Ji Han Liu Zhang

The fifth year of Jian'an, early August.

Starting from the first day of the month, a drizzle of cool autumn rain fell in Hedong County. The rain did not stop for a single day and lasted for three to five days in a row.

It rained continuously for days. Although the rain was not heavy, it accumulated over time and moistened everything silently. The road in Yuan’s army camp became muddy. Even if you took a light step, your feet would sink into the mud.

The muddy road was a minor issue, at most it caused inconvenience in travel. However, the depressions in the camp accumulated rainwater, and small ponds could be seen everywhere. Under the invasion of cold and dampness, many Yuan army soldiers fell ill with high fever.

The illness of the soldiers has become the most concerning issue for Yuan Shao, the current commander of the Yuan army. After all, it is okay if a few soldiers have minor illnesses, but if an epidemic breaks out in the army, it will probably lead to a catastrophe.

"My lord, for the soldiers who fell ill, I have designated a piece of land in the rear camp and moved them all in." There were raindrops on the ends of Ju Su's hair, his clothes were slightly wet, and he looked tired.

Upon seeing this, Yuan Shao said to him in comfort: "Ju Shou, you have worked hard. Come, change Ju Shou's outer clothes quickly." After asking someone to change Ju Shou's wet outer clothes, Yuan Shao waved to Ju Shou to come to the stove, warm himself by the fire, and enjoy some warmth.

At the same time, Yuan Shao also cared about the soldiers who were sick. He instructed Ju Su: "Send a letter to Yecheng, asking Shen to send good doctors to treat the sick soldiers, and also send as many medicines as possible."

"Yes." Ju Su bowed his hands in agreement and exclaimed: "Mingshou's actions are unparalleled in benevolence. When the soldiers hear of this, they will surely be grateful to you and will serve you till their death in the future."

"The soldiers fought for me, so I should provide them with relief." Yuan Shao shook his head and smiled as he declined.

After dealing with the sick soldiers, Yuan Shao thought about the current situation and sighed softly: "Ju Qing, the autumn rain has not stopped for several days, and the roads are muddy and difficult to pass. The attack on Yubi has to be put aside. In addition, the soldiers have fallen ill due to the autumn cold, and many of them can no longer fight. What do you think should be done now?"

Yuan Shao began to think of retreating. Yubi City had been under attack for months. He was inferior to the Shu army in terms of geographical advantages, and the current situation was not favorable to him. If he continued his expedition to Hedong, there would be no good result. It was better to retreat.

Ju Su understood the meaning of the music by hearing the sound of the strings. He understood Yuan Shao's inner thoughts and knew that Yuan Shao intended to withdraw his troops. As far as the current situation was concerned, withdrawing troops seemed to be the right choice. After all, Yubi City was like a natural moat that stood in front of them and it was not something they had been unable to conquer for years.

"Are you planning to withdraw your troops, my lord?" Ju Su asked bluntly.

Yuan Shao shook his head and rejected the idea, saying, "We have brought an army of 100,000 men here, but we are blocked at Yubi City. We have not captured a single city or pond in Hedong, nor any cattle, sheep, horses, or common people. If we retreat like this, I am afraid the world will laugh at us."

Yuan Shao, who originally wanted to withdraw his troops, gave the opposite answer at this moment. When Ju Su heard this answer, he immediately understood what Yuan Shao was thinking. He knew that Yuan Shao wanted to withdraw his troops, but did not want to admit that he wanted to withdraw his troops. Instead, he wanted to hear the idea of ​​withdrawing his troops from others, and then Yuan Shao would make the final decision.

Ju Su sighed in his heart. Yuan Shao's behavior at that moment was indeed like trying to cover up the truth. After all, Yuan Shao was just unwilling to bear the responsibility of being the one who proposed the withdrawal proposal, so he was so vague and lost the bearing of a monarch.

After a light sigh, Ju Su bowed and said to Yuan Shao: "Mingsir, I am an extraordinary man, doing extraordinary things. How can I do something disadvantageous just because others laugh at me? Moreover, this is a military and national event, a matter of life and death, so I should be cautious in my discussion."

"Our army has been stationed under the strong city for more than a month. Yubi City is strong. Shu Silai forced the people in the city to cut off their food supply. It is difficult to capture Yubi City. However, the savings in Yubi City can support a year, and the city can also cultivate farmland. It will take at least one or two years to capture it."

Ju Su advised earnestly: "Mingsir, the only thing to do now is to withdraw the troops as soon as possible. Otherwise, the autumn rain will continue, and the transportation of food and grass to the rear will be inadequate. The army will be hungry and cold, and the Shu army will take advantage of it. It will be too late to regret it."

"You are right, but let me think about it for a while." Yuan Shao did not agree immediately. After all, it would seem that he was in favor of retreating. If he thought for a day or two before retreating, it would show that he was acting cautiously.

At night, Yuan Shao felt restless and could not sleep well, so he got up, put on a single piece of clothing, and walked out of the camp. As soon as he took a step out, his face suddenly showed joy.

There was no other reason, it was because the rain had stopped, and the bright moon was hanging in the blue sky. The moonlight poured down quietly, illuminating the surrounding areas as bright as day.

"Tomorrow will be a sunny day." Yuan Shao gave a forecast for tomorrow's weather, which he learned from his life experience. After a night with stars and moon, it is usually a sunny day.

On the second day, just as Yuan Shao had expected, the weather cleared up and the bright sunshine shone in all directions, driving away the cold and damp air of the past three to five days, warming both the body and the soul.

"Yesterday, you prayed for the rain to stop, and today the rain stopped. This shows that God is blessing you." Guo Tu felt uncomfortable if he didn't flatter Yuan Shao. He brought up the connection between the stopping of the rain and Yuan Shao's prayer for clear weather yesterday.

Yuan Shao smiled, but said, "The weather has its own destiny, which cannot be changed by human power. It is just a coincidence, and it cannot be attributed to me."

The wind stopped, the rain ceased, the sun shone, and Yuan Shao's fighting spirit was restored little by little. He intended to continue fighting because he felt it would be shameful for him to retreat back to Yecheng if he failed to achieve any results after sending troops to Hedong this time.

However, Yuan Shao was not determined to attack Yubi by force. He planned to attack Yubi tentatively for more than ten days. If there was no possibility of conquering it, he would have to retreat.

Otherwise, if too many soldiers were lost under Yubi City, it would be detrimental to his cause of unification. Compared with face, unifying the world is what Yuan Shao cares most about. He wants to create the Yuan Dynasty, so he must act with caution.

However, we would have to wait two days before continuing the attack on Yubi City. After all, the weather had just cleared up and the roads were still muddy. We would have to wait a few days until the roads hardened before we could attack Yubi City.

Just like that, two days later, Yuan Shao gathered his generals and declared in a loud voice, "Fortunately, the weather has cleared up and the rain has stopped. This is a sign of God's favor. We will raise an army and capture Yubi."

"My lord, please be at ease. This time, I am willing to be the first to climb the mountain. I will not turn back until I give up the jade disk." Yan Liang jumped out. He responded to Yuan Shao's call and made a bold statement.

Qu Yi, who was still recovering from his injuries, was not willing to lag behind. He declared: "My right arm is still usable. I am willing to be the first to climb the city and serve you."

Led by Yan Liang and Qu Yi, the atmosphere in the central army tent instantly became heated. A large number of generals came to the scene and asked for battle. The momentum alone seemed to be enough to sweep down Yubi City.

Yuan Shao saw that the generals were eager to fight, and he nodded repeatedly with a smile. At this moment, there was a sound of hurried footsteps outside the tent, and at the same time, there was a shout: "Mingsong, disaster has occurred." It was Xu You. Yuan Shao recognized the voice of the person coming, and he frowned. He had finally encouraged the fighting spirit of the generals. With Xu You's shouting outside the tent, the generals looked at each other, and their expressions became hesitant and worried. Although they didn't know what news Xu You brought, Xu You's shouting of "disaster" must have meant that something big had happened.

"Ziyuan, why are you so frightened?" Yuan Shao asked in a bad tone to Xu You who had just entered the central military tent.

Xu You could hear the displeasure in Yuan Shao's tone. He also realized that he had done something wrong and shouldn't have shouted so loudly. However, he showed no fear and told the news he had received: "Recently, there have been many rumors in Yecheng, saying that Cao Cao in Xudu intends to take advantage of the fact that you have sent troops to Hedong and Liyang and Yecheng are empty, to attack Yecheng and cut off your retreat."

Yan Liang was puzzled when he heard this: "Didn't they say earlier that Cao Cao was going to attack Jingchu and send troops to Xiangyang?"

"This is a scheming that only makes things more obvious." Xu You shook his head and sighed, "Cao Cao had no intention of attacking Jingzhou. He just wanted to make you feel at ease before advancing to Hedong, so he released the fake news. He was actually sitting on the mountain and watching the tigers fight, with the intention of taking advantage of the opportunity to attack."

"What a cunning Cao Cao." Yan Liang cursed, "In the past, he helped Lu Bu to capture Yanzhou. When he was homeless, you helped Cao Cao and helped him regain his power. I didn't expect that today he would repay you with ingratitude."

Xu You smiled and said, "Cao Cao was criticized by Xu Shao in the past, who believed that he was a capable minister in a peaceful era and a treacherous hero in a chaotic era. He is actually a wolf cub that can never be tamed. Since he kidnapped the emperor and established the capital in Xu, he has always had a rebellious heart. What happened today was expected."

After saying this, Xu You looked worried and said to Yuan Shao: "Mingsir, you should think about withdrawing the troops. Otherwise, if the army stays here and Yecheng is attacked by Cao Cao, the situation will be disastrous."

"Cao Mengde." Yuan Shao's eyes narrowed into a blade, and the murderous intent in his eyes almost condensed into a physical sword or gun. If Cao Cao were here, he would have been killed countless times by Yuan Shao's gaze.

After Xu You proposed to withdraw the troops, many counselors echoed the proposal. The families of all the civil and military officials were in Yecheng, and they were naturally more concerned about the safety of Yecheng than their desire to obtain the jade disk.

However, there were sober people among the counselors. Ju Su said, "Mr. Xu, is there any evidence that Cao Cao sent troops to attack Yecheng, or is it just a rumor?"

Xu You replied: "There is no real evidence, only hearsay. However, if Cao Cao had just attacked Ye City, he would not have started a large-scale war, so the rumors would have been smaller. If we waited until Cao Cao sent out his troops and the news spread far and wide, it would have been too late to regret."

With this sentence from Xu You, Ju Su bowed and said to Yuan Shao: "Mingsir, there is no sign of Cao Cao's attack on Ye yet, so we should not be alarmed. We should send spies to investigate carefully so as not to be misled by rumors."

Xu You and Ju Su said different things, and Yuan Shao fell into a dilemma. He intended to withdraw his troops first to ensure the safety of the base camp in Yecheng, but he was afraid that the fact that Cao Cao attacked Yecheng was a rumor, and if he retreated his troops for this reason, he would appear to be timid and cowardly.

After Yuan Shao pondered for a while, he decided to wait and see: "Let's first ask the spies in Xudu to verify the truth of this matter. At the same time, let Shen Pei inspect Liyang and guard it. We must not let Cao Cao take advantage of it."

However, after this incident, Yuan Shao gave up the idea of ​​continuing to attack Yubi. With his base camp in Yecheng under threat, his generals became hesitant and no longer wanted to fight hard to attack the city.

Therefore, Yuan Shao stopped the war and comforted the soldiers, intending to let the soldiers who had been fighting for many days have a good rest for a few days, to restore the morale of the soldiers in the army and not let the soldiers harbor resentment due to being away from home for a long time.

……

Anyi.

"Have all the rumors spread?" Fa Zheng asked Jia Kui, the Chief Clerk of Hedong.

Jia Kui responded, "My Lord, rumors are spreading in the streets of Ye City right now. Everyone knows that Cao Cao in Xudu intends to attack Ye City. It is expected that Yuan Shao will withdraw his troops soon."

"Not necessarily." Fa Zheng shook his head and said, "Since Yuan Shao took control of Ye City, he has attacked Gongsun and driven out Heishan. He has been unstoppable. Today, he has come to Hedong without taking a single city. How could he be willing to leave? I think even if Yuan Shao knew the rumor that Cao Cao attacked Ye City, he would not retreat."

"It seems that only if Cao Cao has real signs of attacking Yecheng, Yuan Shao will lead his troops away." Jia Kui deduced from Fa Zheng's words: "However, Cao Cao had the intention of conquering the south in the past, so he probably would not have the intention of attacking Yecheng and becoming an enemy of Yuan Shao."

"Cao Cao." Fa Zheng chuckled and said, "Your Excellency has evaluated him as a man of extraordinary wisdom and strategy, and he has rarely been matched in the use of troops. This time, Yuan Shao's army is stranded in Hedong, and Yecheng and Liyang are empty. With Cao Cao's courage and strategy, it is possible that the rumors will come true and he will send troops to attack Ye."

"If that's true, it would be a good thing for Cao Cao to help us rescue Yuan Shao's army. When the time comes, I will thank Cao Cao." Jia Kui responded with a smile.

Fa Zheng nodded and smiled: "If that's the case, I should thank Cao Cao."

After talking about the rumor, Fa Zheng gave Jia Kui a message: "General Ma Chao will lead more than 10,000 soldiers to Hedong to help defend and repel the enemy. You should make some arrangements in advance and prepare the camp for Ma Chao's 10,000 soldiers to move in."

"Ma Fubo is coming?" Jia Kui exclaimed in surprise, and then he speculated: "Ma Fubo has more than 10,000 troops, plus Gan Fuhan's more than 10,000 troops stationed in the city, Hedong has 20,000 troops that can be mobilized. Is your Excellency going to make a big move?"

"My lord, there is no order. The only order is four words: act according to the situation." Fa Zheng shook his head. He knew what Liu Zhang was thinking. Right now, recuperation was the top priority in Guanzhong. It was not Liu Zhang's goal to mobilize the entire country's troops to fight against Yuan's army. However, if there was a good opportunity for battle, Liu Zhang would not let it go.

After burying his head in documents for a while, Fa Zheng raised his head and saw that it was getting dark and another day had passed. He stood up, stretched his muscles and moved his waist which was sore from working at the desk for so long.

As the governor of Hedong, facing Yuan Shao's army, Fa Zheng has been very busy in recent months. He gets up earlier than the chickens and goes to bed later than the dogs. He works hard every day and has no rest.

Despite all the hard work, Fa Zheng was very happy in his heart. He was less than 30 years old, but he was already an official of 2,000 stones and had the title of general. His future was bright and beyond words.

Fa Zheng said that it was the happiest thing in the world to have a wise leader to serve and to be able to give full play to his talents. There was nothing more joyful than this.

How lucky I am! (End of this chapter)