Soon after, news broke that Pingshou had been captured in Xuzhou, immediately making everyone in Bawang's hometown burst into joy.
Xu Fang, Yu Jin, lived up to expectations and led his lone army deep into the enemy's hinterland. After seven battles and seven victories, Wu Sheng took the lead in conquering the city and then killed Kong Rong with his own hands.
Kong Rong, the Prime Minister, had to be killed. Wang Zheng had discussed this with Guo Jia before the army set off.
According to Wang Zheng's idea, the original intention was to capture the opponent alive. After all, he was now nominally a minister of Emperor Xian, and Kong Wenju's reputation was too great. If he killed him, the impact would be too bad. It would be better to try to recruit the opponent. In terms of military and political matters, this person
Although his talents are general, he is very outstanding in domestic affairs and family life. It would be a pity to know him at once.
However, Guo Jia firmly opposed it and even told Wang Zheng directly that there was no way Kong Rong would surrender!
At this time, the Kong family in Shandong, although its status could be regarded as domestically famous, had not yet reached the level of the literati plaque of later generations, but at the same time, it still inherited the blood and lofty ideals left by its ancestor Confucius.
Kong Rong, in particular, was famous for his uprightness and toughness!
Most people in later generations know the allusion about Kong Rong, which is still the "Kong Rong gives up the pear", but they don't know that what really made Kong Rong famous in the world was another anecdote.
At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, eunuchs such as the Ten Changshi controlled the government and had power over the government and the opposition. When Kong Rong was fifteen years old, the famous scholar Zhang Jian exposed the crimes committed by Hou Lan, one of the Ten Changshi, and his family. As a result,
However, he was framed, and Hou Lan secretly ordered Qingzhou County to arrest Zhang Jian and punish him.
Zhang Jian was a good friend of Kong Rong's brother Kong Bao. In desperation, he fled to Kong's house and asked for shelter. Unfortunately, Kong Bao was not at home at that time. Kong Rong's father Kong Zhou had been dead for many years, so he
Only Kong Rong, who had not yet reached the crown, came out to receive him.
Seeing that Kong Rong was too young, Zhang Jian did not explain his purpose, but Kong Rong was very smart and saw that Zhang Jian was nervous and hesitant to speak. He must have something difficult to do, so he said to Zhang Jian: "
Although my brother is not at home, you are his good friend, so can’t I make the decision to take you in?"
Zhang Jian therefore settled down with peace of mind. He hid in Kong Rong's house for several days, found an opportunity, and finally escaped safely.
Unexpectedly, someone found out about this and reported it to the government. The government was very angry that they could not catch Zhang Jian, so they arrested Kong Rong and his brother Kong Bao.
The judge said to Kong Rong and Kong Bao: "Who among you brothers let Zhang Jian go? Do you know that Zhang Jian is a key criminal of the imperial court, and letting him go would be a crime of beheading!"
After listening to the judge's words, Kong Rong knew that his brother and Zhang Jian were good friends, and the court would not let him go easily. Only by taking the responsibility himself could he save his brother's life. So he said to the judge: "Leave Zhang Jian alone."
It's me who hid Zhang Jian, if you want to punish me, please punish me!"
After hearing that his brother took the blame on himself, Kong Bao hurriedly said: "Zhang Jian came to seek refuge with me. This is none of my brother's business! If you want to kill me, just kill me!"
Brothers Kong Rong and Kong Bao quarreled in the hall, saying that they had let Zhang Jian go.
When the judge saw the two brothers arguing about the crime, he couldn't make up his mind, so he sent someone to question their mother.
This was meant to be unkind and deliberately disgusting the other person. After all, the palm of the hand is flesh and the back of the hand is also flesh. In the end, Mrs. Kong replied: "Both sons are underage. No matter whose fault it is, it should be punished by me, a mother who is not good at teaching."
Take responsibility!"
Three people from the same family were vying to die. The judge was moved and could not make a decision, so he asked the court for instructions. The edict finally convicted Kong Bao and ordered him to be killed.
Although Kong Rong failed to save his brother in the end, in Guo Jia's view, based on his childhood deeds alone, he had a straight-minded character and his brother's death made Kong Rong cherish his family.
Feather, no matter if he was coerced or lured with benefits, it would be difficult for him to seek refuge with someone like Wang Zheng, who was regarded by the other party as a "rebellious minister and traitor".
In this case, he will be killed sooner or later, so the sooner the better, so as to avoid more trouble later.
After listening to Guo Jia's analysis, Wang Zheng was silent for a long time before agreeing.
With the fall of Pingshou and the news of Kong Rong's death spread, the resistance of the remaining officers and soldiers in Beihai became increasingly unbearable. In just ten days, the Heavenly Army conquered three more cities.
At this time, Wang Zheng was still stationed in Fenggao, guarding against Yuan's army in the north.
Soon after, when the good news finally reached Mount Tai, he finally breathed a sigh of relief. After leaving two thousand men and horses, Chang Xi continued to be on guard, and immediately returned to Xuzhou in the east.
Different from when I came here, this time it was a spring breeze and horseshoes were broken.
...
Xia Pi.
In various government offices in the city, countless officials have been rushing in and out in the past few days. Some are from Qingzhou, some are from Xuzhou, some are from humble backgrounds, and some are from aristocratic families. No matter which category they are, there is no difference in appearance between them at this moment.
, but one can guess the stance behind them from the expressions on their faces.
His steps were brisk and he was elated from the bottom of his heart. He was definitely from Qingzhou, a direct descendant of Wang Zheng. He nodded and bowed, and was even happier than the Qingzhou people. Those who used to flatter him now must be some local aristocratic families in Xuzhou, including
Some people who force their faces to smile and pretend to be happy, but sometimes sigh gloomily for no reason, needless to say, must still have conscience and secretly harbor feelings of being demoted as part of the Han Dynasty.
Every victory in the royal government, the expansion of territory, and the expansion of power will cause joy, anger, sorrow, and all kinds of human emotions to be staged in the city where he is located.
It's a coincidence that the Battle of Fenggao City and the Battle of Beihai to Destroy the Country happened to last for nearly forty days, and by this time it was already March of the first year of Jian'an.
The trees are green, the willows are hanging down, and the streets are crowded with people. Every wine shop, tea house, including shops, is decorated with lights and colorful decorations in front of the door. After all, one in the west and one in the north can be regarded as a glorious victory. Naturally, the Xiapi government will not
Instead of celebrating, one after another rallies were organized.
Wang Zheng personally approved the loan of the small military school ground for its use, and the whole city must be carnivaled for ten days.
There are tiles and houses everywhere, people beating gongs and drums, singing, performing arts, and juggling, all gathered together in a lively place.
On the high platform, trained actors from the Tianji Battalion vividly described how Xu Fang anticipated the enemy like a god, how Yu Jin strategized, how Huang Zhong flooded the enemy army, and how Wu Sheng ascended to Pingshou first.
Of course, the most fascinating part is to tell the people in detail how our most wise and powerful state herdsman Wang Yuqiu was so skilled and bold, he saved the building from falling, and ran thousands of miles to burn down the military supply road in Jizhou. This is a wonderful explanation
Surrounded by Feng Gao.
At this time, Xiapi had been under Wang Zheng's rule for nearly half a year.
During this year, the king distributed land, reduced taxes, opened schools, encouraged farming, built roads, opened canals, encouraged commerce, and developed production. It can be said that his policies took into account the interests of most classes, especially those at the bottom.
The hard-working people benefited the most, and their lives were much better than under Tao Qian and Liu Bei.
After all, the greatest advantage of Wang Zheng is that he never needs to consider maximizing the interests of the family.
Moreover, during this period of time, the actors and actresses from Tianji Camp have also been on the streets, sparing no effort to promote some simple concepts on behalf of Wang Zheng, such as everyone is equal, and people are not judged by their origins. They often talk about "
The common people in the world are one family" and other concepts that are contrary to the world's basic point of rural clans are nothing more than slowly beginning to instill the meaning of "class" in order to divert the attention of ordinary people and transform their current biggest hard-core
Injury, status as a "foreigner".
The slogan of dividing the land and attacking local tycoons has not yet been shouted out directly, but the groundwork has already begun.
Wang Zheng still knows that his current heritage is not enough, his territory is not big enough, and his strength is not strong enough. Under the current conditions, shouting such a slogan is actually an act of seeking death even more than proclaiming himself emperor!
The current basic market will continue to be stable, and this stability cannot be maintained without the support and support of the gentry, aristocratic families and the literati class.
So the most essential meaning is still to hold back.
In fact, throughout the dynasties, most of the slogans of the rebels seemed to be very different, but in fact they were consistent. They were nothing more than labeling the "court" and the monarch as "unethical".
Because the other party has lost the way, destiny will belong to me, and those who have gained the way will definitely have more help, and those who have lost the way will naturally have less help.
This "help" between the large and the small is actually a kind of class struggle in essence.
To compete for the hearts and minds of the people, to put it bluntly, means to compete for classes and strata, and to compete for the support and support of different classes and strata.
It's just that because of the immaturity of the people and the limitations of economic conditions, once the struggle is over and victory is achieved, the most that can be done is to replace a group of heroes and heroes, unseat the previous emperor, and replace the emperor with a new one.
.
The publicity and specific administration of the king's government, one is spiritual and the other is material, have remarkable effects. Especially Xiapi and Pengcheng, which have important status, have always been the top priority of his propaganda and administration. They conquered Pingshou.
, as soon as the news of Fenggao's rescue came out, at least 60% out of 10 people who took to the streets to celebrate were sincerely happy.
How can I be proud of you?
...
In fact, not only the two sides participating in the war, but also several princes near Wangzheng have been silently paying attention to the war on both sides of Xuzhou.
And when the victory was decided, while the whole city of Xiapi was celebrating, countless official documents were quickly spread by the spies lurking in Xuzhou, as if they had wings, flying to the surrounding families.
In comparison, Kong Rong's defeat was not as shocking as Yuan Tan's defeat, which shocked many people secretly and made them horrified.
That’s nearly 40,000 Jizhou troops!
And when most of the main force of the Xuzhou Army is tied up by the Beihai Kingdom...
Not to mention that they hadn't conquered even a single Fenggao city in a month. After Wang Zheng personally took action, they were reversed one after another in a short period of time, and were finally forced to evacuate from the territory of Mount Tai!
This made many people secretly scold Yuan Tan for being extremely incompetent, and at the same time, they were also scrambling to examine the truth behind the Fenggao war.
The number of participants in a battle reached tens of thousands. At this early stage of the war between the heroes, it was already a rare battle. It was impossible to hide it from the many informants, and the specific inside story soon spread.
When the Jizhou army arrived at Fenggao City, most of Wang Zheng's troops had already risen and rushed to Beihai. At this time, the total force of Xiapi was only seven or eight thousand people. Later, Wang Zheng personally led about three or four people.
Thousands of people, sleeping day and night, did not choose the shortest route, but took a detour and sneaked into Mount Tai from Langya County in the east. Until this time, not only Yuan Tan, but also Fenggao's guard Chang Xi did not know about it.
Even in Xiapi, most people are kept in the dark.
Subsequently, Wang Zheng's surprise troops burned down the food points at the rear of the Jizhou Army, and personally reinforced Fenggao City. At the last moment of the city's destruction, he actually tore a hole in the frontal defense line of the Jizhou Army, broke into Fenggao on his own initiative, and reversed the situation.
War situation.
There was a severe shortage of food and grass, and the elite combat power brought by the opponent at the critical moment was really impressive. In the end, Yuan Tan was forced to withdraw his troops and returned to Linzi, Qingzhou!
After this battle, the former Yellow Turban rebels, General Tiangong, and now Marquis Li Yang, Mu Wangzheng of Xuzhou, truly became famous in one battle, and their personal prestige once again rose to a higher level. It can be said that it has reached a level that makes people all over the world look at them.
After all, the level of your opponent determines your level.
Compared with previous battles, whether it was Tao Qian, Liu Bei's Xuzhou Army, Cao Cao's Qingzhou Army, or the Taishan Bandits, in terms of prestige, they were all inferior to the Jizhou Army at this time.
Especially, this is Jizhou Qiangnu who has just completely crushed another powerful army in the world, Baima Yicong!
As a result, against such an opponent, Wang Zheng actually forced Yuan Tan to withdraw his troops with the help of three to four thousand men?
The impact and changes brought about by this battle were so far-reaching that even Wang Zheng and Yuan Tan didn't know it. There were already other two families preparing to enter and join this feast of hunting Xuzhou!
Yuan Tan didn't know that on the third day of his attack on Fenggao, Cao Cao, who had received the news, had led his general Xiahou Dun to Sheqiu City in Jibei County, always paying attention to the changes in the battle situation in Fenggao.
When he received the report from the sentry cavalry and saw that Feng Gao was defeated, Cao Cao immediately sent troops to reinforce Sheqiu, hoping that once Yuan Tan captured Feng Gao, Xiahou Dun would take the opportunity to attack several cities in the west of Taishan County.
Recover first.
Feng Gao could be given to Yuan Tan, but Cao Cao would never accept that the entire Mount Tai fell into Yuan Jun's sphere of influence. Even if Cao Cao was still nominally in alliance with Yuan Shao at this time, he felt that this was deeply inappropriate.
On the other side of Yangzhou, Yuan Shu was also ready to make a move. When he learned that Xuzhou's troops were empty and Mount Tai was attacked by Yuan Tan, Yuan Shu also wanted to take the opportunity to recapture Xiapi!
Yes, take it back!
In Yuan Shu's eyes, Xiapi should belong to him, and even the whole of Xuzhou should belong to him!
So at the same time, Jiujiang Zhongli also mobilized a large number of troops!
result...
To everyone's surprise, Wang Zheng actually sent troops to support Feng Gao even though his troops were stretched thin, and defeated the Jizhou army with a small victory but a large one...
After this battle, Cao Cao and Yuan Shu hesitated again!
After all, the former is barely on peace with Wang Zheng, and the latter is a nominal ally.
This man is so good at fighting. If he is not sure of winning, would it be appropriate to break up with him rashly?
In the end, Yuan Shu took the lead in giving up taking advantage of the situation, but when Cao Cao hesitated again and again, he received the news that the battle on the Beihai side was settled, and the Heavenly Army was already on its way back.
He sighed deeply and closed his eyes for a long time, knowing that the good opportunity had been lost.
That night, when Xun You went to visit Cao Cao, he happened to see the future Emperor Wu of Wei sitting alone in the hall, staring blankly at a bowl of rice in his hand, and then suddenly said something.
"Shu Zi really deserves to be killed!"
"How can I force such a general to use him against you?"
Xun was silent by the side. He was so smart that he naturally knew who Cao Cao was talking about.
But it is also clearer that time cannot be turned back.