Chapter 162: Stretched to the limit

Madam Wu gently rocked the sleeping infant in her arms and said, "Back then, my children and I were living in Guangling. I heard that you had joined Yuan Shu, but things weren't going so well."

Sun Ce listened and said bitterly, "After Father passed away, Yuan Shu seized his troops. I wanted to bring honor to the Sun family, so I had to lower myself and beg him, but I didn't expect him to make things difficult for me at every turn!"

"He didn't even give me a single one of the three thousand soldiers, but instead told me to recruit troops in Danyang!"

"Fortunately, I recruited five hundred soldiers in Danyang, and only then did Yuan Shu give me Father's one thousand old troops."

The Danyang soldiers were extremely famous at the end of the Han Dynasty. They were very suitable for fighting in the mountainous Yue regions. In the Jiangdong region, they were considered one of the strongest forces.

"Records of the Three Kingdoms - Biography of Zhuge Ke": The terrain of Danyang is treacherous, stretching for thousands of miles, with countless mountains and valleys. The secluded people there have never entered cities or towns. When facing officials, they all rely on weapons and live wildly in the wilderness, spending their entire lives in the forests. They are accustomed to martial arts and value strength. Their ability to climb mountains, brave dangers, and push through thickets is like fish swimming in deep pools or monkeys leaping through trees. When they fight, they swarm like bees; when they are defeated, they scatter like birds. Since ancient times, they have been uncontrollable.

This describes how the Danyang soldiers moved nimbly and quickly in the mountains and forests, were good at climbing, which was extremely advantageous in naval warfare, and had a strong sense of clan loyalty, making them excellent at defending their territory.

However, the Danyang soldiers were not without their weaknesses. Once they reached Jiangbei and encountered large-scale battles on the plains, their advantage of agility could not be utilized.

Moreover, they were skilled in close combat with swords and shields, but they were restrained when facing the heavily armored northern cavalry and infantry who used long spears and halberds.

In addition, some people were stubborn and refused to avoid their weaknesses, resulting in the Danyang soldiers being utterly defeated and contributing to the fame of Zhang Liao and others.

Madam Wu sighed, "I heard about it at the time, and thinking that my husband had a good relationship with Tao Qian during his lifetime, and that Xiapi was close to Guangling, I went to Tancheng, hoping to use our past friendship to ask for some troops for you."

"When I left, I entrusted Quan'er and the others to be taken care of by someone. Xiang'er was still young, so I had to bring her with me."

"Unfortunately, when I arrived in Tancheng, Yuan Gonglu and Tao Qian had a falling out. I didn't even get to see Tao Qian before I was imprisoned."

"As a result, Tao Qian suddenly fell ill and died. I, along with some others who had offended Tao Qian, were driven out of the city by Xuande Gong, which caused trouble for Ce'er."

Sun Ce listened and was furious, "That Liu Bei, the dog thief, is so rude! After I conquer Xuzhou, I will surely grind his bones to ashes!"

Madam Wu quickly said, "Don't do that! If you attack Xuzhou, you will already be disturbing the people. If you commit an unjust act, I'm afraid you will have difficulty moving forward in the future."

Sun Ce didn't take it seriously and waved his hand, "I heard that Mother was trapped in Guangling and unable to cross the river, so I led troops here, thinking of taking Mother away."

Madam Wu shook her head, "This is actually the safest place."

"If I cross the river, I will be in Yangzhou, then can Ce'er still protect me?"

Sun Ce thought that was true. Neither Liu Yao nor Yuan Shu in Yangzhou could be relied upon. It was safer to keep Mother by his side.

Madam Wu continued, "Speaking of which, Ce'er is too hasty. With the rear unstable, you rashly ventured deep into enemy territory. What if Zhengli Gong (Liu Yao) cuts off your retreat, and Xuande Gong blocks your path? What will you do?"

Without thinking, Sun Ce said, "Just attack Xiapi directly and take Xuzhou. Wouldn't that be the end of it?"

Madam Wu shook her head, "It's not that simple. You have always had a violent temper. I will stay here and keep an eye on you, lest you do something wrong."

Sun Ce snorted coldly, "No matter what, that Liu Bei actually drove Mother away, causing her to be humiliated. There is not a single good person in Xuzhou. I will definitely settle this score!"

Madam Wu advised, "Lord Liu was also forced to do so. Besides, when the Xiapi convoy went on a mission that day, a young nobleman gave me a horse, which allowed me to escape. There are still good people in this world."

Sun Ce shook his head, noncommittal, thinking that since it was a nobleman on a mission, he must not be Liu Bei's man and had probably already left.

If he encountered him in the future, he would just return a horse.

What he had to do now was to occupy Guangling and seize Xiapi in one fell swoop!

Sun Ce began to think, was there anything in Tancheng that could be used?

At this time, Yuan Xi, far away in Beixin City, sent a letter of friendship to Lu Bu.

The letter used the name of the Yuan family, not Hidden Tiger. It was not yet time to reel in Lu Bu. If he frequently used the identity of Hidden Tiger to speak for himself, it was likely that those who were interested would see through the flaws.

This time, he took a big detour, using Gao Lan's name to write to Gao Shun, and then asking him to forward it to Lu Bu.

In the letter, he also went all out, promising Lu Bu that if he came to Henei and could suppress Zhang Yan of the Black Mountain bandits, Yuan Xi promised to split Bing Province with Lu Bu.

From the perspective of later generations, Yuan Xi's promise was purely an empty check to borrow flowers to offer to the Buddha. After capturing You Province, Yuan Shao would send his wife's clan, Gao Gan, to garrison Bing Province.

However, Gao Gan did not actually open up the situation in Bing Province because he was restrained by the Black Mountain bandits and the Southern Xiongnu. During the Battle of Guandu, although he contained the enemy on the western front, he hardly posed any threat to Cao Cao.

Since this was the case, Yuan Xi thought it would be better to introduce Lu Bu and revitalize Bing Province.

Although Lu Bu might become a big trouble for him in the future, Yuan Xi was not afraid of having too many lice. He had to clear Taihang Mountain within a year and open up the passage from Zhuo Commandery to Zhongshan Commandery and then to Henei Commandery.

However, he was under great pressure at the moment. In order to attack Yijing, Ji Province and Qing Province began to fully levy grain and conscript soldiers. Although Zhuo Commandery only had three cities, it also had to send troops and levy grain according to the regulations.

In this way, Yuan Xi would not only not receive financial and food support from Ji Province this time, but also had to prepare his own food and grass for the expedition.

In this way, the grain storage in the three cities, which had just had a surplus, would once again be short of grain.

Yuan Xi was unable to change this situation. What he could do was to find a way to end the Battle of Yijing as soon as possible. If the army ate one day less of grain, it could feed several times more people.

Moreover, there were still millions of stones of grain in Yijing City. If he could find a way to get some, he shouldn't lose too much.

He returned to his mansion, and Qu Yi, Zhao Yun, and Taishi Ci had all arrived.

Cao Xian, dressed in simple linen clothes, served tea to everyone and then bowed her head and retreated.

Qu Yi clicked his tongue and said, "The young master is in a good mood. It's a pity that this girl is naturally beautiful, but you don't dare to let her wear gorgeous clothes. Are you afraid of the lesson of Marquis Liu?"

Liu Yu was famous for his integrity and simplicity during his lifetime, and even the robes he wore were patched. However, after his death, people discovered that his concubines wore gorgeous clothes, and they suspected him of being a hypocrite.

Of course, these claims all came from Gongsun Zan.

Yuan Xi listened and smiled, "Brother Qu still speaks so bluntly. Actually, I didn't specifically ask for it, it's just that she volunteered."

"Besides, wouldn't it also be hypocritical to be able to wear it but not wear it?"

"There are still a dozen concubines in my mansion. Would Brother Qu like to take two away?"

Qu Yi listened and laughed loudly, "I'll pass for now. I have no other interest besides fighting. I'm just waiting to see the day Gongsun Zan fails."

Yuan Xi smiled, "It's coming soon."

"News has come from Ye City that I need to do two things here."

"First, send troops with the army to attack Yijing."

"Second, hold the three cities and block the enemy troops who are passing through here to support Yijing."

As soon as Qu Yi heard this, he immediately cursed, "Was it Yuan Shang's idea?"

"The first one is fine, but for the second one, if the Black Mountain bandits and Gongsun Zan's troops from You Province arrive together, what can these few thousand people block?"

Yuan Xi nodded, "That's right, so I have some ideas."

Hearing this, Taishi Ci glanced at everyone, thinking that it was impossible to give up the three cities, right?

Seeing that Zhao Yun's expression remained unchanged, he felt a little relieved. If that were the case, Zhao Yun would definitely object.

Yuan Xi said, "The most critical point is how long it will take to capture Yijing."

"Ji Province has been fully mobilized. It is said that more than 100,000 people are participating in the war. There is no shortage of people."

"The victory or defeat lies in taking the city as quickly as possible."

"On this point, although my third brother and I are not on good terms, he knows the overall situation. The situation in Yanzhou and Xu Province to the south of Ji Province is not good. The longer it takes to attack Yijing, the more likely things are to go wrong."

"So my idea is to send a thousand soldiers from each city, three thousand people to Yijing."

"The remaining two thousand people will be used to defend the city, led by Brother Qu, patrolling among the three cities."

Previously, the envoy Yuan Xi had sent had contacted Zhang Yan, but no news had come back so far, so he had to make the worst plan.

Qu Yi listened and thought, am I not going again?

But he understood that guarding the city might be the most suitable for him.

If he participated in the Battle of Yijing, all the generals under Yuan Shao would participate, and there would be many people who knew Qu Yi, and it would be easy to recognize his origin.

Moreover, staying to guard Beixin City was not easy. If the Black Mountain bandits sent troops from Taihang Mountain to aid, the most likely route would be through Beixin City.

At that time, the safety of the three cities of Beixin City would depend entirely on Qu Yi, which could be said to be something that could only be entrusted to someone Yuan Xi trusted.

Although Qu Yi understood the reasoning, he was still a little disappointed, saying that after so long, he would settle the matter with Gongsun Zan, but he couldn't go to the scene!

Yuan Xi knew what he was thinking and smiled, "There will be plenty of time in the future. You Province will have plenty of enemies for Brother Qu to kill."

"If Gongsun Zan dies, I will at least take some of his belongings and let Brother Qu offer sacrifices to the dead brothers."

Qu Yi listened, feeling a little listless, and waved his hand, "Forget it, those old brothers are either dead or ran away, I don't know where to find them."

The eight hundred vanguard soldiers he initially led were all from his hometown. Since he was ambushed, they were all scattered and incorporated into the various generals' departments.

Of course, most people were very dissatisfied. Some people escaped and returned to the north, and a very small number were later found by Qu Yi in private and became Yuan Xi's death soldiers.

Yuan Xi sighed, "It's a pity that Tian Yu has been very stubborn since he was captured. Not to mention joining me, he doesn't even want to say a word, which is comparable to when Fengxiao first came."

"If he could be used by me, I wouldn't be so stretched."

"Now, only ZLong and Ziyi are going to Yijing with me."

The three of them thought, with your domineering appearance, who would be willing at first?

At this moment, a voice sounded, "Why not count me in?"

Yuan Xi was overjoyed when he heard this, "Mr. Fengxiao is also going?"

"That's great!"

Guo Jia walked in slowly, with his robe open and dragging his wooden clogs, "Don't be smug, I'm not going for you."

"I just want to see how Gongsun Zan, a hero of this generation, will come to an end."