It was a hot season in Xuchang in June 2000. A decisive battle in the Central Plains ended within three months. To the surprise of all the heroes, the expected situation of losing both sides did not appear. It was Yuan Xi, the leader of the second generation, who won.
Of course, news of Cao Cao's defeat also reached Jingzhou and Yangzhou, which were adjacent to Yuzhou.
The original Prime Minister's Mansion in Xudu is now Yuan Xi's temporary residence. Housing in ancient times was not built and updated as quickly as it is today. Many old houses can have multiple owners, which is normal.
"Lord, there is an urgent report from the front!" Gu Yong hurried to the meeting hall and reported to Yuan Xi.
At this time, the only civil servants in the meeting hall were Guo Jia, Jia Xu, Sima Yi, Guo Tu, Feng Ji, Cui Yan, and Xu You.
There were only a few generals: Xu Huang, Hao Zhao, Yan Liang, Wen Chou, and Mi Wei. The others were assigned to various places to take over cities and counties, and to encircle and suppress the remnants of Cao Cao's army.
"Something happened in Xuzhou!" Gu Yong said anxiously.
"What's going on!" Yuan Xi asked anxiously as soon as he slapped the case.
Gu Yong said, and his voice became deeper: "As soon as my lord's army returned to Xudu, the Sun family took the opportunity to seize the southern part of Xiapi, and the Chushui army blocked the Huai River!"
As soon as this statement came out, everyone was shocked and angry.
Yuan Xi calmed down when he heard that the Sun family had intervened.
Fighting in the Jianghuai and Jiangshui areas is not like the Central Plains. Just set up the formation and do it. Water battles are quite complicated.
The Sun family has made it clear that they want to control Jianghuai and resist the movement of Yuan Xi's forces from the Central Plains to the south. If they forcefully attack Jianghuai, the outcome will be uncertain.
Moreover, now that Yuan Xi had just defeated Cao Cao, it was time to build up his power, and he did not want to be defeated by Sun Ce.
Gu Yong said again: "Lord, Hanoi has come to report that Ma Chao captured Anyi and General Ju Yi retreated to Linfen."
Yuan Xi clenched his fists and sighed: "What a troubled time it has been. Doesn't God allow me to quickly unify the Central Plains?"
"My lord, what is more important now is to conquer Runan, northern Nanyang, and Xuzhou. If you cannot conquer these cities and counties and obtain their money, food and land, and the army goes on an expedition, it will become a violent army. If there is a slight mistake, it will be damaged. So powerful." Jia Xu said.
"Can we only accept Yan, Yu and Xu three places?" Yuan Xi asked.
"As long as the land of the three states is captured, the north of the Huai River will be our army's power, including the land of the seven states. Can't we resist the Sun family? My lord, please be patient. On the day of the Central Plains' great peace, my lord's banner will be When it points to the south." Jia Xu analyzed.
Hearing this, Yuan Xi nodded. Some things should not be rushed. Instead of rushing to attack, it is better to digest the land of the three states. He is a man who is ashamed and endures shame. Let Sun Ce be arrogant for a few days.
"The Ma family is a scourge. If they gain a foothold in Sili, Hedong, Guanzhong and control the dangerous places in Guanzhong, it will be really time-consuming and laborious to deal with them." Guo Jia said worriedly.
Historically, Ma Chao and Han Sui occupied all the dangerous places in Guanzhong, which made Cao Cao spend a lot of effort to pacify Guanzhong.
"My lord, we should mobilize troops from Bingzhou to assist Ju Yi. As long as we control the Fen River Valley, Hedong will still be in our army's hands. It won't be too late for my lord to march into Guanzhong later." Sima Yi suggested. t.
"No, we should draw out elite troops and quickly destroy the Ma family!" Yuan Xi said, rejecting Sima Yi's safe strategy.
He knew that if the Ma family really gained a foothold, a powerful enemy would appear to the west.
Moreover, Guanzhong, Hanzhong, and Shuzhong will be Yuan Xi's strategic layout for a long time in the future. The Jin and Sui dynasties unified the world in this way, even the Tang and Song dynasties.
"But our army has just experienced a war, and the three armies have not yet been repaired. After that, we have to control Xu, Yu, and Yan. Our material, human, and financial resources are somewhat stretched. How can we fight again!" Cui Yan objected.
"It depends on people. If we don't destroy the Ma family as soon as possible, it will be bad when they become powerful. You must know that Guanzhong is a place for hegemony. If they attack Jingzhou from north to south, our army will be extremely passive." Yuan Xi said firmly.
Guo Jia smiled, of course he knew what Yuan Xi was thinking.
So he agreed: "What the young master said is really good in terms of people. It doesn't necessarily require hundreds of thousands of troops to destroy the Ma family. I have an idea."
"Fengxiao, tell me quickly!" Yuan Xi said in surprise.
"Fake Dao to attack Guo!" Guo Jia said word by word.
"Fake Dao to attack Guo?" Yuan Xi asked doubtfully.
Guo Jia waved his feather fan and said with a smile: "Actually speaking, it is not a fake way to attack Guo. It is still the saying: go where you don't go and go where you don't expect. As long as the strategy is right, you don't need to attack every dangerous pass in Guanzhong. We need to win over the enemy!"
"Chang'an?" Yuan Xi asked.
"Mr. Guo is exaggerating. How can we cross all the passes and attack Chang'an?" Feng Ji also asked.
Guo Jia did not answer but analyzed: "In Guanzhong today, Ma Teng and Han Sui are basically the strongest. From the news sent back by the spies, there has been a gap between Ma Teng and Han Sui since entering Guanzhong. As long as we Add a little fire and it won't be difficult to turn them against each other."
"Fengxiao, tell me!" Yuan Xi asked anxiously.
He knew that in history, Ma Teng and Han Sui also turned against each other after entering Guanzhong. Although it was said that the conflict between their subordinates expanded, Yuan Xi believed that the essence was that one mountain could not accommodate two tigers.
"Ma Teng claims to be a loyal minister of the Han Dynasty. As long as His Majesty's decree passes, Ma Teng should ask Ma Chao to stop attacking Hedong. Then let Ma Teng expel Han Sui and inform Han Sui of the news. Han Sui also knows that Ma Teng is loyal to Emperor, how can he sit still and wait for death!" Guo Jia said with a smile.
"This is a plan of two tigers competing for food!" Yuan Xi praised.
"That's not all. Didn't the spies say that most of Han Sui's men are bandits? They most hope to have a good identity. They can take the opportunity to bribe them to return to the imperial court." Guo Jia suggested.
"Mr. Guo has always said that Ma Teng claims to be loyal to the Han Dynasty, so wouldn't it be better for His Majesty to send someone to send an edict to let him surrender?" Feng Ji said.
Guo Jia shook his head and explained, "Ma Teng claims to be loyal to the Han Dynasty, but if you give him an edict to surrender, can he obey the general's orders? After all, Ma Teng is still a powerful force. If he cannot use both soft and hard tactics, he will not be able to conquer the country. .”
"You mean to hurt him, and then use His Majesty's edict to subdue him?" Guo Tu asked.
"That's it!" Guo Jia said with a smile: "Moreover, the situation between the Ma and Han families is complicated, which is an opportunity our army can take advantage of."
"The falsehood that Feng Xiao just said, can you tell me what's going on now?" Yuan Xi asked.
"First let Ma Teng and Han Sui fight fiercely. Our army can use the excuse of returning to the army to go north, and secretly send a group of elite troops from Wuguan into Guanzhong. One group will sneak to Chang'an and cooperate with Han Sui to defeat the Ma family in one fell swoop!" Guo Jia's eyes flashed with something! Distracted.
"After defeating the Ma family, your Majesty ordered Ma Teng to come to court and then control his soldiers?" Yuan Xi asked.
"This is exactly the case, and with good planning, Han Sui can be eliminated with the help of others, so Guanzhong is under the control of our army!" Guo Jia said.
"If only a few soldiers and horses attack, it is too risky, and is it feasible to go to Wuguan?" Guo Tu said with doubts in his tone.
Guo Jia's strategy is always a bit risky, but the rewards are also very large.
Yuan Xi was eager to control Guanzhong, so he was inclined to give it a go.
"During the Rebellion of the Seven Kings in the past, the rebels were preparing to march to Luoyang to join forces. Emperor Jing sent Zhou Yafu to quell the rebellion. Zhou Yafu did not go through Guanzhong, which was surrounded by passes. Instead, he took Lantian out of Wuguan and went straight to Luoyang. The rebels were caught off guard. I think Zhou Yafu The same goes for being imprisoned in Chang'an." Yuan Xi said firmly.
Jia Xu didn't know Yuan Xi's intention to seize Guanzhong and Hanzhong, so he said: "Since the lord has decided, we can only try our best to plan, and as Fengxiao said, the chance of winning is actually not small."
Yuan Xi thought for a while and said: "I will personally lead the army with 10,000 cavalry. There will also be 10,000 infantry, plus 10,000 Wuhuan soldiers. If we add Ju Yi from Hedong, we should be able to capture the Ma family. !”
"It's just that the Central Plains must be properly deployed, otherwise it will be bad if the Sun family counterattacks." Jia Xu reminded.
Yuan Xi took out the military talisman and ordered, "Send the order, order Jushou to be the general of the Eastern Conquest, and send Zang Ba and Ji Ling to assist in the defense of Xuzhou and Pei. Then order Chen Deng to be the governor of Yuzhou, and Zhang He to be the general of the bandits. Defense of Runan in Yuzhou. Make Zhong Yao the governor of Yanzhou. Send Zhao Rui to assist in the defense of Yanzhou. Make Xu Huang the general of Pingnan. Take over the northern part of Nanyang and guard against Liu Biao of Jingzhou."
Yuan Xi thought about it again. Then he ordered: "Instruct Changtun, Guan Hai, and Zhou Cang to take over the defense of Xu County and defend Your Majesty the whole country."
Changtun, Guanhai and Zhoucang were born in the Yellow Turbans. Naturally, he doesn't have a good impression of the Han Dynasty, and he is also Yuan Xi's confidant, so it would be a good idea to send him to garrison Xudu to monitor the courtiers.
but.
What's more, these guys are also restless masters. They almost mutinied and forced the palace in the past. Let's take the opportunity to put Nanshan aside this time.
After all, Yuan Xi was kind by not killing them.
"Xuzhou, Yuzhou, and Nanyang are all areas bordering powerful enemies, and heavy troops must be stationed for defense." Xu You reminded.
"Garrison 20,000 people in Yanzhou, 20,000 people in Nanyang, 30,000 people in Xuzhou and Yuzhou each, and then let them recruit soldiers and horses from the local area and farm the fields to accumulate grain." Yuan Xi decided.
"My Lord, you can go to your Majesty immediately to ask for the edict. Those enemy generals have also been taken into custody in Xu County. Whether they are to be killed or attacked, they should be arranged as soon as possible." Guo Jia said.
