After hearing what Yuan Xi said, Ju Shou was a little confused, but Lu Xun on the side seemed to have some understanding.
During this period of time, he had mastered and collected intelligence sent by spies from all sides, and knew far more details than Jushu. He stared at the locations in Yuzhou and found that the places Yuan Xi surrounded were the richest grain-producing areas in Yuzhou. .
His eyes lit up and he said, "What do you mean, the envoy, is there might be something wrong with Yuan Jiujiu's food?"
Yuan Xi smiled and said, "Bo Yan said it well."
"I predict that there will be giant locusts in Yuzhou this year."
Jushou and Lu Xun were shocked when they heard this.
Locust plagues are dangerous and dangerous, with thousands of miles of red land wherever they go. Especially the great locust plague, it can be said that wherever it goes, the grain harvest of that year is ruined.
This is not as simple as starvation. Farmers in the late Han Dynasty, except for powerful people with extensive savings, had no ability and reserves to deal with disasters. The result of no harvest was that they were completely unable to survive.
Therefore, in order to survive, people either left their homes and fled to become refugees, sold their sons and daughters, exchanged their sons for cannibalism, or sold their families as slaves to powerful men.
The chain reaction caused by this is destructive, because these lands are not only the livelihood of farmers, but also the source of food for the military, industrial and commercial people, and the supply of military rations for soldiers.
Now if this chain is broken and the soldiers are short of food, there will be no need to fight, and the soldiers will naturally collapse.
Jushuo and Lu Xun looked at each other, with joy on their faces, and said in unison: "If the young master's prediction is correct, if a locust plague really breaks out in Yuzhou, then the hundreds of thousands of troops that are now in full force..."
Yuan Xi nodded, "Yes, if the military food supply is cut off, I'm afraid Yuan Shu's army, which is at its peak, will collapse without a fight. At least it will be forced to withdraw."
Jushou Lu Xun was shocked. Although they didn't know how Yuan Xi knew the future, judging from past experience, Yuan Xi had indeed made no mistakes in predicting such things.
After Yuan Shu's army became independent in later generations, its momentum was unparalleled. Although it suffered several defeats, it did not suffer any damage. After all, Yuzhou and Yangzhou occupied by Yuan Shu were both prosperous places rich in food. As long as the food supply was ensured, There will be a steady supply of troops.
Therefore, before the locust plague occurred, although Yuan Shu was licentious and exploited the people, at least the people and soldiers under his rule still had a mouthful of food and would not starve to death, so they could still survive.
But when the locust plague comes, everything changes.
Later generations recorded that a locust plague broke out in May of the second year of Jian'an (197). There was a great famine in the world, and people in the Jianghuai River ate each other.
Affected by this, Yuan Shu's rule led to great chaos.
"Wudi Ji" records that when Yuan Shu was in Jiang and Huaihe, he gave it to Pu Shen, and the people ate each other, and the state was depressed.
"The Biography of Yuan Shu" records that Yuan Shu appointed the prefect of Jiujiang as the Yin of Huainan, and set up officials. The northern and southern suburbs of the temple were desolate and extravagant. Hundreds of people in the harem were served with silk ribbons, and the remaining rice and meat were used to kill the soldiers. The Jianghuai area was empty, and the people were eating each other. .
Although Yuan Shu suffered from a locust plague, his life was still luxurious, but he did not wake up in time at this time. This is because there is a lag in the locust plague, and the impact will be delayed until several months later. During this period, the food reserves became more abundant, and the more It's easy to be careless.
But Yuan Shu was like this. He thought that his troops were well-prepared and didn't care. Until the grain depot was empty and the soldiers began to disperse, when he became alert, it was already too late to regret it.
During the same period, Yanzhou, which was adjacent to Yuzhou, was not much better.
"The Biography of Xun Yu" records that in the summer of the second year of Jian'an, when Taizu's army was in Chengshi, there was a great famine and people ate each other.
Yanzhou and Yuzhou were originally brothers in distress who were prone to locust plagues. Now both sides could not support it, and the scale of the war was much smaller. However, when Yuan Shu was defeated in the end, Cao Cao still relied on his territory to be close to Yuan Shu and reaped a lot of benefits.
What Yuan Xi relies on now is that natural disasters that cannot be controlled by human power will still happen like in later generations.
He knew in his mind that the current situation in the world had changed beyond recognition because of his intervention, and his advantage in predicting the future direction was getting smaller and smaller. The only thing left was natural disasters.
But something is better than nothing, and as the strength increases, Yuan Xi will become the target of public criticism, and the road to hegemony will become more difficult. After all, no matter how powerful a person is, he will never be able to fight against a group of people.
Lu Xun said: "In this case, facing Yuan Shu's army that is gaining momentum, we stand still and defend the city waiting for a counterattack. We wait until the opponent's backyard is on fire and then strike with a fatal blow?"
Yuan Xi nodded, "Yes, but we must also be prepared."
"Although Guangling is close to the sea, there are still large areas of inland plains. If the locust plague spreads from Yuzhou, Xuzhou will also suffer heavy losses."
"What Boyan has to do is to prepare the people to harvest grain at any time. If necessary, they have to do it in advance even if the grain is immature. At the same time, Yuan Shu's army and Cao Cao's army are not aware of this, so as not to be wary."
"As for what method to take, it's up to Boyan to think carefully."
Lu Xun quickly agreed, thinking that it was not an easy task to make the other party become careless about the early harvest, and he had to find a way.
However, the competition in the war depends on various factors. If Yuan Shu's army and Cao Cao's army suffer disaster, Yuan Xi's army will have sufficient food. If one goes down, the other will go up, and the battle strength and morale of the two sides will gradually widen.
At that time, as long as the opponent runs out of food and collapses, Yuan Xi's army can launch a large-scale attack and defeat it in one fell swoop. If everything goes well, not only can they recapture Xiapi, but they can also invade Yuan Shu's hometown!
Lu Xun knew that this matter was of great importance, and his expression became serious.
Another half month later, news of fires in granaries came from many places in Guangling, and there were rumors that Guangling's grain reserves had been exhausted. This caused panic among the Guangling defenders in Tangyi, and they were in danger under the attacks of Yuan Shu's army several times.
Chen Deng in Guangling urgently mobilized grain and grass to support Anyi. After Taishi Ci received the grain and grass, he calmed the soldiers in the city and calmed down the morale of the army.
Then there was a massive manhunt in Guangling. After more than a month, several spies who set the fire were caught. After interrogation, their heads were beheaded and hung on the city wall. The destruction of Guangling slowly stopped.
After Chen Deng, Tai Shici and others received the news, they all remembered the civil strife in Qucheng last time. Both of them were worried. It seemed that the forces hostile to Yuan Xi had penetrated so deeply that they could even penetrate into the granary. ?
Cao Cao, who was sitting in Tancheng, also got the news. He smiled at Cheng Yu who was sitting down and said: "Gongda is quite powerful."
Cheng Yu hurriedly said humbly: "This is all to give Jun Guang prestige. It's a pity that those spies were too impatient."
"For the remaining people, Yu has followed the envoy's wishes and issued an order for them to lurk and not to act rashly for the time being."
Cao Cao nodded slightly, "The arson incident went too smoothly this time, so it exposed them instead."
"However, these Taiping Taoist alchemists have completely come to our side because of the murder of Zhang Jiao's daughter by the fierce tiger. It will be much easier in the future."
He then asked doubtfully: "I heard that the fierce tiger captured Zhang Jiao's daughter and brought her to Youzhou, and then her whereabouts were unknown. Did he really kill her?"
"If not..."
Cheng Yu hurriedly smiled and said: "According to Yang Feng's temper, he is absolutely unwilling to surrender to the fierce tiger."
"And now that the news has been released, the whole world of Taiping Dao regards Yuan Xi as their mortal enemy. In a few years, we will have complete control of Taiping Dao. Whether he is dead or not in the end, it will not matter to the overall situation."
Cao Cao nodded slightly, but Xun You on the side hesitated to speak. Finally, seeing Cao Cao and Cheng Yu talking happily, he swallowed his words.
He originally wanted to remind Cheng Yu that he always felt a little weird about the spy burning food this time, and he always felt that it was done a little deliberately.
But this is just a feeling. Xun You himself has no evidence, but ignores the news that Anyi was unstable due to lack of food and almost fell. If Guangling used a trick, would he put his city in such a dangerous situation?
Isn’t this price too high?
Are you afraid that you are overthinking it?
Moreover, Cheng Yu was directly responsible for the Taiping Dao spies. If he questioned him, he would appear to be seeking power and gain, and Cao Cao would not like him.
Among Cao Cao's advisers, except for Cheng Yu, the Yingchuan faction has completely occupied a dominant position. However, after the death of Xi Zhicai, Cheng Yu was the oldest. If Xun You expressed doubts about Cheng Yu, he would probably be suspected and attack dissidents.
Xun You thought about it again and again, and finally decided that there was no need to mention it again. It didn't seem to be a big deal anyway. The current battle situation in Xuzhou is still based on the competition for the two key cities of Xiapi and Pengcheng.
As long as they defend the two cities, Yuan Shu's army will be defeated sooner or later. The only one who needs to be on guard is Yuan Xi's army, which has already been torn apart.
Cao Cao and his advisers have yet to decide how to deal with this force. During the Battle of Haixi, everyone found that they still underestimated the determination of Yuan Xi, a ferocious tiger.
So many people on both sides could not have died!
After this battle, both sides were seriously injured and fell into an extremely embarrassing situation. The relationship was broken down and turned into a fire and water.
Moreover, the surprise attack on Xuzhou was obviously Cao Cao's breach of trust first, so even if the Han court came to mediate with an edict, there was no response from Yuan Xi.
Cao Cao received news that officials led by Kong Rong of the Han Dynasty impeached Cao Cao. Although Liu Xie suppressed it, it still had a very bad impact on the government and the opposition.
Cao Cao is currently tired of dealing with Yuan Shu, and he is secretly angry in his heart. Once he eats Yuan Shu, he will give a bloody lesson to the naysaying ministers in the Han court!
Including Yuan Xi, Cao Cao promised to make peace with Yuan Xi on the surface, but in his heart he wanted to kill him and then be quick.
This kind of threatening person must not be allowed to stay!
Compared with Yuan Xi's extermination, Cao Cao deliberately made friends with Yuan Tan and Yuan Shang in private, and gave and promised a lot of benefits in private, and his efforts were finally rewarded. It is unknown what Yuan Shang did in Yecheng, and Yuan Shao's Cao Cao and Yuan Xi were not held accountable for the conflict.
Perhaps considering his friendship with Cao Cao, and perhaps feeling that Cao Cao could still use him, Yuan Shao finally rejected Yuan Xi's proposal to attack Cao Cao.
After Cao Cao learned about it, he secretly wiped his sweat. He felt more and more that the fierce tiger was too dangerous. It seemed that every move hit his weak point. If Yuan Shao was slightly biased towards Yuan Xi, he would be in big trouble!
The most urgent task is to try our best to capture Yuan Shu before falling out with Yuan Shao!
At this time, Yang Feng led the horse and walked slowly in Ren City of Yanzhou. After she left Haixi, she went all the way west, first entering Taishan County and then Jibei Kingdom.
(End of chapter)
