"At the end of the Han Dynasty, when the Han Dynasty was in decline, it was fortunate to be in chaos due to lack of strength, so the plan of rebellion was born." [Book of Jin·Biography 62]
After the high officials left, Yuan Shu then summoned the chief minister Yang Hong, the counselor Li Ye, and his son-in-law Huang Yi. In addition to Yuan Yin, Yuan Si, Yan Xiang and others who had been here earlier, Yuan Shu
All his close scribes who can advise him are here.
During this period, Yuan Yin asked aloud: "Yuan Yaoqing has a long history of intelligence. He comes from the same family as my Runan family, why don't you call him to come together?"
He was talking about Yuan Huan, a native of Chen County. Due to the war in Yanzhou and other places, he fled all the way to Jianghuai and took refuge in Yuan Shu, his "family". This man has always been upright and dared to give advice, and could not see many of Yuan Shu's actions, and Yuan Shu was worried about his reputation.
, it was difficult to accuse him, and he couldn't bear to part with his talents, so he had to stay away from him.
Such an important conspiracy will almost determine the future strategic direction of Yuan Shu's entire force. Yuan Huan is not yet a confidant, so he cannot participate casually, let alone let the news out. Yuan Shu didn't even think about it, and immediately shook his head and said: "This son is too much."
You are loyal and upright, and you have never been able to get along with me, and you are not my partner, so you should not make major plans with him."
Yan Xiang deeply believed that although Yuan Huan and Yuan Shu were from the same family, their relationship was still distant. Just like guests such as He Kui and Liu Fu who had to be detained under Yuan Shu for taking refuge, they could be invited to ask for advice on ordinary government affairs. Such an opportunity
If you want something big, you still have to exclude it.
When he saw that everyone had come, he coughed slightly, and as Yuan Shu's top-ranked confidant, he said bluntly: "Tao Gongzu of Xuzhou did not manage the people well, fought frequently, and his subjects betrayed him. It is rumored that Tao Gongzu was seriously ill at the beginning of the year and is now lying in bed.
On the sick bed, the remaining candle will be extinguished. This is a good opportunity for our army to advance. However, once we send out troops, we should not be able to resume control of Jiangdong and take care of southern Henan. In addition, there are troops in Henan and Runan on the side, which cannot be ignored."
"How many soldiers and horses does Zhu Gongwei have under his command?" Yuan Shu asked Li Ye, the counselor on one side.
Li Ye has been handling important military affairs for Yuan Shu for a long time, and he knows this clearly: "The former general had 20,000 soldiers and horses. In addition to the old troops, most of them were Xuzhou Mu Taogong, Langxie Prime Minister Yin Gong, and Donghai Prime Minister Liu Gong.
In the second year of Chuping, especially Duke Mu Tao of Xuzhou, he sent 3,000 elite troops. However, I expected that they only had 5,000 or 6,000 elite troops, and the rest were unable to fight. Otherwise, why did Li Jue win the battle in the first place?
As soon as Guo Si arrived, the former general was defeated and fled?"
Yang Hong added on the side: "Henan and Luoyang areas have long been ruined, and there are no households left. The former general's soldiers cannot be supplemented, and the farmland must be divided... Last year, Zhang Chao was defeated by Sun Ce in a counterattack in Runan, and was injured.
It’s not a small business, but now that we have Hanoi, we have to deal with Hanoi. Henan and other places are already stretched thin, so how can we allocate energy to take care of Yuzhou?”
"That's the truth." Yuan Shu subconsciously wanted to touch the wine glass on the table, but found it empty. Then he remembered that he had given the glass to Gao Gan just now, and Gao Gan put it in another place after drinking.
The table was on the table, and the maids did not dare to come in to arrange it. Without touching the wine glass, he had no choice but to place his right hand on the table, lean forward slightly with his upper body, and said: "Hanoi is close to Yecheng, and Henan is close to Yecheng.
The location of the old capital is more important than Runan, and Zhu Jun will not be confused."
"But I heard that last year the imperial court sent General Fan Chou, Colonel Yang Ang and other generals with 20,000 troops to station in Henan. They were dispatched by the former general. Now Henan has more than 30,000 combatable troops. It is not just a lack of resources.
However, we have enough energy to deal with Yuzhou." The person who spoke was Yuan Si, the Prime Minister of Chen State who was privately owned by Yuan Shu. He was a concubine of the Yuan family in Runan and was Yuan Shu's cousin by seniority.
As soon as the war in Runan ended last year, the imperial court sent Geng Jie and loyal Zhong Shao as prime minister to Chen State. On the one hand, he monitored the disloyal King Chen, on the other hand, he managed the civil affairs of Chen State, which had a good foundation, and worked with the garrison generals to guard against Chen.
Therefore, not only the official Chen Prime Minister Xu Jian was conscripted into the court, but even Yuan Si, the Chen Prime Minister who had been secretly accepted by his ministers, was expelled by the vacated Runan Prefect Liu Ai.
Now that Yuan Si has returned from defeat, he feels quite humiliated under Yuan Shu. However, he is someone who has intuitively understood the imperial military deployment in Guandong. At this time, he consciously completes the information to avoid misjudgment by others:
"No matter how the former general arranges these more than 30,000 people, they cannot be underestimated."
Unlike Yang Hong, Yuan Si and others who were more interested in government and civil affairs, Li Ye was Yuan Shu's counselor responsible for marching and planning. His family background may not be as good as that of Yan Xiang and others, but he often had unique insights into military strategies. At this time,
He felt a little displeased that Yuan Si and others had taken up the conversation, and he was worried that Yuan Shu would misunderstand him and not be able to accurately grasp the information, so he hurriedly defended: "My subordinate was about to talk about this matter."
He quickly glanced at Yuan Si and said: "To the former general, Fan Chou is both a foreign general and an old member of Dong Zhuo's army. When he sent troops to invade the capital, he committed a lot of crimes. The former general has always been outspoken and hates evil, and he has
Being jealous of Dong Zhuo, An Neng can live in peace with Fan Chou, Yang Ang and others? How can the former general trust them? People at the top and bottom are not at ease. Not to mention the march, even ordinary dispatch will be a big problem. "
Yuan Shu's face turned slightly pale, he leaned back, held the table cushioned in fine silk, and tapped it gently.
Yan Xiang's sharp eyes accidentally caught a glimpse of the table Yuan Shu was leaning on. The gold and jade texture faintly exposed under the fine silk made him look away quickly as if he had been stabbed by something. He asked himself, as Yuan Shu,
The old officials of the clan, the "subordinates" appointed by Yuan Shu, saw that the world was in turmoil, and they actually did not reject Yuan Shu's intention to aspire to the throne.
It's just that he didn't want to start a rebellion rashly when the time was not yet ripe and his power had not grown strong. When the Han Dynasty was still powerful, those who took the lead would always be attacked by a group. But Yuan Shu was impatient. Although he did not say it clearly,
But whether it is their ordinary words and deeds, or their daily expenses for food and clothing, they have begun to hint to them. Many people saw it, but they did not say anything to advise. Instead, they flattered them and recruited alchemists to explain the prophecies.
The sky seems to be looking forward to that day.
This made Yan Xiang feel deeply helpless and uneasy in his heart, as if someone was pushing Yuan Shu step by step onto the fire.
"I know what you said." Yuan Shu didn't seem to see Yan Xiang's complicated expression, and Gu Zi said: "According to the detective report, Zhu Jun dispatched troops and horses. In order to defend Yecheng, Chen Liu and other troops
Thirty thousand people were specially deployed in Henan, Hanoi and other places, but only a few thousand men and horses were given to Yuzhou. In addition, including Li Tong, Xu Chu and other powerful tribes, the number of soldiers and horses under the Yue Cavalry Colonel Tian Chou was roughly 10,000.
We have more than 10,000 soldiers and horses, and we have to dedicate one of them to defend Chen Liu. The defense is not enough, so how can we make progress?"
He was pleased that he had exposed the court's lies and ignored the threats from Yuzhou. When he sent troops to attack Xuzhou, he did not have to worry about threats from the flanks.
Yan Xiang finally came to his senses, looked at Yuan Shu who was full of confidence and said, "I wonder who you intend to send as your general?"
At this time, the son-in-law Huang Yi said: "Ah Weng, I would like to go!"
"You have never led an army. It's okay to join the army this time, but I can't leave everything to you." Yuan Shu was still cautious about his son-in-law's ability in battle. He showed no mercy and flatly refused. He said
After thinking for a while, he added: "It is better to let Zhang Xun and Qiao Rui lead the troops to Xiapi to spy on Chen's tone first. If they give in, Chen Ying and others will be released and returned."
"Jinnuo." Yan Xiang agreed, then asked: "What about Jiangdong?"
"Yes, there are still several counties in Jiangdong that are not attached and need to be managed urgently. When entering Xuzhou, we cannot ignore this place." Yuan Shu was reminded that there were not many generals under his command who could stand alone. Zhang Xun,
Qiao Rui is ready to be sent to Xuzhou; Ji Ling and other generals have to guard against Pei Guo and Yuzhou; and Chen Lan and Lei Bo are from rough backgrounds and cannot be used in a big way, and he is hesitant to use those who are qualified.