The Wengcheng was shattered by Lu Bu, and with it the last morale of the defenders in the west of the city. As the city wall collapsed and a large number of Jianghuai troops poured in, the remnants of the defenders could no longer resist, so they dropped their weapons and surrendered.
In the chaos, Li Tong wanted to take advantage of the chaos to fight his way out, but was targeted by Wei Yan. Without his military formation, he was clearly no match for Wei Yan in terms of martial arts. After only three moves, he was disarmed by Wei Yan and subdued to the ground.
"General, Cao Cao is dead and Xuchang has been defeated. Why bother resisting like this?" Chu Nan looked at Li Tong. He was a man with a resolute face, and his talent was even more remarkable.
talent:
Iron Law (Full): Enforce the law strictly and eliminate all favoritism. When serving as a local county magistrate, the crime rate under the rule will be reduced by 55%, the government office's credibility will be increased by 55%, and military morale and public morale will be increased by 55%. This ratio will increase with the increase in official position.
, weakened by the expansion of the scope of governance, each additional county will be reduced by 5%
Iron Courage (Full): A man with iron courage is not afraid of any kind of threats. On the battlefield, he can stimulate 20% of the combat power of his soldiers and their morale will not be easily affected.
Death Battle (full): When in a desperate situation, increase your own combat power by 15% and increase the combat power of your subordinates by 15%.
"Since the army has been defeated, if you want to die, don't waste any more words!" Li Tong shook his head and shouted angrily.
"I'm serious, come here, general, please go down and rest, keep a good guard, don't wait too long." Chu Nan stood up, not looking at anything else, just looking at this talent, he is not someone who is easy to compromise, especially at this time, it is difficult to convince
If you ascend to heaven, first push the person down, and then think about how to persuade him to surrender.
None of the three talents are top-notch, but they are all full-level talents, enough to make him first-class. Moreover, Li Tong is not just a military general, but a versatile general who can be used as a civil servant, especially the iron law.
Chu Nan had the urge to let him join the Criminal Department.
This person must be captured, must be captured!
"Why didn't Zi Yan surrender this person?" Lu Bu saw that Chu Nan just said one sentence and stopped trying to persuade him. He looked at Chu Nan with some confusion. Didn't he say that he wanted to surrender?
"Didn't my father-in-law see that? This man has a strong character. If he is defeated and captured at this time, he must have a death wish in his heart. Trying to surrender at this time will not help. He may even provoke us to kill him. It is better to take him into custody first.
It will take a while for this energy to dissipate before recruiting." Chu Nan explained with a smile.
【How can this be seen? 】
Lu Bu looked at his son-in-law. The formal conversation between the two parties only lasted two or three sentences. How could he tell so much?
"Ahem, I can certainly tell that this person has a good command of the army, so I am eager to see him." Lu Bu coughed lightly, indicating that he also saw that this person had a strong character.
Chu Nan was thinking about things when he suddenly heard Lu Bu's words and was a little confused. He could tell Li Tong's character through his talent. How could his father-in-law tell that?
He immediately realized that he was bragging.
"What my father-in-law said is true." Chu Nan agreed with a smile: "The four gates have been decided, and Xuchang City has been completely won. Congratulations to my father-in-law."
"It's all the credit of all the soldiers." Lu Bu felt great after hearing this, looked around and said: "All the soldiers are stationed to rest. Tomorrow we will discuss the merits and reward them!"
There is no reward from the imperial court for the time being. Chu Nan has told Lu Bu about his idea before, and he wants to treat the imperial court as air first and make their own decisions on any matter until the imperial court is willing to ask for it.
Lu Bu could not take the position of the Three Dukes by himself. He had to be worshiped as the Third Duke by the emperor. Generally, there are three ways to appoint officials, the first is worship, the second is grant, and the third is appointment.
This appointment is common. For example, the last time Chu Nan was appointed as the governor of Xiapi, most officials were appointed by the imperial court.
Conferring refers to conferring an official or a title, which is also relatively common. It is different from Ren, but the difference is not big.
Although worship is the conferment of an official position, it is a rather solemn occasion and usually requires a ceremony to show that the emperor attaches great importance to this person.
Lu Bu's position as the Three Dukes must be worshiped by the Emperor. This further confirms the legitimacy of Lu Bu's attack on Cao Cao, which is recognized by the Emperor, and also identifies Cao Cao as a traitor!
Although it is all superficial, in official circles, this set of etiquette is very necessary, and Confucianists also follow this set of etiquette. Chu Nan does this not just because he cultivates Confucianism. In his eyes, practicing Confucianism means
Just like a sword, it is just a weapon, but the important thing is that in today's world, Confucianism is considered the mainstream, with many people practicing it, it naturally has the greatest influence.
Official worship of the Three Dukes is all about this influence. Even if the people of the world are unwilling to accept it, your emperor himself begs for Lu Bu to be promoted to the Three Dukes. If you don't accept it, you are opposing what you have learned and destroying the rituals and music.
, although the situation will be more chaotic, Chu Nan will be happier.
"Here!" All the soldiers agreed and led their troops away. Chu Nan did not forget to invite Zhang Xiu to the city to discuss the reward. However, Zhang Xiu did not enter the city, but stayed in order to organize the army.
Outside Xuchang City.
"Sir, Marquis Wen wants to grant me a reward, should I accept it?" Outside the city, at the Nanyang Army Camp, after politely declining the invitation from the generals, Zhang Xiu asked Hu Che'er to arrange for the army to return to the camp, while he himself invited Jia Xu to discuss the matter.
thing.
After killing Cao Cao and conquering Xuchang, Lu Bu invited him to enter the city and receive a title. One was to reward him based on his merits, and the other was probably an invitation.
This cooperation between the two parties was quite pleasant, but Zhang Xiu originally joined forces with Liu Biao to fight against Cao Cao. Strictly speaking, he was Liu Biao's man.
But now times have changed, and unknowingly, he helped Lu Bu defeat Xuchang, which is equivalent to helping Lu Bu become the person to replace Cao Cao. Should he get close to Lu Bu or get close to Liu Biao next? This makes Zhang Xiu a little difficult to make a decision.
"Why don't you accept it?" Jia Xu took a sip of the water brought by the soldiers and asked: "General, is he here just to help Marquis Wen?"
"This..." Jia Xu was stunned when he heard this. He helped others fight a battle. No matter how much he contributed, a lot of food and grass were consumed these days, and he also really contributed to the siege. Now that the war is won, they will give him a reward.
, if you don’t want to... are you here to be a good person?
Thinking of this, Zhang Xiu felt relieved: "I've thought too much, so I'm going into the city."
Jia Xu looked at the sky, shook his head and said: "Entering the city at this time will make Marquis Wen think that the general is repeated. It is better to spend tonight and go back to the city to pay a visit early tomorrow morning."
Zhang Xiu nodded in agreement, then looked at Jia Xu and said with some hesitation: "Mr. Wenhe, there is one more thing that I need to clarify."
Jia Xu nodded while holding the water bowl, waiting for the next words.
"If Marquis Wen asks me to serve him, should I be loyal to Marquis Wen?" Zhang Xiu asked the question that had been lingering in his mind for the past few days.
To be honest, the two parties get along well, and Lu Bu treats him quite well. Now it is only a matter of time before Lu Bu takes over Xuchang and aspires to the Central Plains, and he will definitely be invited to join in the future.
Zhang Xiu was a little confused on whether to accept Lu Bu's invitation.
Jia Xu held the water bowl and said nothing. After a long time, he slowly shook his head at Zhang Xiu's urging.
"Refuse?" Zhang Xiu frowned and asked.
"I don't know." Jia Xu sighed and expressed his opinion: "From my point of view, Marquis Wen has no destiny to aspire to the Central Plains. This person has many problems. He acts incessantly and does things unclearly. He died in the face of great righteousness.
, Forgetting their loyalty when they see small gains, this kind of people, even if they have great abilities, will never achieve great things."
【Is it so unbearable?】
Zhang Xiu looked at Jia Xu in astonishment, why didn't he feel it? He just felt that Lu Bu was a bit aloof, and in the eyes of outsiders, he talked little and didn't do much else. Why did he have all the problems when he came to Jia Xu's place?
"However, since he took over Xuzhou, he has changed a lot. He no longer clings to immediate interests when encountering problems. He can take a long-term view. He also knows how to make good use of people. Moreover, Lu Bu now seems to have a very clear view of his future path, even if the interests are no longer
If the title of Marquis is inconsistent with his goal, then Lu Bu can also abandon it like a worn out shoe. To be able to do this is a rare sign of a wise master, but..."
"Sir, can you finish your sentence in one go?" Looking at Jia Xu who interrupted again, Zhang Xiu was speechless and asked, "Can we talk properly? What's wrong with always being a show-off?"
"I don't know why, but I always feel that Marquis Wen doesn't have much ambition." Jia Xu said this with some disbelief. Lu Bu didn't feel like Cao Cao, a man who was ambitious and wanted to do big things. He looked like a little rich man.
Ji An's feeling, but if he really is this kind of person, it is impossible to get to where he is today. Jia Xu doesn't quite understand what made him get to where he is today.
Zhang Xiu: "..."
Is such a person bad? So do you want to take refuge?
Seeing Zhang Xiu looking like this, Jia Xu smiled helplessly and said: "If Marquis Wen invites the general to join him, the general will accept it, but he needs to retain his position as the governor of Nanyang, at least before the victory between the north and the south is decided.
Leave yourself a way out."
"The decisive battle between the north and the south?" Zhang Xiu looked at Jia Xu in surprise when he heard this. What kind of decisive battle between the north and the south? Which class did he miss?
"Now the general situation of the world, although there are many generals from Jiangdong, Jingxiang, Shu and Guanzhong, the general situation of the world still depends on the Central Plains. Marquis Wen will win this battle and get the land of the Central Plains. However, the general must not forget that there is Yuan Shao in the north.
, now that both sides are gaining strength, a battle is inevitable." Jia Xu pointed at the map and said with a smile: "If Yuan Shao takes over the four northern states, the population may not be as large as that of Marquis Wen, but he will have no worries.
Liu Biao, Jiangdong is constrained, and the generals in Guanzhong in the west can leave the pass at any time to raid, so they are unable to resist the enemy with all their strength. At least in terms of situation, Marquis Wen does not have the upper hand, so I think that before the two sides decide the winner, the generals can be friendly
Marquis Wen can also rely on Marquis Wen to a certain extent, but not completely."
Seeing Zhang Xiu frowning, Jia Xu smiled and said: "Of course, the general can also gamble his luck and devote all his efforts to the command of Marquis Wen. Once Marquis Wen wins, the general's status will naturally be extremely high, but if he fails, he will inevitably be liquidated by Yuan Shao."
With Jia Xu's character, it would be safer not to go all-in and leave some room, but if Zhang Xiu insists on going with Lu Bu, he will not object. In the end, he is just a small strategist.
"Thank you for your advice, sir." Zhang Xiu saluted Jia Xu. He was afraid that he wouldn't be able to sleep well that night.