Autumn passed to the east and Doubing returned to Yin. When Wang Zheng returned to Xiapi from outside the county again, he counted on his fingers and concluded that the second year of Xingping had come to an end.
It’s only half a month until New Year’s Day,
This is the third Spring Festival that Wang Zheng has celebrated since his time travel, but it is the first New Year for the new Xuzhou government. Everyone, both civil and military, proposes to organize big and special events.
Wang Zheng also understood the mood of his subordinates. At the end of last year, the Heavenly Army was marching from Qingzhou to Xuzhou. The New Year's Eve of that time was spent at Yunting, the northernmost place in Xuzhou.
But now, after a year of fighting, Xuzhou has finally been conquered and has its own territory. Even compared to the neighboring states, which are still raging with wars or natural disasters leading to famine, it is a rare peace and contentment. It can be said that it is not enough.
More than enough.
Looking back on the past, the great years have finally achieved something, and it is normal for people to feel proud and satisfied. Therefore, Wang Zheng also readily agreed to everyone's suggestions.
Of course, the territory of the five counties is indeed quite large, especially the Taishan County in Yanzhou. It has to deal with big things, but there are also a lot of trivial matters. However, Wang Zheng naturally no longer needs to do such things personally.
While I was busy saying goodbye to the old and welcoming the new, messengers came from three directions on this day.
The north brought news about Mi Fang and Gu Jian.
The west side comes from Zhang Zhao who still lives in Wu County.
As for the south side, there is Zhao Hong's letter.
After Yuan Yin was executed and Li Ren and other generals returned to Yangzhou, although Wang Zheng felt that Yuan Shu would probably not mobilize troops in the short term, he still made preparations just in case. The four wings focused on sending Pan Zhang and others to the south.
Elite troops were stationed there, but seeing that Yuan Shu had not moved at the end of the year, after thinking about it, taking advantage of the opportunity to welcome the new year and the fact that the two sides were still allies on the surface, he arranged for Zhao Hong to go deliver gifts and greetings, and also to explore the tone of the other party.
Naturally, he did not dare to send Mi Heng again this time. Although the two countries were at war, he would not kill the envoy, but what if something happened?
Although Mi Heng has quite some shortcomings, in the final analysis he is still the only counselor who has entered the system.
There was a reply from Yuan Shu sent back by Zhao Hong. When he opened it, he found that in addition to words such as congratulations on the new year, it also contained his views on Yuan Yin. There were many words in it, and I could barely read a single sentence.
Kill well, kill wonderfully! More imperial bandits will serve as my lord to eliminate this culprit!
Along with the letter came several large boxes of gifts, part of which was a return gift, and the other part was sent to Xudu by Wang Zheng to congratulate the emperor.
This made Wang Zheng startled, and then he straightened his brows.
Although Yangzhou is far away from Xudu, there is a direct waterway, and there is no need to go through Xiapi. Yuan Shu's move was clearly because he was worried that the explanation and return gift in the letter could not reassure Wang Zheng, and he wanted to make an extravagant statement to show that he was taking advantage of Wang Zheng.
Watch it from your own family.
This Skeleton King...
Wang Zheng shook his head and looked at Zhang Zhao again.
Speaking of which, if this letter hadn't reminded him, Wang Zheng would have almost forgotten about it. Picking up the letter at this time, he pondered for a while. Zhang Zhao has been in Wu County for almost two months, right? What's going on?
After reading the contents of the letter, Wang Zheng was stunned for a while.
He thought something was wrong. According to this idea, it was because the "tiger girl" was in a mood?
Of course, in addition to explaining the reason for the delay in this matter, Zhang Zhaoxin also said that just a few days ago, the rich lady finally nodded in agreement, and now she and Lu Bu's messenger are on the way back to Xiapi.
Finally, there is news from the north.
During this period, Mi Fang has arranged for several groups of Heavenly Forces to go to Beihai. With the help of Neiying, most of them have now successfully blended into the Beihai Navy under Kong Rong. In addition to reporting in detail various specific processes, there are also The latest battle between Yuan Yin and Tian Kai.
Not long ago, Yuan Tan defeated Tian Kai again, and even attacked seven cities in half a month, completely capturing Le'an County. Tian Kai has now retreated to Linzi, Qi County.
How long has it been...
After reading the letter, Wang Zhengfu sighed, the governor of Qingzhou was too useless. According to this situation, if it was not the middle of winter, which was not conducive to attacking the city, I am afraid that the opponent would not even be able to survive this year.
Wang Zheng naturally didn't know. If he hadn't traveled through time and caused trouble in Linzi last year, causing Cao Cao to lose control of Qi County, this gave Tian Kai a way out. In the original history, Tian Kai also lost Le'an. In the case of the county, because there was no way to retreat, he fled back to Youzhou before the end of this year.
We can only hope that the other party can hold on for a while longer, Wang Zheng thought to himself, even if he wanted to send troops to help at this time, it was not the right time.
As for the ancient sword, this trip north is also to make advance preparations for conquering Beihai next year.
If Mi Fang was busy with the temple and was responsible for installing internal support under Kong Rong, then Gu Jian, who was a direct descendant of Zhang Rao, was traveling around the world to contact the people of Beihai.
To put it bluntly, they are the Yellow Turban bandits from Beihai.
Gu Jian lived up to his expectations. The messenger he sent back did not bring back any letter, but instead brought two people.
One is named Guan Cheng and the other is named Sun Xia.
Guan Cheng was from Changguang County, Donglai County, Qingzhou, and his family had been pirates for generations. His father gathered more than 3,000 people in Qingzhou to respond to the first Yellow Turban Rebellion, and then followed Zhang Rao to launch the second Qingzhou Uprising. As a result, he died at the hands of Cao Cao's general Xia Houyuan. Later, Guan Cheng got together with Guan Hai. As a result, the second boss was killed by Guan Yu, Liu Bei's sworn brother, when he surrounded Kong Rong.
In the original history, Guan Chengsheng was the most tenacious Yellow Turban bandit. He was always on the move until the 11th year of Jian'an. He made trouble in the rear from time to time, which completely angered Cao Cao. He personally led his army to Chunyu County, Beihai State, and sent three generals, Yue Jin, Li Dian, and Zhang He, to attack at the same time.
Under such circumstances, Guan Cheng had no fear. Not only did he fight fiercely with several good generals in Changguang County, but he also escaped smoothly even when he was defeated. He was very strong.
As for Sun Xia, he was originally a subordinate of Han Zhong of the Yellow Turban Army in Nanyang. After the death of his old master, Sun Xia succeeded him as Qu Commander and guarded Wancheng. Later, he was defeated by Zhu Jun and fled to Qingzhou.
These two people are also the two leaders of the yellow turban bandits scattered across Beihai after Guan Hai's death, one is a mountain bandit and the other is a sea bandit.
"I have met General Tiangong."
After being brought to the court by the soldiers, Guan Cheng and Sun Xia immediately made a grand ceremony in unison, even though the status of monarch and minister had not yet been determined.
Their respect comes from the bottom of their hearts.
Although Wang Zheng was young, his achievements were really great. Not only was his territory huge, but his army of soldiers and horses was unrivaled among the Yellow Turbans in the world (Zhang Yan, who was originally the leader of the Yellow Turbans in Jizhou, was able to overwhelm Wang Zheng in terms of soldiers and horses. He has millions under his command, but after being defeated by Yuan Shao, his current momentum has dropped a lot). The most important thing is his outstanding performance.
Guan Cheng suffered losses from Cao Cao and Liu Bei successively, and Sun Xia was about to be overshadowed by the regular armies of the princes. The two of them had hatred and fear for the officers and soldiers. In contrast, they drove them away and ran around.
The enemies were all defeated by Wang Zheng one after another. If there was still some chance of luck in conquering Linzi in Qingzhou, after this year's victory, not only did no one in the world dare to underestimate Wang Zheng, but also
All the Yellow Turban comrades from all walks of life were convinced of this young man who claimed to be "Zhang Jiao Reincarnation".
"Please get up, both of you." Wang Zheng said with a cheerful face: "We are all members of the same path, so there is no need to be so formal."
"Thank you, General."
While ordering refreshments and gesturing for the two of them to sit down, Wang Zheng said sternly: "People of the Ming Dynasty don't talk secretly. I saw that you two are also straightforward, so I got straight to the point."
"Over the past year, thanks to the blessing of Huang Tian and the bravery of my brothers, I have been lucky enough to build a business in Xuzhou. However, in recent days, I have felt homesick."
After saying that, Wang Zheng paused and recalled what was said in the letter. He couldn't help but look at Sun Xia first: "Listen to what Gu Jian said, Qu Shuai is originally from Nanyang?"
"General, please don't call me that." Sun Xiacheng said in fear: "In front of the general, there is no way to be handsome. If the general doesn't dislike it, just call me old Sun."
"General, I am indeed from Nanyang, Jingzhou. I came to Beihai to avoid disaster."
"Oh." Wang Zheng nodded: "Brother Sun must be like me. He rarely goes back to his hometown in recent years. He must also miss his hometown."
Sun Xia was sincere. When he heard this, his eyes immediately turned red. He nodded repeatedly and said, "It's natural for a wanderer to want to return home."
"That's right." Wang Zheng clapped his hands and agreed: "You two must also know that this general and his brothers are all from Qingzhou, so I intend to go back to Qingzhou next year."
"Of course, I won't leave again this time!"
Looking at Sun Xia and the two of them, Wang Zheng said carefully: "You two, are you willing to help me?"
...
Qingzhou, Le'an County, North Bank of Zi River.
Yuan Jun's camp.
"Not to mention that Tian Kai burned several ferries leading to the Huihe River. The sentries from the front came to report that the two counties of Beizhongju and Dong'anping were completely deserted, and the nearby villages were all burned down."
A young general in his twenties and thirties, with a crown of feathers and golden armor, scratched the map on the desk with a pen and smiled sarcastically: "It is clear that the wall is strong and the country is clear. This is in the name of gathering troops to approach Zi.
We want to confront our army in a stalemate at the fortified city."
"It's a pity that he woke up a little late!" The young general sneered again and again: "If he had thought of this when he was in Linji City that day, he would have really caused us a lot of trouble."
This remark immediately caused a burst of laughter.
Naturally, this young general was Yuan Tan, the eldest son of Yuan Shao, the most powerful prince in the world today, and everyone understood the meaning of these words as soon as they heard it.
Linji City is the county seat of Le'an County, and it was also Tian Kai's former headquarters. If Tian Kai had made such a decision at that time, it would indeed have cost them a lot more effort.
But this Linzi is different.
Everyone knows that this place was previously Cao Cao's sphere of influence. Although Tian Kai was named the governor of Qingzhou, he didn't have much foundation here. It was a fool's errand to rely on Linzi to resist.
"Everyone, Tian Kai is completely panicked now." Looking around at the people in the tent, the young man looked high-spirited. His consecutive victories had made his confidence surge to the extreme: "It's time to take advantage of the victory and pursue it!"
As a result, before the expected crowd of voices came out, someone hurriedly shouted to stop it: "No!"
"It is not appropriate to use troops at the end of the year, let alone a tough battle such as attacking a city. The weather is unfavorable, which is a taboo for military strategists!"
Biejia had some ominous premonitions from the beginning when he joined Xinpi. At this time, he completely understood that Yuan Tan was thinking of killing him in one fell swoop. He hurriedly bowed and said: "My lord, please don't forget the Lord's instructions."
When Yuan Shao joined forces with Xian Yufu to attack Gongsun Zan, his troops were divided into two groups, with Yuan Tan as the commander to attack Qingzhou. Before leaving, he once said, "Don't take risks in pursuit. If you can suppress it, destroy it; if you can't suppress it, chase it away."
If we can't chase each other, we will fight against each other. When I have pacified the entire territory of Youzhou, and then the army gathers in Qingzhou, we can conquer it in one battle."
Hearing this, Yuan Tan was displeased, his expression suddenly darkened, and he showed a tough and resolute expression: "George, you are too cautious."
"It is said that soldiers have no permanent momentum and water has no permanent shape. Although winter brings all kinds of inconveniences, the enemy also did not expect that we would launch at this time. It was a surprise. What's more, under the new defeat, Tian Kai's military morale was aroused. Linzi
It’s a newly-attached city again, and people’s hearts are unstable..."
For a young man who is full of energy and is thinking about making great achievements and establishing prestige, Yuan Tan has long forgotten the last two sentences of Yuan Shao.
And with the continuous victory, most of the fear he had towards his father disappeared.
"If we go straight to the city and set up our battle array, we will definitely be able to crush people's hearts and win in one fell swoop!"
"Tian Kai has been with Gongsun Zan in his expedition against Hu Yi for a long time. He is a veteran general. If he sticks to the stronghold, he will definitely step up his defense."
Xin Pi said anxiously: "What's more, there are many rivers on the way from here to Linzi. If the enemy's sentries find out, they lay an ambush in advance and attack them halfway across the river, our army will be defeated."
"Besides, since the other party has burned down villages, ferries, and civilian ships, they will not let them go. Our temporary collection may not be enough."
Hearing this, Yuan Tan was startled.
Although he was young, he had the experience of accompanying his father on military expeditions for many years. He was not ignorant of soldiers. Naturally, he knew that what Xin Pi said was true, so he remained silent for a while.
At this time, a man came out with a long smile and said loudly: "Although Xin Zuozhi's words are reasonable, he has lost his spirit. I have a plan that will definitely cause Tian Kai to collapse out of control."
Yuan Tan looked up when he heard this, his eyes suddenly lit up, and he hurriedly asked: "Is there any good idea for Guo Jiujiu?"
It turns out that the speaker's surname was Guo Mingtu, and he was serving as a sacrificial wine minister in the army at that time.
"My eldest son." Guo Tu gently stroked the thin beard under his lips and slowly stepped forward, cupping his hands and saying: "Tian Kai misjudged the strength of our army and lost Le'an in the first battle. At this time, he fled in a hurry to
There must still be lingering fears in Linzi."
He walked into several cases, pointed at the map with slightly squinted eyes and said: "Being able to make a decision and respond with a strong wall and clear the country must have been a rare move in his haste, so he arranged guards to explore these rivers, and the number must be limited.
It makes people even more panicked.”
"You can't hide a large group of people crossing the river, but you can arrange hundreds of light cavalry to cross the river in batches at night and sneak into Linzi quietly!"
"Guo Jijiu..." Yuan Tan's heart moved when he heard this: "What do you mean..."
With hundreds of men and horses, even an ordinary city may not be able to capture it, let alone a famous fortified city like Linzi, the fifth capital of the Han Dynasty.
"Who in the world doesn't know that Gongsun Zan is about to run out of energy?"
"Tian Kai is also a guest in Linzi, so he may not know everything about it in a short period of time." Guo Tu said with a smile: "We can use the power of Muhu in the state to instigate a rebellion against the aristocratic families in the city first, and then use their power to gain command of the city gate of Linzi first.
"
"Winter has arrived, the weather is getting colder and colder, and when the river freezes, it's not far away and can be crossed easily!"
"At that time, the time was expected to be ripe..."
Having said this, Guo Tu smiled confidently: "When the eldest son comes to the city, he can defeat the enemy's army without fighting!"
After thinking for a moment, Yuan Tan clapped his hands and laughed: