Wait, please don't call me Emperor Zhaolie

Chapter 267 Cavalry Can Be Used

When Zhu Ling's army was completely wiped out in the rescue of Di County, Yuan Shao led his army to Ge County, which was the first fortified city in the northwest of Pingyuan County.

Yuan Shao originally planned to take advantage of the high morale of the entire army and directly persuade the enemy generals defending the city to surrender.

Unexpectedly, the envoy was scolded by Zhang Liao, and then had his hands tied, whipped and thrown out of the city by the soldiers.

"Tell me, what did that despicable Zhang Liao say?!"

When Yuan Shao saw the officials he sent out coming back in disheveled clothes, bare feet and in a miserable state, his face instantly became darker than the bottom of a pot, and he asked with a fierce look in his eyes.

Zhang Liao was just a military man from Bingzhou. He was first summoned by Ding Yuan to be his assistant, and later served under He Jin, Dong Zhuo, Lu Bu and Liu Bei. It can be seen that he was just a flatterer who tried to curry favor with the powerful and was servile enough to please others.

Now he has mobilized a hundred thousand soldiers of Xiongbi and is coming with great momentum. Their weapons and arrows are piled up like mountains, and their cavalry are countless. Yet Zhang Liao still dares to defend the city with only a few thousand men and horses and humiliate his envoy.

You are a lowly and helpless man, yet you are unaware of your imminent death. What a despicable man you are!

"Mr. Yuan, Mr. Yuan, you must avenge me!"

The clerk with a goatee couldn't hold back his tears and cried.

After fixing the crooked crown, he took off his robe to reveal the bloody marks of being whipped, and cried with gritted teeth, "Zhang Wenyuan is a rat, rude and ignorant of etiquette. After learning the purpose of my visit, he immediately scolded me, saying: How can a Han general surrender to a traitor? He insulted me as a traitor, had the military officials take off my robe and whip me forty times, and then tied my limbs with hemp ropes and let me fall from the city wall..."

"Zhang Liao also challenged: Come and attack if you have the guts. Ge County has nothing but countless arrows, rocks, and rolling logs."

"Mr. Yuan, this bandit is too stubborn to surrender!"

"We should quickly send troops to attack them, so that Qingzhou will not dare to look down on Hebei."

The officials knelt down and kowtowed, staggering on their knees and elbows, to protest for their grievances.

"Zhang Liao's servants are so arrogant and presumptuous. How can I relieve my hatred if I don't take down this city?"

"Order the front troops to build a high platform and use powerful crossbows to shoot down at him from a high position. The auxiliary troops should immediately attack Ge County and cut off the head of this thief for us."

Upon hearing this, Yuan Shao's face was filled with anger. He threw Zhang Liao's arrogant reply to the ground and gave the order angrily.

"You can't do that, Lord Yuan. Zhang Liao's move is just to provoke my Hebei army to stay in Ge County, so as to buy time for Liu Xuande to attack Du County. We must not fall into his trap."

Tian Feng quickly stepped forward and bowed to persuade him.

In fact, they had already received a letter from a senior official asking for help yesterday, and Tian Feng, Guo Tu and Xun Chen had a dispute over it.

Should we skip Ge County and head south to Yimu, or take advantage of our military advantage to quickly capture Ge County, so as to avoid the enemy from behind attacking the grain route and causing a lot of food loss?

Tian Feng's suggestion was to send some soldiers to build four camp walls outside the city. If the Qingzhou army dared to leave the city, they could be shot with bows and crossbows. This would not only protect the food supply route to the rear, but also save the army from wasting time.

The plan now is to join forces with Xu You, Gao Gan and others to defeat Liu Xuande, and to respond quickly. Order Chunyu Qiong and Tadun to lead 13,000 Han and Hu cavalry, leave behind baggage, food and weapons, and attack the enemy from a thousand miles away, attack them when they are unprepared, and attack them by surprise. Send light troops to march a hundred miles a day and attack the Qingzhou army. At that time, even if Liu Bei had a thorough plan and could take precautions, he would be defeated if he saw the cavalry rushing towards him quickly and was caught off guard.

Unfortunately, Tian Feng's suggestion was successfully disrupted by Guo Tu...

Hearing Tian Yuanhao bringing up the past again, Lord Guo was moved and stood up, bowing and saying, "Lord Yuan, Zhang Liao should not be underestimated. He made many military achievements under Lu Bu in the past, defeating the Black Mountain bandits and the famous general Wen Chou. When he followed Liu Xuande to the south to conquer Pei State, he also captured the Huainan general Qiao Rui alive."

"As the ancients said: A wise man will make mistakes in a thousand considerations, while a fool will gain something in a thousand considerations. One should think things through before doing anything. Since ancient times, nothing is more difficult than making a thorough plan. Since Zhang Liao is like a newly sharpened weapon, we cannot let him do whatever he wants, otherwise he will definitely hurt others."

Guo Tu bowed and spoke eloquently.

Tian Feng was anxious when he heard this. He cupped his hands again and said, "Mr. Yuan, we cannot accept Mr. Guo's suggestion for two reasons. First, if our army is defeated in Ge County, it will definitely affect morale. If Liu Xuande were to lead his army to attack us, how would we fight him?"

"Secondly, Liu Bei is the biggest enemy of Jizhou. How can we attack his officials instead of looking for his master? Moreover, a king should not raise an army out of anger. I hope Lord Yuan will think twice."

Tian Feng was already worried sick about Yuan Shi, and he bowed and spoke earnestly.

Yuan Shao couldn't help but fall into deep thought. What Tian Feng said made sense, and what Guo Tu said also made sense.

Xun Chen, the only one who hadn't spoken, stood up and said, "Mr. Yuan, Ju Su, Zhang He, Gao Lan and others stationed in Bohai are currently attacking Ban County and Xipingchang. You can order Zhang Junyi to lead his troops to besiege this city, while my 100,000-man army will continue to move south to fight Liu Bei."

"Why not use Tian Yuanhao's strategy and order the cavalry to rush to Du County first? Chunyu Qiong is also a veteran in the army. He can be ordered to observe the situation and make temporary arrangements. If it is advantageous, attack; if it is not advantageous, go around. This can not only boost our army's morale, but also observe the movements of the Qingzhou army."

Xun Chen saw that Guo Tu and Tian Feng were turning against each other again, so he simply did not take either of their sides and advised Lord Yuan based on his own judgment.

After hearing what Xun Chen said, Yuan Shao finally made up his mind. He slammed the table and said, "Okay, let's follow the advice of You Ruo and Yuan Hao. Tell Chun Yuqiong and Chan Yu Tadun to lead the cavalry immediately to attack Liu Xuande with speed and light equipment. I will lead 80,000 infantry to follow."

Then he paused for a moment and continued, "Be careful of Liu Xuande's strategy of luring the enemy, as well as the long-range crossbows of the Qingzhou army. If you see a Wugang chariot formation, even if you can find a gap to take advantage of, you must not charge forward."

"I still remember the old story of Yan Liang. Even if the enemy has few infantry, you should not use cavalry to charge into the magnificent battle formation."

After the military secretary and chief secretary finished writing the document and went to deliver the order, Yuan Shao's eyes were filled with mixed emotions.

It's not that he didn't want to send troops to rescue as soon as possible, but he was afraid that this was another strategy of Liu Bei to lure the enemy.

The walls of Du County were high and thick and it had sufficient food and military equipment. Even if Gao Gan was not good at military strategy, he had the support of Xu You, Jiang Qi, Zhu Ling and others. No matter how good Liu Xuande was at fighting, it would be difficult for him to conquer the city in a short time.

It would be better to take the opportunity to wear down Liu Bei's troops and then go to rescue them when the time is right.

Yuan Shao thought for a moment, then went to the military officer and whispered a few words to Chunyu Qiong, telling him not to rely too much on the Wuhuan cavalry, as the Hu people were naturally quick to advance when they saw an advantage and to flee when they saw difficulty, and they would move at will and would not maintain a fixed formation.

We must not only command the masses, but also guard against their changes.

As his eyes fell on the back of the military officer, Yuan Shao subconsciously thought: "If the Yuan family can win this battle, I will definitely reform the world, conquer the Central Plains, and encompass the four seas."

(End of this chapter)