Chapter 748: Praise for Virtue
On May 24, the third year of Taiwu, the confrontation on both sides of the Luoshui River continued.
In the vast basin south of Luoshui, countless military camps are arranged on it. They are like a group of loyal guards guarding the middle and highest camp.
This is the headquarters of the Chinese army where Chen Gong and Yuan Shao are located. The yellow flags are displayed on it, like a crouching tiger.
Suddenly, a rapid sound of horns of varying lengths sounded from the outermost camp, and then a group of cavalry rushed out from the camps on both sides. They quickly attacked outside the camp along the paved galloping road.
At the same time, in the camp ahead, a large black basalt banner swung left and right, conveying some kind of battlefield signal to the cavalry.
Then, the cavalry troops spurted out from both sides, guided by their own small flags, and attacked the position in front of the front camp from left to right.
There, a Taishan Army cavalry force came from nowhere and harassed them outside the camp.
At this time, on the high hill, Yuan Shao was leaning on the railing and looking into the distance, looking at the battlefield ahead. In his field of vision, the cavalrymen rushing out from the second battalion on his left and right were like two chisels, directly crashing into the scattered yellow cavalrymen.
The colors of the two groups of cavalry were almost the same, and Yuan Shao could not see the outcome of the battle, but he was not in a hurry, and was still chatting and laughing with Xu You and other staff while the old god was there.
And sure enough, the winner was soon decided on the battlefield ahead. A group of knights in yellow were obviously defeated and fled eastward along Luoshui.
The cavalry on Yuan Jun's side did not choose to continue the pursuit. They returned boasting of their achievements under the sound of the victory horn.
One of the leading cavalry commanders was even more arrogant and returned to the camp accompanied by a group of knights.
Soon cheers came from the front:
"General Wen, great victory, captured and killed eighteen of the enemy's cavalry."
"General Wen, great victory, captured and killed eighteen of the enemy's cavalry."
……
The sound of victory spread all the way to Yuan Shao, making Yuan Shao overjoyed, but he was still unforgiving and said to Xu You beside him:
"It's just a small victory or defeat. It shouldn't be like this, it shouldn't be like this."
Xu You is such a sensitive person, he smiled and said:
"My lord, you must not say that. Accumulating small victories into big victories is also the way to win. Not to mention boosting morale, not to mention that the whole army is enthusiastic and high-spirited now."
Yuan Shao was so happy that he couldn't help stroking his beard.
But there is always an uninterested voice that sounds at this time, it is Ju Yi who has been "promoted" to the rank of national captain.
The man was only wearing a simple regular robe and said hesitantly:
"I'm afraid this is not a small victory turned into a big victory. Since this time, the enemy has frequently harassed our army on all sides, obviously testing the combat strength of our army's battalions. It is like two people fighting, and the opponent has been frequently using his weak The jab is not because the enemy is weak, but because it is preparing for a thunderous blow. Mr. Chen must not ignore it.”
Yuan Shao's face was expressionless, but he couldn't help feeling disgusted with Ju Yi in his heart.
It's always like this, it's always like this, is it just you Ju Yishanbing? Is what you, Ju Yi, said correct? Whenever I use troops, you come out to sing the opposite. Does this mean that only you can command troops? Or are you still worried about my deprivation of military power?
Yuan Shao did not show the disgust in his heart, but just hummed softly, and then asked Xin Ping, who was waiting behind him with his hands down:
"The highway is still unwilling to bring troops to join the camp?"
Xin Ping had just returned from Yuan Shu. When Yuan Shao asked about it, he replied:
"Little Yuan Gong believes that it is better to divide the troops than to join them. He can go north along the Yishui line and attack the Taishan Army with our army."
Yuan Shao snorted and cursed:
"It's so confusing. If it had been before, this would have made some sense. But now that the Taishan Army has collapsed in the east, it must seek a decisive battle with our army, and once the decisive battle occurs, it will definitely be in Luoshui. And the decisive battle depends on who has the strength. How can we divide our forces when we should use them in one place?”
Xin Ping replied:
"I have also said this, but perhaps Mr. Yuan has other considerations, so he decided not to come to the joint venture."
Of course Yuan Shao understood why Yuan Shu didn't come to join forces. Was he worried that he would seize his troops? This younger brother of his is really narrow-minded. Now that the war is approaching, will he still seize his troops?
He originally thought that Yuan Shu would be more sensible after the great changes in the family, but in the end he overestimated him.
So Yuan Shao sighed, but suddenly thought of the letter he received from Cao Cao that day, he couldn't help but admired:
"I had expected that Ah Man would not be dormant in Qingzhou, but I never expected that he would do such great things quietly. Guan Yu is the commander-in-chief of the Taishan Army. I don't know how famous he is in the East. I didn't expect But he was defeated by Ah Ma. Okay, okay. If Ah Ma was here, I would really like to reveal it again."
At this time, Ju Yi on the other side spoke up, and he also praised this time:
"Cao Qingzhou is indeed a master of military affairs. I have recently learned the details of this battle. It can be said that he is a master of planning to attack Samadhi."
Saying that, Ju Yi couldn't help but explain:
"If Cao Qingzhou's battle had been against ordinary generals, it would not have had such a miraculous effect. But Cao Qingzhou's battle was specifically against Guan Yu. He had grasped Guan Yu's character, so that he could attack east and west. The result of virtual and real changes.”
Originally I was happy to say this, but Ju Yi finally said:
"If Duke Cao can lead troops to join the camp, the victory will be even more certain."
With this sentence, the whole place fell into silence.
The silence of the scene also made Ju Yi realize that he had said the wrong thing, and he awkwardly made up for it:
"The more the better, the more the better."
However, his attempt to make amends only made the atmosphere more awkward. The senior officials in the crowd couldn't bear it and suddenly said something:
"Recently, many local tycoons in Yanzhou have offered their sincerity to our army. It seems that Cao Cao's battle really destroyed the prestige of Taishan Army."
Gao Gan had been frightened and reprimanded by Ju Yi before, and Gao Gan even had bad thoughts towards Ju Yi. But perhaps it was the various means that made the senior officials realize that Ju Yi was a relatively pure martial artist. Although he was domineering, he was simple.
As Yuan Shao's nephew, he clearly felt his uncle's disgust for Ju Yi, and he did not dare to mention Ju Yi openly. He just wanted to use this method to remind him to pay attention.
And sure enough, after the senior official said this, Cheng Yu next to him also spoke. He himself was from Dongjun, Yanzhou, and he knew the situation in Yanzhou better than everyone present, so he shook his head and said:
"Those local tyrants are just free forces caught between us and the Taishan Army. They will fall wherever the wind blows. It's nothing to worry about."
The senior cadre disagreed: "Now is the critical moment for the decisive battle between our army and the Taishan Army. If I have more power, I will have less power with him. How can I do nothing?"
Cheng Yu smiled and stopped talking.
In fact, Cheng Yu also has his own ideas in his heart. He is now devoting himself to Zhang Miao's shogunate for the benefit of his family's children. However, the development space of the Zhang brothers has been locked up and they can only survive in the cracks among the major princes. Therefore, Cheng Yu also Clearly, if you want to really protect your family, you still have to find other powerful people.
In fact, he is very optimistic about Cao Cao in Qingzhou. The reason is not complicated, that is, Cao Cao is very good at fighting. In such troubled times, whether the monarch can fight is far more important than the size of his power.
For example, why didn't he think highly of Yuan Shao before? Just because he is not good at military affairs, the only ones who can fight are Ju Yi, Handan Shang, and Chunyu Qiong. In troubled times, if the boss cannot fight and only the younger brother can fight, then there will definitely be a structural problem of power suspicion.
For example, why didn't Emperor Guangwu doubt the heroes? Just because he is the one who can fight best, he fought in several decisive battles that decided the world. Who can threaten him with his military exploits?
And what about Gaozu? He was originally the one who was the most capable of fighting. He led a group of rich old brothers to fight in the Central Plains and went straight into Guanzhong. Didn't he do it with one sword and one gun? It was just Han Xin who happened to appear behind him, which made him less confident.
Therefore, in troubled times, one must win the battle, otherwise the situation will be unstable.
In Cheng Yu's view at the time, Yuan Shao's future crisis would be this. If he allowed his generals to continue to perform meritorious deeds, they would inevitably lose their strength in the future. And if he suppressed or even eradicated the generals, then Duke Chen, who had cut off his minions, would inevitably be eaten alive by surrounding tigers and wolves.
Therefore, Cheng Yu did not think highly of Yuan Shao, and even tried to propose him several times, but Cheng Yu rejected him because his mother was still at home.
And the reason why he is in Yuan Shao's court now is because Yuan Shao exchanged 10,000 shi of military rations for him and Zhang Miao. From this point of view, Cheng Yu still recognizes that Yuan Shao appreciates talents.
But after arriving at Yuan Shao's shogunate, he discovered that Yuan Shao did appreciate talents, but he could not use them.
In Yuan Shao's shogunate, it can really be said that the essence of Yingchuan and Runan is gathered. These two places are the first-class think tanks in the empire, and Yuan Shao has recruited the most first-class talents from these two places. From this This shows how high the talent level of Yuan Shao's shogunate is.
Cheng Yu himself is also a bit arrogant. Even though he is always secretive, he is actually extremely proud inside. Otherwise, he would not have dreamed about a metaphor of the sun falling into his arms. Otherwise, he would not have even touched the world's model, Chen Gong Yuan Shao. I don't like them all.
But Cheng Yu, who was so proud, found that he was inferior to Yuan Shaomu.
In terms of practical work, he is not as good as Zao Zhi, in terms of military strategy, he is not as good as the Handan merchants, in terms of decisiveness and decisiveness, he is not as good as Guo Dan, in terms of planning for the world, he is not as good as Guo Jia, and in terms of long-sleeved dancing, he is not as good as Xin Ping, and in terms of Confucian classics, he is not as good as Xunchen. He is not as good as Chen Lin when it comes to Ruyuan's large sums of money.
As for other people such as Guo Yuan, Chu You, Feng Ji, Zhang Dao, Xin Tao, Mao Jie, Liang Mao, etc. who have their own strengths, they are all temporary choices.
However, there are so many romantic figures who cannot be put to good use by Yuan Shao. They are often only used to decorate the appearance. It is really a pity for these people.
Therefore, after being around Yuan Shao for a long time, Cheng Yu increasingly believed that Yuan Shao could not succeed.
But the development of reality slapped Cheng Yu again, making him understand that in the face of fate, one's so-called wisdom is so ridiculous.
As the situation develops, it turns out that Yuan Shao can not only accomplish things, but also achieve great things.
When the Taishan Army occupied the capital, he keenly discovered the crisis behind the Taishan Army's overwhelming momentum, and boldly seized it, decisively gathering troops to move north.
Through the war, he not only reached Luoshui and recovered most of the capital, but also took back military power, eliminated the threat of Ju Yi's existence in one fell swoop, and even kept it by his side like a genius.
Yuan Shaoyong cooperated with Cao Cao and helped Cao Cao defeat Guan Yu in one fell swoop. Although he and the thief named Heifu are still fighting in the central part of Yanzhou, they can no longer suppress the situation in the east as they did in the past.
If this is the case, it can be seen that Cao Cao will definitely go north across the river and directly threaten the Taishan Army's Yedu. When the rear is on fire, will the Taishan Army on the north bank of Luoshui be able to stay?
At that time, with Yuan Shao's 100,000 troops here, can those Taishan troops safely withdraw to the north of the river?
Therefore, whoever looks at it, the current situation is greatly beneficial to Duke Chen. It can even be said that even if the Taishan Army cannot be destroyed, it is still not a big problem if the Taishan Army plans to rule south of the river.
After being repeatedly slapped in the face by reality, Cheng Yu became more silent, more content with the situation, and no longer wanted to join Cao Cao.
After all, no matter what kind of heroism he pursues, as long as he wins this battle, Yuan Shao will be the most heroic hero.
Cheng Yu was silent, but one person in the crowd plucked up the courage to speak, and that person was Zao Zhi, who was responsible for the management of the village system.
But I heard Zao Zhi stuttering:
"My lord, this year, there is a drought. It has been more than a month since there has been rain in Yuzhou. I am afraid that there will be a harvest this autumn."
Zao Zhi's words silenced all the Yingchuan and Runan wise men. Of course they understood this problem, but what is more terrifying? That is, before the drought, Yuan Shao decided to march north to the capital, so he requisitioned all the grain reserves in each county.
If it doesn't rain during this period, most of the crops in Yuzhou will not survive, and people may really die in the sea by then.
Of course Yuan Shao also knew about this situation. In fact, he was also anxious in his heart, but he couldn't show it. He just said to Zao Zhi:
"So it is even more important to win this battle. There is enough food in Taicang in Kyoto. Even if it is distributed to everyone in Yuzhou, it will not be enough to eat in half a year. Therefore, the success of the country depends on this battle, otherwise I am afraid that it will be over. It’s not like this person is going to die.”
Yuan Shao's tone was quite sad.
Although he calls himself a hero, he is still so powerless in the face of the sky.
Thinking of this, he paused and gave the order to everyone:
"From today on, I will take the lead in eating only two meals a day, one meal and one vegetable. All the officials below me will do this to save food rations for the people of Yuzhou."
No one present criticized Yuan Shao, thinking that he was putting on a show or doing something superficial. After all, how much could they save if they just skipped one meal?
But in this era, for the children of the noble family like them, Yuan Shao's behavior was really caring for the people as a son, and he really cared about the people.
But compared with the Taishan Army, what they did became a joke. Maybe this is why these people hate the Taishan Army even more. After all, they have raised their moral bottom line too high, and the price of redeeming people's hearts is getting higher and higher.
Just as everyone was praising Yuan Shao, a huge plume of smoke suddenly rolled up from the west.
In the smoke and dust, accompanied by the melodious sound of horns, a huge honor guard slowly stepped forward, and behind them was an endless stream of carriages and horses, one after another until the end.
On the hillside, Yuan Shao looked at the sudden appearance of the army. He was first surprised, then confused, and finally couldn't help but said:
"Isn't it impossible to say it? Why did this happen?"