When he was closest, Wang Yu saw the blue-gray city wall of Puyang City across the river, but strictly speaking, this was his first time to Puyang City.
Tall city walls, neat government offices, straight streets, and vermilion gates are all sights you can't see in Gaotang or Qingzhou. The Qingzhou government offices two years ago could only be compared to the wealthy mansions in Puyang City.
Considered a run-down family.
As the center of Yanzhou and one of the cities with the highest concentration of aristocratic families, there is no doubt about Puyang's heritage and former prosperity, but what Wang Yu observed most carefully was the appearance of the city, so as to evaluate Lu Bujun's war potential.
Inside the city is a big city, with the atmosphere of an ancient city, but a few miles outside the city, what you see is another world.
One after another thatched shacks are lined up so densely that you can’t see the end at a glance. Most of them are only three feet tall, and at most they are only five feet tall. They have no windows, and the door is just a handful of wheat straw. It is obviously the harvest season in August, but the owner of the shack is
Sitting at the door, with blank eyes and a sad look on his face.
In contrast, there are equally endless wheat fields. If he hadn't seen the dull eyes of the shack owners, Wang Yu would have thought that these people were worried about the corn and wheat in the fields and specially built a shed here to harvest.
But in fact, although fields and shacks are very close to each other, there is no relationship between them. People who own the fields live in the city, and those who build shacks outside the city are poor people.
In the shack areas nearest and farthest from the city wall, there are always two lively markets. There are no necessities such as fish, meat, and food in the market. There is only one kind of goods, and that is living people - three thousand yuan for the boy.
, one thousand yuan for a girl, five thousand yuan for a mature man, ten thousand yuan for a young woman, and twenty thousand yuan for a young girl.
In fact, if there is no money, the child can be exchanged. As for what to do after the exchange is completed... Wang Yu did not ask, nor did he dare to ask. He was praised as brave, but the answer that was about to come out made him tremble.
Since arriving in this world, he actually hasn't had many opportunities to see these dark sides, because the place he is in is usually a battlefield. Even people who have lost all hope in life know to avoid war, and the only way
This trip was not on the battlefield, but to Luoyang, the center of the Han Dynasty. Naturally, I couldn't see these sad and helpless things.
Seeing this, Wang Yu remembered that Yanzhou, a seemingly prosperous place, had also been repeatedly devastated by war.
In the first year of Chuping, the Black Mountain Army, led by Bai Rao and Sui Gu, crossed the Yellow River and fought with Liu Dai and Cao Cao in Dongjun. The war lasted for more than a year, from the bank of the river to the
In Jiyin and Shanyang, the hinterlands of Yanzhou, it was not until the Hebei War started that Cao Cao, with the help of Yuan Shao, defeated the main force of Black Mountain and took control of Dongjun.
Later, Yuan Shu came to compete for Yanzhou, and Chen Liu and Cao Cao fought hard.
Then came the Hebei War. After Liu Dai was defeated in Chiping, he lost control of Yanzhou. Cao Cao was busy fighting for power with Liu Dai and did not care about anything else. As a result, bandits and chaos broke out in the area.
Next, there was the battle for Dongjun between Lu Bu and Cao Cao last year. It was said to be a battle for Dongjun, but the battlefield also affected more than just Dongjun.
These wars were not focused on attacking cities, but on attacking enemies and plundering places. Therefore, the families hiding in the cities and forts did not suffer much damage, but they created countless refugees.
Without him, the people of Yanzhou would soon face a more intense war. The battle for Yanzhou between Lu Bu and Cao Cao was once fought for thousands of miles, and people competed for food. Cao Cao had to temporarily abandon Yanzhou and go to Yuzhou to eat. Only what he can see now
Only by seeing the scene can we truly understand how cruel that war was.
"Why are these people unwilling to cross the river? Don't they know that if this continues, they will be dead in winter?" Wang Yu thought to himself that Qingzhou's reputation for good governance should be great enough. These people were already outside Puyang City, just across the road from Qingzhou.
It’s just the Yellow River, so why don’t you know how to cross it?
"It's not a refusal, it's just that you can't get in."
Zhang Chao seemed a little embarrassed, but he still explained truthfully: "Many refugees came to Puyang and tried to cross the river to Qingzhou after hearing the news about the general's benevolent government. However, Chen Gongtai forcibly blocked the ferry on the grounds that he could not support the enemy.
Qingzhou’s merchant ships can load and unload goods at the ferry, but they cannot stay for a long time, let alone bring the refugees back. These people have struggled hard to get here, and if they no longer have the energy to travel, they will end up like this..."
"Is it Chen Gong again?" Wang Yu's eyes flashed coldly, and his expression became worse and worse: "What about brother Ling? Doesn't brother Ling just care about it?"
Speaking of which, he had a good impression of Chen Gong. After all, he was a famous person in history. Because he opposed Cao Cao and preferred to die in the end, his reputation was quite good.
But now, it can be said that being an enemy of oneself is due to a difference of ideas, but it is a bit inappropriate to prevent the refugees from crossing the river. Neither relief nor a way out is given to them. Is it possible to let these people wait here?
Die?
Zhang Chao shook his head and smiled bitterly: "My brother originally intended to provide them with dry food and let them go to Luoyang or return to their hometown to settle down, but there were too many people. My brother had already spent a lot to support General Lu's troops, and now he has more than enough to do.
I’m not strong enough.”
Before he finished speaking, Chen Gong deliberately let the refugees wander on the river bank, just to show off to the Qingzhou Army on the opposite side. This was also an alternative scorched-earth tactic. If the Qingzhou Army crossed the river to attack, the first thing they had to deal with was not the ferry.
not the defenders, but the refugees outside the city.
The Qingzhou Army has a reputation for benevolence and righteousness, and these refugees can at least slow down the Qingzhou Army's advance, thus creating opportunities for combat.
Zhang Chao is not afraid that Wang Yu will anger him, but the young general has a bad temper and he dare not use words to irritate him. If Wang Yu gets angry and wants to challenge Chen Gong, or directly cross the river to launch an army attack, it will be a big deal.
Something bad happened.
"...It seems that the tasks of this negotiation will be increased again." What reassured Zhang Chao was that Wang Yu finally suppressed his anger and entered the city without saying anything more.
He breathed a sigh of relief and followed the horse, followed by five hundred cavalrymen filing in. Although Wei Yan followed Wang Yu, the Hidden Mist Army still did not show up. The series of battles in Xuzhou mainly contributed to the success of this army.
reputation.
As long as they don't show up, even if they don't come at all, the enemy will be suspicious, wondering where they are hiding and how they will appear in incredible ways, creating a great deterrent effect.
After entering the city and placing Wang Yu and his cavalry in the Bian family's house, Zhang Chao hurried to the governor's office to deliver orders to Lu Bu. He wanted to arrange a meeting between Wang Yu and Lu Bu as soon as possible, but unexpectedly he was rejected.
"Zhang Shijun, it's not that you are being negligent on purpose, it's just that your wife is sick, and you are worried and unable to take care of things... In fact, if you are in such a state, it would be more worrying if you really meet Wang Qiaoqi, right?"
"This little brother reminded me," Zhang Chao nodded as he was taught. He raised his hand and handed over a bulging money bag calmly. After watching the other party get the money bag, he weighed it skillfully.
He squeezed, then showed a surprised smile, and asked softly: "Dare I ask, little brother, what disease is the madam suffering from?"
"This..." The servant couldn't answer. He just rolled his eyes wildly.
Zhang Chaona was also a man who had been in the officialdom for a long time and had become a refined person. He didn't know the greed of the other party. He smiled, casually pulled off the jade pendant from his waist, held it between his two fingers, and stretched it forward.
The servant's eyes widened and he hurriedly reached out to take it, but he didn't want to take it. When he looked at Zhang Chaoyang again, he saw that the jade had been put in his sleeve and he was looking at him with a smile.
"The madam is so noble. Of course, we servants don't know what illness she has. However, before the madam fell ill, someone came to visit her, just like the god of plague. Before he came, the madam was fine. He
As soon as the hind legs left, the lady immediately fell ill..."
"Oh? I wonder who this God of Plague is..." Zhang Chao moved his sleeves, and the piece of jade was exposed again, giving off a warm luster under the setting sun.
The young servant stared straight at Yu, stretched out his hands, his movements were not fast, and his speaking speed was even slower: "Madam's natal family is far away in Taiyuan, and she doesn't have many relatives around her. There are people who can go directly to the back house to see Madam.
A lot of people?”
"That's it." After asking the truth, Zhang Chao had no intention of understanding this greedy servant, and casually threw the jade into his arms, "Little brother, please help me keep an eye on what's going on in the house. Nothing else is necessary, just come and go.
The name of the person. Your benefit will be indispensable if this is done."
The servant caught the jade in a panic and said with a smile: "Don't worry, I will take care of this little thing."
He behaved calmly in front of the servants. When he returned home, Zhang Chao's face was already clouded: "Brother, we are in trouble now. I never expected that they would do something like this. The servant said,
General Lu and his wife have a deep love for each other, and they have never even blushed since they got married. It doesn’t matter if she is only ill for a few days, but if it lasts longer, I’m afraid..."
On the way, he had figured out Wei Xu's intention. It was indeed difficult to rely on Mrs. Yan to influence Lu Bu's strategic decision-making. The idea of Wei Xu and the people behind him was to delay.
If you can delay it for a day, Lu Bu can delay it, Chen Gong can delay it, but Wang Yu definitely cannot afford it.
In the end, whether it was Lu Bu who changed his mind and turned against him, or Wang Yu couldn't wait any longer and left on his own, Wei Xu and others could achieve their goal.
"Indeed..." Zhang Miao frowned. This move was indeed troublesome. Even if he didn't consider the general trend of the world, Wang Yu couldn't be in such a dangerous situation forever? There are many dreams at night, and changes will happen later.
"I have no choice but to tell the truth."
"Isn't this not good?" Zhang Chao was startled. If he told the truth, wouldn't it mean he was forcing Wang Yu to leave?
"Chen Gongtai is very scheming. If you and I are not honest with each other, wouldn't it be worse if he deliberately leaks the information to Wang Qiaoqi? It is better to tell the truth frankly. At the worst, it can remove you and my brothers from this matter.
go out."
"That's what the elder brother said." Zhang Chao said suddenly.