Before Sun Ce finished reading, Guo Jia first came in, greeted Jiang Gan, sat beside Jiang Gan, and looked at the scroll of paper in Sun Ce's hand, very surprised. "Where did this come from?" As he said, he handed over the roll of paper in his hand.

Sun Ce took it and saw a detailed report on the two wars between Yuan Shao and Dong Yue. There was a brief report before, only the general force of both sides, and the outcome of the victory or defeat. This time, a lot of details were added, and a map was also drawn, but it was still not as detailed as the results of Jiang Gan's field investigation.

After all, a detailed work is a detailed work, and some information is difficult to find out. Sun Ce thought about it and asked Guo Jia: "Fengxiao, do you still have any contact with your uncle?"

"Yes." Guo Jia pulled out another roll of paper from his sleeve and handed it to Sun Ce. "What's the letter I just received today."

"today?"

"Well, I was surprised that the general received it when he went to the Central Army to discuss the matter. It was the first time that my uncle took the initiative to write to me after so many years. After leaving Yecheng, I sent someone to give him gifts many times, but he never replied to me."

Guo Jia laughed, but was a little indescribable. Sun Ce knew that Guo Jia came from a branch of the Guo family in Yangdi, and Guo Tu was the main corporation, and he never looked down on this clan who went to the wrong place. Guo Jia left Yecheng and had the element of competing with Guo Tu for a breath. Sending someone to give gifts to Guo Tu is definitely not trying to sell his information.

Sun Ce did not answer Guo Tu's letter. Since he chose to believe Guo Jia, then believe it to the end. "You can contact him more and provide him with some information when necessary to ensure his position beside Yuan Shao."

Guo Jia responded without any surprise, but blinked when he took the letter back into his sleeve, and then rubbed the corners of his eyes inadvertently.

"Fengxiao, how many powerful crossbowmen are there under Yuan Shao?"

"More than 10,000, nearly 20,000."

Sun Ce was shocked. "So much?"

"There are two parts of the strong crossbow soldiers under Yuan Shao: some are Taishan soldiers, originally Wang Kuang's subordinates, with a small number of people, about 2,000 people, which are relatively brave. There are also some are county soldiers in various counties in Jizhou, with a large number of more than 15,000 people. They were originally led by Zhao Fu and Cheng Huan and stationed in Mengjin. They had a lot of opinions about Han Fu's transfer of Jizhou to Yuan Shao, so they naturally could not be valued by Yuan Shao. Now they are missing, and they may have been killed."

Jiang Gan was puzzled. "Why must he be killed? Is it impossible for him to be exempted from his official position and return to the field?"

Guo Jia smiled. "Ziyi didn't know that these two people had demonstrated in front of Yuan Shao, and Yuan Shao would not let them live. Anyone who offended Yuan Shao would have a dead end in the end. No matter whether they were enemies or friends before, there was no exception."

Jiang Gan shrugged, feeling incredible.

Sun Ce asked again: "How many cavalry are there under Yuan Shao's tent? Are there some heavy cavalry?"

"There are not many cavalry under Yuan Shao's tent, and now it should be no more than three thousand. The heavy cavalry mentioned by the general should be cavalry wearing horse armor, which is indeed the killing weapon in Yuan Shao's hand. These cavalrymen and horses are all equipped with large armor and are very tightly protected. The knights and horses are carefully selected, with about two hundred people, all of whom are loyal to Yuan Shao, and almost all have received the favor of Yuan Shao."

Guo Jia chuckled: "General, these heavy cavalry are all piled up with money. If you don't have Yuan Shao's financial resources, you still don't have to consider it for the time being."

Sun Ce agreed with Guo Jia's opinion. The heavy cavalry did not last long in China. It appeared during the Three Kingdoms, and the Southern and Northern Dynasties became the king of the battlefield. The Sui Dynasty also had large-scale armored cavalry, which was not much heard of by the Tang Dynasty. This included both the inherent shortcomings of heavy cavalry and economic considerations. War was to burn money, and heavy cavalry was one of the most expensive arms in the era of cold weapons. Not only were the armor of people and horses expensive, but war horses were also carefully selected good horses. Ordinary horses could not bear that weight at all.

Heavy cavalry is popular in Central Asia because Central Asia has excellent resources for war horses. It is very difficult for smaller Mongolian horses to be heavy cavalry, let alone Central Plains horses. For him, who is seriously short of horses, he doesn't have to think about heavy cavalry.

However, how to deal with these heavy cavalry must be put on the agenda.

Guo Jia disagreed with Sun Ce's concern. "How much role can the general think of those heavy cavalry play here? After crossing the Yellow River, the combat power of these heavy cavalry will be lost half. For the impact infantry formation, these heavy cavalry are not much different from ordinary cavalry, and can even be said to be inferior to ordinary cavalry. They can't do anything except rushing to the formation. The real power of these heavy cavalry is precisely for ordinary cavalry. The Xiliang Army really encountered these heavy cavalry nemesis when it encountered these heavy cavalry. No wonder they were defeated again and again."

Sun Ce nodded repeatedly. The terrain in Chenliu area is relatively low, with a water net crisscrossing. There are five swamps of various sizes near Zhongmu, including Putianze and Bolangze. Junyi and Xingyang are no exception. There is no room for these heavy cavalry to be carried out. The final decisive battle between Cao Cao and Yuan Shao took place in this area, which is closely related to the fact that the terrain here is not conducive to the cavalry to be carried out.

As he was speaking, Zhang Hong walked in. Sun Ce temporarily put down the topic and said the story of attending the meeting. After hearing this, Zhang Hong nodded frequently to praise. "The general is right. Stabilizing Luoyang is very important for the general. We should not face Yuan Shao for the time being. It is worth giving some food. In my opinion, if we can successfully capture the four counties of Jiujiang, Lujiang, Jiangxia, and Nanjun, and even further capture the four counties of Jiangnan in Jingzhou, we can give a little more. After all, the court is the court, and there are still people loyal to the court, even the party members are no exception."

Guo Jia smiled and said, "Sir, I really sympathize with the party members."

Zhang Hong didn't mind either. He and Sun Ce and Guo Jia had differences in their attitude towards the party. This is no secret. Sun Ce also said that this is a generation gap, gentlemen are harmonious but different. Everyone seeks common ground while reserving differences, and don't affect the overall situation.

"General, there are two things that must be known to form an alliance with the Xiliang army."

"Sir, please say."

"First, the Xiliang army killed too much, especially in the Yingchuan area. If it cannot be relieved in time, it may cause misunderstandings and cause the general's reputation; second, Bingzhou is poor, and the Huns have been invading the south in recent years, and the court has been unable to subdue it. It has been rewarded and comforting, which costs nearly 200 million yuan a year. If the Xiliang army intends to occupy Bingzhou, even if it doesn't have so many, 50 or 60 million is needed. For the general, this is not a small burden."

Sun Ce scratched his head. He knew that the burden was not light on the grain alone, but he was not as thoughtful as Zhang Hong. Five or sixty million a year, this is just a cut of flesh.

Guo Jia shook his head and expressed his objection. "General, don't worry too much. We won't give them money in vain. We can let them trade with war horses. If they spend 50 or 60 million a year, they can solve the source of war horses. Why not do it? After all, the people of Xiliang are not the Huns, and they cannot regard them as barbarians and build strong enemies. If the people of Shandong are not very high in their own opinion and despise the people of Shanxi, why is this the world in the world?"

Zhang Hong nodded in agreement. "Yes, if he had been more tolerant of the people of Xiliang and more tolerant of the warriors, it would not have caused such a disaster. The past cannot be advised, but the future can still be pursued. If a general is determined to be the world, he must be able to tolerate the world. Only by being tolerant and inclusive can he help the world."
Chapter completed!