Hearing the meaning of inquiry in Yuan Shu's words, Yan Xiang said, "That's true. Li Li can fight well and is well-known in the world, and this victory in Youzhou is just icing on the cake for him. In the battle of Youzhou, it was someone else who became famous in the first battle.

In the battle of Lulongsai, Li Li's righteous brother Zhuge Kongming skillfully defeated tens of thousands of barbarian iron horsemen with a bow and crossbow, and has been famous all over the world since then. It is said that this Zhuge Kongming, formerly known as Zhuge Liang, the word Kongming, and the number Wolong. Originally a native of Langya, Xuzhou, in order to escape the war, he traveled to Jingzhou with his uncle Zhuge Xuan, and was attached to Liu Biao's account. Four years ago, Zhuge Xuan served as the Taishou of Nanyang, Zhuge Liang built a grass house on Wollongong and devoted himself to studying, and was quite famous, so he was praised as 'Wolong' by the Jingzhou hermit Sima Hui, and since then this name has spread among the Jingzhou scholars.

But what really made him famous in one fell swoop was the battle of Lulongsai, where Li Li's army defeated the strong with the weak, defeated the barbarian army in front of Lulongsai Pass, and pursued the barbarian army for hundreds of miles. It is said that this decisive battle was personally commanded by Zhuge Liang, including the general Li Li, who listened to his orders, so there was a great victory for Lu Longsai.

In the battle of White Wolf Mountain, Zhang Liao, a general under Li Li, killed the barbarian army commander Ban Dun among the ten thousand troops, and led the army to capture Liucheng, capturing Wuhuan Shan Yu Louban and hundreds of Wuhuan nobles, and became famous in a battle. Zhang Liao was a general under Lü Bu, and when Lü Bu led his troops south in the Chang'an Rebellion, he was besieged by Li Li under the city of Wuguan, and Lü Bu left Zhang Liao, Gao Shun and Cao Xing as hostages, and Gu Zi led the army to escape. After that, Zhang Liao switched to Li Li's command, followed Li Li to fight for many years, fought on the battlefield, and made many achievements. This battle of White Wolf Mountain can be called Zhang Liao's famous battle, which made it stand out from many generals of the Xiliang Army. Truly become the commander of the three armed forces under Li Li.

According to the detailed report, the Xiliang general who now commands more than 100,000 Youzhou troops to fight against Jizhou Juyi is Zhang Liao. With Yan Xiang's decent report, Ji Ling's eyes, who were walking side by side with him, flashed. His eyes were full of yearning, how he hoped that the person who Yan Xiang said would become famous in the first battle was him, not Zhang Liao.

Yuan Shu was stunned when he heard this, turned his head to look at Yan Xiang, and then at Ji Ling, and said with disappointment: "Li Li's command has a large number of capable people, which really worries me!" It is reported in detail. Li Li has returned to Luoyang, and will lead his army south in a few days? ”

"This ??????" Yan Xiang looked surprised and hesitated for a moment. He whispered with a sad face: "It is true. However, it has been half a month since the news was sent back by Xizuo, and I am afraid that Li Li's army is on the way to Jiujiang at this time, and it will be there in a few days??????" The words that he wanted to say and stopped completely exposed the worries in Yan Xiang's heart. Where is Li Li's army about to arrive? Is it Huaibei or Huainan. Or under the city of Shouchun.

Such ambiguous words. Ji Ling was confused when he heard it, but Yuan Shu understood.

Although Yuan Shu had never fought against Li Li before, he knew that the Western Liang army's marching speed was extremely fast, and it was enough to march more than 200 miles in a day and night. In particular, Li Liqi was well versed in the essence of the speed of the soldiers, and was especially good at using cavalry, and every time he led the army into battle, he would bring a large number of cavalry, while the infantry army was reduced to a heavy army to escort the baggage. Even siege warfare is no exception.

In all the previous wars, as long as Li Li appeared on the battlefield. Then he was accompanied by at least fifty thousand iron horsemen, if not more; As long as he seizes the slightest opportunity in battle, his iron cavalry will immediately go out, thus infinitely expanding the flaws revealed by the enemy, and finally crushing the enemy in one fell swoop.

This is the unique combat style of Xiliang Li Li, who has been invincible in a hundred battles, sharp and fierce, and extremely fast.

To this day, the princes of all towns are concentrating on studying Li Li's tactical tactics, in order to be prepared for emergencies. However, after really pondering Li Li's method of using troops, the princes did not find a way to defeat the enemy, or a way to restrain the Xiliang Iron Cavalry. Originally, bows and crossbows and traps (traps) should be the best choice, but bows and traps are very poorly concealed and can be easily discovered; Once discovered, the effectiveness of the bow and the pit will be greatly reduced, and the original power will be lost. What's more, there are not a few good horses among Li Li's iron horses, and these divine horses can often see through the potential dangers on the battlefield.

The most important thing is that Li Liqi is scheming, has amazing decision-making ability, has no fixed tactical routines, and has endless changes. In many previous battles, Li Li used different tactics in each battle, or chariot charging or bow and crossbow strikes or infantry charges, but without exception, in the end, the iron cavalry swept across the battlefield, further expanding the results, and maximizing the speed and impact advantages of the iron cavalry to maximize the benefits.

Because of this, it is indeed not easy to set up an ambush in advance to annihilate the Xiliang Iron Cavalry under Li Li's command. Just like the big pit array that Yuan Shao of Jizhou worked hard to dig during the Sili War, although he finally ambushed and killed tens of thousands of Xiliang iron cavalry, he took the lives of nearly 100,000 allied soldiers, which is equivalent to killing 300 enemies and losing 1,000, which is really worth the loss.

Therefore, although Yan Xiang did not say it explicitly, Yuan Shu already knew from his words that the southern expeditionary army led by Li Li had crossed the Huai River and entered Huainan, and it must have joined forces with Lu Bu's army on the south bank of the garrison at this time. Perhaps it won't be long before Li Li's army will come to Shouchun City to take his head as Yuan Shu's head.

Bowing his head in contemplation, Yuan Shu slowly walked up the jade steps and sat on the wide and comfortable luxurious dragon chair. After sitting down, he gently stroked the armrest of the dragon chair carved in gold and jade, but his eyes fell on the heirloom jade seal on the jade case in his right hand, his eyes were full of reluctance and nostalgia, and a fierce struggle appeared in his eyes.

At this time, Yan Xiang and Ji Ling stood in front of the jade steps, looking up at Yuan Shu, and saw that his face was full of hesitation, as if he was making an extremely heavy decision. In this regard, Ji Ling's eyes were blank and puzzled; However, Yan Xiang saw a hint from Yuan Shu's fierce struggle and the confused eyes that looked at the jade seal of the country, and he was immediately surprised, and his face was full of disbelief.

Suddenly, Yuan Shu's rapidly changing expression gradually dissipated, and his face regained a rare calm, and he asked softly, "How is the situation in Jizhou recently?" ”

Yan Xiang didn't answer immediately after hearing this, but hesitated for a moment, thinking quickly in his heart. He knew that Yuan Shu was not ignorant of the situation in Jizhou, but asked about the situation in Jizhou compared with Huainan. Huainan is already in danger. How long can Jizhou Yuan Shao last, or whether Yuan Shao can survive this catastrophe. This is the answer that Yuan Shu wants to know.

After a while, Yan Xiang said slowly while thinking: "Prime Minister (Yuan Shao)'s current situation is quite similar to my Huainan. Caught between Li Li of Xiliang and Cao Cao of Yanzhou, the situation is not optimistic. However, the soldiers and horses under the command of the prime minister are very different from our Yangzhou army.

Compared with the weak combat strength of our Huainan soldiers, the Jizhou army is quite strong in combat and is fully capable of fighting a decisive battle with Cao Cao of Yanzhou or Li Li of Xiliang. The reason why the Hebei battlefield is in a stalemate and confrontation at present is because Cao Cao of Yanzhou is jealous of Li Li and is worried that he will attack Jizhou with all his might. It is bound to lose troops and lose strength. In this way, even if the Jizhou army under the command of the prime minister was finally defeated. Cao Cao didn't get much benefit, and he might even be wiped out by Li Li taking the opportunity.

In addition, the prime minister had a large number of soldiers and horses, and the total number of infantry and cavalry was not less than 200,000. The strength is quite strong. Yanzhou Cao Cao alone may not be the prime minister's opponent. So he wanted to attack Jizhou with the help of Li Li's Xiliang army. And Li Li also had this plan, worried that the casualties of attacking Jizhou with all his might would be too large, so he would not be able to enter Huainan, so he chose to lead the army south to attack Huainan first, and then turn back to attack Jizhou. At the same time, Li Li occupied Nanyang for no reason, and he had already made enemies with Liu Biao in Jingzhou, so he also needed to leave some troops to guard against the Jingzhou army. so as not to be attacked by Liu Biao from the side behind.

In addition to these, there is another point that should not be overlooked. That's when winter is coming. At present, the northern states and counties are covered with frost and rivers, and this weather is not conducive to large-scale operations. Therefore, it is very likely that the war in the north will end within the next month, and the truce will be temporarily suspended, and the war can only be fought after the beginning of spring next year. Unhurried and impatient, Yan Xiang saw the battle situation in the north very thoroughly, and every word he said was targeted, and every word was fine.

After a pause in his tone, Yan Xiang took a breath and concluded very firmly: "To sum up, Weichen believes that although the situation in Jizhou is critical, there is no sign of defeat at the moment. If this situation continues, the war in Jizhou will be clear next year. Even if the prime minister was defeated in the end, no matter which way the princes wanted to occupy Jizhou, it was impossible to kill the prime minister and his family. ”

Yuan Shu bowed his head thoughtfully, knowing that what Yan Xiang said was true, whether it was Yanzhou Cao Cao or Xiliang Li Li wanted to occupy Jizhou, they must treat Yuan Shao's family well.

Since Yuan Shaoti led Jizhou, although he has not given great grace to the people, he has always been lenient and benevolent, and has won the support of the people of Jizhou. If Yuan Shao followed the recruitment system of the pre-Qin Qiding and drew one, with a total population of more than 5 million in Jizhou, he could at least raise about 200,000 troops on the basis of the existing soldiers and horses, so that his soldiers and horses could be expanded to more than 400,000. However, Yuan Shao did not do this, but recruited soldiers by increasing salaries and silver, so as to expand the number of soldiers and horses. In addition, it is precisely because of Yuan Shao's generosity and benevolence that he enjoys a high prestige in Jizhou, and the people of Jizhou recognize Yuan Shao very much, including the major scholars and families in Jizhou. Therefore, Jizhou Yuan Shao's foundation was extremely solid, allowing him to stand tall and persist in the siege of the two Western Liang armies and Yanzhou Cao Cao.

Compared with Yuan Shao, Huainan Yuan Shu is thousands of miles away and beyond reach. Yuan Shu has always valued profit over righteousness, and he has not been kind to the people of Huainan, but has repeatedly increased taxes, making the people of the prefectures and counties under his rule miserable and hungry. Therefore, when he suffered a heavy setback and was under siege, everyone rebelled and left, the hearts of the people turned their backs, and the people wished that he would be defeated as soon as possible.

This may be the most essential difference between the brothers Yuan Shu and Yuan Shao.

Secretly sighing with emotion, Yuan Shu sighed in defeat: "I am determined to give up the throne to my brother Yuan Shao, and send the jade seal of the country to Jizhou. ”

"Ahh This ??????" When Ji Ling heard this, he looked at Yuan Shu dumbfounded, and was speechless for a long time.

Yan Xiang didn't have a look of surprise on his face, it was obvious that he had already guessed Yuan Shu's mind just now. However, he did not completely agree with Yuan Shu's decision, and immediately said respectfully: "Your Majesty wants to cede the imperial throne to Ben Chu Gong, this is a wise move, and Wei Chen has no objection. However, it is very inappropriate for His Majesty to send the jade seal of the country to Jizhou together. Nowadays, the hearts of the officials of the Manchu Dynasty are fluctuating, and once His Majesty handed over the jade seal to the ministers of the court, Weichen was worried that his people would inevitably have the trust of His Majesty, and turned to other princes as a gift for promotion.

Therefore, the jade seal of the country should not leave the left and right of His Majesty, so as not to fall into the hands of the villain by mistake, so that the treasure will be covered with dust. In fact, Yan Xiang still has a sentence that has not been said, that is, once the Zhong regime is defeated, the jade seal of the country will be the only token that can preserve the respect of Emperor Yuan Shu. Even if he can't save his life, he won't die too humiliatingly, and maybe he can win a glimmer of life for his children and family.

"Uh??????" Yan Xiang's words undoubtedly hit Yuan Shu's mind. In fact, he was reluctant to pass on the jade seal of the country, even if he endured the pain of cutting his love, he was also worried that the entrusted person would fall into the hands of the villain. But the Zhong regime really can't be saved, this is the imperial power of his Yuan family, and he is willing to transfer the imperial power to Yuan Shao, hoping that the Yuan family can pass it on.

Just when Yuan Shu was hesitating, Yan Xiang said: "Since His Majesty intends to give up the throne, Weichen still has a strategy for His Majesty to decide." Last year, His Majesty had made a marriage contract for the prince and Lu Bu's daughter, and now that the wedding date is approaching, His Majesty can repair a book, which stated in the letter that only the prince and Lu Bu's daughter will be married to the prince. Since then, Lu Bu has been the reign of my Zhong Dynasty, and if he fulfills the marriage contract, he will be crowned as a general at that time. If so, we may be able to solve the immediate crisis! The more Yan Xiang spoke, the more excited he became, and he didn't notice Ji Ling standing beside him at all, he was filled with righteous indignation at this time, and there was a fierce murderous intent in his eyes when he looked at him.

"Oh? Hahaha! Okay, well, Aiqing's plan is very good! Yuan Shu laughed out loud in surprise, this was the happiest laugh he had in the past six months, and perhaps the last laugh in his life.

"Very good! Hahaha??????"

―――――― To be Continued ―――――――――――― (To be Continued......