Great Han Empire

Chapter 805 The Heroes of Troubled Times Compete in the Central Plains
In the middle of March, Chenliu County, Yanzhou, and Puyang City.

Yuan Shao's proposal to withdraw the army was strongly opposed by Tian Feng.

The news from Jinyang and Yizhou, especially the fact that Hebei spent a huge amount of money to build a channel connecting the Juma River and the Gushui River in Zhuo County, Youzhou, can basically confirm that the target of Hebei's attack this year is the rebel Hu in the northern frontier. people.Our past judgments now seem to be correct.Although the Northern Frontier Army is attacking the hinterland of Henan aggressively southward, their goal is still to hold us back in order to maintain the situation where wars are raging in the Central Plains, restrict the development of all forces in the Central Plains, and prepare for their future conquests in the Central Plains.

After the Northern Xinjiang Army goes south and enters the hinterland of Henan, it will be besieged on three sides.At this time, if Guotu in Hanoi can lead his army to launch a counterattack from Heyang and Wenxian in time to regain Pinggao City, the Northern Xinjiang Army will be surrounded on all sides.Although they have a large number and can last for a period of time, as long as we quickly enter Wei County in Yizhou and cut off the food road of the Northern Border Army, they will be defeated immediately.

The Northern Xinjiang Army obviously knew their situation clearly, and their offensive was very sharp in the early stage, in order to quickly gain a foothold in Henan.However, as the battle continues, their situation will become very embarrassing.If we continue to attack, the situation in Hanoi on the north bank of the Yellow River will become more and more critical, and the grain road from Jizhou to Hanoi will be cut off by us at any time, and the Northern Xinjiang Army attacking Henan will be in trouble immediately.If they withdraw to Hanoi, they will not be able to hold back our army and prevent us from capturing the Central Plains.In addition, if they do not choose the right time to retreat, they are very likely to face the danger of losing Hanoi and suffering annihilation of the entire army.

"My lord, the northern border army's attack on Henan is a one-shot defeat. We don't need to worry, let alone return to help." Tian Feng said confidently, "Let them attack Xingyang, and relying on the strength of Xingyang City, we can definitely Hold them back. The farther the Northern Frontier Army is from the Yellow River, the closer the period of defeat will be. Taking a step back, even if Xingyang is lost, we can still wipe out this lone army that has penetrated deep into the enemy with the risk of a tiger prison. Close the prison."

Yuan Shao, Feng Ji, Xin Ping and others could not accept Tian Feng's suggestion and insisted on withdrawing troops.

Feng Ji believes that Tian Feng's eyes are only limited to Hanoi and Henan, but he did not look at Guanzhong and Kanxi.

There are [-] northern troops in Hedong, and they have been looking down on the tigers in Guanzhong and Kanxi.Now the northern Xinjiang army in the direction of Hanoi is divided into two groups, one is attacking Henan, and the other is attacking Wen County and Heyang.If the Northern Frontier Army from the east of the river suddenly enters the Guanxi at this time, Luoyang will surely be caught in a three-sided attack.Once the situation evolves into this pattern, Luoyang's troops can only stick to the eight passes of Gyeonggi.When Kansai loses support, its troops are at an absolute disadvantage, and Kansai will be lost.

Once Guanxi was lost, the connection between Guanzhong and Luoyang was cut off, and Guanzhong was in jeopardy.At this moment, our main force is in the battlefields of Henan and the Central Plains, and we cannot be rescued in time.Under the front and rear attack of the Northern Xinjiang and Xiliang armies, Guanzhong will be overthrown in a blink of an eye.

"Li Hong has always used his troops to take risks. This time, he asked the northern army in Hanoi to cross the river and attack Henan at the risk of annihilation. The purpose is obviously not as simple as preventing us from capturing the Central Plains." Feng Ji said worriedly, " In my opinion, his main goal should be Guanzhong and Kansai. Therefore, I think we should withdraw our troops quickly, drive the northern army back to Hanoi, stabilize the situation in Henan, and completely smash Hebei's vain attempt to occupy Guanzhong and Kansai. Then consider attacking the Central Plains."

Tian Feng immediately refuted it.

"Based on the current financial situation in Hebei, is Li Hong capable of fighting on two fronts at the same time?" Tian Feng waved his hands again and again, "It is absolutely impossible. Unless there is no war in the northern frontier, unless the barbarians in the desert and Liaodong are under pressure to take the initiative He negotiated peace with Hebei, otherwise Li Hong would never use his large army to attack Guanzhong and Kanxi. In addition, even if there is no war in the northern frontier, Li Hong's primary attack target is the Central Plains, not Guanzhong and Kanxi. Because the Central Plains is now full of wars, Cao Cao and Liu Bei are not strong enough to compete with Li Hong at all."

"If this is the case, we can't withdraw from Chenliu." Tian Feng said excitedly, "Once we are caught in the Henan battlefield, the Northern Xinjiang army will inevitably flow down from the north bank of the Yellow River, and the Central Plains will become Li Hong's in a blink of an eye. The thing in the pocket. Once the Central Plains is lost, Luoyang will become Li Hong's next attack target. At that time, not only Luoyang is in danger, but Guanzhong and Kanxi are also in jeopardy."

"The army must not leave the Central Plains." Tian Feng said loudly to Yuan Shao, "We must launch an attack on Jizhou immediately, without a moment's delay."

Yuan Shao kept shaking his head, his attitude was very firm, and he insisted on withdrawing his troops and returning to Henan.

Shen Pei and Xu You seemed to be hesitant on this matter.Tian Feng's worry is also their worry. Regardless of whether Hebei attacks the Hu people in frontiers this year, the Central Plains is the first choice for Hebei to pacify the world.If Li Hong wanted to attack the Central Plains this year, it would be impossible to rely on the strength of Cao Cao and Liu Bei. All the forces south of the Yellow River must form an alliance again to fight the enemy together.

Right now, Cao Cao, Liu Bei, and Sun Ce are joining forces to fight Yuan Shu between the Jianghuai River and the Huaihe River, and have no time to take care of the Central Plains. However, Yuan Shao's army has entered the Central Plains at this moment. Not only can they wait for an opportunity to capture Yanzhou, but they can also block them when the northern border army goes south and delay their attack. The high speed bought precious time for Cao Cao and Liu Bei's army to return to the Central Plains, and for the states and counties of the alliance to join forces to attack Li Hong.

Xu You explained his thoughts in detail, "My lord, you'd better be more cautious. After all, the Northern Xinjiang army going south has not yet threatened the safety of Luoyang."

Although Yuan Shao didn't believe that Li Hong would attack the Central Plains this year, Xu You's words still made him a little worried.

At this time, the judge proposed a compromise solution.

Considering the safety of Luoyang, let Jiang Qi lead an army back to Henan to help the army staying in Henan stop the northern army.

Guo Tu ordered Hanoi to immediately launch a counterattack on Pinggao City, trying to cut off the retreat of the northern army.

The main force stayed temporarily in the Baima and Puyang areas, neither crossing the river to attack Jizhou, nor returning to Henan for rescue, but waiting for the situation to change before making corresponding strategies to control the enemy.

Yuan Shao considered for a long time, and accepted the suggestion of trial and match.At the same time, he ordered more scouts to investigate along the river and pay close attention to the movements of the northern army.

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In mid-March, Luoyang.

After Jushou received Guo Tu's letter, he was very angry.

When Yuan Shao was not in Luoyang, all matters were handled by Jushou, which has been the practice for many years.This time the northern army suddenly attacked Henan, and Jushou immediately made a countermeasure. He ordered Guo Tu to take back Pinggao City at all costs, attack Huaicheng, and completely cut off the northern army's retreat.

Guo Tu refused without hesitation. The reason was very simple. He suspected that the Northern Border Army's crossing of the South River was simply a trick to lure the enemy. Wen County and Heyang City.There are only [-] troops in Hanoi. Once the trick is taken, Wen County and Heyang will all be lost, and the northern army will directly threaten Luoyang with troops from the Yellow River.If the northern border army in Hedong took the opportunity to attack Guanxi again at that time, and the enemy would restrain them in the direction of Hulao, Luoyang would be in jeopardy.

Guo Tu said in the letter that I cannot follow your order.After the loss of the two cities of Hanoi, not only the lives of me and [-] soldiers were lost, but also the hegemony of Brother Benchu, and the Dahan Society may also be overthrown because of this.

Ju Shou's tone of reply was very severe.Today's crisis is directly related to your premature abandonment of Pinggao City.If you don't obey the military order, delay the military plane, and cause Luoyang to be in crisis, I will punish you severely.

Guo Tu was furious and replied immediately.Asking me to give up Pinggao City is what Brother Benchu ​​meant. He asked me to choose an opportunity to retreat, and he didn't ask me to retreat after the main force crossed Hebei. You have no right to criticize me, and you have no reason to criticize me.Now the northern army suddenly crossed the river and broke your established plan, making you very passive. If you want to shirk responsibility, you point the contradiction at me, which is too much.

Guo Tu was in Heyang City on the north bank of the Yellow River, only sixty miles away from Luoyang City, and letters could be delivered in a few hours.

After reading Guo Tu's letter, Ju Shou was furious.It's about the fate of the country, how dare Guo Tu be so childish?

Ju Shou wrote back to Guo Tu.In whose hand was Hanoi lost?Who was killed by Zhang Liao to the point of throwing away his helmet and armor, in a panic?If I hadn't tried my best to plead for you back then, you would have been thrown into prison by Brother Benchu ​​long ago.Attack Pinggao City immediately, or I will personally rush to Heyang, arrest you and send you to prison.

Guo Tu was so furious that he smashed the letter to pieces on the spot.Shameless, you were the one who tried to kill me in front of Brother Ben Chu, you thought I didn't know?Since you are unkind, don't blame me for being unrighteous.

Guo Tu urgently wrote to Yuan Shao, emphasizing the importance of defending Heyang and Wen County to ensure the safety of Luoyang, explaining why he refused Jushou's order to send troops to attack Pinggao City, and then changed the subject, pointing the finger at Jushou, enumerating Jushou's faults and Among the many crimes, the most important one is that Jushou used Yuan Shao's trust and power to vigorously cultivate Jizhou forces in both the military and government, which has seriously threatened Yuan Shao's status and power.

This accusation hit Yuan Shao's vital point and hit Yuan Shao's sore spot.

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The reason why Yuan Shao used Jushou at the beginning was not only Jushou's own prestige, but more importantly, he needed such a person to stabilize the army and scholars in Jizhou after driving away Han Fu.Yuan Shao's own roots are in the areas of Runan and Yingchuan. If he wants to gain a foothold in Jizhou quickly, he must have people like Jushou and Shenpei to support him in the overall situation.

Jushou lived up to his expectations and helped Yuan Shao stabilize Jizhou in a short period of time.At that time, most of Yuan Shao's subordinates were civil and military officials borrowed from Jizhou, and they were inextricably linked with Jushou. This made Yuan Shao have to face the reality that Jushou's power grew rapidly, and it was strong enough to threaten him. status.

At that time, the situation in Jizhou was chaotic. Gongsun Zan, the Yellow Turban Army, and Li Hong entered Jizhou one after another. Yuan Shao and Jushou had to fight the enemy hand in hand. The relationship between the two was very close.After arriving in Luoyang, Yuan Shao returned to his base, and his strength suddenly expanded, but the power of Jushou Jizhou was everywhere. Tian Feng, Shenpei, Han Qiong, Zhu Ling, Pan Feng and other civil and military officials all belonged to Yuan Shao Yuan Shao could not do without these capable men, and at the same time Jushou's prudence and humility also reassured Yuan Shao, so the intimate relationship between the two was able to continue.During this period of time, the officials of the two factions of Yingchuan and Runan kept attacking, slandering and even framing Jushou’s Jizhou faction, but Yuan Shao always put the overall situation first and tried his best to protect the vested interests of Jushou and other Jizhou officials, and still gave them Trust and reuse.

However, when the prophecy (chen) Wei's words of "Yuan Daihan" and "Five Virtues Always Theory" spread throughout the prefectures and counties, and when Geng Bao entered the book to ask Yuan Shao to stand on his own in the Han Dynasty, Ju Shou and his Jizhou forces became a huge force. hinder.The Jizhou forces not only had an absolute advantage among civil servants, but were also powerful in the military. The combined power of the two was extremely powerful, which forced Yuan Shao to finally give up the idea of ​​becoming self-reliant on behalf of the Han Dynasty, and killed Geng Bao to calm the turmoil.

This matter deeply stimulated Yuan Shao.The relationship between him and Jushou gradually became less intimate, and the big officials borrowed from Jizhou were gradually put aside and no longer participated in decision-making.There was a time when he wanted to send Jushou and many civil and military officials borrowed from Jizhou out of Luoyang, but before he could do it, the situation in the world changed.The war in Jizhou forced Yuan Shao to use the civil and military officials borrowed from Jizhou again, but at the same time it also gave him an excellent opportunity to weaken the power of Jizhou.Jizhou generals Han Qiong, Pan Feng, and Zhao Fu died one after another, and the Jizhou forces suffered a major blow.

After the failure of the Jizhou War, the forces in Hebei became stronger, and all the forces south of the Yellow River felt this huge threat, and they used the time when Hebei recovered to seek development.Yuan Shao saw that the forces in Jizhou had weakened and the restrictions on him were getting smaller and smaller, and it was not appropriate for him to cause turmoil in Luoyang at this critical moment, so he immediately gave up the idea of ​​suppressing the forces in Jizhou and continued to use Jushou, Tian Feng, Zhu Ling and other big official.

Soon, as time passed, Yuan Shao's idea not only reappeared, but also made him a little impatient.

Over the past year or so, the Jizhou forces headed by Jushou and Tian Feng, the Yingchuan forces headed by Xu You, Guo Tu, etc., and the Yuan Clan clan forces headed by Yuan Wei and Yuan Zhong have been fighting each other. , From the modification to the implementation of various systems, from the collection of wealth to the use, all aspects involving military and political affairs have become the battlefield for everyone to compete.

The final result of the game was unexpected by everyone, that is, everyone was drawn into the dangerous vortex of the heir to the title, and this dangerous vortex led to a problem that Yuan Shao had to face, the great cause Yuan Shao wanted to build. Is it hegemony or kingship?In terms of hegemony, Yuan Shao has basically realized it now, then, after Yuan Shao captures the Central Plains and confronts Hebei across the river, should he go further and establish his own powerful kingship?Is it time for the prophecy of "Yuan Daihan" and "Five Virtues Always Say" that are still circulating in various places to be fulfilled?
When the Central Plains was about to succeed, the significance of the battle between Wang Ye and Hegemony was self-evident, which made Yuan Shao once again strongly aware of the huge obstacles that hindered his progress.

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Yuan Shao read Guo Tu's letter again and again, but couldn't make up his mind.

What Tian Feng and Xu You said today made him have an ominous premonition. If Li Hong had the same idea as himself and wanted to take advantage of the current chaos in the Central Plains to attack the Central Plains south, then the next few months would be a real battle of life and death.Whoever loses will lose the chance to fight for world hegemony.

Yuan Shao sent someone to invite Feng Ji.

Yuan Shao has many irreversible friends, but only Feng Ji and Xin Ping who clearly know that Yuan Shao's thoughts are like-minded with Yuan Shao's.After conquering Guanzhong, Luoyang was the first to spread the prophecy words of "Yuan Daihan" and "Five Virtues Always Say". Later, this rumor spread all over the world, and the instigators were these two deliberate masters.

Feng Ji and Xin Ping have had decades of personal friendship and a deep friendship, but in the past year, the two have turned their faces over the issue of Yuan Shao's heir.Xin Ping insisted on standing up for the elders rather than the young, and supported Yuan Shao's eldest son, Yuan Tan.Feng Ji is optimistic about Yuan Shao's youngest son Yuan Shang, the reason is very simple, because Yuan Shao dotes on Yuan Shang, and several times in his words he has revealed his intention to abolish the elder and establish the younger.Yuan Shao alienated Xin Ping because of this, and discussed many important matters with Feng Ji alone.

After reading Guo Tu's letter, Feng Ji immediately understood Yuan Shao's thoughts.Without any hesitation, he firmly supported Guo Tu's opinion and drove Jushou out of Luoyang first.

"This human right is falling in Luoyang, and the threat to the adults is too great. It is better to solve it earlier to avoid endless troubles in the future." Feng Ji said, "Although Guo Tu is the same as Xin Ping, he is on Yuan Tan's side and speaks for Yuan Tan. But now the main purpose is to drive away the forces of Jizhou. We don't need to take the opportunity to attack him. Instead, we should use his and Yuan Tan's forces to connive and acquiesce in their attacks on Jushou. When they get out of hand, the adults will come forward again, impartially. Yi each played fifty big boards. In this way, the adults can justifiably deprive Jushou of his power, and then drive Guo Tu to Chang'an by the way."

Yuan Shao frowned, and said guiltily, "Lord Jushou has done nothing wrong, if you drive him out of Luoyang just because of this incident, I'm really sorry for him."

"Ju Shou is too upright, and it will be a great obstacle to your future career. It is a good thing for him to remove his power earlier." Feng Ji smiled, "He can't even command Guo Tu now, how can he sit in Luoyang? Your lord should put him by your side, and let him escort food and grass, and make use of some residual energy. When your lord occupies the Central Plains, let him take a idle job to support the elderly."

Yuan Shao pondered for a while, then asked in a low voice, "How should people like Zhu Ling and Jiang Qi be settled?"

"My lord didn't kill Jushou, what are you worried about? Jushou stays with you every day and advises you. Although he no longer sits in Luoyang, he comes to the front line to help you kill the enemy. Is there anything wrong with that? Zhu Ling, Jiang Qi, etc. People are just simple-minded warriors, as long as the adults treat them well and reuse them, these people will naturally be loyal to the adults." Feng Ji said lightly, "Ju Shou is honest and upright, and these years have not done them any good. How deep is your relationship? Your Excellency, you don’t need to worry.” Then he moved closer to Yuan Shao’s side and said in a low voice, “What your Excellency should really worry about is Xu You and Tian Feng.”

Yuan Shao smiled wryly and sighed.

Jushou, Xu You, Tian Feng, and Guo Tu are Yuan Shao's right-hand men, but they are also the most resolute people who oppose Yuan Shao's establishment of the king's business.

"With Jushou and Guo Tu removed, Xu You and Tian Feng can be settled easily." Feng Ji smiled lightly and made a slight gesture, "It's as easy as flipping the palm of your hand."

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(End of this chapter)