Ji Han Liu Zhang

Luoyang.

Henan Yin Zhongyao recently advised the people to collect food and grass and transport them to Mengjin for use by Cao Ren's troops defending Mengjin, doing what a logistics personnel should do.

Today, another batch of grain and supplies will be sent to Mengjin. After Zhong Yao gave detailed instructions to the grain transport officer, he stopped and watched this batch of grain and supplies go away.

Then Zhong Yao mounted his horse and returned to the government office in Luoyang. When he arrived at the gate of the office, Zhong Yao dismounted and walked towards the left wing of the office. As he walked, he was thinking about the current situation.

At present, Cao Cao, the prime minister, is leading his troops to attack Lü Bu in Xuzhou. Whether it is soldiers or food, they are all given priority to Cao Cao. Henan is the second priority, but Henan is an important place and cannot be lost easily, otherwise Xudu will be in danger.

When Zhang Yang of Henei heard that his good friend Lu Bu was attacked by Cao Cao, just as Zhong Yao had predicted, the Henei army began to gather and food and supplies were continuously transported to Yewang. It was expected that they would soon march south to attack Henan and support Lu Bu.

Therefore, Zhong Yao's current responsibility is to work with Cao Ren to defend Henan and prevent it from being lost. He must hold out until Cao Cao conquers Xuzhou and gets rid of Lu Bu. Then, he can work with the returning army to see if he can take one or two countermeasures against Zhang Yang in Henei.

Zhong Yao was walking and considering the current situation. He arrived at the door of the left wing, then strode into the left wing, continued to review documents, and did his job as the Yin of Henan.

After a while, a clerk brought a document, which was handed over by Cao Ren. Zhong Yao put down the work in his hands, opened the document bag first, and read the document handed over by Cao Ren.

"It came so quickly." After Zhong Yao glanced at the first few lines of the document, he sighed secretly. Zhang Yang of Henei had organized his troops in just a few days and sent troops to Mengjin. At that time, Cao Ren was confronting Zhang Yang in Mengjin, one in the south and the other in the north, restraining each other.

It seems that we need to recruit a group of soldiers, Zhong Yao thought to himself. According to what Cao Ren wrote in the document, Zhang Yang's troops have about 10,000 soldiers, twice as many as Cao Ren's 5,000. The enemy is strong and we are weak. At this time, we should recruit soldiers from the county to supplement Cao Ren's camp to strengthen the strength of Cao Ren's troops.

However, the number of soldiers recruited cannot be too large, otherwise the food and grass will not be able to support it. Henan is a strategic place in the world and has suffered from wars and chaos for a long time. The population is not large and the production is not much, which cannot support Zhong Yao to recruit too many county soldiers.

"One thousand and five." Zhong Yao calculated a number, then he gritted his teeth and finally decided to squeeze out two thousand county soldiers and send them to Mengjin where Cao Ren was, to help Cao Ren and Zhang Yang confront each other.

When Zhong Yao saw the end of Cao Ren's document, he saw a familiar name - Guo Yuan. Guo Yuan was his nephew. In his early years, he heard that Guo Yuan worked under Yuan Shao, but they were in the south and north, separated by a river.

According to documents, Guo Yuan served under Gao Gan, the governor of Hedong, and together with Gao Gan they conquered Hedong and defeated all the enemies they faced. However, they encountered the Shu army this time, which slightly dampened their fighting spirit.

As for the reason, it was because Ma Chao, sent by Grand Marshal Liu Zhang, was extremely brave and fought bravely. First, the Right Wise King Qu Bei was defeated by Ma Chao, and then Guo Yuan was at a disadvantage in the battle, and the morale of the army was damaged.

At present, in Hedong, although Gao Gan has gathered 15,000 people, he is no match for the more than 10,000 infantry and cavalry led by Ma Chao.

"A Yuan." Zhong Yao sent out a blessing of peace in his heart. Although he and Guo Yuan served different masters, Guo Yuan was his nephew after all, and he missed Guo Yuan very much.

Zhong Yao knew Guo Yuan's character. He was stubborn and competitive. Even though Ma Chao was so brave, Guo Yuan might not retreat easily. He might even do something rash, which would be very disadvantageous to him.

……

In Hedong, outside Anyi City, Yuan’s army camp.

There was a hint of melancholy between Gao Gan's brows, and his expression was not very good. The reason why Gao Gan looked like that was because of the results of several battles with the Shu army.

After several small-scale battles, he always lost many soldiers and was defeated by Ma Chao. After all, Ma Chao always led the troops as the commander in chief, which greatly boosted the morale of the Shu army.

Although Gao Gan himself had some martial arts skills, they were not very high after all. It was difficult for him to imitate Ma Chao and lead the troops to fight. He could only command the soldiers to fight in the formation. In terms of morale, the Yuan army was inferior to the Shu army.

"It's really hateful. Anyi County is about to fall, Hedong is about to fall into our hands, but the Shu army comes to disrupt the situation." Gao Gan slammed the table heavily and sighed deeply.

If the Shu army arrived here in a few days, Gao Gan believed that Anyi would be captured by him, and he could become the governor of Hedong with full justification, and face the Shu army across the river.

So as to avoid falling into the current predicament. If they advance, they will not be able to capture Anyi and take over Hedong. If they retreat, they will be afraid that the Shu army will follow their rear and they will be defeated by the Shu army.

At this time, Guo Yuan came in and reported some bad news to Gao Gan: "My Lord, Jia Kui, the magistrate of Jiangyi County, took advantage of the fact that our army was in a standoff with the Shu army and had no spare strength to lead his troops to attack our army's food and grass. We need to respond as soon as possible."

"Jia Kui." Gao Gan looked particularly displeased when he heard this name. Donghuan was conquered by him before, and the General Fan Xian of Hedong retreated hastily to Anyi. Later, the counties of Hedong were frightened by his military power, and many of them responded by raising their hands.

Only Jia Kui of Jiangyi always defended the city, was ignorant of the current situation, and never surrendered.

At that time, Gao Gan attached great importance to Anyi and planned to capture Anyi first, and then return to attack Jiangyi. After all, Anyi was the capital of Hedong County. If Anyi was captured, there would be not much significance for Jia Kui to hold on to Jiangyi.

Unexpectedly, at this time, when Gao Gan was in a stalemate with the Shu army, Jia Kui jumped out and threatened the food and grass, which made Gao Gan very angry.

"Mr. Guo, in your opinion, what should we do now?" The senior official discussed with Guo Yuan.

Guo Yuan was silent for a moment, then said: "Now that our food supply is threatened, we have no choice but to retreat to Donghuan and discuss further. Otherwise, we will not be able to conquer Shujun and Anyi, and our food and grass will be depleted day by day, and our army will collapse without a fight."

Gao Gan laughed lightly and said jokingly, "Mr. Guo, this is not your temper. You always rush forward when you can and rarely retreat. Why did you change your temper this time?"

Guo Yuan said sternly, "My Lord, my original intention was to fight to the death with the Shu army here to decide the fate of Hedong. However, this strategy is too risky, so I proposed the strategy of retreat."

"Is this the Mr. Guo I know?" Hearing that Guo Yuan wanted to fight to the death with the Shu army, Gao Gan laughed out loud, and then he said proudly: "My uncle has a letter, he will defeat Gongsun soon, and if I retreat now, it will damage my uncle's reputation, and I will not dare to call myself my uncle's nephew in the future."

"Besides, a journey of a hundred miles begins with a single step. We have been attacking Hedong and have taken Donghuan and defeated Fan Xian to get here. Anyi is right before our eyes. Hedong will be conquered soon. How can we give up the current good situation lightly?"

"As for the Shu army and Jia Kui." Gao Gan analyzed the situation: "Jia Kui is the magistrate of Jiangyi, and he is leading the county soldiers to fight. There are few soldiers, and they are not elite enough. We can just send people to repel them... As for the Shu army, our troops are stronger than Ma Chao. We should gather our forces to attack, in order to defeat the Shu army in one fell swoop and live up to my uncle's reputation." Gao Gan made a decision. He planned to give up the previous small fights and fight a large-scale battle with the Shu army. After all, in the small fights, the Shu army's main general Ma Chao was better at commanding in front of the battle than he was at the center of the army. He always suffered a lot. Now that the armies are fighting, personal bravery is not that important in such a large-scale fight.

"My Lord." Guo Yuan smiled. Being competitive, he was unwilling to retreat. He wanted to send out his entire army to fight the Shu army with real swords and guns to determine who would be the winner.

"Go and call Qubei. There will be a big battle tomorrow, and he won't be able to hide away." Gao Gan was preparing for the war. There were many Xiongnu cavalry under Qubei's command, and they were a force that could not be underestimated in a war. They could turn the tide of the battle, or overturn the outcome.

In addition, this time when Qubei led his troops to help, the place was mostly damaged, a lot of property was looted, and many people were harmed, but not much blood was shed. It is also right that Qubei should contribute.

……

In the third year of Jian'an, when the world was in constant strife, Yuan Shao led the generals in Hebei, including Qu Yi, Yan Liang, Wen Chou, Zhang He, Gao Lan and other elite generals, to capture Yi County, behead Gongsun Zan and eliminate this threat.

At this moment, outside Yi County, Yuan’s army camp.

"Gongsun Zan will surely be defeated by me!"

A confident voice was heard, and the owner of this voice was the current general, Yuan Shao, the leader of the princes who governed the four states of Ji, Qing, You and Bing.

As for why Yuan Shao was so confident, it was because he intercepted a letter from Gongsun Zan, which was sent by Gongsun Zan to the Black Mountain bandit Zhang Yan. In the letter, Gongsun Zan agreed on a date and wanted to attack Zhang Yan from both inside and outside in a decisive battle with him.

"Yuan's attack is like that of gods and ghosts. Drums and horns sound underground, and ladders rush up to my building. Days and months pass, and there is nothing to get bored of." Yuan Shao read out the contents of Gongsun Zan's document in front of his trusted advisers with an expression of indescribable pride.

Yuan Shao was very pleased with the affirmation and praise from Gongsun Zan. After all, a few years ago he was still controlled by Gongsun Zan and was worried about Gongsun Zan's Youyan cavalry. Now Gongsun Zan was afraid of him.

"You should cut off Zhang Yan's head and quickly send light cavalry. When they arrive, they should light a beacon in the north, and I will leave from the inside. Otherwise, after I die, although the world is vast, you will not be able to find a place to settle down!"

Yuan Shao read out the subsequent content. Gongsun Zan first started by saying that Yuan's attack was very fierce and Yi County was in danger. He then asked Gongsun Xu to risk his life to ask Zhang Yan for help and to ask Zhang Yan's light cavalry to lift the siege of Yi County.

"Raise the fire as a signal!" Yuan Shao repeated the secret code agreed upon by Gongsun Zan and Zhang Yan in the document, and then he burst into laughter. The counselors below, such as Guo Tu, Xu You and others, also laughed along with Yuan Shao.

Yuan Shao couldn't help laughing so hard that he burst into laughter. Now he knew the secret code agreed upon by Gongsun Zan and Zhang Yan. All he had to do was raise a fire as a signal to lure out Gongsun Zan, and then Gongsun Zan would be easy to defeat.

Guo Tu said, "Mingsir, we should set up an ambush early, lure out Gongsun Zan tomorrow, and defeat him in one fell swoop."

Xu You's eyes opened and closed like a fox, and soon he also made a suggestion: "Mingsong, maybe you can change this document, modify the agreed location, and let the envoy send it to Gongsun Xu and Zhang Yan. Then we can defeat Gongsun Zan and Zhang Yan in one fell swoop and eliminate the two scourges in Hebei."

"Yes." Yuan Shao looked pleased. He stroked his beautiful beard and replied, "Of course it should be so. Gongsun Zan and Zhang Yan have been rebelling for many years. If they are not eliminated now, they will revive in the future and become a great threat."

The strategy was decided, and what remained was the detailed steps of how to implement it. After some discussion, Yuan Shao set a big trap for Gongsun Zan and Zhang Yan respectively, waiting for Gongsun Zan and Zhang Yan to fall into it.

A few days later, as Yuan Shao waited anxiously, it was finally nightfall.

Tonight is indeed a little unusual. As the night wind suddenly rises and a solemn atmosphere spreads, tonight is destined to be an unusual night.

While Yuan Shao was waiting anxiously, General Gongsun Zan was also waiting anxiously. He stared at the wetland north of Yi County, waiting for torches to be raised in that area and Zhang Yan's reinforcements to arrive.

By then, Gongsun Zan could join Zhang Yan's light cavalry to attack Yuan's army from both inside and outside. Although it would be impossible to kill Yuan Shao, he could at least scare Yuan Shao away. He could then take a break for a year or two, instead of being like he is now, with Yuan Shao putting a rope around his neck, making it difficult for him to breathe and seem like he is about to suffocate.

midnight.

Under Gongsun Zan's expectant gaze, lights lit up in the north of Yi County. After the light flickered three times, a smile appeared on his face, and his expression changed from dejected to radiant.

"Chief Secretary, you guard the city while I will attack the enemy myself." Gongsun Zan seized the last chance and decided to fight in person, together with Zhang Yan in the north of the city, to attack Yuan's army and seek a chance of survival.

Gongsun Zan, who was leading his troops out of the city, was about to reach the wetland area in the north of the city to join forces with Zhang Yan when suddenly there was a burst of gongs and drums, and fires were lit all around like stars. In the light of the fire, many flags were seen.

'Kuji.'

'Yan.'

"arts."

Gongsun Zan had fought with Yuan Shao for many years, so he knew what these flags represented. Qu Yi was the general who defeated him at Jieqiao. At that time, he had one of the best cavalry in the world, the Baima Yicong, but they were wiped out after the battle at Jieqiao. Yan and Wen represented the two unparalleled generals, Yan Liang and Wen Chou.

Facing fierce generals like Qu Yi, Yan Liang, and Wen Chou, and being suddenly ambushed, Gongsun Zan naturally did not dare to fight. With the desperate protection of his personal guards, he fought his way out and escaped back to Yi County.

When he stepped into the city gate of Yi County, Gongsun Zan looked around, but saw that his personal guards had died out, his old friends had disappeared, and only a few were left. He felt depressed.

In the following days, Yuan Shao, who had won a great victory, dug a tunnel to the bottom of the city wall, destroyed Gongsun Zan's watchtower, and approached Yijing where Gongsun Zan lived.

Gongsun Zan, who thought he was doomed to fail, became disheartened and strangled his sisters, wife and children, and then set himself on fire. The White Horse General Gongsun Zan, a great hero of Youyan, had come to the end of his career.

When seeing the flames rising from Yijing, Guan Jing, the chief secretary of Gongsun Zan, sighed: "I have served General Gongsun for a long time. Now that General Gongsun is leaving, I will follow him." Then Guan Jing rushed towards Yuan's army without looking back. (End of this chapter)