The Lingering Poison of a Certain Man Surnamed Wang

To be honest, Xun Chen himself did not know whether what he had said was correct. He was not a military talent, and the Xun Family had never had any books on military affairs. He had merely analyzed the situation from the broader trend, mainly to boost Yuan Shao and the others' confidence.

After all, with so many strategists and generals, Xun Chen really could not believe that Yuan Shao would lose to Gongsun Zan.

As it turned out, Xun Chen had guessed correctly. Although Gongsun Zan's current moves looked as fierce as a tiger's, he immediately wilted after the Battle of Jieqiao. The situation shifted from offense to defense, and he retreated step by step until he finally met his downfall.

Xun Chen's words once again stirred the confidence of the civil and military officials under Yuan Shao, and they began making arrangements according to this plan.

How to mobilize troops for defense, under what circumstances they could retreat, how many mistakes had been made on the previous battlefield and how to avoid them next time, how to arrange the deployment while defending a city—the discussion hall was bustling with activity for a while.

"We've been retreating step by step to lengthen Gongsun Zan's supply lines, spread out his forces, and train our troops, but will abandoning those cities cause dissatisfaction among the local clans?" Xin Pi suddenly cut in.

He had to make this point clear. Xun Chen belonged to their Yingchuan faction, and they could not give the other factions an opportunity to shift the blame and attack them afterward.

"Zuo Zhi, rest assured!" Only Yuan Shao could answer this. No one else had the qualifications to speak on behalf of the Jizhou clans. "It won't. As long as the local clans don't get involved, Gongsun Zan