Zhao Yu certainly did not hold a big banquet to welcome the messenger sent by Liu Bei. Although Zhao Yu already knew that Liu Bei had succeeded Tao Qian as Xuzhou Mu, he didn't have much idea about it and was willing to allocate some food and grass. Support Liu Bei. However, the messengers sent by Liu Bei are neither Guan Yu, Jian Yong, Liu Bei's cronies, nor Chen Deng, Sun Qian, Tao Qian's old ministers. They are just ordinary people, and naturally they cannot deserve the grand reception of his governor. .
Although Liu Bei's messenger was also fortunate enough to attend this feast, he was not the guest of honor tonight. The guest of honor hosted by Zhao Yu today was Pengcheng Prefect Zuo Rong.
Several counties north of Pengcheng fell one after another, which shocked Zuo Rong. He did not dare to stay in Pengcheng anymore, and hurriedly fled south with his troops and more than 100,000 people, non-stop all the way, into Guangling City. Zhao Yu knew He was Tao Qian's fellow village party member and was an official in Xuzhou, so he was naturally treated warmly.
The wealth in Guangling is unparalleled in the whole of Xuzhou. Zhao Yu has been operating here for many years, so he is naturally extremely wealthy. The utensils used at the banquet are all made of gold and silver, and the delicacies of mountains and seas make Zuo Rong salivate. envious.
After drinking for three rounds, Zhao Yu gently clapped his hands, and a group of dancers filed in, with strings and bamboo playing behind the screens on both sides. The dancers were all enchanting, graceful, singing and dancing, which was intoxicating.
Although Zuo Rong had served as the prefect of Pengcheng for several years, he was far behind Zhao Yu. Zuo Rong couldn't help but become greedy, and under the pretext of toasting Zhao Yu, he suddenly pulled out the sharp blade from his waist and killed Zhao Yu with one blow. Yu chopped him up at the table and cut off his head with one knife.
The incident happened suddenly, and all the guests at the banquet were caught off guard. The architectural dancer was also frightened by this bloody scene, and she turned pale and screamed repeatedly.
Zuo Rong jumped up to several cases and said loudly: "Zhao Yu hooked up with Cao Cao, and Zuo was ordered to kill him on the spot by the governor of the state. Anyone who refuses to accept will not be killed!"
Half of the people at this banquet were subordinate officials brought by Zuo Rong from Pengcheng. These people had left their hometowns. Anyone who didn't want to find a place to live would naturally not go against Zuo Rong's wishes. And those officials in Guangling, because they saw Liu Bei's messenger, they also He was a little skeptical when he suddenly appeared here. In addition, Zhao Yu had already lost his head, so no one dared to come out to question him. Instead, he was shocked by Zuo Rong on the spot.
Zuo Rong said in a deep voice: "Whether any of you are Zhao Yu's accomplices needs to be investigated in detail. No one is allowed to leave the prefect's mansion until the truth is revealed!"
As soon as this order was given, the soldiers who followed Zuo Rong swarmed in and arrested all the officials in Guangling County. No one thought of resisting. The Guangling area had been peaceful for a long time, and even The Yellow Turban Rebellion did not spread here. The soldiers under Zhao Yu did not know what war was like. They were confused and no one came to find out what happened. They became prisoners in a daze.
Seeing that the overall situation was decided, Zuo Rong handed over his hand to the messenger sent by Liu Bei and said: "Go back and report to Mr. Liu that the grain and grass from Guangling will arrive in the near future."
The messenger was frightened when he saw Zuo Rong chop down Zhao Yu. Suddenly, he got Zuo Rong's permission and hurriedly left, not daring to stay here any longer.
Watching the messenger exit, Fan Neng, one of Zuo Rong's subordinates, asked, "Do you really want to allocate food and grass to Liu Bei?"
Zuo Rong sneered and said: "Liu Bei is just a mat weaver and shoe seller, how dare he seize the position of state pastor? His desire for Guangling's food and grass is nothing more than an idiot's dream! I think that although Guangling is a rich place, it is not suitable to stay for a long time.
, it is better to send troops to plunder and go to the south of the Yangtze River to find a place to stay."
Fan Neng was really suffocating these days when he followed Zee Rong to escape. His heart was already pounding when he saw the girls dancing at the banquet. Now that he heard that Zee Rong allowed them to have a feast, he couldn't help but said with a ferocious smile: "Brothers below
It’s been a while since we’ve tasted meat, sir, look at it, right?”
Zuo Rong laughed loudly and said: "Tell the brothers, it's just fun, don't overdo it. Give the order, each group must have no less than ten people, and remember to clean up after finishing."
With his order, the people of Guangling City suffered. The soldiers who were withdrawn from Pengcheng were incapable of fighting Cao Jun, but they were full of energy when bullying the people. Throughout the night, there was burning, killing, looting, and rape of women everywhere.
Guangling has almost turned into a hell on earth.
When Liu Xin learned the news of Cao Cao's withdrawal in Xiangyang, he laughed and said to Jushou: "Cao Cao is quite sensible, but I don't know if Yuan Shao will send troops now?"
Historically, Yuan Shao would always use troops rashly after missing good opportunities. Liu Xin thought that this time he would be no exception. He really wanted to see Cao Cao and Yuan Shao fight.
But I heard Jushu say: "Back to my lord, a heavy snow has just fallen in the north, up to the knees. I think that even if Yuan Shao wants to send troops, there is nothing he can do."
Liu Xin said "Oh" and said: "It's a coincidence. If Liu didn't immediately order the use of troops against the Xiongnu, I'm afraid it would have to wait until the next spring. However, in this case, there is no risk that the Xiongnu would counterattack and notify Zilong
, Han Sheng and the others, the soldiers can take a break."
Heavy snow will not only affect the transportation of grain and grass, but also make it difficult for galloping war horses. Liu Xin is very familiar with the cavalry tactics of grassland tribes. They often choose mares as mounts. In the vast desert, as long as they have enough green grass, they can
Mare's milk can be provided, so they don't need to carry other supplies. Now, with the heavy snow falling up to the knees, let alone forage, not even a grass root can be found. Naturally, these Huns cavalry will not be able to find any.
They may come to harass the Central Plains again, and this is the reason why more Xiongnu attacks on the border will occur after spring every year.
Jushou said with a smile: "The Huns' army will not come, but the Huns' envoys should also arrive in the next few days. When the lord ordered the attack on the Huns, his subordinates were still a little worried. Unexpectedly, after the Huns were severely beaten, they became more
You are much more honest, and you still sent the envoy obediently. You really deserve a beating."
"Haha, Lord, don't be too happy. We still don't know what the Huns want to talk about when they send this envoy." Liu Xin nodded and suddenly asked, "By the way, what is the name of this Huns envoy?"
Are you here? He has passed Liangzhou and the road should be clear. Why are you still walking so slowly?"
These days, Liu Xin has been asking Jushou to pay attention to the movements of the Xiongnu. Jushou also checked the information about the Xiongnu. He already had a general understanding of the situation of the Xiongnu and the situation of the Xiongnu envoys. He immediately raised his hand and said:
"Back to my lord, this man is called Hu Chuquan. He is the younger brother of Yu Fuluo, the Chanyu of the Xiongnu. He is now the Right Xian King of the Xiongnu. The Huns respect the left, so his status is still lower than that of Liu Bao, the Xian King of the Zuo.
He is the third person among the Huns."
Liu Xin sneered and said: "The Southern Xiongnu have been dependent on my Han Dynasty for many years? They actually dare to establish themselves as Chanyu and the wise kings of the left and right. Where do they put my Han Dynasty?"
Jushou was not aware that the Southern Xiongnu were only attached to the Han and professed vassalage to the Han, and were not really included in the territory of the Han. It was a matter of course for them to establish their own Shanyu and left and right virtuous kings.
Liu Xin didn't wait for Jushou's answer and continued: "Gongyu, do you know why their Zuo Xian King was named Liu Bao?"
Jushou shook his head and said, "I don't know."
Liu Xin said: "Liu's surname is the national surname of my Han Dynasty. He named himself Liu Bao to show that he is also a member of the Han family!"
Jushu chuckled and said, "He is a Huns, not a Han. Even if he changes his surname to Liu, he cannot be considered a Han clan member."
Liu Xin said: "All this stems from the marriage policy implemented when the Han Dynasty was weak. Liu Bao has since thought that he is half of the Han Dynasty. Why did he take the surname Liu and promote these things? Is it possible that he has half of the Han family blood?
Doesn't he have any ambition to take over the Central Plains?"
Jushou was shocked and said: "The Xiongnu raids on the border happened from time to time. My lord was overly concerned."
Liu Xin knew many historical processes of later generations, and his thoughts were definitely not alarmist. Seeing the disbelief on Jushou's face, Liu Xin smiled and said: "Gongyu, do you know why the Xiongnu, Xianbei and other grassland tribes have grown up over the years?
Did the Han people just harass the border and not go deep into the interior? That's because they haven't mastered the method of siege yet! However, as the world changes, one day they will master these skills. When the time comes, you will see them again.
Just harassing the border?"
Jushu somewhat believes this. Now, the Huns have used all the border people they captured as slaves, and most of the captured Han people are women. What if one day the Huns capture some Han people who know how to attack cities?
, and if these Han people were forced by the power of the Xiongnu to reveal all the siege methods they had mastered, then the big Han would be really in danger.
With thousands of years of experience, Liu Xin has always been naturally wary of these nomadic tribes living on the grasslands, and has always regarded these nomadic tribes as his biggest enemies. After defeating Dong Zhuo, Liu Xin did not threaten the new victory.
Wei, continued to attack Cao Cao and Yuan Shao. Of course, he was worried that Cao Cao and Yuan Shao would unite to fight against him. The more important reason was that he was worried that "the final force of the strong crossbow would not be able to penetrate Lu Sui". The "Lu Sui" in Liu Xin's heart was naturally not
The other princes besides Cao Cao and Yuan Shao were nomadic peoples on these grasslands.
Liu Xin's original plan was to consolidate the territories he had already mastered, rest and accumulate strength, and then take advantage of the situation when Cao Cao and Yuan Shao were both injured, defeat them in one fell swoop, sweep across the other princes, and unify the entire Han Dynasty. Wait until the world
Gradually settle down, gradually improve people's livelihood, develop the economy, and become stronger, it will be easier to deal with the nomadic people on the grassland.
In fact, the reason why Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was able to defeat the Xiongnu was also due to the recuperation and accumulation of strength of the Wen and Jing generations. The current Han family has experienced the corrupt rule of the two emperors Heng Ling, coupled with the Yellow Turban War
The country was already riddled with chaos, and only under Liu Xin's rule could it still be considered a paradise.
Therefore, although Liu Xin's original plan would progress more slowly, it was still a sound plan. However, this time the counterattack against the Huns achieved unexpected results, which made Liu Xin quietly change his mind.