A hundred miles northwest of Linzi City, the soldiers and horses of Lu Kuang and Lu Xiang were intercepted by an ambush arranged by the pottery merchant. After running for a day and night, the fighting spirit and ability of the two Lu soldiers had dropped to the lowest level.
In the valley, most of the soldiers were exhausted and had no fighting spirit.
On the mountain not far away, the pottery merchant watched his side gradually take the initiative, while he fidgeted with his right hand left and right in a waning mood.
The potter feels that he has developed some bad habits recently. For some reason, his left and right hands always have to play with something from time to time. No matter what they are playing with, they can never let their hands idle.
Tao Shang diagnosed himself as suffering from mild obsessive-compulsive disorder caused by excessive mental stress... just like a small problem like not counting money and being unable to sleep. Although it is a disease, it does not need to be treated.
Looking at his teacher's two hands kneading back and forth, he was quite upset. Zhuge Liang, who was behind Tao Shang, took the initiative and handed him the white feather fan and said, "Teacher, why don't you encourage this?"
The pottery merchant looked back in surprise and said, "Isn't this what I gave to you?"
Zhuge Liang smiled shyly: "Didn't the teacher tell me that back then? Some people will recognize this thing more than two thousand years later."
Potter: "..."
After taking Zhuge Liang's white feather fan and fanning it a few times, the pottery merchant suddenly said: "Kong Ming, you said that after this battle is over, we will occupy Beihai County, Donglai County and Linzi City, and a small part of Qingzhou will be in our hands."
Under the control of the army, how will Yuan Shao react?"
Zhuge Liang didn't have the white feather fan in his hand, and he was a little unaccustomed to it for a while. He had nowhere to put his hands, and finally placed them on both sides of his body.
He pondered for a while, and then replied to Tao Shang: "After taking down Erlu, we will go back to rescue Mr. Guo. After everything is settled, it will already be winter according to time. Most of our troops are southern soldiers.
It is not conducive to fighting in the severe cold, so we can only stick to the winter in the city for the time being, waiting for the spring of next year, and then decide the outcome with Yuan Shao."
Tao Shang nodded and said: "Our army naturally can only adopt a defensive attitude this winter, but what I just asked you about was Yuan Shao's reaction... You haven't said this yet."
"Um..." Zhuge Liang frowned and thought for a while, and then said slowly: "According to common sense, Yuan Shao should quickly divide his troops, storm our city, and seize the initiative on the eastern front to avoid facing the enemy from three directions in the future...
"
The potter handed the white feather fan back to Zhuge Liang, and then said with a smile: "According to normal principles, we should seize the time to attack. If it were Cao Cao, he would definitely ignore the severe cold and spend no matter how much effort and loss.
Expelled us from Qingzhou, but Yuan Shao is different..."
Zhuge Liang wondered: "What is the difference between Yuan Shao and Cao Cao?"
Tao Shang patiently explained to Zhuge Liang: "Yuan Shao and Cao Cao are similar in nature. They are both heroes in the world, but they are a little different in character, especially as Yuan Shao has grown older over the years, and the Battle of Guandu has been huge.
He was defeated and was quite cautious in doing things. Now that the situation has suddenly changed, the first thing he thinks about is not to restore the situation, but how to stabilize the situation or delay time."
Zhuge Liang was not entirely clear about the meaning of Tao Shang's words. He swung the white feather fan in his hand again, thought carefully, and muttered secretly: "Is it possible that Yuan Shao will send someone to negotiate peace with us?"
Just as the two people were talking, they saw Huang Zhong, whose face was covered with blood, laughing loudly, stepping up the hillside, throwing two human heads in front of Tao Shang and Zhuge Liang, and said: "Prime Minister, the matter is settled!"
The pottery merchant looked down and said, "Are these two the heads of Lu Kuang and Lu Xiang?"
Huang Zhong nodded vigorously and said: "Exactly! Thanks to the Prime Minister's ingenious plan, Yuan's army has been completely defeated. I personally killed Er Lu and sent their heads to the Prime Minister."
Tao Shang said with emotion: "General Huang has worked hard. With Er Lu's head, the crisis in Linzi City can naturally be solved."
…
Liyang, the military camp of Yuan Shao's army.
In the Qingzhou battlefield to the east, the pottery merchant planned to seize the territory of two counties in Qingzhou. On the Jizhou side, Yuan Shao has been really busy recently.
Cao Cao and Tao Sheng of the Black Mountain Army launched two attacks against him at the same time. Zhong Yao of Luoyang united with the generals in Guanzhong and cooperated with the Black Mountain Army to fight Yuan Tan and Gao Gan in Bingzhou, while Yuan Shao commanded the generals of Jizhou to fight Cao Cao in Liyang.
Yuan Shao learned the lesson from the last battle of Guandu, and instead of being arrogant, he faced Cao Cao with a more cautious heart.
Yuan Shao himself changed his mind, and the combat effectiveness of Yuan Jun in Hebei increased linearly. Even when facing the generals in Guanzhong, Cao Cao, and the Heishan Army, Yuan Jun still fought with them, and was faintly still.
Gain the upper hand.
Winter is about to begin, and according to the calculations of Tian Feng and Ju Shou, the fierce battle between the two sides can only last for a month at most before turning into a dormant period.
Yuan Shao's nerves, which had been tense until now, finally settled down.
Unfortunately, before Yuan Shao could feel comfortable, the scout responsible for inquiring about news from the east brought the news to Yuan Shao's tent.
At that time, Yuan Shaozheng was discussing with a group of advisers under his command the strategy to deal with the Black Mountain Army. When he heard the news, he was immediately stunned.
Beihai County, Donglai County, and Linzi City were lost?
All the previously well-arranged strongholds in Beihai County were lost?
Lu Kuang and Lu Xiang were killed, and their heads were used by the pottery merchants to relieve the crisis in Beihai. In panic, the soldiers and horses were beaten and scattered by the Jinling army?
After hearing this news, Yuan Shao suddenly felt dizzy.
There are many counties in Hebei, and the loss of two counties will not have a big impact on Yuan Shao in terms of territory. However, the scary thing is that from now on, the pottery merchants will take root in Hebei and pose a threat to themselves at all times.
!
Yuan Shao's legs went weak and he sat on the ground with a "pop" sound.
Tian Feng hurriedly stepped forward and said to Yuan Shao: "General, don't be alarmed. Although Tao Shang has invaded Qingzhou, his southern troops cannot withstand the severe cold. Now he can take advantage of the fact that the two counties have just been lost and Tao Shang's foothold is not stable."
On this occasion, we quickly sent troops to counterattack Beihai and Donglai, drove the pottery merchants out of the country, and re-defended the territory. No serious problems are expected."
Yuan Shao stared straight ahead, and after a while he shook his head: "This can't be done. Not to mention the disadvantages of attacking the city in winter, this time Tao brought my unscrupulous niece and a hundred thousand troops.
He is determined to capture the city, and Cao Cao and the Black Mountain Army have not retreated. Once my attention shifts eastward and gives Cao A'an an opportunity, Jizhou will not be protected, and such a risky method will not be feasible."
"Hi!" Tian Feng stamped his feet and said: "General, if you don't take advantage of the situation to expel the pottery merchants at this time, and he gets a foothold in Hebei in the future, it will be a serious matter. According to Yi Feng, this person is even worse than Cao Cao.
It’s difficult to deal with, it drags on for a long time, and the variables are unpredictable.”
Yuan Shao closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and calmed his restless heart.
After a while, Yuan Shao regained his composure, and a confident smile appeared on his lips again.
"It doesn't matter, it's not impossible for Yuan to deal with the Tao family's little thief."
"General, what clever plan can we use to solve this problem?"
Yuan Shao tapped the table gently with his fingers and said: "I have decided to negotiate peace with him first."