Wang Zheng's horse galloped across the vast wilderness, surrounded by lush mountains and forests far and near.
The galloping horse trampled on the grass, bringing up the black soil, and the warm wind blew in his face. He simply opened his clothes and let the warm wind blow on his chest. After staying in the deep courtyard of Xiapi for a long time, he plunged into the vastness
In the boundless natural world, leaving the cumbersome government affairs behind, there is only speed and the sound of wind at this moment, and I really feel very comfortable.
This is already the eighth day since he came to Yuzhou.
Just yesterday, the Heavenly Army captured Yilu City in the north of Runan County. The entire siege process took almost no effort. Not only did Wang Zheng not go into battle, not even the Tianzhu Camp was used.
The vanguard this time was none other than Gao Lan, one of the Four Court Pillars of Hebei Province who surrendered to Wang Zheng in Tuqiu Mountain.
Because he did not receive Gao Lan's application to join the team, Wang Zheng actually had the idea for a moment when he was in Taishan, and directly killed Gao Lan and his subordinates on the spot, cleanly and neatly.
Although most of the defenders had been killed or injured after setting fire to the mountain, Gao Lan still had nearly a thousand soldiers and horses at that time. For Wang Zheng, who only led more than 3,000 people at that time, if the other party surrendered and rebelled...
This hidden danger is not small.
Another point is that the "reasons for surrender" given by Gao Lan and this group of people are not sufficient.
You must know that in terms of strength and reputation on paper, Wang Zheng is still self-aware. At this time, he is much inferior to Yuan Shaoshang.
Surrender can actually be divided into temporary surrender and complete change of family. The former is probably forced by the situation. To put it bluntly, it means a knife is put on the neck, either surrender or die.
The latter has a lot to consider. Of course, it will basically only switch from a weak camp to a stronger camp.
This is why there were not many cases of "fake surrender" in the history of the Celestial Dynasty, and why Cao Cao, who was famous for being suspicious, believed in Huang Gai's "surrender".
Because in the eyes of Cao Cao, who had just conquered the entire Jingzhou without a fight, the entire Soochow group should just surrender!
What? Just a yellow lid?
In his opinion, this is unreasonable.
Similarly, if one of Cao Cao's subordinates, be he a scholar or a general, told Zhou Yu that he wanted to surrender, would Zhou Yu believe it?
Therefore, in the view of Wang Zheng at the time, Gao Lan's surrender was more of a "temporary" nature and would become an extremely unstable factor.
In the end, he did not raise the butcher's knife, not because of the woman's kindness, but because of the possible negative impact that would follow, and secondly, with the continuous expansion of his power territory, Wang Zheng is really thirsty for talents now.
For a general like Gao Lan, it would be a pity to cut him off with a single blow.
Of course, it's only temporary.
After returning to Xiapi, he secretly observed for a long time and found that Gao Lan was quite peaceful. Wang Zheng felt a little relieved and took Gao Lan with him when he went to Yuzhou this time.
He was giving Gao Lan a chance to "win his trust".
And Gao Lan knew this very well.
Therefore, when Wang Zheng's army arrived not far from Yilu City, Gao Lan not only took the initiative to ask to be the vanguard, but also asked to bring his own troops to attack the fortress. Wang Zheng had no reason not to agree.
Under the leadership of Gao Lan, the mixed troops of surrendered soldiers and new soldiers showed amazing fighting spirit and morale. When Gao Lan climbed to the top of the city for the third time, the county king of Yilu City voluntarily opened the city gate and surrendered.
After all, this is just a county, and the defenders only have more than 2,000 people. Regardless of their fighting strength, their fighting spirit is surprisingly low. After doing some statistics after entering the city, Wang Zheng was surprised to find that most of the defenders still had combat effectiveness after the war.
, less than 20% of the soldiers were killed in battle, and the number of casualties among the soldiers of the Gao Lan Department in charge of the siege after the war was actually very pitiful. The wounded and the dead were added together in one place, and there were less than a hundred people...
As for the loss, it was the general Gao Lan who suffered the most serious damage. After the battle, the arrow cluster he took out from his body weighed several kilograms, which shows how brave he was in taking the lead.
However, this "hard work" effort is obviously well worth it.
Even Wang Zheng was shocked and moved after hearing the news, and immediately went to the military tent to express his condolences to Gao Lan.
When he saw the concerned look on the young Zhou Mu's face, at that moment Gao Lan finally let go of his heartstrings that had been tense since his surrender and let out a long sigh of relief.
Victory came so easily, even Wang Zheng, who was full of confidence and knew he would win, couldn't help but be surprised.
This is a siege!
Although Wang Zheng has fought many siege battles since the uprising, and has achieved many impressive achievements in one day, but in terms of the simplicity of the process and the low cost, none of them can compare with Yilu.
The city is comparable.
In fact, he had never thought about the so-called changing times. Today, the name Wang Zheng has long been famous in Xuzhou, resounding throughout the north, and attracting the attention of people all over the world.
In the past few years, he has defeated Cao Cao and Yuan Tan, and even beaten Liu Bei to flee hastily. Kong Rong died and the country was destroyed. Wherever the heavenly army pointed, he was always invincible. Under such prestige, when
When they heard that the youngest Xuzhou Mu in the world was personally leading troops into Yuzhou, many people were horrified and fearful in their hearts.
Although the siege of Yilu City started the day before yesterday, in fact, when the city received a large number of people appearing in the distance...
When they know that the enemy is the ever-victorious Tiger Army...
The human heart has already lost its grip!
The fighting spirit has already collapsed!
This process surprised Wang Zheng and made him somewhat unmotivated.
He likes the feeling of conquest. Capturing an enemy's city is the most complete conquest, especially after the city is broken, and as the winner, he takes over the work of his predecessor in managing the city and the people. It feels like being superior and bossing around...
.
It’s really mesmerizing!
The so-called fighting for the world, to put it bluntly, isn’t it about competing for the countless cities scattered across the vast land of China?
In the process of fighting for them, you must first cross the plains, mountains, rivers, and surrounding villages, and finally tear apart the wide moats and tall and solid walls one by one. Only then can you obtain the authority hidden in these cities.
wealth.
All the storms of this era unfolded within and outside such strongholds, with the goal of destroying and defending the city. The preservation or fall of the city marked the fate, success or failure of the country.
If the supreme authority is compared to a peerless beauty, then these cities are the clothes and skirts wrapped in layers.
Only by tearing apart and falling off these obstructive objects one by one can we get a glimpse of that beautiful and moving body!
Is there any man in this world who doesn’t like to take off women’s clothes?
However, as more and more famous cities and towns were captured, such as Linzi, Xiapi, Fenggao, etc., they were all surrendered one by one. Wang Zheng began to be unable to mention cities in general, especially counties like Yilu City.
Interested.
After all, there are too many "clothes" to take off, and it is not a cover-up in key locations, so it will naturally be difficult to make waves.
Therefore, he left all the work of taking over the city, reorganizing the surrendered troops, and appeasing the people to Guo Jia. Then he got up early this morning and took Gao Lan and other generals out of the city to ride horses, euphemistically calling it "outing". By the way,
It is good to explore the surrounding terrain and lay the foundation for the next step.
...
On the endless plain, everyone galloped on horseback until they came to a stream, and Wang Zhengfang, who took the lead, reined in his horse and stood still.
Soon after, others caught up.
"Mr. Guo is truly a genius."
Smelling the aroma of the green grass, Gao Lan couldn't help but praise: "This place is surrounded by large and small rivers, with abundant water sources. Not only is the soil fertile, but the pasture is also lush. It can be used for both civil and military purposes. It is indeed a treasure land."
."
"Get the power of far away..." After hearing this, Wang Zheng, who was looking at the boundless waves of grass, turned his head and raised his whip to point at him from a distance, and smiled happily: "This treasure land will be ours from now on!"
"In this battle, Laizhou Mu Yingwu was at the top, and the soldiers at the bottom relied on their lives. How can the last general dare to take the credit..."
After being humbled for a while, Gao Lan glanced at Wang Zheng's horse and couldn't help but show envy: "If the general is not mistaken, the horse Zhou Mu is riding is a famous horse from the Western Regions outside the Pass."
In the martial Han Dynasty, a good horse and a sharp weapon had great appeal to almost all classes of people. They represented not only wealth, but also power.
After all, in any era, items that are both valuable and scarce are always in the hands of a few people.
And for a general like Gao Lan who fights on the battlefield, a good mount is even more important than a good weapon!
Because it not only represents better combat capabilities, but also represents mobility and safety. After all, when encountering danger, faster speed will have a better chance of escape.
Back then, Dong Zhuo allowed Lu Bu to stab his adopted father Ding Yuan in the back. Wasn't it because Dong Zhuo gave him a red rabbit?
In the original history, after Lu Bu's death, the red rabbit horse fell into the hands of the victor Cao Cao. Cao Cao gave it to Guan Yu. Wasn't it also to win over this general who was ten thousand enemies?
Later, Guan Yu did not forget the meaning of Taoyuan, and did not say anything about leaving Cao Cao. He even sealed it with a seal and gold to show his loyalty. But why did he return the others, but the red rabbit and horse stayed behind, and took it as his own without saying a word?
This is also a gift from Cao Cao!
This also shows the status of a good horse in the mind of a military commander.
Hearing this, Wang Zheng smiled and said: "Yi Yuan has a keen eye. The name of this horse is Pirates. The general who gave it to me did say that this is a famous horse outside the pass. It is said to travel a thousand miles in a day."
Having said this, Wang Zheng turned his eyes and happened to see Gao Lan's envious look. He couldn't help but feel a move in his heart. His eyes slightly lowered, and when he caught a glimpse of Gao Lan's mount, he was startled again.
"Yi Yuan..." he asked in confusion: "Jizhou is also rich in good horses, so why take advantage of this bad horse?"
"The horse that the general was riding before was considered a good horse, but he accidentally hit an arrow when he was at the gate of Fenggao City." Gao Lan laughed dryly when he heard this and touched his head: "Then...hey."
Wang Zheng naturally understood at this time. Later, Gao Lan surrendered to him, and then came to Xiapi. He was worried about his own safety every day. As a surrendered general, it was not suitable to be high-profile, so naturally he had no time to worry about his mount.
What's more, Xuzhou is not a horse-producing place, but there are some good horses from other places, such as the good horses given by Lu Bu before, which have been divided up by everyone. Even if Gao Lan is willing and rich, he may not be able to buy any good horses.
.
He nodded and did not continue the topic. He raised his horsewhip casually and flicked the whip in the air. With a crisp crack, he pointed forward and said: "There is a valley there, let's go and have a look."
"Here!"
Everyone agreed with a loud voice and followed closely.
Along the way, Gao Lan seemed to be unfinished, his eyes could not help but fall on this bandit.
Gao Lan's thoughts were still unfinished. He followed Wang Zheng's horse and his eyes could not help but fall on the bandit. Wang Zheng occasionally looked back and saw him, but he just pretended not to know. He pointed out the mountains and rivers with the generals, analyzed the terrain, and asked some questions from time to time.
If we encounter an enemy here, or the enemy attacks and we defend, or we attack and the enemy defends, how should we respond? How should we defeat the enemy?
All the generals accompanying him were experienced in the military. Perhaps they were not good at theory, but they had rich practical experience. They all rushed to speak first and answer questions.
At this time, someone suddenly shouted: "General, there is a deer!"
"where?"
Following the direction pointed by the bodyguard, everyone looked and became very excited. They all drew their bows and arrows, adjusting their aim according to the undulating grass.
In the end, Gao Lan got the upper hand and shot an arrow, hitting the deer in the middle. Then he galloped over with his horse, bent down and picked it up, then rode his horse back again, came to Wang Zheng, and lost his bow and arrow.
, turned over and rolled down, half-kneeling on the ground, holding the deer's ears with one hand, and holding the deer's legs with the other, and offered it respectfully.
Wang Zheng reined in his galloping horse and walked slowly. He turned to Gao Lan, but without even looking at the deer, he just patted Gao Lan on the shoulder with his long bow and said with a smile: "What a great Gao Yiyuan, not only
He is extremely brave, and he is also an excellent archer!"
"The general's meager skills are not worth mentioning." Gao Lan bowed and said, "Zhou Mu, what should we do with this deer?"
"Such wild game makes for soup." Wang Zheng laughed and said, "Everyone present will have a share, a bowl for each person."
One of the guards saw Wang Zheng smiling and in a good mood. He couldn't help but stepped forward and said jokingly: "General, can we only drink soup and not eat meat?"
When Wang Zheng heard this, he glared at him and shouted pretending to be angry: "Damn it, of course it was Nagong who ate the meat!"
As soon as this was said, everyone laughed loudly.
Except for Gao Lan, most of the people present were true direct descendants of Wang Zheng. Many of them had even followed him since the Zhao County uprising. It had been an unknown amount of time since he had seen Wang Zheng speak and laugh so casually, and even uttered curse words.
And this just shows that Wang Zheng is in a very relaxed and happy mood at this moment.
Wang Zheng was naturally happy at this time.
Because during this period, good news comes one after another.
The military academy was completed and could start at any time. Zhao Hong ran Pengcheng and performed very well.
Chen Jiao successfully destroyed most of Zhang Chongyue's forces and captured many pirates and warships. This will speed up the establishment of Xuzhou's navy and become stronger.
On the other side of Beihai, not long ago, Yu Jin and Zang Ba joined forces and finally defeated Shouguang. The guard Wu Anguo committed suicide and died for his country. The war in Beihai was about to come to an end.
Although Yuan Tan, Cao Cao, and Yuan Shu are currently around, once Beihai is breached, most of their troops can gather in Xuzhou. After a short period of recuperation, they can launch an active attack at any time according to the situation!
Of course, you must pick the soft persimmons first.
In Wang Zheng's view, if he can successfully follow Guo Jia's strategy and build a strong barrier between Chen and Runan in Yuzhou, then the threat from Cao Cao's side can be greatly reduced. Next, he must first establish a strong barrier between Yuan Tan and Runan.
Yuan Shu, the uncle and nephew, has to choose one!
How can you allow others to sleep soundly beside the couch?