The Nameless of the Common Clans

Yuan Shang did not stop at Yangping. After a short rest, he ordered Guo Yuan and Gao Lan to continue to lead the troops to pursue Yuan Tan without giving him a chance to breathe.

Yuan Tan had previously captured more than ten cities, all of which were recaptured. He retreated all the way to the Mingdu River. Upon hearing the news, Xin Pi dispatched troops from Gaotang to guard the Mingdu River ferry and welcomed Yuan Tan into Gaotang, thus stopping the defeat. However, the 40,000-strong army surrendered or fled along the way, and by the time they arrived in Gaotang, there were less than 5,000 soldiers.

"What should we do now?" In Gaotang government office, Yuan Tan looked at Guo Tu and Xin Pi with a dull face. Xin Ping was resisting Han Meng in Bohai, but was defeated here. This defeat directly destroyed half of Yuan Tan's accumulated assets. With the remaining troops, even if Xin Ping was withdrawn, I am afraid that he could not even defend the plain.

"My Lord, don't worry!" Guo Tu's face was a little pale. He had traveled more than a hundred miles and had no chance to rest. In addition, he knew better than Yuan Tan that the current situation was difficult to save after the defeat. But if they really surrendered, Yuan Tan might be fine, but they might not just be kicked out of Jizhou. If they were not careful, their families would be destroyed.

So even if they were defeated, they could not be slaughtered at will. They had to find a way to stabilize the current situation and think of countermeasures.

Forcing himself to calm down, Guo Tu thought: "For now, we should first hold the key points, and at the same time order people to gather the defeated soldiers and gather here, and then send some people to negotiate with the third son."

"How can the third brother be willing to negotiate at this moment?" Yuan Tan said with a wry smile. If it was before the war, it might be useful, but now after this defeat, Yuan Tan knew very well that even if he was willing to negotiate, his third brother might not be willing. The best result would probably be to be taken back to Yecheng and become a rich and idle person. If the third brother is more ruthless, he might not be able to save his life.

"It's not that we need to negotiate, but we need to stabilize the third son first, so that we can have a chance to mobilize troops." Guo Tu said somewhat miserably.

"How can we have extra troops at this time?" Yuan Tan said bitterly. This time, his troops have been basically mobilized. The main force followed him to Yecheng. Xin Ping led a group of troops to the north to stop Han Meng's army. Who would have thought that his main force would be defeated by Yuan Shang so quickly? How could he have extra troops at this time?

"There are always some." Guo Tu thought: "The county guards of each county will gather together, and there will be some troops. If we ask some noble families for help, we can also raise a group of horses."

Yuan Tan frowned. Even if he gathered these troops, such hastily gathered troops, without training, let alone on the battlefield, how can such a group of rabble resist the elite division of Jizhou? He is a man who knows the difference between the two. I am afraid that he will lose more miserably if he fights again.

"Don't worry, lord. We can still hold out for a while if we take a defensive position." Guo Tu said with a wry smile. He had heard that Yuan Tan wanted to surrender, but at this moment, Yuan Tan might have a chance to survive, but if they followed suit and surrendered, they would probably have no chance to survive.

"Alas, then I'll have to trouble you." Yuan Tan sighed and bowed to Guo Tu.

"Don't worry, lord. Even if it costs my life, I will help you stop the enemy! At least keep the plain!" Guo Tu said solemnly.

Yuan Tan nodded: "In this case, I will go and rest for a while. If you have a good plan, please tell me quickly!"

Yuan Tan basically didn't rest all the way after fleeing continuously. Now he is exhausted and must rest before he can continue to fight.

"Go, lord." Guo Tu nodded and sent Yuan Tan to the back hall to rest.

Guo Tu sat down weakly until Yuan Tan left.

"Don't worry, I will send someone to tell all counties to gather troops." Xin Pi said to Guo Tu.

"Those are just a mob, how can they be of great use?" Guo Tu shook his head. Although he was not familiar with military affairs, how could he not know the difference between a mob and an elite? Even if they were mobilized, they would not be of much use, and it would be better not to mobilize them.

"Then just now..." Xin Pi looked at Guo Tu with a puzzled look. Since it was useless, why did he use this to persuade Yuan Tan just now.

"Didn't Zuo Zhi see that the lord had the intention to surrender?" Guo Tu smiled bitterly and said, "If the lord surrenders, he may have a way to survive, but you and I are afraid that Yuan Shang will not tolerate it, and even the clan members will be implicated. If we don't stabilize the lord first, you and I may be worried about our lives and the disaster of extermination of the clan!"

"What should we do?" Xin Pi frowned and thought after hearing this. Now the situation of Yuan Tan is clear, and the remaining troops are simply impossible to stop Yuan Shang's army.

"Let's stabilize the lord first, and then think of countermeasures." Guo Tu sighed. He was also mentally exhausted. Yuan Tan was a military general with a strong body, but he still felt exhausted. He didn't have the physique of Yuan Tan, and he was already exhausted. He was still holding on before, but now that Yuan Tan was gone, he felt a little empty.

At that moment, he said goodbye to Xin Pi and found a place to rest. He slept until late at night and was awakened by a knock on the door.

"Who is it?" In the dead of night, Guo Tu shook his head, and the knock on the door still did not stop, frowning and asked.

"Gong Ze, get up quickly, there is something important to discuss!" Xin Pi's voice came from outside the door.

Guo Tu frowned, got up and put on his robe, opened the door, looked at Xin Pi with an anxious face, and frowned and said: "Why can't we talk about it tomorrow?"

Even if Yuan Shang's army came, they would not be able to kill them for a while because of the Mingdu River.

"Ziyuan is here." Xin Pi said in a deep voice.

"Who?" Guo Tu was stunned for a moment, and then his pajamas disappeared in an instant, and he looked at Xin Pi and said.

"Xu You, Xu Ziyuan!" Xin Pi repeated.

Guo Tu frowned slightly, thought for a moment, and nodded, "Let's go see him!"

Soon, the two came to the main hall and saw Xu You kneeling on the couch, tasting wine and looking through the bamboo slips. When the two came in, they didn't get up, but just smiled.

Guo Tu knelt down and sat opposite Xu You, frowning and said: "Ziyuan is so brave, betrayed Cao Cao, and now he dares to show up in Jizhou. Does he think that our army has no swords?"

"When old friends meet, they threaten each other with words. This is not the way to treat guests." Xu You was not afraid, and looked at Guo Tudao with a smile.

"Do you think I don't dare?" Guo Tu snorted coldly.

"I don't dare." Xu You said leisurely: "It's just that after this defeat, the eldest son is no longer able to defeat Yuan Shang. Pingyuan has fallen. The eldest son may still be lucky, but you and other assistant ministers may be in danger of their lives. It is unwise to threaten me with your life instead of thinking about self-protection at this time."

Guo Tu snorted coldly: "Zi Yuan is here. Could it be that he has made a special trip to taunt us?"

"No." Xu You smiled and shook his head: "You and I finally got to know each other. You really don't want to see your old friend end up dead, so I came here to save you."

"Oh?" Guo Tu looked at Xu You and said, "Let me guess, does Ziyuan want to lead Cao Gong's troops into Qinghe and ask us to surrender to Cao Gong?"

"It's not surrender." Xu You shook his head and sighed: "As the saying goes, a good bird chooses a tree to roost in, and a wise minister chooses his master to serve. Do you think that the eldest son is a wise master?"

"My lord is brave and brave, how can he not be a wise master?" Guo Tu snorted coldly.

"How can one be called the Lord of the Ming Dynasty if he is brave but has no plans? Then, if Cao Gong is both brave and wise, wouldn't he be the Ming King of the ages?" Xu You said with a smile: "Besides, I have never seen his bravery. If there is chaos in the world today, there will be many brave generals, not to mention Nanyang." Lu Bu Yong has spread all over the world. Speaking of Jizhou alone, there were Yan Liang and Wen Chou first. Now Han Meng, Zhang He, Gao Lan and others are probably far more brave than the eldest son. If they were the masters of others, they would probably be quite powerful. insufficient."

Guo Tu felt a little helpless when he heard this. He hadn't felt it before, but in this war, he would panic whenever something unexpected happened. He was really not a person who could make great things happen. Looking at Xu You, Guo Tu said in a deep voice: "That Ziyuan means... …”

"Please, Gongze, persuade the eldest son to surrender to Cao Gong and open the ferry so that our army can cross the river and enter from the plain. Cao Gong will help the eldest son defeat the third son." Xu You said with a smile.

"Ziyuan thinks the eldest son will agree?" Guo Tu looked at Xu You with a strange look. No matter how stupid Yuan Tan was, it would be better to vote for Yuan Shang than to vote for Cao Cao, right? After all, in the final analysis, this is an internal matter within Jizhou or the Yuan family, and it is impossible to let Cao Cao in.

"That's why we need Gongze's help. This surrender is only the final result, but naturally we can't say this when talking to the eldest son." Xu You said with a smile: "All we need is Gongze to convince the eldest son to let our army enter Jizhou from the plains." , after the matter is completed, all three of them can be ranked as the ninth minister in the court and can be knighted. "

Hearing this, Guo Tu frowned and looked at Xu You, and sneered: "Ziyuan's betrayal of the master is a clean one."

"I have never owed him anything." Xu You said calmly. He didn't want to mention this matter more. After all, it would still be a stain.

Seeing Xu You's face darken, Guo Tu stopped mentioning the matter. He frowned and thought for a moment and said, "How many troops can Duke Cao send?"

"Qingzhou has now gathered an army of 30,000 soldiers, led by two generals, Lu Qian and Zang Ba, who can cross the river at any time. In addition, there are also 40,000 soldiers and horses gathered in Dongjun. Once the plains are successfully invaded, Dongjun's soldiers and horses will Then we will cross the river and attack." Xu You said solemnly: "Gongzhi, I will advise you on the situation in Jizhou. When the young masters fought for power, it was already irreversible. Even today, even if the eldest young master surrendered to the third young master, it would be difficult to stop our army from crossing the river. What's more, Chen Mo has already assembled a heavy army in Hanoi and is watching with eagerness. This time is different from the last time. The second son We just started fighting, but we are unable to fight against the two princes, and our defeat is certain."

Guo Tu just remained silent.

Xu You said: "If the eldest son is willing to vote for Cao Gong now, not to mention other things, after Jizhou is pacified, at least his title will be preserved, and he can even join the court as an official. But if he votes for the third son, not to mention if Jizhou is destroyed in the future, will he be able to do so?" Complete Even if they can survive, how will Gongze and Zhongzhi deal with each other? Don’t forget what I did back then. Maybe I was wrong, but how the Jizhou scholars treated me at that time will determine how they will be treated in the future. It’s clear.”

"Then why don't I vote for Marquis Changling?" Guo Tu snorted coldly.

"The public should be clear about the minutes of the Three Studies. If you vote for Chen Mo, we, the nobles, may not be able to stand up in the future!" Xu You sneered.

Guo Tu sighed: "I can help you convince the lord, but you need to ensure that the lord will be rich in the future."

"Of course!" Xu You said solemnly.

"After daybreak, follow me to see the lord."