Chapter 52

Jian Yong led the envoy squad back to Xuzhou without stopping, then immediately wrote a letter and sent it to Jia Xu and Liu Bei.

After receiving the letter, Liu Bei summoned Jia Xu and Chen Deng to discuss matters together; the letter contained only a few words.

"If this succeeds, my lord will have no further worries."

Meanwhile, Cao Cao, far away in Xuchang, also summoned his advisors Guo Jia, Cheng Yu, Xun Yu, Xun Xu, and Jia Xu to discuss strategy together.

Cao Cao sat in the chief seat, half-narrowing his small eyes, then said.

"Gentlemen, Yuan Shao and Liu Bei are locked in fierce combat; should we truly join forces with Liu Bei to attack Yuan Shao?"

Cheng Yu lowered his head in thought, then directly said.

"Yuan Shao is merely a watchdog guarding the reputation of four generations of three high officials; he cannot be your opponent, my lord. I think we should first deal with Liu Bei before speaking further."

Xun Yu's bowed head twitched, his eyelids jumping a few times unintentionally.

"Chancellor, I actually think Yuan Shao is our arch-enemy; although Liu Bei has recently developed, he is still far inferior to Yuan Shao."

A glint flashed in Cao Cao's eyes as his small eyes darted back and forth between the two.

Guo Jia coughed lightly a few times, then also said.

"Although Yuan Shao has always been arrogant, his capable men and fierce generals are truly the best under heaven; my lord, you should remain a spectator this time, and we should prioritize governing the regions of Sili, Guanzhong, and Tongguan."

"If these places are well governed, my lord can obtain warhorses continuously, and our Yuzhou cavalry will be able to roam the world."

Cao Cao pondered for a moment, then nodded in approval.

"Then follow Cheng Yu's advice: send Yuan Shao's side in Qingzhou with Yuan Rang leading twenty thousand troops to stir trouble; Yuan Shao has always looked down on me, so this time let him and Liu Bei fight it out properly."

……

Four or five li outside Pingling City, under the scorching sun, Yuan Shao's great army had already marched to the outskirts.

The interconnected camps stretching over a hundred li and the troops moving back and forth made Yuan Shao's army formation appear extraordinarily grand, delivering a deep shock to the scouts sent out by Zhang Liao.

At the same time, several of Yuan Shao's personal guards seized several mu of watermelons from a nearby melon farmer; in the scorching heat, who could resist those cool, juicy watermelons before them?

When the Yuan army soldiers presented the watermelons to Yuan Shao, he lavishly praised that guard and also rewarded him with considerable wealth.

Guo Tu reported grain transport matters to Yuan Shao inside the grand tent; watching Yuan Shao gulp down watermelon, Guo Tu secretly swallowed his saliva.

At that moment, a commotion arose outside the camp as Yan Liang led his gathered few thousand remnants back to the main camp.

Upon hearing the news, Yuan Shao dropped the watermelon in his hand, ordered soldiers to raise the grand tent, and summoned his civil and military officials to begin deliberations.

Yan Liang, his armor tattered, knelt on the ground; at this moment, did he still bear even a trace of the mighty general of Jizhou?

"My lord, I underestimated the enemy and was careless, causing my vanguard force of thirty thousand troops to suffer heavy losses; please punish me, my lord."

Guo Tu, his face flushed, glanced sideways at Yan Liang with a look of disdain and said.

"General Yan Liang, what crime deserves damaging the lord's military prestige? Thirty thousand troops couldn't even take a small Pingling City."

Tian Feng, as if lost in thought, said.

"My lord, General Yan Liang is incomparably brave and valiant; his failure to take Pingling likely hides some internal circumstance, as the scouts reported that the defending garrison probably numbers no less than thirty thousand."

Yuan Shao remained silent, pondered for a while, then said.

"Forget it, Yan Liang, you are also a senior general; after this defeat, let your merits offset your faults."

Yan Liang, face full of sorrow, bowed and wept before Yuan Shao.

"My lord, it's a pity about those elite troops under me; Yan Liang willingly serves as a vanguard horseman, charging forth for you. However, Pingling City indeed has a unit of heavily armored cavalry, and their defensive equipment is quite superb; my lord, you must not be careless."

Guo Tu's face full of mockery, he sneered in a sarcastic tone.

"Since we have lost, saying anything is useless; always making excuses for defeat and fear of death is not what a great general should do."

Yan Liang's face turned crimson, the veins on his hands almost bursting out.

"Mr. Gongze, you may look down on me, but none of my brothers actively fled the battlefield; it is my Yan Liang's inadequacy."

Chunyu Qiong, hot-tempered beside him, grew unhappy and loudly shouted at Guo Tu.

"Surname Guo, Yan Liang treats you as a teacher, but I, Chunyu Qiong, don't take you seriously at all!"

"Isn't it just because your worthless nephew fled the battlefield and was nearly beaten to death by Yan Liang the elder? If it were me, I'd deny you that face and cut you down with a single blow!"

Guo Tu's face was already flushed; now, having his thoughts exposed, it turned completely red in an instant.

The surrounding generals Jiang Yiqu, Gao Gan, and others also chimed in, helping Yan Liang.

Yan Liang's martial prowess enjoyed considerable prestige among the Jizhou army's commanders, while Guo Tu, this scoundrel, always liked to slander others for no reason; naturally, these generals were willing to help Yan Liang deal with Guo Tu, that old schemer.

Xu You beside him, assuming the air of an expert, stroked his beard and laughed.

"My lord, we should now take Pingling as a grain depot; those who slandered generals before the battle are not conducive to later operations."

Yuan Shao nodded slightly, pressing down.

"Good, no more arguing; Yan Liang and Chunyu Qiong, you two lead five thousand cavalry to follow Lord Tian Feng in gathering Wen Chou's troops to form a flank."

"Gongze, bring your nephew here to serve as deputy vanguard, and join Ju Yi in attacking Pingling."

Everyone assented and withdrew; Yuan Shao then picked up the large melon on the table and began to gnaw at it.

Watching the bustling crowd, Yuan Shao's face showed a look of satisfaction.

"What is the way of balance and restraint??"

"What are the imperial arts of power and technique??"

"Only I, Yuan Benchu, can gather everyone's opinions, have them work together heart and soul to lay this great foundation for my Yuan Shao!"