The Most Romantic of the Three Kingdoms

Yingchuan is located in the inland and belongs to the Central Plains. Most of the county is flat, and there is almost no danger at all. There are only a few rivers that are not too wide. Yingshui and Rushui are the two longest and largest rivers. Twelve of the seventeen counties in Yingchuan County are located along the banks of the Ying and Ru waters. Yingyang is one of them.

Xun Zhen's entire army set out, went out of Yangzhai, and went southeast along the Yingshui River for twenty li. When they reached a ferry, the whole army crossed the river, crossed the Yingshui River, and continued to the southeast. After walking for another twenty li, the city of Yingyang was in sight. .

Yingyang, a place that has experienced many soldiers' suffering in history.

During the Qin and Han Dynasties, Liu Bang, the great ancestor of the Han Dynasty, once attacked this place. Because the defenders in the city resisted stubbornly, after capturing the city, he "slaughtered it". Emperor Guangwu of this dynasty started in Nanyang and revived the Han Dynasty. He passed by Yingyang twice before and after the famous Battle of Kunyang. A large number of Yingyang children joined his army, and two of the twenty-eight generals of Yuntai were both famous. Yingyang people, one king, one sacrifice.

After the sacrifice, he was named Marquis of Yingyang. At the time of Emperor Xiaozhang, Ma Fang, the second son of General Fubo Ma Yuan, was also named Marquis of Yingyang and had 6,000 households. One household is counted with five people, and 6,000 households are 30,000 people. It can be seen that Yingyang is also a large county. During the reign of Emperor Huan, Liang Budo, the younger brother of the domineering general Liang Ji, was also named Marquis of Yingyang.

When this wave of "thieves" is everywhere, any disturbance may cause panic among the people. In order not to cause chaos in Yingyang County, Xun Zhen temporarily stopped the army ten li outside the county, and sent Xi Zhicai to the city to notify.

In February, when spring was busy, there was almost no one in the fields beside the road. Xun Zhen rode his horse on the road, looked far and near, raised his whip and sighed: "When spring is good, there are hardly any farmers in the fields because of the chaos. Last year's drought caused a poor harvest in my county, and this year is even worse than last year, with almost no farming in the fields. , wait until autumn, for fear of another famine!"

Soldiers lead to famines, and famines, in turn, contribute to wars. This is a vicious circle.

Yang Zhai, who left in the morning, traveled more than forty miles, and crossed the river once again, and it was already evening.

Xun Zhen Chuan ordered to go, and ordered the soldiers of each song to rest on the spot. After waiting for about half an hour, Xi Zhi returned with a group of officials. The first official, about forty years old, probably because he was in a hurry, he did not take the bus, but drove a hull car with a black sash and copper seal. This is the dress of the six hundred stone local chief, and it is the current Yingyang decree.

The rank of 600 shi is lower than a doctor, and the appointment and dismissal comes from the imperial court. Xun Zhen is only a 100 shi official who was expelled by the county government. Although he has thousands of military power now, he can't take it in front of this commander of Yingyang. He hastily He jumped off the horse, and while strictly ordering each song not to move rashly, he brought Xun You, Xun Cheng, Xin Ai, Cheng Yan and others to greet him.

Seeing each other, salute each other.

Xun Zhen dressed in military uniform, gave a military salute, and said with a smile: "Cao Xunzhen, a soldier in the lower county, was ordered to attack the thieves in the south, and planned to stay in your place for a while, because he was worried that he would disturb the people in the city if he entered the city rashly. Therefore, the right soldier Cao Shixizhong was sent to the city to report first, but he unexpectedly disturbed the county ruler!

Yingyang Ling got out of the car early, gave a long bow, and said, "I have heard the name of the foot for a long time. In the battle of Yangzhai a few days ago, the foot was the first to fight with the thieves. For a few days, I have been training troops in the east of Yangzhai County, so that the thieves between Ying and Ru did not dare to take a step into Yangzhai, and I also heard about it in the south of Weizhen County. Today, I led my troops south to attack the thieves, and they are actually the people in the south of the county. Good luck!"

"The county magistrate praised it. The previous battle of Yangzhai in Panyang, so those who were able to defeat the thieves, thanks to the command of the commander of the Lai mansion, are nothing but a pawn."

Yingyang Ling looked at the new soldiers who were resting on the roadside, and asked, "I have come to my county now. I don't know how long I plan to stay? I wonder if the lord of the government has any explanation for the subordinate officials?"

Xun Zhen took out an official document and handed it to him, and said: "I have food and gluten that I brought with me for this trip. Before the ration runs out, I don't need Guixian's help. As for how long I plan to stay in Guixian, it depends on the movement of the thieves. It’s not good to say. This is an order from the lord of the government, and the lord of the county should observe it.”

Yingyang Ling respectfully accepted the order, began to look at it, and after reading, he said, "The official of the government has chosen a place to camp for you outside the county, what are your requirements for this?"

"It's not very demanding, as long as it doesn't depend on the water or low-lying areas."

There are many taboos in the army camping, one of which is not to be too close to the water. If it is close to the water, it will be wet, and if it is wet, it will be easy to get sick, which is not good for the health of the soldiers. Of course, it can't be too far from the water. Too far and no water is available.

Yingyang Ling thought for a moment and said, "I have a wild field in the east of Yingyang County. It is open and not far from the water. If there is no objection, we can camp there."

Xun Zhen responded happily: "Okay!"

He asked Yingyangling to go first, and then passed the order. The soldiers got up one after another, followed Yingyangling's car, went around the county town, and headed east of the city.

Xun You followed his horse, glanced at Ying Yangling who was walking in front, and said, "This county magistrate seems like a good talker!"

Not good to speak. Previously, Xun Zhen had been to Yingyang in Shixing County as the northern governor of postal service. Before anyone arrived, corrupt officials in Yingyang resigned one after another out of fear of his prestige. The kings of Yingyang, Ji and other great surnames greeted him at the county boundary. It has not been long since then, and his prestige is still there, and this time he has brought two thousand tigers with him, which increases his power even more. Even though Yingyang Ling was the chief officer of Six Hundred Stones, he had no choice but to speak to him. Not to mention, there are yellow turbans everywhere in the south of Yingshui, this Yingyang commander has long been worried, for fear that the yellow turban army will go north to invade the border. Now that Xun Zhen came with his troops, he was also protecting Yingyang, and of course he wanted it very much.

Xun Zhen said: "We came out of Yangzhai and went southeast all the way. We didn't encounter a few thieves on the way, and I don't know how the situation around Yingyang is? Let's go, let's ask this Yingyang commander."

Xun You and Xi Zhicai complied with their promise, and surrounded Xun Zhen with Cheng Yan, Xin Ai, Xun Cheng and others to catch up with Yingyang Ling's car. On the way to the east of the city, they asked about the situation around Yingyang.

The commander of Yingyang said: "A few days ago, when Zhai was besieged in Tianyang, a band of thieves came to invade my Yingyang, about two or three thousand people. Fortunately, the king of the city, the sacrifice and the surnames helped me, and the officials also They fought hard with the thieves for many days, and finally managed to keep the city intact. After Bocai was defeated, the thieves also retreated."

"Where did you go back?"

"Crossing the Yingshui and heading south. If you want to come, it's probably going to be a teacher with Bocai."

"Are there still thieves and soldiers left in the countryside outside the city?"

"Within ten miles outside the city, the subordinate officials can guarantee that there will be no thieves and soldiers remaining, but there is no guarantee beyond ten miles. Because the county officials and soldiers are few, just enough to defend the city, and there is no spare energy to go to the distant villages to inspect."

"Not far to the northeast of Yingyang is Yingyin, and not far from the southeast is Linying. How are the two counties?"

"Before, Linying was also attacked by a band of bandits. After Bocai was defeated, this band of bandits also retreated south of Yingshui. Yingyin has never heard of a large band of bandits attacking."

Xun Zhen said to Xi Zhicai and Xun You: "According to the plan, our troops will be stationed in Yingyang for a period of time, and after we settle down, from tomorrow onwards, each Qu army will be sent to distant townships. The rest of the bandit soldiers must be cleaned up! First, the right should be the training of troops before the war, and secondly, strive to connect this county with the two counties of Linying and Yingyin, as a stable rear of our army."

"promise!"

...

The news of Xun Zhen's arrival in Yingyang quickly reached Bo Cai's ears.

When Xun Zhen was training outside the city of Yangzhai, he was closely watching Bo Cai's movements. Po Cai was also watching his actions all the time. When Xun Zhen first started training, Bo Cai even had the idea of ​​sending troops north to attack Xun Zhen by surprise. However, his idea could not be approved by the majority of the battalion commanders in the Yellow Turban Army, so he could not put it into practice.

Although he failed to put this plan into practice, during the few days that Xun Zhen was training the army, Bo Cai was not idle either.

On the one hand, he closed down the collapse, and on the other hand, he was remorseful and reflected on Yang Zhai's failure.

He has 100,000 people under his command, why did he fail when attacking Yangzhai and facing a few enemies?

He concluded two reasons.

First, although his subordinates claimed to have 100,000 people, they were all peasants who had just come out of the fields. When you win quickly, you run the risk of losing. Second, there are many hilltops in the tribe, there are many factions, and each county and township has little commanders. When the war goes well, they can unite as one, but if they lose, the little commanders of these counties and townships will have different opinions for their own interests. Unfavorable combat.

Two reasons are actually the same thing, in short: lack of training, lack of formality.

It can be said that Bo Cai's reflection is very good. If he can give him a little time, maybe he can really turn this Yellow Turban army into an elite, but unfortunately, he does not have enough time, his "subordinates" Didn't give him the chance. Bo Cai set up his tent in Xiangcheng County, and shortly after arriving in Xiangcheng County, he held a military meeting.

Including the troops stationed in Jia County, all the county and township officers who could be contacted participated in the military meeting. Rao is so, the scale of this military meeting is also much smaller than before. Last time, he also held a military meeting outside Yangzhai City. There were 70 or 80 young marshals participating in the meeting, but this time there were only 40 or 50 people. Some of those who were absent were killed during the siege or retreat, while others escaped to some unknown place and have not yet been able to rendezvous with the main force.

The military meeting was held in the main hall of the county government office in Xiangcheng County, with forty or fifty people sitting around the hall.

Po Cai sat on top.

Another person was sitting on the lower left side of him, above the many young men, second only to him. This person is very young, twenty-four or five years old, with a yellow face and short beard, wearing black fine armor, kneeling on the seat with a sword, and his physique is stronger than most of the people in the hall. His name is He Man, a native of Xiangcheng County.

The Taiping Dao believers in Yingchuan County originally had only one recognized leader, Bo Cai, because he was the only one in the county who was a disciple of the great teacher Zhang Jiao. Because of this status, he was able to become the leader of this uprising. He Man was originally just a young marshal in Xiangcheng County, and his status was the same as that of other young marshals. There were three reasons why he was able to stand above the rest at this time.

First, after the uprising, he made great contributions one after another. Xiangcheng and Jiaxian counties were brought down by him.

Secondly, he is a native of Xiangcheng County, and he takes advantage of the landowner. He is half the owner and is familiar with the place.

Once again, Bo Cai besieged Yangzhai with 100,000 people, but in the end he suffered a big defeat. At the beginning, he only had Taiping Dao believers from one county in Xiangcheng, with a total of no more than 4,000 or 5,000 people. They attacked Xiangcheng and Jia counties one after another. This achievement is particularly prominent in the context of Bocai's defeat.

Therefore, after the entire Yellow Turban army was defeated in Xiangcheng and Jiaxian counties, his position in the Yingchuan Yellow Turban Army skyrocketed, and now he is only the second wave.

Bo Cai was overcome with pain, and mentioned two things at this military meeting.

First, he proposed again: send a military horse north to Yangzhai, and attack Xunzhen by surprise.

The last time Bocai proposed this idea, He Man expressed his opposition.

This time, he still objected, saying: "Our army is newly defeated, and its morale is low, and so far it has not been able to gather all the defeated soldiers. Now the number of defeated soldiers gathered in Xiangcheng and Jia counties is less than 50,000, at least there are still Forty to fifty thousand people are scattered between Ru and Ying. At this stage, the focus of our army should be on gathering the fallen soldiers, and in my opinion, it is not a good opportunity to go north again."

"Xunzhen Shuzi is the great enemy of our army. If there was no such son in the siege of Yangzhai this time, he would have taken the city. Now he is training outside the city of Yangzhai. If we ignore it, we will be raising tigers. When he succeeds, it will be even more difficult for us to defeat him!"

Bocai failed to siege Yangzhai, which caused his personal prestige among the Yellow Turbans to plummet. After retreating to Xiangcheng County, there were two different ideas among the Yellow Turbans as to what to do next.

One is represented by Pocai, who believes that they should go north again, and still take Yangzhai as the first priority.

They believed that as long as Yangzhai was captured, the counties in Yingchuan County would be left without a leader, and they could take the opportunity to capture the entire county.

The other faction believes that according to the information from the capital, the reinforcements of the imperial court are coming soon. If they continue to attack Yangzhai, when the reinforcements from the imperial court arrive, if Yangzhai has not been conquered, the internal and external difficulties will inevitably lead to another defeat. , and if they lose again, under the attack of the elites of the imperial court, I am afraid that they will not only flee, but will end in the destruction of the entire army.

Therefore, they believe that it is better to go north than to go south.

He Man has successively conquered Xiangcheng and Jia counties with a small number of troops. He is also a person who knows soldiers. He also has ideas on the development route of the Yellow Turban Army in the future, and he supports going south.

He said: "According to the report of the scout, there are only 2,000 men under Xun Zhen Shuzi. Even if he trains these 2,000 men, it will not pose a big threat to our army! I think we should hurry up and put the The men and horses scattered between Ying and Ru are fully gathered, and then they will march south to capture the counties of Runan."

Bo Cai said: "The decree given by the great virtuous teacher to us is: to conquer Yangzhai, pacify the whole county, and march towards Luoyang, so as to form a situation of encircling Luoyang with the army of Jizhou and other places. Although we attacked Yangzhai a few days ago, it was small. There are losses, but the main force still exists, so how can you violate the orders of the great teacher because of small losses? If you don't capture Yangzhai, how can you go to Luoyang? If you don't take Luoyang, how can you change the sky?"

He Man said: "The court reinforcements are coming, and it is impossible to take Yangzhai again. Yesterday, the horses sent to the direction of Runan and Nanyang reported that our army in Runan and Nanyang was developing rapidly and the momentum was fierce. They have each captured most of the two counties! Zhang Mancheng, the envoy of the **** of Nanyang, led Zhao Hong, Han Zhong, Sun Xia, etc. to sweep Nanyang, and they were preparing to besiege Wancheng with hundreds of thousands of people. He Yi, Huang Shao, Liu Pi and others led tens of thousands of troops to attack and kill the county, and defeated Zhao Qian. Nanyang, in the south of our county; Runan, in the southeast of our county. Both of these two counties are adjacent to our county Rushui. The five counties on the south bank. As the public said, although our army has lost to Yangzhai today, there are still tens of thousands of people. If we can capture the five counties on the south bank of Rushui, our army will be able to join the 200,000 troops in Nanyang and Runan. In this way, the crowd can reach 300,000! With this 300,000 crowd, you can take Yangzhai when you advance, and you can enter Nanyang and Runan when you retreat. It's better than attacking Yangzhai by force, and facing the possibility that the whole army will be destroyed. Danger?"

Zhu Gong is the prefect of Nanyang. Zhao Qian is the prefect of Runan. As He Man said, these two prefects are not the opponents of the Yellow Turban Army in this county. The current situation is that they are losing ground, and the two counties will be in danger.

Most of the young marshals in the hall agreed with He Man's opinion.

Some of these young men who agree with He Man are afraid of being beaten by Xun Zhen, while others live on the south bank of the Rushui River. In their opinion, it is really not so good to go north again and fight Yangzhai again at the risk of great danger. What Man said, simply go south and take the five counties on the south bank of Rushui, and then join forces with the friendly forces in Runan and Nanyang. Although Bo Cai was reluctant, but now there are only a few people who support him, so he had to give up his plan to attack Xun Zhen in the north again. This discussion can be regarded as a complete set of the Yingchuan Yellow Turban Army's next combat direction, which is to change to the south and take the five counties on the south bank of Rushui.

Although Bo Cai never forgot Xun Zhen, most of his followers were opposed to attacking Yangzhai again, so he had no choice but to say: "If this is the case, let's go south. You gentlemen, this time to besiege Yangzhai, our army will attack Yangzhai with 100,000 people. You were defeated, why didn't you think about it?"

Some of the young marshals said: "Yangzhai Chengjian."

Some said, "Xun Zhen Shuzi is cunning!"

Some said: "Insufficient siege equipment!"

Bo Cai shook his head and said, "All of what you said is correct, but the main reason is not these."

"What is it?"

"It's because our troops have different orders! Xun Zhen Shuzi is training troops outside Yangzhai City today, making up Shiwu, teaching flag drums, and training queues. According to the report from the horse inspection, it has only taken a few days and has begun to take shape as an elite. Our army has no ranks, and the members do not know how to stand up, let alone the formation method! Although there are 100,000 troops, they are like a rabble! With my rabble, how can I not be defeated by the enemy?"

He Man agreed with this, nodded again and again, and said, "The public statement is very! The public statement is very true!" He asked, "Since the public knows why our army was defeated and how the thief was victorious, what are you going to do next?"

"I intend to reorganize our army."

"How to organize?"

"Like the Xun thief training the army, arranging the wushu, teaching the flag and drumming, and training the formation."

At present, the Yellow Turban Army basically does not have the establishment of Shi and Wu, only such establishments as ri, township and county. In general, Bo is the highest commander, the county canals are the commanders, the township leaders are next, and the li leaders are next. Such an organization is obviously not conducive to combat. Therefore, Bo Cai wanted to adapt it and make it more formal.

Many young marshals present agreed with this, and He Man also agreed very much: "That's how it should be!" He not only agreed, but also made an addition, saying, "There are many women and children in our army. Great use, I thought that the women and children should be separated from Ding Zhuang, and the women and children could form an independent camp to undertake the chores in the army, and Ding Zhuang should be the main force in my battle."

Pocai agreed.

Now that everyone agrees, the reorganization begins.

Xun Zhen was training outside the city of Yangzhai, while Bo Cai and He Man were gathering the troops in Xiangcheng County, while also training their troops.

It's just that Bo Cai and He Man's editing and training were far less successful than Xun Zhen's. They encountered a series of problems during the editing and training. There are two main points.

One is that many of the Taiping Dao believers who participated in the uprising were dragged by their families, and the whole family went into battle. In the past, it was fine to organize according to the township and li, but now it is suddenly changed to the organization form of Shi and Wu. He Man's opinion is to separate men, women, old and weak, that is to say, the family should be organized separately. This caused dissatisfaction among many believers. Many people don't want to.

One is that all seventeen counties in the county have believers participating in the uprising. Before the adaptation, the Qu Shuai of the seventeen counties had equal status, but after the adaptation, the seventeen Qu Shuai may no longer be of equal status. Because the situation in each county is different, the number of believers involved in the uprising is also different. In some counties there are more than 10,000 people. Some counties have few people, maybe only one or two thousand people.

More than 10,000 people, excluding women and children, there may still be 4,000 or 5,000 Dingzhuang, enough to be compiled into three "departments", and they can almost form an independent army.

One or two thousand people, after removing the women and children, there may only be seven or eight hundred people left. Seven or eight hundred people are not enough to make up a "department".

In this way, there will be a situation: one county may have only two or three departments, or two counties may be combined into one department. The status of each county canal commander is of course high and low, and some county canal commanders with a small number of departments are unwilling to do so.

Moreover, the collapsed soldiers have not yet been gathered, which also caused certain difficulties to the reorganization.

In short, all kinds of troubles and problems emerged one after another. Until the day Xun Zhen arrived in Yingyang, the reorganization of the Yellow Turbans had only just begun.

After receiving the military report that Xun Zhen arrived in Yingyang, Bocai, who had been busy these days, had to take his attention away from the reorganization and convened a military meeting again.

Before the military meeting began, and before all the young marshals from the counties and townships had arrived, some of the young marshals who came first were arguing and making a fuss.

Bo Cai kept his identity and didn't come out in the back of the hall. He wanted to wait for all the young marshals to arrive before going to the hall, but when he heard the chaos in the front hall, a guard ran over to report: "It's incredible! There's a fight in the front hall!" He couldn't sit still for a while, and got up in a hurry to go to the hall.

About twenty people came to the church. Seeing him coming, some young marshals stood up to greet him, some squatted and greeted him carelessly, some didn't notice him, and happily watched the two in the hall beating and scolding. The two young men who were beating and scolding in the hall didn't know whether they didn't see him coming, or because they were angry, they turned a blind eye to his arrival, grabbed each other's jackets, and yelled at each other.

Witnessing this messy scene in the hall, Bo Cai was so angry that he was so angry.

He stood at the top of the hall, coughed loudly several times, and the two who were beating and scolding turned a deaf ear. He had no choice but to signal the guards to pull the two away.

Four or five guards stepped forward and struggled to separate the two. After being separated, the two still scolded, like two fighting cocks, you glared at me, I glared at you, and spit at them. The guards didn't dare to let go, grabbed their clothes and forced them to stand on either side of the hall.

Some of the young handsome onlookers gloated over the misfortune, handed it over with the water bowl on the case, and said, "I've been scolding for a long time, are you thirsty? Come, come, come, drink some water, and then scold! If you don't feel angry, do you see it? I Lend me this Hundred Refinements Sword to you, I'll slash my mother!" Everyone laughed and shouted, "Yes, yes, slashing his mother! If you don't practice, you're a coward!"

Bo Cai was so angry that he took out his saber, slashed at the case, and said angrily, "Shut up!" After shouting a few times, the hall fell silent.

Bo Cai stared at the two fighting young men and asked, "What's going on? I called Erwai to start a military meeting, not to fight! What's the matter with you two?"

The two young men opened their mouths in unison, one said, "This Shuzi is deceiving people too much!" One said, "This animal stole my stuff!" Immediately afterwards, the two glared at each other, and one asked, "Who does Shuzi say is the animal?" One asked : "Who does the animal husbandry say is Shuzi?" The anger surged up, and encouraged by the young handsome onlookers, the two wanted to draw their knives at the same time. The guards who were pulling them hurriedly took their sabers off.

Bo Cai had a headache because of the unsatisfactory reorganization in the past few days. At this time, he was very angry when he saw these little handsomes under his command being so unsatisfactory, but he also knew that losing his temper would not solve the problem. The meaning here seems to be who robbed whom, and because he barely held back his anger, he slowly asked, "You said he robbed you? What did he rob?"

The black-faced handsome man who was asked seemed to have not remembered Bo Cai's identity until now, and hurriedly knelt on the ground, kowtowed and said, "Master! This Shuzi instructed his subordinates to rob our department of food! More than once, from From the day before yesterday to today, I have been robbed twice in a row! I beg the master to call the shots for me."

Another red-faced handsome also knelt down, dismissing the accusations of the black-faced handsome, and said, "Whoever ordered the food is yours? Whoever grabs it is whoever gets it! If you have the ability, take it back from Naigong. Ah? I can’t get it back even if I rob it, so I have the nerve to file a complaint? Master, I want you to know that I didn’t grab the food from this livestock farm, but I got it myself!”

An onlooker Xiaoshuai interrupted and teased, "You scold him for livestock, and you call yourself a prince, so what are you?"

The handsome boy in the hall burst into laughter.

The black-faced handsome man said angrily: "Nonsense! As early as the first day in Xiangcheng County, the master assigned Delin Township to my department. You don't go to your site to copy grain, but come to Delin Township to loot It's so outrageous! Why didn't you grab the food you brought from Delin Township from me?"

Tens of thousands of the Yellow Turbans gathered in the two counties. They did not have any supplies and rations themselves, and they usually grabbed their food from the local area. In order to avoid any conflicts between the ministries due to grabbing grain, Bo Cai and He Man specially divided them into different places of "grain and food". It's just that I didn't expect that these two little handsomes still had a conflict.

Bo Cai sank his face and asked the red-faced handsome: "Didn't I set a place for you to eat? Why did you go to Delin Township to get food?"

The red-faced handsome said: "Master, I have a thousand or two thousand people, and you only gave me half a township! How can there be enough food? I don't go to Delin township to get food, why are all my people hungry? "

Tens of thousands of people "fed" in the two counties, and no matter how much food there is, it is not enough.

Since Yang Zhai retreated to Xiangcheng County, in the past few days, the young officers of various ministries have tossed Xiangcheng County upside down. The first is to loot the big households in the county and township. After the loot is finished, the middle family is looted. After the middle family is also looted, now they start to loot the poor people. Although Bo Cai seldom went out because he was busy with the adaptation, he had already heard about the various looting of the people by his followers. He has the intention to forbid it, but he has the will and powerlessness to prevent his followers from robbing them, just as the red-faced handsome said: Do they all go hungry? Because it can only be ignored.

"In the past two days, another 10,000 or 20,000 soldiers have been killed. Now there are more than 80,000 troops in Xiangcheng and Jia counties. Eighty thousand people can eat two counties. There are only a few townships in these two counties. It's good that I can give you half a township!" Bo Cai had a headache, it's not good for him to punish him or not to punish him for this kind of bullshit, he said, "That's it, you return all the food you brought from Delin Township to him..."

"Return it to him, what do my people eat?"

Bo Cai really lost his temper. He said exhaustedly: "Can you wait for me to finish talking? How much do you pay him, how much I supply you! Never let your people go hungry. already?"

"If that's the case, that's fine."

"All sit down."

The battalion commanders came one after another.

He Man also arrived. Everyone takes their seats. Bo Cai said: "Just received the military report, Xun thief took his troops to Yingyang, and summoned Er to come here to discuss this matter."

He Man asked, "I wonder what the master's opinion is?"

"Yesterday, the thief Xun was inspecting the new soldiers outside the city of Yangzhai. I heard the details and reported that he broke the bow and broken the arrow in front of the tens of thousands of people in Yangzhai. He swore not to return. According to his oath, after he started from Yangzhai, he should go directly south to find my main force to fight, but now he went to Yingyang. I think his move is quite meaningful. "

"I would like to hear from the master."

"I think that although he was stationed in Yingyang, his actual intention was in Xiangcheng. He may have known that our army would intend to go south to attack the counties of Runan, so he stationed in Yingyang. Yingyang is only forty miles away from Xiangcheng County. The morning and evening can come. He is now in Yingyang. If our army does not move, it will be fine. As long as our army moves, he can immediately cross the Yingshui from Yingyang to the south and attack our army! This is for our army. , like a thorn in the back."

"What the master said is very true. So, what does the master plan to do?"

Bo Cai glanced at He Man. He proposed to go north and attack Yangzhai twice, but He Man rejected them. This time, he wanted to hear He Man's opinion first, so he didn't answer him, but asked, "What? What's your opinion?"

He Man was young and hadn't learned to hide his thoughts. Seeing Bocai asking, he bluntly said, "Our army has been staying in Xiangcheng and Jia counties for many days, and most of the defeated troops that can be gathered are also All gathered, I thought it was time for our army to go south!"

"Going south?"

"right!"

"The Xun thief led a crowd of 2,000 people and settled in Yingyang, which is only forty miles away from my Xiangcheng. If he hits me with his tail when I cross the Rushui in the south, what should I do?"

"There are two thousand people in the Xun thief district, which is not a cause for concern. Our army can keep two troops, stationed in Xiangcheng and Jia counties, respectively, to serve as the rear wing of our army and cover our army to cross the Henan."

He Man came late, but after he arrived, he heard others talk about the fight between the two young marshals just now because of the fight for food. He left the table and knelt down and said to Bo Cai sincerely: "Master, our army Tens of thousands of people can't stay in the two counties for a long time! One, our army is newly defeated and urgently needs a big victory to revive morale; two, the two counties are too small to support our army of tens of thousands, time The short also said that if the time is long, we will face the dilemma of running out of food! At that time, if the Xun thief goes south from Yingyang, our army will be short of food, and there will be enemies outside. Don't hesitate any longer, please order to go south as soon as possible!"

Bo Cai hesitated and said: "The reorganization has just begun. There are tens of thousands of Taoists in the seventeen counties. So far, only two counties, Yang Zhai and you, Xiangcheng, have been reorganized, and the remaining fifteen counties have all been reorganized. It hasn’t been edited yet. The five counties on the south bank of Rushui, such as Kunyang, are also heroic cities. If you rush south, you may be hard to pull them out! Why don’t you wait for all the Taoists in the counties to be reorganized before heading south?”

Yang Zhai's Taoist disciples are the direct descendants of Bo Cai, and are easy to adapt. He Man's status and prestige in the Yellow Turban Army is second only to Pocai, and the Taoist disciples in Xiangcheng County led by him are very convinced of him, and it is easy to adapt. Therefore, these two counties were the first to announce the completion of the reorganization, but the other 15 counties were not so easily reorganized. So far, most of the counties have only made a start.

He Manton said: "The thief may be able to wait for us to complete the adaptation, but food does not wait for anyone! Master, there was a severe drought last year, and the harvests in all the counties in the county were not good, and the harvests in Jia and Xiangcheng were not good either. , especially in Jia County. The magistrate of Jia County set the county treasury on fire when the city was destroyed, and almost burned the grain stored in the county. When we retreated from Yangzhai, we almost lost some of the original grain. The tens of thousands of people must be hungry! ... And, didn't there come another information from the capital yesterday? It said that the imperial court was recruiting knights and brave soldiers within Sanhe, and planned to use Huangfu Song and Zhu Jun as generals to lead the army into the army. I, Yingchuan, will arrive in a few days. If we wait for them to arrive, and we have not been able to conquer the five counties on the south bank of the Rushui River, then although Yingchuan is large, there will be no place for our army to stand! It will be too dangerous until then. Now! Master, don't hesitate any longer!"

All the young marshals in the hall also spoke up, and most of them agreed with He Man's opinion.

"Okay! Just follow your words, choose two troops to stay in Xiangcheng and Jiaxian counties, and in two days, the main force will cross the Rushui and head south!"

...

Two days later, the main force of the Yellow Turbans marched south.

On the same day, Xun Zhen received this information.

"Gongda and Zhicai, as we expected, the Bocai thieves really crossed the Henan!"

In the camp temporarily set up in the east of Yingyang County, after receiving the information, Xun Zhen immediately ended the camp tour and returned to the tent, summoning Xun You, Xi Zhicai, Xun Cheng, Xin Ai, Le Jin, Xu Zhong, Jiang Qin, Chen Bao, Gao Su, Wen Ping, etc., held a military meeting.

Xuankang hung the map in front of the tent, retreated to one side and knelt in front of the case, holding a pen in charge of recording.

Xun Zhen strode up to the map, found the locations of Xiangcheng and Jia counties, drew out his sword, pointed and said, "Before crossing the river, Bocai dispatched about 10,000 people to stay in these two counties. Obviously, he is guarding against our department's tail-strike!"

Jiang Qin said: "I heard that Bo Cai has not been idle these days in Xiangcheng. While gathering the fallen soldiers, he reorganized the bandit army?"

"true."

"I wonder how far he has organized the bandits?"

"Xiangcheng and Jia counties are full of thieves for dozens of miles, and our scout horse can't get too close, but we only heard that he is organizing Shi and Wu for the thieves, but I don't know to what extent. "

"You are training troops outside the city of Yangzhai, and this wave is actually training troops in Xiangcheng County." Jiang Qin said, disdainfully, "Needless to say, he must be learning Jun!"

When Le Jin went to Yangzhai from Tieguan in Yangcheng, he encountered many rebellious Taiping Dao believers on the way. He had a little understanding of the internal structure of the Yellow Turban Army. There are both the old and the weak, women and children, and it is not easy to adapt. Although Jin Bocai intends to adapt, but he only stayed in Xiangcheng County for a few days, and at the same time, he has to gather the defeated troops. Results. Xun Jun, in my opinion, there is no need to worry that the bandits will suddenly change from a mob to a strict division."

Xun You has been with Xun Zhen all day long, playing the role of a military advisor. He has access to more information and has a better understanding of the situation of Bo Cai’s division in Xiangcheng and Jia counties. He nodded and said, “Wen Qian is right. According to the information on the horse, the thieves have been looting everywhere in Xiangcheng and Jia counties these days, and there is no military discipline to speak of. Even if such soldiers are adapted into Shi and Wu, they are still thieves! There is nothing to worry about."

Xun Zhen looked around the tent and said to everyone, "That's how the bandit army was reorganized. Just as Wen Qian and Gongda said, we should pay attention to this, but we don't need to pay too much attention to it."

He pointed at the map with his sword, turned back to the topic, continued what he had just said, and said, "The task given by the lord to our department is: to ensure the safety of the five counties on the south bank of the Rushui River, and now the wave is leading the crowd southward, gentlemen, our department should now What should I do? What are your opinions? Feel free to say what you say."

The lowest of the people present in the hall was also a Quchang, who were all Xun Zhen's cronies and the backbone of the army.

Among them, although Chen Bao had followed Xun Zhen very early, his seat was not high. Above him, there are Xi Zhicai, Xun You, Xun Cheng, Xin Ai, Le Jin, Xu Zhong, Jiang Qin, and his position is in the middle and back. Kneeling on the seat, he probed and looked at the map.

Seeing his appearance, Xun Zhen smiled and beckoned, "A Bao, can't you see the map? Come and see!"

Chen Bao is a prudent person, refusing to enjoy special treatment in front of so many people, so he hastily said his thanks. Xun Zhen smiled and said, "If you want to come over, come over! Not only you, but if you can't read the map clearly, you can also come close. Today's military conference, everyone should speak freely. We must read all the way before we stop. Your discussion is over."

However, Chen Bao refused, so he had to leave the table and walk forward to the map and watch it carefully.

Gao Su and Wenpin were still behind Chen Bao, and neither of them could see the map clearly. The characters of the two of them were no better than Chen Bao's, and they left the table and walked to the map without any fuss.

After they watched for a while, Xun Zhen asked, "How? Do you have any ideas?"

No one would say first.

Xun Zhen called his name and said, "A Bao, you speak first!"

"Yes." Chen Bao respectfully complied with his promise, took a few steps to the side, stood beside the seats of the people, and said, "Your Majesty ordered us to rescue the five counties on the south bank of Rushui. I can't stop at Yingyang anymore, I need to go south as soon as possible."

"That's right. It's just that how should this go south?"

"Praise thinks that the top strategy of our department is to capture Xiangcheng and Jiaxian counties."

Xun Zhen glanced at Xun You and Xi Zhicai and asked, "Oh? Why?"

"If we bypass Xiangcheng and go south to Jia, our unit will face the danger of being attacked by the enemy on both sides. Once our unit captures the two counties of Xiangcheng and Jia, it will be the thieves who will face the danger of being attacked by the enemy on both sides."

Xun Zhen originally wanted to take this military meeting to test the military capabilities of the generals under his command, but he did not expect that Chen Bao would reveal his plans in a single word.

Before leaving Yangzhai, Prefect Wen asked him about the strategy of going south at the night banquet for him, and he replied at that time: "If the thieves cross the Rushui to the south, our troops will either take Xiangcheng and Jiaxian counties, or go around. After passing through these two counties, we can only cross the river after chasing the waves." This is the general idea. Of these two methods, the former is indeed the best policy and the latter is the worst policy. The latter method will only be considered if the former is not feasible.

"A Bao, what do you think about this suggestion?"

Wen Pin said: "This is the best policy, but there is one thing that must be taken into consideration."

"Which point?"

"Master Shicai said that Bocai left a total of 10,000 people to garrison these two counties, and each county should have 5,000 people. The Art of War said: ten to surround them. Our troops only have 2,000 people, and use 2,000 to attack the other 5,000. I'm afraid it will be difficult to win quickly. If you can't win quickly and capture one of the counties quickly, you will face reinforcements from the other county. At that time, there were fortified cities within our division and reinforcements from thieves outside. I am afraid that it will be difficult to deal with the enemy both internally and externally.”

It is not easy to think of this when the civil employment year is less than 20 years old. Xun Zhen was very happy and said, "Zhongye is very worried." He asked the people, "What do you guys have to do?"

Jiang Qin said: "Fangcai Gongda said: When the thieves looted the villages in Xiangcheng and Jiaxian counties, the local people will definitely hate them~www.wuxiaspot.com~ My department is the master of the king, attacking them, and eliminating violence for the people. If you think about it, you can get the support of the people in these two counties. With the support of the people in these two counties, it should be difficult to take the city."

Everyone in the tent nodded and said, "Yes."

Xin Ai looked around the tent, said "Huh", and asked Xun Zhen, "Mr. Xun, is there one more person missing?"

"Who?"

"Original hope."

Xun Zhen laughed and said: "Yu Lang's eyes are like torches! ... The original teacher followed Liu Deng to the neighboring town to pacify the thieves, and he has not returned. However, I have sent someone to invite him, and I should be able to do it later. come."

Although there were no major thieves around Yingyang, there were many rogues in the townships far from the county seat, and there were also a small number of Taiping Dao believers. In the past two days, Xun Zhen continued to send out various ministries, taking the village as a unit, to various townships to quell the chaos. Yuan Pan was familiar with the internal situation of Taiping Road, so he often followed the troops down and played the role of a guide.

Xun Zhen turned to Xun You and Xi Zhicai and said, "Zhicai and Gongda, I originally heard that one of the thieves was named He Man. He was a native of Xiangcheng, and he was quite famous locally. I was worried about the two The previously mentioned strategy of 'integrating the inside with the outside' is afraid that it will not work, but unexpectedly, the thieves in Xiangcheng and Jiaxian looted everywhere, causing public indignation! Now it seems that this 'integrating the inside and outside' strategy can be implemented!"

——

1. "The decree of the great virtuous teacher to us is: to conquer Yangzhai, pacify the whole county, and advance to Luoyang, so as to form a situation of encircling Luoyang with the army in Jizhou and other places."

Observe the offensive situation of the Yellow Turbans in various places after they raised their troops: the Yellow Turbans in Runan and Nanyang attacked north, the Yellow Turbans in Hebei looked like they were going south, and the Yellow Turbans in Dongjun attacked Cangting, which seemed to be from the east, south and north. The plan to attack Luoyang. It's just that although there seems to be this plan, after all, there is a lack of unified coordination and cooperation in various places, and they are defeated by the Han army.