Tiger Guards

Chapter 744 Time waits for no one
In Yiyin City, dark clouds filled the sky and a southeast wind blew.

With the weather cool, Yuan's officers and soldiers were working hard to build defensive fortifications outside the city.

After inspecting the area on horseback, Yuan Shao headed towards Fanyang on the north bank of the upper reaches of the Yi River.

To stop the Jin army, we must defend the places they must pass through.

By securing Feihu Pass on the eastern foothills of the Taihang Mountains to the west, the relative stability of the states of Zhongshan, Changshan, and Zhao could be maintained; on the east, it was essential to control the vital artery connecting Youzhou and Jizhou, namely Fanyang.

As for the three cities built to besiege Gongsun Zan, this place actually became a flanking battlefield.

Only by repelling or blocking the vanguard of the Jin army can the flank battlefield be besieged by Gongsun Zan continue to be meaningful.

Otherwise, if the Jin army's vanguard breaks through the Fanyang point, then the various prefectures of Youzhou will naturally cooperate and respond to the Jin army's military call, causing the Jin army's vanguard to expand rapidly.

The Jin army that captured Fanyang could then advance south into the heart of Ji Province, or east to relieve the siege of Yijing.

The siege of Yijing was no longer important; for Yuan Shao, the life or death of Gongsun Zan was of great importance. If he could eliminate and capture Gongsun Zan before the main force of the Jin army arrived, he would have the opportunity to force the various counties of Youzhou to submit.

Even if Gongsun Zan were to die suddenly, it wouldn't give Yuan Shao a significant advantage.

The Jin army no longer cared about Gongsun Zan's life or death. A dead Gongsun Zan was meaningless, and the living Gongsun Zan's influence in the Youzhou region had been greatly weakened. After the defeat at Xindu this winter, how many Youzhou knights could Gongsun Zan mobilize?

Furthermore, the Jin army already had a better replacement for Gongsun Zan, so Gongsun Zan's life or death was no longer important to Hebei or the Jin army; therefore, the Yijing battlefield was naturally no longer important.

Of course, for Yuan Shao, besieging Gongsun Zan before the main Jin army arrived did have some positive significance.

However, this positive significance is ultimately limited. As long as Gongsun Zan is alive, he is the recognized governor of Youzhou by both courts, and Zhao Ji will be unable to control Youzhou through his official position.

If the main force of the Jin army arrives in Youzhou one after another, and Yuan Shao surrounds and kills Gongsun Zan, which side will have the greater advantage?
The same applies to Fanyang City, where city defenses are being urgently strengthened and large quantities of timber are being transported into the city... The garrison of Fanyang must prepare for a long-term defense, such as this winter.

When Yuan Shao arrived in Fanyang, it was already dusk, and the sky was dark.

The clouds obscured the sun, and the sunset was nowhere to be seen.

Yuan Shao personally ascended the city wall of Fanyang, accompanied by Ju Shou and Xu You.

Xu You scanned the area with his eyes, offering no comment on the defensive fortifications built by Ju Shou.

Fanyang is a city on a plain, which can be said to be indefensible. The only things it can rely on are the city walls and the morale of its soldiers.

Therefore, the defensive fortifications outside the city cannot cover too large an area. Too large an area would require sufficient troops to fill it, and troops would mean that the city would need to store a corresponding amount of food.

Ju Shou held a pessimistic view of the defense of Fanyang, not because he believed the city's defense was doomed to fail, but because he thought this passive defense was very ineffective.

Stockpiling too many troops would inevitably deplete Hebei's strength; if Hebei were annihilated by the Jin army in one battle, its backbone would be broken.

At the same time, the large amount of grain and fodder stored in the city would also aid the enemy and become an accomplice and source of confidence for the Jin army to invade Hebei.

Ju Shou's defense plan involved setting up multiple layers of defenses to extend the Jin army's operational cycle, preventing them from obtaining supplies from the rear and forcing them to either sustain the war through warfare, while simultaneously intensifying the extraction of resources from Youzhou.

Over time, the powerful clans of Youzhou will naturally become dissatisfied.

Every winter, they followed Gongsun Zan south to Ji Province, eating both Gongsun Zan's grain and the grain they plundered from Hebei.

Hoping to extract food from the powerful clans of Youzhou... it might work once or twice, but after three or five times, you can try again. Therefore, Ju Shou's plan from the beginning was to defend, to prolong the war through defense, and then wait for changes to occur in Youzhou... even if Youzhou's resources were squeezed to the limit and there was no rebellion, when the situation became desperate, the Jin army would find a way to withdraw.

Even if the Jin army were allowed to retreat to Xizhou intact... this successful defensive battle would greatly boost the morale of the Hebei armies and shatter the image of the Jin army as incapable of resistance!
In short, if the Jin army attacks Ji Province again via Dai Commandery and Yunzhong Commandery, the powerful clans of You Province will remember this year's war and will consider not cooperating.

Ju Shou also wanted to take Youzhou in one fell swoop to make up for the lack of cavalry in Hebei. At the same time, he could optimize the defense line in Hebei and concentrate more valuable mobile forces. When the forces that could be used on a mobile basis reached a certain scale, he could find a suitable opportunity to launch a combined attack by infantry and cavalry, and there was a possibility of defeating and annihilating a part of the Jin army in the field.

However, the powerful clans of Youzhou currently do not believe in Hebei's military potential and are overly afraid of Zhao Ji's ruthlessness.

Therefore, if the defensive battle is fought well this year, it can create unpredictable changes in Youzhou.

Ju Shou led Yuan Shao on a tour of the city walls, and Xu You couldn't help but ask, "Our army has given up the good opportunity to seize Jundu Fortress. Are we just going to hold out in Fanyang like this and wait for the situation to change?"

"Not really."

A cool breeze ruffled Ju Shou's beard. As he turned his head, his gaze swept across Xu You. When he turned to face Xu You directly, Ju Shou's eyes were fixed on Xu You's face: "As the saying goes, prolonged defense inevitably leads to defeat. If we want to hold Fanyang, we need to send a valiant general to lead the elite troops to harass the enemy's supply lines."

Upon hearing this, Xu You asked directly, "According to the Commander-in-Chief, is it to mobilize Generals Yan and Wen?"

Ju Shou smiled but did not answer, and turned to look at Yuan Shao.

At this moment, Yuan Shao stopped, and Ju Shou and Xu You also stopped.

Yuan Shao pondered for a moment and asked, "Since all the armies can be deployed, what are the chances of successfully defending Fanyang?"

He really didn't want to abandon Fanyang. Fanyang was too important; it could be said to be the vital passage between Jizhou and Youzhou.

In other words, only when the rivers and streams froze over in winter could Gongsun Zan, whose army was mainly composed of cavalry, move around with impunity; otherwise, Gongsun Zan would have had to find a way to capture Fanyang.

Fanyang belonged to Zhuojun, but it was always under Yuan Shao's control.

Moreover, in terms of personality and pursuits, Yuan Shao did not like defensive counterattacks. However, the situation forced him to do so. When facing Gongsun Zan, he needed to defend and counterattack, looking for the enemy's weaknesses while defending. When facing Zhao Ji's Jin army, Yuan Shao could only defend and counterattack.

The danger of lacking a superior cavalry lies here: the first thing to consider is avoiding a complete rout caused by a local defeat.

Despite Yuan Shao's long-standing rule over Hebei, when it comes to experience in combined arms warfare... he is not as experienced as Zhao Ji.

There was nothing that could be done about it. After Ju Yi, Yuan Shao simply couldn't find a battlefield commander as outstanding as Ju Yi. In fact, Cao Cao could also be considered a person like Ju Yi, but Ju Yi died while communicating with the court, and Cao Cao succeeded.

Moreover, Yuan Shao is already fifty-three years old and will soon celebrate his fifty-fourth birthday.

For Emperor Gaozu of Han, fifty years old was the perfect age to start his career.

But for Yuan Shao now, to the west is Zhao Ji, who is the same age as his successor Yuan Shang, and to the south are his adopted sons Sun Ce and Zhou Yu, who are of similar age but slightly older.

Yuan Shao couldn't imagine whether his son could handle such a complex situation if he couldn't make progress in the next few years and if he were gone.

Although Zhao Ji, Sun Ce, Zhou Yu, and Yuan Shang are listed as the four great rulers of their time, the difference in their abilities is so great that it is impossible to describe it accurately.

Yuan Shao's solution was to establish a strong foundation early on, while he was still energetic and able to control his generals, and to establish a hereditary monarchical relationship to restrain his ministers and generals.

Faced with Yuan Shao's earnest inquiry, Ju Shou also solemnly replied, "Your subject is willing to guarantee it with his life!"

(End of this chapter)