Liu Xiang felt that these two things were connected.
Yuan Shao's retreat is also very strange. Zhang Liao and Yue Jin's 26,000 men had just pacified Donghai County and had no intention of going south for the time being.
Although Liu Chong's 30,000-strong army was less than a hundred miles away from him, their combat power was not very good and they were completely on the defensive.
Yuan Shao's pressure was not great.
If you suddenly go south, you must have a plan.
As for torturing Fan A to find out the enemy's strategic intentions, there is no need. How could a mere doctor know such a big thing?
Liu Xiang ordered his attendants: "Summon Guo Jia, Xi Liang, Xun Yu and Yuan Huan to the side hall to discuss matters."
The few people were not far away, and they arrived in a short time.
The information obtained by Tiqi was circulated in everyone's hands.
Xun Yu was silent in thought, Yuan Huan frowned, and Guo Jia was the first to speak: "Yuan Benchu is going to adjust his strategy."
"Feng Xiao, please tell me in detail."
"In the past few years, it was Yuan Benchu's plan to take advantage of the reputation of the Yuan family in Runan to take over Xuzhou and Yuzhou, and to unite with Yanzhou and Jingzhou. However, if the two Yuans stand side by side, it will be difficult to achieve what they want. In the first battle at the beginning of the year, they will lose their troops and generals, which is bound to happen.
Change your thinking.
In my opinion, this retreat is definitely not a retreat to Huai River. Yuan Benchu is arrogant and will not retreat to Jiangzuo willingly. He cannot give up the Central Plains."
Xi Zhicai nodded in agreement: "We will be defeated sooner or later in Xuzhou. It is better to retreat temporarily and look for opportunities. Perhaps we have the intention of using Pengcheng Kingdom as a bait to provoke conflicts between our army and the clan princes and kings."
Guo Jia sneered and said disdainfully: "This must be the plan. Yuan Benchu thought that others were just like him, people who forget their loyalty for small profits and really look down on others."
Xun Yu pointed to the location of Yingchuan on the map and reminded: "Cao Mengde did not return to Yingchuan. This is contrary to common sense. Even if he does not dare to take back the three counties of Yanzhou, he must always return to defend Yingchuan. My lord, Cao Cao
I have always been advancing and retreating with Yuan Shao, but I am afraid that he may make other moves. Why don't we march into Yingchuan to test it out?"
Yingchuan is his hometown, and he wants to take back his hometown's territory, both publicly and privately.
"Lord, this plan is feasible." Guo Jia and Xi Zhicai are both from Yingchuan, and it is their wish to recapture Yingchuan.
"The official seconded the proposal." Yuan Huan finished the long exam and felt that there was a lot of pressure. There were too many smart people and the thinking speed was too fast. He couldn't keep up with the rhythm.
It is difficult to disobey the public opinion, not to mention that it is indeed necessary to take action to test the enemy's movements.
"I am ordering Zhang Liao not to compete with Liu Chong for the Kingdom of Pengcheng.
Sent an order to Guo Dian to lead the Qingzhou Army southward to the East China Sea.
He sent an order to garrison troops in Wuwei, Pingyang and Huai County, move south to Chenliu, and return to Guan Yu for control.
Send an order to Guan Yu, and after the army has gathered together, we will march to Yingchuan." Liu Xiang ordered in a deep voice.
The Chinese army still needs to prepare for the westward march of the Third Auxiliary Army. Now it cannot go south and can only mobilize local armies.
As a result, Xuzhou gathered 46,000 troops, which was enough to deal with Yuan Shao's subsequent actions.
He mobilized 15,000 troops from the three Jizhou Corps garrisons to go south to Chenliu. Guan Yu had more than 25,000 troops and horses. He tested Cao Cao. There is no problem at all. If there is danger, Yingchuan is not far from Liyang, and the Chinese cavalry has three
Support will be in place within days.
If Cao Jun had been slower to react, Yingchuan County might have taken over directly. After all, he had many Yingchuan people under his command, and there were even more around Ye County.
Yingchuan's love for him is not an empty lie.
It is June now, the hottest time of the year. When the army is mobilized at this time, the soldiers will have to endure hardship. If there is a war, it will depend on who has stronger morale between us and the enemy.
The Anping Army is not afraid of this, even if it is a local army, there is no shortage of fighting spirit.
Liu Xiang thought for a while and issued another order: "Send an envoy to Liu Chong to take over Pengcheng Kingdom as soon as possible, and then march to the south of Pei Kingdom. Be careful along the way to avoid being plotted by Yuan Shao."
This is to calm the old man Liu Chong's heart, and also to tell the princes of the Seven Kingdoms Alliance that I have no intention of competing with you for territory, so don't let your wild thoughts fall into Yuan Shao's tricks.
The plan was finalized and troops and horses were mobilized. The first one to take action was Guan Yu. He led Zhang Miao and Chen Gong to gather an army of 30,000 and marched into Yingchuan.
The seventeen cities of Yingchuan originally had 260,000 households and a population of 1.4 million. However, Liangzhou soldiers and horses plundered it once, and experienced two years of turmoil, famine, death and fleeing people. The population
It would be nice to have half left.
The battle here went very smoothly, because there was no fighting at all. As soon as the army arrived, they fell in the wind, and Cao's army was nowhere to be seen. If this continues, within a month, the entire Yingchuan County will definitely take over.
This is not good news.
The enemy is making big moves.
It must be at this moment that Liu Xiang is still waiting for Fatty Dong to be killed and leads his troops to attack the third auxiliary. It is really annoying.
Not long after, news came from Xun Chen who was on an envoy to Jingzhou. Liu Biao refused to meet him. He was suspected of stalling for time. He sent people to secretly inquire. There were not many troops stationed in Xiangyang. They guessed that Liu Biao was leading an army outside with unknown intentions. Please be careful, lord.
Liu Xiang received the warning and realized that his mission to Jingzhou would be difficult to achieve. He quickly sent a message to Xun Chen and returned to Jizhou immediately. The most important thing was to save his life. If he was detained, he surrendered first to save his life.
The world is going to undergo great changes.
Yuan Shao retreated south, Cao Cao stood still, and Liu Biao led his troops to hide. There must be a plan involved, and the move cannot be trivial.
Xiangyang is empty, Yingchuan is about to be lost, but Cao Cao is unmoved. The goal is self-evident. Yuan Shu is going to be in bad luck, he is going to be in bad luck.
After gathering several pieces of information, things gradually came to light. Yuan Shao did not know what price he paid to mediate the war between Lao Cao and Liu Biao. They would once again work together to attack Yuan Shu, the unlucky boy, and they would do so at any cost.
Liu Xiang saw this, and so did several other counselors.
Guo Jia smiled happily: "This is interesting. They are going to unite. Are you afraid, my lord?"
"It should be Yuan Shu who is afraid."
"That's right. It's indeed Yuan Shu. He's dead." Guo Jia smiled and nodded, then curiously asked: "Do you want to save him, my lord?"
Liu Xiang was also thinking about whether to save Yuan Shu. It was obvious that his threat was getting bigger and bigger. Yuan Shao and the other three families were about to unite. Yuan Shu, who had already negotiated a marriage with him, separated the territories of the three families and hindered their efforts.
planning.
This battle must involve all-out efforts.
Going south to rescue, he would have to fight head-on with the three families. The enemy's army of hundreds of thousands was at full strength, and the losses would not be small. He was not sure whether he could win. He would also have to delay the plan to attack the third auxiliary, and miss the great opportunity of civil strife in the Liangzhou Group.
.
Should we save him? How to save him? It’s really hard to make a decision.
Xi Zhicai admonished: "Lord, our army must go south for rescue. If Yangzhou and Jingzhou are merged into one place, relying on the Yangtze River and Huaihe River, the rear area will be stable and the foundation will be cast. Xiangfan, Nanyang, and Runan in the north of the Yangtze River will be connected.
, you can attack when you advance, you can defend when you retreat, there will never be peace in Henan."
"Of course I can't sit back and watch the three families unite, but I rush south to prevent Yuan Shu's disaster. Our army will bleed and others will benefit. I am unwilling to do so. You may think of a safe way to relieve my worries."
Of course Liu Xiang couldn't sit back and watch Yuan Shao's plan be completed, but he couldn't act like a reckless man and rush south to fight for his life.
Guo Jia stood up with a smile, took two steps, raised his head, pointed it as a sword, pointed three points in the air, and said loudly: "Don't worry, my lord, I have three strategies, upper, middle and lower, to solve the dilemma!"
It was refreshing to have a top counselor. Liu Xiang was very happy and asked with a smile: "What's the next move?"
well?
Guo Jia was stunned for a moment, then blinked his confused eyes and asked, "Shouldn't my lord ask the best person first?"