The revival of the Han Dynasty must start with Dong Zhuo

Chapter 247 Volume Guo Huai
"Hao Zhao..."

Liu Xie asked again: "Is there any news about the fall of Jinyang?"

"No."

"Then Yuan Shao also used large-scale military operations against Hedong?"

"nor."

Liu Xie stood up and said, "Then Taiyuan has not been lost yet."

Zhong Yao was puzzled.

How could Hao Zhao, with only 1,000 men, hold out for such a long time when surrounded by Yuan Shao's army of 100,000?
"Yuan Shao is an expert in military tactics, and was able to defeat opponents like Gongsun Zan time and again. How could he not know when to fight?"

"If I were Yuan Shao, I would immediately take advantage of the chaos in the imperial army and march south to seize Hedong, then head west to threaten Chang'an."

"They haven't launched a large-scale attack on Hedong for such a long time. They must have been held back in Taiyuan or Jinyang."

Liu Xie didn't know when Hao Zhao joined the army.

But when it comes to defense, Liu Xie is confident that if Hao Zhao claims to be the second best in the world, no one will dare to snatch the title of first.

A powerful general who was able to confront Zhuge Liang's army of tens of thousands head-on in history could not have been defeated so quickly even if he was defeated.

Although Liu Xie did not dare to underestimate Yuan Shao's ability to lead troops, he did not think that he could compete with Zhuge Liang. He even surpassed Zhuge Liang and easily captured the city guarded by Hao Zhao.

Moreover, the fact that Yuan Shao has not attacked Hedong now also confirms this point from the side.

"As long as Taiyuan is not lost, we can lead the troops to retake Jiexiu and provide support to Hao Zhao stationed in Jinyang, and then we can stabilize the front line of Bingzhou."

Liu Xie had a preliminary strategic direction.

"Yuan Chang, how many soldiers and horses are there in Hedong now?"

In terms of troops and horses, it is naturally all the troops from Xiliang.

But Zhong Yao knew that this was not what Liu Xie wanted to hear.

"Your Majesty, Generals Lu Bu and Niu Fu have already retreated to Hedong. They have more than 20,000 soldiers under their command."

"In addition, General Xu Rong has 10,000 soldiers under his command. Generals Li Jue and Guo Si have more troops because they have expanded their forces in Hedong, totaling 30,000."

Twenty thousand, ten thousand, thirty thousand.

Zhong Yao hesitated for a moment, but still bowed and said: "If Your Majesty needs it, I can also gather 10,000 militiamen to help."

"Being not."

Liu Xie glanced at Zhong Yao and shook his head.

It has not yet come to the point of resorting to war.

"How many troops does Yuan Shao have in Jiexiu? Who is in charge?"

"So Yan Liang was the general and Guo Tu was the deputy general, with a total of 30,000 troops, they defended Jiexiu without leaving any gaps."

……

The most skilled general under his command, paired with Yuan Shao's most trusted confidant. Such an arrangement made Liu Xie frown again.

Although Hao Zhao could hold on, he couldn't delay for too long.

The moment Yuan Shao captured Jinyang was the moment he sounded the clarion call for the general attack.

The later the time goes, the more favorable it will be for Yuan Shao, and the more Yuan Shao can take advantage of the time and place.

If Liu Xie wanted to win, he probably had no choice but to choose the path of "harmony among people".

"Send a letter to General Xu Rong and tell him that I want to see him."

Zhong Yao was obviously extremely surprised.

"Your Majesty wants to summon Xu Rong? If so, I'm afraid General Xu Rong will not agree..."

"Talk to General Xu Rong, and let him decide the method."

Liu Xie seemed to remember something: "I was in such a hurry when I came here that I forgot about this."

"Send a letter to Chang'an and ask them to send some people to the front line for me."

"Here!"

------

"Dong Zhuo, dead?"

"real!!"

A doctor and a fortune teller came to Yuan Shao's tent, and Yuan Shao suddenly felt that the haze over his head had completely dissipated.

Throughout his life, Yuan Shao never lagged behind others.

Even though he was a "son born to a maid", and even though he suffered from Yuan Shu's ridicule, he never gave up.

No one was optimistic about him, but he was the most ambitious. At a young age, he became He Jin's most important right-hand man and one of the actual decision-makers of the Han Empire.

Whether it was giving He Jin advice to force Empress Dowager He, or sending troops to Luoyang to embarrass the royal family, all was within Yuan Shao's expectations.

Everything is perfect.

Until Dong Zhuo entered the capital and stole the fruits of victory that should have belonged to him, Yuan Shao always believed that he was the man of destiny.

Clearly, he was only one step away from that position, but Dong Zhuo intervened and forced Yuan Shao to flee from the center in a panic. He was reduced to the point where he had to force Han Fu to seize Jizhou.

Later, he was denounced as a traitor to the Han Dynasty by the imperial edict, which made Yuan Shao realize that all his plans in the first half of his life had gone to waste.

The only way to succeed right now is to unify the country through force.

But even on this road, Yuan Shao was terrified.

Even though he had defeated Gongsun Zan several times, he couldn't help but feel scared when facing Dong Zhuo.

Especially when he saw Dong Zhuo personally leading a large army to occupy Jiexiu, Yuan Shao no longer had any hope in his mind.

But now, we have received such news?
Yuan Shao tried hard to suppress his joy with one eye, but his other eye was already dilated to its limit.

“Huh? Hahahaha!”

Yuan Shao opened his eyes wide and laughed wildly.

"Good! Good!"

"Now that Dong Zhuo is dead, who else in the world can be my opponent?"

"Reward! Reward!"

Yuan Shao laughed wildly and wantonly, as if he wanted to wash away all the bitterness he had experienced over the years. "Send a letter to Meng De, telling him not to think about Jingzhou anymore, and order him to attack Guanzhong from Wuguan immediately!"

"Guanzhong must be in a state of panic right now! The little emperor must be trembling in fear in Dong Zhuo's daughter's arms! If we set out now, we might be able to reach Chang'an to celebrate the victory by the end of the year!"

Yuan Shao was about to send a letter to Cao Cao, but Guo Tu stepped forward.

Like Yuan Shao, Guo Tu also had a happy expression on his face, but there was worry in his eyes.

"Wait a minute, Mr. Yuan."

"Why?"

"Does Lord Yuan want Cao Cao to attack Guanzhong now, hoping to follow the agreement of the former King of Chu that "whoever enters Guanzhong first will be king"?"

And what Guo Tu is most worried about is——

If Dong Zhuo were still alive, he would eventually be able to control the situation.

Now that Dong Zhuo is gone, how many people will claim to be emperors? How many will claim to be kings?
For example, Yuan Shu and Cao Cao.

Are these people really willing to be under Yuan Shao?

When Yuan Shao heard this, he felt something was wrong.

In the past, the King of Chu, Xiang Yu, made an agreement with the princes of the world that "whoever enters Guanzhong first will be king."

But after Emperor Gaozu Liu Bang really captured Guanzhong from Wugu Pass, Xiang Yu again refused to acknowledge it and held the Hongmen Banquet for Emperor Gaozu Liu Bang in an attempt to murder Liu Bang.

How similar is the current situation to the scene of the struggle for supremacy at the end of the Qin Dynasty?
If Cao Cao really attacked Guanzhong from Wugu Pass and then used the emperor to control the princes, how would Yuan Shao deal with it?
Moreover, Cao Cao's secret attack on Jingzhou and Xuzhou had already touched Yuan Shao's bottom line.

"Cao Aman..."

Yuan Shao also realized that Cao Cao could not be allowed to dominate the world, so he modified the letter to Cao Cao.

"Tell Meng De to withdraw his troops immediately! Return to Xuchang!"

"If he wants to fight for Xuzhou, he should just go east! The war in the west will not allow him to stay here!"

Without Dong Zhuo, the court was just a piece of fat meat in Yuan Shao's eyes.

Since it is fat meat, it is best to enjoy it yourself. Why should you share it with others?
If Cao Cao really follows the example of Emperor Gaozu and takes Guanzhong directly through the Wuguan Road, that would be a disaster!
After strictly ordering Cao Cao to send troops to help, Yuan Shao immediately launched an offensive against Taiyuan.

Jiexiu was easily taken.

But the capital of Taiyuan County was Jinyang...

"Who are the people guarding the city?"

Yuan Shao was somewhat displeased when he saw that Jinyang City had not been captured after five days of siege.

"Look at the flag. It's a general named Hao Zhao."

"From Liangzhou?"

"He should be from Taiyuan."

……

If you are not from Liangzhou, why are you defending the city so desperately?
Yuan Shao was somewhat speechless and asked the sergeant beside him: "Didn't you tell him that Dong Zhuo is dead?"

"I have already informed you."

"Didn't they tell him that he had been abandoned by his superiors, leaving him to fight alone?"

“I have already been informed.”

"Then why is he still guarding the city?"

"I don't know..."

Yuan Shao was puzzled, so he sent several more envoys into the city to persuade them to surrender.

But within half a quarter of an hour, the messenger's head was thrown from the Jinyang city wall, and Hao Zhao had obviously made his intentions clear.

"court death!"

When Yuan Shao saw the other party's attitude, he just sneered and ordered his soldiers to continue attacking the city.

Inside Jinyang City.

Hao Zhao was wearing a strong armor, and his cheeks were covered with dust and blood.

He leaned against the city wall and apologized to the person beside him with some regret: "If I do this, I will definitely anger Yuan Shao. If the city is captured, I am sure you will be implicated. I hope Bo Ji (Guo Huai's courtesy name) will not blame me."

"Where are you talking about?"

Guo Huai was also wearing thick armor at this moment. He hid behind the city wall with lingering fear and took a look outside.

"You are from Taiyuan, and so am I. Now we are jointly defending Jinyang, just because we don't want our hometown to be humiliated."

"If Yuan Shao conquers Taiyuan, this place will become like before. The rich will have fields stretching across the country, while the poor will have no place to stand!"

Hao Zhao looked strange: "I remember that you, Boji, come from a wealthy family. Why do you care so much about the poor?"

"Who says that just because you are born rich and powerful, you can't care about the people?"

Guo Huai was young and full of energy: "According to what you said, the emperor was born in the richest family, so can't the emperor care about the people?"

Hao Zhao waved his hands repeatedly to indicate that he did not mean that.

"I just feel that I shouldn't implicate you like this and make you suffer."

"You come from a wealthy family and are a well-educated scholar. You shouldn't end up like me."

Guo Huai asked: "What will be the fate of someone like you?"

"Of course, this is the result of being loyal to the country and dying for one's integrity!"

Now Guo Huai was even more unhappy.

"In the eyes of the general, am I, Guo Huai, not worthy of serving the country and dying for my country?"

Guo Huai pulled a large shield from the side.

"Even though I, Guo Huai, was born into a noble family, I only learned to be loyal to the emperor and love my country, and to serve the emperor, but I never learned to commit myself to the Han thieves."

"Besides, the Grand Master died of worry and fatigue. I have also received the Grand Master's kindness. How can I remain indifferent?"

Dong Zhuo once served as the governor of Bingzhou and repeatedly defeated the invading Xiongnu and Xianbei. Therefore, in the eyes of the people of Bingzhou, Dong Zhuo's image is still tall.

What's more, the imperial court later promulgated benevolent policies, which benefited the people of Bingzhou as well, so the people of Bingzhou truly respected Dong Zhuo from the bottom of their hearts.

"Even for the sake of the Grand Master, we should use our best troops to repel the enemy and defend with a strong defense!"

(End of this chapter)