Yan Liang immediately felt that someone must be defaming him in front of Yuan Shao.
He glanced around Yuan Shao and caught a glimpse of Guo Tu, who was on the left, stroking his beard, and his eyes were narrowed with a degree of pride that was hard to detect.
Feng Ji, who was on the right, had a solemn expression and secretly glanced at him.
Yan Liang immediately understood that this must be another overt and covert fight between scholars from Ruying and Hebei, which had harmed his "fish in the pond".
At that time, Yuan Shao obtained Jizhou from Han Fu through bluffing and deception. He relied on the help of Ruying scholars headed by Xu You, Guo Tu and Xin Wei.
However, after Yuan Shao obtained Jizhou, he was afraid that the Ruying scholars would be dominated by one party, so he recruited a large number of Hebei scholars such as Shenpei, Fengji, Tian Feng, etc. On the one hand, he wanted to win over the local indigenous people, and on the other hand, he also wanted to check and balance the Ruying scholars.
people.
It's a pity that Yuan Shao's methods of employing people are not as strict as Cao Cao's laws. The more conflict between the two factions, the fiercer the fight between the two factions.
Xun Yu, who was originally the leader of the Ruying people, resolutely defected to the still weak Cao Cao because he saw through this fatal flaw in Yuan Shao's group.
Yan Liang is a native of Hebei, and he is also a general in charge of the army. Naturally, he is also the key target of the Ruying scholars.
"Looking at Guo Tu's expression, it's probably him slandering Yuan Shaojin..."
Yan Liang sneered in his heart and immediately had a plan to deal with it.
"Reporting to my lord, I will receive information from Mr. Ziyuan and learn that the Cao thief is heading west to Yanjin, so I have stepped up my attack on Baima, hoping to share Yanjin's troops with my lord. Unexpectedly, the Cao thief suddenly appeared in Baima.
The generals fought hard in a hurry, but thanks to the sacrifice of the soldiers, they were able to barely thwart the enemy's sneak attack."
While Yan Liang was explaining calmly, his eyes turned to Xu You who was on his right. His words obviously meant that Xu You's information was false.
Xu You's expression immediately became uncomfortable, and he turned his head to the side pretending that it had nothing to do with him, not daring to look into Yan Liang's eyes.
Yan Liang continued: "Although the general has a small victory, Cao Cao's main force is several times that of the general's troops, and he and the enemies in Baima City have formed a pincer attack on the general. The general is afraid that he will not be able to support him alone. If something happens,
The mistake will destroy the spirit of our army and damage the power of the lord, so we decided to put safety first, make our own decisions and return to Liyang, please see the lord carefully."
Yan Liang's words euphemistically mentioned his achievements in defeating Cao Jun and subtly shifted the responsibility to Xu You, which was just right.
Guo Tu, who was originally proud, suddenly showed surprise and resentment on his face. He obviously didn't believe it. Yan Liang, who seemed to be rough and ignorant, could actually have such a sharp tongue.
However, Feng Ji, who was facing him, flashed with pride and immediately said: "My lord, it is really rare for General Yan to defeat Cao Jun in a hurry and boost the morale of our army. As for his unauthorized retreat from Liyang, it is indeed for the sake of the overall situation.
If the merits and demerits are equal to each other, Ji thinks that the Lord will not pursue the case any further."
Feng Ji took the opportunity to excuse Yan Liang, who was also a scholar in Hebei.
After a few minutes, Yuan Shao's eyes turned a few times, and his cold expression suddenly turned into a smile.
"Ziyi won the victory for our army. This is a great achievement. Why should I blame him? I want to reward him heavily."
Yuan Shao's face changed really quickly. Just now he had an angry expression of questioning, but in the blink of an eye he wanted to reward Yan Liang.
Guo Tu's expression changed again, his dejected expression, it was clear that the false accusation had failed, and he was a little angry.
"The general's ability to defeat the enemy by a small margin depends entirely on the lives of his soldiers. If my lord wants to reward you, please reward those soldiers who fought bloody battles."
Yan Liang passed the credit on to his subordinates. If he wanted to succeed in the future, he would have to rely on the soldiers under his command to work hard for him. Yan Liang asked for rewards for them, which was also an attempt to win over the hearts and minds of his subordinates.
Yuan Shao came from a well-known family and was very arrogant. The most taboo thing was for his subordinates to show off their power in front of him and claim credit.
Although Ju Yi's death was related to Yuan Shao's narrow-minded nature, it was also inseparable from his own publicity.
Now seeing that Yan Liang was so greedy for merit and so humble, Yuan Shao felt happy from the bottom of his heart. He immediately agreed to Yan Liang's request and ordered rewards for Yan Liang's troops who participated in the Battle of White Horse.
"My lord, we fell into Cao Cao's scheme this time. The intelligence errors cannot be underestimated. Fortunately, we have General Yan this time. If it were replaced by another general, I am afraid that the battle of Baima will be defeated. If we fail in the first battle, the morale of the army will be ruined."
Wouldn’t morale be greatly damaged?”
The matter was not over yet, Guo Tu took the initiative to provoke, and when the minutes came, he turned his back on defense and turned on the offensive, pointing the finger directly at Xu You.
Xu You followed Yuan Shao in his early years and has been responsible for intelligence work in Yuan's army. His intelligence network is said to be spread all over the north and south of the river.
When Yuan Shao was provoked by Feng Ji, his expression grew long again. He turned to Xu You and asked, "Ziyuan, what's going on with your detailed work? You'd make mistakes in such important information, and you'd almost ruin something big."
"Lord, this..." Xu You's expression was a little aggrieved, and he seemed to have something to say.
Yan Liang knew that Xu You was a little unjust, and the danger of the white horse this time actually had nothing to do with him.
Cao Cao did indeed lead the main force to falsely attack Yanjin Ferry at that time. Xu You's detailed operations on the south bank were just to report Cao's army's movements truthfully.
As for Cao's army's sudden turn later, because Yanjin was too close to Baima, Cao's army had already reached Baima before the craftsmen had time to send new information to the north bank.
In the final analysis, it was not because Yuan Shao misjudged Cao Cao's intentions, fell into Cao Cao's scheme, made wrong arrangements, and was unable to save face, so he took the opportunity to pass the responsibility to Xu You.
"This Fengji must know Yuan Shao's thoughts very accurately. All his subordinates are focusing on dealing with political opponents. It's no wonder that Yuan Shao is undefeated..."
Yan Liang calmly weighed the pros and cons. Seeing Xu You's embarrassed look, an idea suddenly occurred to him.
"My lord, I think that the fact that our army fell into a trap has nothing to do with Mr. Ziyuan."
As soon as this statement came out, not only Feng Ji, but also Guo Tu and Xu You themselves were shocked.
Feng Ji frowned repeatedly, while Xu You had a strange look on his face. Naturally, they didn't understand why Yan Liang wanted to excuse Xu You.
Yan Liang has his own plans.
Xu You is known as "full of economics". In the Battle of Guandu, he easily destroyed the Yuan Dynasty with a clever plan to set Wuchao on fire.
Such a resourceful man was naturally a thorn in the side of Hebei scholars. Shen Pei and others who were staying behind at the moment were probably thinking of using Xu You's family's greed for money to attack him.
This means that Xu You will betray Yuan Shao sooner or later, so he and he can be regarded as "like-minded" people.
In this case, he would have the opportunity to take Xu You into his own hands. If Yan Liang wanted to establish himself as a great leader, what he needed most was talents. If he could take a talented person like Xu You under his command, he could be worth a hundred thousand soldiers.
So he wanted to speak for Xu You and win Xu You's favor.
"Ziyi, what do you mean by this?" Yuan Shao's tone was somewhat displeased.
"Yanjin and Baima are very close to each other. Mr. Xu's meticulous work did not have enough time to deliver the new information to the Lord in time. The incident in Baima will be blamed only on Cao Cao's cunning."
Yan Liang, as a political opponent, spoke out Xu You's feelings fairly, and Xu You couldn't help but feel grateful on his face.
Yuan Shao's expression became increasingly gloomy. Apparently, in his view, Yan Liang's explanation was more of a compliment to Cao Cao's resourcefulness than to say that Cao Cao was cunning.
This sounded harsh to Yuan Shao.
Yan Liang had already determined Yuan Shao's thoughts, and immediately sneered: "It's a pity that Cao Cao's cunning is just a clown in front of the lord. The lord returned from all over the world, and under the banner of righteousness, a hundred thousand troops marched south, even if the white horse yesterday
In the battle, Cao Cao used cunning tactics to gain a small advantage, but in the end it was like a fly that shakes a tree, and it was difficult for him to defeat the upright master of the Lord."
Yuan Shao felt comfortable listening to it now. He said "a clown", which made Yuan Shao very happy and his gloomy face disappeared.
In the eyes of Yuan Shao, who was at the height of his power, all the princes in the world were like ants. In his eyes, Cao Cao was just a clown.
Yan Liang's words struck a chord with Yuan Shao.
"Haha -" Yuan Shao stroked his beard and laughed, "Zi Yi's words are reasonable. I have a hundred thousand troops rolling southward, and Cao Cao's thieves can conspire and plot. How can they match my heavenly power?"
Yuan Shao was so pleased with being flattered that he forgot about his blame for Xu You, and immediately ordered his entire army to cross the river and attack Baima again.
After the military meeting ended, Xu You, who was secretly happy, and Guo Tu, who looked annoyed, returned to the account together.
"Ziyuan, when did Yan Liang become so sophisticated and sophist? It was obviously us who set him up, but in the end he coaxed the lord to be so happy." Guo Tu looked suspicious.
Xu You also said curiously: "Yes, I also find it incredible. Yan Liang has always been brave and foolhardy, and his performance in front of the lord today really surprised me. Moreover, there is another thing that I don't understand, why did he do this?"
Take the initiative to defend me?"
Guo Tu shook his head, and the two looked at each other blankly.
After being silent for a long time, Guo Tu said bitterly: "Yan Liang has caused us Yingshis to lose face in front of our lord today. This debt must be recovered. I will never give up."
"I think you should suppress your anger for the time being. After all, the war is about to begin, and Yan Liang can use his strong generals. It will not be too late to take revenge. Don't let this ruin Gong Yuan's important affairs."
Because it was Yan Liang who defended him just now, Xu You felt a little grateful and did not want to target Yan Liang again.
Guo Tu snorted coldly, but the look of resentment between his brows continued unabated.
