The Most Romantic of the Three Kingdoms

"What did you say?"

Yuan Shu, who was originally lazy, got up suddenly, his eyes were like copper bells, and the jade hand was caressing the beard leisurely, but at this time, he also pulled his sleeves and pointed forward. The direction of his finger was a military officer in the Fubai Church.

This military official was dirty all over, with dust all over his towel and face. At first glance, he looked like he had come from a far away place. The place where this military official came is indeed not close to Wan County, about two hundred miles away from Wan County. He came from Luyang County, which borders Yingchuan County in the north of Nanyang County. The military officer looked panicked, his voice was hurried, and he repeated what he had just reported to Yuan Shu, saying: "Ming Gong, the big thing is bad! The county is here!"

"Xun Zhen's relatives led troops and horses to come to my Nanyang?"

The military official replied, "Yes, Duke Ming!"

"Is the news conclusive?"

The military official replied: "Qi, Duke Ming, this news is certain! The scouts sent by General Ji to Yingchuan, about four or five routes, are all in return!"

——"General Ji", is the defender of Luyang County, whose name is Ji Ling.

"When did you leave the camp in Xu County?"

The military official replied: "Report to Duke Ming, when General Ji got the news, he ordered his officials to come and report to Ming. The official came out of Luyang late at night the day before yesterday, galloping day and night, and did not dare to rest for a while, but today Dawan calculated the distance, the chariots and their chariots should have passed Yingyin, and were approaching Yingyang, or they were already at Yingyang. Crossing the water!"

The distance from Xuxian to Yingyang is about a hundred li. The speed of the large army is definitely not comparable to the military officer who reported the news. Under normal circumstances, it is thirty to sixty li a day. The military official had a good estimate that Xun Zhen's group had just arrived at the north bank of the Yingshui River.

The Yingshui River flows from the center of Yingchuan County, dividing Yingchuan County into two parts, the northeast and the southwest, which are roughly the same area. The distance is one hundred thirty or forty miles, three or four days' journey.

"In three or four days, Xun Zhen's troops will arrive at Luyang? ... No, not three or four days, he is marching in Yingchuan, and the speed of the march may be even faster." Yuan Shu murmured.

"Yeah, Duke Ming! Maybe in two days at most, the vanguard of his troops will reach the border of Luyang County! Duke Ming, the scouts have made inquiries clearly. Today, the flags are flourishing, even if there are not 100,000, at least 40,000 or 50,000! There are only more than 1,000 guards in Luyang City, and it is difficult to defend. General Ji begged the Duke of Ming to send reinforcements quickly. If it is too late, I am afraid that Luyang will be lost!"

-In addition to the people's husband, even if you don't count Sun Ce's clan, Xun Zhen's clan really numbered 30,000 to 40,000.

Yuan Shu was confused and said casually, "Okay, okay, I understand! I will send reinforcements immediately. You go down first."

The military official responded and stepped back outside the hall, and another official in Yuan Shu's mansion led him to rest.

After this military officer came out of Luyang, he did not stop for more than two hundred miles to Wanxian County. Take care of eating, and fall asleep when you get to the residence, and you don't need to say more.

…

After the military official left, Yuan Shu immediately sent an order to summon Yang Hong, Li Ye and many other civil and military officials in Wan County to see him.

When Yang Hong, Li Ye and the others came, Yuan Shu was like an ant on a hot pot, restless, and finally got up and walked around the hall with his hands behind his back. Recently, the **** Zhao, who was more and more favored by Yuan Shu, accompanied Yuan Shu in the hall. Seeing Yuan Shu's anxious appearance, he felt that as a servant, it seemed that he should say a few words at this time to comfort Yuan Shu, but for one thing, he I don't know what to say. Second, I can see that Yuan Shu is anxious and annoyed at this moment. If he angered Yuan Shu rashly, it would not be beautiful. . The hall was very quiet, only the sound of Yuan Shu's footsteps pacing back and forth could be heard.

And this rustling sound made the stagnant air in the hall a bit more oppressive.

Just when Eunuch Zhao was getting more and more uneasy, Yang Hong, Li Ye and others finally came.

Before everyone could arrive, and before Yang Hong, Li Ye, etc. would salute him, Yuan Shu urged them to take their seats, and he returned to the main seat. The chief clerk came and reported to me that it was Xun Zhen’s relatives who led 100,000 cavalry out of Xu County to kill me in Nanyang!”

As soon as these words came out, after a brief silence, the hall suddenly exploded.

But that military official, Ji Ling's master bookkeeper, came to see Yuan Shu directly after he arrived in Wan County, so no one knew about this military situation before Yuan Shu told everyone. The news came too suddenly, everyone was unprepared, and their expressions changed. Some people suspected that they had heard it wrong and asked Yuan Shu, "What did Duke Ming just say?" On the case; another person was overly shocked, opened his mouth wide, and was speechless.

At this moment, Yuan Shu didn't care about putting on airs like he always did, and he didn't have time to investigate their rudeness. He repeated the words, and then asked everyone, saying: "This is the case with the military report, there will be three or two days at most. , Xun Zhenzhi's troops are about to go to Luyang and other counties in the north of Nanyang, what are your countermeasures for this? Tell me quickly!"

One person asked, "Ming Gong, has this military situation been confirmed?"

Yuan Shu relayed to everyone what Lu Yang had told him, and said, "This is what the scouts have investigated in succession. This military situation is unquestionable, and there is no need to doubt it."

One person was terrified and said in a trembling voice, "One hundred thousand cavalry? This, this,... how can this be resisted?"

There was someone who thought about Liu Biao quickly and said, "Xun Zhenzhi suddenly raised an army to attack Nanyang. Duke Ming, will Liu Jingsheng respond in Xiangyang?" He asked Yuan Shu and said, "Dare to ask Duke Ming, what about Chaoyang? Is there any enemy to report?"

Chaoyang is a county in the south of Nanyang County. It is close to Xiangyang. It is closer to Wanxian than Luyang to Wanxian, only a hundred miles away.

"Not yet." Yang Hong has always told Yuan Shu that when deploying heavy troops in the northern boundary of Nanyang County, it is best to transfer Guo Si to strengthen the garrison, but Yuan Shu did not take Yang Hong's suggestion seriously. Now, as expected by Yang Hong, Xun Zhen really led his troops to attack. In two or three days at most, his troops will enter Luyang. When the matter came to him, Yuan Shu was flustered, and he simply replied. After the officer's questioning, he urged everyone and said, "Which one of you has a good strategy to deal with the Xun thief? Please tell me quickly! Tell me quickly!"

There was still a commotion in the hall.

Yuan Shu was furious, raised the inkstone, and slapped it on the case.

Inkstone originally had ink in Taichung, but the force of the shot was too great, and the ink splashed out, splashing ink all over Yuan Shu's hands, sleeves, and half of his clothes. Ink also splattered on his face and beard. Although he was a little embarrassed, this sudden sound suppressed the commotion in the hall. Everyone in the hall stopped talking, raised their eyes, and looked at Yuan Shu.

Eunuch Zhao picked up the silk scarf, nodded and held it, went to Yuan Shu's side and presented it to him.

Yuan Shu ignored him, with anger in his eyes, with a fierce light, he looked around the crowd, and once again asked what he had just asked: "Xun Zhenzhi will lead his troops to arrive in two or three days at most. To Luyang and other counties, what countermeasures do you have? Hurry up and tell me!"

Things started in a hurry, and most of the people were so focused and undecided, how could there be any countermeasures? For a while, no one spoke.

At the critical moment, it is still up to the mastermind.

Yuan Shu's eyes fell on Yang Hong and Li Ye, and he asked, "Deye, Ziwu, do you two have any countermeasures?"

Li Ye was in a trance, his face was pale, he knelt on the seat, and when he heard Yuan Shu's name and asked him, he opened his mouth and wanted to give some answers, but under the strong shock, his mind was still blank, and there was absolutely nothing to offer. , Subconsciously, he turned his eyes to Yang Hong who was sitting opposite him.

Yang Hong was the highest-ranking officer in Yuan Shu's military mansion, and the seat was also the most respectable. Compared with the officials and Li Ye in the hall, Yang Hong was much calmer. He slowly stroked his beard, and while thinking, he answered Yuan Shu and said, "Duke Ming, the so-called 100,000-foot cavalry is just an exaggeration. Hongduzhi, there are definitely not so many chariots and cavalry that attack me and my Nanyang soldiers."

Yuan Shu said, "Not so many?"

There is a saying that "know yourself and your enemy, and you will never be imperiled in a hundred battles". Before discussing the countermeasures formally, you should first find out how many troops Xunzhen will attack Nanyang. At the same time, it can also use this to appease the shock and fear of the officials in the hall, which is a good starting point.

Yang Hong replied: "Duke Ming, Xun Zhenzhi originally had a total of 10,000 troops in Yingchuan County. Some time ago, on the pretext of rushing to aid Duan Xun, he transferred troops from Xu and Yan to Xu, and Xu and Xu respectively. , How many soldiers and horses he has dispatched, although we have not yet found out, we still do not know, but it is common to expect that, after deducting the soldiers who must be left to defend the local area, he can mobilize at most 20,000 cavalry. In this way, even with General Wei's subordinates, he will attack my Nanyang soldiers this time, at most less than 40,000 cavalry."

"It's less than 40,000 steps at most!"

Yang Hong said, "Duke Ming, I've determined that he has less than 40,000 cavalry at most. There is another basis."

"What's the basis?"

Yang Hong said: "When King Qin, the chariots and cavalry used troops. According to Guo Si, it was around 30,000. Please, Duke Ming, think about it. King Qin only used 30,000 troops. What does this mean? There are only about 30,000 soldiers and horses that can be used on a chariot and a rider.”

Yuan Shu raised his head, thought for a moment, and said to Yang Hong, "What Qing said is very true. According to Qing's analysis, this time, he will only have 30,000 or 40,000 soldiers in Nanyang at most."

Yang Hong looked at Yuan Shu, then looked around at the officials in the hall, and said, "Ming Gong, gentlemen, since a chariot and cavalry can use up to 30,000 to 40,000 cavalry, then in my humble opinion, this time It's not enough to be afraid of him coming to Nanyang."

Regardless of combat strength, in terms of military strength alone, Yuan Shu's headquarters had 20,000 to 30,000 soldiers, and Guo Si's army of more than 10,000 troops was more than 40,000 cavalry. 50,000 people, if Xun Zhen had only 30,000 or 40,000 people, then there was nothing to fear.

——But he said, why Yuan Shu only has one county in Nanyang, and he has 30,000 troops and horses, and Xun Zhen already has three states, but this time to attack Nanyang, he only has 30,000 troops and horses available? The reason is also very simple, mainly because of three reasons. First, although Nanyang is only one county, it has a large population. In previous years, there were more than 2.4 million people in Taiping. Although there has been a long period of chaos, there are still hundreds of thousands of people. He did not care about the life and death of the people at all in the policy of drying up the lake and fishing. He forced military conscription and raised grain, so he could raise hundreds of thousands of soldiers, plus Guo Si and Lü Bu, he could support 40,000 or 50,000 soldiers; Home battle, UU reading www. uukanshu. com He can count all his troops and horses into it, but Xun Zhen is not the case, he has to divide his troops to stay in various places, and also divide his troops to guard against Yuan Shao and others. The three reasons are combined, so Xun Zhen can use only 30,000 soldiers to attack Nanyang, while Yuan Shu can use more guards than him, with 30,000 to 40,000 soldiers.

One of the people in the hall said: "Just as the long history said, if the chariots and chariots come here to invade the territory, the maximum number of soldiers they use is only 30,000 or 40,000, but there is still Liu Jingsheng from Xiangyang! He will definitely respond to the chariots and chariots. , in terms of strength, our army may not be able to gain the upper hand!"

Yang Hong said: "Our army has been at war with Liu Jingsheng for many years, how many troops and horses he can use, don't you have a mind? Although his name is Jingzhou Mu, Zhang Xian, the prefect of Changsha, has always been dissatisfied with him, so he can actually The manpower and material resources used are only the people and materials of the two counties of Nanjun and Jiangxia. Jiangxia Huangzu's army needs to keep Lv Bu, and it is difficult for him to call him, because he can only use the soldiers of Nanjun. Get rid of the soldiers left behind. Horse, even if he responds to chariots and horses, he can send thousands of troops, at most 10,000."

Yuan Shu nodded again and again and said, "What Chang Shi said is very true!"

Yang Hong said: "Duke Ming, there are 30,000 to 40,000 chariots and chariots, and Liu Jingsheng is tens of thousands or tens of thousands. The total number of the two parties is no more than 40,000 or 50,000 people, and the army that Duke Ming can use is 50,000 people! Now that they are evenly matched, Ming The duke has a slight advantage, and although the chariot and rider suddenly attack, so Hong thinks, why should there be any fear!"

After Yang Hong's words came out, not only did Yuan Shu's mood gradually calm down, but also the mood of the officials in the hall gradually calmed down.

Yang Hong had already adjusted his thoughts while analyzing the strength of Xun Zhen and Liu Biao, and then he said to Yuan Shu, "Duke Ming, besides our army's superiority in strength, there is a greater advantage in our army's hands. "