Qin Song didn't dare to slack off and urged Sun Jian to return to the camp.

Halfway through, Qin Song first analyzed the situation for Sun Jian. When he returned to the camp later, Sun Jian would convene the generals to discuss the matter, and explain to him the stakes first, which could help Sun Jian establish trust in front of the generals and avoid arguing between them due to differences. Sun Jian has a good face, and sometimes he is stubborn because of face. When Qin Song first arrived at Sun Jian's side, the two had a conflict.

Kang's father, Fang and Kong Dao are shortcuts from Yanzhou to Xuzhou, and they are also battlegrounds. Compared with entering Xuzhou from Lu County and Bian County, this road passes through the mountains very little, and the terrain is flat, which is conducive to logistics and supply, and the possibility of being ambushed is relatively small. Although it is necessary to pass through the border of Peiguo in the middle, the distance is very short, and most of it is still in Yanzhou and Xuzhou. In terms of the current situation, Sun Jian can pretend to be deaf and dumb and acquiesce to Cao Ang's transit, anyway, Cao Ang's goal is Xuzhou, not Yuzhou, as long as Sun Jian guards Xiao County and Zhuqiu, he can continue to stay out of the matter.

If Sun Jian held on to this path, it would be equivalent to Yuzhou intervening in the war, and Yuzhou and Yanzhou could go to war at any time. Once the war starts, this is not a matter of this, but a thousand-mile-long front from Yingchuan in the west to Peiguo in the east, and the counties and dozens of cities along the line are involved in the war. The consumption of such a scale of war is bound to be staggering, whether it is Yuzhou or Yanzhou, it is not an easy decision to make. This is the reason why Yuan Tan has not launched an attack on Yuzhou until now.

In the absence of certainty of victory, neither side intends to get involved in a war of attrition. There are no winners in a war of attrition.

But Yuan Shao may not think so. The purpose of his southward journey was Yuzhou. Even if Yanzhou is disabled, as long as he can take Yuzhou, he will be able to achieve the final victory. The reason why he hasn't moved now is because Yuan Tan is not active, and second, Yuan Shao also wants to concentrate and take Qingzhou and Xuzhou first. Sooner or later, Yuzhou will become a battlefield, there is no doubt about that. But for Yuan Tan, now the attack is borne by him alone, and after taking Qing Xu, attacking again is a flanking attack, his loss is smaller, but the chance of winning is greater.

For Sun Jian, of course, the later this war is, the better. If they could wait for Sun Ce to conquer Yuzhang, Zhou Yu to occupy the entire territory of Jingzhou, and the two of them could go north with Jing Yang's manpower and material resources to reinforce them, Sun Jian's pressure would be much less, and the chances of winning would be much greater.

In short, if Yanzhou and Yuzhou go to war now, only Yuan Shao will benefit.

The reason why Yuan Shao was able to benefit was because he had connections that others could not match. From the attitude of the families of Qingxu and Xuzhou, we knew that once Yuan Shao decided to attack Yuzhou, the families of Yuzhou would definitely respond to him. Sun Ce used so many means to barely control the situation, and it was likely that his efforts would be wasted because of a few letters from Yuan Shao. When the time comes, Sun Jian's backyard will catch fire, and only God knows whether he can hold the Suishui defense line. For Yuan Shao, after this battle, it was Yuan Tan who lost, but the benefit was his, of course he was willing to do it.

Sun Jian already knew a little about it, and after listening to Qin Song's detailed explanation, he agreed very much.

However, since Tao Qian asked for help, he couldn't sit idly by. Tao Qian was defeated, and Xuzhou fell into the hands of Yuan Shao, which was also unfavorable to Yuzhou.

How to stop Cao Ang and not have a full-scale conflict with Yuan Tan depends on their means.

Back in the camp, Sun Jian informed the generals of the discussion. It didn't take long, Han Dang arrived first, and then Zhu Zhi and Huang Gai also came, and Sun Ben led one alone, which was far away, so he could only be notified later. Sun Jian first analyzed the situation, and then asked the generals to express their opinions separately. Qin Song's opinion has been said very thoroughly, so he won't speak at this time, and listen to Zhu Zhi and the others.

Among the generals present, Zhu Zhi was the heaviest, so he spoke first. He opposed defending Fang He, Fang He was in Yanzhou, dozens of miles away from the border, and it was a dangerous place, and Yuan Tan would be very sensitive if he entered rashly. He took the initiative to ask Ying to guard the lake and land. Although Hulu is in Yanzhou, it is very close to Yuzhou. He was no more than a lieutenant, no more than 4,000 soldiers, and he did not have the ability to take the initiative to attack. If Cao Ang came to attack, he could block Cao Ang, and even if he was defeated, he could hold on and wait for reinforcements, not so that Cao Ang could easily enter Xuzhou.

After repeated discussions, Sun Jian agreed with Zhu Zhi's opinion, and made some additions, let Huang Gai lead 2,000 troops and garrison Gonghe, Han Dang led 1,000 troops and stationed in Fengxian, once Cao Ang besieged Hulu, they could quickly reinforce them.

The plan was decided, and Sun Jian sent a letter to Sun Ben, asking him to station in Xiayi, and ordered all the cities along the line, especially Qiaorui and Zhang Xun in Tuntian, to gather Tuntian soldiers for training and prepare for battle. The major cities should be prepared with food and ordnance, and be prepared to hold on for a long time.

One after another orders were issued from Xiao County, messengers galloped on the post road, and the army marched along the avenue, all of which inevitably fell into the eyes of the other party's meticulous work, and the true or false news was constantly transmitted to the ears of the generals on both sides through open or dark channels, and the generals and strategists on both sides always paid attention to each other's every move, analyzed each other's intentions, and made accurate judgments as much as possible.

Cao Ang soon received the news that Zhu Zhi, Huang Gai and others had moved to the defense. He didn't dare to be careless, and on the one hand, he sent more people to monitor, and on the other hand, he sent someone to inform Yuan Tan and ask for the next course of action.

After Yuan Tan received the news, he immediately found Xin Bi and discussed countermeasures.

After switching defenses with Cao Ang, Yuan Tan has been stationed in the area of Licheng, neither retreating to Yanzhou, nor attacking with Yuan Xi, just like becoming Yuan Xi's baggage battalion, protecting Yuan Xi's supply route. Yuan Shao did not make any further arrangements, and there was a strange silence between father and son.

Xin Bi spread the news he had recently received on the table, turned back and forth a few times, hugged one hand to his chest, and stroked the short beard under his chin with the other, and was silent for a long time. "Envoy, go back to Changyi, and prepare to attack Yuzhou."

"Do you really want to fight?" Yuan Tan hesitated. He didn't want to attack, he didn't even want to go to war with anyone.

"To fight, Sun Ce and Zhou Yu are marching, preparing to flank Yuzhang, in order to respond to Yuzhang, the alliance leader will definitely launch an attack on Yuzhou. Since we want to fight, this initiative must be in our hands. The war in Qingzhou has been handed over to Brother Ling, and there is no point in you being here, it is better to return to Changyi to deploy the ministry, lest the alliance leader arrange others. ”

Yuan Tan smiled bitterly: "Sun Ce has arranged so many men and horses between Liang Pei, can I attack Yuzhou?" A Lu County has been besieged for so long, and in the end it is only an empty city, Suiyang and Xiao County are even more difficult to attack, I am worried that a lot of money and food will be consumed, not only will I not get anything in the end, but I will also suffer the name of incompetence, and give the alliance leader a reason to change generals. ”

Xin Bi looked at Yuan Tan, who had a sad face, and laughed softly. "I have a plan, maybe I can solve the king's worries, maybe I can make some gains."

Seeing this, Yuan Tan was overjoyed and urged: "George, tell me quickly, what is the clever plan?" ”

"Ask the alliance leader for a cavalry, send cavalry to assault, and show off the troops in Runan."

Yuan Tan blinked, and a smile gradually bloomed from the corner of his eyes. He arched his hand and bowed deeply. "Thank you George."