When Sun Jian was winning a series of battles in Hongnong, Yuan Shu was having a banquet in Luoyang. Now he is honored as a hussar general, and he has made great achievements in recovering the capital. There are thirteen states in the world, including Youzhou, Bingzhou, Yuzhou, Jingzhou, Xuzhou, The five states of Qingzhou respected him as the leader of the alliance and wanted to kill the national traitor Dong Zhuo at the first sight. The so-called restoration of the Ming Dynasty and the re-establishment of the country was nothing more than this.
Correspondingly, it was his brother Yuan Shao's inaction. Although in name, after Yuan Wei's death, Yuan Shao, who was Yuan Cheng's stepson, became the leader of the Yuan clan, this was indeed the case. Nowadays, most of the many princes in Suanzao are former officials of the Yuan clan. They spontaneously surround Yuan Shao and support him as the leader of the anti-Dong alliance. However, in the more than a year since he launched his army, Yuan Shao has lost troops and generals one after another, and has not won a single victory against Dong Zhuo. In Yuan Shu's view, the two can judge the difference between them.
When he regained Luoyang, he originally wanted to invite Yuan Shao to come to worship his ancestors and seize the opportunity to annex him. In this way, the heroes of Guandong could only follow his lead. Unfortunately, Yuan Shao was very vigilant. After receiving the letter, he only sent his eldest son Yuan Tan to pay homage on his behalf, citing busy military affairs, which made his plan come to nothing. However, Yuan Shu didn't take it seriously. As the war against Dong progressed, his reputation spread far and wide, and many Suizao princes also assessed the situation at the right time and secretly communicated with him through letters.
What pleased him the most was that Qiao Mao, the governor of Dongjun, also secretly sent a letter. The letter said that Yuan Shao was "narrow-minded, short-tempered, and hypocritical." He further said that Yuan Shao had been entrusted by the ministers and the court had important responsibilities, and Qiao Mao Entrusted by the ministers of the DPRK, he initiated the crusade against Dong and spread the message to the prefectures and counties. He should be unswervingly committed to the rejuvenation of the country, so he was willing to give up Yuan Shao, respect Yuan Shu as his superior, and continue to crusade against Dong Daye.
Liu Biao in Xiangyang also sent his eldest son Liu Qi to congratulate him since he heard that Yuan Shu had recaptured Luoyang, and sent more than 100,000 buckets of rice in succession. On the third day of February, Liu Qi met Yuan Shu. He bowed three times and kowtowed to Yuan Shu in person, and said respectfully: "The general's divine power will flatten the district and help all the people. All the people in Jingzhou will be followed." Then he claimed that Jingzhou will send governors to rule. Kuai Liang, who was engaged in the war, came to Luoyang Xiang to help Yuan Shu in his fight against Dong.
Yuan Shu was overjoyed when he heard this, but then he remembered Liu Biao's mistake of killing his subordinates indiscriminately, and teased Liu Qi: "My father was one of the eight heroes, but he was favored by Dong Zhuo. He was appointed as the shepherd of a state, and he killed the righteous people. , now that Dong Zhuo is about to fall, he will turn against him, so where is the faith?"
Liu Qi looked horrified when he heard this, and after a long time he replied: "Your Excellency, you are helping the hussar because you are obeying the righteousness. How can you say that you have no faith?" Yuan Shu laughed loudly and rewarded Liu Qi with a volume of "The Biography of Qu Yuan and Jia Sheng", indicating that he should be responsible for it. Have the ambition to serve the country and be loyal to the emperor.
After Liu Qi returned to Xiangyang, Liu Biao asked him what he had seen in Luoyang. Liu Qi replied: "The Eastern Capital is in decay, the palace walls are broken, basil grows in the streets and alleys, and corpses are occasionally seen, but they cannot be heard. There are only merit monuments inside and outside the two palaces." Caicai, the dragon gate is shining, but the cars and horses are coming and going quietly, and the white people outside the gate are scattered."
After hearing this, Kuai Liang, the chief secretary, turned to congratulate Liu Biao and said: "How lucky you are! Luoyang was originally the residence of the emperor. It is surrounded by the dangers of eight passes and has the prosperity of the Central Plains. Since ancient times, it has been an important place for using troops to appease the people. What the world wants. Now that Yuan Shu is stationed there, he can't bring peace to the people and recruit talented people. He can be said to be in a treasure house without taking any money. How is it different from grass and trees? I think it is difficult for him to do anything. Got it!”…
So Liu Qi was asked to comment on the people under Yuan Shu. Liu Qi pondered for a moment and replied slowly: "Under Yuan Shu, I have seen more of his staff but not his generals. The most important staff are Yan Xiang, Shi Yiguan, Shu Shao , Han Yin, and Hui Qu."
Liu Biao said "Oh", with a smile on his face, and said to Liu Qi: "No need to say any more." He turned to Kuai Liang and smiled: "These five people are all my old acquaintances. Yuan Gongli reuses these five people." , there will definitely be no success, your brother will have no difficulty in regaining Nanyang."
"Why did you say this?"
"Yan Xiang always speaks prudent words when planning for the country, but I have never heard of him in my dealings with him. He may be a governor in peacetime, but it is difficult for him to be a counselor in troubled times."
"Shi Yiguan came from the Hongdu sect, but he is just a licker. He may have some literary skills, but he only knows how to write and write. How can he achieve anything?"
"Shu Shao is a kind-hearted and wise man who is willing to do good and charity. He has always been famous and is supported by the people. I also deeply respect him. He does not understand the general situation, does not understand obedience and disobedience, sticks to small details, and lives in troubled times. He is just a burden."
"Han Yin and Hui Qu are good at blustering their lips and tongues to confuse the mediocre, but in fact they are empty-handed and have only false reputations."
Liu Biao finally concluded: "Yuan Shu reused these five people, and he was able to win consecutive battles and regain Luoyang. It seems that it is all the credit of Sun Wentai and Chen Tingjian."
After hearing this, Kuai Liang couldn't help but hold up his palms with joy and said: "Shijun has such a vision and sees people so accurately. Compared with Yuan Gong, a mediocre person, there is a huge difference from Shijun. It seems that the alliance with Yuan Benchu , but there is no need to hesitate.”
Liu Biao stroked his beard and promised, so he immediately summoned his staff Pang Ji and wrote a secret letter in handwriting, ordering him to rush to send jujube to Yuan Shao. Then he sent an order to Kuai Yue: hurry up and lead the army westward along the Mian River to quickly capture Deng County, Shandu, Zhuyang, Yin County, Wudang and other places.
Although Xiangyang is a huge city, every day when he thinks about the north of Xiangyang, there is no shelter. Yuan Shu's army sets out from Wancheng and arrives in the morning and evening. Liu Biao feels the thorn in his back. If he succeeds this time and Kuai Yue secures a barrier to the west of Xiangyang, then the city defense of Xiangyang will be completely consolidated and Liu Biao can rest easy.
Pang Ji knew that this matter was of great importance and did not dare to delay. He immediately took three fast horses and set off. He did not dare to rest in the middle. When the horses were tired, he changed horses and ate and drank on the horses. He ran wildly for one day and two nights. After nearly five hundred miles, we finally arrived at Jujube in the early morning of the tenth day of the lunar month.
After Yuan Shao received the recapture, he immediately asked his subordinates to arrange for Pang Ji to rest, and then summoned all the staff in the mansion to discuss the next actions. Before everyone had breakfast, Yuan Shao arranged for people to cook goose meat porridge and discussed with his staff while eating.
He took two sips and first asked Xu You beside him: "Now Liu Jingsheng is willing to form an alliance with us, and the south side of the highway is also responding to me. It can be said that everything is ready. What do you think?"
Xu You touched the sparse beard on his chin, thought for a while and replied: "Now that we have reached this point, you can no longer hesitate. If Sun Wentai really seeks to pacify Dong Zhuo and Yuan Jiuji comes to power, will we still have a good life?" ? The matter must be urgent, Qiao Mao should be killed immediately! Then send troops to Yingchuan to force Sun Wentai to withdraw his troops!"
Yuan Shao remained silent. He tapped the porridge bowl with his bamboo chopsticks and sighed: "Just like this, I have been raising Wangwang for more than ten years, and it can be said to be ruined."...
Guo Tu laughed loudly when he heard the words on the other side. He pointed at Yuan Shao and said: "Why should you hesitate? You must know those who are hopeful, and distinguish the hope of troubled times from the hope of governing the world. Those who hope to govern the world should be friends with the ministers at the top, and protect the common people at the bottom. The great reputation of a monarch has become a ritual in ancient and modern times. In times of trouble, the king has a heroic strategy and plans. He has the external ability to defeat the heroes and the internal ability to exterminate the evil bandits. However, he only cares about his strategy and not about his conduct."
Speaking of this, Guo Tu pointed to the west again and said: "Now is the time of great chaos. If you, the king, have great achievements in your mind, you should practice the way of king and domination, show your super-worldly strategies, and show your extraordinary courage! If you, the king, can be the first After Yuan Shu was defeated, Guandong was unified, Guanlong was pacified, and the Western Region was restored, how many people can accuse the envoy?"
"When Guangwu was established in Hebei, he had no choice but to rely on Gengshi Xie Gong's strong support. However, Guangwu broke the agreement, attacked and captured Ye City, leaving Xie Gong with no way out. Instead, he was captured and killed by Wu Han, and then he became the emperor. But now who dares to do so? Are you saying that Guangwu is a villain who betrays his alliance and has no faith?"
When Xun Chen heard this, he put down his porridge bowl and smiled at him: "Chen Tingjian once said that."
Guo Tu was stunned and his face turned pale. Everyone laughed when they saw this. Yuan Shao waved his hands and said with a smile: "Chen Tingjian is a rotten scholar, it's not enough to comment! What the public principles say is the right principle." He finally made up his mind and said seriously: "It's just that I should not be responsible for the execution of Qiao Mao. As the governor of Yanzhou, Liu Gongshan has the power to supervise the county governor. He and Qiao Mao have always been at odds, so I will leave this matter to him."
No one had any objections, but Xin Ping of Yingchuan asked: "It's just that the location of Dongjun is very important, with a big river flowing in the middle and adjacent to the three states. According to our previous plan, after the envoy captures Jizhou, he must first pacify Youyan and then capture Qingxu." , the safety of the front and back is all in this place. Not to mention that in the future, the Central Plains will be used, and Dongjun is also the fundamental place. Once Qiao Mao dies, Dongjun will have no owner, so who should you guard it? "
Yuan Shao pondered for a moment and then replied: "Now that Liu Dai has been asked to kill Qiao Mao, the post of governor of Dongjun may not be in our hands, so we can only seize the post of captain first." Meng De said in the letter that he will not be here soon. We will return to Chenliu, and Meng De has always been friendly with Chenliu and Zhang Miao, so why not let him lead his army to stay in Dongjun temporarily in the name of helping to defend Heishan!"
After all matters were discussed, everyone took orders and left.
On this day, the sky was cloudless. Only the golden brilliance of spring can be seen in the clear blue sky. These rays are as slender as silk threads, but they spread continuously over the mountains, making the Chenliu wilderness even more open.
Qiao Mao, the prefect of Dongjun, was very happy when he saw this scene, so he led more than ten personal guards out of the city for an outing. Along the way, Qiao Mao saw that the earth and fields were gradually turning green, willow forests were lined on both sides of the river, poplars and elm pods were flying, and wild animals and birds were appearing in groups, which made him feel relaxed and happy.
The purpose of his trip was to the south bank of the river. Still two or three miles away, he could hear a rumbling sound. As he got closer, the sound gradually became louder. It turned out that the Yellow River was thawing, the ice cracked, and the ice cubes collided with each other in the rapids, shattered, and flew in the rolling waves, resulting in a deafening sound.
In Qiao Mao's view, this sound was like thunder that awakened all things. He smiled and said to his followers: "The flood in the Yellow River is a harbinger of the recovery of living beings. Now that the situation is improving, I believe that by the end of March, we will be able to return to life again." I see the emperor and restore peace to the country. I have stayed in Suanzao for a whole year and have nothing to do. I'd better go to Luoyang someday."
He broke off a willow branch on the river bank as a souvenir and walked back at noon.
Unexpectedly, when he returned to Suanzao, he saw Liu Dai standing at the gate of the city, and he suddenly felt worried. He had many conflicts with Liu Dai over the matter of food and grass, and they had different opinions on the matter of war and peace. They were not like-minded people. So he wanted to pretend that he had not seen him before, and went around to the west to enter the city, but Liu Dai sent an envoy to stop him. Liu Dai walked forward and asked jokingly: "Why is Yuan Wei avoiding me?"
Qiao Mao sneered and said: "The road is at my feet. I will go wherever I want to go. Why?"
After he finished speaking, he immediately walked out of the crowd. Liu Dai didn't say anything. When Qiao Mao showed his back, he suddenly pulled out his guard's knife and struck violently. The tip of the knife broke out of Qiao Mao's chest. Liu Dai drew the knife again, Blood sprayed continuously from a one-foot-large gap, and Qiao Mao died on the spot.
Later, Liu Dai accused Qiao Mao of embezzling military rations and not caring about the country. He publicly displayed his body and head, and took the opportunity to accept the surrender of his old subordinates.
At that time, Yuan Shao appointed Zhou Zhe from Kuaiji as the governor of Yuzhou. Together with his brothers Zhou Xin and Zhou Ang, they led a total of 30,000 troops and headed south towards Yingchuan. .
