Great Han Empire

Chapter 631
Ju Shou stopped Yuan Shao who was about to pull away, "What do you mean, my lord?"

Guo Tu on the side looked at the army of iron cavalry galloping in the distance, and said in a panic: "We have been fooled. Li Hong wants to kill you."

"What nonsense?" Ju Shou said calmly, "Li Hong didn't intend to kill Sir, but wanted to intimidate Sir with iron cavalry, and force Sir to join him in attacking Gongsun Zan."

Yuan Shao sneered and said, "Li Hong is a lunatic, who knows what he will do? Go, retreat quickly..."

A hundred personal guards surrounded Yuan Shaoru and flew away.

Jushou rode his horse and galloped wildly, while keeping looking back.

=

"Wuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu"

The cavalry army in the distance gradually slowed down.A white horse stood out and chased after it like lightning.Afterwards, ten guards on horseback lined up, riding their horses to follow.

=

Ju Shou took a closer look and was sure that the cavalry had stopped, so he raised his hand and shouted: "My lord... the general came alone..."

Yuan Shao looked back and shouted angrily: "Don't pay attention to him, let's go..."

Ju Shou said loudly: "My lord, we need to meet with the general to determine what the northern army thinks. This is good for us."

"What he thinks is not important to me." Yuan Shao whipped his whip and shouted loudly, "I just want him to fight Gongsun Zan. Let's go, let's go back to camp."

Jushou hesitated for a moment, and suddenly pulled the rein of the horse, "Go first, my lord, I will meet him."

Yuan Shao glared at him angrily, and waved his hands to order the guards on the left and right, "Leave fifty riders to protect Lord Ju, and the rest follow me."

===

Jushou saw Li Hong.He was the same as before, with old leather armor and loose long hair, the only difference was that his resolute face was covered with short black beards, making him look more calm and mighty.

"General, I haven't seen you in seven years, how are you?"

"Your Majesty Ju is fine." Li Hong bowed in salute and said with a smile, "Master Ju should know all about me if I am okay."

Ju Shou smiled, pointed to the cavalry army in the distance and said, "What do you mean, my lord?"

"What do you mean?" Li Hong's expression darkened suddenly, and he yelled at Yuan Shao.He scolded from the time when Yuan Shao embraced Liu Yu as emperor, until Yuan Shao seized Jizhou, "I want to ask him, why did Jizhou become like this immediately after it was in his hands? Is it Gongsun Zan who wants to occupy Jizhou by force, or is he going to destroy it?" Sheji? He doesn't have the ability, so don't be a Jizhou shepherd. The chaos in Jizhou now is all his responsibility."

Jushou was thoughtful.

Li Hong pointed to the direction where Yuan Shao disappeared, and said angrily: "Master Ju, please go back and tell Yuan Shao, tell him to weigh his own weight first, and if he doesn't have the ability to govern Jizhou, he will immediately report to the court and ask for his resignation."

Ju Shou avoided answering, and asked respectfully, "How many troops did the general bring to Hebei this time?"

"Only 3000 people." Li Hong pointed at the iron cavalry army in the distance with his horsewhip, "There is no army in northern Xinjiang to support Jizhou. Now the land outside the Great Wall has not been completed, the people are in poverty, and the tribes of the Hu tribe in the desert are constantly at odds. Under the circumstances, I dare not recruit troops from outside the Great Wall to go south.”

Ju Shou hesitated a little, and asked again: "General, I heard that Northern Xinjiang has recently purchased a large amount of grain in Jing, Henan, and Yang, and has recruited hundreds of thousands of civilians in Zhongshan and Changshan. Is this all the generals? Suspicious tactics?"

"Hmph..." Li Hong sneered, and said rather conceitedly, "2 people are enough to deal with Gongsun Zan."

There was a sneer in Jushou's eyes.

"If Yuan Shao, Jizhou Shepherd, wants to continue working, tell him to send troops to Ganling Kingdom in three days, and attack Ganling City with our Northern Frontier Army." Li Hong said very arrogantly, "What is Yuan Shao thinking? It's clear. He wants to consume the strength of our Northern Frontier Army, doesn't he? Tell him, if he doesn't attack Gongsun Zan, I will make peace with Gongsun Zan immediately, and this Jizhou Mu will belong to Gongsun Zan in three days."

Jushou's face suddenly became ugly, "General, you are the pillar of my dynasty, the general of the big man's hussars, you can't be so arrogant and perverting the law..."

"Are you talking about me?" Li Hong asked, pointing to his nose, "Am I arrogant and perverting the law? What about Yuan Shao? Who turned Jizhou into what it is today?" Then he stared at Jushou and said, "Does Yuan Shao want to While I and Gongsun Zan are both wounded, hit me so that the fisherman can benefit?"

Jushou still wanted to defend himself, but Li Hong waved his hand to stop him, "In three days, if Yuan Shao doesn't beat Gongsun Zan, I will beat him."

===

Ju Shou hurried back to Daying and told Yuan Shao what Li Hong had said.

Yuan Shao discussed with many of his staff for a long time, but could not confirm whether Li Hong's words were true or false.

Jushou, Tian Feng, Xun Chen and others all believed that the northern border army outside the Great Wall had already moved south or was going south.With Li Hong's character and use of troops, he would never fight such a losing battle, but Yuan Shao, Shen Pei and others disagreed with this view.Yuan Shao believed that Li Hong was fighting a war, and he couldn't use common sense to speculate. He also specially told everyone about the battle in Yicheng that year.Li Hong was at an absolute disadvantage at that time, but he miraculously won by relying on Huang Zhongqiang's defection.

"Your Excellency, you mean that the Qingzhou Yellow Turban Army recruited by Gongsun Zan might turn against him?" Geng Bao asked suspiciously.

"Yang Feng, Wang Dang, and Sun Qin were all leaders of the Yellow Turban Army in the past. With their abilities, it is normal for them to instigate some former soldiers of the Yellow Turban Army in the Youzhou Army." Some of the Yellow Turbans went to Handan to be appeased. It can be seen from this. Li Hong said that he can defeat Gongsun Zan, and his confidence must have come from the rebellion of the Yellow Turbans in Qingzhou."

"It seems to me that Li Hong is anxious to defeat Gongsun Zan." Yuan Shao said as he walked around the tent with his hands behind his back, "He brought three thousand cavalry to threaten me today, so it can be seen that he is very anxious. Caught on two fronts for months, he had to attack immediately."

Yuan Shao then stated his plan.At present, the Yellow River has not yet thawed and the Yellow Turban Army of Yu Du and Sui Gu is stranded in the Liyang area.If they can cross the river and join Sima Ju in early March, then the Yellow Turban Army will not be able to cross the Yellow River north to attack Jizhou until around April at the earliest.Gongsun Zan can definitely hold out until April, but will the Yellow Turban Army go north in April?

In the battle of Dongguang last year, the 30 Qingzhou Yellow Turban Army was wiped out. Therefore, Yuan Shao was not sure that the Qingzhou Yellow Turban Army would risk the entire army to go north again.In order to ensure that the Yellow Turban Army could cross Hebei in April, Yuan Shao believed that firstly, it was necessary to ensure that the Yellow Turban Army of Heishan could cross the south in March, and secondly, to cut off the way for the Yellow Turban Army of Heishan to return to Montenegro, forcing them to go south quickly.

In order to successfully cut off the retreat of the Black Mountain Yellow Turban Army, Yuan Shao planned to agree to Li Hong's request and send troops to the Ganling Kingdom with great fanfare to deceive and paralyze the Black Mountain Yellow Turban Army.After the Yellow Turban Army of Montenegro crossed the river, the army immediately left the battlefield of Ganling Kingdom and rushed to Montenegro as quickly as possible.

Whether it can successfully capture Montenegro and wipe out the Yellow Turban Army stationed in Montenegro is directly related to the stability of Hanoi and the safety of the army after it enters Luoyang. For this reason, Yuan Shao ordered all the troops in Yanzhou to retreat appropriately and let Yu Du and Suigu take the lead. At the same time, Cao Cao, the prefect of Dongjun, was ordered to lead his army to Montenegro to help.

Yuan Shao also urgently ordered Yuan Tan and Gao Gan, who were stationed in Chenliu, to launch an attack on Yuzhou as soon as possible, so that they could flank Yuan Shu with Liu Biao.

"The Northern Frontier Army has lost Yuzhou, and the Kansai and Jizhou battlefields are struggling at the same time. Under such circumstances, Li Hong's best solution is to abandon Luoyang and concentrate his forces to attack Jizhou." Yuan Shao finally said, "This way Compared with our previous strategy, there are two differences. One is that our army will leave Wei County and enter Ganling State, and the cities in Wei County must be garrisoned to avoid being invaded by the Yellow Turban Army. The other is that Cao Cao will go to Heishan Join us in attacking the Yellow Turban Army. With Cao Cao coming, our strength will be stronger, and at the same time, we can also deploy some troops to garrison Wei County."

Yuan Shao stopped, looked at the crowd, and said solemnly: "Because Gongsun Zan occupied Bohai and Hejian Kingdom, our money and food supply is very tight this year. Now we not only need to provide food and salaries for our own army, but also for northern Xinjiang. The supply of food and salaries for the army is already unsustainable. After a few months, if we cannot take Luoyang and Yuzhou as soon as possible, part of the army's food, grass and supplies can only be provided by Wei County. Therefore, the stability and security of Wei County is very important to us. It is extremely important to say that there is no room for loss.”

===

Gongsun Zan received a letter from Li Hong.

Li Hong said very politely in his letter, saying that Brother Bogui had made great contributions in defeating 30 Qingzhou Yellow Turban Army in the Battle of Dongguang.Today, the eldest princess is ordered by the emperor to worship her elder brother as General Fenwu, Marquis Ji.I have already let the courier take the imperial decree and seal, please take it, brother.Then Li Hong spoke earnestly, and described in detail the various difficulties of the court and the northern border, hoping that Gongsun Zan would put the country as the most important thing and stop the army immediately.Li Hong even promised Gongsun Zan that as long as he could stop the army and not fight, he would not only be able to garrison Jizhou, but he was also willing to write a letter to the eldest princess and the court, recommending him as the shepherd of Jizhou.Of course, the premise is that he must force Yuan Shao away.

In the end, Li Hong said, I owe my brother a drink, and I have been looking for an opportunity to ask him to get drunk. I wonder if my brother can meet at Jieqiao?
Gongsun Zan accepted the imperial decree and General Fenwu's seal, but he rejected Li Hong's invitation, unwilling to go out of the city to meet Li Hong.

Chief Shi Guanjing read Li Hong's letter carefully. He believed that Li Hong was deliberately delaying the time for the decisive battle, and that reinforcements from the Northern Xinjiang Army might be on their way to Jizhou.

From the end of December to the present, the Youzhou Army has sent thousands of scouts to Zhongshan, Changshan and Zhao Guo to inquire about the military situation, but no trace of reinforcements from northern Xinjiang has been found.According to the guesses of Guan Jing, Yan Gang and others, the Northern Xinjiang reinforcements may not have arrived in Jizhou, because a part of the Northern Xinjiang Army is now fighting Dong Zhuo in Kansai, and only the army outside the Great Wall can rush to Jizhou to support.It will take some time for the army outside the Great Wall in northern Xinjiang to assemble from the order. In addition, it is a severe winter, with heavy snow and roads blocked. It is the fastest speed for the troops outside the Great Wall to complete the assembly within two months.It is more than 2000 miles from Yunzhong, Wuyuan and other places outside the Great Wall to Julu County in Jizhou. That is to say, the army outside the Great Wall in northern Xinjiang will not reach the battlefield until at least late March or early April.

The opinion of Guan Jing, Yan Gang and others is to launch an attack on the Northern Frontier Army immediately.

Gongsun Zan also agreed with Guan Jing's opinion, but considering the strength of the two sides, the Youzhou Army did not have an absolute advantage, so Gongsun Zan was hesitant about launching a decisive battle immediately.

At present, the Beijiang Army and Yuan Shao's army together have nearly 5 people.Although there are about 10 Youzhou troops who can go to the battlefield, the main force is only 5 to [-], including the [-] cavalry in Youzhou.Gongsun Zan wanted to wait until the beginning of March, when Tian Kai and Liu Bei's main force returned for reinforcements before launching a decisive battle.

Guan Jing disagreed.He gave Gongsun Zan a detailed analysis of the current situation in Jizhou, especially the movement of the Yellow Turban Army.Tian Kai and Liu Bei fought in Qingzhou for more than two months, captured four counties in the north of Qingzhou, and drove out hundreds of thousands of Yellow Turbans.The survival of the Yellow Turban Army is getting more and more difficult.At this time, if there is chaos in Jizhou, the Yellow Turban Army will definitely go north for the second time when they see an opportunity, and the state and county officials in Yan, Qing, and Xu prefectures are of course willing to help the Yellow Turban Army. They are eager for the Yellow Turban Army to go north.After the Yellow Turban Army went north, the situation would be out of control. Therefore, Guan Jing strongly advocated that Gongsun Zan should defeat the Northern Frontier Army first, and then deal with the Yellow Turban Army going north with all his strength.

Gongsun Zan smiled and said, "Shi Qi, what do you mean we should make peace with Yuan Shao?"

"Yuan Shao suddenly withdrew his troops from Montenegro and stationed them in Qingyuan. His purpose is too obvious." Guan Jing laughed, "Who is Yuan Shao? Doesn't he know that Jizhou is a place of death? Yuan Shao's roots are in Yuzhou, and Yuan Shao's ambition is a conspiracy The world, so everything he is doing now is to weaken the strength of Beijiang and us, and prepare for him to successfully occupy Luoyang and dominate the world in the future."

"Now that the Northern Army's reinforcements have not arrived, we can take advantage of this opportunity to unite with Yuan Shao to severely injure the Northern Army and drive the Northern Army out of Jizhou, and then we will turn around and deal with the Yellow Turban Army." Guan Jing said calmly, "We and the Northern Army Fighting with the Xinjiang army and the Yellow Turban army will consume a lot of strength, this is the result Yuan Shao is willing to see, and he has no loss himself, why is he not willing?"

"As long as Yuan Shao stands still, the 2 soldiers of the Northern Frontier Army will be dead." Guan Jing said excitedly, "We still use Panhe's method to consume a large amount of Yellow Turban soldiers. They haven't been paid for the past two months. People complain quite a lot, hum..., without the benevolence and righteousness of adults, they would have been dead bones long ago, where would they have food and clothes?"

"It just so happens that we don't have much food. It would be best if [-] to [-] people die, which can solve a big problem." Yan Gang said with a smile, "In the future, if they turn against each other, we will be miserable. As long as our main force is still there, the Yellow Turbans will die." The army is nothing to worry about."

Gongsun Zan thought for a while, then nodded, "Urgently write to Tian Kai and Liu Bei, let them lead the army to the bank of the Yellow River as soon as possible. As soon as the river is opened, help will come immediately."

===

At the end of February, Li Hong led the army to leave Jieqiao and march towards Ganling City, a hundred miles away.

In the afternoon of the same day, Gongsun Zan received the news and immediately led his army to meet Li Hong's army.

The two sides faced off at Xifeng Pavilion, fifty miles away from Jieqiao.

Also on this day, Yuan Shao led his army to leave Qingyuan City and headed slowly towards Ganling City.

=

At the end of February, Jizhou, Weijun, and Yecheng.

In the early morning, the east has just revealed a hint of whiteness, and the ancient city of Ye is hidden in a faint mist.

The guard on the tower stretched long, and looked out of the city sleepily.

Suddenly, he opened his eyes wide and opened his mouth to let out a terrifying howl, "Northern Border Army... Leopard..."

===

(End of this chapter)