Betrayal comes at a price, whether it's active or passive, taking the lead or following. Except for Zhao Yun, the 10,000 soldiers who surrendered in Changshan were beaten to death as a punishment.

After killing one thousand people, Lu Bu added another one thousand Bingzhou cavalry, and made up a total of ten thousand soldiers and horses and handed them over to Zhao Yun for command. Then he still left Guan Hai and Zhao Yun to guard Shiyi, and divided the 40,000-strong team into two. Cheng Lian was left with 5,000 infantry and cavalry to guard Yuanshi City, the seat of Changshan, to prevent the internal rebels from coming out to harass the rear of the army. Lu Bu led 35,000 south to Bairen and Qu Yi to attack Gongsun Zan.

Outside Bairen City, Gongsun Zan, who was facing off against Qu Yi, learned that Lü Bu had personally led a large army, Zhao Yun had surrendered, and all two thousand white horses had been killed. He was shocked and furious, "Zhao Zilong, I treated him well, why did he betray me?! Why?"

His voice was loud and he roared angrily, which made the eardrums of everyone in the tent burst. However, except for Xun You who subconsciously covered his ears, everyone else gritted their teeth and endured it.

"Your Majesty, changing generals in the middle of a battle is a big taboo in the army. I advised you to wait until the battle is over before pursuing the matter. You are too anxious. You can't blame him for surrendering to the enemy!" Xun You said with a little regret.

During the time he followed Gongsun Zan, the person he coveted most was the brave general Zhao Yun. When Gongsun Zan wanted to dismiss Zhao Yun from his post, Xun You only gave him a symbolic advice. He thought that this was a good opportunity to alienate Zhao Yun and Gongsun Bogui so that he could win them over secretly. However, Zhao Yun was so honest that he refused to leave when Lu Bu's army came. In the end, he was defeated and captured, which was a good opportunity for Lu Bu.

"He sacrificed a thousand of my White Horse Volunteers but achieved nothing. What's wrong with me replacing him?"

Gongsun Zan turned around and glared at him. "You know how expensive it is to train these elite troops? Not only did he fail to even reach the pass, he only killed four or five hundred of them. And he used his numbers to bully the few. This completely impossible thing actually happened to him. How can I not be suspicious?"

According to the bravery of Zhao Yun and the White Horse Volunteers, it was impossible for them to lose when the three thousand White Horse Volunteers fought against the fifteen thousand Golden Eagle Guards. However, Zhao Yun not only lost, but also suffered more casualties than the enemy. This is unscientific. In addition, the villain Gongsun Zhi added fuel to the fire, saying that Zhao Yun could clearly kill the enemy general but deliberately let him go. This made Gongsun Zan so angry.

"The enemy has already surrendered. Your Majesty, it's useless to be angry. Lü Bu is leading 40,000 troops south, and Qu Yi has thousands of soldiers in Bairen. We should first think about how to deal with the enemy!"

"Gongda is absolutely right!"

Returning to reality, Gongsun Zan's anger subsided a little, and he said with a headache, "What should I do now?"

His Youzhou army was brave, and Lu Bu's soldiers were not bad either. In addition, the other side had more people and more power. If they fought head-on, Gongsun Zan would not be sure of winning.

Xun You said, "Lü Bu has many soldiers and generals, and their morale is high. Your Majesty, it is not appropriate to engage him at this time. I suggest that we withdraw to Diantao and hold the city."

"And then?" Gongsun Zan asked.

Xun You twirled his beard and smiled, "Then we can just fight him to the death!"

"Fight at expense?"

Xun You explained, "Your Majesty has the services of the noble families of Jizhou, and the local clans and bandits have fortified their defenses and cleared the countryside. If Lü Bu wants to reclaim his territory, he can only attack it one city at a time, one county at a time. This is time-consuming, labor-intensive, and even draining of morale. Your Majesty, however, can hold the city, conserve his strength, and occasionally leave the city to harass the rear of his siege forces. In just a month or two, I suspect Lü Bu's food supplies will be exhausted, and the Bingzhou army will collapse without a fight!"

Gongsun Zan then asked, "What if he storms a few cities during this period? Given the situation, once a city is captured, he will inevitably massacre the nobles and powerful to replenish his military supplies. I'm not sure I can outlast him."

As for the current territories of the two, Lu Bu occupies the four states of Shaanxi, Bing, Yong, and Si and half of the broken Jizhou, while Gongsun Zan occupies Youzhou, most of Jizhou, Qingzhou Plain, Jinan and other counties and kingdoms. He is not as strong as Lu Bu, and his management ability is not good either. He may not be able to win in a long-term battle of attrition.

Xun You said, "It would be great if he went on a killing spree. The rebels in Jizhou would be terrified of being liquidated and would defend the city with all their might. Wouldn't his Bingzhou army have to suffer heavy losses if they tried to recapture the city? Then, Your Majesty, you can go and fight him again. Given the fighting power of your Youzhou army, why would you be afraid of a tired army?"

"What if he chooses to reconcile with the rebels? I see he's coming with such force, some of them are afraid of his power and may be hesitating about opening the city walls and surrendering in exchange for forgiveness."

"He won't reconcile!" Xun You said firmly.

"Why do you think so?" Gongsun Zan asked doubtfully. "If it were me, I would definitely choose reconciliation in this situation. I would drive out the foreign invaders first, and then slowly settle accounts with those traitors later."

Xun You said, "This time, almost all of Jizhou's aristocratic families and powerful people are against him. Your Majesty, do you know how many cities and how many people are involved? If he chooses to reconcile now and then seeks revenge later, the others will inevitably unite against him again. Moreover, his Tang Kingdom's strategy is to oppose all aristocratic families and powerful people. If he wanted to reconcile, he would not have continued to intensify the conflict."

Gongsun Zan nodded thoughtfully, "That makes sense! I will follow the military advisor's advice and withdraw my troops to Diantao first."

…………

Gongsun Zan now only knew about Lu Bu's 40,000 troops, while Cao Cao also received news today that Gao Shun and Xu Rong's troops had entered Weijun and Zhao State.

Seventy thousand troops, this data shocked Cao Cao so much that he couldn't recover for a long time. As a spectator, Cao Cao's group, which was actually the manipulator behind the scenes, exploded immediately.

"Where does he get the food to support so many soldiers? An army of 70,000! Where does the food come from? Where does it come from?" The first person who couldn't maintain his composure was Cheng Yu. He was in his fifties and suddenly jumped up from his seat, pointing at the person who reported the news and shouting at him.

The man was frightened by his brutal temper and kept backing away. He just came to report the news, so how could he know where Lu Bu got the food?

"Seventy thousand troops? Adding the troops from Jizhou, what else can Gongsun Bogui fight?"

After recovering from his shock, Cao Cao, who had been watching the show calmly, suddenly became flustered. His heart was filled with an unspeakable fear at this moment. It was not the fear for the 70,000 soldiers, but the fear for the entire Tang Dynasty.

"It is obviously collected from the people." Guo Jia answered Cheng Yu's question.

He had been to Bingzhou and knew that the people in Bingzhou lived a rich life. He also considered that the little fox fairy might collect food and grass from the people. However, in his opinion, once she collected the food and grass from city to county, Jizhou would be finished. He did not expect that Bingzhou's efficiency was so high. It only took half a month. This could only be accomplished with the concerted efforts of officials and people.

He glanced at Cao Cao, who was pacing the hall. At that moment, he felt that they had already lost to her. They hadn't lost in wisdom and strategy, but in the support of the people. Which prince in the world could do what she did? The government had no grain, yet she was able to collect food and fodder from the people in just half a month to support an army of 70,000!

"The Tang Dynasty is poor in the upper class but rich in the people. It is difficult to compete with it because of the people's support!" Xun Yu sighed.

"Is there no hope?" Cao Cao stopped and looked at the people sitting down with a somewhat ugly expression.

Xun Yu said, "I mean Gongsun Bogui may not be able to compete with him, but my lord can still fight!"

"How can we fight?" Cao Cao said dejectedly. "If Lü Bu defeats Gongsun this time and takes over Jizhou, Youzhou, and even Qingzhou, he'll practically control half of the Han Dynasty. He also possesses unrivaled cavalry. How can I possibly compete with him?"

Xun Yu said, "The entire Jizhou region is in rebellion. No matter how brave Lü Bu is, he won't be able to defeat Gongsun Bogui quickly. If he doesn't yield to the Jizhou nobles, he'll have to conquer the region one city at a time. While his momentum is formidable, such a campaign would be extremely difficult. Without internal support, it would likely take two to three years."

"Besides, even if he does pacify Jizhou, he won't be able to lay his hands on Gongsun Bogui's Youzhou for the time being. He has already exhausted the entire Tang Empire's strength this time. It will take at least a few years for the people to recover after this battle. My lord, you should recuperate for two years and then go and destroy Yuan Gonglu. If the war goes smoothly, you can pacify it within a year. Then most of the land in the south will belong to you. Then, if you can build up your navy, you may be able to fight against them."

"What if he has an insider?" Guo Jia suddenly asked.

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