Can I get to the other side?

A touch of blood slowly fell into the river, blended quietly, and flowed eastward with the endless Ye River.

But some people's lives stop here.

Liu Xie looked at the lifeless Jushou in front of him and stood there for a long time, with complicated emotions in his heart.

Jushou is his enemy and the person who changed his destiny.

If he hadn't met Jushou back then, he would have turned into a handful of loess long ago, or maybe someone else's meal.

Perhaps Jushou did not expect that the lowly refugees he brought into Yecheng on his own initiative would cost him his life two and a half years later.

"Weakness and ignorance are never obstacles to survival."

"Arrogance is what it is."

Liu Xie was filled with emotions.

The reason why he has reached this point is not because of how powerful his methods are, nor because of how smart he is.

His methods and resourcefulness are far from being comparable to those of Jushou, Shenpei and others.

But because of the arrogance of Yuan Shao and Ju Shou, they gave him a chance.

Yuan Shao never paid him any attention from beginning to end, and only sent two generals, Zhang He and Gao Lan, to monitor him. Although Jushou was wary of him, he did not regard him as a real threat. In the final analysis, Still contemptuous.

Liu Xie will not make the same mistake as them. As long as he seizes the opportunity, he will never be merciful and will not give any chance, no matter what the means.

Therefore, before he died, he had to squeeze out the last bit of value from Ju Shou and let him write a letter to persuade Yuan Shao to surrender.

This is the greatest respect he has for his enemy.

Looking away from Ju Shou, Liu Xie ordered Zhang He on the side: "Give his body a good burial, and bury it...by the Yeshui River."

Zhang He respectfully agreed.

Liu Xie turned around and strode away, heading towards Guo Jia and others who were waiting a hundred steps away.

His steps were lighter than ever before, as if a heavy burden had been lifted.

One less person knows his identity.

Now, the only people who clearly knew that he was pretending to be the emperor were Yuan Shao and Han Xiandi.

"His Majesty."

Guo Jiaying came forward, glanced at Jushou who was kneeling dead not far away, and couldn't help but ask: "May I ask Your Majesty, what did Jushou write just now, and why did he commit suicide suddenly?"

Not only Guo Jia, but others present also had the same doubts.

They did not hear the conversation between Liu Xie and Ju Shou.

I only saw Liu Xie saying something while grilling fish for Jushou, and then Jushou panicked.

I wrote something, ate a piece of grilled fish and then committed suicide.

What could make Jushu, a man who was not even afraid of death, so frightened?

Liu Xie shook his head and said calmly: "He and Yuan Shao held me hostage for two and a half years. They felt ashamed and had no face to live in the world, so they committed suicide to apologize."

"As for what he just wrote, it was a letter to Yuan Shao to persuade him to surrender."

As soon as this statement came out, everyone was shocked.

Jushou actually... wrote a letter to persuade Yuan Shao to surrender?

How is this possible?

You must know that Jushou was still loyal to Yuan Shao on the city gate tower and would rather die than surrender. Why did he change his position so quickly?

At this time, Liu Xie was in a good mood and did not want to continue this topic. He smiled and said: "This great victory caused Yuan Shao to lose his troops and his generals. It is all thanks to all my dear friends."

"The weather is quite good today, and the scenery here is also good. How about having a celebration banquet here? I will grill fish for you personally. Who wants to eat it?"

Guo Jia frowned and quietly retreated behind everyone.

The rest of the people also shook their heads in fright.

They watched helplessly as Jushou committed suicide after eating a grilled fish. How could the emperor's grilled fish be so easy to eat?

Xun Chen smiled dryly and said: "Well... Your Majesty, although the battle has been won, there are still many things to deal with. Why don't you go back to the palace first and celebrate on another day?"

Cui Yan also said quickly: "Yes, yes! We still need to place the prisoners and calculate the pensions of the soldiers who died in the battle."

The others avoided Liu Xie's grilled fish, but Yang Xiu's eyes lit up.

What an honor it is to be able to eat fish grilled by the emperor himself?

So, under the horrified gazes of the others, he spoke: "Your Majesty, I would like to——"

Before he finished speaking, Sima Yi beside him quickly covered his mouth, stared into his eyes and slowly shook his head: "No, you don't want to."

Yang Xiu's face was full of surprise. He just wanted to eat the fish grilled by the emperor himself?

What's wrong with him?

Is this what my father called officialdom strife?

"Then we will celebrate on another day according to what Youruo and Ji Gui said."

Liu Xie felt quite regretful. He originally wanted to win over people's hearts.

After all, it was the fish grilled by the emperor, so how moved were they?

However, what Xun Chen and Cui Yan said made sense. There were still many things to deal with at the moment, so the celebration banquet would have to be discussed later.

The emperor's ceremonial chariot moved away, Liu Xie got on the dragon chariot, and led everyone back to the palace.

…

Propaganda room.

After the palace maid served a bowl of plum soup to the ministers, Liu Xie said: "Since you don't want to eat grilled fish, let's drink some iced plum soup. This is made by Lady Zhen personally to relieve the heat for all of you."

"Thank you, Your Majesty——"

All the ministers thanked him one after another.

Liu Xie took a sip of plum soup to moisten his throat, and then said: "Yuan Shao lost his troops and generals in this battle. Only Qu Yi led two thousand remaining soldiers to escape."

"My dear friends, what do you think is the next step? Should we send troops to occupy the entire Wei County, or should we reorganize our troops and remain in Yecheng?"

When Sima Yi heard this, he suddenly became excited.

It's time to show off his strategy and let His Majesty know his talents!

He was the first to get up before the others could speak.

"Your Majesty, I have some humble opinions."

"My dear minister, please speak freely." Liu Xie turned to Sima Yi, expecting his opinion.

Although his grudge against Sima Yi did not decrease, he was still grudge and cautious.

But this guy is indeed a talent, and he still needs to be used.

In terms of talent, there is no need to deliberately target him.

Sima Yi seemed to have a good plan in mind, and said with great spirit: "I think we should send troops to Guangping and Yangping counties at this time."

Liu Xie was slightly surprised and said: "Wei County where Yecheng is located has not yet completely returned to Han territory. Is it a bit too hasty to rush to send troops to Guangping and Yangping at this time?"

He hadn't even finished the rice in the bowl, but he was already staring at the pot.

And Guangping County and Yangping County are far less prosperous than Wei County.

Sima Yi said confidently: "Your Majesty, Wei County is the largest county in Jizhou, with a large population and richness. We must send troops to occupy it all. However, I think it is not necessary to mobilize troops to occupy Wei County."

"This great victory fully demonstrates your majesty's military prowess. Your Majesty only needs to send a decree, and the major cities in Wei County will definitely give up resistance and welcome the royal army into the city."

"Compared to Wei County, which is already in the bag, Guangping County and Yangping County are the top priority. These two counties are located in the north of Yecheng, supporting each other, and are the natural barrier and defense line of Yecheng."

"If these two counties are not taken, Yuan Shao can send troops to attack again at any time, and Your Majesty has no strategic location to defend. This is not a long-term solution."

"Therefore, I think that before Yuan Shao comes to his senses, we should send troops to Yangping and Guangping at lightning speed."

Sima Yi made a series of analysis, which was well-reasoned and logical.

After listening to this, Liu Xie was convinced, but to be on the safe side, he still asked for the opinions of others.

He looked at Guo Jia and others and asked, "What do you think of Zhongda's words?"

Hearing both sides will lead to enlightenment, while hearing only one side will lead to ignorance.

He had a clear understanding of himself. It was not important whether he agreed with Sima Yi's advice or not. The approval of the counselors present was the key.

Guo Jia nodded and said, "What Zhongda said coincides with what I said. Guangping County and Yangping County are of vital importance. The most urgent task is to send troops to Quliang and Guantao to occupy these two strong cities."

Xun Chen bowed and said, "I second the proposal."

Cui Yan also had no other different opinions.

Seeing that everyone agreed, Liu Xie was relieved and said, "Since that's the case, then we will quickly reorganize the troops and restore Guangping County and Yangping County to Han territory."

"In addition, I will issue an imperial edict to each city in Wei County. Those who are unwilling to welcome the royal army will be treated as traitors!"

Although he has not yet reached the level of pacifying the princes with an imperial edict, it should not be a problem to pacify Wei County where Yecheng is located.

If there are stubborn people who choose to follow Yuan Shao to the end, then let Zhang Liao lead the troops to go.

"Your Majesty is wise!"

The ministers praised one after another.

After determining the current strategy, Liu Xie looked at Sima Yi and praised: "Zhongda has a brilliant mind and good strategies. I have Zhongda, like an extra arm!"

After the voice fell, Xun Chen, Yang Xiu, and Cui Yan were full of envy.

I wish I could replace Sima Yi.

Only Guo Jia tried his best to suppress the corners of his mouth that could not help but rise.

He couldn't remember how many times he had heard such praise.

However, this was the first time for Sima Yi.

The emperor's praise made him tremble with excitement.

He fell to the ground with tears of gratitude: "I will do my best to serve your majesty!"

"My dear, please get up quickly."

Liu Xie already had plans for Sima Yi in his mind.

No one can underestimate this boy's wisdom. Although he has some grudges, he still has to arrange more work for him.

Such a good tool should not be wasted in vain.

This kid is very capable and has outlasted several generations of the Cao family.

Isn't he going to do his best? Then let him shine in the time when he is loyal to the Han Dynasty.

It's best to die of exhaustion like Zhuge Liang.

In this way, if he dies 10 or 20 years earlier, it's not impossible to give him the posthumous title of Wen Zhong.

After the business was discussed, the ministers left.

Liu Xie took out the last letter from Ju Shou from his bosom and read it repeatedly.

Check if Ju Shou had any private information in it and secretly told Yuan Shao about his various deployments.

Fortunately, Ju Shou did not intend to plot against him, and there was nothing wrong with the content of the letter.

It basically said that Yuan Shao would definitely lose, and hoped that he would surrender, otherwise the entire Yuan family would be implicated.

Liu Xie read the letter more than ten times, and then he was completely relieved.

Then he wrote another letter himself and sent it to Yuan Shao together with Ju Shou's letter of persuasion.

...

Hejian County.

Yuan Shao, who had fled in a hurry, had just returned to Lecheng County when he received another bad news.

Tian Feng handed him a battle report and said solemnly: "My lord, Gongsun Zan somehow learned that Hejian was empty. After you left, he gathered all the troops to launch a strong attack. Now Gongsun Zan's army has entered Jieqiao."

"In addition, General Yan Liang was tricked by Zhao Yun and lost 3,000 soldiers. If it weren't for the eldest son leading the Qingzhou army to arrive in time, I'm afraid it would be more dangerous than good."

Yuan Shao roared angrily: "Tricks to trick the enemy, tricks to trick the enemy again!"

Yecheng lost soldiers and generals because of tricks to trick the enemy, and Hejian was defeated because of tricks to trick the enemy.

Don't these people know how to use military tactics? They only know this one military strategy?

When Tian Feng heard this, he immediately realized that Yecheng was also in danger.

He hurriedly asked: "My lord, why didn't Gong Yu come back with you?"

Yuan Shao slammed the table angrily and said with red eyes: "Cui Yan betrayed me. Yuan Xi's treacherous son actually formed an alliance with Zhang Liao and used Ye City as bait to lure me into the game."

"Chun Yu Qiong died in the battle, Han Meng died in the battle, and I don't know whether Ju Shou and Qu Yi are alive or dead. I don't know how many of the 15,000 troops will be left."

"What!" Such a heavy loss made Tian Feng's eyes suddenly widen, and he said with regret:

"My lord should have listened to me and not sent out troops so carelessly! Yecheng is just an isolated city, and the surrounding counties are all under my lord's control. After repelling Gongsun Zan, you only need to figure it out slowly to return to Yecheng. "

Long before Yuan Shao sent troops, Tian Feng repeatedly advised him.

But Yuan Shao was blinded by greed and hatred at that time, and he just wanted to recapture Yecheng as soon as possible and capture the traitor.

Fifteen thousand troops, plus Ju Shou and several generals. Just thinking of this heavy loss made him feel so distressed that he couldn't breathe.

Now when he heard Tian Feng's backlash, he couldn't help but become even more angry. He glared at him fiercely and asked:

"Since you think Yecheng is undesirable for now, why didn't you stop me in the first place!"

When Tian Feng heard this, his whole body went numb.

Didn't he stop it?

On the day Yuan Shao sent troops to Yecheng, he almost stopped talking.

Because of this incident, I was almost put in jail!

"That's all!" Seeing Tian Feng's aggrieved face, Yuan Shao also knew that he was in the wrong, waved his hand and said: "If Yuan Hao has good suggestions in the future, I will listen to him."

Tian Feng sighed again: "Quliang and Guantao are not far from Yecheng. Now that my lord is defeated, these two cities may not be saved."

Quliang is the administrative seat of Guangping County, and Guantao is the administrative seat of Yangping County. Losing these two majestic cities basically means losing Guangping and Yangping counties.

How could Yuan Shao not see this result?

His face became increasingly ugly.

The losses in this battle of Yecheng were too great.

No one expected that Cui Yan would betray him. Yuan Xi and Zhang Liao, who were obviously equally powerful, actually teamed up to set up a trap and used Yecheng as bait to lure him into the game.

I never expected that three thousand elite cavalry would appear in Yecheng!

If it weren't for these three thousand cavalry, even if they fell into the trap, the army could retreat safely.

At present, not only the 15,000-strong army suffered heavy losses, but also Guangping County and Yangping County were lost.

This result was completely unacceptable to Yuan Shao, and he only felt heart-wrenching pain.

But in front of his subordinates, he still couldn't lose face and insisted: "Guangping and Yangping are not rich. As long as Qinghe County is not lost, these three counties will return to my hands sooner or later!"

When Tian Feng heard this, he thought that Yuan Shao was completely wrong and corrected his wrong view without politeness.

“The greatest strategic role of Guangping and Yangping lies not in their population, money and food, but in the two counties forming a corner to defend Yecheng.

If you want to enter Yecheng from the north, you must pass through Guangping and Yangping. These two counties fell into the hands of Yuan Xi and Zhang Liao. It would be difficult for the Lord to recapture Yecheng! Disaster! Disaster! "

These words were like a sharp sword, piercing Yuan Shao's psychological defense.

Those three difficult words made him angry even more.

"Yuan Hao, don't want to gain the prestige of others and destroy your own ambition! In the past, I was able to capture Jizhou without a single blow, so how can I not recapture Yecheng in the future!"

Tian Feng was about to retort, but he saw Yuan Shao's face was pale and sick.

When the words came to his lips, he swallowed them back for fear of irritating him and making him sick.

There was a sigh in my heart.

Han Fu is timid and cowardly, how can he be compared with Zhang Liao and Yuan Xi?

What's more, there is an emperor in Yecheng.

Zhang Liao is Lu Bu's subordinate. He will definitely defend Yecheng for the sake of the emperor, and he will never be like Han Fu.

Wanting to return to Yecheng without an army of 80,000 is simply a dream.

Putting aside the matters in Yecheng for the time being, Tian Feng said:

"My lord, the top priority is to repel Gongsun Zan as soon as possible. Gongsun Zan's repeated attacks and holding back the lord's army are tantamount to giving Zhang Liao and Yuan Xi the opportunity to gradually encroach on the counties and counties in Jizhou. If it takes another year and a half, , Jizhou’s rear is probably going to be lost on a large scale.”

The loss of Yecheng was extremely detrimental to Yuan Shao.

Once Guangping County and Yangping County were also lost, Yecheng gained a solid barrier.

Yuan Shao will face the crisis of being attacked from both sides.

Yuan Shao took a deep breath, swept away all the negative emotions in his heart, his eyes were shining, and he said confidently:

"In the Battle of Jieqiao, our troops were not as numerous as Gongsun Zan's, and our generals were not as strong as Gongsun Zan's. In the end, we defeated his white-horse Yi Cong with less and more, and it took him several years to recover."

"Now that I have many soldiers and generals, how can Gongsun Zan compare with me?"

Seeing that Yuan Shao cheered up so quickly, Tian Feng was overjoyed and quickly offered a series of suggestions.

At this time, there was no Ju Shou, no Shen Pei, no Xun Chen, no Guo Tu, no Feng Ji, no Xu You, and no Cui Yan around Yuan Shao. It was no longer the usual five or six different voices when discussing matters. Come.

It won't make him fall into a difficult decision.

After listening to some of Tian Feng's suggestions, Yuan Shao thought about it in his mind and agreed with it. He felt that his thinking became clearer.

Gongsun Zan is nothing to worry about.

He stood up, held Tian Feng's hands, and said excitedly: "Fortunately, I still have Yuan Hao. With Yuan Hao's help, there is nothing to worry about in the world! Gongsun Zan? Huh! He will never come back!"

Tian Feng only felt flattered.

Over the years, he had made countless suggestions to Yuan Shao, but without exception, they were all rejected.

And it was not just his advice, Ju Shou and Shen Pei's advice was the same.

So although they didn't want to admit it in their hearts, they also thought that Yuan Shao was a man of good plans but no decision.

Unexpectedly, after the loss of troops in Yecheng this time, he completely changed!

For a moment, Tian Feng didn't know whether the defeat in Yecheng was a good thing or a bad thing.