Great Han Empire

Chapter 747: A Storm of Troubled Heroes

Wei Yan is in his twenties, tall and strong, with dark skin, high cheekbones, and a pair of fierce eyes under thick eyebrows.Seeing Wenpin and Huang Zhong riding up to meet him, he hastily dismounted and saluted.

"Wen Chang, what did Zhang Xun say? Still no food?" Wen Pin asked anxiously.

"Reporting to the two lords, Master Zhang said that the Yellow Turban Army has been frequenting Peiguo and Xiapi recently, and the food roads have been cut off many times, so..."

"So there is no food for us?" Huang Zhong got off his horse and slammed the whip in his hand to the ground. "Yangzhou's food can be given to the Yanzhou army and the Yuzhou army. Why can't it be given to our Jingzhou army? I think Yuan Shu is extremely shameless. He's a villain at all. It's not obvious that he's just avenging his own personal revenge."

"Brother Han Sheng..." Wen Pin got off his horse and patted Huang Zhong on the shoulder, "This war is about the survival of the country, so don't turn against each other because of such a trivial matter."

"What should I do if there is no food? I can't let the soldiers go to the Yellow River hungry, can I?" Huang Zhong glared at Wenpin angrily, "Since Yuan Shu doesn't give food, I won't leave. Look, is it an order? All the ministries, set up camp in Yongqiu immediately, and wait to join the rear army?"

Wenpin hesitated.

This 6000-strong army came from the four counties of Changsha, Wuling, Guiyang, and Lingling in the south of Jingzhou. They were all southerners.At the end of February, they rushed to Xiangyang to join the army in the north of Jingzhou.In March, Liu Biao rushed to Changyi, Yanzhou together with Changshi Kuaiyue after receiving the emperor's decree, and ordered Jingzhou Prefecture to leave Liu Pan, Jingzhou Prefecture Duwei Wenpin, and Changsha Prefecture Duwei Huang Zhong to lead an army of [-]. Army, go first and slowly go north.

In the middle of March, Liu Biao urgently wrote to Jingzhou Mansion from Changyi, ordering Chief Shi Kuaiyue, Zhizhong Deng Yi, Wumeng Captain Li Yan, Nanjun Captain Pang Ji, Bing Cao Yu Lu Jie and others to lead an army of [-]. The rear army was formed, and immediately set off to the Central Plains with a large amount of food and supplies.According to the agreement, Yuan Xi of Nanyang and Xinpi Yingchuan provided food and grass for the former army of Jingzhou along the way, and Yuan Shu of Yangzhou provided them after arriving in Yanzhou. However, after the Jingzhou army entered Yanzhou, Yuan Shu refused with various excuses.

Now Wenpin can command the 4000 troops he leads, but he cannot directly order Huang Zhong's 6000 troops, so when Huang Zhong suggested that the army should stop advancing, Wenpin was very embarrassed and could not speak out to dissuade him.

"How much food does the army have?"

"There are still four days of rations." Wei Yan bowed back, "Before we reach the Yellow River, everyone will be hungry."

Wen Pin looked at Huang Zhong, and persuaded in a low voice: "Brother Han Sheng, let's go to Chenliu first, and join the high-ranking lord who rushed to Chenliu earlier, what do you think? There must be food for the high-ranking lord."

Huang Zhong narrowed his eyes, and shook his head, "Don't give this bastard a little color, he thought we Jingzhou people were afraid of him. Don't leave."

"But the imperial decree requires us to rush to the Yellow River in mid-April, if..."

"Without food, how can we fight even if we reach the Yellow River?" Huang Zhong said angrily, "I'll go and tell Lord Liu personally. We Jingzhou people will never accept such arrogance."

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Liu Pan lowered his head, kept turning the whip in his hand, and did not answer for a long time.

Liu Pan is less than 30 years old, with a medium build, a thin face, and a pair of lonely eyes. Although he is dressed in a military uniform and looks heroic, he is still a gentle scholar.He is Liu Biao's nephew. After learning of Liu Biao's whereabouts a few years ago, he and his father moved the whole family from their hometown in Gaoping, Shanyang, Yanzhou to Xiangyang.Liu Pan was intelligent since he was a child, capable of writing and martial arts. Liu Biao liked him very much and entrusted him with the important task of suppressing bandits and Nanman in Lingling and Guiyang.

There is a reason why Liu Biao specially appointed Li Hong as the former commander of the Jingzhou Army during the Northern Expedition.

The reason why Liu Biao was able to gain a firm foothold in Jingzhou was entirely dependent on the power of the Xiangyang clan, but after a long time, Liu Biao felt the threat to his power from the Xiangyang clan, so after driving Yuan away, he immediately consolidated the alliance with Yuan Shao, Trying to get Nanyang back as soon as possible as an excuse, appointed a large number of sons and daughters of clans in Nanyang and Yingchuan as Jingzhou officials, took advantage of the situation to weaken the power of Xiangyang clans, and firmly controlled Jingzhou in their own hands.

The power of the Nanyang clan in Jingzhou grew rapidly. Huang Zhong, who was born in Nanyang, was promoted from Cao Cao, a soldier of Changsha Prefecture, to the captain of Changsha Prefecture under such circumstances.

In this army, Wenpin, Huang Zhong, and Wei Yan are all from Nanyang and belong to the Nanyang clan, while most of the middle and lower-level military officials are from the Xiangyang clan. How to properly handle the contradiction between the two is Rely on Liu Pan to mediate.

In the [-] rear army in Jingzhou, this contradiction is even more prominent. Both Kuai Yue and Pang Ji were born in the Xiangyang clan, while Deng Yi and Li Yan were born in the Nanyang clan. Therefore, after this army arrived in the Central Plains, only Liu Biao Commanded by himself.

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Now that the two generals in charge of the Jingzhou former army are unwilling to move on, it will be very difficult for Liu Pan.He thought about it for a long time, and then decided to stop the army temporarily, and sent fast horses to Changyi, asking Liu Biao to think of a proper strategy.

After Liu Biao received the news, he was furious and immediately went out of the city to find Yuan Shu.

Hussar general Yuan Shu left the city after making a big fuss in the court, neither entering the city nor going to the court.In order to appease Yuan Shu, the emperor of the Changyi court specially decreed to promote him two ranks, and made him the general of hussars and the third division of Yitong.

Cao Cao, Yuan Shao and other ministers considered that this battle was of great importance, and Yuan Shu was too unreliable. Once they fought in Hebei, Yuan Shu suddenly disobeyed the command and fought randomly, it would be over, so they decided to let Yuan Shu stay in Changyi to supervise the transportation of food, grass .

This battle was fought by all states and counties, and the front line was very long. From Hanoi County to Qingzhou Plain County, there were coalition troops on both sides of the Yellow River, which was more than 1000 miles away. Yuan Shao and others decided to transport grain and grass in four routes.

Qingzhou is responsible for the food and grass of the Qingzhou Army.Yuan Shao was responsible for the grain and grass of the Hanoi Army, the Kwantung Army, and the Yuzhou Army.Liu Biao was responsible for the grain and grass of the Jingzhou Army and part of the Yanzhou Army.Liu Bei, Cao Cao and Yuan Shu were responsible for the grain and grass of the Xuzhou Army and another part of the Yanzhou Army.Several counties in the east of Yangzhou are at war, and it is difficult for Yuan Shu to provide enough food and grass, so the coalition army mainly relies on Jingzhou and Yuzhou for supplies. However, the Yellow Turban Army in Yuzhou has been making a lot of noise recently. The power of Yuan Shu.In addition, Yuan Shu and the Yellow Turban Army fought, and it could be guaranteed that Yuan Shu would not mess around in the Central Plains.

The imperial court took such good care of Yuan Shu, Yuan Shu was of course elated, and he promised, "Don't worry, as long as I sit in the Central Plains, you will never go hungry, and all of you will be fat and strong." But what he just said here was swearing , There was no food for the Jingzhou former army immediately.

Yuan Shu was right. He told Liu Biao that the road from Yangzhou to Changyi was seven to eight hundred miles long, and the road was densely covered with rivers and full of Yellow Turban soldiers. Even if I was traveling day and night, I still had no time to bring food.You have seven counties in Jingzhou, all of them are so fat that you don’t bring enough food to the Yellow River, but you expect me, a poor man, to help you. Isn’t it a joke?

Liu Biao's eyes were burning with anger.The scale of the crusade against Li Hong is so large and the time is so tight that it is rare in the world. It is already a miracle that I can pull the Jingzhou army to the Central Plains.Jingzhou is now recruiting civilian husbands, and is hurrying up to transport grain and grass northward.From Xiangyang to the Central Plains, there are more than 1000 miles. Even if I fly with long wings, it is impossible to transport grain and grass to the Central Plains in such a short period of time.Before Jingzhou's grain and grass were transported to the Central Plains, the Jingzhou Army temporarily provided grain and grass to you.
"I didn't go back on my word." Yuan Shu said with a smile, "I really can't do anything. Aren't you on good terms with Yuan Benchu? Your army is passing through Yuzhou, and you can ask Yuan Benchu ​​to give you food and grass."

"The crusade against Li Hong is a matter of the survival of the country. Your Yuan family, the fourth and third princes, has received the favor of the emperor, so how can you not do your best? If you defeat Li Hong and occupy Jizhou, your Yuan family will not only make great achievements, become famous in history, but also Enjoy endless fame and fortune, don't you even understand this truth?"

"It's not that I don't understand, it's that I think you're all dead in Hebei." Yuan Shu gloated and smiled.

"Are you still shameless?" Liu Biao pointed at Yuan Shu, trembling all over.

"Do I still have face?" Yuan Shu touched his face strangely, "Why can't I see my face?"

Liu Biao roared angrily, and the sword around his waist was pulled out in half.

Yuan Shu was startled, and backed up again and again, "Liu Jingsheng, let me tell you, if there is no food, there is no way to die." Then he ran away.

Liu Biao's eyes were filled with golden flowers, and he almost bleed to death.

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"I won't fight this battle." Liu Biao walked into the Taiwei's mansion angrily, and shouted at Yuan Shao, "Yuan Shu didn't give me food, Cao Cao said he didn't have enough to eat, and my Jingzhou soldiers will starve to death. "

"Brother Jing Sheng, what joke are you talking about?" Yuan Shao put down the paper in his hand and stood up, "Now you are the richest state in Jingzhou, and you are going to starve to death, so why should we fight?"

"In my opinion, this battle is bound to be lost." Liu Biao waved his arms angrily, "Cao Aman has ulterior motives, Yuan Gonglu fishes in troubled waters, and the others have their own ulterior motives. Everyone is suspicious and plotting against each other. Sooner or later we will all die in Hebei."

Yuan Shao's face was full of smiles, he squinted his eyes and looked at Liu Biao carefully, and said unhurriedly: "Brother Jing Sheng, this is the first time I've seen you lose your composure in decades. Have you been too tired recently? "

Liu Biao looked up to the sky and smiled wryly.Suddenly, he wailed, covered his face with his hands, and said in extreme frustration: "At first, this battle would be lost."

Yuan Shao walked up to him, patted his back lightly, and said with concern: "Brother Jing Sheng, you are too tired, go back and have a rest."

Liu Biao shook his head vigorously, "In the beginning, everyone wanted to fight this battle, and everyone wanted to benefit from it, but you insisted on attacking in seven directions. This is purely a self-defeating strategy."

"You're thinking wrong." Yuan Shao put his arms around Liu Biao's shoulders and whispered in his ear, "If you were Li Hong, how would you fight this battle?"

Liu Biao put his hands down and turned to look at Yuan Shao.

"How can Li Hong defeat us? Our seven armies attack at the same time. Who can he fight to repel us and change the world in the shortest time?"

Liu Biao suddenly realized, "This is a losing battle."

Yuan Shao smiled slightly, "What I want to know most urgently is who will Li Hong hit? Me, or Cao Aman? Or, Tian Kai?"

Liu Biao closed his eyes and shook his head in pain, "I know, Li Hong will never hit me."

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Yuan Shao turned around and picked up the document from the case table and handed it to Liu Biao, "That little bastard Liu Zhang is quite ambitious."

Liu Biao was startled, and hastily opened up to take a closer look, "He refused to recognize the emperor and the court, and refused to send troops to Guanzhong to attack Hedong." Liu Biao sneered, "How dare this evil beast repeatedly hit me in Jingzhou for attention."

"I'm worried that Liu Zhang will recognize Jinyang's emperor and the court like Han Sui." Yuan Shao frowned, walking back and forth in the room with his hands behind his back, "Han Sui is determined this time, no matter what promise I give him, He refused without hesitation, which shows that Li Hong gave him not only money and food, but also confidence. Han Sui is a hidden danger, and so is Liu Zhang."

"In the beginning, if Han Sui attacked Guanzhong after we entered Hebei, and Liu Zhang attacked me in Jingzhou, then we would be in trouble."

Yuan Shao waved his hand indifferently, "Things that are vulnerable are not troublesome. When this battle is over, they will be the troublemakers."

Then he sat down at the case table and quickly wrote a warrant, "I will ask the senior officials to transfer a batch of grain to Liu Pan immediately, so that the Jingzhou army can rush to Puyang as soon as possible."

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In mid-April, Yanzhou Dongping Kingdom.

The Xuzhou army marched on the endless plain.

Since there has been no rain for several months, the road is full of dust, and there is a hot smell in the air.

In the cultivated fields on both sides of the road, busy farmers can be seen everywhere, but the farmers are not plowing in the spring, nor carrying water to fight the drought, but waving big sticks in the wheat field (winter wheat) that is about to be harvested to drive something away. There are also many chickens, ducks and other poultry.

Guan Yu stopped his horse and looked back at Zhang Fei and Zang Ba behind him, "What's going on? The Yanzhou people want to harvest early?"

Zang Ba showed pain on his face, and pointed to the big tree beside the road, "My lords, just look at the tree and you'll know it. It's locusts, and locust plagues are about to break out in the Central Plains."

Guan Yu and Zhang Fei were shocked secretly, "The plague of locusts..."

"For more than ten years, disasters have followed one after another on both sides of the Yellow River in the Central Plains, and the people have no way to survive." Zang Ba sighed, "There are not many locusts now, but in May, the locusts will cover the sky and cover the sky, and there will be nothing everywhere they pass. "

"Will the locust plague spread to Xuzhou?" Zhang Fei asked anxiously.

Zang Ba shook his head blankly.

Guan Yu waved his horsewhip and said in a loud voice, "Urgently tell Lord Liu that a locust plague may break out in the Central Plains, please make a countermeasure early."

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(End of this chapter)