The Most Romantic of the Three Kingdoms

Cheng Jia was lacking in military ability and did not understand the meaning of Xun Zhen's words.

He originally had the heart to ask, but when he saw that there were no other people to ask questions, out of face, he did not ask his doubts. He raised his ears and listened to Xun Zhen. It's a showman.

Xi Zhicai knew what Xun Zhen meant, he picked up the feather fan on his knees, pondered a little, and said: "Ming Gong's order, loyal and self-willing, I don't know when Ming Gong plans to let me enter Luoyang? "

Cheng Jia thought to himself, "It turns out that Duke Ming had to work hard to get into Luoyang!"

After solving one doubt, another doubt arises, he wondered, "Why did Duke Ming let Xi Zhicai guard Luoyang? Now Luoyang is guarded by Zhang Hong, Xun Yin, Chen Bao, etc., and Xu Rong is the Yin Yin of Henan. , the leader of the front line of Hongnong County..."

Cheng Jia is also a wise man after all. When the doubt came up, he immediately thought of the answer and said to himself, "Yes, although Xu Rong has been stationed in Guangling for a long time, he is regarded as a long-term resident, and it is close to King Qin in this battle. He also made a lot of credit, and had an old acquaintance with Duan Yu, but he was a descendant after all, and he was like Zang Ba. In terms of qualifications and prestige, he was not as good as Xun Cheng, Xu Xian, and Yue Jin. Fashion is good. If you encounter a strong enemy and you are in danger, you are only afraid that the generals Chen Wu, Chen Dao, and Chen Bao will not be willing to obey their orders. When the flirting Zhicai entered the town of Luoyang, he was changed to control the generals of the Yin and Hongnong counties in Henan."

Cheng Jia guessed right, this is exactly what Xun Zhen meant.

In fact, in terms of general strategy and military ability, both Xun Cheng and Xu Xian are inferior to Xu Rong.

For example, Xun Cheng, his military ability is very ordinary, but he is not only a family brother with Xun Zhen, but also one of the first group of people who started the army from Xun Zhen. If his prestige and qualifications are sufficient, even if his military ability is not high, he will be appointed to the military. He can also be the main general. As long as he is assigned a few capable advisers and daring generals, he can become a qualified commander in the field. Of course, this also has a premise, that is, Xun Chengfei is a stubborn person. If he was a stubborn, cruel person with serious flaws in character, not to mention that he and Xun Zhen were clan brothers, even Xun Zhen's son, he would not be a suitable leader.

Therefore, in Xu Rong's case, he is talented enough to take on the responsibilities in the field. The problem is that his prestige and qualifications are not enough.

Xi Zhicai has always been the mastermind of Xun Zhen, and all the generals obeyed him. In terms of prestige and qualifications, he was obviously much stronger than Xu Rong.

His previous military position was that of the superintendent of the army. This position is exactly the same as that currently held under Yuan Shao's account by Jizhou Zhizhu. What is "supervisory army"? That is to supervise and control the army. It's just that he used to have very little restraint.

And now he is in charge of taking over the overall situation of Yin and Hongnong counties in Henan, in other words, defending Yuan Shao in Jizhou, Cao Cao in Bingzhou in the north, and defending the separatist divisions of Guanzhong in the west. .

Yuan Shao's strength, Cao Cao's ability, and Guanzhong's forces are many, all of which are strong enemies that cannot be underestimated. The three enemies are mixed together, and there is a possibility that it will become a big chaos. Only after going to preside over this situation, Xun Zhen can be completely at ease, without worries, and can focus on annihilating Yuan Shu.

Xun Zhen stroked the short mustache under her chin and said to Xi Zhicai, "There's no need to worry, and when it's time to formally deploy troops to Nanyang, you can go to Luoyang again. ... Zhicai, although Xu Rong, Chen Bao, Chen Wu, Chen Dao, and Duan Xun were stationed in Henan Yin and Hongnong counties, but Yuan Benchu, Meng De, and Guanzhong Han Sui and Ma Teng's troops were not to be underestimated. Whether my crusade against Yuan Shu was successful or not depends on the Not in Nanyang, but in Luoyang! As long as you can defend Luoyang without loss, I will definitely win this battle against Yuan Shu."

Xi Zhicai said with a smile, "Even if Yuan Benchu ​​went south to commit crimes, he is loyal and Luoyang is safe."

"I can trust you on this point! You can't live in Luoyang without an elite entourage for you to drive. I plan to transfer the two troops of Yunchang and Xu Ding to you. Do you think it's okay?"

Xun Zhen had soldiers and horses under the tent, and also added the Qingzhou Yellow Turbans that had been collected. Now there are nearly 100,000 people. Among the nearly 100,000 people, Guan Yu and Xu Ding are the leaders. There is no need to say much about Guan Yu's force. Xu Ding is Xu Chu's elder brother and a member of the tiger generals; Guan Yu's troops are all cavalry, and all the horse armor Xun Zhen has at hand is mainly concentrated in the two men of Xin Ai and Guan Yu. Although there were only more than 800 cavalry, all of them served as 100. Xu Ding's troupe consisted of foot soldiers, mainly composed of the chivalrous warriors, swordsmen, Confucians and martial artists whom the brothers had recruited in their hometown of Qiao County. Powerful, dare to fight lightly. These two troops are the elite of the elite.

However, the numbers of these two troops were not very large, with a total of less than 2,000 cavalry.

However, although the total number of soldiers and horses is not large, Xi Zhicai's entry into Luoyang this time is not to increase troops in Luoyang. The three parties, Xi Zhicai's entry into Luoyang, is mainly to play the role of commander-in-chief of the overall situation, so if there are less than 2,000 elite soldiers with him, if there is a change in the situation, it is enough for him to deal with it.

However, Xi Zhicai seemed to feel that it was not enough, he shook his feather fan lightly, smiled and said to Xun Zhen: "If Duke Ming would assign Yun Chang and Xu Ding to Zhong, it would be enough, but Zhong still has a ruthless request. Duke Ming can also bring me another army and horse."

"The other one? Which one?"

"General Dong Cheng, whose troops are known as elite soldiers, if he were to assign his troops to be loyal, then Duke Ming's attack on Yuan Shu would be more secure."

When Xi Zhicai finished speaking, one person in the hall clapped his hands and said with a smile, "Miao Ye! Duke Ming, this request from the servants, in Jiayu's opinion, should be promised."

It was Guo Jia who spoke.

Xun Zhen smiled and said: "Okay, then I will follow the advice, Zhicai, if you please, I promise!"

However, it was Dong Cheng's army. Although it could not be said that they had no combat power, how could they be called elite soldiers when compared with Guan Yu and Xu Ding's army? The reason why Xi Zhicai asked Xun Zhen to hand over Dong Cheng's department to him and take him to Luoyang is very obvious. What he did was not the elite soldiers of Dong Cheng's department, but to get rid of Xun Zhen's crusade against Yuan Shu. A hidden danger to China.

Among the ministers who oppose Xun Zhen in the court now, only Dong Cheng has military power. Although Dong Cheng's troops are not many, only about 2,000 people, when Xun Zhen was in Xu County, he was not afraid of his 2,000 people. When Xun Zhen personally led the troops and horses to leave Xu County, and after the war with Yuan Shu in Nanyang, if Dong Cheng and the 2,000 men still let them stay in Xu County, it would not be very reassuring, and there might be some troubles. .

——Even if this possibility is very small, even if it is a little possibility, it cannot be allowed to exist, and it must be eliminated in advance.

Also because of this, when Xi Zhicai said that if Dong Cheng was transferred to him, what he said was that Xun Zhen would be more foolproof when he tried to harass Yuan Shu, not that he would be more foolproof to guard against Yuan Shao and others.

Everyone in the hall is smart, so when Xi Zhicai said these words, he didn't need to explain at all, he knew what he meant.

At this time, with Xun Zhen's acceptance, the matter was settled.

——As for whether Dong Chenghui is willing to follow Xi Zhicai to Luoyang? This was not considered by Xun Zhen and Xi Zhicai. A petition to the court to ensure that the court will pass is enough, Dong Cheng's personal wishes are insignificant.

……

Xi Zhicai said: "Ming Gong just said that he thought of three preventive measures, what is the second one?"

"It is Xu Rong's generals who will be ordered to take precautions and prepare for war from now on, and dispatch scouts to investigate movements in Yexian, Taiyuan, and Guanzhong."

Xi Zhicai asked, "What about the third rule?"

"The first two are mainly defensive, and my third one is to threaten attack."

Cheng Jia finally had a chance to speak. He said, "Duke Ming wants to order the troops stationed in Yanzhou and Qingzhou to threaten the eastern border of Jizhou?"

"exactly."

Xun Yu asked: "Dare to ask how Duke Ming intends to mobilize and arrange?"

"On the Qingzhou side, Zilong and Tian Kai have already been sent to Pingyuan County. I want to send Zhongren again, so that he can make a big splash and increase his troops in Jinan; on the Yanzhou side, I want to talk to Pan Zhang in Dongjun to force horses and soldiers, and talk to Wenqian, so that he leads the way. The department is from Shanyang County, and it is stationed in Jiyin County in the west." Xun Zhen looked around the people in the hall and asked, "Why do you think it's like this?"

Everyone has no objection.

Guo Jia smiled and said: "Ming Gong's three rules, the first two are defensive, the latter one is offensive, it can be called both offense and defense, coupled with the cooperation of Youzhou Liu He, Xian Yufu, and Yan Rou, it is enough to restrain Yuan Benchu. In Ji, it will not be allowed to go half a step south."

The battle of King Qin Chang'an not only increased Xun Zhen's political reputation, but also made him gain the righteousness of "according to the king's order to convict the ministers", and after this battle, in terms of the overall strategic situation, he also occupied the right position. Yuan Shao's relative initiative.

By acquiring Hongnong County, Xun Zhen consolidated his control over Henan Yin. To the east of Jizhou are Qingzhou and Yanzhou, and to the south are Hanoi and Henan Yin, which stabilized the rule of Henan Yin.

——As Youzhou has already expressed its obedience to the imperial court, after eliminating Gongsun Zan, if Yuan Shao cannot capture Youzhou as soon as possible, the strategic environment around Jizhou will further deteriorate. Fortunately, Yuan Shao had already deployed in Bingzhou in advance, and sent Gao Gan and Cao Cao to Bingzhou, which ensured the environmental safety in the west of Jizhou.

Of course, having said that, on the one hand, it is Xun Zhen who has formed a semi-encirclement of Yuan Shao, but on the other hand, the area bordering Yuan Shao and Xun Zhen is too long, so why not Yuan Shao can choose at any time? One of them attacked Xun Zhen? Especially in the junction of Qingzhou, Yanzhou and Jizhou in the east, except for the Yellow River, Xunzhen has no danger to defend. Once the Yellow River is breached by Yuan Shao, the hinterland of Yanzhou will be left to the troops of Yuan Shao's troops. "Relatively speaking. These need not be said.

Having said that, I might as well mention Zhang Yang again.

It is precisely because Xun Zhen stabilized Yin's rule in Henan and basically formed a semi-encirclement of Yuan Shao, so the importance of Hanoi County under Zhang Yang's control will be enhanced at present. Under the current circumstances, Hanoi County has actually become a buffer zone between the southern part of Jizhou and the territory of Xunzhen. It was also for this reason that Zhang Yang dared to send envoys to the court, and dared to show his favor to Xun Zhen, but Yuan Shao was able to endure his actions for a while. But like what Xun Zhen said, you still have to rely on yourself in everything. If you are close to Lü Bu, Zhang Yang’s goodwill is also not credible. It is certain that in the future competition with Yuan Shao, if Xun Zhen falls behind, Zhang Yang will definitely make him After changing his body, he would hug Yuan Shao's thigh tightly again. Therefore, Xun Zhen just listened to the words that Zhang Yang said, "I would like to defend Xun Zhen against Yuan Shao's southern Ping Dynasty." Because when talking about the three strategies to defend against Yuan Shao just now, Xun Zhen didn't involve Zhang Yang at all.

Three countermeasures, two defending the southern line, and one threatening to attack the eastern line, both offensive and defensive, very comprehensive.

The second thing to guard against Yuan Shao's incident is considered to have been agreed.

Xi Zhicai said that three things must be done before the war. The first two things, Xun Zhen can predict, but the third one, Xun Zhen did not think of what it was for a while, so he asked Xi Zhicai and said: "Qingyan three things, what is this third thing?"