Chapter 85 Jia Xu’s plan made Yuan Shao fail in his feint to the east and attack in the west!
"Wenhe, you dare to ask for 62 coins per stone, are you crazy?! I think you are always calm and experienced, why are you so aggressive now?!"

Wang Fang looked at Jia Xu standing aside and asked with some doubt:

"The capital has already encountered financial problems, so His Majesty ordered us to go all out to swallow up Black Mountain and try to reverse the situation with Snowflake Salt. But you are so good!

"The cost price of snowflake salt is 150 coins per stone! Now it's sold at 62 coins per stone. Do we still have to pay for it? Forget it, forget it. You should hurry to Bingzhou!"

...

Jia Xu was not transferred to the Henei front, but to Bingzhou to plan strategies for Lu Bu and other Bingzhou troops.

After several months, Lu Bu led the Bingzhou Army to encircle and suppress Yu Furuo and other Southern Xiongnu troops, but to no avail.

After discussing with his ministers, Liu Bian decided to send a counselor to help, and Jia Xu was appointed to Bingzhou.

But when passing through Hanoi, Baihu, disguised as "Wang Fang", tried to keep Jia Xu on the grounds that they were both from Xiliang, hoping that Jia Xu could give him some advice.

Baihu remembered that His Majesty had a high opinion of Jia Xu. But the result disappointed Baihu!

That's it? !
...

"General Wang, believe me, this move can catch the big fish Yuan Shao."

Jia Xu said calmly:
"Yuan Shao is a man who cherishes his body when doing great things, and forgets his life when he sees small gains.

"Heishan has been transporting snowflake salt to Liyang to compete with the private salt shops controlled by the Yuan family. This cannot be hidden from Yuan Shao's eyes.

"With a gold mine just around the corner and the price wars stimulating him, Yuan Shao will surely be furious and make a move.

"You can check the military's execution records. Our scouts must have discovered more and more spies from Yuan's camp recently.

"This is all Yuan Shao trying to find out about the situation in Black Mountain."

...

After Jia Xu's analysis, Wang Fang became suspicious: "There really is such a record. There are more and more spies in Yuan Ying."

...

"General Wang, just wait and see. It may take one or two months, or ten days or half a month. Yuan Shao will definitely take action."

Jia Xu said firmly:
"Of course, I need to go to Bingzhou and cannot stay in Heishan for long. The battlefield is changing rapidly, and any change is possible!
General Wang can inform the governors of Yanzhou and Qingzhou, and then they can attack together. No matter how things change, attacking Jizhou is absolutely right! "

...

"I understand!"

After hearing this, Wang Fang was excited and took Jia Xu's hand:

"Wenhe, listening to your words is worth ten years of reading! We haven't seen each other for a long time, and you will be taking up your post in Bingzhou. I don't know when we can meet again. I will host a banquet to see you off, so please don't refuse!"

"..."

Jia Xu was speechless.

Just now, Wang Fang had been acting like he was no longer useful and wanted to get out of here quickly. But now, he was so familiar with her that he felt uncomfortable.

"General Wang, you don't have to be polite. The food crisis has eased a bit, but it hasn't been completely resolved. Your Majesty is still living frugally, so we shouldn't waste money. And we'll be able to see each other soon!"

"Why?!"

Wang Fang was suddenly puzzled.

"This time when I go to Bingzhou, I will quickly get Lü Bu and other Bingzhou troops out of the way and turn to attack Jizhou. By then, with the combined efforts of all parties, we can put down Yuan Shao's rebellion as soon as possible."

Jia Xu said.

"I wonder what clever plan Wenhe has?"

"We don't know yet."

Jia Xu shook his head: "We need to conduct a field investigation!"

"In that case, I won't keep you."

Wang Fang said to his soldiers without hesitation, "Come here, bring some dry food and water to Wenhe, and escort him through Taihang Pass!"

"promise!!!"

"Thank you, General Wang."

Jia Xu did not refuse this time. Although most of Bingzhou was under the control of the imperial court, Yu Fuluo and other tribesmen were still causing chaos. It is better to be safe than sorry.

After bidding farewell to Wang Fang, Jia Xu set out on the road to Bingzhou.

On the map, Henei County borders Bingzhou Shangdang County, but the two armies are separated by the Taihang Mountains. The only way to go back and forth is through the "Eight Passes of Taihang".

Jia Xu went from Baixing to Bingzhou without any danger along the way.

To their surprise, they encountered a group of bandits, but they were being chased by the White Spear Army, so they were not in great danger.

...

At the beginning, it relied on the advantages of the "White Spear Army" in mountain warfare and the excellent command of the female general Qin Liangyu.

Wang Fang, Wang Kuang and Qin Liangyu captured Black Mountain.

But then, they split into three groups:

Wang Kuang led the Henei army to station troops on the border to confront Yuan Shao's army in Liyang, Weijun.

Qin Liangyu led the White Rod Army, with Heishan as the center, to sweep away the bandits and robbers in the major branches and main veins of Taihang Mountain.

'Wang Fang' assisted the two armies and at the same time stayed in Heishan and made salt.

...

Because Qin Liangyu led the White Spear Army to sweep Taihang Mountains, those bandits fled in droves, and Jia Xu encountered them many times.

It can be said that they finally arrived at Lingchuan County, Shangdang County, Bingzhou without any danger, and then arrived at Gaoping, where they contacted Lu Bu and other Bingzhou troops.

They met in Changzhi, the county seat of Shangdang County!

"I've been looking forward to it for a long time, and finally the general advisor has arrived!" Lu Bu held Jia Xu's hand and said tenderly.

"..."

Jia Xu felt a little nauseous. Why did it seem like the generals in the army had started to take the sentimental route recently? !

"General Lu, you are too polite. Xu is incompetent. We should work together with the Bingzhou army to eliminate evil together!"

"Military advisor, there is no need to be modest. You have a thorough plan and great ambitions. You are the Chen Ping of the Later Han Dynasty."

Lu Bu respected Jia Xu very much, and the Bingzhou army generals behind him, such as Gao Shun, Cao Xing, Hao Meng and others, did not show any attitude of arrogance.

The reason is simple. Lu Bu's legitimate daughter, Lu Qiling, has now become "Noble Lady Lu". She often practices the sword of affection and the sword of winking at each other with His Majesty, so naturally she gets a lot of information.

This evaluation of Lu Bu was exactly what Your Majesty said in person - Chen Ping of the Later Han Dynasty, this is the highest evaluation of Jia Xu!

"General Lu, you are too kind!"

Jia Xu immediately expressed his fear and trepidation, saying that he did not deserve the honor. This evaluation was too heavy!
It is no less than saying that Xun Yu is "a talent who can assist the king" and "my Zi Fang"!
"Don't talk too much, don't talk too much!"

Lu Bu started to carry people in the fancy sedan again.

Jia Xu finally said helplessly: "General, let's get to the point and talk about the intelligence on Yu Fuluo and the Southern Xiongnu."

"Military Advisor, how about we welcome you first?"

"General Lu, you don't have to be polite. The food crisis has eased a bit, but it has not been completely resolved. His Majesty is still tightening his belt, so we can't be extravagant."

"That's right."

Lu Bu finally got to the point and told Jia Xu about the situation of Yu Furo and the Southern Xiongnu.

Because Bingzhou is vast and sparsely populated, except for Shangdang County and Taiyuan County, other places are remote and poor with desolate mountains and wilderness.

In addition, the crisscrossing mountain ranges such as Taiyue Mountain and Luliang Mountain made it more difficult to suppress the bandits.

Although Yu Fuluo and other Southern Xiongnu troops were no match for their Bingzhou army, they surrendered at the sight of their advance. However, they continued to harass them from time to time, causing great annoyance.

Lu Bu tried many encirclement and suppression plans, but with little success!
Jia Xu had been listening to the intelligence, looking at the Bingzhou geomancy map, and finally said:
“General, Yu Fuluo and his men are highly mobile and have been engaging in guerrilla warfare with our army, but their families are a burden.

"The Bingzhou army does not need to engage them head-on. They only need to send out scouts and join forces with the Jinyiwei to investigate the small tribes of the Chufuluo people. "Then, the army will head straight for the core!"

...

"This is a great idea, but..."

Lu Bu and the other generals looked at each other and said helplessly:

"Military Advisor, although Yufuluo and his people are barbarians, since the Southern Xiongnu surrendered to the Han Dynasty, the Han and the barbarians have merged, and many of them are of Han blood. It is not a manly act to target their families!"

...

"We can just launch a feint attack to create the illusion that the city's defenses are empty, forcing Yu Fuluo's troops to have no time to return to support them, and attack Shangdang and Taiyuan by 'encircling Wei to save Zhao'. We will wait for an opportunity to encircle and annihilate them."

Jia Xu thought for a moment and said.

...

"Then you can give it a try."

Lu Bu thought about it and nodded.

It’s not that they didn’t think about threatening the weak point of Yufuluo’s people: their small family, but this kind of operation requires a very high level of command and dispatch capabilities.

Don’t underestimate this simple sentence; the details behind it are beyond your imagination.

And Yu Fuluo is not stupid either, he will definitely send spies to observe. If it is leaked, how will they change their formation?
This all requires Jia Xu’s personal guidance!
Generals like Lu Bu are not only brave but also strategic, but they are not good at deploying troops and making plans!
……

A few days after Jia Xu left, Yuan Shao's army actually took an offensive stance, which surprised Wang Fang!
I didn’t expect Yuan Shao to be so “capable of seeking small gain and forgetting his life”!
They dared to produce salt in Heishan, so they were not afraid of Yuan Shao's garrison in the neighboring Weijun, and the imperial court's troops were deployed all around. How dare Yuan Shao be so bold? !

Since Yuan Shao really took action, 'Wang Fang' will not be polite!

Wang Fang sent the military report back to the capital, and at the same time contacted Qin Qiong, Cao Cao, Liu Dai, Bao Xin and other troops, trying to outflank Yuan's camp!
Yuanying was also mobilizing his troops, and seemed to have made a military deployment to attack Montenegro.

This ordered Wang Kuang, the governor of Henei who was stationed at the border, to immediately increase the military strength and put the entire army on high alert, taking turns on defense and not daring to relax in the slightest.

Although the war has not yet broken out, the situation in the Montenegro area is already tense. The oppressive atmosphere of impending storm makes people around feel breathless.

Black Mountain is where Henei Prefecture and Jizhou Wei Prefecture meet. Liyang, where Yuan Shao’s camp is located, is nearby. On the other side of the river is the Baima Ferry in Yanzhou.

General Qin Qiong, the Governor of Dongjun, Cao Cao, the Governor of Yanzhou, Liu Dai, and Prime Minister of Jibei, Bao Xin, have all mobilized their troops.

Liyang.

Yuan Shao personally led his troops to review the troops. The morale of the soldiers was high and their shouts at the top of their lungs shook the south bank of the Yellow River.

The imperial court's troops were naturally also mobilized.

However, the imperial army did not take the initiative to attack, but relied on the geographical advantage and waited for Yuan Shao to lead his army into the trap!
Yuan Shao's tactics evolved from "slow stalemate and prolonging the war" to "attack at all costs", all for the snowflake salt formula!

This is the "bait" of the court. They can lure the snake out of its hole and those who are willing to take the bait will do so!
In this way, they can occupy the advantageous geographical location and wait for the enemy to tire themselves out!
However, after Yuan Shao reviewed the troops, he did not set out to fight, and the stalemate continued until the second day, when "Wang Fang" received an urgent report from the Jinyiwei.

"Yuan Shao is openly reviewing his troops in Liyang, but he is secretly drawing troops from other places in Jizhou, gathering more than 50,000 troops and marching south to Pingyuan County to attack Qingzhou!"

Yuan Shao did choose to attack, but in the end he did not attack Heishan which was nearby, but attacked Qingzhou!

This was somewhat unexpected for Wang Fang, and he couldn't understand it at all!

Later, the Embroidered Uniform Guard sent new information that Qingzhou also had a "refined salt production method" that could produce "snowflake salt". It was personally escorted by the East Factory to Liu Bei to supervise the construction of the sea salt field!
This matter was obviously noticed by Yuan Shao, so they "made a feint to the east and attacked in the west"!
More than 50,000 soldiers and horses...

Moreover, Yuan Shao now has a navy, which will be a huge blow to Qingzhou!
"We must rush to Qingzhou to help!"

Wang Fang immediately ordered the Jinyiwei to send a message, saying that in order to deal with Yuan Shao, he ordered Qin Qiong, Cao Cao and other troops to defend the Liyang area.

Everyone thought a war would break out, but who knew Yuan Shao would use himself as bait, make a feint to the east and attack in the west, and focus on Qingzhou!
Upon hearing the news, Qin Qiong, Cao Cao and other generals led their troops and immediately rushed to Qingzhou for support!
However, at this time, Yuan Shao finally took action!
Yuan Shao wanted to keep these troops in the Baima Ferry area to share the pressure for the main attacking party in Pingyuan County!

Even if his troops were divided into two groups to fight, he still had some strength left!

This is not only the foundation of Runan Yuan family, but also the result of secret assistance from Jizhou aristocratic families and even many aristocratic families in the world!
"Although I have decided to send troops to Montenegro, this can also be a feint attack."

Yuan Shao looked at his civil and military officials:

"According to the information sent back by the spies, Liu Bei's sea salt field in Qingzhou also produced snowflake salt.

"It seems that as long as there is salt-producing land in the area controlled by Your Majesty or the loyal ministers of the Han Dynasty, there may be a formula for snowflake salt!"

...

"My Lord is wise!!!"

Counselors such as Feng Ji were all amazed and looked at Yuan Shao with shining admiration and respect.

If Yuan Shao needed to rely on his advisers for advice on everything, he would be just a puppet.

But he knows how to assess the situation and make decisions when taking action. He is a lord with strategy and judgment.

As the greatest warlord of the Han Dynasty, Yuan Shao was able to attract so many talents to serve him. In addition to his origin from the Yuan family of Runan, he did have enough personal charm and excellent abilities.

Although Yuan Shao did not go to Pingyuan County in person to take charge, his eldest son Yuan Tan and nephew Gao Gan were there.

The counselors included Xin Ping, Shen Pei and others.

The military generals include Zhu Ling, Jiang Qi, Lu Kuang and others.

There are more than 50,000 soldiers and horses. Excluding logistics, civilian laborers, etc., the combat force is at least 20,000 to 30,000.

With the help of the Bohai Navy, we will definitely be able to capture Qingzhou!
This is the main attack!
The people in the Liyang camp, and even Yuan Shao himself, were just making a feint attack as bait!
...

however.

Just as Yuan Shao was enjoying the praise and admiration of his civil and military officials, a messenger suddenly came in a hurry to report:

"General, urgent news came from Qingzhou. Our army tried to land in Jinan, but Liu Bei's army prepared in advance and attacked us halfway across the river. The Bohai Navy tried to rescue us, but was hit by boats upstream and burned most of them..."

"Um?!"

Yuan Shao was stunned. According to the speed at which the messengers delivered the message, this meant that Qingzhou suffered a major defeat shortly after it took action.

Was this an advance ambush by Liu Bei's army? !
"impossible!"

Yuan Shao said in disbelief: "I attacked Qingzhou on a whim, and I didn't even think of it. Why would Liu Bei's army be prepared in advance?!"

Everyone couldn't believe it!

and many more!

Strictly speaking, it was not Yuan Shao's sudden idea, but news came from Qingzhou that Liu Bei had the "snowflake salt formula" and that the Qingzhou sea salt field could also purify "snowflake salt".

Only then did Yuan Shao come up with the idea of ​​"making a feint to the east and attacking in the west".

What if Qingzhou leaked this information on purpose? !

Or maybe it was Liu Bei's army in Qingzhou, who knew that there was no impenetrable wall in the world and that such a thing could not be concealed, so they took advantage of the situation and set an ambush in advance? !
This made the counselors look strange, but they did not dare to refute or question Yuan Shao.

Yuan Shao cares about his reputation the most, so wouldn't this make him lose face?!
"My lord, why don't we take advantage of their strategy and attack Black Mountain?!"

Feng Ji offered a suggestion. He disagreed with the attack, but since things had come to this point, he could only save Yuan Ying from defeat:

“Looking at the urgent mobilization of troops by Qin Qiong, Cao Cao and others to rush to Qingzhou for assistance, it means that they did not get this intelligence in the first place.

"Or rather, Qingzhou's deployment of defense was actually an accident. It was just a coincidence. So our attack on Black Mountain at this time was actually a surprise attack.

"After Qin Qiong and Cao Cao's troops rushed to Qingzhou to support it, Black Mountain was actually short of troops. We have a great chance of winning!"

...

After hearing this, Yuan Shao's gloomy face lit up and he nodded, saying, "Yuan Tu is right! Act according to your plan immediately!"

"promise!!!"

Yuan Shao immediately boosted morale in his camp in Liyang and sent troops to Heishan.

They did not expect Liu Bei's army in Qingzhou to take precautions in advance. After all, they did not know that behind Liu Bei stood a counselor named Guo Jia.

But at this time, the imperial army rushed to Qingzhou for support, which gave them an opportunity to take advantage of.

However, Yuan Ying also did not know that after Jia Xu entered Bingzhou, he quickly commanded Lu Bu and other Bingzhou troops to sweep away Yu Furo and other Southern Xiongnu tribesmen, and was now reorganizing his troops and decided to counterattack Jizhou.

……

(End of this chapter)