Chapter 105 A Dilemma

In less than a day, Pingyuan City was breached.

This was partly because the city wasn't a strategic location, and the defending Yuan army had an absolute numerical advantage, but Yuan Tan's command also played a significant role.

He first used a large number of laborers to carry earth, regardless of losses, depleting the defending army's arrows, rolling logs, and other weapons, and then launched a full-scale attack when the enemy showed signs of fatigue and had not yet rotated their defenses, collapsing them in one fell swoop.

Yuan Xi wondered to himself, 'Is my elder brother really this strong?'

If that's the case, how could he have been unable to cross the Yellow River and been forced to confront Tian Kai for two years?

When Yuan Xi and Zhao Yun were escorting the prisoners back, Yuan Xi shared this thought with Zhao Yun, who pondered for a moment and said, "Young Master Yuan Tan seems to have changed."

Yuan Xi was puzzled, "How has he changed?"

Zhao Yun then described Yuan Tan's actions in Beixin City over the past month, including his setbacks at the hands of Tian Yu.

Yuan Xi had been busy with arrangements in Ye City, and because Zhao Yun was in Beixin City, he was very relieved and hadn't paid much attention to what was happening there.

After hearing Zhao Yun's account, he learned that Tian Yu had actually returned after he left.

Yuan Xi was glad he had left in time, because Tian Yu was no ordinary person!

In later history, Tian Yu drove the Wuhuan and Xianbei far beyond the Great Wall, awing the northern frontier, thwarted and suppressed Gongsun Yuan, and repelled Sun Quan's army of 100,000 at Hefei's Xin City.

Later, he was appointed as the General Who Holds the Imperial Standard and Protects the Xiongnu, and the Governor of Bing Province. The Hu people inside and outside the Great Wall were intimidated by him and came to pay tribute, and from then on, the territory of Bing Province was peaceful and the people lived in prosperity.

Moreover, Tian Yu was highly valued by Liu Bei. In addition to his bravery in battle, he was also skilled in strategy, and rarely suffered defeats in his life. Yuan Xi didn't want to face such a person now, and he didn't expect Yuan Tan to be unlucky enough to encounter him.

At first, Yuan Tan wanted to compete fairly with Tian Yu, but he suffered a loss as soon as they met. Afterwards, Yuan Tan humbly sought advice from Zhao Yun, and felt that he was almost ready, so he went out of the city to fight again, but he still couldn't beat Tian Yu.

After being depressed for a few days, Yuan Tan suddenly understood one day.

The art of war is about using all of one's own advantages. Why was he being so stubborn?

After Yuan Tan figured it out, he immediately transferred five thousand soldiers from Pingyuan, hundreds of miles away, and faced Tian Yu for the third time.

When Tian Yu saw this, he immediately led a few hundred White Horse Volunteers and fled.

So Yuan Tan took the opportunity to capture two cities, which was considered revenge.

After Yuan Xi heard what Zhao Yun said, he was a little speechless. Could it be that Yuan Tan had grown in the process of fighting Tian Yu?

No wonder Yuan Tan launched a full-scale attack on Pingyuan City, it seems he had tasted the sweetness!

However, using more to defeat less is indeed the kingly way on the battlefield, and using less to defeat more is only a last resort.

Although a full-force attack makes it easier for the opponent to find flaws, it was enough to deal with Tian Kai, who had no support from Liu Bei and Gongsun Zan.

Yuan Xi thought to himself that if he were Tian Kai, he would also be cursing.

Several allies had problems.

Gongsun Zan retreated to Yijing and no longer cared about the affairs of Qing Province.

Liu Bei was in Xuzhou, the situation was unstable, and he couldn't make it in time.

Kong Rong of Beihai State behind him was just a loudmouth and couldn't fight.

There were still hundreds of thousands of Yellow Turban remnants causing chaos in Qing Province.

Yuan Xi put himself in Tian Kai's shoes and immediately felt a headache.

Seeing that the city gates had all been cleared, he just wanted to return to the camp to hand over the hundreds of Xuzhou soldier prisoners, have a meal and sleep well, so he asked Zhao Yun to lead the troops to block the city gates and wait for orders. He and Zhang He returned to the camp, and as soon as they entered the camp tent, they saw the generals arguing about something.

The one speaking was Ju Shou, whose armor was covered with bloodstains, obviously having personally gone into battle.

Ju Shou said in a deep voice, "The Young Master will govern Qing Province in the future. If we massacre the city, I'm afraid the remaining counties will resist even more."

Yuan Tan walked back and forth in the camp tent and said, "Tan dares not agree with what the gentleman said."

"Cao Cao always massacres the city after capturing it. When he attacked Xuzhou, the resistance of the cities behind him became weaker and weaker, and there were frequent deserters. Doesn't this mean that massacring the city can reduce losses?"

When Ju Shou heard Yuan Tan mention Cao Cao, his face was disapproving. "Let me be clear, Young Master, Cao Cao's massacre of the city is only for temporary personal gain."

"His approach is mostly to weaken Tao Qian. He doesn't think about how to govern in the future at all, but only drains the pond to catch the fish. Although it can suppress resistance for a while, it will inevitably lead to chaos later."

"And the Young Master is attacking Qing Province to take it for his own use. The hearts of the people are something the Young Master cannot ignore."

Yuan Tan hesitated after hearing this, "But if so, the soldiers will not benefit. How can morale be maintained?"

Ju Shou also pondered. Although he opposed the massacre of the city, he really didn't have a good way to reward the soldiers.

Yuan Xi blurted out, "Divide up the wealthy households in the city?"

Everyone looked over at the same time, thinking that only the Second Young Master could do such a thing. We still want our reputation!

Yuan Xi's punishment of the heads of the gentry families on the city wall was well known to Yuan's officials, but it was really impossible to learn.

Seeing the strange gazes of the crowd, Yuan Xi thought to himself, 'You people have no awareness of betraying your own class.'

Do you know why I like Zhen Mi? She knew to open granaries and release grain to the poor at the age of ten!

Landlords who can self-reflect are rare in this era!

However, Yuan Xi was just saying it. To rule a place, one cannot do without the support of the gentry. Cao Cao was first supported and then betrayed by the gentry of Yan Province because he did not give the other party enough cake.

Without benefits, who would support you?

In the end, Yuan Tan decided to loot the city for a day tomorrow.

Yuan Tan was the main general, and his words were law. Yuan Xi couldn't interfere. At least this left a way out for the people in the city.

As for what kind of things would happen during this day, he was powerless to do anything.

As for the captured Qing Province soldiers, all of them were enlisted. Except for a few strong soldiers who were scattered and incorporated into various units, the others were all used as the lowest-level laborers and soldiers.

The next time they attacked the city, they would be the ones carrying earth in the front.

Of course, it was easy to turn the tables. If they followed the vanguard troops and climbed the city wall, they could become formal soldiers.

After working until late at night, everyone had time to make a fire and cook. At this time, Yuan Xi was so hungry that his front and back were stuck together.

Yuan Tan left the generals in the camp tent and asked his personal soldiers to take some rice and noodles and cook a pot of paste.

Everyone sat around the pot in a circle and drank a few bowls with soy sauce. Pingyuan City in the distance was noisy again. It turned out that several troops had rushed into the city in advance.

Yuan Tan stood up, glanced at it a few times, and said nonchalantly, "Forget it, let's talk about it after we finish eating."

Everyone also looked like they were used to it.

After finishing the meal and dispersing, Zhang He came out with Yuan Xi. Yuan Xi asked about it, and Zhang He explained a few words before Yuan Xi gradually understood.

Yuan Tan's troops had poor military discipline in the past two years. Although Ju Shou had been working hard to govern the army, people would get hungry.

Yuan Tan led tens of thousands of people to confront Tian Kai, and the food from Ji Province could not be supplied at all, so he often plundered food.

Over time, the soldiers tasted the sweetness, and always tried to steal chickens and dogs in every possible way. This situation was estimated to be impossible to reverse in a short time.

The law does not punish the masses. If it were a few soldiers, they could be punished, but thousands of soldiers could not all be killed, right?

After hearing what Zhang He said, Yuan Xi became alert.

Yuan Tan's situation at this time was very similar to the situation he faced in Beixin City, but at that time, Yuan Xi had few soldiers and could tighten his belt to save some food.

If he led tens of thousands of troops and also ran out of food, what should he do?

Besides robbing, there was no other way. Could he just watch the soldiers starve to death?

The cruelty of the troubled times is that people must be forced to make difficult choices, and each choice is related to the survival of different lives.

To end the troubled times, one must face such choices countless times.

Yuan Xi knew that he would eventually face the same problems as Yuan Tan and Cao Cao.

The cruelty of the dilemma is that no matter how you choose, you cannot do it perfectly.

But the most meaningful thing about it is that it can let people know the cruelty of choice in advance, so as to try to avoid facing such problems in the future.

Although it is difficult, it is not that no one has ever done it.

In the long history of thousands of years of feudal society, at least Yue Fei did it.

This alone gave Yuan Xi confidence.

After a day of looting, Yuan Shao's army left hundreds of garrison troops and left Pingyuan City to cross the Yellow River.

As for the crying in the city, how many people died in the looting, how many people were displaced, and how many people lost their relatives, few people cared.

In fact, compared to other warlords, except for Liu Bei, the Yuan family was already the tallest among the dwarfs.

The Yuan family studied the "Mengshi Yi" in the era, advocating self-cultivation and virtue, restraining words and deeds, and doing things in accordance with the laws of nature and reverence for the way of heaven. This is also an important reason why the Yuan family was famous among the clans and achieved the position of "Three Dukes for Four Generations".

Now, in order to gain a reputation for benevolence and righteousness, the Yuan family did not dare to massacre cities on a large scale like Cao Cao, but the looting of Pingyuan City still spread throughout Qing Province, and the counties south of the Yellow River and Jishui River began to panic.

At the gate of Yuling County on the south bank of the Jishui River, the people from the surrounding villages flocked to the city to take refuge, forming a long queue, including a family of three waiting to enter the city.

The husband and wife were both in their twenties and were accompanied by a girl of seven or eight years old.

The young woman asked in confusion, "If we enter the city, we will be forced to defend the city and fight. Why don't we escape to Donghai State?"

The male master said disdainfully: "A woman's opinion, what do you know!"

"No matter how fast your two legs run, can you outrun a horse with four legs?"

"Besides, if you encounter Yellow Turban bandits, can you survive?"

"At least the Yuan army doesn't massacre the city!"

The woman thought that they indeed did not massacre the city, but it was hard to say whether they would rob things or want women.

She held the girl and became more and more worried.

A commotion was faintly created in the front of the queue, and a man and a woman, carrying two girls, quarreled with the city guards.

The man said angrily: "We are all from Pingyuan, why don't you let us enter the city?"

The city guard sneered: "Now the city lacks men to defend the city, it is impossible for everyone to have food to eat!"

"One man can only bring one woman in!"

"If you want to go in, you have to leave those two girls behind!"

"Of course, I have no objection if you want to take the children in."

The man was furious and wanted to speak, but was pushed and staggered, falling to the ground. The woman quickly took the girl to check, crying.

The city guard showed a look of disdain. If they didn't enter, there were others who would.

The young couple behind them panicked. They also brought a girl!

As the team slowly moved forward, just as the two were at a loss, a young man's voice sounded from behind: "I am alone. If you are willing, I can pretend to be your child and enter the city together."