Chapter 331: Five Pillars of the State!

Even a fool knows that if you are ambushed on the battlefield, the first thing you should do is retreat to minimize the losses.

But what are the senior officials doing now?
How dare you keep charging forward without knowing the consequences?
Xu Huang directly covered his eyes, and Guo Huai and Hao Zhao were in a dilemma as to whether to advance or retreat…

In the end, it was Guo Huai who made the decision.

“Go ahead! But don’t hurt the high-ranking officials!”

Now the Han army had to win a victory.

Moreover, it will definitely be a resounding victory.

Now the only thing the Han army can do is to avoid killing Gao Gan, the supreme commander of the northern front, so as to make Yuan Shao’s war situation in the north become completely out of control!

……

At this moment, Gao Gan mustered up the courage to rush towards Guo Huai and Hao Zhao.

The horses of both sides were getting closer and closer. Looking at the two people opposite him, Gao Gan had already closed his eyes.

Take a breath.

Two breaths.

……

Ok?
Gao Gan opened his eyes in confusion and found himself suddenly alive?

Guo Huai and Hao Zhao seemed not to have seen him, and rushed straight to the rear, breaking up the army formation and driving the enemy away.

Gao Gan looked at the armor on his body and confirmed that he was indeed wearing the fish-scale armor that symbolized a general. He became more and more confused for a moment.

“Then why didn’t Guo Huai and Hao Zhao kill me?”

“Could it be…”

Gao Gan immediately realized something and straightened his chest!

He is Yuan Shao’s nephew after all! He comes from the famous Chenliu Gao family!
His status in Yuan Shao’s camp, even if not as high as Xiahou Dun’s, was similar to that of other Cao’s relatives.

At the moment, Xu Huang and others might not dare to kill me!

The senior official regained his spirits and led his troops to charge again!
no……

Xu Huang could no longer sit still!

If Gao Gan were allowed to charge forward again, he would directly break through his own army’s formation!

Once Gao Gan rushes over, the offensive and defensive situation will change instantly, and it is even possible to turn defeat into victory!
“High-ranking officials!”

Xu Huang knew that even if he received more orders, he could not endure it any longer.

Gao Gan will definitely die!
Xu Huang personally rode his horse, holding a big axe, and rushed down the hillside!
Gao Gan was very happy to see that Xu Huang was not afraid but very happy!
“You dare to kill me?”

“Why don’t you dare!”

Xu Huang shouted loudly, and with one move, he swung the axe in his hand to split Mount Huashan, and with the power of the horse, he smashed it straight into Gao Gan’s forehead!

The solid iron helmet was simply not capable of withstanding this thunderous blow.

The moment the axe blade made contact, the tremendous force directly smashed Gao Gan’s head into pieces.

If it weren’t for the helmet protecting it, the blood, flesh and water inside would have splashed everywhere!
As Xu Huang chopped off Gao Gan with his axe, Guo Huai and Hao Zhao, who were charging in front, slowly stopped…

Although the ambush on Gao Gan here was a great victory, and all the money, food and supplies that had been lost were recovered afterwards, everyone knew that the matter had become a big deal!

“General Xu, what should we do?”

Xu Huang wiped his axe blade helplessly: “What else can I do? I will report the truth to the emperor and wait for him to punish me!”

……

no……

If Liu Xie did not believe that Xu Huang would not deceive him, and believed that Guo Huai and Hao Zhao were not people who were eager for quick success and instant benefits, he really would not believe that Gao Gan would do such a stupid thing.

Not only did they not leave after getting the baggage, they also had to continue the pursuit.

Not only did they not flee from an ambush, they also charged forward.

Spare his life and keep moving forward.

……

Seeing this, Liu Xie didn’t know what to say.

Liu Xie immediately summoned Sima Yi and Yang Xiu into the tent, and directly put the military situation of the battle of Mianshan on the table.

“Zhongda, Dezu, tell me, what should I do now?”

Sima Yi and Yang Xiu did not expect that the first battle would end in such a ridiculous “failure”.

It’s okay if we don’t lose, but a small victory is not unacceptable.

But is it called a small victory now?
Xu Huang directly beheaded Gao Gan!

Yuan Shao’s nephew and the commander-in-chief of the enemy forces in Jingxing area was beheaded!

How can this be performed?
Yang Xiu was still gasping for air, but Sima Yi immediately and nervously advised Liu Xie: “Your Majesty! Please quickly reward Xu Huang, and then order the generals of Hedong to go north to support!”

Liu Xie was dazed for a moment, but immediately understood Sima Yi’s intention.

The reason why Xu Huang was ordered to launch a feint attack and only allow himself to fail was to paralyze Yuan Shao and make him think that the emperor would be furious and want to launch a large-scale attack in Hedong to save his face.

In this way, Liu Xie and Lu Bu could mobilize troops without any disguise, attracting all of Yuan Shao’s attention to Hedong, while they quietly rushed to Luoyang. But now that Xu Huang had killed Gao Gan and achieved results in the Jingxing area, he could not continue to stagnate.

If Xu Huang stopped now, it would actually make Yuan Shao suspicious.

After all, how could one achieve such a significant victory without attacking?

Killing the senior official but not continuing to attack Hebei, isn’t this clearly a case of trying to cover up one’s own guilt?
At this moment, the only way is to follow this accident, let the snowball roll bigger and bigger, and use another way to cover up the marching route of the emperor and Lu Bu. This is the correct way now!
“call!”

Liu Xie let out a long sigh.

Although he had already anticipated that there would be many unexpected events in this war.

In order to divert Yuan Shao’s attention completely to Hebei, in addition to Xu Huang, he also prepared many other smoke bombs.

But as Xu Huang killed high-ranking officials, these smoke bombs were obviously no longer useful.

Now the only thing to do is to follow Sima Yi’s words, reward Xu Huang generously, and then transfer the army in Hedong to Taiyuan to create a false impression for Yuan Shao.

Moreover, in this way, Hedong can also mobilize troops to create opportunities for the army attacking Henan.

but……

Liu Xie frowned and asked: “If this is the case, where will the troops come from to attack Henan?”

The original plan was for Liu Xie and Lu Bu to rush to Luoyang, then quickly control all the ferry crossings in Henan, put an end to Yuan Shao’s idea of ​​going south to support Cao Cao, and then mobilize the Hedong army to Henan to wipe out Cao Cao.

Now that the army in Hedong is being transferred to Taiyuan as a cover, the troops to attack Cao Cao are naturally insufficient. How should we deal with this?

In response to the emperor’s question, Sima Yi also sighed.

“Your Majesty, the situation on the battlefield is changing rapidly. I don’t know if I can defeat Cao Cao by then.”

“But no matter what, it is more important for Your Majesty and General Lu Bu to rush to Henan. As for what happens next, we can only leave it to fate.”

One step wrong, step by step wrong.

With the changes in the north, all specific tactics must be changed.

The only thing that remains unchanged is the strategy of taking Henan first and pacifying Cao Cao.

“Your Majesty, please send a military order to Liu Xuande, asking him to delay Cao Cao in the Xu County area at all costs and try to buy time for Your Majesty and General Lu!”

“This is the only remedy at the moment!”

Tactics are just floating clouds, completing the established strategy is the fundamental goal!

Complete the strategy first, then the tactics can be adjusted slowly and naturally!

After thinking about it, Liu Xie felt that it made sense.

So he made a prompt decision and ordered Yang Xiu to bring a reward to Xu Huang.

He was appointed General Zheng Bei, the Minister of State, and granted the title of Marquis of Yangquan, with a fief of 2,000 households!
Although beheading Gao Gan disrupted the court’s original tactics, it is undeniable that this was indeed a great achievement, enough to earn him a position as a pillar of the country!

After killing Gao Gan, Xu Huang had been stationed in Yangquan with his troops in a state of anxiety, fearing that he would be blamed by the emperor and that he had betrayed his trust.

Moreover, it didn’t matter if it was just the emperor’s blame. The most important thing was that Xu Huang was afraid that he would ruin the court’s attack on Henan!

Xu Huang became more and more frightened when he thought that the years of hard work of millions of people would be destroyed because of his mistake.

It was not until Yang Xiu brought the imperial edict of reward to Xu Huang that Xu Huang looked at Yang Xiu in disbelief: “The emperor didn’t blame me? Instead, he promoted me to the rank of pillar of the state?”

“Minister Yang, please don’t lie to me!”

Yang Xiu chuckled twice: “Why didn’t the emperor blame you? When the emperor just received your military intelligence, his face was very ugly! Fortunately, Zhongda and I gave the emperor advice and re-adjusted the troops in Bingzhou so as not to delay the court’s plan. The emperor gave up!”

“The emperor has issued an order to send Generals Zhang Liao and Zhang Xiu to Taiyuan to exert pressure in the direction of Jingxing.”

At this point, Yang Xiu also repeatedly reassured: “This time, General Xu must remember that there must not be any mistakes!”

“As soon as Generals Zhang Xiu and Zhang Liao move their troops, the emperor and Lu Bu will lead their cavalry to Luoyang and begin attacking Henan.”

“During this period, we must remember to control the strength. We must both hold Yuan’s army in Hebei and not go too deep into the country to prevent the army from getting bogged down. Do you understand?”

Xu Huang was ashamed: “Please ask Minister Yang to tell His Majesty that Xu Huang will strictly abide by military orders!”

“If I encounter this kind of situation again next time, even if the opponent holds a knife to my neck, I will never disobey orders!”

Yang Xiu patted Xu Huang’s sturdy waist and abdomen: “That’s not necessary!”

“General Xu, do you know how the emperor would comment on your final act of killing a high-ranking official?”

Xu Huang looked depressed: “You must be blaming me for being soft-hearted and unwilling to sacrifice the lives of my soldiers to complete my orders, right?”

“…”

Yang Xiu rolled his eyes and said, “General Xu, you are also a veteran who has followed the emperor for a long time. How can you speculate about the emperor like this?”

“The emperor told us that General Xu Huang has always been very strict in disciplining his troops, and he seems to have the “Zhou Yafu style”, which has caused many complaints from his soldiers… But in fact, this is because General Xu Huang himself came from a poor family and knows that it is not easy for soldiers, so he cares more about the performance of his soldiers!”

“When Gao Gan led his army to charge over, General Xu Huang could have just ignored the lives of his soldiers and fled back alone. This would have been considered as completing the mission originally assigned to you, and the emperor would not have blamed you for it.”

“General Xu Huang had no choice but to kill Gao Gan because he couldn’t bear to see his soldiers killed by him. That’s why he did it even if it meant disobeying orders!”

Yang Xiu imitated the emperor’s behavior and gave a thumbs up to Xu Huang, whose eyes were already filled with tears.

“The emperor said that General Xu is a real man! A good man! A true pillar of the country!”

“Just don’t do it again next time! Otherwise, the emperor will really be in trouble…”

(End of this chapter)