Overlord!

Hearing that Sun Ce wanted to help Liu Zhang, Zhu Ran immediately realized why Song Gong said that Liu Xuande was the one who would make Song finally rule the world!

Zhu Ran was a little surprised and asked: "Song Gong's intention is that Liu Xuande's attack on Shu will make Liu Zhang join Song Gong's command?"

Sun Ce, who has always been quite optimistic and confident, said with a smile: "I think this is quite possible. Now that the Central Plains is about to be decided, and the whole world is coming to Shu alone, it is reasonable for the Lord of Shu to ask for surrender."

"Liu Zhang is not a hero, and he does not have the courage to raise a state to fight against the world. All he wants is the wealth of the princes, and all these can be given to him. But if he fights to the death, after the army enters Shu, I am afraid that It is inevitable that he will die and his family will be destroyed. He will definitely be able to make a choice."

In these troubled times, not every prince has the ambition to join the competition among the heroes and strive for hegemony in the world.

Princes like Liu Zhang and Xian Yufu only wanted to separate themselves for the sake of glory and wealth. If other princes can also guarantee them good food and clothing in the future, they will be happy to choose a hero from him and hand over their troops to the other party.

And if this hero is like Sun Ce and has already unified the world, they will make a decisive decision for their own safety. Even the civil and military men under their command did not want to resist in vain and die in vain.

Liu Bei leading his army into Shu undoubtedly accelerated the decision-making process of Liu Zhang, Zhang Lu and others. Someone among them would definitely shout: "I would rather be a slave to Duke Song than a guest to Liu Bei!"

After all, the psychology of surrendering to Sun Ce and surrendering to Liu Bei are absolutely different. Surrendering to Sun Ce, he can say that he is paying tribute to the soil, obeying the destiny, winning and killing, and accumulating benevolence and kindness for a hundred years. He can also enjoy the position of duke and lord, be the founder of the clan and bequeath his descendants.

But surrendering to Liu Bei would be a humiliating and forced act.

Zhu Ran also agreed with what Sun Ce said, but he asked curiously: "I wonder how Duke Song wants to help Liu Zhang?"

Sun Ce said calmly: "The Han Dynasty has declined, and the only famous general under Liu Bei's command is Guan Yu. I ordered my servant Pu She to pass a letter to the Han Dynasty to conquer Guan Yu and go to the front line in Hebei to assist the king's division in fighting against rebellion!"

In addition to being the Duke of the Song Dynasty, Sun Ce also served as the Grand Sima, Lu Shangshu, assisted the government, and supervised the Chinese and foreign armies. He also supervised the military affairs of the thirteen states in the world to quell the rebellion of the Yuan family.

He is the de facto supreme commander of the Han army and has full authority over the world's military and military attachés. Anyone who is a Han general must be subject to his orders. What's more, he is now almost equivalent to serving the emperor to command the princes. Rather than serving the country to seek disloyalty.

The princes received his orders as if they were receiving an edict from the emperor, and no one dared to resist.

Guan Yu is not a general of the feudal lords who is wandering around now. He and Liu Bei are both direct ministers of the Han Dynasty.

Even if Liu Bei is leading his army towards the Han Dynasty, their subordinates are also the imperial army. Its generals and soldiers were all appointed by the court, which was completely different from the armies under the princes.

If Guan Yu is not summoned by Sun Ce, he can only resign and become Liu Bei's subordinate.

It is impossible to lead the army for the Han generals and at the same time resist the imperial court's orders. The last person who behaved like this was Dong Zhuo when he was in Xiliang.

The most fundamental basis for Guan Yu's ability to command the Han Dynasty army was the official position granted to him by the Han Dynasty. After he resigned, he would only serve as Liu Bei's subordinate, and he would not even be able to command the troops, and he would not be able to exert the combat power of the Han army.

In this case, even if Liu Bei led 10,000 Han troops, he would not be able to defeat Zhang Lu. Even with the help of the generals, Ma Chao, Liang Xing and others led an army of 20,000 to fight.

Thirty thousand coalition troops may not be able to take down Hanzhong, which Zhang Lu defended.

Zhu Ran had also heard of Guan Yu's reputation, and it was rumored that he was a tiger-bear general with ten thousand enemies. He transferred this fierce general from Liu Bei's command in order to drive Lu Bu away from Dong Zhuo's command, which could be said to cut off one of his arms.

"Song Gong's plan can be said to be a drain on the bottom of the cauldron, directly weakening the Han army's combat power. If the Han army and the generals in Guanzhong are delayed for a year and a half between the dangers of Hanzhong, the world will be settled."

On the other hand, Zhu Ran didn't care much about Guan Yu himself arriving at the Hebei front line.

On the Hebei front line, the Song army was already filled with fierce generals and famous teachers and troops gathered together.

The Dragon Bird Cavalry, Black Armor Cavalry, Beifu Army, Jiefan Army, Youzhou Cavalry, etc. all came to Zhao's capital.

The good generals who command these troops are no less talented than Guan Yu, and may even be better than him. Zhou Yu, Lu Meng, Zhuge Liang, Lu Xun, Taishi Ci, Zhang Liao, Xu Huang, etc. are all powerful in force and well-planned in strategy.

While Sun Ce and Zhu Ran were discussing, an embroidered guard hurriedly asked to see him and report.

Zhu Ran asked Sun Ce for permission, and after Sun Ce agreed, he went to ask outside the tent. After the other party whispered for a moment, Zhu Ran returned to Sun Ce, but the smile on his face could no longer be concealed!

Sun Ce raised his eyes, glanced at him, and asked, "What makes you laugh like this?"

Zhu Ran immediately said: "Song Gong, happy event! Great joy! Shen Rong, the captain of the east gate of Yecheng, took advantage of the chaos to send an envoy to contact our army. In order to respond internally, he opened the east gate to welcome the king's division."

"Oh?" Sun Ce was a little surprised: "The siege of the city has only lasted less than thirty days, how come there is someone in the city who is willing to open the door and surrender."

Zhu Ran explained: "According to the envoy, it was because more than ten thousand generals of the Song Army, Zhao Yun, left Changshan and entered Tunmao City, cutting off the Zhao Army's reinforcements and food routes in the direction of Bingzhou. The senior officials who wanted to lead the army to help were isolated from Shangdang within the territory.”

Zhao Yun has cut off the party food channel!

This means that the war in Zhongshan and Changshan in the north is coming to an end, and Bingzhou in the west is also isolated!

Yecheng has become an isolated city.

The isolated city cannot be defended for a long time. No wonder Shen Rong asked to surrender to the Song army early.

Once foreign aid is cut off, the Song army will definitely be able to hold on outside the city longer than the Zhao army!

Even if the Song army numbered 100,000, they could still transport a steady stream of grain and grass from Hebei, Yanzhou, Qingzhou, and even Huainan and Soochow.

This is the critical moment for a decisive victory. The victory or defeat of the two countries and the ownership of the world all depend on this battle. Even if it is a women's movement in the Southern War, the Song Army will gritted its teeth and persevere, and will not hesitate to plunder every grain of corn from the people.

However, the Zhao army was really helpless. Tens of thousands of troops were trapped in Yecheng. Even if Yecheng's food reserves were enough to sustain them for half a year or even a year, their fall was inevitable.

Sun Ce also immediately showed joy and said: "Let Zhou Yu be fully responsible for the decision-making of frontline military aircraft and attack Yecheng as soon as possible!"

At the same time, in Ye City, Yuan Shao was also facing a decision.

In just one year, Yuan Shao has obviously aged much. He was once a high-spirited man who wanted to sweep across the north and south of the Yellow River and be the undisputed overlord of the world. Now he has gray hair and wrinkles on his face.

The fact that his eldest son Yuan Tan died in battle and his beloved son Yuan Shang's life and death was unknown greatly damaged his mind, and his face was covered with old wrinkles.

In his state, it is still unclear whether he can sustain the Zhao army until the Song army is defeated.

What's even more confusing is that none of his heirs are in the city, leaving only his youngest son Yuan Mai.

With the country's foundation shaken, the ministers were panic-stricken, wondering whether they should change their families and support a new prince. At this time, the city was in panic and unrest, and everyone had no master.

But at this time, the situation became more complicated, with various sounds mottled.

A counselor sent by Cao Cao asked Yuan Shao to take the imperial title. As long as he goes to Emperor Hao, the reinforcements from Liyang will go north to attack the Song army.

If you have a strong Shen Pei, you should take advantage of the situation when the Song army is in disarray and the barriers are not yet strong, and take the initiative to send troops to cover the attack. Attack the enemy before his footing is stable, and you will definitely defeat the enemy.

The brave general advocated retreating to the palace city, advising guests to fight quickly and the host to be cautious. Now that the country has enough food and troops, it is advisable to stick to Taicheng and build a fence along the Huaihe River. Even if the Southern army comes, do not fight with it. This is to follow the story of Gongsun Zan, leaving only a few thousand elite soldiers to defend the palace city and fight against the Song army until it is exhausted.

There was also the timid Guo Tu, who advocated breaking out of the encirclement and heading north to Wuhuan. It is said that Your Majesty will have to equip his chariots and horses and rush north to Youzhou, and I will die in defense.

What moved Yuan Shao most was what Guo Tu said about going north to join forces with Wuhuan and then confront the Song army.

By this point in the Northern Expedition, the Song army must have been exhausted. After capturing Yecheng, they were unable to attack further north.

To conquer the Yan State area, the Song army would not be able to achieve it without one or two years of planning and preparation. This is not only a difficulty in combat, but more importantly in terms of logistics and popular support.

But once the main force of the Song army retreats from Hebei, Yuan Shao can gather hundreds of thousands of benevolent people, gather 100,000 Wuhuan cavalry and go south, sweep Youzhou and Jizhou again, and lead more than ten counties to rebel.

Yuan Shao was still unwilling to admit defeat, and the imperial hegemony disappeared.

So after thinking about it for several days, Yuan Shao believed Guo Tu's words and ordered him to supervise the defense of the palace and the palace people to prepare for it.

As a result, he had been waiting in the palace and Guo Tu had not returned.

But they only waited until Zhang Liao led 3,000 soldiers to enter Yecheng through the east gate, and marched straight into the palace!

He forgot that Guo Tu was also from Yingchuan. As a Central Plains nobleman, he could work hard with him in Hebei. How could he follow him to Youzhou?

When the Song army's fierce general Zhang Liao led his soldiers, they marched straight in and attacked the palace.

Yuan Shao suddenly took refuge, but his minister Cui Yan said seriously: "The southern troops will not commit any crimes when they come in. This is such an important matter, your majesty is in peace. I would like your majesty to dress up and stay in the front hall to wait for the generals of the Song army."

But Yuan Shao refused to comply. He left the bed and galloped into the harem, telling his queen Liu: "If I ascend to the throne with a weak crown, I will be famous all over the world; when I am deposed, I will be loyal and loyal; if I ride alone, Dong Zhuo will be frightened; I will go to the north of the river." , then Bohai will be the leader. He will rouse the soldiers of a county, gather the people of Jizhou, be powerful in Heshuo, and be famous all over the world. How can he be humiliated at the hands of a small child? I would rather hang myself than be captured by him."

So Yuan Shao hanged himself under a tree in the harem courtyard.

When Zhang Liao led his army into the inner palace, he saw that Yuan Shao had been dead for a long time.

With Yuan Shao's death, the resistance within Ye City finally collapsed. While the Song Army generals sealed off the palace and took over the treasury, messengers rushed to Wei County to deliver the news to Sun Ce!

Zhou Yu sent Zhou Lin, a member of his clan, to go to Sun Ce's tent in person, presented the imperial seal with both hands, and reported: "Song Gong, my army has conquered Ye City, and the Zhao family has overrun the rebels with two thousand people from Yuan Shao down."

The Zhao room collapsed much faster than Sun Ce expected.

When the armies of the two sides were in a stalemate, it was still difficult to tell the winner, but as the Song army approached Ye City, the situation collapsed as soon as possible!

One hundred thousand troops surrounded Yecheng, and without any disturbance, they directly attacked the capital.

Sun Ce immediately issued an order, saying: "All the officials of the false dynasty who have more than six hundred stones will be punished according to the canon!"

As Sun Ce's order sheet floated out, heads began to roll in Yecheng!

The Song army on the front line began to punish the officials, and all the officials and officials below were killed. Their general Xu Xun and more than 2,000 people were killed. There are 300,000 households in Hebei, with a population of nearly 2 million.

After Yuan Shao hanged himself, the Song army was divided into prefectures and counties.

Weijun, Zhaojun, Changshan, Zhongshan, Julu and other places all looked down upon the wind.

The senior cadre also led the nine counties of Bingzhou and asked to surrender. Sun Ce agreed, but still made him the governor of Bingzhou to reassure him.

However, Yuan Shang and Yuan Xi led more than ten thousand troops to flee to Youzhou and defected to Wuhuan territory, colluding with the Wuhuan Chanyu in an attempt to regain Hebei.

But at this time, Sun Ce had no time to talk to him. As Jizhou, Bingzhou, Qingzhou, and Yanzhou were gradually stabilized, Sun Ce could finally unify the Central Plains!

At this time, stabilizing people's hearts was more important than anything else. Even though he knew that the surrender of senior officials might revolt at any time, Sun Ce tolerated him settling in a corner.

Sun Ce now does not want to be like Cao Cao, who was already looking forward to the unification of the world, but in the end he insisted on going his own way and was defeated in Chibi.

The generals of the Song Dynasty, Zhou Yu, Lu Meng, Zhang Liao, Zhuge Liang, Lu Xun and others, all led troops to sit in Hebei. Even if there was war on the border, it would not be enough to affect the overall situation of the world.

And as long as it is not in chaos, all the forces around it can take control.

The longer time goes on, the better it will be for Sun Ce.

After all, he has a vast territory and a large population. After the autumn harvest, he will have enough troops and food, so he can easily crush all parties.

Therefore, in May, Sun Ce led the main force of the army back to Jiankang from Wei County, leaving only Zhou Yu in Ye County. At the same time, he ordered the three generals Lu Meng, Zhang Liao, and Taishi Ci to join Xian Yufu, Yan Rou, Qianzhao, Tian Yu and other Youzhou generals. A total of 20,000 infantry and cavalry troops will continue to march towards Youzhou and collect the territory within the Great Wall of Shanggu and Youbeiping.

At the same time, he also sent Jushou, an important minister of the Zhao family who was released from prison, to pacify the people in Hebei.

Because Jushu was imprisoned by Yuan Shao, he was spared from being slaughtered together with Shen Pei, Feng Ji, Xun Chen and others. On the contrary, because he had opposed Yuan Shao's proclaimed emperor, he was set up as a model to persuade the people of Hebei to abandon Zhao Tou. Song Dynasty.

Yuan Shao had been in Hebei for many years, and he was kind to the people no matter what, and he was quite popular. If he rebelled, he might attract hundreds of thousands of people to follow him.

Establishing Ju Shou as a model can also calm the minds of the people of Hebei and prevent them from worrying about being liquidated again. Moreover, Jushou was once one of the Three Dukes and had a very high reputation. He was the backbone of many surrenders in Hebei and would not easily launch a rebellion.

Hebei must be pacified, because at this time Sun Ce had not yet completed the unification of the world, and the Han court was still in Guanxi.

More importantly, the princes that Sun Ce valued most, including Cao Cao, Liu Bei, and Ma Chao, each supported tens of thousands of people and defended one side.

If these three people are not dead, Sun Ce will not be able to sleep peacefully!

Moreover, there are hundreds of thousands of people in Wuhuan and Xianbei in the north, and the Huns are fleeing in Bingzhou, and Goguryeo and the Western Regions have not yet surrendered. (End of chapter)