People in the Three Kingdoms: Starting from Preaching

Chapter 208 Taking Jizhou?
"Yuan Shao has taken Jizhou."

After picking up the report and taking a look at it, Xu Chen did not have any special reaction. This was exactly what he expected. Even though his appearance had changed a lot of things, this impact was not enough to shake the inertia of history.

In history, Yuan Shao took over Jizhou, and even if I come now, it will not change the course of history.

"Yuan Shao was able to mobilize Heishan Zhang Yan to help seize Jizhou. I think he also promised to share the land, but this promise is doomed to be empty."

It was not difficult to guess what was going on. Ju Shou quickly came up with an answer: "Yuan Shao will definitely not be able to fulfill his promise. It all depends on how Zhang Yan will react. From what I have seen, I am afraid that after Yuan Shao takes control of Jizhou, he will inevitably have to fight with Zhang Yan."

Xu Chen agreed: "Zhang Yan did not use a single soldier or hero, he just deployed his troops to intimidate Han Fu. It is wishful thinking for him to think that he can share Jizhou with Yuan Shao."

In fact, Zhang Yan played a role in Yuan Shao's capture of Jizhou, but he was just an inducement.

First, Zhang Yan deployed tens of thousands of troops in a massive manner and prepared to attack. On the other hand, Yuan Shao also led his troops to move. This put great pressure on Han Fu. At this time, Yuan Shao sent out an envoy, Chen Ming, to force Han Fu to give up Jizhou on his own.

And Han Fu actually gave up Jizhou without even fighting. This result is really hard to believe.

The seemingly incomprehensible operation was actually Han Fu's helpless choice after weighing the pros and cons. Of course, this also had a lot to do with his cowardly character.

Yuan Shao had the Nanyang aristocratic group represented by Feng Ji and Xu You, the Yingchuan aristocratic group represented by Guo Tu and Xun Chen, and he also had Cao Cao as his thug, and he could unite the power of Qu Yi. Even the Xiongnu Yu Fuluo and Zhang Yang coalition forces were under Yuan Shao.

In comparison, Han Fu's sole reliance on the support of the Jizhou gentry seemed insufficient. Now, intimidated by Yuan Shao's strength and the reputation of the Yuan family, and forced by the Black Mountain bandits, he finally compromised with Yuan Shao.

The reason why Yuan Shao was able to take Jizhou was because of his own strong strength, and the Black Mountain Army only accelerated the process of his annexation of Jizhou.

With just this, how could Yuan Shao really share Jizhou with Zhang Yan? This was destined to be a sweet benefit that Zhang Yan would not be able to reap.

Tian Shitou, who was standing by, showed a change of expression and said, "Yuan Shao seems to have made preparations to deal with Zhang Yan. After becoming the governor of Jizhou, he subdued Qu Yi and ordered him to garrison in Weijun with Cao Cao. This is obviously to guard against the Black Mountain Army."

After hearing this additional information, Xu Chen and Ju Shou's first reaction was not about the affairs of Jizhou, but that the people of the Han Dynasty were becoming more and more dispersed.

Yuan Shao, the governor of Jizhou, took charge of the country without any regard for legal procedures. He only considered his own strength. This was a real case of using the power of the army to gain power, and no one cared about the authority of the imperial court.

"Yuan Shao is already the de facto lord of Jizhou, but his foothold is not stable after all. Now he has to rush to deal with Zhang Yan of Heishan, which may not be easy for him." Xu Chen analyzed while looking at the map.

Tian Shitou added: "I'm afraid it's not just the Black Mountain Army. According to the intelligence gathered by my subordinates, the imperial court in Chang'an has also been organizing an army recently, and it seems that they are planning a counterattack. If they join forces with the Black Mountain Army, it will be even more difficult for Yuan Shao to deal with."

When Ju Su heard this, he was suddenly moved. One Black Mountain bandit might not be enough to shake Yuan Shao, but with the power of the Chang'an court, it would be a different story.

Xu Chen also had an idea and looked at Tian Shitou together with Ju Shou.

Tian Shitou continued, "After Yuan Shao took over the post of governor of Jizhou, Dong Zhuo immediately appointed Hu Shou as governor of Jizhou in the name of the imperial court. This intention to deal with Yuan Shao is obvious. In addition, there are signs that the armies of Li Jue and Guo Si, two of Dong Zhuo's subordinates, are being mobilized. Judging from all these signs, I think the imperial court in Chang'an will intend to strike back."

"This must be what Captain Tian said." Ju Su could no longer sit still, and stood up and looked at Xu Chen: "My lord, Xuan Xia has been recuperating for a long time, it's time to move. Yuan Shao has taken Jizhou, but we can't take it?"

Xu Chen's gaze then fell on the map of Jizhou and he began to ponder.

Should we start preparing to seize Jizhou?

"Yuan Shao now has the support of the nobles in Yingchuan, Nanyang and Jizhou. His strength is very strong. Even if he really fights with the Black Mountain Army of the Chang'an court, I'm afraid we won't be able to fully benefit from it. It's unlikely that we can swallow up Jizhou as a whole."

Xu Chen considered it for a while and came to a conclusion that it was a bit too much to want to take over the entire Jizhou.

In order to take over Jizhou, one must take over Yuan Shao's main army, but Yuan Shao's main force is stationed in Weijun, which is located in the southern part of Jizhou. Unless Xuan Xia travels across the entire Jizhou to participate in the war, it is impossible to do so.

To fight deep into the heart of Jizhou through the hinterland is a suicidal act in militarily terms. Even the logistics line cannot be guaranteed, and it is impossible to support an expeditionary operation.

Ju Su also understood this kind of thing: "My lord, it is a good idea to take over all of Jizhou, but we can take advantage of this opportunity and take over some of Jizhou County."

Such a plan is much more constructive and more in line with Xu Chen's ideas.

Xuanxia has been developing steadily for quite some time. Large-scale combat may be difficult, but launching an army of 20,000 people is still easy. The combat effectiveness of the 20,000 Yellow Turbans is also enough to achieve a certain degree of combat objectives. So, where should we fight?

"I think we can take Hejian and Zhongshan counties to unite with Zhang Baiqi's army in Changshan. In this way, Xuanxia will have a strong fulcrum in the northern part of Jizhou. As long as we develop based on the Yellow Turbans in Changshan, we can first defeat the Black Mountain Army in the south, and then join forces with the main force of Xuanxia to attack Yuan Shao, and we will definitely take Jizhou!"

As soon as Ju Shou made the suggestion, Xu Chen and Tian Shitou both nodded slightly.

In the past two years, Zhang Baiqi has made some progress in Changshan, but it is just some progress. It is not easy to argue with Zhang Yan on weekdays. It is difficult to get direct help from the outside because of separation from Youzhou. He can only maintain some existing bases by his own strength and has never had the opportunity to grow and develop.

If Xuanxia could take over Changshan and Zhongshan counties, then Xuanxia would truly establish direct contact with the Yellow Turbans of Changshan, and many things would become much easier to do.

It is entirely possible for Zhang Baiqi to defeat Zhang Yan and unify the entire Five Elements Mountain with the support of Xuan Xia. In this way, the power of the Yellow Turbans can also be extended, threatening Guanzhong to the north and overlooking Jizhou to the east.

"Let's act according to this plan." Xu Chen did not think about it for too long. At this moment, this plan was undoubtedly feasible.

Then he turned his head and looked at Tian Shitou: "Call Wang Dang and Lu Ping, have them organize a military meeting to draw up a battle plan, and start recruiting soldiers for pre-war preparations. In this battle, I will lead 20,000 troops to seize Changshan and Zhongshan counties!"

As the supreme commander of Xuanxia, ​​Xu Chen issued absolute military orders. Tian Shitou immediately responded with a military salute, then turned around to convey the order.

Xu Chen stood up and walked into the side room, and Ju Shou followed him in. There was a large table inside, and on the table was a huge sand table map, which included several states and counties bordering Youzhou, including Changshan and Zhongshan.

Such a sand table is certainly not accurate at all. It is just for showing the macro terrain and main routes and can be used as a reference.

"Although 20,000 troops are not many, we only want to take two counties, which is enough. Moreover, under Dong Zhuo's counterattack, Yuan Shao will not have more energy to deal with us. Weijun and Yecheng are the core areas of Jizhou. Once faced with a choice, Yuan Shao will definitely value Weijun and neglect Changshan and Zhongshan!" Ju Su pointed at Weijun and gave his own judgment.

Xu Chen nodded and said, "You can't chew too much. It's enough to take over two counties."

Xuanxia's military investment is huge, but a considerable part of this investment is used to build military equipment. To be honest, at least half of it is used to support industry. The remaining military budget can hardly support large-scale operations.

Even if we only calculate that the adults in the 20,000-man army only need two kilograms of grain per day, the food alone would be 330 dan of grain per day. If you add the soldiers' salaries and the consumption of logistics and transportation itself, the total cost would be more than a thousand dan per day.

If we take into account the consumption of arrows and medicinal materials, as well as horse feed and compensation for soldiers' casualties, the cost of fighting for two or three months would easily be 200,000 to 300,000 shi.

Based on this consumption, if a full-strength army of 50,000 were to fight for two or three months, the cost of the war would be as high as one million shi.

This year's military budget has already been planned. Xu Chen is not very willing to fight a war of too large a scale. Forcing it to start would mean squeezing out the already arranged investment in people's livelihood, which would not be worth the cost.

Twenty thousand people are enough and we can afford the fight, so there is nothing to hesitate about. All we have to do next is wait for the opportunity for Jizhou and Chang'an to start fighting.

Here in Xuanxia, ​​intensive preparations for war had already begun, and the situation in Jizhou developed just as they had expected. Chang'an, with Li Jue, Guo Si and Zhang Ji leading their troops, launched an offensive outside the Great Wall, while the Black Mountain Army also attacked Yuan Shao at the same time.

The two forces started to act in such a tacit understanding that everyone knew that the two sides must have colluded with each other.

But the story does not end there. In addition to these two armies, Yu Furuo and Zhang Yang, who had originally been affiliated with Yuan Shao, suddenly rebelled and joined the court in Chang'an, then turned their guns around and joined in the attack on Jizhou.

All these forces made Yuan Shao feel very troubled for a while. If there was any good news, it was that the target of Li Jue, Guo Si and Zhang Ji's battle was not Yuan Shao, but just a simple counterattack by Chang'an.

Therefore, their target was not Jizhou, but they went all the way to Yingchuan and Chenliu to burn, kill and loot.

To a certain extent, the purpose of their expedition was to plunder.

Fighting is a tough job, and if possible, they would not want to cause trouble with Yuan Shao. After all, Yuan Shao was not a small character who could be easily manipulated, and there was no need to consume their own troops.

Therefore, Yuan Shao only had to face the Black Mountain Army and Yu Furo and Zhang Yang.

Although these two forces are not easy to fight, they are much easier to fight than Li Jue, Guo Si and Zhang Ji.

Whether Yuan Shao was willing or not, the war in Jizhou began when he had not yet gained a firm foothold. For a time, Wei County of Jizhou and Dong County of Yanzhou were all over the place. Yuan Shao relied on his own strong strength and finally withstood this powerful offensive.

(End of this chapter)