Late Han Zhao Tang

Chapter 335: Losing the big picture for the small, Yuan Shi is amazed

In November, Yuan Shao’s army camped in Dongwuyang.

Inside the big tent, Tian Feng read Han Sui's letter and said, "Mingsir, Zhang Yu has cut off Han Sui's food supply, and the situation of the troops in Longshang is critical. My lord may need to send troops to Anyi to divide Zhang Yu's troops for Han Sui. If you let Zhang Yu conquer Longyou, then Zhang Yu will have nothing to worry about."

During the confrontation with Zhang Yu, Han Sui sent an envoy to deliver a letter to Yuan Shao because the situation was not optimistic. Now, when the letter was delivered to Yuan Shao, it had been almost two months, with a serious lag. However, for Tian Feng, he saw the crisis behind the letter.

Yuan Shao, with a dignified look, sat on the couch and said, "Zang Hong has now rebelled in Dongwuyang. Our army has besieged him for more than a month but has not been able to conquer him. I am afraid that we have no more troops to attack Anyi."

"Zang Hong is a minor threat, but Zhang Yu is a major threat!" Tian Feng said earnestly, "We can temporarily postpone the siege of Dongwuyang, order the general to stay in the camp, and station troops in Luoyang to bluff, which will be enough to scare Zhang Yu."

Seeing Yuan Shao remained silent, Feng Ji knew what Yuan Shao was thinking and said, "Zang Hong is on good terms with Zhang Miao and Zhang Chao. If I lead my army west to Luoyang, Zhang Miao will surely send troops to rescue Zang Hong. If Zhang Miao stations his troops on the river, our army's food supply will be cut off. We should not rashly attack Zhang Yu."

"What about Zhang Yuruo's victory over Han Sui?" Tian Feng asked in return.

Feng Ji disagreed and said, "It took many years for Emperor Taizu to defeat Wei Xiang. Han Sui, Ma Teng, Song Jian and other generals fought against the imperial court for many years. How could they be defeated so quickly by Zhang Yu? Even if Zhang Yu defeated the troops in Longshang, it would be too far to conquer Jincheng and Longxi in just a few months!"

"Based on the past events of Emperor Taizu's attack on Long, after Zhang Yu defeated the generals on Longshang, he would have left because of the long and dangerous road and the lack of food and supplies, leaving the general to fight the generals on Longshang."

"Confused!"

Tian Feng leaned on his cane and said excitedly: "Han Sui is not Wei Xiao, and Liu Zhang is not Gongsun Shu. How can we use narrow metaphors now?"

Feng Ji was jealous of Tian Feng's favor and asked, "Mr. Tian, do you think that Emperor Taizu is inferior to Zhang Yu?"

Hearing this, Yuan Shao's expression slightly changed. He cared a lot about Feng Ji's words. His career goal was to learn from Liu Xiu, but looking at his military experience, he was far behind Liu Xiu. If Liu Xiu was not as good as Zhang Yu, then he was even worse than Zhang Yu.

Tian Feng had no time to pay attention to Feng Ji's language trap, and said: "If you want to conquer the world, you must first defeat Zhang Yu. Although Yuan Shu welcomes the emperor, he has great ambitions and little talent, and is no match for you. Zang Hong is a clown, why do you need to raise a large army to surround him?"

Yuan Shao was silent for a while, then said, "I am now besieging Dongwuyang, not to attack Zang Hong, but to use Zang Hong to intimidate the nobles of Xu and Yan. Gao Gan has been welcomed by Zang Ba and has led his troops to Langya. Next year he will attack Tao Shang in Xiapi. Therefore, without military might, it is not possible to intimidate the Central Plains."

Since his plan to unify the four states in Hebei failed and Yuan Shu welcomed the emperor, Yuan Shao turned his attention to the south, aiming at Xuzhou, which was adjacent to Qingzhou, and Yanzhou, which was close to Jizhou.

Since Yuan Shao took control of Yanzhou, he only controlled Dongjun and Jibei. Dongping, Taishan, Rencheng, Jiyin, Shanyang, and Chenliu were not occupied. The rebellion of Zang Hong, the governor of Dongjun, not only angered Yuan Shao, but also made him worried that the Yanzhou counties would not submit to him.

As for the Longyou coalition, Yuan Shao's idea was just as Feng Ji said. It was impossible for Zhang Yu to eliminate the Longyou generals in just a few months.

When Tian Feng wanted to say something, he saw the attendant approaching the tent and said in an urgent tone: "My Lord, according to the report from the spies in Anyi, there has been a sudden change in Longyou!"

"What changes have taken place in Longyou?" Tian Feng's heart sank and he asked hurriedly.

"According to the officials in Anyi, Zhang Yu defeated the Long army in October, captured Han Sui, surrendered Ma Teng, and beheaded Song Jian. All the generals in Long were either dead or surrendered. Zhang Yu has already taken over all the counties to the right of Long." said the attendant.

Tian Feng leaned on his cane and asked sternly, "But how could Zhang Yu capture and kill Han Sui, Ma Teng, Song Jian and other generals without one escaping?"

"I dare not deceive you and Lord Tian. This news has spread all over Anyi. Even the transportation of food and supplies has stopped." The attendant said in panic, "According to the detailed military situation, the Long army withdrew because of lack of food. Zhang Yu pursued them without dismounting his horse. He fought with the Long army more than ten times along the way. The Long army left troops behind twice, but was defeated by Zhang Yu's army both times."

"Zhang Yu pursued the enemy for 500 miles in two days. When he reached Xingguo, he led a tired army of 10,000 people to fight against 20,000 Long troops. Zhang Yu personally led the armored cavalry to break through the enemy lines and defeated the Longshang rebels. In this battle, Zhang Yu defeated all the generals in Longshang. Han Sui fled with his cavalry. Zhang Yu pursued him relentlessly and finally captured him."

Upon hearing this, the emotionally excited Tian Feng was stunned for a moment. Although he had not witnessed Zhang Yu's use of troops and did not know the details of Zhang Yu's use of troops, just by listening to what the attendants said, he knew that Zhang Yu had made extraordinary efforts to defeat Han Sui.

The pursuit lasted for 500 miles in two days and nights, almost 200 miles a day. This kind of high-load march was unheard of. Not to mention leading armored cavalry to break through the enemy lines in order to win personally. It is no wonder that all the generals on the Longshang were captured and killed with this desperate fighting style.

Compared to Tian Feng's feeling of powerlessness, Yuan Shao's expression was full of shock. He thought that Zhang Yu's attack on Longyou would be a protracted war, but the result slapped him in the face. It took Zhang Yu only four months to capture the Longyou counties and solved the problem of the Longyou generals who had been rebelling for more than ten years. This efficiency was really terrifying.

"Hey!"

Tian Feng sighed deeply, becoming more and more angry in his heart because Yuan Shao had not listened to his advice before and insisted on interfering in the affairs of Yanzhou. Now, not only did he lose the big picture for the small, but a rebellion broke out in Dongjun, and his troops were defeated at the gates of Dongwuyang City.

Then, Tian Feng glanced at Yuan Shao who was still digesting the news, and then leaned heavily on the ground with his cane. In a tone of regret, he said: "Now that Zhang Yu has conquered Longyou, you can concentrate on besieging Zang Honger!"

After that, Tian Feng walked out of the tent with a cane in anger. Seeing this, Feng Ji criticized Tian Feng and said, "Mr. My lord, Tian Feng thinks highly of himself. Now that he knows that Zhang Yu has gone to Long, he thinks he has made a good plan. I am afraid that the locals are dissatisfied with your decision."

Feng Ji didn't say much, but knew when to stop and pointed out in front of Yuan Shao why Tian Feng was full of resentment.

Yuan Shao looked at Tian Feng and suddenly became unhappy. He had valued Tian Feng before because of his wisdom, but Tian Feng relied on his superior wisdom and repeatedly complained, which made him more dissatisfied.

"Now that Zhang Yu has conquered Longyou and Dongwuyang has not been taken, I wonder if Yuan Tu has any opinion on this?" Yuan Shao asked, trying to be as calm as possible.

Feng Ji pondered for a moment and said, "There is no stored food in Dongwuyang, and no reinforcements from outside. If you besiege for a long time, the people in the city will surely surrender because of the lack of food. However, if you besiege the city for a long time, I am afraid that Zhang Yu and Yuan Shu will rebel. So you can build a thunder chariot to attack the city."

"At the same time, Zang Hong has just taken office as the governor. How can the people in the city be willing to die for him? Therefore, you can send a letter to persuade the soldiers in the city to surrender, so as to quickly capture Dongwuyang."

"good!"

Yuan Shao nodded and said worriedly: "Yuan Shu led his troops back to the south, and Yanzhou has no major enemies, so I am not worried about Yanzhou. It's just that Zhang Yu quickly went to Longyou. I am afraid that Zhang Yu will send troops next year and attack Hebei together with Yuan Shu!"

Feng Ji thought for a long time and said, "Although Zhang Yu quickly went to Longyou, it may not be easy to wipe out the remnants of Longyou. It will take at least several months. Moreover, you are in control of Hebei, with many soldiers and generals, and abundant food and grass. If Zhang Yu does not have abundant food, he may not dare to rashly use troops in Hebei."

Seeing Feng Ji's ambiguous words, Yuan Shao frowned slightly and couldn't help but miss Tian Feng's resourcefulness.

Forget it. Those who want to accomplish great things must employ people first. So I will tolerate Tian Feng for now!
"Yuan Tu will go and supervise the construction of equipment on my behalf!" Yuan Shao said.

"As ordered!"

After Feng Ji left, Yuan Shao ordered his attendants, "Please invite Lord Tian to the tent!"

"promise!"

In fact, Yuan Shao had always known that there were many conflicts among his advisers, but he had no intention of reconciling them, or he was willing to maintain the status quo. After all, only when there were conflicts among his subordinates could Yuan Shao feel more assured of his position as governor of Jizhou.

The reason why Yuan Shao sent Feng Ji away now was simply because he wanted to consult Tian Feng about the situation and did not want Feng Ji to disturb him, nor did he want Feng Ji to know.

Soon, Tian Feng's face calmed down. He walked into the tent and greeted Yuan Shao with a bow.

"I originally wanted to wait until Zhang Yu's troops were exhausted, then send troops to Anyi to force Zhang Yu to return. But Zhang Yu attacked Long in March and his military action was swift and fierce, which was beyond my expectation."

Yuan Shao invited Tian Feng to sit down and asked, "Now Yuan Hao is very wise and far-sighted. After Zhang Yu pacifies Longyou, will he use his troops next year? How should our army respond?"

Seeing Yuan Shao easing the relationship between the two, Tian Feng's dissatisfaction disappeared. He rubbed the end of his stick with his hand and said thoughtfully: "Zhang Yu has been fighting for years, and the soldiers and civilians are exhausted. It will take more than half a year to determine the outcome of the expedition to Hebei. Therefore, in my opinion, Zhang Yu should rest and recuperate for a year next year, and when there is abundant food and grass, and the troops are elite, he will lead his troops to the east of Hebei."

"And if Zhang Yu sent troops to Hebei, as Feng predicted, his army would go straight to Yecheng, take Weijun, connect to Henei, and plan to attack the counties along the mountain."

"Use troops in Yecheng? Instead of Changshan?" Yuan Shao asked in return.

"Yecheng is located on the banks of the Zhang River. It is high and strong, has a rich population, and fertile land. If you take it, you can reach Jizhou."

Tian Feng shook his head and said, "From a geographical point of view, Yecheng is adjacent to Shangdang. If Zhang Yu can take Yecheng, he can dominate the counties in Hebei. Sending troops to Changshan is good, as it has the support of Heishan and Youzhou, but it is not enough to form the foundation for taking Hebei. Besides, Weijun has a rich population, which is not comparable to Changshan."

Tian Feng sighed and said, "Now that Zhang Yu has pacified Longyou, it will be difficult for you to get external help. Zhang Yu is going north to attack Gongsun and has appointed Liu He as governor, which will allow him to attract support from Youzhou. If you want to fight Zhang Yu, you need to be cautious."

Tian Feng's judgment was not groundless. As the capital of the old Jizhou Prefecture and the temporary capital of many separatist dynasties in history, Yecheng had its own unique features. In addition to its rich population and fertile land, more importantly, Yecheng had convenient transportation and connected several counties in Jizhou.

For example, many rivers in Hebei originate from Weijun, and one can go to any county in Jizhou by following the rivers. Therefore, by occupying Yecheng and controlling the counties of Weijun, Zhang Yu can radiate Jizhou and continuously send troops from Shanxi to the counties of Jizhou.

"What Yuan Hao said is very true. I will never forget you!"

Yuan Shao's expression became restrained. Zhang Yu's performance in Long in April was really terrifying. Now he regarded Zhang Yu as a powerful enemy.

(End of this chapter)