The Most Romantic of the Three Kingdoms

As soon as this military report was delivered, the discussion between Cao Cao, Feng Ji and others on whether to go to Pingyuan County now came to an end.

Yuan Shao flew to Quyi on the same day and ordered him to immediately lead his army north to attack Youzhou, and join forces with Liu Yu's troops to attack Gongsun Zan.

However, why did Liu Yu suddenly send troops to attack Gongsun Zan at this time?

It's a long story, but the reason is simple.

As mentioned above, Liu Yu had the idea of ​​attacking Gongsun Zan before. The two of them had a long history of grudges, but because of the persuasion of the two people from Liu Yu's prefecture, Liu Yu did not move troops at that time. One of the two people was Liu Yu. The East Cao Wei You, one is the state government engaged in Cheng Xu.

As for Wei You and Cheng Xu, Cheng Xu is nothing but Wei You, who is famous and resourceful, and is most trusted and respected by Liu Yu. He endured the thought of attacking Gongsun Zan.

But not long ago, Wei You died of illness.

After Wei You died of illness, with the support of civil and military officials such as Xian Yuyin and Xian Yufu, Liu Yu finally made the decision to attack Gongsun Zan.

Xian Yuyin and others supported Liu Yu's deployment of troops on the basis of objective conditions.

Judging from the surface strength alone, Liu Yu seems to be in a position to win.

First of all, Qingzhou, Jizhou, and even the people of Xuzhou were all attached to him from all over Youzhou. Liu Yu arranged them in the fields of various counties, similar to the soldiers in the fields, and implemented semi-military management, so that they could form an army. People add up to a million mouths, and there are no less than 200,000 to 300,000 strong people.

Secondly, Gongsun Zan robbed Liu Yu several times of the money and silk gifted to Wuhuan and other Hu tribes, and Wuhuan and other Hus hated Gongsun Zan, which made Wuhuan and other Hus even more dissatisfied with him. Liu Yu had already received a promise from the Wuhuan and other chiefs, who expressed their willingness to send cavalry to help Liu Yu.

In total, the troops Liu Yu can use now, plus Wuhuan and other friendly troops, are about 100,000 cavalry.

Looking at Gongsun Zan in turn, Gongsun Zan looked down on Liu Yu. Now, a large part of his troops are not located in Jixian at all, but are either stationed in Zhuo County, which is the front line of Youzhou and Jizhou; or scattered in other counties , From his troops stationed around Jixian County, it is only a few thousand people.

One hundred thousand cavalry attacking thousands of people, no matter how you look at it, you can win this battle.

Of course, Liu Yu's 100,000-paced cavalry is also scattered in various counties, not all in Jixian, but he has no intention of calculating, since last winter, Liu Yu has been preparing for it. The number of troops gathered around Jixian already numbered 10,000 or 20,000, and the surrounding troops stationed in the county were also prepared. With his order, it would not be long before they arrived at Jixian.

Liu Yu thought that he was ready, so he went out of the city on this day, erected a flag of generals, gathered the tribes of Jixian, and ordered an attack on the small town of Gongsun Zan not far from Jixian.

Just when the battle was about to start, one person took off his helmet, stopped in front of Liu Yuma, and gave advice.

This person is Cheng Xu.

Cheng Xu's remonstrance against Liu Yu was basically the same as what he said last time when he persuaded Liu Yu. He grabbed the bridle of Liu Yu's horse and said: "Ming Gong, although Gongsun Zan has committed evil deeds, the crime is still unjustified. First send someone to inform him to make corrections, and then he hastily launched an army, and the army raised a small wall, which is not the benefit of the country; and Gongsun Zan is good at fighting, his troops are strong, and although our army is large, victory or defeat is hard to predict. If we don't go into battle for a while, but we will conquer the city first, then Gongsun Zan will surely regret his previous actions and apologize to Duke Ming.

The troops have been mobilized, and this battle must be fought, but in Cheng Xu's opinion, it is best to use a large number of people to scare Gongsun Zan, so as to force him to surrender, this is the best strategy; if you really want to In the case of using force, Cheng Xu was very skeptical of the combat effectiveness of the field troops summoned by Liu Yu, and he thought that he might not be able to beat Gongsun Zan.

How could Liu Yu not know what he was thinking, and suddenly became furious, saying: "I attacked the fort of thousands with tens of thousands of people, and it was easy to break it! At this moment, the troops and horses have been assembled, but you Come to persuade me not to fight again, are you depressing my military spirit?"

Unable to say anything, he ordered to kill Cheng Xu and hang his head for a moment.

Liu Yu passed down a military order: "No one will be injured, just kill one Bogui."

On the outer road of Zhuma City, Liu Yu watched from front to back. The front team did not see the head, and the rear team did not see the tail. The people and horses marched, the dust was flying, the sky was covered, the birds in the forest near and far were startled, and the foxes and rabbits in the grass and trees fled in all directions. It was really majestic and murderous.

Liu Yu stroked his beard, looked around, and said, "Gongsun Zan is domineering and lawless, and he has violated my discipline many times. I have long wanted to crusade him, but because I can't bear to see soldiers killed or injured, I can't bear to see the people suffer from military disasters, so I have endured it until now. I thought that Gongsun Zan would know that he had repented, but he didn't care that he not only didn't change, but instead intensified his actions and committed more and more evil. It's unbearable and unbearable! So I've summoned righteous soldiers to deal with it today. He hangs people for crimes, but Gongsun Zan is the only one who really did evil, and all his soldiers were under threat from him, so this time, I will only kill him in this battle, and I will pardon the rest."

All the officials on the left and right, such as Xian Yuyin, Qi Zhou, Xian Yufu, etc., all said loudly: "Ming Gong is kind and generous."

Objectively speaking, Liu Yu only killed Gongsun Zan. This order was not only an expression of his benevolence and righteousness, but it was also a tactic to attack his heart. This is to kill only the first evil, and not to ask the rest.

The small town where Gongsun Zan was stationed was located in the southwest of Ji County.

Gongsun Zan already knew about Liu Yu's big movement.

In fact, Gongsun Zan knew that Liu Yu would attack him as early as before Liu Yu's troops were gathered together. This was because there was an employee under Liu Yu's account named Gongsun Ji. Although this person and Gongsun Zan were not of the same clan. With the same surname, Gongsun Zan has always treated this person very well. Therefore, after learning that Liu Yu planned to attack Gongsun Zan, Gongsun Ji rushed to Gongsun Zan's place and secretly informed him of the matter.

However, although it was known in advance, it did not help. The rest of Gongsun Zan's works are all in the outer county, so he couldn't recall them right away. So with his mere 2,000 troops in the city, how could he defend against Liu Yu's 20,000-30,000 troops?

Gongsun Zan was shocked when he heard the news, and called the generals to discuss it.

Zou Dan, a general under his tent, said: "The last commander has made a statement to Duke Ming early on, saying that Liu Yu has summoned 20,000 to 30,000 people to Jixian one after another, and there must be plans. Duke Ming should be on guard early. Duke Ming refused to listen to Mo's words, which led to today's disaster. In the current plan, Mo-general thinks that the enemy is outnumbered, so it is better to abandon the city and leave for the moment, and go to Yi County. Yu decisive battle."

When Gongsun Zan heard Zou Dan's words, he was also very regretful and said, "I regret not listening to Qing's words earlier!"

I can't blame anything, I can only blame Gongsun Zan for underestimating Liu Yu.

He never imagined that Liu Yu, a stern elder and a scholar, would have the courage to attack him on his own initiative.

After discussing for a long time, there was no other strategy to use, and the guards of the city sent people to report that Liu Yu's troops had arrived at the city and began to attack the city.

Gongsun Zan listened attentively and heard the screams of killing from the north and east of the city, so he had to order the troops to retreat in the direction of Yi County.

Liu Yu's main force is in the north of the city, in the east of the city, and in the south of the city.

Gongsun Zan was very brave, and the soldiers who had been stationed in the small city were all elites under his tent, so he broke out from the south of the city smoothly. After going out of the city and not far away, Gongsun Zan reluctantly looked back at the north and east of the city.

This review did not matter, but he found that although the shouts of killing in the north of the city were loud, Liu Yu's troops had not even touched the city wall. This was beyond Gongsun Zan's expectations.

You must know that the only soldiers left in the north and east of the city to defend the city are only a small number of soldiers from Gongsun Zan's army.

Therefore, Gongsun Zan thought that the north and east of the city might have been breached at this moment, but he did not expect that Liu Yu's menacing crowd of tens of thousands had not yet penetrated into the city, so he sent military officials to inquire.

Shortly after the officer left, Pegasus turned back and reported to Gongsun Zan, saying, "Liu Yu ordered the soldiers not to use catapults, so as not to hurt people, and ordered the soldiers not to set fire to the city."

Gongsun Zan was stunned at first, then burst into laughter.

The left and right generals asked Gongsun Zan and said, "Ming Gong, why are you laughing all of a sudden?"

Gongsun Zan laughed and said: "I just said Liu Yu is a sour scholar, how dare he come to fight me? He has the guts to attack my city, which I didn't expect, but I said he was a sour scholar, but it was not at all. Wrong! How can there be a city attacking a city and fighting a battle, but even cherishing the enemy's life and not allowing the use of catapults? Before we retreated, when the wind picked up, I was thinking, Liu Yu set fire to it, even if we defended, the city would be too I can't hold it, but I really didn't expect that he would not allow the soldiers to set fire! It's extremely pedantic."

"Ming Gong, this is an opportunity for our army to turn back defeat and seek victory."

Most of the arrogant soldiers around Gongsun Zan followed him in the early years to fight against Wuhuan and other Hus in the borderlands of Youzhou, and later followed Gongsun Zan to defeat the Yellow Turbans in the Bohai Sea and the Plains. At first, he was only frightened by Gongsun Zan's so-called 100,000 soldiers and horses. Now that Liu Yu's troops were unable to attack the city, they all calmed down.

So the generals said in unison, "Please, Duke Ming, give your order!"

Gongsun Zan said, "He Liu Yu cherishes the people and can't bear to set fire, so let's set him on fire!"

Immediately order the soldiers to search for firewood, weeds and other items nearby, put them on the car, and push them forward.

Then Gongsun Zan and the generals led the soldiers, and after the vehicles piled up with weeds and dry wood, they turned around and headed north of the city to kill.

When they reached the north of the city, near the position of Liu Yu's troops, the soldiers lighted up the weeds and other objects on the cart, and Gongsun Zan ordered the cavalry and archers to set up rockets. The car pushed forward and crashed into Liu Yu's formation. Coupled with the random firing of rockets, Liu Yu's formation suddenly burst into flames. The raging fire spread with the wind, rolling up black smoke, and in a short time, it spread to most of Liu Yu's formation.

Gongsun Zan and his generals took advantage of the opportunity to gallop.

When the guard saw this, he also rushed out of the city.

Clamping on both sides. Gongsun Zan defeated Liu Yu's army of tens of thousands with a mere 2,000 people.

When he set off, he was full of confidence, and he was defeated in a blink of an eye. Liu Yu, surrounded by his left and right generals, fled north.

Gongsun Zan led his troops in hot pursuit.

Liu Yu and other defeated generals fled all the way to the north. They did not dare to stop along the way. After passing Changping, they reached the military capital. The military capital was seven or eighty miles away from Jixian County.

Gongsun Zan had few soldiers, and the tens of thousands of Liu Yu's men were running around, delaying their pursuit, so they failed to catch up with Liu Yu.

Liu Yu was undecided, and in a panic, he asked the officials on the left and right for advice, and said, "I never thought that Gongsun Zan would set fire to our army and thus be defeated. What should we do now?"

Xian Yuyin said: "It's better to go north to Juyong for the time being. When you arrive at Juyong, you will be sent to the Wuhuan and other troops, and they will send cavalry to the meeting, and then they will gather the troops to disperse, and then send the rest of the troops stationed in the county that have not yet arrived in Jixian. All are recruited and regrouped, so that we can fight again."

Juyong County is in the north of the military capital and belongs to Shanggu County, which is already the northern border of Youzhou, and further north is the grazing settlement of Wuhuan and other Hu tribes.

Liu Yu listened to this policy and immediately followed it, so he continued to flee north.

But it was said that after Gongsun Zan defeated Liu Yu, he immediately sent his cavalry to Yixian and other places, and summoned his troops to come.

Two days later, troops and horses from various ministries came to Ji County to join forces with Gongsun Zan.

Gongsun Zan led him to kill Ben Juyong.

Outside Juyong City, before the cavalry of Wuhuan and other troops arrived, Liu Yu gathered his troops and defeated them. There were no more than 10,000 troops before and after. After defending the city for three days, Juyong County was captured by Gongsun Zan's troops.

Liu Yu failed to escape this time and was captured by Gongsun Zan.

That night, Guan Jing asked Gongsun Zan privately, asked Gongsun Zan, and said, "Dare to ask Ming Gong, what do you plan to do with Liu Yu?"

Gongsun Zan was also a little embarrassed. Although he and Liu Yu were at odds with each other, firstly, Liu Yu was the shepherd of Youzhou appointed by the Han court, and secondly, Liu Yu was highly regarded in Youzhou, and Liu Yu was captured. I can't let it go, if I kill it

, To be honest, Gongsun Zan didn't dare to kill, so he asked Guan Jing: "What do you think?"

Guan Jing said: "Liu Yu, who is famous in the north, is the clan of the Han family. If he doesn't kill him now, he will be a trouble for the future. The meaning of Jing is to kill him!"

Gongsun Zan said, "What you said is true, but because Liu Yu is famous in the North, if I kill him, will it provoke the people of Youzhou into chaos?"

Guan Jing said, "It's easy to handle."

Gongsun Zan asked, "What is your solution?"

Guan Jing then stated his method, saying: "Liu Yu has a rather false reputation in Youzhou, and he has deceived a lot of people. Master, isn't a glass of poisoned wine enough?"

Gongsun Zan said, "You mean to poison him to death?"

Guan Jing said: "Exactly. Duke Ming can say to the outside world that he died of a sudden illness, isn't that enough?"

After listening to Guan Jing's words, Gongsun Zan thought for a while and felt that it was feasible, so he followed it.

So he prepared a pot of poisonous wine, and Gongsun Zan and Guan Jing went to the room where Liu Yu was imprisoned.

Although Liu Yu was defeated, he was now a prisoner of Gongsun Zan, and he was alone in the room, but when Gongsun Zan entered the room, he saw Liu Yu sitting in a state of danger, with his crown and robes neat and tidy. together.

For the sake of confidentiality, Gongsun Zan did not bring anyone else, and only Guan Jing followed.

Gongsun Zan motioned Guan Jing to give Liu Yu the poisoned wine.

Holding the lacquer plate, Guan Jing walked to the seat where Liu Yu was sitting, put the lacquer plate on the ground, lifted the jug, poured a glass of wine, and handed it to Liu Yu.

Wine is poisonous, first of all, the color is wrong, and secondly, it smells pungent in addition to the smell of wine.

Liu Yu just glanced at it briefly, smelled it in his nose, and knew that it must be poisonous wine.

He tried hard to calm his mind, raised his face, looked directly at Gongsun Zan, and said sternly, "Gongsun Zan, are you going to poison me?"

Gongsun Zan stood on his hips, looked down at Liu Yu, and said, "You say, why do you want to oppose me? If you work with me, we will join forces to fight Wuhuan in the north and Jizhou in the south. The disciples of the ministers will be captured and killed, then you and I will lead the troops of You and Ji to attack Guanzhong, and then defeat the thieves Li Jue, Guo Si, and Fan Chou, and welcome the Son of Heaven to return to the old capital, then the world of the Han Dynasty will be able to revive again in Are you and me in your hand? You and I can also leave a name in the history of this, and pass it on to future generations.

"You refused, but you turned against me. I attacked Yuan Shao, and you didn't give me rations; I attacked Wuhuan in the north, but you made good friends with Wuhuan, sent them money and silk, and opened something in Shanggu. Hu Shi, and Wuhuan and other Hu do business.

"You are really confused! Hulu is afraid of power but not virtuous. Treating them like this will only encourage their arrogance. Why do you say that you do this? Now if you regret it and are willing to change your mind, then I am willing to do so. It is still up to you to lead the Youzhou Shepherd."

Liu Yu sneered and said, "Did you beat Yuan Shao to welcome the emperor and return to the old capital?"

Gongsun Zan said, "It's not for this, why else?"

Liu Yu said, "Gongsun Bogui, don't pretend to be a loyal minister! What are you thinking? Don't I know?"

Gongsun Zan asked, "What am I thinking?"

Liu Yu said: "You don't have the emperor's edict and you invade Jizhou without authorization. You say that Yuan Benchu ​​is not a minister. You are no different from him. You are also a traitor and thief! And you are not as good as Yuan Benchu. People, you have hurt the people of Youzhou, and the people have been complaining about you for a long time! You are so harassing Youzhou, and you don’t respect the emperor, I am not against you, I am loyal to the Han family, and I want to get rid of thieves for the Han family. You capture."

Liu Yu sneered, Gongsun Zan laughed too, he put his hands on his hips, met Liu Yu's eyes, and said, "Liu Yu, don't keep saying that I am a traitor, a thief, a victim of harm to the people, and a calamity to the people, you seem to be one of them. It's like a big loyal minister. Let me ask you, ask yourself, do you dare to say that you are a loyal minister?"

Liu Yu said, "Why don't I dare to say that I am a loyal minister? In my heart, there is only the Son of Heaven, only the Han family, and only Lun Chang Gang Ji."

Gongsun Zan said, "Yes, Yuan Benchu ​​wanted to make you the emperor, but you refused, but you rejected Yuan Benchu's proposal because you were loyal to the Han family? Is it because you were loyal to the emperor?"

Liu Yu said angrily, "If not, what else could it be for?"

Gongsun Zan also sneered at the corner of his mouth, and said, "You know why."

He looked at Liu Yu's clothes, as usual, Liu Yu's clothes were still very simple, and because he was caught while fleeing after the defeat, his clothes were more torn than usual. tattered hole.

Gongsun Zan's sneer grew worse, pointed at the clothes on Liu Yu's body, and said, "You declared to the public that you don't eat two meat dishes in one meal, and you wear tattered clothes all day long, making you seem so simple and frugal. It seems that all the people in Youzhou have praised you, saying that you are diligent and thrifty and love the people, but are you really diligent? But it's so extravagant? I've heard such rumors before. To be honest, I don't quite believe it. Today, I saw it with my own eyes, and I have to believe it! Liu Yu, how many people have you deceived by making a name for yourself? Such a treacherous deceiver Disciple of human beings, you dare to claim that you are loyal to the Han family and the emperor, it really makes people laugh out loud."

This time in Juyong County, Gongsun Zan also captured Liu Yu's wives, concubines and children.

Liu Yu's children are nothing but his wives and concubines, all of them are wearing fine silk and satin clothes, and the jewelry they wear are either gold or jade, which are very expensive. Yes, it is not less than a hundred thousand dollars in rough calculation, and this is only what they wear on their bodies. It can be expected that in Liu Yu's house, there must be similar clothes and similar jewelry, not only there are, but also more. Of course, the food will not be bad, plus the consumption, the daily consumption must be greater.

Gongsun Zan had heard gossip before, saying that although Liu Yu was dressed simply, he would not eat at the same time in the county house, but the wife, concubines and children of Liu Yu's family were dressed in fine clothes and jade, which was extremely extravagant.

As I said to Liu Yu just now, when I heard these rumors, Gongsun Zan was dubious. After all, Liu Yu's image to the public has always been simple, not for a day or two, but for years and months. For such a persistent and simple man, would his wife and concubines live such a luxurious life? Gongsun Zan didn't quite believe it.

But after capturing Liu Yu's wives, concubines and children this time, Gongsun Zan saw it with his own eyes and realized that the rumors were true.

Hearing Gongsun Zan's question, Liu Yu's face turned red, and the eyes that originally looked directly at Gongsun Zan were a little erratic.

He lowered his head and remained silent.

Seeing Liu Yu's situation, Gongsun Zan seemed to have won another great victory. He took a step forward and said to Liu Yu, "Liu Yu, if I ask you again, do you dare to say that you are a loyal minister?"

Liu Yu answered Gongsun Zan this time, with a firm tone: "Everyone knows my loyalty to the Han Dynasty and the Son of Heaven. Since I was defeated by you today, kill me if you want, so why bother talking."

Gongsun Zan said, "If you are willing to change your mind..."

Liu Yu interrupted Gongsun Zan's words and said: "Don't be foolish, I will never give in to you, Gongsun Zan, you are doing the wrong thing, hurting the people, and doing a lot of evil. I want to die today, but I am waiting underground. With you! I have only one wish now, I hope you can satisfy me."

Gongsun Zan asked, "What wish?"

Liu Yu said, "After you killed me, cut out my eye and put it at the head of Jixian County. I want to see with my own eyes how you fell."

Gongsun Zan listened to Liu Yu's words and said with a smile, "You want to learn from Wu Zixu? It's just a pity that you have neither Wu Zixu's talent nor Wu Zixu's military strategy. Just people."

Liu Yu said angrily: "Scholars can be killed but not humiliated! If you want to kill, kill them, if you don't want to humiliate me."

Gongsun Zan said, "Don't worry, when you attacked my city, you said that you would only kill Gongsun Boguiyi. I will kill you today, but I will not kill your wife, concubines and children. It is enough to kill you alone!" Poisoned wine to Liu Yu.

Guan Jing held the poisonous wine and brought it to Liu Yu's mouth again.

Liu Yu looked at the poisonous wine and reached out to get it, but at the juncture of life and death, who could take it lightly? He raised his hand several times, and finally raised his arm, but his hand was trembling, but he couldn't hold the wine glass.

Guan Jing waited impatiently, knocked off the high crown on Liu Yu's head, grabbed Liu Yu's hair bun with one hand, forced him to raise his head, raised the wine glass with the other, and poured the poisoned wine into his mouth.

...

After Liu Yu's death, Gongsun Zan used Guan Jing's strategy to follow the old example of Cao Cao's previous appointment as the prefect of Yanzhou.

The news spread that Xian Yuyin, Qi Zhou, Xian Yufu, Wei Dun and others who escaped from Juyong County were all heartbroken.

The crowd is discussing what to do next.

Xian Yuyin said: "Liu Gong is very kind to the Wuhuan tribes, and the Wuhuan tribes all respect Liu Gong. Today, Liu Gong was unfortunately killed. We can go to the Wuhuan, gather strength, wait for the opportunity, and attack Gongsun Zan. , to take revenge for Duke Liu, and to bring peace to the people of Youzhou."

Now there is really no other way, everyone accepted Xian Yuyin's suggestion and went to Wuhuan.

Xunzhen attacked Dongjun, Pingyuan, and Chenliu. Under the circumstances that Pingyuan and Chenliu were both invincible and Cao Cao of Dongjun did not resist much, it took more than half an hour to take down these three counties. In the time of the month; Gongsun Zan fought against Liu Yu's tens of thousands of troops with the first one or two thousand soldiers and horses, and immediately captured Juyong in three days, but it took only ten days before and after, and he captured and killed Liu Yu, speaking of speed. , This is actually faster than Xun Zhen taking the three counties.

But it was also because Liu Yu was defeated too quickly, which led Qu Yi to report to Yuan Shao that Liu Yu and Gongsun Zan had fought infighting before they arrived in Ye County. Yuan Shao ordered Qu Yi to lead an army to attack Youzhou. Before the order was even passed on to Qu Yi, Qu Yi next reported that Liu Yu had been defeated, and Gongsun Zan, who led the military report from Youzhou, had already arrived in Ye County again.

Yuan Shao couldn't believe it when he received this military report from Qu Yi.

A thought popped into Yuan Shao's mind: "How incompetent! I wanted to join forces with him to attack Gongsun Zan before, but fortunately, he put on airs and pushed the three to block the four. Otherwise, I'm afraid he will drag me down instead."

Liu He, the son of Liu Yu, is still being detained by Yuan Shao. After hearing the news, Liu He asked to see Yuan Shao.

Entering the hall, Liu He wept bitterly, fell to the ground, refused to get up, and begged Yuan Shao to send troops to avenge Liu Yu.

Although Liu He was only a hostage here, Yuan Shao didn't take him seriously, but who was ruthless?

Yuan Shao couldn't help feeling sorry for him when he was so sad, so he ordered someone to help him up and said, "Unfortunately, Duke Liu was killed by Gongsun Zan, and I am also very sad. I lead Youzhou Shepherd by myself. I am ready to send officials to Chang'an, and write to the court, asking the emperor to appoint a new Youzhou Shepherd to take office in Youzhou, and ask the emperor to issue an edict, allowing me to crusade Gongsun Zan. Wait until the emperor's edict and the new appointment are made. After Youzhou Mu arrives, I will definitely raise troops to attack Gongsun Zan, not only to avenge my father, but also to let the people of the world take a look, there will be no good end for chaotic ministers and thieves."

Liu He's face was full of tears, and he was very grateful. With the help of others, he stumbled out.

Yuan Shao sat alone in the hall and thought for a while, and ordered Ju Shou, Feng Ji, Shen Pei, Guo Tu, Xu You and others to be summoned.

Not long after, the officials came.

Yuan Shao said to them: "Although Gongsun Zan claimed that Liu Youzhou died of illness, there is no doubt that Liu Youzhou was killed by Gongsun Zan. Just now, Liu He begged to see me, weeping bitterly, and begging me to send troops to Youzhou to attack Gongsun Zan. Liu Youzhou takes revenge, I wonder what your opinion is on this?"

Ju Shou is now the most important person to Yuan Shao, and among the officials in the hall, his official position is also the highest.

He was the first to speak and asked Yuan Shao, "Dare to ask how Duke Ming answered Liu He?"

Yuan Shao said, "I told Liu He that I have already written to the emperor, requesting a crusade against Gongsun Zan, and when the new imperial edict of Youzhou Muhe and the emperor arrives, I will raise troops."

Ju Shu said: "Ming Gong answered him like this

very suitable. "

Yuan Shao said, "Oh? What is your opinion on this?"

Ju Shu said, "According to Shu's humble opinion, now is not the time to attack Gongsun Zan."

When Guo Tu heard Ju Shou's words, his face showed disapproval. Before Ju Shou could finish his words, he stood up from the seat, walked into the hall, and said proudly, "Tu thinks that Ju-jun's words are absurd!"

Yuan Shao said, "Gongze, what do you mean by this?"

Guo Tu said, "I think this is the time to beg Gongsun Zan!"

Yuan Shao said, "Why?"

Guo Tu said: "First of all, Gongsun Zan has just stolen Youzhou, and his foundation is still unstable; secondly, Liu Youzhou's popularity in Youzhou is very high, and he is very popular with the people. Just as Duke Ming said just now, he must have been given by Gongsun Zan. They were killed, but they were definitely not those who died of illness. Then, if our army is attacking Youzhou from the north at this time, we can take advantage of Gongsun Zan’s unsteady foundation and get the response of the people of Youzhou. Wouldn’t it be easy to win?”

Yuan Shao thought about it for a while, nodded slightly, and said, "Your remarks are justified." He asked Ju Shi, "Why does the Duke think this is the case?"

Ju Shou said, "In my humble opinion, Guo Jun has only seen one, but not the other."

Guo Tu sounded very familiar with the words "I only saw one, but I didn't see the other."

Whenever Guo Tu and Ju Shou disagreed, Ju Shou usually used this sentence as an opening remark to refute Guo Tu's opinion.

Guo Tu's face immediately flushed red.

He looked at Ju Shou and said, "Tu dares to ask your great opinion, how can I only know one of them and not the other?"

Ju Shou did not look at Guo Tu, but still faced Yuan Shao, without rushing, caressing his beard and said, "On the surface, if I go to discuss Sun Zan now, it is true for me that Gongsun Zan's foundation is not stable and the people of Youzhou hold him back. However, Liu Yu attacked Gongsun Zan with tens of thousands of people, but he was destroyed in a few days... Duke Ming, this shows that although Gongsun Zan was defeated twice by Duke Ming, his The strength is still there, and the elite are still there! And after this great victory, Gongsun Zan will definitely reward his officers and soldiers. His troops are now in high morale. Will it be easy?"

Guo Tu said: "Although Gongsun Zan has won the battle, his troops' morale may be high, but our army can get Youzhou's people to serve as internal supporters and cooperate with the inside and outside. No matter how high his morale is, what's the use?"

Ju Shu said: "Youzhou has no good generals, and most of the warriors are under the command of Gongsun Zan. This can be seen from the battle between Liu Yu and Gongsun Zan! Even if the people of Youzhou are loyal to Duke Ming, there are tens of thousands of them. Even if you can't beat Gongsun Zan's 2,000 soldiers and horses, how can you help our army even if you have such an army?"

Ju Shu's words are very reasonable.

Yuan Shao nodded frequently and said, "What the public said is very true."

Ju Shou went on to say, "Shou disapproves of attacking Gongsun Zan now. Apart from this, there is another important reason."

Yuan Shao asked, "Dare to hear the details, what's the reason?"

Ju Shou said: "Duke Ming, last winter, our army attacked the Black Mountain thieves, and everything was destroyed. Only Zhang Feiyan's troops were able to fight. Our army fought against them for many days. Let us return for the time being. If our army is attacking Gongsun Zan and Duke Ming at the moment, don’t we worry that Zhang Feiyan’s army will echo Gongsun Zan’s army and attack our army? If the main force of our army is attacking Gongsun Zan, Zhang Feiyan’s army will attack me from behind, or he will rush to attack me. Wei County, attack our Ye County, dare to ask Duke Ming, what are the strategies to deal with it?"

Yuan Shao is by no means a man without strategy, on the contrary, he is a man who likes strategy very much. The point of Zhang Feiyan mentioned by Ju Shou is exactly a problem that Yuan Shao has considered. He also thought of this. Therefore, when Liu He came to ask him to send troops to Youzhou, Yuan Shao did not agree to him immediately, but used waiting for the court's will and the arrival of the new Youzhou Shepherd as an excuse for refusal.

Hearing Ju Shou's words at this moment, Yuan Shao slapped his palm and said, "Your remarks are exactly what I worry about." He said to Guo Tu, "Gongze, if I show up to send troops to attack Gongsun Zan, as Ju Gong said, Zhang Feiyan is very good. It may attack our army, or attack our Ye County."

Guo Tu was speechless, so he could only say: "Ming Gong is wise, and he has a lot of concerns, because Tu did not think carefully."

He thought about Zhang Feiyan, but in Yuan Shao's view, the civil strife in Youzhou was also an opportunity for him to capture Youzhou. Gong, it is indeed not time to attack Gongsun Zan yet, but do you just watch this opportunity slip away and ignore it? I think Gong Ju must have a wise strategy for this, please teach me. "

Ju Shou had a plan. He said, "Although now is not the time to punish Gongsun Zan, it would be a pity if we were to sit back and watch this opportunity pass by. In my humble opinion, there is only one plan for now."

Yuan Shao said, "What is He Mou? Duke Ju, don't give a shit, come quickly."

Ju Shu said: "In the years when Liu Youzhou was the shepherd of Youzhou, he has always been tolerant towards the Wuhuan and other Hu tribes in the north of Youzhou, and he was very caring. The second defeat to Gongsun Zan was harmed by Gongsun Zan, and his generals and government officials must have rushed to Wuhuan to ask for help and wanted to avenge Liu Youzhou. Why didn't Duke Ming send competent officials to sneak into Youzhou and go to Wuhuan? If you find these officials in Liu Youzhou, then you can make an appointment with them to attack Gongsun Zan together!

"The Wuhuan cavalry, the brave and brave in the sea, with the help of the Wuhuan cavalry, attacked from the north and the south, Gongsun Zan was imprisoned by the Duke of Ming."

If only relying on Yuan Shao's Jizhou soldiers to fight Gongsun Zan, firstly, Gongsun Zan's troops are very powerful, secondly, there is a hidden danger of Zhang Feiyan in the west, and this battle cannot be fought; but if the Wuhuan cavalry can be helped, then this battle will not be possible. One fight can be fought.

Yuan Shao was instantly overjoyed, and he said repeatedly, "This is a good policy. Okay, I'll choose an official to go to Wuhuan now!"

Guo Tu was defeated by Ju Shou for a while, and in order to fight back, he immediately responded and recommended Guo Xun as an envoy to Wuhuan.

Guo Xun had already visited Youzhou once, he was familiar with the road, and he did a good job last time, Yuan Shao accepted Guo Tu's recommendation and agreed to hand over the job to Guo Xun.

After the discussion was over, Ju Shou, Shen Pei and others left.

Guo Tu did not leave, he stayed.

Yuan Shao asked, "Government, is there anything else?"

At this time, there were no outsiders in the tent, only Yuan Shao and Guo Tu.

Guo Tu said: "Ming Gong, can you hear the rumors in the city recently?"

Yuan Shao said, "What rumor?"

Guo Tu said: "Tu Wen said that Cao Mengde wrote a letter a few days ago and secretly asked someone to send it to Yuan Gonggong in Nanyang."

Yuan Shao was taken aback and said, "Meng De communicated with Nanyang privately?"

Guo Tu said, "Isn't that true! Didn't Duke Ming hear this rumor?"

Yuan Shao said, "I have never heard of it."

After the shock was over, Yuan Shao thought about it, laughed, and said, "Gongze, this must be a rumor. Meng De, I know very well, he definitely will not communicate with Nanyang? This nonsense is not enough. letter."

Yuan Shu has a bad reputation among scholars, but anyone with a little insight knows that he can't do anything, let alone Cao Cao? Yuan Shao really knew Cao Cao, and knew that even if Cao Cao was at the end of the road, he would definitely not hook up with Yuan Shu.

Guo Tu also knew that it was impossible for Cao Cao to contact Yuan Shu, but this rumor was just an introduction to what he wanted to say.

He went on to say: "What Duke Ming said is very true, and Tu actually doesn't believe that Cao Mengde would have anything to do with Yuan Gonggong, but Duke Ming, there is one thing, it must be true or not."

Yuan Shao asked, "What's the matter?"

Guo Tu said: "When Cao Mengde was in Dongjun, he used to talk to people, showing that the public has no intention of being a minister, and also that the duke had no king's order and fought with Gongsun Zan, causing many people in You and Ji to be killed and injured. And since Cao Mengde arrived in Ye County, looking at him, I feel that although he seems to be respectful to Duke Ming, in fact, he has two intentions."

Yuan Shao could not help but ask him after listening to his rambling talk, and said, "Princess, what exactly are you trying to say?"

Guo Tu said: "Ming Gong, I heard that Cao Mengde asked Ming Gong to be the prefect of Taiyuan, is this possible?"

Yuan Shao said, "There is a reason for this."

Guo Tu said: "He is not a person who criticizes Duke Ming, and he is not a person who has lived under the people for a long time. Tu thinks that the prefect of Taiyuan should not be easily granted to him."

Yuan Shao said, "Mengde knows the soldiers, and all the soldiers under his tent dare to fight. If I leave him to Taiyuan, and he threatens Zhang Feiyan, then I will have no worries when I attack Youzhou in the future."

Yuan Shao and Guo Tu have a very close relationship. As mentioned above, emotionally, Yuan Shao actually trusts Guo Tu and Xu You more in his prefectures, or his old acquaintances in his early years, so he will not hide his love from Guo Tu. Cao Cao asked Taiyuan to consider this matter.

Guo Tu said: "Ming Gong's foresight, Cao Mengde is a man who really knows the army, if he is appointed to Taiyuan, it will indeed be of great help to contain Zhang Feiyan; and in this area of ​​Bingzhou, there are Yellow Turban thieves from Baibo Valley in the southwest, There are Tu Ge and other minions, and it is true that someone who can recruit and fight well is needed to assist Yuancai. If Cao Mengde is appointed in Taiyuan, it can be said to be the best of both worlds."

"Yuancai", a high-level word.

Yuan Shao was confused when he heard this. Guo Tu said just now that Cao Cao should not be placed in Taiyuan, but now he said that it would be good for Yuan Shao to have him in Taiyuan. What kind of medicine was sold in the gourd? Yuan Shao asked: "Gongze, you just said that it is not appropriate to appoint Meng De in Taiyuan, but now you say that it would be beneficial to have him in Taiyuan. What do you mean?"

Guo Tu smiled and said, "Ming Gong, what the picture just said is not that it is not appropriate to appoint Meng De in Taiyuan, but that he cannot be easily appointed to Taiyuan." Yuan Shao said, "What is the difference between the two?"

Guo Tu said: "Cao Mengde is the one who just commented on him. He is not someone who has lived under the people for a long time. Tu secretly thought that it would be beneficial to have him in Taiyuan, but Taiyuan is an important town in Bingzhou. , I am afraid that Duke Ming will be difficult to control him, so I think that Duke Ming might as well choose one person to be his supervisor and serve as Taiyuan with him."

Yuan Shao was stunned, and said, "So that's what you meant, what do you think, who should I choose to be the supervisor?"

It was not until this time that Guo Tu revealed the ultimate purpose of the call, saying: "Shen Pei has a stern and stubborn personality, and Tu Yu thinks it is the most suitable for him to be Cao Mengde's supervisor."

Yuan Shao is not a fool. He knew that Guo Tu was at odds with Shen Pei and Ju Shou, so he immediately guessed what Guo Tu meant. Nine times out of ten, it was to transfer Shen Pei from Jizhou~www.wuxiaspot.com~ He attacked and weakened the power of the scholars sent from Jizhou, but after thinking about it, he felt that Guo Tu's argument seemed to have some truth.

After Guo Tu resigned, Yuan Shao ordered Shen Pei to be found.

Shen Pei had just left the hall, and he was not far away, and not long after, he was invited by the officials.

Yuan Shao would not repeat Guo Tu's words to him, but said: "Bingzhou now has Hulu in the north, Baibo and Yellow Turbans in the south, Zhang Feiyan in the east, and Taiyuan is an important town in Bingzhou. Shicai, Gongze has spoken to me, suggesting that Lord Qu be the supervisor of Meng De, and help Meng De guard Taiyuan, what is your intention?"

As soon as Shen Pei heard it, he immediately understood Guo Tu's purpose, and guessed why he was asked to serve as Cao Cao's superintendent. Is it because he is worried that Cao Mengde may become a disaster for Duke Ming in the future?"

Yuan Shao said, "He did say so, but Meng De is a close friend of me. Of course I won't believe it."

Shen Pei said: "Ming Gong, Guo Gong, you might as well listen to what you said."

Yuan Shao said, "What do you mean by this?"

Shen Pei said: "Meng De, the hero of the world is definitely not someone who is willing to be subordinate to others. He abandoned Dongjun on his side, fled after being defeated, and then defected to Duke Ming's account. Fighting in Bingzhou, it can be seen that this person has a lot of ambition. It is absolutely necessary to guard against him."

Yuan Shao was silent.

Shen Pei said: "But even if you guard against him, you don't need Pei to be his supervisor. There is another better way."

Yuan Shao raised his eyebrows and looked at the trial partner.

Shen Pei smiled and took the initiative to tell his plan.