In Shouchun City, the news of the failure of the Northern Expedition has spread, and people's doubts and speculations about Yuan Shu have reached the point where it is difficult to hide them. Although Yuan Shu's subordinates tried their best to whitewash the peace, various rumors and gossip still spread to General Zuo's mansion.

Three months ago, the two armies of 100,000 people set out from the east of Shouchun City, how majestic and mighty it was at that time. Three months later, Ji Ling fled back to Zhongli from Xuzhou with his wounds, and Zhang Xun became a prisoner, leaving only 30,000 of the 100,000 army, and they were frightened remnants.

How so? How many soldiers and horses does Xuzhou have? A year ago, Xuzhou was attacked by Cao Cao of Yanzhou under Tancheng, and almost lost Tancheng. If you add up the troops in Xuzhou, can it exceed 60,000? How did they defeat the 100,000 well-armed Yangzhou army?

The people of Shouchun couldn't figure it out, and General Zuo couldn't figure it out either. The failure of Ji Ling and Zhang Xun not only slapped the arrogant Yuan Shu a few times, but also completely shattered the emperor's dream in Yuan Shu's heart, forcing Yuan Shu to calm down and think about the future situation.

The chief bookkeeper Yan Xiang suggested to Yuan Shu: "General, victory or defeat since ancient times is unpredictable, although General Ji's division is unfavorable, but it is not a long-term solution for 30,000 soldiers to gather in Zhongli City now, it is better to send someone to Zhongli to appease him, and by the way, ask General Ji to return to Shouchun to recuperate." ”

Although Yuan Shu was arrogant, he was not as stupid as described in the history books of later generations, and he also understood that even if Ji Ling was executed for the crime of ineffective combat, it would be useless, and he could neither exchange the lost 70,000 soldiers and horses, nor the remaining 30,000 soldiers to get back to revive themselves. Yuan Shu was still able to listen to Yan Xiang's suggestion, and he said with a calm face: "According to the proposal of Lord Yan, I will send Qiao Rui to Zhongli to take over Ji Ling's position, rectify the soldiers and horses, and restore morale." ”

Qiao Rui was known for his prudence and caution among the four generals under Yuan Shu, and he was good at defense. Yuan Shu sent Qiao Rui to replace Ji Ling, which was tantamount to admitting the failure of the Northern Expedition, and the northern part of Yangzhou would go on the defensive from then on, and would not raise troops to attack Xuzhou again.

Yan Xiang saw that Yuan Shu was willing to admit defeat, so he then suggested: "General, Zhang Xun and Yuan Jian are now captured by Xuzhou, and for the sake of long-term plans for the future, it is necessary to send people to Xuzhou as soon as possible to ransom the two back." ”

A few days ago, Yuan Shu angrily scolded Ji Ling and Zhang Xun for being fools. claimed that he would never redeem Zhang Xun back, and at this time, Yan Xiang made this suggestion again, naturally risking being reprimanded or even insulted by Yuan Shu.

Sure enough, as soon as Yan Xiang finished saying this, Yuan Shu's face completely darkened, and he was about to have a seizure.

Yuan Shu's younger brother Yuan Yin had a very personal relationship with Zhang Xun, and hurriedly opened his mouth to relieve Yan Xiang and said: "Although Zhang Xun has ruined the general's major affairs, he will not be guilty of death, if the general abandons it, ignore it." I'm afraid that it will make the soldiers feel that the general is unkind, and they will not work hard in the future! ”

Yuan Shu can be brutal to others, but not to Yuan Yin, after all, Yuan Yin has always followed him. Or a member of the clan. Yuan Shuqiang held back the anger in his heart, and said to Yan Xiang with some irritation: "According to the meaning of Lord Yan's book, how to deal with Xuzhou and redeem Zhang Xun and Yuan Lian?" ”

Yan Xiang had already prepared. So he said: "This matter is not troublesome, the general only needs to send someone to Xuzhou to tell Lu Zhi that the Qiao family in Anhui County intends to go to Xuzhou." We are willing to send someone to escort us all the way out of the country, then Lu Zhi will understand what the general means, and will naturally release Zhang Xun and Yuan Lian. ”

The reason why Yuan Shu was reluctant for his subordinates to mention the redemption of Zhang Xun was that he was worried that he would be slaughtered by Xuzhou, and he still wanted to get Zhang Xun back, but he just wanted to drag it out for a while, so that Xuzhou would feel that he didn't attach importance to Zhang Xun, so that he could spend a small price.

Now, Yan Xiang proposed to use the Qiao family in Anhui County to make a fuss, and use the Qiao family as a bargaining chip to replace Zhang Xun and Yuan Jian back, if it can really be achieved, it is equivalent to not letting Yuan Shu spend any price, such a deal is definitely cost-effective.

Yuan Shu was very satisfied with Yan Xiang's proposal, and immediately showed a smile and said, "It's still the master book who thinks thoughtfully, and you are fully responsible for this matter." ”

Yan Xiang then retreated from General Zuo's mansion, and then went straight to Qiao's house in Anhui County.

In Xiapi City, Xuzhou, a banquet to celebrate the victory was being held, and Lu Zhi, the governor of the state, personally brought the wine and food of the reward troops from Tancheng to celebrate the achievements of Zang Ba, Cao Bao and Cao Hong.

Before the war, no one would have thought that the final result would be so fruitful, even Cao Bao and Cao Hong were ready to retreat to Tancheng before the war, and as a result, Pugupi fought Xuzhou with four soldiers and horses working together, not only defeated the invincible Ji Ling army, and then the army was full of energy, and Zhang Xun's army was confronted in the north of Ling County, and won a big victory again, and captured the enemy commander Zhang Xun.

Such a big victory is not only the first time in Xuzhou for decades, but even if you look at the entire Han Dynasty, it is also awe-inspiring.

Xiapi City is only 70 miles away from Pugupi, which is the seat of Xiapi County, after the end of the war, the captured Yuan soldiers and Zhang Xun, Yuan Jian and other generals are imprisoned in the city, and have not been disposed of for the time being.

Lu Zhi asked Guan Hai to bring Yuan Jian to him, and asked Yuan Jian and said: "Yao Qing (Yuan Shu character Yao Qing) Ling Zun was born in a prominent background, once a great Han Situ, and you yourself are also full of sages, why are you driven by an ambitious person like Yuan Shu to bring disaster to the military and people of Xuzhou?" ”

Yuan Jian was appointed by Chen County in Yanzhou, his father's name was Yuan Peng, who once held a high position like Situ, and later because of the rampant Yellow Turban in Yuzhou, Yuan Lian took refuge in Jianghuai and was recruited and appointed by Yuan Shu. Yuan Shu is upright and upright, known for his outspokenness, this time Yuan Shu appointed him as Zhang Xun's military advisor, although he was dissatisfied, but because his family was still in Shouchun, he could only accompany the army and give advice for Zhang Xun.

Lu Zhi, as a famous Confucian at that time, personally came to question Yuan Lian, which made Yuan Lian feel very ashamed, he covered his face to Lu Zhi and said: "The students do not distinguish between right and wrong, and bring disasters to the people of Xuzhou, and they are ashamed in their hearts, and they only want to die quickly!" ”

Lu Zhi saw that Yuan Lian's attitude of admitting his mistakes was very sincere, so he bowed his head and said: "Yao Qing can recognize his mistakes and have the courage to take them, but he is not rotten. The old man wants to leave you a way to live, and at the same time give you a fame, I don't know if you are willing? ”

Although Yuan Jian begged for death, he did not have to die, after all, the ants were still stealing life, he was just coerced for the army, and he did not do anything evil against the soldiers and civilians of Xuzhou, so after hearing that Lu Zhi was willing to let him go, he immediately knelt down and kowtowed to Lu Zhi. He said: "The students are grateful to Master Lu for his life! ”

"Your mother and family are still in Shouchun, if Yuan Shuzhi said that you defected to Xuzhou, I am afraid that it will be unfavorable to them, I will let people announce that you died of injuries and illnesses in prison, and then secretly send someone to send you to the north, and after this period of time, I will send someone to pick up your family from Shouchun and send it to the north together."

Lu Zhi took pity on Yuan Lian's talent and thought of a truly safe and secure way out for Yuan Lian. With Yuan Lian's ability, wait for him to arrive in Youzhou. As long as you do things steadfastly, it will not be difficult to become a county governor in the future.

Yuan Jian listened to Lu Zhi's arrangement, was grateful, thanked him again, and then secretly followed the convoy of the Mi family to Xiapi to transport the reward materials to Qu County, preparing to go to the north by boat.

After solving the matter of Yuan Lian, Lu Zhi summoned Cao Bao and Cao Hong separately, these two originally had 10,000 or 20,000 men and horses each, but this time they suffered heavy losses. Cao Bao only had more than 7,000 men left, and Cao Hong's men were even less than 5,000, which was no longer a threat compared to the "Yushan Battalion" of Lu Zhiyan's army, which had amazing combat effectiveness.

Lu Zhi persuaded with good words. In the end, Cao Bao and Cao Hong were forced to hand over their respective military powers, and in the future, they were relieved to serve as the Taishou of Pengjun and the Taishou of Xiapi, and Cao Bao's troops were under the command of Xu Sheng, and Cao Hong's troops were under the command of Guan Hai.

Lu Zhi appointed Xu Sheng as the lieutenant of Xiapi. handed over the remaining 30% of the remaining troops of the Yushan battalion after the battle to Xu Sheng, and let Xu Sheng take full charge of the military affairs in Xiapi County. After Xu Sheng took over Cao Bao's troops, he immediately completely disrupted the troops. Then the thousands of Yushan battalion soldiers assigned to him by Lu Zhi were incorporated into it, and then thousands of honest soldiers were selected from the captured Yuan Shu's troops and also incorporated into the Xiapi troops.

After such a reorganization, Xu Sheng has 15,000 usable soldiers, although the combat effectiveness cannot be compared with the complete Yushan battalion, but the backbone of the force is served by soldiers from Yushan, as long as the patient integration and training for half a year, it is a usable army.

Guan Hai, who was born as a "rebel", has completely changed his fate since he followed Lu Zhi, not only successfully washed away the past "gang-related records", but now he has become the captain of Peng County, who is in charge of the army.

Guan Hai is not as good as Xu Sheng in the whole army and governing the army, but he has a set in terms of training, this battle of Xuzhou, Guan Hai led the 3,000 heavy infantry but played a majestic role, becoming an important force on the battlefield to turn the tide of the war. Lu Zhi took a different look at this honest and loyal Qingzhou man, and not only allocated 3,000 heavy armored infantry to him to continue to command, but also sent him a military division to assist him in handling military affairs and guarding Peng County.

The military advisor sent by Lu Zhi to Guan Hai, whose name is Buqi, Zishan, is a native of Xiapi Huaiyin. When Cao Cao sent troops to attack Xuzhou, Bu Qi originally planned to avoid Jiangdong with Peng Cheng's friend Yan Gan, but Cao's army was finally defeated, and later Lu Zhi became the Taishou of Xuzhou.

Guan Hai didn't know what Lu Dao Bu Qi was capable of, but he knew that Lu Dao was not easy to make Lu Zhi look at the readers, so he respected Bu Qi a lot, and never objected to Bu Qi's opinions, which was to the point of obeying his words.

If Liu He was in Xuzhou at this time, he would definitely tell Guan Hai that this time Lu Zhi really sent the treasure to him!

Who is Bu Qi? During the Three Kingdoms period, Sun Wu was worshiped as a hussar general by Sun Quan, and took over as the prime minister of Eastern Wu after Lu Xun's death!

Historically, Bu Qi led his army to garrison Xiling for twenty years, and even the Cao Wei border soldiers in the opposing camp admired his prestige. Bu Qi has a generous temperament, is very popular, joy and anger are invisible, whether internal or external, always show respectful and humble, gentle and polite.

Lu Zhi sent such a humble gentleman as Buqi to the Pengcheng camp and asked him to assist Guan Hai, who was born in a reckless background, which is definitely a stroke of genius and uses talents to the extreme.

As for the other Yan Jian who went to Tancheng with Bu Qi, Lu Zhi did not snub him, he let Yan Jian stay in his mansion and became the master bookkeeper, that is, his personal secretary general, who was responsible for uploading and distributing official documents, which could be regarded as making the best use of people.

Historically, Yan Ji's situation in Jiangdong was not much worse than that of his fellow villager Buqi, after Lu Su's death, Sun Quan had intended to let him take over Lu Su's position, but Yan Jian resigned, and this was the matter of Lu Meng replacing Lu Su.

Xuzhou has many talents since ancient times, fortunately, Tao Qian came to the great Confucian Lu Zhi, otherwise I don't know how many people in Lu Dao would have to flee to Jiangdong to avoid trouble, so that it would eventually be cheaper Sun Jian's father and son. (To be continued......)