After Cao Jun retreated, there was no point in stationing Yuan Xi and Gao Gan's troops, so they left together.
Yuan Tan discussed with Guo Tu and Xin Ping and said: "As Yuan Shao's eldest son, I did not inherit his family business. Yuan Shang was born from his stepmother and inherited the position of lord, which makes me really unwilling."
Guo Tu said: "My lord can ambush his soldiers and horses outside the city, and then find a reason to invite the ministers and judges to have a drinking party, and then let the swordsmen and axemen kill them. Then the big thing can be settled."
Yuan Tan followed this suggestion and prepared to take action. When Wang Xiu came from Qingzhou, Yuan Tan told him this idea.
Wang Xiudao: "Brother, it's like a person's left and right hands. Now he fights with others and cuts off his own right hand, and then says that I will definitely win. Is this really good? If you give up on your brothers and don't get close to each other, then there will be no one left in the world. Who can get close? It is obvious that someone is slandering you to drive a wedge between your flesh and blood. In order to gain convenience in the future, I hope to pretend not to hear it."
The counselors did not take the initiative to offer advice on this matter. It was all Yuan Tan's personal dissatisfaction and some ideas. Wang Xiu's reply made Yuan Tan very angry. He immediately asked Wang Xiu to leave and sent someone to invite Yuan Shang.
Yuan Shang called Shen Pei for discussion, and Shen Pei said: "This must be Guo Tu's plan. If the lord goes to the banquet, he will definitely suffer from his treacherous plan. Why don't we attack him first and attack him directly."
Yuan Shang adopted this idea, mounted his horse and led 50,000 troops out of the city.
Yuan Tan saw that the other party did not keep the appointment, but instead led his troops out of the city. Knowing that his plan had been leaked, he also mounted his horse and fought with Yuan Shang.
Yuan Shang saw Yuan Tan yelling, and Yuan Tan started to fight back, saying: "You deliberately poisoned your father to death to usurp the position of Lord of Hebei, and now you are planning to kill your brother!"
The two fought in person on the battlefield, but Yuan Tan was no match for them. Yuan Shang personally braved the stray arrows and fought among the crowd to cover up the killing.
Yuan Tan led the defeated army back to Pingyuan County, and Yuan Shang restrained his troops.
Yuan Tan discussed with Guo Tu again and decided to appoint Cen Bi as a general to lead troops and horses to attack Yuan Shang. Yuan Shang led troops and horses out of the city to fight. The two sides were equally matched. Cen Bi came out to scold the formation, and Yuan Shang prepared to face the duel. General Lu Kuang, clapping his horse and wielding his sword, came to fight Cen Bi.
The two challenged each other for many rounds in front of the battle, but in the end Cen Bi lost and was beheaded by his opponent. Yuan Tan failed in this battle again and returned to the plains again.
This time Yuan Shang did not return to Jizhou again. Shen Pei also persuaded Yuan Shang to march directly and pursued directly to the plains.
Yuan Tan could not resist and retreated to the plain, unable to hold on. Yuan Shang surrounded the city on three sides and attacked, but the situation was unfavorable.
Yuan Tan and Guo Tu discussed, and Guo Tu suggested: "Now that our strength is not as strong as the other party, and there is not much food in the city, and the other party is at its peak, we should surrender to Cao Cao and let Cao Cao lead his troops to attack Jizhou. Yuan Shang will definitely Go back to rescue, then Yuan Shang can be captured. If Cao Jun can defeat Yuan Shang's troops, we can be fully prepared to resist Cao Cao. Cao Cao's army has come a long way and has insufficient food and grass, so it will definitely retreat on its own. After we wait for him to leave, we can Occupy Jizhou and then plan the next move."
Yuan Tan nodded and asked, "Who can be the envoy?"
Guo Tudao said: "Xin Ping's younger brother Xin Pi is now the magistrate of Pingyuan. I know this man and he is an eloquent person. He can be sent as an envoy."
So Yuan Tan called for Xinpi, and he left very happily. Yuan Tan wrote a letter and sent 3,000 soldiers to see Xinpi leave.
Xin Pi quickly went to see Cao Cao with a letter. At that time, Cao Cao was stationing troops in Xiping to conquer Liu Biao. Liu Biao sent Liu Bei, the newly recruited soldier, to resist at the front. The two sides had not yet started fighting.
Xinpi entered Cao Cao's camp. After the salute, Cao Cao asked him the purpose of his arrival. Xinpi expressed the meaning of Yuan Tan's request, and then took out the letter written by Yuan Tan.
After Cao Cao finished reading the letter, he summoned all the warriors and civil servants to discuss it.
Cheng Yu said: "Yuan Tan was attacked too hard by Yuan Shang. He had no choice but to surrender. I can't completely believe it."
Lu Qian and Man Chong also came out to offer advice, saying: "Since the Prime Minister has already arrived here with his troops, how can he give up the opportunity to attack Liu Biao and help Yuan Tan?"
Xun You said: "The opinions of the three of them are very good, but in my opinion, the world is not peaceful yet. Liu Biao sits between Jiang and Han and does not dare to expand his territory, so we can know that he does not have great ambitions." , the Yuan family occupies four continents and has an army of more than 200,000. If Yuan Shao's two sons live in harmony, jointly defend the foundation, and even start a business, then the situation in the world is still uncertain. Now the two brothers should take advantage of each other. During the attack, if someone comes to us due to lack of strength, we can first take out Yuan Shang with our troops and horses, and then observe the changes in the situation and eliminate Yuan Tan, and then major events in the world will be settled. This opportunity cannot be lost."
Cao Cao was very happy after hearing this, so he invited Xin Pi to have a drink and asked, "Is Yuan Tan coming to surrender this time true or false? Yuan Shang's soldiers and horses are so powerful, are they defeated?"
Xin Pi said: "Ming Gong, stop asking about the truth and falsehood. Let's discuss the size of the power. The Yuan family has been defeated for many years. The soldiers and horses are very tired. The advisers attack each other. The brothers also listen to many slanders. The local power is divided into The two parts, coupled with the widespread famine, natural disasters and people being trapped, the new lord is very ignorant, and they all know that it is about to collapse. These are all signs that God wants the Yuan family to perish. Now Ming Gong leads troops and horses to attack Yecheng, but Yuan Shang refuses to go To rescue means to go to his own base. If he goes to rescue, then Yuan Tan will definitely attack his rear and use Ming Gong's military capabilities to attack their tired team, just like the autumn wind sweeping away fallen leaves. If he just attacks Jingzhou, it will not Going to Hebei, Jingzhou is a prosperous place, the people are healthy, and the foundation is very stable. Moreover, the biggest disaster in all directions is still Hebei. If Hebei can be stabilized, it can achieve hegemony. I hope Ming Gong can listen to my idea. "
Cao Cao did not expect that the other party was so sincere, and the idea he proposed was also very far-sighted. He was very happy and said: "I really regret that I didn't meet you until this time!"
So an order was issued that day, urging the army to return to Jizhou immediately.
Liu Bei was afraid that Cao's army was using a trick to retreat and did not dare to pursue him, so he returned to Jingzhou with his troops.
Yuan Shang was originally preparing to further attack Yuan Tan. When he heard that Cao's army was returning and preparing to cross the river, he quickly led his army back to Yecheng to cut off Lu Kuang and Lu Xiang.
Yuan Tan was sure that Yuan Shang would retreat after Cao's army came, so he gathered all the soldiers and horses in the plain to prepare for a surprise attack on the rear of Yuan Shang's army.
