When our Yang Changshi was stirring up trouble in Jingxiang Nine Counties, in Qingzhou during the same period of time, Yuan Shaojun of Qingzhou led by Yuan Tan had already fought with the coalition army composed of Tian Kai and Kong Rong, and it was in full swing.

Speaking of which, the reason why Tian Kai and Kong Rong took the initiative to attack Yuan Shaojun was not the ghost of Deputy Director Tao as Boss Cao suspected, but the cause of the incident did come from Deputy Director Tao. When it was decided to send troops to Qingzhou, Deputy Director Tao sent a letter to Tian Kai to introduce the reason for his dispatch to Qingzhou, and also directly explained the time when he was ready to send troops after the wheat was ripe, and pretended to persuade Tian Kai to lead the army to surrender to him, promising to treat Tian Kai well, so as to repay the rescue grace of the year.

Of course, Tian Kai, who is quite loyal to Gongsun Zhan, could not defect because of Tao Ying's words, but as a veteran of the battlefield who has been fighting with Gongsun Chan for many years, Tian Kai saw the hope of breaking the enemy from Tao Ying's letter, and analyzed that Yuan Shao planned to use the Xuzhou army as the main force to attack Qingzhou, and Jizhou did not plan to send too many troops to conquer Qingzhou. Therefore, Tian Kai inevitably had the idea of capturing the thief and capturing the king first, and planned to take advantage of the late dispatch of troops in Xuzhou to first concentrate his forces to kill Yuan Tan, and then consider how to meet the team of Xuzhou, an ally of the past.

Of course, some people are worried that this is Tao Ying's trick, and suggest that Tian Kai be careful, to prevent the notoriously cunning Tao Ying from coming to a secret crossing Chen Cang, saying that after the wheat is ripe, he will send troops to attack Qingzhou for Yuan Shao, in fact, he deceived Tian Kai's main force to go west, and then took the opportunity to suddenly send troops to attack the empty rear hinterland of Tian Kai's army.

This question was categorically denied by Tian Kai, the first is that Tian Kai found that the Xuzhou army did not show signs of gathering in Langya, and the second is that Tian Kai felt that Tao Ying was unlikely to be wolf-hearted to this point, and he would take revenge to help Yuan Shao attack himself. And the Beihai Taishou Kong Rong appointed by the imperial court also thought so, and felt that Tao Ying would never be able to make a fool of himself in this kind of personal reputation and Xuzhou's reputation, so after hurriedly forming a mutual protection alliance, the main force of Tian Kaijun and Kong Rong's army totaled more than 50,000 people, and he did not hesitate to go to Zhu County, to Pingyuan County, one of Uncle Liu's old nests, to seek a decisive battle with Yuan Tanjun, and threw an empty hinterland to Tao Ying, and used the last moral limit of being a human being to resist the powerful Xuzhou army.

In this way, it naturally suffered the poor Yuan Tan eldest prince, Yuan Tan's army brought to the plains from Jizhou was only 12,000 people, plus more than 6,000 garrisons on the plains, and the total number of troops in his hands was only more than 18,000 people, and what about the enemy's side? Before Tian Kai deployed tens of thousands of troops in the county to confront Yuan Shao's army who controlled the plain, coupled with the 50,000 main forces dispatched by Tian Kai and Kong Rong, Yuan Tan Gongzi faced an enemy of 60,000 people.

When Yuan Tan Gongzi led the army back to the plain in a hurry, and refused to passively defend the third brother to laugh, and led the army to fight with Tian Kai and Kong Rong in Luoyin, Yuan Tan Gongzi began to rely on the strong generals under his command, and once had the upper hand in the fighting generals, and even beheaded the three generals of the Tian Kai Kong Rong coalition army, which seriously dampened the sharp spirit of the Tian Kong coalition army. But just when Yuan Tan's eldest son was about to take advantage of the victory to launch a general attack, Tian Kai's team suddenly killed a Gongsun Chan general who came to Qingzhou from Youzhou a year ago - or the rebel general surnamed Zhao who defected from Yuan Shaojun's army to Gongsun Zan back then, volunteered to take on the heavy responsibility of fighting generals.

In short, when the two fierce generals were killed by the traitor surnamed Zhao in seconds, General Yuan Tan had to dispatch his chief fierce general Gao Lan to teach this traitor general surnamed Zhao a lesson to teach this traitor surnamed Zhao who dared to betray his father and son. It's a pity that after General Gao Ran went out of the battle in high spirits, after fighting with the rebel general surnamed Zhao for less than ten rounds, he was also smashed by the damned rebel general surnamed Zhao with a shot and smashed the heart guard, spit blood and fled back to the formation, seeing this scene, Yuan Shaojun was naturally demoralized, and the Tiankong coalition army, which was outnumbered, took the opportunity to wave the division to attack, Yuan Tan's eldest prince was defeated, and had to give up Luoyin and retreat to the plain, and defeated the Yellow River for a hundred miles.

It was extremely unfortunate to run into the rebel general surnamed Zhao, the first killing god of the Three Kingdoms, who lost more than 2,000 soldiers in the army, and also lost the Luoyin city and some grain and grass, Yuan Tan's tender face was so lost that he couldn't lose it anymore, and he was afraid that he wouldn't be able to hide the eyes of his rival third brother, which made the consequences even more unimaginable, and Yuan Tan Gongzi could only honestly report the battle situation to his father, Yuan Sangong. But fortunately, the eldest Yuan Sangong did not pursue his son's disadvantage in the battle too much, except for scolding the eldest son's greedy merit and rash marching, and then ordered Yuan Tan to guard the existing results and wait for the friendly troops of Cao Boss and Deputy Director Tao to send troops to Qingzhou.

Yuan Tan Gongzi was walking back the words, after the order of the Great Yuan Sangong was sent to Pingyuan City, beware of the arrogant Yuan Tan Gongzi was still discussing with Guo Tu, Xin Bi and other cronies whether to fully implement his father's order, another bad news came, Gaotang County south of the Yellow River surrendered without a fight, betrayed the Great Yuan Sangong and surrendered to the Tiankong coalition army, causing Yuan Shaojun's forces in Qingzhou to completely retreat north of the Yellow River, and surrendered the Yellow River to the enemy! - How difficult it is to fight a large-scale river crossing battle, I believe there is no need to explain it here.

Suffering such heavy setbacks one after another, for Yuan Tan Gongzi, who is strong in blood and is eager to build miraculous achievements and establish prestige, it is naturally an unbearable heavy blow, and thinking of the third brother's arrogant smile once he heard the news, Yuan Tan Gongzi was even more uncontrollable, and angrily ordered a counterattack to recapture Gao Tang, the bridgehead of Yuan Shao's army's eastward advance, and also said that he would personally lead the army to recapture Gao Tang, and personally put the betrayal of Gao Tang Liu Ping to death!

"Childe, no!" Fortunately, Yuan Tan Gongzi's account also has people who understand, Guo Tu and Xin Bi both stood up together to oppose it, Guo Tu persuaded and said: "Childe, don't act impulsively anymore, if our army sends troops to the Tang Dynasty, the traitor Liu Ping will inevitably ask Tian Kai for help, and Tian Kai will inevitably send troops, and although our army's soldiers and horses are stronger than the Qingzhou coalition army, they have lost their geographical advantages, and the number of soldiers and horses is far less than the enemy. And once the son fails again, in front of the lord, there will be no way to explain. ”

Yuan Tan stopped speaking with a gloomy face, gritted his teeth for a long time, and Yuan Tan Gongzi suddenly poured his anger on Xin Ping's brother Xin Bi, and yelled at Xin Bi: "How are you a plain minister? If I'm not mistaken, Gao Tang ordered Liu Ping, a traitor, as if you played it to my father, right? You blew your nose, how did you sponsor such an unreliable traitor? ”

"The lower official has no eyes, the lower official should die, please punish the son." Xin Bi helplessly knelt down and pleaded guilty, and explained: "The reason why the lower official sponsored this Liu Ping rebel was because Liu Ping, the thief, had an enmity with Tian Kai, and assisted our army to seize the plain when our army attacked the plain. ”

"Since Liu Ping has a grudge against Tian Kai, why did Tian Kai accept Liu Ping's invitation to surrender so easily, and unsuspectingly sent troops to take over Gaotang City?" Guo Tu asked a little strangely.

"Maybe it's because Tian Kai doesn't know about it at all." Xin Bi said with a wry smile: "Perhaps, Tian Kai didn't know that Liu Ping hated him at all, and when he opened the gate of Pingyuan City to welcome our army into the city, it was also because Liu Ping quietly hated Tian Kai." ”

"What does the Minister of State mean by this, why can't he understand it at all?" Guo Tu was a little confused, and Yuan Tan over there was also a little confused, and began to restrain his anger and listen carefully.

"It's a long story." In order to divert Yuan Tan's attention and stop acting impulsively, Xin Bi patiently explained: "As far as Bi knows, the reason why Liu Ping hates Tian Kai is because of another person, Liu Ping was originally a strong man in the plains, and he was even favored by Tian Kai's Qingzhou Thorn Shi Jiao and favored, and he was rampant in the plains, and he was called a hegemon, and the local officials did not dare to offend at all. After Tian Kai was appointed by Gongsun Zhan as the Qingzhou Assassin History, the Pingyuan Order was also replaced by Tian Kai's people, the new Pingyuan Order was ordered by Tian Kai, and sent someone to collect more taxes and levy from Liu Ping, and was beaten by Liu Ping, as a result, the sworn brother of the new Pingyuan Order rushed into Liu Ping's manor alone, and beat Liu Ping's brother to be seriously injured, Liu Ping's brother asked someone to sue Tian Kai, and Tian Kai didn't pay attention to it at all, so Liu Ping hated Tian Kai, but Tian Kai may not know that he had offended Liu Ping. ”

"It turned out to be such a trivial matter." Yuan Tan, who was a little fascinated at first, was disappointed and scolded: "Useless dogs, they can be seriously injured by people rushing in alone in their own manor, and even Zhuang Ding is reluctant to hire a few, which is really stupid." ”

"The lower official is presumptuous, the eldest prince is wrong." Xin Bi smiled even more bitterly, and said: "As far as Xia Guan knows, at that time, Liu Ping's village not only had dozens of family soldiers, but also had weapons, but they were all knocked over by the sworn brothers of the Plains Order alone, and there were no less than ten family soldiers who were seriously injured together with Liu Ping's brothers!" ”

"So powerful?!" Yuan Tan was taken aback and asked in surprise, "Who is this person?" How can one person beat so many people to serious injuries? ”

"The eldest prince must know his name, his name is Zhang Fei." Xin Bi spread his hands and replied: "It is the Zhang Fei Zhang Yide who did not lose the wind in the Tiger Prison Pass and Lu Bu for dozens of rounds, and the Plains Order at that time, that is, the later Plains Ministers Liu Bei and Liu Xuande. ”

"Is it him?" Yuan Tan was a little dumbfounded, and said with a smile: "It seems that Liu Ping's traitor is also lucky, if Guan Yu also made a move at that time, their brothers would not have been seriously injured, and they all had their heads on the ground." ”

Speaking of this, Yuan Tan asked Xin Bi casually: "So, does the Minister of State know where Brother Liu Bei is now?" ”

Xin Bi shook his head and didn't know, Guo Tu replied for Xin Bi: "Yu Gongzi, in Xudu, Liu Bei's brothers have been staying in Xudu since Runan escorted north to Xudu, I heard that the Son of Heaven also named Liu Bei as the queen general under the coercion of Cao Mengde, and personally recognized Liu Bei as the emperor's uncle, and now the people of Xudu call Liu Bei Uncle Liu, but Cao Mengde did not give Liu Bei the right to fight, but just gave him a false title and let him live in Xudu. ”

"It's a pity, if these three fierce generals can be used by me, it will be good."

Yuan Tan shook his head in regret, but his head shook halfway, and Yuan Tangongzi, Guo Tu and Xin Bi, who were not too stupid, exclaimed at the same time, "Huh? How did we forget Cao Ying's allies? Father (lord) promised to let Tao Ying thief send troops to Qingzhou after the wheat is ripe, but he didn't make an agreement with Cao Ying when to send troops to Qingzhou? ”

After exclaiming, Guo Tu quickly bowed his hand to Yuan Tan and said: "Eldest prince, we should contact Cao Mengde, and ask Cao Mengde to immediately send troops to Qingzhou to assist our army in jointly crusading against Tian Kai and Kong Rong!" If the Cao army sends troops, it can directly attack Licheng from Jibei Kingdom, threaten the flank and grain route of the Qingzhou thief army, force the two thieves of Tiankong to retreat, and the Yellow River in front of our army can also be self-defeating! ”

"Brilliant plan!" Yuan Tan waved his hand excitedly and said, "Aren't the three brothers Liu Guan and Zhang living in Xudu?" It's just right, let Cao Ying send these three fierce generals to Qingzhou together, Cao Ying doesn't need them, I use them! With Brother Liu Guanzhang in hand, am I still afraid of him Zhao Yun traitor? With that, I immediately wrote a letter to my father, asking him to order Cao Ying to send troops immediately! ”

"Childe, in addition to the master who sent the book, it is best for Childe to make two more books, and send them directly to Cao Ying and Tao Ying thief respectively." Guo Tu quickly suggested: "In the letter to Cao Ying, in addition to explaining the battle situation and urging Cao Ying to send troops, there is also a hint to Cao Ying, saying that the third prince is trying to seek military power in Qingzhou. The matter of Gongzi asking Cao Ying for Liu Bei's brother is bound to be not a big problem. ”

Yuan Tan nodded, and quickly asked, "What about the letter to Tao Ying's thief?" Say what? Urging him to send troops immediately? ”

"Tao Ying thief is abnormal, and he has a promise from the lord to allow him to send troops to Qingzhou after the wheat is ripe, and now order him to send troops, he will definitely refuse with the lord's promise." Guo Tu shook his head and said: "So Gongzi can only use the reputation of the commander of the Qingzhou Coalition Army to order him to gather troops in Langya and make an attack, which does not contradict the promise of the lord." If Tao Ying was ordered to do so, he could distract the Tiankong thief army and force them to return to protect the empty hinterland. If Tao Ying destroys the thief and refuses to take the ......, hum! ”

Speaking of this, Guo Tu snorted loudly and coldly, with a cruel smile on his face, and Yuan Tanyin's face also showed a cruel smile at the same time, nodded first, and then said quickly: "Okay, just do it, I'll write a letter immediately." ”

……………… The old rules, let's take a look at the situation of Deputy Director Tao's nemesis Cao Boss, in fact, there is no need for Yuan Tan Gongzi to explain the battle situation in Qingzhou on the letter, Cao Boss who borders Qingzhou has already mastered the Qingzhou war situation through scouts, and it is unfortunate that when Yuan Tan Gongzi's letter arrived in Xuchang, it was just in time for the unfortunate incident that Mr. Man Chong, who violated the envoy's etiquette, was sent back to Xuchang by Liu Biao in a prison car, so Cao Boss, who was in a very bad mood, saw Yuan Tan Gongzi's letter again. Immediately there was a thunderstorm.

"Rubbish! Idiot! I don't know if Boss Cao is pointing at Sang and scolding Huai, in short, in front of the dejected Mr. Man, Boss Cao scolded on the spot, patted the case and shouted: "You yourself are greedy and suffer a big loss, but you want me to wipe your ass and dream!" Originally, I was going to send troops in the middle of next month, but since you Yuan Tan Xiao'er had threatening words in the letter, I also changed my mind, when the pottery thief sent troops, when I also sent troops! ”

"My lord, I'm afraid I need to think twice about this matter." Xun Yu reminded: "Yuan Tan is not favored in front of Yuan Shao, if he ignores his request for help, let Yuan Shang calmly take away his Qingzhou military power, then our army's position will be even more embarrassing, sending troops will definitely be trapped by Tao thief and Yuan Shang teamed up, not to send troops is to break his word and blame Yuan Shao, Yuan Shao is already very dissatisfied with our army's control of the Son of Heaven, and to blame him again may only lead to Tao Yuan joining forces and attacking our army in the north and south." ”

"My lord, Mr. Wen Ruo is reasonable." Cheng Yu also persuaded: "Now that Zhang Ji has taken refuge in Liu Biao, Liu Biao will use Zhang Jitun in the north of Nanyang to directly threaten the new capital of our army, Xuchang City, in this case, our army should not offend Yuan Shao, we must be with Yuan Shao and the snake, temporarily stabilize Yuan Shao, and free up his hands to pull out the nail of Zhang Ji, otherwise, once our army is in trouble on all sides, the consequences will only be unimaginable." ”

"Lord, Yuan Tan is still of great use to the lord, don't give up at will." Guo Jia also coughed and said: "Yuan Tan is the greatest hope for our army to separate Tao Ying and Yuan Shao, and it is also the right-hand man for our army to contain Tao Ying's thief. ”

"What tigers? Snake! Viper! Boss Cao roared: "I looked away at the beginning, thinking that this thief was just a tiger cub, even if he raised it, he should not be afraid!" Who would have thought that this thief was a poisonous snake, or the most poisonous five-step snake! If you are bitten by him, you will have to peel off your skin if you don't die! ”

Guo Jia, who had strongly persuaded Boss Cao to release Tao Ying, bowed his head in shame, but fortunately, Boss Cao did not continue to pursue it, and after a little calculation, Boss Cao still waved his hand helplessly and said: "Let Cao Ren send troops immediately, take the Yanzhou Road to the north and go north to Jibei, directly attack Licheng, take Licheng, Tian Kai and Kong Rong can only retreat quickly." ”

"If the lord does not give up, please go out with the army." Cheng Yu arched his hand and said: "The pottery thief is abnormal, especially good at combining vertical and horizontal and sowing discord, if General Zixiao has no strategists in the army, I am afraid that he will suffer." ”

"Very good, with Mr. Zhongde going out with the army, I don't have to worry about the safety of the Qingzhou Expeditionary Force." Cao Lao Daxi said: "I will send Cao Ren to teach him a lesson in person, let him and Mr. Zhongde work together, discuss more in case of trouble, and don't take risks." ”

Cheng Yu thanked him, and asked again: "Lord, what about Yuan Tan's hope that Brother Liu Bei will go out with the army, I don't know how the lord decides?" ”

"Let them go!" Cao Lao Lian agreed without blinking an eyelid, and said with a cruel smile: "These three brothers hate Tao Ying a hundred times more than me, with them to assist Yuan Tan, I believe that Yuan Tan Xiao'er will be able to be more handy when he cleans up the pottery thief!" Make Tao Ying's thief even more uncomfortable! ”

……………… Finally, let's look at Deputy Director Tao's reaction, after receiving Yuan Tangongzi's letter, Deputy Director Tao didn't even blink his eyelids, and said on the spot: "Send troops!" Let Zang Ba lead an army of 10,000 to Langya, join forces with Langya Xiang Xiao Jian, accumulate grain in Juxian County, and prepare for the main force of our army to go north to attack Qingzhou. ”

"My lord, but in this case, Tian Kai and Kong Rong may misunderstand our army's intentions, worried that our army will not believe in its words, and are ready to take advantage of the situation to sneak attack." Chen Deng reminded.

"It's okay." Tao Ying said lightly: "Send another letter to Tian Kai and Kong Rong, telling them that our army is only preparing for the entry of the army, I said that if the army is sent after the wheat is ripe, the army must be sent after the wheat is ripe, and before the army is dispatched, I will also send a messenger to officially inform the army of the date and route of the army." As for whether Tian Kai and Kong Rong believe or not, that's their own business, and I can be regarded as benevolent and righteous to them. ”

(To be continued)