"Greetings to Father, Child!"

Yuan Mai took his entourage into the big tent and saluted Yuan Shao, who was sitting on the bed.

I haven't seen him for a year, Yuan Shao looks a lot older, he already has mottled white hair on his head, and his face is much haggard, which is very different from his previous high spirits.

I couldn't help but soften slightly, and asked: "I haven't seen you for a year, my father is already old!" ”

Yuan Shaoqiang smiled: "Hehe...... Cao thief is not extinguished, it is difficult to sleep and eat, how can he not be old! ”

casually perfunctory, he didn't care about greetings, and he didn't bother to ask Yuan Mai why he appeared in Wuchao, as his own son, it was a natural thing for Yuan Mai to appear in Wuchao to help him.

Can't wait to get straight to the point: "How much food was snatched up in the battle of the Black Nest?" ”

Yuan Mai had already thought of a countermeasure on the road, and replied unhurriedly: "Back to my father's words, the child is incompetent, and only grabbed 100,000 stone of grain and 60,000 stone of forage, and the rest of the grain and grass were swallowed up by the fire!" ”

After listening to Yuan Mai's words, the disappointment on Yuan Shao's face couldn't be hidden, and he sighed: "One hundred thousand stones? Only 100,000 stone was snatched, which was too little, and it could only last the army for a month and a half of rations......"

Without waiting for Yuan Mai to speak, Yuan Shang next to him sneered and said, "Is it really only 100,000 stones?" I'm afraid that someone will take advantage of the fire to rob and fill their own pockets, right? ”

This time, Wuchao grabbed food, and the real number rescued from the fire was 300,000 stones, but Yuan Mai had already made a calculation, so naturally he would not tell the truth. In this battle of Wuchao, the Bingzhou army also suffered more than 4,000 casualties. Wouldn't it be a loss if you don't get a little return?

So Yuan Mai's plan is like this, 100,000 stones are taken out and handed over, and 100,000 stones are used to redeem Zhang He and Gao Lan, but now that Gao Ran has been executed, these 100,000 stones have to be discussed separately; The remaining 100,000 stones went into his own pocket, and he should be rewarded for his lost soldiers.

According to his own plan, Yuan Mai had already sent someone to escort 100,000 stone of grain back to Huai County, and the 100,000 stone that was going to ransom Zhang He was also hidden on the north bank of the Yellow River; He just left the 100,000 stone of grain and 60,000 stone of forage to be handed over on the south bank of the Yellow River. Store in a conspicuous place. Ordered Guo Huai to lead nearly 10,000 soldiers to garrison and wait for Yuan Shao to send troops to get food.

"May I ask the third brother, if it's not 100,000 stones, how much is it?" Yuan Mai looked at Yuan Shang with disdain. Asked rhetorically.

I haven't seen each other for two years. This guy is still handsome. A tall figure, a handsome face, and delicate facial features. The clothes on the body are also carefully matched, not messy, giving people a heroic feeling. It's no wonder that Yuan Shao likes him, if he is placed before the crossing, the fans of the third son of the Yuan family will definitely not be less than the Korean idols, and it is estimated that it will cause a scream wherever he goes; If you make a duck, it will definitely attract countless rich women to salivate.

It's a pity, in this troubled world, a good skin doesn't mean anything, if it is according to the natural development of history, it won't be long before his beautiful head will be cut off by Gongsun Kang and dedicated to Cao Cao.

was caught off guard by Yuan Mai's rhetorical question, and Yuan Shang was a little annoyed: "You ask me? You robbed the grain, how do I know how much I robbed? Anyway, I don't think it will be so little! ”

The corners of Yuan Mai's mouth curled slightly, and he said calmly: "Yes, I robbed the grain, so I will know that the accurate figure is 100,000 stones." I also think that it shouldn't be so few, my subordinates braved the raging fire and rescued most of the night, how can there be 300,000 stone and 200,000 stone, right? But in fact, it's only 100,000 stones! ”

When Zhenzhen had words, he didn't forget to ridicule Yuan Shang: "It's the little brother who is incompetent, and he only grabbed 100,000 stones; If the third brother goes out, he will definitely ensure that the granary is foolproof, and not a single grain of grain will be burned! ”

"You, you don't take advantage of your tongue...... It happened suddenly, and when I got the news, the black nest was already on fire. Besides, Xu Huang's people and horses were also stopped by me, otherwise you wouldn't be able to grab the 100,000 stone grain! Yuan Shang argued angrily.

Yuan Mai snorted coldly in his heart, and said in his heart that if Zhang Liao hadn't killed Xiahoudun, Wang Shuang would have wiped out nearly half of Li Tong's team, and he was afraid that he wouldn't be able to grab 100,000 stone of grain, and he didn't let the remaining 80,000 horses go hungry, so thank God Yuan Shang!

"Yes, my brother is right, just Xu Huang has entangled more than 20,000 of your people, and he can't rescue Wuchao. Cao Jun attacked Wuchao at night, but there were five people, Xiahou Dun, Le Jin, Cao Chun, and Cao Xiu, which one is not a general who can fight well? Besides, Cao Cao led the tiger and leopard to ride in person, and my men and horses were able to grab 100,000 stone of grain, which is already the best result! ”

Yuan Mai looked high-sounding, and Yuan Shang argued with reason. Anyway, the grain that should have been transported has already been transported, and he is not afraid of Yuan Shang grabbing any handle, "If the third brother doesn't believe it, you can send someone to search for the place where the grain is hoarded!" ”

Yuan Shang snorted coldly: "Do you think I'm stupid? Even if there is any surplus, it has already been transported away by you, and you will wait for me to send someone to investigate? ”

"Alright...... cough cough cough ......"

Yuan Shao was angry by the quarrel between his two sons, and hurriedly took out a handkerchief to cover his mouth, and when he put it away, he found that there was a lot of blood, and his heart couldn't help but suddenly give birth to a trace of sadness, "It seems that my life is short, and pacifying the Central Plains can only be a dream!" ”

In order to avoid affecting the morale of the army, Yuan Shao folded the bloody handkerchief as quickly as possible, did not make a sound, and waved his hand to Yuan Shangdao: "Okay, Xianfu, don't quarrel, Xianyong is your brother after all, if you don't even believe in your own brother, how can it be done?" If your father dies, the only people closest to you will be your brother and brother. So, for the Father, believe what Xianyong said! ”

Yuan Shang was a little dissatisfied with Yuan Shao's words, and anyone with a discerning eye could guess that it must be that Yuan Mai had secretly hidden military rations, but there was no evidence, why did his father speak for him?

But Yuan Shang didn't dare to anger Yuan Shao, so as not to affect his image as a good boy in his heart, so he bowed his head and kept silent. But I secretly sneered in my heart, if my father dies, the first ones I will kill will be Yuan Tan and Yuan Mai, otherwise, I will not be able to sleep well!

"Thank you for your trust!" Yuan Mai bowed down and thanked him, a little ashamed of Yuan Shao's trust.

But Yuan Mai also understood. In Yuan Shao's heart, the person he loves the most is always Yuan Shang, and he will never change at this point, and it is only natural that he will strive for a little benefit for himself. Why did he take a large number of troops and hand over the grain that he had grabbed with all his might? Wouldn't that be a fool?

Yuan Shao sighed: "100,000 stones is 100,000 stones, this time the soldiers were lost, the vitality was greatly damaged, and he was no longer able to attack Cao Cao." There is this food as rations to maintain the morale of the army. Slowly withdraw across the Yellow River. Let's make plans for the next year and a half! ”

Yuan Shang has already returned to his heart like an arrow, this time he lost 60,000 or 70,000 people, and his own descendants are close to 30,000, and if he fights again, he will lose even more of his own men and horses. Let's withdraw it. than to eliminate Cao Cao. He is more willing to suppress Yuan Tan and Yuan Mai.

"What my father said is very true, withdraw troops from Hebei, and make plans again in the future!" Yuan Shang bowed and praised.

All the staff were speechless. Acquiesced in Yuan Shao's proposal to withdraw troops. After this fierce battle, the Yuan family suffered heavy losses, and the senior staff members left Xu You and Xun Chen; The generals lost Chun Yuqiong, Gao Lan, Wei Yuanjin, Zhao Rui and other heavyweights, plus the loss of nearly half of the soldiers and horses, the morale of the army is very low, and if they continue to hold on, the odds of victory are not great!

Yuan Mai didn't want Yuan Shao to retreat, he hoped that Yuan Shao could continue to fight Cao Cao, so that the situation of both defeats would be even worse, so that his strength would be relatively stronger.

"Father, in my opinion, in yesterday's battle, Cao's army suffered a lot of losses, and we should muster up more courage and continue the southern expedition, maybe Cao Cao will be overwhelmed and collapse, and then our army will be able to reach the city of Xuchang!" Yuan Shao coughed and put forward a different opinion.

Feng Ji was old in the officialdom, and he naturally saw through the meaning of Yuan Mai, and said with a strange smile: "From Guandu to Xuchang, at least you have to pass through the two checkpoints of Zhongmu and Xinzheng. The 150,000 horses of this southern expedition have almost exhausted all of Jizhou, if the fourth prince wants to continue to attack Cao, he can draw four or five horses from Bingzhou to fight the front, but he can try to fight! ”

Yuan Mai didn't have much confidence in convincing Yuan Shao, just had the attitude of trying it out, since Feng Ji understood what he meant, he didn't mention it, shrugged his shoulders and said: "I want to send troops to attack Cao, but Bingzhou is surrounded by enemies on all sides, to the south there are the Southern Xiongnu who call Chuquan, there are Xianbei, Wuhuan, Northern Xiongnu and other tribes in the north, and Zhang Yan in the east is dead but not stiff, and his strength still exists; In the south, there are two major corps of Yu Ban and Xiahou Yuan waiting for the opportunity to move; Bingzhou sent 20,000 troops to Guandu to help in the war this time, which is already a great risk, and he will no longer be able to draw a single soldier! ”

Yuan Shang snorted coldly: "Then what are you talking nonsense?" You don't have soldiers in the state, do you think that the people and horses in Jizhou are inexhaustible and inexhaustible? ”

"Alright, stop arguing!" Yuan Shao stopped the quarrel between the two sons again, "I have made up my mind, temporarily withdraw from the army!" ”

"Obey the orders of the lord!"

All the civil and military staff under the tent received the order in unison, and now from top to bottom, the people are panicking, and temporarily withdrawing from the army may be the most correct choice.

After making up his mind strategically, Yuan Shaocai set his eyes on Zhang He and asked sharply: "Zhang He, do you dare to come back to see me?" ”

Zhang He hurriedly came out of the column and knelt down, justifying: "The last general lost his troops and lost his generals, and he had no face to see the lord!" But there is a reason to follow for this fiasco, Gao Ran and I rushed to attack Cao Ying according to Feng Yuantu's strategy of besieging Wei and saving Zhao, who knew that there was an ambush in the camp and suffered a big loss. I wanted to go all out to break the camp and save the Wuchao crisis, but Cao Ren was good at defense, coupled with the unfamiliar terrain, it was difficult to attack for a long time. When he retreated, he encountered Cao Cao's main army on his return journey, and he and Cao Renli joined forces, so they suffered heavy losses.......

After listening to Zhang He's explanation, Yuan Shao's complexion improved slightly, and he set his eyes on Feng Ji. To be honest, it was indeed Feng Ji who insisted that Zhang He and Gao Ran attack Cao Ying, and according to the meaning of the two of them, they would rather ambush the retreating Cao soldiers halfway, or go to the Wuchao to rescue; suffered a fiasco, and Feng Ji also had the responsibility for a mistake in judgment.

Seeing Yuan Shao's reproachful gaze, Feng Ji stood up and said: "The plan to encircle Wei and save Zhao is true that I proposed, but it is you and Gao Ran who are executing. When the two of you arrived at Cao Ying, you found that there were ambushes, and you didn't retreat quickly, knowing that it was difficult to break the camp, but you still attacked it, what is the reason? I think it's clear that the two of you have long had different intentions, colluded with Cao Cao, and deliberately let the Jizhou soldiers die, consuming the strength of our army! He dared to speak cleverly and put the responsibility on my head, which is really unbearable! ”

Zhang He's forehead was sweating: "Lord, Zhang He has no two hearts, it's just a strategic mistake!" ”

"If you and Zhang He have no two hearts, why did you kill the personal soldiers sent by your father to summon you? What is it if it is not rebellion? Yuan Shang was on the side and spoke for Feng Ji.

Yuan Shang also stood next to Zhang He and defended him: "The killing of the guards was done by Gao Ran, and it has nothing to do with Zhang He. I have slain the traitor, and here is the head! ”

After saying that, he ordered Zhou Cang to leave the camp and bring Gao Lan's head to everyone to see.

Zhou Cang took the order and left, and it didn't take much effort to carry Gao Lan's head to the camp tent with a wooden plate, so that the civil and military staff could watch. After everyone saw it, there was an uproar, a few days ago, he was a colleague with Gao Ran, but in a blink of an eye, he was already in a different place.

"Well done! Look at the traitor, you are innocent! Yuan Shao scolded Gao Ran's head with lingering anger.

Yuan Shang said again: "Even if it is Gao Lan's guard, Zhang He does not stop it next to him, and lets Gao Ran surrender to Cao without authorization, what is the difference between it and rebellion?" You can cut it in one piece to set an example! ”

"Father!"

Yuan Mai bowed and said loudly: "Zhang He is at fault, but the crime is not to death, the child is willing to give 100,000 stone of grain to atone for the sins of General Zhang He, let him follow the child, our army has lost soldiers and generals, it is the time to employ people, let General Junyi lead the people of the headquarters to follow the child, atone for the sins, and serve our Yuan family, right?" ”

In fact, Yuan Shao didn't want to kill Zhang He anymore, his generals had died so much, last year there were Yan Liang, Lu Weihuang, Yang Yu, and this year there are Gao Lan, Chun Yuqiong, Wei Yuanjin, Zhao Rui, etc., I can't stand the toss anymore, as long as it's not a great crime, if you can keep one, keep one!

"Is what Xianyong said true? Can the state really squeeze out 100,000 stone of grain? ”

Yuan Mai nodded, and said categorically: "There is no joke in the army, the child will go back to prepare food immediately, and send it to the camp within five days!" ”

"Okay, then follow your word!"

Yuan Shao nodded and agreed to Yuan Mai's request, glanced at Zhang He and said, "From now on, you will follow Mai'er and work in Bingzhou!" You have to remember that your life was saved by Xianyong, and I hope you will do it yourself! ”

Zhang He breathed a long sigh of relief, and bowed three times: "Thank you for the grace of the lord not to kill, thank you for the grace of the son for saving him, Zhang He will definitely swear to repay him to the death!" (To be continued......)