Ji Han Liu Zhang

white horse.

After being fooled by Cao Cao's feint to the east and attack in the west, Yuan Shao vowed to wash away the shame of being fooled. He issued an order to march south. As soon as the order was given, the Hebei army stationed in Liyang began to move south.

Not long after, the vanguard light cavalry led by Yan Liang and Wen Chou crossed the Yellow River and arrived at the city of Bai Ma.

Light cavalry is not convenient for attacking a city, so Yan Liang and Wen Chou planned to wait until the follow-up troops arrived with siege equipment before making plans for the siege. They only dispatched light cavalry scouts to gain a thorough understanding of the area around Baima City.

However, when Yan Liang and Wen Chou were patrolling near Baima City, a scout who was spying on Baima City came up to them and said, "General Yan, General Wen, something seems to be wrong in Baima City."

"Is there something wrong?" Yan Liangchui asked.

The scout reported what he saw: "There are no flags hanging in Baima City, no soldiers patrolling, and the city is too quiet, as if it is an empty city."

"Empty city?" Wen Chou looked confused. How could Baima City, as a stronghold for monitoring Baima Ferry, be an empty city? This matter was very weird.

The scout also showed hesitation, and he said in a somewhat uncertain tone: "I think it is most likely an empty city. We still need to find out the specific situation."

"Let's go and take a look." Yan Liang turned his horse and signaled Wen Chou.

"Okay." Wen Chou responded and followed Yan Liang's footsteps.

Soon, Yan Liang and Wen Chou arrived at the foot of Bai Ma City, but saw that on the top of the city wall, there were no flags hanging, no guards patrolling back and forth, and it was quiet, as if it was indeed an empty city.

Yan Liang and Wen Chou looked at each other, and as their eyes met, they came up with a plan. Yan Liang pointed at the scout who had brought the news and said, "Go, take a closer look. If everything is ok, climb up the city wall."

"Me!" The scout was shocked when he heard this. At the moment, they were only an arrow's throw away from the White Horse city wall. Without knowing the actual situation in the city, this was a safe distance.

And now, Yan Liang ordered him to go closer to check, step into the range of arrows from the top of the city wall, and climb up to the top of the city wall. In case the city had lowered its drums and flags and pretended to be unguarded, he would be afraid that his life would be lost here.

However, military orders are as firm as mountains. Even though the scout was unwilling, he had to obey orders and move forward.

As if there was an abyss ahead, the scout walked very slowly, step by step. As he got closer and closer to the White Horse city wall, he did not suffer any harm from the top of the city wall. The scout gambled his courage, strode forward, and came to the foot of the White Horse city wall.

Looking up at the city wall that was several feet high, the scout swung the claw rope on his body upwards. The claw rope flew straight up and landed on the pheasant dish of the city wall. After testing whether the claw was hooked tightly, the scout held the rope with both hands and used his legs and feet to climb up to the top of the city step by step.

The scouts kept looking upwards. Generals Yan Liang and Wen Chou, who were only an arrow away from the Bai Ma city wall, kept looking upwards with the scouts' figures. When the scouts reached the top of the city wall and flipped over into the pheasant dish on the city wall, the two generals couldn't help but hold their breath.

If the scout who climbed over the city wall was safe and sound, it would mean that Baima City was indeed an empty city. If there were Cao's soldiers guarding the top of Baima City, the scout's screams and corpse would have been thrown down from the top of Baima City.

"General Yan, General Wen, there is no one on the city wall, and no guards are seen."

As Yan Liang and Wen Chou were waiting, the scout who had climbed up to the top of the city wall stood up and shouted loudly to inform them of the situation on the top of the city wall.

"Really no one." Yan Liang showed a puzzled look at first, but then he smiled. It seemed that Cao Cao had lost his courage and did not dare to confront the Hebei army. Otherwise, why would he abandon the important stronghold of Baima City?

After exchanging a glance with Wen Chou, Yan Liang extended his hand and ordered, "Enter the city."

When Yuan Shao led his central army to Bai Ma, he learned about the situation in Bai Ma City from Yan Liang and Wen Chou.

"That is to say, Cao Mengde abandoned the white horse and left." Yuan Shao chuckled with a hint of sarcasm.

Yan Liang bowed and replied, "That is true. Cao Mengde knew he could not win and did not dare to defend Bai Ma against our Hebei army, so he fled overnight."

"How cowardly Cao Mengde is." Chunyu Qiong complained.

As Chunyu Qiong said this, all the civil and military officials in the tent burst into laughter. The tent was suddenly filled with a happy atmosphere, and even Yuan Shao, who was always good at cultivating his character, smiled.

Now, they have taken down Baima City without any effort, without losing a single soldier. This is a victory without fighting, and it is the best military strategy. This is a happy thing, and it is no wonder that the people of Hebei in the tent are happy.

Deputy Driver Tian Feng noticed that everyone looked down on Cao Cao when our strength far exceeded that of Cao Cao. He sighed silently in his heart. As the saying goes, arrogant soldiers will easily fail, especially when facing a cunning commander like Cao Cao.

After pondering for a moment, Tian Feng said, "Mingsir, we should send scouts to find out the movements of Cao's army, so that we can be prepared and avoid any danger."

Yuan Shao, who was in high spirits, didn't take Tian Feng's words seriously. He just agreed cheerfully: "Just as the deputy driver said, send out scouts to find out the movements of Cao's army. Although this battle went smoothly at first, we still need to be careful."

"Yes." All the generals in the hall responded in unison.

At night, the stars and the moon are obscured by clouds, and there is no light all around. It is a night with a relatively dim vision.

However, even in such a dark night, Yuan Shao raised his eyes to the sky, trying hard to see the stars behind the clouds. The so-called resonance between heaven and man, prophecies and metaphysics are all related to the stars in the sky. He hoped to get some clues from the astrology.

Yuan Shao, who is nearly fifty years old and is getting old, doesn't know how many years Hou Tu can give him, and whether he can use the remaining years to eliminate the heroes, clear the world, and create his own era.

Yuan Shao had no idea about all of this. He only prayed that God would give him enough time to do these things. Even if he could not unify the world in his lifetime, he would eliminate Cao Cao in the Central Plains and Liu Zhang in Guanzhong before he died, leaving a good situation for his descendants. "Ming sir." Tian Feng walked with a cane and came behind Yuan Shao.

"Tell me." Yuan Shao didn't look back, he just replied.

Tian Feng first coughed a few times to clear his throat, and then spoke: "The eldest son sent a message from Qingzhou, saying that the Taishan bandits Zang Ba, Sun Guan and others are determined to follow Cao Mengde. Although he has tried many times to recruit them, Zang Ba, Sun Guan and others are still unwilling to surrender."

"So the eldest son led his troops to attack them, but the Taishan bandits Zang Ba and Sun Guan had been in Qingxu for a long time and knew the geography and the people. They also set up fortifications everywhere and stubbornly resisted. Therefore, for a while, the eldest son and them were in a stalemate. It is estimated that it will take some time to defeat them."

"Ha." Yuan Shao sneered, "Zang Ba, Sun Guan and the others are really thieves. They don't understand the general situation and the people's support. They follow Cao Mengde wholeheartedly, just like lonely souls following wild ghosts."

"Tan Er is the same." After complaining about the Taishan bandits, Yuan Shao complained about Yuan Tan in front of Tian Feng: "Like Zang Ba, Sun Guan and others, they are nothing but bandits. Tan Er has twice as many troops as the enemy, but he has not been able to capture them for such a long time. It's really..."

At this point, even if Yuan Shao favored his youngest son and disliked Yuan Tan, he knew it was inappropriate to say something too derogatory about Yuan Tan in front of Tian Feng. After all, he was his eldest son, so he had to save some face. So he just added: "Send an order to Tan'er, telling him to work hard and move forward. We will wait for his good news."

"Yes." Tian Feng, the deputy driver, bowed and agreed, and accepted the task, and then continued to report the military situation: "General Gao Lan sent a message from Hanoi, saying that Cao Ren, the garrison commander of Henan, strictly guarded Hejin. He was not allowed to cross the river, and could only confront Cao Ren on the north bank."

"Just hold Cao Ren back." Yuan Shao set a very simple task for Gao Lan's troops. He only asked Gao Lan to hold Cao Ren's troops back and did not make any excessive demands.

"Is there any unusual movement in Guanzhong?" Yuan Shao asked.

This time, the army of Hebei is heading south. What Yuan Shao is most worried about is that Liu Zhang in Guanzhong will take the opportunity to attack. By then, he will have to deal with Cao Cao on one hand and Liu Zhang on the other. He will be overwhelmed and this war to the Central Plains may end in failure.

Tian Feng shook his head. "The news from Bingzhou Mu Gaogan is that there is no sign of troops being mobilized in Guanzhong. There is absolutely no movement at all. In addition, the spies stationed in Chang'an by Yecheng also said that everything in the three prefectures is normal."

"How strange." Yuan Shao said in confusion. He was worried that Liu Zhang would cause trouble, but he was also worried that Liu Zhang would not cause trouble, just like he was doing now, quietly. And he knew that a biting dog does not bark, so God knows what evil plans Liu Zhang has in mind.

"My dear, according to your wisdom, when Cao Mengde and I were engaged in battle, Liu Jiyu remained indifferent and did not mobilize his troops. Why is that?"

Tian Feng responded, "Mingsir, Liu Jiyu is trying to use calm to control movement. Right now, our army and Cao's army have just fought, and the situation is not yet indisputable, and the outcome is not clear. At this time, Liu Jiyu is just watching from the sidelines and is unmoved."

"In Feng's opinion, Liu Jiyu will only make a move when our army and Cao's army are fighting and the officers are exhausted. But for Liu Jiyu, the furnace is not lit yet, so it is not the right time yet."

"He is really patient." Yuan Shao shook his head helplessly: "I heard that Liu Jiyu was young, but I didn't expect that he had no youthful spirit at all, but instead looked like an old and shrewd man."

As the night deepened, the clouds in the sky grew thicker and thicker, and the stars and the moon could no longer be seen. At the same time, an autumn wind began to blow, bringing with it a hint of chill. Yuan Shao took Tian Feng in mind that he was old and could not withstand the biting autumn wind, so he led Tian Feng to the central army tent to continue discussing matters.

Day two.

Yuan Shao learned from the scouts that after Cao's army won a victory at Bai Ma City, they led their troops to retreat south to avoid fighting him in the wilderness plains. The location where Cao's army set up camp was also discovered by the scouts.

The place is Guandu.

Through the interrogation of scouts, Yuan Shao learned about the situation in Guandu area. Guandu is actually more accurately called Guandukou, because there is Guandu River to the north, Zhongmou Lake to the east, and Putian Lake to the west. It is a gap between two large lakes, and the direction of the gap faces Guandu River, so it is called Guandu.

After a brief understanding of the terrain of Guandu, Yuan Shao confirmed that there were no ambushes from Cao's army, and urged his troops to continue moving southward toward Guandu. His goal in this battle was to defeat Cao Cao's main force, so he naturally chased after Cao Cao.

When Yuan Shao arrived at Guandu, he could not help but frowned after inspecting the terrain near Guandu as the commander-in-chief. He saw that there was a dense network of waterways near Guandu, such as the Honggou River, Pu River, Ji River, Bian River, and Sui River, which were separated by layers. It was not very convenient for him to deploy troops and transport supplies.

In addition, due to the dense network of waterways in the area where Guandu is located, it was difficult for the light cavalry in the Hebei army to play the advantages that cavalry should have. When the number of Yuan's cavalry was greater than that of Cao's light cavalry, Yuan's army suffered a considerable loss before the battle even started.

At the same time, the Guandukou where Cao Cao set up camp was sandwiched between Zhongmou Lake and Putian Lake, with a width of only a few miles in the middle. That is, there was only a few miles of attack channel left for Yuan Shao's side. It was inconvenient for Yuan Shao to take advantage of his large number of troops, and he could only use a small number of troops to launch an attack.

"What a great Cao Mengde." After Yuan Shao visited the place and learned about the local conditions, he roughly understood why Cao Cao set up camp at Guandu. He praised Cao Cao in his heart, expressing his admiration for Cao Cao, his childhood friend and lifelong enemy.

While Yuan Shao spent a few days visiting Guandu, Cao Cao, who had set up camp at Guandu, was also sending people to spy on the situation of Yuan's army. From the scouts, Cao Cao learned that Yuan's army had about 100,000 troops and 10,000 cavalry.

This was an astonishing number, and it made Cao Cao feel a little bit upset. His military strength was originally inferior to that of Yuan Shao. In addition, Yuan Shao only had to guard against Liu Zhang in Guanzhong and had the natural barrier of Shangdang to rely on. However, he needed to guard against so many people, including Liu Zhang in Guanzhong, Liu Biao in Jingzhou, and Sun Ce in Jiangdong. His troops were scattered, and it was difficult for him to go all out.

Although his military strength was far less than Yuan Shao's, Cao Cao was not discouraged. He was eager to fight with Yuan Shao. This battle would not only determine the outcome of Hebei and Central Plains, but also determine the strengths and weaknesses between him and Yuan Shao.

Although Yuan Shao was born to a maid, he had a place in the Yuan family because he was adopted by his uncle Yuan Cheng. Yuan Shao then mourned for three years, made friends with famous scholars, and was respected by the world. These were what Cao Cao, who was born a eunuch, longed for, and this also made Cao Cao somewhat jealous of Yuan Shao.

In addition, in front of the handsome and dignified Yuan Shao, Cao Cao, who was short in stature and dark in complexion, sometimes felt ashamed of himself.

Furthermore, when the heroes gathered to fight against Dong Zhuo, Yuan Shao raised an army in Bohai and was supported by the princes of the world as the leader. Cao Cao, who was the first to initiate the righteous cause, had no choice but to submit to Yuan Shao, who recommended him to the positions of General Yangwu and Prefect of Dongjun.

For various reasons, although Cao Cao believed that he was better than Yuan Shao in strategy, talent, and heroism, he was always inferior to Yuan Shao and lagged behind him by one or even several steps.

This time, he was able to fight against Yuan Shao and see who was better, to see whether Yuan Shao, who was a noble for four generations, was better than him, or whether he, who was born into a family of eunuchs, was better. (End of this chapter)