gnovel Chapter 7 Yuan Benchu, without me, you'd probably be dead at Jieqiao by now.
Chapter 7 Yuan Benchu, without me, you'd probably be dead at Jieqiao by now.
War clouds gather over the front lines in Youzhou.
Yuan Shao's army assembled outside Yijing City, with camps stretching for dozens of miles, banners obscuring the sun, and swords and spears like a forest.
This time, Yuan Shao was determined to succeed, vowing to remove Gongsun Zan, this thorn in the side of the north, and completely unify Hebei.
Inside the main tent, the strategist Ju Shou, facing his spirited lord, maintained a rare composure.
He pointed to the terrain surrounding Yijing on the map and said in a deep voice:
"My lord, although Gongsun Zan is besieged in an isolated city, he is colluding with Zhang Yan, a bandit leader from the Black Mountain, and they are working together. If I launch a strong attack on Yijing, Zhang Yan will surely attack our rear. At that time, we will be attacked from both sides, and I fear it will be difficult to achieve complete success."
Yuan Shao frowned slightly: "What good plan do you and (Ju Shou) have?"
"We should use a tactic to lure the enemy."
Ju Shou pointed his finger towards a city on the flank of Yi Jing.
"First, we will capture Gaoyang, crippling its wings, and feign exhaustion to lure Gongsun Zan out of the city to attack. Then, we can ambush him, and Yijing will fall!"
"good!"
Yuan Shao followed his advice and ordered his army to advance on Gaoyang.
At the foot of Gaoyang City, war drums resounded.
General Qu Yi led his elite "Vanguard Warriors" in a valiant attack on the city.
These warriors were all seasoned veterans. Braving a hail of arrows and stones, they were fearless and actually managed to storm the city and break through the gates of Gaoyang in a single day!
After entering the city, Zhang He led his men to quickly occupy the Gaoyang government office and posted notices to reassure the people.
At this moment, a soldier found a letter and presented it to Zhang He.
"General, there is a letter here. It seems to contain some confidential information. I dare not read it too much. Please make a decision."
Zhang He was also shocked upon hearing this, and quickly took the secret letter, which contained the agreed time for Gongsun Zan and Zhang Yan to send troops.
Knowing the letter was of great importance, he quickly returned to the central command tent and gave it to Ju Shou.
……
Meanwhile, news of the victory arrived, and Yuan Shao was overjoyed. He rewarded Qu Yi handsomely and appointed him to preside over a military council to discuss the specific details of capturing Yijing.
The series of great victories, especially the capture of Gaoyang, the stronghold of Yijing, caused Qu Yi's already arrogant nature to swell to the extreme.
During the military council, Qu Yi even sat directly in the main seat and shamelessly declared:
"If my lord had let me lead the army earlier, I would have captured Yijing long ago."
His gaze swept over the crowd.
He deliberately looked at Yan Liang, Wen Chou, and others who had previously led the army with a mocking expression.
Yan Liang stood with his arms crossed, his expression cold and stern, without saying a word.
Wen Chou also frowned slightly.
Even Yuan Shao, who was sitting on the side listening, was extremely annoyed.
He could easily understand the implication of Qu Yi's words; Qu Yi was indirectly criticizing him for his poor judgment in choosing personnel!
I had long heard of Qu Yi's arrogance, but I never expected him to disregard his lord.
Seeing that no one answered, Qu Yi became even more smug and said triumphantly:
"I intend to take advantage of our current military strength and capture Yijing in one fell swoop. I wonder if any of you generals have any good strategies to help me take Yijing?"
Yan Liang and Wen Chou had already suffered a setback, so even if they had a solution now, they wouldn't stand up and say anything more.
On the contrary, Zhang He, who was standing a little further away, frowned and couldn't help but remind him:
"General, Gongsun Zan and Zhang Yan are both formidable opponents; we must proceed cautiously and steadily..."
"Cautious? Taking a steady, methodical approach?"
Qu Yi seemed to have heard a joke, interrupting Zhang He with a sneer. He didn't even stand up, but merely glanced at him with a contemptuous look.
"Zhang Junyi, your military tactics are far too cautious! Speed is of the essence in war! At this rate, when will we ever be able to pacify Hebei for our lord? No wonder we're still only capable of providing support and holding our ground!"
Upon hearing this, even Yan Liang's expression darkened further, because the previous battle against Gongsun Zan had not been smooth sailing either, and there had been times when they had to "fight steadily and surely".
Wen Chou couldn't help but let out a cold snort:
"General Qu, the essence of a general is to remain humble in victory and undeterred in defeat. The minor victory at Gaoyang merely eliminated an outer stronghold; Yijing is the real tough nut to crack."
"A tough nut to crack?"
Qu Yi finally stood up.
"In my eyes, there is no bone in the world that cannot be broken! If General Wen thinks it is a tough bone, then watch how I knock on the gates of Yijing for my lord!"
At that time, I'm afraid the two generals will have to clean up the mess after me! Hahahaha!
With the military meeting having progressed to this point, there was naturally no need to continue the discussion.
Yuan Shao saw this and his anger burned even more fiercely, but since Gongsun Zan was still alive and he needed capable men, he had no choice but to suppress his dissatisfaction and keep quiet.
On the other side, Ju Shou carefully studied the intercepted secret letter and offered a plan to Yuan Shao:
"My lord, Zhang Yan and Gongsun Zan have agreed to launch a pincer attack upon seeing the smoke signal. We can turn the tables on them and light the smoke signal at the designated location in advance to lure Gongsun Zan out of the city."
If they come out, they will fall into our ambush; if they do not come out, they will break their promise to Zhang Yan, and the alliance will collapse.
Yuan Shao followed the plan.
As expected, Gongsun Zan, who was trapped in the isolated city and anxiously awaiting reinforcements, saw the smoke signals of the "agreement" rising in the distance and assumed that Zhang Yan had arrived. Overjoyed, he personally led his elite cavalry out of the city, intending to coordinate with the "reinforcements" from within.
Unexpectedly, not far from Yijing, they fell into a trap set by Qu Yi.
Qu Yi took the lead, and his elite vanguard soldiers descended like tigers from the mountain. Gongsun Zan suffered a crushing defeat, losing many soldiers and generals, and fled back to Yijing City in a sorry state.
After this defeat, Gongsun Zan knew that there was no hope of external assistance and no way to break through the siege; the defeat was inevitable.
In desperation, this once-mighty White Horse General, who had once dominated the north, ordered the treasury and grain supplies to be set ablaze, setting the entire city of Yijing ablaze. He himself then threw himself into the raging flames, preferring death to surrender.
The once-powerful forces of Gongsun Zan were thus destroyed.
That evening, Yuan Shao held a grand banquet to celebrate the victory and reward the three armies.
Inside the tent, wine cups were clinked and the atmosphere was lively.
After being repeatedly toasted by his soldiers, Qu Yi was already completely drunk.
Suddenly, he pushed aside the person next to him, stood up unsteadily, and walked towards Yuan Shao, who was in the main seat.
Wherever they went, the noise subsided.
The way people looked at him was a mix of envy, mockery, and even schadenfreude.
Qu Yi, however, was completely unaware. He walked up to Yuan Shao's desk, stood there straight, and then let out a loud burp.
The strong smell of alcohol hit them, and even Xu You, Ju Shou, and the others standing behind Yuan Shao frowned slightly.
"My lord!"
Qu Yi raised his glass, his voice loud and clear.
"This glass is for you!"
Yuan Shao's smile faltered slightly, but he maintained his composure and raised his wine cup:
"General Qu Yi, you've worked hard."
However, Qu Yi did not drink the wine immediately. Instead, he used his other hand to slam the table in front of Yuan Shao.
boom!
The sound of the palm strike was so loud that it caused the cups and plates to spin wildly.
Even the wine in Yuan Shao's hand seemed to be affected, spilling a little bit.
The lobby suddenly became eerily quiet.
The crowd fell silent, the musicians stopped playing, and the dancers, bewildered, stopped dancing.
Everyone sensed that a good show was about to begin.
"My lord!"
Qu Yi, still oblivious to the strange atmosphere, burst into laughter.
"Tell me! If it weren't for me, Qu Yi, you'd probably be dead by now, wouldn't you? If it weren't for me, Qu Yi, would you be sitting here drinking? Huh? Hahahaha!"
Upon hearing this, everyone shook their heads almost imperceptibly.
Qu Yi's actions are no different from forcing abdication.
Even if Yuan Shao is very tolerant, he may have no choice but to kill him today!
"General Qu..."
Yuan Shao finally spoke, his voice low and deep.
"I certainly remember your contribution."
Almost everyone saw the gloom on Yuan Shao's face.
Only Qu Yi failed to detect the slightest hint of murderous intent; instead, emboldened by the alcohol, he spoke even more recklessly:
"Remember? Merely remembering isn't enough! This vanguard seal for clearing the universe belongs to none other than me, Qu Yi! How can those incompetent fools who only know how to wag their tongues help our lord?"
As he spoke, his gaze swept intently over Shen Pei, Guo Tu, and other advisors.
"That's enough!"
Yuan Shao suddenly stood up and smashed his wine cup.
"Qu Yi!"
Yuan Shao's beard and hair stood on end.
"You madman! I've tolerated you time and again because of your insignificant contributions! But you've only become more outrageous and lawless!"
He gave Qu Yi no further chance to speak, and proceeded to enumerate his crimes:
"You embezzled military pay and lined your own pockets; the evidence against you is irrefutable! You condoned your subordinates' looting of the people, resulting in a breakdown of military discipline! You were arrogant and domineering because of your merits, repeatedly clashing with your superiors and showing no regard for military law!"
"At this victory celebration, you dared to feign drunkenness, slam your fist on the table, and utter wild words, coercing me! To disrespect our lord is tantamount to treason! Do you really think I wouldn't dare kill you?!"
Qu Yi sobered up considerably after being bombarded with these questions.
He was drenched in sweat and quickly knelt down.
"My lord, I..."
"Someone come here!"
Yuan Shao ignored his nonsense and shouted,
"Seize this traitor Qu Yi! Execute him on the spot! Hang his head at the gate for three days as a warning to others!"
Seeing that the situation was not good, and out of consideration for maintaining morale, Ju Shou reluctantly stepped forward to persuade them:
"My lord, please calm your anger! Although General Qu's words and actions were inappropriate, the great battle has just ended, and we are in dire need of capable men. To execute a general in the midst of battle would surely discourage the soldiers!"
Shen Pei immediately spoke in a sinister tone:
"You're so quick to defend Qu Yi; could it be that you two are in cahoots?"
Ju Shou felt a chill in his heart, knowing that if he said anything more, he would be implicated. He had no choice but to shut his mouth, retreat to his train, and break out in a cold sweat.
Yuan Shao, in a fit of rage and further incited by Shen Pei and Guo Tu, immediately ordered that the arrogant and domineering Qu Yi be dragged out of the tent and beheaded as a warning to the public!
In a short while, a bloody human head was presented.
All the generals in the tent trembled with fear.
Those generals who were not directly subordinate to Yingchuan, such as Zhang He and Gao Lan, turned pale and felt a sense of dread, as if they were witnessing the death of a fellow tribesman.
They understood that while merit was important in Yuan Shao's mind, absolute obedience and social standing were perhaps even more crucial.
Qu Yi's death was not due to his crime, but rather to his arrogance. However, this matter could be considered a big or small issue. The main reason was that Qu Yi was not a direct descendant of Yingchuan.
The celebration banquet ended unhappily.
Zhang He returned to his tent and couldn't sleep all night.
Qu Yi's head swayed before his eyes, and the cold gazes of Shen Pei and Guo Tu made him feel as if he had thorns in his back.
He was even considering whether to step down.
However, after so many years in the military, he has not achieved any merit. If he were to return to his hometown because of this, he would probably be pointed at and gossiped about, and he would never be able to hold his head up high for the rest of his life.
He suddenly remembered the olive branch that Yuan Tan had once extended to him.
Why not temporarily side with him?