As soon as the sun leveled, Yuan Shang did not stop. After taking a short rest, he ordered Guo Yuan and Gao Lan to continue leading the pursuit, without giving Yuan Tan a chance to breathe.

The more than ten cities that Yuan Tan had previously captured were all recaptured, and they retreated all the way to the Mingdu River. After Xinpi heard the news, he mobilized troops from Gaotang to guard the Mingdu River ferry and welcomed Yuan Tan into Gaotang. Only then did he stop his defeat.

However, the 40,000-strong army surrendered and fled along the way. By the time they reached Gaotang, the number was less than 5,000.

"What should we do now?" Yuan Tan looked at Guo Tu, Xin Pi, and Xin Ping in the Gaotang Yamen Office with a dull expression. They resisted Han Meng in the Bohai Sea, but they were defeated here. This defeat directly destroyed Yuan Tan.

Half of the accumulated wealth was lost. With these remaining soldiers and horses, even if Xin Ping was withdrawn, they might not even be able to defend the plain.

"Lord, don't worry!" Guo Tu's face was a little pale. He had traveled for more than a hundred miles and had no chance to rest. In addition, he had lost this battle. He knew better than Yuan Tan that the situation was irreversible. But if he really surrendered, Yuan Tan would

Maybe it's okay, but for people like them, I'm afraid it's not just as simple as being kicked out of Jizhou. If they don't do well, their families will be destroyed.

Therefore, even if you lose, you cannot let others dictate. You must find a way to stabilize the current situation and then think about countermeasures.

Forcing himself to calm down, Guo Tu thought: "For the current plan, we must first guard the key points, and at the same time order people to gather the broken troops and assemble them here, and then send some people to negotiate with the Third Young Master."

"How can the third brother be willing to negotiate for peace at this moment?" Yuan Tan said with a wry smile. If the peace talks were before the war, it might still be of some use, but now after this defeat, Yuan Tan knows very well that even if he is willing to negotiate for peace, his third brother may not be willing.

The best outcome is probably just to be taken back to Yecheng and live as a wealthy and idle man. If the third brother is more ruthless, he may not even be able to save his life.

"It's not about peace talks, it's just about stabilizing the Third Young Master first so that we can have the opportunity to mobilize troops." Guo Tu said sadly.

"How can I have extra troops and horses at this time?" Yuan Tan said bitterly after hearing this. This time, his troops and horses have basically been mobilized. The main force followed him straight to Yecheng. Xin Ping led a troop of troops and horses north to stop Han Meng's army.

, who would have thought that his main force would be defeated by Yuan Shang so quickly. How could he have any extra troops at this time?

"There are always some." Guo Tu thought thoughtfully: "If the county guards from each county gather together, there are still a certain number of them. If we ask some wealthy families to help, we can also pull up a team of horses."

Yuan Tan frowned, even if he had gathered these troops, the troops gathered in such a hasty manner had not been trained, let alone been on the battlefield. How could such a ragtag group of people fight against the elite divisions of Jizhou? He was a man who knew the military.

People, how can they not know the difference? I am afraid that if we fight again, we will lose even more miserably.

"Don't worry, my lord, we will be on the defensive for a while." Guo Tu said with a bitter smile. He had heard that Yuan Tan wanted to surrender, but at this moment, Yuan Tan might have a way to survive, but if they surrendered,

I'm afraid there is no way out.

"Well, then I have to thank you for your work." Yuan Tan sighed and saluted Guo Tu.

"Don't worry, my lord. Even if I risk my life, I will help my lord block the enemy army! At least the plain will be preserved!" Guo Tusurong said.

Yuan Tan nodded: "In this case, I will go and rest for a while. If you have any clever ideas, please tell me as soon as possible!"

After escaping one after another, Yuan Tan basically didn't rest much along the way. Now he was exhausted and needed to rest before he had the energy to continue fighting.

"My lord, please go." Guo Tu nodded and sent Yuan Tan to the back hall to rest.

It wasn't until Yuan Tan left that Guo Tucai sat down weakly on the ground.

"Don't worry, sir. I will send people to all counties to gather troops." Xin Pi said to Guo Tu.

"Those are just rabble, how can they be of great use?" Guo Tu shook his head. Although he was not familiar with military affairs, how could he not know the gap between the rabble and the elite? Even if they were mobilized, they would not be of much use, and they might even be worse than nothing.

tune.

"That's just now..." Xin Pi looked at Guo Tu with a puzzled face. If it was useless, why did he use this to persuade Yuan Tan just now?

"Didn't George realize that my lord already intends to surrender?" Guo Tu smiled bitterly and said: "If my lord surrenders, he may have a way to survive, but I am afraid that you and I will not tolerate Yuan Shang, and even the clan members will be implicated. If we do not stabilize the situation first,

My lord, you and I may be in danger of our lives and the disaster of annihilation!"

"What should we do?" Xin Pi frowned and thought after hearing this. Now that Yuan Tan's situation has become clear, it is impossible for the remaining troops to stop Yuan Shang's army.

"Let's stabilize the lord first, and then think about countermeasures." Guo Tu sighed. He was also mentally exhausted now. Yuan Tan was a military general with a strong body, but he still felt exhausted. He did not have Yuan Tan's physical fitness. He had already

Exhausted, I had managed to hold on before, but now that Yuan Tan left, I felt a little empty.

At that moment, I said goodbye to Xinpi and went to find a place to rest. I slept until late at night, when I was awakened by a knock on the door.

"Who?" In the dead of night, Guo Tu shook his head and asked with a frown as the knocking on the door still didn't stop.

"Gongze, get up quickly, we have something important to discuss!" Xinpi's voice came from outside the door.

Guo Tu frowned, stood up, put on his robe, opened the door, looked at the eager Xin Pi, and frowned, "Why can't we talk about it tomorrow?"

Even if Yuan Shang's army comes and kills them, they will not be able to kill them for a while because of the Mingdu River.

"Ziyuan is here." Xinpi said in a deep voice.

"Who is it?" Guo Tu was stunned, followed by his pajamas, which disappeared in an instant, and looked at Xin Bidao.

"Xu You, Xu Ziyuan!" Xinpi repeated.

Guo Tu frowned slightly. After thinking for a moment, he nodded and said, "Let's go see him!"

Soon, the two came to the main hall and saw Xu You kneeling on the couch, tasting wine and looking through the bamboo slips. When the two came in, they didn't get up, but just smiled.

Guo Tu knelt down and sat opposite Xu You, frowning and said: "Ziyuan is so brave, he defected to Cao Cao, and now he dares to show up in Jizhou. Does he think that our army has no swords?"

"When old friends meet, they threaten each other with words. This is not the way to treat guests." Xu You was not afraid, and looked at Guo Tudao with a smile.

"Do you think I don't dare?" Guo Tu snorted coldly.

"I don't dare." Xu You said leisurely: "It's just that after this defeat, the eldest son is no longer able to defeat Yuan Shang, and Pingyuan has fallen. The eldest son may still be lucky, but you and other assistant ministers may be in danger of their lives.

It is really unwise to threaten me with your life instead of thinking about self-protection at this time."

Guo Tu snorted coldly: "Zi Yuan is here. Could it be that he has made a special trip to mock us?"

"No." Xu You smiled and shook his head: "You and I finally got to know each other. You really don't want to see your old friend end up dead, so I'm here to save you."

"Oh?" Guo Tu looked at Xu You and said, "Let me guess, does Ziyuan want to lead Cao Gong's troops into Qinghe and ask us to surrender to Cao Gong?"

"It's not surrender." Xu You shook his head and sighed: "As the saying goes, good birds choose trees to roost, and wise ministers choose their masters to serve. Do you think that the eldest son is a wise master?"

"My lord is so brave and brave, how can he not be a wise master?" Guo Tu snorted coldly.

"How can one be called the Lord of the Ming Dynasty if he is brave but has no plans? Then, if Cao Gong is both brave and wise, wouldn't he be the Ming King of the ages?" Xu You said with a smile: "Besides, I have never seen his bravery. If there is chaos in the world today, there will be many brave generals, not to mention Nanyang.

Lu Bu's bravery has spread all over the world. Speaking of Jizhou alone, there were Yan Liang and Wen Chou first. Now Han Meng, Zhang He, Gao Lan and others, if we talk about bravery, I am afraid they will far surpass the eldest son. Such bravery, if they are the masters, I am afraid they are quite good.

insufficient."

Guo Tu felt a little helpless when he heard this. He hadn't felt it before, but in this war, he would panic whenever something unexpected happened. He was really not a person to achieve great things. Looking at Xu You, Guo Tu said in a deep voice: "What Ziyuan means...

…”

"Please, Gongze, persuade the eldest son to surrender to Cao Gong and open the ferry so that our army can cross the river and enter from the plain. Cao Gong will help the eldest son defeat the third son." Xu You said with a smile.

"Ziyuan thinks the eldest son will agree?" Guo Tu looked at Xu You with a strange look. No matter how brainless Yuan Tan is, it is better to vote for Yuan Shang than to vote for Cao Cao. After all, this is Jizhou or within the Yuan family.

It is even more impossible to let Cao Cao in.

"That's why we need Gongze's help. This surrender is only the final result, but when talking to the eldest son, naturally we can't say this." Xu You said with a smile: "All we need is Gongze to convince the eldest son to let our army enter Jizhou from the plains.

, after the matter is completed, all three of them can be ranked as the ninth minister in the court and can be knighted."

Hearing this, Guo Tu frowned and looked at Xu You, and sneered: "Ziyuan's betrayal of the lord is a clean one."

"I have never owed him anything." Xu You said calmly. He didn't want to mention this matter more. After all, it would still be a stain.

Seeing Xu You's face darken, Guo Tu stopped mentioning the matter. He frowned and thought for a moment and said, "How many troops can Duke Cao send?"

"Qingzhou now has 30,000 troops gathered by two generals, Lu Qian and Zang Ba, who can cross the river at any time. In addition, 40,000 troops and horses have also gathered in Dongjun. Once the plains are successfully invaded, Dongjun's troops and horses will

Then we will cross the river and attack." Xu You said in a deep voice: "Gongze, the situation in Jizhou has been irreversible since you persuaded the eldest son to fight for power. To this day, even if the eldest son surrenders to the third son, it is difficult to stop me.

The army is crossing the river, not to mention that Chen Mo has already gathered a large number of troops in Hanoi and is watching with eagerness. This time is different from the last time. The two sons have just fought and are unable to fight against the two princes. The defeat is certain."

Guo Tu just remained silent.

Xu You said: "If the eldest son is willing to vote for Cao Gong now, not to mention other things, after Jizhou is pacified, at least his title will be preserved, and he can even join the court as an official. But if he votes for the third son, not to mention if Jizhou is destroyed in the future, will it be possible?"

Even if they all get their lives, how will Gongze and Zhongzhi deal with each other? Don’t forget what I did back then. Maybe I was wrong, but how the Jizhou scholars treated me at that time will be how I will deal with you two in the future.

Think it through."

"Then why don't I vote for Marquis Changling?" Guo Tu snorted coldly.

"The public should be clear about the minutes of the Three Studies. If you vote for Chen Mo, we, the nobles, may not be able to stand up in the future!" Xu You sneered.

Guo Tu sighed: "I can help you convince the lord, but you need to ensure that the lord will be rich in the future."

"Of course!" Xu You said solemnly.
Chapter completed!