Liu Dai's secret letter was full of distortions, but Yang Rui also learned a lot of information from it. Although the contents of the letter were both true and false, and Liu Dai might not have told the complete truth to Bao Xin, Liu Dai should not have lied about the timing of the attack. Otherwise, if Bao Xin really came to help, wouldn't it be a waste of time?
Moreover, although it was impossible for Yuan Shao to return to help Liu Dai, his reinforcements were still on the way. Calculating the time, they might be able to make it in time for the Battle of Changyi. It might not be impossible for them to help Liu Dai attack Changyi City. =
With these two points, Yang Rui realized that Qiao Mao's situation was more dangerous than he had imagined. Now, Yang Rui had intercepted the secret letter that Liu Dai sent to Bao Xin. While learning about the specific timing of the attack, he had also temporarily cut off contact between Liu Dai and Qiao Mao. If Liu Dai's secret letter was successfully delivered to Bao Xin, whether or not Bao Xin would send troops to help was still unknown.
Yang Rui did not know the relationship between Bao Xin, Liu Dai, and Qiao Mao, but Bao Xin and Yang Rui had some friendship. The two had known each other for a long time, and Bao Xin seemed to be on Yang Rui's side when fighting for the position of Alliance Leader.
However, this did not determine Bao Xin's final choice. First of all, Liu Dai deliberately ignored the possibility of Yang Rui intervening in this matter in the secret letter. From the beginning to the end, he did not mention Yang Rui or Qingzhou. He selectively ignored Yang Rui, which might give Bao Xin an illusion.
At the same time, Liu Dai also clearly highlighted Yuan Shao's role in the secret letter. He mentioned that Yuan Shao was going to send troops to help attack Qiao Mao. On one hand, it showed Yuan Shao's support for Liu Dai. At the same time, it was also a hint to Bao Xin. When making a choice, he also had to consider the situation he might face in the future!
From this, it could be seen. Liu Dai had put a lot of thought into writing this secret letter. However, Bao Xin was not an ordinary person. It was hard to say what he would do after receiving this secret letter. It would not be as clean as Yang Rui intercepting it!
In fact, Yang Rui also thought about fighting for Bao Xin. However, Bao Xin was not in his territory and Yang Rui had almost no time to look for him. Moreover, the current situation between Yang Rui and Qiao Mao was at its most critical moment. Bao Xin might not be willing to get involved in this muddy water's. Therefore, the possibility of getting Bao Xin's help was not high. He only hoped that Bao Xin would not interfere.
To be honest, Bao Xin's strength was still very strong. Not to mention his military strength, he was good at fighting. Moreover, he had a general like Yu Jin under him. Therefore, if he stood on the side of Liu Dai and Yuan Shao, he might bring a lot of trouble to Yang Rui. After Yang Rui intercepted the secret letter written by Liu Dai, he basically did not have this concern.
Using this as a starting point. Liu Dai's purpose in asking for help from Bao Xin was not without the intention of pressuring Bao Xin. Even if he could not win Bao Xin's support, he had to show Bao Xin the strength of his alliance with Yuan Shao. This would prevent Bao Xin from doing anything "unwise" …
After analyzing the information revealed in the secret letter, Yang Rui did not stay around Puyang City. Instead, he rode the Flying Carpet towards the southeast. The time of Liu Dai's attack had been more or less confirmed. With the reminder in the letter, Yang Rui needed to go and find the whereabouts of Yuan Shao's troops.
Because Yang Rui flew along the Yellow River when he came to Puyang from Hulao Pass, he did not know the situation of the other Vassals retreating. If it was as Yang Rui guessed, Yuan Shao's troops might have already gone to Changyi City. Only then would they be able to make it in time for Liu Dai's attack on Changyi City in two days.
Yang Rui turned towards the southeast and searched towards the south of Changyi City. However, after four hours, he did not find Yuan Shao's troops. Therefore, Yang Rui could not help but doubt the authenticity of the matter mentioned in Liu Dai's secret letter.
Logically speaking, Yuan Shao should be in a hurry to expand his territory. Although there were still two generals, Yan Liang and Wen Chou, in his base in Bohai County, there should not be many troops left. He should take advantage of this time to transfer the remaining troops back to Hebei. Then, he should take advantage of the time when Han Fu and Yang Rui were not on guard to plot against Ji Province and Qing Province.
With some doubts, Yang Rui carefully searched around Jiyin, Dingtao, and Guide City to the south of Changyi City for four to six hours. He even reached the vicinity of Chen Liu City. However, he still did not find Yuan Shao's troops.
Later on, Yang Rui gradually came to the conclusion that Yuan Shao's troops were not coming to help him attack Changyi City as Liu Dai had said. It was very likely that they had returned to Hebei from other places. If such a deduction was correct, Yang Rui did not know whether to be happy or nervous. Yuan Shao's retreating troops could very well become the enemies that Qing Province had to face directly in the future.
However, based on the current situation, Yang Rui would rather Yuan Shao's troops return to Bohai County. Even if Yang Rui himself had to face these enemies in Qing Province in the future, it was better to protect Qiao Mao for the time being to maintain the overall situation.
If there were enough generals, Yang Rui actually had a lot of troops in his hands. At the very least, he could mobilize the 15000 cavalry from Dashan City. However, at this moment, there was no one to lead them. Currently, Yang Rui did not have enough generals who could lead troops.
Yang Rui spent the entire day searching for traces of Yuan Shao's troops. Even on the second day, Yang Rui once again went from Chen Liu's area to the Suanjujube and Guandu Yellow River. However, he still did not find anything. Calculating the time, Zhang Ning and Zhang Liao would most likely arrive at Hulao Pass. Yang Rui once again arrived at Hulao Pass before noon on the second day.
Fortunately, Yang Rui had arrived in time. Zhang Ning and Zhang Liao had actually arrived at Hulao Pass within an hour of Yang Rui's arrival. They had arrived half a day earlier than Yang Rui had estimated. At this point, Zhang Ning, Gao Shun, and Zhang Liao, these three capable generals, had already gathered in Hulao Pass. Yang Rui immediately ordered the three of them to continue their journey to Changyi City.
As for the Steel Guards that had arrived at Hulao Pass along with the migration of NPCs, since they could not travel as fast as horses, they were temporarily under the command of several accompanying County Magistrates, County Lieutenants, Senior Senior Officials, and Senior Officials. They were also tasked with protecting the migrating NPCs along the way.
Under the leadership of Duyang County's magistrate, Heyin County's officials had all become Yang Rui's subordinates in name. Moreover, their families had already been moved to Pingyuan Prefecture by Chen Lin ahead of time. Right now, they had almost arrived at their destination. Thus, these county officials were quite attentive in their work.
Most importantly, Yang Rui had also promised them that as long as they properly handled the migration of River Yin County's NPCs, every one of them would receive a promotion when they arrived at Pingyuan County. Moreover, the greater their contributions along the way, the higher their promotion would be.
Yang Rui's promise had greatly motivated these NPC county officials, causing them to work even harder than usual. Hence, at this crucial moment, Yang Rui had entrusted them with the migration of NPCs.
In reality, ever since the implementation of the Field Stationing System and the resource policy in Pingyuan County had encountered many problems, Yang Rui had long since planned to dismiss and replace the various officials in Pingyuan County. Hence, it was not difficult to fulfill his promise to promote the county officials of River Yin County. Yang Rui even intended to appoint the County Magistrate of Duyang County as the Governor of Pingyuan County.
Although Zhang Ning and Zhang Liao had traveled a long way to reach Pingyuan County, to their identities as famous historical figures, this distance was nothing. Under Yang Rui's command, Zhang Ning and the other two hurried to Changyi City at full speed.
If the information in the secret letter was reliable, Liu Dai would send his troops to Changyi City early in the morning. Even if the army's speed was slightly slower, it would only take two to three days for them to reach Changyi City. Zhang Ning and the other two had been rushing day and night, so it would take them at least three to four days to reach Changyi City. In the end, it would be difficult for them to catch up to Liu Dai's pace.
As the saying went, "If you can't keep up at one step, you can't keep up at all." From the very beginning, Liu Dai and Yuan Shao had planned ahead of Yang Rui. Moreover, Yang Rui had very limited manpower at the moment, which led to the overall situation being passive.
Fortunately, Qiao Mao, who was in Changyi City, was not completely unprepared. For the past few days, Qiao Mao had been preparing to defend the city. He was also preparing to use the "Empty City Strategy" to deal with Liu Dai, who was eager to attack the city.
Even so, if Zhang Ning and the other two entered Changyi City before Liu Dai besieged the city and led Qiao Mao's troops to defend the city, it would be fine. However, if they arrived at Changyi City after Liu Dai, even if Zhang Ning and the other two were all first-rate or second-rate historical figures, it would be difficult for them to accomplish anything.
Therefore, after the three set off, Yang Rui rode the Flying Carpet to Dashan City. Yang Rui was preparing to dispatch 15000 cavalrymen from Dashan City to Changyi City. At that time, they would be able to cooperate with Zhang Ning and the other two to pose a threat to Liu Dai's troops outside Changyi City.
In reality, just as the secret letter said, Liu Dai had sent his troops across the Yellow River on time and headed straight for Changyi City. Therefore, before the siege of Changyi City officially began, Yang Rui and Liu Dai's battle of time had already begun.
Putting aside the fact that all parties surrounding Changyi City were preparing for war, Dragon Soul and the other major player organizations, after receiving the forged documents and official seals from Yang Rui, began to settle down in the various counties in the Yin region of Henan after several days of preparation. The scene was very lively.
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