Just when Yuan Shao decided to follow the previous plan to lure Lu Bu out and kill him first, early the next morning, he saw a veteran soldier rushing into the city.
Under normal circumstances, in places like Yecheng, horses are not allowed to gallop. However, there is an exception. When there is a war on the front line, frontline messengers can ride horses. Everyone in the city, even high-ranking officials and dignitaries, must give way.
.
The fast horse galloped all the way into the inner city. Along the way, the people and the soldiers patrolling the city saw the other party dressing up, and they all gave way, allowing the fast horse to gallop all the way to the gate of the General's Mansion.
Yuan Shao was discussing matters with Xu You. When he heard that the front line was approaching, he quickly summoned him.
"Lord!" The soldiers came in and saluted Yuan Shao: "Li Yang is reporting urgently."
"Speak!" Yuan Shao's expression condensed. Liyang is not far from Ye City. If someone has the ability to march, he can reach Ye City in less than half a day. It is also one of the important cities of Ye City.
The soldier swallowed his saliva and said hoarsely to Yuan Shao: "Last night, Zhang Liao who was stationed in Jiyin crossed the river at night. Our soldiers stationed in Lihu area were caught off guard before they could react in time. The ferry was lost, Lihu, Xian
When the people of the city and the three cities of Mo City heard that the enemy was coming, they took the initiative to open the city and let the Liao soldiers capture the three cities without bloodshed!"
There is nothing to say about Zhang Liao's crossing of the river overnight. The Jizhou army on the north bank was used to the opponent only defending and not attacking. Under their inertial thinking, they never thought that the opponent would suddenly attack.
Although Yuan Shao had sent messengers yesterday to tell the ferry crossings to be careful to prevent enemy troops from crossing the river, it was obvious that these words were not listened to, or the generals did, and the soldiers were still in the old habits.
Now is the transition between spring and summer. It is not the middle of winter. The river has not frozen. Chu Nan wants to attack. If there are hundreds of people, they can cross the river anywhere. But if Zhang Liao's army wants to cross the river, they can only cross the river at major ferries.
It can accommodate a large army to land without losing a foothold.
Therefore, Yuan Shao attaches great importance to these ferries, and each ferry is heavily guarded. Even if the other party forces a crossing, and neither side has access to water to fight, the soldiers standing on the shore will definitely have an advantage.
But Chu Nan only defended in March and did not attack. Not only did it gain great righteousness and let the people of the world put them in a weak position, it also encouraged the Jizhou army to underestimate the enemy and relaxed the defense of the ferry. As a result, Zhang Liao suddenly
After launching an attack, the ferry defenders had no time to make ideological transformation and were easily captured.
But what makes Yuan Shao most angry is not the incompetence of the ferry guards and defenders, but the fact that the people of the three cities of Lihu actually took the initiative to open the city to meet the enemy, allowing Zhang Liao to easily capture the three cities. This was not just as simple as losing three cities, but
It is to give the other party a foothold on the north shore.
This time the war started, the opponent took the upper hand. This was not a good sign!
Xu You's expression changed, he stood up and saluted Yuan Shao and said: "My lord, this is the trick of Chu Nan's arrogant soldiers. You should quickly send people to inform the various ferry generals about this, so that they can take precautions to prevent the enemy."
The ferry was lost again due to our army’s carelessness!”
In fact, Yuan Shao's counselors had also noticed that Chu Nan was using the arrogant soldier strategy, and made corresponding preparations.
It's just that no one knows when Chu Nan will attack, so although there are warnings, people's minds will form inertial thinking over time. The result is that this should be the most advantageous first line of defense, but as soon as the war begins, it is defeated by the enemy.
Make a hole.
Yuan Shao nodded solemnly: "Here comes someone!"
"Here!" Two personal guards came in immediately and saluted Yuan Shao.
"Send people quickly to inform all the ferries. The bandit army has breached one of the ferries yesterday. The defenders at the other ferries should take warning and not be taken advantage of by the enemy again..."
"Lord." Xu You looked at Yuan Shao and said with a cold expression: "This is just a warning. I may not be able to weaken the morale of the army. When..."
As he spoke, he made a motion of slitting his throat and said: "The guard at Lihu Ferry failed in his duties and shall be beheaded!"
"Lihu Guards General Zhou Zhe was beheaded by the enemy general in the rebellion last night." The soldier who reported the news said in a solemn voice.
"Then kill the generals who escaped as a warning to others!" Yuan Shao waved his hand and snorted coldly.
"Here!" the soldier agreed and turned around to deliver the order.
"My lord, Zhang Liao is a powerful general under Lu Bu. He is known as both wise and brave. At this time, the opponent has gained the territory of Lihu Sancheng and will definitely threaten Liyang. Liyang must not be lost!" Xu You suggested: "The elected general will lead the army to Liyang.
Be on guard against Zhang Liao taking advantage of the situation to seize Liyang."
"I wonder who can defend Liyang?" Yuan Shao frowned and asked. The generals on his side were all preparing to deal with Lu Bu and Chu Nan's main force. The rest also had their own defense zones, but for a while they were unable to mobilize manpower to deal with Zhang Liao.
"I have a few people I can recommend to my lord, who are enough to resist Zhang Liao!" Xu You said with a smile.
"Who?" Yuan Shao looked at Xu You.
"Have you forgotten the orphan Meng De?" Xu You said with a smile.
"Cao Pi, Cao Zhang?" Yuan Shao frowned: "These two sons..."
Just as he was about to dismiss it, Yuan Shao suddenly reacted, looked at Xu You and said, "Zi Yuan is talking about the generals who followed them?"
Xu You nodded and said: "Xia Houyuan, Cao Ren, Cao Hong, Cao Chun, Cao Xiu and Le Jin are all good generals of the Cao family. Now that Mengde is dead, the Cao family must rely on the lord to survive. Only by relying on the lord can they serve Mengde."
They want to take revenge, and they have the hatred of killing their father and destroying the family in Chunan. If they are sent there, they will definitely fight against the enemy with all their strength. This is the time to use them!"
Yuan Shao was somewhat uneasy about the generals of the Cao family, especially Cao Pi. Yuan Shao always felt that this boy was a bit ambitious, so although he took care of the Cao family in every possible way, he did not reuse these generals of the Cao family.
But what Xu You said is right. These people hate Chu Nan to the core. If they are asked to lead the army to conquer, they will definitely go all out.
"It's just that they haven't been in the army for a long time, maybe they can give orders to the soldiers of the three armies?" Yuan Shao frowned and said, these people haven't led troops for two years, right?
"There is still time. These people are all good generals. They have followed Mengde in the north and south. They have rich experience in leading troops. In the beginning, they only need to guard Liyang. The ability of these generals is enough for them. As long as they guard Liyang, the soldiers can gradually adapt to each other.
!”
"Okay, I will order Xiahou Yuan to lead the generals, Cao Chun, Cao Xiu, and ten thousand troops to go to Liyang to defend the enemy immediately. Make sure there is no mistake!" Yuan Shao immediately wrote a document and asked someone to prepare the seal and send it.
Let the three generals set off immediately to go to Liyang to defend against the enemy.
"You will send it off personally." Xu You said with a smile.
These people have been left idle for two years. They must have a lot of resentment in their hearts. They are Cao Cao's old friends. After they came to Yecheng, they also took care of them. If they go by themselves, they can't help but take care of them, right?
"You are far away if you have a job." Yuan Shao obviously knew what Xu You was thinking, nodded and smiled.
Xu You took the document and saluted Yuan Shao: "Then You will go now."
Yuan Shao nodded, watched Xu You leave, and then stood up. He wanted to go back to rest, but when he thought about the women at home, he felt depressed again. Although his wife, Mrs. Liu, said that she was born well and had good talents and learning, there was one thing about her that was quite jealous.
She secretly killed all the concubines in the computer room of Yuan Shao.
It’s not that Yuan Shao didn’t know, it was just that they had been married for many years and the other party made no big mistakes, so he didn’t blame him. He couldn’t blame his wife just because several concubines died.
Concubine and wife are different.
But the more this happened, the more time passed by, the less Yuan Shao wanted to see her, and when he returned home, he would mostly chatter about her.
Go out for a walk.
"Lord!" At this moment, a family member came to report.
"What's the matter?" Yuan Shao asked.
"Mr. Gongze, please see me." The general bowed.
"Invite him in." Yuan Shao sat down again and waved his hand. Being with these civil servants was much better for him than going back to face the Liu family.
After a while, Guo Tu came in under the leadership of his family general, smiled and saluted Yuan Shao: "I have met my lord."
"Are you also here because of the destruction of Lihu City last night?" Yuan Shao nodded.
"Lihu?" Guo Tu was startled when he heard this and looked at Yuan Shao.
Yuan Shao then told what happened last night when Zhang Liao crossed the river at night and captured the three cities of Lihu. It was really unlucky to lose three cities in a row just after the war started.
"Tu doesn't know about this." Guo Tu shook his head and said thoughtfully: "Ziyuan's strategy can solve this problem."
But I arrived too late.
"Well, Ziyuan has already gone to arrange this matter. Although Zhang Liao is brave, we in Jizhou are not without generals. Gongze is not here for this matter, but why?" Yuan Shao waved his hand and asked with a smile.
"Recently, Tu found a woman among the people. She is as beautiful as a fairy. I dare not keep it secretly, so I came here to give it to my lord." Guo Tu said with a smile. He knew that Yuan Shao's wife, Liu Shi, was jealous and had recently killed several of Yuan Shao's favorite concubines.
, it is not easy for them, as ministers, to interfere in the lord's family affairs. However, it is the obligation of every qualified minister to please the lord. Does the Lord worry about his death?
In normal times, Guo Tu would not do such a thing, but now Yuan Shao obviously doesn't want to go home, so he just wants to give his lord a beautiful woman to relieve his mood.
"That's all." Yuan Shao waved his hand and said: "The public has good intentions and I accept it with my heart. But now there is evil in the house and it is not good for women. It is better not to harm other people."
Although it was his own wife who did it, he certainly cannot say that to the outside world. He can only say that evil spirits entered the family and killed several concubines. This is also a cover-up.
"I want to place this girl in a house, not in the general's palace. If the lord is upset, he can go and relax. Not only does this girl look like a fairy, but she is also proficient in music, chess, calligraphy and painting. She is a considerate woman." Guo
Tu explained with a smile.
"Oh?" Yuan Shao was a little moved and couldn't bring him into the house. It would be good to keep him outside. It would perfectly solve the family conflict and at the same time give him a place to relax.
Guo Tu watched Yuan Shao's words and expressions. He smiled and said, "The mansion is in the inner city, not far from the general's palace. If my lord has nothing to do, why not go and see him? If he is dissatisfied, just give it to someone else."
"Forget it, if you have nothing to do, let's just go out and relax." Yuan Shao nodded, got up and left the house with Guo Tu. As a man, unless it's impossible, who wouldn't be greedy for those things?