I rode and slashed unparalleled in the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 817: Bingzhou is pacified, the sword is pointed at You and Ji, who in the world can stop it (Combined Chapter)
"Something bad has happened. Something bad has happened, Governor!"

In the Dingxiang County prefect's mansion, the aide Wang Chou hurried over and reported the latest situation to the prefect Wang Qian with trembling lips.

"Cloud City is gone just like that???"

When Wang Qian learned that Yunzhong City had been broken and the governor Li Xuan had been captured, he was completely dumbfounded. He no longer looked calm and composed as before. With red eyes, he shouted:
"How can this be?!"

"Didn't Li Xuan say that he had invited nearly 10,000 Hu cavalrymen and vowed that he could hold the city? How come he was defeated in the blink of an eye?"

"Could it be that General Su Yao has come in person?"

At the end of his words, Wang Qian's mouth trembled slightly, but:

"Oh, Governor, the trouble is all because of those Hu cavalrymen!"

"I heard from the spy that although the general didn't come, he is very famous!"

Wang Qiu stamped his feet and said:
"The deputy general under his command, whose surname was Guan, relied only on a large flag with the word Su on it to persuade all the Hu people to defect, and with the help of both inside and outside forces, they captured the city in an instant."

"Now, the enemy is coming in large numbers. They have also sent an envoy, asking you to surrender. Otherwise, when the city is broken, we will all be exterminated by the three tribes!"

"hiss--"

Wang Qian took a breath of cold air.

To exterminate three clans is the most cruel punishment in the world today. Not only will one's own head be chopped off, but also all of his father's clan, mother's clan, and wife's clan will be killed.

This is undoubtedly the most deadly threat to Wang Qian, who was born in Yanzhou and has a large group of relatives living in his hometown.

Thinking of the faces of the elders and his one-year-old son, Wang Qian's legs felt weak. He barely held onto the table beside him and tried to keep himself steady.
"What should I do? What should I do now?"

"Surrender, Governor!"

Wang Qiu closed his eyes in pain:

"The enemy is now strong, and the Hu people have turned against us. We have almost no soldiers left to fight with. We have no chance of winning."

"Hey--"

Wang Qian let out a long sigh.

Wang Qian knew that Wang Chou said this not only because they were from the same family and he was afraid of being implicated, but it was the truth.

The counties outside the Great Wall are not as good as those in the Central Plains, and the four northern counties of Bingzhou are newly rebuilt territories with sparse populations and weak control.

Compared with the large counties in the Central Plains that could easily maintain tens of thousands of soldiers, or even tens of thousands of elite soldiers, Dingxiang County was not worth mentioning. Not to mention the regular county soldiers, the entire Dingxiang County had a registered population of only 50,000 before the war, and now there are even fewer people who can be mobilized.

How to resist this?

"But if you surrender..."

Just as Wang Qian said his hesitant words, the messenger came running over:
"The Hu cavalry is coming! The Hu cavalry is coming!"

Following the messenger's alarm, there was a sound of commotion outside the county magistrate's mansion.

Although Wang Chou strictly ordered his subordinates not to spread rumors when he came to report the news, he wanted to keep it secret.

But, unfortunately, truth cannot be hidden, and the news leaked out from somewhere, and the news that Yunzhong City had been breached spread like wildfire.

At first, those who knew the inside story only warned their trusted friends and relatives quietly.

As a result, when some Hu cavalry really appeared outside the city to patrol and spy, everyone panicked.

At this moment, people in Dingxiang City were in panic and fear. Many people were packing up their belongings and wanted to escape from this city that was about to face war.

The streets were in chaos, with cries, shouts, and the whinny of livestock intertwined together, as if it were hell on earth. The already scarce guards lost all morale for a moment, and a large number of them even deserted their posts.

"Taiwan Governor!" Wang Qiu said hastily, "Please make a decision quickly. If you delay, it may be too late!"

"Harmful!"

Governor Wang Qian slapped his thigh and gritted his teeth:
"Surrender, Kaesong surrender!"

"The governor is wise!"

"The governor is wise!"

As Wang Qian made the decision to open the city and surrender, everyone in the county governor's mansion felt relieved. Wang Chou immediately sent people to notify the guards at the city gates to open the gates and sent out messengers to welcome the army into the city.

In this way, facing the attack of the Han army, Dingxiang County surrendered without a fight.

The prefect Wang Qian personally went out of the city to apologize, and the entire city was completely taken over by Guan Yu.

Soon, the aftermath of this series of great victories spread throughout the outside of the Great Wall. The governors of Wuyuan and Shuofang counties also surrendered upon hearing the news, and no one dared to resist.

With the successive surrender of Dingxiang, Wuyuan and Shuofang counties, the situation in the four counties outside the Great Wall quickly stabilized. The flags of the Han army flew high on the city walls of the four counties, announcing that this land had returned to the control of the court.

The Sanhe area was recovered, Ma Teng's invaders were defeated, and now even the rebels outside Bingzhou have all been pacified. Su Yao's trip can be said to be a great success.

In addition to the gains from the territory, what is more gratifying is of course the resources from the newly acquired lands and the surrendered soldiers from Ma Teng who were recruited.

That’s more than 20,000 surrendered soldiers!
The number of people is several times more than the one Su Yao brought with him.

Therefore, when Guan Yu had just finished dealing with the affairs outside the Great Wall, dispatched garrison troops, and properly escorted the four county governors and relevant officials, he was preparing to return to Beijing with the spoils to report.

Right at the gate of Yanmen Pass, Fu Gan, who had previously surrendered to Su Yao, came personally to read out the commendation for Guan Yu and others.

This time, the rebellion was suppressed outside the Great Wall of Bingzhou. All the soldiers fought bravely and killed the enemy. Naturally, everyone made contributions and received great rewards.

With the new territory and resources, Su Yao was generous to his subordinates.

Needless to say, they had more money and land, and their official positions were also promoted.

Among them, Commander Guan Yu, although he did not fight any major battles during this expedition, was a good leader and was promoted to the same rank as Lu Bu and Cheng Lian. He was appointed by Su Yao to personally command the troops. After resting, he sent troops to Youzhou.
"what?!"

"Send troops to Youzhou?!"

He had been holding his head high and listening happily to the various rewards he was receiving, but suddenly he was stunned and looked at Fu Gan in surprise, suspecting that he had heard something wrong.

Seeing Guan Yu's expression, Fu Gan also smiled helplessly:
"General Guan heard correctly. Sending troops to Youzhou is your next task."

Guan Yu frowned when he heard this. He didn't expect that he would be entrusted with another important task to send troops to Youzhou before he had time to rest just after quelling the rebellion outside Bingzhou.

Then, Fu Gan explained: "General Guan, according to the general, the situation outside Bingzhou has been pacified, the threat from Ma Teng has been eliminated, and the only threat from the north is Youzhou."

"As a member of the royal family, Youzhou Governor Liu Yu has been extremely dissatisfied with the general's support for the empress. In fact, he has become independent. This time, he is secretly colluding with the rebellious Ma Teng and Han Fu."

As he spoke, Fu Gan took out the map again, pointed to Youzhou and said:

"Youzhou is strategically located, connected to Bingzhou in the west, Xianbei and Wuhuan in the north, and Jizhou in the south."

"As long as we take this place back, we can not only rebuild the relationship between the imperial court and Liaodong, but also surround Jizhou Mu Han Fu from all sides."

"Now, their ally Han Fu is caught up in a civil war and has no time to care about other things, while our army's morale is high and we have just received 20,000 surrendered soldiers. It is a good time to send troops to Youzhou."

"The general's intention is to let you lead the army to attack Youzhou and bring it back into the court's territory." Guan Yu frowned slightly, nodded, and after thinking for a moment, he said:
"Although I have received orders to go to war, Youzhou is no different from other places. The people there are tough and brave, and Liu Yu is popular among the people. It is said that he has 100,000 soldiers, so his strength should not be underestimated."

"I wonder if the general has any good plan for how to capture Youzhou?"

Guan Yu naturally understood the strategic significance of Su Yao's attack on Youzhou.

His sworn brother Liu Bei is now in Liaodong. The two had exchanged letters before, in which it was mentioned that Liu Yu, the governor of Youzhou, had been making moves recently, increasing troops at Lulong Pass and trying to win over the counties outside the Pass that were actually controlled by Su Yao.

Under the influence of Liu Yu, the situation in the counties under Liu Bei's rule has been quite tense recently.

Those Hu people believed that the strong were respected, and knowing that Su Yao was powerful, they were relatively honest.

However, those aristocratic families, especially those who had been disciplined by Su Yao before, were ready to take action and many of them were secretly communicating with Liu Yu.

If Liu Yu could be dealt with, that would naturally be great.

However, Guan Yu knew very well that the situation in Youzhou was complicated. Liu Yu not only had a large number of troops, but also had been operating in the local area for many years and was deeply rooted. It would not be easy to win easily.

Not to mention the huge gap in military strength between the two sides, their men had just finished a battle and had not had much rest yet, but they had to go to a new battlefield. This was an obvious blow to the morale of those surrendered soldiers.

These people were undoubtedly under great pressure to fight to the death with the Youzhou soldiers who were united in defending their hometown.

If the war drags on for a long time, it will probably increase the variables.

Fu Gan said: "General Guan, don't worry. The general knows the situation here, so we will take a multi-pronged approach to Youzhou this time."

"Multi-pronged approach?" Guan Yu raised his eyebrows.

Fu Gan nodded slightly, with a smile of admiration on his face, and said: "Yes, the general has already seen through the situation in Youzhou and made a thorough plan. This operation is definitely not a battle for General Guan alone."

"Oh? Is there anyone who can help me now?" Guan Yu asked in surprise.

Su Yao has now set out to return to Beijing, and he should have arrived in the capital by now.

The only other troops that could be used nearby were probably the Ma Teng surrendered soldiers that Zhang Fei had reorganized and trained in Yanmen Pass. It seemed that there were no other troops that could provide support.

Fu Gan asked, "Does General Guan still remember Gongsun Zan?"

Guan Yu listened and said, "Gongsun Zan? Didn't he go after Yuan Shu?"

Then, Fu Gan explained.

After Su Yao's battle of Nanyang ended, Sun Jian was beheaded and Yuan Shu was expelled, Gongsun Zan, together with Taishi Ci, Yuan Shao and others, pursued Yuan Shu all the way.

The two sides fought several times on the battlefield in the Central Plains, and finally Yuan Shu was defeated, withdrew from the Central Plains, and fled to Huainan.

Afterwards, Gongsun Zan and others parted ways with Yuan Shao and returned to Qingzhou.

Along the way, they also fought with the Yellow Turban bandits who were causing chaos in the local area, stabilizing the situation in Qingzhou while preparing for war.

"Now, the Qingzhou Guard has nearly 20,000 troops. The general ordered General Gongsun Zan to lead 10,000 troops to the north to Bohai (County) to deter Han Fu and respond to General Guan's actions from the south."

Guan Yu frowned slightly, a trace of thought flashed in his eyes, and said: "Gongsun Zan has the ability, but most of the guards under his command are probably newcomers, and the only ones who are good at fighting are his three thousand white horse volunteers."

"These people can be used to contain the enemy, but I'm afraid they will be of limited use in dealing with Liu Yu's main force."

A sly look flashed in Fu Gan's eyes, and he continued, "General Guan, you don't know that the general will naturally have more than just this one reinforcement."

Then, he pointed to Liaodong and said, "Liu Xuande, the governor of Liaodong, and Cheng Lian, the general of the imperial court, will also be transferred soon."

"They will raise troops in Liaodong, march from east to west, cross the Hexi Corridor, and march to the Lulong Pass!"

Guan Yu was slightly startled, with a hint of surprise in his eyes, and murmured: "Big Brother... is he also going to participate in this battle?"

Fu Gan nodded and said, "General Guan, the general has considered the complicated situation in Youzhou and the huge power of Liu Yu, so he decided to attack from multiple fronts to make it difficult for Liu Yu to take care of both ends."

"Although your brother Liu Xuande does not hold military power now, he has been operating in Liaodong for a long time. He is also a native of Youzhou and knows the local situation well. Therefore, the general ordered him to cooperate with General Cheng Lian. The two of them will send troops from the east to form a siege with you and General Gongsun Zan, which will definitely put tremendous pressure on Liu Yu."

Guan Yu frowned slightly. Although he was worried about his elder brother Liu Bei's participation in the war, he also knew that this was necessary for the overall situation.

After thinking for a moment, he said, "Although my elder brother is popular in Youzhou, the Liaodong border county has limited military strength. This time we have to face the fortified city of Lulong Pass, which may be very dangerous."

Although he was not in Liaodong, Guan Yu still knew about it through his correspondence with Liu Bei.

Now that Liu Yu has secretly set his sights on Liaodong, he must have stationed a large number of main forces at the Lulong Pass, ready to attack.

As for the five counties outside the Great Wall of Youzhou controlled by Liu Bei and Cheng Lian, although the number of counties was comparable to the six counties under Liu Yu's rule, they were only slightly stronger than the four counties outside the Great Wall of Bingzhou. They did not have too many people, and their military strength was naturally limited.

Relying on the complex terrain of the Liaoxi Corridor and the close relationships with many old acquaintances in Liaoxi, they were able to detect and block Liu Yu's attack in advance, but it was extremely difficult to counterattack.

Lulong Pass is a strong pass in Youzhou. If Liu Bei and Cheng Lian do not deploy a large number of troops, the restraining effect they can play will probably be very limited.

"General Guan is right. So this time, Liaodong will not only send out its own troops, but also the coalition forces of Wuhuan, Goguryeo, Buyeo and others!"

Guan Yu's pupils trembled: "So that's it."

The Wuhuan had lived in Liaodong for generations. When Su Yao put down the rebellion, he killed many people, and these people had long since surrendered.

As for the northeastern ethnic minorities such as Goguryeo and Buyeo, they were even more frightened after witnessing Su Yao's quick and efficient war of annihilation of Goguryeo. They submitted to the emperor one after another. Now, how dare they disobey Su Yao's call for help?

As a result, the five counties of Liaodong, with no more than 10,000 soldiers and horses, mobilized the 100,000-strong coalition army in one fell swoop and set out in a mighty manner.

"The general is mighty!"

Guan Yu stroked his beard and praised:

"With these 100,000 allied forces, Lulong Pass will be in a state of panic and it will be difficult to allocate troops."

"I just wonder if Liu Yu has noticed our plan and taken precautions in advance?"

In Guan Yu's opinion, it was impossible to keep such a large-scale military mobilization fully confidential.

However, Su Yao did not plan to launch any surprise attacks:
"It's best to let them know!"

Outside Luoyang City, Su Yao looked at the towering city walls and said with a smile to Wang Ling, Jia Xu, Xun Yu and others who came to greet him:
"This time, the crusade against Youzhou may not necessarily require a decisive battle on the battlefield."

"What do you mean, General?" Wang Ling said in surprise.

"It seems that the general wants to force Liu Yu to surrender." Jia Xu said with a smile.

"Haha, the one who understands me best is Wenhe!"

Su Yao smiled and said:

"If we can capture all of Youzhou's 100,000 soldiers, Han Fu will be nothing. By then, Jizhou can be conquered."

"If You and Ji are pacified, the world can be at peace!"

"By then, I will be in control of the two capitals, and I will control the four regions of Bing, You, Qing, and Ji. Who in the world can stop me?"

(End of this chapter)