Great Han Empire

Chapter 932 Troubled Times Heroic Chapter Wins Central Plains
First month, Yangzhou, Jiujiang County, Hefei.

At the end of last year, Yuan Shao issued an order in the name of the emperor to invite Cao Cao, Sun Quan, and Zhou Yu to discuss the opening of the East Road battlefield, and entrusted Yuan Tan with full responsibility.After the New Year, Yuan Tan wrote to Cao Cao, Sun Quan and Zhou Yu to meet the special envoys of each faction for talks in Hefei.

In the middle of the first month, Yuan Tan's special envoys Guo Tu and Liu Xian, Cao Cao's special envoys Cheng Yu and Guo Jia, and Sun Quan's special envoys Zhang Hong and Lu Su rushed to Hefei.The six people carefully analyzed and predicted the situation, and agreed that the opening of the East Road battlefield can ensure the safety of Luoyang and block the Northern Army on the front line of the Central Plains. There are too many differences on key issues such as how to resist the counterattack of the Northern Xinjiang Army on the battlefield of the Houdong Road in Luoyang, and the debate is fierce.Guo Tu said that none of the six of us can make a decision, so we should stop arguing and report back the results of the discussion immediately.We are pressed for time and cannot afford to delay.

Yuan Tan felt dizzy after reading Guo Tu's letter.

Cao Cao's current situation is very bad. It is obviously an opportunity to open up the East Road battlefield. If the timing of the attack is well chosen, Xuzhou can be more stable, but if the choice is not good, Xuzhou may collapse overnight, so Cao Cao must first consider his own interests.In view of this, Guo Jia proposed solutions to several key issues during the talks.He believes that the opening time of the East Road battlefield should be chosen in the first month of next year, which is when the Northern Army has been exhausted from fighting in Luoyang.The attack strategy on the East Road battlefield should not be containment, but the main attack.If the coalition forces want to reverse the current unfavorable situation, they must change passive defense to active defense, replace defense with offense, and take the initiative to attack.Sticking to Luoyang and holding back the two wings, in the final analysis, is still a defense, and cannot deal a fatal blow to the Northern Army, so the East Road battlefield should not be moved, and the vital points will be severely damaged with the force of thunder, in order to quickly reverse the situation.

After the Luoyang defensive battle is fought until the first month of next year, Liu Bei on the West Road battlefield should be almost ready.The primary purpose of him and Liu Pan entering Yizhou is to open up a battlefield on the West Road, so they only need to properly handle the relationship with Yizhou officials, help Zhao Wei, Pang Yi and others solve Liu Zhang first, and stabilize Yizhou , then the time to attack Guanzhong is ripe.At that time, the armies of Liu Bei and Liu Pan will fight in Guanzhong, Yuan Shao will contain the main force of the northern army in Luoyang, and we will go north and enter Yanzhou.The northern Xinjiang army is exhausted after a long battle, and it is bound to be defeated for thousands of miles.

After the Luoyang War, the Northern Xinjiang Army had to stop to recover its strength because the annual conquest had reached its limit, and we needed more time to recover, so at this moment the strategy of the coalition forces needs to be adjusted significantly.First of all, we must take advantage of the great victory in Luoyang and the great increase in the prestige of the emperor and the court to control Yizhou in time, so as to quickly form an offensive and defensive pattern in which the left, middle and right sides jointly resist Hebei.Secondly, we will have talks with Hebei in order to form a confrontation between the North and the South in the shortest possible time.

Once the situation of confrontation between the North and the South is formed, the situation in the world will immediately change drastically.Hebei was originally the world of Li Hong, and the reason why he supported a little emperor was to put on a facade for himself and deceive the scholars in Hebei to work for him.After the confrontation between the North and the South, the Hebei scholars could immediately see Li Hong's usurping face, and they were bound to attack him in groups.Li Hong is a warrior, full of violence and blood in his bones. Like Dong Zhuo back then, he bears the despicable mark of a barbarian. Greed and cruelty are his nature. When the reality cannot satisfy his desire, he will lose control , Hebei will immediately fall into chaos, and then will inevitably go down.

Yuan Tan urgently told Yuan Shao in Luoyang, and rushed to Hefei in person, and invited Cao Cao, Sun Quan, and Zhou Yu to participate in the talks to resolve the matter of opening up the East Road battlefield as soon as possible.

In mid-February, Yuan Tan arrived in Hefei and had in-depth discussions with Guo Tu, Cheng Yu, Guo Jia, Zhang Hong and others.

At the end of February, Cao Cao wrote back and sent his son Cao Pi to Hefei on the grounds that he was unwell.Sun Quan also did not come, nor did Zhou Yu in Chaisang, and the plenipotentiary representative of Jiangdong was Sun Ben.Yuan Tan understood their difficulties and knew that they were afraid of offending Hebei and wanted to leave a way out, so he didn't take it seriously.

Because Guo Jia's proposal was in the interests of all parties, the talks progressed quickly.

At the end of February, Yuan Tan hurried back to Yuzhou with the agreement of the three parties.

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In February, Yanzhou, Chen Liu, the general Xingyuan.

After Li Hong received Sima Yi's letter and learned that Shenpei and others had rushed to Chenliu with Yuan Shao's reply, and asked to negotiate again, he hurriedly interrupted his inspection tour of Qingzhou and hurried back to Xingyuan.

Yuan Shao's reply made Li Hong completely give up hope.At this moment, the adjustment of the troops of the various ministries in the Central Plains is coming to an end. Although the influx of new soldiers has reduced the combat effectiveness, Sima Yi and others think that it will take some time for training, but Li Hong can't wait.

Li Hong met with Shen Pei, Xin Ping, Chen Lin and others, and told them clearly that the imperial court would not make any compromise on the terms of the peace agreement. If Yuan Shao still refused to be appeased at the beginning of March, the Northern Xinjiang Army would launch an attack.

Jianpei and the others were secretly surprised.They always believed that the attack time of the northern border army should be after the spring plowing, but Li Hong couldn't wait to launch the attack before the spring plowing.A large number of civilians have been recruited to the battlefield, and spring plowing will be seriously delayed, which will have an impact on the Northern Xinjiang Army's food and grass raising in the second half of the year.Li Hong was furious.

Jianpei and the others got up to say goodbye.Li Hong kindly persuaded him to stay, "After this battle, we may not see each other again. We are all old friends. Before leaving, let me send you off as a landlord."

At the banquet, Shenpei and Li Hong only talked about the past, recalling more than ten years of conquests, and thinking of the dead Guo Dian, Feng Yi, Jushou, Tian Feng and other old friends, they were quite emotional.

During the banquet, Xin Ping was invited to the side tent by Dong Fang.Dong Fang had two letters from Simpi in his hand, but he never had a chance to hand them to Xin Ping.Simpi reported to his brother that he was safe, and detailed what he had seen and heard in Jinyang.Now that Simpi has been worshiped as the grand order of the Dahonglu Mansion, he is full of hope for the rejuvenation of the country. He asks his brother to think carefully, and if the time is right, it is better to make a new choice.Xin Ping was both surprised and delighted. He was surprised that his younger brother surrendered to Hebei, and he was happy that his younger brother survived. Although surrendering to Hebei was tantamount to betraying Yuan Shao, facing today's crisis in Luoyang, Xinpi had no choice It can be blamed, maybe in the future, he will be expected to preserve the Xin clan.Xin Ping burned the letter in front of Dong Fang and returned to the big tent without saying a word.

The next day Li Hong sent them all the way to Langtangqu.

Shen Pei and Li Hong parted ways.

"Brother Zhengnan, take care." Li Hong looked at the deep wrinkles on the judge's face and the little white hair on his temples. His heart ached suddenly, and tears welled up in his eyes. , Brother Zhengnan once told me so much, we will leave today, I don’t know Brother Zhengnan..."

Seeing the tears in Li Hong's eyes, the examiner smiled sadly, and stretched out his hand to hold Li Hong's hands, "If you win, please treat the people of the world kindly, and the great man will prosper."

Li Hong nodded solemnly, and asked sadly, "Is there still time for us to meet again?"

The examiner sighed sadly, "Farewell here is forever." After he finished speaking, he took a few steps back and bowed deeply, "You saved my life, but I have never repaid it. If there is an afterlife, I will swear to die Report to each other. Please take care of your people."

The cold wind whistled, and the flags trumpeted.

Standing by the river, Li Hong silently looked at Shen Pei's back, heartbroken.

=

At the end of February, the former general Lu Bu, the later general Yushi, the left general Yan Liang, the long Xiang general Zhao Yun, the general's governor Shi Fugan and other civil and military officials returned to the Central Plains.

Fu Qian reported the court's specific attack strategy for the Luoyang War to General Li Hong, "His Royal Highness and Lord Xianyu both hope that the General will reply immediately so that the court can immediately order all battlefields to launch attacks."

"His Royal Highness, I agree with the imperial court's attack strategy." Li Hong pointed to Bo Jiangji and said, "Zitong, write another letter to Taiwei Xun You, Zuo Cheqi General Xian Yufu, and Right Guard General Zhang Yan. Letters, telling them that during the Luoyang War, they should not ask for instructions on everything. All military affairs will be decided by the three adults after consultation, and then immediately report to His Highness for orders. Before clearing the periphery of Luoyang and conquering the eight passes of Luoyang, I will be in charge General Xu Rong is in charge of the battlefield west of Luoyang, and both of us must obey the imperial court's orders."

"Is there no change in the general?" Sima Wangling reminded, "Didn't the general intentionally advance the attack time to March?"

"The attack time of the two main battlefields in Kansai and Henan remains unchanged." Li Hongwang said to Sima Yi with a smile, "Zhongda, Hanoi is a containment battlefield. After you return to Hanoi, discuss it with Wei Yan and Juhu. In March, we took the lead in launching an attack to deter Luoyang and force them to shrink their forces to the eight passes of Gyeonggi as soon as possible."

"Where is Luyang? When will we attack Luyang?" Wen Chou asked eagerly.He was seriously injured on the Yingchuan battlefield, and he has only recovered so far, and he is full of anger.

"Hurry back as soon as possible." Li Hong pointed to Yan Liang, Wen Chou, Xu Huang, Wang Dang, Zhang Xiu, and Ji Ling and said, "I have already declared war on Yuan Shao. As long as Zhongda's army gathers on the Yellow River, Luoyang's army will Then they will attack Yangcheng, and the armies of Jingzhou and Yuzhou will also launch a counterattack in the direction of Rushui River, Linying, and Xinji. Now Wu Xiong is alone on the Yingchuan battlefield, and there are so many new soldiers in the army, it must be very difficult to command After you go back, attack Luyang with the main force, and cut off the connection between Luoyang, Hejing and Henan as soon as possible."

Yan Liang and the others bowed and agreed.

"Remember..." Li Hong looked at Yan Liang and said, "You have a [-] army, but this [-] army is not the main force for attacking Luoyang, but the main force for sweeping out the periphery of Luoyang. You must remember this, and don't Make mistakes in the deployment of troops, let alone a decisive battle with the rebels, causing heavy casualties to the army."

Yan Liang frowned, slightly puzzled.

"I don't have enough civilian husbands for you now, because spring plowing is required in April, including all counties and counties in Yingchuan. I will not be able to give you enough civilian husbands until May, so before May, your main task is to hold Yingchuan, you can’t let the rebels come in.” Li Hong explained: “The Eight Passes of Luoyang are a defensive whole, as long as you break through one point and conquer one of the passes, the defense of the eight passes will be lost, and the rebels will retreat to Luoyang City. , so you only need to cut off the connection between Luoyang and Jing and Henan in Yingchuan in the early days, and you don't have to attack Luyang City."

"After the main force breaks through Hangu Pass or Hulao Pass, your army can go northward and station at Guangcheng Pass, Dagu Pass, Yique Pass, and Yuanyuan Pass. At this time, your main force will participate in the battle against Luoyang City and stay there Ying Chuan's troops don't have any advantages, and it is very likely that they will retreat to the front lines of Yique Pass, Dagu Pass and Zhiyuan Pass, but I will not allow you to take a step back and lose Ying Chuan."

"Yingchuan is very important to us. Not only can it protect Luoyang, but it is also the rear area where we take advantage of the victory to attack Jing and Henan states after we stabilize Luoyang. In order to protect Yingchuan, you must use the rebels to defend Luyang, Eager to counterattack, take advantage of the opportunity that the rebels did not know that we had deployed [-] troops in Yingchuan, and tried every means to mobilize the main force of the rebels, severely damage the main force of the rebels, defend Yingchuan for the later army, and prevent the rebels from supporting Luoyang won the superiority in military strength."

Yan Liang, Wen Chou, Wang Dang and others suddenly realized and nodded repeatedly.

Li Hong turned his head to look at Sima Yi again, "Zhongda, you also have to remember that your army is to contain your troops, don't attack the pass in a moment of enthusiasm and cause heavy losses. We need troops to fight Luoyang, and we can't waste our limited troops on the periphery of Luoyang .”

Sima Yi hesitated for a moment, then stopped talking.Li Hong knew what he was thinking, waved his hands and said with a smile: "Okay, I agree with you to seize Xiaopingjin and Mengjinguan, but there is a premise."

"Don't worry, General, I will take the pass at the lowest cost." Sima Yi jumped up excitedly, bowed and said, "I will never let down the trust of the General."

"What's the minimum price?" Li Hong asked.

Sima Yi froze for a moment, hesitated to speak.

"How about 3000 people?" Li Hong stretched out three fingers, "If you lose more than 3000 people, you don't want to lead troops anymore, go to Xingyuan and be my official."

"Zhongda, you must have confidence in yourself." Zhao Yun said suddenly, "Back then, when the general came out of Lulongsai, he only had two thousand cavalry, but how many victories did he win?"

Sima Yi glanced at Zhao Yun gratefully, straightened his back suddenly, and said loudly: "General, I will fight if I have the chance, and give up if I don't have the chance. I promise not to let the army suffer serious damage."

"Okay." Li Hong nodded appreciatively, "Do as you see fit, don't force yourself."

Then he took out a volume of paperwork from the table and handed it to Lu Bu who was sitting beside him, "Fengxian, after you arrive in Rencheng, go to Xuzhou and get the money and food that Cao Cao promised to hand over. Let you and Cao Cao Face to face, I just want to force him to show his true colors. If he dares to wield a knife and a gun behind my back, you don't have to be polite, and chop him up with a knife."

Lu Bu laughed loudly, "Cao Ah will keep this guy from being soft and hard, so it's better for me to deal with him."

"General, you are trying to force Cao Cao to rebel." Yushi smiled, "Cao Cao will not fight against us at present, but Jiangdong should pay attention."

"I'll send someone to Jiangdong right away." Li Hong snorted dissatisfiedly, "Sun Quan didn't want to hand over money and food, so he had to use a warship instead. This kind of person doesn't put a knife on his neck and let him bled , he doesn’t even know who his ancestor is.”

=

I go to work in the afternoon and will not update at night.

(End of this chapter)