Chapter Thirty-Two: Decision

  "Da Gong Zi..."

  Zhu Ling still wanted to say more, but Yuan Tan thought that his own army had the advantage in numbers. Chang County only had a mere 4,000 soldiers and horses, although they had defeated his vanguard of 1,000 men, they too had suffered losses. With his own 9,000 soldiers and horses, how could he not deal with these 4,000 brutal bandits?

  At this point, he interrupted Zhu Ling's words and said: "General Zhu Ling, if we have to wait for the union of He Yan and General Liang's army in this small Chang County, how long will it take to capture the entire Qingzhou? The army is precious and swift, no need to say more. Now our great army will fully advance on Chang County, and we can decide the fate with one battle!"

  Zhu Ling was silent, although he had the intention to persuade again. However, thinking that this small county had only 4,000 troops, which were probably accumulated through desperate means, and with his own army of 10,000 surrounding them, they could be taken down easily. He didn't say anything more, but thought to himself that he should send out scouts to gather information about the enemy's situation, in order to take down Chang County and annihilate the rebel troops!

  Thinking of this, he didn't say much more, nodded in agreement, and let Yuan Tan be confident. Immediately, he summoned all the generals to discuss the situation of attacking Chang County.

  This was Yuan Tan's first time leading the army alone, and he was very excited in his heart. Now, Yuan Shao's power is becoming more and more powerful, although it is still impossible to eliminate Gongsun Zan's power and unify the entire north at once, but it is also fast, after all, the influence of the Yuan family, four generations and three public officials, is not in vain.

  At the time when Yuan Tan's army was preparing for war, Guan Yu's army had also quietly completed its deployment. Upon hearing the scout's report, Guan Yu silently assessed the situation in his mind.

  At this time Wu Qing came over and cupped his hands in greeting: "General!"

  The two armies merged into one, but it was unified under the command of Guan Hai. Wu Qing's ability was also under Guan Hai, so he naturally regarded himself as a junior general. When Guan Hai saw Wu Qing arrive, he also clasped his fists and said: "General Wu Qing!"

  "General, what is it that you are thinking about regarding Yuan Tan's great army?"

  Wu Qing cupped his hands and said.

  "Yuan Tan's army is large, but that's not what I'm worried about. What I'm concerned about is the entire Yuan clan's power. According to the scouts' report, Yuan Shao's great general Yan Liang has already led 20,000 troops from Pingyuan and will soon cross the river. If these two armies join forces, our elite soldiers may not be enough to handle Yan Liang, who is also a brilliant general."

  Worrying in his heart, he said.

  Wu Qing's expression also turned solemn, as Yan Liang was indeed a great general of Hebei. If he were to join forces with Yuan Tan, that would mean they would have 30,000 soldiers, and even Wu Qing, who had complete confidence in the 4,000 soldiers under Xian Shi's command, couldn't help but feel anxious. He let out a light sigh: "Indeed, if these two were to join forces, they would be our greatest enemy. Even if Xian Shi were to mobilize the local militia and use his cunning strategies, even if we could emerge victorious, it would still cause significant damage to our army's foundation and disrupt the hard-won situation in Chang County. As generals under Xian Shi, how can we not share his worries?"

  "This is the right thing to do. Now it seems that we need to take the initiative to attack and eliminate Yuan Tan's army, or we may have a chance to breathe!"

  Guan Hai heard this and nodded, a cold killing intent flashing in his eyes, his heart made up its mind!

  "In that case, let us use our vanguard to lure out Yuan Tan's troops!"

  Wu Qing clasped his fist and said in a firm tone.

  "Good!"

  Guan Hai praised: "Zi Ling is indeed a genius! However, this matter is of great importance and still needs to be reported to the Master."

  Although they have the right to make decisions, after all, it is a matter of leading troops and taking the initiative to attack. This matter still needs Zhang Xu's consent, and the two generals also deeply understand that the fundamental rights of the army are still in Zhang Xu's hands.

  "Let us two also jointly memorialize!"

  Wu Qing cupped his fists and said.

  …………

  "Oh!"

  Received the joint memorial of Guan Hai and Wu Qing, Zhang Xu's eyebrows slightly frowned. Although his intelligence system was well-developed, he did not know Yan Liang's movements in the first place. He thought that he was reorganizing troops on the plain to support Yuan Shao's Youzhou army, but unexpectedly, Guan Hai judged that there was an intention to attack Qingzhou.

  New China is thinking about this move, after all, Gongsun Zan got his grain and salt trade, the morale has stabilized, but Yuan Shao's main force army was temporarily held back in Youzhou, now it is attacking Qingzhou, obviously the inertia of history is strong, Yuan Shao still had a mind to spy on Qingzhou this year!

  Qingzhou had no powerful warlords, it was his best place to settle down, however if Yuan Shao were to conquer Qingzhou, this would disrupt his plans.

  "Although Chang County is now stable, it's not yet time for a formal external attack. The grain and grass have not had a bumper harvest, which is a hidden danger. Forcing an external attack would only hinder one's own hands and feet, and the foundation cannot be completely solidified. This is not orthodox!"

  Zhang Xu sighed softly, his face changing unpredictably. Now, the clouds and mist above him were a reflection of his current state - he had not yet accumulated enough cloud energy to make a formal breakthrough, so Zhang Xu was now in a difficult situation, unsure of what decision to make.

  This matter is of great importance, it is related to his foundation, after all, Zhang Xu's victory relies on his foundation, and a solid foundation is the possibility of further progress. Forcibly expanding one's territory is not necessarily a good thing, so this matter must be decided after careful consideration.

  "Alas, what a pity there's no strategic talent to help!"

  He sighed in his heart, although Chang County is now rich and the promotion of education has also led to a continuous improvement in literacy rate, but there are no top-notch talents available, and for truly major strategies, there is no one who can help him.

  "In that case, I will not spare a battle. I will personally go to the front line, sit in the middle of the army, stabilize the hearts of the people, and first fight a great war to destroy Yuan Tan's army, and then talk about other things!"

  At this point, Zhang Xu had made up his mind. He knew that this was a choice and the manifestation of the clouds might make some predictions, but opportunities or crises were fleeting, and decisions had to be made regardless. War was inevitable, so it's better to win big.

  Although he is not a general, he has his own strengths. On the one hand, the military's morale is stable and high, everyone will fight to the death, and on the other hand, the token in his hand is also the key to victory.

  As soon as he thought of this, Zhang Xu no longer hesitated and immediately made arrangements for the affairs in Chang County. He ordered Bu Wu, Zhang Yao, and Zhang Liu to manage the militia matters. Now they can focus on repairing the city walls, and the militia cannot be disbanded yet, as it is their last stronghold. As for himself, he let Wu Zhong lead the first battalion of soldiers to follow him to the border area. This time, his strength will face a major challenge, and he must go all out.

  After such an arrangement, everyone in Chang County was on high alert, and the believers were praying every day that Master Xian could win a great victory. Zhang Xu set off towards the front line under the protection of the first camp of Wu Zhong...