When the Bafu Army entered Jixian, the situation in Youzhou was already extremely deteriorated.
After the battle at Gaoyang, Gongsun Zan was frightened and ordered his 60,000 soldiers to be trapped in Fan Yang and Yijing areas. No matter what Yuan Jun did, they were not allowed to leave the city to fight. Yuan Shao took advantage of this situation and personally led 120,000 infantrymen to go north. p>
He camped with Yishui and Juma Shuijian for nearly a hundred miles, and then surrounded the two cities. Yijing was stable, and Fan Yang's heavy troops could not suddenly break the city, but it also cut off Gongsun Zan's news.
Isolated from states and counties.
At the same time,
After the Wuhuan and Yuan Shang tribes in the three counties joined together, they also had nearly 100,000 people. Many counties were unable to compete, so their people were rampant in the counties of Youzhou. Seeing Gongsun Zan's loss of power, the county magistrates often felt betrayal.
Among the four counties of Yuyang, Guangyang, Zhuojun, and Beiping, as many as 13 counties surrendered from Kaicheng. To the south of Juyong and north of Fanyang, only five counties, Zhuoxian, Jixian, Jundu, Guangyang, and Changping, still maintained their control.
Neutral.
After learning about the situation, Liu Bei suddenly fell into an extremely embarrassing situation. If he wanted to go south to rescue Gongsun Zan, he not only had to regain the counties in the south, but also beware of the threat of Wuhuan on the flanks. More importantly, his own troops were stretched thin and he was in an absolute position.
At a disadvantage.
But Liu Bei is not impatient. He knows that his arrival is also pressure from Yuan Shao. Surrounding 60,000 people with more than 100,000 people is actually a very difficult arrangement. A slight mistake will lead to a complete defeat.
Therefore, Yuan Shao's headquarters did not dare to act rashly. The only ones who could be used to fight against him were Yuan Shang and Wuhuan from the three counties. In recent years, Bafu has conquered the east and west and has gained a great reputation. They did not dare to do so even if they did not know the depth of the situation.
Act rashly. Although the situation is bad, at this point, it will fall into a stalemate and will not become more corrupt.
However, for Liu Bei, although he only met Yuan Shao a few times in the court, he had heard Yuan Shao's name for too long, starting from when he was studying in Luoyang, until the reply to the teacher's letter a few days ago.
From his mouth, Chen Chong's mouth, and Cao Cao's mouth, he knew that this was a figure who could influence the situation of the Han Dynasty. This was the first time he fought against Yuan Shao, which aroused his strong curiosity and wanted to see it with his own eyes.
,
This person who is as famous as Chen Chong, what is the situation like under his rule?
On the first day of July,
Liu Bei also received news that Yuan Shang's troops were stationed in Anci, a hundred miles south of Ji County. The camp conditions were strictly strict and orders were strictly followed. Even the Wuhuan tribes were under his control. The scene was quite spectacular. This made him even more intolerable.
, so he changed into a knight attire, put on straw sandals, a bamboo hat, and a sword, and went south with four similarly dressed followers, intending to see Yuan Jun's momentum in person.
Of course, his subordinates tried to persuade him to do so, but when the persuasion failed, they planned to accompany him. However, Liu Bei said that they were not Yan people and did not understand knights, and accompanying him would only arouse suspicion, so they left Jixian and went south.
On the first day, they crossed the river and soon came to a small ancestral hall next to the official road. Looking at the plaque in the ancestral hall, it can be seen that this is a temple dedicated to Jing Ke.
He was highly respected, so there were many Jing Ke temples in Youzhou, and the incense was always strong. When Liu Bei saw this, he went in and lit a stick of incense for Jing Ke, and ordered his entourage to play a song to pay tribute to the heroic spirit. After worshiping, he came out and saw
Several rangers galloped past the road. They were wearing hunting clothes and gauze hats.
Liu Bei realized that it was Yuan Jun's scout, but he made no move and just walked quietly on the roadside.
When the knight approached, Liu Bei noticed that there were seven or eight people in this group. The leader looked like an adult. The followers were strong and the horses they rode were extremely majestic. They were obviously not ordinary knights. He couldn't help but wonder.
Said: "Could it be a famous general in Yuan's army?"
Despite this belief in his heart, he still did not stop walking and continued southward with his entourage. The group of men and horses finally came close to him. Liu Bei leaned to the roadside. At the brief moment when he was about to pass by, he held Li Yuan in his hand and looked up.
The leading knight. The man was about thirty years old, slightly younger than himself, with tight lips and a hint of tiredness at the corners of his mouth. But he had foxtail-like eyebrows, which made his eyes look sharp and sensitive, but only for a moment. They
Already riding away.
Liu Bei had already recognized him. It was Zhang He, the general of the Ning Kingdom under Yuan Shao. Guan Yu was deeply impressed by Zhang He when he went to the allied army. He specifically mentioned it to Liu Bei, saying that Zhang He was like an old fox. He was the best at changing his plans and was a rare general.
Only then. He was passing by now, and he probably wanted to inquire about himself personally. Liu Bei then sighed with emotion, a truly famous general can only make appropriate suggestions after personally observing every detail. It seems that Zhang He cannot be underestimated.
What kind of strategy will he offer?
In any case, Liu Bei increasingly felt the need to see Yuan Jun's appearance.
Early the next morning, he arrived in the western suburbs of Anci.
In order not to make Yuan Jun suspicious, Liu Bei deliberately went around in a circle, arrived at Anci from the west, and lay down in a dilapidated temple in the village overnight to make himself look more like a common Youyan ranger. In fact,
He was indeed a Youyan Ranger.
As we approached Anci County, we encountered a group of warriors wearing light armor. The tips of a dozen of them were reflecting the midsummer sun. They were full of murderous spirit, but they marched in strict discipline, obviously to defend public security.<
/p>
Along the way, Liu Bei met Yuan Jun soldiers who patrolled several times, and was interrogated, but Xingzang was not exposed because he was thin and his accent was pure Yan people. At first glance, there was no flaw.
The outskirts of Anci are flat. Villages are scattered on this vast field composed of depressions and plains. One third is riverbank-like wilderness, one third is dry land, and one third is dense forest. Even in the early morning in the north,
It's a bit cold in summer, but the seedlings in the fields have already been cut off, and the green fields are covered with a layer of green like a layer of pastel.
In times of war, all parties are busy fighting. Even if farmers are at risk of being killed by swords and arrows, they still work in the fields. Without their labor and production, there will be famine in the world, and the sages will not be able to make a living. Therefore, the people are in the fields.
Not everyone feels forced to farm. Many people go to the fields with the joy of hard work and the value of production. Liu Bei thought, how noble this thought is, and it is through this kind of heart that the world can continue.
In comparison, those princes and tyrants who mistreat farmers and fulfill their selfish desires are really hopeless.
This is Anci, and this is Youyan. He came here when he was young, and this is considered his hometown. But now, under the patrol of Yuan Jun, the farmers are still working with peace of mind, and there is no sense of crisis that a war is about to happen.<
/p>
"Will Yuan Shao own the harvest of these young seedlings when they grow up?" Liu Bei thought about this with a feeling of sadness. He then thought: "What a difficult creature to deal with! In a hundred years of life, you can't expect to encounter him every time.
If I fight against Yuan Shao, a fool like Yuan Shu, I’m afraid the people will lose their support!”
After he stopped for a moment, he immediately walked towards Anci City.
The path between fields under the bright sun winds all the way eastward. After walking for about two miles, you can vaguely see the city gate. There seems to be smoke coming from somewhere in the south. If you look closely, there seems to be something floating and flickering between the greenery and the village.
Liu Bei knew that it was a military flag. In this weather, the flag in the distance looked like this.
But before he reached the front of the city, he was stopped by a checkpoint. This checkpoint was not big, just two two-foot-wide deer antlers were set up on the official road. Guarding the antlers were two miscellaneous men wearing light armor and hats.
Soldiers, they were sitting in the shade of willows eating dry food. They were startled when they saw Liu Bei and four people approaching. After all, it was still very early, there were very few people on the road, and Liu Bei and the others were equipped with swords.
One of them shouted: "Who are you?"
Liu Bei replied calmly: "Martial men from Zhuo County!"
"What are you doing here?"
The other took a sip of water, swallowed the dry food he was choking on, and said helpfully: "Do you want to go into the city? You can't go there without a road guide!"
They all tried their best to put on serious expressions, but they still couldn't hide their good nature.
"I heard that General Yuan Shang is here, and he came here with a few friends to join the army. Please let me go!"
Everyone knows that rangers like to join the army and make meritorious deeds, and since Youyan's rangers are the best in the world, it is only natural that they come to join the army. The two soldiers relaxed a little.
But the soldier who yelled first still did not let them pass. Instead, he looked at Liu Bei curiously and continued to ask: "Looking at your age, you are quite old. Why do you think of joining the army now?"
"Liu Youzhou is not easy to use troops and has no place to use them. Gongsun Zan is too cold and cold. He levied taxes on my family three times a year. Why would I want to be driven by him?"
"Indeed!" The soldier looked very approving and boasted to Liu Bei: "I am from Handan. Yuan Shijun only collected taxes once in our year, so we were really much more comfortable!"
They no longer doubted Liu Bei's origins, but when Liu Bei was about to pass the checkpoint, they asked again: "Do you have a guide?"
"No."
"That won't work!" they replied sternly, and then softened their tone and said, "There will be a war here soon, and there may be spies everywhere, so you can't go there without a guide. I'm really sorry."
"Where should I get the guide?"
"If you are from Zhuo County, you may not know that in Fangcheng, ten miles to the east, there are road guides there. However, road guides are not cheap. Each one costs seventy yuan!"
"Oh! We still have to go back and get it again?"
"Yes! If you want to surrender to our general, there is no way!" Although they were somewhat sympathetic, they still adhered to the law.
Liu Bei led the men to turn around and walk back, but he had no intention of getting a guide or looking at Yuan Jun's military appearance. At least, from these two guards alone, Liu Bei could already tell that Yuan Jun's military discipline was strict and popular.
That's it. Thinking back to Zhang He who personally inquired about the situation on the front line, Liu Bei was convinced that Yuan Jun would be the strongest enemy he had ever encountered.