Chapter 76

After Feng Ji and Xin Ping left, Yuan Shao said angrily:

"When the Warlords of the Eighteen Provinces attacked Dong Zhuo, all that Han Yu had done had a bad effect on me starting during the Sishui Pass. If it was not for Han Yu, by now Pan Feng would have died, and Jizhou would have been mine.

This Han Yu brat really fills me with hatred; I plan to send troops to Jizhou and will win Jizhou in one fell swoop."

The terrifying killing intent in the oath made Yuan Shao even more furious, and at the same time, it also strengthened Yuan Shao's belief in capturing Jizhou.

"Master Yuan!"

Xu You offered advice in a deep voice: "Han Yu is far away in Changshan, and a river separates us, and there are still two counties in Zhongshan. Moreover, in Changshan Commandery there was still Zhang Yan of the Heishan army as his enemy. So for now you can still put it aside for the time being.

And although Han Fu is in Yecheng, most of the generals around him have been sent to calm the chaos, and now Yecheng will definitely be empty and not well guarded.

I think this is our top priority, so we can take this opportunity to directly send troops to attack Yecheng. As long as Yecheng is taken and Han Fu is captured, then Han Yu won't be able to reclaim it easily."

"Who can go now?"

Yuan Shao's eyes lit up and he nodded, agreeing with Xu You's words.

Xu You pondered and said: "You can let your eldest son lead ten thousand troops, and then send General Yan Liang to go with his army. General Yan Liang with his three armies should be enough to capture Yecheng."

Since the last time Yuan Shao asked Yan Liang and Wen Chou to recruit troops for training, there were now 30,000 troops in Bohai County.

In addition to the three prefects who revolted against Han Fu, Yuan Shao had nearly 40,000 to 50,000 troops in their hands.

And Han Fu at most not more than 30,000 to 40,000 troops, but Han Fu was attacked on both sides, and Yuan Shao's confidence increased.

Yuan Shao nodded and said, "Follow Ziyuan's words, let Yuan Tan and Yan Liang lead 10,000 troops each, and they must seize Yecheng as quickly as possible."

"Master Yuan!"

At this time Guo Tu stood up and said: "Ziyuan's strategy of attacking Yecheng is already very good, as long as Yecheng is taken, Jizhou will only exist in name.

But now that Han Fu has fallen out with us, and with Gongsun Zan personally we must also be on guard with him. Otherwise, when we take Jizhou, and Gongsun Zan attacks us from behind, it will not be worth the loss."

"Um!"

Yuan Shao's face sank.

He and Gongsun Zan conspired to unite Jizhou before, but Yuan Shao knew that the two had no good intentions toward each other.

Once he defeats Han Fu, Gongsun Zan will definitely lead his White Horse cavalry to attack us.

With the strength of his white horse cavalry, at that time Yuan Shao might not be able to resist.

Listening to Guo Tu, he really has to be on guard against Gongsun Zan.

It was just that they obviously couldn't offend Gongsun Zan at this time. Yuan Shao also hopes that Gongsun Zan can continue to attack Jizhou and hold off Han Fu's troops!

"Master Yuan, General Chunyu Qiong, and General Lu Weihuang are currently stationed in Hejian. As long as Master Yuan secretly sends a letter, I think the presence of the two of them, together with the Hejian prefect army, is enough to guard against Gongsun Zan."

Guo Tu looked at Yuan Shao and smiled.

"Good!"

Yuan Shao clapped his hands and said, "Do that, let Chunyu Qiong guard his troops and stay in Hejian to guard against Gongsun Zan at all times."

"Yes!"

Xu You stood up again and said: "Master Yuan, Jizhou's nine Commanderies beside Changshan Commandery where Han Yu is, Wei Commandery where Han Fu is, and our four Commandery, there are still Julu Commandery, Zhao Commandery, and Zhongshan Commandery that have not been taken.

I think that when General Yan Liang and others attack Yecheng, they could divide their forces to seize Zhongshan Commandery and Julu Commandery, and Han Fu by then will be too tired to face them."

"What Ziyuan said is very pleasing to me!"

Yuan Shao nodded and said, "I can let Wen Chou lead his troops to seize Zhongshan, and once Zhongshan becomes mine, I can trap Han Yu in Changshan.

Jiang Qi and Han Meng can lead a group of troops to capture Julu. After capturing Julu, they can turn around and face Zhao Fu's and Cheng Huan's forces."

"Master Yuan is wise!"

The crowd joined together.

After everything was arranged, Yuan Shao frowned and asked, "Before we only had one Commandery in Bohai, and we had to rely on Han Fu for food and grain.

But now we are really at odds with Han Fu, and Han Fu will definitely not give us food and grain.

Now, even though we have obtained the three Commanderies namely Hejian, Anping, and Qinghe, the army needs a lot of food and grain for this expedition.

I'm afraid we don't have enough food to supply our soldiers now, what's the best plan in your opinion?"

"This is indeed a problem!

Everyone couldn't help but have a discussion.

After discussing for a long time, Xu You stood up and said: "This matter is easy to solve, don't worry about this Master Yuan!"

"What's the best way in your opinion Ziyuan?"

Yuan Shao was overjoyed when he heard that, as long as the food issue was resolved, it would be easy to take Jizhou.

Xu You pretended to be deep, stepped forward, and said, "Does master know that Hebei is very rich, and there is a Zhen family in Wuji County, Zhongshan Commandery?"

Yuan Shao nodded and said: "I have heard that a little, I heard that the Zhen family was originally a 2,000 stone family, but I did not expect that now they have left the government to do business."

Yuan Shao didn't care about the Zhen family.

In fact, this was not to blame Yuan Shao.

In the current era, the emphasis is on scholars, farmers, industry, and commerce, each has its own distinct classes.

The status of merchants is not comparable to that of scholars, even land cultivators and low-level workers are not comparable to those of traders.

Moreover, the Yuan family was a very famous family in the world.

Naturally, they looked down on the Zhen family, a business family with money but no power.

Currently, the two biggest local tyrants in the world, one is Mi Zhu, the richest person in the East China Sea, and the other is the Zhen family, the richest person in Hebei.

In history, why Mi Zhu invested in Liu Bei was somewhat related to his status as an entrepreneur.

The common people looked down on Mi Zhu, and Mi Zhu wanted to increase his status and gain official power.

Hence, Liu Bei was his best choice.

Xu You naturally heard that Yuan Shao did not like the Zhen family. He knew that in Yuan Shao's eyes, he only looked down on people except those from noble families.

However, Xu You still reassured: "Master Yuan may not know, Zhen Yi, the previous head of the Zhen family, died of an illness four years ago, and Zhen Yi's eldest son, Zhen Yu, also died last year.

Now the head of the Zhen family is Zhen Yu's younger brother, Zhen Yan. Zhen Yan is still young, and his talent is not enough to control the Zhen family's money and food.

Currently, the Zhen family was planning to establish a relationship with someone like Master Yuan and obtain help from outsiders, so that their family could be stable and prosperous.

The Zhen family were rich in money and grain. In addition to their shops throughout Jizhou, it was said that the Zhen family would have a stockpile of no less than a million stones, and money and silk amounting to hundreds of millions.

If Master Yuan can gain the support of the Zhen family, you won't have to worry about money and food, and you can fight Han Fu with confidence."

Hearing that the Zhen family was very wealthy, Yuan Shao was also slightly moved, and he asked:

"Ziyuan, how can I make the Zhen family help me?"

"This matter is easy, and Master Yuan might not know. Zhen Yi has three sons and five daughters.

The five daughters were Zhen Jiang, Zhen Tuo, Zhen Dao, Zhen Rong, and Zhen Mi.

After Zhen Yi and Zhen Yu passed away, the five daughters lose their father and one become a widow.

Her older brother is in mourning and is not married.

Zhen Jiang's eldest daughter was eighteen years old and had long surpassed the age of marriage, but because Zhen Yan had no talent and needed to rely on Zhen Jiang to lead a big event, she had never been married.

As for Zhen Tuo, Zhen Dao, and Zhen Rong, although they weren't as talented as Zhen Jiang, they were all beautiful.

In addition, the youngest daughter Zhen Mi, a fourteen years old girl, has not yet reached the age, but she was born with a beautiful and elegant appearance.

If Master Yuan can marry the Zhen family, it is hoped that the Zhen family will definitely support Master Yuan!"

Xu You answered Yuan Shao's doubts and said.

Yuan Shao nodded and said, "If this is the case, then that is indeed a good thing.

It's just that my three sons, the eldest son Yuan Tan have married, and the third son Yuan Shang is my favorite. Besides, he is too young to marry the daughter of the Zhen family.

Only Yuan Xi, my second son is unmarried, and he is the most suitable to marry the Zhen family."

From Yuan Shao's point of view, although the Zhen family had a lot of money and food, they were just a business family. Yuan Shao looked down on the Zhen family from the bottom of his heart.

Only noble families who also came from noble families were eligible to marry into Yuan Shao's family.

Among his three sons, Yuan Shao intended to make Yuan Shang the heir, so Yuan Shao did not want Yuan Shang to marry the daughter of a merchant, so as not to be criticized.

As for Yuan Xi's second son, he came from a concubine, and this was also a pain in Yuan Shao's heart.

In addition, Yuan Xi himself was not talented enough, and naturally, it was impossible to inherit the throne of Yuan Shao.

Therefore, in Yuan Shao's view, the marriage of Yuan Xi and Zhen was the best choice.

Xu You heard those words and said: "No matter who your son is, as long as he can marry the Zhen family, Master Yuan can get the full support of the Zhen family."

Yuan Shao nodded and said, "Kongzhang, I'll leave this matter to you.

You brought someone to prepare a sufficient dowry gift, went to the Zhen family to propose, and asked Zhen Mi to marry Yuan Xi.

This is related to the lifeline of the army, so Kongzhang must go here, facilitate this."

"Please don't worry, Master Yuan!"

Chen Lin, who did not say a word, got an order and quickly got up to take the order.

Chen Lin was originally He Jin's chief clerk. He Jin called generals from all over the world to Luoyang to kill the eunuchs.

After Dong Zhuo crushed Luoyang, Chen Lin took refuge in Jizhou and joined Yuan Shao.

Chen Lin's talent lies in essays and poems, and he is one of the "Seven Scholars of Jian'an".

In particular, he is famous for his writings on the declaration of war against Cao Cao which is famous throughout the world.

However, Chen Lin wasn't good at strategy, so he couldn't intervene.

In the end, it was decided that Yuan Shao would send three large troops to attack Jizhou, and one large army to guard Gongsun Zan.

In addition, Chen Lin was sent to Zhongshan to marry the Zhen family in Wuji County in an attempt to secure the Zhen family's financial and food support.

It can be said that as soon as Han Yu's oath was spread, Yuan Shao responded quickly.

At this time, Yuan Shao was not as swollen as he was after dominating the four provinces of Hebei. On the contrary, his abilities were quite extraordinary.

Yuan Shao's quick response made Jizhou tremble.

Seeing Jizhou rise and fall like a bloody storm.

…

Thank you for reading!