Early the next morning.
After a quick meal. Yuan Shao hurriedly summoned his staff to discuss the next move. Apparently our General Yuan couldn't swallow this bad breath and planned to get back on his feet.
"My lord, our morale has been low due to two defeats. We urgently need a rest to restore our morale. How about we retreat to Liyang to garrison and wait for the Second Young Master's Qingzhou Army to advance westward along the river. After reaching the south bank, how about we wait for an opportunity to cross the river." Feng Ji suggested. .
Yuan Tan and Guo Tu did not dare to speak anymore. Yuan Shao did not hold them accountable for the time being, so how could they dare to come up with any more ideas.
"That's right. Our soldiers are unsettled. Let's rest before crossing the river." Cui Yan also went out to persuade.
"Send the order, be careful not to be attacked by Lu Bu's men, and... the whole army returns to Liyang to rest." Yuan Shao ordered.
At this time, he couldn't help but think of his second son. It seemed that whenever this son was around, the war would go smoothly. However, my self-esteem is still very strong, so I can't let my son compare with him.
"Report! General Jiang Yiqu has returned outside the camp!" the messenger reported.
"Ah!" Yuan Shao exclaimed, "Let him come in quickly!"
The soldiers and horses of the Jizhou army crossing the river except Yan Liang's troops. It was Jiang Yiqu's department. Yuan Shao thought that all the soldiers and horses were wiped out, but he didn't expect that one general escaped.
"The general is incompetent, please punish me, my lord!" Jiang Yiqu was in his thirties, with a ragged beard, no armor left on him, and only a tattered robe left. The wounds on the arms and arms were bandaged with cloth, which was very miserable.
Seeing Jiang Yiqu in such a miserable state, Yuan Shao waved his hands to comfort him and said, "You can't be blamed for this. I was careless, let alone you. How did you escape from such adversity?"
"The ships of Cao Cao's army blocked the river, and the elite cavalry rushed out. The soldiers could not resist, and they were all killed. The general could not stop him, so he broke out of the encirclement with his own soldiers and broke out to the east. . I found a small boat to cross the river from people upstream, so that I could see my lord. But when we got here, there were only... ten people left!" Jiang Yiqu said in a low and sad voice.
Hearing this, everyone was in awe. With the retreat route cut off and the number of troops and horses being inferior to that of the Yanzhou Army, it was really difficult to reverse the situation. It was rare for Jiang Yiqu to be able to fight his way out.
"Can you still lead the army?" Yuan Shao asked.
Jiang Yiqu raised his head, and after a moment of surprise, he said firmly: "The last general is willing to be the vanguard to avenge his hatred!"
"Okay, everyone in our army has the determination of the general, so why worry about Cao Cao not being destroyed!" Yuan Shao said. This was a morale-boosting move.
"Report! The Yanzhou Army sent several ferries to return more than a hundred soldiers!" the herald reported again.
"Ah!" Everyone was confused. They all became surprised and suspicious.
Yuan Shao stood up abruptly. He led a group of civil and military personnel outside to explore the enemy's situation from a distance.
At this time, many soldiers gathered around the camp, where more than a hundred soldiers were repatriated. They are all young soldiers aged fourteen or fifteen, as well as old, weak and disabled people. The Jizhou soldiers pointed and said something in groups.
The guards separated the soldiers. When Yuan Shao and others saw it, they suddenly became horrified!
It turned out that there were more than ten sacks that came back with the more than a hundred soldiers. Some soldiers opened the sacks out of curiosity, only to find bloody ears inside. At this time, the bloody ears were spread out on the ground.
The atmosphere was very solemn for a moment, and the soldiers and generals felt chills in their backs. Anyone who saw so many bloody ears would be horrified. Emperor Daowu of the Northern Wei Dynasty, Tuoba Gui, also did this when he fought with the Emperor of Later Yan, the God of War Murong Chui. An inhumane act.
"Ugh!" Chen Lin couldn't bear it and ran to the side to vomit. Never had he, a scholar, seen such a bloody scene.
When the soldiers saw this situation, they didn't show anything on their faces, but they were more or less frightened. In their hearts, ferocity became a synonym for the Yanzhou Army.
A Yamen general came to Yuan Shao and others and said: "General, according to them, the Yanzhou soldiers killed all our captured soldiers, leaving only them to come back and report the message. These sacks are Cao Cao's letter to the general."
"That's enough!" Yuan Shao's face turned pale, then turned green again, and said angrily: "Cao Cao bullied me too much!"
Yuan Tan swallowed his saliva. If he had been slow to escape yesterday, he wouldn't know if his ears were still there.
"How should we deal with this matter?" Yuan Shao asked coldly.
"Return to Liyang as soon as possible to rest, and soldiers are strictly prohibited from discussing this matter privately. Bury these things on the spot, and set up a tombstone to commemorate these dead souls." Feng Ji suggested.
"You figure it out!" Yuan Shao ordered. Then Huoran walked away.
Jiuqu ileum is also appropriate to describe the Yellow River. At this time, the river water was not as dry as it would be in later generations. It not only supplies irrigation water to vast areas on both sides of the Taiwan Strait, but is also an important canal. However, in the past two dynasties, the imperial court was unable to maintain the river waterways, resulting in water transportation being abandoned.
Yuan Xi has been to the river bank countless times. He took several of his entourage to visit the site of Emperor Wu's flood control site. Then they marched westward along the river. I wonder what the majestic scene of the Yangtze River is at this time, Yuan Xi thought to himself.
"Major General, General Zhang Wenyuan asked the scouts to report that the Jizhou Central Army has issued an order for our army to rush to the front line of Puyang and Baima." The herald reported, and after speaking, he handed over the order document.
Yuan Xi was shocked and confused, and even more confused after reading the document. This military order was supposed to be issued in the name of Yuan Shao, but instead it was in the names of Ju Yi, Han Meng, and Jushou.
The content is vague, it only says that we will meet at the White Horse soon. Yuan Xi looked at it carefully several times. It is indeed Jushou's handwriting, and the code is correct. It seems that the situation is not good.
"I'm afraid something happened to the Chinese army. We should deal with it carefully!" Guo Jia said.
"I don't know what happened, but our journey was peaceful and we didn't see any ambush from the Yanzhou army." Gu Yong said.
"The Yanzhou Army has a small number of people. It is impossible for them to divide their troops into multiple routes. This situation can only show that the Yanzhou Army has gone to the Jizhou Central Army." Liu Ye analyzed. He is good at analyzing clues among numerous pieces of information.
The uneasiness in Yuan Xi's heart became even stronger. The combat power of the Jizhou Army is pretty good, but it may not be as good as the Yanzhou Army. The bad thing is that the military discipline of the Jizhou army is corrupt, and the soldiers are arrogant and arrogant. For such a long time, it is easy to develop the mentality of arrogance and underestimation of the enemy.
"The whole army is on alert and march quickly!" Yuan Xi ordered in a deep voice.
Three days later, the vanguard of the Qingzhou Army passed through Puyang, the important garrison town of the Yanzhou Army. The city defenders then left the city and attacked the Qingzhou Army's vanguard infantry. Unexpectedly, he hit a nail.
They were repulsed by the brave Danyang soldiers. Zhang Liao rushed to Baimajin and after understanding the situation, he sent scouts to report to the Qingzhou Central Army.
The next day, Yuan Xi's Chinese army also passed through Puyang on full alert and came to Baimajin. Yuan Xi learned from Jushu that Yuan Shao might be ambushed. But he had no choice but to let his soldiers stay in Baimajin.
Yuan Xi was anxious in his heart. If Yuan Shao made a mistake, Jizhou would be in chaos. At this time, he did not have the qualifications and power to control Hebei.
"What a pity. If Ju Yi and the others had captured Baimajin and then rushed westward to set up an ambush, they would have caught Cao Cao off guard and restored our army's unfavorable situation." Guo Jia, who was behind Yuan Xi, sighed.
Yuan Xi shook his head. Ju Yi was steady and Ju Shu was steady. How could they fight so riskyly? Only Guo Jiacai always made dangerous moves.
"If Cao Cao goes to Yanjin, it wouldn't be too late for us to set up an ambush halfway along the road." Gu Yong suggested.
"It's a little late!" Tian Yu pointed to the east, "Puyang is Cao Cao's eyes, how could they not report the news to him?"
Yuan Xi felt dizzy for a while and asked, "Do any of you have any tips for defeating the enemy?"
"Cao Cao's troops have not yet been assembled. When he returns to the front line of Puyang, it will be a situation where the two armies are facing each other. Only then can we find out the flaws of the Yanzhou army." Jia Xu replied.
Everyone fell silent. Sometimes a strategy cannot be revealed just by telling it, but must be decided in time based on the battle situation.
The army buried pots and cooked rice in the city and stopped for a while. After two hours, they continued their journey to Liyang. At this time, Yuan Xi's mood was extremely complicated. History was running according to the established track. Although he was uncertain, he was still controlled by fate.
Liyang City is still prosperous, and Yuan Jun's defeat at Baima did not silence the people in the city. Everyone was thinking that anyway, Cao Si's air force had strict discipline and would not kill innocent people indiscriminately. Whoever dominates the world will make life difficult for the common people.
This may be the result of Yuan's heavy taxation, harsh punishments, and indulgence of officials oppressing the people.
The chief secretary, Gao Rou, came to deliver the order. The army was stationed in the suburbs, ready to be dispatched at any time. Only Yuan Xi was allowed to bring his trusted followers into the city, while the rest stayed outside the city.
When he saw his uncle Gao Rou, Yuan Xi originally wanted to chat for a while, but he knew it was not the right time, so he and Gao Rou chatted while they were fighting. Gao Rou also revealed a little bit about the recent battle situation to Yuan Xi. Let Yuan Xi prepare in advance.
When Yuan Xi saw his father Yuan Shao, he was lying on the bed and furious. Yuan Xi walked in and saw Yuan Tan and Yuan Shang standing in front of the bed with their heads bowed.
Father Yuan Shao's face was full of anger. He coughed and shouted harshly that he must kill Cao Ah Man.
His eyes were covered with tiny bloodshot streaks, and when he spoke, his voice was hoarse and low, as if there was a breath blocked in his throat. He couldn't swallow it or spit it out. He felt extremely uncomfortable. The concubine kept using her hands to Help him rub his chest gently.
"Father--" Yuan Xi walked in quickly and prostrated under the bed. "The child is back."
"Oh, Xianyi." His father said coldly, "You are back at the right time."
Yuan Xi was almost frozen by these words. He thought to himself, this is bad, his father must be ashamed of not listening to his warning. What should he do? He must think of a way to say something to balance his mind, otherwise something bad will happen. , my father is a very proud man.
But I heard the eldest brother Yuan Tan next to me say, "My second brother is absolutely right. If I had listened to you earlier, our army would not have been defeated like today."
There was a loud bang in Yuan Xi's head, and he thought, Yuan Tan, this guy is plotting against me. And after hearing Yuan Tan's words. Yuan Shao's originally unattractive face turned dark in an instant, and he shouted sternly outside, "Come here, chop this unruly concubine to death."
Several warriors rushed in from outside, grabbed the concubine who was too frightened to speak, grabbed her hair, and dragged her out of the house.
Yuan Xi watched all this silently, feeling solemn in his heart.
Yuan Shao looked at Yuan Xi and said with a face: "You have done a good job in Qingzhou. Go down. As a father, I need to take a rest."
Yuan Xi was stunned, why did he want to drive me away? Then he said: "The child has withdrawn his troops and should be relieved of his military power. Tomorrow, he will hand over the seal and ribbon of Qingzhou Mu to his father."
Yuan Shao coughed and said, "Well, there's no need for that -"
Yuan Tan suddenly interrupted Yuan Shao with a chuckle and said, "Father, the second brother is still thinking about the past. He has made great contributions this time and earned face for the Yuan family. Father, why don't you Feng Er I am a chariot and cavalry general, and the soldiers who go out with the army should also be generously rewarded, so that the people of Jizhou can be convinced. Do you agree with me, third brother?"
Yuan Shang was shocked and snorted coldly without speaking.
Yuan Shao's face became even more angry, "Xianyi, your commander sniped at Cao Jun's flank and made a great contribution. What reward do you want?"
Yuan Xi thought to himself that Yuan Tan's words sounded like he was asking for a reward for himself, but in fact, every word was like a sharp knife piercing Yuan Shao's heart, irritating his sensitive self-esteem, and setting himself on the fire with ulterior motives.
Yuan Xi sighed inwardly. If he didn't come up with some special tricks, don't even think about this. If you don't think about yourself, you have to think about your soldiers and your own woman.
When I listened to storytelling in the past, I knew that when Cao Cao's son Cao Pihe and his talented younger brother Cao Zhi and Cao Zhang competed for the throne, there was a strategy specially used for the elderly - "hide the humble and show filial piety".
Cao Pi knew that he was not as talented as his younger brother, but he still wanted to be the heir, so he came up with a clever plan. Whenever he went on an expedition or the old emperor went on a long trip, he would cry loudly, saying that he couldn't bear to leave his father. In Sanqiu, I told my father to take care of himself and so on.
As a result, after crying like this, he actually made him cry and hold the title of Crown Prince in his hands. It can be seen that in Cao Cao's heart, filial piety comes first. Moreover, Yuan Shao and Cao Cao were good friends since childhood. They were not a family and could not play together.
She had no choice but to use it herself. It was all forced by her boss. "Father--" Yuan Xi burst into tears and knelt on the ground with a thud. He burst into tears and said: "My child only hopes that my father can live a long life and have endless life. I have never thought about anything else. My child, the reason why I can win the battle is just because I miss my father all the time and want to do something for you." The old man shares his worries and solves his problems. The child does not want rewards, the child only wants his father to do everything well and everything goes as he wishes--wuwuwuwu--"
At first, Yuan Xi was a little pretentious, but when she started crying, she thought that her father, Yuan Shao, had raised her up, but now she was suffering from Cao's bullying and could not afford to fall ill, which made her feel sad and sad.
Yuan Shaojing and Yuan Xi suddenly lost their temper after all this fuss. After all, he was his son, so why should he be in trouble with his son, not to mention that his son still had merit.
When Yuan Xi cried like this, Yuan Shao was indeed moved. At the critical moment, the second son was still reliable and thoughtful, but he was still a bit behind in Xianfu.
"It'll be good if Xianyi comes back, it'll be good if he comes back." Yuan Shao turned his head. He hurriedly helped Yuan Xi up, and the crisis was quietly resolved.
News of the failure of the Jizhou Chinese army to cross the river came back, and Yuan Shao was in Liyang. After Yuan Shao discussed with several staff, he gathered more than 10,000 soldiers and horses behind to escort the grain and grassland, and then recruited more than 5,000 soldiers from several counties in Jizhou. Then Liyang was used as a grain collection point, leaving 10,000 people responsible for escorting grain and fodder from Yecheng to Liyang.
Next, about 35,000 Jizhou soldiers and more than 10,000 Youzhou soldiers crossed the river from Liyang to Baima. Yuan Shao left about 10,000 horses from Ju Yi and Gao Lan to garrison in Baimajin.
Then concentrate the troops and horses and attack the white horse in the south. The white horse is Chen Liu's gateway. If you capture it, you can attack Chen Liu.
However, Cao Cao's army also returned to the defense in time, and 30,000 Yanzhou soldiers were stationed in Baima. In addition to heightening the city wall, a camp was built next to it. The Jizhou army's siege equipment was not in place for a while, so they could only build a camp to confront Cao Cao's army. The Qingzhou Army also built a camp at Baima Base along with the Jizhou Central Army.
In this way, Jizhou has nearly 10,000 people in Liyang and more than 10,000 people in Baimajin. There are nearly 80,000 people stationed in Baima, and the entire army has a total of 100,000 troops.
In Yanzhou, more than 15,000 people were stationed in Puyang, more than 30,000 people were stationed in Baima, and more than 5,000 people were responsible for transporting baggage and grain, for a total of 50,000 people.
In the direction of Puyang-Baimajin. The two armies can be described as evenly matched. In the direction of Baima, the Yanzhou Army was at an absolute disadvantage in terms of numbers.
Thus, the famous "Battle of White Horse" in history, which determined the direction of Hebei and the Central Plains, officially kicked off. In the eyes of later generations, this was already the second stage of the "White Horse War", that is, the stalemate stage.
Although Cao Cao's army only has more than 30,000 people stationed in Baima, their morale is high, and they are all Yanzhou elite soldiers, and the weapons they are equipped with are also very sophisticated. Therefore, the Jizhou Army's first probing attack quickly failed.
After Yuan Shao discussed with a group of staff. The strategy of "advancing layer by layer" was adopted, that is, the camp was pushed forward until it was built in front of the enemy's camp and small town, a distance of two hundred to three hundred steps. At such a close distance, not to mention a powerful crossbow, even an ordinary bow can reach the opponent's camp.
It's not unreasonable for Yuan Shao to do this. Jizhou's army is equipped with many crossbows, especially the number of crossbows is much larger than that of Cao Cao's army. They speculated that if this effort continued, the Yanzhou Army would collapse first. If the Yanzhou Army cannot hold on and retreats, they can take the opportunity to defeat the opponent in one fell swoop. Go straight to Chenliu.
