A thousand-year-old family that began with the Battle of Makino

Chapter 425: The struggle for succession brings disaster to the people, and we look for a good strategy to seize Hebei

April
In order to regain power, Yuan Shang announced that Yuan Tan, the governor of Youzhou, had violated his father's wishes, separatized Youzhou, colluded with the Hu people, and established it as Fuzhou County. Therefore, he raised 60,000 troops, with General Zhang He as the main general and Jiang Qi as the deputy general, to attack Youzhou.

Hearing that Yuan Shang was about to raise an army again, he left Jizhou. Tian Feng, an official in the general's office, immediately dissuaded him and said: "Since the former general and Liu Bei fought against Anye, most of Jizhou's family assets have been invested, leaving the people without a fixed home and no land. Farming.

There are also those who have hid in the mountains and even sold themselves into slavery in order to escape heavy taxes and oppression by powerful powers. Today, only eight out of ten households in Jizhou are alive, and there are many popular uprisings in counties and counties. If weapons are used rashly, it will definitely arouse public anger. , which is extremely detrimental to the general.

Now that the general has ascended the throne for the first time, it is precisely the time when he needs to demonstrate his benevolent character, appease the people, rectify the administration, and win the trust of the people.

The general is the heir appointed by the first general. All the ministers know it well. Yuan Tan's rebellion is recognized by everyone. Furthermore, Zhenbei Prefecture and the Liaodong vassal state do not obey Yuan Tan's orders. With more than 10,000 cavalry in Yuan Tan's hands, There is no way to pose a threat to the general.

As long as the general can stabilize Jizhou and win over people's hearts without the need for the general to send troops, the soldiers under Yuan Tan will naturally care about the general's kindness and worry about their relatives at home, so they will tie Yuan Tan to the general. "

Although Tian Feng tried his best to persuade Yuan Shang, in the end Yuan Shang still listened to his mother Liu's advice: "Shang'er, don't listen to what Tian Feng said. The battle for succession has been cruel and ruthless since ancient times. Either he dies or we die.

Yuan Tan is your father's eldest son. Although he has been adopted by your deceased uncle, he is still your father's child and the most threatening to your heir apparent.

Yuan Xi has been deprived of all his rights and is now imprisoned in the mansion. In addition, he has never been involved in the affairs between you and Yuan Tan, so we can rest assured.

But Yuan Tan is different. Not only is he the eldest son, he also has tens of thousands of cavalry. It is said that he has recently been recruiting Wuhuan and Xianbei people, and his troops already number 20,000 to 30,000.

You have to know that there are not only people who support us in Yecheng now, but also people who are hostile to us. Yuan Tan will always give them excuses, and they will even cooperate with Yuan Tan outside. Then you and I, mother and son, will be in danger .

Now that Chunyu Qiong is gone, our control over the army is very weak. Zhang He, Jiang Qi and others are all outsiders, controlling tens of thousands of troops, and are always a threat to us.

Why not send them out to fight Yuan Tan? Not only can we eliminate our serious trouble, but it can also weaken their strength. Why not? "

"Short-sighted, how short-sighted, a woman's view, this is a woman's view." Hearing that Yuan Shang finally listened to Liu's opinion, Tian Feng was very angry, thinking that Yuan Shang would lead the people of Jizhou into the cessation of war. .

Today, Jizhou can maintain peace and stability on the surface, and the tens of thousands of soldiers and horses in Yuan Shang's hands are indispensable.

If this battle is won quickly, if it drags on for a long time or if the loss of troops is too large, the entire Jizhou will definitely fall into pieces. The powerful families in each county will definitely take this opportunity to raise troops to seize the power of Jizhou.

Jizhou has long been overdrafted by Yuan Shao and can no longer support endless attacks on each other. In the end, only the people of Jizhou will suffer.

Thinking of this, Tian Feng kept asking to see Yuan Shang for several days, using various methods, just hoping that he could change his mind in time.

But in the end, Yuan Shang was upset by Tian Feng and sent him to prison. This was the second time Tian Feng went to prison.

June
Jizhou Army's 60,000 men and Yuan Tan's 60,000 men were in the south of Zhuo County, near Yixian County. Giant horses followed the east bank and started a battle.

In addition to the 10,000 Jizhou cavalry under Yuan Tan's command, there are also 20,000 Hu cavalry recruited in the past two months and 30,000 forced infantry, a mixture of Han and Hu cavalry.

The battle did not last long. Yuan Tan was severely defeated and had almost no power to fight.

There are three reasons. First, the Jizhou cavalrymen are all from Jizhou. They are far away from home and are afraid of using too much force and causing trouble for their families far away in Jizhou. Moreover, Yuan Tan has not solved the concerns of the Jizhou cavalry since he seized the military power, which makes Jizhou The cavalry had no intention of fighting the Jizhou army.

Therefore, they were the first unit to retreat, and they collapsed even more than the 30,000 infantry.

Both, the 20,000 Hu cavalry came from two aspects. The prisoners who had been pacified indiscriminately and amnesty earlier, and the Hu herdsmen recruited with heavy sums of money, did not have the strength to fight for a long time.

The three of them, 30,000 infantry, were all forcibly recruited from their homes by Yuan Tan's men. They were all on the battlefield for the first time. How could they compare with the tens of thousands of Jizhou's long-time warriors.

Therefore, as expected, Yuan Tan's army collapsed in just half an hour. Yuan Tan had to retreat with the remaining cavalry. Fortunately, the Jizhou army had few cavalry. Under the cover of his own cavalry, Yuan Tan was able to gather 30,000 soldiers. Prepare to retreat to the holy water and stick to it.

On the other hand, knowing that he could not stop Yuan Shang's army, Yuan Tan had to seek foreign aid.

In addition to increasing the recruitment of Han and Hu people in Youzhou, they also sent envoys to Pingyuan County to request Guan Yu, the governor of Qingzhou and General Yangwei, to send troops to help him and attack Yuan Shang from the north and the south.

He also promised Guan Yu that when the time comes, he and Liu Bei can divide Jizhou equally.

After receiving Yuan Tan's letter, Guan Yu did not dare to neglect and immediately sent people to Xiapi to ask Liu Bei for instructions whether to send troops. May
Yuan Tan and the Jizhou Army had been circling along the holy water. Relying on the speed advantage of the cavalry, Zhang He and others could not find a chance for a decisive battle.

As soon as the Jizhou army had a tendency to cross the river, Yuan Tan would send out cavalry to prepare for a half-crossing attack, which forced Zhang He and others to stay on the west bank of the holy water.

In the same month, Guan Yu's letter reached Liu Bei, and he immediately convened the Supreme Military Council in Xiapi.

At the meeting, Liu Bei passed Guan Yu's letter to everyone for reading. People present expressed their opinions, allowing Liu Bei to use this as an excuse to send troops to pacify Hebei in one fell swoop.

But Liu Bei still had concerns: "Although it is the best time to send troops to Hebei at this time, Qingxu Province has just encountered a war and is now in a stage of recuperation.

It would be good if Hebei could be captured quickly, but if there is a stalemate, the army will stay in Hebei, unable to advance or retreat. When Cao Cao captures Jingzhou and attacks with a large army, it will be difficult to hold on with only the strength of the rear.

I don't want to see the Battle of Xiapi again, because not every time, we are so lucky. If Xiapi is lost, Xuzhou and Jiujiang will be in danger. At that time, if Hebei is not captured and Xuzhou is lost, the gain will not be worth the loss.

Therefore, I believe that if we want to send troops, we must determine a strategy for quick victory. We cannot rashly send troops. "

After hearing Liu Bei's words, all the civil and military officials in the hall nodded, and then sat in their seats, thinking about ways to win quickly.

At this time, Bai Dian said: "The general has forgotten the Bai family."

When Liu Bei heard about the Bai family, he quickly sat up straight and listened carefully to Bai Dian's words. Bai Dian continued: "Although the Bai family belongs to the Bai family, its influence in Hebei is not the same. If the Bai family supports the general's move, In Hebei, all the general’s worries will not be a problem.”

"But why does the Bai family support me? I know that the Bai family has always been known for being neutral and never directly participates in the world's battles. If the Bai family is allowed to advocate for themselves, wouldn't it go against their own intentions?"

Bai Dian shook his head slightly: "General, what you said is wrong. The Bai family is not pedantically insisting on neutrality, but in order to prevent the world from falling into more chaos and complexity.

In addition, the Bai family made a promise to Emperor Wu that they would never rebel against the Han Dynasty. In order to keep their promise, they watched the world become so turbulent. However, in the hearts of the Bai family members, they hoped more than anyone else to end the chaos and restore the world. Unified, people live and work in peace and contentment.

Therefore, if there is a reason why the Bai family has to do something, they will certainly not insist on a neutral position, but will do their best to help the general, just like the Bai family tried their best to help Emperor Guangwu. "

Liu Bei cheered up for a moment, and then sighed: "I really can't think of a reason why they can't refuse. Is there anything Chang Shi can do?"

Bai Dian thought for a while and said: "People's support is the most favorable foundation for the general, and it is also the main reason why the leader of the Bailu Hall abandoned Cao Cao and switched to the general.

Today, Yuan Shang and Yuan Tan in Hebei Province are fighting fiercely. Hundreds of thousands of troops are fighting fiercely in Youzhou. This is a serious disaster for the people of Youzhou and Jizhou who have just experienced the war.

If the general, through the owner of the Bailu Hall, promises to the Bai family that he can help stabilize the people of Hebei and respect the Bai family's interests in Hebei, the Bai family will definitely support the general, considering the people of Hebei. "

Then Liu Bei looked at Chen Gong, Chen Qun and others, and saw that they all agreed with Bai Dian's opinion, so he asked Bai Lu, the leader of the Naxian Hall, to come to discuss the matter.

After Bai Lu arrived, Liu Bei told him that Yuan Tan invited him to send troops to Hebei, and that he was originally from Hebei and pitied the people of Hebei. Now Hebei was suffering from war and famine, so he wanted to seize Hebei in the name of stabilizing Hebei.

However, Qingxu was facing a war, and he was afraid of falling into a stalemate in Hebei, losing Xuzhou, and causing the people of Xuzhou to fall into the hands of the traitor Cao Cao, so he wanted to ask Bai Lu to tell the Bai Kingdom, hoping to get their support.

After hearing this, Bai Lu thought for a while, agreed to Liu Bei's request, and decided that he would personally return to the Kingdom of Bai to plead with King Bai on Liu Bei's behalf.

Liu Bei was overjoyed after hearing this, and quickly asked Jian Yong and Bai Jin to follow Bai Lu to the Bai Kingdom to salute King Bai on his behalf and convey his respect.

three days later

Bai Lu took a delegation composed of dozens of people including Bai Jin, Jian Yong, and dozens of cars of gifts to the Bai Kingdom, and headed towards the Bai Kingdom in a mighty manner.

Because the journey between Liu Bei and the Bai Kingdom was controlled by Cao Cao and Yuan Shang, in order to go smoothly, the mission disguised itself as a caravan of the Bai Kingdom, hired the protection of the Bai Kingdom's bodyguards, and headed west from Gaotang to Dongjun, and then searched for Take the ferry, cross the river, and enter the territory of Bai Kingdom.

June
After more than a month of near misses, the envoy sent by Liu Bei finally arrived at Bai Majin, Bai Kingdom's ferry on the north bank of the Yellow River.

Two days later, the mission entered Chaoge City, which remained prosperous despite the war.

(End of this chapter)