Chapter 473 Zhang Ji surrendered to Cao
In the lobby, the atmosphere was solemn and subtle, and the candlelight swayed, reflecting the different expressions of everyone.
Xi Lu cleared his throat before Zhang Ji, Zhang Xiu and Jia Xu spoke, his voice calmly and unquestionable: "It happened that the envoy Liu of Jingzhou condemned the envoy to the court. , begging the court to come forward to regulate the dispute between Jingyang. When Cao Gong heard that Liu's envoy also sent someone to Zhang Zhendong for help, he immediately came up with a plan and intended to invite Zhang Zhendong to Jingzhou to help Liu's envoy stabilize the situation. I wonder what Zhang Zhendong wanted to do? "
Xi Lu's words were like a stone thrown into the calm lake, instantly causing thousands of waves. A trace of undetectable light flashed in Zhang Ji's eyes, and his heart was suddenly touched. He sat upright slightly, his fingers unconsciously tapped the armrest of the seat, and his mind began to outline the various pictures of his journey to Jingzhou.
Not only Zhang Ji was moved, but Zhang Xiu couldn't control his inner desire, and the expression on his face had betrayed him. For Zhang Ji and Zhang Xiu’s uncle and nephew, Yanzhou is far away in the sky, which is a strange place they have never entered, so they are naturally full of vigilance. Nanyang is so close that they led their troops to invade and loot many times, and they know the geographical environment there. What's more, this is the most ideal placement result after repeated discussions with Jia Xu.
"The angel came from afar, and it must be very hard."
Zhang Ji was very satisfied and couldn't help but show his kindness to Xi Lu with a smile on his face: "Tonight, I will intend to hold a banquet. He was entertaining, we welcomed the angels and looked for them to appreciate their faces."
When Xi Lu heard this, he bowed and thanked Zhang Ji for his kindness with gratitude. At the end, he changed his mind and his expression became serious: "Now, Jingzhou is in danger. Jingyang and the two states are both princes of the state and the emperor is close to the vassals. The two states attack each other. No matter which one is injured, it is not the situation that the emperor, the court and Cao Gong hope to see. The most urgent task is to solve it as soon as possible. The dilemma of Jingzhou." Zhang Ji blinked, not understanding the deeper meaning in Xi Lu's words for a moment, and turned to look at his good nephew Zhang Xiu. Zhang Xiu's clear eyes were also full of doubts. After they were sure that neither of them understood each other, they turned their eyes to Jia Xu, as if Jia Xu was their backbone and the key to solving the puzzle.
Jia Xu stroked his beard gently and said slowly: "Since we have decided to submit to the court, and the court now uses Cao Gong to assist in the government, we naturally follow Cao Gong's leader. But I don't know, Cao Gong's mother is the leader. Where do you want to place us? ”
Seeing Jia Xu's words, Xi Lu knew that there was no need to beat around the bush, so he said bluntly: "My Lord has learned about the situation in Jingzhou in detail today and once told me that Wan County was the former Nanyang District, located in the transportation of the Nanyang Basin. The key is to have both waterway hubs, and the geographical location is extremely important, so you must be in charge."
Xi Lu was halfway through his words, and secretly looked up at Zhang Ji, Zhang Xiu and Jia Xu opposite him. The faces of Zhang Ji and Zhang Xiu's uncle and nephew instantly showed unhidden joy. They were obviously very satisfied with this condition, as if they had seen a stable life in Wan County in the future. Jia Xu still looked calm and calm. He could not see the true thoughts in his heart from his face, as if a bottomless lake.
Wan County, this ancient city was once extremely glorious. When the population was at its peak, it was only inferior to Luoyang in the whole world, almost on par with Chang'an. This is certainly due to Wan County's unique geographical advantages, fertile land, convenient transportation, surrounding rivers and extremely developed water conservancy, providing excellent conditions for agricultural development. But the founding heroes of the Eastern Han Dynasty made an indelible contribution.
As Liu Xiu's place of dragon development, more than half of the founding fathers of the entire Eastern Han Dynasty came from Nanyang. In order to regain control of the court from these meritorious and powerful people, starting from Emperor Guangwu Liu Xiu, after careful planning and game between Emperor Ming and Emperor Zhang, all of these people were finally driven back to the fiefdom. The return of these people carried a lot of wealth, population and advanced production technology, which undoubtedly brought Nanyang to its peak period.
At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, the world was in chaos, and the strength of a county in Nanyang almost crushed two-thirds of the thirteen prefectures of the Han Dynasty. Even though he was later brutally ruled by Yuan Shu, nine out of ten families were empty and the people's livelihood was in decline, Wan County gradually recovered a little bit of vitality after the Battle of Kuangting. So far, the number of households in Wan County has returned to more than 4,000, and the entire county has a population of 30,000 to 40,000. Not to mention that within fifty miles of Wan County, there are eight or nine counties and towns. These surrounding areas rely on Wan County to form a very large area.
The land here is fertile, rivers are crisscrossing, and water conservancy is extremely developed. It only takes one or two years to accommodate some refugees. It is not too expensive to impose excessive taxes, light taxes and pay levies, and rest with the people. I believe that it will take only one or two years to revitalize this land. Even if you have a short-sighted vision, you can see that Wan County and the territory of nearly ten counties and towns around it are enough to provide Zhang Ji's 20,000 people with a year of food and drink, but it is much better than the broken place in the mall where you are currently located. Now.
Compared with this place, the northwest corner of Nanyang, near the mall, is in a very decay and dilapidated area. Of course, there is no need to say much about the reason. Zhang Ji himself knew it better. He has entered the Nanyang Basin from there every year in recent years, and is called "helping for autumn harvest", not to mention those of Dong Zhuojun a few years ago. Burn, kill, loot.
This transaction is done!
Zhang Ji and Zhang Xiu looked at each other. If Jia Xu hadn't been sitting aside and calmly, they would have been shouting excitedly.
Xi Lu continued: "But the front line of Wuguan is a barrier in Guanzhong. It is related to the safety of Guanzhong area and will naturally be taken to the court. I hope the general will be forgiven."
"But..."
Zhang Ji spoke with a happy expression, and held back halfway through his words. He knew that the matter was serious and he couldn't make up his mind. He turned to look at Jia Xu. The eyes were full of inquiries and expectations: "What do you think sir?"
"Yes!"
Jia Xu looked solemn and said firmly: "Although the mall is located in a critical position, it is a civilian There are few sparse fields, and there are no caravans to travel, and the economy is in decline and it is difficult to develop for a long time. Although Wan County has experienced some wars and some withering, with its superior geographical conditions, it can gather people to farm and develop production. What's more, we have already surrendered the court. , of course, we must obey the orders of the court and Cao Gong. This is the general trend."
"Mr. said very well."
After receiving Jia Xu's approval, Zhang Ji was overjoyed and smiled on his face: "Yes, since we have joined the court, we naturally have to obey the order of Cao Gong. I just don't know when Cao Gong wants to dispatch our troops out of seclusion?"
Xi Lu sneered in his heart, but he didn't expect that Zhang Ji would trust Jia Xu so much, almost to the point where he could not be reserved and obey his words. Seeing this scene, Xi Lu couldn't help but feel a little jealousy and envious. He thought that although he was highly valued under Cao Cao's account, he had never been treated like this with absolute trust.
"Only when will you leave, you have to discuss with Deng Gong of Jingzhou."
Xi Lu smiled and joked, "I wonder when the general will invite Deng Gong to come and have a gathering?"
>Zhang Ji laughed loudly, but his laughter was full of embarrassment. He remembered the fact that Deng Yi was placed under house arrest before, and now he wanted to invite Deng Yi over, and he was inevitably embarrassed. But now that things have come to this point, I can only face it with a tough bullet.
Soon, Zhang Ji gave the order, and the soldiers hurried to invite Deng Yi. On the way here, someone who had been instructed by Jia Xu had already informed Deng Yi of the specific situation. Only then did Deng Yi understand why he could meet Zhang Ji.
But Deng Yi was clear-headed and meticulous after all. He knew very well that this was not the time to act voluntarily. Not only did he not take the opportunity to shy away Zhang Ji, but he did not mention the previous house arrest, as if this incident had never happened. His understanding of the overall situation instantly made Zhang Ji, who was already embarrassed, feel great about him. When Deng Yi learned that Zhang Ji had surrendered to Cao Cao, he changed his face slightly and was secretly surprised. Later, when he learned that it was Fu Xun who invited Cao Cao to help in the court, Deng Yi gradually understood it. He realized that behind this was a complex political game, and Cao Cao cleverly used the contradictions between various parties to achieve his goal.
But understanding does not mean that there is a way to deal with it. Deng Yi saw through Cao Cao's superimposed method of leveraging his strength, and also understood the current situation where Cao Cao suddenly became the biggest winner. But this does not mean that he has the ability to turn the tide and change the current situation.
At the same time, as a native of Nanyang, Deng Yi had no resentment towards Cao Cao. On the contrary, because Cao Cao beat Yuan Shu hard in the Battle of Kuangting, he made Yuan Shu run away with his head and prevented the people of Nanyang from Yuan Shu's brutal rule, he actually had a good impression of Cao Cao.
Of course, Deng Yi and his group of Nanyang people also had a good impression of the destruction of Yuan Shu, sending Yuan Shu into Luozhong and handing over to the court. They felt that Liu Bei and his son had eliminated a great disaster for Nanyang and were worthy of respect.
Therefore, the Nanyang Gangs such as Deng Yi and Han Song are actually supported and subdued in their hearts.
First of all, they looked down on Liu Biao, and felt that Liu Biao was narrow-minded and had limited abilities, so it was difficult to achieve great things; secondly, whether it was Cao Cao in the north or Liu Feng in the south, or even Yuan Shao in Hebei, they could accept it. .
In their opinion, as long as the people of Nanyang can live a stable life, it doesn’t matter who ruled it.
With this inner thought, when he heard Xi Lu ordering Zhang Ji's troops to move to Wan County with the imperial edict, Deng Yi had no objection and agreed without thinking. He came down and said he would go back and report it to Liu Biao.
Xi Lu and Zhang Ji were both very happy to see Deng Yi being so "informed and tactful". Zhang Ji even held a big banquet that night, warmly entertaining the two envoys, Xi Lu and Deng Yi. In the camp, everyone was cheering and laughing, and the banquet continued until dawn in the east, and it was almost dawn.
The next morning, the warm sun was rising, and the soft light shone through the window frames and spread into the room where everyone was discussing military affairs. Everyone sat around the long table, the atmosphere was solemn and enthusiastic. After a heated discussion, they finally decided on a detailed strategy.
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Zhang Ji received the order and needed to quickly raise his troops within five days, leave Wuguan and step into Nanyang. Race along the banks of Danshui, aiming directly to Zhuyang County.
Zhuyang County is located at the intersection of Zhushui and Danshui. Its geographical location is extremely critical. It is only a hundred miles away from Xiangyang and has convenient water transportation. It takes only two days to get to Xiangyang directly by boat. Under the city. This place is the most suitable echoing location and has extraordinary strategic significance.
If Liu Feng insisted on attacking Xiangyang, then Zhang Ji's troops would pose a serious side attack threat to Liu Feng's army besieged Xiangyang. In this way, Liu Feng faced a dilemma: either divide his troops to fight Zhang Ji, disperse his own troops, and weaken the siege force; or he was worried when siegeing the city, and was always worried about the threat from the rear, and could not attack the city with all his strength.
If Liu Feng intends to seek peace, Zhang Ji can detour from Zhuyang County to Xiangyang north, pass through Xinye, and finally arrive in Wan County. Although this route is a little far away, it has waterways as a support throughout the journey, making material transportation more convenient and marching easier, but in fact it is more convenient.
As for Cao Cao, he will send troops to take over the mall and Wuguan in ten days.
At that time, he will also send an elite force to enter the Nanyang Basin first and station troops in Shunyang. As a strategic focus, this place can provide support to Zhang Ji's troops in a timely manner to ensure that Zhang Ji's actions on the front line have no worries.
**
His eyes slowly pulled back to Liu Feng's army in southern Xiangyang.
At this time, the atmosphere in the military was filled with tension and expectation.
Liu Feng previously gave Zhou Bin a difficult task - to take down Zhengguo County within seven days.
This seemingly difficult task was accomplished beyond imagination by Zhou Bin with amazing speed and excellent military talent.
In just four and a half days, Zhou Bin led his soldiers to successfully break the defense line of the country. In this battle, Zhou Bin showed extraordinary strategy and command ability. He skillfully deployed his troops, avoided the enemy's defensive front, launched a raid from the flank, and caught the defenders of the Junior Kingdom off guard.
What is even more commendable is that he not only successfully conquered the country, but also preserved the storage facilities in the country's port and the city without any damage. This is undoubtedly a huge gain for subsequent military operations and material reserves. In this fierce battle, Zhou Bin's troops suffered less than 200 casualties. This was a miracle and could be regarded as exceeding the task assigned by Liu Feng.
After breaking through the country of Zheng, Liu Feng began to rectify the local personnel. He focused on punishing the gentry, powerful people, large families and huge merchants who dared to resist.
These people have long controlled the local political and economic lifelines, manipulated the lives of ordinary people, and openly opposed the government, which has long become a constraint on Liu Feng's rule.
Now, Liu Feng's camp is full of talents and his strength has increased greatly, so he naturally dislikes these evil people. Now that he finally had a legitimate and reasonable opportunity to punish, how could he let it go easily?
However, accordingly, many people soon ran to Liu Feng to plead for these gentry tyrants. The pleaders either spoke sincerely, telling the intimate connection between these families and the local area; or coerced and tempted, trying to impress Liu Feng with various interest relationships.
(This chapter ends)