Chapter 335 Cao Cao attacks Ye, Lu Xun sends Jing In November of the fifth year of Jian'an, with the arrival of winter, the Battle of Guandu came to an end. Although Yuan Shao won this battle, his troops had lost their fighting spirit and were unable to advance. On the contrary, although Cao Cao was defeated and lost a lot of land, his troops were not depleted. At this moment, a major problem that needed to be solved urgently arose for Yuan Shao, that is, they had already bordered Liu Bei's army. Originally, under Cao Cao's cover, the only area where Liu Bei and Yuan Shao bordered was between Qing and Xu. But as Yuan Shao continued to advance, his territory was pushed to the north of Pei and Chen. This defense line, which is hundreds of miles long, is occupied by Liu Bei's army, with a total force of over 100,000. In addition, as Cao Ang withdrew his defense line, the tens of thousands of troops originally used to guard against Liu Bei were also freed. In addition, the troops of Xing Yu, Man Chong and others who went east retreated to Chenliu, which meant that Cao Cao had more than 100,000 troops in Yingchuan, Chen State, Chenliu and other places in the Central Plains.

That is to say, after Yuan Shao captured Yanzhou, he had to face the pressure from the Cao and Liu armies of more than 200,000. In response to this, Yuan Shao no longer had the arrogance he had at the beginning. Seeing that the two families had so many troops, he summoned everyone to ask for advice. Faced with this situation, his advisers were at a loss and found it difficult to cope with it. After all, they have suffered too many casualties and it is difficult for them to confront the two families head-on. In addition, their troops were exhausted, while Liu Bei had been recuperating for a year! As long as Liu Bei joins the battlefield, not to mention Yanzhou, even the four states in Hebei will be in danger. So, under Ju Su's suggestion, Yuan Shao released Tian Feng, who had been detained by him before, and asked Tian Feng to rush to the front line to plan how to deal with the current situation. Regarding this issue, Tian Feng advised Yuan Shao to join forces with Liu Bei to destroy Cao. By sending envoys to seek peace with Liu Bei, he then withdrew troops to continue attacking Cao Ang! According to Tian Feng's idea, Liu Bei was different from Cao Cao in that he had a vast territory and a large number of troops. Once a full-scale war with Liu Bei begins, they will face an endless war. It should be noted that Liu Bei's current territory extends from the Central Plains to Jiangdong, almost spanning half of the Han Dynasty. Unless they win battles over and over again, they will never be able to drive Liu Bei out of the Central Plains. Therefore, the best way is to concentrate all forces to destroy Cao Ang first. Seize all the horse-producing lands in the north from Youzhou to Xiliang, and then use the cavalry advantage to march south to destroy Liu Bei. As for the price of peace, it was tens of thousands of good horses, which was also Tian Feng's strategy. Tian Feng saw that Liu Bei's front line was too long and it was not suitable to fight a big battle with them, so he used horses to lure Liu Bei to send troops. This will certainly make Liu Bei, who lacks cavalry, stronger again, but it is indeed the best way now. In response to Tian Feng's suggestion, Yuan Shao sent envoys south to make peace with Liu Bei. But just as their envoys were heading south, a situation occurred in the north that shocked the world.

Cao Cao, the hero who disappeared on the Guandu battlefield, suddenly appeared in Hedong! Although Hedong was just the place where Cao Cao divided his troops and there were not many soldiers and horses, Cao Cao still persuaded the Black Mountain bandit Zhang Yan to surrender. Zhang Yan's real name was Chu Yan. Because he was as light as a swallow and was brave and good at fighting, he was also called Feiyan. When the Yellow Turban Rebellion first broke out, Chu Yan gathered young men under his command and fought in various directions. By the time he reached Zhending, he had more than 10,000 followers. In the second year of Zhongping, he joined forces with Zhang Niujiao and elected Zhang Niujiao as their leader. But later, because Zhang Niujiao was hit by a stray arrow, the throne was passed to him, and Chu Yan changed his name to Zhang Yan. At this point, Zhang Yan officially stepped onto the stage of heroes at the end of the Han Dynasty, gathering troops from all walks of life and calling himself the Black Mountain Army. Later he surrendered to the imperial court and was appointed General of the Central Army to Suppress the Rebellion by Emperor Ling of Han, and he established his own regime in Bingzhou. Since Yuan Shao took control of Jizhou, he often intended to eliminate Zhang Yan, but this ended up causing Zhang Yan and Gongsun Zan to form an alliance. When Gongsun Zan was defeated in the past, Zhang Yan also led troops to rescue Gongsun Zan. Originally, Cao and Zhang Yan had their first encounter, which should have been four years later when Zhang Yan surrendered. However, due to the butterfly effect caused by that letter, Cao Cao was able to escape from the war and go to Hedong. Seeing that his son Cao Ang was resisting Yuan Shao's troops in the south, Cao Cao prepared to go into battle as a detachment. However, he had few soldiers and it was difficult for him to achieve any results in the north. Unexpectedly, at this time, Dong Zhao, who had been transferred to Hedong by Cao Cao, gave Cao Cao a suggestion, asking him to join forces with Zhang Yan to attack. When Cao Cao heard this, he sent a minor official under his command, Jia Kui, to Heishan to persuade Zhang Yan to surrender. Zhang Yan was also struggling to survive in Heishan, and when he saw Cao Cao's envoy, he readily agreed. The result was that Cao Cao successfully subdued Zhang Yan's tens of thousands of troops with a small force of more than 10,000 soldiers. After obtaining so many troops, Cao Cao marched out of Huguan and directly attacked Weijun. The sudden appearance of this surprise force frightened the county governors of Wei County into surrendering. In less than half a month, they captured Shexian, Wu'an and other cities, and were approaching Yuan Shao's old Cao Yecheng! When Shen Pei, who was left behind in Ye City by Cao Cao, saw this, he hurriedly guarded the city and sent a message to Yuan Shao. It’s not that Yecheng has never been attacked before. When Yuan Shao and Gongsun Zan were fighting, Yecheng was occupied by rebels. When Yuan Shao heard the news, he was still able to talk and laugh calmly, just like before. But at this time, when Yuan Shao heard that Cao Cao was going to launch a surprise attack on Ye City, he was terrified and prepared to withdraw his troops to provide support, ignoring the dissuasion of Tian Feng and Ju Su. However, Xun You, a counselor under Cao Cao, discovered an opportunity and persuaded Cao Ang to give chase. In this battle, Yuan Shao was defeated again, his troops were scattered, and his general Han Meng was beheaded. Fortunately, Zhang He, Gao Lan and others came to the rescue in time and stopped the defeat.

After this battle, Yuan Shao vomited blood again and fell into a coma for a while, making it difficult for him to take charge of the affairs. When the military supervisor Ju Su saw this, he knew that Yanzhou could no longer be stable, so he simply retreated with his troops to Xiaohuang, Junyi and other places. For a time, the situation between Cao and Yuan became increasingly complicated, and the entire region from the Central Plains to Hebei was plunged into war. At this moment, Changsha, far away in Jinnan, welcomed a special guest. However, after Qin Zhen captured Jiaozhou that day, he sent Lu Xun north to persuade Zhang Xian. After receiving the order, Lu Xun headed north, passed Qujiang and entered Guilin County. This Guilin is naturally not the Guilin of the future. As one of the four counties in southern Jing, the county seat of Guilin was located in Chen County, which is also the Chenzhou City in later generations. After arriving here, the waterway became unobstructed, and through a tributary of the Xiangjiang River, we arrived at Linxiang, the seat of Changsha. As soon as he entered the city, Lu Xun went to the government office and asked someone to inform Zhang Xian of his arrival. At this time, in the county government, Zhang Xian was lying in bed, unable to get up. Zhang Xian was a tall man, but now he was quite thin and his face was pale, and it was obvious that he would not live long. Hearing that Liu Bei's army had sent an envoy, he coughed and looked at his confidant Huan Jie and said: "I have never had any contact with Liu Bei. In the past, this man and Liu Biao were allied to plot against Jiangdong." "And our army was fighting with Liu Biao. What is the purpose of this man sending an envoy here?" Huan Jie was indeed a remarkable person and a famous official of Cao Wei in later generations. This person was first discovered by Sun Jian, who recommended him as a filial and honest official and appointed him as an official in the court. Later, when he returned home for his mother's death, he happened to see Sun Jian killed in battle. He went back alone to retrieve Sun Jian's body and attend the funeral. The reason why Zhang Xian responded to Cao Cao was because of Huan Jie's persuasion. In the original history, after Zhang Xian was defeated, Liu Biao wanted to win over Huan Jie by making him his brother-in-law. But Huan Jie refused, resigned from his post and lived in seclusion until Cao Cao came south. Later, Cao Cao became king, and Huan Jie became a founding hero of Cao Wei. However, at that time Huan Jie was only the chief clerk of Changsha, and had not yet risen to the level he would in the future. Facing Zhang Xian's question, Huan Jie only thought for a while and said: "Liu Bei's alliance with Liu Biao was forced by circumstances, not his original intention." "Now Sun Ce and Lu Bu have both been defeated by him, and he is also following the imperial court's order to attack Yuan Shao in the north. It is clear that he is a friend, not an enemy!" "According to what I have heard, Qin Zhen has already pacified Jiaozhou in the south and forced Zhang Jin to death." "Now they are sending envoys here, most likely to plot against Jingzhou!" When Zhang Xian heard this, he coughed again and said after a long while: "Qin Zhen picked a good time. If you want to help, why didn't you come earlier?" "I am already terminally ill, yet he has sent an envoy here to seize my foundation!"

Having said this, he propped himself up and sat on the couch, pondering: "Bo Xu knows what Qin Zhen is thinking. I wonder what else he can teach me?" Seeing him trying so hard to stand up, Huan Jie hurried forward to support him and said: "We don't know Qin Zhen's intention yet, and we have no plan. Why not meet his envoy first and then discuss it." Upon hearing this, Zhang Xian said nothing more and simply asked someone to invite Lu Xun into the mansion. When Lu Xun came, Zhang Xian saw that he was young and couldn't help but chuckled: "Liu Xuande has no one under his command, why did he send such a young man?" "Do you think Zhang Xian lives in a remote place and has never seen people from the Central Plains?" "Since you have met me, why don't you bow first? You are so rude!" Such words were full of contempt, but when Lu Xun saw it, he bowed and said: "I am an envoy of the superior, and I come here to serve the public. I will not bow to a minister from a remote place!" Zhang Xian originally thought that Lu Xun was young and wanted to tease him, but unexpectedly Lu Xun came up and directly retorted. This made Zhang Xian very angry. He pointed at Lu Xun with a flushed face and said: "You don't know what you are doing. You want to talk nonsense. Aren't you afraid that I will drive you out of the city?" Seeing his angry expression, Lu Xun smiled and said: "I have long heard that the Lord of the Prefecture is in charge of Jingnan, and his power overwhelms the barbarians, and the people submit to him." "I didn't expect that I would be afraid of a scholar. Well, since the Lord of the Mansion wishes to die here, I shall leave!" After saying this, his smile faded and he turned around to leave. When Zhang Xian saw this, he was immediately surprised. Lu Xun is indeed quite young, but I didn't expect him to be so experienced. After he realized it immediately, he quickly raised his hand to stop him: "Wait a minute, you said I want to die here, I don't know what you mean?" Lu Xun himself had no intention of leaving, so he turned around and said in a deep voice: "Although I am a Confucian scholar, I came here to help resolve the crisis in Jingnan!" "Your Excellency is now in the midst of misfortune, yet you are still stubborn and refuse to change your ways. Isn't this the way to seek death?" "Besides, my lord Liu Zhengdong has no grudge against the Lord of the Mansion. Now that you have insulted the envoy of your superior, it is like insulting your superior as well." "After I report back tomorrow, the lord will certainly send troops to attack us!" "Your Majesty is currently unable to resist Liu Biao, how can you stop our army?" "This is not my fault, but the Lord's inability to tolerate such a thing!" Having said this, he was about to leave again. Seeing this, Zhang Xian was furious and quickly ordered his warriors to capture him.

Unexpectedly, before the warrior came forward, Huan Jie on the side hurriedly spoke: "Sir, please wait a moment. Please also slow down a step and allow me to ask you a question!" Lu Xun watched Huan Jie walk out, then glanced at Zhang Xian who was lying sick beside him, and he knew that the two were performing a double act! Zhang Xian is the bad guy, and Huan Jie is obviously the good guy. However, he was waiting for this moment, and immediately stopped and said: "The Lord is about to put me in jail. What do you want to ask, sir?" "If there is nothing else, please do not stop me. I will stay in prison and wait for the news of the Lord's death." Zhang Xian felt a blockage in his heart when he heard this, while Huan Jie cried out in pain and said hurriedly: "What are you saying, Your Excellency? I was just joking, I didn't mean it." "I think your Excellency can also see it. The Lord is ill and it is hard for him to be upset." "These are just two jokes, don't take them seriously, please don't be offended, my lord!" "May I ask you, sir? You just said that there is trouble in Jingnan. Where does the trouble come from?" Lu Xun naturally did not respond to Huan Jie's explanation. He just looked at Zhang Xian and said: "May I ask if what you just said was a joke? Please tell me the truth!" When Zhang Xian saw him chasing him and asking questions, he also smiled and said: "What Zi Ru Bo Xu said was just a joke. I see that you are young, but you know etiquette. How dare I deceive you!" "I hope you will answer Bo Xu's question first, and then we can talk about other things!" Seeing Zhang Xian surrender, Lu Xun nodded and said to Huan Jie: "The current governor of Jingzhou is Liu Jingsheng, and it seems that Lord Zhang is also a member of Jingzhou." "Now you are holding three counties hostage and resisting Liu Mu's orders. I wonder if this will lead to disaster?" Zhang Xian and Huan Jie looked at each other after hearing this, and Huan Jie asked again: "Then I wonder how your army intends to resolve the situation by sending you here?" But when he asked the question, he saw Lu Xun put his hands behind his back, raised his head and said: "The solution is easy. All you need to do is submit a letter of surrender, and my lord will be able to keep you safe!" (End of this chapter)