While Liu Bei led his army to fight in Yanzhou, a new round of fighting also broke out in Youzhou.
After the battle in Yunzhong, Kebi was able to eliminate Tuoba Xianbei, basically unified the central Xianbei, and became the nominal co-owner of the three Xianbei tribes. However, when examining the reasons for its rise, Yuan Shao's strong support is indispensable. The reasons for Yuan Shao's support are all mentioned above and will not be repeated here.
Last year, Yuan Shao sent high officials to Danhan Mountain and formed a blood alliance with Ke Bineng. It was agreed that by July of this year, both sides would send troops from the south and the north at the same time to capture Dai County and join forces at Sangqian. When Yuan Shao thought about it, Gongsun Zan had only two counties under his command. With the newly acquired Changshan and Zhongshan counties, there were only four counties. In addition, without Liu Yu's support, no matter how Gongsun Zan expanded his army, it would not exceed 50,000. Xianbei and Xianbei united, but they couldn't defeat him and captured him easily.
Unexpectedly, at the beginning of this year, the situation suddenly changed. With the support of Liu Bei, Gongsun Zan succeeded in ousting Liu Yu and gained full military and political power in Youzhou. All the troops from the counties and counties west of Liaodong were in his hands, including 100,000 armored troops and 40,000 cavalry. In terms of military strength alone, even Bingzhou and Liangzhou were inferior.
Yuan Shao was deeply frightened by this. He asked his subordinate Liao Zuo for advice and said: "The good men in the world are nothing but quiet and cool places. Now Gongsun Zan is completely in Youyan. He is the most powerful person in the northern border and is powerful in Hebei. Although I have Kebi Neng. For reinforcements, what are the chances of winning with the combined forces?"
Many Yingchuan Yuan followers under his command, such as Xun Chen, Guo Tu, Xu You, Xin Pi, etc., all advocated temporarily postponing the war and continuing to expand the army. People from Hebei such as Tian Feng, Ju Shou, Cui Jun and others strongly advocated that Xianbei was tough and should fight as promised. Yuan Shao was wavering and unable to make a decision.
The person who finally persuaded Yuan Shao was his other driver who was engaged in judging and matching. Seeing that Yuan Shao was still unable to make a decision, he actually drew his sword in public, walked to Yuan Shao, presented the sword and said:
"Since Ming Gong has the ambition of Guangwu, how can he be afraid of the enemy? In the battle of Kunyang in that year, the reckless army was a hundred times larger than that of Lvlin. How is it compared to Gongsun today? The generals were afraid to move forward, but Guangwu fought bravely to the death, and then there was nothing His achievements in this world are extremely swift and his fame is astonishing all over the world. Today, the Ming Dynasty has nearly one hundred thousand soldiers. The mountains in Xin Taihang are dangerous and there are strong reinforcements from the north. Isn’t it a hundred times more powerful than the military?
But Ming Gong had second thoughts and hesitated before the war. The three armies were swaying due to official duties, and the shogunate was hesitant for official duties. If this is the case, how can we achieve unparalleled greatness? It is better to be a respectful prince and surrender to Liu Bei as soon as possible, and still not lose the position of Dou Rong and Liu Yang. If you have any concerns, you can cut off the head and show it to the Yaoyan clan! Just in time to spread the word to the capital and win the trust of the court! "
After the judge finished speaking loudly, he placed the sword edge on the ground, immediately unbuttoned his clothes, exposed his neck, and lowered his head as if waiting for death.
This passionate speech silenced everyone, and Yuan Shao couldn't help but feel ashamed after hearing it. He strode forward, helped Shen Pei up with his own hands, then put on his lapel, and said loudly: "Zhengnan loyal ministers, what they say are also honest words! How can I, Yuan Benchu, a great man, not fight with his life?" Want to die!" Yuan Shaoyou was determined to start a war, and sent senior officials to Tanhan Mountain to reiterate the time for dispatching troops with Ke Bineng.
By the fifth day of August, when Cao Cao was preparing to attack Puyang. Gongsun Zan suddenly received an urgent report that Xianbei Chanyu Kebineng suddenly led his army southward, crossed Gaoliu and Sangqian one after another, and attacked Dai County forcefully.
Dai County was originally under the jurisdiction of Wuhuan, but it was only separated from Zhuo County by a mountain. Zhuo County was the heart of Youzhou and there was absolutely no room for failure. Therefore, Gongsun Zan immediately summoned all the generals and ordered 60,000 troops to go to the rescue. As a result, when he arrived at Juyongguan, he received another military report from western Liaoning, saying that there was also a Xianbei army at Lulong fortress. Letter for help.
Gongsun Zan read the letter on the horse, thought for a while, and called Tian Kai over, planning to write a temporary military order asking him to go to Guangyang and take the remaining 20,000 county soldiers to western Liaoning. But Tian Kai said: "It's not a pity to lose this Wuwan land in Guangyang. Why do you need me? And as soon as I go east, the south will be empty. Could it be that the king has forgotten that there are still people in the south?" The enemy is here!"
After hearing this, Gongsun Zan felt as if he was enlightened. He kicked the saddle and agreed, saying, "Yes, without Mr. Tian, I almost made a big mistake!" Then he turned to the envoy and said, "Tell Tadun and let him hold on." In a few days, when I defeat the thieves in Dai County, I will definitely come to rescue you again!" After saying that, he immediately set off and continued westward.
After the Han army left Juyongguan, there were high mountains and mountains everywhere, and the autumn forests were as continuous as the sea. The plateau was cut into small basins, and they were filled with yellow leaves. The largest basins in Youzhou are the Guangning Basin and Daixian Basin, which are connected by the Pingcheng Basin. Once Kebin can capture Daixian, the connection between Bingzhou and Youzhou can be cut off. By that time, no matter whether it leads the army to the east to plunder Hebei or to the west to recover Pingcheng, the Han army can only be controlled by it.
After Gongsun Zan thought about it, he first led the army to Guangning, leaving Shan Jing and five thousand men to garrison here, and then attacked Macheng, intending to cut off Ke Bineng's return route and force him to return to the army for a decisive battle.
By the time he lined up in front of Ma City, it was already August 26th. Before any progress could be made, his younger brother Gongsun Fan suddenly delivered bad news, saying that Yuan Shao had led an army to attack Changshan, and the three counties of Gaoyi, Pingji, and Fangfang surrendered without a fight. The Yuan family was empty, and Gongsun Fan did not dare to defend it, so he had to abandon Yuan. Shi, retreat westward into Zhending. Seeing that the Jizhou army invaded Jingxing and then entered the Taihang Mountains, they were afraid that they would sneak into Youzhou soon.
After receiving this news, Gongsun Zan's expression changed. Ke Bi Neng sent troops to represent the county, and Yuan Shao also took advantage of the opportunity to cross the Taihang Mountains. What did he do? They must join forces and fight the Han army together. Although I don't know how many soldiers Ke Bi can have, even if only half of Yuan Shao's men come, I'm afraid there are still 70,000 soldiers. Xianbei's previous raids never sent less than 30,000 troops. If the two armies merged, Gongsun Zan would definitely be at a disadvantage.
Gongsun Zan took the letter and said angrily: "Okay, no wonder the Beibei dared to invade. It turns out that Yuan Benchu is acting as an internal agent. It seems that this time, they are determined to fight to the death!"
Peng Kuan, who was engaged in Youzhou Biejia, advised him: "In any case, they have done it mentally or not, and they have already achieved success. Lord, can we avoid their sharp edges first and withdraw to Juyong? After they withdraw, we can defeat them one by one and recover them." Losing ground is not a bad idea!”
When Gongsun Zan heard this, he yelled at him: "What a stupid move! If our army withdraws, where will the Xianbei pigs go? If I show weakness, even the Wuhuan dogs will look down on me!"
Peng Kuan didn't dare to raise his head when he heard this and immediately stepped back. Everyone saw Gongsun Zan looking up at the sky, his expression changing, which showed that he was making a very critical decision at this time. At the end, he lowered his head and cursed at Nanfang: "You are born to a little servant girl. I just became the shepherd of Youzhou, and you want to kill my majesty! If I am afraid of you, I will not be named Gongsun!"
After saying that, he immediately ordered the entire army to abandon all their baggage. All the infantry were in the rear, led by Yan Gang, to prevent the Xianbei people from sneaking up behind them. All the cavalry troops only brought horses for replacement and seven days of dry food, and were commanded by him personally. They rushed towards Dai County without stopping.
Macheng and Dai County are less than two hundred miles apart, but there are many mountain valleys in between. Even if Gongsun Zan had a guide, he would have to go around an extra hundred miles to reach Sangqian.
Sang Qian originally had a garrison of Kebineng, but he made a mistake in employing them. The defenders of Sangqian were none other than Wuluhui Xianbei who had just switched from Tuoba Xianbei to Kebineng. There were less than 10,000 of them, and when they saw 30,000 cavalry rushing towards them, they were shocked. He had no intention of risking his life for Ke Bi, so he resisted symbolically for two hours and then fled to Pingcheng. Even the messenger who reported the news was only sent out the next day.
By the time the envoy arrived at Kebineng, Gongsun Zan's army was less than thirty miles away from Dai County. It was noon at this time, and the Xianbei people were having a meal in the camp. They gathered around the city, drinking buttermilk and eating sesame cakes, while waiting for the arrival of Yuan Shao's reinforcements from the south. They felt relaxed and comfortable in their hearts. They could not imagine that in another hour, they would have to fight with Yuan Shao. Gongsun Zan risked his life!
Kebi was able to receive the military information and didn't even have time to get angry. He hurriedly left the camp and ordered all the troops to change their formations under the city to meet the enemy, but there was no time! Half of the Xianbei people were still gathering in the south of the city, and those in formation in the north had already seen the white deer on Gongsun Zan's flag.
Gongsun Zan marched for three consecutive days in order to repel Kebineng before Yuan Shao's army arrived. At this time, it was an unexpected surprise to see that Kebi could not change his formation. How could he miss such a good opportunity? At the command, the commander personally charged forward and cut into the city with his subordinates Tian Kai, Shan Jing, Zou Dan, Zhang Sheng, Lu Ji, Xian Yufu and others.
Xianbei Qingqi fired three arrows, but could not stop them in the slightest. The Xianbei armored cavalry was located in the south of the city. Before they could join the battlefield, the entire battlefield was dug through by Gongsun Zan. Countless Xianbei defeated troops were squeezed south by him, rendering these Xianbei armored cavalry useless. Under this situation, Wuhuan in the city saw that the battle situation was turning to the Han army, so he immediately went out of the city to attack. With the cooperation of internal and external forces, the battle situation completely turned to Gongsun Zan.
Gongsun Zan took advantage of the situation to expel Xianbei and chased him twenty miles southward. These Xianbei people who grew up on horseback often died under the hoofs of horses. It was not until these Xianbei people were driven into the desolate mountains and forests that Gongsun Zan was willing to stop for a moment, but this did not mean a truce. The whole army rested for a day, and Gongsun Zan led the army south again. After replenishing supplies in Pingshu, he led the army to ambush On the Flying Fox Trail.
This time they only waited for two days before they waited for Yuan Jun's forward.
Unfortunately, the leader of the vanguard was Zhang He. As soon as he entered the ambush, Zhang He sensed something was wrong. He immediately sent two scouts to search the left and right sides of the road, forcing Gongsun Zan to attack first. The timing was wrong, and the terrain of the mountain road was not suitable for a decisive battle. Although Zhang He left hundreds of corpses behind, he still retreated.
Gongsun Zan was quite sorry for this, but fortunately it was not without gain.
In the successive battles, he discovered that there was a Hebei knight who was different. Usually when fighting, he charges forward, and there are few followers around him who are braver than him. However, this knight not only has excellent riding skills, but also can hold a sword in one hand and a sword in the other, and cut with the left and stab with the right. His men have gone three rounds, and there is no one under his command who can compare with him.
Therefore, he specially called this knight and asked his name first. He learned that he was from Changshan, his surname was Zhao Mingyun and his alias was Zilong. He was recommended to the army by Gongsun Fan. Seeing his elegant and handsome appearance, Gongsun Zan couldn't help but feel extremely happy. He held his wrist and smiled and said, "I, Baima Yi, are famous in all the nine states, and there is no good man like you. From today on, you can just follow me!"
