Chapter 9 Chasing the Central Plains in the thirtieth quarter of April, Hanoi County, Binh Gao City. Pingao Castle is like an indomitable warrior, bloodstained and scarred, standing proudly on the banks of the Jishui River.

The dilapidated Daxu on the city tower waved his arms under the blue sky, looking up to the sky and roaring, majestic. Gao Rou smelled the strong fishy stench that filled the air, his chest was extremely stuffy, and the feeling of vomiting came in bursts, making him involuntarily reach out and cover his mouth.

"My lord, let's start attacking." Zhu Ling pointed to the battlefield where the corpses were in disarray, and there was a trace of contempt in his eyes,

"The Northern Xinjiang Army can't hold it, and in two or three days, we will definitely be able to take Pinggao."

"The attack is a little harder." Gao Rou turned his horse's head and galloped to the rear.

"Reinforcements from the Northern Xinjiang Army will appear at any time, and we must recapture Pingao as soon as possible at all costs." Zhu Ling and Zhao Rui looked at each other, and they all turned to look at Pinggao City with solemn expressions.

The attack had been going on for twelve days, and the army had not been able to capture the walls despite the heavy cost of more than 6,000 men.

Although the Northern Frontier Army was inferior in numbers, they firmly held the city with their stubborn will, and did not show the slightest sign of defeat.

"Last night, Lord Yuan Wei came to the book, and the Kansai battlefield is getting tighter and tighter." Gao Rou looked up at the battle flag that was gently swaying in the wind, looking listless, and felt a faint sense of unease in her heart.

After the continuous attack, the soldiers were physically and mentally exhausted, and the attacks gradually lost their sharpness, and the rhythm of the attacks became slower and slower.

If there is no progress in this battle, the longer the time drags on, and the hope of victory is very slim. As long as the Northern Xinjiang Army gains an advantage in the Yanzhou battlefield, they will immediately adopt a new strategy in the Henan battlefield, and the first to bear the brunt will inevitably be Pinggao.

"Lord Chunyu is still retreating?" Zhu Ling asked in surprise,

"The army in Guanzhong hasn't started attacking Hedong yet?"

"Lord Chunyu has withdrawn from Michi and is defending Xin'an." Gao Rou snorted coldly and said very angrily,

Xiansi (Yuan Tan) didn't know what to think, at this time, he still had the idea of preserving his strength. If there are major changes in the Kansai battlefield, Luoyang is in an emergency, and Henan is lost because of this, what good life will he have? Look at Xianyi (Yuan Xi), who rushed from Nanyang to the Henan battlefield without a day's delay. But what about him? He had 20,000 or 30,000 troops in his hands, and after receiving the order, he was reluctant to attack Hedong, which led to tension in the western part of the country, and frequent emergencies in Hangu Pass. If he does this, it will not benefit him at all, and he will ...... in the future" Zhu Ling and Zhao Rui were silent.

This matter is related to Yuan Shao's family affairs, and Gao Rou, as Yuan Shao's nephew, can complain, but they don't dare to speak casually.

"Isn't Lord Duan Xuan in the Tongguan and Huayin areas?" Zhu Ling whispered,

"Xiliang Han Sui's iron cavalry is in Fufeng, and the army in Guanzhong does not dare to attack Hedong at will, which is understandable, but Lord Duan Xuan's army is ......"

"The troops in the direction of Fenglingdu and Taolin Fortress have been pinned down by the Northern Xinjiang Army. If Lord Duan Xuan attacked Pubanjin, the Northern Frontier Army would immediately attack Fenglingdu and Taolin Fortress. As a result, the two places will lose support, and Kansai may be even more critical. Gao Rou sighed,

"Although the Kansai battlefield is a containment battlefield for Hebei, once the Northern Xinjiang Army gains an advantage in the Central Plains battlefield, the Kansai battlefield may become the main battlefield at any time." Gao Rou looked at the two of them and said with a wry smile: "The ultimate goal of Hebei to fight the Central Plains is Luoyang. After the Central Plains got their hands on it, Guanzhong and Guanxi were bound to become the next targets of the Northern Xinjiang Army. Therefore, whether or not the Northern Xinjiang Army on the Guanxi battlefield can be forced back to Hedong now is not only related to the safety of Luoyang, but also related to the success or failure of the Central Plains War. If Xiansi only cares about himself and repeatedly delays sending troops to Hedong, the results will be unimaginable. Gao Rou let out a long sigh, turned around and waved the horsewhip in his hand at the two,

"Please do your best, two adults. As long as we can take Pinggao and encircle the Northern Xinjiang Army in Henan, we still have hope of winning this battle. Zhang He stood on Ma Gaopo, looked at a little dark shadow on the horizon, and let out a long breath.

I finally arrived at Pingao City. Master Zhang Yan's method was immediate. After Xin Ping saw Yan Liang's army approaching Zhongmu, he immediately gave up his support for the Puyang battlefield, and also gave up the idea of waving his army to attack Aocang to encircle and annihilate the Northern Xinjiang Army, and turned to support Zhongmu with all his might, and 100,000 troops were urgently transferred south to support.

On the night of the day when Xin scored his troops to the south, he also led his army across the river to the Pinggao battlefield.

"My lord, the enemy scouts have spotted us, is the army continuing to attack the rebel flanks according to the planned plan?" Cheng Lian rushed straight at the horse and asked loudly.

"Is Zhu Ling withdrawing his troops?"

"Retreating." Cheng Lian waved his hand excitedly and said,

"The rebels didn't know how many of us came, so they retreated in panic. At this moment, if we can take the opportunity to attack, we will be able to hit its flank and drive Zhu Ling back to the west bank of the Jishui River. ”

"Order all units, attack quickly, ...... quickly" The Hanoi army withdrew to the main camp as quickly as possible. The rapid sound of war drums resounded through the field, and the tension was almost breathless.

The soldiers in the camp rushed back and forth, the shouts were deafening, and fear filled the entire camp with the bloody air.

"Transfer the archers to the left side of the camp, quickly, quickly, ......quickly" Zhu Ling looked at the Northern Xinjiang army rushing from a distance, and scolded angrily,

"What are the tens of thousands of troops in Ao Cang doing? Do they all sleep in the camp? ”

"Xin Ping, this bastard, has tens of thousands of troops in his hands, but he allows the enemy to cross the river to help." Zhao Rui wiped the blood on his face, his eyes were about to split,

"Lao Tzu is going to kill him." Gao Rou was stationed under the big horse, staring blankly at the roaring reinforcements from the northern Xinjiang, with a look of despair.

It was hard for him to believe that at this critical moment, Xin Ping's army failed to hold back the Northern Xinjiang Army on the battlefield in Henan, allowing them to kill Pinggao.

The twelve-day attack was destroyed overnight, and the lives of thousands of soldiers were meaninglessly buried under Pinggao City.

"Boom......" There was a loud bang, and the ballistae in the camp began to roar. The bolts roared, pouring out with the anger and pain of the Hanoi soldiers.

"Let it go...... Let go ......" several soldiers impatiently gave the order to shoot when the archers had not yet fully lined up.

All of a sudden, the sky was full of arrows. In mid-April, Henan, Zhongmu. After Yan Liang received Zhang Yan's order to attack Mou, he suddenly attacked Guancheng with lightning speed, and caught Han Heng and Ma Yan off guard.

The two did not dare to fight, and withdrew one hundred and sixty miles in one go. Returned directly to Zhongmu and held on to the city.

The rebels withdrew so resolutely, which made Yan Liang a little worried. There are two galloping roads in the direction of Guancheng. One is to the east, leading directly to Zhongmu and Chenliu.

One is to the south, leading directly to Yuanling, Xinzheng to Yingchuan. As soon as the rebels retreated one hundred and sixty miles, if the Northern Xinjiang Army pursued directly to Zhongmu, the defensive forces in the direction of Guancheng and Xingyang would be very limited.

At this time, once Yuan Shao transferred troops from other counties in Yuzhou to the north, or the Jingzhou army supporting the Central Plains battlefield penetrated directly into Guancheng from the direction of Yingchuan, the Northern Xinjiang Army attacking Zhongmu was surrounded between Zhongmu and Guancheng.

After Yan Liang discussed with Wei Xu, Xu Yan, Zhou Shan and others, he left 3,000 people to garrison Guancheng, and the rest of the army followed him to attack Zhongmu.

The scouts went 100 miles south to explore the traces of the rebels, and once they found that there were rebels heading north to Henan from the direction of Yingchuan, they urgently told the Northern Xinjiang Army in the direction of Zhongmu to urgently withdraw their troops.

After Yan Liang led the army to Zhongmu, because of his own lack of troops, he did not order the siege of the city, but set up three large camps outside the city, and pretended to be tens of thousands of troops with the people, making a sufficient attack posture.

On the second day of arriving in Zhongmu, the scouts who were on both sides of the chasm to spy on the military situation reported quickly. The rebels in the direction of Aocang have already divided their troops to the south and will soon rush to the east bank of the chasm water, and it is estimated that they will cross the chasm water in the area of Guandu Pavilion and kill Zhongmu directly.

At this time, Yan Liang had not yet received the news of Pinggao City, let alone the news that the main force of the Northern Xinjiang Army had occupied Dingtao and Changyi, but he considered that the main force of Yuan Shao's army had gradually moved to the area of Zhongmu, and the entire Henan war situation was developing in the direction that was conducive to the capture of the Central Plains by the Northern Xinjiang Army, so he decided to continue to stay in Zhongmu and attract more rebels to the area of Zhongmu and Chenliu, so as to gain more time for the main force of the Northern Xinjiang Army to seize Dingtao and Changyi.

"I plan to move the battalion to Guandu, build it according to the chasm water, block the direction of the enemy's crossing of the river, create a situation of eagerly occupying Zhongmu to the east and enter Yanzhou, and force the enemy to draw more troops from the direction of Aocang to the south." Yan Liang pointed to the map on the desk, and pointed his finger heavily at the Guandu Pavilion on the map,

"If most of the main forces of Yuan Shao's army are attracted south by us, then Gao Ran in the direction of Puyang can free up his hands and quickly capture the city, consolidate the Puyang defense line, and prepare for the army to attack Baima. If Baima is overcome, the army can go straight to the line of Yanxian, Yanjin, and Fengqiu, and directly threaten the flank of the Central Plains battlefield. In this way, only when the army advances to the hinterland of the Central Plains, a favorable situation can be formed for a decisive battle with the rebels. ”

"In addition, Yuan Shao's main force is heading south, and our troops in the direction of Aocang can be called up immediately, and the situation on the battlefield in Henan is once again under our control." Yan Liang sneered,

"As long as Wen Chou and Zhang Liao hold Pinggao, we can advance and retreat freely. Yuan Shao wants to encircle and annihilate us, let's dream. Wei Xu, Zhao Xuan, Zhou Shan and others agreed with Yan Liang's strategy, and everyone discussed the details.

Then Wei Xu and Zhao Xuan led the army to move the camp, Zhou Shan wrote a letter to Handan Xingyuan, and Yan Liang ordered the generals of the unified army on the battlefield in Henan to be ready to withdraw from Henan at any time.

In mid-April, Yingchuan, Yuzhou, Xuchang. After Liu Biao received the edict of the Son of Heaven and Yuan Shao's letter, he traveled day and night and rushed to Xuchang before the army.

After Yuan Shao met the Son of Heaven in Xuchang, he was worshiped by the Son of Heaven as the Great Sima and the Great General, who was in charge of state affairs and monopolized power.

At this time, everyone in the court knew that Cao Cao had come to an end and had no prospects. So overnight, all forces pinned their hopes on Yuan Shao for the revival of society.

The ministers of the DPRK and China pledged their allegiance to Yuan Shao, and his power swelled again, and his prestige reached the extreme for a while.

Yuan Shao did not get carried away when his heart was overjoyed, he used the frustration again, and used the frustration as a book order to help him deal with state affairs.

The development of the Henan battlefield and the extreme deterioration of the situation in the Central Plains forced Yuan Shao to put aside his old suspicions and resume his frustration.

Yuan Shao admired the talent and loyalty of Fu Zhi very much, and he had long formed the habit of relying on Fu Zhi to sit in the rear for him.

Now he is frustrated in Xuchang, in the imperial court, and his influence on Luoyang is very small. Yuan Shao hoped to use the talents of Fu Zhu to rely on the strength of the Son of Heaven and the imperial court to ally and defeat Hebei.

Li Hong was defeated, and the role of the Son of Heaven and the imperial court disappeared, at that time Luoyang was still Luoyang, Xuchang was still Xuchang, and Fuzhu was still unable to exert the same influence on Luoyang as in the past.

It is based on this that Yuan Shao invited Fu Zhu out again without the slightest hesitation in the current precarious situation.

Yuan Shao wanted to use this opportunity to revise the official system and remove Cao Cao from being prime minister, but he was dissuaded by frustration.

In the court, many famous ministers were Cao Cao's people, although they were currently forced by the situation, they were all very close to Yuan Shao.

But once they defeated Hebei and recaptured the Central Plains, they could turn against Yuan Shao at any time and turn around to help Cao Cao.

Because in the eyes of these ministers, it is not a good thing for Yuan Shao to be in power alone, after all

"Yuan instead of Han" is the words of the weft

"Five virtues have always been said" has been circulating in various places for several years. If Yuan Shao defeats Li Hong this time, he will be extremely meritorious, and it is very likely that he will embark on the road of usurpation in the future.

In order to prevent trouble, it is inevitable to help Cao Cao restrain and weaken Yuan Shao. For this reason, he suggested that Yuan Shao should maintain the status quo ante before the end of the Central Plains War.

If you want to defeat Li Hong as soon as possible, you need to work together. In order to pacify the world and stabilize the society as soon as possible, it is necessary to weaken the strength of Cao Cao, Liu Bei, Liu Biao and others.

The Central Plains War is the best opportunity to weaken the strength of Cao Cao and others, and when Cao Cao's troops are outnumbered, not to mention these ministers in the court, even Cao Cao himself, I am afraid that he will have to bow down to the adults.

Yuan Shao accepted Fu Zhi's suggestion and devoted all his energy to the Great War of the Central Plains. During the war, all military and political affairs were handled by Shangshangtai, and all the governments of the DPRK and China followed Shangshangtai's orders.

He recommended Wang Lang, Hua Xin, Zheng Hun and other famous people from all over the world to enter Shangshutai, and begged Yuan Shao to pardon Tian Feng and reinstate Tian Feng.

Yuan Shao politely refused. After returning home, he thought twice, wrote a letter full of affection, and visited Yuan Shao again at night.

After reading the letter, Yuan Shao remembered Tian Feng's hard work over the years, and thought of today's crisis in the Central Plains, and finally agreed.

He urgently ordered Luoyang Yuan Wei to immediately release Tian Feng and let him rush to Xuchang day and night. In the next few days, Yuan Shao and a group of ministers from Shangshutai discussed day and night the strategy of facing Hebei and defeating the Northern Xinjiang Army.

He analyzed the current situation in detail and believed that in the case of losing the opportunity, it was impossible to solve Yan Lianghe in the Henan battlefield at the same time and block Li Hong on the front line of Dingtao and Changyi, and one of the two battlefields must be abandoned.

He believed that the Jingzhou army had not yet arrived in Yingchuan, and it was impossible to march east to unite Cao Cao and Liu Bei to rescue Dingtao and block Li Hong, so it was better to give up Dingtao and Changyi, and it was the best policy for the coalition army to block the attack of the Northern Xinjiang Army on the front line of Fengqiu and Chenliu.

We will first unite with the Jingzhou Army to solve the Northern Xinjiang Army on the battlefield in Henan in the shortest possible time, and even if we cannot encircle and annihilate them, we must drive them out of Henan.

As long as we deal with the Northern Frontier Army on the battlefield in Henan, we will be able to free up our hands and prepare for a decisive battle with all our might.

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