Yuan Tan's army attacked the city, and scouts were sent out in all directions along the way to gather information from all sources.
Several cities were captured in the front, and the journey went smoothly, so Yuan Tan felt that it was possible that Tian Kai would stick to the rear cities in Donglai and other places, and retreat on his own when Yuan's army ran out of food.
Before setting off to the station this morning, scouts reported that an army of five or six thousand men was coming from the direction of Xuzhou, more than a hundred miles south, but Yuan Tan did not pay attention.
It would take at least two days to get over from the other side, and he was confident that he could break through Yu Lingcheng in front of him before then.
But at the beginning of the war, another spy reported that Kong Rong's soldiers and horses were spotted more than a hundred miles east.
At this time, Yuan Tan was still not in a hurry. He still had the advantage in numbers. As long as he captured the city, he could advance, attack, retreat or defend.
But after fighting for two hours, another spy reported that Tian Kai's 10,000 troops were attacking from more than a hundred miles north, and Yuan Tan could no longer sit still.
It turns out that the opponent has been prepared for a long time, and wants to surround him at the same time, so that he will be attacked on three sides!
At this time, he only had slightly more troops than his opponent, and because he was in a hurry to cross the river and attack the city, he had not yet established a camp!
It was too late to establish a camp on the spot. If he stormed Ling City, entered the city to defend, and was surrounded by three sides, he could be dragged to death with just food.
If it is not defeated, the opponent can enter the city to defend and seize the initiative, while you can only retreat the entire army.
But the problem is, behind it is Jishui!
When I retreated from the city just now, the battle almost collapsed. If I retreated in a big way, it really turned into a rout, and I was chased and beaten by the opponent. My entire trip to Qingzhou would have been in vain!
He said to Jushou: "Sir, for the present plan, is it better to retreat temporarily and set up camps along Haogou to resist the enemy's attack?"
After hearing this, Jushou twisted his beard and said, "This is the safest way." He looked at the generals, "Do you have any other opinions?"
Yan Liang, Zhang He, Gao Lan and others were all experienced people. When they heard this, they all said in unison: "It all depends on the opinions of the young master and sir."
Are you kidding? We are responsible for going into battle. The situation is so complicated that no one is sure. If we make a mistake and lose the battle, will we be blamed?
Jushuo's expression did not change. Seeing that Yuan Xi was silent at the side, he asked, "Young Master, you have no objections?"
Yuan Xi thought to himself that if you are not a supervisor, you must have had an idea long ago. What do you ask me to do?
He said: "I am just like everyone else..."
At this time, Yuan Xi saw a trace of disappointment on Jushou's face, and suddenly realized that Jushou did not agree to retreat!
He suddenly had an idea and blurted out: "The safest way is, of course, to retreat and camp, so that you can remain in an invincible position."
"But if it were me, I probably wouldn't do that."
As soon as these words came out, not only Yuan Tan Jushou, but also all the generals looked over.
Ju Shou twirled his beard and said, "Second Young Master seems to have a different opinion. Can you please tell me?"
Yuan Xiqian said: "I just said it casually, sir, don't blame me if I say something wrong."
"Now we are surrounded on three sides. If we retreat, not only will the morale of the military be unstable, but it will also allow the other side to take the initiative, making it difficult to regain the advantage later."
"In this way, the two sides may end up in a confrontational situation. We are going on an expedition with troops. We will definitely run out of food and fodder first, and in the end we will be forced to retreat."
Hearing this, everyone nodded.
"But we have an opportunity now," Yuan Xi said: "The three parties on the other side have obviously planned in advance, but there is a big problem."
"They haven't joined forces yet!"
"The plan to break the situation now is to attack with the whole army and defeat the three groups before they are surrounded!"
"But this opportunity is fleeting. If we don't do it right, we will be dragged into the quagmire and trapped in a tight siege. It can be said that this is a very risky strategy."
Yuan Tan and the generals were shocked when they heard this. They had similar thoughts, but they were killed as soon as they appeared because it was too dangerous!
It is possible to win a great victory, or even more likely to be annihilated!
There was a hint of unnoticeable excitement on Jushou's face, "According to what the Second Young Master wants, which side should we attack first?"
This time Yuan Xi's thoughts were even more unexpected.
"Tian Kaijun."
After hearing this, Yuan Tan couldn't help but said: "Every time we defeat someone, we always attack the weakest one first. How can we attack the one with the largest number of people?"
Yuan Xi thought for a while and said: "This is just my feeling, it may not be accurate."
Jushu spoke up and said: "I don't feel anything on the battlefield. Please make it clear, Sir."
Yuan Xi thought to himself: Why does Jushu seem to be targeting me?
You are a counselor, you don’t say a word, you just test me?
He thought for a moment and said, "In my opinion, Tian Kai is the weakest party."
Jushu said: "Evidence."
Yuan Xi could only say: "The following is just my guess."
"Tian Kai gave up so many cities and only arrived now, which shows that his tens of thousands of troops are very powerful. Otherwise, he would have built the strongest city to defend before our arrival."
"It's very possible that his army was put together on the fly, and there aren't many elites among it."
"Besides, it is very troublesome to mobilize and march tens of thousands of troops. The troops must come from far away, and their physical strength will inevitably be lost."
"If we attack with all our strength and catch them off guard, we will have a chance to defeat them all."
As Yuan Xi attacked the city in the past few days, he gradually understood that it was extremely difficult to mobilize tens of thousands of troops, whether marching or fighting, and many problems would arise in the process.
Even Yuan Tan, who had been fighting for several years, found it difficult to command with the help of Ju Shou, let alone himself.
Yuan Xi thought to himself that the upper limit of his current command was about two thousand people.
Therefore, what Yuan Xi wants to build in the future is elite troops. The advantages are that they are easy to command and mobilize and have high individual combat effectiveness.
Sometimes, fighting a war is not something that can only be done by stacking up the number of people.
Jushou asked again: "What about Kong Rongjun and Liu Beijun?"
Yuan Xi said: "I don't know much about Kong Rong's army, but if the Xuzhou army is led by Liu Xuande, it will have two strong generals under its command, which should be difficult to deal with. I think it's better to leave it until the end."
Yan Liang spoke out for the first time: "Liu Bei also had a confrontation with the eldest son in the plains, and nothing happened."
Zhang He spoke out at this time: "I encountered them a few days ago, and they are much more powerful than they were more than a year ago."
"Especially Guan Yu and Zhang Fei. Fighting alone, I may not be able to match any of them!"
Everyone was aware of Zhang He's military prowess. They were all shocked when they heard what he said. Yan Liang was surprised and said, "You can't even defeat him? I don't believe it."
"If I had the chance, I would meet them!"
Everyone couldn't help but talk about it, and no one was sure about the three enemies.
Jushou spoke up at this time: "My thoughts are the same as those of the Second Young Master."
Everyone was stunned.
Jushou said calmly: "Although the reasons are slightly different, I also think Tian Kai is the best to deal with."
"First, if thousands of people march, there will be chaos."
"The second is to wait for them to set up camp and focus on holding us back. It will be difficult for our army to find opportunities to defeat them."
"Third, if they come from the north and our army attacks them from the north, they can simultaneously widen the distance between the reinforcements from the east and the south, thereby buying more time."
"Fourth, Tian Kai's arrival has concentrated most of Qingzhou's troops. If he can be defeated in one fell swoop, Qingzhou will lose its ability to resist. Otherwise, if he gradually defends the city, our army will suffer even greater losses."
"Tian Kai probably thought that with the help of Kong Rong and Liu Bei's armies, he would go out in full force with confidence. In normal times, we would never encounter his main force in the wild."
"Therefore, I believe that this is a golden opportunity. If we win or lose in an instant, our army should march at full speed to catch the opponent by surprise!"
"Even if the losses are larger, if Tian Kai can be annihilated, this battle of Qingzhou will be considered a success!"
"I also hope that the eldest son will immediately order the entire army to march north. I will bear the responsibility for this victory!"
After hearing this, Yuan Tan lowered his head and thought for a while, then suddenly raised his head.
He is now accustomed to defeating the minority with more, and taking such a risk this time also makes him hesitate. But fighter opportunities are hard to find. Should he stop fighting when he encounters more enemies than himself in the future?
He said decisively: "The whole army goes north and march at full speed!"
On top of the city, the young man and the old captain peered out from the arrow holes in the city wall.
The old team leader clicked his tongue and said, "It's really weird, the other side doesn't fight."
"Something must have happened."
The young man breathed a sigh of relief and asked, "Have you got lunch yet?"
Lao Wu Zhang hated the fact that iron was not ready and said: "Besides eating, what else do you think about!"
The young man muttered: "Then we can't starve to death."
The old captain sighed: "That's right. If my grandson were here, he should be almost the same as you."
"By the way, they will probably attack the city again later, you..."
Before he finished speaking, drums rang out from below. The old corps leader was so frightened that he pushed Wu Dalang's head down and the two of them lay on the ground together.
As a result, after waiting for a long time, there was no sound of stone bullets and arrows. Instead, there were sounds of surprise from all over the city wall.
The old team leader and Wu Dalang stuck their heads out and couldn't help but widen their eyes when they saw the scene below the city.
The enemy troops under the city actually abandoned their siege equipment, bypassed Yuling City, and hurried north!
The more than a thousand defenders in the city who survived the disaster naturally did not dare to leave the city to pursue them. They looked at the enemy in the distance and couldn't help shouting with joy.
As for whether the other side is going to attack the city to the north or whether it will come back, that's not what they can care about.
They were happy that they could finally live a few more days.
Yecheng.
In Zhen's Mansion, Zhen Rong and Zhen Mi were sitting on the main seats.
Sitting on the guest seat opposite them was Yuan Xing.
Wu Zhao knelt behind Yuan Xing. She looked at Zhen Mi's smiling face, feeling a little envious in her heart.
Zhen Mi's current appearance reminded Wu Zhao of the time when he was unmarried five or six years ago.
I also had a time when I was carefree, but when I should be most happy, I encountered so many things, and my state of mind was completely different.
So when seeing Zhen Mi's unpolluted appearance, everyone would probably feel pity and protection, right?
What Zhen Rong and Yuan Xing were talking about were all about family feuds between Yecheng's noble families, and they slowly turned the topic to some recent rumors.
Zhen Rong whispered: "I heard from Third Brother that the person who is most popular in Yecheng recently is Mr. Yuan."
She unconsciously mentioned Yuan Xi, then woke up and said shyly: "My husband sent me a letter, saying that everything is safe and that he is fighting with the second young master in Qingzhou."
"Last time I was really..."
Yuan Xing waved her hand: "It's all over, why bother mentioning it again."
Zhen Mi stared at Zhen Rong secretly. Every time Sister Xindao mentioned the young master, her voice was unnatural. Nothing really happened that night?
Zhen Rong was even more flustered when Zhen Mi looked at him, and said: "What do you think I am doing? Do you want to hear about Second Young Master Yuan?"
Zhen Mi blushed and said, "Fourth sister teased me again, but I didn't say anything."
Yuan Xing smiled and said: "Okay, don't bully your sister, she will be our Yuan family's daughter-in-law in the future."
Zhen Mi's face became even redder: "You two sisters are not speaking politely. You are still a noble woman."
yuan
"Have you never heard of it: to promote filial piety and honesty, the father lives away from home, and to promote talents, but not to know how to read?"
Everyone nodded. There were many hypocrites among the nobles who acted one way on the outside but another behind the scenes.
Zhen Mi curled her lips: "Not to mention anything else, let's just talk about Third Young Master, huh!"
Yuan Xing sighed: "Third brother has been a little embarrassed recently when he heard the second brother's name."
When the girls heard this, they became curious and said, "What's going on?"