The Three Kingdoms: Zhaolie, the strategist, and the rise of the Han Dynasty

Chapter 146 Time cannot understand the wishes of the people, who will judge their merits and demerits?
After Longkang was conquered, Liu Bei first issued a notice to reassure the people.

He then opened the treasury, took out all the money, food, wine and meat inside, and feasted the soldiers.

Yuan Shu stockpiled a large amount of resources in Longkang.

Not only did they store enough food to last for three months, they also stockpiled large amounts of wood and stone.

Now these things naturally belong to Xuzhou.

The 5,000 civilians left by Yuan Shu in Longkang were also captured by Xuzhou.

They are workers after all, so working for anyone doesn't count as working for them.

What's more, Liu Bei was a man of integrity and never withheld wages, which made him much better than Yuan Shu.

Liu Bei was surprised and delighted when he saw that he had captured the fortified city of Longkang and had seized so many resources.

He praised Li Yi:

"Thanks to the good advice of the military advisor, he used a sowing of spies to make Lu Bu and us work together from the inside and outside."

"Otherwise, how could Long Kang be so easy to capture?"

Li Yi smiled and said:

"This is all thanks to the kindness shown to Lu Bu by the lord, who gave him the purple ribbon."

"This is what caused Lu Bu to rebel against Yuan Shu."

Liu Bei smiled slightly, thinking to himself that a purple ribbon was nothing.

At worst, they can build another one. They in Xuzhou don’t lack the money anyway.

"It's just that Lu Bu has disappeared..."

Liu Bei spoke up again, "I wonder how the military advisor plans to deal with Lü Bu in the future?"

Li Yi raised his eyebrows and pursed his lips and said:

"I heard that Li Tong from Langling County, Runan, has defected to Cao Cao."

"Cao Cao has taken all of Runan's western territory."

"And Lu Bu was appointed by the imperial court as the governor of Runan. Isn't it reasonable for him to occupy Runan?"

Liu Bei nodded and immediately understood.

Li Yi wanted to establish a puppet regime in Runan to stop Cao Cao's eastward expansion.

After all, Cao and Liu are still allies on the surface.

And even if we deal with Yuan Shu in the future, we will also have to deal with Yuan Shao.

There will be no falling out in the short term.

Cao Cao had suffered great losses in the affairs of Chen and Liang before, so he would definitely not compromise on the issue of Runan.

It was not easy for Liu Bei to personally stop Cao Cao from expanding eastward towards Runan.

It would be better to let Lu Bu take back Runan. After all, he was the governor of Runan appointed by the imperial court himself.

He occupied Runan with full legitimacy.

The later battle between Yuan and Cao was also called the Battle of Henan and Hebei.

The battle between Henan and Hebei is also known as the Battle of Jizhou and Yuzhou.

Because the richest places in Hebei and Henan are Jizhou and Yuzhou respectively.

Runan was the largest area in Yuzhou, with a population of over two million.

There was no way Li Yi would allow Cao Cao's family to occupy the entire Runan.

"...Well, the military advisor has foresight and foresight. I admire him very much."

"So next, when can my army march in?"

Liu Bei then asked about military strategy.

Li Yi replied:
"Rest for two days first, and order the newly surrendered Qi Ji to recruit the nearby counties to surrender."

"We can only advance after we have completely eradicated Yuan Shu's forces in the southern part of Pei State."

Liu Bei followed his advice and ordered Qi Ji to take the emperor's imperial edict to punish the rebels and announce it to all counties.

Yuan Shu has been doing evil things over the years and has already lost the support of the people.

And this time Qi Ji received an imperial edict from the emperor, so all the counties surrendered.

Yuan Shu's power in the southern part of Pei State collapsed almost overnight.

The news of the fall of Longkang soon spread back to Shouchun.

There was a gloomy and sad atmosphere in Shouchun City.

The Skeleton King was still high above, but his face no longer had the glow it once had.

"This... this is impossible, absolutely impossible."

"I have 20,000 troops stationed in Longkang. 20,000!"

"Even if there were 20,000 pigs, they wouldn't have lost such a strong city in less than half a month!"

"Not to mention that there are 5,000 civilians as guarantors, and countless money and food."

"Even if Liu Bei is extremely omnipotent, he can't take down Longkang in such a short time."

Yuan Shu roared hysterically, unable to accept this reality.

The chief clerk Yan Xiang stepped out and said:

"I heard that there was a traitor in the army, who colluded with Liu Bei from inside and outside to open the city gate, so Longkang was lost."

Upon hearing this, Yuan Shu became even more furious.

"Who is it? ...Who betrayed me!"

"I am a noble family with three generations of nobles. Who would betray me and join those people who weave mats and sell shoes?"

Until now, Yuan Shu remains arrogant.

Still proud of my last name.

As they were talking, someone suddenly came to report that Lu Bu and Chen Gong were leading their troops back.

"Lu Bu?"

Yuan Shu raised his eyebrows, "He is also the commander of Longkang this time. He may know the inside story. You can summon him to the palace."

After a while, Lu Bu and others went to the palace.

After their defeat at Longkang, they fled all the way to Shouchun without having time to rest.

Therefore, there are still blood and dirt on his face and body.

Lu Bu bowed first and said:

"Reporting to Lord Yuan, Zhang Xun colluded with Liu Bei to force the city gates to open."

"The Xuzhou army rushed in and Bu was unable to resist, so he fled back in defeat."

hiss……

Yuan Shu took a deep breath and thought to himself, was it Zhang Xun who betrayed me?

"Where is Zhang Xun now?"

Yuan Shu asked in a deep voice.

Lu Bu bowed and replied:
"He has been killed by Bu."

"died?"

Yuan Shu was filled with thoughts, thinking to himself that Zhang Xun was already dead, so there would be no evidence.
But what is certain is that there must have been a traitor who tricked the city gate open, allowing the Xuzhou army to enter Longkang so easily.

"Mr. Yuan, don't listen to his excuses!"

Chief Clerk Yang Hong stepped forward and shouted:

"Some soldiers who escaped from Longkang said that it was Lu Bu who secretly colluded with Liu Bei."

"We agreed to raise a fire as a signal at three o'clock in the morning to let the Xuzhou troops enter the city."

"It was because of his collusion that Long Kang was lost."

Before coming, Lu Bu had already prepared himself mentally.

He memorized the words he had prepared in advance and immediately bowed to Yuan Shu and said:

"Mr. Yuan, this must be a frame-up by Zhang Xun's men."

"If Bu really managed to open the city gate, he shouldn't have fled back to Shouchun!"

This is true...

No matter how you look at it, looking at the appearance of Lu Bu and his group, it really looks like they have suffered a defeat.

If he really had colluded with Liu Bei and won, he shouldn't be in such an embarrassing state.

Not to mention that he dared to come back to Shouchun to see me.

However, just in case, Yuan Shu still asked Chen Gong, who was frowning and silent at the side.

"Mr. Gongtai, is what General Lu said true?"

Yuan Shu knew that Chen Gong was a representative of the Yanzhou scholar group, and that he had no choice but to follow Lu Bu.

Yang Hong had already persuaded him to surrender to him, so it was impossible for him to speak for Lu Bu.

Chen Gong nodded and said seriously:

"It's true."

"It is true that Zhang Xun colluded with Liu Bei and tricked him into opening the city gate, rendering the defense of Longkang City useless."

"The Xuzhou army rushed in and captured the city."

"Although we have fought hard, Zhang Xun and Liu Bei have joined forces and their power is so great that we cannot resist them."

"We can only abandon the city and leave."

After hearing what Chen Gong said, Yuan Shu finally felt relieved.

He was immediately furious and slammed the table and shouted:
"Bold Zhang Xun, I treat him well and make him a general."

"He has no regard for Yuan Shu's kindness, but has colluded with Liu Bei, intending to harm me. He deserves death!"

"Come here, arrest all of Zhang Xun's family members, young and old."

"Tomorrow at noon, the entire family will be executed!"

Everyone looked at each other in bewilderment; no one dared to step forward to dissuade the furious Yuan Shu, let alone to plead for Zhang Xun.

"……snort."

Yuan Shu was still furious. "If the traitor Zhang Xun had not been killed, I would have torn him into pieces to avenge myself!"

Yuan Shu used thunder-like means just to tell the world.

Betraying Yuan Shu would not end well.

Just as Yuan Shu was furious, another scout came to report.

"Report——"

"Mr. Yuan, something terrible has happened."

"Ruyin has been lost!"

What! ? ?
As soon as these words were spoken, the entire hall exploded.

Not to mention Yuan Shu, even Lu Bu, Chen Gong and others who pretended to surrender were surprised.

Ruyin was an important town second only to Longkang, yet it fell after just a few days of resistance.

It can be said that Longkang had Lu Bu as an accomplice, but what about Ruyin?
"How did it fall?"

Yuan Shu, who always paid attention to his image, ignored the etiquette of scholars at this moment. He rushed down the stairs and grabbed the scout by the collar.

His eyes were bloodshot and he screamed at the top of his lungs:

"Speak clearly to me!"

"How come Ruyin was lost when there were tens of thousands of defenders?"

"Longkang has an internal thief as a response, not to mention Ruyin!"

The scout was covered in blood and seriously injured. He managed to escape back at the risk of his life.

"Guan Yu used a new type of catapult to smash the walls of Ruyin."

"I can't defend myself..."

"fart!"

Yuan Shu couldn't help but swore.

He threw the scout to the ground and shouted:
"I don't care how powerful Guan Yu is or how many catapults he has." "You are also veterans in the army. Don't you know that when an enemy comes, we will fight him. When water comes, we will block it with earth."

"Even if the catapult is powerful enough to destroy the city wall, don't you know how to repair it?"

"I have stored so much stone and wood in the city. Are you using them as firewood?"

The scout was seriously injured and after several days of running around, he was only alive.

He mustered up his courage at this moment, pointed at Yuan Shu's nose and cursed:
"...General Qiao and General Le asked you for help earlier. I hope you can send us engineers."

"You firmly refused, and the two generals became discouraged and secretly fled out of the city five days ago."

"We were left alone to defend the city until Guan Yu entered the city, only then did we know that the two generals had already abandoned us."

"This mistake on Ruyin is your own fault!"

Yuan Shu was furious when he heard this. No one in Huainan had ever dared to put the blame on him.

Not to mention that the person who passed the buck was just a lowly pawn.

"How dare you do that, you little brat!"

Yuan Shu drew his sword and tried to kill the soldier, but his sword was barely above his head.

The soldier was already lying on the ground, breathless.

Everyone in the hall sighed when they saw this.

The soldier fought until the last moment, and before his death he still insisted on sending back the battle report, thus completing his mission.

Such a small person, yet we can still see the arc of greatness in him.

For some reason, someone in the hall was moved by the scene, or perhaps felt that the situation was hopeless.

The two emotions mixed together, and for a moment I was overwhelmed with grief and cried with my face covered.

When one person cries, another person cries.

At once, everyone started to cry loudly.

Yuan Shu was stunned, but he was not infected by the sad mood.

Over the years, he and his officials have been bullying the people in Huainan.

He had never been afraid before, but at this moment his hands were shaking slightly.

He felt a trace of fear in his heart, and the crying of the crowd brought him an unprecedented sense of fear.

It seems as if everything I have will soon be lost.

Do not! !

I haven't lost yet!

Yuan Shu thrust his sword into the ground and shouted:

"Everyone, be quiet!"

Everyone was crying like possessed just now, and only came to their senses after being scolded by Yuan Shu.

"Now that Ruyin and Longkang have been lost one after another, what should we do?"

Everyone looked at each other, seemingly each with their own thoughts, and no one dared to speak.

Yuan Shu put his hand to his lips, thought for a long time, and slowly asked:
"Where are Wu Jing and Sun Ben?"

Yuan Shu suddenly remembered that he had asked for reinforcements from Sun Ce.

The combined forces of these two men number about 10,000 people, which is a force that cannot be ignored.

As soon as Yuan Shu asked the question, Chief Clerk Yan Xiang immediately replied:

"According to the scouts' report, they have already arrived in Chengli County."

"In three days, after we pass Shaopo, we will reach Shouchun."

Ok?
Yuan Shu raised his eyebrows and said in a fierce voice:

"Why is it so slow?"

"Even before Liu Bei started the battle, I ordered these two to come to Shouchun."

"Liu Bei has already conquered the two important towns of Longkang and Ruyin, but these two have not arrived yet."

"Could it be that you are deliberately delaying Russia?"

Everyone whispered to themselves, wondering if it was possible that Liu Bei was attacking too fast?
Li Ye, the counsellor, came forward to explain:
"Mingsir, General Wu and General Sun, in addition to their own troops, also brought more than 5,000 civilians and more than 20,000 hu of grain."

"This marching speed is already extremely fast."

Ok……

Upon hearing this, Yuan Shu stopped pursuing the responsibility and instead clasped his hands and covered his face.

Seems to be in deep thought.

No one dared to make a sound to disturb them and just waited quietly by the side.

After about three incense sticks of time, Yuan Shu slowly moved his hands away.

He slowly opened his mouth and uttered a shocking sentence:
"Pass the order down, immediately draw troops from Xiacai and Hefei, and then mobilize all the troops in Shouchun."

"I will personally fight against the big-eared thief, cut him into pieces, and avenge my Yao'er!"

Holy shit! !
As soon as these words were spoken, all the civil and military officials present were shocked.

This Skeleton King is really a man who would make a big splash if he did make a noise.

Although the important towns of Ruyin and Longkang were lost, the situation is very unfavorable to us.

But it’s not to the point of just going all in!
If we lose this, we will completely lose the chance to turn the situation around.

There is no doubt that Yuan Shu's decision immediately aroused opposition from everyone.

"Please think twice, my lord!"

"Please think twice, my lord!"

"..."

All the ministers came forward and advised Yuan Shu to take back his title.

Chief Clerk Yan Xiang was particularly emotional:
"The battle on the front line is not going well. We just need to send troops to the follow-up towns to transport soldiers and continue to hold on."

"Why mobilize all the troops of Shouchun to march blindly?"

Xiacai is an important town on the right wing of Shouchun, and is also a must-pass place on Liu Bei’s subsequent marching route.

Now that Yuan Shu has withdrawn the troops from Xia Cai, doesn't that mean he is giving them to Liu Bei for nothing?

As for Hefei, it is an important town in the south of Shouchun.

You must know that Chen Yuanlong had already sent troops from Guangling, crossed the Yangtze River and attacked Jiujiang from behind.

If he launches a surprise attack, all the counties and prefectures in the rear of Shouchun will be paralyzed.

The reason why Shouchun is rich is that various resources are continuously transported here from southern counties.

Because Shouchun is located in the northernmost part of Huainan.

It blocked the threat from the north, and the southern counties could develop peacefully without being disturbed by war.

Then, troops and food supplies could be continuously transported to Shouchun via land and water routes.

And if the troops from Hefei, an important city in the south of Shouchun, were to be rashly transferred here.

Isn’t it equivalent to handing the south directly over to Chen Deng?
This kind of foolish behavior is unacceptable to everyone.

"Please be patient, gentlemen."

Yuan Shu launched his own brilliant plan and explained the reasons to everyone.

"Now our army has just suffered a defeat and lost an important town. The Xuzhou army has already entered Huainan."

"We have lost our shelter and it is impossible to defend the city."

The wheat and rice in Huainan have not been harvested yet, so it is definitely too late to hold on to Shouchun now.

Therefore, Yuan Shu thought that they should take the initiative to attack.

"Only if I personally lead the army and boost morale will I have a chance to defeat Liu Bei."

"If it succeeds, all the counties and prefectures that were lost before can be recaptured."

"If the battle goes badly, I will withdraw my troops and return to Shouchun to defend it."

"Besides, if I can transfer troops from Xiacai and Hefei, and wait for Wu Jing and Sun Ben's troops to arrive, I should be able to gather about 40,000 people."

"With twice the number of troops in Xuzhou, I don't think they are our match."

Everyone looked at each other, not knowing what to say.

Yan Xiang asked tentatively:
"What should we do if Chen Deng's troops attack from behind Jiujiang?"

Yuan Shu was also prepared for this:
"Chen Deng came up the Yangtze River and must have landed at Liyang."

"Liyang is defended by Sun Xiang and Sun Fu, so Chen Deng will not be able to pass."

"Even if Chen Deng manages to get through, by then I will have already defeated Liu Bei and it will be too late for me to send troops back to help."

After all, Yuan Shu will have to fight a field battle with Liu Bei next.

Field warfare is different from siege warfare. What matters is speed.

When two armies confront each other, the winner becomes king.

Therefore, Yuan Shu firmly believed that even if Chen Deng really captured Liyang and landed on the shore.

By then he would have already decided the outcome with Liu Bei, and would have been in time to rescue him.

Although there were still many dissenting voices in the hall, Yuan Shu still suppressed them with his prestige.

Qian Gang made a dictatorial decision to mobilize all the troops in Shouchun to fight a decisive battle with Liu Bei.

Yuan Shu was very satisfied with his arrangement.

He will personally lead the army to fight against Liu Bei.

As for the Ru River and the Ying River, these two routes correspond to the armies of Cao Cao and Guan Yu respectively.

Ji Ling would resist Cao Cao's attack in Xincai.

Although Guan Yu captured Ruyin, there was still Shencheng behind Ruyin.

Shencheng is not far to the north of Shouchun, and there are heavy troops stationed there.

The reason why Yuan Shu did not transfer the troops here to Shouchun was to use it to block Guan Yu's advance.

This was to prevent Guan Yu from coming and stealing his home while he was away from Shouchun and fighting Liu Bei.

Now that the plan had been finalized, Yuan Shu began to implement it.

He ordered the troops from Hefei in the south and Xiacai in the east to be transferred to Shouchun for unified deployment.

After waiting for a few days, Wu Jing and Sun Ben also arrived with their respective troops.

Their troops combined number about 10,000.

In addition, they also brought five thousand civilians and a large amount of grain, rice, wine and meat.

Yuan Shu was overjoyed and generously rewarded the two men.

Assign them to the army and go out together.

Wu Jing and Sun Ben were both a little confused. Why did Yuan Shu want to go all in for a decisive battle just after arriving in Shouchun?
But the arrow had to be shot, even though the two were unwilling to fight with Yuan Shu.

But he still endured it for a while and stayed in Yuan Shu's army to serve.

Soon, troops from all directions arrived in Shouchun, totaling 40,000 people.

Yuan Shu brought out all his troops, using Lu Bu as the vanguard and Li Feng and Liang Gang as generals.

He also appointed Chen Gong as his chief strategist, and Yang Hong and Li Ye as his military advisors.

The increase in the number of people and horses also increased Shouchun’s food and fodder burden.

But at the moment, Yuan Shu could not care less and forcibly conscripted all the young and strong men in the vicinity of Shouchun to serve as laborers.

Order them to escort food and fodder.

He also left behind 3,000 soldiers, armed with swords, to attack the rear.

Anyone who is late in walking will be killed on the road, regardless of the reason.

Countless people died of exhaustion on the way, and some were beheaded in ditches.

For a moment, the sound of crying was earth-shaking.

Yuan Shu's 40,000 troops left Shouchun in the east and marched along the Huai River straight towards the Xuzhou army.

……

(End of this chapter)