The Nameless of the Common Clans

"My Lord, Han Meng, the general of Hebei, has already joined Yan Liang in Huai County. In addition, Yuan Shao has also personally led a large army to Chaoge." After Chen Mo arrived in Wen County, Gao Shun had already left and rushed to Huai County to join Cui Geng to prepare to defeat the enemy, leaving Wang Biao here to pick up Chen Mo.

"Uncle Wang, you have worked hard." Chen Mo motioned Wang Biao to sit down and looked through the battle report of Wen County and the household registration of the counties that had been occupied. Since Henei was to be completely in his hands, the household registration of the counties must be reviewed to have a clear idea.

"How is our army's loss this time?" Chen Mo was more concerned about his own losses.

"Cui Geng's troops defeated Jiang Qi in succession, and then fought with Han Meng. There were more losses, nearly 3,000 people. General Gao's troops had only more than 1,000 losses because the siege went smoothly." Wang Biao said with a smile.

The total loss was only 4,000 people. Jiang Qi, the defender of Henei, died in battle, and the loss of troops was nearly 10,000. There were also thousands of surrendered soldiers. This was already a great victory.

The victory in the first battle was naturally an exciting thing for the Guanzhong Army. Chen Mo nodded, but he was calculating in his heart how much subsidies would be needed for the families of the dead soldiers in this battle. In addition to three years of tax exemption and the children's education, some financial subsidies were needed. Only by doing this could the Guanzhong Army be as powerful as a rainbow and unstoppable. But for Chen Mo, even if it was a big victory, if there was no actual benefit, it would be a loss.

Although fighting a war itself is a very expensive thing, for Chen Mo, his system will make his side bear more economic pressure in the war. Sometimes even if he wins, if it is a miserable victory, he will still lose money.

It's not easy to be a lord.

"Lord!" Xu Shu walked in quickly, looked at Chen Mo and said, "Yuan Shao sent someone to deliver a letter."

"Oh?" Chen Mo nodded, took the bamboo slips and spread them out, smiling, "Mostly a question."

Yuan Shao was indeed questioning. After all, this time Chen Mo and Cao Cao joined forces, which made Yuan Shao very passive, especially the collapse of the battlefield in Henei, the death of General Jiang Qi, Yan Liang fled in a panic, and the entire Henei was occupied by Chen Mo, nearly half of the county. Now Gao Shun has led a large army to Huai County. The war is obviously not over yet, and Cao Cao is leading his army to capture Qingzhou, Pingyuan and other places.

Yuan Shao may have been confident before, even if Chen Mo and Cao Cao joined forces, he would have enough strength to suppress the two, but half of Henei has been lost just after the war started, and the war on Cao Cao's side is not going too smoothly. In addition, Taishi Ci moved from Yunzhong to Yanmen area, eyeing Daijun and Shanggu, and Yuan Xi frequently sent letters for help, which made Yuan Shao suddenly feel that he was surrounded by enemies.

Yuan Shao's letters were usually accusations, but the tone was not too strong, and there was even a desire for peace. After all, the alliance between Chen and Cao made Yuan Shao realize that he could not face the reality of the two major vassal states at the same time, so Yuan Shao wanted to win over Chen Mo, and wanted to join forces with Chen Mo to deal with Cao Cao, and promised the land of Yuzhou to Chen Mo.

This condition was naturally quite tempting. Chen Mo put down the bamboo slips and looked at Xu Shu and Xun You and Wang Biao who were sitting next to him: "What do you think?"

"My lord, the war has already started, and the alliance has been formed. If you regret it now, it may be inappropriate." Wang Biao bowed.

Chen Mo nodded. Uncle Wang was speaking from the perspective of being a human being. Since he had promised Cao Cao, it would be better not to break his promise before the end of this war.

However, sometimes the vassal states cannot be regarded as human beings. They only recognize interests, long-term or short-term. Chen Mo is also a vassal and is no exception. Of course, if he can choose, he will also maintain his positive image.

"My Lord, the land we are fighting for is only the second most important thing. The most important thing is to break Yuan Shao's wish of becoming a minister for four generations. I also agree with General Wang. There is no way to compromise before we completely defeat Yuan Shao in this battle." Xu Shu bowed and said.

Xun You on the side did not say anything, but just nodded, agreeing with Xu Shu's point of view.

Chen Mo picked up the bamboo slips and read it again, and smiled: "You are right, and not only must we win this battle, but Yuan Shao must be defeated by me!"

It is crucial whether Yuan Shao will be defeated by Chen Mo or Cao Cao. This is an opportunity to show his strength to the world. At that moment, Chen Mo personally wrote a letter in reply and asked someone to give it to the messenger sent by Yuan Shao to take to Yuan Shao.

…

“Bang~”

In Chaoge, Yuan Shao’s camp, Yuan Shao looked terribly gloomy when he saw the letter brought back by the messenger. The temperature in the whole tent seemed to be much lower. After a long time, Yuan Shao suddenly threw the bamboo slips to the ground and yelled, “Chen Mo, how dare you bully me!”

“My lord, calm down!” Xu You picked up the bamboo slips, read them carefully, frowned and handed them to Tian Feng who was holding out his hand for them. He bowed to Yuan Shao and said, “My lord, Chen Mo is a man who always knows how to do things. But this letter is so ostentatious and domineering. It is obvious that he is deliberately trying to anger you. Don’t fall into his trap.”

“How can I not know, but this boy is bullying too much. If I don’t kill him, I will not be able to get rid of my hatred!” Yuan Shao snorted angrily.

"My lord, this Chen Mo and Cao Cao have obviously joined forces. In this battle, both sides attacked at the same time. Cao Cao is now attacking Qingzhou and Pingyuan. The eldest son and General Wen are also calling for help. It seems that these two are forcing my lord to fight with them!" Tian Feng handed the bamboo slips to the defender, looked at Yuan Shao, and bowed.

It stands to reason that Yuan Shao is powerful, and although the two have joined forces, they probably want the other party to bear more pressure, but this time, Chen Mo and Cao Cao's attitude is that they are eager to collide with Yuan Shao's main force.

"They want to use the lord to build their reputation!" Ju Su sneered after reading the bamboo slips: "As long as the lord is defeated, the hearts of the scholars in the world who are loyal to the lord will inevitably be shaken. Even if they cannot obtain actual benefits, this reputation can be on par with the lord, and the scholars under their rule who originally supported the lord will also be shaken."

"I'm afraid they don't have this ability!" Xu You snorted coldly: "Lord, since they are eager to fight, I think we should gather heavy troops to defeat one route first. Whether it is Cao Cao or Chen Mo, as long as the lord defeats one person first, the other will find it difficult to resist the lord alone and will retreat."

"Then defeat Chen Mo first!" Yuan Shao slammed the table, and this decision was quite decisive. Obviously, Chen Mo's letter completely angered Yuan Shao. He was ready to gather heavy troops to defeat Chen Mo first. As for Cao Cao, as long as Chen Mo retreated, Cao Cao would naturally find it difficult to fight Yuan Shao alone.

Moreover, from the terrain point of view, Chen Mo was closest to him at the moment, so he was naturally the first target to be dealt with.

"My Lord, you are wise!" Everyone bowed in unison.

At that moment, Yuan Shao did not delay any longer and mobilized his army to attack Huai County, preparing to have a decisive battle with Chen Mo in the Huai County area. Even if he could not kill Chen Mo, he had to injure him severely so that he would not dare to be his enemy again.

After hearing that Yuan Shao had mobilized his army to attack, Chen Mo immediately commanded his army to move, joined Gao Shun's army, set up camp ten miles west of Huai County, and confronted Yuan Shao's army.

Yuan Shao mobilized 100,000 troops to suppress Chen Mo and Cao Cao. Among the three major princes, Yuan Shao was probably the only one who could easily take out 100,000 troops, not counting the garrison troops in various places and the troops confronting Chen Mo and Cao Cao. Although Yuan Shao lost the initiative in this battle, the troops he invested exceeded the sum of the troops invested by Chen Mo and Cao Cao.

Now that the main force is approaching Huai County, Chen Mo can clearly feel the pressure.

In September, Chen Mo sent Ma Chao to lead the cavalry to attack Yuan Shao from behind in order to cut off Yuan Shao's food supply. However, Yuan Shao set up checkpoints everywhere, making it difficult for Ma Chao to use the mobility of the cavalry, let alone attack the enemy from behind. After several battles, although he removed several checkpoints, he was unable to continue and had to retreat helplessly.

This time, Yuan Shao had the advantage in military strength, so he naturally would not defend the city. Instead, he gathered the troops of Yan Liang and Han Meng and began to crush Chen Mo with a large force. Since Chen Mo wanted to force him to a decisive battle, he followed Chen Mo's will and saw how he would fight against his army.

Chen Mo's generals all went out, and they fought Yuan Shao from September to October, a whole month. The battle line stretched from Huai County to Shanyang, and the two sides fought fiercely. Although Chen Mo's soldiers were elite and powerful, Yuan Shao also had his own men. Both sides had their wins and losses, and the battle became more and more intense. By October, Chen Mo seemed to be unable to hold on and took the initiative to retreat to the prefectures and counties. Originally, the two sides attacked each other, but now it became Chen Mo letting go and Yuan Shao attacking. The war seemed to be developing in a direction that was unfavorable to Chen Mo.

"It's too late to stop now!" Yuan Shao led his troops to advance again and arrived at the prefectures and counties, and once again confronted Chen Mo. This time, Yuan Shao made up his mind that even if he couldn't kill Chen Mo, he would definitely take this opportunity to defeat Chen Mo.