Before Lu Bu reached the plain, Yuan Shang had already started to set off. Logically speaking, the 150,000-strong army would not be able to pull out of the city in less than half a month, considering all aspects of gathering, preparation, and transportation of grain and grass. However, Yuan Shang was able to pull it out in just a few months It was done within a few days, which shows that this battle was not a spur-of-the-moment initiative, but had been planned for a long time.
In fact, as the judge who had taken over the post of supervisor of the army from Jushou, he had been preparing for this battle for a long time. He knew that Yuan Tan would not be captured without hesitation. After all, he still had 100,000 people on his hands, but he did not expect that Lu Bu would. Going north to Qingzhou, fortunately there were not many people coming, only 20,000.
Yuan Tan also thought the same thing.
He was a little uneasy about the fact that Lu Bu only brought 20,000 troops and horses. He even felt that although he had won a great victory in the Central Plains battle, his vitality was severely damaged and he could not mobilize his troops to support him.
There are only 20,000 people here, but you still have the nerve to ask me for 3,000 war cavalry, shameless!
Of course, everything has two sides, and there are disadvantages and advantages. Lu Bu only has 20,000 troops, so it will be easier to deal with him in the future.
The minds of the Xin brothers and Guo Tu also changed. There were too few people coming from Lu Bu, and they felt that their plans might need to be changed again.
Their original idea was that the three of them would work together to achieve great success, and Lu Bu would become the main guest and take over the Northern Kingdom, and everyone would be happy.
Now 20,000 people
There is a high probability that they will become victims of this northern civil war.
After all, Yuan Shang had an army of 150,000, Yuan Tan had an army of 100,000, and then asked three unparalleled counselors to support Lu Bu, who only had 20,000 troops. As they were so smart, they would naturally not make such a bet.
The problem is not big, anyway, from their point of view, as long as it is not Yuan Shang who wins in the end, it is fine. Yuan Tan and Lu Bu have both placed bets, and no one will lose if they win.
But deep down, I am more optimistic about Yuan Tan.
Therefore, when Yuan Tan wanted to go out of the city fifty miles to meet him in order to express his duty as a landlord, Guo Tu and the Xin brothers refused.
If Lu Bu suddenly attacks, wouldn't it be a trap? This possibility is actually very low, unless he has already formed an alliance with Yuan Shang, but when it is time to be careful, don't be brave and take unnecessary risks.
So Yuan Tan waited honestly in Pingyuan County.
In fact, Guo Tu and the Xin brothers are not doing it entirely for Yuan Tan, but more for themselves.
Because at this stage, they will be more biased towards Yuan Tan, but they are not sure who will stay in the North Country in the end. If you kill them all now, how can we make a bet then.
The most ideal result is that they wait until the situation becomes clearer and can roughly predict the future trend before accepting investment certificates. This is also in line with their usual style.
"Uncle, hahaha, I finally waited for you!" Yuan Tan is also a flexible and flexible man. As the fourth generation and the third prince, looking at Lu Bu, he can also call him "uncle". This is really incredible. Easy.
At the east gate of Pingyuan County, Yuan Tan was wearing armor, guarded by Zhao Rui and Han Ju, followed by the Xin brothers and Guo Tu, and there were many armored soldiers standing nearby, which was very impressive.
On Lu Bu's side, there were only three people in the group, Lu Bu, Lin Mo and Zhao Yun. As for the 20,000 troops, they were all stationed outside the city, led by Xu Sheng.
Is this the momentum of Lu Bu among men? The three of them dared to enter the city. Yuan Tan was a little surprised. Previously, he was a little timid and felt guilty about bringing thousands of cavalry to meet him.
Moreover, Yuan Tan himself is eight feet tall, which is considered burly, but in front of Lu Bu's wall-like physique, he is completely smaller. The most important thing is that the sense of oppression emanating from him makes people dare not to face him directly. See.
You must know that Yuan Tan has been on the battlefield and killed people. Even when he stood in front of Lu Bu, he felt suffocated.
Of course, the three of them entered the city not based on their personal martial arts. In fact, this was also an attitude. In the final analysis, it was to earn enough trust.
When entering the North Country this time, there will definitely be time to get along with each other in private. If both parties are always on guard, then there is no need to form an alliance.
"I finally met my wise nephew today. He is indeed a young hero, and he is so noble. It opened my eyes." Lu Bu nodded with a smile, then raised his eyes and looked around the city gate.
Not bad, not bad, the military appearance is neat, the soldiers are powerful, and the standing position is also quite particular. No wonder he has been able to deal with me in Guangxian for so long, he is really not an idiot.
"My uncle has come a long way, so I don't dare to neglect him. Please follow my nephew into the city. A reception banquet has been arranged for my uncle."
"Let's go!" Lu Bu waved his hand and walked side by side with Yuan Tan.
The administrative seat of Qingzhou was in Linzi of Qi State, but Yuan Tan did not dare to stay there. He had to come to the plain bordering Jizhou to prevent Yuan Shang from suddenly launching an attack.
The Pingyuan County magistrate that Liu Bei served as at the beginning was the city in front of him. Lin Mo also paid attention to it. Of course, it was far inferior to Pengcheng, but it was still a prosperous small county.
When arriving at the banquet hall, the maids will quickly bring the wine and meat. The five tripods and four gui are of course standard. After all, Lu Bu is a real general of the four directions. The same decoration is also in front of Lin Moye, with the name of Marquis Lanling. It's not a nice shout.
However, Zhao Yun felt a little aggrieved and could only stand aside holding the bright silver gun.
"My uncle led an army to respond to my nephew's request and came all the way. My nephew will give you a toast first!"
When Yuan Tan said this, Zhao Rui, Han Ju, Guo Tu and others also raised their glasses, but they were blocked by Lu Bu's right hand.
"My dear nephew, for this first cup, I think it's better to pay tribute to brother Benchu first. He is the pillar of the imperial court. In order to eliminate national traitors, he travels all over the world, raises the banner of righteousness and gathers talented people. To this day, there are countless of him in the four seas. Admirers." Lu Bu said it sincerely, and drank the wine in the cup on the ground.
Yuan Tan was a little surprised. The Lu Bu in front of him seemed to be a different person than what he had heard. It seemed that the rumors could not be fully believed.
In any case, this move really gained Yuan Tan's favor, and even Zhao Rui and Han Ju cast strange glances.
"My uncle is very righteous, and my nephew admires him."
Yuan Tan choked up a little, then looked at Lin Mo, "This must be Marquis Lanling, a great talent in the Central Plains."
"General, I dare not take this compliment seriously." Lin Mo smiled modestly and had no unnecessary words.
"I heard someone say that Cao Cao once praised Marquis Lanling in front of his advisors. Lin Yunwen, a genius from heaven, could withstand millions of troops. Marquis Wen has such a good son-in-law, which will be a legend for eternity. You and I are of the same age. , how about treating each other as brothers?"
In fact, Yuan Tan is twenty-nine years old, which makes Lin Mo eight years old, but it is not wrong to call him brother, "Thank you, general."
"Come, my dear brother, I'd like to offer you a drink. This time I will rely on your wise brother's ingenious plan to defeat Yuan Shang."
Although they were still fighting each other half a year ago, the atmosphere in the banquet room was not as oppressive as expected. On the contrary, everyone seemed to be quite relaxed.
Lin Mo raised his glass of wine, paid a respectful greeting, and said humbly: "My father-in-law is the only one responsible for important matters in the army. My foolish brother is just helping me from the side."
"Hahaha."
After drinking a glass of wine, Yuan Tan laughed loudly, "My uncle has a halberd in his hand, a red rabbit and a horse on his crotch. There are few opponents in the world. If he is the pioneer this time, Yuan Shang will be completely wiped out!"
This sounds like a compliment, but it actually throws away his purpose, letting Lu Bu's people act as the vanguard, and he leads the central army to follow.
If this were the case in the past, Lu Bu would definitely drink wine with a proud look on his face after hearing these words, 'That's it, that's it! '
However, there are times when those who are close to Mo are not evil. In the past few years, Weng and his son-in-law have seen many ups and downs together, and their character has begun to develop.
Moreover, Lu Bu rarely goes to the battlefield anymore. This is what Lin Mo means. He hopes that he can truly transform from the role of a general to a coach. If he doesn't get out easily, he will win if he does.
Therefore, Yuan Tan's words did not stimulate him much. However, Weng and his son-in-law had talked before coming here. They knew that leading 20,000 troops this time would inevitably be underestimated, so there was no problem in serving as a vanguard. In the first battle Winning establishes your foothold.
"Don't worry, my dear nephew, since I am sincerely helping you regain your position as the Lord of the North, I, the twenty thousand people, are willing to be your vanguard!"
He probably didn't expect Lu Bu to agree so readily, and Yuan Tan couldn't even react.
Guo Tu and others on the side were also a little confused. Don't you want to make some demands? Is it possible that you really brought 20,000 people to be cannon fodder?
Even subconsciously, he looked at Lin Mo, wanting to know the attitude of this Xuzhou leader, but found that he kept his head down and said nothing, with a calm expression on his face.
Normally in Xuzhou, they can be as unbridled and disrespectful as they want, but not here. Lin Mo must let them remember one thing: the leader of this army is Lu Bu.
After being sluggish for a while, Yuan Tan finally came to his senses, raised his glass and smiled quickly: "Well, thank you uncle. Don't worry, uncle, we have all the food and grass ready. If you need anything else, you can ask at any time. I don't know." When do you plan to set off?"
"Where is Yuan Shang?" Lu Bu acted very calmly.
"Somebody come!"
The sergeant with Yuan Tan's right hand knowingly held up a sheepskin map and unfolded it in front of Lu Bu. Yuan Tan stepped forward and pointed to the location of Qinghe County and said: "The forward army of 30,000 people has reached the boundary bridge. According to the pace, there will be more. It will take about ten days to reach the front line, and my nephew suggested that my uncle could lead the troops and camp here to relax and wait for work."
Yuan Tan made a move with his right hand and moved a section eastward from the boundary bridge. It was an open plain area. "This place is called Xiajin. It is adjacent to Luoshui, a tributary of the Yangtze River in the south. Except for the other three sides, it is a wilderness plain, suitable for foot and cavalry combat. I don’t know what my uncle wants.”
Lu Bu looked up and saw that the location Yuan Tan was referring to was adjacent to Pingyuan County and Qinghe County, and Xiajin was located in the middle of the two. The terrain was open and quite suitable for combat.
Moreover, Yuan Shang came with an army of 150,000, and Yuan Tan also had 100,000. Plus Lu Bu's own 20,000, it can be said that there is not much difference, and naturally he will not be picky about the tricky terrain.
Lu Bu subconsciously glanced at Lin Mo and saw that he still had no reaction, so he nodded and said: "Okay, in two days, I will go to Xiajin to station, and my nephew will follow me."
"Don't worry, uncle, the army is almost ready. It will take at most five days to leave the city."
The biggest problem was solved, and Yuan Tan was completely relieved. He had always been worried that Lu Bu would not be willing to act as a vanguard. After all, this was a life-threatening job.
Now it seems that things are moving in a favorable direction.
Therefore, this reception feast was naturally a very enjoyable one, with singers and dancers all coming up, playing music and dancing.
"What if Yuan Shang really takes action?"
On the way back, Lu Bu finally couldn't help but ask, "We only have 20,000 people. Except for a thousand Bingzhou cavalry, our other combat capabilities are average."
"Don't worry, father-in-law, we will definitely fight the first battle, and we will definitely not lose."
Lin Mo's appearance of having the pearls of wisdom in hand was Lu Bu's favorite. He said this, and he could feel relieved. He took a long breath and said, "That's good, but you have to save some military strength. After all, besides Yuan Shang, there are also There is Yuan Tan, and during today’s banquet I found that he is smarter than I thought, and the Northern Army is not all soft persimmons.”
"My father-in-law is right."
Lin Mo glanced at him, and with such a judgment, he was more like a master and a commander-in-chief, "This is also a headache for me at the moment. It is not difficult to deal with Yuan Shang, but I have to find a way to deal with them all together." ”
After all, there are only 20,000 people on this trip. How to become the biggest beneficiary among the more than 200,000 people fighting is not an easy task.
And if you are not careful, this person will be swallowed up by Er Yuan, and you may even be buried in it. It is very dangerous to seek skin from a tiger.
Wealth is sought in danger.
Although several moves have been made, Lin Mo still hasn't thought of a complete solution to this problem and can only take one step at a time.
The news of Lu Bu going north to Qingzhou has spread, and there will definitely be no action in a short time. Sima Yi feels that it is time to take action.
No matter how late it is, I'm afraid Cao Cao won't agree.
Therefore, he immediately contacted Sui Gu and informed him of the general situation.
To put it simply, General White Rabbit can no longer hesitate. Lu Bu has gone to Qingzhou and is about to start a fight with Yuan Shang. Naturally, Cao Cao can no longer endure it. He has already organized his troops and is preparing to go north to merge with the state.
If you want to go to Bingzhou, you must first capture Hanoi. This is a simple truth. General White Rabbit, whether you are prepared to fight to the death with Zhang Yang, or whether you are prepared to make the decision yourself, it depends on you.
However, if General White Rabbit is willing to make the decision himself, the Sima family will fully assist him, including our financial resources and family power.
This idea didn't come to him suddenly. Sui Gu had been ready to make the move as early as the first time the two of them came into contact.
But at this point today, Lu Bu went to Qingzhou and fell into the quagmire of the three-party war in the North. Cao Cao would definitely not remain indifferent. If he delayed any longer, he would only become a withered bone in the grave.
"Okay, let's do it tonight!"
Sui Gu bowed respectfully to Sima Yi, "I have contacted my cronies and asked Mr. Zhongda to help me stabilize the situation in Hanoi after the matter is completed. After all, Mr. Zhongda has also been deeply supported by the military officers and men during this period."
Sima Yi smiled humbly and said, "Of course I will help the general."
Even if you want to drag me down, Sima Yi thinks that Sui Gu has some brains, but not much.
