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

Chapter 187 You're not the only one who can call for external assistance

However, Ju Su hated Yuan Shao for not using his strategies, so he resigned from his post and returned home on the grounds of illness.

He gave away all his family wealth, and none of his clan members could understand why, and they all asked him the reason.

Ju Su sighed and said:

"If one has power, his authority will not increase; if one loses power, he cannot protect himself. How alas!"

To put it bluntly, Ju Su felt that Yuan Shao was doomed if he went south this time.

When the Yuan family falls, these big families in Hebei will also be implicated.

As mentioned before, the relationship between the Yuan family and the Hebei gentry was more like an alliance of interests.

One glory and one glory.

Just like when Ju Shou refused to surrender to Cao Cao, his original words were,
——"Uncle, mother, brother, and Yuan family."

To put it bluntly, the Yuan family is the leader of the interest alliance, no matter how much the people below fight for power and profit.

But it still needs the skeleton of Yuan to rely on. Once it is separated, there will be nothing left.

Now Ju Shou was certain that Yuan Shao would fail in his southward march, and thought that if he lost, it would be useless to keep so much money.

So it’s better to disperse.

Ju Su's pessimism was obviously not recognized by his clan brothers.

After all, Hebei is strong and Henan is weak, and the war has just begun. It is too early for Ju Shou to draw a conclusion.

Ju Su's brother Ju Zong could not help but speak out:

"Henan's soldiers and horses are no match for them, so why should you be afraid?"

Ju Su sighed:

"With Cao Yanzhou's wisdom and Liu Xuzhou's ability to win the hearts of the people, the two of them can use the emperor as a weapon."

"Although my lord has defeated Yijing Gongsun, his soldiers are exhausted and his generals are arrogant and disrespectful to him."

"The army's defeat lies in this move."

"So Yang Xiong said, 'The six states were all in chaos because of Ying Ruoji.'"

Ju Zong was silent and pondered for a while before saying to Ju Shou:

"Brother, you need to be more careful about what you say."

What does Ju Su mean by this?

Since you, Yuan Shao, do not listen to my advice and even reduce my military power, I will do my best to disrupt the morale of the army.

Only if you lose can it prove that I win.

Ju Shou was a large family in Hebei, with extensive influence and local forces behind them.

Yuan Shao deprived Ju Su of his military power and gave it to Guo Tu, but Guo Tu was completely unable to command him.

Then you can understand why a big family like Jushou can be so fearless.

Even Yuan Shao couldn't kill Ju Su at this time.

In this era, most of the soldiers were private soldiers. If Ju Su was killed, the war would be impossible to fight.

Yuan Shao fought so many battles, and you will find that the internal struggle in the Battle of Guandu was the most intense.

There were even many bizarre incidents, such as Ju Su threatening to resign and Shen Pei arresting the family members of high-ranking officials on the front line during the war.

The reason for this,
Or maybe it’s because the piece of cake of conquering Henan is so big that everyone is already fighting for it before the battle even begins.

If you don't listen to me, you will listen to other people's opinions.

After the war, they will definitely be able to get a bigger piece of the pie than you, which is not in the interests of your own faction.

Of course, there was fierce internal struggle within Yuan’s camp, and Yuan Shao himself also had to take some of the blame.

Yuan Shao was not destined to be an emperor, but he had the disease to become an emperor.

The factions in Hebei are already complicated. When there are no royal family members available, the most important thing Yuan Shao should do is to support a direct descendant.

For example, by using soldiers from Hebei and eating grain from Hebei, it is entirely possible to cultivate the power of the Hebei wealthy families as one's own direct lineage.

If he was afraid that the Hebei nobles would sideline him, he should choose the Ruying faction in Henan for training.

Although the road is difficult, at least there are so many counselors that we can suppress other factions.

In short, tie up one faction and use its power to suppress the other faction.

This is the normal operation of a normal monarch.

But Yuan Shen wants both in daily life.

In the absence of core strength, one must try to act like an emperor.

For example, when they first arrived in Hebei, they "exploited the rich and collected examination fees."

The wealthy families were exploited both economically and physically by Yuan Shao.

Later, fearing that the Hebei nobles had been exploited too harshly, he turned around and gave a big sweet treat to super landlords like Shen Pei, appointing him as the governor.

Yuan Shao mastered the subtle art of balancing the two to perfection.

The two factions were kept in a state of internal friction by Yuan Shao.

But Yuan Shao overlooked a key issue.

The prerequisite for internal friction between the two factions is that you have to be a unified dynasty.

But now the situation is divided among many factions, and no one knows how the situation will develop after you die.

Although Ju Su resigned and returned to his hometown, the monarch Yuan Shao still had to save face.

He sent three people to call Ju Su back and ask him to accompany him to the south.

It was not because Yuan Shao needed Ju Su's talents, nor was it because he was afraid of his family's power.

It’s just that my lord cannot lose face at this critical moment.

He wanted Ju Su to see with his own eyes how he pacified Henan.

When Ju Su met the people sent by Yuan Shao, he went down the stairs and returned to Yuan's camp.

Yuan Shao then continued his march southward.

Yuan Shao's main attack direction was, of course, Cao Cao's Yanzhou.

Hebei's powerful intelligence system also had a clear understanding of Yanzhou's defense line at this time.

Cao Ren marched into Liyang, Jizhou, and stationed approximately three to six thousand troops, which was the first line of defense in Henan.

Yu Jin led two to three thousand infantry and cavalry to garrison at Yanjin, a ferry crossing on the south bank of the Yellow River.

As for Xuzhou, Guan Yu was sent as a general to assist Cao Cao in guarding Baimajin.

Henan deployed defenses at every level to prevent Yuan's army from crossing the river and heading south.

Yuan Shao sat in the camp, quietly listening to the front-line intelligence discovered by the scouts.

Although Yuan's army was large in number and marched slowly, they had not yet reached the Yellow River.

But Yuan Shao was already eager to fight Cao and Liu.

"Cao Cao has set up layers of defenses on the south bank of the Yellow River in order to prevent us from crossing the river."

Yuan Shao's eyes were sharp as torches. He tapped the map gently with his hands and analyzed it for everyone:
"South of the Yellow River are the Ji River, the Pu River, and the Si River."

"This water system connects Yanzhou and Xuzhou."

"This also means that Cao and Liu can transport soldiers and food to each other via water."

Everyone listened quietly as Yuan Shao analyzed the situation in an orderly manner.

"I think Cao Cao is good at using troops, and Liu Bei is a man of great strategy who can get people to fight for him. Both of them have countless minions under their command."

"It's really difficult to fight me together now."

"Jizhou is adjacent to Yanzhou. If we want to take Henan, we must first defeat Cao Cao."

After a slight pause, Yuan Shao frowned again, feeling a little depressed.

Continue to pace with hands behind back:
"I just didn't expect the alliance between Cao and Liu to be so strong. No matter how I tried to win them over, they still refused to surrender to me."

"Although Xuzhou was busy with the Qingzhou war, Liu Bei used Li Yi as his strategist, cultivated important land, and registered the people."

"It is said that he also received a lot of money and grain from Jingzhou."

"As long as Liu Bei is not destroyed, even if Xuzhou cannot spare troops, it will continue to send money and food to Yanzhou."

"This is the disadvantage of being in control, but the advantage of being prepared."

Yuan Shao was a military strategist with many years of experience in military campaigns. He quickly realized the benefits of the Henan alliance's strategic deployment.

Xu You spoke out and said:
"Since we cannot destroy Liu Bei in a short period of time, we can only cut off the connection between Yan and Xu first."

Xu You’s suggestion was the most pertinent.

Xuzhou has been providing blood transfusions to Yanzhou, which has made Yan Liang's advancement on the front line very slow.

"If you want to cut off the connection between Yan and Xu, you must first dismount Bai Ma."

Xu You then added.

Baimazin is the ferry crossing that controls the Pu River and the Ji River.

If we take it, we can cut off the waterway between Yan and Xu.

Although Liu Bei could still provide blood transfusions to Cao Cao by land, the consumption of land transportation was undoubtedly far greater than that of water transportation.

This will increase the burden on Xuzhou’s granaries.

"That's how it should be!"

Yuan Shao slapped his thigh and followed the advice.

"Send the order to Yan Liang and Guo Tu at the front to join Chunyu Qiong's troops and attack Bai Ma with all their might!"

After the order was given, everyone asked again, Yan Liang is attacking Bai Ma, where should we attack?
Yuan Shao pointed to the map:
"Let's attack Yanjin!"

Yanjin is another Baima, both are important transportation hubs that control waterways.

But the difference is that once Yanjin is captured, Yuan Shao can go all the way south and take Xuchang directly.

Xuchang was Cao Cao's old nest. Now that his hometown was destroyed, it would be difficult for Cao Cao to stir up any trouble again.

After dealing with Cao Cao, they would reunite with the Qingzhou troops and attack Xuzhou from two directions.

Then Henan can be stabilized and the world can be unified.

This is the strategic policy set by Yuan Shao.

After the discussion was over, Yuan Shao ordered his troops to act according to the plan.

Thinking of the Qingzhou war again, he asked casually:

"How is the battle situation in Qingzhou?"

Xu You bowed and said:
"Please rest assured, General. General Gao's troops, combined with the troops from Qingzhou, will number 30,000 to 40,000 men."

"It is enough to hold out until the general pacifies Yanzhou."

Hardly had he finished his words when a scout arrived.

"Report——"

"Urgent news from Qingzhou!"

Yuan Shao and Xu You were both shocked.

"How about it!"

"Li Yi joined forces with Zang Ba and marched north from Langya, conquering Qi, Beihai, and Donglai in succession!"

Well……

Upon hearing the news, Yuan Shao was shocked.

He knew that compared to the battlefield in Yanzhou, in Qingzhou, it was Yuan defending and Liu attacking.

Yuan Shao did not expect Gao Lan to be able to defeat the Xuzhou army. He just wanted him to delay time and hold out until he pacified Yanzhou.

As a result, so many cities fell in such a short period of time.

Although Yuan Shao's control over Qi, Beihai and Donglai was very weak.

The Yuan family mainly controlled the areas of Pingyuan, Le'an and Jinan.

Even so, it shouldn't be taken down so quickly, right?
You are a famous general from Hebei, but you managed to turn your opponent into Le Yi.

In a short time, more than seventy cities were taken down...

The reporter continued to speak.

"...General Gao underestimated the enemy and advanced rashly, and was captured alive by Li Yi in Linzi."

what?
Yuan Shao was startled again, but immediately calmed down and thought to himself that this was not surprising.

If the commander-in-chief of the three armies was captured alive, the morale of the soldiers on the front line would definitely collapse.

Li Yi must have taken advantage of this opportunity to launch a fierce attack to the north.

"Has General Gao been killed?" Yuan Shao asked again.

"No, he was released." The soldier answered truthfully.

Put it back?
Yuan Shao frowned and asked again:
"Does Gao Lan have a past relationship with Li Yi? Or does he have a past relationship with Liu Bei?"

"…This, I don't know."

Yuan Shao's face darkened and he waved his hand, motioning him to go down.

"No wonder Li Yi was able to capture several cities in Qingzhou in such a short time."

Pang Ji was by his side at the time, stroking his beard and sighing.

Yuan Shao's eyes shone, and he asked in a cold voice:

"Yuan Tu's intention is to say that Gao Lan and Xuzhou are secretly in contact?"

"I dare not make a definite statement, but the military is a major issue for a country and must be carefully considered."

"Qingzhou is the main battlefield to stop the Xuzhou army. If it is lost..."

Yuan Shao's face turned pale, he took off the seal and said to Pang Ji:

"Yuan Tu, take my seal and bring Gao Lan to question him immediately."

Xu You advised from the side:
"Mr. Yuan, there is no conclusive evidence at this time."

"If General Gao is innocent, arresting him may shake the morale of the army."

Yuan Shao replied coldly:
"Whether he is loyal or not, I will know once I ask him."

"If we allow them to gather troops in Qingzhou and become independent, it will cause endless troubles."

Xu You asked again: "If Gao Lan is taken away, who will guard Qingzhou?"

Yuan Shao pondered for a while, then replied:

"I will send Zhang He to Qingzhou to take over Gao Lan's military affairs."

"… Changing commanders in the middle of a battle is a big taboo."

"……snort."

The corners of Yuan Shao's lips slightly raised, and a hint of disdain flashed in his eyes.

"Although Beihai, Qi, and Donglai have been lost, Pingyuan, Le'an, and Jinan are all heavily guarded."

"The people of Xuzhou cannot be conquered in a short time. After I pacify Yanzhou, I will lead the army back."

What this means is that whether Qingzhou has a head coach or not does not have much impact.

Anyway, every city has its own governor and county magistrate to welcome them.

The commander-in-chief was sent there just to coordinate the deployment and facilitate the use of troops.

Yuan Shao was still relatively optimistic about the defeat in the Qingzhou war.

After all, Dong Qingzhou himself has weak control.

But the time of its fall was indeed faster than he had imagined.

But it's not a big problem.

Pang Ji also advised:
"Mingsir, as the saying goes, two fists are no match for four hands."

"According to reliable information, Ma Teng and Han Sui, whom you sent to recruit, have already defected to Henan."

"Ma Teng even sent his son Ma Chao to lead more than 10,000 troops to attack Bingzhou."

Yuan Shao waved his hand, still indicating that it was not a big problem.

The high-ranking officials of Bingzhou have an army of 50,000. With 50,000 troops against 10,000, they can easily defeat little Ma Chao.

"In addition, Zhang Xiu of Nanyang and Lu Bu of Runan also raised their troops and went to Henan to provide assistance."

hiss……

Yuan Shao took a deep breath and finally couldn't sit still anymore.

Zhang Xiu was a rising star, and Lu Bu was a famous general of the time, both extremely brave and strong.

The troops under the command of these two people were the best in the late Han Dynasty. Their joining would undoubtedly make Henan more powerful.

"How can you, a fool, side with Cao and Liu instead of me?"

Yuan Shao sighed secretly. In just a few years, all the southern forces had been won over by Henan.

"Mingsir, we still have a large external force that can help our army."

Pang Ji reminded in a low voice.

Yuan Shao raised his eyebrows and asked:
"Could Yuantu be referring to Liu Jingsheng of Jingzhou?"

As early as the period when the two Yuans were competing for supremacy, Liu Biao and Yuan Shao had already been flirting with each other.

Although the two families had never signed a clear alliance, Liu Biao and Yuan Shao did have a good relationship.

And its geographical location is also very good, located in the left waist of Henan.

If he launched an attack, it would undoubtedly greatly relieve Yuan Shao's pressure of fighting two enemies at once.

"Liu Jingsheng is a man of reputation but without substance, and has no ambition to conquer the world."

"Now that Henan and Hebei are fighting, they may not be willing to intervene."

Ying Shao, the military commander, said with some concern.

Yuan Shao, however, appeared very confident and did not take Ying Shao's concerns seriously.

"I think Liu Jingsheng is quite ambitious. If he had a little foresight, he would know that this battle concerns the overall situation of the world."

"If he just stands by and watches, he will not be able to gain any benefit no matter who wins or loses in the future."

"With Liu Jingsheng's talent and strategy, I'm sure he wouldn't make such a mistake."

After a slight pause, he added:

"What's more, there are many wise men around Liu Jingsheng, even if Liu Jingsheng doesn't notice it for a while."

"People around him should warn him."

The more Yuan Shao spoke, the more confident he became, and the more he analyzed, the more it made sense to him.

Judging from Liu Biao's ability to ride alone into Jingzhou, he should have been aware of the importance of this battle.

Besides, it makes sense for Liu Biao to form an alliance with Henan. After all, making friends with distant countries and attacking nearby ones is not in the interests of Jingzhou.

Hebei has absolutely no conflict of interest with Liu Biao.

Therefore, Yuan Shao immediately sent an envoy to Jingzhou overnight to propose an alliance between the two families to jointly attack Henan.

Not stated.

……

However, Ni Heng first entered Xuzhou and then went to Yanzhou, where he humiliated Liu Bei and Cao Cao repeatedly.

Cao Cao originally wanted to kill him, but was afraid that people in the world would think he was intolerant, so he packed him up and sent him to Jingzhou.

Huang She learned that his old friend had returned, and introduced Ni Heng to Liu Biao.

Liu Biao had long heard of Ni Heng's talent and treated him with courtesy.

Unexpectedly, Ni Heng still did not take Liu Biao seriously and often insulted and belittled him.

Liu Biao felt deeply humiliated and wanted to kill him, but he felt it was inappropriate.

He thought that Huang Zu, the governor of Jiangxia, had an impatient temper, so it would be better to send Ni Heng to Jiangxia.

It just so happened that Ni Heng's good friend Huang She was the son of Huang Zu, so his gift to him was well-known.

After sending Ni Heng to Jiangxia, the attendants asked Liu Biao:
"Ni Heng teased the lord, why not kill him?"

Liu Biao narrowed his eyes, stroked his beard and said:

"When Ni Heng was in Xuzhou, he humiliated Liu Bei and Li Yi, the emperor and his minister, but he remained safe and sound."

"Afterwards, when he went to Yanzhou, he insulted Cao Cao several times, but Cao did not kill him."

"Cao Cao and Liu Bei did this because they were afraid of losing people's trust."

"So now he has sent me an envoy, hoping to kill him by my hand, so that I will be accused of being a virtuous man."

"I will send him to see Huang Zu, so that Cao and Liu will know that I have knowledge."

So everyone praised it.

At that time, Yuan Shao sent an envoy to Jingzhou, who was received by Liu Biao and explained his intention.

He urgently summoned his civil and military officials to discuss the matter.

"Yuan Benchu sent an envoy to ask us to send troops from Jingzhou to help him capture Yanzhou."

"You all have many plans, which one should we follow now?"

Han Song, a Zhonglang official, suggested:
"Today, heroes have emerged, and the north and the south are in a stalemate."

"The most important thing in the world is the general."

Han Song pointed out the current situation in a very incisive manner.

It was a stalemate between the North and the South, with Yuan Shao fighting against Cao and Liu.

So where is the weight of the world?

That’s right, it’s Liu Biao of Jingzhou.

Jingzhou is rich and has 100,000 armored soldiers, making it the most powerful force besides Henan and Hebei.

Therefore, the decision of Jingzhou is the one that can most influence the situation in the world.

Han Song continued speaking.

"If you want to do something, you can take advantage of the situation."

"If not, then I will choose what to follow."

"Your Excellency has an army of 100,000 men, but you sit back and watch the changes in the Yangtze and Han Rivers."

"If you see a virtuous person but cannot help him, or ask for peace but cannot get it, these two grievances will surely be directed at the general."

"In this case, the general cannot remain neutral."

In fact, all his subordinates knew Liu Biao's true thoughts.

Isn't it just to protect oneself in the Yangtze and Han rivers and observe the changes in the world?

But my lord, you must think clearly. While you have great power, you are unwilling to help any family.

This will cause you to offend both sides at the same time, and then you won't be able to remain neutral even if you want to.

The greater the ability, the greater the responsibility.

When you have great power, you are not allowed to stay out of it.

Liu Biao felt a little shaken, but still believed that he would defend Jingzhou to the death.

But now Henan and Hebei are trying to win me over at the same time, if I don’t make a statement.

It is indeed easy to offend both sides.

"What do you have to teach me?" Liu Biao asked again.

Han Song calmly analyzed:

"With the military strategy of Minister Cao and the wisdom of General Liu, all the wise men in the world have come to Henan."

"He will inevitably overthrow Yuan Shao, and then the two heroes will confront each other."

"If you don't make a decision now, and wait for them to deploy their troops on the Yangtze and Han rivers, I'm afraid you won't be able to stop them."

"So for the general's sake, it would be better to surrender the whole state to Sikong Cao, or surrender all the people to General Liu. You can choose one of these two options."

Han Song believed that Yuan Shao was no match for Cao and Liu, and that after Yuan Shao was defeated, the two powers would face off against each other.

Therefore, Han Song believed that Liu Biao must not be a fence-sitter now.

It is necessary to support Henan at this time and secretly side with one of Cao and Liu.

"What about Cao Cao? What about Liu Bei?"

Liu Biao asked again.

"If we gather all the people to submit to Sikong Cao, Lord Cao will surely respect the general and enjoy a long and prosperous life, and pass down the blessings to our descendants."

"If we gather all the people to join Liu Xuzhou, it will be like making friends with the distant and attacking the nearby. The two families are from the same clan, and Liu Xuzhou has a kind and benevolent character."

"I will not treat the general unfairly."

"This is a perfect strategy. I hope the general will make a decision soon."

Liu Biao was hesitant as Han Song's suggestion was too advanced.

Now he has not yet decided whether to stand on the side of Henan or Hebei, but Han Song has already begun to plan whether to stand on the side of Cao Cao or Liu Bei.

Should I say that you are too ambitious, or that you look down on Yuan Benchu?
Liu Biao's gaze looked around and finally fell on Kuai Yue.

"The world is in chaos today, and it is unknown what will happen."

"So I mobilized the people of Jingchu to protect the Yangtze and Han rivers, hoping to sit back and watch the general trend of the world."

"But time is running out, Henan and Hebei both want me to help them."

"You have always had good ideas, so you can help me find an opportunity."

Kuai Yue answered without hesitation:
"From Yue's perspective, Cao Yanzhou and Liu Xuzhou are both extremely wise men who will surely be able to save the world."

"Moreover, the two of them jointly escorted the emperor into Chen, and the troops they raised were righteous troops."

"If you can help Henan, you will be obeying the emperor and helping Henan."

"It will surely benefit the world for a hundred generations, and Jingchu will truly benefit from it."

"I hope you will look into this matter."

Kuai Yue did not take a long-term view because he was afraid that Liu Biao would not be able to accept it for the time being.

Just let him stand on Henan's side.

In fact, most of Liu Biao's subordinates hoped that Liu Biao could participate in this great war in the Central Plains.

Especially Jingzhou has this strength.

But Liu Biao was too superstitious about his ideas, "Two-thirds of the world belonged to him, and he served Yin especially."

I just want to hide slowly and don't want to fight out.

At this critical moment, his subordinates once again advised Liu Biao that it was really time to send troops.

This is the last chance.

If we miss it again, the situation in the world will basically be determined.

"…What you said makes sense."

Liu Biao finally gave in.

Everyone was overjoyed, and just when they thought Liu Biao was going to send troops, they suddenly heard him say the next sentence.

"Please ask Han Zhonglang to go to Henan and find out the real situation of Cao and Liu for me."

"If Henan is really sure of victory, it won't be too late for me to send troops."

this! !

Everyone looked at each other in bewilderment.

"My lord, Hebei is strong and Henan is weak."

“If you help Henan at this time, both Cao Yanzhou and Liu Xuzhou will regard you as your superior.”

"Why are you hesitating, sir?"

Han Song urged earnestly.

Liu Biao turned a deaf ear and waved his hand.

"You should go to Henan, first to Xuchang, and then to Xiapi."

"Help me observe the situation and then we can discuss it."

……

(End of this chapter)