Ji Ling saw that the generals were arguing, so he turned to Li Ye and said, "Sir, what do you have in mind?"
Li Ye heard the words and said: "I would like to ask the generals first, whether they can defeat Zhao Yun?"
The generals who had been arguing in confusion suddenly fell into silence. Everyone looked at each other and no one dared to answer.
After a while, Qin Yi said solemnly: "If all of us present come together, we should be more than half sure."
"But the price paid may be half of the people's lives."
"After all, although he is only one person, he is surrounded by elite soldiers and generals. It is difficult for us to break into the circle."
Everyone looked embarrassed. They had fought with Zhao Yun before and knew that Zhao Yun's previous moves were powerful, but even so they could not resist. The first general to strike was killed and one was injured. After that, no one dared to make the first move.
Qin Yi added: "The key is that there is Tai Shi Ci on the opposite side. This man's archery skills are extremely accurate. If the two of them cooperate, our chances of winning are extremely low."
In the past month, Yuan Shu's army and Yuan Xi's army have fought several times, and they have been cast into shadow.
Although Yuan Shu's army was outnumbered and had many generals, they set up a stronghold on the Huaihe River. The navy, infantry and cavalry cooperated skillfully to block Yuan Shu's army, preventing them from advancing even an inch.
Yuan Shu's army attacked many times, but the formation on the Huaihe River was difficult to deploy. Zhao Yun led hundreds of fine cavalry to charge into the formation in turns. When the cavalry were tired, they returned to the stronghold to replace another group. They did not rest all day. The Youzhou cavalry had excellent armor and soldiers, and Yuan Shu was defeated. The army's attack was in a state of disarray.
In addition, Taishi Ci was an expert in archery and cooperated with Zhao Yun in killing and wounding many people. Yuan Shu's army was trapped in a quagmire. Tens of thousands of troops were led around by their noses. After a month, their morale became increasingly low.
Ji Ling's face was also extremely ugly. As a general, he was afraid of Zhao Yun's reputation. He was timid before fighting and did not have the courage to go out and challenge Zhao Yun in a duel. He also had a lot of responsibility.
Although Ji Ling thought he was brave, the famous Liangzhou warrior Li Jue was picked by Zhao Yun. Ji Ling thought he could not compare with Li Jue, let alone the opponent Taishi Ci who was extremely accurate in archery to help him!
He remembered that a few days ago, he heard in the court that Zhang Xunqiao Rui was defeated by Yuan Xijun in Huaicheng. He even laughed at the two generals, but only when he faced Yuan Xijun did he realize how difficult the opponent was!
Li Ye looked at everyone's expressions, shook his head slightly, and said, "Since we can't win, there is no point in staying here."
"Besides, even if we count the military rations, they can only last for more than ten days. Unless a major change occurs, we will not have the energy to continue to march even if we can repel the Xuzhou Army."
Everyone knew that Li Ye was telling the truth, and their faces were a little ugly, because if they withdraw their troops and return to Shouchun, they will definitely be punished by Yuan Shu.
Li Ye saw this and said: "Now we can either continue to attack Guangling or go west to support Xiapi. Anyway, there is no way to explain the withdrawal."
"If we return to the army before we have accomplished anything, I'm afraid what awaits us is military law."
Everyone listened and nodded in agreement.
Chen Ji spoke up: "We changed the target without authorization. Even if we win, we will be punished when we go back, right?"
Li Ye sneered and said: "General Chen, when we were frustrated in our attack on Tangyi, we already disrespected military orders."
The generals looked bitter. Who knew that Yuan Xi had trained a very powerful navy!
Under the leadership of Tai Shici, this naval force was at home in Guangling, a densely populated water network. They marched quickly and often appeared in unexpected places. They did not fight Yuan Shu's army head-on, but mainly harassed them and ran away after taking advantage.
Under his constant harassment, Yuan Shu's army was attacked from both sides in Tangyi and was in a dilemma. Only then was he forced to go north and take a detour. He wanted to open the opening in another direction, but he did not expect that Zhao Yun had already cut off the route.
After this month of consumption, Yuan Shu's army wasted a lot of military rations, but did not even capture a big city. He could only plunder some villages and towns along the way. However, the villagers inside had already moved away in advance, and all the immature grains had been harvested. Yuan Shujun did not gain anything at all.
Li Ye said: "Now we need to make meritorious deeds so that we won't be accused when we go back. Xiapi is an excellent opportunity."
"I heard that Lei Bo and Chen Lan led the army to attack Tancheng but were frustrated and have not yet captured it. I'm afraid they are also in a dilemma."
"But Cao's army on the other side of Tancheng must also have suffered heavy losses."
"Now we should move west immediately, join Lei Bo and Chen Lan's army, and capture Tancheng in one fell swoop to make up for our mistakes."
After everyone heard this, they all agreed. Qin Yi said worriedly: "General, I have two more questions. Let's not talk about whether Lei Bo and Chen Lan will answer or not. If Zhao Yunjun from Guangling takes the opportunity to attack our retreat. what to do?"
Li Ye nodded and said, "General Qin said it well."
"Lei Bo and Chen Lan will definitely not refuse the first question, because the military order they received was originally to attack Tan City. When the time comes, they will be the first to conquer the city. They should know this."
"The second question is indeed a bit risky, but according to my thinking, Xuzhou Army will not help Cao Army."
"The two sides fought a fierce battle before. It is said that both sides suffered heavy casualties. If not, our recent battles might have been more difficult."
When the generals heard this, they were even more embarrassed. They had heard that Fierce Tiger had become very famous in recent years, but when they attacked Guangling, they were still unconvinced. They thought that it would not be possible to defeat so many people without relying on the Yuan family. A beautiful record?
It's no wonder they don't believe it, because since Yuan Xi became famous, most of the battles he has experienced since he became famous, except for the attack on Beixin City against the Black Mountain Army, were mostly with the Jizhou Army.
Since the Jizhou army defeated the Baima Yicong, they have been praised as the strongest army in the world. Since Yuan Shao moved into Jizhou, the Jizhou army has almost never suffered a defeat.
When the two Yuans fought, Yuan Shu's army was most afraid of the Jizhou Army. As for Yuan Xi's Youzhou Army and Xuzhou Army, many of their victories were not publicized, so many generals of Yuan Shu's army felt that Yuan Xi was following the Jizhou Army. Picked up at the back.
Moreover, they have tens of thousands of soldiers and horses, and the opponent only has thousands of soldiers. How strong can they be?
Yuan Shujun, who had this idea in his mind, was quickly stunned by a blow to the head.
They set off from Jiujiang County and attacked Tangyi adjacent to Guangling in Jiujiang. They were really aggressive at first. Although the Xuzhou soldiers in the city were prepared for it, the situation was still precarious.
At this time, Chen Deng personally led troops to assist, and advanced by land and water with Taishi Ci to block Yuan Shu's army.
Chen Deng was good at defending the city and had defeated Sun Ce's army twice, so he was able to deal with Yuan Shu's army with ease. With the cooperation of Tai Shici, Yuan Shu's army could not attack for a long time and suffered serious losses, so he had to bypass Tangyi and go north. .
But at this time, they still felt that the opponent had the advantage of the geographical advantage, and relied on Tangyi's fortified city and navy to defeat the greater number with less. In this case, they would attack from the land route and go straight into the hinterland of Guangling!
But sadly, they were blocked by Zhao Yun at the border of Guangling and experienced the power of Youzhou Jingqi.
The main force of Yuan Shu's army is the Yuzhou soldiers. Yuzhou lacks war horses, so the Yuzhou soldiers also lack experience in fighting cavalry. The Youzhou cavalry has followed Yuan Xi in dozens of battles in recent years and is simply not something Yuan Shu's army can resist.
However, what is even more tragic is that Taishi Ci led the navy from the Han River to the north, entered the Huai River, and then headed west all the way to the back of Yuan Shu's army.
Youzhou soldiers fought on land and Xuzhou soldiers fought on water. This was almost the most specialized combination of arms in the world. At the same time, they relied on their rich combat experience and huge gap in weapons and equipment to defeat Yuan Shu's army.
Yuan Shu's army was not good at fighting tough battles. After several battles, many people escaped secretly. Over the past month, Ji Ling counted the losses and found that nearly 10,000 soldiers had been injured and escaped!
In addition, for some reason from Yuzhou, the food shipped over was getting less and less, and the soldiers' rations were tight. Therefore, Ji Ling couldn't hold on any longer, so he had to call everyone to discuss a way out.
Now, after Li Ye's words, he finally made up his mind, stood up and said: "The whole army will go west, stay behind, join Lei Bo and Chen Lan, and attack Tancheng!"
In Haixi City, Lu Xun looked at the information sent, stood up and said with a smile: "This plan to divert trouble to the west has finally come true!"
Jushuo said from the side: "You have to be strong to make iron. If the two generals Zilong and Ziyi hadn't resisted Yuan Shu's army, I'm afraid the disaster would be directed towards us."
Lu Xun picked up another secret report and said, "There is also news from Yuzhou that there are indeed signs of a locust plague."
"Calculating this, in half a month, the locust plague will take shape in Yanzhou, Yuzhou. By then, in Xuzhou, only our side can guarantee the food supply."
"At that time, we can wait for the opportunity to plot against Cao Cao's army and Yuan Shu's army together!"
Jushou reminded: "There are still two parties, Sun Ce and Yuan Tan, whose attitudes are unclear, so we must be on guard."
"The situation in Xuzhou is complicated. The temporary alliance may suddenly break down due to huge temptations, and former friends will become enemies in the blink of an eye."
Lu Xun quickly bowed and said, "Sir, what you said is that this disciple has learned the lesson."
"But if these two parties really attack us at the same time, I'm afraid our side won't be able to resist it, right?"
Jushou nodded and said, "This is the time for us, as counselors, to make suggestions for our lord."
"You have to think carefully about how to prevent them from taking action or even being used by us."
After hearing this, Lu Xun became thoughtful.
The next day, Yuan Xi got the information compiled by Lu Xun all night. He saw Lu Xun holding more than a dozen bamboo slips, his eyes were red, his steps were sloppy, and he sighed: "Bo Yan has worked hard, but he still puts his body first."
"Next time it's not a military emergency, it's better not to stay up late."
Lu Xun said: "Because I can't judge, I came to report to the envoy."
"It would be a shameful mistake to miss something crucial."
After hearing this, Yuan Xi nodded and said, "Okay, I'll watch first, and you go back and rest first. If anything happens, I'll come back to you."
Lu Xun also felt extremely sleepy, so he said goodbye and went back to rest.
Yuan Xi opened the bamboo slips one by one and found that Lu Xun had organized the current situation in Xuzhou and the possible movements of all parties in order. He thought that he had really found a treasure.
He read it for half an hour before finishing it. According to the speculation in his mind, he would have to wait about a month before the locust plague would reach its peak and Yanzhou and Yuzhou would start to run out of food.
Before that, all you need to do is make adequate preparations and wait patiently.
There was a sound of footsteps, and Mrs. Du came in with a tea tray. Seeing that Yuan Xi was the only one in the room, she couldn't help but be startled, "Madam isn't here?"
Yuan Xi smiled and said: "She thought reading was too boring, so she went to the city to relax."
Mrs. Du became a little panicked when she heard this. She quickly put down the tea tray and was about to turn around and leave, but she heard Yuan Xi laughing and saying, "Are you so afraid of me?"
"Come and have a conversation with me?"
Mrs. Du almost tripped over the threshold. She held on to the door frame and turned to look at Yuan Xi with an extremely troubled expression.
(End of chapter)
