After returning to the base camp, Yuan Xi did not immediately return to his tent but went directly to see Yuan Shao.
Yuan Shao was not surprised at all by Yuan Xi's arrival. He had been waiting for Yuan Xi's arrival.
The guard outside the tent let Yuan Xi in without any obstruction. It was obvious that Yuan Shao had greeted them.
"Father." Entering the big tent, Yuan Xi hurriedly came forward and paid his respects.
"Get up." Yuan Shao looked good, and it was obvious that Yuan Xi's arrival had slightly relieved his gloomy mood over the past few days.
"There are no outsiders in the tent. It's just you and me, father and son. There's no need to engage in false etiquette." Yuan Shao added.
Yuan Xi nodded when he heard this. As an ancient person with the soul of a modern person in the 21st century, he really didn't like the ancient etiquette and etiquette.
"Have you been out?" Yuan Shao asked Qingsheng, asking questions at any time, but his expression did not show any doubts, but showed a hint of affirmation.
"Yes, Father, my son went to observe the terrain." Emperor Taizong Li Shimin also surveyed the enemy camp with Yuchi Gong, and he took Xu Chu to do some reconnaissance, and also handed over to the secret guard sent by Zhang Hong. intelligence.
Yuan Xi didn't take it seriously when he heard this. Yuan Shao had an intelligence team in his hands. It was not difficult to find out his whereabouts. What's more, he had no intention of covering up at all. More than a dozen people came out of the camp on horseback. Yuan Shao wanted to know. You can find out by asking any of the soldiers guarding the camp gate.
"Tell me what you think."
"It's difficult, but it's winnable," Yuan Xi said, "Our army has to work hard if we want to win this battle."
"Father knows." Yuan Shao looked indifferent and didn't seem to be surprised at all by what Yuan Xi said.
"Our army only needs to fight a few small-scale battles in this battle. There is no need to lose or win. Gongsun Zan will naturally retreat."
"Why?" Yuan Xi frowned slightly.
"You, although you have made rapid progress in the past few years, you are still a bit immature." After saying this, Yuan Shao smiled calmly and said: "This is a secret agreement between my father and Cao Mengde."
"Cao Cao?"
Yuan Xi's expression changed, as if he had caught something, and thoughts slowly came to his mind.
"Although Gongsun Zan is strong, it is only a temporary illness. As long as we slow down in this battle, it will be easy to destroy him. On the contrary, my father is a little worried about the alliance formed by Yuan Shu, Tao Qian, and Gongsun Zan, so he made a secret agreement with Cao Cao , let’s contain Gongsun Zan and capture Youji and Hebei states, and Cao Cao can also take the opportunity to conquer all parts of Henan with peace of mind. If the two places go to war, they will not interfere with each other and support each other when necessary." Yuan Shao said slowly.
Yuan Xi was shocked when he heard this. What shocked him was not the secret agreement between Yuan Shao and Cao Cao, but the essence behind the incident. In Yuan Xi's view, the alliance between Yuan Shao and Cao Cao was already a sign of the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty. The first battle in which the feudal lords from all over the world became increasingly competing for territory.
From then on, the entire land of China will fall into endless wars, and the last fig leaf of the Eastern Han Dynasty will be completely lifted. From then on, there will be a bloody era of heroes and lords, and also the birth of generals, commanders, and proud sons. era, and he will be one of them. His heart is trembling slightly. It is excitement and expectation. He is looking forward to that day.
After slowly fading away the excitement that surged into his heart, Yuan Xi thought for a moment and then said: "But, father, we have to guard against Cao Cao. From a child's point of view, Cao Cao is different from Gongsun Zan and others. He has a heroic appearance." , even Xu Shao, who is known for his knowledge of people, once declared that he is a "capable minister in governing the world and a hero in troubled times." According to my child, this person may be my Yuan family's biggest enemy in the future."
When Yuan Shao heard this, his deep eyes froze on Yuan Xi, and after a moment he said in an incomprehensible tone: "My father knows that he has already seen Cao Cao's ambitions since he attacked Dong Zhuo last year."
"Then you," Yuan Xi was confused: "Why did you still fund him with a batch of food, weapons and armor back then?"
After the failure to conquer Dong, the allied forces annexed each other, and Cao's army suffered heavy losses. If it weren't for Yuan Shao's gift of a batch of grain, grass and baggage, it would have been impossible to make a comeback easily. Yuan Xi was also responsible for that matter. Although he was a little confused about Yuan Shao's intentions, he finally decided. The food, grass and baggage were gathered and sent over.
Hearing this, Yuan Shao sighed softly and said: "Because my father owes him a huge favor. What many people don't know is that when my father was young, he was almost killed by an adulterer. If Cao Mengde hadn't sacrificed his life to save him, he would have been saved." He has already fallen, and it is precisely because of this that even though my father has been aware of his ambitions for many years, he still allowed it to develop without interfering with it and even funded Yu Zheng."
When Yuan Xi heard this, he suddenly realized that all of this made sense. According to his understanding of Yuan Shao, he was not as stupid and incompetent as described. On the contrary, after many years of getting along with each other, Yuan Xi, as Yuan Shao's son, could understand better. Seeing everything that outsiders cannot see, how could the leader who can control such a huge power of the Yuan family be as stupid as described.
But there is one thing. Yuan Shao is a man who values friendship but it is true. After all, he still lacks a little ambition and lost the opportunity when it was time to take action. Perhaps this is the reason why Yuan Shao lost to Cao Cao in history.
"Father, as the saying goes, a father's debt is repaid. The life you owe Cao Cao will naturally be paid off on the battlefield in the future. However, there is one thing I need you to promise me. Don't feel guilty anymore. Should I take action? If we want to take action, I believe you can see that the world is about to be in chaos, if our Yuan family wants to make great progress, we cannot make any more mistakes." Yuan Xi looked directly at Yuan Shao and said.
When Yuan Shao heard this, he was silent and had a complicated expression. The short beard on his lips moved slightly, but he said nothing.
Yuan Xi was silent when he saw this. Cao Cao had been with Yuan Shao throughout his childhood. As Yuan Shao's son, he was well aware of Yuan Shao's hardship before he came to power, and his status in the Yuan family was not significant.
In the final analysis, it was due to his status as a concubine. His mother died early, his nominal father also passed away early, and his biological father could not be recognized and could only be referred to as uncle. All kinds of unfortunate events made Yuan Shao's life in his early years no better than that of the Yuan family. How much stronger are ordinary tribesmen?
When Yuan Shao was at his lowest, only Cao Cao encouraged him and accompanied him to play in the streets of Luoyang. But what outsiders didn't know was that Cao Cao was vaguely involved in the several drastic changes in Yuan Shao's seizure of power in the Yuan family. Cao Cao His kindness to Yuan Shao was not only a life-saving grace, but also a kindness to rebuild his life.
Without these kindnesses, Yuan Shao's power in history would not have given Cao Cao a chance. There was such a disparity in strength. As long as Yuan Shao made up his mind to eradicate Cao Cao, it would not be as simple as destroying the dead.
After all, it was Yuan Shao who was so sentimental that he failed to be ruthless enough to kill Cao Cao before he became a major figure. As a result, he dragged Cao Cao to Guandu and died after a defeat.
The candlelight in the sleeping tent was lit all night long. The father and son had a heart-to-heart talk for the first time in the past sixteen years. No one disturbed them. There were broken words in the tent. No one knew what the father and son talked about.
"Father, I'll retreat first." Yuan Xi said with his hands in hand.
"Go," Yuan Shao waved his hand and said, with a trace of fatigue exuding from the corners of his brows.
Yuan Xi nodded, stood up and was about to lift the tent and leave, but Yuan Shao's words behind him made him pause slightly.
"Xianyi, the secret guard is pretty good."
At night, Yuan Shaojun camped.
Gongsun Zan had already written a letter of war and agreed to a decisive battle the next day. When the war was about to break out, Yuan Shao summoned a group of civil and military followers to discuss and arrange the details of the battle.
This time he brought four counselors, Tian Feng, Jushou, Shenpei, and Guo Tu, and generals including Zhang Tai, Gao Lan, Han Meng, Yan Liang, Wen Chou, Ju Yi, Zhang Liao, etc.
Tian Feng analyzed: "Most of Gongsun Zan's troops are cavalry, so our army's strategies such as rushing to attack food roads and surprise enemy rear areas are of no avail. Now we can only fight with strength. Fortunately, our army has sufficient food and is fighting in Jizhou itself. This is the strength of our army." . On the other hand, Gongsun Zan, relying on his bravery and arrogance, must despise our army. We can show the enemy's weakness and defeat him with a quick thunder strike while he is careless."
Jushou also agreed: "My lord has previously ordered all places to fortify their walls and defend themselves. Gongsun Zan has come to fight from afar. As time goes by, there will be a shortage of food and grass. Liu Yu, the shepherd of Youzhou, has always had a gap with him, so he will not help him. So I Even if the army fights head-on, Gongsun Zan will be in an invincible position if he cannot defeat him."
After hearing this, Yuan Shao finally felt a little confident, and asked: "Gongsun Zan's cavalry is brave, and his reputation has spread far and near. I heard that the 'White Horse Yi Cong' under his command are elites who even Hu cavalry fled. I don't know how to deploy and deal with it?"
"General Ju Yi has been in Liangzhou for a long time. He is familiar with Qiang fighting, and his soldiers are all sharp. We should ask him how to defeat the cavalry." Shen Pei said.
Under the eyes of everyone, Ju Yi stepped out and cupped his hands and said: "I expect Gongsun Zan to set up a formation with the infantry in the center and the cavalry on the two wings. Our army's formation can be narrow and long, with the infantry in the front and the cavalry behind to hide, so But Gongsun Zan thought that we had fewer troops, so our army would induce Gongsun Zan's cavalry to separate from the infantry and fight alone, while our army would set up more shields and powerful crossbows in the front infantry formation, and then thousands of crossbows would be fired in unison to slow down the impact of their cavalry."
Looking at the people who couldn't help but nod, Ju Yi had a look on his face and continued: "I will lead my headquarters to 'first ascend the camp' to strangle Gongsun Zan's cavalry. Our ambushing rear army will quickly penetrate Gongsun Zan's infantry, so that they can be killed." Rout."
Jushou went on to say, "When I was inspecting the terrain a few days ago, I found a forest south of the boundary bridge, which is just the right place to ambush the following troops."
In the era of cold weapons, crossbows were a weapon used by infantry to restrain cavalry, and Qu Yi's arrangement was also very appropriate. So after discussing some details, Yuan Shao ordered all ministries to prepare for the war.
Twenty miles south of Jieqiao.
Gongsun Zan came here with more than 30,000 elite troops to set up a formation, of which more than 10,000 cavalry were scattered on both wings, and the other half of the infantry formed a square formation in the center.
Although this formation of 30,000 people was not as powerful as the original formation of more than 100,000 troops from multiple princes, it was still spectacular.
This was the famous Battle of Jieqiao in later generations, and it was also the battle to establish the foundation of the Yuan family in Hebei. If he wins, the Yuan family will be proud of Hebei, but if he loses, the reputation of the Yuan family will be ruined. Yuan Shao, who attaches great importance to the reputation of the family, cannot lose. of battle.
The more than a thousand people led by Liu Bei's three brothers were part of the intermediate infantry phalanx.
Zhang Fei rode on his horse and said angrily: "When the battle begins and the cavalry on both wings charge forward, will our infantry run behind their four legs?"
Guan Yu squinted his eyes to observe the formation of Yuan Shao's army on the opposite side. After a while, he wondered: "Brother, Yuan Shao has recently taken control of Jizhou, and Jizhou is a large state with many soldiers and sufficient food. How could there be so few soldiers this time?"
The three Liu Bei brothers had not experienced many wars at this time, and their experience in marching and fighting was still limited.
Liu Bei couldn't see the reason for this, so he hesitated and said: "I'm afraid that Yuan Shao has just recently acquired Jizhou, and Han Fu's old troops may not be back, so I only dare to use his direct relatives this time. We brothers need to be more careful. There is something wrong with my brother." Feel."
In front of Yuan Shao's army's infantry square formation, Han Meng directed all the soldiers to occupy a slightly higher position holding large shields half a man's height.
Behind them are two thousand Chuanzhang crossbowmen commanded by Gao Lan. Although the Chuanzhang crossbows are powerful, they are very slow to load arrows. They usually only have two or three shooting opportunities against the cavalry, and they often use alternating firing methods to attack. Therefore, Yuan Shaojun also equipped with two thousand strong archers as supplement.
To the left and right of the crossbowmen were the spearmen used to resist the cavalry, and behind them were the 800 troops of the Quyi tribe squatting on the ground.
Yuan Shao, accompanied by Tian Feng Jushou, led most of the Jizhou cavalry and the remaining infantry to hide in the woods behind and prepare to attack.
The remaining infantry were led by Zhang Liao and Wen Chou, while the cavalry was led by Yan Liang and Zhang Tai. Yuan Xi's first battalion was also arranged by Yuan Shao.
This time Yuan Xi was also neatly dressed and carried a long spear. Xu Chu's Huwei was also fully armed, with Zhao Yun and Xu Huang on his left and right, with cavalry in front and infantry behind.
Although this is not the first battle for Yuan Xi and others, they did not have a formal melee with the Xiliang army at Hulao Pass last time, but now it is a real confrontation.
All the generals and soldiers were a little nervous even though they were excited.
Of course Yuan Xi also had this sentiment, but in order to boost morale he said loudly: "If the plan succeeds later, our troops will try our best to attack. First, we will defeat the enemy infantry and then return to encircle and annihilate Gongsun Zan's troops. With the primary goal of killing Gongsun Zan, we will take the victory." The person whose head is the first will be the first to achieve meritorious service."
"No!" All the generals accepted the order.
In Gongsun Zan's formation, the chief officer Guan Jing said worriedly: "Sir, look at why Yuan Shao has so few troops, and the formation is a bit strange."
Gongsun Zan said disapprovingly: "No matter whether he is more or less, whether it is a conspiracy or a trick, there is no one who can benefit from my Gongsun Zan. Later I will personally lead the white horse Yi Cong as the vanguard, and the cavalry behind will cover up and outflank them. Behind enemy lines.”
Yan Gang, who was appointed as the governor of Jizhou by Gongsun Zan, also echoed: "I have never fought any battles, so I don't have to worry about Yuan Shaojun."
The dull sound of war drums sounded, and every soldier's heart seemed to be beating along with the war drums, and blood rushed to his forehead.
After beating the drums twice, Gongsun Zan's cavalry began to run slowly, and gradually accelerated into a torrent rushing towards Yuan Shao's army. The sound was as dull as thunder and the movement was as fast as lightning.
The infantry in front of Yuan Shaojun began to feel uneasy and panicked. "I'm afraid of him. Hold on tight and don't move. Anyone who steps back even half a step will be killed by the supervisors behind him." Han Meng shouted angrily.
The commotion was quickly suppressed by generals such as Gao Lan and Han Meng. In contrast to the Jizhou infantry were Ju Yi's 800 "first camp" soldiers.
The eight hundred people held a round shield in one hand and a machete in the other. They lay motionless on the ground, with only indifference and bloodthirsty in their eyes.
In a moment, the cavalry of Gongsun Zan's army galloped to two hundred paces on both sides of Yuan Shao's army. Gongsun Zan led more than a thousand elite knights on white horses on the right side, preparing to charge forward.
When they were more than a hundred steps away from Yuan Shao's army, Gongsun Zan gave an order, and the Youzhou cavalry quickly opened their bows and fired arrows. Suddenly, arrows rained down towards Yuan Shao's army.
"Stand up the shield!" Han Meng shouted.
The infantry were ordered to set up large shields half a man's height to protect their heads. After a round of arrows, more than two hundred Yuan Shaojun's infantry fell down, and the injured rolled to the ground and howled.
Before Gongsun Zan's cavalry could shoot again, Han Meng immediately shouted again: "Withdraw the shield!"
The shield soldiers immediately lowered their shields to get out of the way, and the crossbow soldiers led by Gao Lan raised their crossbows to aim. After giving the order, a torrential rain of crossbow arrows was fired at Gongsun Zan's troops on both sides.
Seeing the black rain of arrows flying towards him, Gongsun Zan got excited and fell on his horse.
Suddenly, the two columns in front of Gongsun Zan's cavalry suffered heavy casualties, and the cavalry coming up from behind stepped on the body of their comrade again, leaving a bloody mess.
After three rounds of crossbow fire, Gongsun Zan's cavalry had not retreated, but they were caught off guard and suffered more than 3,000 casualties.
What's more serious is that morale has been low, the formation has become chaotic, and the advancement has slowed down.
Ju Yi gave an order, and the 800 soldiers who were lying on the ground divided into two groups to attack. The 800 people held shields in their left hands and machetes in their right hands and jumped up and rushed towards Gongsun Zan's cavalry.
The soldiers who first boarded the camp used their round shields to block the cavalry's halberds, halberds, swords and other weapons. They were short and used their swords to chop the horses' feet. Gongsun Zan's cavalry were in chaos for a while.
Gongsun Zan stabbed to death a soldier on white horse who first climbed into the camp and then looked at him.
Although the white horse Yi Cong tried their best to fight, the first campers were also extremely fierce. They skillfully cooperated to chop down the horse's feet and the knight who fell off the horse.
After a fierce battle, Yuan Shao's rear army had already attacked. Gongsun Zan's cavalry immediately fought with the infantry that Yuan Shao's army caught up with.
The two cavalry units of Zhang Tai and Yan Liang ignored Gongsun Zan's cavalry and went directly around to attack Gongsun Zan's infantry.
The infantry led by Guan Jing and Gongsun Xu, who had come over a long distance, were already a little weak. When they saw the enemy cavalry coming in unexpectedly, they could not organize an effective military formation to stop them.
Guan Jing and Gongsun Xu watched helplessly as Zhang Tai and Yan Liang's cavalry clashed with each other and cut off the infantry of Gongsun Zan's army.
Yan Liang took the lead and attacked the enemy's central army. After scattering the two captains of halberd soldiers, he quickly approached. He raised his sword and hacked to death Gongsun Zan's general Yan Gang with one blow.
Surrounded by Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, Liu Bei saw that the situation was not going well and immediately rode up to Guan Jing and Gongsun Xu to advise: "The enemy's force is fierce. We should organize a formation to defend as soon as possible."
Guan Jing Gongsun Xu also knew that he should do this, but the formation was already scattered and it was not easy to reorganize the team.
Guan Yu narrowed his eyes and said, "Brother, I'm going to get the head of the cavalry general." Guan Jing praised him and said, "Killing the enemy chief will bring chaos to the place."
"Be careful." Liu Bei ordered.
Guan Yu asked Zhang Fei to protect Liu Bei and he rode towards Yuan Shaojun's cavalry.
Gongsun Zan couldn't help but bleed in his heart when he saw that more than half of his precious white horse Yi Cong was killed or injured in the melee.
Just as he was in a trance, a general with a scar on his face rode forward and shouted: "Is that guy Gongsun Zan?"
It was Wen Chou who stepped forward with his spear without waiting for Gongsun Zan to reply. Several white horse soldiers came forward with halberds to stop Wen Chou.
Wen Chou shouted to Gongsun Zan and waved his gun to kill the white horse followers.
When several other white-horse Yi Cong entangled Wen Chou, Gongsun Zan also grabbed his long spear and stabbed Wen Chou angrily. Before he could get close, he saw another handsome general coming out, it was Zhang Liao.
Zhang Liao did not allow Gongsun Zan to think too much and swung his sword to strike. As soon as Gongsun Zan's long spear touched the sword, he felt that the opponent was weakened. When they met again, Zhang Liao rode close to Gongsun Zan. He knew that being close would not be good for Gongsun Zan's long spear.
When Gongsun Zan used the spear body to block the tip of the knife, Zhang Liao's long knife followed the body and struck Gongsun Zan's hand.
Gongsun Zan was so frightened that he broke out in a cold sweat, but his horseback skills were really good. He turned over and leaned against the horse's side to avoid the tip of the knife. Just as he was about to distance himself, Wen Chou came up and stabbed Gongsun Zan with another shot.
Gongsun Zan was already disturbed by the sudden turn of events. At this moment, he was even more unintentional to fight. He barely escaped Wen Chou's shot but his helmet was also cut off. At this time, he still had the fighting spirit and immediately ran away with disheveled hair. .
