activa-t Chapter 162: The Well-Dressed Beast in the Middle
Chapter 162: The Well-Dressed Beast in the Middle
Chapter 162: The Well-Dressed Beast in the Middle
Yuan Shu led his army to Suiyang. On the way, he heard that Dong Zhuo had arrived in Pei State, so he turned around and headed for Pei County.
Both military generals and counselors rode on horses, following Yuan Shu and discussing the war continuously.
Yuan Huan sighed and said to Guo Tu and others, "The lord is kind and has not dealt with Liang and Pei. The money and grain have benefited Dong Zhuo."
In order to establish his reputation, Yuan Shu treated the two counties of Pei and Liang with great kindness to win the hearts of the people, and there was almost no killing and looting.
Yuan Huan, Guo Tu and others knew very well who Dong Zhuo was. Such a fertile land was like a wolf entering a flock of sheep.
Xu You rode his horse, swaying, and said, "Money and food are easy to talk about. Liang and Pei have many brave men, and Dong Zhuo is righteous. I'm afraid that in a few days, he will be able to get tens of thousands of soldiers and horses."
Everyone's faces darkened; this was also what they were most worried about.
Dong Zhuo is a famous general of Xiliang and has many capable people under his command. He is completely incomparable to Gongsun Zan. If he is allowed to gather an army of 100,000, the consequences will be unimaginable!
Yuan Shu was sitting in the chariot, and could only hear half of what was said, but his face was calm, without any sign of panic.
Yuan Huan glanced at Yuan Shu, then looked at Xu You and said, "Ziyuan, then what do you think, will Dong Zhuo go to Xuzhou to form an alliance with Tao Qian?"
Xu You shook his head and said, "It's hard to say. If Dong Zhuo has enough money, food and troops, he might continue to compete with you. Yuzhou is a place where great things can be accomplished. If Dong Zhuo has ambitions, he won't leave easily."
Yuan Shu suddenly frowned, a cold light flashed in his eyes, and he glanced at Xu You.
Yuzhou is his!
Xu You didn't realize what was happening, and continued, "Xuzhou is not so easy to capture. I predict that the imperial court will definitely react. If we don't withdraw our troops, I'm afraid it will be difficult for us to leave."
Yuan Shu's expression became colder and colder, and he couldn't help wanting to speak. Suddenly, a cavalryman came running quickly, landed in front of Yuan Shu's chariot, knelt on one knee, and said loudly: "My lord, General Ji was defeated by Liu Bei, the Prime Minister of Pengcheng, and was chopped by a red-faced man. He has withdrawn from Xuzhou. General Qu was defeated by Lu Bu, the captain of the Pinglu, in Langya County, and has retreated to Xu County, Xiapi. Please send troops to support him!"
As soon as the messenger finished speaking, everyone's face changed color.
Yuan Shu's eyes widened, he stood up suddenly, stared at him, and shouted: "Who is Liu Bei? How many soldiers does he have? Lu Bu, how many people does he have?"
If the battle situation in Xuzhou changes dramatically and switches from offense to defense, Yuan Shu will not be able to continue pursuing Dong Zhuo and may even have to take a defensive stance.
Everyone looked at the messenger and couldn't help but feel nervous.
The messenger knelt on the ground and said, "Liu Bei is a student of Bingzhou Governor Lu Zhi and once served under Gongsun Zan. He is not famous and has only 3,000 soldiers. Lu Bu is the adopted son of Yanzhou Governor Ding Yuan. He has some military achievements but is not famous either."
Who are these people? Where did they come from? How did they defeat Ji Ling and Qu Yi?
Yuan Shu was furious, his eyes flickering, he looked at the several counselors beside him, and said in a deep voice: "What do you think we should do?"
The reversal of the situation in Xuzhou means that Yuan Shu's situation has changed. The troops in Xuzhou may attack Yuan Shu from the flank at any time!
The original situation of encircling Dong Zhuo instantly turned into encircling Yuan Shu!
Yuan Huan raised his hand and said urgently: "My lord, the best way now is to withdraw to Runan, reorganize the army and observe the situation."
Yuan Shu said nothing. He looked at Tian Feng, Xu You, Guo Tu and others, and finally stopped at Tian Feng. He said fiercely, "Yuan Hao, what do you have to teach me?"
Tian Feng faced Yuan Shu's murderous gaze and felt great hatred in his heart, but he had to frown and think.
After a moment, he said calmly: "Dong Zhuo's foothold is not stable yet, and the situation in Xuzhou is uncertain. We cannot retreat now. We must advance quickly and annihilate Dong Zhuo!"
Yuan Shu's face twitched as he looked at Tian Feng for a long while. He suppressed his murderous intent, turned to Xu You, forced a smile, and said, "Ziyuan, what good plan do you have?"
Xu You was not in a hurry. He glanced at Tian Feng and raised his hand and said, "My lord, I agree with Military Advisor Tian. We must not retreat at this time! If you retreat, the army will lose morale and the people will be scattered. We should march into Pei State as quickly as possible and kill Dong Zhuo by surprise. As long as we defeat Dong Zhuo, Yu, Xu and Yang will still belong to you, and great achievements can be expected!"
Guo Tu and Yuan Huan looked at each other, both of them looked hesitant and did not speak.
This is a way, but it's too risky!
Yuan Shu looked struggling and was calculating something in his mind.
He did not trust Tian Feng and had reservations about Xu You. In addition, he had a slight fear of Dong Zhuo in his heart, so he unconsciously tended to withdraw his troops.
But Yuan Shu also knew the consequences of withdrawing his troops. The momentum of "upholding the emperor and eliminating the enemy" would suffer a huge blow, and the reputation and people's hearts that he had worked so hard to build up would be severely damaged!
This is unacceptable to him!
Tian Feng did not say anything else. His proposal was indeed the best response strategy for Yuan Shu at the moment. If he wanted to succeed, he had to win in one battle!
If they fail to win quickly, Wang Rui of Jingzhou and Gongsun Zan of Yingchuan may invade Runan again at any time and seize Yuan Shu's lair.
At the same time, troops from Xuzhou and Yanzhou rushed over, and the only thing waiting for Yuan Shu was defeat!
Seeing that Tian Feng, Yuan Huan and the others were silent, Xu You snorted in his heart, raised his hand and said loudly: "My lord, please send troops immediately to attack Pei County as quickly as possible and destroy Dong Zhuo!"
Yuan Shu frowned even more tightly and looked at Yuan Huan and Guo Tu.
After much analysis, the two men still felt that retreating to Runan and regrouping would be the safest option. Seeing Yuan Shu's look, they hesitated and said, "My lord, I think that advancing to Pei County will do more harm than good."
Guo Tu followed up and said, "My suggestion is to retreat to Qiao County and observe the changes."
Yuan Shu struggled in his heart, and his heroic face gradually twisted.
These people all said different things, making it difficult for him to make a decision.
"My lord!" Suddenly, a soldier came hurriedly from the front and handed over a letter, saying, "A letter from Zhao from Pei State, saying that they have an old relationship with my lord."
"Zhao?"
Yuan Shu looked puzzled. He knew so many people with the surname Zhao that he couldn't remember which family it was. He took the letter and opened it.
After a quick glance, Yuan Shu stood up and shouted, "Order Gao Lan and Zhang He as the vanguard, and send troops to Pei County immediately!"
Tian Feng, Xu You, Yuan Huan and others looked at Yuan Shu's firm and confident profile, glanced at the letter in his hand, and were curious about who wrote it.
Xu You couldn't help but rode his horse and followed Yuan Shu and asked, "My lord, what about this letter?"
Yuan Shu calmly put the letter away and put it in his arms. He looked towards Pei County with cold and complacent eyes and said, "Dong Zhuo looted Pei State and forced the noble families to donate money and food to help with the military expenditure. He has aroused the wrath of heaven and the resentment of the people. He is doomed to fail!"
'Is it possible that someone couldn't stand it anymore and leaked the information? ' Xu You immediately thought to himself.
Tian Feng frowned secretly and was very dissatisfied with Dong Zhuo.
Yuan Huan, Guo Tu and others calmed down. If there was an insider in Pei County, they could fight!
Yuan Shu led an army of 50,000, and rode non-stop, galloping day and night, straight to Pei County.
At the same time, the capital of Pei State was Xiang County.
Huangfu Jianchang and Shi A were hiding in a private house, bandaging their arm wounds, with two bloody swords beside them.
Shi A had long been accustomed to bandaging wounds, so he was very familiar with it and was nonchalant. He raised his eyelids and looked at Huangfu Jianchang, who had matured a lot during this period of time, and said, "Are you going back to Beijing?"
Huangfu Jian bit the knot tightly with his teeth, spat out blood foam, picked up the knife on the ground, wiped the blood carefully, and cursed: "Except at your Majesty's place, I have never suffered such a big loss. I must get it back!"
Actually, Liu Bian was not beaten severely that time. It was only later when Huangfu Song learned that Huangfu Jianchang had bumped into Liu Bian and threw him directly off the bed and onto the ground that the punishment became serious.
Shi A sat down, took out a piece of cake from his arms, took a bite, and said, "There are bandits everywhere, and the news can't be sent out. There may be a war. We will be discovered sooner or later if we hide here."
Huangfu Jian sneered, put his knife upright, turned around, reached into Shi A's arms, rummaged around for a long time, took out half a cake, took a bite, and said, "I'm not afraid of these bandits, nor am I afraid of Dong Zhuo. I'm worried about the scholars who are under house arrest by Dong Zhuo."
Dong Zhuo killed many nobles on the pretext of "joining the rebellion" to establish his authority, and placed many people under house arrest. In name, he was "assisting in suppressing the rebellion", but in reality he was forcing them to work for him.
Shi A straightened his clothes and said, "Do you want to save the Cao family?"
Huangfu Jian nodded, spit out a mouthful of blood foam, and said: "If the Cao family falls into Dong Zhuo's hands, Dong Zhuo will definitely coerce Cao Cao, and then there will be big trouble. We must find a way to send the news to the capital as soon as possible."
If Dong Zhuo coerced Cao Cao, the consequences would be disastrous!
"Why not give it directly to Cao Cao?" Shi Adao said.
Upon hearing this, Huangfu Jianchang sat up immediately, stared at Shi A with wide eyes, and said, "I remember that you and General Cao are good friends?"
Shi A ignored him and said calmly: "Based on my understanding of Cao Mengde, he will never be coerced by Dong Zhuo to betray the court."
Huangfu Jian curled his lips and said, "Look at Pei County and the entire Pei State. Yesterday some people voted for Yuan Shu, today some voted for Dong Zhuo, and some secretly voted for both sides. Do you think I haven't seen enough?"
During this period, Huangfu Jianchang's eyes were really opened. Those noble families who seemed glamorous, loyal, and put morals above all else, in times of crisis, all their ugly faces and disgusting words were exposed.
Shi A frowned and said, "There is chaos and turmoil now. How can we send the letter?"
Huangfu Jianchang suddenly burst into laughter.
Shi A couldn't stand seeing him being so dishonest, so he shook his head and said, "My benefactor, the eldest sons are all serious people, but how come you can't even say three serious words?"
Huangfu Jian rummaged through his crotch, continued to hold the cake, took a big bite, and said vaguely: "I'll tell you a secret, I have planted someone next to Dong Zhuo."
Shi A ate his cake and said, "I remember that after Dong Zhuo left the capital, everyone was driven away. How did you get in?"
Huangfu Jianchang became more and more proud, and laughed: "He did drive them away, but Zhang Ji and the others didn't. They value fellow villagers the most, so if there's a fellow villager, why don't they bring him to their side?"
Shi A was not surprised. Huangfu Jianchang was the best at this kind of crooked trick. He said, "Dong Zhuo's army has sealed off the city. How are you contacting them?"
Huangfu Jian moved closer to Shi A, with his big face almost touching Shi A's nose.
Shi A subconsciously grasped the sword. If it weren't for his slow reaction, Huangfu Jian would have died.
Huangfu Jianchang and Shi A's noses touched, and he whispered, "There are also people I have placed in Pei County."
Shi A's eyelids twitched again and again, and he loosened the sword in his hand with difficulty, and said lightly: "Hurry up and recover, we are going to Pei County."
Huangfu Jian hummed heavily and remained motionless.
Shi A tolerated him for a while, then kicked him away.
Huangfu Jian rolled over after being kicked, and sat up while touching his stomach. He said as if nothing had happened, "Wait a little longer. I still have to wait for news from Yuan Shu."
Shi A Shi knew that Huangfu Jian had buried someone in Yuan Shu's place, so he put away his sword, stood up and said, "I'm going to go out and investigate, you stay here and don't move."
Huangfu Jianchang said nothing, just staring at the ground in a daze.
Shi A ignored him and quietly left the abandoned house.
A day later, Yuan Shu arrived in Xiang County.
Compared with Dong Zhuo's burning, killing and looting, Yuan Shu's army posted notices everywhere to reassure the people as soon as they entered the city.
"General Yuan Shu, following the late emperor's will, raised an army to uphold justice and eliminate the thieves!"
"No looting, no adultery, no robbery, no slander!"
"Go to the national crisis, clear the emperor's side, and enforce justice on behalf of heaven!"
"Wherever the army passes, no one will be harmed, and the territory and people will be protected!"
In addition to the notices, there were soldiers walking through the streets beating drums and gongs and shouting loudly.
Huangfu Jianchang and Shi A hid in the abandoned well, only showing a pair of eyes, observing quietly.
After the group of soldiers walked away, Shi A whispered, "How are you going to contact the people you planted?"
Huangfu Jianchang was still listening with his ears perked up, and said, "This is a secret between me and your Majesty."
When Shi A was about to leave, Huangfu Jianchang turned back, looked down at him and said, "He will put the letter in a riddle at the agreed place, and I can just go and get it."
Shi A ignored him and went straight down.
"Hey, hey,"
Huangfu Jianchang hurriedly followed and said, "This is really a secret between me and your majesty. I won't tell anyone else. Put down your sword. This place is so narrow..."
……
The next morning, Huangfu Jianchang was dozing off in a dry well when he was suddenly awakened by a small stone.
Huangfu Jian's long nose moved, his eyes widened, and he climbed up quickly, grabbed the roast chicken, and started to bite it.
Shi A sat beside the dry well and said, "Yuan Shu's army set out at dawn last night."
Huangfu Jianchang bit the chicken leg and asked, "Do you have any wine?"
Shi Ada frowned and took a pot of wine from the other side.
Huangfu Jian drank with a big gulp, then wiped his mouth, stood up and said, "Go get the secret letter."
Shi A followed him and said, "Why don't you ask Yuan Shu why he was in such a hurry to leave Xiang County?"
"It may be in the secret letter." Huangfu Jianchang said vaguely while eating and walking.
Soon, the two came to a corner of the city wall. Huangfu Jianchang fiddled with it for a long time and pulled out two letters.
There were a bunch of strange characters on the first letter. Huangfu Jianchang stuffed it into his arms, took out the second one and looked at it carefully.
He read very slowly, mumbling to himself, "Zhang He defeated Hua Xiong in Xiao County, and Yuan Shu's army marched out to attack Pei County."
After hearing this, Shi A said to himself, "Is Hua Xiong really just a show-off?"
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