In the first month of the third year of Emperor Jian'an of the Han Dynasty (190 years), Ma Chao led 5,000 elite cavalry to run for more than 2,000 miles, attacking the royal court of the Law Deduction Department.

Ma Chao broke the Xianbei royal court twice before and after, and defeated the Luoluo Department and the Law Deduction Department.

In order to avoid Ma Chao's soldiers, Western Xianbei migrated westward for more than 3,000 miles, and never dared to step into the Far East again.

In February, Ma Yue led the follow-up army to join Ma Chao, and the combined army attacked Juyanhai in the south, and King Hutu hastily gathered 20,000 cavalry to meet the battle, but was defeated, and led 3,000 remnants of cavalry to escape into the Western Regions.

In March, Ma Yue and Ma Chao led the army to attack the Western Regions and besieged Dawan.

In May, Dawan Po, slaughtered the city, and obtained six sweat and blood horses (red rabbit horses), and the countries of the Western Regions fell to the wind.

In June, the horse butcher asked the king of the Yue clan for the princess Azguli, not with, and then the Western Regions Hu cavalry 120,000, with Ma Chao as the commander, the soldiers surrounded the royal capital of the Dayue clan, it was the second half of the month of the city to break, the slaughter of the city three said, the people and animals were slightly exhausted.

……

Nanyang, Wancheng.

In the past few days, Nanyang Taishou Sun Jian always felt uneasy, so he took a few cronies to the street to idle, when he was leaving, he suddenly heard the noise of gongs and drums in front of him, a prisoner car was moving slowly, Sun Jian flashed on the side of the street and looked at it, only to see that the prisoner in the car looked heroic and dignified, although he was in a cage, he also looked calm.

Sun Jian was surprised in his heart, and asked anxiously: "What's going on?" ”

The cronies did not dare to slack off, and hurriedly stepped forward to call the official who escorted the prisoner car to Sun Jian, and the official saw that it was Lord Taishou, so he hurriedly knelt on the ground and sang respectfully: "Villain Liu Sheng, meet Lord Taishou." ”

"Get up." Sun Jian stretched out his hand and pointed at the prisoner in the prisoner cart and asked, "What is the name of this prisoner?" ”

"The villain doesn't know."

"What crime have you committed?"

"Homicide."

"Who did you kill?"

"Zhang Dahu."

"Why do you kill?"

"I don't know."

"That's weird." Sun Jian Nahan said, "I don't know my name, I don't know why I killed someone, have you interrogated me?" ”

"I've been tried, and I've been punished." The official replied respectfully, "But the prisoner refuses to speak." ”

Sun Jian pointed to the prisoner cart again and asked, "Then what are you doing here?" ”

The official said: "The villain escorted the prisoner to show the public, hoping that someone who knew him would come forward to identify his origin, but it has been three days, and no one has come forward to identify him." ”

Suddenly, a close confidant general stepped forward and said: "Lord, the Zhang Dahu killed by this prisoner is General Zu Mao's wife's uncle. ”

"You mean Zhang Nian?" Sun Jian frowned and said, "This Zhang Nian is Zu Mao's wife and uncle, who is usually misbehaving and rampant in the township, General Ben has long wanted to control him, but he has been leading the troops outside and has no time to take care of it, but he didn't expect to be killed!" However, speaking of which, this prisoner is doing harm to the people, well, it's kind of interesting. ”

After saying this, Sun Jian said to the official again: "Go, let the prisoner go, and let him go to the teahouse on the street to see General Ben." ”

The official said respectfully: "The villain obeys." ”

A moment later, a street-side teahouse.

Although the prisoner had been beaten all over his body and faltered, his eyebrows still showed an outstanding and elegant posture, and he entered the private room and gave Sun Jian a long look, and said loudly: "Grass people Xu Shu, thank you for your life." ”

Sun Jian said: "Your name is Xu Shu?" ”

Xu Shu said: "Exactly." ”

Sun Jian said: "Why do you want to kill people? ”

"No other." Xu Shu flicked his sleeves and said indifferently, "It's just that the road is uneven." ”

"It's a bad road." Sun Jian hit the case and said, "Based on this sentence, I know that Mr. is an admirable chivalrous man, and it seems that this official did not save the wrong person." ”

"The adult is overrated, how can Xu be worthy of the reputation of a chivalrous man." Xu Shu said this, and suddenly asked rhetorically, "If Xu's eyes are not wrong, the general must be the former general who killed Huaxiong and defeated Dong Zhuo, Wucheng Hou, and Nanyang Taishou Sun Jiansun, right?" ”

Sun Jian's eyes showed a different color, and he said, "Exactly." ”

Xu Shu stretched out his hand and threw the messy hair that fell on his chest to the back of his head, and asked indifferently: "Seeing that the general looks depressed and restless, but is he worried because of the dispute over Jingzhou?" ”

Sun Jian was shocked: "How did Mr. know? ”

Xu Shu said: "The dispute between the general and Liu Biao has long been known to the world, the general is a Jiangdong Tiger, although the horses slaughter the tiger and the wolf, he may not be able to fight, Liu Biao is not an opponent, but it is a pity that the general is constrained by others and it is difficult to show his ambitions to the fullest, so he is worried, yes or no?" ”

Sun Jian got up, gave Xu Shu a long look, and sighed: "Mr. Gaocai, General Ben is worried about this matter. ”

Xu Shu said: "Wouldn't the general be shocked by the high merits? ”

"Meritorious Shock Lord?" Sun Jian was awe-struck when he heard this, and immediately realized, "I understand!" I see, thank you for your advice. ”

Xu Shu said: "The general is polite. ”

Sun Jian said: "Please also ask Mr. to give advice, how should I get through the current difficulties?" ”

Xu Shu stretched out his hand and pointed to the east, and said indifferently: "Eight words, avoid Jiangdong, Xu Tu will plan later." ”

"Stay away from Jiangdong, Xu Tu's future plan?" Sun Jian pondered for a moment, his expression suddenly brightened, and he said to Xu Shu, "Mr. is highly talented, if Mr. does not give up, would you like to invite him as a military advisor?" ”

Xu Shu gave Sun Jian a long snort, and said loudly: "Thanks to the general's refusal to give up, I am willing to serve the work of dogs and horses." ”

……

Yecheng, Han Fu's official residence.

Xin Ping rushed into the hall in a panic and shouted to Han Fu, "Lord, something is wrong. ”

Han Fu asked anxiously, "What's wrong?" ”

Xin Ping gasped and said: "Just now, Zhao Fu, the chief of the river, came to report quickly, and Sun Zhan, the assassin of Youzhou, did all the people of Youyan, and a total of 50,000 soldiers came to Jizhou in two ways!" Among them, the general Yan Gang led an army of 10,000 to attack Zhongshan Kingdom, and Gongsun Zan personally led an army of 40,000 people, with Gongsun Yue as the vanguard, and had already invaded Hejian County. ”

"Huh?" Han Fu jumped up in surprise and said in a lost voice, "Gongsun Zhan's 50,000 troops have invaded the territory, how can this be good?" ”

"The lord should be alarmed." The general Zhang He came out of the column and said, "The last general only needs his own troops and horses to repel the invading enemy." ”

"Report~~" Zhang He's voice fell, and another small colonel flashed in, kneeling on the ground and said quickly, "My lord, Yanjin is urgent!" ”

"Yan~~ Yanjin?" Han Fu said in a speech, "What's wrong with Yanjin?" ”

The little colonel said: "Bohai Taishou Yuan Shao led 20,000 troops out of Tunyanjin, and his appearance is suspicious. ”

"What~~ What!?" Han Fu gasped and hissed, "Yuan~~ Yuan Shao!" At this time? ”

Xin Ping frowned and said: "Lord, this matter is tricky, if there are only Gongsun Chan and Yan Gang, our army still has a five-point chance of winning, but if Gongsun Chan and Yuan Shao join forces, our army will definitely be defeated!" ”

Zhang He's expression changed when he heard this, but he didn't say a word after contemplating for a while, Xin Ping's assertion may be too hasty but it is not unreasonable, although Zhang He is confident that the Jizhou army will not lose to any army in the world, but if Gongsun Zhanzhen and Yuan Shao join forces, the outcome is indeed unpredictable.

Han Fu was as anxious as an ant on a hot pot, and said again and again: "What should I do?" What now? Zhongzhi (Xin Ping Table Word), you should quickly think of a way. ”

Xin Ping pondered for a moment and said: "Lord, the top priority is to find out Yuan Shaojun's intentions first, if Yuan Shaojun is not good, then there is nothing to say, whether it is a war or surrender to ask the lord to make up his mind." But if Yuan Shao didn't plan to join forces with Gongsun Zhan, it would still be okay. ”

Han Fu hurriedly said: "In this case, Zhongzhi can quickly leave for Yanjin and ask Yuan Shao about his intentions." ”

Xin commented: "Obey." ”

"Your Excellency." However, Xin Ping didn't have time to leave, and some of his own soldiers entered the inner way, "Gao Gan and Xun Chen asked to see each other outside the hall." ”

Gao Gan was originally Yuan Shao's nephew.

Xun Chen, Han Fu values his talents, and he has repeatedly reprimanded people for invitation, but he can't get it.

"Gao Gan, Xun Chen?" Han Fu looked stunned and asked, "What are they doing at this time?" ”

Xin Ping thought for a while, and then his face changed greatly, and he said in a condensed voice: "I'm afraid I'm here to be a lobbyist for Yuan Shao." ”

……

Shouchun, Yuan Shu's official residence.

The more Sun Jian spoke, the more excited he became, and he said with a pause: "Fight Dong Zhuo before, fight to the death, beg for the thief for the country, and report the personal vendetta of the general!" Attacking Liu Biao today, he did not hesitate to risk his life, and led the army commander to drive straight in, which was almost successful, but the general did not meet the military rations, so that the success fell short. Jian and Liu Biaoben have no personal enmity, so disregarding life and death, the lives of the three armies, isn't it all to repay the general's kindness? But why should the general be suspicious? ”

Yuan Shu felt guilty in his heart and was silent.

Sun Jian said again: "I heard that some people slandered the last general in front of the general that he had the heart to replace the general, and the last general was speechless, so he could only resign from his official position and return to Wu County to live in the grass, and also asked the general to serve as the Nanyang Taishou." ”

"Wentai, please take a break from the wrath of thunder." Yuan Shu felt guilty, and hurriedly persuaded, "It's all to blame General Ben for being confused for a while, and listening to the villain's slander, now that the misunderstanding has been eliminated, Wentai should go back to Nanyang, Nanyang County needs Wentai to be in charge, and General Ben's account can't be without you, a tiger general." ”

Sun Jian insisted on leaving, and said in a deep voice: "I have made up my mind, please ask the general for permission." ”

"Alas~~" Yuan Shu let out a long sigh and asked regretfully, "Wentai, is there really no room for redemption?" ”

Sun Jian saw that Yuan Shu's expression was sincere, and there was a lot of sadness in his words, so he couldn't help but feel the friendship of the past, and said slowly: "Jian Jin said that he asked to resign from the official and left, not to abandon the general, but to wait for the rumors to disappear, and if the general is reprimanded, Jian can come at any time to listen to the reprimand." ”

Yuan Shuxi said: "In this case, Wentai can lead Wu Jun Taishou, how about it?" ”

Sun Jian was shocked in his heart, secretly thinking that Xu Shu was really a scholar of heaven and man, and he could even guess Yuan Shu's reaction, so he responded at that time: "Dare not obey your fate." ”

……

Yecheng, Han Fu's official residence.

Gao Gan and Xun Chen finished the ceremony, Xun Chen first said: "Today, Sun Zhan, the assassin of Youzhou, coerced the people of Youyan to attack Jizhou in the south, and the counties of Zhongshan, Changshan, and Hejian in the north have already surrendered to the wind, and Yuan Shao, the Taishou of Bohai, led the army to Yanjin, and the intention is unknown, Chen and the others are very worried about the general." ”

Han Fu said: "I don't know what Youruo (Xun Chen's words) thinks? ”

Xun Chen didn't answer and asked: "In the general's opinion, how is he compared to Yuan Shao in terms of treating people leniently?" ”

Han Fu was ashamed and said, "I'm not as good as him." ”

Xun Chen said again: "What about decision-making in danger and wisdom and bravery? ”

Han Fu replied: "I'm not as good as him." ”

Xun Chen said again: "So what about the benevolence of the past generations and the benefit of the people of the world? ”

Han Fu said: "It's not as good as him." ”

After asking a few questions in a row, Xun Chen Cai continued: "Gongsun Zan led the people of Youyan to the south, and the soldiers were unstoppable, Yuan Shao is a hero nowadays, and it is difficult to live under the command of the general for a long time?" Jizhou is an important place for the country to survive! If Gongsun Zan and Yuan Shao join forces to attack, the general will be worried about his demise. ”

Han Fu nodded again and again, and what Xun Chen said was not alarmist.

Xun Chen continued: "The general and Yuan Shao are old friends, and allies, now for the sake of the general's future, it is better to give Jizhou to Yuan Shao, after Yuan Shao got Jizhou, he has a large number of generals, and Jizhou is backed by the rich land, and he will be able to defeat Gongsun Zan to unify the rivers and mountains north of the Yellow River. ”

The senior cadre on the side continued: "And if Jizhou is ceded to Yuan Shao, the general can still win the reputation of being virtuous, and then the general's position in the eyes of the people of Jizhou will be more stable than Mount Tai, so what can I worry about?" ”

Han Fusheng's surname is cowardly and lacks assertiveness.

When the crisis is far away, he can still make a decision on the spot, but once he is in danger, he immediately becomes timid, so when the four-way coalition army crusaded against the Hetao, Han Fu was able to resolutely send the army to attack, but at this time, Gongsun Zan led the army to the door, but he became panicked.

felt that what he said and Gao Gan was not unreasonable, and when Han Fu was moved and was about to agree, the general Zhang He had already jumped out and shouted: "The lord can't!" ”

"Huh?"

Han Fu was stunned when he heard this, and everyone in the hall suddenly focused their eyes on Zhang He.

Zhang He bowed his hand and said in a loud voice: "Although Jizhou is remote, there are five or six million people, and there are enough soldiers to fight in the millions, and the grain stored in the warehouses in each county and county is enough to last for more than ten years!" Yuan Shao is to the general, like a baby to his hand, he can make him breathe with a pinch of his hand. With such a clear distinction between strength and weakness, how can you give up Jizhou instead? ”

Han Fu said helplessly: "General Ben was originally a former official of the Yuan family, and his talent is not as good as Yuan Benchu. Zhang He, why do you want to stop it? ”

……

Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty in February of the third year (190).

Zhang He, Xin Ping, Xin Bi and other military generals persuaded to no avail, Jizhou Mu Han Fu insisted on ceding Jizhou, and Yuan Shao officially entered Jizhou.

Yuan Shaochu got Jizhou, and said to the military advisor Tian Feng with great ambition: "Now that thieves are everywhere and the imperial family is weak, my Yuan family has been favored for generations, and I am determined to do my best to revive the Han family." However, Duke Qi Huan can't become the overlord without Guan Zhong, and King Goujian can't keep the Yue Kingdom without Fan Li. ”

Tian Feng replied: "The lord entered the court at a young age, became famous in the sea, and when he was abolished, he could carry forward his loyalty, cross the river to the north, and follow his fate, and gather the people of Jizhou with the death of a county, and his prestige crossed the river, and his reputation is more important than the world!" If the lord can rejuvenate the righteous army to the east, first set the Qingzhou Yellow Turban, and then destroy the black mountain thief Zhang Yan, and then drive the Northern Expedition, Pinggong Sun Zhan, and deter Fuyu and Sanhan, so that he can sit on the land of the four states north of the Yellow River, and then take the opportunity to collect the heroes of the world, gather a million troops, and finally go south to Luoyang Fuzong Temple Sheji, coerce the Son of Heaven to order the princes, who else is the opponent of the lord at that time? ”

Yuan Shao laughed when he heard this: "I also have this intention. ”

……

However, compared with the grand blueprint conceived by Tian Feng's lofty strategic concept, the situation Yuan Shao is currently facing is much more dangerous!

First of all, Sun Zhan, the assassin of Youzhou, did not stop attacking because Han Fu gave up Jizhou, but launched a more fierce offensive, and successively captured Hejian County, Zhongshan State, Changshan State, Anping County, Julu County, Zhao State and other places in a few months, swallowing up all the counties in the central and northern parts of Jizhou, and the troops pointed directly at the state to govern Yecheng.

Secondly, Han Fu's old Jizhou troops, such as the generals Zhang He, Han Meng, Jiang Qi, Jiang Yiqu and others, supported their own troops and defended the city, and did not immediately submit to Yuan Shao.

In the end, before Yuan Shao put Tian Feng's strategic concept into practice, the Yellow Turban thieves in Qingzhou had come to the end of the road, since Cao Ying became the pastor of Yanzhou, the strategy of the military advisor Guo Jia to attack and harass the tired enemy finally played a role, and the more than 100,000 Yellow Turban thieves entrenched in Jibei Snake Hill have run out of food and grass and can not continue.

In March of the third year of Emperor Jian'an of the Han Dynasty (190 years), Cao Ying collected 170,000 Yellow Turban thieves from Snake Hill, and selected more than 30,000 of them to form Qingzhou soldiers.

……

Luoyang, Liu Bei's official residence.

Guan Yu rushed to the door and said to Liu Bei: "Big brother, little brother is back." ”

Liu Bei sat upright in front of the soldiers at the table and didn't say a word.

Guan Yu didn't realize it, strode up to Liu Bei, and said excitedly: "Big brother, the younger brother has fallen in love with Lord Cai Yong's daughter, and begged the eldest brother to come forward to act as a matchmaker for the younger brother......

"We'll talk about women later!" Before Guan Yu finished speaking, he was coldly interrupted by Liu Bei, and said in an unkind tone, "It's important now, don't think about women all day long." ”

"Uh~~" Guan Yu was stunned and asked, "Big brother, what's wrong?" ”

Liu Bei slowly turned the brocade box on the case and said to Guan Yu: "Second brother, what do you think this is?" ”

Guan Yu was taken aback at a glance, and saw that there was a human head in the brocade box, which was Jian Yong's head.

"Jane~~ Mr. Jian Yong!?" Guan Yu lost his voice and said, "Big brother, this~~ What's going on?" ”

A trace of twitching flashed across Liu Bei's face, and he said in a condensed voice: "This is someone sent by Zhao Cen, the guard of Hangu Pass. ”

"Zhao Cen?" Guan Yu's narrow phoenix eyes opened, and a terrifying cold flame swept away, clenched his fists and gritted his teeth, "Don't worry, eldest brother, the younger brother will definitely take revenge for Mr. Jian Yong." ”

"Nope." Liu Bei shook his head and said in a deep voice, "It wasn't Zhao Cen who killed Xianhe (Jian Yongbiao), but the horse butcher!" The horse butcher gave Xianhe's head to Zhao Cen, just to intimidate him into surrendering. ”

"Horse butcher?" Guan Yu gritted his teeth and said, "It's a horse butcher again, the last time was in Yingchuan, and then in Youzhou, those two old accounts haven't been settled with him, hmph." ”

"Settle accounts with the horse butcher, it's not time yet, and you and my brother don't have the strength!" Liu Bei's eyes were gloomy, and he said in a condensed voice, "Now that Xianhe is dead, the matter of recruiting Guo Yan has failed, if nothing else, Guo Yan's 20,000 Liangzhou rebel army will definitely fall to the horse butcher." ”

"In this way, the strength of the horse butcher will be stronger, and the threat to Luoyang Gyeonggi will be greater." Guan Yu hurriedly said, "Big brother, we can't sit still." ”

"Of course, you can't miss the opportunity," Liu Bei said in a deep voice, "Second brother, you go and find the third brother immediately, let him pick up three hundred strong soldiers, and accompany the eldest brother to Hangu Pass." ”

"What?" Guan Yu lost his voice and said, "Big brother, you want to go to Hangu Pass?" ”

(To be continued)