In the Jinan government office, Yuan Xi carefully watched the secret report sent by Guo Jia's secret guard.
After reading the secret report, he passed the secret report to Tian Feng, Xu Huang, Zhang He and others.
"It seems that with a few more raids, Cao Mengde can completely defeat the Yellow Turban thieves. We also need to make some preparations." Yuan Xi said with a frown.
"Military advisor and General Wenyuan, I wonder if they can force the Yellow Turban thieves to come to Jinan? Otherwise, everything we have done will be in vain to make wedding clothes for others." Guo Huai said.
"There is Luoshui to the north of Yanzhou. The Yellow Turban thieves are not very good at crossing the water to go north, so they will go east across Mount Tai. What Zhang Liao and Guo Jia have to do is to force the Yellow Turban thieves from the east to the north." Tian Feng analyzed, and was very affim.
"Our army will hoard troops and horses in Zhu'a, Qingzhou, and Licheng, Jinan, to prepare. If necessary, we will attack Jibei to surrender the Yellow Turbans." Yuan Xi said decisively. Yuan Xi was very determined to surrender the Yellow Turbans.
"Except for the necessary defenders left in Yuling, Liangzo and other places in Jinan, our army can now mobilize two thousand cavalry and ten thousand infantry." Zhang He stepped out and said.
Compared with the hundreds of thousands of Yellow Turban troops and the millions of Yellow Turban family members, Yuan Xi's current number of troops is still too small.
Yuan Xi looked at Xu Huang and Zhang He and asked, "Can the surrendered Tian Kai army be used?"
"Our army has surrendered more than 8,000 soldiers who are not worthy of great use and have surrendered from various places in the Jinan Plain. However, most of them are of low combat strength, and Tian Kai's reinforcements have not been able to be used by me."
Xu Huang answered truthfully.
"Mr. Yuan Hao, how about our army's rations? How long can we feed millions of people?" Yuan Xi asked Tian Feng again.
This was the crux of the problem. He didn't know how Cao Cao solved the problem of rations in a short period of time after absorbing the Yellow Turban Army in history, so he could only ask the prudent Tian Feng.
Tian Feng frowned and said, "Jinan's grain reserves are not much. Judging from the money and grain supply situation in Jizhou, even if the lord agrees to send more grain, it can only be doubled, and the grain that can be collected is only enough for one million people. The use of the moon.”
"It's still so long until spring plowing and autumn harvest next year, what should we do?" Hao Zhao asked worriedly.
"I will try to solve the problem of grain and fodder. Now let's talk about how to surrender the Qingzhou Yellow Turbans." Yuan Xi said seriously, he did not want to indulge this opportunity for Cao Cao to make a fortune.
Tian Feng stepped forward and spread out the marching map, pointed at it and said, "The Yellow Turban thieves will not flee to Jizhou, so there is no need to deploy troops on the Luoshui side. General Xu Huang can lead the infantry across the border to Jibei and cut off the Yellow Turban's retreat. When the Yellow Turban arrives, When the city could not be attacked, the Second Young Master and General Zhang He led the cavalry and attacked the Yellow Turban central army in one fell swoop, beheading or surrendering their leaders."
Yuan Xi nodded in approval and added, "But there is one more thing. Xiu Shu and I will send a letter to my father and the two generals Hao Zhao and Guo Huai, and then escort a batch of grain and fodder to Jizhou for emergency use."
In October of the fourth year of the Han Dynasty (193), Cao Cao, the herdsman of Yanzhou, besieged and suppressed the Yellow Turbans of Qingzhou in Lu County, and won successive victories after ten battles.
It's not that Cao Cao's army is very capable of fighting, but that the Yellow Turban Army has no food and grass, is trapped, hungry, and has low morale, so it has won many battles. However, Cao Cao's army's strategy is also one of the reasons.
Along the way, the Yellow Turban Army was constantly attacked by powerful armed private soldiers mobilized by Xun Yu, Lu Qian and others. The Yellow Turban Army became frightened and everyone was in danger.
The Yellow Turban Army was defeated and reached Snake Hill in the south of Jibei County, Yanzhou.
Guan Hai chopped off the head of a Yanzhou soldier, and the hot blood immediately sprayed on his face.
Guan Hai wiped his face with his left hand and continued to slash at the Yanzhou soldiers who came up.
"Retreat!" As the bell rang, more than two thousand Yanzhou soldiers retreated in an orderly manner.
"Enter!" As the flag waved, hundreds of archers quickly rushed forward to occupy the position.
"Get on the shield!" Guan Hai saw something bad and immediately shouted, but it was still too late.
In the panic, the Yellow Turban Army erected large hexagonal shields and small iron shields one after another, and even swarmed back and snatched shields.
At the command, the Yanzhou archers fired arrows at the Yellow Turban Army formation. After several volleys, the Yellow Turban Army wailed and the soldiers retreated in a crowd.
"Who dares to escape!" Guan Hai shouted angrily and immediately went to kill the two deserters, but it was in vain.
The soldiers of Guan Hai's direct line also lined up in a circle to prevent the Yellow Turban soldiers from escaping, but with little effect. During the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, Zhu Wen also formed a battle supervising team in order to prevent the soldiers from escaping, which was very spicy.
"Woo!" Yanzhou troops shouted in unison.
Xia Houyuan rode on the horse and looked at each other. Yu Jin waved his hand and shouted, "Shou surrender!"
"Surrender or not! Surrender or not!" Yanzhou soldiers shouted rhythmically amidst the sound of war drums.
Although there were many people on the Yellow Turban Army's side, they all crowded together in fear. If it weren't for the supervising team behind them, they would have fled long ago.
"What the hell! Come up with the shield bearer, come out with the spear team, the cavalry of Yanzhou brats is coming up." Guan Hai shouted.
Sure enough, after the call to surrender, the cavalry on both wings of the Yanzhou Army began to run slowly. This kind of tactics was no longer unfamiliar to the two sides who had fought dozens of times in the past few days.
The war drums sounded twice, and the Yanzhou soldiers' archers fired three more volleys, not to annihilate the enemy, but purely to disrupt the enemy's formation and morale.
The cavalry on both sides also accelerated and approached the Yellow Turban Army formation.
Zhang Liao, who was among more than a thousand cavalry on the left, put away his sword, took out his bow, put an arrow on it, and shouted, "Shoot!"
Without any instructions, the rest of the Jizhou cavalry also took out their bows and arrows and fired at the Yellow Turban Army.
After two diffusions, they did not continue to attack, but passed by the Yellow Turban Army's formation.
The Yellow Turban Army also had bows and arrows, but the scattered arrows did not pose a threat to the Jizhou cavalry.
On the other side, more than a thousand cavalry led by Cao Chun were also circling in front of the Yellow Turban Army formation.
Cao Chun separated into several small teams to test the defensive weaknesses of the phalanx. Once discovered, the horn sounded, and the cavalry brigade immediately attacked, which was the kind of magnetic tactics used by American General Li Qiwei on the Korean battlefield.
It was not until dusk that the sound of gold was heard from the Yanzhou Army. The two sides then stopped their troops and fought again, leaving only corpses and severed limbs everywhere.
Yellow Turban Camp.
Guan Hai picked up the clay pot, drank a few gulps of low-quality water and wine, and then smashed the pot into pieces. He scolded, "Cao Cao's army is so stupid. I have never been so coward before when I raised an army."
Several leaders in the tent kept yelling and complaining, saying, "Guan Shuai, how can we fight like this! We can't get to Xuzhou, and we can't conquer the city of Yanzhou."
"Yes, are you wandering around in Yanzhou? Cao Cao's army is too powerful, and we can't stay in Yanzhou."
He Qun was furious and slapped the table fiercely, saying, "Shout whatever you want, if it's the opposite, just listen to what the big boss says!"
This sound really worked, and the noise disappeared immediately.
Guan Hai clenched his fists, looked at the leaders of the Yellow Turban Army below, and said, "When everyone elected me as their commander-in-chief and entrusted the lives of my family to them, this was their trust in Guan Hai. After the failure of General Tiangong's uprising, in the past few years, everyone has You all follow me to manage Hai, and although you don’t enjoy the blessings, tell me, are you often hungry like when you are farming at home?”
Everyone below looked at each other and didn't know how to answer.
Guan Hai looked at them fiercely and continued, "I know that some people want to surrender to Cao Cao to save their lives because the attack on Yanzhou did not go well. Yes or no!"
Several leaders were speechless. Many of them had not thought about this idea, but it was just because of Guan Hai's intimidation that they could not express themselves.
"Have you forgotten what happened to the brothers who surrendered when General Tiangong rebelled?" Guan Hai said one sentence after another: "My second brother surrendered at that time and was killed by the army and his head was cut off. After taking the credit, the bones of tens of thousands of other brothers were turned into 'Jingguan' by Huangfu Song and Cao Cao's group."
The look of hatred and malice in Guan Hai's eyes was undisguised.
"It's different now. Cao Cao's surrender letter said that the past will not be dealt with." A leader whispered.
Upon hearing this, He Qun drew out his knife and shouted: "What did you say, do you dare to say it again?"
The leader was frightened and kept kowtowing and apologizing.
He Qun snorted and said sternly, "Just listen to the big boss, he has his own sense of proportion."
"Guan Shuai, if you have any ideas, just say it. Brother, just listen."
Guan Hai stood up and walked to the center of the camp and asked, "What do you think? Let's talk about it."
At this time, a tall and thin leader stood up and said: "We can't stay in Yanzhou anymore. I heard that in my hometown Qingzhou, Tian Kai and the Jizhou army are at war. They must not want to provoke us. Then we can attack The relatively weak Beihai, as long as we capture the wealthy Beihai County, our food rations will be solved by the beginning of next spring."
Guan Hai nodded, waved his hand, and said worriedly, "But how can we return to Qingzhou if Cao Cao's army forces us to be in such a hurry?"
"Otherwise, after these few days of fighting, it can be seen that Cao Cao's army does not want to fight with us. In this way, as long as we fight and retreat, we will definitely be able to return to Qingzhou." The tall and thin leader said.
"But Cao Cao's army is heavily guarded in Taishan County, how can we get through?" He Qun asked. "I never said to cross Beihai from Mount Tai! Judging from the layout of Cao Cao's army in the past few days, they must be prepared to prevent us from crossing Mount Tai to Beihai. But we can cross Jibei to Jinan and then go to Beihai." The tall and thin leader said. .
"How can we fight and retreat at the same time?" Guan Hai suddenly became interested and said.
"Send 100,000 people to protect the family members and leave first. The remaining 300,000 people can be divided into 50,000 troops. In this way, the six troops will take turns to intercept the Yanzhou army on the road to Jinan. Even if one of them is defeated, they can immediately retreat and rest. Fighting again, and the second one is blocking again.”
The tall and thin leader became more and more excited as he talked, and continued, "In this way, our army can rest and intercept while at the same time, and then the family members will go to Qingzhou first."
"But we don't have much food. I heard that some people at home kill farm cattle to eat." He Qun said.
Guan Hai gritted his teeth and ordered, "Give me the order. You are not allowed to eat farm cattle. Anyone who disobeys the order will be killed!"
Guan Hai was also helpless. Although they were rogues, most of the millions of men and women who were dependents were farmers. Once stationed in one place, they still engaged in some farming to solve the food problem, so the cattle were very valuable.
Guan Hai looked at the tall and thin leader and said with some profound meaning, "Qin Yuan, not only did you fight your way out of the siege of Jizhou soldiers, but you also came up with this idea. You are really hiding it. If you can survive the danger, you should Remember your first achievement."
The tall and thin leader blinked and said quickly, "I don't dare. The family members are the place that brothers care about. Protecting the family members and retreating is the most important thing. I request to lead troops to clear the way."
Guan Hai thought for a while and ordered, "He Qun, you take one hundred thousand brothers and retreat to Jinan first to protect your family. Qin Yuan, you will be the deputy general. The remaining three hundred thousand brothers are divided into six parts. Everyone fights and retreats. Protect your family."
Although everyone below was frightened and uneasy, after all, they had Guan Hai as their backbone and had an idea, so they all followed the instructions to prepare and prepare for the big migration.
The next day, some elite Yellow Turban troops selected by Guan Hai launched a counterattack against the pursuing Cao Cao army.
More than 300,000 Yellow Turban soldiers, divided into six 50,000 troops, kept blocking Cao Cao's pursuit along the way.
Although Cao Cao's army is a small victory in every battle, the more than 300,000 Yellow Turban army is powerful after all. It cannot be eaten in one bite. It has to be done step by step. It does not mean that if he is called Cao Cao, a million Yellow Turbans will be destroyed immediately.
Every time a wave of Yellow Turbans was defeated, another wave of Yellow Turbans appeared in front of the Yanzhou Army. For a while, the Yanzhou Army was also a little tired of dealing with it.
After the defeat of a wave of Yellow Turban troops, they could rest and recuperate, but the Yanzhou army fought one after another, and many of their soldiers were tired. If Cao Cao had not had high-quality soldiers and good generals here, it is uncertain whether he could have defeated the Yellow Turbans.
As for the Yellow Turban Army, the situation is not optimistic. Compared with the base of more than 300,000 people, they did not suffer much loss after several battles, but their morale dropped sharply, and the morale of the army was in danger of collapse at any time. Bombing the camp in ancient times was very dangerous. things.
Yecheng, Jizhou.
Since his second son Yuan Xi went to Qingzhou, Yuan Shao's life has returned to normal. Every day he just holds meetings, listens to reports from his subordinates, and handles Jizhou's government affairs.
By the way, I would like to discuss with Zhu Linggaolan and other generals the training and reorganization of the army in preparation for the subsequent war. A good man has his ambitions in all directions, how could he be satisfied with being in a corner of Hebei? A true man should have the world in mind, and in these troubled times, he should take it as his duty to unify the world!
Yes, if Cao Cao was not so ambitious at this time, Yuan Shao already had such ambitions and strategic plans. Although Yuan Shao did not have Cao Cao's military talents, the Yuan family's long-term strategic planning was indeed earlier than Cao Cao's. Besides, Yuan Shao and Yuan Benchu have a good son, right?
Just like Li Yuan, although his military ability is not as good as Wei Gong Li Mi in Wagangzhai, he has a good son, isn't he Emperor Taizong Li Shimin, Yuan Xi is also such a good son. Does Yuan Shao need to do everything personally? Besides, if Cao Cao had a talented man who could take charge of his own affairs, Lao Cao wouldn't have to work so hard.
But right now, there's nothing big to do. The army is still recovering Qingzhou, and they can only consider these things after Qingzhou is pacified. Now he just fulfills his responsibilities as a father and husband every day and takes good care of his wife Liu. Cherish this beautiful and peaceful time with her. It will not be so easy to want these things when the war starts in the future.
Yuan Shao is not the idiot in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, right?
And Yuan Shao had a hunch that he would be very busy next. Not only will the war be more cruel in the future, but he will also have too many things to deal with. After all, there is a family, a country, and a world. As the overlord of one party, every move he makes must attract attention, so he must handle it well.
No, there is something that needs to be handled by Yuan Shao right now, and that is the marriage between his second son Yuan Xi and Zhen Mi. After accepting the lottery and sealing the alliance, the next step of marriage and ceremony is on the agenda.
This can only be fully implemented after Qingzhou settles down. However, the accompanying political operations after the marriage between the two families can already be started. Yuan Shao can borrow the financial and material resources of the Zhen family. This is the true purpose of the marriage of many big families.
But after deciding on his son's marriage and fulfilling one of his wishes, he could make good arrangements to unify the north in the next step.
After Qingzhou is recovered, the battle to unify the north will begin. And the battle to recapture Qingzhou that Yuan Shao is looking forward to is in full swing, and a battle between dragons and tigers is about to begin!
Most later generations comment on how wise Yuan Xi, Emperor Xuanwu of Jin Dynasty, unified the troubled times. However, without Yuan Shao to stabilize politics in the rear area, contact the aristocratic families, and ensure logistics, I don't think Yuan Xi could succeed so quickly.
The success of the Yuan family is the result of the joint efforts of three generations of the Yuan family. It is unfair to Yuan Shao to simply highlight Yuan Xi's achievements in history books.
Just like history books subconsciously weaken Li Yuan's existence in order to highlight Li Shimin's contribution, Yuan Shao is also a character like Li Yuan.
