Sima Que, the king of Xincai, stood at the top of the city, looking at the tens of thousands of troops encamped in the distance.
According to reports from government officials who went to work for the army, there were about seven to eight thousand soldiers, as well as nearly 10,000 temporarily recruited slaves in Yingchuan County.
The momentum is great, the momentum is great!
Sima did not go to visit the camp because he was ill.
He is not a courageous person.
In the "Turn-Based Game" in Yecheng three years ago, his father Sima Teng rode out on Qingqi and killed Li Feng for the Jisang tribe.
The eldest brother Sima Yu was always brave. When he heard that his father had been killed, he immediately led his people back. He happened to meet Li Feng and killed his entourage. Li Feng was forced to drown and died.
But on the way back, the eldest brother and his party encountered Li Feng's tribe again and were surrounded and killed by them.
In the end, he was the only one to escape, and all three brothers died, so the title of King of Xincai fell to him, the son of a commoner.
Scenes from the past are still deeply engraved in his mind, making him shudder. When he gets up in the middle of the night, he often sweats through his clothes and falls into a pessimistic mood that is difficult to extricate himself from.
He knew that he was unable to integrate Yuzhou's military forces. After taking office for so long, he mainly relied on the remnants of his father's old army to recruit and train new soldiers. They did whatever they said, and he really didn't understand.
But he couldn't refuse the appointment.
There are not many people left in the Donghai King family. Even for yourself, you have to try your best to hold on.
It’s really difficult!
"Captain, Li Hong refused to go to Chenliu and went to Nandun and Xincai." The general ran upstairs and reported breathlessly.
"How dare you!" Sima Que angrily slapped the parapet and scolded.
Li Hong was the commander of the Pingyang refugees, with thousands of them. After arriving in Henan County, he heard that the Huns were arriving, and wanted to go south to Xiangcheng. However, he was locked up three times. As a last resort, he took the risk of taking a detour to Chenggao and marched to Xingyang before the Huns.
Li Ju, the commander of Wubao, summoned him, but he refused and went south again to Yingchuan.
Sima Que sent people to summon him with money and food, and ordered him to go north to Chenliu to intercept Wang Mi who might go south.
Li Hong collected money, food and equipment, but refused to die. He left Xuchang overnight and ran south, heading towards Xincai State, the fiefdom of Sima Que.
What is the virtue of a refugee army? He knows it very well.
He knew only too well how empty Xincai, Nanton, and Runan were.
So very angry.
"Immediately mobilize troops and horses to 'escort' Li Hong out of the country. He will go wherever he likes and leave him alone. In short, don't wander around Xincai." Sima confirmed the order.
"No." The general responded, but did not leave.
"Is there anything else?" Sima asked, knowing that this soldier-general who was born as a domestic servant was always measured and not too troublesome.
"Captain, there are many people displaced in Yuzhou, and it is not just a matter of Li Hong's family." The general reminded: "There are people in Pei, Lu, Liang, Qiao, Chen, Ru, and Ying counties, and most of them are the remnants of Wang Mi's bandits.
, and later there were tens of thousands of refugees from Pingyang, Hedong and even Guanzhong. Now, although the wasteland has been reclaimed and cultivated, the nature of thieves is hard to change, and they are plundered everywhere during the slack period, causing great hardship to the residents."
"What do you want to say?" Sima Que gave him a confused look.
He was a little suspicious that the servant had received money and deliberately mentioned this matter in front of him.
"I think we can report to the imperial court and order each of them to return to their respective counties to avoid any trouble," the general replied.
Sima was sure that his doubts were a little relieved.
He knew what the general said made sense.
The dispute between residents and refugees is not a matter of one or two years, nor is it a matter of one state or one county.
Some refugees can be used. For example, Liu Hong, the former governor of Jingzhou, gathered a large number of northern refugees, divided unowned land among the counties of Jingzhou, and allowed them to settle down, cultivate and become residents.
But some refugees cannot use it.
For example, the remnants of Wang Mi scattered in the counties of Yuzhou were very restless. Last year there was a severe drought and the land was bare for thousands of miles. The refugees and residents fought fiercely to grab water, attacking each other and killing countless people.
At present, the relationship between Yuzhou residents and refugees has become extremely tense.
The residents have official support and the backing of aristocratic families, while the refugees stick together and fight fiercely. The two sides have been hostile for a long time and have deep hatred. It seems that just a little spark can quickly ignite the long-standing firewood.
.
"Captain, a few days ago, the cavalry captured Xi Zuo from Chenliu heading south. They were all sent by Wang Mi to try to incite the refugees to rebel, capture the city, kill the officials, plunder the people, money and food, and then go north to join him.
." The general said again: "If Wang Mi succeeds, Yuzhou will be in chaos. Compared with this, Li Hong is a trivial matter."
Sima Que's face suddenly became serious.
This is a real threat that must be taken seriously. He, the governor of Xuchang, is nothing but a few thousand so-called veterans who have been trained for more than a year. The training of more than 10,000 newly recruited sergeants does not last more than two months, and they have no combat effectiveness.
Moreover, the equipment is not very complete. The craftsmen are working day and night to make it. I don’t know if they can have all the guns, bows, knives, armor and crossbows they need before the end of the year.
In the past few years, the Xuchang metropolitan area has experienced repeated bleeding, and the losses have been really huge.
"Why didn't Wang Mi go south in person and command these refugees to cause chaos?" Sima Que suddenly thought of this question.
The general pointed to the army encamped in the distance and said: "Captain, the Marquis of Chen is in Xuchang, and Wang Mi should not dare to go south."
"Is he afraid?"
"He's scared."
Sima Que suddenly felt envious.
A soldier who can defeat an enemy general to the point of fearing him and walking around him should be proud of himself, right?
Wang Mi is also a coward and does not dare to confront Shao Xun head-on, so he is called "Flying Leopard" in vain.
Well, there are some problems with this. If Wang Mi is a coward, then who are they?
Sima Que shook his head, decided not to dwell on this issue, and asked instead: "Just now you mentioned that you should report to the imperial court, what do you mean by this?"
"The Governor may want to communicate with the Jingzhou side." The general suggested: "Most of the refugees from Guanzhong moved to Jingxiang and Nanyang, with as many as 50,000 families. It must be a headache for Wang and Shan. If they can jointly sign with the Governor
I'm going to report that the refugees from various states will be sent home, and the governors of Yong, Xu, Qing, and Yan states will send people to take them back, and then the problem will be solved. Isn't it wonderful?"
"What you say makes some sense." Sima Que said with a smile, "Well, in a few days I will send someone to Xiangyang and Wancheng to talk to Shan Jian and Wang Cheng."
"As for Li Hong, send troops to drive him away first. Gu's feudal country cannot be in chaos." At this point, Sima Que's face showed a trace of ruthlessness. He only heard him say: "Mr. Gu was wondering if he had done it before.
You are too weak, which makes Li Hong feel lonely and easy to bully. Let's show him how powerful he is this time."
"No." The general responded.
Seeing that Sima really had nothing to say, he resigned and left.
Sima Que turned back and looked at the camp in the distance.
Representatives of the Yingchuan gentry should be there, Shao Xun is very majestic.
****
On the second day of March, Shao Xun arrived in Yanling.
This is also a historic city.
Zheng Beike fought in Yan, Jin, Chu fought in Yanling, etc.
Yanling was not on the marching route. The main reason for coming here was to visit the Xiayu family's base camp, and at the same time move north to scare Wang Mi who was about to move.
Wang Mi was in Baima, collecting a large amount of grain, grass, money and silk, and transporting them northward via two pontoon bridges temporarily supervised.
Early in the morning on the third day of the Lunar New Year, Wang Sang hurried to the ferry with a piece of yellow paper in his hand. He saw Wang Mi training new recruits and was mumbling for a long time without daring to speak.
"What's the matter?" Wang Mi glanced at him.
Wang Sang looked at the paper in his hand, almost sweating and did not dare to speak.
"Bring it here!" Wang Mi stretched out his hand and said.
Wang Sang sighed and said: "Brother, don't be angry, this must be Shao's thief's plan to provoke the general."
Wang Mi snatched it away, unfolded it and looked dizzy.
There was only one word written on the yellow paper: "Get out!"
"I told you not to look." Wang Sang glanced at Wang Mi and sighed.
Wang Mi didn't speak for a long time, but his face was like a magic trick, interpreting various expressions such as shame, anger, sadness and even fear. He was called a master in the world of face changing.
Seeing his brother like this, Wang Sang felt ashamed and said: "Brother, it's not a good idea to keep avoiding him like this. I finally figured it out. Get up from where you fell. If you don't win against Shao Thief once, this
The hurdle is impossible to overcome.”
Wang Mi still didn't speak.
When Wang Sang saw this, he thought Wang Mi had acquiesced, so he said: "Brother, our army has 30,000 infantry and cavalry soldiers, which is much more than Shao's thieves. Let's do it this way and deal with him. There are many old soldiers scattered in various counties in Yuzhou.
Brother, I will send people to mobilize them right now, let Shao thief's backyard catch fire, panic, and destroy his Yuzhou."
After saying that, he turned around and left.
Wang Mi grabbed his cousin and asked in a low voice: "How did you get this paper?"
When Wang Sang mentioned this, he became angry. He just heard him say: "It's not Liu Ling! He led people to arrest the man who went out to collect firewood, and then asked him to come back with a letter, go around and deliver it to me.
It’s in.”
"In other words, not many people know about it?" Wang Mi asked.
"Brother - you!" Wang Sang was a little surprised.
Wang Mi waved his hand and said: "You are thinking too much. Shao thief insulted me like this. I am also a bloody man. How can I swallow this breath? In this way, you will treat the people who know this..."
Wang Sang looked at his brother's face and understood, so he whispered back: "I'll do it in a while and make sure my hands and feet are clean."
Wang Mi nodded and said: "Invite Shi Le over. He has more than 20,000 cavalry in his tent. Without these cavalry, we can't defeat the Shao thieves. King Quyang ordered us to cross the river and go south, originally to plunder the counties around Luoyang.
Cut off its water transport. Shi Le is slippery and unwilling to go south, so let's go to 'Xiao Yi Dayi' and he will come."
Yes, this is the Xiongnu's strategic intention that Shao Xun had been guessing before.
They have discovered that attacking Luoyang by force outweighs the losses, and the possibility of defeating it is too small. It is better to attack the periphery of Luoyang first, and even if it cannot be captured, it must be destroyed. It is better to cut off the water transportation so that money and grain from other states cannot be smoothly imported into Luoyang, so that
It will collapse without a fight.
To cut off water transport, Xingyang and Chenliu must attack one of them, and it is best to capture both.
"Okay." Wang Sang nodded blankly, then asked: "What about those old brothers in Yuzhou?"
"Don't act rashly yet." Wang Mi said: "There are Xiongnu elite cavalry commanded by King Quyang in Wei County, as well as Zhao Gu's tribe. It's best to wait until they all arrive, and then attack them together, and make sure Shao Thief is eaten.
Big loss."
"Brother is still thoughtful." Wang Sang said with a smile.
"There won't be any reinforcements in Luoyang, right?" Wang Mi suddenly felt a little worried about gain and loss and asked uncertainly.
"Probably - no." Wang Sang said hesitantly.
"You're going to do some work first." Wang Mi waved his hand and said.
"Okay." Wang Sang walked away happily.
Chapter completed!