Late Han Zhao Tang

Chapter 366: The troops of the whole state are full of contradictions

Xindu, the governor's office.

"Mr. Mingshen, Yuan Shu used the emperor's edict as an excuse to combine the seven counties of Jingzhou and the four counties of Yuzhou into the State of Chu, and built a platform outside Wancheng to present the King of Chu. He also appointed Sun Jian as the general of the front, Ji Ling, Zhang Xun, and Qiao Rui as the generals of the four directions, and Huang Zhong, Liu Xun, Chang Nu and other generals as his minions."

Feng Ji flattered him, saying, "Your Excellency is now Duke of Wei, why don't you take advantage of the situation and be promoted to the title of King, and be honored on an equal footing with Yuan Shu!"

Yuan Shao had no intention of becoming a duke, but he could not resist Yuan Shu's provocation. After learning that Yuan Shu was promoted to a king, Yuan Shao was moved. In order to understand the reactions of the people, he stroked his beard and secretly observed the reactions of the people in the hall.

"Does Feng Yuantu want to frame you for an unjust act?"

Ju Su rebuked him in a deep voice, saying, "Your Excellency's being conferred the title of Duke of Wei has already caused controversy among the people of Hebei. If the emperor had not issued three edicts to ward off rumors on your behalf, you would be sitting on pins and needles now. Zhang Yu and Liu He are eyeing you covetously. If you were to advance to the title of King of Wei, wouldn't you be joining forces with Yuan Shu and giving Zhang Yu a handle to use against you?"

Although Yuan Shao was unhappy, as a politically savvy person he knew that Ju Shou's words were truly for his own benefit.

Xu You thought for a long time and said, "In the past, Emperor Gaozu defeated Xiang Yu and was elected as emperor by the support of the princes; Emperor Shizu settled Hebei and ascended the throne with the support of civil and military officials. If you can defeat Zhang Yu and conquer Shanxi, you can not only become king, but also follow the achievements of Emperor Gaozu and Emperor Shizu."

Yuan Shao couldn't help but nod, and was very satisfied with Xu You's advice.

"Ziyuan, don't talk nonsense!"

Yuan Shao symbolically rebuked Xu You and said sternly: "I was able to be conferred the title of Duke of Wei because of the grace of the emperor. How dare I ask for the throne now, let alone follow Yuan Shu's example and usurp the throne."

Everyone looked at each other in tacit understanding, and was speechless about Yuan Shao's hypocritical words. Compared with Yuan Shu's blatant exposure of his ambitions, Yuan Shao was half-hidden, and Zhang Yu held the Han flag as one.

"cough~"

Tian Feng cleared his throat, bowed to Yuan Shao, and said, "Mingsir, Zhang Yu is preparing his troops and will attack Hebei soon. In my opinion, you should make arrangements as soon as possible!"

"Yuan Hao previously advised me to defend the strong cities of Zhao and Wei and to wear down the morale of Zhang Yu's troops. Now he is advising me on new strategies again. Does he have a new idea?" Yuan Shao asked.

Tian Feng looked slightly serious and said, "According to the report from the Shangdang spies, Zhang Yu inspected the military supplies in the palace in the twelfth month. According to the saying that the military supplies should be sent before the troops move, the whole army will definitely leave Shangdang and head straight for Zhao and Wei."

"Now Zhang Yu has joined forces with Liu He and Zhang Yan. They will surely raise troops to support each other. The people in Youzhou are divided, so you don't need to worry about it. However, the people of Black Mountain led by Zhang Yan have a great hatred for you. Zhang Yu sent four generals out of the mountains to plunder. Zhang Yan made great efforts and was willing to be driven to harass the borders of Yan and Zhao and plunder the grain and grass in Hebei. This is a great threat to our army in the future."

"So, according to Feng's opinion, you can send a general to attack Zhang Yan first, cut off Zhang Yu's wings first, break Heishan, and prevent Bing and You from joining forces. And you can lead the army behind to observe Zhang Yu's military movements."

Yuan Shao nodded and said, "What Yuan Hao said is very true. Although Zhang Yan has a skin disease, the Black Mountain Army under his command is brave and entrenched in the cities and towns along the mountain. If we want to eliminate Zhang Yu, we must get rid of Zhang Yan. Now we will get rid of Zhang Yan first. Zhang Yu will send troops to support us, and our army will be able to take advantage of the situation to attack him."

"My Lord, you should not only send troops to Zhang Yan, but also order Gongsun and Tadun to send troops to Youzhou to cause unrest in the counties of Youzhou." Shen Pei said.

"Don't send troops to Youzhou!"

Tian Feng raised his eyebrows and emphasized, "Although Liu He is the ruler of Youzhou, he still needs to rely on the nobles. The governors of Youzhou are keeping themselves at home and have no intention of fighting for Zhang Yu. If Gongsun and Tadun are ordered to send troops to Youzhou, the nobles will surely send troops to defend their hometowns and be dispatched by Liu He, and will become the enemy of you."

"If Bingzhou and Youzhou advance and retreat together, Jizhou will be in danger!"

Tian Feng had always disagreed with Yuan Shao's sending troops to Youzhou, and the reason for his disagreement was simple. Because Youzhou's forces were scattered, without external forces, it would be difficult for the generals of Youzhou to work together and fight for Zhang Yu's world. Once someone wanted to break the situation in Youzhou, it would affect the entire body and integrate the scattered Youzhou armies.

"otherwise!"

Feng Ji shouted, "What Mr. Tian said is not right. The reason why Youzhou survived is not because Liu He was brave and could resist you. It was because of Zhang Yu's support. You are afraid that Zhang Yu would attack Yecheng. Now Wuhuan is a relative by marriage, and Tadun has promised to send troops. If you don't take Youzhou and cut off Zhang Yu's wings at this time, you will miss a good opportunity."

Seeing that everyone was still arguing about the attack on Youzhou, Yuan Shao sighed helplessly and said, "Everyone has their own reasons, and it is difficult to refute them. Now it is difficult to make a decision!"

Then, Yuan Shao stood up from the couch, waved his hand to stop everyone from talking, stood in front of the map, frowned, thoughtful, and undecided.

After looking at the map for a long time, Yuan Shao could not find the key to the military strategy, so he asked, "You Ruo and Zi Yuan, you two are very knowledgeable. Do you have any suggestions now?"

Xu You, who was sitting at the table, pondered for a moment, observed the expressions of Shen Pei, Tian Feng, Feng Ji and others, and said, "Zhang Yu contacted Lu Bu, Zhang Yan, and Liu He for help, why can't Ming Gong contact Tadun and Gongsun for help?"

"Mr. Tian is worried that the Youzhou nobles will be manipulated by Zhang Yu because their hometowns have been attacked. However, if the Youzhou counties are in danger, Zhang Yu will need to send troops to support them in order to protect Liu He. At this time, the victory or defeat of Youzhou is related to the war between the two armies. If Zhang Yu is afraid and withdraws, you can lead your troops to Youzhou."

"And what you said before, that we should attack Zhang Yan first, is feasible!"

Xu You, who was confident of his close relationship with Yuan Shao, sat down to discuss military affairs and said, "Although Zhang Yan is a clown, if he is not eliminated, it will affect the war. Send a general to attack him, and lead the army to deal with Zhang Yu. If Youzhou is in turmoil and the Black Mountain army is defeated, Zhang Yu's wings will be cut off, and you will have a lot to do!"

Seeing that Xu You suggested taking both, Yuan Shao avoided the difficulty of choosing, and immediately became excited. He said, "Ziyuan has a strategy, but I wonder what your opinion is?"

Xu You signaled to Xun Chen with his eyes, and Xun Chen received the signal, thought for a while, and said: "Mr. Xu's words are appropriate. If you attack Liu He and Zhang Yan, Zhang Yu will send troops to rescue them in order to appease the people, which will weaken the Bing army. Then you will be able to use your numbers to defeat the few, and take advantage of the situation to defeat Zhang Yu and sweep across Bing and You states."

Yuan Shao was overjoyed and said to everyone: "What you all saw makes sense. Although my soldiers are not as elite as those of the Bing army, they are more numerous than those of the Bing army. Therefore, if we send more soldiers, we can weaken Zhang Yu's strength and help our army defeat Zhang Yu." "Ming sir~"

Seeing that Yuan Shao was using both methods at the same time, Tian Feng was about to speak anxiously when he was interrupted by Yuan Shao.

"Now that the plan has been decided, there is no need for you to say more."

Yuan Shao said solemnly, "If Youruo goes to Gongsun for me, I can have him and Tadun raise an army to take Youzhou from the north and south."

"As ordered!"

"Where are Yan Liang and Zhang He?"

"The general is here!"

The two generals stood up from their seats and bowed to Yuan Shao.

Yuan Shao ordered, "Appoint Yan Liang as the commander-in-chief, Zhang He as the deputy commander-in-chief, and Xin Ping as the military advisor. Lead the troops to attack Zhang Yan first."

"Ming Gong!"

Ju Su advised: "I am afraid that Zhang Yu will send reinforcements. Although General Yan is brave, I am afraid that the enemy is larger than ours. General Yan cannot defeat the combined forces. Therefore, you should think twice about your selection!"

Yuan Shao frowned and thought, then said, "Junyi is a man of strategy. You can choose to attack Zhang Yan, and Junyi will lead the troops to block the reinforcements. If Zhang Yu has more troops, I will send other troops to help."

Yuan Shao preferred Yan Liang, who had followed him from the beginning, to Zhang He, who surrendered. Even though Yan Liang was impatient, brave and lacked strategy, Yuan Shao was willing to make Yan Liang his commander. However, Yuan Shao considered Ju Su's suggestion and the brave troops under Zhang Yu's command, so he let Zhang He serve as his deputy commander to assist Yan Liang.

"As ordered!"

Yan Liang looked at Ju Su with dissatisfaction, then he, Zhang He and Xin Ping bowed and accepted the order.

"Send a message to Yu Chun and Yu Qiong. Yecheng is the gateway for the combined army to leave Jizhou. We must defend Yecheng firmly." Yuan Shao gave the order.

"promise!"

"My Lord, I request a fight!"

Qu Yi stepped out of the ranks and said in a deep voice: "I have lived in Liangzhou for a long time, and I know the fighting between the Hu and Qiang well. Now the soldiers and horses under my command are brave and skilled in chariot formations. I am willing to lead an army alone, or be the vanguard of the army, to defeat the enemy for you."

Although Qu Yi still prided himself on his achievements, he did not dare to act arrogantly now that he had not defeated Gongsun Zan alone. In order to deal with Zhang Yu, Yuan Shao had always tolerated Qu Yi, hoping to defeat Zhang Yu with Qu Yi as he had defeated Gongsun Zan.

Seeing that Qu Yi was eager to fight, Yuan Shao was not annoyed but happy, saying: "In the past, we captured the flag and fort at Jie Bridge and were the first to climb up and defeat Gongsun, so the troops led by Gongjie are my support. Now we are about to fight Zhang Yu, and I have a great opportunity to use Gongjie."

Yuan Shao looked around at everyone and said in a deep voice, "Order Qingzhou Governor Yuan Tan to lead his troops to join our army. Our army will have Ju Su as the commander-in-chief, Feng Ji as the guard, Xu You, Tian Feng, and Shen Pei as counselors, Qu Yi, Wen Chou, Han Meng, and Gao Lan as generals, 15,000 cavalry, 85,000 infantry, and a total of 100,000 soldiers."

"Order all troops to assemble and wait for the order to march at any time!"

The civil and military officials in the hall may have different opinions, but when they saw Yuan Shao recruiting troops to go to the battle, they all responded in unison.

Seeing Yuan Shao ordering Yuan Tan to accompany him on the expedition, Feng Ji remained calm and said, "Your Excellency has appointed three sons to serve in different states, hoping to see their abilities. But Prince Shang is as talented as you, and has served you for many years, so why not let him accompany the army and see his abilities and military strategies?"

Gongzi Shang is Yuan Shao's youngest son Yuan Shang. Yuan Shao likes him because of his handsome appearance and intelligence. Yuan Shao intends to make him his heir, but Yuan Shao rarely shows this to others. Feng Ji and Shen Pei secretly join Yuan Shang because they are not on good terms with Yuan Tan.

Now Yuan Shao was going to attack Zhang Yu, which was the key to Yuan Shao's unification of the country. If Yuan Tan could make achievements in the war, everyone would make Yuan Tan the crown prince. The two did not want to see Yuan Tan succeed, so they naturally wanted to let Yuan Shang accompany the army so as to push Yuan Shang to the top.

Yuan Shao was interested and said with a smile: "Shang'er is very smart, a lot like me. Now you can join the army to participate in the discussion and observe Xianfu's talents and strategies!"

"promise!"

Xu You bowed and said, "Today, we are sending troops for justice. You should write a letter of denunciation, enumerate all the evil deeds of Zhang Yu, and send it to all the prefectures and counties in the country. This way, you can justify your actions!"

"it is good!"

Yuan Shao looked at Chen Lin and said, "Kong Zhang, please write a letter for Jizhou, listing all the evil deeds of Zhang Yu, and send it to all the prefectures and counties in the country."

"As ordered!"

Chen Lin took the order.

(End of this chapter)