Ji Han Liu Zhang

"Guandu."

After hearing these two words from Xun You, which were very familiar place names for a Three Kingdoms fan, Liu Zhang just smiled slightly and didn't say much. He listened patiently to Xun You's continued explanation.

Xun You spoke neither too fast nor too slow, with a calm tone: "Cao Mengde relied on the geographical advantage of Guandu to hold out against Yuan Benchu. Although Yuan Benchu ​​had more soldiers and generals and abundant food and grass, he was unable to defeat Cao Mengde for a while."

"According to You's superficial opinion, before Cao's army ran out of food, Yuan Benchu ​​would have difficulty in defeating Cao Mengde. Cao Mengde had built up a large number of military farms in Xuxia, and his savings were quite abundant... However, considering the many events in the Central Plains, Cao Mengde had been fighting for years, and most of his savings from the military farms had been consumed. Therefore, it is estimated that Cao Mengde's food supply would not last more than a year."

"Of course, this is a relatively optimistic estimate. It is possible that Cao Mengde's food and grass can only sustain him for half a year."

"Yeah." Liu Zhang nodded, expressing his affirmative attitude towards the estimate given by Xun You. Cao Cao's food and grass has always been a big problem. After all, he is in the Central Plains, with troubles on all sides and wars year after year. Even if there is a huge amount of food and grass, it is likely that the supply will be insufficient.

What's more, Cao Cao's savings were not only used to support his conquests, but also to support the small court in Xu Du. The emperor, officials, and the entire leadership team of the Han court all relied on Cao Cao for food and salaries.

This can be seen from Cao Cao's policy of military farming, which shows his urgent need for food and fodder. In particular, the harvest from military farming was six parts for officials and four parts for civilians, which meant that the military farmers were almost treated as serfs. Now in the war, only God knows how much of the harvest will end up in the mouths of the military farmers.

Following the previous point of view, Xun You said: "Therefore, in my opinion, we in Guanzhong can wait and see for a few months, and wait until the two sides have been stalemate for a long time, the soldiers are tired, the officers are lazy, and the food and grass reserves are almost depleted, then we can march eastward in a big way."

"The target of the eastward march should be Bingzhou, especially Taiyuan and Shangdang. Taiyuan is located in the middle of Bingzhou, and is protected from all four directions. At the same time, it is also capable of responding to all four directions, whether attacking or defending."

"As for Shangdang, it is located on a high ground, overlooking Yecheng and Henei. To the south of the area are Chenguan Pass, Taihang Pass, and Baixing Pass. Chenguan Pass controls our army's passage to Henei, which is particularly important. To the west are Fukou Pass and Jingxing Pass. Through Fukou Pass, our army can go straight to Yecheng... Therefore, if we can capture Shangdang, Hebei will be in our throat, and we can swallow it whenever we want."

The governor Zhao Ang clapped his hands and responded, "What Xun Jun said is very reasonable. This Bingzhou is surrounded by mountains and rivers. It has the advantage of being high above and able to attack from all sides. Once we take Bingzhou, Hebei and the Central Plains will all be under our army's attack. We can attack when we want to and defend when we want to. Yuan Benchu ​​and Cao Mengde will be unable to resist."

Following Zhao Ang's agreement, everyone in the hall spoke up in response. Most of the counselors agreed with Xun You's strategy, which was to go east and take Bingzhou as the first priority. They should first seek Bingzhou and seize the geographical advantage, and then make other plans.

Jiang Jiong, an official at the provincial capital, did have a few other opinions, but he also agreed with Xun You's strategy, but he made some comments: "Gao Lan, a famous general in Hebei, led his troops southward, intending to conquer Henan. Cao Ren, the defender of Henan, stationed at Mengjin to resist him. This is called favoring one over the other. Mengjin is heavily guarded, while Hangu Pass is lightly guarded."

"At this time, our army will seize the opportunity to attack. The general guarding Hangu Pass will be terrified when hearing this. Henan Yin can be taken in one fell swoop. If Henan Yin is captured, there will be dangers of mountains and rivers outside and rich land inside. It will overlook Guandong and control Guanxi. Then, we can easily control all directions. This is the momentum of a strong Qin. No one in the world will be able to compete with the king."

Bingzhou is very important as it overlooks Guanxi. Henan, as a passage to Guanxi, is also very important. This is Jiang Jiong's opinion. He means to grab both with both hands and make both hands strong. He wants both Bingzhou and Henan, and seize two important places at one time, just like the powerful Qin in the old days. After taking Shangdang and Luoyang, the princes of Guandong had no choice but to wait for death.

Liu Zhang did not comment. He turned to Jia Xu and said, "You have been ordered to investigate Henan and Shangdang. How is the situation?" In order to clearly understand the battle situation in Guandong, Liu Zhang sent Jia Xu to investigate and let Jia Xu conduct an in-depth investigation of the situation in Henan and Shangdang so that he could better march into Guandong in the future.

Upon hearing this, Jia Xu reported, "Yuan Benchu's army is divided into three groups heading south. The left group is led by his eldest son Yuan Tan, the middle group is led by himself, and the right group is led by Gao Gan and Gao Lan. In fact, there are only two groups led by Yuan Benchu ​​and Yuan Tan... Gao Gan and Gao Lan are leading the army. Gao Gan is stationed at Huguan and has no intention of heading south to attack Henan Yin. Gao Lan is in a stalemate with Cao Ren who is stationed in Mengjin, but he is just sitting there and not trying to cross the river. He is more concerned about Shangdang."

"If there is any trouble in Shangdang, Gao Lan should rush there and lead his troops to guard Taiyuan and Shangdang together with Gao Gan... In Xu's opinion, this should be Yuan Benchu's original intention. Gao Gan and Gao Lan's troops who invaded the south are actually not worthy of their name. They are mostly focused on guarding against us and have no intention of forcibly attacking Henan Yin."

Zhao Ang chuckled and said, "If Yuan Benchu ​​had not placed heavy troops to guard Shangdang, how could he dare to go south to the Central Plains? In Yuan Benchu's mind, the Central Plains is probably not as important as Taiyuan and Shangdang. With Shangdang, Hebei can be safe and Yecheng is safe. Without Shangdang, Hebei is in danger. Even if he goes to the Central Plains, it will be useless."

"Of course." Jiang Jiong affirmed: "Yecheng is adjacent to the Yellow River in the south and Shangdang in the west. Without Shangdang, there would be no Yecheng. If Shangdang is lost, Hebei will collapse soon."

Zhao Ang and Jiang Jiong's words won a chorus of support. All the counselors discussed and agreed that what they said was right.

After talking about Shangdang, Jia Xu talked about the situation of Henan Yin: "Although Cao Ren gathered a large number of troops in Mengjin to resist Gao Lan, Henan Yin Zhong Yao did not neglect his duty and still kept a close eye on Hangu Pass. However, due to the small number of troops, it is not difficult for our army to capture Hangu Pass by force."

"Secondly, even if Hangu Pass is difficult to take directly, considering the sparsely populated garrison... our army can come up with a surprise plan, cross the Yellow River at night, go around Hangu Pass, attack from both sides, and take it in one fell swoop."

On that day, after public discussion, Liu Zhang decided on the future direction of strategy, one was Bingzhou and the other was Henan. Among these two places, Shangdang in Bingzhou was the most important. As for the position of Henan Yin, it would be fine if he got it, but it would not be a big deal if he didn't get it.

Now that the strategy has been decided, the next step is to consider specific tactics. The number of troops to send east, the direction of the troops, the timing of the dispatch, the generals to lead the troops, the transportation of food and supplies, etc., all require time to discuss and prepare.

As the night fell and the meeting ended, Liu Zhang sighed secretly while listening to the sounds of insects and birds chirping outside. He had something busy to do next.

……

The fifth year of Jian'an, the end of September.

A cavalry force of 3,000 men set out from Beidi County in Guanzhong.

However, the direction of this cavalry was a bit strange. It was not marching eastward or westward, but unexpectedly marching northward.

"General Zhang, I'm counting on you a lot on this trip." As the commander-in-chief of this cavalry unit, Zhang Ren treated his deputy general Zhang Yan in a friendly manner and did not discriminate against Zhang Yan because of his Black Mountain bandit background.

Zhang Yan heard this and immediately bowed his hands to decline, saying, "General, you are really embarrassing me by saying that you can rely on me. I have been appointed as your deputy general, so I will do my best and will not slack off in any way... Regarding military affairs, I will just follow your orders."

Zhang Ren smiled faintly and said, "General Zhang, although I am the chief general, the King of Qin has said that I must ask you for more advice on this march. After all, I am not very familiar with the distance, customs, roads, rivers and other conditions of Yanmen, Changshan and other counties. I still need your guidance." Zhang Ren talked about the destination of this march - the northern border counties of Bingzhou. These places were really unfamiliar to him as he was born in Shu. Although he had maps to look at, he did not know as well as the locals.

As a hero born in a border county and having lived in Taihang Mountain for a long time, Zhang Yan was very familiar with the northern border counties of Bingzhou. That was why Zhang Ren said that he had to rely on Zhang Yan on this trip.

“Even if the general doesn’t say anything, I should still do it. This is my duty, and it’s also a rare opportunity for me to be of service.” Zhang Yan maintained a humble attitude and did not dare to overshadow the commander Zhang Ren in words or deeds.

Along the way, Zhang Yanguo did as he said, he worked diligently as a guide and pointed the direction for the army.

"Shangjun, Yunzhong and other counties have been mostly occupied by barbarians and beasts due to the country's decline and the invasion of foreign invaders from the south. They are no longer the same as they were when Emperor Xiaowu opened up Henan." Speaking of the Henan area occupied by foreign invaders, which is the area that this trip needs to pass through, Zhang Yan couldn't help but sigh.

"Now our army needs to pass through Shangjun, Yunzhong and other places before we can reach Yunzhong. Along the way, we will inevitably be harassed by the barbarians, so we must be extremely careful on this journey."

Zhang Yan was born a bandit in the Black Mountains, but he still considered himself a Han citizen. He looked a little sad about the current situation in Henan.

It is also known that Shangjun, Jiuyuan, Yunzhong and other counties were the lands that the Han Dynasty opened up after expelling the Xiongnu and settling immigrants on the border. It took several generations of hard work. However, once the national strength declined and the Han Dynasty fell, the lands were reoccupied by the Xiongnu, Xianbei and other grassland tribes that moved south. It is really regrettable.

Zhang Ren also looked worried. The mission he received on this trip was to go through Shangjun and Yunzhong in the north of Guanzhong and detour to Yanmen County in the north of Bingzhou, and implement a roundabout warfare plan to harass Bingzhou's rear.

After Zhang Yan's introduction, Zhang Ren knew that this journey might not be easy. After all, it passed through the areas where the Xiongnu and Xianbei were entrenched. If he was not careful, he would end up in disaster.

However, Zhang Ren was not afraid of the difficulties ahead. Instead, he became more courageous. The more difficult the road was, the more motivated he became.

"It all depends on which tribe is blind." Zhang Ren responded to Zhang Yan with a chuckle. Although his tone was calm, Zhang Yan could hear the murderous intent in it.

"Yes." Zhang Yan nodded affirmatively, his eyes also full of murderous intent. Their goal on this trip was not only to harass Bingzhou's rear, but also to eliminate the barbarians they encountered along the way.

……

Yecheng.

As the confidant of Duke of Wei Yuan Shao, he served as the Chief of Staff and was in charge of the Duke of Wei's government. When Yuan Shao's army marched south, he stayed in Yecheng, responsible for guarding the rear and allocating baggage and food to the front line.

"My lord, three thousand hu of grain and fodder are being shipped today, and everything is going as normal." Shen Pei reported to Yuan Shang.

The person Yuan Shao left behind to guard Ye City was his youngest son Yuan Shang. However, Yuan Shang was too young to shoulder such a heavy responsibility, so all the big and small matters in the shogunate were handled by Shen Pei. Shen Pei would inform Yuan Shang of what he had done every day, giving Yuan Shang enough face.

Yuan Shang looked friendly and smiled, "Mr. Shen has always been a good person. You don't have to tell me everything. Just pick out the important things and tell me."

"No." Shen Pei shook his head and said, "Duke Wei has asked you to guard Yecheng and entrusted you with important tasks, which shows how much he values ​​you. Therefore, you should be familiar with the various affairs of the shogunate, so as to live up to Duke Wei's trust. In the future, you may be in charge of these matters, so it is better to familiarize yourself with them as soon as possible."

After saying this, Shen Pei lowered his head and waited for Yuan Shang's response.

Yuan Shang heard the hidden meaning in Shen Pei's words and probably guessed Shen Pei's true intention. He just sighed and said, "What the governor said is not true. I am the youngest son. The reason why I can guard Yecheng and lead the government is because my brother Yuan Tan is in Qingzhou. When my brother comes back one day, I will not be able to interfere in these matters of the government."

"Sir." Shen Pei raised his head, his eyes were like torches, as if they had the temperature to burn people's hearts. He lowered his voice and said, "The eldest son was adopted by someone else, and was also sent to govern a prefecture. It can be seen that Duke Wei has no intention of making the eldest son the heir. Otherwise, he would have kept him by his side to be trained... And you, sir, are highly valued by Duke Wei. This time you stayed in Yecheng, which is a proof. You need to get familiar with the affairs of the shogunate as soon as possible."

In the face of Shen Pei's straightforward words, Yuan Shang also revealed his true feelings: "Mr. Shen, I am afraid that the order of seniority should not be changed."

Shen Pei waved his hand and said, "My lord, why do you think so? Today, the country is in turmoil and there are disturbances everywhere. If you stick to common sense, I am afraid you will make mistakes... When the country is peaceful, it is natural to appoint the eldest son as the heir. But now the country is in turmoil. If you don't appoint a virtuous successor, I am afraid that our great country will be handed over to others."

"I'm afraid that my father doesn't think so, and my brother won't obey, which will lead to endless troubles." Yuan Shang shook his head.

Shen Pei added fuel to the fire: "Duke Wei has been interested in you for a long time, otherwise why would he leave you to guard Yecheng... As for the eldest son, he is only average in talent and is no match for you. Even if he doesn't obey, I will assist you and get rid of him easily."

Yuan Shang smiled happily at this time. He took Shen Pei's hand and said, "This is an important matter. I only rely on you."

When Shen Pei walked out of the lobby of Duke Wei's mansion, he ran into the clerk who came to report the news.

"I have reported to the governor that Xu You's family members have committed crimes, but the commander is afraid of their power and dares not intervene."

"Hmm?" Shen Pei snorted and said, "If a prince breaks the law, he will be punished just like a commoner. What's more, he is an official. Let someone arrest him." (End of this chapter)