Yan Liang accepted Tian Feng's suggestion and did not order Zhang He's troops to continue marching eastward in order to completely drive the Wu people out of Runan.
Everyone envies this big piece of meat in the Central Plains. Yan Liang has already fought with Cao Cao and Yuan Tan, and will also have a head-on confrontation with Liu Bei. If Sun Quan is added to the mix, he will have too many enemies in the entire Central Plains and be surrounded on all sides.
situation.
Yan Liang knew that although his strength had been greatly enhanced, it was not big enough to challenge the world's heroes alone. He had to be patient until he was strong enough.
As for Soochow, Zhou Yu did not seem to intend to start a war with Yan Liang. When Yan Liang strictly ordered Zhang He's army not to advance eastward, and Zhou Yu also ordered Taishi Ci's army not to attack westward, the two sides had a "tacit understanding" to carve up Runan County.
After confirming that there was no threat to Soochow for the time being, Yan Liang decided to march eastward with his army and lead his troops into the hinterland of Yuzhou.
Yuan Tan originally controlled the three prefectures of Si, Yanzhou, and Henan. Luoyang, under the jurisdiction of Si Prefecture, and Chenliu County under the jurisdiction of Yanzhou, both bordered Yingchuan. The military strength of these two prefectures was weak. Yan Liang could have marched north to capture these two prefectures at once.
Expand your power to the south bank of the Yellow River.
But Yan Liang also considered that once his troops reached the south bank of the Yellow River, they would border Yuan Shang's territory to the north and pose a direct threat to Guanzhong, where Cao Cao was based, to the west.
If this is the case, it will inevitably arouse the vigilance of Cao Cao and Yuan Shang. At that time, Yan Liang will have to divide his troops heavily to guard against these two people.
Considering that the front line should not be stretched too long or too wide, Yan Liang decided to take Yuzhou, the southernmost of the three states, where Yingchuan belonged.
Yuzhou is subordinate to several counties of Yingchuan and Runan, as well as Liang and Lu states. The Liang state that Yuan Tan retreated to is located in the central area of Yan and Yu states, and its strategic location is extremely important.
If Yan Liang can seize the Liang Kingdom, he can cut off Yanzhou in the north, directly capture Xuzhou in the east, and capture Qiaojun in the south to threaten Huainan.
However, just when tens of thousands of Yan's soldiers were ready to march into the Liang Kingdom, a sudden heavy snowfall interrupted Yan Liang's plan.
It was the middle of winter, and a heavy snowfall suddenly covered almost a large area of the two rivers. Yingchuan, Liangguo, Nanyang, Runan and other places were all covered by thick snow.
It snowed continuously for several days. After the snow, the temperature dropped sharply, and it was so cold that water almost turned into ice.
Although Yan Liang had equipped his army with thick winter clothes in advance, the sudden heavy snow still had a great impact on Yan Liang's soldiers.
Although there were many northerners in his army, more than half of them lived south of the Han River all year round. These soldiers could withstand the wet and cold winters in the south, but they could not bear the severe cold weather in the Central Plains.
After a heavy snowfall, frostbite and wind chill began to appear among the soldiers, which affected their originally high morale.
Faced with unexpected weather changes, Yan Liang was helpless. In order to avoid too many non-combat casualties among his soldiers, Yan Liang made a decisive decision to temporarily shelve his plan to march into Liang State and return to Xiangyang.
Ten days later, Yan Liang successfully returned to Xiangyang with his victorious army.
Of course, before returning to the south, Yan Liang also made sufficient arrangements. Xu Shu and Zhang He were left behind, commanding about 20,000 borrowed soldiers from Jingbei, to guard the line between Xudu and Runan.
And this heavy snowfall not only affected Yan Liang, but also the other princes.
Yuan Tan, who retreated to the Liang Kingdom, originally planned to use Liu Bei's power to recapture Xudu, but the severe cold weather forced Liu Bei to cease his military activities so that his soldiers could recharge their batteries to survive the cold winter.
As for Shouchun, Zhou Yu also had to leave a few generals and more than 10,000 troops to guard the Shouchun front line, and then led the army back to Jiangdong.
Only the two brothers Yuan Shang and Yuan Xi from Hebei Province are still fighting inextricably in this cold winter, and the latest intelligence shows that Yuan Xi, a softie, is obviously no match for his younger brother.
After more than a month of fighting, Yuan Xi experienced several defeats and had to return to Youzhou. Yuan Shang took advantage of the victory and continued to lead his army northward, trying to completely eliminate Yuan Xi's worries.
The war in Hebei continued, but the Central Plains entered a brief period of peace.
…
Xiangyang City, in the military mansion, is warm and peaceful.
After months of bloody battles and several fierce battles, Yan Liang was indeed a little tired. This heavy snowfall came just in time, allowing him to take a good rest.
When Yan Liang returned to Xiangyang, he rewarded his meritorious subordinates and signed various transfer orders to appoint officials for his newly acquired counties in the Central Plains.
To be honest, Yan Liang is not good at handling government affairs, but his advantage is that he can use people.
Man Chong, Tian Feng and others were all good at governing. Yan Liang had no doubts about employing people, and all government affairs were left to these outstanding talents to take care of. He himself was happy to enjoy the leisure of governing.
In addition to governing, he also focused on training and expanding the army. In this aspect, he also had excellent military generals such as Huang Zhong and Wen Chou to handle it, so Yan Liang did not need to worry too much.
All Yan Liang has to do is to control the general direction and make full use of the old and new talents. The rest is for his wife and children to enjoy life to the fullest.
Of course, when Yan Liang was enjoying himself, he did not forget the people under his rule.
Due to the abnormal weather this year, it even snowed a few times in Jingzhou. In Xinye, Deng, Yiyang and other counties, many people died from the pain of their cattle and sheep, and even the poor froze to death due to the cold weather.
.
After Yan Liang heard the news, he immediately took time to inspect the counties and provide relief to the victims in the counties near Xiangyang.
On this day, Yan Liang inspected Xinye, and a group of more than a hundred people headed south back to Xiangyang.
At dusk, Yan Liang's car passed a small village next to Bishui.
Because Yan Liang wanted to prevent local officials from committing fraud and concealing the truth about the disaster, he did not notify the local officials in advance, but secretly went out in civilian clothes.
Yan Liang carried out such a "surprise attack", and many local officials were exposed. Several county magistrates were dismissed by Yan Liang on the spot because they failed to provide relief to the people.
Therefore, when Yan Liang and his entourage passed through this village, the villagers were not alarmed, and most of them thought they were just passing by a wealthy family here.
Along the road, many villagers passed by were wearing thin clothes and lacking food. Although they were not worried about freezing to death on the streets, they looked like they were just barely surviving.
"Throughout the ages, in troubled times, the people have suffered the most..."
Zhang Zhongjing, who was following beside him, sighed while stroking his beard.
Looking at these poor people, Yan Liang couldn't help but feel pity for them.
Over the years, Yan Liang has fought many wars, and most of the food, fodder, and military supplies he uses can only come from these common people. I believe that many of these common people have died in battle.
Yan Liang knew that the poverty of the people was inseparable from the endless wars.
However, in today's troubled times, the unification of the world cannot be completed without force and the baptism of war, let alone peace and well-being.
Peace is always achieved through fighting.
Looking around at these ordinary people, Yan Liang couldn't help but recall the great ambition he had set when he was stationed in Ancheng.
Wu Qianqi helps the world, I must personally end this troubled times, so that these people's sacrifices are not in vain, so that their descendants can enjoy peace forever!
The setting sun shone on Yan Liang's face, determination and perseverance shining brightly.
The sound of horse hoofbeats interrupted Yan Liang's thoughts, and Zhou Cang galloped from the front of the team.
"Lord, this road is too muddy. It's getting dark soon. I'm afraid we won't be able to get back to Xiangyang before it gets dark. I thought we might as well stay in this village for one night and start back to Xiangyang tomorrow morning.
.”
Yan Liang looked at the sun setting in the west, nodded and said: "That's it, let's rest in this village tonight."
Zhou Cang accepted the promise and shouted to the left and right: "You guys, hurry up and requisition a few houses. I want them to be cleaner."
"You guys don't have to force yourself. Just discuss the price with the host and just say we'll stay overnight." Yan Liang shouted, then pointed to a courtyard on the village road and said, "There's no need to look any further. I think we can stay overnight here."
With that said, Yan Liang got off his horse, pushed open the rusty door, and walked into the courtyard.
This house is quite big, but it is old and dilapidated everywhere. There is a yellow dog tied under a dead tree in the yard. When strangers come in, it starts barking.
The door to the east room creaked open, and a beautiful woman walked out.
When the woman saw these strangers suddenly appearing in the courtyard, her pretty face became wary and she asked, "What do you want?"
"We're going to stay at your house for one night. Go clean up a clean room and come out." Zhou Cang shouted harshly.
When the woman yelled at him, her delicate body trembled with fright, and she instinctively took a few steps back, with a hint of shock flashing in her watery eyes.
"We are here to stay overnight, why are you so cruel?"
Yan Liang shouted at Zhou Cang, then clasped his fists and said, "I am going out for a long trip and passing by here. It is getting dark, so I want to stay here for one night. I hope this lady will agree."
The woman's nervousness eased a bit when she saw that Yan Liang had a heroic appearance and a kind attitude.
She mustered up some courage and said in a trembling voice: "It's not impossible for you to stay overnight, but I'm a widow. I'm afraid it wouldn't be appropriate to accommodate so many of you."
It turned out to be a widow.
Hearing this, Yan Liang winked at Zhou Cang.
Zhou Cang then handed over a large bag of heavy money and said with a sullen face: "We didn't live with you in vain. These are considered as rent payments for you. It's enough."
That big bag of money was enough for an ordinary person to use for several months. Yan Liang spent so generously that the woman was dumbfounded.
Yan Liang smiled slightly and waited for the woman to nod.
The woman bit her lip lightly, seemingly accepting it, but also a little hesitant.
At this moment, the door creaked open again, and a thin boy of seven or eight years old came out.
The little boy stood in front of the woman, held his head high and said, "I...we don't care...we care about your money...you...you...should find another...find another place to stay."
