The haze dissipated, the sky was clear, and Yecheng returned to its former prosperity.

The damage to the city was not great in this war, but the south gate and part of the city wall were damaged, and with a little repair, they could be restored to their original appearance.

Yuan Mai ordered Zhao Yun and Wang Shuang to reorganize the Jizhou soldiers who surrendered to Cheng into the Bingzhou army, and raised troops to go out of the city and set up camp to avoid disturbing the people. Leave 10,000 men to be handed over to commanders Zhang He and Guo Huai, repair the damaged city walls and gates, and prepare for defense to prevent Yuan Shang from counterattacking. He also ordered Zhuge Jin to temporarily act as the Taishou of Wei County and deal with the civil affairs of Yecheng and the counties in the county.

"Come on, take off the plaque of the General's Mansion and replace it!"

Yuan Mai stood in front of the damaged door, glanced at the gilt plaque above his head, the four big characters of "General's Mansion" are powerful and powerful, this is the dream position of all military generals in the world, symbolizing the supremacy of military power.

"Childe, this is the general's plaque, it is a gift from the emperor, how many people in the world envy it is too late, how can you take it off?" Zhu Ling blinked and stared at Yuan Mai, looking reluctant.

"It's picked, it's just a name!" ‘

Yuan Mai carried his hands on his back, and there was no room for negotiation. It's just a false name, not to mention that Cao Cao canonized his father Yuan Shao in the name of the Son of Heaven, and he hung the plaque on it and refused to take it off, does it mean that he has become a general? I still have a jade seal in my hand, could it be that I am the Ninety-Five? It's just a love of vanity and self-deception.

Seeing Yuan Mai's resolute attitude, Zhu Ling didn't dare to rebel, and agreed unhappily: "Obey the order, I don't know what plaque the son plans to put on?" ”

"Yuan Mansion is fine!"

Yuan Maiyi waved his hand and gave a simple answer. He is a pastor of the state. But Yecheng is the state pastoral office of Jizhou, and he hung the plaque of the state pastor, obviously some donkeys' heads are not in the horse's mouth, so they simply hang "Yuan Mansion" directly.

Yuan Shang left the seal of the "Great General" in the mansion due to the expedition of the labor division, and was raided and captured by Zhao Yun and Zhu Ling, and naturally fell into the hands of Yuan Mai. After a night of careful consideration, Yuan Mai decided to return the "Great General" seal to the Son of Heaven, of course, to be precise, it should be returned to Cao Cao.

That's what Yuan Mai thinks in his heart. It's just a ribbon. It was of little practical value, and if Cao Cao wanted to, he could order a craftsman to make countless in one night; I already have a jade seal in my hand, so there is no need to keep the "general" seal. He has a ribbon in his hand. It doesn't mean that he is a general. It's like having a jade seal in your own hand. It does not mean that he has become the Son of Heaven; It is better to keep this seal that has little value, it is better to exchange it for a profit, which is a smart move!

After a night of deep thought. Yuan Mai took the pen and wrote a letter to the Son of Heaven, to be precise, it was written to Cao Cao, because Yuan Mai was sure that Cao Cao would definitely see this letter in front of the Son of Heaven, and the final decision must be Cao Cao, the traitor, and the Son of Heaven of the Han Dynasty was just a puppet.

Yuan Mai wrote in the letter that he was willing to hand over the "general's seal" and return his father Yuan Shao's position as a general; However, as a condition of the transaction, the Son of Heaven was asked to canonize himself as a chariot general, a hussar general, or a cavalry general, and posthumously crowned his father Yuan Shao as the Duke of Wei.

First, you can get yourself a justifiable position, although the "three cavalry generals" are not as good as the generals, but they are only slightly inferior, and their status is far above the four expeditions and the four generals; It is undoubtedly more valuable to exchange a self-appointed "general" for a real rank of general officer.

second, asking for a posthumous title for his father can also gain a good reputation as a filial son for himself, which is conducive to recruiting Jizhou's civil and military staff in the future and winning their trust even more; Moreover, it will make the people under Yuan Shao's rule feel their benevolence and filial piety, in stark contrast to Yuan Shang and Yuan Tan, who attacked each other, and establish the image of a righteous man and a gentleman.

After the fold was completed, he immediately sent an envoy out of the city overnight and went to Xuchang to present it to the "Son of Heaven" for approval.

Yuan Shang led a large army to the plains, leading basically military generals, like Chen Lin, Chen Zhen, Han Fan, these civil officials all stayed in the city, and after the state army broke through Yecheng, these people did not rush to flee for their lives, they closed their doors and watched Yuan Mai's moves.

Although these strategists are all second- and third-rate figures, after Yecheng was in hand, the territory expanded again, and it was when people were needed, Yuan Mai didn't mind personally saluting Corporal Xian and inviting these people to assist him.

Early the next morning, they went door-to-door to recruit sincerely. Seeing that Yuan Mai was modest and cautious, and was courteous, in stark contrast to Yuan Shang's domineering and domineering, these people readily agreed to Yuan Mai's invitation and expressed their willingness to work for Yuan Mai, after all, he is also Yuan Shao's son, and submitting to Yuan Mai is not equivalent to betrayal.

In just one day, Yuan Mai successfully brought Chen Lin, Chen Zhen, Han Fan, Pu Yangxing, Ling Hu Shao and other strategists under his command through his own lobbying; In addition to these civil officials, Yuan Mai also successfully recruited a military general, Zhou Ang, who had been appointed by Yuan Shao as the Taishou of Jiujiang.

Zhou Ang is 40 years old this year, has been in the army for many years, and has made many military exploits; Although it is not as prominent as Yan Liang, Wen Chou, Zhang He, Gao Ran and other "Four Court Pillars", it can be regarded as a well-known general in Hebei. When Dong Zhuo had just fallen, Yuan Shao played Zhou Ang as the Taishou of Jiujiang and led 5,000 men and horses to settle in the ownerless city of Jiujiang.

Zhou Ang occupied Jiujiang for less than a month, and was targeted by Yuan Shu, who was at odds with Yuan Shao. Although they are half-brothers, the Yuan brothers are like fire and water, and they all regard each other as a thorn in their side, and they want to get rid of them as soon as possible. Yangzhou has always been Yuan Shu's territory, how could he sit back and watch Yuan Shao extend his tentacles into his sphere of influence?

Immediately sent his subordinate "Jiangdong Tiger" Sun Jian to lead the headquarters to conquer, and sent the generals Lei Bo and Qiao Rui to lead 6,000 men and horses to help in the battle; He also wrote a letter to Yuan Shao's nemesis, Gongsun Zhan, to form an ally, requesting that troops be sent to attack the Lujiang River. Gongsun Zan and Yuan Shao did not share the sky, so they were naturally happy to see the Yuan Shu brothers killing each other, and happily promised to send his younger brother Sun Yue to lead 3,000 troops from Qingzhou to the south, enter the land of Yangzhou, assist Sun Jian, and jointly attack the Lujiang River.

All of a sudden, there were many soldiers and horses under Jiujiang City, and the war drums were rumbling. Zhou Ang led 5,000 defenders to climb the city wall and hold on, facing the enemy army four times his size, calmly responded, calmly commanded, repelled wave after wave of enemy attacks, and successfully shot Gongsun Zhan's younger brother Gongsun Yue, and also wounded Sun Jian's general Cheng Pu, which greatly frustrated the morale of the siege coalition army. After a month of hard fighting, Sun Jian found it difficult to break the city, and he knew that Zhou Ang had some ability, so he had to lead the army to retreat and enter Changsha to the southwest.

In the following years, Yuan Shuxiong dominated Huainan, the soldiers were full of food, Liu Biao in the west of Jiujiang also rose strongly, and Sun Jian recuperated in Changsha, like a tiger ready to come out of the cage. Yuan Shao was afraid that Zhou Ang's lone army would be difficult to gain a foothold in the besieged army, and he had just captured Jizhou, so he ordered Zhou Ang to abandon Jiujiang and lead his troops back to Jizhou.

After that, Zhou Ang also followed Yuan Shao many times to conquer everywhere and made many military exploits. After Yuan Shao's death, Zhou Ang was very dissatisfied with Yuan Shang's performance, so he couldn't get out of his illness and waited to see what happened, so this time Yuan Shang went to the plains and did not recruit Zhou Ang, but in the end he bought Yuan cheaply.

"Since the fourth prince is so important, he does not hesitate to condescend to the grass house to invite, dare not obey his fate? I am willing to serve the work of dogs and horses for the son, revitalize the majesty of Hebei, and repay the spirit of the lord in the sky! ”

Seeing that Yuan Mai was sincere and respectful, and his words and deeds were quite Mingjun's demeanor, his subordinates were full of martial arts, the sergeants were neatly armoured, and the military discipline was strict, Zhou Ang immediately decided to serve Yuan Mai. The woman is the one who pleases herself, and the one who is the confidant dies, isn't it this moment that she is waiting for?

Yuan Mai was overjoyed and thanked Zhou Angzuo: "Hehe...... To be able to get the assistance of General Zhou Ang, Yuan Mai Sansheng is lucky, Jizhou is lucky, and my father can be blind under Jiuquan! ”

Zhou Ang frowned slightly, and said: "Thanks to the love of the son, Zhou Ang has nothing to repay, I am friendly with the two Lu brothers stationed in Liyang, and I am willing to go to Liyang to persuade the brothers Lu Kuang and Lu Xiang to defect to the son!" ”

"Haha...... If so, you should make a great contribution to General Zhou! ”

Yuan Mai was overjoyed when he heard this, and immediately sent Zhou Ang to Liyang to persuade the Lu brothers to defect. Zhou Ang received the order, led dozens of his personal entourage, and hurried to Liyang. In the evening of the next day, news came from Liyang that the brothers Lü Kuang and Lü Xiang were willing to join and hand over Liyang's military power.

Yuan bought a letter of repair, added a miscellaneous general to the Lu brothers, ordered Lü Kuang to lead 5,000 soldiers and horses back to Yecheng, prepare to meet the counterattacking Yuan Shang, and ordered Zhou Ang and Lü Xiang to lead 15,000 troops to continue to defend Liyang, in case Cao Ren on the south bank of the Yellow River took the opportunity to enter the army.

Just when Yuan Mai was dealing with internal affairs, Zhang He, Guo Huai, and Wang Shuang each led 10,000 horses to Changshan State, Zhao State, Guangping County, Julu County, Yangping County, Qinghe County and other places.

However, in just a few days, half of the land in Jizhou belonged to Yuan Mai, and the land under Yuan Shang was only left in the six counties in the east of Jizhou, and his strength declined sharply. Yuan Shang saw that the situation was not good, and the trial was dead, he panicked in his heart, and asked Yu Fengji, who suggested that he and Yuan Tan should strike the army, and the two families would unite to deal with Yuan Mai together, so as to reverse the disadvantage.

Yuan Shang immediately sent Feng Ji into Yuan Tan's camp, stating the relationship, hoping that the two armies could stop the war and make a truce, and at the same time pointed the finger at Yuan Mai. Yuan Tan was also very dissatisfied with Yuan Mai's behavior of taking advantage of his attraction of Yuan Shang's main army to gain profits and occupy Yecheng, and hit it off with Feng Ji's proposal and immediately agreed to Yuan Shang's request for the alliance. The two groups joined forces and marched to Yecheng, preparing to regain their own status.

Ps: I'm sorry brothers, I'm entangled in things at home, and the update can't be guaranteed, and I'll try to make up for it when I'm done. (To be continued......)