Chapter 406: Hanoi in Hand
It's not that Yuan Shao blamed the wrong person. The fact that Lu Bu launched an attack on Jizhou at this time was certainly not an arbitrary decision made by General Hu Ya, nor was it an order from Zhang Liao, the governor of Youzhou.
This kind of harassment operation across states and counties could only have been arranged by Qiao Yan.
During the work report in Luoyang in January this year, the first order that Lu Bu received from Qiao Yan was to launch an attack on the border of Jizhou every half a month starting from March this year. Now it is March, and it is time for Lu Bu to start implementing this plan.
It has to be said that Lu Bu was also quite depressed.
He never imagined that Qiao Yan's invitation to Lu Lingju would actually be to return to Chang'an to deal with the assassination by idiots like Wang Yun, and that this assassination would eventually become Qiao Yan's coronation ceremony.
What Lu Lingju was responsible for was equivalent to rescuing the emperor, and Lu Bu did not participate.
Lu Bu did not participate in the coronation ceremony of the Emperor of Dayong.
Lu Bu still didn't see the fireworks scene that was presented to the world for the first time.
Although this kind of "non-participation" is not a treatment he suffers alone, given the vast geographical distances between the various states in the world and the suddenness of Qiao Yan's ascension to the throne, what can we say? It is not the lack of wealth that is worrying, but the inequality of wealth.
But Lu Bu's stupidity has its advantages. His frustration at not being able to seize the first credit has now transformed into a desire to fight against Jizhou!
It doesn't matter if I can't participate in the coronation ceremony, it's also okay to participate in the final battle to unify the world!
What finally made Lu Bu somewhat satisfied was that before his trip, he followed the instructions given to him by Qiao Yan and completed the drawing of lots for the strategy for this trip under the supervision of Xun You. The one he drew was not "turn back immediately after attracting the attention of the opponent's defense", but to fight with the opponent until casualties occurred and then return.
Can fight!
The cavalry who had followed Lu Bu into Gao Lan's army had become increasingly familiar with the terrain of Youzhou in the past two years, and they were even more confident in charging recklessly during this sudden attack.
What's more, he happened to choose the best time to attack.
The situation in Yanzhou changed, and Yuan Shao took Xu You there personally without making any explanation to Ju Shou who was on the northern defense line. This forced Ju Shou to focus part of his attention on observing the movements in the south.
Qiao Yan had just ascended the throne, and was the replacement for the Han Dynasty. He must have devoted some of his energy to stabilizing the internal situation first. He would not launch an attack on Jizhou at such a quick speed, which made Ju Su inevitably neglect the north. Instead, he believed that Qiao Yan would first ensure that the war around the eight passes of Luoyang was over.
Lu Bu's action, which was intended to harass, did not even involve much troop movement, which made his sudden attack even more unpredictable.
If Gao Shun had not been on guard against the north at all times and made various arrangements for his garrison in an almost harsh manner, Lu Bu's attack from the south would have probably caused a big disaster.
But Yuan Shao, who had just returned to Jizhou at this moment, did not know the specific situation of the battle in the north. The moment he heard the news of Lu Bu's attack, he thought of the frustration that he had to use Tian Feng's family to exchange Xin Pi and Gao Lan.
The depression in his heart that had been building up along the way, and the impact of this mixture of resentment and anger, caused him to faint.
The official of Liyang County felt that he had suffered an unprovoked disaster.
The fact that he did not doubt Yuan Shao's identity when he had no subordinates with him and appeared in such an embarrassed state was proof that he had some ability in vision. After Yuan Shao fainted, he immediately sent a fast horse to report to Yecheng and sent Yuan Shao there by carriage.
Even so, when he arrived in Yecheng and was taken to Yecheng by Yuan Shang who had rushed over, he was still subjected to a barrage of criticism. He was so angry that he almost wanted to resign and leave.
Is it his fault that Yuan Shao is in this state now?
The prison van heading to Yanzhou passed through Luoyang, and some rumors would have reached him more or less.
He originally thought that it was somewhat ridiculous for Yuan Shao to personally go to Yanzhou to participate in this matter. But first there was Yuan Shao's embarrassed image, and then there was Yuan Shang's rebuke without asking the reason, and he also hoped that he would keep his mouth shut about the matter, I'm afraid it's not groundless.
He watched coldly as Yuan Shang took Yuan Shao in. He thought that as the third young master grew up, Yuan Shao had shown increasingly obvious favoritism in the treatment of his sons. He also felt that there were other unstable factors in the precarious situation in Yecheng.
But Yuan Shang, who brought Yuan Shao in, had no time to care what the other party was thinking.
Seeing his father in such a dying state, Yuan Shang was extremely panicked, but he still looked somewhat calm thanks to his good-looking face, and quickly sent someone to summon the imperial physician.
While waiting for the diagnosis and treatment results, he also hurriedly asked people to summon Guo Tu and others who were in Yecheng, just hoping to get some help from them in this situation where no one was there to take charge.
Xin Pi was supervising the battle on the front line in Henei County, Xin Ping was in Qingzhou, Ju Shou and Shen Pei were in charge of the north, Xu You... Xu You was escorted to Chang'an, Tian Feng had already defected to the enemy, and Xun Chen had recently been suspected by Yuan Shao because of Xun You and Xun Yu. The only ones left were Guo Tu and Feng Ji.
Although his father had told him in his early years that it was fine to listen to what Guo Tu and others said when the situation was still okay, if the situation was critical, he should not believe much of what they said.
But no matter how Yuan Shang thought about it, he felt that even if he could no longer be trusted, it was still much better than making the decision here.
"Ridiculous! As your father's son, what you should do now is to support the overall situation instead of doubting your own ability." When Yuan Xi hurried over, he saw Guo Tu had also arrived. He quickly pulled Yuan Shang aside and said.
"Don't accuse me of scaremongering you because Guo Tu wants to please his father. I am afraid that you will hurt my father."
Yuan Shang gritted his teeth and said, "Everyone is here now. What's the point of you telling me now? The only thing we can do now is to restore father's health as soon as possible and stabilize the situation."
The news of the loss of Yanzhou and Yuzhou had already reached Jizhou a few days ago.
After Guo Jia captured all the Yanzhou noble families one by one, knowing that Yuan Shao had not yet returned to Yecheng, he directly conveyed the good news that "Yanzhou had submitted to Dayong".
The scouts set out from a county town close to Dongjun and crossed the old course of the Yellow River in an attempt to gather information, but were intercepted by Xiahou Yuan who was stationed in Dongwuyang, proving the authenticity of the news.
At this moment, Yuan Shao's disappearance had already caused an even more uncertain atmosphere within Yecheng.
Only if Yuan Shao appears in public can this state of unrest among the people be changed.
Even the excuse made by Emperor Liu Bian to the court officials and the military and civilians of Yecheng that Jizhou was safe was of no use as the emperor's authority was repeatedly weakened.
Yuan Xi looked coldly at Guo Tu's hidden thoughts at the moment, and warned Yuan Shang, "You'd better do this!"
Fortunately, the imperial physician who went to check Yuan Shao's physical condition gave them good news.
Yuan Shao's physical condition was still good, but he was too tired after the forced march and the long journey with little food and clothing. He also suddenly heard that something had happened on the other battlefield, so he was furious and showed such symptoms.
Just take some nourishing food for two days and it should be fine.
But it's best not to do anything too stimulating to him at this time.
However, Yuan Shao was in such a high position as the general, and was the "number one figure" who supported the Han Dynasty and fought against Qiao Yan. It was not possible for him to resign from the responsibilities he had borne.
When Yuan Shao finally regained consciousness after some treatment, he heard from his subordinates that the emperor had come in person to visit him to check on his condition.
If other people came to see him, they could be temporarily received by Yuan Shang and Yuan Xi, and they would make appropriate responses based on the advice of Yuan Shao's advisers. But since Liu Bian came in person, it was impossible for them to stop him outside and use the excuse that Yuan Shao was still ill.
It is rare for the emperor to personally inquire about the health of his subjects.
The most recent time was probably when the former Grand Marshal Qiao Xuan was about to die, Emperor Ling of Han, Liu Hong, finally felt guilty and went to see him. And this visit was somewhat caused by Qiao Yan.
In theory, this should be considered a great honor received by the ministers.
However, when Liu Bian stepped into Yuan Shao's residence and came to his bedside, Yuan Shao, who had just woken up, looked at Liu Bian who appeared in front of him and found it difficult to feel that this was any special treatment different from that of others.
When Liu Bian saw that Yuan Shao was conscious, he dismissed his attendants and walked in front of Yuan Shao. He showed panic on his face without disguising it at all. When he held Yuan Shao's hands, he sighed and said, "General, why did you have to do this?"
Yes, Yuan Shao also wanted to know how they had ended up in such a situation.
The emperor, who originally had territories of only four states, now only had the territory of two states. There was no difference between him and being the governor of two states. He even had to distribute the power under him according to the official positions in the Han Dynasty court.
The redundant official system could not allow Liu Bian to continue to maintain the dignity of the Emperor of the Han Dynasty at this time. Instead, it would only make people feel more desperate because of the further reduction of the territory.
Yuan Shao felt that this was probably not his illusion. It was becoming increasingly difficult to sense the demeanor of a royal noble in Liu Bian.
He is more like a clown trying to cling to his old glory.
In Liu Bian's eyes, Yuan Shao vaguely saw his appearance at this moment.
What almost defeated him was not the exhaustion of traveling alone, but the fact that he should have been ahead of everyone else from the very beginning due to his family background, but he could only watch helplessly as his opponent rose to prominence, and eventually devoured him step by step with such an ambitious plan.
He clearly had so much support in Yanzhou, but it seemed as if all this support and solidarity were castles in the air that could be shattered with one blow.
This is the case with Yanzhou, but what about Jizhou?
The moment he heard the news of Lu Bu's invasion, the only thought that filled his head was -
Can he really do anything to turn the tide with these last two states?
This caused him to age at a terrifying speed in both appearance and state of mind, but he was unable to go against the current as he was swept up in the current situation.
Just as he was trying to find a little hope in his reflection, he heard Liu Bian ask in a voice that seemed to be seeking a lifeline: "General, where should we go now?"
Except for the sea area east of Qingzhou, all the territories they controlled have been surrounded by Qiao Yan.
Even Bohai Sea can be connected to Liaodong in Youzhou through the sea fleet at any time, and it is not possible to escape by floating on the sea.
In the face of Qiao Yan's successful record of ordering ships to sail from Xuzhou to Liaodong, Liu Bian dared not harbor any luck.
He tried to get an answer from Yuan Shao that would put his mind at ease. For example, they could still make the Han officials in the world respond to their call as planned, or they could seize the base camp where Qiao Yan made his fortune by attacking Bingzhou, so as to gain a springboard to regain control of the world, or there might be some other feasible plans.
This made him look even less like an emperor.
But all he got from Yuan Shao was this: "Your Majesty, please do not make a mess. As long as there is a Han minister in this world, I will be loyal to your Majesty. Give me two days to rest and I will carefully plan for your Majesty."
Liu Bian looked at Yuan Shao's pale face and knew that this was not the time for him to force others.
Two days is fine.
It will take some time for the battle between Yanzhou and Yuzhou to end and for power to be transferred. They should be able to wait for these two days.
But in the rapidly changing situation, Yuan Shao had to intensify the defense of the passes on all sides without any delay, so he didn't have two days to escape from reality.
Yes, in Yuan Xi's view, Yuan Shao's behavior was just escapism.
However, neither he nor Xun Chen, who was sitting on the bench, had much say in Yuan Shao's place, and could not do anything to dissuade him. They could only watch Guo Tu make a suggestion to Yuan Shang, asking him to cater to Yuan Shao's preferences and be a good son who was filial to his father, in order to cheer up Yuan Shao in this way.
"This so-called family happiness, rather than cheering up the general, is making him feel more and more that he can temporarily hide in the backyard and just remember that he is a father, not a general of the Han Dynasty." Xun Chen shook his head and sighed in his heart.
Various forces of the aristocratic family bought shares and allowed him to serve under Yuan Shao in his early years.
But when Xun Yu, Xun You, Xun Yue, and even Xun Shuang who had died before Qiao Yan ascended the throne, had all made real choices of their positions before she ascended the throne, buying stocks had long been meaningless.
Unfortunately, now is not the time for him to leave Yecheng. Just like the Grand Marshal Yang Biao actually intended to resign because of Yang Xiu's attitude, but Yuan Shao would not let them go at this time even if he wanted to avoid them.
Never mind, I'll just wait a few more days.
But even Xun Chen did not expect that the sudden change would come faster than he thought.
Almost immediately after Yuan Shao woke up, the Luoyang defenders were mobilized to the northern front and crossed the river from Mengjin.
The garrison in Bingzhou joined forces with the garrison in Hedong County and simultaneously marched eastward to invade Henei County.
This was a powerful attack launched under Qiao Yan's command, aimed at seizing back the last missing corner of the Sili Xiaowei Department!
When the front line was in crisis, Zhang He sent an urgent report to Yecheng, hoping to get reinforcements as soon as possible. At the same time, he issued an order to mobilize troops in the direction of Chaoge, ordering Wang Kuang to push all the defenders of Henei to the center of the melee between Henei, Henan Yin and Hedong County.
But when Zhang He's subordinates arrived in Chaoge with his transfer order, they received fatal news.
Wang Kuang ran away!
He simply threw away the official seal and fled, taking only his family with him overnight, without taking any property, supplies, or subordinates with him.
Zhang He was already feeling overwhelmed by the fierce attack, and then this sudden change occurred in the rear, which was simply a dilemma of adding insult to injury.
"Why would he do this?" Zhang He asked in disbelief.
The one arriving at the front line now is Zhang He, not Wang Kuang.
There was no Yanzhou army marching north to attack and directly attack Chaoge.
If the troops in the direction of Yecheng could be deployed in a timely manner, they would have the hope of resisting such a fierce attack.
But Wang Kuang's departure directly cut off Zhang He's support, so it was really hard to say what the outcome would be.
The subordinate who went to Chaoge replied: "Because... Chaoge's soldiers are gone."
How could Wang Kuang not run away?
After handing over the garrison of Henei County to Cao Cao, he carefully paid attention to the situation in Yanzhou.
Cao Cao was so confident at the time that he even said that the loss of Yanzhou might be blamed on him. Wang Kuang had no choice but to lend him the troops. But even if things were sent out, he still had to inquire about their whereabouts and confirm when they would be returned, let alone people?
However, what Wang Kuang did not expect was that the situation in Yanzhou could be described as taking a sharp turn for the worse.
The final result is that Cao Cao changed sides!
After Cao Cao's surrender, the soldiers Wang Kuang had loaned out naturally became Qiao Yan's subordinates as Cao Cao's position changed. It was simply impossible to make Cao Cao have a change of heart and return them to Henei County.
Even before Luoyang and Hedong launched attacks on Henei, Wang Kuang had already decided to escape.
He would never dare to tell Yuan Shao about the stupid things he had done.
In the past, he had done some things like forming cliques for personal gain and making Chang Lin and others migrate towards Bingzhou. That was just a minor incident at best, but he had destroyed a part of the life-saving troops of Henei County and even aided the enemy. Now that the Han Dynasty was already at a disadvantage, who knew if Yuan Shao would chop him off as a sacrifice after learning about this?
It actually has a morale-boosting effect.
At this moment, he no longer thought about whether he could still have any wealth.
Thinking about how he had thoroughly offended Qiao Yan in his early years, he might not get any benefit even if he offered Henei County to Qiao Yan, so he might as well run away.
The world is so big, there must be a place for him to live in seclusion... right?
Since he had to escape suddenly, it was impossible for him to inform Zhang He and Xin Pi in advance.
So when Zhang He sent someone to find him to mobilize troops, he had already run away for several days.
I don’t know if it’s because the principle of superiors following subordinates is particularly evident in official circles, but when Wang Kuang ran away, all his subordinates who had worked with him in his early years also ran away, fearing that the blame for the mistake would be put on them because of Wang Kuang’s escape.
So no one informed Zhang He who was at the front line in advance, and no one told Yecheng about the situation.
By the time Zhang He sent people to borrow troops, it was too late.
How is he supposed to fight?
Even a skilled cook cannot cook without rice, and a commander of a war certainly cannot launch a counterattack without troops at his disposal.
If he could have the support of the Henei County garrison and wait until troops were dispatched from Wei County to help, Zhang He would have dared to hold on for a while longer in this terrible situation.
Now……
Zhang He frowned, and then he heard Xin Pi say, "General Zhang did not intend to betray the general. It was God's will. In order to keep the soldiers under his command safe, he had to make a choice. I think people will not say that you are a coward. They will only say that you are abandoning darkness and joining the light."
He raised his eyes coldly and looked at the other party, and asked: "Are you asking me to surrender to the enemy?"
Xin Pi actually did not expect that the situation in Henei County would deteriorate to this extent because of Cao Cao's interference, but because of the letter he had sent to Qiao Yan earlier, he was calm when facing Zhang He's questioning.
He replied: "I said, this is abandoning darkness and joining the light."
Zhang He vaguely heard some special meaning in Xin Pi's tone.
Xin Pi might not have made the decision to abandon Yuan and join Qiao after knowing that Wang Kuang had made such a move, which had turned the battle situation in Henei County into the current hopeless state, but he had already had such an idea in mind.
But considering that Yuan Shao had been suspicious of Xin Pi in the past two years and even transferred him away from the northern front, it is not surprising that he would act like this.
As the sound of the attack horn outside became louder and louder, and the number of soldiers in his own camp was decreasing day by day, Zhang He knew that he had no time to hesitate.
"We will surrender to Dayong."
Perhaps even if Yuan Shao had not rested at home for these two days, the war situation in Henei County would still be irreversible.
This is because it is impossible to gather so many manpower from Yecheng in a short period of time to provide support to Henei County.
How difficult it is to use the strength of two states to fight against the rest of the world!
That will inevitably lead to militarism.
The weather this year has finally allowed the people of Jizhou and Qingzhou to look forward to a good harvest, and at this time they have already eagerly devoted themselves to farming the land. It is hard not to cause public resentment if conscription is launched in such a hurry.
However, before Yuan Shao had the chance to recruit soldiers, when he finally appeared in the court, he saw an urgent military report presented directly in front of him.
Also arriving at the same time was an envoy from Luoyang.
It is said that when two armies are fighting, they will not kill envoys. But when this person opened his mouth, Yuan Shao clenched his palms tightly and tried his best to stay awake.
The ominous premonition that had arisen since the other party appeared reached its peak when those words were spoken.
"The Inspector General of the Imperial Guards ordered me to come here to express my gratitude to General Yuan."
Thanks?
These words don't sound like something Xun Yu would say, but rather like Qiao Yan's teasing tone.
Maybe it was because she was the emperor at the time and it was inconvenient for her to make such jokes, so she simply used the name of Xun Yu.
"First, I would like to thank General Yuan's subordinate, Governor Wang, for lending the Henei garrison to General Cao, helping him to quell the civil strife in Yanzhou. This also prevented General Cao from supporting General Zhang Junyi, so he chose to abandon his post and flee."
"Secondly, I would like to thank General Yuan for training his subordinates and making them sensible and able to make wise judgments on the current situation. General Zhang Junyi and Xin Zuozhi had no reinforcements and had no choice but to flee to Luoyang. From then on, Henei County was again under the jurisdiction of the Sili Xiaowei Department and was no longer different from other counties."
If Yuan Shao was already filled with anger when he heard this, then when the last sentence was spoken, he almost vomited blood from anger.
"Thirdly, I want to thank General Yuan for fleeing back to Jizhou to save his life in order to ensure the continuation of the Han Dynasty. He resolutely abandoned Mr. Xu Ziyuan and let him fall into the siege of our army. I am grateful for General Yuan's respect for him over the years. I have written a long article and printed it in the Leping Monthly."
"I'll send it to you during my visit today. Please enjoy it, General Yuan."
Tasting? What a tasting.
This is probably something that will make him so angry that he will explode and completely expose his true colors!
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