Three Kingdoms

Yecheng.

Don't look at how Taishi Ci shocked the people of Jizhou when he was under Yecheng, and scared them out of their wits. But in fact, Yecheng's city defense is still very strong, and before, Taishici only traveled out to attack, and did not Attacking the city directly, no matter what, after so many years of construction by the Yuan family, it is not an exaggeration to say that Yecheng is the most powerful city in Jizhou.

Guo Tu stood on the city tower with his hands behind his back, looking at Xin Ping who was walking away with concern. Until all the smoke and dust stirred up by Xin Ping and his entourage disappeared, he still looked at it, motionless for a long time, with his brows tightly furrowed and a gloomy look on his face. densely covered.

Xin Ping came to him last night and had some discussions with him, but in the end they didn't come up with any result, and they even had a quarrel because of it...

But Guo Tu knew that part of what Xin Ping said was very likely to happen.

If the three Yuan brothers cannot work together, then the legacy left by Yuan Shao will be over! Similarly, people like Guo Tu who are attached to the Yuan family will lose their foundation and their glory and wealth.

But the problem is...

In order to keep his position, Yuan Shang even summoned the reviewer Feng Ji Guotu and others three times a day, as well as some big gentry in Jizhou. They even said bluntly that if they supported Yuan Shang, Yuan Shang would reciprocate and give him a favor. Official positions, exemption from taxes, and promotion of filial piety and integrity are basically all that can be given, and Yuan Shang has given them. This means that even if everyone regrets and turns to Yuan Tan, Yuan Tan may not be able to give him anything. Yuan Shang came with better conditions.

Under such circumstances, many short-sighted guys are still waiting for the two Yuan brothers. No, strictly speaking, it should be the three brothers who are fighting each other to see who offers better conditions in the end, which one will eventually fall to... …

What?

The great Han Sikong Cao Cao?

It doesn't matter, you don't have to pay taxes under that person? Wouldn’t it be handed over to anyone? Maybe after the Yuan family and Cao family finally decide the winner, life will be better, at least they won't have to worry about receiving some temporary recruitment orders asking for money and food every day!

Therefore, those who are constantly weighing the pros and cons and making a huge difference due to one decision are those like Guo Tu.

Guo Tu didn't have any big objections to Yuan Tan or Yuan Shang, but because Yuan Shao was leaning towards Yuan Shang before, Guo Tu, who had reached the maximum level of observation, was naturally very close to Yuan Shang, so that Now many people think that Guo Tu must support Yuan Shang, but sometimes Guo Tu can't help but wonder, maybe Yuan Tan is better?

Of course, just think about it.

Yuan Tan's own ability is not very good, Guo Tu knows this, but then again, Yuan Shang's personal ability...

"What are you worried about, Mr. Feng Ji?" Feng Ji came over. The wind blowing on the top of the city made his long sleeves flutter.

"Brother Yuan Tu..." Guo Tu cupped his hands and said without changing his expression, "When Zhong Zhi leaves, I'm afraid... there will be a battle..."

Feng Ji nodded, but still didn't care, and said: "If the eldest son raises an army, he will be seeking death!"

Guo Tu also agreed with this point. This was also the consensus among them that Yuan Tan's invasion of the army would definitely do more harm than good to Yuan Tan. If Yuan Tan was a smart man, he would never do this. Dry.

It's very simple. First, Yecheng is a majestic city. The majestic city is not only difficult to attack, but also means that there is a considerable amount of food and utensils reserves in Yecheng. Even if it is really besieged and attacked, it will not be a short time. It can be conquered, but according to Yuan Tan's military strength, it is absolutely unable to meet the criteria for capturing Ye City.

Secondly, it is the autumn harvest now, so once Yuan Tan starts the war, he will have to cut off the taxes. How much taxes can Qingzhou have? Doesn't it depend on Jizhou's supply? Therefore, if Yuan Tan sends troops, there will be a dead end with no way out! Besides, as an elder brother, he cannot establish an image of being humble, tolerant, respectful and gentle, but instead has to use swords and guns against his own brothers. Will anyone support Yuan Tan?

Finally, it is Cao Cao's problem.

Therefore, the judge and even Guo Tu himself felt that Yuan Tan was bluffing and was unlikely to lead the army directly. After all, the income and expenditure would be disproportionate, and Yuan Tan should not be that stupid.

Then, once the autumn harvest is over, taxes will naturally be concentrated in Yecheng one after another. Both Yuan Tan and Yuan Xi must rely on taxes from Jizhou to survive. Therefore, I am afraid most of this matter will be left alone. …

From another perspective, Yuan Tan has no chance at all. So what if Yuan Shang controls Jizhou? Guo Tu believes that if Yuan Tan can compete with Cao Cao and even suppress Cao Cao, I believe that soon many people will know how to choose, and there is no need to compete with Yuan Shang now.

This is the right way!

It's a pity that Xin Ping didn't accept it...

Xin Ping said that if these matters in the rear cannot be determined now, how can Yuan Tan be reassured to resist Cao Cao on the front line? If Yuan Tan can't resist Cao Cao, can Yuan Shang be able to resist him? In this case, it would be better to support Yuan Tan directly, which would avoid causing chaos and give Cao Cao a chance!

What Xin Ping said makes sense. However, things in the world cannot be done just because they make sense, nor can they be done according to whoever makes more sense. If Yuan Tan could be like the hussar general Fei Qian, holding a large number of powerful soldiers in his hands, even if there is no reason, it will become reasonable...

At the same time, when Yuan Shao was in power, the problems that were left behind, or that Yuan Shao deliberately caused, also broke out at this moment.

Yuan Shao advocates the art of balance, so the one with an upright attitude among his advisors will be suppressed by Yuan Shao, while the weaker one will be supported by Yuan Shao. When Yuan Shao rules the whole army by himself, this is not a big deal. Problems, or even if there are problems, Yuan Shao can generally adjust and deal with them. However, now that Yuan Shao is no longer under control, who will be the boss and who will be convinced? Who hasn’t been at odds with each other these days?

Especially Guo Tu himself. A lot of dirty things have been done in the past two years. Although many of them were done according to Yuan Shao's wishes, but now that Yuan Shao is dead, there is no evidence of his death. Secondly, normally, no one can cause trouble for a dead person. , so the trouble fell into Guo Tu's hands. Because Yuan Shang needs his own support, he will not plan some dirty things. If he follows Yuan Tan, there is not much foreshadowing and foreplay before. If there is friction, it will definitely be extremely painful...

Therefore, Guo Tu was also very conflicted. Even though he knew that the current approach was not very good, after weighing the pros and cons, it could only be like this.

……_(:3　∠)_……

In autumn mornings, the air is always fresh and cool, but Yuan Tan feels like a fire has been lit in his heart, constantly burning and roasting, making him painful and uneasy.

Yuan Tan sat almost all night, with dew soaking his hair. When the morning sun rose from the east and the first ray of sunlight penetrated Yuan Tan's eyes, he suddenly woke up.

The rising sun is rising in the east, its rays of light shining brightly.

Yuan Tan stood up and stretched his body, which was aching from sitting for a long time at night, and then called the guards to prepare for washing, breakfast, etc...

Xin Ping heard the sound and came forward, bowing his hands.

Yuan Tan covered his face with a hot towel and said muffledly under the hot towel: "The third brother must think that I am scaring him...right? He must think that I am scaring him...just like when I was a child, I often It's like saying I want to beat him..."

Xin Ping: "..." Xin Ping considers himself a good counselor. As a counselor, he makes plans for the superior with all his heart. As for whether to adopt or not, or which direction to take, the counselor cannot replace the superior to make the decision. Once something is decided above, the counselor's responsibility is to do it well.

"...At that time, he will go to his father, and then his father will come over and scold me..." Yuan Tan's voice was slightly hoarse, "But he doesn't know that I never really wanted to beat him! I I just want my father to say a few more words to me...even if my father scolds me..."

Xin Ping lowered his head and sighed softly.

"I want to take another look at my father..." Yuan Tan threw the towel that had lost its heat and looked a little cold to the ground, "But my good brother... he still guarded him... even for the last time. You won't even give it to me! One last time!" Yuan Tan almost screamed at the end.

Xin Ping was speechless for a long time, and then he said after a while: "Young Master, have you considered it?"

Yuan Tan took a deep breath, nodded and said: "Think about it... we will raise troops today! Go straight to Yecheng!"

……((ノ*t_t*)ノ┴—┴……

"Is the eldest son crazy?" Feng Ji stood on top of the city, looking at Yuan Tan's flags and soldiers, and couldn't help shouting.

Guo Tu was silent.

Shen Pei, who was on the side, also shook his head and did not speak for a long time. After a while, he looked up at the sky and said with some sadness: "After this battle, Yuan..."

"Dong...dong dong..."

Before Shen Pei could finish speaking, he was interrupted by the sudden sound of war drums. Shen Pei's heart couldn't help but beat loudly along with the war drums. He looked at each other with Guo Tu, then rushed to the battlements in a few steps and looked into the distance.

"Dong dong..." The drum sound became more and more intensive and louder, and gradually turned into a roaring sound.

Inside and outside Yecheng, there were people and soldiers, and everyone's hearts were beating violently with the sound of war drums in the distance.

"Ah ah ah..." A sharp voice sounded from the side. Shen Pei turned around and saw Yuan Shang waving his arms on the city gate tower and screaming, "They are coming up! Fight, fight!"

Shen Pei let out an imperceptible sigh, and then shouted in a deep voice: "Bang the drum! Get ready to fight!"

The fierce and violent sound of war drums suddenly rose into the sky.

Shen Pei stood behind the battlements and watched Yuan Tan's army gradually appearing from a distance. He turned to Yuan Shang and said: "Young Master, you have no eyes for swords and guns. Please go back to the city. I will definitely be able to protect the safety of Ye City. Young Master." Don’t worry.”

Yuan Shang nodded, "Okay, I'm waiting for good news..."

Seeing Yuan Shang return to the city under the protection of his guards, Shen Pei's eyes wandered, and then he looked back at Yuan Tan's army that had formed a military formation and was gradually approaching Ye City.

"This is a real fight..." Guo Tu on the side muttered, "A real fight... This, this is really..."

There was silence.

The large banner standing high on the city tower whistled in the wind. Shen Pei looked up and saw that the huge character "Yuan" on the big scroll was rolling violently like a wave, and below the city, there was also a character "Yuan" that was rolling continuously.

……(/?Д?)/……

"Are you all ready?" Yuan Tan asked in a deep voice while riding on horseback, looking at the top of Yecheng.

The military lord next to him nodded in agreement.

"Then let's fight!" Yuan Tan raised his arms and roared, "The war has begun! The war has begun..."

Because Ye City was powerful and Yuan Tan did not have that many soldiers and horses to besiege such a large Ye City, after clearing the camps outside the city, Yuan Tan could only choose to attack from one side and feint from the other.

Originally, there were military strongholds outside Yecheng, and sometimes there were even three. However, Taishi Ci burned one back then, and later when Yuan Shao went south to attack Cao Cao, he basically took away all the soldiers in the military stronghold. After the defeat, due to various reasons, these military villages have never returned to their peak state. Now they are basically occupied by the old and weak and laborers, so Yuan Tan led the army. At that time, with almost no effort, they cleared the surrounding areas of Ye City and began to launch an offensive against the main city of Ye City.

Because the progress around Yecheng was going smoothly, Yuan Tan couldn't help but have some expectations, some more and bigger expectations.

Xin Ping had previously proposed a relatively safe plan. Xin Ping believed that since Yuan Tan had decided to compete with Yuan Shang, he could not just focus on Yecheng, but must focus on the whole of Jizhou. Since he took action, he must win. Otherwise, the consequences will be disastrous. Therefore, facing the majesty of Ye City, it would be best if we can defeat it without fighting. If not, we should not waste too many soldiers on Ye City, otherwise we will not be able to get replacements even if we can finally defeat Ye City. Victory may not be able to cope with the complex situation in the future...

Yuan Tan originally thought that what Xin Ping said was right, but now, stimulated by the success of Yecheng's periphery, Yuan Tan began to feel that Yecheng could also be as smooth as the periphery, and he could succeed in one fell swoop!

The two battle flags with the word "Yuan" were getting closer and closer, and then there was an earth-shattering sound. The sound of war drums, shouts, fighting, and screams resounded up and down the walls of Ye City!

Long black arrows were flying in the air, and bloody swords and guns were whistling in the wind!

Dozens of ladders were raised high, and soldiers wearing the same cyan uniforms fought together!

Huge stones fell violently down the ladder, and thick wooden logs fell from the sky with the sound of wind and thunder!

This is Yecheng.

This is where the Yuan family arose.

Now, Yuan Shao's body is still cold, and the heirs have raised their swords and guns to each other...