The Three Kingdoms: I, Yuan Tan, intercepted Guo Jia's...

Chapter 61 Scholars Who Go to Battle

Although Yuan Shu has been in Shouchun City for some time, news from the outside world has never stopped.

As far as he knew, his good nephew Yuan Tan had been enjoying great success lately.

Not only did he gain a foothold in Qingzhou, but he also defeated Lu Bu, Zhang Fei, and others with fewer troops, making him the most prominent figure in the region.

I originally thought that his arrival with the Qingzhou army would put some pressure on me.

Looking back now, I realize I was overthinking things.

Shouchun has countless capable generals. Even the little-known Yuan Huan was able to defeat Yuan Tan. So what is there to fear from Yuan Tan, the nobody?

Yuan Huan kowtowed repeatedly, his voice booming like thunder:

"Your Majesty, you are wise! The traitor Yuan Tan has launched a fierce attack on the city, and our soldiers have suffered heavy casualties. As the deputy commander of the East Gate, how could I sit idly by? Therefore, I personally braved arrows and stones to climb the city wall and supervise the battle, and personally killed several enemy soldiers who had climbed the wall."

Fang steadied his position, boosted morale, and finally repelled the enemy! However, the Qingzhou army is formidable; though they have temporarily retreated, they will surely return with renewed force. Your Majesty must be on guard!

At this point, his advantage as a scholar became apparent.

He vividly described the scene that had just occurred.

This immediately made Yuan Shu feel as if he were there, and he could no longer suppress the smile on his face:

"Haha! Excellent! Excellent! My dear minister, you have worked hard! You are truly my pillar of strength! In the past, I only knew that you, Yaoqing, were learned and upright, and outspoken. I never imagined that you would also possess the courage of ten thousand men in battle! With you here, Dongmen has nothing to worry about! I am very pleased, very pleased!"

The literati of the Han Dynasty were not necessarily weak scholars.

They value the Six Arts of a Gentleman, and the ability to fight on the battlefield is also a required course!

As you can see in "Romance of the Three Kingdoms," Wang Lang once fought Taishi Ci one-on-one, and Sima Yi, the "Old Turtle," even fought Wei Yan one-on-one.

Although the combat prowess of individual generals in "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" remains a mystery, the fact that scholars could ride horses and wield swords shows that the social atmosphere at the time valued martial arts.

Therefore, Yuan Shu did not find Yuan Huan's explanation suspicious.

Just then, a messenger scrambled into the hall, his voice trembling with fear:

"Report! Your Majesty! Something terrible has happened! The North Gate... the North Gate is under fierce attack from Cao Cao's main force. The offensive is extremely fierce, and the city walls have been breached in many places. Xiahou Dun has personally led his troops to scale the walls, and General Liu Yan is about to be overwhelmed!"

"What?!" Yuan Shu's expression changed drastically. The slight joy he had just felt from the "good news" from the East Gate was instantly replaced by immense panic.

Cao Cao was his greatest threat!

He could no longer care about the East Gate and hurriedly said to Yuan Huan:

"Yaoqing, the East Gate is now entirely in your hands! You must defend it for me! I'm going to the North Gate to personally oversee the battle!"

After saying this, surrounded by a group of guards, he hurriedly headed towards the north gate.

……

At this time, Lu Su, who was stationed in Qingzhou, had not slept soundly for many days.

Even during the time Yuan Tan was away, a steady stream of refugees continued to flow into Qingzhou.

However, the cakes in Qingzhou are generally only this big.

The salt fields that could be developed were already packed with people.

With no place to settle the remaining people, Lu Su had no choice but to send people to build a new textile factory.

These refugees were temporarily resettled.

Orders continued to be issued from the governor's mansion.

Lu Su wrote with lightning speed, sometimes issuing replies and sometimes giving instructions orally, managing to organize the complex affairs of salt and iron monopolies, work-for-relief programs, money lending, and promoting agriculture and sericulture in an orderly manner.

However, if it were merely a matter of domestic affairs, that would be one thing, but he also had to settle the wounded soldiers who were constantly being transported from the Qingzhou front.

Ships arrived at the port every day, unloading not provisions and weapons, but batches of "wounded soldiers".

Most of these soldiers were only slightly injured, and many were just covered in dust and their armor was stained with a little blood.

After three days of reorganization in Qingzhou, they had to set off again from Linzi Port with some rations to head to the front lines.

He didn't need to worry about the specifics of this.

However, being as meticulous as he was, he had to be wary of whether there were spies who might have discovered the intricacies of the situation.

If someone with ulterior motives were to discover the secret, it would put considerable pressure on Yuan Tan of Shouchun.

However, if it were just these two things, it would be fine, but Zang Ba, who was far away in Langya, would also come to Linzi to bother him from time to time.

Zang Ba also looked troubled:

"Master Zijing, Lü Bu has secretly ordered Gao Shun's elite troops to move towards Pengcheng, and grain supplies are being frequently moved from Xiapi, suggesting preparations for war. If something truly unforeseen happens, I fear Langya may not be able to hold out!"

Lu Su wasn't really concerned at first, thinking Zang Ba was just worrying unnecessarily.

However, Zang Ba would bother him every few days, which made him a little worried.

With our lord's army away, Qingzhou may have some resources, but if Lü Bu were to launch a full-scale attack, it would be a major threat.

The strategy of "driving away the tiger to devour the wolf" devised by the lord and Fengxiao was originally intended to be launched when the situation in Huainan became clearer, but now it seems that we can't wait any longer!

"Someone come here!"

"exist!"

"Quickly order our spies in Xuzhou to proceed according to the previous plan."

"promise!"

……

Xiapi, the governor's residence.

Lu Bu paced back and forth in the mansion, his face ashen, a crumpled silk book in his hand.

A bound soldier was kneeling in the hall, claiming to be "a secret envoy sent by Liu Yuzhou to Qingzhou," who had been captured by patrolling cavalry at the border.

The secret letter found on him made Lü Bu almost spit fire.

"Xuande respectfully submits to Lord Xiansi: I was deeply grateful for the righteous release of Yide by the governor of Qingzhou, and for the secret communication we had exchanged. The matter of Xuzhou will proceed as previously agreed. Once you have secured Huainan, with the north and south working together, Bu will surely be able to succeed. At that time, I will gladly serve as your lord of Qingzhou and Xuzhou, and join you in this great undertaking..."

"Bang!"

Lu Bu could no longer contain his rage and slammed his hand on the table, making it vibrate loudly. The table was instantly littered with cups and plates.

"You big-eared scoundrel! How dare you! I have treated you well, allowing you to garrison Xiaopei, yet you dare to collude with that brat Yuan Tan, plotting to seize my Xuzhou! Do you really think my halberd is ineffective?!"

He turned abruptly and roared towards the outside of the hall:

"Send the order! Gather the troops, prepare siege equipment, I will personally lead the army to raze Xiaopei and take Liu Bei's head!"

"My lord! You mustn't!" Chen Gong rushed forward and blocked Lü Bu's path.

"This letter is too suspicious! It is common for spies to exchange information during battles, but how could such a confidential letter of treason be so easily captured by our side?"

And why did they choose the route where my patrols were most concentrated? This must be Yuan Tan's scheme to sow discord between me and Liu Bei, so he can profit from it! My lord!

Chen Gong's analysis was incredibly insightful.

Upon hearing this, some of the generals in the hall also showed thoughtful expressions.

Lu Bu's anger subsided slightly, but his suspicions were now fully aroused. He stared at Chen Gong:

"Does Gongtai mean this letter is fake? Then how do you explain Yuan Tan's previous release of Zhang Fei? What kind of coincidence is this!"

"this……"

Chen Gong was speechless for a moment.

According to previous intelligence reports, Yuan Tan could have captured Zhang Fei and escaped unscathed, so why did Yuan Tan release Zhang Fei immediately upon Liu Bei's arrival with his army?

If there wasn't something fishy going on, who would believe it?