Chapter 10 Winning the Central Plains 54th Festival August, Jingzhou, Jiangxia. After the news of the defeat in the Battle of Guanzhong reached Jingzhou, Liu Biao immediately ordered the army to withdraw from the battlefield and return to Jiangxia.

The people in Jiangdong were like rainbows, and thousands of warships went upstream, killing Jiangxia directly, and the momentum was amazing. Cai Mao led the army to withdraw to Exian and returned to fight again.

The Jiangdong Army, under the command of Lu Su, advanced by land and water, and the two armies immediately engaged in a fierce confrontation. The Jingzhou army lost its strength first, and although it had a certain advantage in terms of troops, it was no longer able to stop the Jiangdong army.

Cai Mao retreated again, and did not stop the Jiangdong army until he retreated to Shaxian (present-day Jinkou, Wuchang) and received support.

Jiangxia County lost most of it. Liu Biao was extremely furious and ordered Cai Mao to oversee the army to counterattack and drive the Jiangdong army out of Jingzhou.

In mid-August, Liu Biao received a second letter from Yuan Shao. Liu Biao, Kuai Yue and other Jingzhou officials carefully discussed the defensive strategy proposed by Yuan Shao, believing that although Yuan Shao's offensive and defensive strategy was good, it was too difficult to implement, and letting Liu Beixi enter Shu would harm Jingzhou's interests, which was to be discussed.

The situation in Jingzhou is very bad now. The Northern Xinjiang Army has approached Nanyang, which will become the main battlefield of Jingzhou in the next few years.

Jiangdong's Sun Quan and Zhou Yu are eyeing Jingzhou, and if the two are determined to take refuge in Hebei, there will be war in the direction of Jiangxia in the future.

Yizhou Liu Zhang is also a wolf, last year Jingzhou cleverly took advantage of the internal contradictions in Yizhou, provoked the Yizhou war, so that Yizhou's threat to Jingzhou was temporarily alleviated.

However, in order for Jingzhou to have an advantage in the future situation, controlling Yizhou is the only way. Yuan Shao let Liu Bei enter Shu at this moment, obviously with the intention of using Liu Bei to contain Jingzhou and prevent Jingzhou's strength from multiplying.

Although the current situation in Yizhou is very conducive to the entry of the Jingzhou army into Shu, the main force of the Jingzhou army is dragged on the two battlefields of Nanyang and Jiangxia at the moment, and it is unable to advance westward, so it can only watch the great opportunity pass by.

Liu Biao didn't want to give up. Liu Bei's troops are limited, and he has no grain and grass in his hands, he wants to enter Shu westward, and he must obtain the support of Jingzhou, otherwise he will be beaten by the Bashu people.

It was impossible for Liu Biao to personally cultivate an opponent who was a potential threat to Jingzhou, so he wanted to take advantage of Liu Bei's lack of strength, and Yuan Shao was eager to open up an opportunity for the western battlefield to join forces with Liu Bei to enter Bashu in the west.

In this way, he can at least control the eastern counties of Yizhou, thus ensuring the safety of Jingzhou.

Kuai Yue agreed with Liu Biao's method, and he suggested that Liu Biao take advantage of the moment when Luoyang was surrounded by the Northern Xinjiang Army and Nanyang was attacked by the Northern Xinjiang Army to force Yuan Shao to move the Son of Heaven to Xiangyang and let the Son of Heaven get rid of Yuan Shao's control.

Now part of the army of the Nanyang Army has been completely annihilated in Guanzhong, part of it is stationed in Hanzhong and cooperates with Zhang Lu to open up the battlefield on the west road, and the remaining part has to block the southward movement of the Northern Xinjiang Army in the direction of Wuguan, and it is necessary to defend Luyang to counterattack Yingchuan, and the troops are simply not enough.

The safety of Luoyang and Nanyang depended largely on Jingzhou's support. At this time, if Liu Biao proposed to move the Son of Heaven to Xiangyang, Yuan Shao would refuse even if he was unwilling, unless he wanted to be trapped in Luoyang by the Northern Xinjiang Army.

Liu Biao was overjoyed when he heard this, and he was haunted by the loss of the opportunity to occupy Yizhou. The current chaotic situation in Yizhou was created by his own efforts, but he did not benefit from it, but Liu Bei picked up a big bargain for nothing, and he was very depressed for this.

Kuai Yue's suggestion made Liu Biao suddenly brightened. If he can move the Son of Heaven to Xiangyang, Jingzhou will not only double its strength, but also minimize the threat of Jiangdong and Yizhou to Jingzhou.

Although Sun Quan and Zhou Yu are despicable and shameless, in consideration of Jiangdong's own interests, they will not be like Hebei, openly raising the banner of rebellion to attack the Son of Heaven.

With Luoyang's current predicament, Jingzhou has every strength to snatch the Son of Heaven to Xiangyang, but the consequences of doing so are unpredictable, and it may anger Yuan Shao, leading to cannibalism within the coalition forces and the overthrow of the community.

Now the longer Yuan Shao holds out in Luoyang, the more beneficial it will be for the coalition forces to recover their strength. Only when the strength of the coalition forces is strong will it be possible to join forces to counterattack and turn defeat into victory.

Therefore, Liu Biao could not rob by force, and could only use the current advantage to force Yuan Shao to give up the Son of Heaven, so that Yuan Shao could continue to maintain high morale and fight to the death with the Northern Xinjiang Army.

To achieve this, it is necessary to throw all the main forces of Jingzhou into the Nanyang battlefield and do everything possible to help Yuan Shao.

Of course, from the perspective of Jingzhou's security, this is also necessary, but now that Jingzhou's main forces are on the Jiangxia battlefield, Liu Biao's top priority is to end this battle immediately.

August, Yangzhou, Lujiang County. After Yuan Yao went north to Runan, his traces were soon exposed. Yuan Tan, Liu Xian and others all felt that attacking Lujiang County in the south at this moment was a good opportunity to force Jiangdong to withdraw its troops and promote peace talks between all parties.

But at this time, the battle situation in Yingchuan was very tense, Liu Bei repeatedly urged reinforcements, Cao Cao's attitude was unclear, and his own troops were too small, so Yuan Tan thought twice and gave up.

However, he did not throw his limited forces into the Yingchuan battlefield, but quietly approached Runan with his army.

He wanted to wait until Liu Bei's troops were damaged and quickly enter Runan, and take advantage of the situation to drive Liu Bei out of Yuzhou. Yuan Tan is bound to win Yuzhou, and once Luoyang is not guaranteed in the future, the Yuan family can only rely on Yuzhou, the foundation of the land, to make a comeback.

In early August, Yuan Shao's letter was delivered to Yuan Tan. In the letter, Yuan Shao clearly told him to immediately attack Lujiang County, promote peace talks between all parties as soon as possible, and help Jingzhou get rid of Jiangdong's entanglement.

Almost at the same time, Cao Cao's letter arrived. I am now negotiating with Hebei and Jiangdong, it is not good to come forward directly to fight Lujiang, if you are willing to help, I will help you hold Yuzhou.

Yuan Tan no longer hesitated, personally led the army south to the Lujiang River, and asked Cao Cao to secretly help. Cao Cao ordered Man Chong and Liu Xun to take 5,000 men and horses to disguise themselves as Yuan Jun and Yuan Tan to join and attack Shucheng and other places together, and ordered Cao Hong to lead the army from Hefei and approach Quarry Rock to contain the Jiangdong Army.

When Sun Quan and Zhou Yu heard that Cao's army was suddenly approaching Quarry Rock, they hurriedly ordered the troops in Shucheng, Juchao and other places to be on guard, and ordered the sailors from all over the river to assemble at Quarry Rock.

In late August, Yuan Tan's army took Long Shu with lightning speed, and then took advantage of the victory to attack, Lianke Juchao, Shucheng and other places.

The Jiangdong Army was caught off guard, lost successive battles, and retreated on all fronts, and finally only Wancheng, Linhu and Quarshiji Ferries were still under control.

Yuan Tan's soldiers approached the lake, and the forward army pointed directly at the quarry. At this time, Yuan Tan ordered the attack to be stopped, and urgently wrote to Sun Quan and Zhou Yu, detailing the current situation in the world, and expressing his willingness to mediate and let Cao Cao, Liu Biao and Jiangdong shake hands and make peace.

Sun Quan and Zhou Yu never expected that their opponents would suddenly change from Yuan Yao to Yuan Tan. They estimated that Yuan Yao might have taken refuge in Yuan Shao, after all, they were all a family, blood was thicker than water, and any grudge could be resolved, and Cao Cao must be an accomplice.

In a word, Lujiang can't be taken back. The Lujiang River was lost, Jiangdong was seriously threatened, and the main force of the Jiangdong Army could no longer fight Jiangxia, but the Jiangdong people were unwilling to return empty-handed.

At the end of August, Zhou Yu rushed to Quarry Rock and met with Yuan Tan. Zhou Yu put forward the conditions for peace, Yuan Tan immediately returned Lujiang County, and Liu Biao gave Jiangxia to Jiangdong, otherwise there would be no talks, and we would fight again.

Zhou Yu asked for a price, Yuan Tan smiled bitterly, neither refused in person, nor agreed. He said that as long as you are willing to talk, wait for me to invite Cao Cao and Liu Biao, and we will sit down and talk slowly.

Yuan Tan wrote to Cao Cao and Liu Biao, asking them to send someone to negotiate peace immediately. Considering that Jingzhou was too far away from the Lujiang River, Yuan Tan suggested that the Quartet and personnel go to Pengze to discuss.

September, Yuzhang County, Yangzhou, Pengze. Yuan Tan, Zhou Yu, Cai Mao, and Cao Hong gathered in Pengze, and more than a dozen officials from all over the world sat together and discussed day and night.

Liu Biao was anxious to get out of the Jiangxia battlefield, so he gritted his teeth and gave up half of Jiangxia to Jiangdong. In his opinion, Jiangdong will not be able to achieve any climate after all, especially after Sun Ce's death, it will be even more difficult to continue.

As long as the situation is stable, the Jingzhou army will be able to make a comeback, and it will be easy to recapture half of Jiangxia. Since Jingzhou swallowed his anger and was willing to be humiliated and give up half of Jiangxia County, Jiangdong was not easy to bully people too much, so the two sides shook hands and made peace.

Lujiang County was as important to Cao Cao as Sun Quan, and no one wanted to take a step back. Zhou Yu forced Yuan Tan to return it immediately, and Cao Hong threatened Yuan Tan, if you dare to give up Lujiang, I will leave immediately, don't talk about it.

Cai Mao was in a hurry to return to Xiangyang, he immediately came out to play a round, Lujiang was temporarily led by Yuan Tan, the Quartet discussed peace first, and other things were discussed slowly later.

Yuan Tan was even more anxious, he was worried about the situation in Yingchuan, and he was anxious to withdraw his troops north to defend Yuzhou, and he had no time to stay in Lujiang at all.

Cao Hong saw that Zhou Yu would not give an inch, so he had to cry with a sad face, and begged Zhou Yu to say that Xuzhou was directly facing the threat of Hebei's hundreds of thousands of troops, and there was no safe and stable rear, how could it resist?

If Xuzhou is conquered by the Northern Xinjiang Army, how many days can you Jiangdong support? Zhou Yu carefully weighed the gains and losses, and finally decided to give in and asked for the three riverside cities of Wancheng, Linhu and Xiang'an, and the quarry rock ferry, and the rest of the places were given to Cao Cao.

These three cities and ferries are the only places to attack Jiangdong from the Lujiang River, especially the quarrying rock ferry, which is the most important.

As long as the Jiangdong army held these places, it would not be so easy for Cao Cao to fight Jiangdong even if he wanted to. In early September, the four parties successfully negotiated peace and secretly met an alliance in Pengze.

Now Cao Cao and Sun Quan are not strong, and they dare not openly tear their faces with Hebei. This matter is concealed for a while, so as not to be retaliated against by Hebei and cause unnecessary trouble.

In the middle of September, Dingtao, the general lined. After arduous negotiations, Hebei, Xuzhou and Jiangdong finally reconciled.

Hebei returned the Langya Kingdom to Xuzhou. Cao Cao and Sun Quan have been unable to negotiate, and finally Mao Jue came up with an idea, first married, and after the marriage, the two sides became relatives, and some things were easy to discuss.

So Cao Cao married Cao Ren's daughter to Sun Ce's younger brother Sun Kuang, and gave his son Cao Zhang to Sun Ben's daughter.

Mao Jue's idea was immediate, the two sides had a close relationship, and the negotiations went smoothly. First of all, Cao Cao recognized that the two counties of Jiangbei belonged to Sun Quan, but before the world was decided, considering the security and stability of the Jianghuai region, Cao Cao decided to lease the two counties of Jiangbei from Sun Quan, and pay a certain amount of money and grain to Jiangdong every year as compensation, while Jiangdong stationed troops in three cities and one ferry port in Lujiang County to ensure the security of Jiangdong.

The three sides of this peace talks have their own advantages, and they are all happy. At this time, Li Hong had stabilized the two prefectures of Qingyan and occupied Yingchuan, ensuring the advantage of seizing Luoyang.

Sun Quan has basically stabilized Jiangdong and passed the most dangerous moment in Jiangdong safely. Although Cao Cao lost the opportunity to capture Jiangdong, he obtained the two counties of Jiangbei and basically ensured the stability of Jianghuai.

In late September, Cao Ren, Mao Jue, Cao Zhang, Sun Ben, Zhang Hong, and Zhu Zhi bid farewell to the general Li Hong and left the Central Plains.

Before Sun Ben and others returned to Jiangdong, because they had to negotiate with Cao Cao about welcoming their relatives, they went to Xuzhou with Cao Ren first.

Hebei ended this difficult negotiation, but another difficult negotiation has just begun. Li Hong sent invitations to both Yuan Shao and Liu Bei for peace talks, but to Li Hong's expectations, it was not Yuan Shao who refused peace talks, but Liu Bei.

Liu Bei replied to Li Hong, gritting his teeth and scolding, but Yuan Shao sent Yuan Zhong and the trial to Dingtao. It is too difficult to negotiate with Yuan Shao, and the possibility of success is very small, but since Yuan Shao has sent someone, it must be treated carefully, even if it is not successful, it doesn't matter.

Because now Hebei, like Luoyang, is in dire need of time. Hebei needs time to stabilize the court, stabilize Western Xinjiang, and make all preparations for conquering Luoyang, including Chang'an, the capital.

If Yuan Shao was forced to be anxious during this period, forcing him to suddenly give up Luoyang, burn Luoyang with a fire, and transfer all his troops to Jingzhou and Yuzhou to hold on, then it would be a big trouble.

I think that at the beginning, Li Dao and Guo Yan were so mad that they burned down Weiyang Palace. Now, who dares to guarantee that Yuan Shao will not lose his heart and burn Luoyang to the ground?

Although Hebei intends to set the capital of Chang'an, Luoyang is the capital of two hundred years after all, and many things in Luoyang City are priceless treasures of the Han Dynasty.

For example, millions of books in Dongguan, Lantai and other places were burned and burned, and they could never be recovered, and the loss to the Han was unimaginable.

In addition, if Luoyang is destroyed, Kwantung will become a ruin, and Hebei will lose its strong rear to attack Jing and Yu in the south, and it will not be able to go south to quell the rebellion in the short term.

In order to restore the Kanto region and rebuild Luoyang, Hebei spent an astonishing amount of money, which was also a heavy blow to the great cause of Zhongxing.

Li Hong still has an expectation in his heart, he looks forward to a miracle. If Yuan Shao is willing to respect the Son of Heaven and submit to the imperial court, then the world will soon be pacified, and the great cause of Zhongxing will soon succeed.

Li Hong didn't dare to say this idea, he felt that it was too ridiculous, and he would definitely be despised by everyone if he said it.

Li Hong cherished this opportunity very much, he reported to the imperial court on the one hand, and personally attended the talks, he wanted to do his best to find miracles, discover miracles, and create miracles.

To be able to reunite with the judge again, Li Hong was extremely happy. On the evening of Yuan Zhonghe's arrival at Xingyuan, Li Hong hosted a banquet for the two in the military tent, and invited his wife Fengxue to the banquet to toast the two.

Yuan Zhong was surprised, although he knew that Li Hong and the trial match had a good relationship, he never expected that the friendship between the two would be so deep.

The next day, Li Hong listened carefully to Yuan Shao's peace conditions, and he did not express any opinions. In the evening, Li Hong, in his private capacity, invited the judge to the tent again.

The two drank wine and chatted casually.

"Back then, when you went to Northern Xinjiang, you said that today, the only person who can save the Han is Yuan Shao." Li Hong brought up the old things again,

"Now, tell me, does Yuan Shao have the sincerity of peace talks?" Judging with a smile,

"Of course there is sincerity, otherwise what am I going to do?" He looked at Li Hong and asked solemnly,

"What about you? Are you sincere? Li Hong hesitated,

"I can ask the Son of Heaven to issue an order for the army to stop attacking on the battlefields of Guanxi and Yingchuan, but the premise is that Yuan Shao must recognize the Son of Heaven and the imperial court of Jinyang, otherwise it will ......"

"Is that your sincerity?"

"If today, only Yuan Shao can save the Han, then he should accept this condition." Li Hong said with a smile,

"Besides, how else can he save the big man?" The judge took a sip of wine, stroked his long beard with his hand, thought for a while, and suddenly said, "Han Sui is dead." Li Hong nodded,

"The affairs in Western Xinjiang are indeed very complicated, and this is something we did not anticipate before launching the Guanzhong War."

"Things in the world are so unpredictable." The judge looked at the dim candle flame and said with feeling,

"When Lord Huangfu Song attacked Guangzong, if it wasn't for Zhang Jiao's sudden death, could the Yellow Turban Rebellion be quickly quelled? During the Battle of Gall Tao, if it weren't for Zhang Niujiao's sudden death by an arrow, would you still be able to lead the army to the western frontier? In this battle of Guanzhong, Han Sui was suddenly killed, which led to the extreme deterioration of the situation in Luoyang, but for Hebei, what does this mean? Li Hong smiled slightly,

"Brother Zhengnan, the rebellion in the western Xinjiang may delay the northern Xinjiang army to attack Luoyang, but it will not change his fate of imminent defeat."

"What if you die suddenly?" The judgement is amazing. Li Hong's brows furrowed slightly, and his eyes involuntarily looked at the long sword on his waist.

The judge laughed,

"The world is unpredictable, who knows tomorrow? If He Jin knew that he would die, would he still enter the palace? If Dong Zhuo knew that he would be assassinated, would he still go to Chang'an? If Han Sui knew that he was going to die, would he still go to the battlefield in person? ”

"If I die, Hebei will not be chaotic, the Northern Xinjiang Army will not collapse, and the eldest princess and the imperial court will still command the army to pacify the world." Li Hong was calm and calm, and said calmly.

"But what about the desert? What about the Hu people in the desert? Will Northern Xinjiang still be stable? The judge raised his head and took a sip of wine, and said loudly,

"Northern Xinjiang is in chaos, will the Qiang people in Western Xinjiang be far away from Chang'an?" Li Hong smiled and shook his head,

"Indeed, if I die, Yuan Shao still has a chance to turn over, but what if Yuan Shao dies suddenly?"

"So we should all be sincere." The judge put down the wine, stretched out his right index finger and elegantly wiped the wine stains on the corner of his lips, and said slowly,

"You see, shouldn't we put the Son of Heaven and the court aside and talk about something practical?" Li Hong pondered for a moment, staring at the white hair on the sideburns of the judge, and suddenly asked, "Yuan Shao killed Tian Feng and forced Fu Zhu to death, why did he leave you?" There was a trace of pain in the judge's eyes, and the right hand holding the wine lord trembled slightly, and he didn't speak for a long time.

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