Faced with Yuan Shao, who had superior troops and was eager to decide the outcome in one battle, Sun Ce did not dare to be careless. For him, the longer he delayed, the more beneficial it was, but Yuan Shao could not know this truth. He could not stop Yuan Shao from going to Xinzheng, but he could not stop Yuan Shao from coming to Xinzheng. The most urgent task was to establish a line of defense.

Xinzheng belonged to Zheng during the Spring and Autumn Period, and was destroyed by Han during the Warring States Period. Xinzheng County was established and became the capital of South Korea. Since the Qin and Han Dynasties, Xinzheng's status has declined and gradually became worse than before. It seemed inconspicuous under the surrounds of Xingyang, Junyi, Yangdi and other big cities. However, as a model of a small country seeking survival in the cracks, there is a natural reason to choose Xinzheng as its capital, and geographical advantages are one of them.

The west of Xinzheng is the remnant of Songshan Mountain, with large and small hills, which are not conducive to the advance of the army. To the north, we lead to Xingyang, there are small zes such as Putianze, Qingkouze, Zhongyangze, etc., which are difficult to pass through when the rainy season. As long as it goes east and south, it is more convenient. The water from the west comes from the south, and the yellow water comes from here, bypasses the east of the city, and is convenient to obtain water, and it has the effect of blocking the enemy. Although I dare not say that it is as solid as a god, it is also easy to defend and difficult to attack.

Sun Ce entered Xinzheng and blocked Yuan Shao's passage to the south. To be honest, Sun Ce never understood why Yuan Shao was stationed in Meishan and did not choose Xinzheng. After thinking about it, he felt that Yuan Shao was still timid and did not dare to go too deep. Meishan is north of the Great Wall of Wei, across from Taishan. It is also a place where it is easy to defend and difficult to attack. It is reasonable to set up a camp there.

Yuan Shao gave up Xinzheng, but Sun Ce refused to respect him. The terrain here was beneficial to him. Fifty or sixty miles downstream of the Bing River was Changshe, and fifty or sixty miles downstream were Yanling, Lu Meng, and Jiang Qin were very convenient to reinforce. There were Xingshan and Yingshui behind him, and it was also very convenient to block Xu Yan. Cao Cao was guarding Guandu and did not retreat to Xinzheng, so it should be because he was too close to Xu County. If Yuan Shao suddenly arrived in Xinzheng, the roar would be enough to alarm Xu Du. He had no such concerns. The winter wheat was harvested and the rice was planted, and the military soldiers could go on the battlefield. If Yuan Shao was interested in the seedlings in the fields, he could hand over him and not feel sorry for him at all.

Cang Ci's farming near Pingyu is expected to have more income than Xu County's farming. As long as he protects the peace of Runan, he can afford the loss of Xu County's farming. If not, he would not dare to promise Chunyu Chong.

After discussing with the generals, Sun Ce sent Dong Xiqian to Zhucheng. During the Battle of Longyuan, Dong Xi failed to break Min Jian's position in time. Although he beheaded more than a thousand times, he could not compare with Lu Su, which was quite unhappy. Sun Ce decided to give him a chance to guard Zhucheng as the vanguard.

Zhucheng is the fiefdom of Zhu Zhiwu, a doctor of Zheng State, and has a small city. The city is not big, but there are mountains and waters in the north of the city, which is not conducive to the deployment of the army and is more than enough as a front-line position. With the combat effectiveness of Dong Xi and the Jiangdong Army, even if Yuan Shao sent 10,000 people to attack the city, he might not be able to gain a advantage.

Dong Xi knew that it was Sun Ce giving him the opportunity to make meritorious service, so he brought his baggage and weapons and went there excitedly.

The other men were resting in Xinzheng, summarizing the battle of Longyuan, and preparing to fight again.

When the Wei family fell, Yuan Shao was furious and furious, and ordered the generals guarding the two counties to behead them.

The cities of these two counties are not strong, and there are not many soldiers guarding the city, only about two thousand. If they are attacked by a large army, it is normal that they cannot defend it. But this is the problem. The infantry and navy led by Man Chong together have a total of less than 4,000 people, which is the same as their troops. Moreover, Xu You is nearby, and he can only leave the seal for thirty miles and can provide reinforcements at any time.

This way, the city could be lost? Yuan Shao found it incredible. He believed that these two generals did not fight back at all. He was likely to have heard that Man Chong had abandoned the city and left. He was so cowardly and incompetent, what's the use of not killing him?

The two heads were quickly sent to Yuan Shao, and were ordered by Yuan Shao to publicize them to various battalions to serve as a warning to others. If similar situations occur again, kill them will not be allowed. But Yuan Shao soon discovered that killing these two people is easy, but the consequences are very serious. These two people are both powerful people in northern Hebei and only compete with Yuan Shao after Guo Tu's persuasion. Now that the people are killed, the people in northern Hebei are very unfair. They discussed it and Zhen Yan came forward to find Guo Tu to explain. The war was defeated and the military law was handled. This is fine, but Weishi and Kaifeng were lost and Xu You did not reinforce in time. What should we do?

Guo Tu was so angry that his head hurt, so he had to ask Yuan Shao for advice. Xu You was crazy and greedy for money and wine. I heard that he was drunk every day now. Such a person is not suitable to lead the army and guard against Sun Jian. He should choose another suitable person and transfer Xu You back to the camp.

Yuan Shao also had a lot of opinions about Xu You. Without saying a word, he accepted Guo Tu's suggestion and sent Zhen Yan to replace Xu You. Two days later, Zhen Yan sent back the news. He successfully accepted Xu You's military power, but Xu You refused to accept Yuan Shao's orders to return to Meishan Camp, and he returned to Yecheng.

Yuan Shao was furious and roared as if he wanted to send someone to chase Xu You. Guo Tu had no choice but to persuade Yuan Shao that Xu You had no choice but to know him with this virtue. The most important thing in front of him was to defeat Sun Ce and occupy the Central Plains. When the lord set up in the new dynasty, where could Xu You escape? Now you are chasing him, there are fewer people and no opponents of him. If there are too many people, the news will inevitably leak. What if Xu You turns around and surrender to Sun Ce? Xu You is just a man, and gains and losses are not worth worrying about. Where is the face of the lord?

Yuan Shao had no choice but to announce that Xu You knew he was responsible and returned to Yecheng to think about his mistakes.

After appeaseing Yuan Shao and the Hebei family, Guo Tu became more and more angry the more he thought about it. He believed that this would not be so simple. Someone must be making trouble, and this person was Shen Pei. It is well known that Shen Pei and Xu You were incompatible. Taking this opportunity to seize Xu You's military power, he attacked the Hebei family, killing two birds with one stone.

Guo Tu immediately suggested that the rainy season was approaching and the war should not be delayed for too long. Sun Ce occupied Xinzheng and the attack was not easy. Kaifeng and Weishi changed hands, and Junyi was safe. Sun Ce was unlikely to take the initiative to attack. He should retake Kaifeng and Weishi, block Junyi, and threaten Sun Ce's right wing. In addition, Xun Yan in Yingchuan surrounded him from three sides. Sun Ce was attacked from both sides and could not fly.

Yuan Shao felt it was reasonable and immediately asked who was suitable for this position. Guo Tu recommended Shenfu. The reason was very sufficient. Man Chong had three or four thousand people and was backed by the Langdang Canal. He could get support from Yanling and Fule's garrison at any time. No 20,000 to 30,000 people could not complete the task. Except for Yuan Shao himself, Shenfu was the only one who was able to command 20,000 to 30,000 people in the camp.

Yuan Shao did not agree immediately, and he came to Ju Su to discuss. Ju Su became anxious when he heard this and told Yuan Shao that the most urgent task was Sun Ce. Since Sun Ce was stationed in Xinzheng and did not come, he should do his best to attack Xinzheng. Why do you have to do this again? Although Man Chong had no reputation, he was a general who was good at using troops. During the battle of Rencheng, he defended Gaoping and delayed Feng Kai, resulting in Yuan Tan's failure. If he delayed Shen Pei for a few more months, even if Shen Pei finally captured Kaifeng, Weishi, and Sun Ce would have enough time to add reinforcements and reorganize the defense line. It would be difficult to capture Xin Zheng when the time came.

Yuan Shao had a headache and asked Ju Shu what to do.

Ju Su said: "Instead of taking Kaifeng and Weishi, it is better to take Zhucheng and then Gecheng, join forces with Xun Yan, cut off the reinforcements from the direction of Fengshui, block Xingshan, and Yangdi."
Chapter completed!