Wait, please don't call me Emperor Zhaolie

Chapter 120 Yuan Shao feels bad
"What?! Liu Xuande has already captured Jiyin, and Dongping County and Shanyang County surrendered?"

When Yuan Shao received the news from Yuan Ying at Fanyang City in Wei County, he was shocked and angry. He had already asked Liu Dai to hold his ground and wait for him to capture Fanyang and Yin'an so that he could lead his army straight to Dong County.

As the battle was going on, suddenly an old official of the Yuan family risked his life to bring a message saying that Liu Gongshan had gathered the county soldiers and the tribes of the wealthy families and was going to Dingtao to fight a decisive battle with Liu Bei.

Did he think he had the talent of Qin general Zhang Han and could defeat the Qingzhou army at the gates of Dingtao?
If Liu Xuande had been as careless as Xiang Liang, Yuan Shao would have conquered Fanyang long ago and there would have been no need for him to be blocked here and unable to move.

"How stupid! Liu Gongshan is too stupid." Yuan Shao slammed the table and said with great sorrow.

At least I can gather my old subordinates and hold out for another half a year, letting Liu Bei attack one county at a time, giving me time to intervene in Dongjun.

But now he has become a prisoner, and even the two counties have been handed over to Liu Xuande.

Now, except for Taishan County which has not yet surrendered to Qingzhou, the two brothers Zhang Miao and Zhang Chao of Chenliu County have grievances with him and will probably surrender to Liu Bei directly.

Yuan Shao just couldn't figure it out, even though he clearly had the advantage and had sufficient weapons, armor, money and food.

How come in just one year, Liu Bei went from occupying Qingzhou to controlling both Qing and Yan states?

Yuan Shao thought about it and decided that the reason why Yanzhou collapsed so quickly was due to Cao Mengde. If he hadn't made a mistake in judgment and led the Yanzhou soldiers to fight against the Qingzhou army in the field, the army would not have collapsed so quickly and retreated all the way to Puyang.

Liu Bei was able to easily seize most of Dongjun. The Qingzhou army was able to launch a surprise attack on Yecheng later because Yanzhou had suffered too many casualties and had too few new soldiers, so they had to intensify their training.

However, Yuan Shao believed Guo Tu's slander and was defeated by Liu Xuande, which caused the Yanzhou gentry and wealthy families to lose morale and Liu Gongshan's control over the counties to decline sharply. Then the court appointed Liu Bei as the governor of Qingyanzhou, and Liu Dai became even more passive.

Perhaps in order to consolidate people's hearts and stabilize the local nobles, Liu Gongshan chose to send troops to support Dingtao. After careful thinking, Yuan Shao also understood Liu Dai's helpless decision.

But... I finally found the source.

Yuan Shao immediately threw the letter to the ground, stood up and cursed: "Cao Mengde has misled me. Without Cao Cao's help, how could Liu Bei have entered Dingtao City and captured Liu Gongshan alive?"

"Meng De has ruined the Yuan family's great cause!"

The officials who went with the army, such as Xu You, Xin Ping, Ju Su, Shen Pei, Xin Pi, Feng Ji, etc., looked at each other and dared not give any advice when Yuan Shao was angry.

Only after he vented his anger did Xu You, relying on his status as an old friend of Yuan Shao, whisper to Cao Cao to defend him: "Benchu, Meng De did not expect Liu Xuande to be so difficult. Not only did he lose Liaocheng, he also lost the entire Dongjun and lost his foothold. I heard that his relatives were captured by Liu Bei. Maybe they have been killed now. Meng De has suffered a lot."

After Yuan Shao vented his anger, he regained his senses.

Hearing Xu You say this, he couldn't help but sigh.

"I know Meng De's hard work, but in recent years, things have not gone as I wish, which makes me upset and I can't help but blame my old friend."

"I hope you all will understand that my anger is not intentional." Yuan Shao bowed and saluted to the many officials in the tent.

The heavy atmosphere in the tent suddenly lightened.

"Mr. Yuan is wearing armor, so there is no need to salute!" Feng Ji said anxiously.

Yuan Shao raised his hand to stop him and asked for advice, "Now that Yanzhou has been seized by Liu Xuande, what should Jizhou do? Please feel free to offer your suggestions. Whoever proposes a long-term strategy will be blameless."

Xin Ping cupped his hands and gritted his teeth and said, "Mr. Yuan, Liu Xuande currently controls two states. He is already as powerful as Xiang Yu. We cannot allow him to annex states and counties. Otherwise, it will be difficult to contain him. I am afraid he will attack and defend differently."

"We should rely on Jizhou's abundant food and fodder, and attack Qingyan every year, not giving him a chance to breathe. Even if he is seriously injured, we must wipe out Liu Bei." Xin Ping never looked down on Liu Xuande. Whenever he had a chance, he would instigate Yuan Gong to destroy Liu. Moreover, both battles in Jizhou ended in failure. Xin Ping was heartbroken but also a little happy. He was happy that Yuan Gong finally realized that Liu Bei was the biggest threat.

Only by recognizing the deadly opponent early can you take the initiative.

If Xiang Ji had held a banquet at Hongmen and risked losing his credibility to kill Emperor Gaozu, it would not have been so difficult to destroy the princes later.

Xu You moved his lips, stroked his beard, glanced at Xin Ping and said nothing.

"What good advice do you have for me?" Yuan Shao looked at Ju Su. Ju Su's judgment had not been wrong since he took control of Jizhou, so he still trusted him.

Ju Su followed the voice and bowed, saying: "Mr. Yuan should quickly destroy Liu Bei. This man really has the spirit of Emperor Gaozu. If he is not eliminated, the one who will conquer the world in the future will be Liu Xuande."

After nearly a year of integrating the information they had collected on Liu Bei, Yuan Ying's staff came to the unavoidable conclusion: it was not that they were not good at fighting, but that Liu Bei was really a good fighter.

Especially some officials who came from Yingchuan, after reading the several volumes of secret letters, they almost cursed in their hearts, angrily saying that they had submitted to the wrong person.

If he had known that Emperor Gaozu would be resurrected, why would he have joined the Yuan family, which had three generations of officials in its four generations? No matter how famous Yuan Benchu ​​was, could he be as good at fighting as Emperor Gaozu?

Even if there are many disciples and former officials of the Five Generations Three Dukes, can they compare to the prophecy of the golden sword?

Now that the whole clan has migrated to Jizhou, they can’t escape even if they want to.

Mr. Lu is also bad. You wrote to tell us that we were going to Qingzhou.

The power of the royal family is like this: either they have no power, or they have power that makes people afraid.

As long as the princes are at a disadvantage in the battle, those who depend on them will start to cause undercurrents of unrest.

Ju Su considered this crucial point and spoke frankly.

Yuan Shao also noticed the rumors in Yecheng, and clapped his hands in agreement, saying, "Let's follow your plan and He Zhongzhi's plan. Jizhou will march to Qingzhou and Yanzhou every year until Liu Bei is wiped out. We will not stop until the Liu family is destroyed."

Many officials bowed and said, "We obey Lord Yuan's orders."

"Report, there is urgent news!"

At this moment, a fast horse brought a letter from the north, and an official took the mud-sealed letter and handed it to Mr. Yuan.

Yuan Shao was startled. He took the letter, pried it open with a carving knife, and then closed it and put it down.

He smiled calmly and asked the other clerks to leave, leaving only his trusted aides puzzled.

After everyone left, Yuan Shao unfolded the document again and squeezed out a few words from between his teeth: "Liu Yu was defeated, Gongsun rose again, and Youzhou changed dramatically."

The letter detailed that Liu Yu first told the coalition forces of Wuhuan and Xianbei that the disaster in Youzhou did not lie with the people under Gongsun's rule, but only with Gongsun Bogui alone. They should not harm the people, but only kill Bogui, so that the coalition forces would be hesitant and restrained.

Later, he refused to order the burning of the city, but instead let Gongsun Zan set fire and take advantage of the wind to raid the military camp. Liu Yu retreated a hundred miles, and Gongsun pursued him all the way and took in the defeated and surrendered soldiers. Now Gongsun was strong, and Liu Yu was weak.

If he does not send troops to Youzhou, Gongsun Zan will make a comeback. If he then joins forces with Liu Xuande, the situation will be dangerous.

(End of this chapter)