"Arrogance is not stupidity, but arrogance can make people blind. Those who are blind due to arrogance often become similar to stupidity due to overconfidence. Therefore, although the cause and effect are different, the outcome is often the same."
In the central military tent, four generals were sitting on both sides. Wang Yu was sitting at the top, talking eloquently.
If you ignore the rather youthful face and the armor on his body, put on a Confucian shirt and hold a feather fan, he looks like a celebrity talking eloquently.
Even so, in the face of everyone's questions, his inscrutable stream-of-consciousness discussion was very capable of deceiving people. At least Taishi Ci was deceived.
"My lord, I have great advice. Although the theory of this theory is simple, the intention is high. When I think about it carefully, I feel that it is even more mysterious and infinite." Taishi Ci gave a thumbs up and praised him repeatedly. Then he changed the subject and asked: "But,
What do these principles have to do with this mission?"
"Only by knowing yourself and the enemy can you be victorious in every battle." Wang Yu seemed to be addicted to pretending to be a celebrity, and quoted another classic, but did not answer the question directly.
"Huh?" Taishi Ci scratched his head, and couldn't figure out what the connection between being rejected as an envoy was and these principles.
Kong Rong left three days ago, that is, the same day he arrived at Beiqiu. He went there with great fanfare, but when he arrived at Qingyuan, he was left alone by Yuan Shao. He did not say that he would receive him, nor did he drive him away.
When he came back, he was thrown into a corner of the camp, seemingly left to fend for himself.
Fortunately, Yuan Shao did not ban the envoys and could still maintain contact, but the situation was worrying. Although Taishi Ci and other generals did not want the war to end, and were happy to see the peace talks fail, they would lose money if their peace talks were rejected.
It's so embarrassing.
The most important thing for Chinese people is face, so naturally they cannot tolerate this.
Taishi Ci consulted with Xu Huang and Huang Zhongyi, who had returned victoriously, and decided to come to Wang Yu to ask for a fight. However, Wang Yu kept going around and did not talk about the business, which made him very upset.
"Could it be that..." Huang Zhong suddenly raised his head: "The peace talks are just to paralyze the enemy. When the enemy's army relaxes, our army will attack over a long distance and defeat it?"
The peace talks were very different from Wang Yu's usual style, so he couldn't help but wonder if there was another explanation. To defeat Liu Dai and kill Yan Liang were all deceptions, so Huang Zhong couldn't help but guess in this direction.
"I'm afraid it's not that simple." Xu Huang answered first: "The success of long-distance attacks, setting up ambushes, and sieges all rely on surprise. Liu Dai lost because he was too lazy and didn't expect our army to be courageous.
Out in force
Yan Liang, on the other hand, focused entirely on Ziyi and looked down upon Liu Bei too much. He did not expect that Liu Bei would take the initiative to divide his troops and take away Ziyi's responsibility of luring the enemy. After suffering so many losses in succession, Yuan Shao could not help but gain something.
Be on guard.”
Before he finished speaking, Yu Jin, who had remained silent, also echoed: "The scouts reported that Yuan Jun built a large number of fortifications around Qingyuan, probably intending to build it into a strong fortress. The early warning range was expanded to more than fifty people in the surrounding area.
Li, the first line of defense is a full twenty miles away from Qingyuan City! A surprise attack is absolutely undesirable."
The key reason why Liu Dai was defeated immediately was that his formation had no depth. The defeated troops in front had no place to run, and the military strength behind them could not be used. They could only watch the chaos expand, completely cutting off any hope of turning defeat into victory.
Yuan Shao's formation is very particular. There are early warning lines, sniper lines, and the defense lines are divided into several lines, which are very wide in depth. Even if the surprise attack is successful, at most it can only break through two or three lines of defense, and it will not be able to establish a victory.
.
When Yuan Jun reacts, the surprise attack force will fall into a counter-encirclement. After all, Yuan Jun has nearly twice as many troops as Qingzhou Army. As long as the numerical advantage can be used, there is a good chance of victory.
After thinking about it, Yu Jin added: "Besides, Mr. Kong and the others were left alone. Yuan Shao is obviously still on high alert. No matter from which perspective, the conditions for a surprise attack are not met."
"Is it true that we really want to make peace?" Taishi Ci was dumbfounded. He turned to Wang Yu with a look of doubt on his face: "But, my lord, didn't you say last time..."
"As the saying goes: you have to win without being outstanding, and you have to win without fighting." Wang Yu was really addicted, and quoted another classic, and then asked: "Think about it, after Yan Liang's defeat, what will be the movement of Jizhou's troops and horses? Even if
If I don’t send an envoy, will the situation of the battle change? Has Yuan Shao’s strategy changed during this period?”
"This..." The generals looked at each other, all hesitant.
For them, it is quite rare for them to have insufficient intelligence since they formed the army. This time Yuan Shao seems determined to block the information, and the information everyone has is really not very sufficient.
The generals couldn't understand it for a moment, but Wang Yu guided him again: "In other words, what is the most unfavorable strategy that the Jizhou Army can adopt that is detrimental to our army?"
What he reminded this time was very obvious. Taking into account Tian Feng's arguments for advocating peace, combined with the current war situation, an answer suddenly emerged.
"Could it be that Yuan Shaodun's army in Qingyuan is preparing to fight a protracted war and exhaust our troops to the end?" Xu Huang blurted out first, and then all the generals were horrified.
This is the most reasonable explanation. Yuan Shao had already done this before Kong Rong went out as an envoy. You must know that before Yan Liang was defeated, he swooped over with great force. As a result, when he reached Qingyuan, he did not move. It was not a change.
What could the strategy be?
"Is it possible that Yuan Shao was frightened by Han Sheng's thunder blow?" Tai Shici looked at Huang Zhong.
The veteran shook his head and said in a deep voice: "It's just an ambush. It won't cause much shock. Yan Liang is just a pioneer after all. If we must say that Yuan Shao was affected by this battle, it would be better to say that he was awakened by the shock.
Already."
"Shocked up?" Tai Shici was puzzled.
Huang Zhong nodded and explained: "Yuan Shao maintained his own identity and was arrogant. He was frustrated at Longcoo and was very anxious, but then he successfully gathered several princes and became proud again. As the Lord said, arrogance makes people blind. Blind
It makes people stupid, Yuan Shao is like this, so he ignored the slow movement of the army and rushed towards Qinghe, hoping for a quick victory, completely ignoring which side would be more beneficial to a quick victory."
Taishi Ci showed a look of surprise: "So..."
"So, Yan Liang's defeat was a wake-up call for him. He realized that he had made the mistake of being blind and arrogant, and he was ready to change from a quick war to a protracted war. He would do whatever it takes to use Jizhou's heritage to bring down our army." Huang Zhong's tone became more intense.
My hair became depressed.
Before the joy of the victory at Luoyan Valley had passed, he realized that the battle situation was much worse than he had imagined. He was even affected by that victory, which made him cheer up.
The Qingzhou Army was relatively elite and under the command of Wang Yu, it was able to fight mobile warfare with ease. Yuan Shao's pressing step by step seemed impressive, but in fact it only gave Wang Yu the opportunity to accumulate a small victory into a big victory.
Under normal circumstances, Yuan Shao would not admit it, but after suffering continuous setbacks, he had to endure the pain and humiliation to reflect on himself and come to this conclusion. Even if he could not think of it himself, there are many wise and masterful people around him, as long as he is willing
Calm down and your eyes will not be blinded by blind arrogance.
It is obvious that he really intends to attack the short with his long and fight for consumption. I am afraid that no prince can beat Yuan Shao.
Following this train of thought, more questions emerged. Xu Huang was the first to ask: "Then why did he choose Qingyuan?"
This problem seems simple, but in fact it is complicated. Although Yuan Shao's troops are numerous, they are a coalition. The coalition can only play a role when launching an offensive. If it is on the defensive, the high-ranking officials may be able to endure it. However, Zhang Yang is not Yuan Shao's son-in-law.
It's impossible that he doesn't have his own little plans. How could he not be worried at all if the territory remains so empty?
Therefore, Yuan Shao adopts a relatively cautious strategy. The best way is not to switch from offense to defense, but to advance step by step, using defense instead of attack, rather than building a defensive line in Qingyuan.
"Because he wants to adopt a more effective strategy." Wang Yu gave the answer.
"A more effective strategy? What is that?"
"That is to use Qingyuan as the outpost, treat Qinghe as the enemy territory, and launch a full-scale invasion war!" Wang Yu shouted coldly.
The whole room was shocked.
Wang Yu's strategy is not normal when fighting in enemy territory. The most normal state is full-scale plunder and massacre, so there is a saying that fighting against soldiers is like fighting against bandits.
If Wang Yu's prediction is correct, Yuan Shao should be ready to give up Qinghe completely. Due to the lenient policy adopted by the Qingzhou Army, the people in Qinghe have a lot of savings. The Jizhou Army's garrison in Qinghe consumes a lot of money, which can be greatly compensated through plunder.
"Through invasion warfare, we can also lengthen the front line, increase the defensive pressure on our army, and then look for fighter opportunities; on the other hand, it can also have a pacifying effect on the three allies, especially the Huns." Wang Yu's voice was cold.
These ideas were all thought through by Kong Rong before he arrived.
"In the invasion of Qinghe, let the Huns take the lead. These barbarians are ferocious and highly mobile. It will be difficult for our army to gather them together and annihilate them. Once we get into a dogfight, the main force of Jizhou can come up with reinforcements and reap the benefits.
At present, the Huns may be entangled by the Montenegrin army and have not arrived yet, so we must seize the time and try to destroy Yuan Shao's strategy."
The tent fell into silence, with only Wang Yu's clear voice echoing.
Before Yan Liang's defeat, Yuan Shao relied on his strong troops and horses and planned to fight head-on. Now he changed his tactics and not only wanted to bring into play his own strengths, but also the strengths of the Huns.
What the Huns are best at is erratic looting. There are many ways to crack it, but given the current situation of the Qingzhou Army, none of them can be used.
The best way is to use cavalry to control cavalry, just like Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, but Wang Yu doesn't have that many cavalry and can't afford it. The second is to build a defense line, just like Qin Shihuang built the Great Wall. This is of course even more unrealistic, even if there are so many cavalry.
Material resources and manpower cannot be used for this.
Another thing is to only defend strategically important places and ignore other places. This is the favorite method of later generations of scholar-bureaucrats. It doesn't matter where the country is occupied, or where the people are massacred. Just pretend that you don't see it, and cover your ears and steal the bell.
.
However, if you ignore it, all the savings of the people who implemented benevolent policies will be looted by the enemy, and of course the people's hearts will be gone. The higher you praise, the harder you fall. People's hearts can be praised when you gain power.
When you are in the sky, you will be thrown to the ground when you lose power, and you will be worse than before you were lifted up.
"No wonder the lord put forward those three conditions..."
The one who broke the silence was Tai Shici. He smacked his lips, suddenly punched his palm, and said loudly: "Return Qinghe to him. If Yuan Shao messes around again, it will be none of our business. It will only show off the kindness of the lord; the prisoner
Well, it's considered a bait, with more than 10,000 prisoners
, there are still many veterans, Yuan Shao cannot be tempted; if he wants to get this benefit, he has to drive away the Huns. In this way, his sharpest minions will be gone. Well, maybe there will be internal strife or something.
,Wonderful-it’s really wonderful-ah!”
After being excited for a while, he remembered something again and his eyelids drooped again, "It's just a pity that Yuan Shao refuses to meet people and is not willing to be fooled. Moreover, even if he meets people, it will be difficult to succeed. You Zhengping has such a mouth.
It’s really…”
Wang Yu's strategy of making peace while leaving room for falling out is certainly a good one. However, Mi Heng's participation has always been puzzling.
When the generals heard this, they all looked at Wang Yu with a look of surprise on their faces, trying to get an explanation from him.
"This matter really has to be done by Zheng Ping." Wang Yu smiled mysteriously and pretended to be secretive again, "Of course, if we want to successfully achieve our goal, we can't just rely on Zheng Ping's words. We also have to cooperate well.
"
"How to cooperate?" Tai Shici asked.
"Is this..." A glimmer of light flashed in Wang Yu's eyes and he was about to tell the overall strategy when he suddenly heard the sound of footsteps outside the tent, and then someone shouted loudly: "Report..."
"Lord, Qingyuan is reporting urgently. Yesterday, Yuan Shao met with our envoys and negotiations have begun!"
"Okay!" Wang Yu was overjoyed. He stood up and shouted: "The time has come. It is said that I will order the entire army to march out and prepare for the final battle!"
"......Here!" None of the generals know what to do yet, but since the Lord has issued an order, everyone must first respond to it instead of asking why.
Qingyuan.
Yuan Shao was sitting high on the commander's position, his face gloomy.
As Wang Yu expected, Yan Liang's death had a great impact on him, mainly reflected in the undercurrent in the army, which had reached a level that made him terrified.
There have always been great differences within Jizhou.
From the time he drove away Han Fu, Yuan Shao tried hard to use power to balance internal disputes, and successfully used his direct lineage to suppress the local factions in Jizhou. However, a series of setbacks shook his authority, and the suppressed state factions began to rebound.
.
Therefore, he had to re-promote Ju Suo and take charge of the military. He also changed the previous pressing strategy and turned to the slow advance strategy proposed by Ju Suo, which barely stabilized the internal situation.
However, the calm was only temporary, and contradictions still existed, the biggest of which coincided with what the Qingzhou envoy had put forward.
Is it a coincidence? Or was someone secretly tipping off the news? Yuan Shao was filled with doubts and his thoughts were not focused on the envoy at all.
Since ancient times, there have been few people who are willing to help in times of need, and there are many talents who are the icing on the cake or adding insult to injury. Now that the ignorant Tian Yuanhao has gone to Qingzhou, will there be more people who are not optimistic about their own prospects and plan to prepare in advance?
From Yuan Shao's perspective, that was a certainty. Moreover, they were relatively high-status people. Otherwise, how could they know about the undercurrents at the top and inform Wang Yu?
Suspicion, as long as there is a sign of it, will spread quickly and everything will feel abnormal. Yuan Shao is like this now.
Originally, he did not plan to meet Kong Rong and others. He was worried that Wang Yu would play another trick. Dong Zhuo had made peace with this person before, but what happened? He was severely blackmailed and almost had his pants robbed.
Gone.
The strategy proposed by Xu You, Guo Tu and others was good. They completely drove Wang Yu back to his hometown at the expense of Qinghe County. If everything goes smoothly, it is not unimaginable to cross the river and attack Qingzhou with the same strategy. In short, it is to
One battle brought peace for several years and eliminated Wang Yu's threat.
Peace talks? Is it necessary? Surrender can be considered.
However, the group of people headed by Ju Shou were very enthusiastic about the peace talks. Especially after Shen Pei and others communicated privately with Kong Rong, the voices supporting the peace talks suddenly became louder. Even Yuan Shao, the shepherd of Jizhou, and Cheqi
Generals dare not ignore it.
Originally, he thought about delaying it for a few more days, but after seeing the roster of the mission, Yuan Shao suddenly felt relieved.
The deputy envoy of Qingzhou is Mi Heng!
Even if Mi Heng's intention is not to provoke, it will definitely turn into provocation in the end! Who doesn't know this person's reputation yet? He is a professional troll, and bones can jump out of an egg, let alone such a big matter as negotiation?
Yuan Shao, who was tortured by the internal disputes, didn't want to continue to deal with it, so he agreed. Anyway, it was just a meeting and negotiation. With Wang Yu's arrogance and Mi Heng's sharp tongue, he was afraid that the negotiation would not be concluded smoothly.
What?
The most important thing now is not how to deal with Wang Yu. Once the Xiongnu army arrives, he will not be able to escape no matter how strong he is. Internal trouble is the most troublesome!
While absent-mindedly listening to the answers from the tent, Yuan Shao was thinking about something. Suddenly, Yuan Shao felt something was wrong. He straightened up and looked around under the tent.
What is wrong?
By the way, it's too quiet under the tent.
Someone spoke, but they all spoke calmly, without quarreling, ridicule, or scolding... Jushou and others who were in charge of the negotiations all had smiles on their faces. On the other side, Kong Rong also smiled and smiled, with a spring breeze on his face, and the negotiation was complete.
It was carried out in a friendly and harmonious atmosphere, and it would not be an exaggeration to say it was peaceful.
However, this is unreasonable!
Mi Heng, isn't Mi Heng here? With this mad dog here, how could there not be a quarrel?
Yuan Shao knows people like Mi Heng very well. It has become a habit for this person to be harsh with his words. Even if he deliberately restrains himself, he will unknowingly embarrass others and cause quarrels. Therefore, when he saw his name
, Yuan Shaocai breathed a sigh of relief, and determined that the negotiation would end on bad terms, even if he did not interfere.
But contrary to expectations, the negotiation actually went smoothly.
Suppressing the doubts surging in his heart, Yuan Shaoqiang turned his attention to the negotiation. After listening for a moment, he finally discovered the problem. Mi Heng had not opened his mouth to speak!
"My lord, my subordinates believe that Qingzhou's proposal for peace is very sincere. The war is fierce and dangerous, and the people are poisoned. I dare to ask my lord to think of the people of Jizhou, stop the war and restore peace!" Jushou seemed to be aware of Yuan Shao's gaze.
He turned around and reported to Yuan Shao.
"I second my opinion." Before he finished speaking, the Jizhou scholars headed by Shen Pei all spoke in agreement.
He has fallen into a trap! Yuan Shao yelled in his heart, if the peace agreement is successful, it will be equivalent to negating all his previous decisions, and his prestige will suddenly become precarious. When the time comes, the foreign invasion will be calmed down, and the Jizhou scholars will fight back with all their strength.
Just like Liu Biao in Jingzhou, he will be completely ignored!
Is this Wang Yu's ultimate goal? To use a small trick like Mi Heng's mission to deflect him and take the opportunity to carry out countermeasures?
Calm down, you must be calm, you can't let him succeed like this!
Yuan Shao felt chills running down his back, and cold sweat ran down his back. This decision was too crucial. If he made a bad decision, he would be doomed.
"Peace negotiation is a major matter. It should not be rushed. It should be discussed in the long term." He decided to use the dragging strategy. The Huns army would arrive soon. After all, Qingyuan was only more than a hundred miles away from Beiqiu.
Jushou and others were about to give advice again, but were interrupted by a report coming from outside the tent.
"Report..."
"Speak!" Yuan Shao was delighted to have the opportunity to change the subject, and shouted directly without waiting for a report from his bodyguard.
"The scouts reported that the Qingzhou army stationed in Beiqiu had broken camp and left last night."
"What?" Yuan Shao was shocked and stood up suddenly: "Where is the Qingzhou Army now?"
"The army is marching eastward and has now reached Ling County."
"Kong Rong!" Yuan Shao was filled with surprise and suspicion, and shouted to the tent: "Since you are here to discuss matters, why are you using weapons? Are you trying to hide the truth?"
"Where did General Yuan's words come from? This is my lord's sincerity!" Kong Rong looked aggrieved and said, "In order to stop the war, my lord withdrew his troops first and ceded the territory. There is no better proof of my lord than this.
Are you sincere?"
"But..." Yuan Shao complained in his heart, but couldn't say anything. He was speechless and blushing, but he couldn't speak.
After a long time, he seemed to have thought of something, his face suddenly darkened, and he shouted: "Let's stop the peace talks here, you gentlemen, go to the back tent to discuss things!"