Chapter 68 Yuan Shao’s threat to Liu Yu fails, Guo Jia enters Liu’s camp and comes up with a lot of clever ideas!

The news of the "corn rain" in the capital spread to Jizhou.

At this time, Yuan Shao's army surrounded Wei County, besieging it but not attacking it. They were setting up camp thirty miles outside the city. Upon hearing the news, Yuan Shao and his civil and military officials looked at each other in bewilderment!
"Everyone, do you think this is true or false?!"

Yuan Shao was somewhat puzzled and said:
"Not long ago, auspicious signs fell from the sky, and sweet potatoes produced 5,000 kilograms per mu. Now, auspicious signs fell from the sky again, and corn produced 2,000 kilograms per mu?
Even if your majesty forged it secretly, there is no need to forge it twice? Isn't this superfluous?! And two consecutive auspicious events will make people feel too fake!"

...

"This must be false!"

Feng Ji frowned and thought for a while, then said firmly:
"Auspicious signs from heaven are rare, but your majesty's behavior is obviously motivated by something else!

"The first time sweet potatoes fell from the sky, it was to stabilize the people's hearts after the earthquake and to ease the contradiction of the food crisis in the capital.

“This second time corn fell from the sky, there must be something else to write about!
“Thinking that the corn rain was falling in Mingtang, and that there was news from the capital, His Majesty would offer sacrifices to the heavens and ancestors and grant amnesty to the whole country on the ninth day of the ninth month.

"I believe that Your Majesty must have something important to announce, so the so-called sweet potatoes and corn falling from the sky are just a prelude to stabilize the people's hearts!"

...

Feng Ji's words won the approval of civil officials and military generals. Yuan Shao also thought so.

At this time, Guo Tu added:

"These are things for the future and can be put aside for now. The most urgent matter now is that news has come from the capital that Youzhou Mu Liu Yu wants to requisition grain and grass to help the capital.

"If the capital city resolves the food and grass crisis, the protracted war we are deliberately waging will have little effect and will be unable to deter the capital city.

“Even if other states and counties besides Youzhou come to support the capital with grain and grass, it will put us in a passive position.

"Even if Jizhou has ten years of support and a million soldiers, it can't withstand the support of the thirteen states in the world. Not to mention, we haven't completely controlled Jizhou yet!
"This matter must be used as an example to scare the monkeys!"

...

"Youzhou Mu Liu Yu..."

Yuan Shao frowned and thought deeply, then asked: "How do you think we should kill the chicken to scare the monkey? Liu Yu has a high reputation and is not easy to deal with!"

...

At this time, Feng Ji said:

"My lord, have you forgotten? Not long ago, His Majesty sent the attendant Liu He to Youzhou to collect food and grass, but he was accidentally kidnapped by Yu Fuluo on the way. Liu He is Liu Yu's legitimate son. If you use this as a threat, you will definitely get something!"

...

Yuan Shao's eyes suddenly lit up, and he nodded and said:

"Immediately send a special envoy to Bingzhou to pick up Liu He and to Youzhou to inform Liu Yu of this matter. We have rescued his legitimate son from Yu Fuluo."

The implication is that your son is in our hands. As expected, the words of scholars are lies. The threats are so elegant and refined!

"promise!!!"

Yuan Shao's army immediately sent special envoys to Bingzhou and Youzhou respectively.

The special envoy arrived at Guangyang County of Youzhou and met Liu Yu, the governor of Youzhou.

It has to be said that even Yuan Shao's special envoy was shocked by Liu Yu's diligence and frugality.

It was hard to imagine that the governor of a state wore coarse linen clothes, which were full of patches. He had two meals a day, which were simple and plain. Naturally, he had no surplus food to entertain the envoy.

Liu Yu had already issued an order to collect food and grass. After learning the purpose of the envoy's visit, he simply replied calmly: "I know!"

"What does Liuzhou Mu mean?" The envoy did not know what he meant, so he asked, "Do we need to send the prince back?"

To send Liu He back, Liu Yu would need to agree to temporarily suspend the delivery of grain and grass to the capital, or even form an alliance with Yuan Shao!

"No need for that. Life and death are determined by fate. I am a relative of the Han Dynasty and I am mentally prepared to sacrifice myself for the country. As the son of Liu Yu, Liu He has this awareness!"

Liu Yu directly pointed out the envoy's hidden meaning and spoke in a firm and resolute tone.

To sum up, if you, Yuan Shao, want to kill, just kill!

The envoys looked at each other in bewilderment: "Liu Zhou Mu, this is your legitimate son! Even a tiger won't eat its own cubs!"

"Because of my son's safety, millions of people in the capital, hundreds of thousands of soldiers, and your Majesty have fallen into famine. I cannot make such a selfish choice!"

Liu Yu's answer expressing his loyalty to the emperor and his patriotism made the envoys stand in awe!

"Ugh--"

After repeated persuasion failed, the envoy finally sighed, said goodbye and left.

Liu Yu looked towards the direction of Jizhou, recalling every detail of Liu He, and finally he couldn't bear it and shed two lines of tears.

But between the country, the people, and the safety of his legitimate son, he chose the former without hesitation!
"I'm sorry, father..."

After blaming himself, Liu Yu immediately started to collect food and fodder and transport it to the capital.

The common people, officials, and soldiers didn't even know about this episode. They just noticed that Liu Yu had more white hair.

"Liu Zhoumu, please take care of yourself!"

"Envoy Liu, thanks to your governance, Youzhou has escaped from the chaos of war. We in Youzhou need you."

"Now the border is being invaded by the Xianbei and Wuhuan. You can't fall down!"

After hearing this, Liu Yu smiled.

He is not doing his son and family justice, but he is doing his country, his people justice!
……

Unlike Liu Yu who was forcing a smile, Liu Bei, who was far away in Qingzhou, was in tears.

When Liu Bei left Beijing, he had more than 5,000 soldiers and horses, but more than half of them were killed in a battle with Yuan Shao in Jizhou.

Finally, he returned to Qingzhou, but because Yuan Shao's troops besieged Weijun, he immediately went back to support Gongsun Zan, but was surrounded and attacked by Yuan Shao's army, and almost all of his troops were wiped out.

By the time Liu Bei forced his way across the Yellow River and fled back to Qingzhou, only three or four hundred defeated soldiers were left under his command.

Before Liu Bei could regroup, the Yellow Turban bandits in Qingzhou heard the news and led their troops to attack.

Faced with hundreds of thousands of Yellow Turban bandits, Liu Bei was simply unable to resist. Even though he had powerful generals such as Guan Yu, Zhang Fei and Zhao Yun, who were capable of fighting ten thousand men, they were all hunted down like stray dogs.

Of the three or four hundred defeated soldiers, only 121 remained, and they hid in Mount Tai.

Liu Bei burst into tears. He felt sorry for his brothers who died in the battle and for the trust placed in him by His Majesty.

"It must be Yuan Shao who informed us, otherwise how could we be besieged by the Yellow Turban bandits as soon as we crossed the Yellow River and set foot in Qingzhou!"

Zhang Fei was furious. "If we had known that we would hold the meeting at Suanzao, we should have killed this traitor!"

"You know it's hard to buy!"

Guan Yu sighed, looked at Liu Bei and asked, "Brother, I feel that we are short of soldiers and generals now, and it is difficult to suppress the Yellow Turban bandits in Qingzhou. We can only try to go to Yanzhou and hope that Yanzhou Governor Liu Dai can help us."

"Across these mountains is the State of Jibei. We may seek help from Jibei Prime Minister Bao Xin," Zhao Yun also suggested.

But Liu Bei thought about it, shook his head and said:

"We went back to help Brother Bogui, but he was defeated by Yuan Shao's army in the Battle of Jie Bridge. As a result, we were almost completely wiped out. Liu Yanzhou and Bao Guoxiang also suffered heavy losses."

After hearing this, the three generals all sighed heavily!
They were granted a gift by His Majesty to send troops to the area to suppress the rebellion. However, who would have thought that the rebellion was not suppressed and the gifted troops suffered heavy losses!
At this point, they were completely desperate!
"Report——"

At this time, a soldier suddenly came to report: "Liu Qingzhou, there is a scholar outside the camp who claims to have been summoned and came to see you."

"???"

Liu Bei stopped crying immediately, and looked a little doubtful: "A scholar's greeting? How did he know where we were staying temporarily?"

They were being hunted by the Yellow Turban bandits, and their destinations were chosen randomly. They were even preparing to move their positions to avoid being surrounded.

Everyone looked at each other in bewilderment, but the words "coming at the call" aroused their curiosity. They walked towards the outside of their temporary residence, observed the territory through scouts on the periphery, and discovered this scholar.

"Envoy Liu, I am from Yingchuan, Guo Jia, Guo Fengxiao. I was recommended to Your Majesty by Xun Yu, and I am here at your command."

Guo Jia was dressed in a blue shirt. When he saw the three men with ears hanging down to their shoulders, jujube-like faces, swallow-like chins and tiger-like beards, he knew that they were Liu, Guan, and Zhang. The young general in a white robe must be Zhao Yun.

While Guo Jia was speaking, he handed over a letter.

After Liu Bei took it, he saw Xun Yu's recommendation and the seal of the Shangshutai on it. After confirming its authenticity, he immediately grabbed Guo Jia's hand and said, "Angel, we are desperate. I never thought you would come just in time!"

"Envoy Liu, your words are too polite. You can just call me Guo Jia or my courtesy name."

Guo Jia looked at the remnants of Liu Bei's defeated army and said, "At such a critical moment, General Liu knew to send out scouts to alert the enemy instead of panicking. He has the demeanor of a famous general in ancient times!"

“…I am so ashamed!”

This time Liu Bei was not being modest, he was simply extremely ashamed!
If he had the demeanor of a famous general in ancient times, why would he be hunted down like a stray dog? Out of more than 5,000 soldiers and horses, only a hundred or so were left?

But Liu Bei was not a person who complained about himself. After a sigh, he said, "Feng Xiao, I'm curious, how did you find our place? By the way, you came here alone, so you didn't get discovered by the Yellow Turban bandits, right?"

"General Liu, I analyzed your direction from the Yellow Turban bandits' encirclement and suppression momentum and the location of your battle, and then... then... then..." Guo Jia said concisely.

Although Liu Bei didn't quite understand, he felt it was impressive!

Just imagine, Guo Jia was dressed in a blue shirt, and there were Yellow Turban bandits sweeping outside. He just went alone and found their destination safely and successfully arrived at the rendezvous. This in itself is a skill!
"With Fengxiao's help, we will surely be able to get out of this predicament soon."

This was not Liu Bei's flattery. Xun Yu was a man of state and talent, and the people he recommended were by no means ordinary people. While they were talking, there was a sudden shout of killing outside, and then a scout hurriedly came to report: "Report to Liu Qingzhou, our scouts were discovered by the Yellow Turban bandit scouts, and they are surrounding us with their army."

"withdraw!!!"

Liu Bei gave the order decisively. Although he cried occasionally, he acted decisively and was much better than the indecisive Yuan Shao.

"Envoy Liu, we can't just keep running away. Offense is the best defense! Let's retreat here first..."

Guo Jia took out the geomancy map, which was about ten miles southwest of them:
"First observe the number of enemy troops. If there are less than a thousand of them, try to weaken them... Have Zhao Yun lure the enemy deep into our territory... Guan Yu and Zhang Fei lead their troops to ambush on both sides... and so on..."

Guo Jia said quickly.

After hearing this, Liu Bei felt that this was a risky move. With more than a hundred people, how could they fight against a thousand-man Yellow Turban bandits?

It’s not that Liu Bei is afraid of death, but after the battle, he will definitely gradually attract the Yellow Turban bandits’ pursuers, and when they are surrounded by the army, they will be unable to escape.

But what Guo Jia said still makes sense - they can't just keep running away, attack is the best defense!

Moreover, Guo Jia was recommended by Xun Yu and approved by His Majesty, which made everyone present, no matter how arrogant Guan Yu or as reckless as Zhang Fei, approve of him!

Guo Jia didn't need to rely on three fires to prove himself like Zhuge Liang did in the original history!

This is the difference between an official appointed by the imperial court and a talent in the wild! There is also a difference between the established and the unestablished!
The court approved!!!

They implemented Guo Jia's strategy unswervingly.

……

The Yellow Turban rebels in Qingzhou who encircled and suppressed Liu Bei were actually the Yellow Turban Army that had caused chaos in Jinan State and Le'an County. They were commanded by Xu He and Sima Ju, and were secretly funded by Yuan's followers, allowing them to grow stronger.

When Liu Bei led his army to hide in Mount Tai, they still pursued him closely because they were instructed by Yuan's followers behind the scenes.

Take money from others to help them get rid of disasters!

The Yellow Turban bandits who discovered Liu Bei this time were a leader named Wu under the command of the two generals, who led more than 1,500 bandits.

Among them, more than 500 were led by mountain bandits, and the remaining more than 1,000 were young and strong civilians who were included in the group.

When their scouts discovered Liu Bei's scouts, they immediately surrounded them.

"kill--"

At this time, Zhao Yun led his army directly to attack, with only more than ten riders behind him, which made Commander Wu sneer:
"Liu Bei only has remnants of his army, so we should capture and kill them all in one fell swoop. Commander Qu said that if we take away Liu Bei's seal of the governor of Qingzhou, we will be governors ourselves and we will all be given titles and become generals!"

"it is good!!!"

These people had no idea about the conditions for becoming a marquis or a general, but they knew that there would be rewards as long as they defeated Liu Bei, so naturally they followed suit.

Faced with Zhao Yun's army coming to attack, their morale was high and they counterattacked directly.

Zhao Yun was immediately defeated and retreated. Of course, this was Guo Jia's plan of "feigning defeat" to lure the enemy deeper.

"Chase!!!"

The Yellow Turban bandits really did not miss the opportunity to pursue the victory. During this period, Zhao Yun also turned his spear to fight back, but he kept pretending to be defeated and fleeing, which gradually strengthened the pride of the Yellow Turban bandits.

"Hehe, that's all!"

They pursued closely, with their formation scattered and stretched out front and back.

When these Yellow Turban bandits chased to the ambush point, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei immediately led their troops to attack from both sides.

Behind them, there was smoke and dust billowing, and it looked like a huge force, with at least hundreds or thousands of soldiers.

But in fact, each of them commanded fifty soldiers, but they tied branches behind their backs, so when they ran, the dust they raised made it look like thousands of troops galloping.

This immediately shocked the Yellow Turban bandits!

"Oh no! We've fallen into a trap! Retreat!!!"

Commander Wu was just a bandit, so he had no idea whether this was a trick or not. He fell into a trap, and seeing the huge momentum of the enemy, he was frightened and turned around and ran away.

The Yellow Turban bandits' formation suddenly became chaotic, and they fled in panic like headless flies. Many bandits were bumped into and stepped on by their own people, causing great chaos.

At this time, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei ordered their soldiers to cut the ropes tied to the branches and speed up the encirclement and killing of the Yellow Turban bandits.

Zhao Yun, who pretended to be defeated, also led his troops to launch a surprise attack.

Under the siege of three powerful generals who were capable of defeating ten thousand enemies, this group of more than 1,500 Yellow Turban bandits suffered heavy casualties.

Even Commander Wu was caught up by Zhao Yun and killed instantly with one blow.

"Feng Xiao is indeed a master of strategy and a master of foresight!"

Liu Bei was amazed when he saw three generals leading more than a hundred soldiers and surrounding and controlling more than a thousand Yellow Turban bandits!

It’s really good to have a counselor!
With these strategists planning and winning battles thousands of miles away, marching and fighting seem to have become much simpler and easier!

"You are too kind, Envoy Liu."

Guo Jia smiled faintly: "In fact, these Yellow Turban bandits only know how to plunder, they are untrained and have no concept of military formations and tactics.

This kind of army can rely on its large numbers to fight a favorable battle, but once it encounters an unfavorable battle, it will immediately be at a loss and be directly defeated, with a crushing defeat. "

...

"That being said, if Feng Xiao hadn't deployed his troops properly, we wouldn't have achieved such a great victory!"

Liu Bei was filled with emotion. They had only a hundred or so men, but they defeated more than fifteen hundred Yellow Turban bandits. Such a great victory was something he had never dared to imagine before.

However, Liu Bei did not indulge in the emotion of his first victory, and asked: "Feng Xiao, now that we have control of this army, what should we do next? Can we try to recruit them and subdue them?"

...

“Among the Yellow Turban bandits, there are actually only a few real bandits, and most of them are civilians who were coerced.

“These civilians are actually reserve forces that can be recruited, but their families are controlled by the Yellow Turban bandits.

"If we want to recruit and subdue this army, we need to kill a chicken to scare the monkeys and deter the majority of them!
“And the targets to be killed must be those bandits and thugs who have committed all kinds of evil. This will not resonate with most people and make them feel the same hatred for the enemy.

"Immediately promised that rescuing these people and their families who were held hostage would not only make them surrender, but also provide information about the Yellow Turban bandits' camp, killing two birds with one stone..."

Guo Jia talked a lot about how to control subordinates, which benefited Liu Bei a lot.

Finally, Liu Bei took action personally.

First, pick out some bandits and evildoers from these bandits and make an example of them.

In fact, it is easy to tell whether a man is a warrior or a farmer. You can tell from their palms. The palms of farmers and martial artists, the calluses on their knuckles, and their words and deeds are different.

Moreover, whether a person has killed anyone and how many people he has killed can also be determined from their words and actions.

Liu Bei does have this ability to read people's expressions and observe their words!

In this way, Liu Bei killed more than two hundred people and finally temporarily controlled this makeshift army.

Guo Jia also set up a series of schemes. He changed into the clothes of the Yellow Turban bandits and fled back to the Yellow Turban army camp. He easily deceived the guards and entered the Yellow Turban army camp.

The Yellow Turban bandits coerced the people, fought to support the war, and only knew how to plunder.

And because of their large numbers and disorder, there was no complete and orderly means of defense.

It's okay when the situation is favorable, but if it is unfavorable, it will be full of holes and loopholes!
Finally, in the dead of night, they attacked the Yellow Turban Army camp with the help of the insiders and the outsiders. Thanks to this plan, the leader Xu He was beheaded.

Liu Bei rescued the families of the people who were held hostage, and won the recognition and submission of the young and strong men. His military strength grew like a snowball.

Three hours after Guo Jia arrived upon the summons, Liu Bei already had nearly 10,000 soldiers under his command. These were young and strong soldiers who were ready to fight, and they also had 50,000 to 60,000 family members behind them who could serve as logistical support.

Excluding the time spent on the journey, the time spent actually fighting with bandits, disguising oneself to deceive the garrison to penetrate deep into the enemy territory, and cooperating inside and outside forces, is even less.

It was obvious that Liu Bei and his men had run out of options, with only a hundred or so soldiers left out of more than five thousand.

Who would have thought that within just three hours after Guo Jia's arrival, the number of people had grown to tens of thousands. Guo Jia's numerous ingenious strategies and strategic planning were truly astonishing!

This made Liu Bei feel emotional, thinking that with Guo Jia's help, he could suppress the rebellion in Qingzhou!
After beheading the leader Xu He, Liu Bei found gold, silver and other treasures, as well as anonymous letters in the leader's camp. Many of the letters were pretexts for attacking and killing him. He tried to use the gold, silver and other treasures to bribe the Yellow Turban leaders.

Liu Bei knew without any guessing that this must be a conspiracy of Yuan and his cronies.

After temporarily controlling the situation, Guo Jia advised: "General Liu, after all, we only have more than a hundred soldiers. If the enemy spies infiltrate and fan the flames, there may be a risk of mutiny. We must win over the people's hearts as soon as possible."

"How to bribe him?" Liu Bei asked in surprise.

Guo Jia smiled and said, "Just open the warehouse and put the grain in!"

As long as you can feed the people, they will follow you in rebellion.

Liu Bei did not hesitate and agreed decisively.

They simply opened the granaries and released grain, allowing the tens of thousands of people who were forced to eat their fill all at once.

This indeed won him sincerity and the hearts of the people!
He didn't know how many people secretly tipped off him, and among them he uncovered many destabilizing factors and stubborn people.

Liu Bei felt very happy when he heard the people's voices of gratitude. Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Zhao Yun and other generals also felt very happy.

This is what it means to march and fight!
Instead of being defeated in battles one after another like in the past few days, running away like a stray dog!
……

(End of this chapter)