Who doesn't know that Ma Zheng is the eldest son of Ma Yue, the prime minister of the Han Dynasty? Shen Pei, Feng Ji couldn't help but feel a lot of emotion. The butcher Ma is a hero of the world, and his son is also very good at it. It's hard for Yuan Tan and Yuan Shang to beat the horse because of the courage of Ma Zheng alone to enter Yecheng. Alas, why didn't the first lord have a son like Ma Zheng?

Ma Zheng calmly responded: "It's right here."

"Hahaha... OK!" Yuan Shang suddenly laughed three times, his face turned ferocious, and he said sternly, "It's just right, this was delivered to you by yourself!"

Ma Zheng asked, "Does the general want to threaten his life and force his father to stop the army?"

"Smart." Yuan Shang raised his thumb and said grimly, "I am worthy of being the prime minister's eldest son."

Ma Zheng said: "I'll ask you a little bit, when did the general see his father being threatened?"

Yuan Shang said: "This..."

Ma Zheng said: "With his father's talent and strategy, how could he be controlled by a mere son? If Ma Zheng dies, Ma Zhan is still there, Ma Yang, Ma Qi is still there, Ma Qi is still there, and Ma Qi is more than a dozen younger brothers. The Ma family's foundation does not have to worry about no one inheriting it. But I would like to remind the general, if the general is killed, then the Ma family and the Yuan family will really become irreconcilable enemies!"

Yuan Shang smiled grimly and said, "You are threatening the orphan!"

"I dare not." Ma Zheng said, "If I want to threaten the general, wouldn't it be better to condemn a small soldier to the city to spread the message? Why should I go into the tiger's den in person?"

Yuan Shang was silent.

Ma Zheng straightened his clothes and said solemnly: "The reason why I rode alone into the city is that I hope the general can understand that I came sincerely for the future of the Yuan clan, for the aristocratic families in Yecheng City, and for the more than 7 million people in the four prefectures of Hebei! I really don't want to see the rich Hebei become a ruin under the iron hooves of the Mobei Iron Cavalry!"

Yuan Shang seemed to be moving intently.

Judging from Ma Zheng's tone, as long as Yuan Shang is willing to surrender, he will not only have a worry-free life but also continue the glory and wealth of the Yuan family?

Shen Pei said: "If the prince really thinks about the more than 7 million people in the four prefectures of Hebei, he should urge the prime minister to stop the army and let tens of thousands of iron cavalry in the north retreat to the desert?"

Ma Zheng asked back: "If you guessed correctly, this person must be Mr. Shen Pei?"

Shen Pei said proudly: "It's right below."

Ma Zhengdao: "Sir is a famous scholar in Hebei. He should know the general trend of the world. Hebei is in Liang and Wu. Can it be enough to protect himself?"

Shen Pei sighed, "It's not enough to protect yourself."

Ma Zheng said: "So do you hope Hebei will become Liang, and the Wu army repeatedly competed for the battlefield for years to fight, or do you hope that Hebei can be as stable and prosperous as Yong, Liang and Shuozhou?"

After saying this, Ma Zheng said to Yuan Shang: "If the general can follow the will of heaven and surrender the people of Hebei, the Hebei gentry will be very lucky, the people of Hebei are very lucky, and the general will also be able to obtain unparalleled achievements. In the future, he will be ranked as the third duke! The Yuan family has all been ranked as the third duke. Isn't such an honor better than the burning of jade and stones, and the Yuan family has been destroyed a hundred times?"

Yuan Shang was speechless for a while.

If he had a choice, Yuan Shang certainly hoped to be a warlord who dominated the country like his father Yuan Shao.

But the reality is cruel. The situation facing Yuan Shang is much more sinister than when he was in Yuan Shao, and Yuan Shang does not have the ability of Yuan Shao! In the battle of the Central Plains, more than 100,000 Hebei troops could not defeat Zhou Yu's tens of thousands of Wu troops. Now, the horse butcher, who is ten times stronger than Zhou Yu, takes tens of thousands of Iron Cavalry in Mobei, and how can the Hebei army resist it?

However.

If he chooses to surrender, Yuan Shang is worried that the butcher of horses will destroy the bridge across the river and will turn against each other.

Or Feng Ji understood Yuan Shang’s thoughts and asked: “Is this just the prince’s personal wish or the prime minister’s wish?”

Ma Zheng said solemnly: "If the gentleman has heard of Xichuan affairs, he should know that after the Xichuan gentry led by Zhang Song gave up Xichuan, his father did not interfere too much in Xichuan affairs, and the interests of the Sichuan gentry were protected to the greatest extent! Therefore, the general and the two gentlemen did not have to worry about their father going back on their word. Without the support of the Hebei gentry, his father would not be able to do anything in Hebei."

Yuan Shang hesitated and said, "Can you Rong Gu think about it first?"

"Of course." Ma Zhengdao, "In order to show sincerity, the general can put his house under house arrest before he makes a decision!"

"It's not necessary." Yuan Shang sighed, "Gu has already learned the courage and courage of the prince. Gu is ashamed of himself. However, even if Gu decides to defend Yecheng to the death, he will never threaten the prince's life. Therefore, I would like to ask the prince to return to the military camp outside the city first and wait patiently. Waiting for tomorrow, whether it is a war or surrender, Gu will definitely give the prince a correct letter."

Ma Zheng said: "Since this is the case, then I will say goodbye first."

Yuan Shang said: "I'm sorry to send it away."

Ma Zheng bowed his hand, turned around and left.

Watching Ma Zheng's figure go away, Yuan Shang said to Shen Pei and Feng Ji and the other ones: "Zhengnan, what do Yuantu think?"

In early October of the 12th year of Jian'an (199), Emperor Xian of Han, Yuan Shang surrendered, and Ma Zheng occupied Yecheng without bloodshed.

In mid-October, Yuan Tan also surrendered to Gao Shun Xiancheng, and Gao Shun condemned General Xu Chu to lead 30,000 troops into Chenliu.

In November, under the lobbying of Shen Pei and Feng Ji, Yuan Xi, Gao Gan, Zhang Yan, and Tian Yu all surrendered. At this point, Ji, Qing, You and the four states all returned to the Xiliang territory. Ma Yue's tent added another 180,000 (20,000 Gao Gan's army, 50,000 Zhang Yan's Heishan army, 30,000 Tian Yu's army, 30,000 Yuan Shangyecheng garrison, 30,000 Yuan Xi's remnants, 20,000 Yuan Tan's remnants) under Hebei surrendered troops.

In the same month, Ma Yue changed Yuan Shang to the Grand Marshal, Yuan Tan was the General of Cavalry, Yuan Xi was the General of the Cavalry, and the High Knight was the Governor of Sizhou. He ordered the Crown Prince Ma Zheng to the General of the North and the General of the Four Prefectures of Hebei. He also ordered Shen Pei, Feng Ji, Xin Ping, Xin Pi to the Governor of You, Ji and Qing, to assist Ma Zheng in pacifying the situation in Hebei. He then ordered Tian Yu and Zhang Yan to lead 180,000 Hebei troops to listen to the order in front of the tent.

Early December.

Ma Yue ordered Tian Yu to lead an army of 50,000 to advance to Baima, Zhang Yan to lead an army of 50,000 to advance to Yanjin, and he personally led 200,000 cavalry and the army of infantry entered Liyang, officially kicking off the battle for the Central Plains.

Liyang, the Central Army’s tent.

Ma Yue sat on the case, Pei Yuanshao, Zhou Cang, Jia Xu, Li Su, Kuai Yue, Lu Su, Fang Yue, Gan Ning, Ma Dai, Ma Xiu and others were among them.

"Lord." Li Su stepped out of the line and bowed to Ma Yue, and said loudly, "For a detailed return, the guards of Baima and Yanjin are Quan Cong and He Qi. According to the information collected below, these two were the generals of the Eastern Wu who were the best at defending, and that He Qi was particularly outstanding. He Qi was originally a general of Liu Yao, who once trapped the lonely city with 300 county soldiers. The rebels in Shanyue attacked for two months but could not make any progress."

"Is that true?" Ma Yue frowned and asked, "Besides Baima and Yanjin, can there be other ferry crossings that can cross the river?"

Li Su said: "There are many ferries on both sides of the Yellow River that can cross the river, but the only large transport ships of the navy can be parked is Baima. In the two large ferries of Yanjin, other small ferries can only be docked with small boats such as boats. If you rely on small boats to ferry, it will take you half a year to cross the Yellow River."

Ma Yue said: "Half a year? Half a year later, the Jianghuai land has entered the plum rainy season. In addition, the weather in the south is humid and stuffy, so there is no need for the cavalry in the northern desert to go south! It seems that we have to find another way. Since other ferries cannot be parked at large transport ships, what about setting up a pontoon bridge? How long does it take to build a pontoon bridge?"

Li Su said: "It is actually not difficult to build a prisoner bridge. You only need to pull up two iron cables on both sides of the Yellow River, tie the ship to the iron cables, and nail flat wooden boards on the ship deck. It only takes half a month at most. However, there are the Eastern Wu navy on the Yellow River waterway, so it is difficult for our army to set up a floating bridge under the harassment of the Eastern Wu navy."

Ma Yue asked Gan Ning, "Gan Ning, where is your Jinfan Navy?"

Gan Ning said bitterly: "When we first left the estuary of the Yangtze River, because there were few soldiers and ships, we could not take care of them. Our army had already sunk all the boats and drove only large warships such as tower ships, Mengchong, Dou Ship and other large warships went north. However, most of the warships of the Eastern Wu Navy were often walking. Although the boats were not as big as Mengchong and Dou Ship and the tower ships were huge, they traveled like shuttles and had an incomparable speed advantage. When our army launched a large-scale attack, the Eastern Wu Navy often fled in all directions. When our army was sleepy, they flocked like wolves, which was unpredictable."

"This is really a blessing." Ma Yue sighed, "It seems that our army cannot cross the Yellow River before the Yellow River is cut off."

"The lord has no need to worry at all." Li Su said, "According to previous years' experience, the Yellow River will inevitably cut off by the first month of next year. At that time, there will be nearly five months before the Jianghuai land enters the plum rain season. Five months is enough for our army to conquer Yan, Henan and Pengcheng in northern Xuzhou, Jiang and the three counties of the East China Sea!"

"I want more than these!" Ma Yue said in a deep voice, "In addition to Yan, Yu and the three northern counties of Xuzhou, I also want the remaining Xiapei and Guangling counties in Xuzhou, Huainan County and Lujiang County! What is particularly important is Huainan County! Sun Quan's son moved the capital from Shu County to Shouchun, which was a demonstration to Gu, and he was nakedly picking up his tact!"

Ma Yue slapped the table and shouted sternly: "In this battle, you will never give up until Sun Quan's son crosses the Yangtze River!"

Ma Yue's words sounded a little irritating at first glance, but they weren't.

Before the war, Ma Yue and Jia Xu set the goal not only to seize the Central Plains and Xuzhou, but also to eliminate the Wu army's vitality through one or several large-scale battles, limit Sun Quan's power to the south of the Yangtze River, and ensure that the Eastern Wu was unable to fight the northern expedition within ten years! Ten years later, Ma Yue took the manpower and material resources of Yong, Si, Liang, Shuo, You, Qing, and Ji, Yi, Yan, Yu, and Xu Shiyizhou to form an overwhelming strategic advantage over Cao Cao's Jingzhou and Sun Quan's Yangzhou.

By then, there will be no suspense in the unification of the world.

White Horse Ferry.

Quan Cong, the powerful general of the Eastern Wu, stood on the camp with his sword, looking at the soft mud exposed after the river water receded, and was speechless for a while, only a trace of indescribable worry flashed through his eyes.

Amid the heavy footsteps, the navy general Jiang Qin strode behind Quan Cong and asked, "Is Zihuang worried that the Yellow River will break down?"

"Yes." Quan Cong nodded and said with concern, "The water level of the Yellow River in Baima has dropped several feet within ten days. If this speed continues, your navy will have to evacuate the White Horse Crossing in ten days! In another half a month, the Yellow River will be completely cut off. At that time, the Liang army only needs to lay wooden boards and hay on the riverbed to hike across the river."

Jiang Qin scratched his head and said, "If you don't say it, I really didn't realize that the water level of the Yellow River has dropped so much."

Quan Cong sighed and said, "It's a pity that if the Yellow River continues, our army will at least be able to hold on until the beginning of next spring. In this way, the Grand Governor will only have to face Gao Shun and Xu Huang's two armies, and the pressure will be much lighter!"

Jiang Qin patted Quan Cong on the shoulder and comforted him: "Zihuang doesn't have to blame himself. This is God's will. It's not that you are not strong in defending the city. What's more, the Grand Governor only lets you stick to the end of December. In just half a month, you will be considered completing the task."

"Report..." As soon as Jiang Qin finished speaking, a small school hurried over and reported, "General, the enemy has begun to attack again."

"This Tian Yu is really not worry-free." Quan Cong breathed a sigh of relief and said to Jiang Qin, "I'm leaving, Duke Yi can do it yourself."

After saying that, Quan Cong turned around and left.

Jiang Qin shouted at Quan Cong's back: "Zihuang, at the end of the month, I will personally lead a small boat to pick him up!"
Chapter completed!