In early March, Kansai Hongnong Castle.

On the Hongnong ferry, cars and horses gathered, and the flow of people was like a tide. The river is full of boats.

Yue Fei stood on the city embrace, pointed to the bustling ferry in the distance, turned around and asked, "Gongda, can you transport all the supplies today?" ”

Xun You stood behind him and replied with great certainty: "It's totally possible." Mi Zhu, who was sent by the lord to buy grain in the southern counties, has returned smoothly. Because there were too many counties and counties that were hit by the war last year, everyone went to the south to buy grain, so the price of grain in the south rose again and again. The price of food had risen, the money had run out, and there was no food to buy, so they had to come back early. ”

Then he smiled and said: "If it weren't for the opening of the Yellow River ahead of schedule, and the boats from the east of the river rushed to help, we wouldn't be able to get up quickly." ”

Yue Fei looked up at the clear blue sky, nodded with a smile, and said, "After the Yellow River opened, the wind and waves were strong, and the bridge was immediately withdrawn, and I was very anxious at that time. ”

"Ushisuke has been attacking since late February. He attacked very fiercely, and we blindly defended it, and the casualties were too great. I have to withdraw the army, but I also have to make sure that the gallop between Northern Xinjiang and Luoyang is unimpeded, so it will be difficult for me. Yue Fei walked along the city wall, and said as he walked, "Thanks to the help of Hedong this time, otherwise, in a short period of time, how could there be so many boats and people rushing to Hongnong to help?" ”

After continuous wars, Henan Yin, which originally had a population of more than one million, is now rare and like a deserted place, not to mention Hongnong County, which has a small population. The population of Hongnong County was about 500,000 at its peak, and now after continuous wars, the population is less than 100,000. With such a situation, it is impossible to recruit people.

Xun You followed behind him and said leisurely, "We should also thank Yuan Shu." These grains and materials were able to enter northern Xinjiang smoothly, and Yuan Shu also contributed to it. In the winter and spring of this year, Sun Ben and Liu Xun led their troops to defeat the Yellow Turban Army He Yi and Liu Pi in succession in the area of Chen and Runan, thus ensuring the smooth passage of the Chi Road in Yuzhou. ”

"Yuan Shu is mainly for himself." Yue Fei said, "He fell out with Liu Biao and couldn't buy grain from the south of Jingzhou, so he had to go to Yuzhou and Yangzhou to buy it." What I'm worried about now is Yuan Shu, and I don't know when he and Liu Biao will go to war. ”

Xun You smiled and said, "Pengju seems to be in a hurry." I estimate that before April, Yuan Shu will definitely have to do it. Of course, the premise is that Yuzhou must be handed over to him completely. ”

"I not only want to give him Yuzhou, I even want Luoyang to him." Yue Fei touched his short beard and stopped, "Gongda, look, is it possible to let Wen Chang go back to Luoyang now?" ”

"I also think Wei Yan should come back." Xun You looked at the busy boats on the river, and his face showed a trace of worry, "It's just that I'm worried that Sun Ben can't hold Yang Zhai, and Yuan Shu can't beat Liu Biao, so it's ......."

"The Yuan brothers shook hands and made peace?" Yue Fei smiled, "No." As long as I give Luoyang to Yuan Shu, his two brothers will definitely fight. ”

Yue Fei turned to look at the turbulent Yellow River, letting the battle flag fluttering in the wind lap his cheek.

"Tomorrow, we will leave here, and by then, the boats on the river will be gone, the ferry will be deserted, and the northern Xinjiang will lose contact with us."

"Pengju really doesn't send reinforcements back?" Xun You asked in a low voice.

"Duan Xuan's attack on Hedong is purely a containment attack, and he will not go all out, and he will definitely be able to defend it in the spring." Yue Fei said very confidently, "I have limited troops on my hands, so I won't come back to help." As for the army in Hedong, it must be used to temper it well, so that it can be replenished as soon as the army retreats to northern Xinjiang. I have written to Chang Yuchun and asked him to recruit 20,000 to 30,000 Tuntian soldiers from Bingzhou as much as possible to participate in the great battle in the area of Pubanjin. At the end of February, I was in a hurry to play the eldest princess and the imperial court, and it is estimated that Chang Yuchun has received the holy decree at this moment. ”

At this time, Yue Fei's personal guards hurriedly came and reported: "General, General Pingyu's flying pigeon has passed the book." ”

"What's the urgency of Yide?" Yue Fei looked at the guards and asked casually. After years of working together, Zhang Fei and Yue Fei are no longer as ready to do as soon as they meet, otherwise, Li Yi would not dare to leave the two in Kanto at the same time this time. However, the relationship between the two is far from friendly, that is, an ordinary colleague relationship.

"According to the general's order, General Yide has arrived at Michi on time." The guards replied respectfully, "General Yide wants to ask when the army will rush to the front line of the Candlewater River. ”

When Yue Fei heard this, he smiled slightly, and said, "Go back to Yide, let him immediately go to Kunshan Mountain to ambush." ”

………………

Late at night, Hongnong camp.

A troop of iron horsemen rushed out of the darkness and galloped into the camp, the thunderous sound of iron hooves shattering the silence of the night in an instant.

Huang Zhong, Li Zhong and Li Yi strode into the big tent of the Chinese army. Yue Fei and Xun You stood up to greet each other.

"Is the Xiliang Army attacking fiercely today?" Yue Fei asked the three of them to sit down with a smile, "How about the casualties of the army?" ”

"It's still like that, once a day. Niu Fu didn't seem to be in a hurry to attack, he probably waited for us to withdraw across the Yellow River before attacking Kanto. Huang Zhong said, "The casualties of the various units are not large, but because we have not been able to replenish the troops, the shortage of personnel in the various departments is becoming more and more serious." Now the two armies together have only about 21,000 men, and there is a shortage of nearly 3,000 men. Pengju, when will the reinforcements from Hedong cross the river to help? ”

Yue Fei smiled without saying a word, stretched out his hand and spread out the map on the desk. Xun You instructed the guards to get some food. The three generals and their guards were about to rush back to the front line of the Candlewater River, and they had to be fed before leaving.

At this time, Xun You heard Huang Zhong's words, and immediately said with a smile: "We have no reinforcements. Now the lord and 100,000 troops are fighting in Jizhou, Chang Yuchun and Yu Ban are fighting in Pubanjin, Hedong, and we still have tens of thousands of troops here fighting against the Xiliang army, and the money and food in northern Xinjiang are limited, so they cannot support three battlefields at the same time. Therefore, Pengju has already played the eldest princess and the imperial court, and it is recommended not to send reinforcements to Guanxi again. On the Kansai battlefield, it's just us. ”

Huang Zhong, Li Zhong and Li Yi were quite surprised.

Li Zhong immediately said to Yue Fei: "Pengju, we only have more than 21,000 people, and there are 60,000 Xiliang troops on the opposite side. How will this battle be fought? Return to Luoyang? ”

"Yes, withdraw immediately." Yue Fei's calm and powerful voice made Huang Zhong and the three of them stunned.

"Not only do we have to withdraw, but we also have to inflict heavy losses on the Xiliang Army and suppress the Xiliang Army in Guanxi." Xun You said with a smile, "Pengju has already set a plan to annihilate the enemy. ”

Xun You carefully explained the strategy he had reached with Yue Fei.

"After burning the grain and grass of the Western Liang Army, the Western Liang Army was unable to attack Kanto, so it could only retreat to Guanxi." Xun You pointed to Hangu Pass on the map and said, "Then our Northern Xinjiang Army is stationed in Hangu Pass, to the east we can take care of Luoyang, and to the west we can attack Guanxi." In this way, although our Northern Xinjiang Army is fighting in two battlefields at the same time, because we have taken the initiative in the Kansai Battlefield, the critical situation in Northern Xinjiang will be greatly improved. ”

Huang Zhong thought for a moment and raised an objection. He said: "Before leaving Luoyang, the lord said that as long as we ensure that all the grain and materials purchased from the south are transported to the northern Xinjiang, and that there is enough grain and grass on the battlefield in Jizhou to last until May, we can withdraw from Luoyang, so as to avoid the dilemma of two-front warfare in the northern Xinjiang." ”

"The current situation is that we can completely withdraw from the Kansai battlefield, why continue to fight the Xiliang Army? Abandoning Kansai and garrisoning Hangu Pass, the army lost contact with northern Xinjiang. So how to solve the burden of our grain and grass? Do you rely on Yuan Shu? Huang Zhong shook his head again and again, "The battlefield in Jizhou has begun, Yuan Shao will be driven out of Jizhou by the lord at any time, and after the states and counties get the news, they will immediately blockade the eastern part of the country." Even if Yuan Shu is willing to continue to provide us with food and grass, once he starts a war with Liu Biao, how can he help us? ”

Yue Fei nodded and said, "What Han Sheng said makes sense. ”

Then he looked at Xun You and said, "Gongda, you explain to the three generals." The situation in Gyeonggi in the coming months will be directly related to the great cause of saving the community. There are some things that must be made clear. ”

"From the perspective of Northern Xinjiang itself, in order to avoid the Northern Xinjiang Army falling into the dilemma of fighting on two fronts, we should indeed withdraw from Kansai immediately." Xun You said, "But from the perspective of saving the community, we can't withdraw from Kansai at the moment. The current status quo is that there is a dispute between Yuan Shu and Liu Biao in Jingzhou, a dispute between Yuan Shu, Sun Ben and Yuan Shao in Yuzhou, an increasingly fierce scourge of the Yellow Turban Army in Yanzhou, and a tripartite war between the Northern Xinjiang Army, Yuan Shao and Gongsun Zan in Jizhou, and the situation is far worse than in the early years of Zhongping. ”

"The Northern Xinjiang Army is now withdrawing from Guanxi, and the Western Liang Army will drive straight into Guandong and successfully occupy Guandong and Luoyang, and Dong Zhuo will immediately lead the army to attack Jing, Henan, Yan, Hebei and other surrounding prefectures and counties. At this time, whether it was Yuan Shao, Yuan Shu, or various prefectures and counties, after more than two years of repeated wars, their strength was greatly weakened. On the contrary, Dong Zhuo's strength has been restored to a certain extent because of his retreat to Guanzhong. ”

"Once Dong Zhuo is based on the relevant Zhongdong, Kwantung and Jing, Henan, Yan and other prefectures and counties, his strength has increased dramatically, and at this time it is not just a question of the destruction of the lives of the people in the smoke, but a question of whether the northern Xinjiang can eliminate him in the future, so the Kwantung cannot be given to Dong Zhuo. Kanto can't give it to Dong Zhuo, and we ourselves don't want to fall into this place of four wars, so Kanto can only give it to Yuan Shao or Yuan Shu. But the premise is that no matter which one we give to, they must be able to hold the Kanto. Therefore, when we withdraw from Kansai and give up Luoyang, it depends on the timing. ”

"If Sheji wants to be saved, Northern Xinjiang must be strong, and Northern Xinjiang must be strong, and it is far from enough to rely only on Jizhou's taxes and the strength of the Northern Xinjiang Army, and we must also do everything possible to weaken the strength of the opponent. If you can let Dong Zhuo, Yuan Shao, Yuan Shu and the forces of various states and counties contain each other in the Kanto, and even fight, of course, it is the best and most labor-saving way. (To be continued.) )