Chapter 718: The Stupid Gongsun Zan
An army without flags was marching along an unknown river in Youzhou.
When they reached the valley, the army slowly stopped and began to set up camp.
It was extremely quiet along the way. The soldiers knew nothing. The general leading the army had a solemn look on his face. It was Qu Yi.
Luo Yan got off the carriage, and Qu Yi rode over and asked, "Sir, we are getting further and further away. Now we have no idea where we are. How can we get to the designated location on time?"
The most taboo thing when marching is getting lost, so you either need a guide or follow the route recorded in the feng shui map.
Those paths are generally not used because marching is different from traveling alone.
Qu Yi's tone was a little anxious. The quiet territory was not a flat plain, especially in the north of Jicheng, where countless branches of the Yanshan Mountains extended out.
It would be unimaginable to get lost.
Luo Yan smiled softly and said, "Don't worry, General Qu. The way is here."
After saying that, Luo Yan took out an emerald green whistle in front of Qu Yi.
The whistle looked very ordinary, just like a whistle made by pulling out the inner part of a green branch that can be found everywhere on the roadside, and then drilling a few holes in the bark.
Qu Yi came from a very ordinary poor family in Liangzhou, so naturally he had never read history. However, he knew a little about the legend of the Luo family, and he was immediately a little surprised.
Could it be that the absurd legend that seems like a myth is actually true?
Luo Yan blew the whistle hard, and a very loud sound, even with a hint of sobbing, was heard.
The sound was so long and melodious that it spread to a very far place, and seemed to have reached the sky above.
"Bah!"
Qu Yi watched with his own eyes as a gigantic Saker Falcon flew in from a great distance, then circled above them as if to confirm their location, and then suddenly dropped down, stirring up gusts of wind.
The Saker Falcon was truly the sacred bird of Liaodong, extremely handsome, and when it landed in front of Luo Yan, it was extremely well-behaved. Luo Yan laughed out loud and reached forward to touch its head, and the Saker Falcon made a few noises.
"I see."
When the Saker Falcon stopped whimpering, Luo Yan fed the meat in her hand to the Saker Falcon. The divine bird looked at Luo Yan. Although it was clearly a flying bird, one could tell from its eyes that it was reluctant to leave.
Luo Yan waved her hand and said with a smile: "Let's go, let's go, we'll see each other next time. Bring your children here next time, and the Su Wang will bless your family. May you soar in the sky and never fall."
Qu Yi seldom saw Luo Yan smile so brightly, and seldom saw him speak so sincerely. Such beautiful wishes had never been given to him since he entered Hebei.
"Bah!"
The Saker Falcon whimpered again, then flapped its wings and flew straight up to the sky in a blink of an eye. In the next instant, it turned into a small dot and disappeared.
Qu Yi finally came back to his senses and swallowed his saliva, saying: "Sir, what are you doing...
Could it be true that the legend says that Luo Shi can understand bird language?"
Luo Yan laughed when she heard this and said, "General Qu, what are you talking about? How can a human understand bird language? The Luo family just has a method to understand birds and can get some simple information."
Qu Yi asked suspiciously: "Master, please don't lie to me. You were clearly communicating with that Saker Falcon just now."
Luo Yan couldn't help but burst into laughter and said, "General Qu, you are really something. Even if I can understand bird language, can the Saker Falcon understand human language?
Okay, let’s not talk about this anymore.
I already know our location. Now we just need to march forward another 100 miles and then turn south, and we will be able to ambush in the valley.
As long as the instigation plan succeeds, the next battle will be held there, and we will be able to arrive there tomorrow."
Although Qu Yi stopped asking questions, he couldn't let it go in his heart. After all, he watched Luo Yan use a broken whistle to summon the extremely handsome Saker Falcon, and then got the information about the march.
Now Luo Yan tells him that she cannot communicate with birds, how can he believe it?
Qu Yi felt that he was invincible in Hebei and no one could compare to him. Even in the whole world, there were not many people he took seriously.
But now Yuan Shao has been asking Luo Yan to follow him. This young master Luo is indeed quite different, and his various methods are incredible.
These methods are unique, and no one else can use them except Luo.
This made Qu Yi put down his arrogance a little. After all, he knew that Luo Yan was not the only member of the Luo family in the world.
Moreover, Luo Yan has a relatively low reputation among the Luo family’s disciples, and it is still unknown what abilities the other Luo family disciples have.
Qu Yi led the army to set up camp with some shock. He was a first-class general and had no problem with this.
Luo Yan's role was more like a military supervisor and strategist, but in fact, Yuan Shao gave Luo Yan a lot of power. At the most critical moment, he had the highest decision-making power of this army.
The prerequisite is that he can make Qu Yi listen to him.
Looking at Hebei for the time being, the only one who could achieve this, besides Yuan Shao, might be Luo Yan.
Others, not even Yuan Shao’s sons, can do it.
Qu Yi might be loyal to Yuan Shao's sons because of his loyalty to Yuan Shao, but he might not necessarily look up to them in his heart.
Luo Yan felt the wind blowing, he breathed in slowly, there was the moist smell of the river, and the smell of war about to begin again.
The war between Jizhou and Youzhou lasted too long.
Jizhou still has some strength left, but Youzhou has reached its limit. If they cannot fight a decisive battle with Jizhou, Youzhou will perish without a fight.
Jicheng.
Now, Gongsun Zan and Liu Yu both intend to exclude Yuan Shao from Youzhou, but their approaches are completely different.
Gongsun Zan and Liu Yu communicated with each other through letters across the camp and the city walls.
Gongsun Zan's attitude was consistent, which was to quickly fight a decisive battle with Yuan Shao and drive Yuan Shao out of Youzhou.
After Liu Yu received Gongsun Zan's letter, he threw it on the ground and cursed: "What a fool! You only know how to fight. If I can win, don't I know how to fight?
Gongsun Zan was afraid of Yuan Shao like a tiger, which led to his defeat in every battle.
Why fight even if you can’t win?
What other outcome could there be except self-destruction?"
Liu Yu felt like he was about to die of frustration. Gongsun Zan was so stupid that it made him anxious. He was a typical example of a man who appeared to be powerful but was actually weak.
They kept saying they wanted to fight, but they were actually cowardly on the battlefield, withdrawing their troops at the slightest casualties. They were not as strong as the troops under Liu Yu. It was obvious that they were afraid of the Hebei Army.
But after the fight, he seemed to have forgotten how he lost before, and started shouting again.
Liu Yu thought to himself that if he handed over Gongsun Zan's army to him, Yuan Shao would never be able to enter Youzhou, unless the food and grass of the entire Youzhou were exhausted and he was forced to surrender.
In Gongsun Zan's camp.
Facing Liu Yu's criticism, Gongsun Zan regarded it as an insult and cursed: "If it weren't for this old bastard Liu Yu who withheld our army's food and grass, causing our army to be exhausted every time, how could our Youzhou Iron Cavalry be no match for those short-legged people in Jizhou?
They are actually planning to negotiate with Yuan Shao. Yuan Shao came here to annex Youzhou. How can they negotiate?"
The division in Youzhou was so obvious that from top to bottom, everyone knew that Liu Yu and Gongsun Zan were not in harmony. Neither of them could swallow the other, and they wanted to unite but it was impossible for them to really unite.
Especially when facing Yuan Shao's army, both of them were worried that their troops would suffer too much damage, which led to them being frequently defeated by the Hebei army on the battlefield.
Youzhou's power was originally inferior to Jizhou's, and now it is split into two. The result is obvious.
Liu Yu and Gongsun Zan both knew about the current situation, but had no way to solve it. The only way was to get rid of the other person.
But that's just too difficult.
It is not an easy death for the leader of a region, especially since Gongsun Zan has been staying in the military camp. The only one in danger is Liu Yu. After all, he is in the city and there is a high possibility that he will be assassinated.
The plan formulated by Yuan Shao's advisers was to intensify the conflict between Liu Yu and Gongsun Zan, making the two feel that if they did not unite, the destruction of Youzhou would be imminent.
…
"The Hebei Army is here to challenge us."
This battle report was transmitted to Gongsun Zan and Liu Yu at the same time.
The Hebei Army has always been delaying the enemy as much as possible, with its main goal of killing them with food and supplies, but now it is actually taking the initiative to attack.
Liu Yu felt a little strange, but this was an opportunity after all.
Gongsun Zan was bound to go to war. Although he was very unhappy with Gongsun Zan, he could not just watch Gongsun Zan go against Yuan Shao alone.
The Youzhou Iron Cavalry under Gongsun Zan are the most elite soldiers in Youzhou. If they are killed here, Youzhou will certainly not be able to be defended.
The army led by Liu Yu was mainly composed of powerful nobles from Youzhou, while the army under Gongsun Zan was mainly composed of powerful nobles from border counties such as the Gongsun clan.
The two men rode forward. Liu Yu looked at Gongsun Zan with a cold face, but he saw Gongsun Zan, contrary to his usual behavior, bowed to him and said, "Lord Bo'an, how are you?"
Liu Yu casually bowed his hands as a return gesture. Seeing this, Gongsun Zan felt a chill in his heart and said in a cold voice, "Lord Bo'an, I am the Marquis of Ye appointed by the imperial court. Is your attitude inappropriate?"
Liu Yu pointed at Yuan Shao's army and said, "There is a saying in Youzhou that I'm sure you are very familiar with: the Hu people never believe in words, but in swords.
Since you are a marquis of the imperial court, and Yuan Shao's army is there, use the sword in your hand to let Yuan Shao know that you are a marquis of the Han Dynasty, not just someone who talks big here."
Before Gongsun Zan could say anything, he heard a loud laugh. He saw Yuan Shao approaching the front of the battle line and laughing at the two men. "Lord Bo'an, what I said before is still valid. What do you think?
If Lord Bo'an is willing to be crowned emperor, Marquis Anyang and the two Lu brothers can honor you as emperor, just like Liu Bei of Xuzhou. Why wouldn't Lord Bo'an be willing?"
Liu Yu said coldly: "Yuan Benchu, you don't need to say anything more. Deposing and enthroning an emperor is something that only treacherous ministers like Dong Zhuo would do.
Since you are unwilling to admit that you are a traitor, why do you do these things?
As for myself, I don't have the destiny to inherit the throne of the Han Dynasty. Even if I ask it a thousand times or ten thousand times, it is impossible. "
Yuan Shao sighed with emotion and said, "What a pity, Lord Bo'an, there are so many Han royal relatives in this world.
But how many are as talented as you?
Why do you want to cling to that false emperor Liu Xie?
Do you really think that Liu Xie, the fake emperor, is qualified to sit on the throne?"
The strong wind blew up the corners of Liu Yu's clothes. His wrinkled face and beard fluttered. It was obviously a funny sight, but because his voice was too solemn, it seemed particularly different.
"I don't care who sits on the throne, but he must be the emperor of the Liu family. He must be the most undisputed one. That's what a great Han dynasty is."
Liu Yu said loudly, "King Wu of Zhou once wanted to pass the throne to King Su, but King Su said that the emperor already had an heir, so passing the throne to his younger brother, isn't this the root of trouble?
If Bang Zhou wants to pass on, it must strictly implement the patriarchal system.
Since the end of the Pre-Han Dynasty until the present, a hundred years after the Post-Han Dynasty, it is precisely because of the constant accidents in the succession of the emperor that the emperor's authority cannot be established.
This is exactly what I want to say now. His Majesty Jian'an became the emperor because the patriarchal system chose him.
This is good, the dignity of the Han people is established in this.”
Upon hearing this, Yuan Shao forced himself to hold back his laughter. Only that waste Liu Xie could establish the majesty of the Han Dynasty. He had been under Cao Cao's command for quite some time, but had not taken any action. Judging from his previous performance, Liu Xie did not seem like a capable emperor.
Yuan Shao didn't laugh, but Gongsun Zan laughed out loud.
He never expected that Liu Yu, who had always been against him, actually had such childish ideas in his heart. Cao Cao was a great man, so how could Liu Xie be able to fight against him?
If it was Emperor Min Liu Bian, it would be okay. After all, Liu Bian had the unrivaled Marquis Luo Kong by his side. Although he could do nothing against the powerful Dong Zhuo, he might still have a way to take back power against Cao Cao who had not yet completely grasped all power.
Liu Yu certainly knew what Gongsun Zan was laughing at. He felt a little angry, but he didn't know what he could be angry about.
This is the reality today.
The Han Dynasty royal family was in decline, and almost all loyal ministers and generals had died, leaving only a few people such as Ying Hou. However, Ying Hou was more optimistic about Liu Bei and did not comment on the real descendants of the Han Dynasty.
"Oh my God, where is the hope for the Han Dynasty? Is it really in Liu Xuande? His bloodline is too remote."
Liu Yu looked up at the clear blue sky. He felt that the gusts of wind were like ropes that slowly tightened on his body and bound him, making it impossible for him to break free.
Countless voices rang in my ears. Those were what my father had said to me.
"Boan, we must ensure a peaceful world."
"Boan, you must revitalize the Han Dynasty."
"Boan, we must eradicate the treacherous villains."
"Bo'an, you must be an upright official and live up to the world."
A series of voices rang in his ears, and then flashed through his mind the oath he made when he entered the official career as a young boy, that he would revitalize this exhausted world.
Over the past few decades, he worked diligently and made great contributions, ranking among the Three Dukes, the pinnacle of an official. At the last moment, he became the governor of Youzhou, guarding an area for the Han Dynasty. Compared with the rest of the people in the world, his start was much better.
But even so, we are now in this situation.
The big man seemed to be getting weaker and weaker. He didn't know what to do and could only follow his feelings.
“Boom boom boom!”
When the sound of war drums rang out on the battlefield, Liu Yu woke up from his deep memories.
The Hebei Army launched an attack!
On this vast battlefield, the Hebei Army, Gongsun Zan Army and Liu Yu Army were quite clearly divided. Gongsun Zan and Liu Yu were both worried that the other side's defeat would lead to their own defeat, so there was a distance between the two sides.
Yuan Shao and the other people in Hebei looked at the Hebei army's attack with expressionless faces, but the looks in their eyes seemed as if they were expecting something.
This seemed to be just a normal fight.
The final result may still be that there is no clear winner, and the battle will be called off in the end. At least for now, the morale of the three parties is relatively stable.
The Youzhou cavalry has great flexibility and impact force. The vanguard soldiers are not here, so the Hebei army's cavalry is naturally inferior to the Youzhou cavalry.
The Hebei army could only hide behind shields to ensure that they would not be hit by the arrows thrown at them.
Liu Yu soon sensed something was wrong.
Because he felt that the Hebei army was too strong, his son rode over and shouted, "Father, it seems that the Hebei army has mobilized all its elite troops to our side. This is not right. How dare the Hebei army allow Gongsun Zan's army to attack?"
Although Liu Yu looked down on Gongsun Zan, the strength of the Youzhou cavalry under his command was very strong.
If the Hebei Army mobilized all its elite troops, there would inevitably be problems facing Gongsun Zan's army. After all, although Hebei is strong, its military strength is limited.
When facing the Youzhou Iron Cavalry, it usually takes 1.5 to 2 times the number of elite troops to fight back. This is the natural disadvantage of infantry facing cavalry, provided that the first-line death squad does not take the field.
Liu Yu looked towards the place where Gongsun Zan and Yuan Shao were fighting. The battle was very fierce. The Youzhou cavalry, just like in the previous attack, pressed the Hebei army fiercely, while the Hebei army, just like before, first defended and then counterattacked.
The war between the two sides was very tense and there was no change.
Liu Yu had a bad feeling in his heart. Could it be that more of Yuan Shao's elite troops had arrived on the battlefield?
But Lu Bu did not show up!
These people are obviously from the Hebei Army, and are not the Bingzhou Wolf Cavalry under Lu Bu at all.
Moreover, Liu Yu knew that Bingzhou was also surrounded by powerful enemies. Since Lu Bu had left Bingzhou before, he might have been targeted by someone and he could not move lightly.
The most important thing is that the Hu people on the grassland are also gathering and trying to attack Henan, that is, the Hetao grassland, which is now Jiuyuan and other counties in Bingzhou. As the governor of Bingzhou, the most important thing for Lu Bu now is to protect his hometown.
It is impossible for him to abandon his own home and travel thousands of miles to Youzhou to assist his in-laws. His relationship with Yuan Shao is not yet that good.
The alliance between Bingzhou and Jizhou was not that deep.
What's going on?
What's going on?
Liu Yu thought hard but couldn't figure it out. He didn't understand how the Hebei Army's strength could have improved so much in such a short period of time.
Although he didn't know the reason, Liu Yu knew that he couldn't go on like this, otherwise his army would most likely be defeated by the Hebei army on the battle formation, which would in turn affect the entire front.
What surprised Liu Yu was that Gongsun Zan did not retreat directly this time just because the Youzhou cavalry suffered damage. Instead, he became even more eager to fight.
Sitting in the center of the army, he kept calling for an attack. It seemed that this time Gongsun Zan was really ready to fight Yuan Shao to the death.
Liu Yu was just thinking about what he should do when he saw a rider enter the battle array and said loudly: "Report to the governor of Youzhou, my general said that he has some special troops that he has secretly trained and will definitely defeat Yuan Shao's army in one battle. I hope the governor can hold on and the crisis in Youzhou can be resolved."
A surprise attack?
Liu Yu had never expected that a man like Gongsun Zan could actually train such a strange army. It seemed that the continuous failures in recent days had made Gongsun Zan reflect deeply. Was he really going to cheer up?
Thinking of this, Liu Yu gritted his teeth and said, "Reply to your general, our guild will resist the offensive of the Hebei Army here and will never let the Hebei Army break through our defense line."
After the messenger left, Liu Yu's son Liu Shen came over and asked anxiously, "Father, how can our army resist such a strong Hebei army?
What should we do if Gongsun Zan's surprise attack doesn't work?"
Liu Yu said in a deep voice: "Son, although your father has always wanted to negotiate with Yuan Shao to buy more time, and even to form alliances, such as contacting Cao Cao, Liu Bei, and even Lu Bu to attack Yuan Shao together.
But there is no peace that can be sought in this world. If you want Yuan Shao to agree to peace talks, you must make Yuan Shao understand that it is absolutely impossible for him to enter Youzhou by force.
Although we cannot actually do this, we must make Yuan Shao believe it.
This requires us to fight desperately, to the point of scaring Yuan Shao and letting him know that it will cost a huge price to seize Youzhou.
Only if the price is high enough will he consider whether to fight to the death. "
Liu Shen frowned and said, "Father, Yuan Shao is a wise ruler recognized by the world. He is determined to seize Youzhou now. So many setbacks before could not change his will. How could he give up the conquest of Youzhou because of a little setback?"
Liu Yu was silent for a moment, then said feebly: "Normally speaking, of course it's impossible, but as long as you give him enough benefits.
Faced with a situation where his interests are fully satisfied, but he may end up with nothing in return.
A smart person like Yuan Shao would know what to choose."
Liu Shen understood what his father said.
There is a phrase in this world called "put money in pocket and run".
During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, such incidents occurred quite frequently, with the victorious country ceding land from the defeated country and demanding large amounts of money and grain as compensation.
After the end of the Warring States period, this style of play basically disappeared, but only because the winners usually took the losers away in one wave.
If there is a stalemate between the two sides, then the game of ceding land can be carried out.
This was the case when Liu Biao ceded Jiangxia County in Jingzhou and brought Jiangxia into the sphere of influence of Jiangdong.
If Liu Yu agreed to cede Zhuo County and other places in Youzhou to Yuan Shao, Yuan Shao might not mind withdrawing his troops and making a comeback later.
"It's the only way!"
Knowing his father's thoughts, Liu Shen only sighed and said, "I will lead the army to fight."
Then he turned and left. Liu Yu looked at Liu Shen's back, feeling a little desolate and even uncomfortable. How could the once mighty Han Dynasty end up in this situation?
Liu Yu was well-read, especially the Records of the Grand Historian, which he read countless times and was fascinated by the stories therein countless times.
Thinking about it now, when Liu Yu carefully savored the countless words about the country's demise in the Records of the Grand Historian, he could hardly hold back his tears.
Although I have never seen it, the tragic and heroic postures of the kings of those days, or the ugly posture of kneeling down when their countries were destroyed, are still vivid in my mind.
"Lord Boan!"
Yuan Shao's voice came again, "If you are willing to be emperor, I will leave Youzhou today. This is the last chance for the Han Dynasty!"
Before, Yuan Shao asked him to proclaim himself emperor on the battlefield, but Liu Yu still didn't understand what Yuan Shao wanted to do.
But at this moment, Liu Yu was very happy. He finally understood why Yuan Shao wanted to support him as emperor at this time.
Because Yuan Shao saw the benefits that Cao Cao would gain by holding the emperor hostage and establishing the princes, he was tempted, but Liu Xie was someone he could not get involved with, and apart from Liu Xie, he was the person whose enthronement would be least likely to cause a huge reaction.
After all, his bloodline is very close to the current royal family. Whether in terms of his status and seniority in the Liu family or his status in the world, he is already a relatively perfect candidate.
As long as he is willing to proclaim himself emperor and become Yuan Shao's puppet, just like Liu Xie to Cao Cao, Yuan Shao will gain great initiative in politics.
This is why Yuan Shao never forgot it.
But Liu Yu would never agree. Even if he died, he wanted to leave an image in history books as a man who died for the Han Dynasty, rather than an image of a clown who wanted to become emperor but was trapped in the imperial city for life.
At his age now, apart from the prosperity of the Han Dynasty, the only thing he cares about is his reputation after his death.
Before Liu Yu could answer, Gongsun Zan shouted angrily, "Yuan Benchu, don't waste your time. If you have the ability, you can take Youzhou. We in Youzhou will never surrender. If you want to take Youzhou, you have to step over our dead bodies."
Liu Yu did not expect Gongsun Zan to be so ambitious, and immediately said in a loud voice: "Yuan Benchu, no need to waste words. As Gongsun Bogui said, if you want to get Youzhou, you have to step over the bodies of the two of us."
The voices of the two were spread by the soldiers and reached Yuan Shao's ears from afar.
Yuan Shao, who was behind the heavy army, said with some amusement: "This is fate."
Looking at the huge casualties of his own army, Liu Yu felt his heart bleeding, but Yuan Shao's army also suffered heavy casualties, and also had no strength to attack again.
Accompanied by the sound of the gong, Yuan Shao's army slowly retreated, and soon retreated very far away, completely leaving the battlefield.
Liu Yu finally breathed a sigh of relief, but then he heard the sound of fighting and killing again. His heart immediately tensed up again. Later, Yuan Shao came back to kill him. Liu Shen rushed over with blood all over his body, and said angrily: "Father, Gongsun Zan is attacking us!"
(End of this chapter)
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