On the last day of July, after three days of repeated searches throughout the city, Shao Xun entered the city surrounded by his generals.
The civil servants were fine, but the generals were unhappy.
In the battle three days ago, the formation killed more than 7,000 infantry and cavalry, and captured more than 5,000 people. About 17,000 people fled back to the city, and the rest were basically routed.
After Shi Le fled back to Yecheng, he reorganized the defeated troops and found only 17,000 or 17,000 infantrymen available, as well as more than 10,000 Ye people and 10,000 cavalry.
That night, the cavalry fled in two or three waves, taking away nearly 7,000 people. People in Ye were panic-stricken.
From day to night, the Jin army continued to attack the city. They broke through several times and climbed to the top of the city. Although they were pushed back, the fact that the siege could reach the top of the city itself meant that the city was very dangerous. Moreover, the troops dispatched at that time Still an auxiliary soldier.
When the generals gathered around Shao Xun to discuss, they were all in high spirits, beating their chests and asking for battle, saying that by selecting the best troops the next day, they would be able to capture Ye City before sunset.
However, the development of the situation was beyond everyone's expectation. That night, people left the city, surrendered or left. Except for a few sergeants from the Shile tribe, most of them were newly recruited servants from wealthy families.
The Jinming Gate was opened in the middle of the night, much to the disappointment of the generals who came with the expedition, except Yang Dan and Yang Pengzu.
But maybe there's still a chance, isn't there? The main part of the war is over, but it's not quite over.
Shi Le still had more than 30,000 infantrymen in the counties north of Yecheng.
The number of cavalry is not large, but there are still some. Moreover, for this battle in Yecheng, Shi Le has recruited about 20,000 cavalry, and the casualties before and after will definitely not exceed 3,000. The main force is still there, but they may not listen to Shi Le anymore.
Duke Chen would not give Shi Le a chance to recruit troops again.
After the accumulation of military supplies and equipment is completed, troops and horses will be dispatched to the north soon. As for how soon this "soon" means, it could be - tomorrow?
At three o'clock in the morning, Shao Xun and his party arrived near Ye Palace.
He entered from Zhongyang Gate.
Ye has seven gates, three on the south side, Zhongyang Gate in the middle, Fengyang Gate on the west and Guangyang Gate on the east.
There are two gates on the north side, the Stable Gate in the west and the Guangde Gate in the east.
There is a gate on the east side, called "Yingchun Gate", also called Changchun Gate and Jianchun Gate.
There is a gate on the west side, called "Jinming Gate", also called Baimen.
Yingchun Gate and Jinming Gate face each other from east to west. The street between the two gates is the east-west axis of Yecheng, dividing the city into north and south parts.
Except for a few official offices, warehouses, and military camps, the southern half is mostly residential areas, commercial areas, and handicraft areas.
After Shao Xun entered Zhongyang Gate, the main street (Tongtuo Street) he walked on was densely packed with lanes on both sides.
There is a wall in the inner square, and there is a door on the wall. There are a number of buildings surrounded by the wall, and there are a number of people living there.
There are about thirty or so lanes in the entire city of Ye, where most officials and people live.
In fact, there is another lifang in the northeast corner of Beicheng District, commonly known as "Qili", which is the place where the princes and nobles live. It is magnificent and luxurious, but it has been destroyed by the war, leaving only ruins and ruins, which is not suitable for people to live in. Therefore, Shilezhang None of the generals went to live there.
The carriages rumbled forward, and the soldiers held up large shields to protect them.
Behind, to the left and to the left, there were soldiers like clouds, and their flags blocked out the sun.
Outside the square wall, there is a post every three steps and a sentry every five steps, mostly soldiers with silver spears.
On the streets inside the square wall, there were also a few soldiers from the field army on guard.
This pomp and security standards are really not comparable to ordinary people, and they are not much different from the emperor. In fact, the "street cleaning" carried out by the emperor before traveling is often not so exaggerated.
The carriage quickly reached the end of Tongtuo Street.
This is a crossroads that intersects with Jinmingmennei Street (or Yingchunmen/Jianchunmen/Changchunmennei Street).
The carriage stopped quickly.
Shao Xun wore no armor today and wore a light blue robe. He stood on the street with his hands behind his hands and looked carefully at this famous northern city that he conquered.
"See Ming Gong." There was a clatter of armor leaves, and dozens of generals and generals, led by Li Chong, Yang Dan, Wang Queer, and Jin Zheng, came together to salute.
They were in front, and the officials of the shogunate were behind. He was standing in the center of Ye City. With this situation, he really wanted to compose a poem.
But he couldn't hold back a word for a long time, so he just nodded and moved forward.
The generals retreated to both sides and followed behind him.
Cai Cheng led his soldiers to walk a few steps quickly and entered Sima Gate ahead of him.
The so-called Sima Gate is one of the main gates on the south side of Ye Palace. There is a Chique Tower in front of the gate, which was built by Cao Cao.
Before entering, Shao Xun looked up and saw that the palace walls had been severely damaged by the war. Some places even collapsed and were only blocked by wooden fences.
Simamen must have been built later, because it looks relatively new.
After Cao Cao entered the palace, it was the so-called inner court of Ye Palace, where Cao Cao handled government affairs on a daily basis.
Behind Sima Gate there are courtyards on the left and right facing each other. On the left are the Prime Minister's Palace, the Yushi Dafu Palace, the Shaofu Qing Temple, and on the right are Fengchang Temple and Danong Temple.
The house is in ruins and has been devastated by wars.
After Shile occupied Ye for several years, he sent people to rebuild some of the buildings and use them as official offices, but not all of them were repaired.
Shao Xun turned left and entered the Prime Minister's Mansion.
"Are you Zhang Mengsun?" Shao Xun asked, looking at a middle-aged man standing under the window.
This man is quite tall and has a slim appearance, typical of a middle-aged scholar.
But his eyes are very big, and he has a somewhat deep feeling when looking at people.
Oh, a thoughtful person!
"Zhang Bin of Zhao County has met Mr. Chen." Zhang Bin bowed.
Shao Xun returned the gift and looked around.
His location is called Tingshi Pavilion, which is the main place where Cao Cao works.
The Prime Minister's Mansion is generally a square shape, with doors on the east, west, south and north walls, of which the east and west doors are commonly used.
The mansion is divided into three entrances, front and back.
The first entrance is where the guards, minor officials live and work.
The second entrance is the Tingshi Pavilion. On the left is the palace room, where Cao Cao received all the officials' meetings, and on the right is the guest pavilion.
The third entrance is the backyard, also known as "Xianshe", where Cao Cao and his family members lived daily.
The Prime Minister's Mansion had just experienced a great war, and more than a thousand people including the puppet guerrilla general Wang Yang were killed. After cleaning up yesterday, Shao Xun planned to move in temporarily, because this is one of the few relatively intact buildings in Ye Palace.
"Sit down." Shao Xun asked people to remove the desks and couches in the room, replace them with tables and beds, and then asked people to get water to make tea.
The generals have been ordered to disperse.
Several officials and assistants followed in: Hu Wufuzhi from the West Pavilion offering wine, Yangchen from the right Sima, Liu Anzhi from the Zhonglang, Xi Jian, and Yu Chen from the Sili school.
They also looked curiously at the most important counselor in Shi Le's tent.
He was born in Zhongqiu, Zhao County, and his father Zhang Yao was the prefect of Zhongshan.
When the late emperor was on the throne, he changed the title of King Sima Hong of Taiyuan to the title of King of Zhongqiu, and made Zhongqiu County the Zhongqiu Kingdom. Zhang Bin, as the local leader of Zhao County, was the second generation official, so he became the governor of the tent under King Zhongqiu.
This was a military position that he didn't like and wasn't good at. After falling ill once, he was dismissed directly from his post, and then he stayed at home for a long time until Shi Le appeared.
There were too many people like this in the Jin Dynasty. His family background was neither high nor low, and he could not be called a small gentry. After all, he had served as an official for two consecutive generations, but he could not be called a big gentry, because Zhang Bin was dismissed from office after all. Their family
If you want to go up further, the difficulty has suddenly increased.
His defection to Shile should be a decision made after careful consideration and not an impulsive decision.
This is a man with his own ideas.
"Meng Sun is under Da Hu's tent, he is called Chang Shi, and he actually holds the important responsibility of the prime minister." Shao Xun pointed to the hearing room and said with a smile: "This is where you manage your daily affairs, right? This shows Da Hu's trust."
Zhang Bin looked at the table and said nothing.
Cai Cheng brought tea, and Shao Xun invited his staff and Zhang Bin to enjoy it together.
For a while, the tea was filled with water and the sound of sipping continued.
After putting down the tea bowl, Shao Xun looked at Zhang Bin again and said, "Can Meng Sun teach me about things in Hebei?"
Zhang Bin also put down the tea bowl, and at the same time, the image of Shao Xun in his heart became richer: he is a straightforward person, he doesn't like to play a pragmatic way with you, he likes to be straightforward.
To be fair, this is not a qualified bureaucrat playing tricks of power. He has a strong sense of martial arts, direct and clear, and does not even want to be polite, but he is very real.
Considering his background, it's understandable.
But there seems to be a difference. Some people from low-level backgrounds, after suddenly ascending to high positions, like to be arty and stiffly learn the way of doing things from scholars, which often makes them self-defeating and makes people laugh.
After Shao Xun became successful, he still went his own way without making many changes. He could be distinguished at a glance among the crowd because he was so incompatible with the scholars around him and so different.
This is a warrior with outstanding vision, tenacity, clear purpose, and straightforwardness!
In an instant, Zhang Bin had already thought a lot.
"If Mr. Chen wants to pacify Hebei, he has only one strategy." Zhang Bin said.
"Tell me and listen."
"Move the shogunate to Yecheng, use it as a basis, and vigorously operate it, and then you can get a certain percentage."
"Oh? You mean I can't defend Hebei?"
"Taihang Bajing is mostly located in Hebei. Liu Kun in Jinyang is weak and can hardly stop the Huns. If Liu Cong comes down from Bingzhou and builds a high-rise building, his power will be broken. But Hebei is vast and flat, and there is no danger to defend. It will be inevitable
It is impossible to guard against it. Chen Gong lives in Henan, and he may disappoint the scholars in Hebei and find it difficult to control their hearts. Even if they rely on him for a while, over time, some people will definitely defect to the Huns."
Shao Xun was silent.
Zhang Bin said this from a strategic perspective.
Hebei is a plain, and the terrain is lower than that of Bingzhou. The eight branches of Taihang are basically in the hands of the Xiongnu, such as Huguan.
If you want to attack Bingzhou from Hebei, there are many difficulties, and it is easy for people to break into the rear from the mountain and cut off the retreat.
The only way is to use Hebei as the foundation and Yecheng as the hub, make great efforts to operate, and make the counties like iron barrels, and the hearts of the people will follow. Only then can it be possible to win the tug of war with the Xiongnu forces, and then counterattack into the outside world.
Bingzhou in Lishanhe.
In short, the forces in Hebei that have not merged the state into a vassal are very fragile. Their soft belly is directly exposed to the enemy's front. They need to work hard to manage. But if you don't come to Hebei, how much business effect can this have?
I'm afraid it's not half the result with half the effort.
But Shao Xun cannot stay in Hebei for long, at least not yet.
It has nothing to do with other, fundamental issues.
The soldiers were from Henan, and most of the officials were from Henan. He was also married to the nobles in Henan and had a close relationship. How could he come to Hebei? That would alienate his subordinates and allies who were originally close and bring disaster upon himself.
He was also observing Zhang Bin.
Through what he said just now, he was convinced that Zhang Bin still had some sense of regionalism, and his first target was the princes of Hebei. If that didn't work, he would consider other people.
Of course, these days, most scholars are divided into regions. Not to mention Henan and Hebei, even Henan can be divided into several factions based on different counties.
Zhang Bin is one of the top smart people of this era, but he is not out of touch with the times and is inevitably influenced by the trends and values ​​of the times.
"Will Meng Sun come into my presence?" Shao Xun asked.
Zhang Bin shook his head.
Shao Xun didn't force himself, he laughed and said: "It's already noon before you know it, let's eat first."
Chapter completed!