"Arrogance is not stupidity, but arrogance can make people blind. Those who are blind due to arrogance often become similar to stupidity due to overconfidence. Therefore, although the cause and effect are different, the outcome is often the same."

In the central military tent, four generals were sitting on both sides. Wang Yu was sitting at the top, talking eloquently.

If you ignore the rather youthful face and the armor on his body, put on a Confucian shirt and hold a feather fan, he looks like a celebrity talking eloquently.

Even so, in the face of everyone's questions, his inscrutable stream-of-consciousness discussion was very capable of deceiving people. At least Taishi Ci was deceived.

"My lord, I have great advice. Although the theory of this theory is simple, the intention is high. When I think about it carefully, I feel that it is even more mysterious and infinite." Taishi Ci gave a thumbs up and praised him repeatedly. Then he changed the subject and asked: "But,

What do these principles have to do with this mission?"

"Only by knowing yourself and the enemy can you be victorious in every battle." Wang Yu seemed to be addicted to pretending to be a celebrity, and quoted another classic, but did not answer the question directly.

"Huh?" Taishi Ci scratched his head, and couldn't figure out what the connection between being rejected as an envoy was and these principles.

Kong Rong left three days ago, that is, the same day he arrived at Beiqiu. He went there with great fanfare, but when he arrived at Qingyuan, he was left alone by Yuan Shao. He did not say that he would receive him, nor did he drive him away.

When he came back, he was thrown into a corner of the camp, seemingly left to fend for himself.

Fortunately, Yuan Shao did not ban the envoys and could still maintain contact, but the situation was worrying. Although Taishi Ci and other generals did not want the war to end, and were happy to see the peace talks fail, they would lose money if their peace talks were rejected.

It's so embarrassing.

The most important thing for Chinese people is face, so naturally they cannot tolerate this.

Taishi Ci consulted with Xu Huang and Huang Zhongyi, who had returned victoriously, and decided to come to Wang Yu to ask for a fight. However, Wang Yu kept going around and did not talk about the business, which made him very upset.

"Could it be that..." Huang Zhong suddenly raised his head: "The peace talks are just to paralyze the enemy. When the enemy's army relaxes, our army will attack over a long distance and defeat it?"

The peace talks were very different from Wang Yu's usual style, so he couldn't help but wonder if there was another explanation. To defeat Liu Dai and kill Yan Liang were all deceptions, so Huang Zhong couldn't help but guess in this direction.

"I'm afraid it's not that simple." Xu Huang answered first: "The success of long-distance attacks, setting up ambushes, and sieges all rely on surprise. Liu Dai lost because he was too lazy and didn't expect our army to be courageous.

Out in force

Yan Liang, on the other hand, focused entirely on Ziyi and looked down upon Liu Bei too much. He did not expect that Liu Bei would take the initiative to divide his troops and take away Ziyi's responsibility of luring the enemy. After suffering so many losses in succession, Yuan Shao could not help but gain something.

Be on guard.”

Before he finished speaking, Yu Jin, who had remained silent, also echoed: "The scouts reported that Yuan Jun built a large number of fortifications around Qingyuan, probably intending to build it into a strong fortress. The early warning range was expanded to more than fifty people in the surrounding area.

Li, the first line of defense is a full twenty miles away from Qingyuan City! A surprise attack is absolutely undesirable."

The key reason why Liu Dai was defeated immediately was that his formation had no depth. The defeated troops in front had no place to run, and the military strength behind them could not be used. They could only watch the chaos expand, completely cutting off any hope of turning defeat into victory.

Yuan Shao's formation is very particular. There are early warning lines, sniper lines, and the defense lines are divided into several lines, which are very wide in depth. Even if the surprise attack is successful, at most it can only break through two or three lines of defense, and it will not be able to establish a victory.

.

When Yuan Jun reacts, the surprise attack force will fall into a counter-encirclement. After all, Yuan Jun has nearly twice as many troops as Qingzhou Army. As long as the numerical advantage can be used, there is a good chance of victory.

After thinking about it, Yu Jin added: "Besides, Mr. Kong and the others were left alone. Yuan Shao is obviously still on high alert. No matter from which perspective, the conditions for a surprise attack are not met."

"Is it true that we really want to make peace?" Taishi Ci was dumbfounded. He turned to Wang Yu with a look of doubt on his face: "But, my lord, didn't you say last time..."

"As the saying goes: you have to win without being outstanding, and you have to win without fighting." Wang Yu was really addicted, and quoted another classic, and then asked: "Think about it, after Yan Liang's defeat, what will be the movement of Jizhou's troops and horses? Even if

If I don’t send an envoy, will the situation of the battle change? Has Yuan Shao’s strategy changed during this period?”

"This..." The generals looked at each other, all hesitant.

For them, it is quite rare for them to have insufficient intelligence since they formed the army. This time Yuan Shao seems determined to block the information, and the information everyone has is really not very sufficient.

The generals couldn't understand it for a moment, but Wang Yu guided him again: "In other words, what is the most unfavorable strategy that the Jizhou Army can adopt that is detrimental to our army?"

What he reminded this time was very obvious. Taking into account Tian Feng's arguments for advocating peace, combined with the current war situation, an answer suddenly emerged.

"Could it be that Yuan Shaodun's army in Qingyuan is preparing to fight a protracted war and exhaust our troops to the end?" Xu Huang blurted out first, and then all the generals were horrified.

This is the most reasonable explanation. Yuan Shao had already done this before Kong Rong went out as an envoy. You must know that before Yan Liang was defeated, he swooped over with great force. As a result, when he reached Qingyuan, he did not move. It was not a change.

What could the strategy be?

"Is it possible that Yuan Shao was frightened by Han Sheng's thunder blow?" Tai Shici looked at Huang Zhong.

The veteran shook his head and said in a deep voice: "It's just an ambush. It won't cause much shock. Yan Liang is just a pioneer after all. If we must say that Yuan Shao was affected by this battle, it would be better to say that he was awakened by the shock.

Already."

"Shocked up?" Tai Shici was puzzled.

Huang Zhong nodded and explained: "Yuan Shao maintained his own identity and was arrogant. He was frustrated at Longcoo and was very anxious, but then he successfully gathered several princes and became proud again. As the Lord said, arrogance makes people blind. Blind

It makes people stupid, Yuan Shao is like this, so he ignored the slow movement of the army and rushed towards Qinghe, hoping for a quick victory, completely ignoring which side would be more beneficial to a quick victory."

Taishi Ci showed a look of surprise: "So..."

"So, Yan Liang's defeat was a wake-up call for him. He realized that he had made the mistake of being blind and arrogant, and he was ready to change from a quick war to a protracted war. He would do whatever it takes to use Jizhou's heritage to bring down our army." Huang Zhong's tone became more intense.

My hair became depressed.

Before the joy of the victory at Luoyan Valley had passed, he realized that the battle situation was much worse than he had imagined. He was even affected by that victory, which made him cheer up.

The Qingzhou Army was relatively elite and under the command of Wang Yu, it was able to fight mobile warfare with ease. Yuan Shao's pressing step by step seemed impressive, but in fact it only gave Wang Yu the opportunity to accumulate a small victory into a big victory.

Under normal circumstances, Yuan Shao would not admit it, but after suffering continuous setbacks, he had to endure the pain and humiliation to reflect on himself and come to this conclusion. Even if he could not think of it himself, there are many wise and masterful people around him, as long as he is willing

Calm down and your eyes will not be blinded by blind arrogance.

It is obvious that he really intends to attack the short with his long and fight for consumption. I am afraid that no prince can beat Yuan Shao.

Following this train of thought, more questions emerged. Xu Huang was the first to ask: "Then why did he choose Qingyuan?"

This problem seems simple, but in fact it is complicated. Although Yuan Shao's troops are numerous, they are a coalition. The coalition can only play a role when launching an offensive. If it is on the defensive, the high-ranking officials may be able to endure it. However, Zhang Yang is not Yuan Shao's son-in-law.

It's impossible that he doesn't have his own little plans. How could he not be worried at all if the territory remains so empty?

Therefore, Yuan Shao adopts a relatively cautious strategy. The best way is not to switch from offense to defense, but to advance step by step, using defense instead of attack, rather than building a defensive line in Qingyuan.

"Because he wants to adopt a more effective strategy." Wang Yu gave the answer.

"A more effective strategy? What is that?"

"That is to use Qingyuan as the outpost, treat Qinghe as the enemy territory, and launch a full-scale invasion war!" Wang Yu shouted coldly.

The whole room was shocked.

Wang Yu's strategy is not normal when fighting in enemy territory. The most normal state is full-scale plunder and massacre, so there is a saying that fighting against soldiers is like fighting against bandits.

If Wang Yu's prediction is correct, Yuan Shao should be ready to give up Qinghe completely. Due to the lenient policy adopted by the Qingzhou Army, the people in Qinghe have a lot of savings. The Jizhou Army's garrison in Qinghe consumes a lot of money, which can be greatly compensated through plunder.

"Through invasion warfare, we can also lengthen the front line, increase the defensive pressure on our army, and then look for fighter opportunities; on the other hand, it can also have a pacifying effect on the three allies, especially the Huns." Wang Yu's voice was cold.

These ideas were all thought through by Kong Rong before he arrived.

"In the invasion of Qinghe, let the Huns take the lead. These barbarians are ferocious and highly mobile. It will be difficult for our army to gather them together and annihilate them. Once we get into a dogfight, the main force of Jizhou can come up with reinforcements and reap the benefits.

At present, the Huns may be entangled by the Montenegrin army and have not arrived yet, so we must seize the time and try to destroy Yuan Shao's strategy."

The tent fell into silence, with only Wang Yu's clear voice echoing.

Before Yan Liang's defeat, Yuan Shao relied on his strong troops and horses and planned to fight head-on. Now he changed his tactics and not only wanted to bring into play his own strengths, but also the strengths of the Huns.

What the Huns are best at is erratic looting. There are many ways to crack it, but given the current situation of the Qingzhou Army, none of them can be used.

The best way is to use cavalry to control cavalry, just like Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, but Wang Yu doesn't have that many cavalry and can't afford it. The second is to build a defense line, just like Qin Shihuang built the Great Wall. This is of course even more unrealistic, even if there are so many cavalry.

Material resources and manpower cannot be used for this.

Another thing is to only defend strategically important places and ignore other places. This is the favorite method of later generations of scholar-bureaucrats. It doesn't matter where the country is occupied, or where the people are massacred. Just pretend that you don't see it, and cover your ears and steal the bell.

.

However, if you ignore it, all the savings of the people who implemented benevolent policies will be looted by the enemy, and of course the people's hearts will be gone. The higher you praise, the harder you fall. People's hearts can be praised when you gain power.

When you are in the sky, you will be thrown to the ground when you lose power, and you will be worse than before you were lifted up.

"No wonder the lord put forward those three conditions..."

The one who broke the silence was Tai Shici. He smacked his lips, suddenly punched his palm, and said loudly: "Return Qinghe to him. If Yuan Shao messes around again, it will be none of our business. It will only show off the kindness of the lord; the prisoner

Well, it's considered a bait, with more than 10,000 prisoners

, there are still many veterans, Yuan Shao cannot be tempted; if he wants to get this benefit, he has to drive away the Huns. In this way, his sharpest minions will be gone. Well, maybe there will be internal strife or something.

,Wonderful-it’s really wonderful-ah!”

After being excited for a while, he remembered something again and his eyelids drooped again, "It's just a pity that Yuan Shao refuses to meet people and is not willing to be fooled. Moreover, even if he meets people, it will be difficult to succeed. You Zhengping has such a mouth.

It’s really…”

Wang Yu's strategy of making peace while leaving room for falling out is certainly a good one. However, Mi Heng's participation has always been puzzling.

When the generals heard this, they all looked at Wang Yu with a look of surprise on their faces, trying to get an explanation from him.

"This matter really has to be done by Zheng Ping." Wang Yu smiled mysteriously and pretended to be secretive again, "Of course, if we want to successfully achieve our goal, we can't just rely on Zheng Ping's words. We also have to cooperate well.

"

"How to cooperate?" Tai Shici asked.

"Is this..." A glimmer of light flashed in Wang Yu's eyes and he was about to tell the overall strategy when he suddenly heard the sound of footsteps outside the tent, and then someone shouted loudly: "Report..."

"Lord, Qingyuan is reporting urgently. Yesterday, Yuan Shao met with our envoys and negotiations have begun!"
To be continued...