After the Battle of Jieqiao, Yuan Shao's power began to shrink completely, retreating all the way to Wei Jun and Zhao.
From the first year of Yonghan (196) to the third year of Yonghan (199), from Yuan Shao's active attack to passive defense, this war has been fought for three full years.
From the beginning of the war to the present, the two sides have fought seven or eight large-scale battles, such as the two battles of Anyang, the battle of Qixian, the battle of Pingyuan, the battle of Liaocheng, the battle of Fengyang Township, the battle of Huanshui, and the battle of Jieqiao.
, the Battle of Huanshui, etc.
There were countless small battles, with as many as 200,000 casualties on both sides, involving as many as one million civilians, spending countless amounts of food, grass and money, and causing immeasurable losses.
But everything is worth it. The size of Qingzhou and Jizhou is here. It is not easy to end the battle in a short time. After the Battle of Guandu, even if he won, it took Cao Cao five or six years to gradually end the battle.
Hebei encroachment.
However, under Chen Mu's calculations, his wolf pack tactics finally succeeded. It took him three years to go from strategic defense to strategic counter-offensive.
Consumed to death.
Liu Bei's Qingzhou Army, Xian Yufu's Youzhou Army and the Luoyang Army led by Guan Yu began to enter Jizhou in large numbers. Prefectures and counties in various places were overwhelmed. In many places, only a small number of troops were sent to negotiate, and the city could be occupied.
By the beginning of May, the situation in the entire Jizhou had reached a good point. Except for Handan and half of Wei County, most other places had been captured by the three armies, and Yuan Shao's power had completely shrunk.
What's more important is that Yuan Shao's army was demoralized. Countless surrendered to the Qingzhou Army, fled in all directions, and were lazy and lazy. The original army of 250,000 to 60,000 lost nearly 100,000 after the two battles of Anyang.
Later, the strong men were forcibly recruited, and they were barely supplemented to about 200,000. The strength of the two sides was still about the same, but the quality was drastically different.
Moreover, in the Battle of Jieqiao, Yuan Shao's 100,000-strong army was left with very little. Apart from the tens of thousands of newcomers who stayed in Julu, only some of the old soldiers in Weiqiao and Yecheng were left.
All these troops are scattered in many places, and the total number is only one hundred thousand. In terms of military strength, Liu Bei has achieved an absolute advantage.
And more importantly, a large part of Yuan Shao's troops are recruits with low combat effectiveness and have not undergone too long training. On the other hand, Liu Bei's troops are all elites who have fought in hundreds of battles. Even the worst Xianyu Auxiliary Department is Yan Rou Kebi.
The elite teacher of the Department of Energy.
So now, Yuan Shao's situation is truly over. Unless Liu Bei commits suicide and proclaims himself emperor now, otherwise, Yuan Shao has no chance to make a comeback. Even if he relies on the city to hold on, he won't be able to withstand it for long.
In mid-May, it was midsummer in Wei County. On the official road to the east of Pingyang Township, tens of thousands of troops were marching forward. Liu Bei, Chen Mu, and Zhang Fei were riding on their horses, looking around.
There are countless fields on both sides of the official road, which are covered with weeds. There are endless fields. Only a few fields close to the village are cultivated. In the distance, the forest is dense and the branches and leaves are lush. You can also vaguely see the elk herds running around, occasionally jumping.
Go graze on the former fields.
Due to numerous wars between Qingzhou and Jizhou in the past three years, Yuan Shao had to expand his army. As a result, many people in Wei County left their homes to avoid military service. A large number of young and strong laborers were missing, and the fields were naturally uncultivated.
You must know that the entire Jizhou only has a population of more than 6 million. At its peak, Yuan Shao could reach a total of 300,000 troops including county soldiers and second-line troops from various places, as well as countless logistics and auxiliary troops. He was said to have millions of armored men.
Jizhou has a strong foundation, but after several years of hard work, it has become a lot decadent, and many countryside has become deserted.
Chen Mu looked at the terrain here and saw a plain and smooth road. He smiled and said to Liu Bei: "This place is not bad. In the past, Qin general Huanjue and Wang Jian Yangduan attacked Yecheng of Zhao State. Yecheng could not be taken, so Huanjue then
When they attacked Pingyang, Zhao generals came to rescue him, but were defeated and beheaded 100,000 people. After this battle, Zhao State once again fell into decline, and Qin State responded to Guo and expelled Li Mu. From then on, Zhao State was completely destroyed."
Liu Bei nodded and said: "One hundred thousand Zhao troops were killed here. The city has long ceased to exist and has become a rural pavilion. I remember that when I followed Master Lu to conquer the Yellow Turbans, I saw countless fields here.
, the people worked hard and farmed, and it was full of vitality. But now it looks so desolate, which shows that under Yuan Shao's governance, the people of Jizhou are not living very well."
"Yuan Shao took plunder by force and conscripted the people into Ding, which caused a lot of complaints. Just like when Qin attacked Handan, the Qin army only fought for money, but the soldiers and people of Zhao were defending their homes and the country, sharing the same hatred. Therefore, even if the Qin army was outnumbered
One hundred thousand troops were also defeated in front of Handan, and were defeated by the combined forces of Zhao, Wei and Chu, with more than 200,000 troops killed or injured."
Chen Mu talked eloquently: "It can be seen that the hearts of the people are in harmony with the will of the people. If you don't comply with the will of the people and follow the laws of heaven, you will end up in despair and failure. Just like Yuan Shao today, it is also a war. Under the rule of the eldest brother, the people live and work in peace and contentment, and Yuan Shao governs
The common people are like water and fire, how can they be invincible?"
Pingyang here is the place where the Battle of Pingyang between Qin and Zhao took place. It is located more than 20 miles east of Yecheng. After four hundred years of vicissitudes, the city has long disappeared, not even a single ruin is left, only some rural pavilions.
It still exists, and many villages are in dilapidated condition.
In the distance, some nearby people were very frightened when they saw the army coming. There were very few young people in the village, most of them were elderly people. When Liu Bei's army arrived at Pingyang Xiangting, there were already people waiting for them.
They were a group of old people. Liu Bei had already heard from the soldiers who were scouting the road ahead that they were the three elders from the Xiangting Pavilion waiting here and wanted to see him and pray for something.
When Liu Bei arrived, he got off his horse and entered the pavilion surrounded by Chen Mu, Zhang Fei, Xu Chu, Jushou and others.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! When several village elders saw him coming in, they quickly stood up and raised their hands to salute: "Shijun Liu."
"useless."
Liu Bei immediately stepped forward and held their hands and said: "Fellow fellows, I am following the imperial edict to conquer Yuan Shao and disturb my neighbors in all directions. This is already a huge offence. How can I still deserve this great gift?"
Yeah, smart.
Chen Mu praised in his heart.
This is a very beautiful way of speaking.
Don't look at Liu Bei's reputation in Jizhou.
But people's hearts are superficial. After many people were ruined by Yuan Shao, they did not dare to blame Yuan Shao. Instead, they would blame Liu Bei.
They will think about it, if you Liu Bei hadn't fought with Yuan Shao, how could Yuan Shao have forcibly levied grain and grass and strong men?
If you Liu Bei hadn't attacked Jizhou, how could you have allowed Yuan Shao to cause us to run around to avoid military service, causing our wives to be separated and our families to be destroyed?
There are so many people who think this way. It's not that people's hearts are ugly, but that people look at problems too superficially and only see superficial factors.
That is, before Liu Bei attacked Jizhou, we lived and worked in peace and contentment. As soon as Liu Bei came, we were displaced.
Therefore, Chen Mu issued a public statement and spread the idea that Liu Bei was attacking Yuan Shao under the orders of the imperial court, so that the people in every county, city, town, and pavilion knew about it.
Moreover, he also made repeated orders to make the whole army speak the same tone. It must be said that they followed the imperial court's decree and labeled Yuan Shao as a traitor. At the same time, they also had to bite back and say that those who supported Yuan Shao were traitors.
Only in this way can we occupy the moral high ground, and those people who resent Liu Bei's attack on Jizhou and forced them to leave their homes will vent their anger on Yuan Shao and even the imperial court.
The village elder stepped forward tremblingly and said: "We have heard of Liu Shijun's benevolence and righteousness for a long time. We have been ordered by the imperial court to conquer Yuan Shao. We have nothing to say, but please don't disturb the local people. We
It’s already been a miserable life.”
"I hope you know that the Qingzhou Army is an army of benevolence and righteousness, and will never touch the common people."
Liu Bei hurriedly patted the old man's hand and said: "After this battle, Jizhou will return to the imperial court. At that time, the imperial court will distribute fields to the people everywhere to recuperate. I will also write to the imperial court. If there are hungry counties, they will be exempted from imperial taxes. In the future,
There will never be another war."
"If I can get this from you, I will feel relieved."
"Liu Shijun is still benevolent and righteous."
"My son fled to Changshan Kingdom to prevent being forced to become a Ding Dynasty. It's time to ask him to come back."
Many village elders were very happy to receive Liu Bei's promise.
After seeing off the local elders, everyone came in.
Liu Bei sat in the pavilion and said to Chen Mu, Zhang Fei, Xu Chu, Jushu and other people close to him: "Mencius said: The people are the most valuable, the country is second, and the king is the least. The people are the foundation of the country. If you cannot treat the people well, the world will be ruined.
There will be chaos. You must remember this when you govern the place in the future."
"only!"
Everyone bowed their hands in response.
After sitting in the pavilion for a while, someone suddenly came from outside and reported: "Ming Gong, General Guan is here."
"Second brother is here?"
Zhang Fei said with great joy: "I haven't seen him for several years."
Liu Bei immediately stood up and said, "Let's go and greet him."
A large group of about a hundred people came out of the pavilion and stood on the official road to the west to look out.
Then I saw an army of a thousand people coming from west to east, which was less than a mile away.
Guan Yu's army was attacking Yecheng, which was not far from here. When he heard that Liu Bei was coming from the east, he quickly came over to meet him.
The person at the front of the team was wearing a green parrot robe, with a face as heavy as a jujube, and a two-foot beard floating on his chest. When he saw Liu Bei, his face was overjoyed, and he quickly urged the horses to gallop.
Liu Bei, Zhang Fei, Chen Mu also urged the horses to gallop. The four of them ran in both directions, and soon they were getting closer and closer.
"Second brother."
"Second brother!"
"Second brother!"
"Big brother, third brother and fourth brother!"
"hahahahahahahaha!"
When the four of them got close, they all got off their horses and hugged each other.
Liu Bei patted Guan Yu on the shoulder and looked him up and down: "Second brother, I haven't seen you for several years. You have grown a lot stronger. How are you in Luoyang?"
Guan Yu smiled and said: "Thanks to my eldest brother Hong Fu, the emperor still thinks highly of me. Now I am in charge of most of Luoyang's army. Under the planning of my fourth brother, I defeated Yuan's army many times and made little achievements. I did not embarrass my eldest brother."
Chen Mu said with a smile: "Second brother is self-effacing. If he hadn't fought Yan Liang and Wen Chou in Anyang, it wouldn't have been so easy for us to withstand Yuan Shao's pressure in Qingzhou. Second brother deserves the most credit for defeating Yuan Shao. Of course, third brother
It’s not bad, if it weren’t for Third Brother, we wouldn’t be able to defeat Yuan Jun.”
Zhang Fei's originally bitter and resentful face suddenly turned into a smile. In fact, several people were not asking for credit or talking about who had the greater credit. It was just that Guan Yu was too arrogant. He defeated Yuan Shao many times and saw Liu Bei again. He couldn't help but feel proud.
.
The meaning of this sentence was not to show off how much merit he had and how much he was highly regarded by Liu Yu, but to tell Liu Bei that he was doing well in Luoyang and did not embarrass Liu Bei in the battle against Yuan Shao.
It's just that they just wanted to make Liu Bei happy, but ignored Zhang Fei's feelings. After all, Zhang Fei had been fighting with Liu Bei, and his achievements were not as much as Guan Yu's.
Fortunately, Chen Mu had a high emotional intelligence and helped Guan Yu get back together, otherwise Zhang Fei might have been depressed.
"Ha ha ha ha."
Liu Bei was really happy for his brother. He laughed and said, "I am very pleased that my second brother can achieve such great achievements. Come on, let's go sit in the pavilion first."
Several people hugged each other and walked back together.
Many generals and counselors around them followed behind them. Because the pavilion was too small to accommodate so many people, Liu Bei ordered the generals to lead their own troops. Only Liu Guan, Zhang Chen and Jushou Lianzhaoxu were left in the pavilion.
Zhu Guanping, Guan Hai and others.
In fact, Zhang Liao, Gao Shun, Zang Ba, Huang Zhong, Tai Shici and others are not here. Liu Bei only brought his own troops, the generals only led the troops, and there were more than 20 or 30 large and small lieutenants and Sima. In addition, Chen Mu
Some of the chief clerks, assistants, and meritorious officials under the account include Zhuge Liang, Kong Jian, Yao Bo, Huang Qi, and others.
When the army is dispatched, it is not a majestic march of more than 100,000 troops, but a planned and assigned task.
Zhang Liao's ten thousand victorious army crossed the Zhang River and cooperated with Gao Shun's army, which totaled 20,000 people. Tian Feng made the plan, and drove Zhang Lie's people from Quliang and other counties, crossed Jize Township, and went south to threaten Handan.
Zang Ba and Huang Zhong Tai Shi Ci's 30,000 troops crossed Weiqiao and headed north. After they met up with Liu Bei's army at Chuqiu, Chen Mu appointed Xun You as the supervisor and ordered them to continue going north and take Liangqi County directly, cutting off Yecheng and Liu Bei's army.
The connection between Handan.
On Guan Yu's side, he only brought Guan Ping and Guan Hai, and Zhao Yun, Xu Huang, Wu Anguo and other generals also had their own attack routes.
For example, Zhao Yun originally attacked Yecheng with Guan Yu, and he led the troops after Guan Yu left. Xu Huang attacked Shexian through the Zhangshui Ancient Road in Linlu Valley to cut off the connection between Yuan Shao and Bingzhou officials, while Wu Anguo was in the rear
Anyang is responsible for supervising the transportation of grain and grass and cooperating with frontline operations.
In addition to Xian Yufu in the north, it can be said that there are more than 200,000 troops from all directions, totaling Handan and Yecheng, and it is difficult for even high-ranking officials in the Taihang Mountains to provide support to his uncle Yuan Shao.
What is more interesting is that Sima Yi, Sima Lang, Yang Xiu, Chen Qun and others happened to be following Guan Yu's army in Yecheng.
This time Guan Yu came over, and several people came together to see Chen Mu. Because their status was not high, they were only military records and officials, so everyone could only stand at the door. Eight people sat upright in a row.
Four people stood on each side of the gate, staring at each other with big eyes and small eyes.