Let's talk about Liu Bei's confrontation with Yuan Shao at Juma River for two months. Although there were nearly 300,000 troops entrenched around Juma River, both armies had deep ditches and high bases, and they had no intention of going out for a battle. Only the scouts of the two armies were constantly riding horses and swimming back and forth across the two banks, inquiring about the enemy's information, as if both sides could kill each other just by looking at each other.
This atmosphere has been contagious for a long time, causing the scouts of the two armies to glance at each other when they passed each other on the river bank, thinking that they had done their duty as warriors, and then hurried past each other. This caused the entire Zhuo County to be extremely quiet, as if falling into a long night that would never wake up. Under such circumstances, the farmers in Zhuojun came out to harvest carefully, and threshed and dried the grains carefully. However, they found that there was no impact. This made people think that the world was dreaming of a long-term dream of an iron horse.
But this kind of peace is limited to both sides of the Juma River. The Yuan army resided on the east bank and heavily surrounded the cities of Fanyang and Yijing. Although they were not afraid of the Han army's massive decisive battle, they were powerless to stop the cavalry from crossing the river. After all, the front lines of the two armies stretched for nearly fifty miles, and the Han army suddenly sent more than a hundred people southward upstream and downstream. When crossing, there were often only a dozen Yuan troops guarding the shore, and they were completely unable to stop them.
These rangers carried dry food for seven days and local guides from Hebei. They crossed the Juma River and Yishui River in two days and tracked down Yuan's soldiers on the spot. After three days of harassment, Yuan Jun retreated to the north bank of Juma River without waiting for a timely response from those around him. This led to a series of small battles in the area south of Yishui and north of Gaoyang.
Yuan Jun's camp had so many sergeants that it was impossible not to transport grain from Jizhou, but they still had many sergeants left to guard Henan, and they couldn't spare any elite soldiers to guard the grain route. Under such circumstances, the Han army's cavalry repeatedly succeeded in sneak attacks, and the Yuan army had to change its strategy and postpone the attack. Zhu Ling, a famous general in Yuan's army, suggested that it would be better to mobilize elite armored soldiers to guard the grain team with about a thousand people at a time. Even if the Han army's cavalry besieges them with thousands of cavalry, they are all light cavalry after all. The soldiers use grain carts as support, use heavy crossbows and halberds to confront each other, and shoot at each other. The light cavalry will definitely be helpless.
Yuan Shao used his strategy to ensure that the food route was safe and sound. However, under such circumstances, people in Jizhou were panicked. Since Yuan Jun had to deploy more troops to escort the grain road, the siege naturally became more and more ineffective. Fortunately, Gongsun Zan had long been discouraged, and he was still brave enough to attack several times. Even though there were reinforcements outside the city, he only briefly engaged Yuan's army and retreated back to the city within an hour. Yuan Shao had no intention of defeating Youzhou in one battle, and soon had other ideas.
"What did Yuan Benchu write again?"
Another letter was delivered to Liu Bei. Liu Bei didn't even think about opening it. He directly put the letter on the table. He turned to the messenger and smiled, showing his white teeth. He asked like this first, and added without waiting for the messenger to reply. : "If you still don't want to stop the army and want to ask me to remove Jihou, then please go back."
The messenger was Handan Xiu, a disciple of the Handan clan in Wei County. He was already very nervous. Hearing Liu Bei's attitude, his body trembled slightly. He bowed and said in a humble tone: "Ha, although Yuan Shijun did have this intention. , but also knew that the general was unwilling to compromise, so he proposed a compromise plan in the letter, and the general knew it as soon as he saw it."
When Liu Bei saw that his voice was starting to tremble, he couldn't help but laugh a little. He thought to himself: "There are more scholars under Yuan's command. Without the ferocity of the warriors in my house, I will still have the upper hand in a battle." Then he unfolded Taking this opportunity to read the letter carefully, Handan Xiu carefully observed Liu Bei's expression and saw that his expression was dense and unpredictable. Only his eyebrows were slightly raised, and he couldn't tell what was in his heart at all.
The letter was not long, and Liu Bei read it quickly. He placed the letter on the table, put his forehead on his forehead and thought for a while, then said to Handan Chun: "It's getting late now, and I'm empty. It's time for lunch. Wait. I will give you an answer after dinner."
After that, he called the guards to lead Handan Xiu out, and ordered people to bring in several bowls of soup cakes. Then he called Xu Shu, Xunyou and other officials into the tent, and ordered them to eat together and circulate letters. Liu Bei took two bites and then said to everyone: "Yuan Benchu changed his conditions and said that as long as we agree to demolish Yi Jing, he will withdraw his troops to relieve the siege. What do you think? Is Yuan Benchu sincere? Can I agree to this condition?"
The first one to answer was Fazheng. He didn't like Gongsun Zan at first, but now after successive confrontations, he could not find Yuan Junda's flaw for a long time. This made him gradually lose his spirit. In addition, he had already made suggestions and made meritorious deeds before, and he no longer wanted to retreat. Unable to restrain himself, he said: "Since Yuan Benchu said this, he must have made corresponding preparations, he must be sincere, and at least he has the intention to withdraw. We can agree to this request first, and then let Yuan Shao withdraw some of his troops. , if he agrees, we won’t have to fight anymore.”
However, Liu Bei was not willing to accept it and asked: "In view of filial piety and uprightness, can't we take advantage of the situation and pursue a fight?"
Fazheng shook his head and said: "Although Yuan Shao is not good at attacking, his military discipline is very strict, so it is easy to defend. And in these two months, Yuan Shao has been in difficulty with food. Isn't it possible that our army is not in difficulty? My lord, please don't forget the bombardment in the north." There are also biting jackals on Khan Mountain!"
These words convinced many people, but Xu Shu did not think so. He advised: "Although the Xianbei in the north is difficult to deal with, it is not the life and death enemy of the country. Yuan Shao cannot support it at this time. He will only withdraw his troops this year and rest for half a year." , he will definitely be able to make a comeback next year. By then, will Ming Gong send troops again? By then, how will Qingxu's puppet dynasty do? How will Yuan Shu in Huainan do?"
Xu Shu's words emphasized that compared with Yuan Shao, Qi Han and Yuan Shucai could be said to be public enemies of the country. After the successive great victories last year, the DPRK and the Central Government had already discussed that they would send troops to Qingxu again after the summer harvest this year, so as to defeat the two in one fell swoop. As a result, when Yuan Shao went north, Liu Bei directly sent troops without any discussion between the government and the opposition, which was actually illegal. The criticism against Liu Bei spread from the court, and everyone knew about it. Even for the sake of Liu Bei's reputation, Liu Bei would not be able to send troops to Hebei next year.
Xu Shu brought this matter up at this time to highlight the key to Yijing. He continued: "Yijing is a huge national defense built by Jihou after exhausting all the material resources of a state. I heard the local Yan people say that its It cost up to 100 million yuan, and hundreds of civilians were buried under the city. The walls were as thick as Mount Fu, and the trenches were as deep as the river. Although Jihou was trapped in two cities this year, Yuan's army could not break the city in three months, which shows how strong it is. If this city is demolished, Jihou will have no high walls, no financial resources, and no popular support. How can he be regarded as Yuan Benchu? That means handing over Youzhou! I hope Ming Gong will think deeply!"
When he said this, everyone couldn't help but change their colors. Liu Bei also clenched his hands into fists, with some green color showing on his fists. If Yuan Shao is really allowed to unify Hebei and contact Wuhuan and Xianbei, then the prestige that the imperial court has finally built up in recent years will probably be wasted.
Therefore, Liu Bei said categorically: "Yuan Zhi is right, Yijing must not be demolished!"
Then he called Handan Xiu and said to Handan Xiu in front of everyone: "Yi Jing is under the rule of Jihou and is not in my hands. It is difficult for me to demolish the city. Even if I agree to demolish the city, it is just empty talk. That’s all. Besides, this city was originally built by the people. Once it is demolished, it will be a waste of national power and make the people resentful. You"
Before Liu Bei finished speaking, he saw an expression of embarrassment on Handan Xiu's face, but he didn't want to listen to his excuse. He waved his hand to signal his silence, and then said in a decisive tone: "No need to say more! You go back to Yuan Benchu, if you really want to make peace with him." If nothing happens, it is better for him to evacuate ten thousand people, and I will also evacuate ten thousand people, and each of us will go back to his own things. Don't wait until winter, and the two armies will freeze here in vain!"
After that, he let Handan Xiu leave on his own. He turned to Xu Shu and said, "Check the food and grass to see how many days it can last. If Yuan Shao doesn't agree, we must be prepared for a war. Even if he doesn't agree, we must prepare for a war." I still want to demonstrate!"
So the Han army made a great effort, moving flags and convoys back and forth between Zhuoxian and the camp. The cooking utensils and fire camps were moved to the far west, so that the smoke from the cooking pots was like soaring clouds, and Yuan's army on the other side was clearly visible. However, the Yuan army on the opposite side was not to be outdone and responded by going out of camp to practice archery on the shore. One of them was particularly good at archery. He stood on the west bank and shot an arrow. One arrow hit the crown tassel of a soldier. This also shocked the Han army. He admired him and called the sharpshooter opposite him Luoying Archer.
But this rising blood has nothing to do with the generals of the two armies. However, two days later, Yuan Shao ordered Handan Xiu to come and deliver a message. He promised that Yijing could not be demolished, but the location of Yijing was originally the land of Jizhou. Since the general assigned Yijing to Youzhou, in order to show fairness, he should also It's better to put a county under Jizhou.
Therefore, Yuan Shao requested that Quanzhou County in Yuyang County be transferred to Bohai County.
Regarding this request, all the officials discussed again, thinking that Yuan Shao wanted to occupy this city and contact Wuhuan, the three counties in western Liaoning, to separate Youzhou and prepare for another attack next year. Some people thought this condition was acceptable, while others thought it was too high. Just when Liu Bei was hesitating, an edict suddenly came from Xijing.
The edict stated that Yuan Shao had submitted his request to the imperial court, and the imperial court believed that the request was justified and could be granted. As a general, Liu Bei was committed to quelling the rebels first, rather than quarreling with the country's state pastors. I hope he can negotiate and return to the west as soon as possible. This year, Bafu's expenditure has reached nearly one million dendrobium, and the national power cannot be wasted.
Liu Bei was furious when he saw the edict, and shouted to Chen Qun who came to deliver the edict: "Changwen, whose intention is this? Can Ting Jian also agree to it?"
Chen Qun sighed and said, "This is not what the eldest brother meant. It's because the Central Government and the Central Government had a lot of criticisms about the General's trip. If it was just a matter of criticism between the Central Government and the Central Government, it would be fine, and the eldest brother could also stop it. But this time His Majesty is also dissatisfied and has nothing to do with him." The eldest brother argued for a day, but His Majesty refused to give in. The eldest brother assessed the current situation and could only retreat first before advancing, so in the end he did not sign his name and asked me to pass on this edict. There is no other way, so the general should retreat first!"
After hearing this, Liu Bei's face slowly darkened, and he said without emotion: "Chang Wen, please go out first, I will think about it alone."
He then sat in the tent for three hours. It was not until the night fell and the owl was singing that he walked out of the tent and said to the soldiers calmly: "Let the man named Handan come in."
Guided by the flaming red lantern, Handan Xiu entered the tent uneasily at first, and soon left with a spring breeze in his face. Before long, all the Han soldiers knew that they were about to return.
For the rest of the night, Liu Bei couldn't sleep. He could only take out the Zhongxing Sword he carried with him and look closely at the light. The back of the sword was as bright as a field, illuminating Liu Bei's temples. He couldn't help but caress the sword, only to find that there were already There are a few white hairs.
Liu Bei suddenly realized that he was already thirty-six years old. His past years as a warrior were like an arrow passing through his mind. He couldn't help but sigh: "A warrior is like a sword. Although it can be used in a hundred ways, its use is inhuman. There is always a time of exhaustion!”
