Chapter 328: Attack on all fronts and drive Yuan Shao back to the north of the Yellow River! Why didn't you remind me earlier, leading to the disastrous consequences today?
"They actually used the opportunity to attack Luoyang and divert Yuan Tan's main force from Xudu!"

"Jing Lue's vision is truly rare in ancient and modern times. He deserves the title of a sage of strategy."

Liu Bei took the battle report personally, reviewed it over and over again, and exclaimed in admiration.

Inside the tent, all the generals were greatly encouraged when they learned that Xu Du had been captured.

"Your Majesty, Xuchang has been captured by the Prime Minister. When the Wei army in Suiyang heard the news, their fighting spirit must have collapsed."

"What are we waiting for? Let's also attack Suiyang. We can't let my second brother and the prime minister take all the credit for recovering Henan~~"

Zhang Fei jumped up and shouted excitedly.

All the generals were inspired by the great victory in Xu Du, and they all jumped up and challenged each other.

"Shi Yuan, what do you think?"

Liu Bei put down the battle report and looked at Pang Tong with a smile.

Since Xiao Fang was not around, Da Fanglue naturally had to listen to Pang Tong's opinions.

"We have to attack with force, but we are not the only one attacking with force."

Pang Tong was also excited and spread out the map with his own hands.

"As for Luoyang, the king should order General Guan to continue to lead the army to attack. According to the prime minister's strategy, first take Luoyang and then take Hulao in the east to cut off the Yellow River."

"In addition, the king should order Gan Ning, Xu Sheng, and Chen Deng to switch from defense to offense in Langye and launch an attack on the enemy in Qingzhou."

"We will launch an all-out attack on Wei from the four directions of Luoyang, Xuchang, Suiyang, and Langya."

"Our goal is to use the loss of Xuchang to damage the morale of the Wei army, defeat the Wei army in one fell swoop, recapture Henan in one fell swoop, and drive Yuan Shao back north of the Yellow River!"

Pang Tong pointed at the map and immediately came up with a grand strategy.

Liu Bei agreed with this and immediately adopted Pang Tong's suggestion and sent a messenger to convey the imperial edict overnight.

"However, according to my spies, Yuan Shang has led 30,000 troops across the river from Yecheng to Suiyang, making up for the loss of Wei's troops."

"I suspect that Yuan Shao will not be willing to lose Xuchang and will try his best to send troops south to retake Xuchang."

"General Xiaguan is currently leading the main force of the Jingzhou Army to attack Luoyang in the north. Although the Prime Minister has captured Xuchang, his force is only about 8,000 men."

"If Yuan Shao were to divide his forces to retake Xuchang, the pressure on the prime minister would be considerable."

Pang Tong expressed his concerns and moved his hand back to the location of Xuchang on the map.

Liu Bei stroked his thin beard and stared at the map with a frown.

After a moment, Liu Bei's eyes lit up with confidence, and he waved his hand and said:
"If it was another general, I might be worried, but the commander of the army in Xuchang is Jing Lue!"

"Don't worry, with Jinglue here, 8,000 soldiers are enough to defend Xuchang and thwart Yuan Shao's plan to retake Xuchang."

Naturally, he had absolute confidence in Xiao Fang.

The worries in Pang Tong's eyes disappeared, and he smiled and said:
"Your Majesty, what you said makes sense. Prime Minister Xiao was able to capture Xuchang City without a single soldier with just a flick of his finger, let alone defend Xuchang."

"Then we have nothing to worry about. We just need to attack Suiyang with all our strength!"

...

Suiyang City.

On the watchtower of the government hall, Yuan Shao was looking towards the south gate with a frown on his face.

Above the city wall, huge rocks could be seen whistling and falling like meteorites.

Every time it crashes, the earth shakes.

The entire south gate city wall has been covered by dust, as if the end of the world has come.

Yuan Shao naturally knew that it was Liu Bei who was bombarding the South Gate with the Hanwei Cannon.

He was not worried about the South Gate being blown down. After all, after arriving in Suiyang, he had mobilized soldiers and civilians in advance to thicken and reinforce Suiyang City in order to guard against the terrifying attack power of the Chu army's Hanwei cannon.

What made Yuan Shao suspicious was that after Liu Bei forced his troops to retreat and kept his troops inactive for ten days, he suddenly began to bombard the city with the might of Han, as if he was preparing a large-scale siege.

This unusual change aroused his vigilance.

"Big-eared thief, are you planning something again?"

Yuan Shao murmured to himself, and his words revealed a kind of fear that "once bitten by a snake, one will be afraid of ropes for ten years."

"Don't worry, father. I brought 30,000 soldiers with me, which together with yours will make 90,000."

"Our army is equal in strength to the big-eared bandits, and we are on the defensive side of the city, so we have the best geographical advantage."

"As long as we hold our ground, no matter how clever Xiao Fang is, what do I have to fear?"

The young nobleman beside him had an innate confidence and composure in his expression and words.

Having never had a head-on confrontation with Liu Bei, nor having experienced Xiao Fang's wisdom, the third son of the Yuan family obviously did not have the same fear of Liu Bei or Xiao Fang that the others present had.

In his words, he even showed some contempt for Liu Bei and Xiao Fang, the main ministers.

"Third Young Master, you have been guarding Yecheng for many years. You don't know Xiao Fang's methods, and you have never suffered any loss at his hands."

"This person is full of evil schemes. If you underestimate him, it will lead to disaster sooner or later."

Guo Tu spoke out a reminder to Yuan Shang in the tone of an experienced person, and his subtext was to imply that you, the third son of Yuan, are still a little immature and will suffer a great loss if you speak wildly.

Yuan Shang heard the hidden meaning in Guo Tu's words, and his brows couldn't help but frown, and he glanced at Feng Ji.

Feng Ji understood, glanced at Guo Tu, and retorted:
"Mr. Guo, what did the Third Young Master say that showed contempt for Xiao Fang? Why didn't I hear that?"

"Third Master, you are only speaking on the facts. So, what can you say? If our army does not move and does not come out, what else can Xiao Fang do?"

Guo Tu was speechless. Feng Ji struck while the iron was hot and continued sarcastically:
"Just because of the two defeats at Xiangcheng and Guling, from now on, we have to be like you and fear Liu Bei and Xiao Fang like a tiger?"

"Then according to your opinion, why should we defend Suiyang or Xudu? We should just give up Henan and retreat to Hebei."

Feng Ji made a lot of sarcastic remarks and exaggerated the story, leaving Guo Tu speechless.

"That's not what I meant. When did I say I would not defend Henan? I, I..."

"enough!"

Yuan Shao interrupted Guo Tu's explanation, with a hint of pride in his eyes:

"Shang'er's words make sense. Although Xiao Fang, this country bumpkin, is cunning and treacherous, we should not underestimate him, but we also cannot be afraid of him like a tiger!"

"I have the thirty thousand soldiers and horses that Shang'er brought with him. Our military strength has been restored. Why should we be afraid of that big-eared thief?"

"I will only weaken the morale of the big-eared bandits by holding on. When they fail to defeat me for a long time and their soldiers lose all their fighting spirit, I will turn defense into offense and -"

Before he could finish his heroic words, a horseman galloped into the mansion and hurriedly climbed up the watchtower.

"Your Majesty, I have received a secret report from Ju Su!"

"A few days ago, Guan Yu led 30,000 main forces and turned northwest to attack Luoyang, intending to go east through Hulao Pass and cut off the Yellow River in one fell swoop!"

"The eldest son followed Xun Chen's plan and has led 15,000 men out of the city to attack Yingyang, in order to cut off Guan Yu's army's food supply!"

Yuan Shao's face suddenly changed. He was shocked by the sudden news. His blood boiled and he couldn't help coughing.

Yuan Shang and others around him were also shocked and rushed forward to support Yuan Shao.

"Don't worry about me, bring me the secret report from Ju Su and the map!"

Yuan Shao suppressed his cough and used his crutch to push the crowd away.

Yuan Shang hurriedly snatched the secret report and presented it to him. Guo Tu and Feng Ji hurriedly took out the map and unfolded it in front of Yuan Shao.

Yuan Shao was reading the secret report anxiously while scanning the map.

"That fellow Guan Yu, he left Xuchang alone and went to attack Luoyang?"

"Luoyang City is in the hands of Cao Aman, and he wants to fight Cao thief?"

Yuan Shao muttered to himself and glanced at his advisers.

"Your Majesty, Guan Yu saw that Xuchang was strong and he didn't have the confidence to attack it, so he turned to attack Luoyang."

"That Cao thief has only 7,000 soldiers and horses in Luoyang, and they are just pretending to guard the city. If Guan Yu attacks, he will definitely abandon the city and retreat west to Guanzhong."

"If Guan Yu takes Luoyang and then attacks Hulao in the east, he will be able to bypass our southern defense line and appear behind our army."

"Then the cities of Suanzao, Baima, Yanjin, and even Puyang will be easily conquered by him!"

"If the Yellow River is cut off, my army of more than 100,000 will all be cut off south of the Yellow River!"

"My lord, Guan Yu is trying to take over the entire Henan area for Liu Bei in one go, and in the process, destroy the main force of our army!"

Guo Tu was the first to realize the seriousness of the situation and exclaimed, pointing at the map.

Yuan Shao gasped, his hands shook, and he couldn't hold the cane anymore, so it slipped out of his hand and fell to the ground.

"Luoyang City!"

"Why didn't you remind me earlier to send troops to take Luoyang back from Cao Cao? Otherwise, how could we have ended up like this?"

Yuan Shao flew into a rage and scolded his advisers.

Everyone looked at each other, with aggrieved expressions in their eyes.

When you captured Xuchang, we tried to persuade you to take advantage of the situation and send troops to capture Luoyang as well.

It was you who let your horse go to the southern mountains, indulging in fine wine and beautiful women, and were too lazy to listen to our advice to send troops to take back Luoyang.

Now that Luoyang City has become a big loophole, you blame us for not reminding you?
"Don't panic, my king. Although Guan Yu's plan is vicious, it may not be a case of shooting himself in the foot."

After rolling his eyes a few times, Guo Tu picked up the crutch and handed it back to Yuan Shao with a smile.

"I think that your strategy is very clever and will definitely capture Yingyang in one fell swoop and cut off Guan Yu's food supply."

"I ask the king to quickly dispatch an army to the north to take Hulao Pass and seize Luoyang from Cao Cao first."

"At that time, Guan Yu will be blocked by us in Henan Yin. The 30,000-strong army can neither advance nor retreat. With their food and grass exhausted, they will surely collapse."

"In this way, the eldest son will destroy Liu Bei's 30,000 troops in one fell swoop. Isn't this a great achievement?"

Guo Tu analyzed the pros and cons with a smile, and offered a plan to remedy the situation.

The anger on Yuan Shao's face disappeared, his eyes gradually brightened, and his originally gloomy face suddenly cleared up.

"Yes, Gongze, you are right!"

"Xiansi's surprise attack on Yingyang and cutting off Guan Yu's food supply route was indeed a brilliant move!"

"Your plan to seize Luoyang is also a brilliant one!"

Yuan Shao praised him highly, and then said happily:

"Zhang He, listen to my orders!"

"I order you to lead 15,000 soldiers and horses to the north to take Hulao Pass immediately. You must seize Luoyang first!"

"I want to make sure that Guan Yu loses more than he gains!"

"I will wipe out the 30,000 soldiers of the Big Ear Bandits in one fell swoop, severely dampen their morale, and greatly boost the morale of our army!"

(End of this chapter)