Sun Ce thanked him and retreated. There was no one else in the tent.
"My lord, Sun Ce has a heroic spirit and may not be able to be subordinated to others. If my lord really returns Sun Jian's troops to him and appoints him as the governor of Guangling, he may just let the tiger go back to the mountain." Yang Hong commented worriedly.
Yuan Shu's "roufeng" squeezed out a sneer: "Yang Ziya, Yang Ziya, you are my confidant, don't you understand my deep meaning?"
Deep meaning?
Yang Hong was stunned for a moment, looking at Yuan Shu's mysterious and proud expression, his eyes suddenly lit up, and his face showed a bit of surprise.
"Could it be that my lord is just using Sun Ce, and those promises just now are just bait?" Yang Hong said happily.
Yuan Shu said proudly: "Bo Fu is very brave and very similar to Sun Wentai. How can I not make good use of such a fierce tiger? As for the promise I gave him, hehe~~"
Yuan Shu didn¡¯t say it clearly, but the implication was clear.
"My lord is really brilliant at controlling people." Yang Hongshu raised his thumb and praised in admiration.
Yuan Shu touched his big belly with a hint of pride on his lips.
Yang Hong thought of something else and reminded: "Although Sun Ce can be used, the master just handed over 20,000 troops into Sun Ce's hands. Mr. Hong felt a little uneasy, and he had to be restrained."
Yuan Shu thought about it and it made sense. He pondered for a while and then said: "What you said makes sense. I will send Ji Ling to go with Sun Ce to divide his military power."
"My lord is wise."
Yang Hong raised his hand in praise, but said sternly: "Sun Ce and Ji Ling are both warriors. They are brave but little resourceful. I am willing to go with the army and make suggestions for them."
Yang Hong's red and swollen face had not gone away. He hated Yuan Fang deeply, so he asked for a fight. I want to defeat Yuan Fang with my own hands in order to avenge those thirty slaps.
"With a think tank like you, I feel more at ease." Yuan Shu nodded repeatedly and agreed to Yang Hong's request.
At that moment, Yuan Shu stationed his troops in Zhongli to rest and recuperate. Sun Ce and Ji Ling were ordered to lead an army of 20,000 people, continue to march eastward along the Huai River, and go straight to Xutai.
¡¡
A few days later, on the east bank of Surabaya.
??Above the Surabaya River, ships one after another went southward with the current. Moving as fast as the wind.
The ships carried tens of thousands of Qingzhou soldiers and hundreds of thousands of grains.
Yuan Fang stood at the bow of the ship, looking into the distance with his hands behind his hands, his thoughts already stretching towards the vast Huainan.
Dikes were dug and water flooded Xiapi City. It took him a few days, and now Yuan Fang was rushing to Guangling County to capture the important town of Xutai.
As long as he captures Xutai first, he can take advantage of the terrain and rely on Xutai City to find a way to defeat Yuan Shu's army.
A boat came upstream. Under the banner of the Mi family merchant ship, they merged into the fleet.
Yuan Fang knew that it was the Mi family business network and had sent the latest information to Guangling.
A bad premonition suddenly flashed through his heart.
Not long after, Zhuge Liang stepped onto the bow of the ship and said solemnly: "Master, urgent report from the south, the Xutai County magistrate has opened the city and surrendered to Yuan Shu."
Yuan Fang frowned, as expected.
Xiapi was besieged. The counties and counties in Xuzhou were actually in a situation where they were leaderless and acting on their own.
The Xutai County magistrate surrendered Yuan Shu without a fight. He obviously believed that Yuan Shu was stronger than Yuan Fang.
"Send the order to the entire army. Stop advancing and rest ashore." Yuan Fang quickly ordered.
Xutai has been lost, and Yuan Fang's strategy of seizing the city to counterattack has been declared bankrupt. He must stop and plan again.
The fleet moved to the river bank, and the whole army landed and went to the stronghold.
After setting up camp, Yuan Fang summoned his generals to the big tent and told them the news that Xutai had been lost.
This piece of information slightly dampened the fighting spirit of the generals.
"Xutai has been lost. Even if our army reaches the Huai River, it will lose its foothold. It is better to retreat and defend the prime minister." Taishi Ci added.
Xiaxiang is a small city located on the east bank of Surabaya, south of Xiapi. It is also the only city on Yuan Shu's march route along Surabaya.
"Xiaxiang City is small and too close to Xiapi. Once our army retreats, the situation will be very unfavorable. We must defeat Yuan Shu on the Huai River line." Guo Jia's tone was very determined.
Resolute is resolute, but Xutai has been lost, and even crossing the Huai River is a problem, let alone defeating Yuan Shu at the Huai River.
The generals were at a loss for what to do and shook their heads.
Yuan Fang stared at the map, thought for a long time, and asked: "Who is the general of the Huainan army that captured Xutai?
"It is said that it is Ji Ling, the general under Yuan Shu, and Sun Ce, the son of Sun Jian."?, Yang Hong, who was slapped by his master, was an army counselor. "Zhuge Liang replied.
Sun Ce!
This resounding name rang in Yuan Fang¡¯s mind for the first time.
Yuan Fang searched for historical memories. At this time, Sun Jian had been killed by Huang Zu, and his tribes were all owned by Yuan Shu. Sun Ce had not yet captured Jiangdong at this time, and he should indeed be under Yuan Shu's command.
Yuan Shu is not terrible, Ji Ling is not a top general, but Sun Ce is a strong opponent.
Sun Ce in history made Cao Cao lament that "it's hard to compete with a lion", so he had to win over Sun Ce by granting him an official title.
"Sun Ce" Yuan Fang touched his chin, thoughtfully.
At this time, Guo Jia, who had taken a sip of wine, suddenly smiled slyly and said: "I heard that Sun Ce is very similar to his father Sun Jian. He is very powerful in military use. He defeated many enemies in Huainan for Yuan Shu. Yuan Shu sent him as a vanguard. But he also sent Ji Ling and his confidant Yang Hong as a counselor. This combination is quite interesting. "
Guo Jia¡¯s tone was mysterious, and there was clearly something behind his words.
Yuan Fang is so smart. Within a few breaths, he has already heard the outer notes of Guo Jia's words.
The frown on his face relaxed, and Yuan Fang sneered: "Yuan Shu doesn't trust Sun Ce. He not only wants him to sacrifice his life, but also wants to contain him. Yuan Shu and Yuan Shao are indeed brothers, and they are both very suspicious. Well, now It¡¯s easy.¡±
"Although there are 20,000 enemies in Xutai, they are suspicious of each other and have inconsistent orders. This is the opportunity for the lord to use his troops." Guo Jia said with a smile.
Having seen through the enemy's weakness, Yuan Fang became confident and had no hesitation.
At this moment, Yuan Fang gathered all his troops and headed south, heading straight for the Huai River.
One day later, 25,000 Qingzhou soldiers arrived on the north bank of the Huai River.
Ji Ling and Sun Ce thought that having captured Xutai, Yuan Fang had no foothold in Huai River and would choose to retreat to the lower minister.
They did not expect that Yuan Fang would be so crazy and still lead his army to kill them with great momentum.
In order to prevent Yuan Fangnan from crossing the Huaihe River and attacking Xutai, General Ji Ling mobilized all his troops to monitor Yuan Fang's army on the north bank along the south bank, ready to block Yuan Fang's attempt to cross the river at any time.
On the north bank of the Huaishui River, Yuan Fang was stationed on the Ma River Beach, opening his telescope to observe the enemy's strength on the other side.
In the field of view that was magnified several times, he saw the melee flags on the other side fluttering and the soldiers heavily armored. Tens of thousands of Huainan troops followed him closely across the river bank, and the defense was quite tight.
"You're following really closely." Yuan Fang closed his distance vision and sneered.
Zhuge Liang next to him looked at the other bank, but frowned and said: "The enemy is very guarded. It will be difficult for our army to cross the river and land on the south bank."
"Fengxiao, what do you think?" Yuan Fang turned to Guo Jia.
Guo Jia played with the wine gourd in his hand and said thoughtfully: "If we can let the dead soldiers who climb first to calmly board the south bank and open a landing point, we can buy enough time for our army to cross the river. However, How to make the enemy retreat and let the dead soldiers land first is a headache. "
Guo Jia was anxious and swallowed a few sips of wine. Others would get drunk if they drank, but drinking for him seemed to clear his mind.
"Are we just letting those who die first get ashore" Yuan Fang rubbed his chin and muttered to himself.
After pondering for a moment, a strange look flashed across Yuan Fang's eyes, and he already had an idea.
Yuan Fang then summoned a soldier, told him a few words, and then asked him to take advantage of the boat to go to the south bank alone, as an envoy, to convey a message to Ji Ling and Sun Ce.
Zhuge Liang and Guo Jia looked at each other with strange expressions on their faces.
"Master, what did you say?" Zhuge Liang asked curiously.
Yuan Fang said calmly: "It's nothing. I just asked him to tell Ji Ling and Sun Ce if they have the courage to retreat a hundred steps and allow me to cross the river and fight to the death with him."
As soon as these words came out, Zhuge Liang was stunned and said suspiciously: "Ji Ling and Sun Ce should not be that stupid. How could they let us cross the river just because of a word?"
Yuan Fang smiled and said nothing.
Guo Jia, however, had already understood and said with a smile: "Ah Liang, it is precisely because Ji Ling and Sun Ce are not stupid that they will definitely retreat. Just wait and see."
The young Zhuge Liang became more and more confused. Although he had the embryo of intelligence, he was still young and his intelligence was far from being developed, so naturally he could not figure out the deeper meaning.
He was full of suspicion and looked at the opposite side blankly, wondering about Yuan Fang's intentions.
Not long after, the soldier envoy had already taken a boat and crossed to the south bank under the banner of the envoy.
When the Huainan army saw that the envoy was coming, they did not fire arrows to kill him and allowed Yuan Fang's envoy to land.
The envoy went ashore and looked at the Huainan army generals running toward the flag.Arrive in front of Ji Ling and Sun Ce.
"My lord has something to tell the commander-in-chief of your army. Who is the commander-in-chief?" the pro-junior leader said loudly, neither humble nor overbearing.
Young Sun Ce immediately took a step forward on his horse and asked, "What does Yuan Fang have to say?"
Sun Ce stood up first, as if he openly stated that he was the leader of the Huainan army.
Ji Ling's face changed slightly, and he quickly moved his horse forward, coughing dryly and saying, "If Yuan Fang has anything to say, tell me."
Seeing that the enemy army had two generals, the pro-soldiers were stunned for a moment, but they immediately came to their senses and said loudly: "I want you to know that if you really have the guts, you can retreat a hundred steps and allow my lord to lead his troops to the top." Shore, I¡¯ll fight you to the death.¡±
Sun Ce¡¯s eyebrows narrowed, and a strange color flashed in his eyes, as if he suddenly thought of something.
But Ji Ling grinned, showing sarcasm, thinking to himself that Yuan Fang is really funny. I have an army of more than 10,000 people following you from across the river just to prevent you from crossing the river. How can I let you go just because of your words? You land with troops.
Ji Ling wanted to make some sarcasm on the spot to expose Yuan's method of provoking generals.
At this time, a person behind him said loudly: "Go back and tell that boy Yuan Fang that our Huainan Army will retreat a hundred steps and let him land ashore to fight us to the death if he dares."
Ji Lingtong was startled, and when he went back to look, he saw that the man who stood tall and spoke arrogantly was none other than Yang Hong, who had a red and swollen face.