The five hundred and seventieth chapters hold the remnant and stay alone
"At that time, there will be separation, and scholars will have no solid aspirations." [Book of Zhou·Biography of Kou Luo, Li Bi and others]
As early as four years before Jian'an, Zhang Liao and others carried out multiple siege operations against Yecheng. Fa Zheng had a wonderful idea. Zhuge Xuan first organized Hanoi, and the Weijun people dug deep trenches around Yecheng, creating long
The long one enclosed Yecheng inside to show that it was blocked.
At the beginning, the trench was only focused on length, and was dug very shallow, so that ordinary people could easily cross it. When Feng Li, Han Fan and other generals on the city saw this scene, they all suggested that Yuan Shang send troops out of the city to attack and kill the civilians outside the city. They not only organized the other party to repair the trench, but also
It can also drive civilians to attack enemy lines.
However, this suggestion was categorically rejected by Shen Pei, the prefect of Wei County. He said: "With Zhang Liao's wisdom, this must be a trick to lure the enemy, and we must not be deceived by it."
Han Fan hesitated and said: "But this ravine"
"They have to spend so much effort digging a trench, so let them dig it. This trench can stop our army, but it can also stop them." Shen Pei looked at the busy crowd below the city with an expressionless face, and he made an estimate in his mind.
To organize so many civilians, it would cost at least tens of thousands of food and grass a day. If things go on like this, can the opposite army afford it?
Han Fan felt something was wrong in his heart. The other party was digging trenches so blatantly. He must have some agenda. Although he didn't know what it was, it was the best way to stop him now. But when he looked at everyone in the city, the most resourceful Jushou remained silent.
Zhang He, who was best at setting up surprises and using troops, just frowned and said nothing. As for Chun Yuqiong, Jiang Qi and others, one was afraid of being beaten by the opponent and did not dare to go out of the city to fight the enemy. The other was cautious and cautious and would rather be conservative.
Attack rashly.
Each of these heavyweights remained silent. On the contrary, Han Fan, Su You and the others were soft-spoken, and their suggestions were pertinent but carried little weight. This made Han Fan feel very strange, and felt that such a strange silence was too abnormal.
Since no one objected to the idea of trial matchmaking, Yuan Shang took it as acquiescence. He thought he had a plan and said: "In that case, let them dig it out. When their energy is exhausted and the food and grass are low, our army will choose the opportunity to advance."
, defeat the enemy in one fell swoop.”
The trial partner said a few words in agreement, and then escorted Yuan Shang down the city. When passing by Ju Shou, he inadvertently sneered.
"This..." Han Fan seemed to say something else, but was stopped by Feng Li beside him.
Zhuge Xuan organized the civilians to dig outside the city in fear for half a month. Seeing that the city was still indifferent, he couldn't help asking Fazheng: "Is Yuan Shang going to sit back and watch himself die? Why haven't he left the city yet?"
"Good thing." Fazheng smiled proudly, turned to Zhang Liao and said, "They are afraid of fighting."
"The moon has been lacking in the past few nights, so we can start an uprising tonight." Zhang Liao said calmly. The fact that they sent people to dig ditches outside the city was just a superficial sign. In fact, more civilians were assigned to the Zhang River to build dams and divert canals.
That night, tens of thousands of civilians went into battle and dug the trench between Zhangshui and Yecheng two feet deep overnight. Then the Zhangshui burst its embankments and billowing white waves poured into Yecheng along the trench.
The city walls of Ye City were soaked, and the city suddenly turned into mud. Unfortunately, it was autumn and winter at this time, and the amount of water was not enough to flood Ye City. Although Fazheng was sorry to see this, he was not discouraged, and still suggested that Zhang Liao continue to besiege the city to wear down the energy of the defenders.
.
In this way, in the three or four months from the cold winter of the third year of Jian'an to the beginning of spring next year, Yecheng was almost out of food, and more than half of the people in the city died of starvation.
The defenders thought they could not hold on, so they wanted Chen Bing to break out of the encirclement, carry Zhao Guo and Changshan on their backs, raid Liu Yu's rear, and join Yuan Xi.
But Shen Pei was stubborn and refused to obey. At this time, he already knew the news that Xun Chen had gone through all kinds of hardships to get back: Yuan Shao, Yuan Shu, and Yuan Tan were defeated one after another.
He wanted to have a way out for himself, but Shen Pei didn't. He believed that Yuan Shao had been kind to him, and "the monarch and his ministers are righteous", so he insisted on coexisting with Yecheng. Even Yuan Shang himself wanted to break out.
None of it swayed his mind.
"Jian Zhengnan!" Li Fu, the chief secretary of Jizhou, spoke to him in a rare and stern voice: "You insist on clinging to defence, but you don't know how to make progress, but you have violated a military taboo! Have you forgotten the lesson of Zhang Liao's water irrigation of Yecheng last year?"
Chunyu Qiong actually wanted to run away for a long time, but he lost more than half of his troops and horses. Shenpei had great prestige in Yecheng, and he thought highly of himself. He looked down on him as a Yingchuan native, so he had no room to speak. As a result, the current situation
In a critical situation, he had to stand up and say something:
"The situation has not deteriorated to the point of being out of control. Now Yuan Gong has retreated to the Bohai Sea. There are still two young masters in Youzhou supporting nearly 30,000 Hu and Han troops. Now the imperial army is all looking eastward and has no time to take care of Yecheng. As long as we break out of the encirclement
, defeating Liu Yu first, or taking a detour to the valley to connect with Wuhuan and other troops, can be enough to disrupt Jizhou and relieve Yuan Gong's siege. There is still a chance that the situation will be overturned, so what's the use of being trapped in an isolated city?"
Shen Pei narrowed his eyes, suddenly looked at Ju Shou, and asked, "My lord, do you have any good advice to teach me?"
Jushou coughed slightly and replied slowly: "Actually, breaking out of the encirclement and going north is a way out. Among all the troops and horses in Hebei, only Liu Yu's troops are the weakest. If they take advantage of the situation and attack with light troops, they will be able to break through."
The imperial brigade, boost my momentum." He saw Chun Yuqiong's excited expression, shook his head with a wry smile, and then said: "It's just that there are ravines outside the city, and Zhang Liao's cavalry is very fast, so he will suffer heavy losses if he breaks through. Yuan Shijun
As the commander-in-chief of an army, I cannot put myself in danger at this time."
Chunyu Qiong couldn't help but feel disappointed, but Shen Pei's face turned serious. Yuan Shang was also timid and unintelligent. After hearing Ju's advice, neither Shen Pei supported his strategy of leading troops to break out of the encirclement, and he no longer thought about it. Not only that.
, since I can't easily break through, in order to strengthen the defensive force around me, I can't disperse any troops.
As a result, the discussion of breaking out of the encirclement ended. The whole army gave up the hope of breaking out of the encirclement. Whether to choose to continue to hold on and wait for death or find another way to make a living became a choice before everyone at the moment.
At night, Jushou dressed up as a servant and sneaked into the place where Xunchen was imprisoned in a low-key manner. Xunchen seemed not surprised by his arrival. On the contrary, the reason why he took the risk to enter Yecheng was because he needed to contact Jushou. These days, he has been
Suppressing his temper, he waited for Jushou first.
Although Xun Chen absconded from Yuan Shao after his defeat, Shen Pei did not believe his lame excuse. First, because the Xun family in Yingchuan had already established a firm position on the side of the imperial court, Xun Chen's position was not credible; second, it was purely a territorial issue.
On the other hand, the interrogators had a certain amount of hostility towards any non-Jizhou scholars. Therefore, after the interrogation yielded enough information, Xun Chen was immediately thrown into prison, waiting to be killed at any time.
No one supported Xun Chen, and it seemed that he was seeking death as soon as he came in, until he arrived at Ju Shuo.
"Youruo should know that I will come to find you, right?" In the dim candlelight, Jushou said quietly: "With your eagerness and talent, you must have a way to protect yourself when you come to Yecheng."
Xun Chen's voice was hoarse and he laughed softly: "I can't hide anything from you. By the way, did you bring anything to eat?"
Jushou was stunned, and then he took out a piece of cake from his arms and handed it over. The city had no food, the army was short of food, and there was no food supply in the prison. Xun Chen had been hungry for several days, so he took the cake.
, not caring about etiquette, he even stopped drinking water and started eating in big mouthfuls.
"Whether you come to Yecheng or not, those who are loyal will still be loyal, and those who are casual will still be casual. You will also suffer when you come, but you will be killed like you are now. In my opinion, this matter
It wasn't your idea, was it?" Jushou silently watched Xun Chen wolfing down a piece of biscuit, his eyes flickering.
"I never thought of putting myself in danger to compete with you for credit." Xun Chen was worried that the scholars on the two sides would misunderstand because of this, so he quickly explained with a wry smile: "Look at me now, as long as you say a word, or don't
If I need to speak, I will starve to death in prison. Could it be that we did this kind of evil plan?"
Jushuo's eyes were solemn and gentle, and he gradually began to realize that if Xun Chen did not come here voluntarily, then someone behind him forced him to do so. The consequences of his entering the city were obvious, either he would be executed as a rebel by the frightened Shen Pei.
Either he was lucky enough to survive and share the credit with him equally. No matter what the outcome is, the enmity between the Jizhou scholars and the Yingchuan scholars will be forged, and the conflict between the two will continue from the Yuan family.
to the court.
This kind of harming others and not benefiting oneself is indeed not what Xunshi can do. Jushou sighed slowly, poured out a full glass of water from the dusty teapot on one side, and handed it to the other party: "The reason why I hesitate until now is because
It's because the various behaviors of today's emperor really make people have to be cautious. I'm afraid that after passing this hurdle, there will be another hurdle in the future. There will be fighting and no peace. If it weren't for Yuan Gong's troops being confused and not listening.
Good advice, how could Tian Yuanhao and I..."
Xun Chen just took a sip of water and asked after hearing this: "Is Tian Yuanhao also...? But I see that he is still loyal to Yuan, unlike Gong Yu, who has hidden his edge in recent years and rarely makes plans."
"Like Shen Zhengnan, he is a person who will never look back even if he dies." Jushou smiled bitterly. If Jujun hadn't been highly favored by the court, he would have had a way out. He had to have something for the sake of his family.
Abandoned, once upon a time, he was also such a person. When he first chose to contact the court privately, he tested Tian Feng. However, Tian Feng was loyal to Yuan Shao and resisted the Yingchuan scholars in his heart, let alone in the future.
Living with the Yingchuan scholars with a bowed head was even more unacceptable to him.
It's just that he couldn't tell Xun Chen what he said, so he said perfunctorily: "This man is too stubborn. I have never mentioned this matter to him. I only hope that the imperial court will conquer Nanpi and spare his life."
At this point, even he laughed without confidence and asked: "What you said, including the matter about Tian Yuanhao being imprisoned by Yuan Gongsuo, are they all true?"
Xun Chen had experienced this incident from beginning to end. He put down his tea bowl and said sternly: "This matter is extremely true. Tian Yuanhao's advice to Yuan Shao failed, so he spoke out to offend Yuan Shao and was imprisoned. Everything he said before was true. Yuan Shao
If I have any regrets, I might use him again when I get to Nanpi..."
"No way." Jushou's face was gloomy and he said feebly: "It would be okay if we win, but if we lose, Tian Yuanhao will not survive. I only hope that I can still have the opportunity to bury his body.
"
Xun Chen was speechless for a moment and took another sip of bitter cold water: "What will happen to Yecheng? Even if Shenpei mobilizes the entire army to defend it, relying on a strong city may not be able to defend it forever. Zhang Liao is good at fighting and Fa Zheng is many.
Conspiracy, the country will soon unite all the armies to attack Nanpi, and will no longer allow the nail of Ye City to be stuck in the back. Military orders have been issued one after another, and this city must be captured at any cost... The Duke and I came to see me tonight,
You must have the intention to do something right, and you should do something in these few days."
"In Shen Zhengnan, Chunyu Zhongjian and others have been guarding against me. If I make any move, I will be restrained everywhere." Jushou said with some difficulty: "I see that the strong and weak in the Japanese army are in a state of uncertainty in the past few days. I need to first
Only when someone comes forward can we make the next step."
"You must have soldiers to make plans. Do you have someone to choose?" Xun Chen asked softly: "Is it Su You or Yin Kai?" He quickly went through the generals who were related to Jushu in his mind. Jushu was the one trusted by Yuan Shao the most.
For a period of time, he served as the supervisor of the army and General Fenwei, and commanded many generals under his command, such as Su You, Liang Qi, Feng Li and others, all of whom were acquainted with him.
But these people are weak in military strength, and it seems not easy for Jushou to rely on them to leverage Yecheng under Shenpei's eyes.
"He's a person you can't expect." Jushou gave up and twirled his beard and said calmly: "It's just that I have never interacted with him. This will not make others doubt whether there is an affair between me and him, but
It also prevents me from finding opportunities to understand each other's feelings with him. Now that we don't know each other's feelings, it's like walking in a dark place and not knowing the enemy or the friend, so we have to be more careful when doing things and not dare to move."
Xun Chen was outstanding in eloquence, but he was not as good as outstanding scholars like Ju Shu in this regard. He asked humbly: "Then how can you two understand each other's thoughts while avoiding the eyes and ears?"
"Didn't I say that? First someone can't help but come forward." Jushou said with a smile, the dim candlelight flickering in his eyes: "I think Shen Zhengnan is also waiting for someone to come forward."
At the end of March in the fourth year of Jian'an, the common people in Yecheng began to eat each other's sons. The city was filled with grief and panic. The panic among the defenders continued to spread. The unbearable defenders Feng Li and Han Fan finally launched an army to start a rebellion and opened the gates at night.
, and admitted the soldiers and horses from outside the city to advance into the city. Not long after the incident happened, Shenpei quickly learned of the incident, and sent soldiers from Yuan Shang to intercept the city gate, and even used big rocks to knock down the gate, and the gate fell suddenly.
The connection between the forward troops entering the city and the rear troops was cut off, and all the hundreds of people who entered the city first were killed. Even Feng Li and others were shown their heads in public.
After Zhang Liao was slightly frustrated for a while, he became more cautious when encountering this matter. Because of Feng Li's death, the generals became more and more fearful in doing things. After this incident, the impetuous voices in the defenders were suppressed with thunderous means. In a short time, it seemed that
The situation returned to calm again, but beneath this still water, there was already a huge undercurrent surging.
The sensitive changes in the situation naturally attracted the attention of the judge. Although he was arrogant and stubborn, he also had his own unique way of doing things. After killing Feng Li and others who intended to rebel, he distributed family wealth and hoarded food in an attempt to calm the morale of the army.
'Persuading' other families to donate food and fodder to support the defense of the city.
He didn't care how much dissatisfaction these two measures would cause. At this time, he only had Yecheng in his eyes, and defending Yecheng seemed to be his biggest obsession.
On the third day after Feng Li's death, Shen Pei suddenly called Ju Shou alone.