Guo Jia took a sip of wine and said with a sly smile: "Master, Jia thinks it's time to use Liu Yu's chess move."
Liu Yu?
Yuan Fang's thoughts were racing, and all kinds of thoughts were surging in his heart. Guo Jia's words reminded him instantly.
After pondering for a long time, Yuan Fang raised a smile on his lips. As smart as he was, he understood Guo Jia's intention in a blink of an eye.
As the shepherd of Youzhou, Liu Yu was nominally Gongsun Zan¡¯s superior. However, Gongsun Zan relied on his military power and ignored Liu Yu at all. He ignored Liu Yu¡¯s advice and repeatedly raised troops to go south.
According to the information sent back by Xiaozuo, the relationship between the two people had been very tense before. Gongsun Zan had always been on guard against Liu Yu. It was only after he fell into Yuan Tan's conspiracy that he devoted himself to revenge and left Liu Yu behind.
Guo Jia's plan was naturally to use Liu Yu's hand to stab Gongsun Zan in the back.
"If Nanpi was attacked and half of the grain and grass were burned, and Gongsun Zan could still support it by expropriating, burning, killing and looting, then if the old nest caught fire, Gongsun Zan would undoubtedly retreat.
"Well, this is a clever plan to honor one's filial piety. I will light a fire in Gongsun Zan's lair to see how he can continue to be arrogant." Yuan Fang sneered.
Seeing that Yuan Fang understood his intention so quickly, Guo Jia looked a little appreciative, but reminded him: "Although Liu Yu has a gentle temperament, he is a stubborn person at heart. The young master has to send a capable lobbyist there. Youzhou can persuade Liu Yu."
An effective lobbyist?
Yuan Fang thought for a moment and said happily: "I happen to have a suitable candidate under my command. It is perfect to send him as a lobbyist."
Yuan Fang thought of Sun Qian.
??History, Sun Qian often served as Liu Bei's messenger. Yuan Fang admired Liu Bei's ability to recognize people, which shows that Sun Qian did have talent as a lobbyist.
When they met in Duchang earlier, Yuan Fang made a small investigation and found that Sun Qian was calm-minded and articulate.
It would be perfect for Sun Qian to be the lobbyist to persuade Liu Yu to send troops to attack Gongsun Zan's back.
Yuan Fang immediately ordered Sun Qian to rush to Pingyuan from Beihai Kingdom.
Sun Qian received the order and did not dare to hesitate. He rushed to Pingyuan City without stopping at night and under the stars.
Yuan Fang then informed Sun Qian of his intentions and asked him to take his own handwritten letter, pretend to be a businessman, and travel through Gongsun Zan's territory to Jixian County to persuade Liu Yu.
Sun Qian was very confident and did not refuse at all. He happily accepted Yuan Fang's order. After making some preparations, he left the city at night and sneaked to Youzhou.
Sun Qian traveled cautiously, passing through the counties of Bohai and Fanyang, and soon arrived at Jixian County, where the prefecture of Youzhou is located.
As soon as he entered the city, Sun Qian revealed his identity as Yuan Fang's envoy and went to the state capital to meet with Liu Yu, the shepherd of Youzhou.
In the lobby of the state government, Liu Yuzheng, with a sad face, and several close aides, denounced Gongsun Zan's brutal behavior.
In recent months, in order to raise grain and grass, Gongsun Zan has directly sent troops to the counties of Youzhou to collect grain and grass without Liu Yu's permission. Anyone who resists will be killed without mercy.
The local officials in various counties were afraid of Gongsun Zan's military power and did not dare to stop him. They could only secretly write to Liu Yu and ask him to make a decision.
"Hey, how could this Gongsun Zan do this? He is trying to push the people of Youzhou to a dead end."
Liu Yu lashed out bitterly, scolding Gongsun Zan for his brutal behavior, but he looked helpless and had no way to deal with it.
At this time, the sergeant outside the hall came to report that it was Sun Qian, the envoy of Yuan Fang from Qingzhou, who came to see him.
"Yuan Fang? Is he the illegitimate son of the Yuan family who has risen rapidly recently and captured Qingzhou from Gongsun Zan? Why did he send people to see me?"
Liu Yu was quite suspicious. After pondering for a long time, he ordered the envoy to come in.
Not long after, the travel-worn Sun Qian came in. After paying his respects, the host and guest sat down. Without mincing words, he told Liu Yu straightforwardly about Yuan Fang's invitation to send troops.
Liu Yu was shocked, and then he understood Sun Qian's intention.
"Gongsun Zan is my subordinate. If I send troops to attack him, what is the reason?" Liu Yu suppressed his surprise and asked self-deprecatingly.
Sun Qian sneered and said slowly: "Gongsun Zan is very ambitious. In order to usurp the Han Dynasty, he blatantly disobeys Liu Shijun's orders and repeatedly raises troops to attack all directions. Now, in order to deal with my lord, he has violently conquered Youzhou and forced the people to flee. The people's resentment is boiling. Liu Shijun is a benevolent and righteous ruler who loves the people, and he is a clan member of the Han Dynasty and a loyal minister of the Han Dynasty. Can he really tolerate Gongsun Zan's unbridled behavior? "
Liu Yu's body shook violently when he said these words, and he was moved by Sun Qian's words in a blink of an eye.
Liu Yu governed Youzhou, implemented benevolent government, and the people returned to their hearts. This is a matter known to everyone.??And Liu Yu¡¯s efforts to protect the Han Dynasty were seen by everyone in the world, and everyone knew that he was a loyal minister of the Han Dynasty.
Sun Qian was very smart. In the name of a benevolent lord and a loyal minister, he persuaded him to send troops to attack Gongsun Zan, an unfaithful and unkind person. It can be said that he hit Liu Yu's weakness.
Seeing that Liu Yu had wavered, Sun Qian struck a chord while the iron was hot: "Apart from saving the country and the people, I heard that Gongsun Zan had been secretly plotting to capture Youzhou. It was only to contain my lord that he mobilized all his troops to go south. Now if Gongsun Zan takes it Qingzhou will definitely increase in strength. Looking back, will he let you go, Mr. Liu?"
"Now Gongsun Zan's army is restrained in the plains by my lord. His troops in Youzhou are empty. If Liu Gong can take the opportunity to raise troops, Gongsun Zan will become a lost dog and will definitely be unable to escape. I invite Liu Gong for the sake of the Han Dynasty and Youzhou. People, let¡¯s fight for Mr. Liu himself!¡±
Sun Qian¡¯s last words were full of generosity, which actually aroused Liu Yu¡¯s fighting spirit and made him have fighting spirit in his eyes.
Liu Yu secretly clenched his fists and looked around his staff, asking for their opinions.
Xian Yufu, Wei You and other staff on the left and right have all resented Gongsun Zan for a long time. They were all impassioned and supported the sending of troops to attack Gongsun Zan.
With Sun Qian's words and the encouragement from his staff, the gentleness and kindness on Liu Yu's face gradually disappeared and was gradually replaced by a solemn and murderous look.
After weighing for a long time, Liu Yu suddenly slapped the case and said sternly: "Gongsun Zan is cruel and unkind, trying to usurp the Han Dynasty and the country. He is such an unfaithful and unkind person. How can I, Liu Yu, just sit back and watch, pass on the order, and mobilize all the troops and horses as soon as possible. I will Fight against the evil thief Gongsun Zan!"
In the palace, all the civil and military personnel responded, their blood was stirring, and they all shouted excitedly to fight.
Looking at the Youzhou ministers who had a strong smell of gunpowder, Sun Qian secretly breathed a sigh of relief and thought to himself: "Master, I have finally lived up to your trust. The war in Youzhou is about to start. Master, the time for our counterattack is about to begin." arrive."
A few days later, Liu Yu gathered an army of 100,000 and issued a "Call to Gongsun Zan", listing Gongsun Zan's various crimes, and launched a massive attack on the territory controlled by Gongsun Zan.
¡¡
To the north of the plain, Gongsun's army camp.
In the large tent of the Chinese army, Gongsun Zan was in a much better mood than he was a dozen days ago while listening to Guan Jing's report on the burning, killing and looting by the armies.
In more than ten days, his army killed nearly 10,000 to 20,000 civilians in the plains and stole nearly 100,000 bushels of grain and grass.
The looted grain, plus the grain and grass forcibly requisitioned from Youzhou, were barely enough to make up for part of the burned grain and grass.
After listening to Guan Jing's report, Gongsun Zan nodded with satisfaction and said coldly: "This is not enough. Send an order and ask the generals to kill me ruthlessly. Also, ask Youzhou to continue to forcibly collect food and grass for me. If you dare The unruly people who resist diplomacy will be killed without mercy.¡±
Guan Jing hurriedly accepted the promise and said with a smile: "Now that the shortage of food and grass has been filled, the policy of massacre of the city must have scared that boy Yuan Fang. I heard that boy Yuan Fang can no longer defend the Beihai Kingdom. It seems that The time for my lord¡¯s revenge is not far away.¡±
Hearing Guan Jing's compliments, Gongsun Zan was very proud and couldn't help laughing.
Laughing wildly, laughing arrogantly.
Amidst the proud laughter, the general Zou Dan hurried in with a solemn expression, raised his hands and shouted: "My lord, something bad has happened. Liu Yu suddenly raised an army of 100,000 to attack the lord's territory in an all-round way!"
"What!"
The laughter suddenly stopped, Gongsun Zan¡¯s wild laughter was instantly interrupted by the thunderous bad news, and the whole person suddenly fell into unprecedented horror.