Three hundred and ninetieth chapters waiting for the opportunity
"If I have two hundred powerful crossbows, I can defeat the harassing plan of the scattered cavalry." Xi Zhicai felt aggrieved at the defeat.
"Then what?"
"I have 10,000 soldiers who can defend the city. The nobles in the city can recruit another 3,000 troops until the general's food is exhausted."
Liu Xiang smiled: "The local wealthy family and King Lu lent me 30,000 shi of grain, which is enough for the victims of the disaster for half a year."
He tapped the note lightly and continued: "There is no need to wait for reinforcements. Xiaopei has been captured by our army. Yuan Shao's 30,000-strong army was blocked on the south bank of Buoshui. The rest of the army was contained in the East China Sea. Gongqiu is already dead.
"
Xi Zhicai frowned and thought hard. He was thinking of countermeasures, but no matter how hard he thought, he couldn't think of a way to defend the city.
Seeing that he looked constipated, Liu Xiang persuaded him: "Zhicai, no matter how excellent your tactics are, you can't make up for your strategic failure. You are not Yuan Shao's subordinate, so why bother to work for him?"
Xi Zhicai sighed: "I am weak but don't realize it. I am defeated but don't regret it. I am shallow. If I am defeated, I am no match for the general."
"Why should I be obsessed with victory or defeat? I only follow the army when I want to conquer my country. I wonder if you are willing to give in?"
"General, I don't know Gongqiu..." Xi Zhicai started to speak but stopped.
But Liu Xiang understood the meaning and was still the envoy of Gongqiu County. He did not want to change sides until the matter was completed.
Loyalty is a good thing.
He nodded, read the letter from the county magistrate Fan Quan and said: "Our army will not harass the people in the city. Fan Quan is promoted to the county magistrate, and he will be responsible for the county government affairs. However, Gongqiu's food and grass must be allocated, and the defenders and
The tribe of the rich clan supports the battlefield of Xiaopei."
"I will report back to Duke Fan and ask the general to order the Jingqi to stop attacking."
"Go ahead, I'll wait for your good news."
Xi Zhicai said goodbye and left, riding back with his team.
Gongqiu's surrender was uneventful. Fan Quan was promoted to the county magistrate and was ordered to recruit ships. The nine thousand defenders picked out three thousand men who dared to fight and dispersed them into the army. The remaining six thousand served as civilians.
Five thousand Buqu were recruited from the powerful local families, draining Gongqiu's fighting power.
The county government treasury still had 160,000 shi of grain stored in it. This was Xi Zhicai's confidence in guarding the city, and it was also something Liu Xiang was puzzled by.
"Didn't Yuan Benchu requisition grain and grass from Gongqiu County?"
Fan Quan replied respectfully: "General Qi, after the recruitment, the treasury was emptied long ago. It's just that the former county magistrate colluded with the big families in the city to smuggle grain for many years. After they escaped, I ransacked the house and found it."
"Well done, I am recruiting for military use, do you have any objections?" Liu Xiang was very happy that he could pay off the debt.
Hu Qi's trip to the countryside to borrow grain went very smoothly. No one resisted. This family only had a few hundred dan, and that family had a thousand dan. They managed to collect 20,000 dan of food in a few days.
King Lu was also very happy. As soon as the letter arrived, 10,000 shi of grain were shipped, and it would be delivered to the military camp in two or three days.
If others are willing to lend you money, you have to pay it back. You must never break your promise in such a small matter. You have been running a character set that keeps your promises for several years. You cannot give up all your efforts just for a little food. If you want to cheat, you have to cheat a big one.
"Please general, please leave some food for the people in the city." Fan Quan begged.
"How much do you need?"
Fan Quan answered cautiously: "Fifty thousand dan will last until the autumn harvest. No more. People will starve to death. Please be merciful, General."
After the army and the big family members left, there were probably more than 40,000 people left in the city. Counting the small amount of grain stored by the people and the wild vegetables and seasonal vegetables, 50,000 shi of grain was enough to last until the autumn harvest in seven months. It was really an extreme number.
Well, Liu Xiang did a rough calculation and found that it would take 70,000 dan to prevent people from starving to death.
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This does not include the hundreds of thousands of people living in rural pavilions outside the city, nor does it include the grain grown for spring plowing.
"I will leave you one hundred thousand dan of food. You will be responsible for the resettlement of the 30,000 disaster victims outside the city. You don't have to worry about their food. There are nearly 20,000 dan in the military camp, and another 10,000 dan will be shipped in a few days."
"Thank you, General, for your kindness. General, please rest assured that I will take full responsibility for the disaster victims." Fan Quan left with a lot of gratitude.
Liu Xiang made a good plan and paid back the debt of 30,000 yuan. Although the 10,000 infantrymen did not go into battle, he promised them that as long as they followed the army forward, each of them would be rewarded with a dou of grain, which was only a thousand stones, and they were rewarded.
You can't play around in the military, you have to do what you promise.
This kind of troops, who can have deserters at any time, must carefully maintain their morale, otherwise they will not be able to fight at all.
The remaining 30,000 shi of grain are with the army, which is enough to last for a while.
He wanted so much food but he couldn't take it away. As for King Lu's interest, we'll talk about it later. Gongqiu's treasury didn't have any money, and he didn't find a chance to raid his house. Let's look for another chance when we get to Pei County.
Accepting the surrender, selecting troops, recruiting large households, and recruiting ships were delayed for several days. On February 15th, 400 Yue cavalry were left to take care of the wounded soldiers, guard the city, and mobilize a thousand infantry to assist.
The only way to conquer the drama is to join the military.
Liu Xiang led 6,000 cavalry, 17,000 infantry, and 16,000 civilians across Zhaoyang Lake, thirty miles away from Pei County.
There were 3,000 soldiers and horses sent by Liu Chong to support the lake shore, and he could transport the baggage easily. 30,000 shi of grain and more than 400 oars built in the past few days were all transported by him.
The transportation was cumbersome, the quality of the personnel was poor, and the number of ships was insufficient. After all the people were in place, it was almost dark, so we had to camp on the spot.
It happened to be used as a node on the grain road from Lu State to Peixian County, so it was not considered a wasted effort.
It is indeed necessary to set up a camp to guard here. Although Pei County is 30 miles south, it is not safe across the Sishui River.
Yuan Shao's army marched up the Surabaya River. If they marched on the west bank, they would naturally be blocked by the water on the south bank. If they marched on the east bank, Pei County would be fine and could establish a defense line across the Surabaya River. However, the section from the west bank of Zhaoyang Lake to the east bank of Surabaya River would be fine.
, easy to be attacked by surprise.
Not only did he have to set up a camp, but he also had to set up a stable camp, because he was not going to enter the city and wanted to garrison here with his cavalry.
If Yuan Shao's troops can come over, Liu Xiang can naturally fight them out.
With a large group of cavalry in hand, there is no reason to be trapped in the city. It would be too wasteful.
Liu Chong's main force was defending in Peixian, thirty miles to the south. He added 13,000 infantry to strengthen the defenses on the north bank of the river and the west bank of Surabaya. He especially reminded the 5,000-strong family group to be careful to disperse them.
Use it and don't be fooled.
The remaining five thousand infantry guarded the camp.
Liu Xiang calmly waited for the opportunity to fight.
More than thirty miles southeast of Pei County, and on the east bank of Surabaya is Guangqi County. Unfortunately, Liu Chong was too slow to advance and could not take advantage of the situation. Otherwise, the two cities would rely on each other and have great advantages.
Now Yuan Shao has five thousand troops stationed here, and it is not easy to fight.
Because there are still 25,000 people near Guangqi, they have rushed to the south bank of Buoshui. The leader is Chunyu Qiong, who is looking for a way to cross the river.
There has not yet been a large-scale battle between the two armies, the soldiers are full of physical strength, and there is no shortage of supplies in the army. There are no loopholes now, and there is no time for a surprise attack.
Fifty miles south of Guangqi is Liu County, and one hundred and twenty miles south is Pengcheng. Yuan Shao should be there now. There are not many troops, because more than 20,000 people have been sent to the East China Sea to confront Guan Yu.
Two hundred miles east of Guan Yu, Zhang Liao was attacking Tan County, and 50,000 to 60,000 Yellow Turbans were gathering around Tan County.
Nearly 200,000 troops from all four sides were locked in a stalemate over an area of more than 500 miles.
The war started not long ago, and all the soldiers and horses were not tired yet, so they needed to wait patiently.
Only Chen Dengzheng was racking his brains to escape, negotiating with him every day, and kept saying he wanted Xun Wenruo from Xuzhou, just to drag him down.
He saw it, but he didn't dare to expose it. Once exposed, he would be detained and there would be no chance at that time.
He wants to confuse the enemy and wait for the opportunity.
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