Chapter 4: Breaking the Cauldron and Sinking the Boat, Section 21, Li Hong smiled bitterly. Gongsun Chan sent troops at this time, the timing was very good, Jizhou was hit by this blow, and suddenly fell into a dilemma, whether to attack Gongsun Chan in the north or go south to occupy Yanzhou?

Jizhou at the moment is actually very chaotic. In the north, there are people who have returned to Jizhou from various border counties in northern Xinjiang, and in the south, there are displaced people who have fled from Yanzhou and Qingzhou, and more and more people are pouring into Jizhou.

The governments of Jizhou were busy with the resettlement of the relocated people and the displaced people, and on the other hand, they were busy with the autumn harvest and autumn planting, and at the same time, they also had to provide relief to the victims and prevent the spread of the plague.

For them, what Jizhou needs most now is stability, not a renewed war. Many officials in the three prefectures considered the safety of Jizhou and tended to shake hands with Youzhou.

Gongsun Zhan chose to launch an attack at this time, obviously after careful consideration, with his current strength, he could not defeat the Northern Frontier Army, and his real purpose may still be for money and food.

Although Jizhou and Youzhou had a truce, because Liu Yu refused to obey the will of the imperial court and refused to hand over the military administration of Youzhou to Li Hong, the two sides were still in a state of confrontation.

In this case, of course, Li Hong will not allocate money and grain to Youzhou. Youzhou has not received support from Jizhou for four consecutive years, and its embarrassment can be imagined.

Youzhou was short of money and food, and Gongsun Chan had to expand his armaments in order to resist the attack of the Northern Xinjiang Army.

Youzhou only relies on the little money that Gongsun Chan plundered back from Jizhou, how many days can it support? As soon as Gongsun Chan hits like this, Youzhou will be even more difficult and dangerous.

Liu Yu was in a hurry, so he had only one choice, to come forward to negotiate peace with Jizhou again, obey the will of the imperial court, recognize the fact that Li Hong supervised the six prefectures and four counties, and put Youzhou under Li Hong's control in exchange for the money, food and security that Youzhou urgently needed.

Sima Lang of the Great Sima Mansion even thought that Gongsun Zhan's attack was instigated by Liu Yu. Sima Lang said very regretfully, the rear is unstable, and it is difficult for us to occupy Yanzhou.

At this moment, it is still necessary to concentrate on occupying Youzhou, and first stabilize the three prefectures of Hebei as the best policy. Sima Lang's words were refuted by Liu Fang and Liu Fan, both of whom were Liu Yu's subordinates in the past and had great respect for Liu Yu, and they thought that Sima Lang didn't know Master Taifu at all, and it was pure nonsense.

"Master Taifu would never do such a thing." Liu Fan said excitedly,

"Youzhou has been barely self-sufficient under the governance of Lord Taifu in the past few years, and he doesn't need Jizhou's money and food support. For so long, have you seen the outcasts who escaped from Youzhou? This is the merit of Master Taifu. ”

"Taking a step back, even if Youzhou needs money and food support, with the relationship between the general and the Taifu, as long as the Taifu speaks, will the general not agree? He will definitely not hesitate to send the money and grain to Youzhou. Liu Fan waved his hand and said,

"The reason why Gongsun Chan wants to attack Jizhou in a desperate attempt this time is very simple. He wanted to use the safety of Youzhou to force Lord Taifu to ask the general for money and food, and force Lord Taifu to agree to his expansion of the army in order to quickly restore his strength. ”

"After Gongsun Zan was defeated and returned to Youzhou this time, his strength plummeted, and he wanted to recruit the Tuntian soldiers of Zhuo County to supplement the army, but Lord Taifu resolutely refused. In Master Taifu's opinion, the fewer troops in Youzhou, the safer Youzhou will be. Gongsun Zhan's strength is insufficient, and Master Taifu can control him. Master Taifu controlled Gongsun Zhan, Youzhou and Jizhou would be able to get along safely, and the general would have no reason to go north to attack Youzhou. But Gongsun Chan was unwilling. Gongsun Chan lived the belly of a gentleman with the heart of a villain, he was worried that Lord Taifu would betray him and kill him, so he did everything possible to break free from Lord Taifu's control, restore his strength, and occupy Youzhou. Liu Fan, Liu Fang and others believe that if the Northern Xinjiang Army takes the opportunity to send troops to attack Youzhou, it will just fall into Gongsun Zhan's best plan.

In order to keep Youzhou, Liu Yu had no choice but to promise Gongsun Zan to expand his army quickly. This is not conducive to the stability of Jizhou and Youzhou, the best way is to take the initiative to negotiate peace with Lord Taifu, and wait for the opportunity to completely solve Gongsun Zan and uproot this scourge that endangers Hebei's security.

"I think it's too late." Tian Chou sighed,

"After Lord Taifu knew that Gongsun Zhan sent troops to Longcuo again, in order to prevent the Northern Xinjiang Army from taking the opportunity to enter Youzhou, he must have requisitioned all the 50,000 Tuntian soldiers in Zhuo County. Youzhou suddenly increased by 50,000 troops, and money and food must be in short supply, so Lord Taifu must get money and food from Jizhou. ”

"Master Taifu knows very well that there are only two ways for Youzhou to get Jizhou's money and grain. The first is that Youzhou is weak and poses no threat to Jizhou, and the second is that Youzhou is strong and poses a great threat to Jizhou. Now that Gongsun Chan has angered us, the only way for Youzhou to get money and food is to quickly expand the army and increase its strength. In other words, Gongsun Zhan's plan has succeeded. ”

"Now is the autumn harvest and autumn planting season in October, it is a good time to go south to plunder, if the Youzhou army rushes down, the loss of Jizhou will be very amazing. If we want to avoid the huge losses brought to Jizhou by the war between the two sides, we can only take the initiative to negotiate peace with Lord Taifu and take the initiative to promise to give them money and food. After a stalemate between the two sides for a while, winter came, and the troops had to be withdrawn. By tomorrow spring, their strength will be stronger, and it will be even more difficult for us to occupy Youzhou. Tian Chou therefore suggested that starting from the overall situation of quickly stabilizing Jizhou, this year's battle could not be fought no matter what, and it was better to immediately send someone to Youzhou to discuss peace with Lord Taifu.

Li Hong and Zhu Mu looked at each other and sighed. Today's predicament has more or less to do with the fact that Li Hong led the Northern Expeditionary Army to Youzhou to quell the rebellion.

When the Northern Expeditionary Army arrived in Youzhou, the first battle was a great victory over the rebels in Jicheng. At that time, there were 50,000 rebel prisoners, and after discussing with Li Hong, Liu Yu personally took them to Tuntian, Zhuo County.

Soon, after Gongsun Zhan's army conquered Feiru City in Liaoxi County, tens of thousands of rebels were captured, and these prisoners were also sent to Tuntian, Zhuo County.

Later, Liu Yu rebuilt 30,000 border troops in Youzhou, and its main source of soldiers was these Tuntian soldiers.

"If I had known that something like this would happen today, it would have been better to take these Yellow Turban captives to Northern Xinjiang to Tuntian." Zhu Mu complained in a low voice.

"That can't be." Li Hong shook his head and said,

"Let the rebels capture Tuntian, it was Lord Taifu who proposed it first. Lord Taifu thought at that time that letting these rebels capture Tuntian could not only solve the problem of military rations for the border army in Youzhou, but also solve the problem of the supply of troops in Youzhou. Then he said with a look of anger on his face,

"In my opinion, the reason for today's situation is, in the final analysis, Yuan Shao's damn proposal to 'rebuild the imperial system'. If Lord Taifu hadn't been called by him what kind of 'True Dragon Heavenly Son' he was, why would we have to meet Lord Taifu today? The three states of Hebei have long been stable. Zhu Mu looked at Li Hong and knew that he couldn't be ruthless in using troops against Master Taifu, and he couldn't help but sigh in his heart.

"Lord Xun, does the Eldest Princess's Mansion have any suggestions for this?" Zhu Mu saw that Xun You had been silent, and asked.

Recently, the eldest princess and the elders have been busy inviting Confucian celebrities from all over the country to renovate the Handan University Hall and discuss the reform policy, and rarely participate in the collegiate meeting of the three governments.

Especially in the past few days, many celebrities gathered in Handan have started an all-night meeting in Handan University Hall

"Qing Discussion", one is to recommend and evaluate talents from all over the world, and the other is about

"Confucianism and law".

"Law" is a measure in the application of national policies. In the current land clearing in Jizhou, there is obviously a suspicion of abuse of punishment.

Many scholars were therefore opposed to the New Deal

The "harsh punishment" raised questions and sharp criticisms. The most fierce criticism was to rush back to Handan to participate

Master Xiangkai of "Qing Yi". Master Xiangkai believes in the learning of Huang and Lao, and respects it

It is normal for the way of governing the country to be "quiet and inactive", and it is normal to have criticism about this. The eldest princess and the elders were too busy, so they handed over the daily affairs of the mansion to Xun You, Sima Zhi, and Zhang Fan, who were less senior.

Although Xun You has been famous for a long time, he is humble and kind, without the shelf of a celebrity, nor the arrogance of a noble gatekeeper, and he gets along very well with the top and bottom.

He saw Zhu Mu inquiring, smiled, and said slowly: "The stability and development of Jizhou is the foundation of the revitalization of social security. All our strategies are designed for this purpose. Therefore, our first priority is to take Youzhou and take full control of the land of the three states of Hebei. With a solid foundation, we can develop, the truth is simple, but development takes time. Therefore, the second thing we need to do is to use all means to attack and weaken the forces of all sides, so as to prepare for the pacification of the world in the future. We have strength, but if others are also strong, then when will we be able to calm the world? It's also very simple. ”

"It seems to be very difficult to take Youzhou at present." Xun Yu continued,

"I think your suggestion is very reasonable, taking the initiative to negotiate peace is the best strategy at the moment, but negotiation is not the goal, but the means for us to occupy Youzhou. There is only one purpose for negotiating peace, and that is to occupy Youzhou. So while we negotiate peace, we attack Gongsun Zhan, and we have to force Liu Yu to make a decision, whether to be a rebel of the Han or a loyal minister of the Han. If we don't beat him, if we don't beat him resolutely, how long will this matter drag on? If Youzhou is not taken, Jizhou will not be able to stabilize, and we will not be able to calm the world. The greater the difficulty, the more you have to fight. ”

"Gongsun Zhan's strength is limited, he beats us, it's just a bluff, we beat him, he can't stand it. We asked General Koji to lead a large army, fought against Longcuo, entered Zhuojun, and fought until it snowed. We don't have money and food for Youzhou, and we won't give Youzhou any time to breathe. The overthrow of the society is imminent, what we lack is time, we ourselves don't even have time to breathe, why give the enemy time to breathe? Resolutely enter Youzhou. Li Hong and the officials looked at the impassioned Xun You, and their expressions were solemn.

"Winter is coming soon, and the time left for the army to attack Youzhou is too short. Therefore, making peace with Liu Yu is the main thing in the whole winter. Spring is coming, if Liu Yu does not contribute to the revitalization of the community, then we will directly occupy Youzhou. ”

"This winter, there is no war in Youzhou, so where should the main force of our army be?" Xun You stood up, walked unhurriedly to the map, pointed to the Yellow River across the Central Plains and said,

"It should be on the north bank of the Yellow River." Xun You then carefully analyzed the situation in Qingzhou and Yanzhou and the advantages and disadvantages of Yuan Shao, Yuan Shu, Cao Cao, the Yellow Turban Army and other forces.

If we cross the river to Yanzhou, there will be only one result, that is, Yuan Shao will unite with all other forces to fight us, and our situation will be very difficult, and it is very likely that we will be attacked by the enemy on our backs and fight on two fronts.

It is precisely because of this concern that your Excellency has been strongly advocating that you should abandon your southward journey. But the problem is that what we see, others will see, and what we think, others will also think.

If we attack Youzhou this year and next year, Yuan Shao and other forces overcome all kinds of difficulties and join forces to attack Jizhou, we will be very dangerous.

Therefore, we must firmly control the situation in Yanzhou and minimize this danger. There are many ways to control the situation in Yanzhou, such as using methods such as discord, division, bribery, and inducement to make the forces of all parties involved in Yanzhou and the officials of various counties in Yanzhou suspicious and vendetta against each other, and fight each other, so as to attack and weaken their forces as much as possible.

In a word, as long as Yanzhou and even the entire Central Plains region are in chaos, the smoke is billowing out, and even the blood is thousands of miles, we will win.

As a result, we can not only gain enough time to occupy Youzhou and stabilize Hebei, but also develop Hebei's strength, pacify the world as quickly as possible, and revitalize the community.

It will take time and the right timing to achieve this. We have that time now.

When we fight Youzhou this year, we can help Cao Cao fight Yuan Shu. Yuan Shao wants to drive the wolf and let the tiger and wolf kill each other, but this tiger is too weak at the moment, we have to help this tiger and hurt Yuan Shu, the wolf, so that his eyes are full of golden flowers.

In the winter, after the Yellow River froze, both tigers and wolves were scarred, so our second chance was to send troops to occupy all the counties on the north bank of the Yellow River, including the northern part of Qingzhou Plain County and the northern part of Yanzhou East County.

We occupy the north bank of the Yellow River for only one purpose, and that is to protect Jizhou. By occupying the north bank of the Yellow River, we can prevent the Yellow Turban Army and the displaced people from crossing the river to the north, and we can also quickly fight to the south bank of the Yellow River from these places.

As long as we stand on this land, we are a great threat to the enemy on the south bank of the Yellow River. In the future, if Yuan Shao, Cao Cao, Tian Kai and others go north to attack Jizhou, this is the forward battlefield to block them from attacking Jizhou.

No matter how they burn, kill, or rob, it has nothing to do with Jizhou. At the same time, because of the existence of this buffer zone, we can gain time to counterattack, and even if we can't beat them, we can buy enough time to retreat calmly and minimize losses.

This land is very important to the development of Hebei, just like General Xu Rong's insistence on Kansai, which is directly related to our life and death.

When we go all out to attack Youzhou in the spring of next year, will we send Yanzhou assassin Shi Jinshang to Yanzhou and provoke the war in Yanzhou again?

is also General Xu Rong of the West, should he also stretch his muscles? Jump to