Great Han Empire

Chapter 861 The Heroes of Troubled Times Compete in the Central Plains
In August, Xuchang, Yingchuan County, Yuzhou.

Yan Rou and Jiang Wu were ordered to lead the army across the Langtang Canal, and quietly lurked at the confluence of the Langtang Canal and the Guo River.In order to facilitate the raid, the soldiers all put on the armor of the Henan Army and the Yanzhou Army, and the battle flags were also changed to the banners of Yuan Shao and Cao Cao.After the scouts found out that Xu Wei, Cao Hong and others had led their troops northward to attack Chenliu, Yan Rou and Jiang Wu led their troops across the Wohe River overnight and quietly attacked Yan (yan) Ling, a hundred miles away.

The hills around Yanling are not conducive to the running of cavalry, but it is good for cavalry to hide their tracks.Under the guidance of several guides, the army rushed eighty miles overnight and rushed to the outside of Yanling City.

Twenty miles southwest of Yanling City is the Wei (Wei) River, and after crossing the river, Xuchang is forty miles southwest. Therefore, whether it is Yanling City or the banks of the Weishui River, the coalition forces are heavily guarded.Yan Rou was worried that the army would be exposed after dawn, so she specially asked the guide to lead the army to detour through the trails outside the city, and rushed directly to the Weishui River to seize the pontoon bridge, and directly killed Xuchang.

However, when the army marched ten miles southwest of Yanling City, it was dawn.It was early in the summer, and Yan Rou had already figured it out, but due to the dark night march, various abnormalities appeared on the way, and the army still failed to reach the river before dawn.The [-] cavalry brought by Yan Rou and Jiang Wu were all Biansewula cavalry. Although many of the cavalry were Han Chinese, they were all from Bianjun without exception. Listen out.At this moment, it is impossible to rely on the armor of the coalition army to fool around.

Yan Rou discussed with Jiang Wu.Time waits for no one, just rush over and forget it.The main purpose of this surprise attack was to disturb the rear of the coalition forces. Even if the army was exposed prematurely, as long as the iron cavalry could reach the city of Xuchang, the goal could still be achieved.

At this moment, the scouts reported that the gate of Yanling City was opened wide, and a grain transportation team came out from the city, including about 30 to [-] trucks and more than [-] food guards.

Yan Rou hardly thought about it, and waved her hand, "Ambush them and kill them all. Find some smart soldiers to pretend to be food transporters and enemy soldiers, and immediately capture the pontoon bridge."

The food transport team of the coalition army was very unfortunate. They were decapitated on a hill ten miles out of the city.Jiang Wu asked several frightened guides to put on the clothes of food guards, and expanded the number of food guards to 100, and then led them to rush to the pontoon with food.

The pontoon bridge on the Weishui River was guarded by about 500 people. The soldiers guarding the bridge did not doubt their identities.There was a big war in Henan recently, and the army often came and went from here. The soldiers guarding the bridge had long been accustomed to it, and they didn't even raise their eyes, as if they hadn't seen it.A few bridge guards stepped forward to make routine checks.The guide was terrified and stuttered.The soldiers who were interrogating were very strange, and just as they were about to ask carefully, Jiang Wu couldn't bear it anymore, and took the lead in attacking, and chopped off a head with a single knife, "Brothers, kill me, take the pontoon bridge, quickly..."

The horn blares.Some iron knights rushed up the pontoon bridge and killed the opposite bank, while some soldiers dressed as civilian husbands raised their weapons and threw themselves at the panicked rebels at the bridgehead.The main force of the iron cavalry, who was slowly approaching from a distance, heard the sound of the horn, and immediately hit the horse and galloped, roaring in.For a moment, on both sides of the Weishui River, war horses neighed, and the sound of killing shook the sky.

All five hundred soldiers were killed or injured, and even those who could run fast were killed by the following iron cavalry.

Seeing that the traces were exposed, Yan Rou immediately ordered a thousand cavalry to turn around and attack Yanling, surrounded the city and protected the pontoon bridge.He and Jiang Wu each led 2000 troops to kill Xuchang City all the way, and led the grain transportation team all the way to attack the grain and grass camp outside Xuchang City.If there is a chance, rush into the food and grass camp and set fire to the food.

Forty miles away, it's here in a blink of an eye.Although there were many checkpoints along the way, these people were caught off guard by the bloody massacre of the northern Xinjiang cavalry.

Liu Biao and Ju Shou in Xuchang City were shocked when they heard the news. They didn't know how many northern Xinjiang cavalry had come, so they could only close the city gate and defend the city, while urgently asking for help from the surrounding cities, and sent people to Guandu Yuan Shao and Chen Liu's Kuai Yue quickly mobilized troops to return to aid.Originally there were nearly ten thousand troops stationed around Xuchang City, but this time Yuan Shao transferred all of them to the Chenliu battlefield in order to achieve the purpose of counterattack.

Yan Rou went all the way to the city of Xuchang, he ordered all the troops to run around the city, pretending to be a large group of troops to attack, and frighten the defenders in the city.

The supply camp ten miles outside the city was in a panic.For the Central Plains War this time, Yuan Shao built an unprecedented large camp outside Xuchang City. The grain and grass transported from Jingzhou, Yuzhou, Xuzhou, and Yangzhou were first concentrated in this big camp, and then allocated by the imperial court.Unexpectedly, in such a safe place, Northern Xinjiang cavalry appeared.Almost everyone thought that the front line had been defeated, and the northern Xinjiang cavalry had already reached Yuzhou.The grain guard army and civilian husbands were very frightened. Under the command of the school lieutenant Zhang Sheng, they dragged out thousands of supply vehicles from the camp, and set up a vehicle array outside the camp as quickly as possible.

At this moment, a small group of soldiers escorted dozens of grain trucks galloping forward.Behind this convoy, the sound of rumbling war horses galloping could be faintly heard, apparently an army of iron cavalry was following them.Because the scene was too chaotic and everyone was in danger, the grain transport convoy was put into the supply camp without any questioning.

Jiang Wu led the iron cavalry to kill him.The [-] soldiers guarding the main camp didn't wait for the cavalry to approach, and immediately unleashed their bows and crossbows. In an instant, dark clouds covered the sun, and arrows flew all over the sky.Northern Xinjiang cavalry can't get close, so they can only line up and wait from a distance.

Suddenly, thick smoke billowed in the camp, and bundles of flames rose into the sky. Amidst the horrified and desperate cries of the people, huge grain storages were engulfed by the flames.

Zhang Shenghun flew into the sky, and for a moment he could only yell helplessly.Tens of thousands of people in the camp were heartbroken, and under the threat of the scorching heat, they finally collapsed and fled in all directions.The [-] grain guards were the first to be dispersed by the men who were rushing forward, and then they also dropped their weapons and fled with their heads in their arms.

Jiang Wu didn't hesitate any longer and led his army to kill wantonly.

Yan Rou under the city of Xuchang saw the raging flames burning half of the sky red, and knew that the purpose of this trip had been achieved, so she immediately blew the horn and led the army away like a whirlwind.

=

At dusk, Liu Biao, Ju Shou, Wang Lang and other ministers rushed to the supply camp under the escort of a team of personal guards.

The fire here is still burning, and it is estimated that it will not be extinguished in a day or two.The fugitive civilian husbands and soldiers saw the northern Xinjiang cavalry retreat, and rushed back from all directions one after another.Zhang Sheng knew that he was guilty of a serious crime, so he killed himself.

Liu Biao's face was livid, his emaciated body was trembling constantly, he was so angry that he couldn't even speak.

This is the largest grain, grass, and supply camp. Although Luoyang and Wancheng in Nanyang each have one, the scale and number of settlements are not as large as here.The destruction of this camp was a fatal blow to the coalition forces.

Liu Biao turned to look at Jushou.Ju Shou was staring blankly at the dust floating in the air, and the sweat on his face kept flowing down his cheeks.His expression is very strange, with anger, despair, depression, and sorrow, giving people a feeling of ashes.

"Can the existing grain and grass last until the autumn harvest in October?" Liu Biao asked weakly, wiping the sweat from his forehead.

Ju Shou shook his head, "If the numbers reported by the counties and counties are true, and if the officials in Luoyang and Wancheng have not filled their pockets, they should still be able to last for a month." Ju Shou paused and shook his head, "If you save a little, it will take a month and a half at most. .”

Liu Biao's eyes went dark, and he felt dizzy, dizzy, and his body shook involuntarily.Standing behind him, Wang Lang supported him, and asked with concern: "My lord, are you uncomfortable? It's too hot here, let's go back to the city and discuss it."

Liu Biao took a few deep breaths, and forced himself to stand upright, "What else can we discuss? Tell Master Yuan urgently, make a decisive battle as soon as possible, otherwise we will be defeated."

"How did the northern Xinjiang cavalry come here?" Wang Lang sighed sadly, "Didn't Yidu (Kuai Yue) and Meng Yu (Xu Yu) say that they had already surrounded Yan Rou and Gao Shun's army in Chenliu? There are [-] troops, and there are three lines of defense at the River River, the Langtang Canal and the Guohe River. How could they be so negligent and make such a fatal mistake."

"We can't blame them. If we want to blame, we can only blame ourselves for being too careless. We didn't deploy heavy troops in Yanling and Weishui River." Ju Shou sighed and didn't continue.Who should blame?If Yuan Shao followed his advice and did not transfer the troops stationed in Xuchang to the Chenliu battlefield, what would happen to the current situation?Thousands of troops rushed to the battlefield of Chenliu, but they did not have any effect on the situation of the battle. On the contrary, they left a fatal loophole in their rear.

"The iron cavalry of the northern border army are elusive, and they are hard to guard against." Wang Lang hesitated and said, "Maybe they just wanted to harass us and scare us, but who knew that they accidentally hit and burned our food and grass camp. The advantage was taken back by the Northern Xinjiang Army in a blink of an eye."

Liu Biao and Ju Shou looked at each other, and both sighed.

"Block the news." Liu Biao waved his hand, "Do everything possible to block the news, so as not to shake the morale of the army."

=

When Jushou returned to the city, he immediately wrote to Yuan Shao, asking Yuan Shao to move the emperor to Luoyang immediately.

The northern border army strode back on the battlefield of Chenliu, attracting all the troops of the coalition army to the city, apparently to cover and respond to the iron cavalry that had been lurking somewhere for a long time and took the opportunity to attack Xuchang.The purpose of this iron cavalry is not food and grass, but the little emperor in the city, but today's result is a bit unexpected, they did not grab the little emperor, but burned the coalition army's food and grass.

The Northern Xinjiang Army didn't know how much food and grass the coalition had accumulated. Even if they burned the food and grass camp in Xuchang, they would not have thought that the coalition could only last for more than a month.Similarly, the entire coalition army is not very clear about this issue. That is to say, as long as the imperial court and the front-line commanding generals are consistent, and they don't care about this matter lightly, and conceal the actual situation, none of the soldiers will be aware of it. The crisis is imminent, but there is one thing that is urgent, and that is the safety of the emperor.

We have already seen the sharpness of the northern Xinjiang iron cavalry. Li Hong exchanged his retreat on the battlefield for this fatal blow. The advantage we regained with all our efforts was lost in an instant.If the northern Xinjiang cavalry killed the little emperor in a surprise attack, the consequences would be even more dire.During the Great War in the Central Plains, the reason why the adults were able to form an alliance to fight Hebei was because of the imperial lineage of the Han Dynasty.Without the imperial system of the Han Dynasty, the prefectures and counties are independent, it is difficult to form an alliance, and it is easy to be defeated by Hebei.The Jizhou War the year before and this year's Central Plains War both illustrate the fact that in today's world, apart from the emperor, no one can pull all states and counties under the same banner.Isn't your lord's prestige today also due to his respect for the Son of Heaven?

I don't know if your lord has considered it. If we win the Central Plains War, when your lord is busy chasing the northern army to recover Yanzhou, Liu Biao takes the opportunity to hold the emperor hostage and move the emperor to Xiangyang. What will it mean to your lord?Liu Biao's strength doubled, and the prefectures and counties gathered in Xiangyang, and the master's strength dropped sharply.

Today, my lord just wiped out Cao Cao, and soon another Liu Biao appeared. My lord's dream of pacifying the world may still be far away.If Liu Biao coerced the Son of Heaven to command the world, then my lord would face enemies from three sides. Luoyang had Li Hong from Hebei in the north, Han Sui in the west, and Liu Biao in the south. When will your lordship succeed?

The emperor moved to Luoyang, and the emperor returned to the capital. This shocked the world and boosted the morale of the coalition forces. I am afraid it is beyond your imagination. This is probably the main reason why Li Hong was worried and sent troops to attack Xuchang.At the moment before the Central Plains War enters the decisive battle, if the emperor returns to Luoyang, the chances of winning this battle will be greatly increased.

Taking a step back, if we lose this battle, or draw a tie, and let the Northern Xinjiang Army gain a firm foothold in Yanzhou, then the next fierce battle will be fought in the Guan and Luo areas. How can our family be able to stop the battle? Can it withstand the attack of the Northern Xinjiang Army?We need the support and help of all states and counties, just like this Central Plains War, we must join forces to fight against Hebei.At this time, if the emperor is in Luoyang, in order to protect the emperor, the states and counties will spare no effort to go north to help. On the contrary, if the emperor is not in Luoyang, how many people will go north to help?Maybe some people hope that the adult and Li Hong will lose both in the fight so that they can benefit from it.

My lord, maybe you didn't want to move the emperor to Luoyang at first, maybe Liu Biao, Cao Cao, Liu Bei and others tried their best to prevent you from moving the emperor to Luoyang, but after the Central Plains War, we need a long period of recovery and more time to unite Other states and counties went north to conquer, so for your own hegemony, you must take advantage of this rare opportunity to move the emperor to Luoyang immediately under the pretext that the safety of the emperor cannot be guaranteed.At present, Liu Biao's army is eager for a decisive battle in the Central Plains due to the shortage of food and grass. At this moment, he has to succumb to you, and Cao Cao and Liu Bei are no longer able to pose a threat to you due to their great loss of strength.

=

Mid-August, Henan, Zhongmu City.

In panic, Yuan Shao received an urgent letter from Ju Shou.

The Xuchang grain, grass, and supply camp was successfully attacked by the northern Xinjiang cavalry and was destroyed in one fell swoop.The existing food and grass cannot last until the autumn harvest in October, so please complete the decisive battle before mid-September, otherwise the consequences will be disastrous.

Yuan Shao was shocked to the extreme.The battlefield advantage that was finally obtained was wiped out in a blink of an eye, and there was nothing left.He hastily invited Feng Ji, Xin Ping, Yuan Zhong and others to the big tent, and everyone was stunned when they heard the news.

"Can the news be blocked?" Yuan Zhong said worriedly, "Once it leaks, the army is bound to collapse."

"It's estimated to be about the same. The grain and grass on the Guandu battlefield are transported by Luoyang and Guancheng, so it's not a big problem for the time being." Yuan Shao handed the letter from Ju Shou to the three, "Brother Jing Sheng (Liu Biao) has ordered Nanyang Wancheng to send all the grain and grass The luggage was quickly transported to Xuchang, as long as it can meet the needs of Chen Liu on the battlefield, the morale of the army will not be disturbed."

"Did you order Yidu (Kuiyue) to capture Chenliu immediately, and pull the [-] army to the Honggoushui area for a quick decisive battle?" Xin Ping asked.

"I have already issued an order, but Yidu has been delaying again and again, and he is still unwilling to attack the city." Yuan Shao shook his head angrily. Du didn't want to fight, Cao Hong didn't want to fight, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei didn't want to fight, and Meng Yu (Xu Qi) was left alone, so there was nothing left."

"They expect the Beijiang army to abandon the city and leave for nothing." Feng Ji sneered, "If the Beijiang army doesn't leave, they won't go north. Now there is not enough food, and there is not much time left for us to fight , You have to fight if you don’t fight.”

"You can't tell them directly that there is not enough food, right?" Yuan Shao said helplessly, "Brother Jing Sheng will definitely inform the other degrees about this matter, and they are probably going to attack the city soon."

Jushou's letter was uploaded from Yuan Zhong to Xin Ping, and from Xin Ping to Feng Ji.Neither Yuan Zhong nor Xin Ping made any comments.Feng Ji just looked at it, and immediately flew into a rage, "He is just like Tian Feng, he has a crow's mouth. How can he still lose? Give it to him?"

Yuan Shao's face suddenly sank.Yuan Zhong and Xin Ping looked at each other and remained silent.

Feng Ji pointed to Ju Shou's letters and refuted them one by one.

The purpose of the northern Xinjiang cavalry's surprise attack on Xuchang was to kill the little emperor?This is nothing short of a joke.How many cavalry were there to attack Xuchang?Even if they have 1 people, but there are 5000 defenders in the city, [-] troops in the food and grass camp outside the city, and [-] recruits from Xun Chen in Yangdi, two hundred miles away, can they beat Xuchang?Have enough time to win Xuchang?This is basically the guilt of dodging the burning of the food and grass camp for oneself.This iron cavalry went to Xuchang for nothing more than to harass our rear, force us to send troops back to help, and create opportunities for the Northern Xinjiang Army to break through the siege on the Chenliu battlefield, but Liu Biao, Jushou and others were negligent and committed a crime. unforgivable guilt.The food and grass camp was burned, and the crime of jumiao was unforgivable.

My lord has today's prestige, thanks to respecting the emperor?This is a big joke, Ju Shou is talking nonsense with his eyes open.Back then, the adults formed an alliance against Dong with the order of inheritance, and which emperor did they honor?Have we honored the emperor of Chang'an for so many years?Does your lord lose his prestige because of this?The war in Jizhou, the war in the Central Plains, my lord is just conforming to the situation. If there is no such thing as today, wouldn't my lord be able to form an alliance to fight against Hebei?If we don't form an alliance to fight against Hebei, our life will be a little bit sad, but Cao Cao, Liu Biao and his ilk may not have much time.Everyone is in order to survive and form an alliance to resist Hebei. What does it have to do with honoring the emperor?
After winning the Central Plains War, Liu Biao still dares to hold the emperor hostage?What is he holding the emperor hostage for?Against us?If he dares to confront us, we will destroy him.At that time, Li Hong in Hebei lost and needed to regain his vitality. We can pretend to negotiate a peace with him to stabilize Hebei, and then gather the main force to go south to conquer Liu Biao and cut off his head.Holding the emperor hostage?Is the emperor also held hostage by something like Liu Biao?I think Ju Shou's words are clearly driving a wedge between Mr. Liu and Liu Biao.My lord and Liu Biao fight, who wins?Li Hong from Hebei.Tian Feng has close contacts with Hebei, and he probably does too.Now that he was demoted to Xuchang by the adults, he was dissatisfied, and in all likelihood he hooked up with Hebei.I heard that his younger brother Juzong works in Jizhou Prefecture, he is very powerful, we have to guard against it.

Yuan Shao's face became more and more ugly.

"Don't you think it's inconceivable that the northern Xinjiang cavalry attacked Xuchang casually and burned the heavily guarded food and grass camp?" Feng Ji suddenly thought of something, and suddenly said nervously, "Could it be that Ju Shou leaked the secret? He, how many people know that the Yanling and Weishui troops have been transferred to the Chenliu battlefield? If Jushou betrays your lord and secretly joins Li Hong, we..."

Yuan Shao's eyes widened suddenly, the extreme shock and fear made him shiver involuntarily.

Feng Ji was still eloquent in his analysis.Bringing the Son of Heaven to Luoyang violated our original agreement with Liu Biao, Cao Cao, Liu Bei and others. This is obviously to alienate the relationship between the three of them.This is the critical moment of the Great War, and my lord broke up with them because of this incident. Can my lord still command them?They are extremely dissatisfied with your lord, and they will join forces to fight against your lord. How can we fight this battle?Can you still win?In addition, Tian Feng was imprisoned, Xu You's nine clans were condemned, Cao Cao was facing a desperate situation, Xuchang's grain and grass camp was burned, and so on, all of which made Jushou see his tragic end.What choice does he have?He could only be like Xu You, betrayed, and then turned against him.

"Enough..." Yuan Shao suddenly slapped the table with his palm, "Stop talking, I already understand."

"My lord, these are all speculations. Yuan Tu has no proof. You must not imprison Lord Ju in a fit of anger." Xin Ping saw Yuan Shao's expression was wrong, and hurriedly tried to persuade him.

"My lord, we are very clear about the character of Lord Ju. After so many years, how has he ever behaved unfavorably to your lord?" Yuan Zhong also persuaded earnestly, "In the past few months, Tian Feng has been imprisoned twice. You's betrayal, people in Luoyang are already in panic. My lord, you have to be careful."

"Before Xu You betrayed, how did Xu You ever behave unfavorably to the Lord?" Feng Ji sneered, "If my guess is correct, and Ju Shou also betrayed the Lord, then we will indeed lose this battle, and And lost badly."

"Yuan Tu, be sober, don't be suspicious." Xin Ping pointed to his nose with anger and said, "If Ju Shou betrayed the Lord, why did he write this letter? He thought he didn't die fast enough?"

Feng Ji pushed Xin Ping's hand away, "What do you know? If your lord is tricked and listens to Ju Shou's words and moves the emperor to Luoyang, then once the Central Plains War fails, the Northern Xinjiang Army will surround Luoyang and attack Luoyang. Liu Biao , Liu Bei and others will also be pinned down in Luoyang. There will inevitably be another decisive battle between Hebei and the coalition forces. If we still fail, will Li Hong have already pacified the world? He still needs a thousand miles Going all the way south to conquer? Can't you see such a vicious scheme?"

"Yuan Tu, you're going too far." Yuan Zhong shook his head and sighed, "Master Ju originally had good intentions, but when I told you this, it turned into a conspiracy. We don't know the development of the matter, and so does Master Ju." Speculation, but your speculation is alarmist."

"If you think it's alarmist, then you're right." Feng Ji smiled triumphantly, "Everything must be thought of first, thoughtful, and foolproof, otherwise, we won't even know who cut off our heads."

"Then tell me, how should we deal with this matter?" Xin Ping asked angrily, "I warn you, Master Ju must not be arrested, otherwise something will happen to Luoyang."

"Let him escort and move the emperor to Nanyang Wancheng." Feng Ji thought for a while and said, "Regardless of whether he has contacts with Hebei or whether he has betrayed the Lord, we can't trust him now. He must be transferred to the place farthest from the battlefield."

"Nanyang?" Yuan Shao, Xin Ping and Yuan Zhong all looked surprised, "Move the emperor to Nanyang?"

"Yes." Feng Ji nodded and said, "First of all, we don't want to take the emperor to Luoyang, that's for sure. Second, we must ensure the safety of the emperor. At present, the emperor is very important to us and nothing can happen. Of course, the Northern Army I wanted to kill him, but Cao Cao wanted to hold him hostage even more. Cao Cao is not only a butcher, but also a villain who does all kinds of evil. If you push him into a hurry, he can do anything. His tiger and leopard cavalry are not here now. Xiaopei. Xiaopei is not far from Xuchang. If a tiger and leopard rode into the city swaggeringly and blatantly hijacked the emperor, we would be dumbfounded, and we could only let Cao Cao walk away. The third, of course. Take care of Liu Biao and Liu Bei's emotions. Liu Biao and Liu Bei are both clan ministers. They are afraid that something will happen to the emperor, and they are always on guard against us moving him to Luoyang. Now it is all right, we will move the emperor to Nanyang, which is close to Jingzhou So close, should he feel relieved now? Should he fight the war wholeheartedly?"

"Xianyi (Yuan Xi) is in Nanyang and is recruiting new soldiers. Let's hand over the emperor to him and let him take good care of him." Feng Ji looked at the three of them, "Isn't it more appropriate to do this? Is it more beneficial? The safety of the Son of Heaven and the current battle situation?"

Yuan Shao nodded again and again, "Yuan Tu is a good idea." He looked at Xin Ping and Yuan Zhong with a questioning look.The two agreed that as long as Ju Shou is not arrested, everything else is trivial.

"Let Zuozhi (Xinpi) handle this matter." Yuan Shao said to Fengji, "Let Jushou take care of the imperial court, let him handle it. The emperor has gone to Nanyang, brother Jing Sheng should go to the battlefield in person right?"

"He's getting old and timid, and he doesn't dare to go to the battlefield anymore." Feng Ji joked.

"Do you think you are young?" Yuan Shao sighed sullenly, "We are almost fifty, old, I wonder if we can see a day of peace in the world."

=

Simpi was ordered to go south to Xuchang day and night, and then moved to Nanyang.

Yuan Shao personally sent him out of the mansion, and repeatedly told him to be careful and avoid accidents.

As soon as Simpi left, there was an urgent report from Luoyang.Yuan Tan urgently reported that he had received the latest news from Xiliang. Because of the war in the desert, Pang De led his army to leave Wuwei County in a hurry.Pound's departure was tantamount to announcing the failure of the mediation, and Han Sui and Ma Chao immediately went to war again.Pound's departure from Xiliang also triggered another serious crisis.Due to the lack of troops in Wuwei County, the Shaodang Qiang and other Western Qiang species roared down from Hexi, Chen Bing Yellow River, threatening Jincheng County.Han Sui was attacked on both sides, unable to take care of himself, and the threat to Guanzhong was lifted.

Yuan Tan said in the letter that the threat of Xiliang has been lifted, and I have no worries. I will use all my troops to attack Hedong and support the Central Plains battlefield.

Yuan Shao had always been worried that Han Sui would be unfavorable to Guanzhong. After receiving the news, his mood immediately improved a lot.

The next day, even better news arrived at Guandu.Xuzhou Jianyong and Chen Deng urgently reported that earlier this month, Zang Ba in Qingzhou had been instigated to rebel and had withdrawn from Langya Kingdom.Zang Ba's petition to the court and a letter to Yuan Shao were also delivered at the same time.

Jian Yong and Chen Deng said in their letters that they had already discussed with Zang Ba that they would assemble an army of [-] to attack Pingyuan County and Ganling State in Jizhou this month, so as to contain the troops of the Northern Xinjiang Army.

Yuan Shao was overjoyed.If Chen Deng and Zang Ba can conquer Gaotang in Pingyuan County, after crossing the river, the army can directly enter Ganling State in Jizhou and directly attack the rear of the Northern Xinjiang Army.At this moment, Jizhou's troops are empty, and there will be chaos, which will directly affect the Central Plains battlefield.If Li Hong had no choice but to urgently transfer cavalry back to Jizhou, the decisive battle would be very beneficial to the coalition forces.

Yuan Shao calculated the time, and the army of Chen Deng and Zang Ba should have arrived in Linzi soon. If nothing happened, they would be able to cross the Yellow River and enter Jizhou by the end of August.

"Here's an order to write to Xuzhou Jianyong with a fast ride of [-] miles, so that as soon as he gets the news that Chen Deng and Zang Ba have entered Jizhou, he will report back immediately without any delay."

At this critical moment, good news came successively from the battlefields on the east and west wings, which made Yuan Shao very happy. He hurriedly convened a military meeting with the generals of all ministries to discuss and deploy strategies for a decisive battle.

=

In mid-August, Henan, Yangwu City.

After fighting aggressively for ten days, the coalition forces stopped.

Zhang Yan was very anxious, and continuously urged Chen Liu's Gao Shun to withdraw as soon as possible, and drive the coalition forces on the Chen Liu battlefield to the Guandu battlefield as soon as possible.

At this moment, news came from Yan Rou that the iron cavalry had successfully attacked Xu Chang and burned Xu Chang's food and grass camp.Zhang Yan, Jia Xu and others didn't take it seriously.There are many places where the coalition forces store grain and grass. Burning a large grain camp will not affect the morale of the coalition forces, let alone the development of the battle situation.Zhang Yan once again urged Yan Rou and Gao Shun to withdraw from Chen Liu immediately without wasting time.

At this time, Handan Xingyuan also sent a message that Zang Ba pretended to betray Hebei and had gained Chen Deng's trust. He is now gathering troops and horses to attack Jizhou with Chen Deng. It is estimated that he will be able to cross Hebei and enter Jizhou by the end of this month.After this news is sent to Yuan Shao, the coalition's attack strategy may be even sharper. Please take advantage of this news. At the end of this month, some troops should be withdrawn to Jishui to attract the coalition forces to cross the chasm as soon as possible. .

Zhang Yan, Jia Xu, Sima Yi and others laughed when they heard the news.Here Xu You pretended to betray the coalition forces and fled to Hebei.There Zang Ba pretended to betray Hebei and attracted Xuzhou's army to Qingzhou.Both things are beneficial to Hebei. It seems that not only the decisive battle in the Central Plains has a good chance of winning, but even Xuzhou may take advantage of the trend.

"How's Xu You's doing recently? Or do you drink to drown your sorrows every day?"

"He's in a very bad condition. If he doesn't have alcohol, he's probably going crazy." Sima Yi's smile gradually faded, and he sighed softly, "He's arrogant and conceited, he sings with a sword, he's so chic, how has he ever suffered such a blow?"

"Did he say anything?" Zhang Yan asked, "We don't ask him, and he doesn't ask us?"

Sima Yi shook his head in disappointment, "He is so drunk all day long, what can he say?"

"Forget it, let him go. When the critical moment comes, he will naturally speak." Zhang Yan said with a smile, "Although he is drunk, his head is sober."

"Since he is here, he will definitely not return empty-handed." Jia Xu spread out the map on the case table and said with a smile, "Let's not talk about him, let's take a look at Xuzhou. If Mr. Zang Ba arrests Chen Deng , Disarmed the Xuzhou army, how confident is he in taking Xuzhou?"

"How many troops are there in Xuzhou now? Do we have any news?" Zhang Yan asked.

"Of course there is. Since Lord Zang Ba was opposed by them, they must show some sincerity." Wei Yan picked up Xingyuan's letter and looked at it, "Chen Deng led five thousand Guangling soldiers to follow Lord Zang Ba to the north. Jian Yong Take [-] soldiers to garrison Pengcheng, Tan (tan) and Kaiyang. In addition, there are thousands of recruits temporarily recruited, who are practicing in Pengcheng." Then he looked up at Zhang Yan, "I think, if we want to attack Xuzhou , Lord Zang Ba's army and the army of Lord Chen Gong and Wu Dun in Rencheng can attack at the same time, one on the left and one on the right. Lord Zang Ba attacks Langya and Donghai, Lord Chen Gong attacks Pengcheng and Xiapi, and then the two armies We will meet at Guangling."

"I wish it was so easy." Jia Xu shook his head and smiled, "The Central Plains is too far away from Qingzhou. When we sent the news to Mr. Zang Ba, the Xuzhou army might be about to flee to Xuzhou. To win Xuzhou, only one The method is to wipe out the coalition forces on the Central Plains battlefield."

While everyone was chatting, a personal guard came to report, and two adults, Yuan Yao and Liu Ye, came to see them.

"Yuan Yao?" Zhang Yan was stunned for a moment, "What is he doing here? Going back to Yangzhou?"

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(End of this chapter)