Everything that happened in the hall seemed to be extremely troublesome to ordinary people, because several counselors had broken away from their own responsibilities and participated in a battle without smoke. As a leader, you should make effective decisions as soon as possible. disposal.
But Yuan Shao chose to turn a deaf ear to this.
At least, the attitude shown on the surface is to let it ferment.
But in fact, Yuan Shao knew better than anyone else what had just happened, and his choice was not to ignore it, but to deal with it coldly.
It can even be said that everything that happened just now happened under his instruction because he needed to confirm something.
As a group of people with various interests under his command, Yuan Shao has long been accustomed to the friction and dissatisfaction between them. He did not deal with it immediately but allowed it to ferment just now because he wanted to see Yuan Shang and Yuan Tan. Who are the people behind it?
This point is still extremely important to him.
Frankly speaking, Yuan Tan is the eldest son and has military exploits. His prestige in the military is by no means comparable to that of Yuan Shang.
It can be seen from the participation of the military generals just now that those who support Yuan Tan are almost all generals with military exploits, while those who support Yuan Shang are mostly the younger generation of powerful captains.
Yuan Shao, who was hiding in the study, wrote the names of the two parties on two pieces of silk cloth respectively, looking at the directory with wandering eyes.
For a force like the North Kingdom formed by wealthy families, Yuan Shao has long been proficient in the art of balancing to deal with their internal conflicts, but this time, it will be different from before.
Detecting the supporters behind the two parties will directly affect the future of the Yuan family.
Regardless of whether Yuan Shang or Yuan Tan takes office in the future, these people must deal with it before they take office. Only in this way can a civil strife be avoided.
Basically, he wanted to know who were the supporters behind Yuan Tan, especially those in the military. If he had a choice, he still wanted Yuan Shang to take over. In other words, in order to stabilize the situation, Those who oppose him will have to help eliminate them in the future.
There will be many people who will be demoted.
Bang bang~ There was a knocking sound outside the door, "Father."
"Come in." Yuan Shao calmed down his expression and returned to a displeased expression.
After Yuan Tan came in, he turned around and closed the door. He walked up to Yuan Shao and bowed, saying, "Is it because of the war in Qingzhou that my father summoned my children?"
"How many troops do you need?"
Yuan Shao's straight-to-the-point question made Yuan Tan a little confused. Did he make up his mind so quickly?
How did he know that Yuan Shao had already made up his mind before the military meeting, and everything was just intentional on his part.
"According to Xuzhou's careful investigation, Lu Bu's troops from all sides should be around 70,000. Excluding the troops in the Jianghuai area, the number he can mobilize should be around 60,000. He only needs 100,000 elite troops to defeat Lu Bu! "
"I'll give you two hundred thousand!"
Happiness came so suddenly that Yuan Tan couldn't react. He looked at Yuan Shao blankly, "Father, are you kidding me?"
He walked up to Yuan Tan, put his hands behind his back, and said condescendingly, "Not only that, my father also wants to give you General Wen Chou, 500 euphorbia soldiers, 800 chariots, and 800 advance campers!"
Yuan Tanru was shocked and his body went numb. What did his father mean?
Who is Wen Chou? He is the Four Court Pillars of Hebei Province, and he is the leader of the three armies. He actually sent it to me?
Let’s not talk about the Euphorbias. After all, the whole army is 1,500, and it makes sense to divide it into 500. But there are only 800 people in the camp first, and they are all allocated to me.
For a moment, he thought he was hallucinating.
After seeing the doubts in Yuan Tan's heart, Yuan Shao sighed and said seriously: "Tan'er, now Cao and Lu are dependent on each other. Even if I make you stick to the dangerous pass, Lu Bu will definitely find a way to seize the land and force you out of the city, because He can't just sit back and watch Cao Cao's defeat. If that's the case, why not give you enough troops so that we can fight."
"Thank you, father. The child will not disappoint his father!" Yuan Tan was overjoyed. It seemed that he could take the sole credit for winning Xuzhou. Moreover, defeating Lu Bu head-on would definitely boost his reputation. This great man is Stable.
"Tell me how you plan to deal with Lu Bu." Yuan Shao crossed his arms, looking forward to Yuan Tan's answer.
After a brief thought, Yuan Tan handed over his hand and said: "If there is no confrontation at the moment, there is no point in making false claims. However, after Hai'er leads his troops back, he plans to go south to attack Linqu first, seize the upper hand, and wait for work."
Yes, there is no strategic answer from these few sentences, but it is certain that Yuan Tan is not overly pleased with his success and is arrogant about everything.
He patted Yuan Tan on the shoulder and frowned slightly, "Tan'er, you must keep two things in mind."
"Please tell me, father!"
"First, we must not divide our troops easily and try our best to give full play to our army's strength advantage. My father carefully read the battle reports of the Anfeng and Xiaoguan battles. Cao Cao had troops but did not use them all, which gave Lin Mo the opportunity to resort to danger and deception. planning opportunities.
Second, be careful of Lin Mo. Jushu said that Lin Mo is so intelligent that he is almost a demon. There is even a rumor in the Central Plains that Lin Mo can drive ghosts and gods. It can be seen that his reputation is not in vain. He is your biggest enemy. The enemy, not Lu Bu. "
In the hall, he looked down upon Lin Mo and called him a kid with a yellow mouth. He was doing it to show others. In fact, Yuan Shao knew very well that Lu Bu relied on this evil boy.
Because of this, he would choose to allocate 200,000 troops and dispatch Wen Chou, Euphorbias, Xianden Camp and chariots to Yuan Tan.
In Yuan Shao's understanding, if Qingzhou still stayed behind with only the 50,000 troops as before, the desperate Lu Bu would probably attack the city directly. With the help of Lin Mo's wise plan, Qingzhou would become in danger.
At that point, are the soldiers in front still determined to conquer Cao Cao?
"Father's teachings, children must remember them day and night!" At this point, Yuan Tan finally understood Yuan Shao's good intentions, and thought that he was still competing with his third brother for the heir, and the situation was so small that it made him feel guilty.
"This is the army roster. You can take all the generals away according to the list above." Yuan Shao handed the silk cloth he had prepared in advance to Yuan Tan.
Most of the people recorded above are those who support Yuan Tan in the main hall, and they have their own motives for doing so. These people will help Yuan Tan wholeheartedly and kill the enemy desperately. At the same time, there will be no conflicts in the army due to partisan issues. Condition.
It can be said that Yuan Shao was not attentive to this battle. Even the smallest details had been considered for Yuan Tan.
"My child, go get ready now!" After taking the silk cloth, Yuan Tan bowed three times and strode away.
"Tan'er!" When he reached the door, Yuan Shao called him, his eyes a little dazed.
"Father, do you have any other instructions?"
Yuan Shao moved his mouth, hesitated to speak, and finally said nothing. He stepped forward and pulled Yuan Tan's somewhat messy cloak into place.
Yuan Tan has been leading troops stationed in Qingzhou for a long time. It has not happened in the past two years. He occasionally comes back to supervise the management of food, grass and ordnance. He and his son rarely have free time to talk. I don’t know if it is because of this that makes Yuan Shao feel a little guilty, or maybe it is There were some inexplicable reasons. In short, at this moment, Yuan Shao's heart was in confusion.
"Although Tian Feng is too upright and his words are sometimes unpleasant to listen to, he is quite talented. You can listen to his opinions more."
Yuan Shao finally supported the sword on Yuan Tan's waist and forced out a smile, "Go, we, father and son, will meet again in Henan (south of the Yellow River) in a year."
"Father, take care!" Yuan Tan felt Yuan Shao's strangeness. After walking out of the door, he turned around and knelt on the ground, kowtowing to say goodbye.
On the other side of the country, there will be quarrels over how to use troops and how to deploy them. The situation in Xuchang is not so friendly.
Originally, Cao Cao forcibly launched the Battle of Xiaoguan. After the defeat, although he came back with a letter of invitation from Lu Bu, he could only reluctantly appease these people.
Now, Yuan Shao has asked Chen Lin to write a new appeal against thieves. The so-called 700,000-strong army has frightened the sages of the famous families in Yan and Hezhou and trembled. Many people have secretly written to Yuan Shao to express their loyalty. went.
Even the patrols on the periphery caught the messenger, but Cao Cao did not have an attack. It is understandable that with an army of 700,000, he only has 100,000 troops. A family that never puts all its eggs in one basket can still join you. Life and death together?
However, he needs to calm down these panic-stricken powerful families as quickly as possible, because this is a battle of survival with no retreat. Whether it is food, weapons, or soldiers, they need their support. Otherwise, Yuan Shao will not have to fight and delay. You can also drag yourself to death.
The question is, how to appease?
Like the usual method in the past, let Xun Yu take Zhong Yao, Du Xi and others back to his hometown, while Cheng Yu and the others go to Dongjun? Even thinking about it with his toes, he knew it wouldn't work, because even Du Xi and the others were frightened.
"I have a way, maybe you can give it a try." Guo Jia, who was leaning on the couch with his back on the pillow and looking a little pale, said softly.
Since the weather got warmer, Guo Jia's health has improved a lot. In addition, during this period, Cao Cao strictly controlled him from drinking and concubine. Although he was still lying in bed, he was actually almost healed.
Cao Cao, who was sitting next to Guo Jia on the couch, tilted his head and said with a frown, "I'll tell you what I'm doing as a filial piety."
After whispering, the gloom in Cao Cao's brows instantly dissipated, and he couldn't help but laugh loudly.
"Okay, okay!"
After saying hello three times in a row, he held Guo Jia's hand and said excitedly: "This is indeed more effective than visiting each door one by one. You should take good care of yourself and call for a meeting tomorrow."
In fact, some days had passed since Yuan Shao issued his appeal against thieves, but Cao Cao had not discussed the war in the meantime because he didn't know how to stop his subordinates and generals from asking for peace.
Sure enough, as soon as the military discussion began, the wind blew in the expected direction.
"Sikong, Yuan Shao is powerful, his troops are strong, and he is unmatched. I suggest you send an envoy to the Northern Kingdom to ask for peace!"
"Sikong, Yuan Shaoxin has conquered four states. He has thousands of generals and 700,000 troops in armor, and the momentum is overwhelming. On the other hand, our army has been defeated one after another. We are short of men and horses. We are in urgent need of rest and recuperation. It is better to ask for peace first."
"Sikong, I also suggest you avoid his sharp edge in order to strike later!"
The military discussion had just begun when more than ten people from the civil servants queue stood up to express their opinions.
The sound was so loud that even the generals were shaken, but it was just not time for them to speak.
Cao Cao sneered inwardly, please make peace?
It sounds nice to say it, but asking for peace is not asking for peace, and asking for peace is not asking for surrender.
After they all expressed their opinions, Guo Jia stood up unhurriedly, bowed his hands and said: "I suggest you go north to meet the enemy and fight quickly!"
"Why, the suggestions from the great sages just now sound reasonable to me." Cao Cao shook his sleeves and looked sideways at Guo Jia.
"Yuan Shao's text states that he has 700,000 men with armor, but he hasn't seen it yet. He rushes to make a conclusion without knowing whether it is true or not. This is just a simple opinion. I think that in this battle, our army will be small but we are sure of victory. Yuan Shao has more soldiers, but he will be defeated. undoubtedly!"
Guo Jia held his head high, took a step forward, looked around at the people with puzzled faces, and poured out the ten-win and ten-defeat theory he had prepared in a loud voice.
"Yuan Shao has suffered ten defeats, no matter how many soldiers and horses he has, it will be in vain; Sikong has won ten victories, he will definitely be able to defeat the strong with the weak, and defeat the many with the few!"
Guo Jia listed ten aspects from Tao, righteousness, governance, degree, strategy, virtue, benevolence, Ming, literature and martial arts, and every word was well-founded and targeted, which not only stopped the crowd, but also made people laugh. The fearful generals were excited and excited.
Immediately afterwards, Dian Wei, Xu Chu, Xu Huang, Cao Hong, Xiahou Dun and others came out to ask for war. In an instant, the theme of the council hall changed from asking for peace to strategic discussion.
"I have made up my mind. I will march my army northward. Anyone who wants to make peace with me will be killed!"
When the time was almost up, Cao Cao stood up, walked to the soldier on the side, respectfully took off the Emperor's Sword with both hands, and raised it high.
"We must win! We must win! We must win!" Not only the generals, but also the civil servants also shouted.
At this point, the morale of the lax and timid army was stabilized. Then, Cao Cao bowed to everyone in the hall and said, "Next, please generals to prepare for war. Gentlemen, please go back and help me prepare food, grass and weapons. Please !”
"As you command!"
Just when everyone bowed to receive the order and turned to leave, a sergeant ran in quickly and said, "Sikong, a letter from Xuzhou Fast Horse."
Xuzhou?
Not to mention the civil and military personnel in the hall, even Cao Cao looked a little surprised.
Although they are joining forces to fight Yuan this time, they have agreed to fight independently and not interfere with each other. Why did Lu Bu write a letter?
Cao Cao waved his hand and the scout sent the letter over, along with a brocade bag that smelled of angelica.
Isn't this the tip I gave Lin Yunwen back then?
Cao Cao ignored this and opened the letter first. The content above made him frown a little.
Looking at the expectant expressions on everyone's faces, Cao Cao did not intend to make this matter public. After all, this matter was not suitable for discussion. After hesitating for a moment, he immediately had an idea. He raised the silk cloth in his hand high and said with hesitation. :
"Let's take a look. Lu Bu has written a letter. He said that he has recruited 60,000 new men from the two states and various prefectures. Including the original troops, the total will be no less than 130,000. He is ready to take the initiative to go north to Qingzhou!"
Everyone looked surprised when they heard this. After many battles, Lu Bu was still able to recruit so many people. His methods were impressive. It seemed that his son-in-law must have helped.
In the past, they were angry with Lu Bu and thought that these three surnamed servants could not deserve the land of two states, but now, they suddenly felt that Lu Bu was really a good person, and they wanted to have tea with him if they had time.
Everyone understands that Lu Bu is an ally now. The more troops he has, Yuan Shao will have to send more troops to contain him, and Qingzhou may even be the main battlefield.
Thinking of this, the originally excited morale after Guo Jia's talk of ten victories and ten defeats became even higher, and everyone's faces were filled with urgency.
"Everyone, get ready to go quickly. This will be an earth-shattering battle that will leave a name in history. You and I will enjoy a great reputation!"
"Here!"
After everyone left one after another, when only Guo Jia and Cao Cao were left in the council hall, he handed over the silk cloth in his hand and said, "Take a look at it too, do you believe it?"
(End of chapter)
