Han officials

Chapter 190 The Competition Begins [12]

Wei Zhe knew that Gongsun Zan could definitely guess what he wanted to do.

Gongsun Zan also knew that Wei Zhe knew he could guess it.

But even so, Gongsun Zan chose to attack Yuan Shao without hesitation.

Because of Wei Zhe's battlefield advantage, Gongsun Zan can also enjoy it at this moment.

The thorn that Han Fu had planted in Yuan Shao's foundation at the cost of his life was not so easy to remove.

Even though the Yuan family of Runan had three officials in four generations, Yuan Shao himself was a famous figure known throughout the world.

However, when the news of the Yecheng mutiny spread in Jizhou, it still caused a strong response.

For example, although Shen Pei, who came from the Yin'an Shen clan, accepted Yuan Shao's invitation, Tian Feng, who came from a humble family, refused.

After all, he had seen the world. He was recruited by the Taiwei Mansion in his youth, and after reaching adulthood, he successfully passed the imperial examination. Finally, he stayed in Luoyang as a censor, where he had a wide network of friends. If it weren't for the eunuchs' dominance in the government and the murder of talented people, which led him to resign and return home, Tian Feng would have been at least a 2,000-stone official by now.

In addition, he was from a small family and was not like Shen Pei who had to bear the burden of his clan.

So after receiving Yuan Shao's call to serve, he threw the seal of the deputy driver out of the door without hesitation, saying that he was afraid of tarnishing his clean family.

It can be seen that the rumors about Tian Feng's strong character are not exaggerated at all, and he has even restrained himself a little.

When Yuan Shao learned of this, he was so enraged that he drew his sword and roared, "How dare you, old thief, insult me?"

After saying this, Yuan Shao, with a red face, ordered Qu Yi to lead his troops to Julu to prepare to massacre Tian Fengmanmen.

Faced with the furious Yuan Shao, even Xu You did not dare to stop him.

After all, Tian Feng is so determined, so it is really of no use to them.

However, when Qu Yi led his troops to Julu, Tian Feng had already disappeared without a trace under the protection of his fellow villagers.

Qu Yi grew up in Liangzhou, and most of his subordinates were private soldiers from Liangzhou's hometown.

Seeing that Tian Feng had already left, he was furious and immediately tortured his neighbors to find out his whereabouts.

As a result, more than a hundred people in Ren County lost their homes and died in one day.

Even though Qu Yi finally found out through interrogation that Tian Feng was hiding in the Mainland Lake, it was too late.

In desperation, Qu Yi had to return to Yecheng empty-handed to report.

However, after all this, the people of Julu became increasingly disgusted with Yuan Shao.

As a result, the originally notorious Gongsun Zan actually enjoyed the treatment of a royal teacher in contrast to Yuan Shao.

Both the will to resist and the morale of the army in Julu County were greatly reduced.

Although Yuan Shao's government took the trouble to announce to all the counties in Jizhou that Han Fu died of a sudden illness, it was still of no use.

The local forces in Jizhou were still discussing the matter, with mixed opinions on Yuan Shao, and there was an undercurrent of discussion for a while.

The most obvious manifestation of this situation was that the Anping Kingdom, which was originally in a tug-of-war, collapsed.

The Anping State, which had previously been able to barely resist Gongsun Zan's army, was easily captured by Gongsun Zan this time.

This greatly boosted the morale of Gongsun Zan, who had decided to go all out, and he immediately attacked Julu County in one go.

……

Julu County, Rencheng County.

Outside the west gate, Gongsun Zan couldn't help but raise the corners of his mouth as he looked at the open county gate.

It has been a long time since he enjoyed such treatment.

Especially after losing the Youzhou base camp a while ago, the morale of Gongsun Zan's army almost hit rock bottom.

This is also the reason why Gongsun Zan, who was originally unstoppable, was stopped by Han Fu in Anping State.

However, no matter how happy he was, Gongsun Zan did not get too carried away.

"Enter the city, seize the armory and granary, and quickly recruit soldiers!" Following Gongsun Zan's order, Yan Gang and others immediately scattered.

Gongsun Zan's current ruling model can be described as extremely crude, and the counties and prefectures in Jizhou that he occupied are basically under military control.

As for those cities that voluntarily surrendered, Gongsun Zan would at most ask for some food, mules, horses, and laborers.

But if a city is captured by Gongsun Zan's army, it will basically become a source of his military expenses.

However, it is precisely because of this rough method that Gongsun Zan is now so powerful.

After all, the tactic of using miscellaneous soldiers as the vanguard and elite troops as the rear is an old skill of the Han army on the border.

Of course, this rough model will definitely cause problems over time.

But the problem is that Gongsun Zan is too lazy to consider long-term issues.

If he cannot overcome the current difficulties, it is unknown how much time he has left.

Therefore, with Gongsun Zan's mentality of advancing forward without stopping and fighting to the death, the army under his command was invincible.

As one side gained strength while the other side lost strength, it didn't take long for Julu County to fall.

When the news reached Yecheng, Yuan Shao, who had always been particular about the demeanor of a gentleman, was completely panicked this time.

After all, once Julu is lost, Weijun will be within reach.

……

Weijun, Yecheng.

In the hall of the governor's mansion, Yuan Shao looked anxious and said, "We are facing a powerful enemy. Do you have any good plans?"

At this moment, Yuan Shao's eyes were so sincere that there was even a hint of pleading in his eyes when he looked at Xu You and other advisers.

However, faced with Gongsun Zan's swift offensive, Xu You and others could not think of any good solution for a while.

There is no way, we cannot win. They are just strategists, not generals.

At least they are not the kind of amazing strategists who can turn the tide on the battlefield.

However, just when Yuan Shao was anxious, he saw Shen Pei, who had just entered the shogunate, slowly step out.

Seeing this, Yuan Shao was immediately overjoyed and asked, "What's Zhengnan's plan?"

Upon hearing this, Shen Pei was not polite and stood up and said, "Please ask your attendants to leave."

As soon as these words were spoken, Xu You, Guo Tu and others who were in the same room suddenly turned pale and became very dissatisfied.

You must know that in terms of seniority, they are the veteran ministers who have followed Yuan Shao the longest.

Shen Pei's words clearly showed that he did not take them seriously.

Upon hearing this, Yuan Shao also showed hesitation and said, "Zhengnan, feel free to speak up. These are all my trusted ministers, so there is no need to worry."

But Shen Pei said bluntly, "If a ruler is not discreet, he will lose his ministers; if a minister is not discreet, he will lose himself; if a few things are not discreet, they will become harmful. Although I have a good plan, I must not let it reach anyone, otherwise it will be of little use."

To be honest, Shen Pei did not intend to provoke Xu You and others.

It is really due to the current social atmosphere that many things cannot be kept secret at all.

You have to know that such a big event as Wang Fen's attempt to assassinate the late emperor caused a sensation, which shows the people's awareness of confidentiality at that time.

Therefore, although Xu You and others were Yuan Shao's loyal followers and old ministers of the shogunate, Shen Pei still did not dare to be careless. Who knew whether Xu You would suddenly run to the enemy camp and attack back.

After all, his plan was simple to say, but it would not work if even a little word got out.

Seeing Shen Pei's insistence, the anxious Yuan Shao finally nodded.

However, in order to save some face for Xu You and other old ministers, he did not choose to dismiss the civil and military officials. Instead, he took Shen Pei out of the hall and went to the study to discuss the matter.

But even so, Xu You and the others' faces still darkened instantly, it was so ugly...

(End of this chapter)