Yan Liang knew very well that if you want the soldiers to work hard for you, military discipline and personal prestige are important, but they also need material support.
If an army cannot even fill its stomach, it will collapse without a fight without the enemy taking action.
Yan Liang understands this principle well, and he also understands that in addition to food and clothing, you also need to give some extra sweetness from time to time, so that the soldiers can feel that it is worthwhile to sacrifice their lives for you.
After today's two battles, the tiger and wolf knights under his command were all exhausted, and it was time to reward them with wine and meat.
As soon as the soldiers heard that there was meat and wine, their tired spirits immediately cheered up and they cheered and became excited.
Yan Liang led these 5,000 cavalry and escorted 2,000 prisoners, and ran all the way to the west, heading straight for Xinye.
Late at night, they finally arrived at Xinye.
There were less than a thousand defenders left in Xinye City. Zhou Cang, who arrived early, relied on Wenpin and the banner of the defeated Jingzhou army to easily open the city gate, kill the more than a thousand defenders, and seize control of Xinye.
After Yan Liang led his main force to station in Xinye, he quickly ordered Liu Pi and Zhou Cang to lead thousands of troops out of the city, seize some dangerous fortresses near Xinye, and create a situation of going south in a big way, seizing Fancheng in one fell swoop, and crossing the Han River to attack Xiangyang.
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Xinye is the northern gateway to Jingxiang, and it is a large and prosperous county with a large population. The money and grain accumulated by the county treasury is enough to feed Yan Liang's troops for a year.
According to the war principles of this era, when an army goes deep into enemy territory, military supplies should be looted on the spot, and fighting to support war is the first choice.
Yan Liang originally wanted to follow the usual practice and allow the soldiers to plunder Xinye, but then he thought about it. Before he could use Xinye as his base and gain a stable foothold in the future, losing the hearts of the people would be more than worth the loss.
Therefore, Yan Liang ordered to strictly prohibit disturbing the people. In order to reward the soldiers, he took out the money and grain from the treasury and gave generous rewards to everyone.
When the soldiers were rewarded with wine and meat, they naturally had to go and take prisoners. Although there were occasional violations of discipline, on the whole they did not commit any offences.
At three o'clock in the morning, after a night's rest, Yan Liang washed away his fatigue and came to the lobby of the prefect's mansion.
At this time, less than a day had passed since the two battles.
Yan Liang knew that Xiangyang must have heard about the fall of Xinye at this time, and Liu Biao would not sit back and watch the fall of Jingbei Gate, and would definitely take action next.
Yan Liang still has a lot to deal with, and this is not the time for him to sit back and relax.
"General, bring Kuai Yue." Zhou Cang walked into the lobby.
Yan Liang waved his hand and motioned to bring him up.
Not long after, Kuai Yue, with a bruised nose and swollen face, was brought to the court in a depressed manner.
Judging from his appearance, he probably suffered a lot during the battle between the two armies, but he survived the rebellion, so he was lucky.
Yan Liang smiled secretly, but shouted: "How dare you neglect Mr. Yidu? Why don't you just relax and watch."
The soldiers hurriedly untied Kuai Yue.
Kuai Yue rubbed his muscles and bones, his tense expression eased slightly, and he knelt down and sat down.
"I have admired Mr. Yidu's name for a long time, but what happened earlier shocked him." Yan Liang slightly arched his hands.
"General Yan first claimed to be ordered by Duke Yuan to come to join forces with our lord, but then he raided our army. I really don't know what General Yan's intention is?"
Yan Liang's attitude gradually calmed down Kuai Yue's mood, and the demeanor of a celebrity reappeared in his brows, and there was a hint of questioning in his words.
Yan Liang sneered and asked: "Liu Shijun also said that he was willing to support Yuan Gong and attack Cao's thieves from the north and the south. But now he is standing still and sitting on the mountain watching the tigers fight. I don't know what Liu Shijun means?"
"This..." Kuai Yue suddenly hesitated.
Yan Liang didn't wait for his explanation, and then said: "Mr. Yuan is extremely dissatisfied with Commander Liu's attitude. He once gave me a secret order. If Commander Liu doesn't take practical actions to support Mr. Yuan, he will ask me to act according to the situation.
Let's show Liu Shijun some color."
Yan Liang was bluffing and deceiving, blaming Yuan Shao for the attack on Xinye.
Kuai Yue panicked when he heard this.
Now that the fierce battle at Guandu has been going on for a long time, Cao Cao is showing signs of being overwhelmed, and Yuan Shao's victory seems not far away.
As Yan Liang said, if Yuan Shao had resentment towards Liu Biao for standing still, then after defeating Cao Cao, his next target would probably be Jingzhou.
Yan Liang's words are by no means scare words.
"Mr. Yuan really misunderstood. Since my lord agreed to the alliance with Yuan Gong, there is no reason why he should not fulfill it. But because the rebellion in the three counties of Jingnan has not been settled, it is really difficult for our lord to send troops and horses to go north to attack Cao Cao. Such difficulties
, I hope the general can understand."
What Kuai Yue said is not nonsense.
At that time, Changsha County was originally Sun Jian's territory. Later, Sun Jian went north to challenge Dong. Liu Biaodan rode into Jingzhou and took the opportunity to seize control of Jingzhou with the help of the Kuai and Cai families.
Sun Jian lost his old home, so naturally he deeply hated Liu Biao, the one who had stolen his home, and the Sun and Liu families had a feud from then on.
Although Changsha County belonged to Liu Biao in name, the Sun family had been operating there for a long time, and the local powerful people did not really submit to Liu Biao.
The year before last, Zhang Xian, the governor of Changsha, led the three counties of Lingling and Guiyang to rebel against Liu Biao. Liu Biao sent troops to attack the siege, but he could not attack it for many years.
As the saying goes, before we fight against the outside world, we must first settle down at home. On the surface, this reason given by Kuai Yue seems reasonable.
However, Yan Liang knew very well that everything Kuai Yue said was just an excuse for Liu Biao to protect himself and sit back and watch the success or failure.
"I didn't expect Liu Shijun to have such difficulties. In this case, could it be that Mr. Yuan wrongly blamed Liu Shijun..." Yan Liang murmured to himself, his tone much gentler, pretending to be persuaded by Kuai Yue.
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Seeing this, Kuai Yue showed a hint of joy and hurriedly said: "I hope the general can inform Duke Yuan on my lord's behalf. Now is the time when we work together to deal with Cao's thieves. How can we kill each other? General Yan said so
no."
He thought that Yan Liang was still Yuan Shao's general, and completely missed Yan Liang's purpose of coming to Xinye.
"Yan can understand Liu Shijun's difficulties, but I'm afraid it's impossible for him to convey the matter to Mr. Yuan on his behalf." Yan Liang's words were profound.
Kuai Yue was startled and could not hear the sound of Yan Liangyan's words for a moment.
At this time, Xu You, who had been waiting outside, saw Yan Liang's signal and stepped inside.
"It turns out Ziyuan is here too. It's been a long time since we last met." Kuai Yue hurriedly stood up to greet him, looking a little surprised.
Xu You hurriedly stepped forward and pressed Kuai Yue down, and said, "You were negligent for a moment and caused your fellow countryman Yidu to suffer. You are really ashamed."
Xu You is from Nanyang County, and Kuai Yue is from Xiangyang, Nan County. They both belong to Jingzhou, so they can naturally be called fellow townsmen.
After Xu You appeared on the stage, he did not talk about business. He only exchanged friendship with Kuai Yue and kept up the daily routine.
After a few jokes, the atmosphere in the lobby became harmonious and the previous hostility disappeared.
"I don't understand what General Yan just said. I don't know what the general means..." Kuai Yue has not forgotten the business. After several small talks, he brought the conversation to the main topic.
Yan Liang just lowered his head and sipped his wine, but did not answer directly.
As a lord, you don't have to do everything yourself. Some things should be left to the counselor for convenience.
Xu You next to him understood and whispered: "Qidu, since you and I are fellow villagers, I might as well tell you what is on my mind."
Seeing his mysterious look, Kuai Yue's nerves immediately became tense again.
"Actually, I came to Jingzhou with General Yan because I wanted to break away from Yuan Benchu and become self-reliant, so that I would never serve the Yuan family again."
Xu You revealed the secret in a soft voice, but Kuai Yue was shocked and his expression suddenly changed.
"Ziyuan, what are you..."
Kuai Yue was so shocked that he couldn't turn his head around for a while. He thought to himself, isn't Yan Liang a general under Yuan Shao's command, and isn't Xu You a counselor who has followed Yuan Shao for many years? Why would these two people suddenly betray Yuan Shao? This is too inexplicable.
Bar.
Xu You took his time and told Kuai Yue angrily about how Yan Liang was tabooed by others and how he was framed by the judge.
Kuai Yue gradually understood as he listened, but the look of amazement on his face only increased.
His eyes unconsciously moved to Yan Liang, and he marveled in his heart: "This Yan Liang is said to be brave and foolhardy, but he didn't expect that he was not only a god in military skills, but also brave enough to dare to make such a risky move. Could it be those rumors?
