Chapter 389 Although the best policy is good, I don’t want to choose
“Retreat to advance?”
Yuan Shao muttered this word, feeling extremely unwilling.
Feng Ji continued to advise: "The poisonous snake bites the hand, and the strong man cuts off the wrist! Lord, make a decision immediately."
It is easy to retreat to Jiangdong, but it is difficult to come back. Yuan Shao is not willing to give in.
"I still have an army of 60,000, can't I bear a battle?" He glanced at his subordinates.
Chunyu Qiong was his die-hard loyalist and had sworn to follow him since Luoyang. He took a step forward, clasped his fists and begged for orders: "My lord, if someone is willing to lead his army in a fight to the death, anyone who dares to violate the territory will be beheaded to show the power of our army!"
Yuan Shao was very pleased, but before he could express his appreciation, Guo Tu spoke first:
"General Chunyu's words are wrong. Although King Chen is brave, his troops are weak and it is not difficult to defeat him. Yuan Gongdao is tired from fighting for a long time, and it is easy to retreat. But what about General Liu Yicheng? Does General Chunyu have the confidence to stop his troops?
Front?"
After speaking, he faced Yuan Shao, clasped his hands and saluted, and advised: "The enemy troops are coming from many directions, so you must not fight forcefully. This place is already a dead place and cannot be left. I hope my lord will make a decision soon!"
Yuan Shao suppressed his anger and said loudly: "Now only King Chen, Liu Chong, Chen Bing, Liu Yicheng, and Yuan Gonglu have not sent troops yet. You should think about how to make them stop fighting, instead of persuading me to flee before fighting!"
The reputation of fleeing without a fight and fearing the enemy like a rat is not good, and he did not want to bear this stigma.
And is retreating to Jiangdong really a good idea?
He glanced at his subordinates. How many of these people were willing to follow him? Even if they were willing, how many of the families behind them were willing to relocate?
He is also from a noble family and knows very well how the nobles survive. They will invest in whoever occupies their hometown and always stand on the side of the winner. Only in this way can the family continue to exist.
If you want to take the nobles under your command with you, you must either let them see their survival crisis, or you must promise them greater benefits.
Can retreating really preserve strength? Yuan Shao is very doubtful.
His foundation is the reputation of the Yuan family in Runan. With this reputation, he can gather the gentry.
If you flee before fighting, your reputation will be ruined, your land will be lost, and your gentry will be scattered.
How to counterattack?
What to fight back with?
"I am not a coward. How can I say defeat before we engage in battle? Everyone, please work together with me to repel the enemy. You must not say anything about retreat." Yuan Shao firmly believed and could not just retreat.
Chen Si also didn't want to go to Jiangdong. His family was in Xuzhou and his connections were in the Central Plains. Crossing the river would mean living under someone else's roof. That kind of life would not be easy.
"To inform my lord, it is not difficult to hold up the highway. We only need to contact Cao Mengde and Chen Bing at the Runan border, and then let Liu Jiujiang and Zhou Danyang send troops to the Lujiang border. The difficulty is how to dispel Liu Huiqi's intention to send troops."
Well, this is the attitude that a staff member should have. Yuan Shao stroked his beard with satisfaction and analyzed Chen Si's topic:
"Liu Yicheng once formed an alliance with me to seize the land of Qingzhou. Later, I don't know what benefits Yuan Jiujiu promised. The two times he sent troops were to relieve Yuan Jiujiu from the siege, and did not wantonly annex the prefectures and counties. His intention was very obvious.
I am willing to fight to the death and do not want to waste our troops."
"My lord, according to the spies' report, Liu Yicheng has accepted the gift from King Chen and others, and is about to send troops. Don't take any chances. You need to make preparations in advance."
Feng Ji really doesn't think much of staying in Pei and Pengcheng. They can't support an army of 60,000, and they still need support from Jiujiang and Danyang for food and grass. It's not a long-term solution.
Confronting Liu Yicheng, the army will be held back, consuming food and grass but doing nothing, which is not advisable.
Cao Mengde went straight to the southwest, which in his opinion was a very wise choice.
If you cannot unite all the princes to attack together, it is better to temporarily avoid the front and accumulate strength.
He still wanted to admonish: "Lord..."
"Yuan Tu!" Yuan Shao glared and interrupted him: "Don't say any more, I have already made up my mind, why hurt my face."
"Yes." Fengji bowed, took a few steps back, and sat back behind the desk.
Yuan Shao once again glanced at his subordinates and said loudly: "If our army is determined to fight to the death, Liu Yicheng will hesitate to move forward. Who is willing to send an envoy to convey this intention to him? If we can persuade him to stop the war,
, it’s a great achievement.”
Feng Ji sighed and was not optimistic about sending an envoy.
Guo Tu and others looked at each other. They all had no confidence and were unwilling to come forward.
Chen Si glanced at his son.
Chen Deng stood up helplessly, walked around the table, took two steps forward, raised his hands and said: "Your Majesty, I am willing to send an envoy, but I don't know what conditions I should agree to? I hope your Majesty will inform me."
Yuan Shaoxin said, it is nothing more than territory, wealth, and beautiful women.
Beauty is easy to talk about, just go to the people to find it, but he is also short of land and wealth. He hesitated and asked: "I have a daughter who would like to get married to him. Yuanlong thinks this can be done?"
Chen Deng thought about it for a while, and it was a good thing to be married to the Yuan family in Runan, but there were some obstacles.
"Liu Qiaoqi already has a wife. The lord's daughter must not become a concubine. If you force someone to divorce his wife, it will damage your reputation."
"Does he have a biological brother?"
Chen Deng replied: "Liu Qiao is the only one in this branch."
Yuan Shao sighed regretfully, if he could recruit Liu Yicheng as his son-in-law and marry the two families, the problem would be solved, and the subsequent benefits would be too many.
"If I cede Donghai County to him, would it be okay to compensate him with some property?"
Chen Deng's eyes drooped, fearing that others would see the contempt in his eyes, so he said euphemistically: "My lord, the Yellow Turbans are rampant in the East China Sea, so it is difficult to negotiate with them."
Yuan Shao understood the meaning of these words. Donghai County only belonged to him in name. If he brought it up for negotiation, it would appear to be insincere and easy to make enemies, but he would not be willing to give it to anyone else.
After Chen Deng finished speaking, he hesitated for a moment and turned to look at his father. Their family originally had a better relationship with Yuan Shu, and his father had a close personal relationship with Yuan Shu. However, when Yuan Shao occupied Xuzhou, his father and Yuan Shu
They broke off the relationship there and devoted themselves to assisting Yuan Shao.
He didn't know if this decision was wise, but he had come to this point and it was difficult to turn back.
"Lord, I have three strategies, upper, middle and lower, to solve the current predicament!"
Yuan Shao's eyes lit up: "Yuanlong, please tell me in detail."
Chen Deng pointed to the country and said loudly: "In today's world, Liu Yicheng is the most powerful. He can contact all the princes to jointly attack. This is the best strategy."
"Although the best idea is good, it is difficult to achieve." Yuan Shao rejected the best idea, since he really couldn't do it. Dong Zhuo is a traitor to the country and cannot be united. Yuan Shu wishes that he would die immediately and will not unite. Prince Liu wants to regain the country and cannot unite.
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"Yuanlong, let's talk about the middle strategy."
"Giving Pengcheng Kingdom to Liu Qiaoqi, if the Liu kings want to take back Pei Kingdom and Pengcheng Kingdom, they only need to send Pengcheng to each other with great fanfare, and the problem will be in the hands of the other party. The two families will inevitably be jealous, and the alliance will inevitably be severed.
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As long as Liu Qiaoqi hesitates, our army can defeat Liu Chong with all our strength and the dilemma will be solved. This is the middle strategy."
Yuan Shao nodded. This was a good strategy. It delayed Yuan Shu and defeated Liu Chong, leaving only Liu Xiang with his troops. According to his unwillingness to fight to the death, he would return to the confrontation stage, and the life-and-death crisis would naturally be lifted.
But he was very curious about what the next strategy would be: "There is another strategy, let's talk about it together."
"We sent envoys with great fanfare, pretending to negotiate with Liu Qiaoqi. The envoys tried their best to stall for time. Our army divided its forces and attacked Chen State. After killing Liu Chong, we immediately returned to the army to resist Liu Qiaoqi's southward movement. This is the next best strategy."
Chen Deng proposed three strategies. What he hoped most was to implement the best strategy. This is the real solution to the dilemma.
Yuan Shao pondered for a moment, and he felt that the next move was the most satisfactory one without having to pay too much price.
Planning is planning, and choice is choice. Many times, we know clearly what is the most correct thing, but we just don’t do it, don’t want to do it, or can’t do it.
For thousands of years, they can be found everywhere.