After Yuan Shu died, the entire territory of Lujiang was occupied by Sun Ce.
March 198 AD.
After Gongsun Zan's defeat, he lost all fighting spirit and returned to Yijing City to hold on. Yuan Shao then dug a tunnel to the bottom of the city tower, destroyed its watchtower, and then gradually dug into the central fortress and led his army into Yijing City.
The foreign aid Zhang Yan was defeated by Yan Liang, the entire army was defeated, Zhang Yan fled to Heishan, and Gongsun Xu was killed in front of the battle.
Gongsun Zan had no reinforcements outside and no food or fodder inside. He expected defeat, so he set himself on fire.
Guan Jing, Tian Yu and others fled in all directions.
Yuan Shao beheaded Gongsun Zan's charred head and sent it to Xudu.
Since then, Gongsun Zan's galloping in Youzhou has officially come to an end, and the Central Plains War has begun.
…
Xudu, in the Prime Minister's Mansion.
Yuan Shao sent Gongsun Zan's head, which made Cao Cao uneasy. He now only has Yanzhou, Yuzhou, Sinong and other places, with a hundred thousand soldiers and horses, and is far from Yuan Shao's opponent. Now that Yuan Shao has eliminated Gongsun Zan in Youzhou, he can free his hands to deal with him.
Yuan Shao has Bingzhou cavalry, how can he be his opponent?
Cao Cao gathered his advisers to discuss the matter.
Kong Rong was the first to speak: "My lord, Yuan Shao is so powerful that we cannot fight him. We can only make peace."
Xun Yu sneered: "Why should Yuan Shao, a useless person, negotiate for peace?"
Kong Rong retorted: "Wen Ruo's words are too big! Yuan Shao has a vast territory and a strong people. His counselors include Xu You, Guo Tu, Shen Pei, Tian Feng, Feng Ji, Ju Shou and other wise men in Hebei Province. The four pavilions and pillars are brave enough to conquer the three armies, why are they so useless?"
Xun Yu raised his chin and said with a sneer: "Tian Feng is aggressive and commits crimes, Xu You is greedy but not wise, he is expert in judging and matching but has no plan, he is useless when it comes to the results, and Ju gives advice without stopping. These people are incompatible with each other, and over time they will be incompatible. There will definitely be civil strife. Yan Liang and Wen Chou are brave men and can be captured in a single battle. Why should we be afraid of such mediocre people?"
Kong Rong was silent.
Cao Cao burst out laughing: "Ah, as expected!" Then he asked: "Although Yuan Shao has many shortcomings, his power cannot be underestimated. How can I defeat him?"
Guo Jia said: "Ming Gong! It took Yuan Shao nearly two years to destroy Gongsun Zan. His food and grass must be empty. He will definitely not be able to go south to the south of the Yellow River this year. Zhang Xiuhu has already established a force in Guanzhong and cannot be annihilated in a short time. But Xiliang Before the battle was over, he definitely did not dare to go east to invade our army's territory. With such a good opportunity, our army immediately seized the land of Xuzhou and killed Liu Bei. After that, we took the land of Yanzhou, Yuzhou, Xuzhou and Sinong to fight against him. Yuan Shaoye."
"Xuzhou Lu Bu?!"
Cao Cao pondered for a moment, narrowed his eyes, and twirled his beard to think carefully.
I still can't let go of Zhang Xiu.
After thinking for a long time, his eyes showed determination, and he made a decision: "After the spring plowing! Send troops to Xuzhou!"
"Here!"
Everyone bowed their waists.
…
Guanzhong, inside Chang'an City.
The news that Gongsun Zan was beheaded and Yuan Shu vomited blood and died reached Zhang Xiu's ears, which surprised him.
According to later records, Gongsun Zan could last until at least March next year; Yuan Shu would have to wait until at least June next year before his death. Unexpectedly, their deaths were both earlier than expected.
It seems that his time travel has caused all events to happen in advance.
It is still the same decision as before. The process of historical events is gradually accelerating, and the frequency of wars will inevitably accelerate, and the result will inevitably be a food and grass problem.
It seems that the plan to build a grain depot must be put on the agenda.
Spring plowing was about to begin, and Zhang Xiu gathered a group of counselors to discuss the next strategic goals.
All members of the Senate came to the house.
Zhang Xiu pointed out: "Now Yuan Shao has killed Gongsun Zan and gained all the land in Youzhou, but he has also spent a lot of food and grass. He may not be able to fight again in a short time. However, Cao Cao is recharging his energy and is afraid of raising an army to invade. What should our army do?" Response? If Cao’s army does not come, where will our army’s strategic goal be?”
The grain and grass captured from Dingxi City were not enough to support a war. They had to wait until after the summer harvest before sending troops. That is, before the summer harvest, Zhang Xiu could only wait and see, but there must be a strategic goal. This is the general direction. We cannot wait until after the summer harvest to plan.
As the elder of the Senate, Jia Xu coughed and said: "My lord, Gongsun Zan has been defeated. Yuan Shao has consumed a lot of food and grass and may not be able to fight in a short time. Yuan Shu vomited blood and died. The land south of the Yangtze River may be owned by Sun Ce, but he To digest the land south of the Yangtze River, I'm afraid it won't take more than a year and a half. After the autumn harvest, Cao Cao is gathering strength and is the greatest threat to our army. There are also the Huns in the north. Before the summer harvest, our focus is on defense. After that, we can send out troops.”
Zhang Xiu nodded.
After arriving in Guanzhong, the most direct problem is the Southern Huns in the Hetao area.
The Xiongnu Chanyu regime in Mobei split into two parts: the Northern Xiongnu and the Southern Xiongnu. The Northern Xiongnu fled to Central Asia, and most of the Southern Xiongnu surrendered to the Eastern Han Dynasty, settling them in the Hetao area and providing material help. Under such favorable conditions, the number of Southern Huns in the Hetao area greatly increased and they became the dominant ethnic group in the Hetao area.
After the Yellow Turban Uprising broke out, various tribes of the Southern Xiongnu took advantage of the situation and looted the Guanzhong area based on the Hetao Plain. Today, the leader of the Southern Xiongnu is Huchuquan.
Huchuquan was the son of the Chanyu of Qiangqu in the Southern Xiongnu and the younger brother of Yufuluo. After Yufro's death, he succeeded as Chanyu and became the new Chanyu of the Southern Huns.
As the descendants of Maodun, these southern Xiongnu were ambitious and always ready to go south to Guanzhong.
Zhang Xiu and the others had to guard against these Southern Huns.
Defense is on the one hand. What Zhang Xiu values more is the superior geographical environment and natural horse farms of the Hetao Plain. If he can conquer the Hetao Plain, the number of his cavalry will rise sharply.
So he said: "Preparation is one aspect. Cao Cao is very likely to raise his troops to invade. This is the target of our defense before the summer harvest. After the summer harvest, has the Senate formulated our strategic goals?"
"Hetao Plain."
Liu Ye said.
"Hmm!" Zhang Xiu's heart skipped a beat, "Hetao Plain? Why is it the Hetao Plain?"
Liu Ye said: "My lord, Han Sui's food and grass have been cut off and he is unable to send troops in a short time. Yuan Shao has no worries anymore. The next step must be the Central Plains. There is a natural danger in Hangu Pass in our pass. What can Cao Cao do in a short time? I can't wait." , I predict that his next step will be Xuzhou Lu Bu, and we are in the Hetao Plain."
After a pause, he gave others time to digest, and then said: "The Hetao Plain is known as the south of the Yangtze River. It has fresh water and grass and is a natural horse farm. If we can capture the Hetao Plain, we will not only get Xiongnu soldiers, but also dozens of With a population of 10,000 and a plain land of thousands of miles, the gains from this battle are far greater than those of Xiliang today. Xiliang is barren, and Han Sui is brave but has no plans. After taking the Hetao Plain, he can attack Xiliang from the north and the south and defeat Xiliang in one battle."
The whole audience fell silent, thinking about Liu Ye's words.
Zhang Xiu nodded and admired in his heart: Liu Ye is indeed a strategist, and his strategic vision is very unique.
After a moment, Li Ru and Jia Xu nodded thoughtfully.
Liu Ye's plan is very good.
Zhang Xiu said: "In this case, the Senate Group will formulate three plans with the purpose of seizing the Hetao Plain. Also, from today on, the Senate Group will be divided into four departments: Strategy Department, Strategy Department, and Military Strategy Department. Ministry of Intelligence.”
Everyone listened quietly.
"The Minister of Strategy will be Jia Xu, the Minister of Strategy will be Liu Ye, the Minister of Military Strategy will be Xu Shu, and the Minister of Intelligence will be Li Ru. From now on, they will each perform their own duties, and the departments will cooperate with each other. There will be no error."
Zhang Xiu also made this allocation carefully.
Putting them all in one pot will not give full play to the talents of these people. Instead, there will be mutual constraints like Yuan Shao's counselors. It is better to separate early, each perform his own duties, cooperate with each other, and have clear interests.
"Here!"
Everyone clasped their fists.
Departments are separated and each performs his or her duties as everyone pleases.
At this time, Yuan Shao was also formulating goals after the summer harvest.
