Xu Huang got Liu Xin's trust, looked at the sand table that had just been assembled in front of him, couldn't help but be ambitious, and said loudly: "Your Majesty, Yuan Shao's elite is all lost, although there are many soldiers and horses in Yecheng, but there are some rabble, please attack the city today, and you can go down with one drum!" ”

Liu Xin smiled and waved his hand, and said, "How to fight this battle is your business, I only have two requirements." First, the war in the Central Plains has been going on for a long time, and the people are miserable, so they can't drag it out any longer, so Yuan Shao must be captured or killed in this battle. Second, the soldiers recruited by Yuan Shaoxin were also Han civilians, and casualties should be minimized. ”

After Cao Cao was captured, Liu Xin sent people to take over his territory, and with few obstacles, in only two or three days, most of the counties and counties of Xu, Henan, and Yan were already under Liu Xin's rule. In the same way, although Yuan Shao sat on the four northern states with large populations, if even he himself was captured alive, those local officials would have no reason to fight for him and fight to the death.

Whether it is the soldiers of the Yuan army or the soldiers of the Han army, they are all the people of the Han Dynasty. After the reunification of the Three Kingdoms, the population of the country was reduced from 56 million to 26 million, and Sima Yan had to promulgate a policy to encourage the population of Jiangnan to move north. The rapid decline in the population seriously weakened the power of the Han people, so that they were left over by foreigners, and the tragedy of the Wuhu Rebellion occurred later. Since God sent him here, Liu Xin will not let history repeat itself.

After listening to Liu Xin's request, Xu Huang and the others all became solemn, and they had a heated discussion around the sand table and the map, and finally came up with a battle plan at dusk, and the sand table was also filled with red, yellow, and green flags representing the strength of both sides.

The Han army now assembled in Liyang numbered 240,000 men, and another 10,000 men were building positions in the north to prevent Yuan's army from Yecheng moving south. These 250,000 men came from the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 5th regiments, including 10,000 ironclad cavalry, 40,000 light cavalry, and 200,000 infantry. Judging from the strength alone, we know how tragic the battle was some time ago, although the Han army has repeatedly won big victories, but the casualties are also a large number, just to block the battle of Yan Liang and Wuhuan cavalry, the number of dead soldiers reached 40,000, and even the most brave and good Han light cavalry also lost nearly 10,000 people.

According to the news sent back by the fine work lurking in Yecheng, Yecheng originally had 100,000 elite soldiers, stationed in Yecheng and the surrounding Wucheng and other four acropolises. In recent days, young and strong people from Hebei, Youzhou, and Zhuzhou have been incorporated into the army, and the size of the army has expanded dramatically, and Yuan Shao has another 500,000 troops.

The four northern states were originally the richest places in the Han Dynasty, and Yuan Shao's family background was rich enough, and he had the support of some famous families in Hebei.

This is the era of cold weapons, except for crossbowmen and cavalry, the training of ordinary infantry is relatively simple, especially for the army used to defend the city, even if the people have not touched the sword and gun, a little guidance can take on a heavy responsibility. What's more, these people recruited by Yuan Shao were all young and strong students, and the combat effectiveness of 500,000 people should not be underestimated, and it was not easy to defeat them without avoiding heavy casualties.

The result of Xu Huang and the others' deliberations was to first occupy the counties around Yecheng and isolate Yecheng. Although there is a lot of surplus grain in Yecheng City, if it is not replenished from the periphery and sits on the empty mountain, one day it will repeat the mistake of the 300,000 army of Lu Yi. In addition to the 100,000 elites, the rest of the newly recruited Yuan army defending the city was so-so, and letting them go to the field or siege the city was tantamount to suicide. In this way, even if he wakes up one day, there is no way out if he wants to escape to the north.

To the southwest and south of Yecheng are Lin Xi and Dangyin in Hanoi County, respectively, which was the jurisdiction of the Fourth Army and was originally heavily fortified, and Yuan Shao did not have the courage of Cao Cao, and dared to go the opposite way and enter Hanoi. These two directions do not require much attention. Further southeast, Neihuang and Fanyang have also been conquered by the Han army, and it is unlikely that Yuan Shao will escape here.

If Yuan Shao came to his senses, there could only be three directions for him to retreat. Retreat to the west into Shangdang County in Bingzhou, and retreat north into Zhao State or Julu County in Jizhou. In order to block Yuan Shao's retreat and isolate Yecheng, these three directions are the focus.

Xu Huang took the generals to Liu Xin's big tent, presented the agreed battle plan, bowed down and said, "Your Majesty, please take a look." ”

Liu Xin didn't answer, but waved his hand and said, "I won't read the specific content, how to fight you and make your own decisions." However, I would like to warn you. Although Yuan Shao is indecisive, he has a lot of wise and resourceful people, and it is difficult to ensure that no one will see your plans, so I will send you four words, and the soldiers are fast! ”

The Han army camp suddenly became busy, and groups of soldiers drove out of the barracks, spreading their legs and running wildly. Their targets were Wei County to the east of Yecheng, Qiqiu to the northeast, Liang Period and Handan to the north, Wu'an to the northwest, Shexian County to the west, and Lu County to Shangdang County in Bingzhou.

As long as these other counties are taken, it is equivalent to laying a big net around Yecheng, and Yuan Shao will not escape. But the most important thing in this is that, as Liu Xin analyzed, it is necessary to occupy these places before Yuan Shao reacts, otherwise it will be too late when Yuan Shao hears the rumors.

It was precisely because Liu Xin said these four words that Xu Huang gave a death order that he must take these seven county towns before dawn tomorrow. The infantry, which was ordered to capture and hold these county towns, were divided into seven teams of 10,000 men each, and they set out overnight in a race against time. The most difficult task was the two armies responsible for the capture of Liang and Handan, and it was not only that they were difficult to defend and difficult to attack, but that it was difficult for them to reach their destination on time.

The straight-line distance from Liyang to the Liang period and Handan was not the farthest, but if the nearest road was chosen, it would inevitably alarm the defenders of Yecheng and expose the intentions of the Han army, so they could only take a detour, first to Wei County, then to the west, and finally to reach the Liang period through Qiuqiu.

Liang period and Handan are also important towns in the north of Yecheng, especially Handan, which is the capital of the ancient Zhao State, which is most likely to be selected by Yuan Shao as the direction of retreat and must be taken. Xu Huang knew the importance of this place, looked around at the generals, and finally handed it over to Guan Yu and his son.

It was getting dark, but Guan Yu's father and son didn't dare to stay for a moment with the army. They followed the same path as the team that captured Wei County and Qiuqiu, but they set out before the other two teams. Doing so is likely to attract the attention of the defenders of Wei County and Qiqiu, and will add a lot of trouble to the team that captures these two county seats, but there is not much time left for Guan Yu, and he must hurry up and hurry up.

Tonight the sky was overcast, the clouds obscured the moonlight, and the surroundings were pitch black, and the soldiers were groping their way forward in the dark, and the speed gradually slowed down. A lieutenant in front of him walked over and said, "General Qiyu, the black road is slippery, and the sergeants ask to light the torches?" ”

Guan Yu said without hesitation: "No! ”

In the darkness of the night, 20,000 people light the torches together, and in an instant, they will turn into a huge fire dragon, which can be seen clearly from afar. The whereabouts are exposed, and if the intentions of the Han army are revealed and the entire deployment is disrupted, then the matter is big.

The lieutenant hesitated, "General, it's pitch black, and the guide can't tell the path. ”

"In that case...... Guan Yu pondered for a moment, waved his hand and said, "Let the two or three people in the front light the torches, and the other soldiers will follow one by one, so that no one is left behind, and no one is allowed to talk to each other and make unnecessary noises." ”

The presence of a large group of torches in the dark of night naturally caused panic among the local population and the defenders, but only one or two torches did not attract attention, and only regarded them as pedestrians walking at night.

The team moved forward silently, and Guan Yu also stepped forward, and kept asking the guide how far away he was from Liang Qi. This guide is a local businessman in Jizhou, who has traveled south and north all year round and has seen a lot of things. He looked up at the little starlight shining through the clouds, and said worriedly, "If we continue at this rate, we won't be able to catch up with Liang before dawn." ”

Guan Yu couldn't help but get anxious, turned around and ordered: "Order, throw away unnecessary things, everyone only bring one day's dry food, and march at full speed!" ”

At the order, the soldiers did not hesitate at all, and threw away the sundries, some iron pots for cooking, surplus grain and grass, and even materials used to bundle large siege equipment were thrown on the side of the road. The burden on their bodies was lightened, and the speed of the procession increased dramatically. However, it is still dark, and these people who walk in the front can also use the light of the torches, and the people behind can only follow the heels of the people in front.

Ahead of them came a mountain road, and the team walked more difficult. Suddenly, there was a loud "fluttering" sound on the hillside, and the team caused a commotion, and the speed of progress was paused. A soldier ran up from behind and whispered: "General Qiyu, there is a brother who accidentally fell off the cliff, please show the general!" ”

Guan Ping frowned and said, "Why are you so careless, you can't catch up with the Liang period at dawn, everyone has to lead the army." Leave him alone, everyone move on! ”

Their mother and son have been abandoned at home by Guan Yu since they were young, although they were reunited with the help of Liu Xin after several twists and turns, they have developed Guan Ping's indifferent character, and he only has tasks in his eyes, but not too much family affection.

Guan Yu knew that Liu Xin had always loved nurses and soldiers, even if it was the bones of soldiers who died in battle, he had to find ways to help them return to their hometowns, so he couldn't help waving his hand and said: "Leave a few people to go down to find it, and inform everyone that the mountain road is difficult, it doesn't matter if you slow down for the time being, wait until you go down the mountain, let's speed up." ”