Ji Han Liu Zhang

Chapter 627: Saving General Qu Yi
Yecheng.

At nightfall, the stars and the moon in the sky were dim, and the surroundings were gloomy, but the lights in the Weigong mansion under the sky were bright.

In the lobby, Yuan Shao sat in the main seat. His expression was not as calm as usual, but rather a little depressed and unhappy.

Below Yuan Shao, the important civil and military officials of Hebei sat according to the size of their official rank. Each one of them looked a little solemn, so that the atmosphere in the hall was a little sluggish.

Tian Feng, the chief among the civil officials, sighed silently in his heart, not for anything else, but because of the news he had just received - military intelligence came from Hedong, that Qu Yi was careless for a moment and was surrounded by the Qin army, and his life was in danger.

'This is to be expected.'

Tian Feng was not too surprised by this bad military situation. He had not been optimistic about the war in Bingzhou before, because the combat deployment reported by the senior officials earlier was to send troops to two different places from Qu Yi instead of joining forces.

Moreover, it is known that the Qin army's civil and military officers are not mediocre. Gao Gan and Qu Yi would be at risk of defeat if they joined forces, not to mention that the two of them had divided their forces, one to Hedong and the other to Taiyuan, separated by mountains and seas, and unable to support each other in time.

However, Tian Feng had not expected that the situation would be so bad. The great general Qu Yi was actually besieged by the Qin army. His life, as well as Qu Yi's more than 10,000 soldiers and horses, would probably be buried in Hedong and die in a foreign land.

"Mingsir, we must rescue General Qu as soon as possible." Tian Feng arrived first and spoke loudly when everyone was silent.

"First, General Qu is under siege, which may endanger Shangdang. There is no need to continue the battle in Taiyuan County. Gao Gan, Zhang He and others should immediately go south to rescue General Qu."

There was silence in the hall for a long while. When Yuan Shao heard someone speak, his face looked a little better. He nodded and said, "Gao Gan sent a letter saying that he has sent Guo Yuan to lead a brigade to rescue General Qu in the south. As for the majority of the troops, they are being closely watched by the rebel generals such as Zhang Ren and Lou Fa. To be safe, we must lead the troops slowly."

"Gao Gan is a wise and decisive general." Tian Feng praised Gao Gan and continued, "In my humble opinion, it may be difficult for Gao Gan, Zhang He and others to rescue General Qu from the Qin army. You can order a general to send troops from Yecheng to Hedong overnight to rescue General Qu. I hope you will accept my advice."

"That's right." Yuan Shao nodded affirmatively.

It is said that Yuan Shao did not like Qu Yi, who was arrogant because of his achievements, but because Qu Yi was brave but incompetent, he used him for the time being, thinking that he would eliminate Qu Yi when the world was at peace and there was no threat in the future.

But this does not mean that Yuan Shao would allow Qu Yi to be surrounded and killed by the Qin army. After all, if Qu Yi died, firstly, he would lose a great general, and secondly, the morale of the people in Hebei would be damaged, which was something Yuan Shao was not happy to see.

"Qu Yi must be rescued, and he must be rescued successfully." Yuan Shao made up his mind, and then he hesitated. Rescuing Qu Yi was a sure thing, but who to send to rescue him was something that needed to be carefully considered.

"My dear, who do you think should we send?" Yuan Shao asked Tian Feng about the candidates for reinforcements.

Tian Feng looked hesitant. He had an excellent candidate, but it was not easy to say it out loud. If he said it out loud, it might easily arouse Yuan Shao's taboo. Then the person he recommended might not be selected, and the war in Hedong would be delayed again.

With this thought, Tian Feng's eyes inadvertently glanced at Yuan Shao's eldest son Yuan Tan, who was standing beside him. The candidate he had chosen was Yuan Tan, but Yuan Tan's identity was a bit sensitive, so he couldn't say it out loud. If he spoke out to recommend Yuan Tan, he might get caught up in the controversy of the succession dispute.

In the past, Tian Feng would just say what he wanted to say. Being a straight-forward person, he didn't care what others said. But now he understood what Hebei's biggest threat was. Hebei's biggest threat was not Liu Zhang or Cao Cao, but Yecheng, the heart of Hebei.

Yuan Shao was getting old and in poor health. Yuan Tan and Yuan Shang, one was the eldest son and the other was favored by Yuan Shao. It was privately rumored that Yuan Shao planned to make Yuan Shang his heir. In order to curry favor with the emperor, the civil and military officials in Hebei took sides and chose one of the two sons to serve.

The situation on both sides was already extremely tense. If Yuan Shao had not been around, Tian Feng would have worried that the brothers Yuan Tan and Yuan Shang would go to war with each other.

Therefore, if Tian Feng stood up to support Yuan Tan as a general at this time, Yuan Shang's side would naturally regard it as a sign that Tian Feng was on Yuan Tan's side, and they would jump out to oppose it. Others had to speak first, and then Tian Feng would agree, and put forward a fair and objective attitude. In this way, Yuan Shang's side might resist less.

Yuan Tan, who was sitting beside Yuan Shao, seemed to have noticed Tian Feng's indifferent gaze. He stood up and said, "Father, General Qu is our Hebei general. We must not lose him in Hedong. It will damage the morale of our Hebei army. I am worried about you."

After laying the groundwork, Yuan Tan continued, "As a son, I should relieve my father's worries. This is a way to show my filial piety. I would like to be a general and go to Hedong to rescue General Qu."

Yuan Shao looked somewhat relieved. He had a good impression of Yuan Tan who recommended himself. However, he did not immediately accept Yuan Tan's request. Instead, he looked around the hall, intending to listen to the opinions of the civil and military officials: "My son is asking for a promotion. What do you think?"

Tian Feng spoke up: "I think it is appropriate to send the eldest son."

"The eldest son has the talent to lead troops. In the past, he conquered Qingzhou, and also attacked Langya and Taishan, and he achieved some successes. This is clear evidence."

"To rescue General Qu, we need to lead all the generals. However, the generals may have old grudges or private disputes, so it is difficult for them to work together to rescue General Qu. If it is not for your son to lead the mission, the generals will not be able to work together."

Yuan Shang, who was sitting closer to Yuan Shao, heard Tian Feng agree with Yuan Tan's self-recommendation, and saw that Yuan Shao was interested. He straightened up slightly and was about to stand up to compete for the important task of rescuing Qu Yi.

But when Yuan Shang was about to stand up, he saw Feng Ji in the hall looking in his direction first, and then shook his head slightly indifferently. Although he was confused, he still followed Feng Ji's instructions, slowly lowered his body, and did not participate in the task of rescuing Qu Yi.

Yuan Shao saw that no one objected, so he made a rare decision. The situation was urgent and he could not hesitate: "Let Xiansi be the commander, and supervise Yan Liang, Wen Chou, and Gao Gan and Zhang He who had withdrawn from Taiyuan County, to go to Hedong to rescue Qu Yi."

The matter was settled, the night deepened, and everyone dispersed.

Yuan Shang also left the table. He walked quickly and caught up with Feng Ji in the corridor. He asked Feng Ji in a low voice, "Mr. Feng, why did you let my brother take on such a great achievement?"

Feng Ji just smiled, with full confidence in his smile: "Sir, wait and see. I predict that your trip will be in vain and your prestige will be greatly damaged."

(End of this chapter)