People in the Three Kingdoms: Starting from Preaching

Chapter 226
The cold wind swept in, bringing with it a strong smell of blood. On the top of Gaoyi City, Zhang Baiqi looked at Yuan Shao's army in the distance with a heavy face. The camps of tens of thousands of people were spread out all over the place, and the dark pressure was suffocating.

When Yuan Shao was able to take action, the power he could mobilize was completely different from the previous small-scale fighting.

Even though Yuan Shao had just fought against the Black Mountain bandits and the Huns for several months, he could now easily organize an army of hundreds of thousands. He could do this because he had completely integrated the power of the local nobles and powerful families in Jizhou and gained the support of local forces.

Representatives of the Hebei gentry, such as Zhang He, Yan Liang, Wen Chou, Shen Pei, and Tian Feng, were now all dependent on Yuan Shao, a man of three generations who had been officials for four generations. Their allegiance also provided Yuan Shao with a large amount of manpower, soldiers, food and other resources, which instantly expanded Yuan Shao's power.

Even Qu Yi, who once rebelled against Han Fu, now joins Yuan Shao.

In a short period of time, Yuan Shao completely turned things around, from a small county in Bohai to the overlord of Jizhou. He had countless money, food, and soldiers, which enabled him to sustain months of protracted fighting and repel the tens of thousands of Black Mountain Huns.

Although he had suffered a great loss at the hands of Xuan Xia before, he still sent Cao Cao to capture Dongjun and extended his hand into Yanzhou, regaining some ground here.

This is the power of the reputation of the world's top aristocratic families. Yuan Shao does not need to fight any hard battles. He only needs to make a little effort to easily seize Jizhou, the foundation of his hegemony. No matter whether they are local or foreign gentry, they will take the initiative to come and join the Yuan family because of its reputation.

The whole process was so easy that it couldn't be easier. It almost made Xu Chen cry with envy.

After all, it took Xu Chenchu ​​five years of hard work to take over Youzhou, and the process was certainly difficult.

Now, Yuan Shao came to his senses and immediately led his army to attack northward without stopping.

The fall of Changshan and Zhongshan was something he absolutely could not tolerate. He was already giving face to the Yellow Turbans by not causing trouble for them, but how dare the Yellow Turbans take the initiative to offend him?
The growth of strength also made Yuan Shao's confidence begin to swell. He attributed the failure of Cao Cao and Zhang He to insufficient troops and the incompetence of the two men, but did not consider whether the Yellow Turbans themselves were too powerful.

And even if the Yellow Turbans are really strong, he can still defeat them with enough strength.

With an army of 100,000 setting out in a mighty force, he didn't believe that the Yellow Turbans could resist them. He could even defeat the coalition force of Black Mountain and Xiongnu of more than 200,000. Could the so-called Xuanxia be stronger than them?

The previous battle had just ended, and Yuan Shao immediately led his army to Changshan to start a new war. Now that he had sufficient money and food and strong soldiers, he wanted to take advantage of this momentum to regain the lost territory in one fell swoop to avoid a protracted war.

This indeed brought tremendous pressure to Zhang Baiqi.

Now the armies of both sides will meet in Gaoyi. Although Zhang Baiqi can still hold on with more than 30,000 people to defend the city, what worries him most is not here, but the vast hinterland of Changshan.

There was a huge gap in the strength of the two sides. Zhang Baiqi was simply unable to distribute his troops for defense and could only concentrate his forces to guard the most important gate.

However, Yuan Shao could attack Changshan via countless routes, and the logistics could be guaranteed to be unimpeded. Even if he defended Gaoyi here, it would be difficult to stop the invasion of Yuan Shao's other attack routes.

In fact, Yuan Shao did divide his troops to attack, with several armies led by Qu Yi, Yan Liang, Wen Chou, Zhang He, and Chunyu Qiong entering the former Changshan and Zhongshan cities from Zhending, Anxi and other places to attack the cities. Yuan Shao himself left behind 30,000 troops of his own headquarters to contain Zhang Baiqi's main force.

This strategy of dividing the troops was extremely effective. The various armies advanced straight ahead with almost no obstacles, while Zhang Baiqi could only defend Gaoyi and could not move at all.

Such a situation made Zhang Baiqi feel somewhat desperate and powerless. The huge gap in troop strength also meant a huge gap in tactical space. Although he wanted to resist Yuan Shao's attack, he lacked sufficient troops and his frontal strength was not enough to directly defeat the enemy, leaving him with no way to dispatch and deal with it.

Although Changshan has now moved over Youzhou's grassroots joint defense mechanism, it is hard to say how effective it will be given the short time frame.

Moreover, this is a helpless act. Even if it can reduce some of the damage, it cannot reverse the outcome of the war. If Yuan Shao's attack cannot be repelled this time, then Changshan, which Xuan Xia had just captured, may have to be lost again.

The current military force of Changshan is centered around the 5,000 elite soldiers left by Xu Chen, with additional soldiers selected from the Yellow Turbans of Changshan. Its combat power is simply not enough to completely defeat Yuan Shao's 30,000 troops stationed at the city gate. The reality forces Zhang Baiqi to retreat to Gao Xian.

All he could do now was send a messenger to Xuan Xia to ask for help. Now he could only hope to ask for reinforcements to deal with the situation. Or if Xu Chen's army came back to rescue Qing Xu, the situation could be saved.

Although Yuan Shao's army was mainly used to contain Zhang Baiqi's main force, it did not give up the siege.

Relying on the city wall, Zhang Baiqi was able to hold on.

This kind of containment was actually two-way. Yuan Shao's main force was also contained by himself, but the Yellow Turbans did not have the additional ability to deal with Yuan Shao's other armies.

Master, please save me. If you don’t come back, Changzhou will be in danger!

Just when Zhang Baiqi was worried, he saw Yuan Shao's position taking action and starting a new round of attack. The atmosphere on the battlefield became tense again. He didn't know how many bodies would be left in this round of attack and defense. "All troops, cheer up and defend our city!"

Zhang Baiqi shouted loudly, and the soldiers resting on the city wall gradually perked up and prepared to start a new round of defensive operations, while the many civilians below also shouted and began to do auxiliary work in the war.

If there was anything that gave Zhang Baiqi some confidence, it was the people's support for the Yellow Turbans.

Take Gaoyi as an example. These people, who had risen up with the help of the Yellow Turbans, were even more frightened than the Yellow Turbans when they heard that Yuan Shao was coming. If Yuan Shao was allowed to occupy Changshan again, the land allocated to them would be taken back, and they would have to endure endless heavy taxes and endless military service.

In order to help Zhang Baiqi defend the city, the people even took the initiative to demolish their houses and contribute wood and stones. This kind of support can be said to be very strong.

Zhang Baiqi also truly realized the advancement of Xuanxia's ideas. Only a court like Xuanxia that stands with the people can gain the people's selfless support.

Zhang Baiqi believed that if the war really became critical, these villagers would take up weapons without hesitation and climb onto the city wall.

Such support from the people gave Zhang Baiqi great confidence. He believed that no matter how long it took, as long as the food in the city was not eaten up, Yuan Shao would never be able to capture the city.

This is the confidence that the power of the masses gives him. The leader once said that the power of the masses is invincible!

Soon, the noise of attack and defense was heard again in Gaoyi. The officers and soldiers were either trying their best to attack the city gates, or building ladders to climb up and seize the city. However, the defense of the Yellow Turbans was also extremely resolute, and neither side could do anything to the other.

"The Yellow Turbans are determined to defend the city, and our army has been unable to capture it for a long time. It may not be a short-term effort to capture this city. Instead of wasting our forces, it is better to stay here and rest, and gather our strength to deal with other possible threats."

Seeing the situation of the siege, Tian Feng, who was standing on Yuan Shao's side on the platform, frowned. After several days of siege, it was obvious that the Yellow Turbans in the city were tough guys. It would be stupid to continue the attack.

Yuan Shao also nodded. He realized this. Seeing that the siege was not effective, he did not want to waste his troops.

When the attack is impossible, surrounding the enemy without attacking may be a better option.

However, Guo Tu stood up and said, "I think we can't delay. It's difficult to attack the city because our forces are scattered. It's better to combine our forces and defeat the enemy's defense with a stronger offensive. As long as we can defeat the enemy's main force here, it will be easier to deal with other possible threats in the future."

Hearing this, Xun Chen also took a step forward and said, "I also think so. Our army's large force is not conducive to a long-term confrontation. The key to this battle is not to win, but to win quickly!"

After these two people finished speaking, Yuan Shao was stunned. After pondering for a moment, he felt that it made sense, but he hesitated for a moment.

It is obvious that Tian Feng seeks stability and strives to reduce risks, while Xun Chen and Guo Tu are more radical and very confident.

It is difficult to say which of these two routes is right or wrong. It can only be said that each has its own emphasis. After pondering for a long time, he glanced at Tian Feng and finally chose to adopt Tian Feng's opinion.

Because the strategy of dividing the troops was originally proposed by Tian Feng. Since Tian Feng's strategy was adopted at the beginning, it would be better to continue to listen to Tian Feng in the future.

Moreover, considering that the Jizhou gentry had only recently surrendered to him, he might need to show more favor to them so as to win over their hearts. Tian Feng was the representative of the Jizhou gentry under his command.

Yuan Shao was not a stupid man. In fact, he had already felt the internal struggle after he took over Jizhou.

The local faction in Jizhou did not like the power of the Yingchuan faction represented by Xun Chen and Guo Tu, and the Yingchuan faction also demanded greater voice, so a rivalry between the two sides was inevitable.

When Guo Tu and Xun Chen came out to offer suggestions, it did not necessarily mean that they really disagreed with Tian Feng's strategy. Perhaps they just wanted to oppose it.

How to reconcile internal factional conflicts is also something Yuan Shao needs to consider.

This time we followed the opinions of the Jizhou faction, next time we should listen to the Yingchuan faction.

Tian Feng remained unmoved, and continued, "In my opinion, Xuan Xia is not an easy opponent. Now that our army has counterattacked, it will inevitably lead to Xuan Xia's troops. Although our army has the advantage at the moment, it is not a real war yet."

At this point, Tian Feng's eyes flashed with worry: "I have been paying attention to the Yellow Turbans in Youzhou for a long time. They were able to defeat Gongsun Zan and Liu Yu successively and annex Youzhou. Their strength is far beyond imagination. If our army is confused by the current advantage and becomes arrogant, there will be disasters in the future!"

(End of this chapter)