Super Cultivation System of the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 572 Taking advantage of the situation
Yuan Shao nodded slightly when he heard this: "Well, Yan Liang was careless that day and was defeated by Guan Yu. Now if Guan Yu rushes to Yanmen to help, and Yan Liang attacks Taiyuan, no one will be able to defeat him. What about the second route?"

"My lord, regarding the second route, I suggest that you send a young master to lead the troops personally."

When Guo Tu said this, Yuan Shang on the side was secretly happy.

Although he didn't understand why Guo Tu suddenly favored him, he was the only one in Yecheng now. His eldest brother Yuan Tan was attacking Qingzhou, and his second brother Yuan Xi was stationed in Zhongshan to guard Youzhou. As for his younger brothers, they were still young children. If a prince was to be sent to lead the troops, it could only be him. Besides, Yuan Shao had already agreed to this matter.

At this time, before Guo Tu could speak, Gao Lan hurriedly stood up and said, "My lord, I think this is not possible."

Yuan Shao looked at him with some impatience. This guy was about to cause him to lose 600,000 dan of grain. He really couldn't stand him. But in order to prevent his sister from complaining to him later, Yuan Shao could only wave his hand and let him continue.

Gao Lan: "My lord, the eldest and second sons are now leading troops outside. Although the third son has made many achievements in recent days, he is still not qualified to lead troops to fight. I would like to take the initiative to lead the army to attack Taiyuan."

Yuan Shang was not happy with this. "General Gao, my father promised me that I could take part in the attack on Bingzhou. Do you want my father, the ruler of Jizhou, to break his promise and gain wealth? What is your intention?"

Gao Lan responded to his question calmly, "That's not what I meant. You can serve as my deputy general and join the army. That way, you can have the best of both worlds. After you have made some military achievements and become familiar with the soldiers, it would be more appropriate for you to lead the army on your own."

"How can you underestimate..."

Yuan Shang was about to refute but was stopped by Yuan Shao.

"Okay, my son, please sit still for now. Your father will take care of this matter."

Yuan Shang glared at Gao Lan and stopped talking.

Gao Lan showed a proud look on his face: "My lord, I, like General Yan Liang, swear to capture Bingzhou and wipe out the past humiliation. Please agree to my request."

"No hurry, sit down too and listen to what Gongze has to say."

Gao Lan's face was embarrassed. Guo Tu glanced at him with a provocative smile on his face.

"My lord, I disagree with General Gao's opinion. I think the second route must be led by a young master himself."

"Oh? Do you trust my ability to command troops so much?"

Yuan Shao seemed a little surprised. He looked at Xu You and Xin Ping and saw that they were both silent, which made him feel very strange. As a lord and a father, he knew very well which prince these advisers were secretly close to, although he never revealed it on the surface. Now these three people suddenly changed their faces and spoke for Yuan Shang, which was beyond his expectation.

But what Guo Tu said next surprised him even more.

"My Lord, I want the Second Young Master Xi to lead the troops, not the Third Young Master."

"What? You mean Xi'er?"

Yuan Shao repeated it, as if to confirm whether he had heard it correctly.

Yuan Shang and Feng Ji were also stunned. They had never expected this outcome.

"Yes, it is the Second Young Master." Guo Tu said in a firm tone.

"But he is currently leading his troops stationed in Zhongshan. Is this matter..."

Seeing Yuan Shao hesitate, Xu You stood up and said, "My lord, I think that because the Second Young Master is in Zhongshan, Liu He can be caught off guard. Now General Yan Liang's army is leaving Shangdang, which is the open way. The Second Young Master is leading his troops through the Taihang Mountain Road to Taiyuan, which is the covert way. The open and the covert way complement each other. Liu He only saw the open way and would not expect the covert way. This way, our army can be sure of victory. In addition, it is best not to tell Xu Huang and Qian Zhao about the Second Young Master's journey, which is safer."

"Yes, this is what is called 'taking the enemy by surprise and attacking them when they are least prepared'. My lord, please make a quick decision."

Xin Ping also echoed.

The attitudes of these three people completely confused everyone, but Feng Ji reacted quickly.

"But the Third Young Master has been practicing martial arts hard for today, so the Lord must not break his promise."

Xu You smiled and said, "This is the easiest thing. What General Gao said just now is very reasonable. The second and third sons are brothers. The third son is the deputy, assisting the second son in the war. As the saying goes, brothers are united and their strength is strong. We can conquer Bingzhou in one fell swoop. Isn't this a good story for all ages?" Yuan Shang was anxious: "But I..."

Guo Tu asked, "Could it be that the Third Young Master rejects the Second Young Master and is unwilling to join forces with him to fight the enemy?"

"I... I have always respected my second brother, so I naturally wouldn't think like that."

Yuan Shang said this almost with gritted teeth.

"it is good!"

Yuan Shao slammed the table, full of high spirits.

"Immediately issue an order, appointing Yan Liang as commander, Gao Gan as deputy, Chunyu Qiong, Han Juzi, and Lu Weihuang as generals, with 50,000 troops, to attack Shangdang directly. Appoint Yuan Xi as commander, Yuan Shang as deputy, Sui Yuanjin, Zhu Ling, and Zang Hong as generals, with 40,000 troops, to secretly transfer troops from Zhongshan, take the mountain road, and take Taiyuan. As for Zhongshan, Gao Lan will be sent to guard it instead."

"My lord is wise. We will seize Bingzhou and achieve hegemony!"

Everyone cheered in unison. Yuan Shao was very happy and laughed a lot.

"Flutter..." A carrier pigeon landed in a courtyard in Jinyang City.

A servant ran out, took the letter from the pigeon's leg, went back into the house and handed it to Liu He.

"My lord, what does the letter say?" Cui Jun asked hurriedly.

Liu He unfolded the letter and smiled after reading it.

"Yuan Benchu ​​has indeed fallen into the trap. He has ordered Yan Liang to lead 50,000 troops to Shangdang."

"Good. Yuan Shao has been defeated in battle after battle. If we can kill Yan Liang this time, Jizhou will be seriously injured and will no longer be able to fight against our army."

Cui Jun slapped his thigh, looking quite excited.

However, Xun Yu and Xun You on the side were obviously not as happy as Cui Jun and Liu He.

Liu He noticed that the two of them looked a little strange, so he asked, "Why, Wen Ruo and Gong Da have questions?"

Xun You did not speak directly, but glanced at Xun Yu, then lowered his head slightly. Liu He understood that the Xun family attached great importance to seniority. If it were not a special period, Xun You, the nephew, would naturally let Xun Yu, the uncle, speak first.

Xun Yu said in a deep voice: "Yuan Shao has always regarded our lord as a thorn in his side, and has repeatedly wanted to seize Bingzhou. Now that he thinks he is well prepared, why would he only send out 50,000 soldiers?"

After he said this, Liu He calmed down: "Then what Wen Ruo means is..."

"I have calculated that although Yuan Shao has suffered many defeats, he has not been fundamentally damaged. Jizhou is rich, and he recruits soldiers day and night. The number of troops available in Jizhou is definitely no less than 150,000. Yuan Tan and Lu Bu only have 30,000 troops in total to conquer Qingzhou, and Yuan Xi and Wen Chou have 15,000 troops in Bohai and Zhongshan respectively to defend Youzhou. Therefore, Yuan Shao should still have 90,000 to 100,000 troops under his command. Even if he does not send out all his troops, he will definitely not use only 50,000."

"Hmm... Wen Ruo's words make sense. I was so excited that I almost fell into Yuan Shao's trap."

Liu He slapped his forehead, feeling a little regretful.

At this time, Xun You spoke up and said, "There are only three ways for Jizhou to enter Bingzhou: through Yanmen, Taiyuan, and Shangdang. Now there is the Baibo Army in Yanmen and Yan Liang in Shangdang, so Yuan Shao must have another army coming out of Taihang Mountain to attack Taiyuan."

Liu He nodded, "Yes, that's true. These three counties are the richest counties in Bingzhou. If we take over these three counties, we will have two-thirds of the people in Bingzhou. Yuan Shao is eager for quick success and will definitely not give up Taiyuan. After all, he is not stupid. The Baibo Army is powerful. If we don't occupy Taiyuan now, it is hard to guarantee that the Baibo Army will not take it first. If they really turn against each other at that time, I am afraid Yuan Shao will not have the confidence to take it back from Gongming and Zijing."

"That's exactly the truth." Xun You said with certainty.

"Since Yuan Shao wants to use a surprise attack, my lord, you might as well take advantage of his strategy. He thinks that by joining forces with the Baibo Army, he can freely enter and exit Taihang Mountain, but our army has set up an ambush on the mountain road. After his army leaves Taihang Mountain, it will be the most relaxed time. At that time, our army will suddenly attack, block his retreat route from the rear, and then lead the army to encircle him, and he will surely be defeated."

"Okay, let's do it!"

(End of this chapter)