Super Cultivation System of the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 601: Ju Su Kneeling to Advise
In the meeting hall of the Yecheng governor's mansion, everyone gathered together and the atmosphere was extremely heavy.

"My lord, after a few days of rest, the remaining 60,000 soldiers of our army have all recovered and are ready to fight. In addition, in accordance with your instructions, we have forcibly conscripted able-bodied men from Yecheng and surrounding counties in the past few days, and recruited nearly 50,000 new soldiers, all of whom have been equipped with weapons."

After listening to Wen Chou's report, Yuan Shao's expression did not ease at all.

"Alas, I never thought that this battle would end in such a disastrous defeat. I never thought that Shen Pei and Tian Feng would actually defect to Gongsun Zan. These past few days I have often wondered if I had wronged them in some way that caused them to treat me like this."

He let out a long sigh, his face looking dejected, as if he had aged ten years.

"My lord, how can you think like this? This is truly a great sin on the part of our subordinates."

Guo Tu stood up immediately, looking heartbroken.

"Shen Pei and Tian Feng have always been arrogant and conceited, and they have been disrespectful to the lord. Such disloyalty is in their nature. The Yuan family and you, the lord, have been very kind to them, but they are not only ungrateful, but also ungrateful. They are truly the most shameless villains in the world. The lord must not be saddened by this."

"You are right. These two people think that their talents are unparalleled in the world. They usually complain about the Lord not using their ideas. Although what happened today is accidental, it is not without reason. Now Jizhou is in danger. The Lord should take good care of his health. After driving Liu He away, arrest the two and execute them to serve as a warning to others."

"That's right, my lord, please take care of yourself."

"Please don't worry about this, my lord."

Everyone spoke in unison, comforting each other.

"What you said makes sense..." Yuan Shao calmed down a little, straightened his face, rubbed his temples, and asked, "I think Liu He will come back sooner or later and try to seize Jizhou. Do you have any good plans?"

"Your subordinate..." Feng Ji was about to speak, but was interrupted by Xu You.

"My lord, originally Liu He bribed the Baibo army and turned against them in battle. The two sides joined forces, with a total of about 200,000 troops, and attacked in three directions. Jizhou was doomed to fail. Now Gongsun Zan has occupied Zhongshan County and blocked Xu Huang's offensive, which is also advantageous for our army. Now Liu He personally led his army out of Shangdang, and Guan Yu led his army into Changshan. The two routes have about 120,000 to 130,000 troops. Although they are strong, my lord has been in Jizhou for many years, and the city is strong. We should divide and block them in You."

Upon hearing this, Yuan Shao sat up a little straighter and asked, "How can we divide and stop them?"

Xu You stepped forward and said, "Guan Yu leads 20,000 heavy cavalry and 20,000 Baibo infantry, a total of 40,000 people. The strongest among them are naturally his heavy cavalry. As long as we stop these 20,000 cavalry, the rest of the Baibo army, although numerous, will not be a concern."

Feng Ji was very dissatisfied with his interruption and said sarcastically: "Humph, that sounds nice, but Guan Yu is brave enough to fight against ten thousand men. He leads 20,000 purple-gold dragon riders who have experienced hundreds of battles and are unstoppable and undefeated. How can we resist him?"

Seeing this, Guo Tu retorted, "I can't believe you, Feng Ji, have learned to boost others' ambitions while destroying your own prestige? Are you also trying to learn from Shen Pei and Tian Feng and add insult to injury to the lord?"

"Guo Tu, stop slandering me!" Feng Ji responded angrily.

"Humph, whether I am slandering you or not, you know it very well!"

"you……"

"Okay, shut up!" Yuan Shao suddenly shouted angrily, and everyone quieted down instantly.

"It's fine if you guys just quarrel a few words on ordinary days, but now we are facing a powerful enemy, we should work together to defeat Liu He. Ziyuan, you continue talking, and others are not allowed to interrupt."

"I obey your command." After receiving the order, Xu You looked at the people around him with great pride, his nostrils almost pointing to the sky.

"After Guan Yu captures Changshan, he will definitely go south and attack Yecheng with Liu He. There are two roads from Changshan to Yecheng, one is through Zhao State, and the other is through Julu. There are many rugged mountain roads in Zhao State, but Julu is flat. In my opinion, our army can send a team of troops to provoke Guan Yu and lead him to Handan City in Zhao State. After passing Handan, we can go directly to Yecheng, and Guan Yu will definitely come. Handan City has been a big city since ancient times, and it has been repaired and reinforced by the lord for many years. Thousands of troops are enough to defend it for many days. During this period, we can set up an ambush in the mountains and forests outside the city, and take advantage of the fact that he is tired from attacking the city for days, and attack at night, but only harass him, not entangle him. In this way, we dare not say that we have won, but at least we can delay his army."

Gao Lan sneered: "Tsk, Guan Yu is not only a warrior, but also a man of wisdom and insight. How could he be fooled so easily?"

Xu You glanced at him coldly, "Guan Yu is arrogant by nature, so he would definitely chase after us if he knew there was a trick. But General Gao, who has always looked down on others, praised Guan Yu. I guess you are afraid of him after repeated defeats. Oh, yes, if not, why would you flee back in a hurry without fighting after facing Gongsun Zan's army when the lord sent you to replace the second son to guard Zhongshan? Hey, you are really courageous."

Gao Lan was furious and glared at Xu You: "Xu You, old villain, how dare you..."

"Shut up!" Yuan Shao once again stopped the quarrel between the two. Gao Lan glared at Xu You and then stepped back.

Xu You continued, "In addition to this, we can dig trenches outside Handan City, set up many chevaux de frise, and throw various objects on the official road to block the way. As long as we can delay Guan Yu's troops, our army will be able to win when facing Liu He's side in Ye City. After we destroy Liu He, we can turn around and deal with Guan Yu. Wouldn't it be easy to capture him?"

"I second the motion."

"I also agree with Xu Ziyuan's plan." "I also agree..."

Guo Tu and others echoed his words, and Yuan Shao's expression changed from worry to joy.

"Okay, Ziyuan's plan is perfect and will definitely help me accomplish great things. Pass the order down immediately..."

"My lord...wait a minute, my lord..."

A voice came from outside the hall, interrupting Yuan Shao's military order, which made Yuan Shao very unhappy. Looking outside, it was Ju Su. He still had a bandage on his arm, but he still ignored the obstruction of the guards at the door and broke in.

"Ju Shou, you are so bold! How dare you enter the meeting hall without permission? What crime should you be punished for? Left and right, why don't you drag him down?"

Guo Tu shouted loudly, and several guards rushed over and tried to drag Ju Shou away.

Ju Shou struggled hard, and the guards did not dare to really hurt him, and soon Ju Shou ran in.

He looked very anxious. He came to Yuan Shao and said directly: "My lord, Xu You's plan is actually a plot to murder you. We don't have many soldiers available now. If we divide our troops into two places, we won't be able to defend either place. Please think twice."

"Ju Shou, how dare you talk nonsense and slander me?" Xu You said angrily.

Ju Shou turned a deaf ear to his words and just looked at Yuan Shao with a worried look on his face.

Yuan Shao asked impatiently: "Do you have a better plan?"

Ju Su hurriedly took out a roll of cloth from his sleeve and said, "My lord, Zhengnan and Yuanhao did not betray you, but they pretended to surrender. They deliberately offered Zhongshan County to Gongsun Zan, just to use him to temporarily stop the Baibo Army so that you can concentrate your forces to deal with Liu He. Now, there is a letter left by them, which specifically instructs you to transfer all the troops in the state back to Yecheng, including the 30,000 troops of General Ju Yi of Qingzhou, and gather them in the city to win. The idea of ​​dividing the troops is absolutely not advisable, my lord!"

"How ridiculous!" Xu You laughed sarcastically.

"Shen Pei and Tian Feng are traitors to their masters, and everyone knows it. They even dared to leave letters to deceive the lord. I think you, Ju Shou, must be colluding with them. I'm afraid you have also secretly accepted benefits from Gongsun Zan, right?"

"You..." Ju Su's face turned red with anger because of his words.

"I won't argue with you. My lord, Liu He has 70,000 to 80,000 soldiers. If they are divided to defend Handan, the strength of Yecheng will probably be even less than that of Liu He. Even though Yecheng has high walls and deep moats, and sufficient food and grass, it is a pipe dream to repel Liu He with only tens of thousands of soldiers. Moreover, even if they can win, it will take a long time. And how many days can Handan hold Guan Yu back? Three days? Five days? Or eight days? Moreover, he could have left a group of soldiers to continue attacking the city, and led the cavalry to come by detour, which would only take two days. Shen Pei and Tian Feng are both loyal, my lord must be aware of this..."

"This..." Yuan Shao was in hesitation.

"I have always known Zhengnan and Yuanhao for their loyalty. Moreover, the Baibo Army is now blocked by Gongsun Zan, which is very beneficial to me. If we say that they are pretending to surrender, it is reasonable... But this matter is of great importance. Based on your one-sided statement, I am afraid..."

Before he could finish his words, Ju Shou fell to his knees.

"My lord, Ju Su is willing to guarantee with the lives and property of his entire family that this is absolutely true. My lord, you can lock me and my family up. If it is false, you can chop off our heads at any time!"

After saying that, he kowtowed three times to Yuan Shao, and blood immediately appeared on his forehead.

Seeing this, Yuan Shao was deeply moved: "Okay, okay, Gong Fu, why do you have to be like this? Hurry up and get up. I believe you. What else did they say in the letter they left behind?"

When Ju Shou saw that he agreed, he quickly stood up, but the pain in his arm almost made him fall, and he finally stood firm with great difficulty.

"Yuan Hao left a letter saying that new camps should be built on the north and south sides of Yecheng to form a pincer attack with the city. When the enemy army attacks, they can respond from a distance, making it difficult for the enemy to take care of both ends. After repelling Liu He, it would be a piece of cake to recapture Zhongshan with Gongsun Zan's limited forces."

"Ju Shou, you are talking nonsense." Xu You, Guo Tu and others started to criticize, but Ju Shou ignored them all and just looked at Yuan Shao anxiously.

Yuan Shao lowered his head and thought for a moment, then said, "Okay, stop arguing, and just... just follow the advice of the ministers."

"My lord, this..." Xu You suddenly became anxious.

Ju Su was overjoyed: "Thank you, my lord! My lord is wise! My lord is wise!"

(End of this chapter)