So Gongsun Zan and his second brother Gongsun Yue led the army back to the camp. The third brother Gongsun Fan who stayed behind saw his eldest and second brothers returning. He hurriedly asked people to open the camp gate and welcome Gongsun Zan back to the camp.
After Gongsun Zan came back, he didn't have time to say anything to them, so he asked them to go down and settle the soldiers. Instead, he walked towards his tent and asked his confidants to write and write quickly. He planned to write a letter.
Seeing how impatient Gongsun Zan was, he didn't even have time to talk to himself. The two brothers Gongsun Yue and Gongsun Fan looked at each other, both confused, not understanding what their eldest brother was doing. Why are you so crazy, someone like this can write letters?
Although they didn't know why, they didn't say much or ask any more questions. It is better to wait until the army is settled first, and then ask the elder brother together.
So, the two went down and worked separately, one to settle the soldiers, and the other to arrange guards to prevent Yuan Shao's army from taking the opportunity to cause trouble.
Gongsun Zan is a bit indifferent to these things, or he is more at ease with his own brothers.
I saw him taking three steps and two steps at a time to return to his tent. His servants had already prepared pens, inks, paper and inkstones. Gongsun Zan waved his hand for them to go down first and wait for his call. No one is allowed in without your own orders. The men took the order and stood guard outside the tent, waiting for the master's call.
After his confidants left, Gongsun Zan sat down immediately, took out a pen and paper, and started writing furiously. I don’t know what he wrote, but I saw that he wrote quickly but very seriously. There is a lot to write, and it seems that there is a lot of content. After the Gongsun Yue brothers have arranged their affairs, it has not been written yet.
After the Gongsun Yue brothers finished handling the matter, they went to report to their eldest brother. They also took the opportunity to see if there was anything wrong with him and to clarify their doubts. However, they were stopped by the guards arranged by their eldest brother at the door, which made them a little angry. They couldn't help but reprimanded the soldier who was short-sighted.
"Two generals, stay behind. My lord has ordered that no one should be disturbed without summons." A soldier without a wink stopped the Gongsun Yue brothers who wanted to see their eldest brother.
Seeing that he was stopped, Gongsun Yue didn't say anything, he was just a little stingy. Gongsun Fan was not very angry, he just smiled.
"Haha, you are very good and know how to fulfill your duties. But what brother said is for outsiders. We brothers should not take it seriously. It is better to let us go and let me in!"
Although Gongsun Fan pretended to be easy-going and laughed at the guard soldier. But he was indifferent and refused.
"No, this is the Lord's order. No one is allowed to violate it, not just you, but no one is allowed to violate it!"
This statement makes sense and is very righteous, but it is indeed very irritating. When Gongsun Fan finished speaking, his expression changed instantly, feeling that he could no longer hold on to his face.
At this time, Gongsun Yue saw that his third brother was defeated. He was so angry that he could no longer bear it. He stretched out his hand and slapped it down, shouting while slapping it.
Snapped-
"Get out of here, you don't even care about yourself, and you dare to stop us from meeting our eldest brother. You really don't want to live anymore." As he said this, he planned to draw out his sword and teach him a lesson.
At this time, Gongsun Zan had also finished writing the letter. Seeing that there was a lot of noise outside, he opened the tent door, walked out, and saw this scene. He knew that his second brother was acting like a fool again. But after all, he is his brother, these are normal.
So he spoke, not intending to reprimand his brother, but rather blaming the beaten soldier.
"Okay, second brother, don't be angry. Come in quickly and discuss the next step. This soldier has no expression. I will teach him a lesson later. The most important thing is now!"
Seeing that his eldest brother had spoken, Gongsun Yue stopped and followed his eldest brother and third brother into the tent to discuss matters. He ignored the soldier and just looked at the aggrieved soldier in a funny way.
After walking in, there was a letter on the table that had not yet dried on the ink. Gongsun Fan curiously picked it up and read it. After reading it, he passed it to his second brother for him to read as well.
After reading it, the two of them were a little surprised. They didn't expect that their eldest brother was already preparing to evacuate here, and they had already arranged an escape route. The two looked at each other, puzzled.
"Brother, we just suffered a defeat, so don't be so pessimistic. Leaving without fighting now will easily cause panic and have a huge impact on our morale," Gongsun Yue advised.
Gongsun Fan also answered, "Yes, what the second brother said is absolutely true. Even if we want to retreat, we don't have to retreat directly to Youbeiping. We can use other cities in Youzhou to slowly deal with Yuan Shao. We won't fight now. To abandon it would be to give the territory we just acquired to the people of Jizhou. I don’t think so, but please think twice before doing so!”
It turned out that after this defeat, Gongsun Zan had realized the importance of his adviser Tian Kai's advice and knew that he was right. So after I came back, I accepted Tian Kai's suggestions non-stop. Immediately write a letter to his son, asking him to follow his own wishes, strengthen the walls and clear the country, strengthen the city defense of his hometown, and wait for his return.
He was also prepared to pretend to resist desperately to attract the attention of Yuan Shao's army. Secretly, he asked the prefects of the counties under his command to abandon the city. With soldiers, horses, money and food, they gathered in their own lair in Youbeiping to compete with Yuan Shao.
After he waited for all these to be completed, he led the army to retreat to Youbeiping under the cover of night without anyone noticing, where he and Yuan Shao divided the battles again.
After seeing the content of the letter, Gongsun Yue and Gongsun Fan knew what their eldest brother was thinking, and they didn't quite agree with it, so they both made suggestions and reminded him.
Unfortunately, Gongsun Zan had already made up his mind. He just listened to their opinions and still acted arbitrarily and refused.
"I have made up my mind. You just have to follow my orders without making any mistakes. If you hesitate, don't blame me for not caring about brotherhood!"
"Obey me, brother!"
Seeing their eldest brother say such harsh words, the two brothers Gongsun Yue and Gongsun Fan no longer dared to dissuade him and had no choice but to obey his orders.
Gongsun Zan was very satisfied when he saw that the two agreed with him. He asked his reliable confidant to go out to the camp overnight and safely hand over his handwritten letter to his son, and asked him to act according to the order without violating it.
The confidant did not dare to neglect and took the order. Gongsun Zan took his second and third brothers together to discuss the next performance. Let's see how we can stall Yuan Shao so that our plan can be implemented smoothly.
