Xun Yan patiently persuaded Yuan Shao, what he meant: In this situation, you can not cede the county to Cao Cao, but you still need to correct your position, and at least you should form an alliance with Cao Cao on an equal footing, so as to make your own invincible.

After all, Liu Jian's current power is too strong.

In fact, intellectually, Yuan Shao knew very well that what Xun Yu was saying to him now was for his own good, but he couldn't get around this bend in his heart.

It is no wonder that he was born in the Yuan family of the fourth and third princes since he was a child, although he was not allocated the most resources like Yuan Ji since he was a child, but through Yuan Shao's own efforts, he finally stood at the top of the Yuan family.

For many years, he had become accustomed to looking down on all beings.

Especially people like Cao Cao, who have known each other since they knew each other, the little brother who followed his ass.

It's just that now that time has passed, such a little brother is actually going to be on an equal footing with himself, and he has to cut out a piece of land from his own hands and eat his own meat!

How could Yuan Shao be willing in his heart?

Yuan Shao didn't understand the current situation, but he just had an inertia and tenacity in his heart, which made him unable to easily accept this fact.

Yuan Shao wanted to put the alliance on hold for the time being, but suddenly a news came from the north, which made all the people of Jingzhou feel frightened.

Liu Jian's army began to station and build a village in the Nanyang Basin, pointing the spearhead directly at Fancheng! It has the intention of attacking Xiangfan.

It's just that at present, the army in the north is only making preparations, and has not yet moved, and has successively built military fortresses near the Nanyang Basin, and transported siege equipment, which is obviously the next step.

The fathers-in-law of the major families in Jingzhou were nervous after hearing the news.

They never thought that after Liu Jian ate Nanyang and Yuzhou, he was still not satisfied! Now that the new policy has not been fully popularized in Nanyang and Yuzhou, it is necessary to launch another attack on Xiangyang!

As a result, the leaders of the major families began to make suggestions to Yuan Shao, hoping that he could unite with Cao Cao and resist Liu Jian's attack.

After all, Liu Jian's army is too strong, and Jingzhou can now defend with the strong city outline of Xiangyang, but in the long run, who knows if there will be another loss of Wancheng?

It's just a simple defense, and it's not a good strategy after all.

After Yuan Shao heard the news, his mentality also collapsed, he didn't expect Liu Jian to launch an attack so quickly, and there was a great tendency to not wipe out his Yuan clan in one fell swoop, and he would not give up.

In desperation, Yuan could only find Lu Fan and tell him that he was willing to agree to Cao Cao's conditions.

However, he demanded that Cao Cao must immediately send troops to attack Yuzhou to help him contain Liu Jian's soldiers and horses that came to attack.

As for Jiangxia County and Changsha County demanded by Cao Cao, Yuan Shao said that it was impossible to allocate all of them to Cao Cao.

Jiangxia County could only be lent to Cao Cao's troops and sailors, and as for Changsha, he resolutely refused to give it.

Yuan Shao's attitude was actually expected by Lu Fan.

This kind of thing is originally a matter of everyone consulting with each other and bargaining with each other.

Originally, Lu Fan didn't think that Yuan Shao would be able to cut such a large piece of land to Cao Cao at one time, and if only Jiangxia was ceded over, it would be very beneficial to Jiangdong.

Moreover, being able to reach an alliance with Yuan Shao and jointly compete with Liu Jian has always been a situation that Cao Cao hopes very much.

So, Lu Fan returned to Shouchun with Yuan Shao's "full" sincerity.

At the same time, the envoy sent by Yuan Shao to Yizhou also returned.

In terms of Yuan Yi, now that he knows that Runan has been occupied by Liu Jian and Yuan Shao's foundation has been lost, he is very anxious, after all, he is also a descendant of the Yuan family.

It's just that compared to Yuan Shao, Yuan Yi's pressure is much lighter now.

The strength of Yizhou is not comparable to that of other states and counties.

Yuan Shao may face pressure from the Central Plains in Jingzhou, but Yizhou has the dangers of lofty mountains and mountains, and it is completely isolated from the world.

However, although Yuan Yi's pressure is not as great as Yuan Shao's, he also knows that such a situation is not a long-term solution for him, once Yuan Shao and Cao Cao and others are really eliminated by Liu Jian, even if the mountain roads in Shuzhong are sinister and the checkpoints are strong, he will inevitably be trapped by Liu Jian and finally eliminated!

Therefore, the survival of Yuan Shao and Cao Cao is his greatest survival guarantee.

But after the last war, Yuan Yi deeply realized that although the population he controlled in Shu was large and there was no problem in forming an army, there was a lack of handsome generals who could take charge on their own!

Generals like Yan Yan , Zhang Ren and other generals, although they are also excellent generals, are also talents who can sit in a level, rather than generals who can lead troops to drive straight in!

However, if the Shuzhong generals were allowed to lead the Northern Expedition into Guanzhong, or enter Nanyang County, echoing Yuan Shao, they would still not be qualified.

Therefore, Yuan Yu could only write a letter to Yuan Shao, hoping that Yuan Shao could send excellent generals into Yizhou to assist him in echoing Yuan Shao.

Yuan Shao received Yuan's letter, and immediately asked his subordinates to discuss the matter.

"Although Boye has recruited a lot of soldiers and horses in Shuzhong in recent years, he has no generals in his hands! The reason why he went out from Hanzhong to Guanzhong the previous time was that he was defeated so quickly was because the army did not have a commander with excellent generals, so once he met Liu Jian's elite soldiers, he would be defeated immediately. ”

"He hopes that my side can send excellent generals into Yizhou to help him command the army, so that he can also echo me and ensure the coexistence of Jingzhou and Yizhou.

Xun Yan said to Yuan Shao: "Bo Ye's words are indeed reasonable, although there have been frequent civil wars in Yizhou in recent years, but fortunately, there are no big wars, and the loss of people is not particularly large, and it is still easy to recruit elite young and strong people to form an army." ”

"However, Yizhou is located in a narrow place, surrounded by lofty mountains and mountains, it is difficult to enter Shu and it is as difficult to get out of Shu, you have to use those who are good at leading troops to lead the army of Yizhou, Yuan Gong is full of talents, and he can indeed send generals into Shu to help each other, and fight against Liu Jian together."

Yuan Shao stroked his beard and said: "That's the truth, it's just that these characters under me, such as Cai Mao, Huang Zu and others, have their family foundations in Jingzhou, if you let them abandon their families and businesses to help in Shuzhong, I'm afraid they are not willing to go, if so, what should we do?" ”

Guo Tu said: "The big families and big clan generals in the south of Jingzhou are really not suitable to be able to enter Shuzhong, and if they go, I am afraid that they are also half-hearted and cannot effectively help the Boye Gongtong army, so I think the most suitable person at the moment is Sun Ce, who has just returned to Nanjun from Yuzhou!" ”

"Sun Ce has the style of a father, and he also has elite soldiers like the Sun family army, but they have no place to garrison for the time being, and Sun Ce is in Nanjun, although he has the ability, it is difficult to play, after all, he has no local foundation, but if he is promoted too much, I am afraid that the generals of Nanjun and Jingnan Wang will not be convinced, and there will be chaos, which will cause internal strife."

"It's better to let him go to Yizhou! Sun Ce is a duckweed person with no foundation, after arriving in Yizhou, there are soldiers and generals, but there is no good combat general, when the time comes, let Sun Ce lead the soldiers of Yizhou, and kill Chang'an from the land of Guanzhong, when the time comes, you can make Liu Jian's northwest have one more big trouble, and this person has a grudge against Liu Jian to kill his father, he can be trusted! ”

Guo Tu's words made Yuan Shao quite enlightened, and he immediately nodded and said: "So far, it can only be like this, I will recruit Sun Ce to the mansion in the future, and I will talk to him personally." ”

……

The next day, Sun Ce came to Yuan Shao, and Yuan Shao immediately told Sun Ce his thoughts.

When Sun Ce heard this at first, he couldn't help but hesitate in his heart, because he discussed with Huang Gai and others that after returning to Jingzhou, he would help Yuan Shao and Liu Jian to confront him.

It's just that now that he is asked to go to Yizhou, Sun Ce is really a little unwilling in his heart!

But then, he also figured out that Yizhou is a large land and rich in resources, although there are dangers of mountains and rivers, it is also a good place to establish a foundation.

Moreover, compared to Yuan Shao, Yuan Yi's character is relatively cowardly, and his military and political talents are far inferior to Yuan Shao.

Maybe it's someone like Yuan Yi who will give all the military power to Sun Ce.

When the time comes, Sun Ce will gain the military power of Yizhou, and it will be easier to avenge his father Sun Jian!

Thinking of this, Sun Ce immediately arched his hand at Yuan Shao and said: "Since the lord has ordered so, then Sun Ce naturally has no reason to do so, and is willing to go to Yizhou to help Bo Ye Gong fight against Liu Jian!" ”

After figuring out this, Sun Ce immediately expressed his willingness to go to Yuzhou to help Yuan Shao.

Yuan Yi trained soldiers and horses for him, counted the generals, and then went north from Hanzhong, straight to Guanzhong, and contained the Liu family's headquarters in the west.

Yuan Shao heard Sun Ce's statement like this, and he felt quite comforted in his heart.

He immediately asked Sun Ce to lead the generals of his own headquarters, set off on a certain day, and went up the Yangtze River to Yizhou to help Yuan Yi.

Sun Ce returned to his own camp and explained this matter to Huang Gai and Zu Mao, as well as Zhu Zhi, Lü Meng and others, these people have followed Sun Ce in life and death over the years, and now since Sun Ce is willing to lead his troops to Yizhou, then they naturally do not drag Sun Ce back, and immediately expressed their willingness to go with Sun Ce.

So, after Sun Ce reported the matter to Yuan Shaoyu, he immediately waved his army westward and marched in the direction of Yizhou.

And Yuan Yi was also very happy to know that Yuan Shao sent Sun Ce to lead his troops and horses to Yizhou to help.

Yuan Yi immediately ordered the governor of Jiangguan to open the passes along the coast to welcome Sun Ce into Yizhou.

And it was at this time that Xiliang and Hanzhou respectively came with good news.

Liu Jian's great victory in Nanyang and the good news of Hanzhou and Xiliang all greatly boosted the morale of the three armies and lifted the whole country.

Moreover, the great victory report also has a very subtle role in promoting Liu Jian's current pacification of the scholars in Nanyang and Yingchuan County.

The first is that Guan Yu has brought the major local tribes under the rule of the Han Dynasty in Hanzhou.

Moreover, in recent years, because of the great prosperity of the printing industry, the learning lessons and words and ideas representing the Han Dynasty have been widely spread to Hanzhou and the northeastern countries of Hanzhou through books.

Their next generation had begun to recognize the Han Dynasty and willingly submit to its rule, and the opening of shipping routes gave the Han Dynasty unprecedented control over Hanzhou and the northeastern states.

The invasion of commerce and culture made Guan Yu, the Hanzhou pastor, control a large number of people's hearts in this place and formed a powerful army.

He has not been idle all these years, gathered heavy troops, expanded to the north and east, and defeated several large countries north of Hanzhou, and even the main army of Buyeo was wiped out by Guan Yu.

In this way, the penetration of the Han Dynasty was no longer blocked, and the commercial products of the Han Dynasty were more permeable to the north.

And many laborers were also moved to Hanzhou by Guan Yu, and entered the Han realm through Hanzhou as conscription to support the construction of the Han Dynasty.

Guan Yu's power in the north is becoming more and more fierce, and the situation in the north is becoming more and more stable.

The annihilation of the main army of the Buyeo State represented that the Han Dynasty had no rivals among the northeastern states, and its military strength had reached the level of hegemony.

And it was under such circumstances that Guan Yu wrote a letter to the imperial court, hoping to hand over the completely stable Hanzhou to someone else to govern, while he himself led the elite soldiers to return to the Central Plains to help Liu Jian pacify the south.

Now Guan Yu has become the god of war of the Han Dynasty, he swept away the northern tribes and countries for the Han Dynasty, and raised the prestige of the Han Dynasty, and its reputation surpassed that of Wei and Huo.

And this god of war, who represents the highest military achievements of the Han Dynasty, is finally returning to the Han territory, and the impact on the morale of the imperial court and the local army is unprecedented!

Not only did Guan Yu return to the Central Plains, but another thing was that the Han Dynasty protected Zhang Fei in Liangzhou, and the Liangzhou Production and Construction Corps under his command has now achieved significant results in the west.

Since Zhang Fei and Liu Biao occupied the four counties in the eastern part of Liangzhou, they began to implement tuntian, and vigorously wooed the Qiang people, and also established friendly relations with the local Qiang people.

The Production and Construction Corps was also a semi-cultivated and semi-militarized management, which enabled Zhang Fei to gradually gain a firm foothold in Liangzhou.

The Han Dynasty served as Zhang Fei's backing, coupled with the strong policy of stationing on the border, Han Sui and Ma Teng failed several battles, and rebel leaders such as Li Kan and Cheng Yin successively took refuge in Zhang Fei, which gradually increased Zhang Fei's advantage.

And the local Haoqiang in Liangzhou gradually did not want to support Han Sui.

Because their financial resources really can't compete with the imperial court, Zhang Fei, Liu Biao and others.

In this situation, Zhang Fei finally led his troops to take Jincheng County at the end of last month.

The fall of Jincheng County was an unprecedented blow to the rebels, because Han Sui started with Jincheng County as his base camp back then.

Today, although his power is spread throughout Liangzhou and the western part of Liangzhou, Jincheng County is still of great significance to the rebels.

After the capture of Jincheng County, the morale of the rebels was almost completely lost.

Their troops will begin to withdraw to Dunhuang and Zhangye on the border of Liangzhou.

After Zhang Fei occupied Jincheng County, he began to purge the Haoqiang who supported Han Sui and Ma Teng in Jincheng County.

Because Zhang Fei had previously vigorously co-opted the local Qiang leaders in Jincheng County, he was now purging these heroes and was not seriously hindered.

In this way, the imperial court's control of Liangzhou has taken a big step forward.

Liu Jian has implemented most of Liangzhou's strategy of steady and gradual encroachment.

For the entire Han Dynasty, this was an unprecedented victory in Liangzhou, a victory that had never been achieved before.

The prestige of the imperial court is unprecedented!

(End of chapter)