders of the Yingchuan faction, Chunyu Qiong has now spoken, and the other generals do not dare to argue with him even if they are ready to move.

The most important thing is that Yuan Shao has discussed with his counselors before that this time the southern expedition to Chu must cross the natural dangers of the Huaihe River and the Han River.

The problem that Jia Xu could see was naturally also seen by Yuan Shao's counselors, that is, the Northern Army was not good at water warfare. If the main battlefield was placed on the Huaihe River or the Han River, it would be very detrimental to Yuan's army.

In this case, they simply attacked Nanyang County first and designed to attract the main force of Chu State to Nanyang for a decisive battle with Yuan's army.

In this way, Yuan Jun can use his strengths and avoid weaknesses, and after defeating the main force of Chu, he can then cross the Han River and take Xiangyang directly.

There are two routes to attack Nanyang. One is to attack Nanyang from Runan.

However, Runan borders Jingzhou and Yangzhou. Jiangxia County, Lujiang County, and Jiujiang County all have heavy troops stationed there, and there are also famous generals from Chu State guarding them.

Once Zhang He leads Runan soldiers and horses to invade Nanyang, the above three Chu soldiers and horses may take advantage of the opportunity and attack Runan.

After the ministers discussed it, they finally decided that Runan's troops should not move rashly.

In addition, Yuan Jun can also attack Nanyang from Yingchuan.

Although Ying's population was once plundered by Cao Cao, there were many aristocratic families here, and many people couldn't leave their hometown, so most of them chose to stay.

Cao Cao did not dare to force them too much and could only let them go.

The power of the aristocratic family should not be underestimated, and it also hid a large number of people, retaining some vitality for Yingchuan.

After Yuan Shao occupied Yingchuan, the scholars of the Yingchuan faction under him would naturally seek the welfare of their hometown, so people continued to move to Yingchuan.

Today, although Yingchuan has not returned to its previous prosperity, it has gradually developed.

Chunyu Qiong is the first person to lead the troops of the Yingchuan faction under Yuan Shao. This time he conquers Nanyang, Yingchuan is the front line, and it is also the best choice to let the other party serve as the vanguard general.

Chunyu Qiong took the tiger talisman and immediately went to mobilize his troops.

After Chunyu Qiong left, Jushou said: "Your Majesty, the southern expedition to Chu is closely related, and the first battle must not be lost. Although Chunyu Qiong has led the army for many years, his temper is quite impatient. Zhou Ziyi has many famous generals under his command. If Chunyu Qiong leads the army alone, he may be unable to support himself."

"Gao Lan is a famous general in Hebei. He knows soldiers well and is brave and prudent. He can take on big responsibilities. Why doesn't your Majesty appoint him as the vanguard deputy general and follow Chunyu Qiong to the south?"

Yuan Shao pondered for a moment and immediately agreed.

However, Chunyu Qiong had just ordered his troops and horses when he saw Gao Lan leading the troops, and his face darkened.

Although the Yingchuan faction had considerable say in the court, most of the Zhao army was controlled by the generals of Hebei. As Gao Lan was one of the four pillars of Hebei, Chunyu Qiong naturally did not like him very much.

He shouted in a deep voice: "You broke into the military camp without permission. What did you do?"

Gao Lan didn't think highly of Chunyu Qiong. Without any nonsense, he directly took out Yuan Shao's appointment certificate and said: "Your Majesty is worried that the general will be unable to support himself alone, so he appointed me as the vanguard deputy general to accompany the general in the southern expedition!"

When Chunyu Qiong heard this, he immediately became furious and shouted: "When I served as the right school captain of Xiyuan, you were only a county official. How dare you point fingers in front of me?"

However, Gao Lan was not used to Chunyu Qiong and sneered: "This is your Majesty's appointment. If you don't accept it, you can submit a letter on your own."

"But until His Majesty has not dismissed a certain vanguard deputy general, I can also enter this military camp!"

Chunyu Qiong was furious, but there was nothing he could do against Gao Lan.

But it was said that the two of them led 30,000 infantry and cavalry and rushed to Yingchuan on a starry night. However, Yuan Shao himself recruited 300,000 troops and kept gathering towards Yingchuan.

Jingzhou, Xiangyang.

Zhou Qi looked at the information handed over by Chen Wen and said, "As expected by the military advisor, Yuan Benchu ​​really plans to fight Gujue to the death in Nanyang!"

Although Jia Xu had previously suggested that Zhou Qi should prepare Zhou Cheng, Xu Huang, Zhang Liao and others to guard against Yuan Jun's invasion.

However, Jia Xu also proposed that the most likely direction of Yuan Jun's main attack is Nanyang County.

Jia Xu believes that Yuan Shao's counselors will most likely use their strengths to avoid weaknesses. They will not plan to fight the Chu army in the Huaihe River, but will find ways to fight the Chu army in Nanyang.

At that time, Yuan Shao's cavalry would be able to come in handy.

Not only Jia Xu, but also Xu Shu, Tian Feng and others believed that the main battlefield of this war should be in Nanyang.

It is for this reason that after Zhou Qi mobilized 80,000 troops, he stationed them all in Xiangyang, preparing to make deployments after finding out the detailed attack direction of Yuan Jun.

As expected, Yuan Shao finally planned to take Nanyang first.

Zhou Qi looked at the map of Jingzhou with a serious expression on his face. After a long time, he finally made up his mind. He planned to use Huang Zhong as the main general, Wenpin and Yan Yan as deputy generals, and Zhuge Liang as the military advisor, and let a few people lead 10,000 troops to Ye County. It is necessary to block Chunyu Qiong's 30,000-strong vanguard before Yuan's army marches south.

In the process, Zhou Qi also planned to move all the people in Nanyang County to Xiangyang County.

Zhou Qi had two purposes for doing this.

First, if a war breaks out in Nanyang, various places will inevitably suffer military disasters, and the safety of people's lives will not be guaranteed.

Secondly, since Yuan Shao planned to fight the Chu army in Nanyang, Zhou Qi failed to do so.

Today Zhou Qi can be regarded as a master of military strategy.

There is a saying in the art of war: Don't attack the army when it's there, don't attack the city when it's there, don't fight for the territory when it's there, and don't accept the emperor's orders when there's something there.

A certain great man read this section of "The Art of War" by Sun Tzu, and finally formulated a great strategic policy, which is - don't fight for the gains and losses of one city or one pool.

Since Yuan Shao has many troops and the Northern Army is not good at water warfare, Zhou Qi will use his own strengths to attack the enemy's weaknesses and simply move all the people in Nanyang County southward, then abandon the entire Nanyang County, and then rely on the natural barrier of the Han River to With Xiangyang, the largest city in China, at their back, they will fight Yuan Jun decisively. In this way, Yuan's army's superiority in military strength and cavalry were gone, and instead the Jingxiang navy would be put to great use.

When Zhou Qi informed the advisers of this idea, they were all surprised by their lord's strategic vision and courage.

Being able to give up Nanyang, which is known as the number one county in the world, is just a matter of courage. Looking at the whole world, few people can do it.

While admiring him, Jia Xu did not forget to remind him: "Although giving up Nanyang County is in line with the overall strategy, it is somewhat difficult to accept for those generals from Nanyang."

"In addition, Zhao State is moving southward in a large scale, and Cao Cao and Shi Xie are also eyeing it. Some aristocratic families in Chu State may also have other thoughts because of the imperial examination."

"At this time of internal and external troubles, if Nanyang is handed over to Yuan Shao so easily, I am afraid it will cause panic among the people in the country."

When Zhou Qi heard this, his expression became solemn.

Previously, he only thought about the overall situation, but ignored the people's hearts.

There are quite a few civil servants and generals under Zhou Qi who are from Nanyang. Let’s not talk about the middle and low-level officials for the moment. Huang Zhong, Wenpin, Li Yan, Wei Yan and other famous generals are all from Nanyang.

If their hometown was handed over to Yuan Shao so easily, the generals would definitely have some grudges in their hearts.

The most important thing is that now that foreign enemies are invading in large numbers, the people in the country are already unstable. If Nanyang, the southern capital, is given away at this time, most people who are unaware will think that Zhou Qi will retreat without a fight because he is afraid of Yuan Shao. .

This will not only cause a devastating blow to the morale of the three armies, but also make those wealthy families who already have other ideas become more willing to seek refuge with Yuan Shao.

Zhou Qi frowned and asked, "Does Wen He have any good advice to teach me?"

Jia Xu stretched out a finger and said: "There is only one way, and that is to win the first battle and defeat Chunyu Qiong."

"Abandoning Nanyang after a defeat is called a defeated retreat."

"Abandoning Nanyang without fighting is called fearing the enemy like a tiger."

"If we abandon Nanyang after a great victory, it will be a strategic shift, and people will be at peace in this way."

When Zhou Qi heard this, he suddenly realized.

He summoned Huang Zhong, Wenpin, Yan Yan and Zhuge Liang to tell everyone his thoughts.

Except for Zhuge Liang, who was full of admiration, the other three generals all looked shocked. They didn't expect that His Highness the King of Chu actually wanted to hand over Nanyang.

Looking at the expressions of the three people, Zhou Qi immediately said: "In ancient times, the so-called heroic men must have the integrity to surpass others. There is no tolerance for human kindness. When a common man sees humiliation, he draws his sword and stands up to fight. This is not brave. .”

"There are great brave men in the world who are not surprised when they are attacked without any reason, and are not angry when they are attacked for no reason. The person they hold hostage is very big, and their ambition is far-reaching."

"The reason why Gaozu Guanfu won, and the reason why Xiang Ji lost was just between being able to endure it and being unable to endure it. Xiang Ji couldn't endure it, so he was victorious in every battle and used his edge lightly; Gaozu endured it and nourished it. Take full advantage and wait for the disadvantages, this is what Zifang teaches."

"A gentleman hides his sword, endures small anger and makes big plans, has the world in mind, does not compete for the gains and losses of a city or a place, but fights for the final victory or defeat, this is what a true man does."

"This is why I want to abandon Nanyang and lead Yuan's army to a decisive battle on the Han River. Do you know this?"

The three generals were still a little bit unaware of what Zhou Qi had done, but after hearing these words, they suddenly understood and all worshiped him: "My lord is wise, but we are too narrow-minded."

Zhou Qi hurriedly stepped forward to help the three people up, and then said with a solemn face: "Although abandoning Nanyang alone is beneficial to the overall situation, he is worried that the people under his rule will have doubts, so a big victory is needed to inspire people."

"Gu Yu wants you to not only hold Ye County and delay until all the people in Nanyang are evacuated to Xiangyang before leading the troops back, but also wants you to win the first battle and defeat Chunyu Qiong. Is it possible for you to do it?"

The eyes of several people met in the air, and then they said solemnly: "We are willing to issue a military order. If Chunyu Qiong is not defeated, we are willing to raise our heads to see him!"

Zhou Qi said with a solemn expression: "The Northern Army is already good at fighting and has cavalry. To be sent as a vanguard by Yuan Benchu ​​this time, he must be an elite member of the Northern Army. I'm afraid he won't get along well with him!"

"The State of Chu cannot mobilize many troops and horses now, and it has to set up defensive lines along the Xiangyang and Han Rivers. It can only mobilize 10,000 troops and horses for you and others."

"The strength of their troops is three times that of yours, and they are all the elite of the Northern Army. If you want to win, you can only outwit them, not outnumber them!"

When the three generals heard this, they couldn't help but look troubled.

It's okay to let them lead troops in battle, but outsmarting the enemy is obviously a bit difficult.

And they also knew that in addition to Chun Yuqiong, a veteran on the battlefield, the vanguard general of Yuan's army this time also had Gao Lan, a famous general from Hebei.

These two people are not easy to get along with. How could it be so easy to plot against them?

Looking at the faces of several people, Zhou Qi finally set his sights on Zhuge Liang and said, "My stepfather has praised Kong Ming many times in front of me, saying that you have talents in the world and wisdom in the sea."

"You have also shown extraordinary talents in handling various difficult cases before."

"This time I want to use you as my military advisor to lead the army to Ye County with the three generals. Do you have the confidence to help them defeat Chunyu Qiong?"

Zhuge Liang's talents are not limited to domestic affairs. In terms of marching and formation, he is also among the geniuses in the world. Even Sima Yi puts him to shame.

In history, Zhuge Liang was only hampered by the weak national power of Shu and did not dare to use surprise troops. Therefore, he focused on caution and prudence when marching and fighting.

Even so, Zhuge Liang always maintained an offensive during the confrontation with Wei. Even if he did not achieve the final strategic goal, he still won more than he lost and gained quite a lot.

Although Zhuge Liang is young now, he is already very wise.

The most important thing is that the Chu State is now strong and powerful, and Zhuge Liang does not need to be as careful as he did in history. He cannot afford to lose hundreds or even thousands of people.

Faced with Zhou Qi's high regard, Zhuge Liang was not dazzled. Instead, he said modestly: "How dare Liang boast about going to Haikou before entering the battlefield?"

Zhou Qi took out a piece of information from the desk, handed it to Zhuge Liang, and said: "This is the detailed information of Chunyu Qiong and Gao Lan, the vanguard generals of Yuan Army, as well as the major factions within Zhao State. "

"With these, does Kong Ming have confidence?"

Zhuge Liang took the information, and his eyes became brighter the more he looked at it. However, he still did not boast about Haikou. Instead, he glanced at Huang Zhong, Wenpin, and Yan Yan and said, "Liang is still young and has been rashly entrusted with important tasks by the lord. I'm afraid." It’s hard to convince the public.”

Zhou Qi knew what he was thinking, so he turned to look at Huang Zhong, Wenpin, and Yan Yan, and sure enough he saw dissatisfaction on their faces.

Wenpin was okay. Huang Zhong and Yan Yan, two veteran generals on the battlefield, were somewhat unconvinced when they saw that Zhou Qi valued Zhuge Liang, a young boy, and even asked him to serve as his military advisor.

Zhou Qi didn't waste any time, and took off his sword directly, handed it to Zhuge Liang, and said: "You are holding this sword as if you are here alone!"

Huang Zhong, Wenpin and Yan Yan couldn't help but feel awe-inspiring when they saw this.

(End of this chapter)