The Three Kingdoms: Zhaolie, the strategist, and the rise of the Han Dynasty

Chapter 180 What is Yuan Shen?

Hebei, Jizhou, Yecheng.

After wiping out Gongsun of Youzhou, Yuan Shao had completely unified the north and truly controlled the four states of Qing, Ji, Bing and You.

The north was originally a prosperous land, and after Yuan Shao unified Hebei, he naturally became the undisputed overlord of the world.

As for the Wuhuan tribe in the north, the former leader Qiuliju had died of illness.

His son Louban was still young, but his nephew Tadun was brave and good at fighting, and had considerable strategy.

Therefore, with the support of Nanlou, Subuyan, Wuyan and other Wuhuan leaders, he replaced Louban and became the new Wuhuan king.

Yuan Shao was powerful, so Tadun formed an alliance with him.

Yuan Shao married the daughters of his royal family to Tadun, thus strengthening the alliance between the two families.

At this point, Yuan Shao had no more worries in the north, and he had the Wuhuan people as external aid.

As for Gongsun Du of Liaodong, he did not dare to go south as he was living in a bitter and cold place.

Yuan Shao controlled four states and thought himself to be very successful, and no longer took any of the other princes seriously.

Including the emperor.

At this time, the dispute between Hebei and Henan became increasingly fierce.

Cao Cao and Liu Bei repeatedly wrote to the court to put pressure on Hebei and condemn Yuan Shao's various rebellious behaviors.

He also seized the opportunity of Yuan Shao's destruction of Gongsun Zan to accuse Yuan Shao of killing court ministers indiscriminately.

The reason was that Gongsun Zan was a former general appointed by the imperial court and a true general of all four directions. Yuan Shao attacked Yijing without reason and killed him, which was tantamount to treason.

Of course, this is also a common tactic used by politicians.

After all, Gongsun Zan's title of general was conferred by the court controlled by Li Jue and Guo Si, but Cao and Liu both chose to ignore this.

In the past, Yuan Shao had to make some excuses when facing accusations from the Henan court.

But at this time, Yuan Shao was too lazy to even argue.

In his heart, perhaps his destiny is no longer in Henan, but in Hebei...

The Yuan family originated from Chen and were descendants of Yu Shun.

Especially since Yuan Shu in this dimension had not yet proclaimed himself emperor, Yuan Shao believed even more that he was the one who had obtained the destiny of the Yuan family.

But this statement would be considered treasonous nowadays, so Yuan Shao did not dare to speak out directly.

He just frequently hints to people around him to show his feelings.

Finally, a trusted person, the chief clerk Geng Bao, noticed Yuan Shao's intention.

So he found Yuan Shao and said to him:
"Now the virtue of the Han Dynasty has declined, and the dynasties have risen and fallen. The Yuan family is the descendant of the Yellow River. It is appropriate to follow the will of heaven. This is the hope of all the people."

"Bao Ziyou has been studying astronomy since he was young. He observed the celestial phenomena at night and saw that the fate of the Han Dynasty had come to an end."

"The great general's merits and virtues are known to the world, just as Shun succeeded Yao, and Yu succeeded Shun."

“Isn’t this in line with the will of heaven and the will of the people?”

Yuan Shao was overjoyed when he heard this, but his face remained expressionless. Instead, he looked troubled and said worriedly:

“…This is not appropriate.”

"I am a man of few virtues, how can I have any reputation? How dare I hope for this?"

(Note: Anyone who is a marquis or has a government office can call himself "Gu")

When these words were spoken, Geng Bao was overjoyed.

He had previously figured out Yuan Shao's thoughts and realized that he had the ambition to become emperor.

So I mustered up the courage to give him advice, but I was still quite nervous inside.

After all, this statement is extremely politically incorrect nowadays, and if you are not careful, you may be beheaded.

But now that he had said such outrageous words, Yuan Shao was not angry, but instead tried to shirk responsibility.

It means there’s something going on!

Geng Bao hurriedly continued to advise:

"Since ancient times, the virtuous have conquered the unvirtuous, and the unvirtuous have given way to the virtuous. Is this too much?"

"Besides, the general now controls four states, and no other prince in the world can rival him."

"The people of Hebei are all grateful for the general's kindness. Even a child can tell that the general is generous."

"The great general's virtue is so great that even Yi Yin and Duke Zhou cannot match him."

"If the Yuan family were to take over the Han dynasty, it would be destiny!"

Geng Bao also took the risk and spoke out these rebellious words boldly.

As long as Yuan Shao successfully inherits the throne in the future, Geng Bao can at least get the credit for following Yuan Shao, right?

After hearing this, Yuan Shao finally stopped pretending and said seriously:

"If it is really God's will that I should be the Prime Minister."

He summoned all the officials from Hebei to the prefecture in Yecheng to discuss the matter.

Yuan Shao told his ministers what Geng Bao had said before.

As a difficult statement:
"In the past, the Shang Dynasty replaced Xia Jie, and Wu Zhou conquered the Shang Dynasty."

"Seven kingdoms fought over the weekend and were annexed into Qin."

"After the fall of Qin, Chu and Han fought against each other, and then Chu was incorporated into Han."

"The Han Dynasty started with Emperor Gaozu beheading the white snake and unified the country. Later, Emperor Guangwu revived the Han Dynasty and passed it on to Emperor Xiaodi."

"…it has been four hundred years since I came."

He paused slightly, frowned, and continued:
"In the past, Emperor Gaozu prospered in Chang'an, the western capital, and passed on his legacy to twelve emperors."

"Guangwu flourished in Luoyang, the eastern capital. Now there are also twelve emperors, and the destiny of heaven has returned."

"Each of them has lived for more than two hundred years, and their luck has declined."

"The Yuan family is the descendant of Yu Shun, and replaced red with yellow, which is the destiny of heaven."

"So Geng Zhubu advised me to inherit the Mandate of Heaven, but I would rather be King Wen of Zhou."

"Although I own two-thirds of the world, I still serve Yin."

“But there is a saying among the people that when the destiny changes, the divine weapon will change.”

"And it is natural that it will return to those who have virtue."

"I am hesitant and unable to make a decision, so I have summoned you to come here to discuss this matter and make a decision for me."

All the ministers were shocked when they heard this. They wondered what big event it was that had called them all here so suddenly.

I thought it was someone from Henan calling, but it turned out to be about such a stupid thing!

"This is absolutely not allowed. It's absolutely not allowed!"

"Today, the Han Dynasty still exists. Although there are treacherous ministers in power, the scholars of the world still have their hearts set on the Han Dynasty."

"If you rashly usurp the throne and claim to be emperor, you will be condemned by the princes of the world and lose the support of the people. I hope you will think carefully about this!"

Shen Pei was very excited and hurried out to dissuade him.

The deputy driver Ju Shou also came out and said:
"Shen Gong's words are very reasonable. When King Wen was alive, although he controlled two-thirds of the world, he still served Yin."

"Your Excellency only controls the four prefectures of Hebei. How dare you aspire to the throne?"

"If you go against the will of heaven, you will be condemned by the people and the people will turn against you, and you will become the enemy of the world."

Yuan Shao's face turned pale, and he felt a little embarrassed by the words of Shen Pei and Ju Shou.

Chief Clerk Geng Bao was a little panicked at this moment. He thought that everyone was as aware of the current situation as he was.

I was still feeling lucky that I was the first one to give advice, but I didn't expect so many people to stand up and oppose me.

Then it’s over!

This is a statement of great treason. If Yuan Shao fails to declare himself emperor, he will be severely punished.

Geng Bao was sweating profusely and was extremely nervous.

He thought that things had come to this point and he had no choice but to go all out and persuade Yuan Shao to become emperor.

He pretended to be calm and shouted at Shen Pei and Ju Su:

"Shen Gong and Ju Bie Jia's words are really foolish and ignorant of the current situation and the will of heaven."

"Since the reigns of Emperors Huan and Ling, the Yellow Turbans have been causing chaos and the world has been in turmoil."

"At that time, the mountains, rivers and people were all destroyed by war."

"Good conscience and kindness will keep away from the disaster of war."

"My great general has swept across the world and conquered the vast lands. He has won the hearts of all people and has been admired by all directions."

"It is not that I want to conquer Han by force, but it is destiny."

"Now Yuan Gong is in China and he is in charge of all nations. Isn't this the will of heaven and people?"

"It is time to inherit the great throne, follow the will of Heaven and the will of man, and follow the example of Yao and Shun."

"How can you act against human nature?"

After hearing this, Yuan Shao's expression improved slightly.

At this moment, he would no longer listen to any words that were not in his favor.

Especially after the last powerful enemy Gongsun Zan was destroyed, Yuan Shao believed that he had no rivals in the world.

Cao Liu of Henan can kill an ear with a snap of the fingers.

Unexpectedly, Geng Bao's words caused a huge uproar.

The ministers below were immediately in an uproar.

"Geng Bao's words are truly treasonous and misleading."

"Yes, yes, Geng Bao is a traitor. Please, General, execute him to set things right."

"General, please kill Geng Bao!"

"General, please kill Geng Bao!"

"..."

Unexpectedly, all the ministers under him had a rare unanimous opinion and asked Yuan Shao to kill Geng Bao.

This was a rare time since Yuan Shao entered Jizhou that the Henan and Hebei factions were united.

But this unity is not what Yuan Shao wants to see. They are uniting together to oppose him!
Geng Bao was already panicking at this time, and said quickly:

"In the past, Emperor Gaozu was only a village headman on Si River, yet he ruled the whole country."

"The calendar has reached its 400th anniversary, and the country is in turmoil."

"My family has been a great general for four generations and three dukes. The people support us. We obey the will of heaven and the people, and we are the right people to hold the throne."

"How can you all be so ignorant of the current situation?"

"Haven't you heard that those who follow Heaven's will prosper, while those who go against Heaven's will perish?"

Pooh!
I bother!

The ministers below started to curse again, with Tian Feng being the most excited.

He stood up and angrily scolded Geng Bao:
"In the past, Hou Ji of Zhou had accumulated a lot of virtue and merit, yet he still did not dare to conquer Yin."

"Although Mr. Yuan's family is noble, it is not as prosperous as that of Zhou."

"Although the Han Dynasty was weak, it was not as tyrannical as King Zhou of Shang. This is absolutely not feasible!"

"Geng Bao's words are truly disrespectful to the emperor and his father. Please kill him, Lord Yuan!"

Yuan Shao's face turned livid and looked very ugly.

He originally thought that his prestige would be enough after he unified Hebei.

Even if not all of the ministers support him becoming emperor, at least one third should be in favor, and one third should remain silent.

Unexpectedly, all of them opposed it, which made Yuan Shao disappointed and a little scared.

Many people say that Cao Cao only valued the Cao and Xiahou families as his generals.

There's nothing to be sarcastic about.

During the late Han Dynasty and the Three Kingdoms period, all the princes used royal relatives if they had any.

For example, Sun Ce used Sun Ben, Wu Jing and Sun Xiang.

Ma Chao used Ma Xiu, Ma Dai and Ma Tie.

The military commanders under Liu Biao were his nephew Liu Pan and brother-in-law Cai Mao.

Although Liu Bei did not have any generals from the royal family, he made use of his old brothers such as Guan Yu and Zhang Fei. These two were the absolute military leaders of Liu's camp.

In the later period of his life, Guan Yu was stationed in Jingzhou and was the absolute commander of the Jingchu Military Region.

Just like Xiahou Yuan as the commander of the western district of Cao's camp, many famous generals and counselors at that time had to obey their orders.

As for Yuan Shao, he also implemented the feudal system, enfeoffing his three sons and a nephew to different states.

Apart from his sons and nephews, Yuan Shao had no other clan members available.

Because as early as the time of Dong Zhuo's rebellious rule, the Runan Yuan family, which had been glorious for several dynasties, was slaughtered by this former official of the Yuan family.

This resulted in Yuan Shao not having a core team that could fully consider issues from his own standpoint.

You say that Cao Cao only valued the Cao and Xiahou families, but the problem is that people like Cao Ren and Xiahou Dun really listened to Cao Cao and were willing to go through fire and water for him.

Not to mention Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, they followed Liu Bei wherever he went.

Even if Liu Bei surrendered to Cao Cao, Guan and Zhang would never leave him, because they only recognized Liu Bei.

Yuan Shao's reputation as a family of three high officials for four generations was indeed effective, and it attracted a large number of wealthy and powerful families and scholars to him.

For this reason, it was divided into the Hebei faction and the Henan faction.

However, Yuan Shao did not have the core power to identify and eliminate those whose interests were inconsistent with his own.

These people are capable and powerful, but they are not absolutely loyal to Yuan Shao.

The group of powerful and scholar-officials needed a framework to attach themselves to.

Therefore, the composition of Yuan's camp is more like an alliance of interests formed by Yuan's disciples and former officials and the wealthy families of Hebei.

Yuan Shao was nominally their lord, but it would be more accurate to say that he was their common leader.

These scholars and nobles generally helped Yuan Shao, but it was common for them to fight with each other in private to grab the cake.

This is also the reason why there is fierce competition among the members of Yuan’s camp.

Yuan Shao was certainly aware of this problem. Since he had no way to cultivate a core team, he could only make the final decision himself.

This event of proclaiming himself emperor was a test by Yuan Shao.

He wanted to see the attitudes of his ministers and whether his prestige was sufficient to suppress the factions in Hebei and Henan.

But the reactions shown by the ministers undoubtedly made Yuan Shao extremely disappointed.

Not to mention half of the people agreed, there was not even a third.

Everyone is against me.

Yuan Shao is not saying that he must be crowned emperor, so why not just some of you keep silent?
"……snort."

Yuan Shao's face darkened. He knew in his heart that people were not of the same opinion and that it would be impossible for him to become emperor.

"General, this..."

Seeing that Yuan Shao remained silent, Geng Bao thought to himself that no matter how eloquent he was, he could not withstand the pressure from his ministers.

So he turned his eyes to Yuan Shao, hoping that he would stand up and speak for him.

Unexpectedly, Yuan Shao stood up, pointed his finger at Geng Bao, and shouted:

"I already knew that you were up to no good and had evil intentions."

"Now that you have offered such treasonous words, you have no respect for your king or father, and you want me to bear the infamy."

"If I don't kill you now, how can I convince the people?"

"Someone! Push him down and behead him!"

As soon as he finished speaking, two warriors rushed into the hall and lifted Geng Bao up.

Geng Bao was shocked and shouted that he was not guilty.

Yuan Shao did not want him to talk too much, so he said:

"How dare you say such nonsense? This person must be crazy. Push him down immediately!"

Soon, it was reported that Geng Bao had been beheaded.

Yuan Shao then calmed the matter down, but he knew in his heart that his prestige was still not enough to overwhelm his ministers.

So he decided to march south.

He took advantage of the fact that all the ministers were present at the time to talk about the Henan issue, which could also be used to divert the conflict.

"Now Cao Cao and Liu Bei have gathered together a small army of ants and raised a mob to build fortifications and walls on the south bank of the Yellow River."

"This general wants to stop us from entering Hebei Province. We have summoned you here to discuss the matter of advancing troops to Henan Province."

"I heard that Cao Cao used Zao Zhi to cultivate the land in Yingchuan, and Liu Bei used Lu Su to cultivate the land in Xiapi."

"Although Henan is not as rich as Hebei, Hebei has just experienced a war, while Henan has not had any major wars since the destruction of my brother."

"If it is allowed to develop for a few years, the land of Henan will be difficult to conquer."

"So I want to ask you gentlemen, should I raise an army or not?"

One point that needs to be emphasized is that when we often say Hebei is rich, we actually mean Jizhou is rich.

Bingzhou and Youzhou are both bitter and cold places.

After Qingzhou experienced the Yellow Turban Rebellion and the great battle between Gongsun Zan and the Yuan family, its population also dropped sharply.

In addition, after Yuan Tan arrived, he did not implement any virtuous policies, which made the people of Qingzhou even more disappointed with the Yuan family, and a large number of people fled to Xuzhou.

All these factors have resulted in Hebei's productivity narrowing significantly compared to Henan's.

In particular, Cao Cao established military farms in Yingchuan and Runan, which were also famous for their richness.

As for Liu Bei, it goes without saying that with the help of Li Yi, Xuzhou had already restored its pre-war productivity. In addition, Cao and Liu both had the land of Huainan to provide blood transfusions.

If Cao and Liu were allowed to develop for a few more years, Henan's productivity would not surpass that of Hebei, but the gap would definitely not be as huge as it is now.

After all, Jizhou’s productivity ceiling has reached its limit. Even if Yuan Shao is allowed to develop for a few more years, it may not be able to raise the ceiling much.

On the contrary, Cao and Liu are digesting the land in Huainan, which we must guard against.

The deputy driver Ju Su advised:
"The people are exhausted from years of fighting, and the granaries are empty. We cannot raise a large army."

"We should first send someone to present victory to the emperor. If that doesn't work, we should report that Cao and Liu are blocking our way, and then we can lead our troops to station in Liyang."

"We will also increase the number of boats and ships in Henei, repair military equipment, and dispatch elite troops to garrison the border areas."

"Within three years, major events can be decided."

In the war to suppress Gongsun Zan, Yuan's army did not capture much spoils.

And Yijing itself is a tough nut to crack, so Yuanying’s march north to Youzhou this time was quite costly.

Ju Su suggested stationing troops in Liyang and other places first to guard against attacks from Cao and Liu.

In Hebei, they built boats and repaired equipment, and gradually developed the Henan area.

Shen Pei and Guo Tu objected:
"The rule in the military book is to surround the enemy five times out of ten, and then you can fight the enemy."

"Now, with your divine power, you will unite the powerful people of Heshuo to attack Cao and Liu."

"It is like the work of covering one's hand, which is not difficult to recover."

"If we don't take it now, it will be difficult to plan for it later."

Shen Pei and Guo Tu both believed that the expedition against Gongsun Zan had caused considerable losses in Hebei.

But after all, Yuan Shen had a large family and a powerful army. Even so, his military strength and food supplies were still far superior to those of Henan.

Now it would be easy to go south and defeat Cao and Liu.

If Cao and Liu recover from the war in Huainan and annex it, how much advantage will Hebei have over Henan?

"……Hahaha."

The man who was laughing was the counselor Tian Feng. He stroked his beard and strode out.

"What Lord Shen and Lord Guo said is not appropriate."

"Cao Cao and Liu Bei are both heroes, good at using troops and adaptable."

"Although Henan's population is small, it should not be underestimated."

"It is better to hold on for a long time now."

Tian Feng also agreed with Ju Su's suggestion to slow down the attack on Henan.

"The general controls the mountains and rivers, and has the people of four states. He makes friends with heroes outside and cultivates agriculture and warfare inside."

"We have Wuhuan and Xianbei as our vassal states, so why should we worry about the progress of Cao and Liu?"

"We only need to select the best troops, divide them into special forces, and take advantage of the opportunity to attack Henan."

"If the people of Henan want to save the right, they should attack the left; if they want to save the left, they should attack the right."

"It made Cao and Liu exhausted and the people unable to work in peace."

"If this is true, then I have not worked hard yet he is already in trouble."

"In less than two years, Henan will be conquered."

"May the general see clearly!"

Based on Ju Su's proposal to produce ships and equipment first, Tian Feng further proposed foreign policy.

Should Henan fight?
beat!
But he did not go into full-scale war with Cao and Liu.

He only sent out special forces, divided his troops, and attacked the counties and prefectures along the Henan border.

Since they can't produce with peace of mind, we can just sit back and enjoy the results.

This can also solve Yuan Shao's concern that Henan is developing too quickly and catching up with or narrowing the gap with Hebei.

"Nonsense! Nonsense!"

Shen Pei stamped his feet on the ground and said repeatedly:

"Mr. Tian's words are really misleading."

"Now that Hebei is strong, it would be easy for us to raise an army to attack Henan. Why should we delay for so long?"

Hahaha……

The person who laughed this time was the deputy driver Ju Su.

“The key to success is not to be strong.”

"To save the enemy and punish the tyrants is called a righteous army."

"Those who rely on their numbers and strength are called arrogant soldiers."

"The righteousness of the army is invincible, but the arrogant will be destroyed."

"Cao Cao and Liu Bei welcomed the emperor and built a palace for him, and the whole world was at peace."

"If we raise our troops and march south now, it will be against morality."

"And the key to success is not in strength or weakness."

"After the order was issued in Henan, the nobles were well-trained and not like those who were trapped and defended by Gongsun Zan."

"Now you have abandoned the art of keeping everything safe, discarded the good strategy of offering quick victory, and raised an unknown army. I am afraid of this for you, my lord."

Ju Shou became more and more excited as he spoke, and his neck gradually turned red.

He and Tian Feng both have the character of being stubborn and rebellious.

Not paying much attention to saving the leader's face.

Especially now that Yuan Shao no longer likes to hear disobedient words.

Ju Su's words not only boosted others' morale ideologically, but also belittled his own group on the tactical level.

This made Yuan Shao, who was always conceited, very dissatisfied.

Guo Tu took advantage of the situation and said:
"Ju Beijia's words actually boost others' morale and destroy his own prestige."

"King Wu's attack on King Zhou was considered unjust."

"Besides, how can we say that the troops are not famous when they are sent to Henan?"

"Moreover, the general's soldiers are strong and brave, and the soldiers are eager to fight."

"If we do not make great plans now, we will suffer the consequences if we do not take what God has given us."

"This is why Yue became the hegemon and why Wu was destroyed."

"The purpose of this plan is to hold on firmly, not to see the changes in the situation and know when to go."

Although both factions did not object to going to war with Henan at this time, their tactics were different.

Guo Tu and Shen Pei were both in favor of a quick battle. In the war in Henan, they advocated a quick victory. They directly mobilized the entire country, launched an all-out war, and took over the entire Henan province in one fell swoop.

Ju Shou and Tian Feng were members of the consumption faction. They advocated using Hebei's strong financial resources to compete with Henan in consumption and gradually erode the southern territory.

The two factions were deadlocked, and more and more people were joining the debate over quick victory and attrition.

Yuan Shao saw that everyone was arguing about stability and was hesitant for a while.

Suddenly someone reported that Xu You and Xun Chen came in from outside.

Yuan Shao said happily:

"These two people are very knowledgeable and must have profound insights. Let's see what they say."

He then ordered the two men to come in, and Xu You and Xun Chen finished their greetings.

Yuan Shao then told the two of them what they had just discussed and asked for their opinions.

It is now a foregone conclusion that Yuan will mobilize troops.

The question is whether to mobilize the whole country or to fight with consumption and slowly erode Henan.

The two of them responded in unison:

"Your Excellency, you must use the many to defeat the few, the strong to attack the weak, and you must defeat the Han thieves to support the royal family. This is how you raise an army."

"Why should we delay for so long?"

Yuan Shao was delighted when he heard this, "What you two see is exactly what I think."

That’s right, in Yuan Shao’s mind, he prefers an all-out war.

One reason is that Yuan Shao was indeed too arrogant and did not take Henan seriously.

Second, it is out of concern about Henan's rapid development. People are afraid that the narrowing gap in productivity between Hebei and Henan will make it more difficult to fight in the future.

Three is actually the most important point.

Yuan Shao is already fifty years old this year. Fifty in ancient times was the age of knowing the destiny, which means it is time to be buried.

Especially at the end of the Han Dynasty, the average life expectancy was only about 50 years old.

This means that if Yuan Shao does not unify the world, he will not have much time left.

And Yuan Shao's health was already in trouble at this time.

In history, Yuan Shao died of illness two years after the Battle of Guandu.

The defeat at Guandu certainly had a devastating effect on Yuan Shao.

But if you read the history books carefully, you will find a clue.
Yuan Shao himself was a brave man. Whether it was the Ten Eunuchs' disorderly government or Dong Zhuo's entry into the capital, they all reflected Yuan Shao's personal bravery.

Including the later expedition against the Black Mountain bandits, Yuan Shao led his troops to kill their way through the entire Black Mountain.

During the Battle of Jie Bridge, Yuan Shao personally led his troops to break out.

However, until the Battle of Guandu, although Yuan Shao led the army in person, there was no record of him leading the troops himself.

Even at a critical moment like Wuchao, Yuan Shao did not personally lead his troops to rescue.

This also indirectly shows that Yuan Shao's health must have been much worse than before.

Therefore, Yuan Shao was eager to unify the world quickly.

"……good."

Yuan Shao seized the opportunity and did not want to delay any longer. He immediately stood up and shouted:

"I have made up my mind, and there is no need to discuss it further."

"The war in Henan cannot be delayed."

"Where is Chen Jishi?"

As soon as he finished speaking, a man walked out from among the ministers.

Everyone looked at him and found that he was one of the Seven Sages of the Jian'an Period, the recorder Chen Lin.

"Now I am fighting against the bandits for the sake of justice, and I must count the evils of Henan."

"Then we can send an urgent letter to all the counties, announcing the crime and calling for punishment, and then we can justify our actions."

"I order you to write a manifesto to fight the bandits. Before my army goes out to fight, you must distribute it to all places."

Here~
Chen Lin bowed and accepted the order.

Afterwards, Yuan Shao appointed Shen Pei and Pang Ji as commanders of the army.

Tian Feng, Xun Chen and Xu You were counselors.

Yan Liang and Wen Chou were appointed vanguard generals, each leading 5,000 soldiers to station in Liyang.

Then he ordered Zhang He and Chunyu Qiong to be the Central Guard Generals and wait for orders in the army.

Yuan Shao personally led an army of 150,000 and marched towards Liyang.

Many people are curious about how powerful Yuan Shao is and how many troops he can mobilize.

In the novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms, the number of soldiers and horses is exaggerated in various ways, often reaching hundreds of thousands or millions.

But only during the Battle of Guandu did Lao Luo not exaggerate the number of people.

Yuan Shao really had an army of 300,000, and this was just a conservative estimate, and it did not include the logistics and civilian laborers.

An army of three hundred thousand men means three hundred thousand combat-capable soldiers.

If we only talk about the scale of the war, the later Battle of Chibi and Battle of Yiling were considered minor skirmishes.

First of all, the original words in the history book are about Yuan Shao, "hundreds of thousands of people."

If you think this is just a claim, the next sentence is,
——"Gather a hundred thousand elite soldiers and ten thousand cavalry, and attack Xu."

Here it is clearly written that there are exactly 100,000 elite soldiers and 10,000 cavalrymen that Yuan Shao sent to the front line.

You have to know that no matter how worry-free Yuan Shao is, it is impossible for him to not have anyone guarding his home.

Every county and prefecture in the four states of Qing, You, Bing and Ji is garrisoned by troops.

Just like when Cao Cao mobilized 20,000 to 30,000 people in the Battle of Guandu, but that doesn’t mean he could only mobilize this many people.

He also had to keep some men to guard against Liu Biao, Sun Ce, Ma Teng, and even Zang Ba.

Various historical books can prove that Yuan Shao had a large number of troops during the Battle of Guandu.

The Records of Emperor Xian's Daily Records recorded that "he beheaded more than 70,000 people, and his baggage and property amounted to billions."

The "Han Ji" records that "80,000 of Shao's soldiers were killed."

The Book of the Later Han records that "the rest of the people pretended to surrender, but Cao Cao buried them all alive, killing 80,000 people in total."

These historical materials can prove that Yuan Shao had more than 100,000 troops on the front line alone.

Another factor that can support the number of Yuan Shao’s troops is the population potential of Jizhou.

According to historical records, after Cao Cao conquered Jizhou, he excitedly said to Cui Yan,

——"Yesterday's household registration showed that there were 300,000 people, so it is a large state."

This means that Cao Cao was able to recruit 300,000 soldiers in Jizhou.

Of course, this does not mean that Yuan Shao must recruit so many people to fight, but it does show that Yuan Shao’s group has the military potential to mobilize so many troops.

The above are only the troops that Jizhou can mobilize.

If we take into account the troops from Qing, You and Bing states, it is not an exaggeration to say that Yuan Shao had hundreds of thousands of troops.

The governor of Bingzhou was Yuan Shao's nephew Gao Gan, who was called, according to historical records,
——"Bingzhou has the danger of Hengshan Mountain on the left and the solidity of the Yellow River on the right. With 50,000 soldiers, we can stop the strong Hu in the north."

According to conservative estimates, senior officials have 50,000 standing troops at their disposal.

Of course, these 50,000 people must also include mercenaries from the Wuhuan, Southern Xiongnu and other tribes.

Yuan Shao's eldest son Yuan Tan controlled Qingzhou and was also the first enemy Xuzhou faced.

Taking into account his status as a biological son and the fact that Qingzhou's population is larger than Bingzhou's, Yuan Tan's military force would certainly not be much inferior to Gao Gan's.

As for Yuan Xi, he controlled Youzhou after the fall of Gongsun Zan.

Although history books do not clearly record how many troops Yuan Xi had, we can still capture some details from historical materials.

For example, when Zhang Nan and Jiao Chu rebelled later, they led the governors and governors of various counties and integrated the military forces of Youzhou.

The combined military strength is, "Deploy tens of thousands of troops to kill the White Horse Alliance."

According to the most conservative estimate, "tens of thousands of soldiers" should be between 20,000 and 30,000.

To sum up, Yuan Shen in his prime was not exaggerating at all when he said that he could mobilize 300,000 soldiers and horses.

It’s just that Yuan Shao doesn’t need to mobilize so many people, but there is no problem for him to maintain 150,000 standing troops.

In fact, the estimate of 150,000 is already very conservative.

Because there is a clear record that Yuan Shao dispatched 110,000 people on the Guandu front alone.

However, Yuan Shao's camp directly controlled the entire north bank of the Yellow River. In Jixian and Huojia counties alone, there were more than 20 generals of various ranks and more than 30 garrisons.

Fifteen thousand standing troops is not an exaggeration at all.

In short, Yuan Shao has made the decision to mobilize 150,000 troops and send them to the front line.

Officially declare war on Cao Cao and Liu Bei in Henan!
At the same time, after receiving the order to draft the proclamation, Chen Lin wrote it immediately.

The "Exhortation to Punish the Bandits" was written quickly.

After reading it, Yuan Shao was overjoyed and praised Chen Lin's talent.

He immediately ordered people to distribute this proclamation to all prefectures and counties, and to post it at all passes and hillocks.

When the proclamation reached Xu County, Yingchuan, Cao Cao was suffering from a headache and was bedridden.

The attendants passed the proclamation to the emperor, but Cao Hong, who was nearby, did not want anyone to pass the proclamation to the emperor.

However, Cao Cao wanted to see it, so he ordered someone to bring it to him.

But when I saw what was written in the article, "Cao is an ugly eunuch with no moral integrity. He is cunning and aggressive, and enjoys chaos and misfortunes," I felt chills running down my spine and broke out in a cold sweat.

Instead, his headache was cured. He jumped out of bed and turned to Cao Hong and asked:
"Who made this?"

Cao Hong replied:
"I heard it was written by Chen Lin."

Cao Cao stroked his beard and laughed:

"If there are civil affairs, they must be supplemented by military strategies."

"Although Chen Lin is good at literature, he is not as good as Yuan Shao in military strategy."

He took the manifesto in his hand and read it over and over again.

"The article mentions Liu Bei and says he is selling Xisheer, but I don't know what Liu Bei thinks about it."

Cao Hong did not dare to answer, but only sighed inwardly that this manifesto cursed Cao Cao and Liu Bei so harshly, and he didn't know why Cao Cao could still laugh.

Cao Cao read it again and found that the text mentioned:
——"Whoever captures the head will be granted the title of Marquis of 5,000 households and a reward of 50 million yuan."

——"Whoever captures the head of the enemy will be granted the title of Marquis of 8,000 households and a reward of 80 million yuan."

Then he could not help but sigh to Cao Hong:
"Why is my head not as valuable as Liu Bei's?"

……

(Thanks to our group member Hitomi Asano for making this, this is a rough map of the power distribution before the war between Henan and Hebei)

(For reference only, do not dwell on the details)

(I originally wanted to draw the Donghu people, Xianbei people, Xiaoyuezhi and other tribes together, but my technology is limited. I can only draw the Central Plains forces at present. I hope my brothers will forgive me.)
(End of this chapter)