After the fox slaves shot and hunted, various units of Yuan's army gradually gathered in Wu Ending City.
In addition to the Shenpei, Yuan Tan, and Yin Kui who stayed behind in Yezhong, Dunqiu, and Pingyuan, there were a total of 20,000 troops. The rest of the troops were ordered to come to Wu Ending. They are:
Ningshuo General Zhang He, Pinglu General Yan Liang, Jishe General Wen Chou, Liao General Qu Yi, Cavalry General Gao Lan, Pingnan General Zhu Ling, Dongshan Colonel Gao Gan, Cavalry Commander Zhu Han, Cavalry Commander Lu Weihuang, Da Chun Yuqiong, the lieutenant of the Ji School, Xian Yufu, the lieutenant of Juyong, Gongsun Du, the lieutenant of Hu Xianbei, Yingshao, the lieutenant of the Military Planning School, Yan Zhi, the lieutenant of the Hu Wuhuan School, Chen Yu, the captain of Gu'an, and Guan Tong, the lieutenant of Leling , Captain Feng Li of Hanchang, Captain Zhang Sheng of Hanoi, Captain Gao Xiang of Julu, Captain Jiang Qi of Donghai, Captain Yin Kai of Xiabo, and Captain Guo Yuan of Jingxing.
In just half a month, 150,000 heavy troops gathered in Liaodong, with flags flying to the sky and armor reflecting the sun. Yuan's army's camps were everywhere in the hundreds of miles from Wuzu to Linyu. Since Dong Zhuo's usurpation of power and the disputes in various places, except for the 300,000 troops rumored to be preparing for the imperial court, there has never been such a huge army. Wuhuan and Xianbei also summoned their tribesmen to build momentum for them, claiming that they would attack Liaodong with an army of 200,000.
Gongsun Du, the governor of Liaodong, was greatly afraid of this.
Although Gongsun Du took office in Liaodong, he continued to fight and made many achievements. He first subdued the remaining king Wei Qiutai, then conquered Gaoguli in the east and Wuwan in the west. He was sure to defeat him in every battle, and then became famous overseas. Tens of thousands of Hu people joined him successively, and even more famous people from Hebei in the Central Plains went to Hedong to seek refuge. countless. With this achievement, he was able to secede the east of Linyu as Pingzhou and call himself Pingzhou Mu.
But even so, Gongsun Du's own strength was only 40,000. The rest of the tribesmen are all members of the Hu army, but they only follow because of their strong will. If they encounter a tough battle, they cannot be trusted. Therefore, in front of Yuan Shao's army, he believed that he had no chance of winning. But he also thought that when Hebei was fighting with the imperial court, the imperial court would win. If he surrendered to Yuan Shao and the imperial court would settle accounts later, it would be unbearable, so he hesitated and didn't know where to go.
His close confidant Liu Yi advised Gongsun Du: "Who is the envoy, Yuan Shaojin or Bafu Jin?" Gongsun Du knew what he meant, and he wanted to consider the present first and the future later, but he was afraid of Liu Bei and Chen Chong's martial arts, so he still could not make up his mind. .
So Liu Yi said again: "Liangzhou has been in chaos, but it can still be sealed. How about entrusting you to the king?" This sentence touched Gongsun Du's heart. Only then did he repeatedly praise him for his kindness, and immediately used his son Gongsun Kang as an envoy, bringing gold, silver and silk. Twenty boxes of silk and a hundred good horses were sent to Wu End as a minister.
It was already mid-July, the time when autumn tigers were raging. First there were several days of sunshine, and then there were more than ten days of heavy rain, making the fields in western Liaoning a mess. This place was originally known for its long mountains and rugged terrain, but after Gongsun Zan and Gongsun Du repeatedly moved people in western Liaoning, this place was deserted and supplies were even more difficult. Sergeant Yuan Jun looked up at the mountains with no birds, the riverbanks with no animals, and the endless barren mountains with only vegetation in front of them. He felt very uneasy.
Some Yuan Jun generals saw the terrain in western Liaoning and were very embarrassed. They said to Yuan Shao: "Ming Gong, this is not a place where we can use force. As long as Gongsun Du sets up obstacles at the mountain pass to resist the enemy, I'm afraid we will return without success."
Yuan Shao was quite convinced. He had no real intention to attack, he just wanted to intimidate Gongsun Du. But he couldn't really say these words, so he said: "You all think this way, and Gongsun Du must also think the same way. Now that he is adventurous and marching, I don't expect him to be on guard, but it will be a bit more difficult." Just like that, he was fooled. It's over.
"The Sword Comes"
While waiting for the rain to stop, Yuan Shao discussed with the state staff the current layout of the Ba Mansion and possible military strategies. Scouts in Hanoi, Huguan, Juyong, and Luoyang were frequently inquiring about information. Regardless of whether they found anything or not, they reported to Yuan Shao every two days. But the strange thing is that although various places are preparing to mobilize troops and transport food, there is no definite news as to when troops will be dispatched.
Ju Shou figured out the key points and was quite puzzled. He said to Yuan Shao: "Such a handwriting must have come from Chen Chong. But what is his intention? Since the troops have been mobilized but they have been delayed, isn't this a waste of food? Three hundred thousand. The cost of the army is that no matter how much Guanzhong saves, it will not last long. Or does he have other plans?"
Yuan Shao had an answer to this. He wiped his sword and said slowly to everyone: "If you don't mobilize and conquer, you won't use it. This doesn't seem like a real war, but more like building momentum. Liangzhou has just surrendered, and I It seems that he is not very relieved and does not dare to fight. So he probably wants to make a show of his power and incite the people in my house. "
When Yuan Shao said this, he put down the sword in his hand and said with a smile: "It's a good strategy, but it's a pity that I had anticipated this strategy. Only then can we unite the army in this remote place. The whole army is in my hands. Where can he be?" An opportunity?"
But Tian Feng disagreed. He said to Yuan Shao: "Don't be careless, Duke Ming. Duke Cao just sent a letter a few days ago, saying that the imperial court will definitely use troops this year. Although the letter did not explain the reason in detail, he is highly valued by the imperial court and will not be empty talk." By the way." He paused, and then said after careful consideration: "From what I can see, the Dragon Head is probably waiting for an opportunity."
"What time?"
"The timing is right for our army to be in chaos."
Yuan Shao was very displeased and slapped the case: "That's nonsense! How can there be chaos in the army as long as I'm here?" When he heard Tian Feng talking about Cao Cao, he remembered the past events in the court and said angrily: "Back then, I treated Meng De If we were one, how could he have been wandering between me and Chen Chong. When I was challenging Dong, I ignored my past grudges and arranged for him to be in Dongjun. How could I have expected that he would carry me to the west? Without him sending food to the east of the river, how could Chen Chong have done so easily? Sansuke?"
"Now that the government has taken back power, Cao Meng Decai wants to vote for me. How can he be sincere? He just wants to compete with Liu Bei on a par with me and he will benefit from it." Yuan Shao then said to Tian Feng: "He If so, just listen to it. If there is no solid evidence, don’t take it seriously.”
During these days, Yuan Shao followed Ju Shou's plan and kept in touch with Cao Cao. Cao Cao did not refuse Yuan Shao's wooing, but he also did not express his anti-Han stance. Such ambiguity made Yuan Shao extremely dissatisfied, so he could not speak more than four or five sentences with Tian Feng, and he was not allowed to mention Cao Cao again.
Yuan Shao looked at the gloomy weather outside the tent again and felt agitated for no reason. He turned to Xu You and asked: "Where are Qu Yi, Gongsun Du, Xian Yufu, Yan Zhi, Chen Yu and the others? Is there anything strange?"
Xu You had already expected this. These people were not direct descendants of Yuan Shao, and they were most likely to defect to the shogunate. He lowered his head and replied, "Xian Yufu, Chen Yu, and Yan Zhi are all still on the road, and they will arrive in about seven or eight days. Gongsun Du still hasn't started on the road. He said that there seem to be Western bandits in the north and it is difficult to set off."
When Yuan Shao heard this, he sneered and said, "It's inconvenient to set off. I'm afraid Duan Xuan's men may not have killed him in his tent!" Everyone bowed their heads and did not dare to say anything. However, Gongsun Du's tribe only has more than 2,000 people, and they are stationed in Dai County, which is not a key place. Even if they defect to Kansai, the impact will not be big, so everyone does not take it to heart.
But Yuan Shao noticed that Xu You didn't talk about Qu Yi, which made him quite uneasy. Compared with Gongsun Du who switched his allegiance from Youzhou, Qu Yi's status in the mansion was extraordinary. When Yuan Shao entered Hebei, it was Qu Yi who betrayed Han Fu and led the army to clear the way for Yuan Shao. Later, he suppressed the rebellion in the state and fought against Gongsun. Qu Yi was an irreplaceable minister of great merit.
It's just that Qu Yi has always been proud of his merits and did not regard Yuan Shao as his emperor. He made scornful remarks several times, which made Yuan Shao unhappy. Only because Gongsun had not been eliminated and he was unparalleled in fighting, Yuan Shao always tolerated him. This time Yuan Shao showed off his strength in Liaoxi, what he valued most was Qu Yi's statement.
Yuan Shao pressed Xu You again, but Xu You smiled and said: "Don't worry, my lord. Although Qu Jun is arrogant, he is a rough man and has no thoughts. He sent an envoy to tell me that we can arrive tomorrow. He also said If we go to war with the imperial court this time, I hope Ming Gong will use him seriously and let him fight in the vanguard so that he can compete with Guan Yu and others!"
After hearing this, Yuan Shao's expression softened, and he turned to the other generals in the account and said, "As generals, you must also imitate Qu Jun and be brave when facing powerful enemies. Only in this way can you be on par with the famous generals of ancient times!"
That night, before Quyi Buqu arrived, more than ten beauties were sent to sing and dance for fun. These beauties were all carefully selected by Qu Yi over the past ten years, and now they were sent together. Even the scholars who were used to seeing beauties couldn't help but feel agitated when they saw them. Upon seeing this, Yuan Shao was extremely satisfied with Qu Yi's attitude and couldn't help but said to his friend Xu You: "If Qu Yi had been so respectful, why would I have worried? He is the best general in the world. If he had known the courtesy earlier, Wouldn’t I think of him as Han Xin?”
Xu You had accepted a lot of bribes from Qu Yi this month. When he saw the opportunity, he said good things: "Although Qu Yi made mistakes before, it is not a bad thing if he can find his way back. When Cen Peng stood firm in Wancheng and tried his best to The enemy Guangwu, but with Guangwu's tolerance, didn't he become a famous general in Yuntai and die fighting to conquer Shu? It can be seen that the emperor can make his ministers pass. I know that Ming Gong has imperial aspirations, how can he let Guangwu Zhuanmei be better than him?"
Yuan Shao was quite happy when he heard this, nodded and said: "What Ziyuan said is that since he has this heart, I must reward him."
After listening to the sound of silk and bamboo for a while, Yuan Shao turned to farewell Tian Feng and said: "Yuan Hao, you pick out some treasures from my storehouse. When Qu Yi arrives tomorrow, I will take people to his camp to reward them."
Tian Feng looked at the beautiful girl singing and dancing in the tent, his face was already extremely ugly, and after hearing Yuan Shao's words, he couldn't bear it. He immediately saluted Yuan Shao and said: "Ming Gong, who is Qu Yi? A person who betrays his master and seeks glory. How can it be trusted? It is said that nature can be known and cannot be changed. In the past, Ming Gong had humiliated Qu Yi a lot, and Qu Yi must have held a grudge in his heart. How could he be so attentive? It is said that beauty misleads people, so Qu Yi must have another agenda when he offers this! Ming Ming! Sir, we should quickly send out a large army to ambush him at this time, and when Qu Yi arrives tomorrow, he will be captured and interrogated. This is a good strategy!"
Yuan Shao didn't expect Tian Feng to say such words, and he didn't know what he said for a moment. As he carefully savored the meaning, his expression gradually turned gloomy. He waved the dancer away and said coldly to Tian Feng: "Yuan Hao means that I can only humiliate people, not convince them!"
Tian Feng didn't expect Yuan Shao's reaction, but he still insisted on not retreating. He kowtowed three times on the ground, clasped his hands to Yuan Shao and said, "Please be aware of this!"
Yuan Shao couldn't bear to show his anger in public, so he walked away from the tent with a cold face.
