The haze dissipated, the sky was clear, and Yecheng returned to its former prosperity. This war did not cause much damage to the city. Only the south gate and part of the city wall were damaged. With a little repair, they can be restored to their original appearance. Yuan Maimai ordered Zhao Yun and Wang Shuang to integrate the Jizhou soldiers who had surrendered into the Bingzhou Army, and sent the troops out of the city to set up camp to avoid disturbing the people. Ten thousand people were left to be given to commanders Zhang He and Guo Huai to repair the damaged city walls and gates and prepare for defense to prevent Yuan Shang from counterattacking. He also ordered Zhuge Jin to temporarily act as the prefect of Wei County and handle the civil affairs of Yecheng and other counties in the county. "Come here, take off the plaque on the General's Mansion and replace it!" Yuan Mai stood in front of the damaged door and glanced at the gilt-gold plaque above his head. The four characters "General's Mansion" were bright and powerful. This is the world. The position that all military generals dream of symbolizes the supremacy of military power. "Sir, this is the plaque of the general. It was given by the emperor. How many people in the world can envy him before he can take it off?" Zhu Ling blinked and stared at Yuan Mai, looking reluctant to part with him. "It's just a false name!" Yuan Mai put his hands behind his back, leaving no room for negotiation. It's just a false name, not to mention that it was Cao Cao who canonized his father Yuan Shao in the name of the Emperor. If he hung the plaque on it and refused to take it off, does it mean that he has become a general? I still have a jade seal in my hand. Could it be that I am the Ninth Five-Year-Old? It's just vanity and self-deception. Seeing Yuan Mai's resolute attitude, Zhu Ling did not dare to disobey and agreed unhappily: "I obey, I wonder what kind of plaque the young master plans to replace?" "Just the Yuan Mansion!" Yuan Mai waved his hand and gave a simple Answer. He is the shepherd of Bingzhou. But Yecheng is the governor's office of Jizhou, so putting up a plaque with the title of Bingzhou Shepherd is obviously wrong. Just call "Yuan Mansion" directly. Because Yuan Shang was on an expedition, he left the seal and ribbon of the "Great General" in his mansion. Zhao Yun and Zhu Ling raided and captured the mansion, which naturally fell into the hands of Yuan Mai. After a night of careful consideration, Yuan Mai decided to return the "General" seal and ribbon to the emperor. Of course, to be precise, it should be returned to Cao Cao. This is what Yuan Mai thinks. It's just a seal and ribbon, with little practical value. If Cao Cao wanted to, he could order craftsmen to make countless of them in one night; he already had the jade seal in his hand, so there was no need to keep the "general" seal and ribbon. Having a seal and ribbon in your hand does not mean that you are a general, just like having a jade seal in your hand. It doesn't mean that you will become the emperor; if you keep this seal and ribbon which has little value, you might as well exchange it for a profit. This is a smart move! After a night of careful consideration, Yuan Mai wrote a memorial to the emperor. To be precise, it was written to Cao Cao, because Yuan Mai was sure of it. Cao Cao will definitely see this memorial in front of the emperor, and the one who makes the final decision must be Cao Cao, the traitor, and the emperor is just a puppet. Yuan Mai wrote in his letter that he was willing to hand over the "general's seal and ribbon". Return the position of general that his father Yuan Shao had been granted; but as a condition of the deal, ask the emperor to appoint himself as a general of chariots and cavalry, a general of hussars, or a general of valiant cavalry. He also posthumously named his father Yuan Shao Duke of Wei. First, you can get yourself a legitimate position. Although the "Three Cavalry Generals" are not as good as the generals, they are only slightly inferior, and their status is far above the generals of the Four Expeditions and the Four Directions; using a self-proclaimed "general" "It is undoubtedly more valuable to exchange a false position for a real general officer position. Secondly, asking for a posthumous title for your father can also gain you a good reputation as a filial son, which will help you recruit civil and military staff in Jizhou in the future, allowing you to win their trust; and it will also make the people under Yuan Shao's rule Feeling his own kindness and filial piety, he formed a sharp contrast with Yuan Shang and Yuan Tan, who were attacking each other, and established an image of a gentleman. After the memorial was completed, envoys were immediately sent out of the city overnight to Xuchang to present it to the "Emperor" for approval. Yuan Shang led his army to the plains, and he was led by basically military generals. Civil servants such as Chen Lin, Chen Zhen, and Han Fan all stayed in the city. After the Bingzhou army captured Ye City, these people did not rush to escape, but stayed behind closed doors. , wait and see Yuan Mai¡¯s actions. Although these counselors are all second- and third-rate figures, after Yecheng was acquired, the territory expanded again, and when manpower was needed, Yuan Mai did not mind personally treating the corporal and inviting these people to assist him. Early the next morning, we visited door to door and recruited sincerely. Seeing that Yuan Mai was modest, prudent and courteous, which was in sharp contrast to Yuan Shang's domineering and domineering attitude, these people readily agreed to Yuan Mai's invitation and expressed their willingness to serve Yuan Mai. After all, he was also Yuan Shao's son and surrendered. Yuan buying does not mean betrayal. It only took one day for Yuan Mai toThrough his own lobbying, he successfully recruited counselors such as Chen Lin, Chen Zhen, Han Fan, Puyang Xing, and Linghu Shao. In addition to these civilian officials, Yuan Mai also successfully recruited and surrendered a military general who was once defeated by Yuan Shao. Zhou Ang was appointed governor of Jiujiang. Zhou Ang is forty years old this year. He has been in the army for many years and has made many military exploits. Although he is not as prominent as the "Four Court Pillars" such as Yan Liang, Wen Chou, Zhang He, Gao Lan, etc., he can still be regarded as a well-known general in Hebei. When Dong Zhuo was just overthrown, Yuan Shao announced that Zhou Ang was the governor of Jiujiang and led 5,000 troops to settle in the ownerless city of Jiujiang. Zhou Ang occupied Jiujiang for less than a month before he was targeted by Yuan Shu, who was at odds with Yuan Shao. Although they are half-brothers, the Yuan brothers are incompatible with each other. They all regard each other as a thorn in their side and want to get rid of them every time. Yangzhou has always been Yuan Shu's territory, how could he sit back and watch Yuan Shao extend his tentacles into his sphere of influence? Immediately dispatched his own "Jiangdong Tiger" Sun Jian to lead his troops to conquer, and sent generals Lei Bo and Qiao Rui to lead 6,000 troops to assist in the battle; he also wrote to Yuan Shao's mortal enemy Gongsun Zan to become an ally, requesting to send troops to attack Lujiang. Gongsun Zan and Yuan Shao were incompatible with each other, so they were naturally happy to see Yuan Shu brothers killing each other, so he readily agreed and sent his younger brother Gongsun Yue to lead three thousand troops south from Qingzhou into the land of Yangzhou to assist Sun Jian and jointly conquer the Lujiang River. Suddenly, there were soldiers and horses standing outside Jiujiang City, and war drums were rumbling. Zhou Ang led five thousand defenders to climb the city wall and hold on. Facing an enemy force four times his own, he responded calmly and commanded calmly. He repelled wave after wave of enemy attacks and successfully defeated Gongsun Zan's younger brother Gongsun Zan. Yue shot and killed Sun Jian's general Cheng Pu, who also wounded Sun Jian's general Cheng Pu, which greatly dampened the morale of the allied forces attacking the city. After a month of hard fighting, Sun Jian was unable to break the city. Only then did he realize that Zhou Ang had some abilities, so he had to lead his army to retreat and entered Changsha southwest. In the following years, Yuan Shu dominated Huainan and had abundant troops and food. Liu Biao in the west of Jiujiang also rose strongly. Sun Jian was recharging his strength in Changsha, like a tiger ready to be released from the cage. Yuan Shao was afraid that Zhou Ang's isolated army would not be able to gain a foothold due to the heavy siege. In addition, he had just captured Jizhou and it was the time to recruit people, so he ordered Zhou Ang to abandon Jiujiang and lead his troops back to Jizhou. After that, Zhou Ang followed Yuan Shao on many expeditions and made many military exploits. After Yuan Shao's death, Zhou Ang was very dissatisfied with Yuan Shang's performance, so he stayed ill and waited to see what would happen. Therefore, this time Yuan Shang went to the plains without recruiting Zhou Ang, but in the end he gave Yuan Mai an advantage. "Since the Fourth Young Master thinks so highly of Zhou Ang and goes to the thatched cottage to invite you, do you dare to disobey the order? I am willing to work hard for the Young Master to revive the glory of Hebei and repay the Lord's spirit in heaven!" Seeing Yuan Mai's sincere words, he was respectful. He had a good reputation, and his words and deeds were quite like a wise king. His men were all well-educated, his sergeants were neatly armored, and their military discipline was strict. Zhou Ang immediately decided to serve Yuan Mai. A woman looks like someone who pleases her, and a man dies for someone who knows him well. Isn't this the moment he has been waiting for? Yuan Mai was overjoyed and bowed to Zhou Ang to express his thanks: "Haha Yuan Mai is lucky to be assisted by General Zhou Ang. Jizhou is also lucky. My father can rest in peace under the Nine Springs!" Zhou Ang frowned slightly and said something. He said: "Thanks to the young master's great love, Zhou Ang has nothing to repay. I have made good friends with the two Lu brothers stationed in Liyang. I am willing to go to Liyang and persuade the brothers Lu Kuang and Lu Xiang to defect to the young master!" "Haha if that's the case! , It should be a great achievement for General Zhou!" Yuan Mai was overjoyed when he heard this, and immediately sent Zhou Ang to rush to Liyang to persuade the Lu brothers to defect. Zhou Ang received the order and led dozens of personal followers to rush to Liyang. On the evening of the next day, news came from Liyang that brothers Lu Kuang and Lu Xiang were willing to surrender and hand over Liyang's military power. Yuan bought and repaired a letter, and each of the Lu brothers was given the title of general with a miscellaneous title. Lu Kuang was ordered to lead 5,000 troops to return to Yecheng to prepare for Yuan Shang's counterattack. Zhou Ang and Lu Xiang were ordered to lead 15,000 surrender troops to continue. Cao Ren, who was guarding Liyang and guarding against the south bank of the Yellow River, took the opportunity to invade. While Yuan Mai was dealing with internal affairs, Zhang He, Guo Huai, and Wang Shuang each led 10,000 troops to march to Changshan State, Zhao State, Guangping County, Julu County, Yangping County, Qinghe County and other places. Originally unconvinced by Yuan Shang, the army came to the city and surrendered one after another. They surrendered to Yuan Mai and expressed their willingness to support Yuan Mai as the master of Jizhou. In just a few days, half of the land in Jizhou belonged to Yuan Mai, and Yuan Shang only had six counties in the east of Jizhou, and his strength declined sharply. Yuan Shang saw that the situation was not good, and Shen Pei was dead, so he panicked and asked Feng Ji for advice. Feng Ji suggested that he and Yuan Tan should strike, and that the two families should unite to deal with Yuan Mai, so that the disadvantage could be reversed. Yuan Shang immediately sent Feng Ji into Yuan Tan's camp to state the serious relationship, hoping that the two armies could stop fighting and point the finger at Yuan Mai. Yuan Tan was also very dissatisfied with Yuan Mai's behavior of taking advantage of Yuan Shang's main force and occupying Yecheng while he was attracting Yuan Shang's main army. Yuan Tan hit it off with Feng Ji's proposal and immediately agreed to Yuan Shang's alliance request. The two groups of troops joined forces and marched towards Yecheng, preparing to recover their belongings.?? own status. ps: I'm sorry brothers, I'm busy with family matters, so updates cannot be guaranteed. I will try my best to make up for it when I'm done.