Cao Cao's military office.
At this time, urgent battle reports from Xuzhou and Xuchang flew over like snowflakes. At one point it was said that Liu Biao's army had conquered Wancheng, and at another point it was said that Chen Deng and Zang Ba's troops had defeated Cao Ren and entered the eastern part of Yanzhou.
Therefore, Cao Cao's heart felt like grass growing, itching and unable to rest for a moment. Cao Hong said angrily: "Damn it, this Liu Biao and Sun Jian are full. What good will it do to them if Yuan Shao wins?"
Cao Cao didn't think so. He felt that this was the only thing Liu Biao and Sun Jian had done in their lives that he admired. Because no matter which side Yuan or Cao wins, they will directly threaten the nine counties of Jingzhou and the six counties of Jiangdong. If they want to keep their territory, they must let Yuan and Cao maintain a balance. It is very wise for them to do so.
"If Xuchang is lost, our army will have no way to retreat. Send an order to withdraw." Without the banner of the Emperor, Cao Cao is nothing. Cao Cao was silent for nearly a cup of tea before he made up his mind to say this.
Marching and camping are two important skills that a general must master.
A good general will arrange the marching formation of his soldiers according to the terrain, and assign scouts.
The Jizhou Army has 30,000 soldiers left, and the Youzhou Army has 10,000 soldiers left. The Qingzhou Army suffered the least losses. Excluding the troops from Puyang and Liyang, there were still more than 20,000 troops.
Yuan Xi originally thought that Yuan Tan would be extremely uncooperative, but unexpectedly, Yuan Tan led the Youzhou army to the front.
With Ju Yi and other generals at his disposal, Yuan Xi did not worry about problems such as mid-attack and cutting off the rear. But what Yuan Xi was worried about was another major event: Yuan Shao, a hero of the late Han Dynasty and a general of cavalry, passed away at the time of rooster crow at the age of forty-three.
Yuan Shao before his death.
"Xianyi, you are not going to be a father for a long time. You must treat your eldest brother and third brother well and don't cause trouble to Xiao Qiang. My father knows that you are the most talented, so he entrusts you with your funeral. If I am a father in peacetime, maybe I will appoint Xianfu as my father. Your Majesty, you and Xiansi each refused to defend Jizhou from one state, but God failed to fulfill your wish. Hebei is in the autumn of life and death. Cao Mengde is watching in the south, foreign tribes are attacking in the north, and the Gongsun family in Liaodong is separatist. So Xianyi, you are the most suitable. For the great cause of controlling Hebei and restoring the Yuan family, Xianyi, you must remember that if there is no serious reason, you must treat your two brothers well."
"Today, if Xianyi is in the position of being a father, how do you want to take the future path of the four states in Hebei?"
Yuan Xi thought quietly for a while, and then slowly spoke: "My plan is to stop the war, rest and recuperate, cultivate the fields to raise grain, cut down the troops, replenish Aocang, recruit talents, and wait for the right time."
Yuan Shao nodded lightly and sighed: "The prosperity will decline, whether it will be prosperous or not, my father was really too pretentious in the past, Xianyi, do what you want, the country of these four states, my father will be gone today." I entrust all the power to you. From now on, you will be the lord of Hebei, and the Yuan family will be in charge of you from now on!"
"You don't have to shirk it, and you can't shirk it. Who else would it be for you to revitalize the Yuan family? Among the three of you brothers, only you can shoulder this burden! I forgive my father for leaving you with this mess, but I believe You can do the job, you will definitely do it! Because you are my son, Yuan Benchu!"
As he spoke, he stretched out his hand to hold Yuan Xi's hand, tightened it tightly, stared at his son, and begged: "Xianyi, promise me!"
Yuan Xi burst into tears, caressed his head on the bed, lowered his head and said, "Yes, father! I will do my best to live up to my trust, revive the Yuan family, annihilate Cao Cao, and wash away today's shame and humiliation!"
"My son, listen, I have three great hatreds for my father in this life. Xianyi, please remember to fulfill them for me. The first hatred is that I have never fought against Cao Mengde in my life. The second hatred is that I feel ashamed to compromise with a foreign race. The three biggest hatreds are , Hebei has not yet been unified, and the Gongsun family in Liaodong. Xianyi helped fulfill this wish for his father, and he should be smiling."
The death of a generation of overlord Yuan Shao opened a new chapter, and the era of Emperor Taizong Xuanwu Yuan Xi came.
Yuan Xi accepted Guo Jia's suggestion, suppressed the news, and kept Yuan Shao's death a secret! In addition to Yuan Xi, Guo Jia, Liu Ye, Xu You, Feng Ji, Ju Shou, Chen Lin and Zhu Gongdao and other close guards, even Xun Chen, Yan Liang and others did not know that Yuan Shao was dead.
This was not only done by Emperor Taizong Xuanwu and Yuan Xi, Cao Pi also did it, and Hu Hai also did it.
To Yan Liang, Xun Chen, Cui Yan and others, Yuan Xi said that Yuan Shao was seriously injured. On the other hand, they discussed with them and sent a person with a similar figure to wear Yuan Shao's robe and armor to hide from others. Yan Liang and others didn't know him, so they agreed with Yuan Xi's approach.
Yuan Xi rode Jueying in front of the Chinese army, and behind him was the carriage carrying Yuan Shao's body. Not far ahead, Yuan Shao, disguised as a military commander, was hit by the guards' infantry. He was following the commander of the central army on horseback, imitating Zhuge Liang's arrangement after his death.
"Sir, something is very wrong!" Guo Jia said.
"What's wrong?" Yuan Xi turned around and asked.
"The eldest son ran so fast, he obviously had other plans." Guo Jia said quietly, "He wanted to be the first to return to Yecheng, or to return to his Youzhou as soon as possible to avoid trouble."
Yuan Xi was in a bad mood. Yuan Shao had just passed on the throne. If he wanted to attack Yuan Tan at this sensitive time, he would only give people excuses and would not be able to explain to Yuan Shao. Even Xun Chen, Cui Yan and other old officials would be dissatisfied.
"After arriving at Liyang, the young master took Xun Chen and other old ministers with him. He led a light force and transported Duke Yuan's coffin back to Yecheng." Guo Jia waved his feather fan and continued, "At the same time, he sent a general and his troops to watch him closely and tell him There is news of the death of the eldest son, Duke Yuan. Let him go to Yecheng for the funeral!"
Guo Jia didn't say any more. Yuan Xi understood that the next step was house arrest, but would Yuan Tan really send them to him?
Guo Jia knew what Yuan Xi was thinking and said: "If you don't come to the funeral, it would be unfilial as a son of man. This unfilial person... naturally..."
"Of course, everyone will be punished if they find it!" Yuan Xi said with a stern expression.
Soon, more than 60,000 troops came to station outside Puyang City. The army also began to prepare for crossing the river. Yuan Xi summoned Jizhou's old ministers to Puyang City.
"What, Mr. Yuan is dead!" Xun Chen jumped up, "Why didn't the young general tell me immediately?"
"The matter is urgent. If all the soldiers in the army know about it, then morale will definitely collapse." Feng Ji explained, and now he has become a great hero who supports Yuan Xi.
"Even at this time, please keep it secret. The funeral can only be carried out after the army has crossed the river!" Yuan Xi ordered.
The atmosphere in the small hall was very heavy, and everyone was not only worried about Yuan Shao's death. At the same time, he is still making plans for his future future.
"It's so important at this time, doesn't the young general have no eldest son of the branch?" Cui Yan asked.
"I have sent people three times to ask my eldest brother to come over to discuss matters, but he said that the military affairs are busy and he needs to place soldiers." Yuan Xi replied. In fact, Yuan Tan had already fled to Li Yang at this time.
Everyone is well aware of Yuan Tan's worries, but with this kind of fight between brothers, they can't say anything, and they can't say anything. Do they want to die?
"How unreasonable!" Cui Yan said angrily, "Mr. Yuan told me to obey the orders of the Major General before his death. But this action of the eldest son is clearly disobedience!"
"After the army crosses the river, I will send an order to ask my eldest brother to go to Yecheng for funeral." Yuan Xi looked around at everyone and said, "The impact of this matter on Jizhou is really unpredictable. I will lead the troops lightly with you. Let’s escort my father’s coffin back to Yecheng first to stabilize the overall situation.”
"This..." Xun Chen wanted to say something, but in the end he didn't bring it up. After all, this is what Fusu was treated like. . .
Yuan Xi also asked a group of generals from the guards. At this time, there were indeed many generals under his control. In addition to Zhao Yun, Zhang Liao and others, there are also Ju Yi, Yan Liang, Jiang Qi, Qian Zhao, Jiang Yiqu, Zhao Rui and others from Jizhou.
Although the civil and military elites gathered together, they were obviously divided into two camps. The Jizhou party kneels on the left, and the Qingzhou party kneels on the right.
Looking at his subordinates who consciously sat on both sides, Yuan Xi couldn't help but be touched. At the same time, he also thought of himself and Yuan Tan. No matter which monarch rules, so-called party strife is unavoidable. Wherever there are people, there is competition. Different groups of people will naturally compete for the interests of the ethnic group.
But there must be a certain degree of balance, that is, it does not affect the overall situation. Whether a monarch can adjust the competition between his subjects well is related to the overall situation of the foundation.
This is also a test for Yuan Xi. Just as Emperor Taizong Li Shimin had to deal with the relationship between the old officials of Wude and the heroes of Tiance Mansion when he first ascended the throne.
Yuan Xi suppressed his thoughts. The order was given: "Our army will build ships to cross the river immediately. Ju Yi and Qian will recruit you and lead 10,000 soldiers. We will continue to garrison and guard between Puyang and the ferry, and there will be no mistakes."
"Here!" Ju Yi and Qianzhao came out to take orders.
Yuan Xi nodded and continued to give the order, "Zhang Liao, you are responsible for the defense of Puyang and the interception. The Chinese army will cross the river before leaving."
"Here!" Zhang Liao came out to take orders.
"The remaining generals are preparing to cross the river. Yan Liang, Jiang Qi, you, etc., follow me and lead the light cavalry to escort the coffin back to Yecheng." Yuan Xi ordered.
"Here!" The rest of the people also followed the order and left. Guo Jia, Liu Ye, Gu Yong, Xu You, Feng Ji and Zhao Yun were left in the hall, several of Yuan Xi's confidants.
Yuan Xi gave another order: "Zhao Yun, lead the Xiaoqi camp cavalry and follow the Youzhou army across the river. They must not be allowed to approach Yecheng! Otherwise, you will be questioned!"
Zhao Yun was shocked, but he still followed the order. Zhao Yun got on the wrong sedan chair after all. It was a pity, but since Zhao Yun had committed himself to Yuan Xi, he would persevere without hesitation. This was his way.
After dealing with these follow-up matters, Yuan Xi suddenly felt exhausted physically and mentally. At this moment, he suddenly remembered that warm and comfortable time in Qingzhou, which he could never go back to.
The dirty blood of the Yuan family will eventually flow until it is destroyed. This is a curse, and it is also the evil cause planted by Emperor Taizong Xuanwu Yuan Xi, the reincarnation of heaven.
Baima Jin.
Two troops of the Yanzhou Army are stationed in Baimajin together. One of them is from Cao Ang and Yu Jinsuo, and the other is the Bingzhou elite cavalry led by Lu Bu.
"The last general has come to return his orders. The Jizhou army was heavily guarded along the way. We and others were unable to take action. We only killed more than a thousand enemy soldiers!" Lu Bu said, cupping his fists and saluting.
Cao Cao ignored Cao Ang and Yu Jin who were also standing aside, but stepped forward to help Lu Bu up.
Then Cao Cao welcomed the generals in.
"Father, we failed to intercept and kill the Jizhou army, and we failed to meet your expectations." Cao Ang said uneasily.
Cao Cao looked stern, "You should consult with the generals and learn from this carelessness!"
"I know, kid." Cao Ang replied quickly.
"Lord, we are also at fault, and it is not all the fault of the eldest son." Dong Zhao defended, "The Jizhou Army seemed to have changed its commander for a while. His acting style was very sharp and decisive. When the Youzhou Army was marching, it broke away from the Jizhou Army. After guessing that Yuan Shao was seriously injured, Yuan Xi took over the power of the Jizhou Army."
Cao Cao was angry for a while, but he suppressed it and asked: "How do you think this battle will end?"
Everyone looked at each other for a while. Although they knew that the fight could not continue, they were unwilling to call it quits first.
"Lord, our army does not have much rations, and the Jizhou army is very well-prepared. We are afraid that we will not have a chance to fight again, so it is better to retreat early and leave Chen Liu." Xun You suggested.
Cao Cao looked at his confidant Cheng Yu on the other side.
Cheng Yu stood up and replied: "It is true. Our army does not have much food and supplies, and if Yuan Xi is eager to retreat to Hebei, it will be difficult for us to make any further plans."
At first, when Cao Cao heard the news that Bao Xin had died in battle, Xi Zhong had died of illness, and Wei Zhong had surrendered, he was drinking heavily to celebrate.
He was stunned for a long time, without saying a word, and his face turned pale. With a crash, the wine glass fell to the ground and broke.
Cao Cao immediately realized that he had lost his temper. Pretending to be calm, he said to the generals and counselors below: "I'm so drunk that I can't even hold the wine glass steady."
Xun You knew that Cao Cao wanted to stabilize the morale of the army, and immediately said: "The deceased is dead, my lord, don't worry about it. The most important thing right now is to pursue the poor bandit Yuan Shao and don't let him run back to Jizhou."
Cao Cao said sternly: "Ah?!. Yuan Shao is already at the end of his rope, how can he kill Bao Xin? Who did this?"
Dong Zhao, the admonishing doctor in charge of collecting intelligence, came out and said: "My lord, it is Yuan Shao's second son, Yuan Xi. He sent people to ambush Bao Xin in Puyang, and Zhicai was also killed by him. There is Wei Zhong..."
"The hatred of Zhicai is irreconcilable. Although it is not appropriate to mobilize troops at this time, in the future I will definitely demand Yuan Xi to pay for his debt with blood! And the old guy Wei Zhong, he will not go north, but will go south, and no one will be left in the world." Him." Cao Cao said bitterly.
"Report! Chen Liu reports urgently!" The messenger handed over the document.
Cao Cao took it and his face changed drastically after looking at it.
Cheng Yu's sharp eyes saw the words "Taishan, Donghai", and his heart tightened, knowing that something was wrong. Cao Cao was even more panicked. Although he had speculated that there was a fire in the backyard, he did not expect that there was actually a fire.
Liyang camp.
Finally, Yuan Xi and others arrived at Liyang. Zhang He looked at the two tough men and shed tears. He apologized and said, "Major General, you are finally back. Please punish us. We have lost our troops and generals, which is an embarrassment to you."
Yuan Xi felt his blood boiling all over his body; "Wherever, without you defending Liyang, our army would have been ambushed by Cao Cao from all sides. Junyi, you guys deserve the most credit. Junyi is really my General Li Mu. I read it right. Soldiers who died in battle should be treated generously." Give him a home, and you will wait for me to return to Jizhou and request you to be granted the title of Marquis." Yuan Xi held the two men's hands tightly.
The next day, Cao Cao sent someone to the city to deliver a letter, saying that he wanted to meet and reminisce about old times, and wrote a letter.
When the two armies faced each other, Cao Cao took his horse out of the battle, faced Yuan Xi, and said with a smile: "I should have a son like Yuan Xianyi. If I have a son like you, I can rest in peace. I am not as good as me."
As he spoke, he glanced at Cao Ang beside him. Cao Ang was so angry that his neck turned red.
Yuan Xi said loudly: "Xuzhou is in decline, why doesn't Sikong retire early? Liu Biao in Jingzhou will always be your biggest concern. Sun Jian is eyeing Jianghuai. With them here, Uncle Shi, you can't look directly at Jizhou."
Cao Cao sneered and said: "That's nonsense. The most serious problem of this general is you. As long as your Hebei Yuan family is not destroyed, I will never have peace."
Yuan Xi curled his lips and said with a smile: "To each other, Sikong, please read the letter." A soldier had already sent the letter.
Cao Cao opened it and laughed loudly: "Yuan Xianyi, don't bully me." What did you write?
On the front, it says: "The worries about the future have not been eliminated, why don't Sikong retreat quickly." On the back, it says: "I will not feel at ease until Duke Cao dies." He gave it to Cao Cao after he was demoted and praised.
This was Sun Quan's way of retreating from the enemy. The first points out the severe situation Cao Cao faces. The second sentence gave Cao Cao enough face and showed that I was very afraid and scrupulous about him.
Sun Quan's original text seems to be: "The spring water will bring forth spring, and it is advisable for the public to leave quickly. If you do not die with one step, you will not be alone."
As expected, as mentioned in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Cao Cao circulated the letter to the generals and said, "No matter what, Yuan Xianyi is still very afraid of me." Cao Ang thought to himself, come on, dad, don't be so self-righteous.
All the generals worshiped together; "Sikong is so powerful all over the world, who dares to disapprove." Cao Cao was in a good mood, and he immediately returned to his home base with Cheng Yu and others.
After returning to camp, Cao Cao said solemnly: "Instruct the three armies to withdraw from camp in an hour and return to Xuchang."
In order to prevent Yuan's army from raiding, Cao's army turned the front army into the rear army and broke out of the camp one by one. On the morning of the third day, the first group of troops had already marched across the Yellow River in a hurry, which shows how anxious he was.
Just like when Zhu Wen and Li Cunxu were fighting, Zhu Wen also hurriedly burned the camp and retreated because of instability in the rear.
