Chapter 66: Departure of the Army (Seeking Recommendations, Seeking Three Rivers!)

  Xun Yu had just arrived at Jiyuan when he received news that Yuan Shao was moving his troops to Yangping, and he was shocked into speechlessness for a long time.

  Xun You was very calm, as if he had expected this. "Although the Shandong army is numerous, after all, it's not as good as the Xiliang army in terms of precision. If we divide our troops to attack separately, we can't avoid being defeated one by one. But if our main force gathers together and covers each other, there will be more guarantees."

  "But in that case, the possibility of a quick victory is not great." Xun Yu said with concern: "The imperial court has replaced the eight Guan Yu, which is to adopt a defensive strategy. To break the stalemate, we should take advantage of our military superiority, divide our troops and attack from multiple directions, making it impossible for the imperial court to defend both front and rear. Now that Yuan Shao has moved his army to Xiangguo, he has given up threatening Luoyang, and the imperial court can focus on strengthening its defenses in Xiangyang, which will be even harder to break through."

  Xun Yu raised an eyebrow: "The Emperor ordered Dong Zhuo to guard Xiaopingjin, isn't it to use the most elite Western Liang soldiers as the main force, first relieve the crisis in the armpit, and dampen the morale of the allied army?"

  Xun Yu sighed: "It's very likely. Wang Kuai had a large army of 10,000 and was defeated by Dong Zhuo, that's nothing. Yuan Shao had a large army of 80,000 but didn't dare to fight Dong Zhuo to the death, instead he moved his troops to Xiangguo, which is a huge blow to morale. To restore morale, we need to win one battle."

  Xun You looked at Xun Yu and said, "Shall we go to Suangan first?"

  "It can't be helped."

  ……

  Xun Yu and his nephew rushed to Xiangguo, where they first met with Xun Can. After hearing about the Battle of Henan from Xun Can, Xun Yu became even more anxious.

  "A great war is imminent, and just when we should be uniting our efforts, why have regional divisions arisen?"

  Xun Chen glanced at Xun Yu and smiled: "Wen Ruo, there is a dispute over interests, this is a very natural thing, how can the alliance leader not know? Tian Feng's plan is good, but it is also not suitable for the alliance leader. Moving the army to Xiangguo is more in line with the identity of the alliance leader. If Tian Feng's plan is used, the alliance leader will be at a stalemate with Dong Zhuo at Xiao Pingjin, while the large army of Xiangguo breaks through Zhu Jun's defense line, who will get the first credit?"

  "Now that the combined forces are gathered, can the alliance leader break through Huanyang?" Xun Yu was somewhat urgent: "Dong Zhuo has moved his troops to Huanyang, isn't the alliance leader going to confront him just the same?"

  "It's different here, we have an absolute advantage in military strength, but no great river to rely on." Xun Chen smiled: "You're not unaware that Yuan Shao is afraid of big rivers, and the defeat at Xiao Pingjin has already proven this point."

  Xun Yu did not make another sound, but Xun You was shocked: "Yuan Shao is a fire token?"

  "Yuan Shao is a Phoenix and Rooster destiny, not a Fire destiny, what kind of destiny can he be?"

  "That's Dahufa..." Xun You suddenly enlightened, and the doubts on the way were suddenly clarified.

  Xun Can looked at Xun Yu: "Wen Ruo, you..."

  Xun Yu waved his hand: "I'll explain this later. What's the plan of the alliance leader now, how does he intend to boost morale?"

  Xun Can smiled: "The alliance leader has arrived in Hebei, with four courtyard pillars, did you know?"

  "I've heard of them - Yan Liang, Wen Chou, Zhang He and Gao Lan, four great generals."

  "That's right, Yan Liang and Wen Chou are stationed in Hebei, while Zhang Heng and Gao Lan follow the army." Xun Yu looked at Xun You with a profound meaning, smiled but did not speak: "Zhang Heng is in charge of the allied lord's personal guard camp, with 500 halberdiers."

  Xun Yu understood as soon as he heard it. Yan Liang was a Langya man, and Yuan Shao had him and Wen Chou guard the north of the Yellow River together, but brought Zhang He, a northern man from Hebei, with him. On the surface, it seemed like he was putting his trust in him, but in reality, he was taking away his military power. It seems that Yuan Shao had been preparing for regional conflicts early on, and from the start, he intentionally merged various forces, and this great war is just an opportunity. His move to Xiangguo is not just about winning or losing on the battlefield.

  "So, the Alliance Lord will attack Gong Yang soon?"

  "Nature." Xun Yan smacked his lips: "What a pity, I didn't have the chance to lead troops into battle."

  Xun Yu looked at him and was about to speak, but hesitated and let out a soft sigh. Xun You saw this and interjected, "Achieving merit doesn't necessarily require personally fighting on the battlefield. Uncle, I have a plan; if you can present it to the alliance leader, it should be accepted."

  Xun Can's eyes lit up and he hastily said: "Tell me about it."

  ……

  Liu Bian received Dong Zhuo's good news and let out a sigh of relief. However, this breath didn't last long, and soon he was anxious again.

  Yuan Shao moved his army to Xiangyuan, and the vanguard approached Xinyang. The governor of Henan, Zhu Jun, had insufficient troops and requested reinforcements. At the same time, Lu Zhi brought news that Sun Jian, Yuan Shu's general and the governor of Changsha, was approaching Yancheng and was about to launch an attack. Lu Zhi also had insufficient troops and requested reinforcements.

  Liu Bian did not dare to slack off and immediately convened a meeting with Huangfu Song and others to discuss the matter. Huangfu Song suggested that since Yuan Shao had already moved his troops to Xiangguo, the areas around Xiao Pingjin and Mengjin were now safe, so they could transfer Dong Zhuo's troops to Guangcheng to coordinate with Lu Zhi in battle, while Lü Bu and Gao Shun led 3,000 troops from Pingzhou to stand guard at Mengjin. The Emperor could lead the main army to personally campaign against Yuan Shao, defeat him on the main battlefield, and crush his morale.

  Everyone expressed approval, only Lü Bu raised an objection. Since Luoyang is peaceful, why do I need to stay in Mengjin? It's enough for Gao Shun to stay in Mengjin; I'm willing to lead a contingent of elite cavalry and follow Your Majesty into battle.

  Liu Bian agreed to Lü Bu's request and immediately issued an edict to reward Dong Zhuo and the meritorious generals, while ordering Dong Zhuo to lead his troops to Guangcheng and Yique, to join forces with Lu Zhi. He hoped that he would continue to exert himself, take advantage of the powerful fighting force of the Western Liang elite cavalry, defeat Sun Jian and Yuan Shu again, and lift the crisis on the right flank of the imperial court.

  Three days later, Liu Bian and Huangfu Song led a large army of 30,000 to Xiangyang. Five thousand soldiers were left behind under the command of Yan Zhong, stationed at Pingyue Temple in the west of the city, responsible for the safety of Luoyang. Yang Bi was transferred as Minister of Works, Tang Zhen, uncle of Tang Yi, as Minister of War, and Wang Yun as Chancellor, jointly presiding over state affairs.

  On the day of sending troops, Liu Bian held a swearing-in ceremony at Pingle Temple.

  After realizing that the "Huangdi Twelve Forms" might have been tampered with, Liu Bian stopped practicing the Dragon Form and Phoenix Posture. He began to meditate according to his past life's memories. Although he didn't discover any special abilities, his originally chaotic thoughts slowly calmed down, no longer anxious like before, and he spoke less, becoming more stable. In other people's eyes, he was no longer the frivolous and unimposing Shi Hou, but gradually had a bit of an emperor's demeanor.

  Because of Huangfu Song's high selection standards, Liu Bian's new army only recruited over 300 people. However, these 300+ people were all young heroes, not only did each have excellent martial arts skills, but also had a good appearance, being refined and courteous. They wore brand-new armor, carried weapons from the imperial armory, rode carefully selected warhorses, with their scarlet cloaks half draped over their shoulders, each one looking majestic and extraordinary, making Liu Bian seem somewhat more dignified as well.

  Under the escort of over 300 knights, Liu Bian rode on a tall horse, accompanied by Taifu Huangfu Song, and circled the arena. The officers and men saw their heroic appearance, and couldn't help but feel hot-blooded, waving their arms and shouting: "Great Han is mighty! Your Majesty is mighty!"

  In the midst of a tsunami-like cheering crowd, Lü Bu gazed at Zhang Fei standing majestically beside Liu Bei and curled his lip.

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  Monday, as usual, asking for recommended votes, of course, today there are also three updates.

  Then, also ask for Sanjiang ticket!

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