The fall of Anyang happened at the end of December. It was nearly 300 kilometers from Yecheng to the plain. Yuan Tan wanted to pass the news to Yuan Shao. Calculating that the tiger and leopard rode 300 miles in one day and night, it would take two days and two nights.

time.

So when Yuan Shao heard the news, he was surrounding Pingyuan County and working intensively to build a large number of siege equipment in preparation for the siege.

The camp outside the city covers an area of ​​several square kilometers, with tents stretching for more than ten miles, so densely packed that they block out the sky and the sun.

There is the largest tent in the center of the Zhongying Camp. When early spring comes, the cold wind still howls continuously, causing ghosts and gods to cry and howl outside the tent, making a "woo-woo" sound.

In the camp, charcoal was being grilled, and many soldiers gathered together to discuss ways to attack the city.

Yuan Shaogao sat on the main seat, and there was a tiger skin blanket under his seat. Some time ago, a blind South China tiger killed two Yuan Army soldiers who went to cut down trees in the forest. They were killed by Yuan Shao's order.

, the fur became his trophy.

People who stand at the pinnacle of power never need such symbolic things to decorate themselves, but just like Qin Shihuang would go to the Sishui River to salvage Jiuding when he was bored. Since it is a casual thing, why not do it?

Xu You left a few days ago, and Guo Tu was sent to the north because of consecutive defeats. Yuan Shao currently only has three heavyweight advisers, Liu Hui, Shen Pei, and Xun Chen, as well as more than ten other clerks, chief scribes, and long history officers.

, and there were more than twenty generals, large and small, sitting in rows, waiting for Yuan Shao to make his decision.

He just reviewed the plan and concluded that the city of Pingyuan County was strong and the city wall was 3.7 feet high. It would be very difficult to force a breakthrough from the front. Therefore, he proposed that he could build a mountain outside the city and use crossbowmen to shoot arrows on the mountain to suppress the city.

Head Qingzhou Army, and then secretly dig a tunnel behind the mountain.

Yuan Shao thought for a moment and felt that this plan was feasible.

Of course he didn't know that due to the discovery of lime deposits in Linzi and the discovery of volcanic ash deposits in extinct volcanoes in Chaoyang County, Juxian County and other places in the east, Qingzhou had already invented lime pozzolanic cement and smeared it on the walls outside the city and the roads inside the city.

, turning the land in the city into a hard cement ground that was difficult to dig through.

So when faced with the trial match strategy, Yuan Shao just thought about it for a while, then turned to Liu Hui and Xun Chen and said, "Zi Hui, You Ruo, what do you think?"

"Pingyuan City is so impregnable that it is indeed difficult to invade from the outside. We can only dig tunnels."

Liu Hui replied.

Xun Chen did not speak, but slightly nodded his chin to express his agreement.

When Yuan Shao saw that the two of them had no objection, he nodded and said, "Shan, let's use this strategy to attack the city."

"Thank you Ming Gong."

The judge was overjoyed. He had been defeated before. If he could use this strategy to attack the city, he would be able to save his own position.

After Yuan Shao adopted this strategy, he prepared for his soldiers to prepare.

Suddenly at this moment, the soldiers outside shouted from outside the tent: "Ming Gong, there is an urgent message from Yecheng."

"Come in!"

Yuan Shao's face suddenly darkened, and he had a bad feeling in his heart.

He had known about Anyang being flooded before, and originally considered whether to evacuate and go back for rescue, but not long after, Yuan Tan quickly sent a message saying that he had found a way to transport food and grass into the city, so he didn't care anymore.

Now an urgent letter suddenly arrived. Could it be that there is something wrong with Anyang?

Soon, his bad premonition was confirmed. The soldier who brought the message came in, knelt down on one knee and said: "Report, Ming Gong, the city of Anyang has fallen, the Luoyang army has launched a massive attack, and the city of Ye is in turmoil."

"What? Anyang fell?"

"How is this possible? Isn't Anyang City very strong?"

"I heard that the Luoyang army built a dam on the upper reaches of the Huan River, and the water flooded the city and surrounded Anyang."

"Then why didn't Duke Ming send troops back to rescue him before?"

"Ming Gong originally planned to send troops. Later, the eldest son came up with a way to transport food into the city. He wrote back to Ming Gong saying that reinforcements were not needed, so Ming Gong did not send troops back."

"Then why does Anyang, which is so good, fall now?"

"Who knows."

Many generals in the hall were talking incessantly. Yuan Shao, who was in charge, turned darker and darker, his fists were clenched, and the veins on his arms were bulging.

Seeing that the progress on our side is going smoothly, Qingzhou Army has occupied all the large defense areas in the Jiuhe River Basin. Now Qingzhou can only rely on Pingyuan County for defense. After Pingyuan is captured, Qingzhou's last defense area will only be along the Dahe River and Jishui.

He could march straight in and wipe out the entire Qi State.

Unexpectedly, the rear suddenly lost control. Although there were still many soldiers and horses in Yecheng, they were all second-line troops, not elite. Otherwise, there would not have been an army of nearly 100,000 people, but they were still beaten by the Luoyang Sixth Army.

A situation in which thousands of people were pressing down to fight.

Now that Anyang has fallen, tens of thousands more people have been lost. Yecheng's military strength has been greatly reduced. On the other hand, the Luoyang army has great morale and is advancing at a high speed. If we don't ignore it at this time, Yecheng is really in danger of falling.

But now the momentum on my side is obviously very good. If I give up now, all my previous efforts will be in vain. What should I do now?

While Yuan Shao was thinking in his mind, he looked at Liu Huixun, Chen Shenpei and others beside him, wanting to ask their opinions.

Seeing Yuan Shao looking over, Liu Hui said solemnly: "Ming Gong, Yecheng is more important."

"Yes, most of the soldiers' families are in Yecheng. If left alone, once Yecheng is lost, even if Liu Bei is destroyed, the soldiers will probably have no fighting spirit and low morale, making it difficult to compete with the Luoyang court.

"

Xun Chen also said.

"this........"

Yuan Shao's face turned bitter and he felt tightness in his chest. He coughed twice and was about to speak.

Shen Pei hurriedly said: "Ming Gong can first send troops from other places to support. If we withdraw our troops now, all our previous efforts will be wasted. We have finally occupied most of Pingyuan country, and we are about to break through Pingyuan County and capture Liu Bei alive. How can we not

How about leaving after fighting? Then Guan Yunchang and Chen Zigui are the sworn brothers of Liu Xuande and Zhang Yide. As long as Liu Bei and Zhang Fei are captured, these two people will never dare to be enemies with Duke Ming again. Without them, Luoyang can be defeated at a snap of a finger!"

"Well......."

Yuan Shao covered his mouth and looked down at the table in front of him. The three counselors had different opinions, making him not sure how to make a decision.

Over there, Liu Hui was still saying: "To put it lightly, the only troops and horses that can still go to support now are the defenders of Dongjun. However, these troops and horses were taken to Jibei Kingdom by Xu You. Our army is still in the north.

How can we separate our troops from fighting with the Youzhou Army?"

"In the worst case, it's enough to send some troops from Duke Ming's command."

"Haha, the Qingzhou army has 70,000 to 80,000 soldiers. Ming Gong only led an army of more than 100,000 people and sent out tens of thousands of people. The strength of both sides is equal. You don't think that we can break through Qingzhou when there is not much difference in strength.

The city of the army."

"you......."

"alright."

Yuan Shao was so upset by their quarrel that he stood up angrily and said, "You guys, please step aside first and let me think about it."

"Ming Gong......"

Shen Pei looked at him almost pleadingly, this was his last chance.

If he cannot defeat Liu Bei, even if he returns to Yecheng and defeats enemies from all directions, given his previous defeats, he will still be criticized by his political opponents and become a marginal figure like Guo Tu. This is something he cannot allow.

Yuan Shao was about to get angry. Almost at this moment, another soldier suddenly shouted from outside: "Ming Gong, urgent report from Youzhou!"

"What?"

Yuan Shao sat back in his seat, his eyes showing deep shock.

Could it be that something happened in Youzhou too?

Before he could react, the messenger from outside hurried in, knelt on one knee, held the battle report in both hands and said: "Ming Gong, a great victory in Youzhou. General Gao and Gongsun Du of Liaodong attacked from north to south and destroyed Gongsun Zan's camp. Gongsun Zan

After returning from defeat, General Gao asked Duke Ming for instructions on whether to pursue the enemy in depth."

Great victory?

Yuan Shao instantly changed from fear to ecstasy, and hurriedly waved his hand: "Bring the official document and take a look."

The attendant next to him took the official document from the messenger and presented it to him.

Yuan Shao immediately opened it to check.

After quickly reading what happened, he breathed a sigh of relief.

Although as early as last year, he invited Gongsun Du to form an alliance and attack Gongsun Zan together.

However, Gongsun Du's attitude has always been very ambiguous, neither agreeing nor objecting immediately, so Yuan Shao has never been able to figure out his attitude.

Now he finally agreed to form an alliance and sent a large army to sneak attack.

At that time, Gongsun Zan and Xian Yufu attacked Zheng County several times in succession, but failed to capture Zheng County. As a result, they lost all their vigor and the soldiers' combat effectiveness was not particularly high.

In fact, everyone is similar. Although Gongsun Zan and Xian Yufu failed to break through Zheng County with their continuous attacks, Gao Lan and Zhang He also had a very difficult time defending. Their morale was also not high and they were on the verge of collapse.

At that time, Cui Juye, another unit of Yuan's army, was with Guo Tu in Gecheng, less than forty miles away from Zheng County. The two armies supported each other and acted as horns to each other.

When Gongsun Zan and Xian Yufu attacked Zheng County, Cui Juye sent troops to rescue them, and finally helped Gao Lan successfully repel the attack.

Later, Xian Yufu divided his troops to attack Katsuragi.

The reason for the division of troops is because Cui Juye and Gao Lan are mutually exclusive. If Cui Juye is ignored and only attacks Gao Lan in Zheng County, Cui Juye will indeed be a trouble. If he advances, he can attack Yi Jing and threaten the rear of the Youzhou army. If he retreats, he can help Gao Lan's flank.

To retreat the enemy, some troops must be sent to contain it.

The second reason is that the personalities of Gongsun Zan and Xian Yufu are indeed somewhat incompatible. Both sides hate each other, but because they are all fighting against Yuan Shao, there is no quarrel between them.
To be continued...