After confirming that Gongsun Ming had returned to Bohai County, Yuan Shao did not embarrass Wang He and others who were stranded in Yecheng. He readily agreed to Wang He's farewell and asked him to bring a personal letter to Gongsun Ming. , saying that he understood Gongsun Ming's difficulties, and said that the marriage was settled, and that he would get married as soon as possible, and after defeating Cao Cao, he would escort Yuan Mei to Youzhou Yunyun. For this, Gongsun Ming expressed his gratitude and promised Yuan Jun When crossing the river, they will definitely pick up the army and go to the front line to cooperate in the battle as agreed.
After receiving Gongsun Ming's assurance, Yuan Shao seemed to feel at ease. While mobilizing a large number of elites for winter training in preparation for launching an attack after the spring, he also sent a large number of envoys to visit various separatist forces, including Zhang Xiu of Nanyang, Liu Biao of Jingzhou, Liu Bei of Xuzhou, and Sun Ce of Jiangdong. Envoys from the Yuan family can be seen in Guanzhong, Ma Teng and other places. At the same time, Cao Cao is also making preparations for the war. A large number of envoys are also rushing to various places to contact the heroes. The final result is that everyone has something to gain - Nanyang Zhang Xiu and Zhang Yan of the Black Mountain Army joined Cao Cao's camp. Liu Bei and Liu Biao said they would join Yuan Shao's side. Jiangdong Sun Ce made it clear that he was neutral, while Ma Teng had an ambiguous attitude and unclear intentions.
Although they each have allies, in terms of strength comparison, Cao Cao is still at an absolute disadvantage. Zhang Xiu and Zhang Yan both only have one county, and they claim to have tens of thousands of soldiers and horses. However, they can There are not many elite soldiers in the battle. Even if they all join Cao Cao's command, they are not as strong as Yuan Shao's family. Not to mention that Liu Bei is on the back of Cao Cao's camp. The situation is undoubtedly very bad for Cao Cao. Of course, Yuan Shao also has hidden worries, that is, Liu Biao, who has strong military strength, has no intention of going north, and the so-called alliance is just a verbal shouting. As for Gongsun Ming, who is becoming more and more powerful, Yuan Shao is obviously not too relieved, and Liu Bei's troops have a foothold. Without stability, it is difficult to defend oneself, let alone send troops to help. In short, both sides have their own troubles.
The forces of both sides are intertwined, and the situation is murky. To break the situation, decisive courage is undoubtedly required. At this point, Cao Cao is obviously a step ahead of Yuan Shao. Just after the Lantern Festival, Cao Cao took the lead in launching military operations and quickly mobilized The 200,000-strong army, regardless of the threat that Yuan's army might cross the river at any time, attacked Xuzhou with the overwhelming momentum of Mount Tai. The news reached Yecheng. Tian Feng and Jushou unanimously proposed to take advantage of the empty Xu capital to cross the river with the entire army and cut off Cao Cao's attack in one fell swoop. Unfortunately, Yuan Shao's youngest son Yuan Mai fell ill at this time. Yuan Shao was anxious and had no interest in military affairs. He actually sat back and watched the battle opportunities pass by. Liu Bei was unable to support himself and was quickly defeated. He escaped on his own and crossed the river to join Yuan Shao's army.
Time flies, and in the blink of an eye, it is already the third day of March in the fifth year of Jian'an. Yuan Shao and Chen Lin wrote an appeal "Essay on Yuzhou for Yuan Shao". In the article, Cao Cao was scolded bloody, which marked the conflict between the two major military groups. Now that it was completely open to the public, both sides mobilized troops and generals frequently, and the clouds of war in the north and south of the river were thick. A decisive battle was inevitable. On the sixth day of March, Yuan Shao's troop deployment documents were sent to Jixian, asking Gongsun Ming to fulfill his promise to lead the army. The main force rushed to Qingzhou and attacked Cao Jun from the flank. At the same time, Zhang Yan also received Cao Cao's secret order and led him south to attack Yuan Jun's rear.
Zhang Yan and Yuan Shao are mortal enemies. They have fought many times, and the blood feud between them has become too strong to be resolved. If given the opportunity, he would naturally want to give Yuan Shao a hard blow. The problem is that Gongsun Ming Yuan Shao's prospective son-in-law was standing nearby. Zhang Yan really didn't dare to act rashly, but she couldn't help but worry that if Cao Cao was defeated, Yuan Shao would turn around and attack him. In a dilemma, he decided to make an appointment with Gongsun Ming for an interview. The location was still fixed. At the Acacia Pavilion.
"General Gongsun is really so elegant."
The scenery of Xiangsi Pavilion in early March is undoubtedly the most beautiful time. In the hazy drizzle, green willows sprout new buds, peach blossoms and vines are on both sides. Butterflies dance and orioles fly. It is full of vitality. Gongsun Ming, dressed in white robe, sits leisurely. In the pavilion, holding a wine bottle, he was leisurely admiring the beautiful scenery, and humming a little tune from time to time. He was really as leisurely as he wanted. This appearance inevitably made Zhang Yan, who was walking slowly, shake his head and laugh.
"Haha, you can steal half of your free life. If you don't know how to enjoy your life in this world, what are you doing here?"
When they met at Xiangsi Pavilion last year, Gongsun Ming was the weaker one and asked Zhang Yan for help. But now, it's completely reversed. Under the diligent governance, Youzhou is no longer the ruined place it was before, but the most beautiful place in the north. In a place of wealth and strong soldiers and horses, Gongsun Ming could live in peace and quiet.
"Hey, are you enjoying it? General Gongsun is willing to enjoy it, but Zhang is impatient. I'm afraid I won't have the blessing to enjoy it in the future."
Looking at Gongsun Ming's relaxed posture, Zhang Yan felt very sad in her heart. You must know that when they met last year, Gongsun Ming called him Uncle Zhang one after another, and Zhang Yan also called himself uncle. But now, the status of each other has completely reversed, and Zhang Yan did not dare to say the words "for uncle" when he was asking for help. However, he was unwilling to do anything, so he couldn't help but say it. It smells full of vinegar.
"Uncle Zhang is joking. You have hundreds of thousands of troops and over a million people under your control. Who dares to make you feel uncomfortable in this northern land?"
Gongsun Ming knew very well why Zhang Yan came to him, but he was not in a hurry to get to the point. Instead, he smiled and shook his head, talking nonsense.
"Hmm... The battle between Duke Cao and Thief Yuan is about to begin. I must have received the military invitation from Thief Yuan. I wonder what my plan will be?"
Hearing that Gongsun Ming still called him Uncle Zhang, Zhang Yan's tense heart suddenly relaxed a little, but he didn't dare to think of himself as uncle anymore, and actually called Gongsun Ming his brother. Stocks mean to please.
"Oh, yes, I think the traitor Cao must have sent a letter to Uncle Zhang to ask Uncle Zhang to send troops to attack Duke Yuan's back?"
Gongsun Ming did not deny Zhang Yan's speculation, but he did not say what he planned to do. Instead, he asked Zhang Yan a question.
"It is true, but I have doubts in my heart. I don't dare to act rashly when the situation is unclear. I don't know who can win this battle in my opinion?"
Zhang Yan originally wanted to deny it, but then he thought about how many people in his army were flirting with Gongsun Ming. There was no way these military aircraft could hide it from Gongsun Ming, so denying it was just a joke. In addition, he really wanted to ask Gongsun Ming for advice. , so he simply said it.
"Who does Uncle Zhang hope will win?"
Gongsun Ming was a shrewd person, and he knew what Zhang Yan wanted to ask just by hearing it, but he pretended not to know, and did not answer his questions, but asked calmly.
"this……"
Zhang Yan came to Gongsun Ming to find out the truth just because she didn't know who could win. Now when she heard that Gongsun Ming actually kicked the question back like this, she was stunned...
