"We were late, but fortunately, Yan Liang was finally beheaded."
On the empty plain, Xu Rong and Guan Cheng held hands, excited.
Especially Guan Cheng, the handsome man from the Yellow Turban Canal, shed tears like a lost lamb who has returned, while Xu Rong was like a shepherd, constantly comforting him.
Behind the two men, there were a hundred cauldrons lined up. Hundreds of fire-headed soldiers were in full battle, cooking thick corn porridge, and even the air was filled with the fragrance of rice.
Xu Rong could even hear the grunting sounds of the Qingzhou Yellow Turbans. This was the sound of the gluttons in their stomachs being awakened by the aroma of corn porridge, crying out for food.
Hundreds of thousands of Qingzhou Yellow Turbans, under the arrangement of the officers and soldiers, lined up in order and took turns to get rice. Those who had not yet reached the front of the line were looking forward to it, and those who were in front of the line had bright eyes, as if they couldn't believe the corn porridge.
It was so thick that those who had already eaten the corn porridge were devouring it with expressions as if they had flown into the fairy world.
County officials at all levels in Xuzhou, under the leadership of the county guard, prepared pens, inks, paper and inkstones to register the Yellow Turbans. Those with special talents were additionally marked and classified, especially those with fishing experience at sea.
Those who do not will be questioned carefully, after all, they will be members of Cheng Pu's navy.
After being registered, the people would get on horse-drawn carriages and be taken directly back to their local areas by county officials, who would then prepare to divide the land, arrange temporary accommodation, and even plan the farming matters for them in the coming year in advance.
This process couldn't be simpler.
Xu Rong thought things would end peacefully like this, but who would have thought that officials in various counties and counties had already staged a battle to grab people in order to complete the KPI performance assessment for the coming year.
However, they are still of good quality and did not really fight. Instead, they offered good conditions to attract these Qingzhou Yellow Turbans to enter their counties.
For example, Guangling County, which is the furthest away from Qingzhou, offered seventy acres per household, far exceeding the imperial standard of fifty acres, to attract them to Guangling because they would be wasted on the road.
The conditions in Langya County, which is the closest, are not that favorable. They mainly rely on nearby arrangements, accommodation subsidies and other conditions to attract Qingzhou Yellow Turbans to Langya.
certainly!
For the original Yellow Turban soldiers, Xu Rong also had corresponding recruitment conditions. First, it was all voluntary, and second, there was an assessment. Those who failed to pass must still return to the farmland, but the court would make corresponding arrangements.
For the first time, the Qingzhou Yellow Turbans felt that they were so favored by the government. They couldn't believe their eyes. They chose from left to right, and finally, under the inducement of various county officials, they became a member of their official list.
Cars and horses rushed to various places one after another. Chen Deng of Guangling County even sent fishing boats to carry people along the coastline and into Guangling County, which could shorten the time on the road.
In an era like this, population is the productive force. As long as these hundreds of thousands of Yellow Turbans can be absorbed, it will be beneficial to their KPI performance evaluation next year without any harm.
certainly!
What they don't know is.
If all officials in Xuzhou are like this, there is actually no difference between them. The difficulty of internal promotion assessment is actually exactly the same as it would be without these common people.
Therefore, this will not cause any unfairness. On the contrary, it will save the court a lot of trouble. After all, these difficult matters will be settled by someone else without having to take action on their own.
Looking at the scene in front of him, Xu Rong pinched a strand of beard under his chin and said softly: "General Guan, which emperor in the previous dynasty could do this?"
"No one else!"
Xu Rong raised his chin slightly and said proudly: "Only my Majesty, not even Emperor Qin and Han Wu, can do this. But in the hands of my Majesty, today's scene can be accurately replicated no matter where it is placed."
Guan Hai and Guan Cheng both nodded: "Yes, I can't believe it. Officials of the Nanyang court can actually be so close to the common people, even with a tone of begging."
"Hahaha!"
Xu Rong looked up to the sky and laughed, his excitement beyond words: "My Majesty said that if you don't make decisions for the people when you are an official, it is better to go home and sow rice seeds. For this reason, the imperial court has to conduct assessments on each county every day, and those who excel in the assessment will be the best."
Those who are promoted but unqualified will be dismissed."
"Within one year, if the people cannot be fed, classes will be dismissed immediately. Within two years, no deaths from starvation or freezing will be allowed in the county. Once discovered, classes will not only be dismissed, but even jailed."
"His Majesty said that the first step on the road to ZTE is to solve the problem of food and clothing for the people all over the world. Not only must we have enough to eat, but we must also eat well. If we can't even do this, how can we talk about ZTE?
Han Dynasty!"
Guan Hai took a long breath and said softly: "We are really lucky to meet such a good majesty. Even if I are asked to return to my hometown to farm, I am willing."
Guan Cheng smiled: "Qushuai, let's buy him two hundred acres of land together, get a wife, and then have a bunch of babies and watch them go to school, get married, and have children. How happy this life will be."
"This is indeed a good day."
"but......"
The conversation changed and Guan Hai said softly: "Now the world is not yet unified. There is still the traitor Yuan Shao in the north and Liu Biao in the south. How can we feel at ease with Liu Yao causing trouble?"
"I am willing to become a pawn under the Han Dynasty in Nanyang. If the traitors are not eliminated, I will never settle down. If the Han Dynasty is revived, I, Guan Hai, will definitely contribute part of my strength."
Guan Cheng nodded slowly and expressed admiration: "Shuai Qu is a true righteous man. Brother, I am willing to lend a helping hand."
Immediately.
The two of them raised their hands towards Xu Rong and clasped their fists: "I hope the general will take him in."
Xu Rong was overjoyed and immediately helped the two of them up: "The two generals are so righteous that Rong cannot ask for more. Once we have completely absorbed this yellow scarf, we will immediately settle in Qingzhou and rush to the plains."
The two nodded and said, "Here."
*****
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
...
Continuous explosions sounded.
The Yellow Turbans outside Pingyin City were so bombed that they did not dare to come forward. They could only watch Cao Jun waiting at the top of the city and listened to the other party's extremely solemn announcement:
"Fellows and elders in Qingzhou, the imperial court has prepared food, winter clothes, and tents for you. They are all stored in Feicheng, which is conducive to winter. You can rush to Feicheng to receive the materials from the imperial court and spend the winter safely."
"If you and others attack Pingyin City, the Nanyang imperial court will regard you as enemies and will attack you head-on. I hope you will not persist in your stubbornness and rush to Feicheng to receive supplies from the imperial court and spend the winter safely!"
"..."
"Fellows and elders of Qingzhou, the imperial court has given you..."
"If you and others attack Pingyin City, the Nanyang court will regard you as enemies and will definitely..."
"..."
After shouting over and over again, the Qingzhou Yellow Turbans, who had been attacking for several days, finally felt the warmth of the opponent. Although there were a large number of cavalry outside the city to assist, they never took the retreat. This was different from Wen Chou who made them continue to attack and suffer death.
A world of difference.
After a hasty retreat, the Yellow Turban Army had reached its limit. Even if they did not die in the attack on Pingyin City, they would have died of hunger and cold.
Many Yellow Turban troops had already left. They did not go to Yanzhou, but went straight to Feicheng to test whether Cao Cao would kill them all.
"Hey, did you hear that the brothers who went to Feicheng a few days ago are already living in tents. Feicheng is surrounded by mountains on all sides, which can block the cold wind. You can't freeze to death if you live in a tent."
"Oh? How did you hear about this kind of thing? Is it possible that after they went in, they could come out again? I just believe it. If the thief didn't mean to eat us, why not be honest and hide the supplies in the
Where is Feicheng?”
"You should know that I was originally from Jinan, but later migrated to the plains. After we got together this time, I found that there were some of my former friends in General Han's tent."
"General Han? Is he the general who came from the plains? Didn't he take the remaining soldiers to Feicheng? Could it be that he brought you the news?"
"You're stupid! It was his subordinates, my friends, who brought the news. They also said that there was a lot of food there and that we could have enough to eat every day. They also asked me to come over quickly, saying that I might not have anything to eat since I was late.
"
"Are you telling the truth?"
"Of course it's true."
"Damn! Should we go there and give it a try?"
"I think you can give it a try. After all, here, it can only mean death."
"I don't want to be blown to pieces."
"Let's go and try it."
"Assemble the team and prepare to leave."
"good."
"..."
At noon that day, another group of soldiers and horses silently left the team.
At this moment, in the Chinese army's tent.
Wen Chou and Xu He were discussing the military situation and how to attack Pingyin City.
At this moment, a long announcement sounded outside the tent:
"Report—!"
Wen Chou raised his eyes and looked up.
But I saw a soldier hurriedly enter the account, leaned over and said, "Commander Qu, something bad has happened. General Wang and his men left the camp and headed towards Feicheng."
"Another one to leave?"
Xu He was stunned for a moment, so angry that his eyes were not eyes and his nose was not a nose.
"kindness."
The soldier bowed awkwardly, looking slightly timid: "Moreover, it was General Wang from Jinan who left. He had thousands of soldiers and horses under his command. He charged twice and suffered numerous casualties."
"Wang Feng?"
Xu He was surprised: "He left too?"
The soldier nodded: "Yes, he left."
"Damn it!"
Xu He cursed secretly.
If only some small teams were leaving, less than two to three thousand people, Xu He would not feel bad at all.
But Wang Feng was different. His initial team consisted of more than ten thousand people. When attacking Lu County and Pingyin, they charged twice and were finally defeated by the Nanyang court's Fuhuo Thunder, thus injuring thousands of people.
Despite this, as of now, there are still more than 8,000 soldiers and horses, which is a powerful force in the army. If he leaves Pingyin County, it will definitely be a heavy blow to the morale of the Yellow Turban team.
"Commander Qu, now many generals in the army have begun to talk, saying that those who escaped before have arrived in Feicheng, and have used the materials provided by Nanyang. Not only have they not been eliminated, but they have been registered and become citizens of Hanting in Nanyang.
.”
"They...they..."
The soldier took courage and finally continued: "Many of them also want to go to Feicheng to try their luck. It is better than waiting to die here."
"Enough!"
Snap!
Xu He slapped the handsome man in anger and became furious. His eyes were as wide as bells. He raised his finger and pointed at the military tent and shouted sternly: "Get out of here."
The soldier was so frightened that he accepted the promise and turned around to leave without any hesitation.
Tsk!
Tsk!
Xu He gasped for air, turned to look at Wen Chou who was calm and composed, and said softly: "General Wen, if we continue to waste our time, the team will be completely dispersed."
"Not only can we not take Pingyin City, we can't even touch the other side's city walls. Aren't you worried at all? Or do you mean you don't care about our life or death at all?"
Not to mention ordinary Yellow Turban generals, even Xu He himself began to have doubts.
After all, Wen Chou's calmness is too far from medical treatment. Although the opponent's strategies are there, they never seem to care about casualties. They just use another method to let you die.
Wen Chou said with a long voice: "If we have not been able to capture Pingyin City for a long time, we would have faced this situation. This was already expected. I have already told you that we can only defeat Pingyin City.
Only when the thunder bullets are used up can we capture the city."
"Fuck!"
Xu He was furious and immediately cursed.
He glared at Wen Chou fiercely, gritted his teeth, and replied sternly: "Who knows how many fire and thunder bombs there are in Pingyin City. If he still has many, can we only use the lives of our brothers to fill them?"
This time it really hit the nail on the head!
Wen Chou just wanted them to pay with their lives. In this way, it would be a huge weakening for the Qingzhou Yellow Turbans. In a sense, it was originally a weakening of the Nanyang Hanting.
For Wen Chou, it would be best to conquer Yanzhou, but if they have no way to defeat Cao Cao, they can only try to kill the Qingzhou Yellow Turbans in order to maximize their benefits.
The opponent has too many Fire and Thunderbolts in his hand, which is completely beyond Wen Chou's expectations. So far, he has not even touched the city walls of Pingyin County.
no way.
Wen Chou could only encourage the Qingzhou Yellow Turbans to attack, trying to do their best to weaken the opponent's forces and continue the battle before the opponent saw through it.
"General Xu, don't be upset."
Wen Chou had already prepared his words and said softly: "I never expected that Cao Cao would occupy Ling County in advance. You should know that Ling County is the hub between Yanzhou and Jizhou."
"Now, Ling County has been occupied by Cao Cao, so my lord's reinforcements cannot come over. Otherwise, if our two armies unite, we will surely capture Pingyin City."
"There is no news from Gongze so far. He must have sent someone to find a way to get in touch with Jizhou. If my lord's troops can come over, how can we be too lazy to live in this city?"
call-
Xu He took a long breath and said softly: "What do you mean? Do you want me to abandon Pingyin City and attack Lingxian County?"
Wen Chou was not stupid, he immediately denied: "No! Let's continue to attack Pingyin City to weaken Cao's army. Ling County will be handed over to my lord. I believe he will attack soon. Then we will join forces.
, we will surely sweep across Yanzhou."
"Ah, this..."
Xu He frowned, feeling slightly unhappy.
Wen Chou naturally knew the opponent's psychology and asked in reply: "Why, does the general want to give the defenders of Pingyin County a chance to relax? This is a taboo for military strategists. What we are fighting for now is endurance."
"I believe that there are not many Fuhuo Lei Lei left in the hands of Cao Jun in the city. As long as we work hard, we can consume them all. By then, won't it be easy to capture Pingyin?"
"If you withdraw now, I'm afraid all the efforts we have made will be in vain. Even if we join forces, we will have to start all over again."
Xu He naturally knew this. He had wasted too long in Pingyin County and would not give up easily. However, if he continued like this, the consequences would still be disastrous.
"But General..."
At this moment, Xu He softened and said softly: "We can continue to attack Pingyin County, but I don't know how long it will take for General Yuan's troops to come over?"
"Well..."
Wen Chouyang thought for a while and said angrily: "According to what I know about my lord, it may take about five days. After all, Cao Ren is stationed in Ling County, and there are Cao Jun's cavalry outside."
"You lead the Yellow Turbans first and continue to attack Pingyin County. If you still don't come in five days, I will personally take people to Ling County to conduct reconnaissance and promise to bring my lord here, how about that?"
Xu He sighed, still unable to make up his mind.
Wen Chou stimulated him with words: "General Xu, now that the matter has come to this, do you think we still have a chance to retreat? Only by holding on can we finally win."
"good."
Xu He nodded: "I understand, general, don't worry, I will attack with all my strength."
Wen Chou was overjoyed: "Well, I was indeed right about General Xu."
"Report—!"
At this moment, a long announcement sounded outside the tent.
Xu He turned to look.
However, a soldier hurriedly entered the account, leaned over and said, "Commander Qu, something bad has happened. A large number of people came from the direction of Feicheng. They all said that there was no ambush in Feicheng, and there was a lot of supplies. Let them go together!"
"What?"
Xu He was stunned for a moment, his eyes full of horror.
He couldn't believe that something like this would actually happen: "Is there really no ambush in the direction of Feicheng?"
Even the Yellow Turban soldiers couldn't help but nod: "From what we have discovered so far, it is indeed the case. Our people have all been properly accommodated when they entered Feicheng."
"Now the soldiers in the battalion are getting restless. They all don't want to attack Pingyin County and want to follow the team into Feicheng. There are already some small teams packing their luggage."
"Damn it!"
Xu He cursed secretly: "How come common people suddenly appear?"
Wen Chou suddenly felt bad and said softly: "Qu Shuai, is there a conspiracy in this?"
"oh?"
Xu He was stunned: "General, what does this mean?"
Wen Chou explained: "Once ordinary people enter Feicheng and are resettled, how can they leave Feicheng and come here to find someone to go with them? I'm afraid these people are not just ordinary people."
hiss-!
Xu He gasped: "What do you mean..."
Wen Chou nodded affirmatively: "It must be Cao's thief's conspiracy. Commander Qu quickly organized his troops to eliminate this group of enemy troops. Otherwise, once the morale of the army is shattered, it will be difficult to recover."
"good."
Xu He also realized something was wrong: "I will send someone to call the team right now!"
Without waiting for Xu He's order, another announcement sounded outside the tent:
"Report—!"
Xu He raised his eyes and looked up.
But when he saw another soldier barging in, he leaned over and said, "Commander Qu, something bad has happened. General Li, General Zhang, and General Cheng all led their troops and horses and left the camp and headed towards Feicheng."
"They also said that even if there is an ambush in Feicheng, they would admit it. If anyone dares to stop them, they will become their enemies. Our people will not be able to dissuade them at all!"
Boom!
Like a thunderbolt in the clear sky.
Xu He Lei was burnt on the outside and tender on the inside.
He couldn't believe it that Wang Feng had just left, and now even three generals, Li, Zhang, and Cheng, were leaving with their team.
I, the Yellow Turban Qushuai, would be nothing if not supported by the brothers below. Let alone Yanzhou Mu, whether I can survive is another matter.
"Damn it!"
This time Xu He was completely anxious: "Have they left already?"
The soldier handed over his hand and said: "We have broken out of camp, but we shouldn't have gone far."
Xu He did not hesitate and waved his hand: "What are you doing standing still? Hurry up and chase."
The soldier nodded quickly: "Here!"
Immediately.
Turn around and run out of the camp.
Xu He turned to Wen Chou and said softly: "General, you should know that the four of them together account for at least half of the entire army, and once they leave, others will definitely leave as well."
"We must find a way to keep them here. I suggest you go with me and tell them your identity and Mr. Yuan's strategy, otherwise they will never turn back."
Wen Chou frowned and nodded slowly: "Okay, I can go with you."
Xu He was overjoyed: "In that case, let's go."
*****
At this moment, Cao Cao, who was on the hill outside the city, stared at the Yellow Turban camp ahead through his telescope: "Zihe, did you see that the person coming out of the camp in the middle must be Xu He and Wen Chou?"
"These Yellow Turbans have no rules. They all march in the same way, so we don't know which one to fight. Now that they are divided internally, it is the time for our army to take action."
"You are all familiar with Wen Chou's portrait. Catching the dead is not a skill. If you can capture him alive, I will give you a credit, do you understand?"
Cao Chun smiled indifferently, his face full of confidence, and he put away his telescope: "General, don't worry, Wen Chou will never escape. The general will capture him alive and present him to the general."
"kindness."
Cao Cao nodded and smiled: "You can go ahead. Zhongde and I are waiting for your good news here."
Cao Chun raised his hand and said, "Here."
Cheng Li reminded: "General, remember to be careful not to hurt innocent people."
Cao Chun said solemnly: "Don't worry, military advisor, even if we can't do this, I, Cao Chun, should be demoted."
Cheng Lipan smiled: "Well, these words are exciting. I believe that the general will be able to capture Wen Chou alive and try to present a generous gift to His Majesty before the Winter Festival."
Cao Chun cupped his hands and cupped his fists: "Here."