While Zhang Xiu was sweating profusely, Yuan Shao was worried and couldn't sleep.
Jingguo Chen's 60,000 cavalry troops were deployed to the west of the Yellow River, assuming a posture of standing across the river at all times. This made Yuan Shao feel uneasy.
Cao Cao on the opposite side had already made him suffer a lot, and when he was about to regain his military power and take revenge, he didn't expect that Zhang Xiu, who had always been good friends with him, would deploy such a heavy army.
Bingzhou's soldiers and horses were all brought by high-ranking officials. If they were attacked by Zhang Xiu at this time, Bingzhou would not be safe.
Fortunately, the Jing army only stationed troops in Hexi and had no intention of entering and annexing the state.
Summon the civil servants and generals to gather in the tent.
When everyone in the Jin army heard the news, their expressions changed drastically.
Cao Cao has already given them enough headaches, but if Zhang Xiu is added to the mix, how will the battle be fought? More importantly, Cao Cao's fire burned half of the food and grass in Hebei. If the consumption continues, the food and grass may be exhausted.
Sitting directly above him, he saw that everyone under the tent was silent and felt unhappy: "Masters, our army is facing enemies on both sides now. The situation is dangerous. How come you don't say anything?"
Guo Tu said: "Your Majesty, although King Jing has stationed troops in Hexi, he has no intention of attacking Bingzhou. Moreover, their new acquisition of Yizhou has not been fully digested. How dare they occupy Bingzhou again?"
Yuan Shao asked: "According to the public principles, what should our army do?"
Guo Tu said: "We can send people to lobby King Jing, even if it is delayed, our army can quickly defeat Cao's army. Our army is short of food and grass, and Cao Wei's is even worse."
Yuan Shao twisted his beard and thought for a moment, before nodding.
At this moment, Shen Pei snorted coldly: "This is the way to die! Who is Zhang Xiu, how can we fight and measure him? If we let it go, we will lose the state together. Your Majesty, I suggest that we divide our troops." According to Zhang Xiu, you can send people to persuade Liu Bei and Sun Ce to let the King of Chu and Wu go north to contain Cao Cao and Zhang Xiu."
Guo Tu was waiting to judge the match: "Liu Bei's new defeat, Zhang Liao's reputation has spread far and wide across Jingchu. Liu Bei is like a beast with his teeth pulled out. He only dares to hide in the cave and lick his wounds. How dare he come out to fight against Zhang Xiu again?"
Judge Pei: "How dare you guarantee that Jing's army will not attack Bingzhou?"
Guo Tu: "How can I guarantee that Liu Bei will send troops to attack Jing?"
The two stared at each other with disapproval.
The crowd was immediately divided into two teams, one supporting Guo Tu and the other supporting the trial. The two sides immediately started arguing, and the originally silent tent became heated.
Yuan Shao was already annoyed because the two of them were quarreling. He was even more annoyed. He waved his hands and said, "Masters! Masters! Now that Jing's army has marched to the west of Hexi, it's time to make a decision. Why bother arguing here!"
Everyone fell silent.
At this time, Feng Ji stood up and said: "Your Majesty, it is better to combine the opinions of Shen Pei and Guo Tu into one, take two steps, and send one person to Chang'an first to lobby King Jing. It would be better if he can persuade King Jing to cooperate. If it really doesn't work, you can just hold back the Jing army. Send another person to Wu and Chu to join forces. But Zhang Xiu is a wolf, and he has the world in his heart, so he must be on guard against it. You can order Gao Gan to lead the Bingzhou army and horses back to guard against the Jing army."
Yuan Shao nodded: "Yes! What Yuan Tu said is true, but only Gao Gan is going there alone. He feels uneasy when he is alone, so it would be more appropriate to send another person to help."
Guo Tu said first, "You can send Young Master Yuan Shang there."
Yuan Shang's expression changed as he stood to the side.
Jingjun is like a tiger or a wolf, with a slight rival. If you go alone and lose, you will be in danger of losing your life. Suddenly he stared at Guo Tu sharply, and when he turned halfway, he saw his elder brother Yuan Tan standing there with an expression on his face, and felt great hatred in his heart.
Feng Ji's face suddenly changed: "No! The Jing army is a tiger and a wolf. We should send a brave general to go there, and we can send General Han Meng to go."
Yuan Shao said: "High cadre! Han Meng obeys the order!"
Gao Gan and Han Meng stepped out: "Here we are!"
"I order you two to lead 50,000 troops and quickly go to Hedong to defend. Remember!" Yuan Shao warned, "Don't take the initiative to turn against Jing's army. Just be prepared."
Gao Gan and Han Meng looked at each other, then clasped their fists: "Here!"
Yuan Shang also breathed a sigh of relief.
Therefore, Yuan Shao sent Xin Ping to Wu Chu to lobby, and then sent Xin Pi to Chang'an to persuade King Jing.
For Liu Bei and Sun Ce, they naturally did not want to see the Jin Kingdom destroyed, but no one wanted to. Since the last defeat, the Chu army's military morale has not been used. In addition, with Ding Feng and Chen Wu's naval forces guarding the Han River, the Chu army will not be a threat to Nanyang in a short time.
Why has a major change occurred in Wu State?
Sun Ce was assassinated.
When Qin Mi and Bu Zhi went to the Kingdom of Wu, they received special instructions from Zhang Xiu and sent a message to Sun Ce, asking him not to hunt alone and to always take his attendants with him.
But who is Sun Ce, the little overlord of Jiangdong?
After hearing Zhang Xiu's message, he smiled and didn't take it to heart.
Unexpectedly, as Zhang Xiu said, on the way back from Jiangxia after the war, Sun Ce rode his horse to go hunting, and was shot by the enemy. Fortunately, he reacted quickly enough, otherwise he would have died in frustration like his father.
But he was still seriously injured.
When Xin Ping came to the Kingdom of Wu, he didn't even meet Sun Ce. He only met Zhou Yu and discussed the matter of Sun Ce and Liu joining forces. However, Sun Ce could not decide the matter because Sun Ce was seriously injured and was not awake. Xin Ping did not dare to stay longer and hurried to Chu State.
Compared with Xinping, Xinpi is even more difficult.
Not to mention meeting King Jing Zhang Xiu, he didn't even enter the city gate of Chang'an City. When crossing the Yellow River, a group of well-trained bandits came out from nowhere, stole Yuan Shao's autographed letter and the messenger's token, and entered the land of Jingguo. , and was imprisoned by Li Mu on an unfounded charge.
What he didn't know was.
Yuan Shao's autographed letter has appeared on Zhang Xiu's desk. Zhang Xiu didn't even look at it, he picked it up, put it on the wick, and lit it.
Three months later.
November, 201 AD.
It was a bitter cold winter, the weather was freezing and the Yellow River was covered with a thick layer of ice. But Yuan Shao's heart was colder than the ice in the Yellow River.
For three months, Yuan Shao defeated Cao Cao in a decisive battle.
However, Cao Cao held a no-war card and refused to leave the military stronghold. Even though the Jin army scolded his father and mother in front of the military stronghold, Cao Cao's army refused to go out. It took three months.
The situation was the same on the Hexi side. Gao Gan and Han Meng did not dare to send troops and could only defend.
There are nearly 300,000 troops, and the food and grass are almost exhausted. Fortunately, there are no food shortages in the army. Fortunately, it is not very frequent, but it is estimated that it will not last long.
At this time, the Jin army realized that Cao Cao and Zhang Xiu's plan was not to defeat them by force, but to exhaust their food and fodder and force them to surrender.
Looking at the military tent opposite, the cold wind blew Yuan Shao's robes rustling, "Zhengnan (the word for Shen Pei), how are the food and grass preparations going?"
The grain and grass from Hebei were delivered, and the judge came to reply: "Your Majesty, countless people in the state have died of starvation, and there is no food to collect. The total amount of food raised this time is 15,000 shi."
Yuan Shao's face twitched.
How can we hold on with fifteen thousand stones of food and grass?
"Is there any definite news about Wu Chu?" Yuan Shao still held on to a glimmer of hope.
Shen Pei shook his head helplessly: "Sun Ce is seriously ill. Although he has recovered somewhat, he cannot mobilize troops. Liu Bei has sent people to Wu to discuss the alliance, but it may be difficult to reach a negotiation in a short time."
Yuan Shao gritted his teeth: "Don't they know that their lips are dead and their teeth are cold? If they are alone and defeated, how can they survive?"
The judge said: "It should be soon!"
