Most of Yuan Xi's troops were cavalry and they traveled very quickly, but it took ten days to reach Bohai Nanpi. The distance between the plain and Nanpi is half the distance from Yecheng.
So when Yuan Xi arrived at Nanpi, 30,000 Qingzhou soldiers, commanded by Xu Huang, had already been stationed on the outskirts of Nanpi one day earlier.
Yuan Xi did not enter Nanpi City immediately, but came to the Qingzhou Military Camp as soon as possible. Only with those direct subordinates could he feel at ease. This was the kind of anxiety that Emperor Taizong Li Shimin felt on the road to seizing the direct line.
In the big tent, there were gathered a group of Qingzhou civil and military subordinates whom Yuan Xi had been away from for a long time. Brothers Xu Huang, Taishi Ci, Hao Zhao, Zhou Cang, Lu Kuang, Lu Xiang, and Yuan Xi's closest confidant Guo Jia.
Yuan Xi was excited, bowed deeply and said, "In these days, Qingzhou's military affairs will all depend on you."
"Young General, there is no need to be polite. Now I'm better. I can fight with the Young General again! It's not a pleasure!"
Outside Nanpi City, there is the Qingzhou Army's tent.
It was raining continuously outside the big tent.
Zhou Cang walked to the stove, took a bowl of wine, and cursed: "It's such a bad day, even if it rains, it's really uncomfortable. It would be great to be at home with my little wife in my arms!"
Guo Jia smiled and said, "Spring is full of rain and epidemics, summer is extremely hot, autumn is the busy time of harvesting grain, and winter is even colder. These four seasons are not good times for war. If it weren't for the chaos in the world, I would have waited. I’m afraid they won’t gather here.”
Yuan Xi said to Hao Zhao and Zhou Cang: "He who understands the right time and place wins. The alternation of the four seasons is a natural law of heaven. It must be known that spring prevents epidemic diseases, summer prevents water attacks, autumn prevents fire attacks, and winter protects against cold and frost. This requires generals to understand Make use of the weather to prevent and defeat the enemy."
Hao Zhao nodded and agreed, "Young Master is right. I never thought before that there are tactics hidden in the weather. No wonder the First Master was defeated when he attacked Black Mountain. It's not unfair."
Yuan Xi continued: "The Jizhou army will attack Zhuojun from two directions: Tang County in Zhongshan and Gaoyang in the river. Our army's task is to escort the grain and fodder baggage collected from the Bohai Sea to Gaoyang, and then capture Fangcheng to the east of Zhuojun, and then He and the Jizhou army besieged Zhuoxian."
Yuan Xi told Ju Shou and Yuan Shao's plan.
Several generals said nothing. This was indeed the safest plan. Cooperating with the old troops of Liu Yu and the Wuhuan people of Xianbei, they attacked Gongsun Zan. Even though Gongsun Zan had three heads and six arms, he could not withstand the siege from all sides.
Guo Jia smiled and said. "My husband and I are too cautious. There are Xianbei Wuhuan people in the north and Liu Bo'an's old troops in the east. It is not a matter of time to conquer Zhuojun. Our army can be used as a surprise force to attack Yuyang County from the Bohai Sea, or Gongsun Zan Guangyang's lair, and then forced Gongsun Zan to return to the army for rescue, and then Yuan Gong waited for him on his way back to the army. There is no reason to lay an ambush. "
Yuan Xi thought to himself that Guo Jia had a gambler's heart in his blood, and his plans were often very risky, but the rewards were correspondingly generous.
Guo Jia is a strategist in order to achieve military goals. He can make such unexpected and adventurous plans, but as a prince, he has to consider all aspects such as military and political aspects.
Just like Cao Cao's plan in history, Guo Jia's plan was to attack Wuhuan in the three counties, and he was victorious in the end. However, the soldiers suffered heavy casualties during the journey, and the whole army was almost trapped in an embarrassing situation. Although he won later, Cao Cao rewarded him with persuasion. People who don’t want to send troops themselves.
Therefore, Yuan Xi had to take into account the consumption of financial resources and food. The loss of soldiers, the impact on land management and production, etc., he is not a simple counselor, he is a prince, he has a political burden, just like Zhuge Liang and Sima Yi confront each other, Zhuge Liang has a heavy political burden, but Sima Yi does not have to worry about this .
In Yuan Xi's heart, the right way is to be harmonious and to win with wonder. Guo Jia is that wonder, and Tian Feng Jushuo can be that righteousness.
"Mr. Guo, you are wrong." Yuan Shang, who came to the tent with Yuan Xi, said, "This attack on Zhuojun was planned by my father and my husband and sir. All the adults think this is a perfect plan. You Isn’t the strategy of attacking Jixian mentioned above too risky? Do you think, sir, that just over 30,000 of us can capture Gongsun Zan’s lair?”
Guo Jia glanced at Yuan Shang and was not annoyed. Said: "Gong Yuan and Mr. Jushou, their plan is not wrong. Guo Mou said that Quan should be a staff advisor. If they want to set up a surprise army to attack Guangyang, it is not to attack Gongsun Zan's Ji County, but to occupy his grain hoarding land. If it is gone, Gongsun Zan's defeat is imminent."
"I'll report this to my father when we get back to Gao Yang." Because of the presence of Yuan Shang, Yuan Xi took over and said.
Everyone agreed and went down to prepare after assigning tasks. Yuan Xi also asked Yuan Shang to go down and rest. Only Guo Jia was left in the big tent.
Guo Jia smiled and took out a sandalwood box. said. "Young Master, look, Miss Yue'er asked me to bring this."
Yuan Xi put the box away and asked, "Fengxiao, is everything okay in Qingzhou these days?"
Guo Jia nodded and said, "With Mr. Yuan Hao and their talented people, Qingzhou is well-versed in all affairs. I believe that within three years, Qingzhou will become as rich as Xuzhou and Yanzhou." land."
"Tian Yuanhao, Guo Zini, and Wang Shuzhi are all capable talents who are well versed in government affairs. Guozi, Ni, and Wang Shuzhi can be in charge of prefectures and counties. If Mr. Yuan Hao is in the court, he can be the prime minister." Yuan Xi couldn't help but sigh. .
"I didn't expect that Young Master, you would have such a high opinion of Mr. Yuan Hao. It's just that he only plans for Mr. Yuan and may not join the Young Master. After Hebei is pacified this time, Mr. Yuan Hao will probably return to Jizhou. "Guo Jia couldn't deny it and said.
Yuan Xi smiled and said, "He wants to go back, but there are people around Jizhou's father who don't want him to go back and fight for power. Mr. Yuan Hao, he considers himself an upright scholar. If I become the heir of the Yuan family legitimately, he will I can only help with all my heart.”
Don’t you see, the examples of Guan Zhong and Wei Zheng are proof!
"Zhang Junyi has a strong objection to the young master letting him stay in Qingzhou."
Yuan Xi knew that these personnel matters were the most difficult to deal with. Tian Feng and Zhang He were not his direct relatives, and it would take time for them to express their stance.
So Youyou said, "Mr. Yuan Hao will comfort and advise him. Although Mr. Yuan Hao has always insisted on the eldest son, the youngest son, he is a person who understands the overall situation."
Guo Jia shook his head and said, "It's a shame that the young master believes in Mr. Yuan Hao so much that he allows a person who supports the young master to stay at the foundation." Guo Jia's words were heartbreaking.
Yuan Xi's eyes suddenly became serious. He slowly said, "Don't trust the people you employ. Don't use the people you doubt. It's just that my team is still too thin now. The situation of the annexation of princes is unclear now, but in a few years, the general trend of the world will become clear. The war in the Central Plains is inevitable. I not only want to help the Yuan family win the melee, but also establish my position in the Yuan family."
"Who do you think the young master can compete with the Yuan family for supremacy in the Central Plains in this chess game?" Guo Jia then asked.
"Cao Mengde!" Yuan Xi said without hesitation, "Cao Cao has a heroic nature. He has many heroes gathered under him, and he also occupies the lands of Yanzhou and Yuzhou in the Central Plains. If you can take Xuzhou, known as the granary, to the east, you can control Si to the west. Under Guanzhong. Whoever can conquer the world with my Yuan family must be Cao Mengde."
Guo Jia smiled lightly and said, "Sir, you are thinking the same thing as Wen Ruo. It seems that the future battle will definitely be between Yuan Gong and Cao Cao! Whoever wins will control the Central Plains of Hebei and the general trend of the world. It must be clear.”
"I have no time to care about the Central Plains. For now, I can only win first. I am making other calculations in the game of Youzhou in front of me."
Yuan Xi then asked, "Look, Fengxiao, what is the probability of this victory? Are there any variables?"
"As long as we don't travel, our army will win!" Guo Jia said, "It's just that a skinny camel is bigger than a horse. Gongsun Zan has been galloping in Youzhou for many years, and his men are all strong soldiers fighting against the barbarians. To win, we still need to fight. It’s a lot of thought.”
"I'm afraid that Wuhuan from the three counties will collude with my eldest brother and the others. What I value most about this attack on Youzhou is that the world-famous Wuhuan suddenly rides." Yuan Xi said solemnly.
Guo Jia nodded and said, "In addition to training troops, attacking Youzhou will not be of any benefit to our Qingzhou Army. I was just thinking that this is not in line with the past temperament of the young master. It turns out that the young master has taken a fancy to Wuhuan Jingqi, but no You need to worry, the Wuhuan people are not limited to the three counties of Liaodong, Liaoxi, and Youbeiping. After Gongsun Zan is defeated, you can tell Yuan Gong to imitate the court precedent and allow us to recruit Wuhuan cavalry on our own. In this way, we can recruit Wuhuan cavalry from the border of Youzhou. , recruiting elites from all Wuhuan tribes."
Yuan Xi nodded in agreement. From the information he collected, he knew that Cao Cao had recruited the remnants of the Xiongnu Yufuluo. It would be troublesome if he trained a "Tiger and Leopard Cavalry" composed of Huns. In this way, Yuan Xi naturally thought of the method of "using barbarians to control barbarians".
"Wuhuan suddenly rides!?" Yuan Xi murmured.
When the prefect and county officials of Nanpi heard about Yuan Xi's arrival, they had already prepared food and baggage. Yuan Xi quickly obtained these supplies after some negotiation. After the Spring Festival, there was relatively a surplus of labor in each township. Therefore, Yuan Xi recruited a group of local men to cooperate with the escort of baggage.
This time the Jizhou Army dispatched a total of more than 50,000 troops, but these did not include some soldiers and civilians. The amount of food consumed by tens of thousands of people in one day is staggering, so it must be transported from the food storage area to a key location close to the front line for storage, and then allocated and distributed to various military camps.
Yuan Xi has more than 30,000 people under his command, including 5,000 in the baggage camp. They are under the control of brothers Lu Kuang and Lu Xiang, who are responsible for escorting grain and grassland and handling other miscellaneous tasks.
But five thousand people is not enough. Recruiting civilian husbands was inevitable. In this era, it was compulsory, not the paid labor of today. Therefore, every step of the glory of Emperor Taizong, Xuanwu and Yuan Xi was filled with bones and countless blood.
The continuous rain in spring made it inconvenient to march, so it took more than ten days to escort the Qingzhou Army from Nanping to Gaoyang, Hejian.
This time Yuan Shao personally led the expedition, and the civil servants accompanying him included Ju Sue, Xun Chen, Feng Ji, Guo Tu, Xu You, and Chen Lin.
The generals include Ju Yi, Yan Liang, Wen Chou, Gao Lan, Jiang Yiqu, Jiang Qi, Zhao Rui and Qianzhao. Bi belongs to Yuan Tan's subordinates, including Xin Pi, Zhu Ling, and Zang Hong.
Yuan Shao learned his lesson from the last time and left his cronies and heavy troops to guard Yecheng. But what puts Yuan Xi to shame is this. In addition to Shen Pei, Xin Ping, Gao Lan, Cui Yan and others, Yuan Shao actually left Chunyu Qiong, his best friend, to guard Wei County.
In Yuan Xi's view, Chunyu Qiong is not shy. Although he is Yuan Shao's best friend, he has average intelligence and is a big drunkard. But one of Yuan Shao's criteria for employing people is nepotism. It is difficult for others to change his arrangements.
The government office in Gaoyang County served as a temporary residence for Yuan Shao. When Yuan Xi came here to resume his duties, he found that there were not many people present. After asking around, I found out that Yuan Shao'an couldn't bear the instigation of Yuan Tan and others and sent troops to attack Zhuojun three days ago.
Among them, Ju Yi returned to Zhongshan and led troops from Tang County to attack Gu'an and Guoxian. Yuan Tan, Zang Hong, and Zhu Ling led troops to attack Beixin City. Yan Liang, Jiang Yiqu, and Jiang Qi attacked Fan Yang.
Seeing Yuan Xi who had led the troops to help in the battle, Yuan Shao first praised Yuan Xi, and then asked about the status of the Qingzhou Army and Nanpi's baggage. After all, they were one step ahead.
"Second Young Master, you are here. I am waiting for your army to arrive." Guo Tu said. "Our army attacked in several directions, and only Fangcheng, which is located in the east, was left."
"Fangcheng is close to Zhuoxian and Jixian. If Gongsun Zan wants to send troops to help, he must go to Fangcheng first." Yuan Shao said earnestly, "So here, if we want the Qingzhou army with many soldiers to attack and garrison, to show off my son, then I will give it to you. ”
"Promise, I will obey my father's orders." Yuan Xi promised, this was also planned in advance.
Yuyang City.
A cavalryman covered in blood galloped all the way to the city. "Urgent report from Pinggu!" The cavalryman fell down as soon as he finished shouting.
The soldiers on the city did not dare to open the city gate, so one of them got on the dustpan and hung him down from the city to pick up the scout on the city wall.
When they checked, they found that the scout had been hit by two arrows in the back, and the blood stains on the wounds had dried. Being able to hold on until this point is already commendable. The soldiers found a letter asking for help from the scout.
Not a moment. Yuyang prefect Zou Dan and Tian Yu came to the city wall. After reading the letter asking for help, Zou Dan's face turned gloomy, and he didn't speak for a long time.
Tian Yu was about to ask. Zou Dan said: "Pinggu County has fallen. This is the third city and county that has fallen. I regret that I didn't listen to the country's words and concentrated our troops against Tadun."
Tian Yu sighed. He had previously suggested to Zou Dan to move the people from all over the north of Yuyang to Yuyang and Guangyang. Then gather the defenders together and rely on Yuyang City to confront Tadun and Yan Rou to defend Jixian County in Guangyang.
But Zou Dan was unwilling to abandon the cities and counties in the north, and insisted on dividing his troops to hold on step by step. However, in just over ten days, only one city of Yuyang was left at the north gate of Yuyang. Those places that fell not only lost a lot of soldiers, but also the food and grass stocks were plundered.
"Look, sir!" a soldier on the city shouted pointing into the distance.
Zou Dan and Tian Yu looked around and saw a large group of people faintly appearing in the north of Yuyang City. Smoke and dust gradually spread, as if tens of thousands of troops were marching towards Yuyang.
"The enemy is attacking! Send a warning quickly!" shouted a hundred-man general.
"Wait a minute!" Tian Yu shouted to stop the hundred-man general, "Those don't look like Hu soldiers. I'll tell you after you look carefully. Don't panic!"
Sure enough, when those figures got a little closer, the soldiers on the city could see them clearly. Tian Yu took a breath, punched the wall and said bitterly. "The hateful barbarians actually drove the people from the northern plains here."
Zou Dan frowned and said, "What should we do? It looks like there are tens of thousands of people."
Not only Zou Dan and Tian Yu, but also Gongsun Zan's soldiers on the city wall were at a loss. If the barbarians came, they could throw stones and arrows without any scruples, but when the compatriots were driven under the city, they had nothing to do.
Gradually, 40,000 to 50,000 people came to Yuyang City with their families in tow. They shouted one after another, begging the general to let them into the city, and the city was in chaos for a while.
"Sir! We are from Guangping people. The Wuhuan people captured our house and took away the food. We have no way out."
"Sir, please let us in, the Wuhuan people are right behind!"
"Master Zou!" Tian Yu said anxiously: "This is the barbarian's way of attacking the heart. If these Han people are left alone, the morale of our army will definitely drop."
"I know!" Zou Dan glanced at Tian Yu lightly, "Then do you dare to say that there are no barbarians among these people? Besides, Yuyang City has moved into many ordinary people's homes nearby. But there is still free space for resettlement. Them?"
Tian Yu didn't say anything. He knew that Zou Dan still hadn't said anything, but with tens of thousands more people eating, the city's grain reserves would be consumed rapidly.
This method of warfare was also commonly used by the Xianbei people in the north and later the Liao, Jin and Mongolia as a method of coercion.
"Sir, we are all the people under the rule of General Gongsun Zan! When you collected food, we didn't have any shortage!"
"Sir, my son is in the army, please let us in!" Many people were already kneeling under the city.
Tian Yu turned around and couldn't bear to look anymore. Gongsun Zan's power base was mostly in the border areas of Yuyang and Youbeiping. Most of Gongsun Zan's soldiers were from these places. As the people below the city said, their sons were serving in the army. If they were allowed to be slaughtered by the barbarians, what would the soldiers in the army think?
"Sir, please let those people enter the city!" Tian Yu made up his mind. The request said, "If there are no houses, place them in the streets. If we leave them alone, the morale of the army will collapse sooner or later! No matter how strong the city wall is, it will not be able to withstand the iron hoof of the Wuhuan people. It is better to boost morale and fight to the death with the Wuhuan people!"
Zou Dan seemed very hesitant. He lowered his head and did not dare to look at the civilians under the city. He did not want to do this either.
"The Wuhuan cavalry! The Wuhuan cavalry is coming!" shouted the soldiers on the high platform who were alerted.
Tian Yu quickly looked into the distance, and sure enough, groups of cavalry were galloping back and forth, bringing up bursts of smoke. Making bursts of noise. Use actions to intimidate and intimidate the people in the city.
The people under Yuyang City had long been frightened by the sound of the cavalry. The dense crowd stampeded and stampeded, and some people were even pushed into the moat. The scene was filled with howls.
The Wuhuan cavalry did not attack those people. Instead, it surrounds them and occasionally shoots out some arrows. But this move made the people even more frightened and wailed. The people approaching the Wuhuan cavalry from behind crowded towards Yuyang City crazily, as if the city was the only refuge that could save their lives.
"My lord, please let them in!" The hundred-man general knelt down, "I am a commoner, and my father and mother may be down there!" After saying this, the hundred-man general burst into tears and kowtowed.
"Sir, my family was also captured by the barbarians in the north. My family members are there, I saw it!"
"Sir, we are willing to fight to the death to fight those barbarians!" A group of soldiers knelt down on the city wall.
Zou Dan tightly grasped the handle of the knife at his waist and made the final decision.
"Master Zou, let's send someone to ask General Gongsun for reinforcements. If he doesn't send reinforcements, he will have to bring more food and baggage. As long as we have backup, we can defend Yuyang. Otherwise, if Yuyang falls, General Gongsun will be invaded Jixian!" A deputy general next to him suggested. All the food collected by Yuyang was taken away by Gongsun Zan. They didn't have much left, otherwise they wouldn't be so passive.
Zou Dan watched the people outside the city fall to the ground after being hit by arrows, and his heart was tugged. After all, they were all Han people, and among them were his subordinates' children. He felt bad.
"Tian Yu!" Zou Dan suddenly ordered, "lead your five thousand troops in formation to break through the crowd from the south gate and attack the Wuhuan soldiers. All the people in the barracks in the city came to the south gate to guard and watch over them. Arrange the people who come into the city, and don’t let any barbarian soldiers come in!"
"My lord?" Tian Yu hesitated when he heard Zou Dan's order. He knew what Yuyang meant to Gongsun Zan. Zou Dan wanted to fight to the death by doing this.
Now that Di Tianyu is a little younger after all, the fiery heat in his blood is burning uncontrollably throughout his body. He doesn't care about the overall situation. He can't do it while watching the Han people being slaughtered. He only needs to save those outside the city. Han people, he would rather die in battle.
"Sir, I will never let a barbarian enter the city!" Tian Yu said firmly.
The South City Gate, where there were slightly fewer civilians, slowly opened. First, a cavalry force of more than a thousand people galloped out. They shouted loudly to ask the civilians to get out of the way. Then more than 4,000 infantry formed a formation and followed the cavalry.
After a while, Tian Yu's troops fought against the Wuhuan people. The five thousand soldiers shared the same enemy and their morale was high. They rushed and intercepted the Wuhuan cavalry without fear.
At this time, the trumpet sounded loudly, and a large group of Wuhuan cavalry rushed out from the distance. Judging from the momentum, it seemed that there were more than 10,000 cavalry.
The people swarmed into Yuyang City, and the soldiers inside began to evacuate them. There were also large groups of defenders in armor arrayed beside the city gate to prevent Hu Qi from taking the opportunity to break into the city.
"Put up your shields!" Tian Yu shouted and ordered his soldiers to form an arc to surround the south gate. Regardless of whether they were civilians or defenders, the Wuhuan cavalry charged forward crazily with only one goal - the city gate.
Tian Yu knew clearly in his heart that the purpose of the Wuhuan people was indeed to attack the city. He had already prepared countermeasures. He asked the infantry to put up shields to block the Wuhuan cavalry's cavalry, and then placed rows of spears to resist the cavalry's attack. One thousand cavalry moved around again to cover the infantry phalanx.
Under the command of Tian Yu, the five thousand people were in order, and they cooperated with each other to kill the enemy. The frantically charging Wuhuan cavalry could not break through the wall of people outside the south gate who were dissatisfied with their spears.
Two quarters of an hour later, except for some people who were killed or injured because of trampling and crowding, the rest of the people had crowded into Yuyang City. The Wuhuan infantry and a small group of Wuhuan cavalry who were mixed among the people took the opportunity to rush into the city, but they were immediately identified and killed by the defenders.
Gongsun Zan's army has been fighting against the Wuhuan and Xianbei people for many years, and their combat effectiveness is no worse than that of the Hu soldiers. The sergeants of the White Horse Camp are all border guards.
Wuhuan soldiers attacked several times, but could not break through the "human wall", and gradually they began to retreat.
But when Tian Yu and his men retreated into the city, there were only more than 2,000 people left, and few of them were left without injuries.
Tian Yu was unsteady on his feet and was helped up by his own soldiers. Zou Dan approached and saw a shocking arrow wound on Tian Yu's body. The arrow penetrated his abdomen through the armor.
"Guorang! You are really a warrior!" Zou Dan couldn't say anything else. He held Tian Yu in his arms and couldn't help but sigh.
Tian Yu shook his head to show that he didn't care, and then said, "Sir, there are so many people in the city now. We can't hold on for a long time. We need to ask Lord Gongsun for help and let him lead troops to join us in a decisive battle with the Wuhuan people."
Zou Dan patted Tian Yu on the shoulder and said comfortingly, "Don't worry, Guo Ye, I'll send someone to do it right away."
Although Zou Dan said this, what he did not say was that more than one wave of people had been sent to seek help from Gongsun Zan. He did not dare to speak out the reply he received because he was afraid that the morale of the army would be unstable.
