Even if everything is as Zhang Jiao thought, the troops are invincible all the way and successfully conquer Yecheng, it is impossible to really prevent the imperial army from crossing the river to the north, because the imperial army can cross the river to the north through Hanoi in Sili, Hedong in Bingzhou, and the plain in Qingzhou.

Unless all of the above-mentioned Hebei lands are occupied, the moat of the Great River is a complete joke.

However, if the above places are fully occupied, the problem that will arise is that it is difficult to keep up with the food and grass supply because of the long distance. Moreover, the cities that have been conquered along the way will also be garrisoned by troops, and the number of troops attacking will become less and less, and the resistance will be greater and greater.

In such a situation, the fortresses of the powerful gate lords in the counties of Jizhou that have not yet been conquered are a huge threat.

Zhang Jiao and a group of generals who strongly advocated attacking Yecheng disagreed with them, believing that the Yellow Turban Army should take Yecheng before the arrival of imperial reinforcements, which would not only destroy the strongest fortress of the imperial court in Hebei, but also obtain countless money, food and ordnance, which would greatly enhance the strength of the Yellow Turban Army.

Relying on the fortified city of Yecheng, even if the Yellow Turban Army has a solid foundation in Jizhou, there is no need to be afraid of the encirclement and suppression of the official army. and then lay down the entire land of Hebei, and first divide one side. He believed that with the strength of the Yellow Turban Army, this goal could be achieved. Moreover, once this goal is achieved, it will be of decisive significance for the development and future of the Yellow Turban Army.

Zhang Jiao's prestige in the Taiping Dao and the Yellow Turban Army was too great, and there were too many people who obeyed orders, and his words were not much different from the emperor's holy decree, and basically no one objected. His opinion was embraced by the majority.

If Yecheng can really be conquered, it will indeed be an opportunity for the Yellow Turban Army to develop steadily. As one of the few big cities in the entire Han Dynasty, and the center of Jizhou, the richest city in the world, Yecheng has accumulated too much money and grain, which is enough for hundreds of thousands of Yellow Turban troops to eat for several years, thus solving the most troublesome Yellow Turban Army food problem. And the ordnance in the city can also arm the Yellow Turban Army and enhance its combat effectiveness.

Chu Yan and Zhang Niujiao and their group couldn't convince Zhang Jiao, so they had to hold the idea that the great sage and good teacher would definitely succeed, and actively assisted him in the preparations for attacking Yecheng.

Chu Yan, Zhang Niujiao and others began to exterminate the remnants of the Haoqiang clan in the counties and countries in the rear as soon as Zhang Jiao led his troops to attack Wei County, and prepared to create a stable rear for Zhang Jiao, so that he had no worries.

However, Zhang Jiao's attack on Yecheng did not go well, and he was not able to capture Yecheng before the arrival of reinforcements from the imperial court. And after entering April, as Lu Zhi led the imperial court reinforcements to Yecheng, the situation became even worse. By the end of May, the Yellow Turban Army, which had fallen into exhaustion, suffered several defeats one after another, and was led by Lu Zhi and driven all the way back to Guangzong.

Chu Yan knew very well that Guangzong was already in a very critical situation at that time. If it weren't for the emperor Lao'er himself being stupid, taking down Lu Zhi and sending a straw bag commander Dong Zhuo, maybe Guangzong would have been lost.

After Dong Zhuo arrived, Zhang Jiao led the Yellow Turban Army to counterattack, defeated Dong Zhuo, chased and killed all the way, and returned to Yecheng again.

At this time, the news came that the general Xiaocai and Youzhou Mu Li Yi led the army south, and conquered Zhuo County, Zhongshan Kingdom, Boling Kingdom, Changshan Kingdom and the northern counties of Julu County all the way. Because of Li Yi's prestige, Zhang Jiao led the army to evacuate Yecheng, intending to fight Li Yi's Youzhou army in Guangnian, Guangping and Lishui first.

Who knew that Li Yi had no intention of fighting Zhang Jiao, and after a false shot, he led the army to detour through Zhao and enter Yecheng.

According to the meaning of Chu Yan and others, since they have withdrawn from the army, they will stay in the counties of Julu County to defend and wait for Li Yi to attack and fight. Anyway, Li Yi's troops are very limited, and they are all cavalry, so he is not good at attacking cities at all. Who knew that Zhang Jiao was like a fool, and led the army to attack Yecheng again.

Chu Yan, who was helpless, had no choice but to do her duty and continue to exterminate the powerful gate lords of the counties and countries in the rear. But he has always been very concerned about the movements of the imperial army, and almost every day he contacts Zhang Liang, the general of Rengong who remained in Qinghe State.

Now there are only 100,000 troops of Zhang Liang in Qinghe Kingdom, 50,000 troops in Bohai County and only 50,000 troops of Yang Feng in the area of Hejian Kingdom, and they are not the main force, most of the soldiers are displaced people recruited in the spring and summer of this year. It would be a miracle if this kind of army fought against the main force of the official army in the plains, and did not lose.

In the battle of a large army, it is not enough to have the spirit of seeing death as home.

What Chu Yan and the others were most worried about was that Youzhou would continue to send reinforcements to launch an attack on Hejian Kingdom and Bohai County. When the main force of the Yellow Turban Army attacked Yecheng with Zhang Jiao, the Youzhou Army came to attack, which was a fatal blow to the Yellow Turban Army. With the strength of the Yellow Turban Army, it is impossible to deal with multiple battlefields at the same time, it is purely self-defeating.

Since the Yellow Turban Army took the initiative to fight the main force of the official army in Yecheng and Jizhou, the main force of the official army suffered great losses, and Zhang Jiao also found that Li Yi, the famous cavalry general before, did not have a very good performance in the battle of holding Yecheng, and was not even as good as Lu Zhi at the beginning, that is, slightly stronger than Dong Zhuo.

This strengthened Zhang Jiao's determination to capture Yecheng. But Chu Yan was not at ease. If the official army in Yecheng suffered heavy losses, Li Yi would ask the imperial court for help, and if the officers and troops in neighboring Qingzhou and Yanzhou came to support in time, the Yellow Turban Army would also be attacked fiercely.

But Zhang Jiao was very confident, he believed that the imperial court would not issue an order to transfer troops to the Jizhou battlefield in time. Because the Yellow Turban Army in Yuzhou and Yanzhou and other places has still not been pacified. This is already the last chance for the army to conquer Yecheng, once the imperial army pacifies the Yellow Turban Army of Henan Zhujun and crosses the river to the north, there is really no chance.

Just when Zhang Jiao ordered Chu Yan to lead his troops west to support, Zhang Niujiao, who was in Bohai County, sent a terrifying news.

Liu Yu, the minister of Ganling who was recently appointed by the imperial court, with the help of Liu Ding, the Taishou of Qingzhou Plain County, took advantage of the opportunity of the fierce battle between the general Zhang Liang and Huangfu Song in Qingyuan and Guantao in Wei County, and sent troops to the Qinghe Kingdom, and had already occupied Yimu, Juxian, and Ling counties in the southeast of the Qinghe Kingdom, and the 30,000 Yellow Turban troops left behind in these three counties had been destroyed. Now the official army of Pingyuan County and the Qinghe County soldiers formed by Liu Yu are about 10,000 soldiers, divided into two routes, all the way to the west to attack Ganling City, the seat of Qinghe State, and all the way to attack Dongwu City.

And Liu Bei, who had been defeated at Jieqiao before, also re-raised a team of more than 3,000 people after fleeing to Wuyi and Guanjin in the eastern part of Anping Kingdom, and once again sent troops to threaten Xindu.

Chu Yan thought about it for a long time, suppressed the news, and did not pass it on to Zhang Jiao. After all, Liu Bei didn't have any strength, and he couldn't fight, but Chu Yan had to admire this person's ability to escape, and he led the army to chase and kill from the boundary bridge, passing through the county, Nangong, and until Jianjin City, more than a thousand miles before and after, and he was stunned that he could not annihilate it. And after he left Jianjin City and returned, this guy began to recruit troops again, and pulled up a team of more than 3,000 people.

However, with Zhang Jiao's character, even when he sees this news, he will ignore it. Now the arrow is off the string, and there is no turning back.

Chu Yan decided to lead an army of 50,000 to Wei County to support Zhang Jiao, leaving the remaining 50,000 troops in the area of Quzhou and Guangzong in case of accidents.

He had to go to support Zhang Jiao no matter what. Not only because Zhang Jiao is the leader of the Yellow Turban Army, but more importantly, Zhang Jiao is like his father, who has always taken care of him and raised him to adulthood.

Chu Yan's father was one of the first members to join Taiping Dao, and in his early years, he and Zhang Jiao practiced medicine all over Jizhou and developed Taiping Dao, and the two can be described as close as brothers.

About twelve or thirteen years ago, during the Xiping period, Chu Yan's father was killed by the official army during a flight, and soon his mother also died of illness, and Chu Yan became an orphan. Zhang Jiao took the teenage Chu Feiyan to wander the rivers and lakes, developing Taiping Road everywhere until he grew up. They are as close as father and son, and their relationship is deep, which is something that everyone knows in the Taiping Dao.

The leaders of the Yellow Turban Army all regarded Chu Yan as Zhang Jiao's son, and Zhang Jiao himself thought so. Although Chu Yan does not call Zhang Jiao his father, he has always regarded Zhang Jiao as his second father, a father who raised himself to adulthood.