I will be the master of Xuande

Chapter 719 Yuan Shao’s General Mobilization

Luyang is an important town in Nanyang County, and the senior officials know this very well.

Therefore, he believed that the major families in Nanyang County and Runan County would continue to send soldiers and generals to support Lu Yang.

However, whether they can wait for reinforcements from various places to arrive is a major difficulty for senior officials.

Therefore, Gao Gan came up with this method to make Gan Ning surrender.

He didn't want Gan Ning to actually surrender, but he wanted to delay Liu Jian's advance by pretending to surrender.

Although Gan Ning is young, he has been a famous hero in Shu since he was young. He is a brave man with great skills!

Although he was a little surprised at first, he quickly came to his senses.

He said to the senior official: "What do you want me to do, general? Go to Liu Jian's army in person?"

Gao Gan said: "That's not necessary."

Gan Ning stood on the city wall and watched his cronies land and quickly move towards the imperial army's camp, feeling mixed emotions in his heart.

He handed the letter and the seal ribbon he was awarded under Yuan Shao into his hands. Then he whispered instructions to his confidant and let him sit on the hanging basket and slowly fall to the city.

This confidant was discovered by the school officials before he got very far from the imperial camp.

After feeling safe, the school officials quickly reported the matter to Jia Xu.

What followed was that he was quickly captured.

"Did Gan Ning send you to ask for surrender?"

After entering the big tent, he first saw Liu Jian sitting on the main seat.

Report important information to Liu Jian.

At the same time, he asked the people in the commander's tent to suspend their discussions and distribute them to both sides.

"Meet the Prime Minister."

"Ning has admired the power of the Prime Minister for a long time and knows that the Prime Minister has pacified the four directions and is famous all over the world. Now Ning has no intention of fighting with the Prime Minister and prays for submission."

When Liu Jian's words came out, Lu Weihuang, Ma Yan, Zhang Kai and other generals in the tent burst out laughing.

The content of this letter is roughly as follows:

But out of caution, the school officials still carefully searched the messenger's body.

After a search, it was found that there was nothing on him except a letter and a seal.

After marching for a while, they had arrived outside the big tent.

Seeing Liu Jian looking at him, even though he was such a knight-errant, he couldn't help but feel nervous.

Jia Xu, on the other hand, went to see Liu Jian in person.

After receiving Liu Jian's order, these school officials escorted the envoy towards the big tent where Liu Jian was.

Facing such a prestigious figure, the messenger felt uneasy in his heart.

After writing this letter, Gan Ning immediately recruited a close confidant.

He took the initiative to say that he was the envoy of Colonel Gan Ning and requested to see the current Prime Minister Liu Jian.

When the school officials saw that the man in front of them could come out of Luyang and had such a calm expression, they naturally would not harm him.

Later, a school official came in to report to Liu Jian.

Liu Jian looked at the envoy in front of him with interesting eyes. He smiled and asked the envoy:

But despite being captured, Gan Ning's confidant showed no signs of panic.

Soon after, Liu Jian ordered someone to bring this person to see him.

"However, the young and old in the family are all currently in Wancheng. If we would rather submit, it will bring disaster to the family."

"I also hope that the Prime Minister will give you a period of ten days. When the ten days come, the city gate will be opened to welcome the Prime Minister!"

The envoy was born in Sichuan and Sichuan. He also accompanied Gan Ning as a ranger in the past and was extremely courageous.

The generals suddenly heard that the envoy from Lieutenant Colonel Gan Ning was coming, which inevitably made all the generals curious.

After leaving the main hall, Gan Ning hurried back to his residence and began to write letters.

After Liu Jian's order was conveyed, not long after, the envoy was taken into the tent.

"Today, the Prime Minister's army has arrived in Nanyang, and various tribes have moved south. Ning Yi has written to his family, asking them to move south. When the family leaves Wancheng and settles in the countryside, he will act as an internal response and open the city to surrender!"

……

"Don't be suspicious! Don't be suspicious!"

He ordered someone to get pen and paper, and then he wrote a letter.

But I don’t know if he can fall into the trap.

After saying that, Gao Gan raised his finger at Gan Ning, asked him to come over, and then explained softly.

Liu Jian was currently in front of the map, studying the future war with a group of generals. After hearing this, he immediately ordered to bring people in.

Gan Ning's cronies carried his letter of surrender and quickly headed towards Liu Jian's camp.

Everyone's laughter floated throughout the military tent, making the envoy look a little annoyed.

These bursts of laughter reflect the fact that the morale of the soldiers and horses in the imperial court is now high.

Under the laughter of the generals, the fear in the envoy's heart grew stronger and stronger.

The morale and scene in the imperial army camp are really completely different from those in Luyang City.

But he calmed down and took out Gan Ning's seal and letterhead from his arms and presented them to Liu Jian.

Liu Jian was stunned for a moment when he saw the envoy taking out two things.

The seal is the status symbol of an official. Gan Ning presented his seal envoy to him. The meaning of this is indeed worth pondering.

Then Liu Jian looked at Xia Houlan who was standing aside.

Xia Houlan understood and immediately stepped forward to take the letter and seal from the envoy's hand.

Under the watchful eyes of everyone, he placed the things on the table in front of Liu Jian.

Liu Jian opened the letter and read it carefully.

There was not much content in the letter, and Liu Jian had finished reading it quickly.

A thoughtful look appeared on his face.

Just after thinking about it, a smile of understanding appeared on his face.

This was a plan planned by senior officials and Gan Ning to wait for help.

He first asked the envoy to exit the tent, and then ordered Xiahoulan to pass the letter to the generals present for viewing.

Soon after, all the generals in the tent had read the contents of the letter.

After the generals read the contents of the letter, various expressions appeared on their faces.

Some people have a look of belief on their faces, some people have a look of doubt on their faces, and some people have a look of thinking on their faces.

The generals in the tent reacted this way because the content of Gan Ning's letter was indeed credible.

After all, Yuan Shao lost his troops and generals, and it was difficult to resist the imperial army. The Northern Expedition was no longer possible.

Liu Jian took advantage of the situation and marched into Luyang, with the potential to swallow up Nanyang.

Anyone with some foresight will know that Nanyang County is in danger this time.

Therefore, it is very possible that Gan Ning surrendered.

In particular, he also used his seal to counteract this, which shows his sincerity.

After all, this thing is not something that can be given to anyone casually.

But there are also skeptics.

For example, Zhang Liao.

"What do Wen Yuan think?"

Zhang Liao pondered for a moment and then replied: "Do you want help?"

"Hahahaha!" Liu Jian couldn't help laughing after hearing this.

"Wen Yuan is still a sensible person."

When everyone heard this, they suddenly realized.

"These southern thieves are really hateful. They actually want to use this method to delay time and wait for reinforcements?" Liu Jian said with a smile: "The problem is that the senior officials did not expect that I had never planned to attack the city. I am here to wait. It’s their reinforcements!”

"In this way, we just go along with the flow and give Gan Ning some face."

"Let the messenger come in."

Then, the messenger came in.

"Go back and tell your family Gan Xingba that Liu accepts his surrender and is willing to fulfill his concern for his family. You take my letter back and ask him to make arrangements quickly and don't break his promise."

The messenger was overjoyed when he heard this and nodded in agreement.

Later, Liu Jian personally wrote a reply to Gan Ning.

Soon the letter in Liu Jian's hand had been written.

Liu Jian handed the letter in his hand to the envoy and asked him to return to Luyang with the letter.

Although Liu Jian knew that Gan Ning's letter was a trick on his part, Liu Jian believed that he was a gentleman and treated each other with courtesy, so he should reply to the letter.

The messenger saw Liu Jian's gentle face and handed the reply letter into his hands, and he felt much more at ease.

The generals who had just left the tent looked at him angrily, and he thought his plan had been exposed.

Looking at Liu Jian's attitude now, it seems that everything is going smoothly.

After the messenger received Liu Jian's letter, he immediately left his tent in a panic.

……

The envoy soon returned to the city wall and handed the letter written by Liu Jian into Gan Ning's hands.

Gan Ning quickly went to find senior officials.

When the senior official saw Liu Jian's reply, he couldn't help but feel happy on his face.

He couldn't wait to open Liu Jian's reply and read it.

Sure enough, Liu Jian's letter was a very close attempt to win over Gan Ning, and at the same time told him to act quickly and not to be in trouble.

After reading Liu Jian's letter, Gao Gan immediately showed joy on his face.

"I don't want to think that Liu Deran also fell into my trap!"

"If that's the case, Lu Yang will have nothing to worry about!"

Gan Ning smiled and said: "Liu Jian was temporarily delayed by the general. The general still needs to send people secretly to break out and report everything in this situation to Duke Yuan!"

Gao Gan said: "That's exactly it!"

……

Later, Gao Gan sent people to Wancheng in Nanyang County to ask Yuan Shao to send troops and horses to assist.

At this time, Yuan Shao had just entered Wancheng, and before he had rested for a few days, he learned that Liu Jian had sent troops to Nanyang, and he himself had moved to Luyang.

Later, a letter asking for help from senior officials arrived.

Yuan Shao knew that Liu Jian was taking advantage of his illness to kill him. In the previous battle, he had lost troops and generals, but this time he planned to attack Nanyang again.

After realizing this, unless Yuan Shao really surrendered to the court, the only thing left was to prepare for war.

As a result, Yuan Shao had no time to rest and immediately held a meeting in the Animal Husbandry Department.

In the pastoral defense, Yuan Shao ordered people to summon the officials, generals and representatives of prominent families in the city.

Under the summons of Yuan Shao, because of his prestige, all the officials, generals, and powerful families in Nanyang County who could come now quickly arrived at the lobby of the Animal Husbandry Department.

After watching everyone arrive, Yuan Shao stood high in the crowded county hall and said to the people below:

"I have never been kind in the land of Jingchu. Now the traitor Liu has arrived with a large number of thieves. The people are frightened, the soldiers are frightened, and all the tribes are frightened!"

"This is a time when our survival is in danger!"

"Everyone knows what Liu Jian has done!"

"How many of them are there in Hebei, and there are so many poor families?"

"I am the shepherd of the country, the fourth generation and the third prince. I am originally responsible for guarding the land and borders for the emperor. I must die for my righteousness."

"Now that the bandit army has arrived, Liu Deran only wants to take my head! For the sake of wealth and wealth, the ministers can take Yuan's head and offer it to Liu Thief's ear!"

When Yuan Shao said these words, the generals and officials who had followed Yuan Shao for a long time all had sad faces, and some even burst into tears.

The noble families and powerful leaders in Nanyang County were also frightened.

When Liu Jian was in Hebei, and later in Luoyang and Chang'an, he forcefully implemented the New Deal. Although it was beneficial to ordinary people, it was nothing short of a disaster for high-ranking people like them.

At that moment, everyone in the audience said in unison:

"We are willing to live and die together with you, and we have no intention of ever returning!"

"I am willing to live and die with you!"

Seeing that everyone in the lobby expressed their willingness to live and die with him, Yuan Shao began to feel settled.

Defending the city means guarding the hearts of the people. As long as the hopes of Nanyang County can be of one mind and heart with him, Yuan Benchu ​​will not be without the power to fight against the powerful imperial army.

After all, the sect of the fourth and third sons of the Yuan family still has an extremely strong foundation in the scholarly community.

After knowing that people's hearts can be used, Yuan Shao looked at the people in the hall again and said: "If you are willing to live and die with me, then I will arrange for you to fight against Liu Thief with me today!"

"The previous Northern Expedition resulted in the loss of troops and generals. Now we have to dispatch troops and horses from the south. It is difficult to mobilize many troops at once. However, there is no shortage of food, grass and ordnance in the county. As long as there are people, the princes can hold on with me!"

After Yuan Shao said this, everyone in the lobby bowed to Yuan Shao one after another, expressing their willingness to obey Yuan Shao's orders.

Seeing that the opinions of all the clans in the city had been initially unified, Yuan Shao immediately began to issue orders in an orderly manner.

"Currently, Nanyang County can raise more than 30,000 soldiers and horses, Runan County can also raise more than 20,000 people, and Yingchuan County can mobilize 10,000 people!"

"But if each family is willing to donate two thousand disciples to help the battle, then tens of thousands more can be raised, and Nanyang County can be defended!"

After Yuan Shao finished speaking, the generals and officials had no objections.

The key issue still lies with those famous families and powerful people!

All of a sudden, each of their families was asked to provide two thousand disciples to help out. To be honest, it still made them feel distressed.

After all, the disciples Yuan Shao asked for from them were not simple strong men, but "private soldiers" they had carefully trained for the safety of their own family!

They spent a lot of money to raise these private soldiers. To them, one private soldier was worth more than ten ordinary disciples.

Seeing that these people were hesitant, Yuan Shao was not in a hurry to urge them.

He knew that creatures like powerful people from powerful families were the most selfish in nature, and they were just helpless people in troubled times.

But fortunately, their fundamental interests are consistent with their own, and they are disgusted with Liu Jian's New Deal, so they can be tied to a chariot.

Yuan Shao knew that eventually each of them would send out two thousand private soldiers.

Now, the key issue for Yuan Shao himself is not the two thousand private soldiers, but that once these two thousand private soldiers appear, it will cut off the retreat of these wealthy families.

At least it's equivalent to forcing them to take sides.

The power of these wealthy families is deeply rooted in Nanyang County. Without their support, Yuan Shao will not be able to successfully mobilize the millions of people in Nanyang County.

The most important thing is that if we do not get the full support of these wealthy families, then there is no guarantee that these wallflowers will not cause unrest in the city once the war begins.

In that case, his Yuan family would undoubtedly be plunged into a desperate situation.

That's why Yuan Shaocai specially summoned the wealthy families in the city. Maybe he couldn't get the sincere support of the wealthy families in the city, but as long as they obeyed superficially, it would be fine.

this is the key of the problem!

Most of the leaders of the prominent families in the scene were seen frowning.

Private soldiers are their darlings and important weapons to protect their property. To be honest, they are more important than their women.

Now Yuan Shao wants to take advantage of them, which will definitely make these wealthy families dissatisfied.

But no one wanted to be the first, and the entanglement with the Yuan family's interests for many years forced these people to comply.

Therefore, even if they were dissatisfied, the prominent families in the hall could only honestly accept Yuan Shao's arrangements.

They were willing to give each family two thousand disciples.

After the wealthy families in the city expressed their acceptance of the arrangement, Yuan Shao asked them to go home quickly to recruit private soldiers and wait for call.

Under Yuan Shao's order, all the wealthy families in the hall left one after another.

After all the big people in the lobby left, Pang Ji walked up to Yuan Shao and said:

"Lord, some people cannot be trusted at all."

Yuan Shao knew this very well.

But now the situation is critical, Yuan Shao has no choice but to do it.

Moreover, Yuan Shao believed that they had common interests after all.

"Yuan Tu, send the order quickly. After the troops and horses are mobilized, let them go to Luyang one after another to assist the senior officials! Liu Jian must be defeated... Of course, if Liu Jian can be killed or captured alive, that will be the best option. It couldn't be better."

(End of this chapter)