At this time in Jizhou, Yuan Shao's side had already launched the whole line. Chun Yudao set out from Guanjin and invaded Bohai County, threatening the safety of Nanpi City; The battle of Koji Yi was fought in Raoyang, with heavy casualties; Yan Liang and Wen Chou stayed in Xiaquyang, guarding against threats from the two directions of Gongsun Zan and Taihang Mountain; Yuan Shao sat in Xiabo and supported the three parties. As a result, the hinterland of Jizhou will inevitably become empty.

Although almost all of the main forces of the Jizhou army were dispatched, they could still collect 5,000 county soldiers for garrison in the rear counties, that is, Yecheng. If it was the loss of the county with the other soldiers empty, it would not be strange at all. However, he was arrogant and took Yecheng as soon as he made a move, which inevitably made Lu Yi have a lot of doubts in his heart.

- Yecheng also has 5,000 defenders, why was it taken down by the arrogant thief cleanly in a blink of an eye?

Lu Yi's doubts are also Yuan Shao's doubts.

When he received the news of the fall of Yecheng, Yuan Shao was holding a large-scale banquet in Xiabo City, banqueting well-known scholars in Anping State, and discussing various matters that may arise in the governance of Jizhou after the defeat of Gongsun Zhan.

As the leader of the scholars admired by the world, there are not too many scholars who are devoted to Yuan Shao. Even in Youzhou, which can be called a bitter cold land and few scholars, there are many places where heroes are willing to secretly communicate with Yuan Shao. Therefore, Yuan Shao knew very well that Liu Yu had cut off the supply of military rations to Gongsun Zhan's army. Without Liu Yu's supply of grain and grass, even if Gongsun Zhan's army can fight again, it must withdraw to Youzhou within half a month.

——Jizhou has been decided!

With this relaxed mood, Yuan Shao would be in the mood to take the opportunity to invite the scholars in the territory to the banquet. If the battle situation on the front line is urgent, the ghost will have the heart to do these elegant things!

It is said that Yuan Shao's idea of supporting Liu Yu as the emperor of the Han Dynasty was made by the strategist Xin Ping. Yuan Shao did so. Of course, I don't really want to help Liu Yu ascend to the throne. In his plan for the future, the world should belong to the Yuan family. To put it bluntly, Yuan Shao's doing this is just a divisive scheme, and the discord is the relationship between Liu Yu and Gongsun Zhan.

Even if Liu Yu and Gongsun Chan are at odds, but in name. Gongsun Zhan is still a subordinate of Liu Yu, the state pastor. As for the actual situation, although Liu Yu commanded more difficult, he could barely mobilize Gongsun Zhan.

If Liu Yu wants to be the Son of Heaven, he must first sort out his subordinates. And Gongsun Zhan, as the most well-known general in Youzhou, was born with a disagreement with Liu Yu. If Liu Yu is honestly his Youzhou pastor, with Liu Yu's prestige in the entire northland, Gongsun Chan has no reason and no strength to resist Liu Yu. But if Liu Yu is really moved, he wants to be the son of heaven infatuatedly. Gongsun Zhan will inevitably use this reason to turn his face on Liu Yu - he endured Liu Yu very hard.

Xin Ping proposed this plan to Yuan Shao, gambling that Liu Yu had a little bit of longing for the supreme position of the Son of Heaven after Liu Xie, the young son of heaven, was controlled by the Liangzhou traitors.

And the development of things is also as Xin Ping expected. Faced with the temptation of the throne that became reasonable from the de jure theory, Gongsun Zhan, who Yuan Shao tried his best to defeat on the battlefield, will now automatically withdraw from the battle for hegemony in Hebei because of Liu Yu's greed.

But Yuan Shao didn't expect it. He just managed to come up with a trick to drive away a vicious wolf from the northern frontier. Suddenly, an even more difficult wolf sprang out of the West!

During the banquet, when he heard the news of the fall of Yecheng, Yuan Shao faced the guests like clouds, but his face changed slightly, and he quickly returned to normal. It was as if what he heard was not the news of the fall of Yecheng, where his family was located. Rather, it was the servant who accidentally broke a few cups and something like that.

It wasn't until the last scholar guest was sent away and the banquet was successfully concluded that Yuan Shao, who had been suppressed for a long time, became furious. He gloomily drew his sword from his waist and slashed it down, splitting a silver flask that had been placed on the desk in two. As if to vent the anger of the whole body. Then he summoned the messenger, who had rested for a while, and asked in a loud voice:

"What the hell is going on!!"

In the face of the lord's anger, although the messenger wanted to get rid of this terrible experience, because he did not know much, he was unable to tell more useful news. However, there is a great luck in this bad news, that is, the high-level family members of Yuan Shao who stayed in Yecheng do not seem to have fallen into the hands of the people of Bingzhou.

Fortunately, Yuan Shao is successful in cultivating qi after all, and he will not be angry with others casually. Yuan Shao also knew that his anger should not be deserved, and after learning that his family had successfully retreated from Yecheng and was on the way to Qiqiu County, Yuan Shao calmed down again, and said to the messenger and Yan Yuese:

"You're doing a great job. Later, go to the steward and receive the hardware reward. ”

Receiving this unexpected reward, the messenger was overjoyed, praised the "wisdom of the lord" one after another, and left the courtyard in small steps. However, as soon as this person left, Yuan Shao's face immediately became gloomy again.

Looking at the civil and military ministers who automatically gathered at Yuan Shao's mansion because they received the news, Yuan Shao just said:

"Guo Tu, inquire about the news clearly, send a competent person, don't be like that Guo Jia last time, you will only complain!"

"No, lord, I'll check it myself!"

Calling people by their names is a very unkind act. Hearing such a merciless reprimand, Guo Tu was sweating profusely with nervousness. But it's no wonder that Yuan Shao is not to blame. According to the division of labor among Yuan Shao's many staff, the intelligence spy on Taihang Mountain belongs to Guo Tu's scope of responsibility. After the sudden invasion of the Bingzhou people, Yuan Shao did not take away Guo Tu's official position in public, and he was already very merciful to his subordinates.

Of course, this also reflects from the side that Guo Tu has a lot of weight in Yuan Shao's heart. And Guo Tu has always been conscientious and dedicated to Yuan Shao. At this point, Yuan Shao's reprimand actually belongs to the thunder and the rain.

As for Guo Jia mentioned by Yuan Shao, he was a distant relative of Guo Tu, who was known for his astuteness since he was a child, and he had also been under Yuan Shao.

It's just that this Guo Jia is dissolute and likes to drink and prostitutes. Not long ago, Guo Jian's hands were tight for a while, and he actually quietly took out the public money under his control and used it for private use. This matter was discovered by Tian Feng, and Guo Jia was immediately repelled by Yuan Shao, and then his whereabouts were unknown, and Guo Tu was also hung up a lot because of this.

"Your family members are all right, and they are retreating to the hill. If you have nothing to do, you can calm down. ”

After saying this. Yuan Shao waved his hand and asked everyone to retreat. When everyone heard the news that their families were fine, their expressions were different. Some breathed a sigh of relief, some cried with joy, and some simply said a few words and their expressions were the same. One thing is certain, though. Their mood was successfully relaxed.

However, Yecheng has fallen after all. There are several large cities in Jizhou, and the treasury is enough to store enough money and grain for 50,000 troops to use for half a year. Its fall made a big crack in Yuan Shao's foundation in Hebei. If one is not good, Jizhou may not have the surname Yuan......

That night, many high-ranking officials in Xiabo City, the lights in their homes remained on all night. The temporary residence of the general is naturally one of them.

Facing the big trouble that comes to you. The espionage forces on Yuan Shao's side were fully mobilized. With the passage of time, Yuan Shao's side finally restored the situation of the fall of Yecheng two days later.

The reason for the fall of Yecheng is still the old-fashioned combination of inside and outside. However, the fact that this seemingly simple strategy has been effective again and again is enough to show that it works.

When Yuan Shao's side went all out to deal with Gongsun Zhan's final offensive, the person in charge of guarding Yecheng was Wei County Taishou Li Cheng. This person is also a well-known person in the world. It's a pity that the military capabilities are insufficient. Of course, Yuan Shao knew that Li Cheng's military ability was insufficient, so he specially left Tian Feng in the rear. Responsible for presiding over the defense of Yecheng and its surroundings.

Although Tian Feng is also a well-known scholar in the world, he has a very deep understanding of the art of war and strategy. The defense presided over by him will logically not have many loopholes. However, he is not the main master of Wei County after all. Wei County Taishou Li Cheng naturally would not be willing to be robbed of his authority by Tian Feng, and while handing over the defense power of Yecheng, he still retained the right to appoint the personnel of Wei County's soldiers.

The rest of the story is bad. Li Cheng made an important appointment.

Under Li Cheng's subordinates, there is a guy named Tao Sheng. This person originally belonged to one of the tribes of Taihang Mountain, and called himself "General Pinghan". Later, due to dissatisfaction with the strong integration of the Taihang Mountain tribes, a few years ago. Tao Sheng took 500 people from Taihang Mountain and defected to his predecessor, the Taishou of Wei County.

The former Wei County Taishou was lukewarm in his defection to Tao Sheng, and only gave Tao Sheng the position of a county lieutenant. When the current Taishou succeeded him, Tao Sheng's position was still only 200 stones. However, Tao Sheng is quite eye-catching, and he has enough courage. After Li Cheng took office, he was the first to show his loyalty to the new Taishou Li Cheng.

Li Cheng was the new Taishou at that time, and he also needed a small official who was familiar with the affairs of the county to assist him. After seeing Tao Sheng's heavy gift worth fifty gold, Li Cheng greatly included Tao Sheng in the ranks of his cronies. After some subsequent efforts, Tao Sheng's gang actually succeeded in climbing to the position of "fake county Sima" under Tao Sheng's subordinates, mastering 600 county soldiers in his hands, and taking charge of the garrison of a city gate.

However, who would have expected that this Tao Sheng was actually a pawn secretly ambushed by the Taixing army?

On the night of the eighth day of the second month of the first year of Anding [193], Tao Sheng opened the city gate and put 3,000 elite soldiers from Taihang Mountain into Yecheng. The defenders of Yecheng were caught off guard and had no power to fight back, and the city fell. Wei County Taishou Li Cheng was killed, and most of the 5,000 defenders surrendered either to death.

Fortunately, Tian Feng was vigilant in the Assassin's Mansion, and as soon as he found out that the enemy was invading, he immediately mobilized 200 people from the Assassin's Mansion and took over a nearby county barracks.

With a miscellaneous army of 1,000 people in his hands, Tian Feng successfully protected the families of Yuan Shao, the assassin of Jizhou, and the important ministers, and escaped from the city wall of Yecheng. However, due to the lack of numbers and the eagerness to control the city defense of Yecheng, the invading Bingzhou army did not have the energy to divide its troops to pursue Tian Feng and his party. Under such circumstances, Tian Feng and his entourage successfully arrived at the rear-located Qiuqiu City, stabilized their position, and immediately asked Yuan Shao for help.

However, this is not the whole inside story of the fall of Yecheng. For example, why did the 2,000 foot soldiers stationed in Shexian County have no warning of the invasion of the Bingzhou army? This kind of thing is not something that a "fake Sima" of Wei County can do.

Guo Tu could not answer this question. But soon, the answer appeared in the spy report the next day. (To be continued......)

PS: Thank you for the monthly pass of nightsmk3. I'm glad I'm paying attention to you.