Tiger Guards

Chapter 225 Resolution Difficulty
In Yecheng, Yuan Shao also held military meetings for several days.

Before Zhao Ji sent out his troops, Zhang Yan could no longer hold back and started to take action.

It’s not that Zhang Yan couldn’t help it, but Zhang Yan was simply unable to forcefully restrain the various units of the Black Mountain Army.

Small groups of Black Mountain troops have appeared in Zhongshan State, plundering villages and towns, and coercing and extorting food from powerful people and county towns.

During the decisive battle with Zhang Yan, he defeated Zhang Yan's Black Mountain coalition with the help of Lu Bu.

After that battle, the valleys near Weijun were swept.

Later, the imperial court appointed a new governor of Jizhou. Yu Du, the chief of the Black Mountain Army in the south of Taihang Mountain, responded and led the various Black Mountain Army units to attack Weijun. They once broke through Yecheng and almost abducted Yuan Shao's family.

If it weren't for Tao Sheng in the rebel army who deliberately protected and hid Yuan Shao's family, Yuan Shao would have been defeated in that battle.

By now, all the Black Mountain Army units in the southern part of Taihang Mountain have been wiped out. Even if there are still remnants, they are all people who can endure the hard life in the mountains. They will not cause chaos again, and they no longer have the power to do so.

Therefore, when the Black Mountain Army in the north rebelled again, Yuan Shao and his men were confident that they could repel and expel them.

But the difficulty lies in Shangdang, and there are three difficulties.

The first is that Zhao Ji is difficult to deal with. It is meaningless to have too few soldiers, but too many soldiers will put a lot of logistical pressure.

They were reluctant to see high-ranking officials annihilated, so they sent a small number of reinforcements; after being entangled, they were reluctant to let them go, so they had to send reinforcements again, gradually increasing the number of troops, and dragging precious mobile forces in Shangdang, which put them in a passive position.

Therefore, Ju Su's opinion was to order Gao Gan to defend Huguan to the death, wait for the main army to defeat Zhang Yan, divide the troops to resist Gongsun Zan, and then send troops to rescue Gao Gan.

To put it bluntly, let the senior officials die. It is not worth wasting military forces in Shangdang.

Zhao Ji's foundation was unstable, so it was impossible for him to take Jizhou. Zhao Ji would not attack Yecheng by force, and would not launch a fatal attack on Yuan Shao.

The real mortal enemy is Gongsun Zan. Only Gongsun Zan has the motivation to capture Ye City and destroy Yuan Shao.

Therefore, at present, Zhang Yan is more of an ally of Gongsun Zan than an ally of Zhao Ji.

Only after joining forces with Gongsun Zan and overthrowing Yuan Shao, and Gongsun Zan taking Jizhou, could people like Zhang Yan return to their hometowns, liquidate the powerful people who had annexed their lands, and become new powerful people.

If we stretch Zhao Ji's supply lines and hold Fukou and Jingxing, Zhao Ji will most likely keep his troops in place and watch Yuan Shao fight a decisive battle with Gongsun Zan and Zhang Yan.

Zhao Ji is a minor threat and not worth wasting energy on.

Tian Feng also agreed with Ju Su's opinion, believing that Zhao Ji's power was emerging and his troops had just captured Taiyuan and were in high spirits, so they should not be confronted.

If left alone for a period of time, the military officers will begin to enjoy themselves, the army's fighting spirit will dissipate, and its cohesion will decrease, making it easier to deal with them.

The two of them basically represent the opinions of the local faction in Jizhou, which is to give up on senior officials and let them fight on their own.

What made Yuan Shao even more embarrassed was that the positions of the Yuancong scholars were also divided. Ruying scholars such as Guo Tu and Xun Chen wanted to save Gao Gan, while Xu You of Nanyang and Feng Ji of Beihai opposed it.

In private, Xu You presented his opinion: "The Zhao rebels are holding the imperial court hostage. If you send a large army to fight, the ministers will press hard and will certainly align themselves with the Zhao rebels. Furthermore, if the army enters Shangdang, who will lead it?"

The key is who will lead this army.

After experiencing the Ju Yi Rebellion, Yuan Shao was also worried that his generals would lead troops outside and be instigated by Zhao Ji to rebel.

The other party held the imperial court hostage, and with just one imperial edict, they could allow the generals to launch a mutiny without any moral pressure and with a clear conscience.

In fact, Zhao Ji could only do this kind of thing of inciting rebellion on the battlefield a few times.

Every time someone instigated a rebellion, the power held by the imperial court grew a little stronger; if this was done more often, the imperial court's power would grow stronger, and it would even be able to swallow up Zhao Ji.

Even so, Yuan Shao did not dare to gamble.

When the two sides were fighting for the final victory, 20,000 to 30,000 people rebelled and defected. The adverse effects caused by this were too far-reaching and almost fatal.

Xu You, seeing Yuan Shao's rebuttal, knew he had hit the nail on the head. He added, "How could you, the nobles of the court, allow yourself to be manipulated by the Zhao thieves? Our army is firmly guarding Fukou. The Zhao thieves will have no hope of advancing, and they will inevitably clash with you, the nobles. Then the suspicion between the upper and lower levels will dissipate."

Whether the ministers kill Zhao Ji or Zhao Ji kills the ministers who seize power, the threat will disappear.

Yuan Shao was not afraid of the prestige and righteousness of the imperial court, nor was he afraid of Zhao Ji's strength; what he feared was the merger of the two sides and the complementary advantages.

What is there to be afraid of when the court has no fists?

As long as Yuan Shao himself is not willing, the court envoys will not be able to arrive in Yecheng alive!

"Ziyuan is right. If we don't save Yuancai, we might lose the morale of the army."

"Mingsir, Yuancai is your nephew, a very close relative."

Xu You comforted him and explained, "Your Excellency is able to put aside personal feelings for the great cause of Hebei and serve the public wholeheartedly. When people inside and outside the country hear this, how can they be suspicious?"

No matter how bad the situation is, even if Yuan Shao provides good compensation to the families of high-ranking officials, what does it matter compared to the great cause in Hebei?
If Yuan Shao cannot withstand this round of three-way siege, his family will be destroyed, and can Gao Gan be spared?
Xu You said this with a long bow: "I implore you to put the great cause first."

"Ziyuan, please don't force me. Let me think about it."

Yuan Shao still couldn't make a decision, so he waved his hand to signal Xu You to leave. Xu You knew what was going on, so he just bowed again and stepped back.

In the corridor outside, Feng Ji came up to him and asked, "Ziyuan?"

"It's done." Xu You whispered, "I expect Guo Tu will come again to persuade you. Yuan Tu will wait and see the situation and choose the right time to persuade you again to strengthen your resolve."

It’s not that they hate high-ranking officials, but they really can’t be saved now.

No matter who is sent to lead the army to rescue high-ranking officials, there is a risk of being instigated by the court to rebel.

As a professional rebel, Xu You did not want to gamble with the lives of his entire family.

In comparison, the life and death of a high-ranking official is just a matter of one person. For the sake of Yuan’s great cause, he should have the courage and awareness to sacrifice.

Otherwise, among so many people, why was it only you, a high-ranking official, who was sent out to serve as the governor of a state together with Yuan Xi and Yuan Tan?
As soon as Xu You left, Guo Tu came to persuade Yuan Shao, "My lord, Yuancai is a close relative of yours. If you fail to save him, who among the generals guarding the border will be willing to defend with all their might if the enemy army attacks? This is the difference between close relatives and distant relatives. If your relatives don't come to your rescue, how can outsiders be willing to do their best?"

"That's exactly what I'm worried about."

Yuan Shao was moved and sighed, "I regret not listening to Gongze's advice."

In winter, he sent Guo Tu to Hedong to pay homage to the emperor. After Guo Tu came back, he advised him to welcome the emperor.

Later, Ju Su also suggested that he welcome the emperor to punish the rebellious ones, and then Guo Tu, Chunyu Qiong and others opposed Ju Su.

After all, the emperor was established by Dong Zhuo, and Yuan Shao was the main opponent of the emperor's establishment. Therefore, Yuan Shao did not want to have a group of ministers around him who would give him orders, so the matter was delayed.

As a result, Zhao Ji used the emperor to attack him, which made Yuan Shao very embarrassed.

Of course, he understood that Guo Tu's original intention was to welcome the emperor, and opposing Ju Su was just a formality.

After thinking for a moment, Yuan Shao asked, "If we were to send troops to rescue them, who would be suitable?"

"My lord, Chunyu Zhongjian has experienced many battles and is a veteran general in the army. He is also an old friend of yours."

Guo Tu bowed and said, "Zhongjian has served under you, sir, and has long been disrespectful of the Han dynasty. With him as commander and me as his successor, we can be absolutely sure of safety."

Instead of sending one support force, send two.

One group would fight in the front, and the other would transport food in the back, excluding the people from Hebei and letting Yuan Cong's old people be in charge. This was Guo Tu's plan.

These old Yuan followers had followed Yuan Shao early on, so their loyalty to the Han Dynasty was naturally very limited.

Upon hearing this, Yuan Shao also felt that this was a safer approach. If people like Ju Su had opposed welcoming the emperor at that time... then he would have asked the emperor and the court to welcome him.

When this matter was decided, the problem lay with Ju Su.

The position of the Hebei people represented by Ju Su aroused Yuan Shao's suspicion... After all, they had just killed Ju Yi and Liu He in an ugly way.

"What Gongze said is very much in line with my opinion. Once I have persuaded Ju Su and Tian Feng, I will appoint Zhong Jian as the vanguard general."

Yuan Shao made his promise, and Guo Tu breathed a sigh of relief. But he didn't dare to neglect it. "Please give me a handwritten letter, my lord. I will pass it on to Zhong Jian so that he can prepare for the expedition as soon as possible."

Yuan Shao naturally wanted to save his nephew. He also didn't think Gongsun Zan could gather many troops. The only troublesome thing was Zhang Yan's gang of bandits.

So after a little thought, he picked up a pen and wrote a letter, which he gave to Guo Tu.

Not long after Guo Tu left, Feng Ji came to pay a visit to Yuan Shao after hearing the news.

Yuan Shao was tired of these people's persuasion: "I have already sent a message to Chunyu Zhongjian, Yuan Tu does not need to persuade me anymore."

Feng Ji was shocked when he heard this and asked, "Mingshang, although Chunyu Zhongjian is knowledgeable about military affairs, how can he resist the fierce and ferocious Zhao bandits?"

Yuan Shao's face darkened, and he also thought that what Feng Ji said made some sense.

Although Chunyu Qiong was one of the Eight Commandants of Xiyuan and had extensive experience, he had no record of leading an army to a great victory on his own.

Compared with Zhao Ji, it is indeed not as good as before.

Yuan Shao stared at Feng Ji and asked, "Who do you think is more suitable?"

Ju Yi's image flashed through Feng Ji's mind, and he replied with a folded hand: "We can appoint Han Meng and Zhang He as deputy generals. With the three of them as the chief generals, we won't be defeated so hastily."

"Could it be that in Yuantu's eyes, our Hebei troops are so incompetent?"

Yuan Shao looked really angry.

Feng Ji's expression remained unchanged as he bowed again, "Since we want to save Yuan Cai, we should do our utmost. What if we are surrounded?"

It is not that we should be anxious or pessimistic about discipline, but the morale of the army is very important.

Since the enemy was holding the emperor hostage and leading the army in person, our morale was inherently weakened. The increase and decrease were completely incomparable.

"I have my own opinion."

Yuan Shao responded coldly, but seeing Feng Ji's frustrated expression, he couldn't help but speak gently, "The court has been hijacked by bandits, issuing erroneous orders, even appointing the Taishan bandit Zang Ba as the governor of Qingzhou. Zang Ba's troops are formidable, and Beihai has just been pacified, with few soldiers and little food. Xiansi also lacks good strategies. I would like to ask Yuan Tu to return to Beihai and lead his fellow villagers to assist Xiansi in resisting the Taishan bandits."

"Here."

Feng Ji Changbai agreed and left here so that he would have less worries.

(End of this chapter)