Chapter 252

Chapter 252: Clash in Yu Province

Can a strategist not ascend the throne? Volume 7: Eight Hundred Qin Rivers, Occupying Guanzhong Chapter 252: Clash in Yu Province

The two teams set out overnight from Pingyu, the capital of Runan, heading towards the Wo River.

However, initially, the two teams did not separate directly, so the strategists Yuan Huan and Yan Xiang had some time to exchange ideas.

“Your Excellency, you must also know that if we rashly engage with Wen Chou and Liu Bei’s forces, the chances of victory are slim to none,” Yuan Huan sighed. “But…”

Due to the death of Qiao Rui and Qiao Yan’s lack of response at this time, although Yuan Shu constantly boasts that he is the legitimate son of the Yuan family in Runan, he does not truly believe he can single-handedly defeat eight and drive Wen Chou and Liu Bei out of the territory.

The setbacks he has faced have finally brought him a bit of clarity.

He mobilized all the capable generals he had left, and the combination of the main general and strategist he arranged was relatively the best solution at the time.

For example, Ji Ling, who is brave but highly reveres the scholar class, was paired with Yuan Huan by Yuan Shu.

Yuan Huan, from the Yuan family of Chen Commandery, could indeed command Ji Ling due to his status.

As for Zhang Xun, who has a marital relationship with Yuan Shu but lacks military prowess, Yan Xiang, who has a more distant relationship with Yuan Shu, was paired with him.

Having a “trusted person” in each team might effectively prevent defection at this time.

But thinking of the strategy Yuan Shu mentioned when they left Pingyu, Yuan Huan couldn’t help but feel a headache.

Some of what he said was correct, but some was quite naive.

Yuan Shu said that Wen Chou is impulsive, a trait he had clearly observed when they were both serving in Luoyang.

As for Liu Bei, his long stay in Pei State without mobilizing troops shows he is slow to act.

Yuan Shu claimed to have studied military strategy extensively recently and knew that such a combination of fast and slow opponents would easily lead to conflict.

Thus, he suggested that Yuan Huan lead a feigned defection. Given the shared roots of the Yuan families of Runan and Chen Commandery, Yuan Huan’s defection from Yuan Shu to Yuan Shao would be plausible.

Once Yuan Huan defects, Wen Chou would surely rush to attack Runan, while Liu Bei might hesitate.

This could lead to the two forces splitting up.

But Runan is a large commandery.

So large that even if you add up the other commanderies in Yu Province, they might not match the size of Runan alone.

In this situation, they could defeat Wen Chou and Liu Bei separately after they split their forces.

At least before the army reaches Pingyu from the Wo River, they could first capture Wen Chou and then deal with Liu Bei slowly.

Liu Bei’s stable forces in Pei State might prevent them from driving him out of Runan in one go, but that’s fine. As long as they can teach Yuan Shao a lesson first.

Yuan Huan said, “Some things are hard to say directly in front of Your Excellency, but I can discuss them with Chief Clerk Yan.”

“Not to mention how credible the defection plan is at this time, or whether Wen Chou has Yuan Shao’s strategists with him, just the idea of defection—if we tell the soldiers to defect, they might actually believe it.”

Yuan Huan is very rational.

He knows how difficult it is to execute such a seemingly feasible defection plan.

To put it bluntly, does Yuan Shu think he is Qiao Yan?

For Ji Ling’s troops to defect and still follow orders is almost impossible.

To prevent a feigned defection, Liu Bei only needs to suggest to Wen Chou one thing—accept the defectors, but detain Yuan Huan and Ji Ling in Pei State during the attack on Yuan Shu.

Then Yan Xiang would have to face three forces. How could they fight?

Yuan Huan understood this, and so did Yan Xiang.

He replied, “I understand your concerns, but recently, Your Excellency has rarely taken my advice. If I bring it up now, it might only upset him.”

Especially if he mentions that Yuan Shu’s troops are not so obedient, it might provoke Yuan Shu’s displeasure.

He had already displeased Yuan Shu by yielding the Emperor of Ye City to Yuan Shao. Bringing this up now would surely be ignored.

“Since you’ve been open with me about the feasibility of this strategy, let me ask: when Your Excellency proposed this idea, you seemed to have something to say. Why didn’t you speak up then?”

Yuan Huan’s hesitant expression at that time did not escape Yan Xiang’s notice.

But Yuan Huan did not voice his opposition then and instead accepted the task, which Yan Xiang found strange.

Given Yuan Shu’s respect for Yuan Huan, he could have suggested alternatives.

Yuan Huan smiled wryly, “Because the alternative solution I wanted to propose is something Your Excellency would never accept. I thought, since we are to feign defection after mobilizing, the consequences of a failed defection might be worse than if I acted first and reported later. So, I decided to take the risk.”

When he mentioned the solution Yuan Shu would never accept, Yan Xiang had already guessed what it was.

Sure enough, Yuan Huan continued, “What do you think, Chief Clerk Yan, about seeking aid from Yang Province?”

Runan and Pei State both border Yang Province to the north, so Yang Province could indeed intervene in the conflict between Runan and Pei State, potentially catching the enemy off guard.

But as Yuan Huan said, seeking aid from Yang Province is something Yuan Shu would never choose.

After all, Yuan Shu was driven out of Yang Province himself.

Yuan Huan couldn’t tell whether Yuan Shu had cursed Yuan Shao or Sun Ce more since being forced to flee to Runan.

So, if he had suggested allying with Sun Ce after Yuan Shu proposed the strategy, Yuan Shu might have dismissed him on the spot.

That would have been truly hopeless.

Seeing the realization on Yan Xiang’s face, Yuan Huan confirmed that Yan Xiang was someone he could discuss this plan with and continued, “The conflict between Your Excellency and Sun Ce of Yang Province is merely over territorial disputes, unlike the blood feud between Liu Biao of Jing Province and Sun Ce. So, there is room for cooperation.”

Yan Xiang nodded, “You’re right. It’s just a temporary enmity. Besides, both sides respect the Chang’an court, so in terms of protocol, we are on the same side.”

“Moreover, if Your Excellency is truly defeated by Yuan Shao and Yu Province falls under the control of the Ye City court, would that be good for Sun Ce? He has just taken Wu Commandery and still has lingering threats. If he moves south to Kuaiji to reclaim all of Yang Province, and Yuan Shao, after conquering Yu Province, allies with Tao Qian of Xuzhou to attack Jiujiang from the north, Sun Ce would be caught between two fronts.”

“In that case, rather than being passive, he might as well choose to ally with us.”

After all, alliances and enmities between powers can shift as long as there are no irreconcilable grudges.

The only issue is whether Yuan Shu would accept it.

But if it means winning the battle and preserving Yu Province…

Yuan Shu might not object, right?

He could come up with an unreliable plan like feigning defection. Compared to that, other things seem less significant.

Having reached a consensus, Yuan Huan and Yan Xiang immediately summoned Ji Ling and Zhang Xun.

Upon hearing this plan to act without consulting Yuan Shu, Ji Ling almost turned back to Pingyu to report them to Yuan Shu.

After all, he was one of those who had been defeated by Sun Ce and Zhou Yu.

But after being informed of the consequences they might face if they defected, the indecisive Ji Ling fell silent for a while.

After some thought, he asked, “What if Sun Ce takes the opportunity to attack Runan?”

Yuan Huan replied, “At least for now, he won’t. The governors of Yu Province and Yang Province were both appointed by Chang’an, and the division of their authority is clear. I heard that at the end of last year, Yang Province and Chang’an had another trade deal. If the governor of Yang Province could rashly encroach on Yu Province’s territory, would the Grand Marshal in Chang’an and the Ru-Ying scholars serving there really turn a blind eye?”

If so, where would the authority of the Chang’an court lie?

Not intervening in the conflict between Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu could be explained as being temporarily unable to spare the resources or transport troops from Tong Pass to Yu Province over such a long distance.

But not intervening in the conflict between Yuan Shu and Sun Ce would be a failure of leadership.

Hearing that his concern was not a major issue, Ji Ling gritted his teeth and decided, “Then let’s proceed as you suggest, sir.”





Wait for the delay, please make sure to quickly request reinforcements from the direction of Yang Province and launch an attack from the other side of Pei State!

Even making such a decision was difficult for them, let alone Yuan Shao’s generals.

Yuan Shu’s years of nonsense have almost formed a fixed impression of him.

People just think he’s always been arrogant, even after consecutive defeats, he hasn’t gained much favor from Yuan Shao, yet he still maintains this tough talk.

Who would have thought he would contact Sun Ce at this time?

At least, Wen Chou and Liu Bei certainly didn’t expect it.

So when they crossed the Wo River and headed straight for Xiyang, they were suddenly attacked by Sun Ce’s forces from the southeast direction of Shouchun, catching them completely off guard.

Ji Ling, stationed at Ruyin, took the opportunity to counterattack from the city, while Zhang Xun and Yan Xiang came from the north, suddenly forming a three-sided encirclement.

In terms of numbers, Wen Chou and Liu Bei actually had a slight advantage, but the initiative was definitely not on their side!

The terrain in Runan is somewhat special, with many rivers running northwest to southeast, which constantly interfered with Wen Chou and Liu Bei’s retreat.

When their momentum was strong and they advanced with great force, these rivers couldn’t stop their progress and might even be an important source of water supply.

But when they were disrupted by the sudden allied forces, these geographical barriers became advantageous terrain for the southern forces to intercept the enemy.

After Yuan Huan went to Yang Province for reinforcements, Sun Ce, who decided to advance, sent not only Zhou Yu who stayed in Yang Province but also Sun Ce’s cousin Sun Ben and Han Dang, a former subordinate of Sun Jian.

As a result, this allied force turned the earlier defensive disadvantage into a fierce tiger in the subsequent chase battles in Yu Province!

When the news of Wen Chou’s death reached Ye City, Yuan Shao didn’t react for a while.

Only after the messenger from Yu Province repeated the news did Yuan Shao’s fingers move, confirming he had indeed heard it.

He already knew this was a current fact, not a joke someone was playing on him.

But how could this happen!

Why did it turn out like this!

Wen Chou died at the border of Runan and Pei State, killed by the 18-year-old Zhou Yu.

Liu Bei retreated to Xiang County under the protection of Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, and the people of Pei State.

Although they managed to gradually gather the scattered troops using Xiang County as a base, in this defeat caused by the sudden attack from Yang Province, only about 30% of the troops could be reassembled!

The territories south of Pei State were all taken back under the control of Yuan Shu’s generals.

Compared to being targeted by Qiao Yan or falling behind in development, the blow from Yuan Shu was even harder for Yuan Shao to accept.

After a long time, he finally squeezed out a sentence, “We still underestimated Yuan Gonglu.”

To think Yuan Shu could actually use the method of allying with Sun Ce, we really underestimated him!

To deal with Yuan Shao, Yuan Shu really could lower his pride.

You should know that Yuan Shao’s mood wasn’t great today, as he had just received some news.

Chang’an was about to hold a wine discussion meeting—this was to further improve the prohibition or restriction of alcohol, or to push forward a law through discussions and negotiations with various wine industries.

The fact that this wine discussion meeting could be held already meant that the resistance to alcohol restriction from the Son of Heaven to the upper officials was negligible.

Those in the court of Chang’an knew that Qiao Yan proposed alcohol restriction to concentrate the production and development of alcohol, but Yuan Shao didn’t know this.

From Yuan Shao’s perspective, this news meant that Qiao Yan would accumulate a more considerable amount of grain through restricting alcohol production for the subsequent “Eastern Expedition.”

Even if it was a step back, this move to turn private alcohol production into state-run was not good news for him.

The huge profits from the alcohol industry would easily bring a considerable income to the national treasury once it became state-run.

So whether it was an increase in grain or money, it was another way for the enemy to enhance their strength.

Now, not only is there “growth” in Chang’an, but also “decline” on his side.

The defeat in Yu Province came too suddenly.

More troublesome is that, to declare that he absolutely does not accept Yuan Shu’s groundless accusations and to declare his status in the Yuan Clan of Runan is not inferior to Yuan Shu, Yuan Shao had announced before sending Wen Chou out—

He had no guilt over Yuan Ji’s death and deeply regretted it, and was even more heartbroken that the Yuan Clan of Runan would have such fraternal strife, so if the ancestors of the Yuan Clan blessed him, they would surely let him win this battle.

But the reality is, not only did he not win, but his general was also killed in battle.

So his previous declarations have become a joke!

Although Yuan Shao did not act out in a fit of rage, from the perspective of the strategists below, Yuan Shao’s face was alternating between green and white, and his hand on the table was tightly clenched, as if trying to grasp something in front of him, restraining himself for a long time before finally relaxing.

Yuan Shao could fully imagine what kind of uproar this news would cause in tomorrow’s court in Ye City.

What kind of explanation those people would need from him.

But perhaps it was this extreme crisis that kept his mind clear.

When he slowly spoke, he said, “Contact Tao Gongzu to resist Sun Ce in the south, order… order Cao Mengde to send troops, first take Yingchuan then capture Runan.”

Yuan Shao knew Yuan Shu’s temperament too well.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t have thought that the possibility of Yuan Shu actively allying with Sun Ce was extremely slim.

He even had a strange intuition that this move to ally with Sun Ce might not have been operated by Yuan Shu himself.

But now, it’s not meaningful to consider how this decision was made, he only needs to think about the next response measures.

Yuan Shu has just won, and must be in a state of complacency, only by giving him a head-on blow can the public opinion be reversed.

But as soon as he finished speaking, he heard Shen Pei say, “My lord, your idea to strike back at Yuan Shu while he is complacent is correct, but the person chosen cannot be Cao Cao. Since Yuan Shu’s subordinates could think of allying with Sun Ce and persuade Yuan Shu to succeed, they would also think of the possibility of my lord sending troops to recover the situation. Once Cao Cao mobilizes his troops, the target will be too obvious, and it will inevitably be guarded against by the enemy first.”

Yuan Shao thought about it, and it seemed that what Shen Pei said was indeed reasonable.

Don’t let a good counterattack turn into another situation where he loses face.

Thinking further, in this situation, he couldn’t guarantee whether Cao Cao would show an attitude of feigned compliance to his orders.

At other times, it wouldn’t matter so much, but now, it’s a big deal that could delay the war opportunity.

“Zhengnan is right.” Ju Shou stood up and replied, “The situation is critical now, instead of letting Cao Cao be the one to attack Yuan Shu, it’s better to change someone else. I want to ask for a battle in Yu Province, and borrow a person from my lord.”

“A person?”

For Ju Shou’s voluntary request for battle, Yuan Shao was more pleased than surprised.

Ju Shou indeed cannot be considered a pure strategist, with the chaos in Ji Province and Qing Province almost completely settled, he, as a cavalry captain, has the conditions to send troops.

With Ju Shou’s wisdom, he can certainly adapt to the situation.

Ju Shou replied, “Yes, I only need one person and an edict, no other troops.”

This statement was even more shocking to Yuan Shao than the previous “borrow a person” statement.

But Ju Shou has never been one to talk idly, nor is he a flamboyant character, and he wouldn’t propose such an idea in a state of losing his mind.

Yuan Shao patiently listened on, and heard Ju Shou say, “Please, my lord, stabilize the situation in the court meeting, I will take your nephew Gao Yuancai south—”

“Directly use the private soldiers of the Gao Clan of Chenliu to attack Yu Province!”

Ju Shou teamed up with Gao Gan, using private soldiers from Chenliu to head south!

This is indeed a bold decision, and much more appropriate than sending troops by Cao Cao.

Yuan Shao immediately approved Ju Shou’s decision and handed over the edicts needed to win over the Gao Clan of Chenliu and to mobilize Cao Cao to him.

With this means to recover the situation, although he knew that tomorrow’s court meeting would not be easy, the depression in Yuan Shao’s heart dissipated a bit.

After dismissing his subordinates, he lay on the soft couch and had someone read the Leping Monthly Report that he hadn’t finished.

Thinking that this time the miscellaneous anecdotes wouldn’t include anything about borrowing grain, he had someone read this section, treating it as a lighter way to understand the enemy’s situation.

And then…

He heard about the inspirational promotion path of a certain Yuan from Ji Province.