At this moment, Huangfu Song and Lu Zhi fell into deep thought again, clearly agreeing with Xu You's words, but they still couldn't come up with a solution.
But Guo Jia spoke up at this moment: "Do you think the Jingzhou navy is made of mud?"
"Tell me, how can the Yellow Turban Army, who are completely unable to swim, fight against the Jingzhou Army?" Guo Jia sneered.
"Besides, even if the Yellow Turban Army does manage to seize enough ships, don't forget, they have no navy!"
"In this era, unless there is a naval commander, no one can command hundreds of thousands of troops in battle!"
After listening to Guo Jia's analysis, Yuan Shao's face turned ashen; he had completely forgotten about this.
With just a few words, Guo Jia left Xu You speechless, forcing him to shut up awkwardly.
"Fengxiao, do you have any good ideas?" Huangfu Song asked.
The most important thing now is not whether the Yellow Turban Army will take the waterway or not.
Instead, the Yellow Turban rebels in Yuzhou and Qingzhou have also begun to move. At that time, Luoyang will be in danger. Should they go back to save it or not?
If we rescue him, Hulao Pass will fall; yet we cannot not rescue him. If we do not rescue him, the safety of His Majesty the Emperor is of utmost importance.
This is why Huangfu Song and Lu Zhi are now caught in a dilemma.
Guo Jia shook his head. At this moment, he dared not say that he would not return to aid Luoyang, for that would be to defy the world!
As a strategist, he would certainly not allow himself to be placed under a dangerous wall.
Even though everyone knew they couldn't go back to rescue them, no one dared to say it.
This is both an open and overt strategy, and Huangfu Song and his men, as Han officials, have a duty to go back and rescue them.
Huangfu Song sighed and said, "In that case, issue the order for the army to return to Luoyang to provide reinforcements!"
Huangfu Song dared not gamble, after all, the emperor's safety was more important.
"In addition, 30,000 troops will be left to guard Hulao Pass. No matter what, we must defend Hulao Pass. Who will guard it?" Huangfu Song asked.
The crowd looked at each other, but no one said a word.
Are you kidding me? Only 30,000 men? Who can hold out? Isn't that suicide?
Guo Jia also fell silent. Thirty thousand men guarding Hulao Pass was an impossible task.
Xu Huang's Yellow Turban Army numbered nearly 200,000!
Seeing that no one spoke, Lu Zhi stepped forward, sighed, and said, "Let this old man guard it!"
Although Lu Zhi was old, he still held considerable prestige in the court, and his words carried a lot of weight.
Huangfu Song took a deep breath and said, "Very well! Let Master Lu guard Hulao Pass. As for the rest, I'll leave it to you all."
Everyone said they had no problem with it, after all, Lu Zhi's decision to stand up under these circumstances was already quite righteous.
Guo Jia then stepped forward, cupped his hands, and said, "I am also willing to stay and help Master Lu!"
Seeing that Guo Jia had said so, Liu Bei also cupped his hands and said, "Master, your disciple is also willing to stay!"
"Good! Good! Good!" Lu Zhi said three times in succession, then turned to Huangfu Song and bowed, saying, "This old man is ashamed of failing His Majesty's favor, and I implore General Huangfu to successfully resolve the crisis in Luoyang!"
"Rest assured, Commander Lu, this humble general will do his utmost to protect Luoyang." Huangfu Song returned the salute with clasped hands.
Afterwards, everyone bid farewell and departed, preparing to head to Luoyang.
Previously, Yuan Shao also wanted to show his loyalty by staying behind to fight against the Yellow Turban Army, but Xu You stopped him.
"Ziyuan, why did you stop me just now?" Yuan Shao asked, puzzled.
Xu You's eyes darted around, and he said with a smile, "My lord, which is a greater merit: defending Hulao Pass or rescuing the emperor?"
Yuan Shao immediately understood Xu You's meaning. This guy is really clever; he actually thought of this.
"Haha, Ziyuan is indeed extraordinary!" Yuan Shao patted Xu You on the shoulder and praised him.
Xu You smiled modestly and said, "My lord is too kind. I am unworthy of such praise!"
After saying this, the two went to gather the remaining troops and prepared to follow Huangfu Song back to Luoyang to provide reinforcements.
On the Yellow Turban Army's side, Lu Li couldn't help but smile after receiving the news.
He achieved his goal; Huangfu Song dared not fail to return to Luoyang to provide aid.
However, he actually left 30,000 troops to guard Hulao Pass, and to Lu Li's surprise, Lu Zhi also stayed behind.
Lu Zhi's reputation was immense. Although it wasn't mentioned in the later Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Lu Li was aware of it.
This man is a great Confucian scholar of our time, with students all over the world, and he even seems to be gaining the upper hand over Xun Shuang.
Most importantly, Lu Zhi also had a more famous junior brother named Zheng Xuan.
This person is even more powerful than Lu Zhi, and has thousands of disciples!
He authored books such as "On the Seven Planets of Astronomy" and "Zhonghou," totaling over a million words, which are known as "Zheng Studies." He was the greatest synthesizer of Han Dynasty Confucian classics.
During the Zhenguan era, Zheng Xuan was listed among the twenty-two "foreign teachers" and was honored with a place in the Temple of Confucius.
In this era, the foundation of Confucianism is still very strong.
This was also a major headache for Lu Li. If Lu Zhi fought to the death to defend the city, the Yellow Turban Army would be completely on the opposite side of all scholars in the world.
Moreover, Lu Li greatly admired Lu Zhi's character and did not want Lu Zhi to die here.
With his knowledge, he should have taught more students, not spent his time on the battlefield.
"Master, you don't want to be enemies with Lu Zhi?"
Leif saw through Lu Li's thoughts and asked in confusion.
Lu Li nodded slightly. Lu Zhi was an upright person, and he didn't want Lu Zhi to perish here because of him.
"Sigh!" Lu Li sighed softly.
"I hope Lu Zhi can recognize the situation clearly."
Leif frowned slightly and continued, "I heard that Fengxiao is also at Hulao Pass."
As for Guo Jia, Lu Li naturally had a way to persuade him, but Lu Zhi, as a great Confucian scholar, had a deeply ingrained belief in loyalty to the emperor and patriotism.
"We both know Fengxiao's character well; he could never be loyal to the Han Dynasty."
"The only reason he stayed was to get back to Cao Mengde's side through us," Lu Li said calmly.
Guo Jia had already pledged allegiance to Cao Cao, so he wouldn't risk his life to defend Hulao Pass.
"So what should we do next? Should we turn around and attack Hulao Pass?" Leifu asked.
Huangfu Song and his men have already withdrawn, so now is the best time to attack Hulao Pass.
But Lu Li smiled and shook his head, saying, "No, Hulao Pass is easy to defend but difficult to attack. Even if Lu Zhi only has 30,000 men, it will be very difficult for us to break through."
"If Lu Zhi fights to the death to defend the city, even if we break in, we will suffer heavy losses."
Laifu nodded slightly. His master Lu Li's analysis was indeed reasonable, but what should they do next?
Lu Li narrowed his eyes slightly and looked south, slowly saying, "Enter Jingzhou, take the waterway, and head straight for Luoyang!"
"What? We really have to travel by water?" Leif exclaimed in surprise.
The expressions on the other people's faces changed instantly. Lu Li's decision was simply too crazy.
Their army was mostly composed of northerners. Fighting against the Jingzhou navy was practically suicide.
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