The Rebellious Officials and Traitors of the Late Han Dynasty

Chapter 281 Yuan Shao Waiting for Me to Be Tricked
"Where are the families of Zhang He and Gao Lan? Arrest them immediately and execute the entire family."

Yuan Shao said viciously.

He believed that Zhang He and Gao Lan had betrayed his trust, and since they had surrendered to Qin Shou, they became his enemies.

"My lord, the eldest son and General Gao Gan are both in the hands of the Cavalry. It may not be appropriate to kill Zhang He and Gao Lan at this time!" Guo Tu advised.

The others also nodded.

In the troubled times, these children of noble families came out one after another and joined wise leaders, but in order to protect the interests of their families, they dispersed and joined various princes.

More importantly, no matter what the final result is, only the leader will die. If those diehards are eliminated, the other ministers will surrender one after another.

Leave a way out for yourself so that you can meet again in the future.

No one knows who the next lord will be.

Killing Zhang He and Gao Lan’s family would certainly feel good now, but what about in the future?

Unless it is necessary, they are unwilling to wipe out an entire family.

After hearing this, Yuan Shao suddenly showed an unnatural look on his face. He felt even more aggrieved when he thought that his son and nephew were still in Qin Shou's hands.

"Capture their families first! They will be dealt with later."

Yuan Shao gave the order helplessly.

"promise."

Everyone immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

"My lord, Zhang He and Gao Lan know our army's strengths and weaknesses very well, especially the grain route. I think we should adjust the layout, especially Wuchao."

Ju Su persuaded.

"Hmph, have Chunyu Qiong strengthen the defense of Wuchao, and send people to closely monitor the area around Wuchao. If there is any movement, immediately surround Wuchao and wipe out this group of people."

Yuan Shao looked ferocious and spoke viciously.

"My lord is wise."

Everyone said yes again and again.

"What should we do now? Do you have any suggestions?"

Yuan Shao was anxious.

"The eldest son has 60,000 troops. Although they have less food and grass, they are enough to break through. My lord, you can send someone to inform the eldest son to break through, while we will collect ships and attack day and night to distract the attention of the cavalry."

Guo Tu said immediately.

"No, my lord. We should gather boats and order the army to cross the river. A forced attack will surely result in numerous casualties. I think we can send troops into Henei and attack Luoyang from Henei, forcing Qin Shou to return to Luoyang and clear the road for the eldest son to return."

Ju Su suggested.

"Hmph, let's not talk about whether Zhang Yang will agree or not. Even if he agrees, what can he do? Will Qin Shou care about one Luoyang? As long as he defeats the lord, he can lose even ten Luoyangs."

Guo Tu retorted: "What good will it do if we take Luoyang? The enemy's troops will take advantage of the opportunity to march straight into Hebei and destroy the lord's foundation in one fell swoop."

Yuan Shao nodded after hearing this.

Capturing Luoyang was a good idea, but if he marched from Henei, he would have to divide his troops. Yuan Shao, who had lost 60,000 troops, would be unable to divide his troops into multiple routes to attack Qin Shou.

The opponent could easily invade Hebei and cut off their retreat.

Compared with Qin Shou, Luoyang is not absolutely important. Qin Shou's foundation is in Guanzhong.

"What Guo Tu said makes sense. It's too late to attack Luoyang now. Qin Shou's main force has already gathered at Guandu. If we divide our forces and go there, the enemy will forcefully cross the river to attack us. Once we lose Hebei, our food supply route will be in danger."

Yuan Shao shook his head. He saw the continuous military camps at Guandu Harbor, which were the enemy's main force. If he divided his troops, the enemy would take advantage of him. If even the food supply was cut off, how could he survive?

"Continue to requisition boats and prepare to force a crossing!"

"We have a strong army and great strength. Why should we be afraid of Qin Shou's army of more than 100,000?"

Yuan Shao looked disdainful and ferocious. At this time, Yuan Shao still did not take Qin Shou seriously.

In his opinion, he still had a strong army and the cavalry army was definitely not his match.

Ju Su opened his eyes and finally sighed.

He really wanted to persuade Yuan Shao, but when he thought of Tian Feng, he immediately took back what he was saying.

The army could easily harass Luoyang if it entered Hanoi.

He was absolutely sure that Qin Shou's food and supplies were stored in Luoyang. As long as he occupied Luoyang, he could threaten Qin Shou's food supply. Faced with this situation, Qin Shou could not attack Yuan Shao with peace of mind.

Unfortunately, Yuan Shao did not agree with all this. In his eyes, he should take Guandu Port as soon as possible and join forces with Puyang troops.

Is all this possible?

After all, Qin Shou is not a fool, he will not let this happen.

Compared with Qin Shou, Yuan Shao's biggest advantage is his family background. He doesn't have any other major advantages.

In war, family background does not give you an absolute advantage.

Guandu Port.

Qin Shou looked at Yuan Shao's army, which was so aggressive but had few ships, and shook his head in his heart.

It would probably take Yuan Shao a long time to collect enough boats so that the army could cross the river smoothly.

Zhang He and Gao Lan brought not only soldiers, but also a large number of ships. In this way, it was easy for Qin Shou to cross the river to the north, but it was not an easy task for Yuan Shao to go south.

Guandu Port is still the same as before, but compared with other ports, the Guandu Port section of the Yellow River seems to be gentler.

At this moment, the camp was filled with black tents. From afar, it seemed as if there were millions of soldiers hidden inside.

"Yuan Tan has lost his effectiveness. It's time to withdraw the 60,000-man army."

Qin Shou has decided to force the surrender of Yuan Tan's 60,000 troops. At this moment, Yuan Shao seems to have realized the situation and the other side will no longer send small troops to harass.

An army of hundreds of thousands attacking together, like a crushing force, and completely occupying Guandu Port is the situation the other side wants.

The best way for Qin Shou at this time was to confront the enemy on the surface. In fact, he sent part of his troops to cross the river, harass the enemy's food supply, and thus attack Hebei.

Before that, we should find a way to deal with the 60,000 troops in Puyang.

"My lord, Yuan Shao has his troops stationed in Liyang, and his food and fodder must be in Wuchao. I am willing to lead the army to raid Wuchao."

Zhang He spoke out.

Qin Shou's eyes lit up. This was the difference between a general and a commander. Among many problems, he instantly discovered the most important thing.

Qin Shou thought for a moment and said, "You two have just surrendered to the court. Yuan Shao will definitely take countermeasures against your surrender. Food and grass are of great importance. If I were Yuan Shao, even if I didn't move the food and grass away, I would deploy heavy troops for defense and even set traps to wait for us to take the bait."

Zhang He's face changed when he heard this.

"I was not thoughtful enough, please forgive me, my lord."

"No, you do have a point, but now is not the right time to attack Wuchao. We should wait for a while until the enemy is slack. That will be the best time."

Qin Shou said thoughtfully.

(End of this chapter)