Chapter seven hundred and eleventh only allowed to lose but not allowed to win
Yuan Shao learned that Tian Feng served as the supervisor of the Black Mountain Army's expedition against Wuhuan. Although he was excited, he also understood that although the Black Mountain Army's response to Wuhuan weakened the Tao merchant's attack force to a certain extent, the Jinling Army's power was still
Very strong, especially when Tao Shang's generals are like clouds, and we are still dealing with Cao Cao in Liyang. If we deal with these two people at the same time, it will be too difficult, and the consequences will be difficult to predict.
He summoned his advisers to discuss how to handle the matter.
Several counselors under Yuan Shao, Xu You surrendered to Cao Cao, Tian Feng went to work under Tao Shang as an undercover agent, and Pang Ji was despised by Yuan Shao after being captured alive several times, and basically had no say.
Among the people, the ones that Yuan Shao welcomed the most were Shen Pei, Ju Sue and Xun Chen.
Xun Chen, like Xun Yu, was also a member of the Yingchuan noble clan, and his influence was much less than that of Xun Yu. The reputation of the Xun family in Yingchuan was also a major asset for him to gain a foothold under Yuan Shao.
But apart from his family, Xun Chen's abilities did live up to his reputation as a member of the Xun family. It was he who persuaded Han Fu to surrender on behalf of Yuan Shao.
"General, it is particularly difficult for our army to deal with both Tao Shang and Cao Cao at the same time. Instead of fighting against them both, we might as well cede some cities to the east of Jizhou to Tao Shang to use as bait."
When Yuan Shao heard that Xun Chen asked him to cede the city, his face turned red and he thought he was going to have an attack. However, the continuous failures made his temper restrained to a certain extent.
He suppressed his rising anger and asked as calmly as possible: "If you say this, I don't understand. Jizhou is the foundation of Yuan. How are they divided?"
Xun Chen seemed to be vaguely aware of Yuan Shao's anger, so he spoke much faster.
"The general gave the city to the pottery merchants. On the surface it was to show weakness, but in fact it was just to show off to Cao Cao."
Yuan Shao thought about it carefully and came to some understanding.
He is also a smart person, and he is not incomprehensible.
"What You Ruo means is that you want Cao Cao to deal with the pottery merchant?"
Xun Chen nodded and said: "That's exactly the reason."
Over there, Guo Tu couldn't help but sneer after hearing this.
"If you say this, you are taking it too much for granted! What kind of person is Cao Cao, and what kind of person is Tao Shang? Guo can see your divisive schemes at a glance, let alone Tao Shang and Cao Cao?"
Xun Chen shook his head and said calmly: "Gongze said that the word "separation" is wrong. Now Cao Cao and the pottery merchant are not allies at all. They are just wolves who covet our land in Hebei. Let's cut the flesh.
If one of them is given to one of them, how can the other one sleep peacefully? Moreover, even if Cao Cao is afraid that we will take advantage of it, he will not easily send heavy troops to the pottery merchants, but he will definitely find a way to slow down the pottery merchants' advance and attack the pottery merchants.
Clamp down so that our army can have a chance to breathe."
Yuan Shao nodded happily and said, "Youruo is indeed very kind."
After hearing Yuan Shao's praise of Xun Chen, Guo Tu's face turned red with embarrassment. He continued to retort unconvinced: "How can he not be suspicious of the sudden promise of a city to a pottery merchant?"
Xun Chen said: "When Tao Shang first came to Hebei, we had already sued for peace with him once. The last Zhangshui alliance also ended in vain. Now we have no excuse to talk about the past.
No, the reason is sufficient, but we still have to fight with the pottery merchant."
Yuan Shao nodded in agreement and said: "Send orders to Qian Zhao and Guo Yuan to lead our troops to the west to fight against the Jinling Army."
When he was young, Qianzhao followed the chief Shi Leyin, and was later hired by Yuan Shao to serve as a general. He also led the Wuwan Tuqi, and was highly valued by Yuan Shao.
The historical Qianzhao was a famous general of Cao Wei who took charge of Northern Xinjiang for Cao Wei and made outstanding achievements.
Moreover, the ability to draw moves is directly proportional to calmness and poise, so when dealing with the pottery merchant, Yuan Shaocai specifically chose him.
When he was young, Yuan Shao called Qian Zhao over and gave him a general summary of Xun Chen's plan.
After Qianzhao heard this, he hesitated for a while and said, "General, do you mean that I can only lose but not win?"
Yuan Shaochang sighed and said: "That's right. Only after defeating the battle can we naturally cede the city to the pottery merchants. However, in order to preserve the strength of our army, we do not want to lose too much. After thinking about this,
Yuan also thinks that you are qualified for this matter."
Qianzhao pondered for a moment, and then said to Yuan Shao: "Thanks to the general's mistaken love, I am willing to take on this matter, but most of the people under Tao Shang are good at fighting, and Qu Yi knows my background. If only Guo Yuan is the deputy general, Zhao is afraid
I am unable to do what I want, so I would like to ask the general to add a strong general to help me."
Yuan Shao thought for a moment and said: "I will make Zhang He the deputy general to lead the way with you. Remember, you can only lose, not win."
Qianzhao smiled bitterly when he heard this but said nothing.
These words made Yuan Shao very satisfied... I do want to win, but the question is, can I win?
It is a battle that is destined to fail, and now it is required not to lose too miserably... This battle is really not easy to fight.
…
A few days later, the soldiers and horses they recruited were dispatched. Their target was the plain west of Ye City. The soldiers and horses under their command were stationed in the plain, waiting for the potters to come and attack.
The school administrator of the school affairs office brought the news back to Tao Shang, which made him feel very strange.
"I entered the country with an army of 100,000 people, but Yuan Shao only sent 30,000 soldiers led by Zhao Zhao, Zhang He, and Guo Yuan to station in the plain... Isn't this a little too disrespectful of me?" Tao Shang told everyone his story.
idea.
Zhuge Liang always acted calmly. He gently swayed his feather fan and thought: "Teacher, although Tian Feng is not with Yuan Shao now, and Xu You has also surrendered to Cao Cao, there are still many powerful plotters under Yuan Shao.
Is there any conspiracy behind Qianzhao and Zhang He's coming here... After all, Yuan Shao is powerful and has many talents. If he really has any conspiracy, I'm afraid we won't be able to deal with it in a hurry."
Compared with Guo Jia and Sima Yi, although Zhuge Liang lacks a little bit of impetus in doing things, he is very stable. Although this is sometimes a shortcoming, most of the time it is an advantage, at least he will not be caught by the opponent.
The potter felt that he was somewhat lacking compared to his apprentice in this aspect.
"Kong Ming, what do you think my teacher should do now?"
Zhuge Liang said respectfully to the pottery merchant: "Yuan Shao is now confronting Cao Cao, and the winner will not be determined for a while. Master, please rest for now. After you understand what is going on, it will not be too late to think of a way to advance the army."
The pottery merchant nodded and said: "It is indeed the best way to cope with all changes by remaining unchanged."
…
The pottery merchant adopted the method of staying the same to cope with the ever-changing situation, temporarily suspending his troops, while Qianzhao formulated many countermeasures.
In order to make this defeat look like a victory without causing too much loss, Qianzhao stared at Pitu every day for the past few days and barely slept a wink.
After all, this burden is too heavy for him.
Finally, the strategy was formulated, and we were waiting for the opponent to attack.
But for ten consecutive days, there was no movement from the potter's army.