Jizhou Yecheng, the state capital

At this time, Yuan Shaogao, the master of Jizhou, sat on the main seat, and the subordinates listed both sides in turn. Just looking at the lineup of Yuan Shao's martial arts, Yuan Shao was the most deserved to be the largest separatist force in the late Eastern Han Dynasty. However, perhaps it is precisely because of the large number of his subordinates that the factional struggle between them, especially Yuan Shao's issue of the eldest son Yuan Tan and the youngest son Yuan Shang, has made the struggle between Yuan Shao's subordinates more intense.

Without waiting for Yuan Shao to speak, he stepped forward and said loudly: "My lord, according to the detailed reports placed in Youzhou and Yanzhou, the armies of Yuan Chang and Cao Cao have been dispatched. Youzhou Yuan Chang dispatched about 120,000 soldiers and horses, divided into five routes, of which two routes of soldiers and horses were predicted to have more than 70,000 troops and horses to go to the border counties and counties with Jizhou, and Yanzhou Cao Cao, dispatched 60,000 soldiers and horses, divided into three roads, each of which was 20,000 soldiers and horses. Two of the soldiers and horses attacked Qingzhou, and the other line of soldiers and horses was Chen Bing at the junction with our Jizhou, and there was no movement. In addition, according to the news obtained by the detailed investigation, although Yuan Chang of Youzhou dispatched 120,000 soldiers and horses, there were no vacancies in the defenders of the counties and counties in Youzhou, which shows that the supply of troops in Youzhou was sufficient, while the 60,000 soldiers and horses of Cao Cao in Yanzhou poured out, and the defenders of the counties and counties of Yanzhou were vacant, and they could only temporarily guard the city from the local signs. The above is the news from Youzhou and Yanzhou. ”

"This..."

After listening to the report of the frustrated professor, not only Yuan Shao, but also the civil and military personnel present all looked at each other.

It wasn't because of Yuan Chang and Cao Cao's joint invasion of Jizhou, after all, Yuan Shao had already told them about it before, and it wasn't surprising. The reason why this is so is because Yuan Chang said that Yuan Chang dispatched 120,000 troops and could also ensure the defenders of the counties, which is a surprising point.

Recruiting soldiers has been a difficult thing throughout the ages, especially when you don't have to worry about your livelihood, who wants to be a soldier, with your head tied to your belt, and only a few people who want to get ahead by joining the army will voluntarily join the army. And if the government forcibly conscripted soldiers, the young and strong people would rather hide in the mountains and forests than enter the army. When the war is over, they return home, will the court kill these people? It is nothing more than arresting a few people to blame the crime, killing chickens and monkeys, and the next time this happens, the people will still flee.

And Yuan Chang was able to dispatch so many troops, obviously the people volunteered, and the real surprise is here.

In the battle of Guandu in history, Cao Cao's troops were less than 40,000 of more than 30,000, while Yuan Shao's troops were about 110,000, which was naturally not as exaggerated as in the romance of nearly one million troops.

Cao Cao occupied Yanzhou, and the Yellow Turban forces in the territory were surrendered, and the number of troops naturally exceeded 30,000. Moreover, because of Dong Zhuo's scourge of Guanzhong, many people in Sili and Yuzhou also moved to Yanzhou with their families. Therefore, the population of Yanzhou is also quite large, and if you really want to make it up, there are still 200,000 or 300,000 troops. It's just that Cao Cao is a hero after all, and he is an ideal politician, so it is naturally impossible to make a move to fish with all his might. Therefore, the soldiers in the battle of Guandu were naturally recruited normally. Speaking of which, even if Cao Cao is a normal conscription, it stands to reason that he should not only have more than 30,000 troops. The main reason is that before the Battle of Guandu, Cao Cao fought with Liu Bei, Lu Bu, Yuan Shu and other forces, and the soldiers fought for many years, so naturally they could not all be involved in the Battle of Guandu. Otherwise, don't talk about confrontation with Yuan Shao, I'm afraid that these tired soldiers will drag down the army instead. Therefore, the soldiers and horses used by Cao Cao in the battle of Guandu were some veterans mixed with new soldiers, of course, these veterans were naturally elite divisions, and the recruits were also trained for a short time, and Cao Cao, a newly enlisted soldier, did not dare to use them to fight with Yuan Shao.

Yuan Shao's situation is similar, after all, he has been fighting with Gongsun Chan for many years, and the soldiers are also tired. In addition, Yuan Shao's territory is large, occupying four states, and the defenders of each county will not be less. Therefore, there are naturally not as many soldiers who can be sent to the battlefield as expected.

Therefore, Yuan Chang sent 120,000 soldiers and horses in one go, which would make people feel surprised.

Yuan Chang was able to get such support from the people under his jurisdiction, which is undoubtedly a bit of a bad thing. Especially with a dual personality like Yuan Shao, who is still a cowardly character controlling his body, he will inevitably hesitate when he hears this kind of news.

"Lord, although Yuan Chang has tens of thousands of soldiers and horses, he is not afraid!"

As a subordinate who has followed Yuan Shao for many years, Tian Feng naturally knows the urine nature of his boss, so he stood up in time to comfort Yuan Shao, lest Yuan Shao make any unwise decisions. Just like in history, Cao Cao sent troops to attack Xuzhou, and in order to solve Liu Bei's capricious Erwuzai, Tian Feng suggested that Yuan Shao take the opportunity to attack Cao Cao's rear, so as to sit in the position of Yuan Shao's boss. However, Yuan Shao refused to adopt Tian Feng's suggestion on the grounds that his son was ill, so that he missed the opportunity, so that Cao Cao could calmly solve the situation that Liu Bei returned to the military crossing, and finally ended up in a fiasco.

"What do you mean by this?"

Although his personality is cowardly, it does not mean that Yuan Shao cannot listen to the opinions of others. Therefore, after hearing Tian Feng's words, he looked at Tian Feng expectantly, hoping that he could surprise himself. Otherwise, according to Yuan Shao's own thoughts, when he heard that Yuan Chang's troops were so sufficient, he would definitely have to shrink the defensive line in order to resist Yuan Chang's attack. As for giving up Bingzhou and Qingzhou, it's not impossible, as long as Yuan Chang and Cao Cao are defeated at that time, Qingzhou and Bingzhou will still be their own meat.

As for Tian Feng, what he considered was that the two armies had not yet fought, and if he rashly retracted the defensive line, it would hit his own morale, so Tian Feng would definitely stop Yuan Shao.

"Lord, Yuan Chang has not been in control of Youzhou for a long time, and although his soldiers and horses are numerous, they are not elite divisions. According to the news from the careful investigation, it can be seen that the soldiers of Youzhou did not participate in too many battles, and most of them were recruits who had not been on the battlefield, so how much could their combat strength be? It can be seen from this that among the 120,000 soldiers and horses in Youzhou, there are about 60,000 recruits, and the Jizhou soldiers, Qingzhou soldiers, and Bingzhou soldiers of the lord are all veterans who have participated in many wars.

"Haha, what Yuan Hao said is not bad, it is the same as what I saw!"

Yuan Shao listened to Tian Feng's explanation, laughed out loud, and no longer hesitated in his heart. Of course, Tian Feng is still a little dissatisfied, what does it mean to be afraid? How could I, Yuan Benchu, be afraid? Of course, dissatisfaction is dissatisfaction, but I can't say it at the moment, just keep it in my heart. I only heard him have a calm face, and said in high spirits: "Although there are many soldiers and horses in Youzhou, its combat power is not worth our worries. However, after all, they are numerous, and if they fight with them senselessly, they will also cause casualties among our soldiers and soldiers, so it is not worth it. ”

Obviously, Yuan Shao's words were a euphemistic explanation, and I, Yuan Ben, were not scared at the beginning, but worried about the senseless casualties of my own soldiers. As for whether it can be believed, it doesn't matter, anyway, the explanation is there, and it's your business to believe it or not.

"What the lord said is that we have never been afraid of the union of Yuan Chang and Cao, the lord is lenient and kind, and he is admirable. ”

Guo Tu stepped forward to flatter, which attracted Yuan Shao's satisfied eyes and made Guo Tu happy. Of course, although Guo Tu is greedy and treacherous, as a strategist, he still has the ability. This time, Yuan Chang and Cao Cao jointly attacked Yuan Shao, it was Yuan Chang and Cao Cao who made trouble, of course he couldn't refute it, otherwise, maybe he would be considered to have been bought by Yuan Chang and Cao Cao. After thinking for a while, Guo Tu spoke: "My lord, Yuan Chang and Cao Cao sent troops to merge with Qingzhou and Qingzhou respectively, but did not directly attack Jizhou. Therefore, the lord can order Bingzhou and Qingzhou to hold the city, and after a long time, he can order Yuan Chang and Cao Cao to withdraw their troops, and at that time, the lord can take the opportunity to wave his troops and take Youzhou and Yanzhou, so that the north will be in the hands of the lord, and Yanzhou can be the front, and when the time comes, he will send troops to Xuzhou and Yangzhou, and the big thing can be expected!"

Therefore, there is a saying that makes sense, don't underestimate the world, although I don't know the agreement between Yuan Chang and Cao Cao, but Guo Tu also guessed some of the ideas of the two. Of course, it was also because Yuan Chang and Cao Cao had no intention of concealing it, otherwise, with Yuan Chang and Cao Cao and their subordinates, a little bit of movement would make Yuan Shao unable to guess their intentions.

"Lord, Guo is doing this well!"

Tian Feng, as a centrist, did not participate in the struggle between Yuan Tan and Yuan Shang for inheritance. Therefore, he would not refute Guo Tu's words, but after listening to it, he felt that it made perfect sense, and after thinking for a while, he said excitedly: "Yes, lord, after Guo Zhi's reminder, his subordinates also thought of a little." Yuan Chang and Cao Cao jointly invaded the territory of the lord, but if the lord occupied the land of Jizhou, Qingzhou, and Bingzhou, how could the two of them divide it equally? In this way, the two of them must have agreed to first capture Qingzhou and Jizhou, and then Jizhou would be the decisive victory. Therefore, before Qingzhou and Bingzhou were not lost, the safety of Jizhou was not a problem at all, so that the lord could assign Jizhou's soldiers and horses to Qingzhou and Bingzhou, strengthen the defense of Qingzhou and Bingzhou, and deal with the offensive of Yuan Chang and Cao Cao more calmly. ”

"This..."

After listening to Tian Feng's suggestion, Yuan Shao was a little hesitant. After all, these are just Tian Feng's guesses, as for whether Yuan Chang and Cao Cao think so, no one knows, if Tian Feng and their guesses are wrong, Yuan Shao will send all the soldiers and horses in Jizhou, and when Yuan Chang and Cao Cao come to a surprise attack, Jizhou will not have the slightest power to resist. Now it is Yuan Shao, who is in charge of the cowardly character, naturally he will not do such a risky thing, in his opinion, even if Qingzhou and Bingzhou are lost, there is not much problem, as long as Jizhou can hold on, the final victory is still him.

"I thought about it and felt that it was not appropriate. Now all this is just our speculation, if we take the risk, it will put my Jizhou into a place of no return. Moreover, with the strength of Qingzhou and Bingzhou, it would not be much of a problem to stop Yuan Chang and Cao Cao. ”

"My lord, such a good opportunity must not be missed, otherwise, it will be too late to regret it!"

Tian Feng saw that Yuan Shao rejected his proposal, and he was suddenly a little anxious, and there was naturally some disharmony between his words. After all, Tian Feng has a rigid and guilty evaluation, but having such words and deeds is very in line with his character.

"Enough!"

Yuan Shao saw that Tian Feng was so faceless, and the anger that had accumulated for a long time couldn't help but erupt, and said loudly: "Tian Yuanhao, don't think you have some talents and underestimate the world's figures. Yuan Chang and Cao Cao have been able to come so far, they cannot be taken lightly, if we make a wrong arrangement because of our speculation, who can undo all this? Your words are so disrespectful, you should be punished to set an example. For the sake of your many years of credit, I will spare you once and step back!"

"Yes, thank you for your generosity!"

Seeing this, Tian Feng also knew that Yuan Shao couldn't listen to his advice, so he could only retreat with a gloomy face. If he was a different strategist with a temper and was scolded by Yuan Shao like this, he might have hung up the seal and left. However, Tian Feng has followed Yuan Shao for many years after all, although Yuan Shao is a little floating now, but thinking of Yuan Shao's kindness, as well as the importance he once valued himself, and Tian Feng also invested a lot of effort in Yuan Shao, and now let him give up, how can he be willing.

Alas!

Frustrated with a sigh in his heart, Tian Feng's temper is like this, and he has also persuaded many times. Originally, if you waited for the meeting to end, discussed with Yuan Shao in private, and then slowly persuaded you, it was very likely that Yuan Shao would be moved. Now, Tian Feng is tough with Yuan Shao in front of everyone, for Yuan Shao, who has always loved face, it is naturally a bad thing, and it is no wonder that Yuan Shao is so angry.

After straightening his sleeves, he bowed and bowed, and stepped forward and said, "Lord, after being reminded by Tian Biejia and Guo Zhi, his subordinates also thought of a little. ”

Frustrated, he wanted to change the topic, so as to dispel Yuan Shao's dissatisfaction with Tian Feng.

"Oh, what do you think, come quickly!"

Sure enough, Fu Zhu's words attracted Yuan Shao's attention, and when he saw Yuan Shao looking at him, Fu Zhu said unhurriedly: "It's a little strange, if Yuan Chang and Cao Cao are a decisive victory in Jizhou, then it stands to reason that it will be unfavorable for Yuan Chang." Cao Cao's eastern county is relatively close to our Yecheng, and if Yuan Chang wants to march to Yecheng, he should pass through the county and cross the county, which is more than twice the distance of Cao Cao. After thinking about it just now, his subordinates understood Yuan Chang's thoughts. My lord, please look here..."

As he spoke, he pointed to a spot on the map.