Chapter 135 Cheng Zhongde fulfilled his mission
In history, in the second half of the second year of Xingping, after successfully occupying Guangling, Yuan Shu led an army of 30,000 to the north, but was completely guarded by Liu Bei, who had more than 10,000 people. Can't find any chance.
It can be seen that Yuan Shu's troops and horses have stretched their combat power.
Seeing the generals and ministers under his command changing their methods to refuse, Yuan Shu was naturally very angry.
But there was nothing he could do about it, because he couldn't live without the group of people in front of him.
This was the best talent he could find.
Yuan Shu is not a person without vision. In fact, he has a very good vision. He has successively recruited Hua Xin, Zhang Cheng, Liu Fu, He Kui, Zhu Zhi, etc. Unfortunately, the ending was very bleak. None of these people Those who liked him, Yuan Gongli, all said that you are very good, but you are not worthy of me.
Yuan Shu could only knock out his teeth and swallow them, but he also pretended to be generous and didn't care.
If these people could cope with the situation, there would be no need for them to be angry like this.
The palace was silent for a long time, and it was Yuan Shu's mastermind Li Ye who stood up first: "My lord, since it is difficult to use troops, it is better to use a plan first."
"Oh!?"
Yuan Shu perked up and became interested: "Sir, please tell me, why do you think of planning first?"
"My lord can send people to Guangling first to spread rumors. , He said that Liu Xuande was angry at Guangling for kissing me, and wanted to come to Guangling to carry out a killing spree. At the same time, if he sent an envoy, he must persuade Yuan Sui to open the city to welcome me, and then send his light troops to rush to seize the city. In this way, our army would be able to seize the city. The enemy is the main force, while the Xuzhou army is working hard on the expedition. Our army is waiting for work, and the host and guest of both sides change positions. "
Li Ye said eloquently: "The Xuzhou army's food road is hundreds of miles long. Even if there is a waterway to assist, the food and fodder will be lost. The consumption is still very huge. It is expected that Liu Xuzhou will not dare to use half of it to go south to Guangling. If we only come to Guangling, our army can annihilate it. If tens of thousands come, we will hold on to the city and wait for the enemy to retreat."
"As long as we hold on this year, it is still unclear whether Xuzhou will dare to invade southward next year."
"The master's plan is brilliant!"
"Before calculating the victory, calculate the defeat first. The master is well versed in the art of war. If we follow the plan, we will be in an invincible position."
Yuan Shu remained silent, watching Zhang Xun and Qiao Rui praise Li Ye's strategy.
Yuan Shu knew this very well, simply because with this strategy, they no longer had to fight head-on with the Xuzhou army in the field.
Yang Hong and Yan Xiang also agreed. From their point of view, Li Ye's method was the most economical.
Although Li Ye didn't say it explicitly just now, his underlying meaning was very clear. Our army would only send troops if he persuaded Yuan Sui to open the city. If he can't move, then he doesn't agree to send troops.
But if you think about it carefully, what Li Ye said is actually quite good.
I don’t have much capital left. If I give away tens of thousands more people, then the territory of Yangzhou will be unstable.
I hate Tao Gongzu, I hate Liu Daer, I hate Cao Mengde, I hate the one who was raised by his mother and maid.
"In that case, as Mr. Li said, please..."
After Yuan Shu looked around, his eyes fell on Yan Xiang: "Please ask Mr. Yan to make a hard trip to Guangling and tell Yuan Sui to open the city quickly, otherwise when Liu Bei comes, where will he be?" Eat the fruit."
Yan Xiang respectfully answered, and then asked: "Then when Cao Cao is coming to see him?"
When Yuan Shu heard this, he also remembered that there was another one. Cheng Yu.
After pondering for a moment, Yuan Shu said angrily: "This man is not very famous. Since he already knows the truth and falsehoods of Xuzhou, he is of little use. Just send him back."
< br>Yan Xiang obeyed the order, and after returning home, he invited Cheng Yu to inform him of Yuan Shu's decision.
Cheng Yu was a little surprised. He didn't expect Yuan Shu to be so stupid as to send him back.
Isn't he worried that he has concealed some information and can only tell it in person?
Yan Xiang was very polite to Cheng Yu. After explaining Yuan Shu's decision, he said: "I am leaving Shouchun tomorrow, so I may not be able to entertain the distinguished guests. However, I have asked the butler to ask if the distinguished guests have any needs. Although I gave him the order, it was just a word of advice to the distinguished guest. The relationship between my lord and your lord is delicate, and Shouchun is not a place to stay for a long time."
Yan Xiang's words made Cheng Yu have a good impression of him. , this is also an upright and honest man.
But honest people are the best to bully.
Cheng Yu replied calmly: "Oh, it turns out that the chief clerk is going to Guangling tomorrow."
"Exactly...!"
Yan Xianggang nodded. , suddenly reacted violently, and opened his mouth and said: "伱, how did you know."
Cheng Yu actually replied with a serious face: "Of course it was the chief clerk who just told me."
>
Yan Xiang was stunned, then turned red and shouted angrily: "Sir, why are you so rude? I respect you as an envoy and treat each other with courtesy, but I don't want you to spy on our army's secrets. Is it possible that you are really not afraid of me asking for guilt?" You?”
Cheng Yu smiled in his heart, you can say this and still accuse me?
But his face was serious: "No, sir, please calm down and listen to what Yu has to say."
Yan Xiang held back his anger and still looked at Cheng Yu angrily, waiting following his explanation.
“Yu, under the orders of my lord, came to Yangzhou not only to deliver information, but also to have good strategies in mind.”
Cheng Yu’s words made Yan Xiang’s face look angry. Gradually fade away.
He went further and said: "Liu Xuande's tens of thousands of troops are ready to go. Guangling is in danger. I have come all the way to offer advice to the general, but the general refuses to accept it. What should I do with the anger in Yu's heart?"
Yan Xiang was silent for a moment, and all his anger had subsided: "Sir, do you have any good ideas? Can you teach me? If this is indeed the best idea, I will personally guide you to meet my Lord."
Cheng Yu knew that the other party had taken the bait, so he said: "Liu Xuande is powerful and has the potential to defeat Langya. However, the general is attacked by two clan governors and is in a difficult situation. For the current plan, it is best to stop the troops, but regardless of Neither side may be willing to make peace with the general."
What Cheng Yu said made sense, and Yan Xiang naturally nodded silently, with expectation in his eyes.
"In this case, we can only talk about it to benefit, or do it to harm."
Yan Xiang was thoughtful and tried to ask: "Then how can we say it for benefit and move it for harm?"
Cheng Yu straightened his body, and his tall figure suddenly shrouded Yan Xiang in his shadow. middle.
"What Liu Zhengli wants is Yangzhou, and this is to say it to his advantage."
Yan Xiang showed panic: "How can this happen? If so, where does my lord live?"< br>
Hearing this, Cheng Yu actually nodded in agreement: "That's right. Therefore, Liu Zhengli cannot use it for benefit, but can only use it for harm."
"Liu Xuande has just conquered Langya and returned to Guangling. Tens of thousands of soldiers are on the bank of the river. What do you think Liu Zhengli, who is across the river, will think?" Cheng Yu said seductively: "He will think that Liu Bei is here to help him take back Yangzhou. "
When Yan Xiang heard this, he suddenly realized: "Liu Zhengli must be afraid that Liu Xuande will take the opportunity to go south to Yangzhou and intervene in Danyang and Wu County. The best way is to prevent Liu Bei from sending troops to the river bank. "
"Brilliant plan, brilliant plan!"
Yan Xiang clapped his hands and praised it, then took Cheng Yu's hand and said, "Sir, please follow me to see my lord. With this plan, you will be rewarded heavily."
Cheng Yu is not in a hurry now. He has some time to say: "Yu is not here for the reward, but because my master does not want Liu Xuzhou to get Guangling. Entering Yangzhou. I would like to cross the river to see Liu Zhengli and explain the situation. I would also like to ask the chief administrator to arrange it!”
Now the entire Yangtze River coast is in turmoil because of the confrontation between Yuan Shu and Liu Yao. It is best to let Yuan Shu arrange for crossing the river to be safe.
As soon as Yan Xiang heard this, he agreed immediately.
Afterwards, Yan Xiang hurriedly went to Yuan Shu again and presented Cheng Yu's strategy.
Yuan Shu was overjoyed and praised Cheng Yu and Yan Xiang, and then asked Yan Xiang to arrange for Cheng Yu to cross the river first and then go to Guangling.
Here Cheng Yu came to Liyang under the arrangement of Yan Xiang, and then set out from Liyang Water Village, crossed the Yangtze River, and came to Jiangdong.
Although Cheng Yu had seen the Yellow River, he had never seen the Yangtze River. He could not imagine the endless scenery of the Yangtze River. When he was crossing the river, his face turned pale on the boat and he almost vomited.
I rested ashore for a long time before I regained my breath.
Soon, a group of Liu Yao's troops surrounded them.
Cheng Yu, as Yuan Shu's envoy, asked to see Liu Yao.
Liu Yao was in Qu'a at this time, so Cheng Yu went into the city to meet him.
When Liu Yao received the news, he was a little surprised and asked Xu Shao for advice.
Xu Zijiang was also surprised when he heard this. He didn't understand the purpose of Yuan Shu sending envoys here at this time. But in the end they decided to meet in person before talking.
When Cheng Yu came in, there were three people in the hall. In addition to Liu Yao and Xu Zijiang, there were also brothers Sun Shao, Teng Dan and Teng Zhou.
Brothers Sun Shao, Teng Dan and Teng Zhou are all from Qingzhou and are Liu Yao's township party.
Sun Shao was once Kong Rong's meritorious officer. He was highly regarded by Kong Rong and was praised by him as a talented man in the Langmiao Temple.
The brothers Teng Dan and Teng Zhou were also famous people in Qingzhou. The Teng family had been on good terms with Liu Yao's Liu family for generations, so they were naturally close confidants.
"Why did the general ask you to come to Qu'a?"
After seeing Cheng Yu, Liu Yao was a little surprised at Cheng Yu's height, and then he thought of asking.
Cheng Yu replied: "I came here to strengthen the general."
When Liu Yao was conquered in Guangling, he was the governor of Yangzhou. However, after he challenged Yuan Shu, he was immediately named Yangzhou Mu and Zhenwei General by the court.
Li Jue and Guo Si were eagerly looking forward to Liu Yao beating Yuan Shu, a shameless villain, to help them get rid of their bad temper.
Since Cheng Yu pretended to be Yuan Shu's envoy, he could not recognize Liu Yao's identity as Yangzhou Shepherd, and it was reasonable to address him respectfully as General Zhenwei.
Liu Yao didn't get too entangled in this detail. If the entanglement could be made clear, why would there be a war?
“Oh, how come for me?”
Cheng Yu said seriously: "Does General Zhenwei know that Liu Xuzhou's army has gathered in Tancheng and will soon move south to Guangling and approach Dajiang?"
Liu Yao's face changed slightly, but he soon regained his composure.
Long before Cheng Yu came, he and Xu Zijiang were worried about this matter.
The news that Liu Xuande pacified the Taishan Army and recovered Langya has spread to Jiangdong, which shocked Liu Yao.
If others don’t know, how can he, a Qingzhou native, not know whether Zang Ba can fight?
When Zang Ba broke from three thousand to one hundred thousand, he was defeated in the counties of Langya and Qingzhou.
Now Zang Ba has an army of ten thousand people, and he is in Kaiyang. He has the advantage of fortifying the city, but Liu Xuande put it down in one go. Is the Xuzhou army so capable of fighting now?
This was Liu Yao's first reaction.
Xu Zijiang suddenly said: "Guangling was originally part of Xuzhou. Liu Xuande's recovery of Guangling is reasonable and reasonable. It is an move to extend the power of the state pastor. How can I have any objections? On the contrary, the later generals occupied Yangzhou and invaded Our state power is acting like this, which is the rebellion of the imperial court."
Cheng Yu smiled and did not answer, and the audience was silent for a moment.
Liu Yao looked at Sun Shao and motioned for him to speak.
Sun Shao leaned forward and said: "Why are you laughing, your honorable envoy?"
Cheng Yu straightened up his body: "I laugh at you for your reputation is greater than your reality and you have no long-term plans."
Liu Yao and others Everyone's expression changed. This envoy Yuan Shu was so brave.
Cheng Yu continued calmly: "General Hou knows how to allow others to snore on the side of the couch, doesn't General Zhenwei know this truth? None of the wise men here have entered. General, don’t you have a long-term plan?”
"Liu Xuande is a hero. If all the five counties of Xuzhou surrender, do you think that he will stand still and stick to the old ways, or go south to Yangzhou to expand his strength?" Xuzhou Mu, but it is private. Does the general really think that Liu Bei will look at you differently because of the imperial court's worship? "
"Does the general know where Xiao Jian, the governor of Langya whom the imperial court worships, is now?"
Cheng Yu's four consecutive questions really calmed down Liu Yao's side.
Liu Yao's official positions and general titles were all canonized by the Central Committee of the Han Dynasty controlled by Li Jue and Guo Si, but Liu Bei's Xuzhou Mu was awarded privately, and in order to stabilize people's hearts, Chen Deng He also wrote a special letter to Yuan Shao and received Yuan Shao's recognition and support.
At this time, Yuan Shao was the leader of the anti-thief camp, and he was at odds with the imperial court.
Yuan Shao's transformation from a rebel to a general began when Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty fled and was welcomed back to Xuchang by Cao Cao.
Look at the current Yuan Shao camp. Yuan Shao's own Jizhou Mu is a private grant. Liu Bei's Xuzhou Mu is a private grant. Cao Cao's Yanzhou Mu is even more powerful. It is not even a private grant. , is a direct impersonation.
Only one peripheral ally, Liu Biao, could barely be regarded as genuine, and he tried to whitewash his appearance, but Liu Biao was not willing to side with Yuan Shao. This was purely due to the fact that the enemy of the enemy was an ally.
The Battle of Kuangting was strictly speaking a just battle for the imperial court by General Yuan Shu to conquer the puppet Yanzhou Shepherd Cao Cao. Unfortunately, he was defeated.
This is also one of the important reasons why Cao Cao pursued Yuan Shu for 600 miles, from Fengqiu in Yanzhou to Shouchun in Yangzhou, but still failed to kill Yuan Shu, who was not very good at escaping.
Cao Cao was originally a self-proclaimed shepherd of Yanzhou. If he wanted to be canonized by the imperial court and the real general Yuan Shu was killed, then he would have no choice but to become a dog to Yuan Shao, just like Sun Jian in Nanyang. After killing Zhang Zi, all the benefits went to Yuan Shu, and he could only act as a knife for Yuan Shu.
Xu Shao said leisurely at this time: "Your Majesty is really deceiving others with his big words."
Everyone focused their attention on Xu Zijiang and heard him continue: "Liu Xuande's The appointment of Xuzhou Shepherd was indeed a private one, but it was also a righteous act for him to travel thousands of miles to help Xuzhou! Now that the road is rough and unable to contact the court, and because Tao Gong recommended him, the state official Jing followed and temporarily appointed Xuzhou Shepherd, which is understandable. "
< br>"I am curious. When Liu Xuande's troops from Xuzhou are approaching the river, who will he have to deal with first is Liu Shijun or the rear general? With these lies, the envoy may want to deceive us into pulling out the teeth of the rear general."< br>
When everyone heard this, they were suddenly enlightened.
The other party was really frightened just now.
As Xu Shao said, Liu Xuande was crazy and left his mortal enemy Yuan Shu alone. He first provoked the real Yangzhou Shepherd Liu Yao. Moreover, Liu Bei is also a member of the clan, and Liu Yao's clan status is higher than that of Liu Bei, so it is impossible for the other party to risk catastrophe and come to Jiangdong.
Sun Shao and the Teng brothers are even thinking about whether it is possible to unite with Liu Bei and expel Yuan Shu. Wouldn't it be wonderful for the two families to form an alliance?
In this way, the four states of Yi, Jing, Yang and Xu are connected into one, and all are controlled by the clan. Is it possible that the Han Dynasty has not exhausted its energy?
But Cheng Yu burst out laughing: "You guys are misunderstanding me."
"The foreign minister only analyzed the situation for Liu Shijun, why did Liu Shijun ever ask Liu Shijun to pull out the tiger's teeth for the general?"
Seeing that the heat was coming, Cheng Yu decisively spoke out his true intention: "The general has a far-sighted view and knows that Liu Xuande is a serious problem in Jiangdong. He wants to stop him, but he only hates the lack of troops and cannot guarantee victory. Therefore, the general is willing to cooperate with Jiangdong. Liu Shijun temporarily stopped his troops to pull out Liu Shijun's teeth. "
Liu Yao, Xu Shao, Sun Shao and others are not fools. When it comes to this job, except Xu Zijiang, they have already expected it. Liu Yao was vaguely aware of it, and several others also suddenly realized it.
It turns out that Yuan Shu wanted to call off his troops.
Several people looked at each other and exchanged glances.
Cheng Yu pretended not to see it and thought to himself: "General Hou only needs to use General Zhenwei to use the river as the boundary. The two armies will not cross the river for the time being and maintain the status quo."
Liu Yao was silent for a moment. : "Your Majesty, please go down and have a rest, and let us discuss it for a while."
Cheng Yu naturally had no problem, so he stood up and left.
Several people in the hall were thinking about Cheng Yu's proposal. In fact, the dividing line between Liu and Yuan is now where the river lies.
Yuan Shu had a headache because Sun Ce and Wu Jing were still unable to break through Liu Yao's Dajiang defense line after more than a year.
"If it's just a truce across the river, I think we can rely on him."
Sun Shao looked at the left and right, and said: "The left and right are just asking Yuan Shu to fight with Liu Xuande. I'll wait. Sitting in Jiangdong. No matter who wins or loses, their vitality will be greatly damaged. We can reap the benefits."
Tengzhou, the younger brother of the Teng brothers, frowned and said, "I'm afraid Liu Xuzhou will go too far. If he can defeat Guangling again and defeat the Hou General's tribe, will he be angry with Jiangdong? Wouldn't this give him an excuse to invade Jiangdong? "
Liu Yao nodded and said: "What Mr. Si said is reasonable, and I am also worried about it."
Just as Xu Shao was about to speak, he suddenly coughed violently, and it took him a long time to suppress it with hot soup.
"Ming Gong, Shao thought we could follow this."
Xu Shao wiped the corners of his mouth and continued: "Liu Xuande is so powerful that he is indeed a major threat to me in Jiangdong. It's just that Yuan Gonggong is arrogant. He is cowardly and dishonest, so we can never trust him."
Liu Yao nodded repeatedly and finally asked, "What should I do if General Yizi sees this?"
“Promise him first.”
Xu Zijiang's eyes flashed: "On the surface, we can slightly reduce Niuzhu's troops, and secretly gather the elites. No matter who wins or loses in Guangling between Yuan Gongli and Liu Xuande, once the battle is over, we can raid Liyang Water Village with our elites and burn them down." "If Yuan Gongzhu wins, even if Guangling falls into his hands, I can still keep the danger of the river. If Liu Xuande wins, then I will help Xuzhou, and he will not." The truth is that we invade Jiangdong."
Liu Yao clapped his hands and said, "This plan is great! Just follow the general's words!"
(End of this chapter)