Chapter 326 Shengxian’s appeal
The people in Shengxian were confused, but Prime Minister Zhu came here with a mission, and he was not part of his family. Gu, Lu, Zhu and Zhang were all missing.
Otherwise, even with the strength of the Zhu family, they would not be able to obtain such a complete map.
But now it seems that Liu Feng is not as easy to talk to as he imagined.
Zhu Xiang's heart was heavy. He still had a trump card in his hand, but he only had one trump card, and that trump card was not like a free benefit like a map, but it was a real bargain.
Therefore, not only Zhu Xiang himself felt that, but also his nephew Zhu Huan, the head of the family, had told him not to use his trump card if he could.
However, judging from the current progress, there is a high probability that the trump card will not be saved.
"That's right."
Liu Feng sat on the main seat, raised a glass of invitation to Sheng Xian and Zhu Xiang, and said: "I once heard that Duke Sheng was pursuing the thief Xu Gong. When he was killed, he took refuge in Xu Zhao’s home. I wonder if it’s true?”
“This is true!”
Sheng Xian put down his wine glass and said solemnly: "In the past, I was forced by the thief Xu and was almost in a desperate situation. Fortunately, I was saved by Kong Wen. Later, the thief Xu still refused to give up. In desperation, Kong Wen thought of Xu Mingjun's character. He acted righteously and rescued people in emergencies, and was not afraid of violence, so he defected to him."
Xu Zhao, also known as Mingjun, was a native of Yuhang, Wu County.
There are very few examples in history of people with the same name and surname, who can still be remembered in history and still belong to the same era.
But Xu Zhao is the only one who is an anomaly.
In the same era, he opened a three-yolk egg, and it was still in the same place. It can be called a historical masterpiece and a historical miracle.
At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, there were three Xu Zhaos in Jiangdong who had historical names, and they were all related to the Sun family.
The first one was the rebel Xu Zhao, who wreaked havoc in Kuaiji, attacking cities and plundering territory, and was finally defeated by Sun Jian.
The second one is the assassin Xu Zhao, who was a disciple of Xu Gong and successfully assassinated Sun Ce, the son of Sun Jian. He was the leader of the three assassins and the one who left his name among the three.
The third one was the powerful Xu Zhao, who took in Sheng Xian, Xu Gong, Yan Baihu and others, and was finally pardoned by Sun Ce and survived.
The Xu Zhao that Liu Feng is talking about now is the powerful Xu Zhao.
This person's ability is unknown, but he has a good reputation, and he comes from a powerful family, and his relationship with the four Jiangdong families is not close.
It was because of Liu Feng's thoughts that he asked Sheng Xian about Xu Zhao's situation.
Hearing Xu Zhao, Zhu Xiang couldn't sit still at all, but he still endured it. If he couldn't wait and presented his trump card at this time, it would be too explicit.
"Xu Mingjun lived up to his reputation. He took me and Gao Kongwen into his house, treated us with courtesy, and visited us morning and night. He is a true righteous man."
Sheng Xian praised Xu very much. After a while, he finally asked Liu Feng: "I wonder what the general means?"
Liu Feng smiled and replied: "I have always heard of Xu Zhao's name. Now that I have entered Jiangdong for the first time, there are few people around me, so I want to try him out." It’s really a blessing for Mr. Xu Ming!”
Everyone praised and laughed endlessly. Zhu Xiang’s face was very ugly, but he still had to laugh and cheer.
After finally waiting for the matter to pass, Zhu Xiang suddenly stood up and bowed to Liu Feng.
Generally, anyone who behaves like this at the banquet has something important to say.
Therefore, the laughter of the people around him suddenly stopped, and their eyes fell on Zhu Xiang.
Sure enough, after the ceremony, Zhu Xiang asked respectfully: "The general's army has been resting in Wuxi for many days. I dare you to ask the general when he plans to send his troops south?"
Xiang Zhu's question Not only is it big, but it's also very sensitive.
As a person who ran away from Sun Ce's territory, it is obviously very inappropriate to ask such a sensitive question.
But Prime Minister Zhu had just presented a map before, showing his surrender. If he did not reply, he might lose the hearts of Jiangdong.
After all, the date of dispatching troops is not a particularly sensitive secret. Who in Jiangdong doesn't know that Liu Feng's march south to Wuxian is just around the corner.
Now that the Jiangdong nobles have sent maps, if you keep even the date of dispatching troops a secret, you will indeed look petty and have no trust at all.
"Within one month, troops may be mobilized."
Liu Feng considered: "Now the food, grass and weapons are being transferred. If there is an accident, it may be delayed for a while. ”
Now Liu Feng has an army of tens of thousands, and the logistical pressure on ordnance and supplies is no less than that of food.
In a fierce battle, a soldier may even need to change to two or three weapons, and the armor on his body also needs to be repaired or even replaced.
After all, most soldiers do not have iron armor, and some have half-length leather armor. Those who can wear a full set of leather armor are already the main elite. Coupled with arrows, wound medicine, clothing and other materials, the transshipment volume is quite scary.
Hearing this, Prime Minister Zhu was overjoyed. This was a perfect connection.
"General!"
Zhu Xiang said with excitement: "My Jiangdong family is eager to conquer the south just like my parents when they were young. With the help of various families, I have been hoarding goods outside Wu County for the general. Thirty thousand stones of grain and fodder, 20,000 feathered arrows, fifty long bows, and five hundred short and long swords were provided for the use of the army.”
Oh haha!
Liu Feng's heart moved. Seeing Zhu Xiang's excited look, he couldn't help but become suspicious.
Zhu Xiang didn't say it earlier or later, but after he cared about Gao Dai, Xu Zhao and others, he made such an excited statement, which looked a bit like competing for favor.
Liu Feng cursed in his heart, but his face showed shock and emotion.
“The furniture is the home of righteous men.”
Liu Feng pretended to sigh and said: "With the power of the generals, the Sun thief is using a mantis as a chariot, and it is his own fault."
Zhu Xiang was overjoyed, but before he could say anything, he heard Liu Feng change the subject. : "It's a pity that 30,000 stones of grain and fodder are only enough for my army for half a month. It may be difficult to capture Wu County within half a month."
Zhu Xiang blinked, unable to believe his ears.
What does Liu Feng mean?
It sounds like they want to increase the price.
Zhu Xiang raised his head and saw Liu Feng staring at him with great concentration. His head was as big as a bucket and he was speechless.
Seeing that Zhu Xiang did not dare to speak, Liu Feng sighed deliberately: "I will not hide it from Zhu Jun. If the righteous men of the various families can provide 100,000 shi of food, I will send troops south tomorrow."
To be honest, the four major families and the powerful nobles of Wu County raised 30,000 shi of food, which is actually quite sincere.
After all, their 30,000 shi of grain did not need to be transported, so they were waiting at the foot of Wu County.
Just for this alone, the value would be at least 10,000 more stones.
But Liu Feng didn't see it that way. From his point of view, the four great families in Jiangdong were just four noble families in Wu County.
Gu Yong and his son, Zhang Yun and his son, and Zhu Huan and his son all have good talents, at least they are talents in the state and county.
But in Liu Feng's eyes, it was already a non-necessity. The Liu family, which had a large number of famous people from the Central Plains, really had no shortage of Gu Yong and the others.
If Liu Feng were more ruthless and could directly break the four families into Sun Ce's team and then eat them, it would only require a little more effort.
On the contrary, the Lu family, which is currently the weakest, is the one that Liu Feng values the most.
In fact, if you want to get Lu Yi, you don't need to expend much effort on Liu Feng. In fact, judging from the current situation, if Liu Feng shows the slightest respect for Lu Yi, the Lu family will probably cry and shout to Lu Yi. Sent to serve under Liu Feng.
In the end, Zhu Xiang failed to agree, but he did not dare to refuse explicitly. He just said that he would discuss it when he went back.
Liu Feng naturally obeyed and nodded in agreement.
The next day, Sheng Xian appeared in Wuxi city, and immediately aroused a warm welcome from the powerful Wuxi nobles.
When Sheng Xian expressed his support for Liu Feng and obeyed the imperial court, the powerful Wuxi nobles also immediately expressed their willingness to accept the order of conquering the south.
Seeing this scene, Liu Feng was a little stunned. No wonder the emperor couldn't stand Sheng Xian. Even Liu Feng himself was a little surprised by Sheng Xian's reputation.
I knew you had a strong reputation, but I didn’t know your reputation was so strong.
Fortunately, Sheng Xian really regarded Liu Feng as his benefactor and savior at this time. This stemmed from Sheng Xian's life of hiding in Tibet in the past few years.
He was tired of the precarious and fearful days, but Liu Feng respected him on the surface and was close to him in private, which made Sheng Xian quite satisfied.
Therefore, Sheng Xian spared no effort in supporting Liu Feng.
Not to mention other aspects, under Sheng Xian's instigation and request, the powerful Wuxi nobles joined forces to donate 25,000 shi of grain, 1,000 young men, and some military equipment, clothing, and supplies to Liu Feng.
When Liu Feng received the donation, he was angry and laughing at the same time. This bunch of sweethearts is simply too much. I broke through the city without going on a killing spree. They all looked like well-behaved dogs, but they only donated 10,000 shi of food and 500 people.
But now that Sheng Xian gave an order, you just paid 25,000 dan?
If Liu Zhengnan hadn't been so worried about his reputation, he would have had a heart-to-heart talk with these sweethearts at the knife's end.
But no matter how jealous Liu Feng is, Sheng Xian is indeed sparing no effort to cheer for Liu Feng. Liu Feng cannot deny this credit.
Liu Feng was hesitant about Sheng Xian's arrangements at this time.
Based on Sheng Xian's true intentions, he really didn't want to continue being an official and just wanted to find a place to live in seclusion.
But who told his hometown to be in Kuaiji?
Otherwise, he could have rubbed oil on his soles and returned to his hometown, but there was nothing he could do in Kuaiji. Since ancient times, Wuhui has not separated families, otherwise why would there be such a thing as Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai in the future?
Wu Hui's family relationship is also an important legal basis for Fujian to insist that it is also in the free shipping area.
The good news came one after another. From Piling, Qu'a, and even Dantu in the rear, there were petitions from powerful nobles, hoping that Sheng Xian could patrol the area.
Sheng Xian’s prestige was so high that Liu Feng couldn’t help but have an idea in his mind.
Is it possible to declare Sheng Xian as the prefect of Wu County, squeeze out the Xu Gong, and then use his own people to serve as Wu County's chief minister, captain, meritorious officer, chief secretary, five official officials and other important positions to control the county? Politics?
Judging from Sheng Xian's style and character, he would only be happy with Liu Feng's offer, but would not be dissatisfied at all.
This method can also help Liu Feng control Wu County faster.
To give the simplest example, Liu Feng broke bones and sucked out marrow in Wuxi before, and he only squeezed out 10,000 shi of grain.
Ke Shengxian got an extra twenty-five thousand stones with just one word.
Sun Ce raised 40,000 troops in Wu County, which seemed incredible.
But in fact, if he can really get the full support of the powerful nobles of Wu County, he can even afford 80,000 troops and horses. Of course, it cannot last long, and he must expand quickly.
Yuan Shu did the same thing.
In Nanyang back then, Yuan Shu supported his own army of 60,000 troops with the power of one county, and also supported Sun Ce's army of 40,000 troops.
Although it is said that Nanyang has a county that is as large as a state, don't ignore that Yuan Shu was also extravagant and extravagant at the same time, squandering all kinds of things, and Sun Jian's continuous battles.
A war consumes a lot of money. Sun Ce was attacking Dong, but one battle after another. While fighting Dong Zhuo, Yuzhou also asked Yuan Shao to appoint the three brothers Zhou Xin to steal the house, and then another The Battle of Yangcheng was fought.
After struggling like this, Nanyang County still carried on for four full years.
It can be seen that in the late Eastern Han Dynasty, the financial resources of various counties and counties were actually very strong.
Why at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty and the beginning of the Eastern Han Dynasty, the princes of a county could mobilize an army of 20,000 to 30,000 troops at every turn, but in the early days of the Three Kingdoms, when Sun Quan was resisting Cao Cao with all his strength, he only had 50,000 troops, and even when Cao Cao went south at his peak, in fact There are only 200,000 horses.
The root cause is that the foundation of the counties and states in various places has been exhausted. Even the powerful families of the nobles have no food left, and they even have no population.
So, Sun Ce actually had only 40,000 soldiers and horses in Wu County, which had not experienced much war, and this was despite Yuan Shu's blood transfusion across the river. It can only be said that Sun Ce was indeed unpopular.
This is the benefit that the local gentry and powerful class aspire to.
This is one of the reasons why Liu Feng wanted to use orphans from Liu Erying as local officials.
Liu Feng thought for a long time and decided to give Sheng Xian the title of joining the army and let him patrol the three cities to raise food for himself.
As for the Sheriff of Wu County, wait until you can think more maturely.
Sheng Xian had no objections to Liu Feng's arrangements and took the boat to Piling. He was very motivated. Prime Minister Zhu left Wuxi and returned to Wu County the next day.
********
Luoyang, the General's Mansion.
Cao Cao was handling government affairs at this time, but saw Xun Yu coming in a hurry.
Xi Zhong was still recuperating in Xuzhou at this time. His health was getting better and better and his recovery was quite good.
But the intelligence had to be handled by someone, so Cao Cao entrusted it to Xun Yu.
Hearing the footsteps, Cao Cao raised his head and saw that the person coming was Xun Yu. He threw down his pen and smiled at the other person: "Wen Ruo, why are you so panicked?"
Xun Yu quickly walked up to Cao Cao and bowed respectfully.
Seeing the other party salute, Cao Cao had a look of helplessness on his dark face: "Wen Ruo, how many times have I told you that you and I are called ministers and are actually good friends. Why should we be so rigid? Courtesy. "
It's not that Cao Cao doesn't want to say that he is actually a brother, but that he doesn't deserve to say it.
Although he is now a general, if he dares to call Xun Yu his brother, it will only make Xun Yu resentful and alienated.
This aspect is the advantage of his family. No matter how developed Cao Cao is, his roots are from the family of eunuchs.
Why did Bian Rang dare to ungratefully criticize Cao Cao? Wasn't it because of Cao Cao's background?
If Cao Cao was from a noble family, Bian Rang might still oppose him, but he would never dare to insult him, because if he dared to scold him, other noble families would cast aside his ungrateful account.
But Liu Bei is different. Not to mention Liu Bei's appeal of God's help in this regard. The clan clan alone is enough to solve all problems.
As a member of my clan, I call you a brother and a brother. You don’t care whether I am in poverty or not. After all, I am a blood descendant of the emperor. Calling you a brother and a brother is not an insult at all.
After Xun Yu finished the ceremony, he sat across from Cao Cao and replied seriously: "General, the ceremony cannot be abolished."
Cao Cao nodded helplessly. He and Xun Yu were not actually close.
Because the two people's personalities, origins, family backgrounds, and principles of life are actually very different.
The reason why Xun Yu defected to Cao Cao was because he felt that Cao Cao was powerful and could save the Han Dynasty.
The two are like-minded comrades, but they are by no means congenial brothers with the same interests.
“What happened?”
Cao Cao showed curiosity: "I actually asked you to come here in person."
Xun Yu had an independent office courtyard in the general's mansion. There were more than ten officials under Xun Yu alone. many.
Under normal circumstances, Xun Yu would not come to Cao Cao. He has a heavy burden and does not have this free time at all.
Therefore, since Xun Yu is here, things must be big.
Sure enough, Xun Yu said next: "News came from the south that Liu Feng had captured Wuxi, and Xu Kun escaped through the night with the remaining soldiers through the south gate."
"Hiss!"
Cao Cao looked shocked: "So fast?"
Xun Yu also had a look of surprise on his face, and nodded in agreement.
Cao Cao, Xun Yu and others once discussed that if Liu Feng went south this time, it would be considered a great victory if he could capture Piling years ago.
Cao Cao himself can be regarded as one of the strongest military strategists of this era, and Xun Yu, Cheng Yu, Man Chong and others can also be regarded as first-class military strategists.
They can make this judgment, naturally there is a basis for it.
At least the plan of fortifying the city and resisting one after another that Wu Jing and Xu Kun had discussed had long been guessed by Cao Cao and Xun Yu.
Based on this, Cao Cao put himself in Liu Feng's situation and calculated it based on the combat strength of his Qingzhou Army.
"How could it be so...ouch!"
Cao Cao was excited and couldn't help but think about it again, how could it be so fast, but he didn't want to pull out his beard in excitement. One of them fell and he screamed in pain.
Xun Yu did not laugh at the other party, but introduced it in detail: "After Liu Zhengnan crossed the river, he walked slowly. Niu Zhu paid homage to Liu Yao, Moling met Xue Li, and Jurong met Zuo Rong. But after Jurong, he selected the elite , the strength of the Xiangxiang River, rushed directly to Qu'a City, and wiped out three thousand Sun troops in one battle."
Cao Cao smacked his lips and sighed: "This is the method of fighting fast."
Cao Cao didn't know that Liu Feng's skill was learned from an old hidden hand who had a very close relationship with his Cao family. In this old hidden man's life, almost all of his three most glorious achievements came from this skill.
At this time, Lao Shenyang had just turned twenty and was still studying at home.
"What about Piling and Wuxi? They can't stop it no matter what..."
Cao Cao had already woken up when he was halfway through his words: "By the way, Qu'a, I'm afraid Piling won't dare to defend anymore. If I come to arrange the troops, the number of Piling's troops will not exceed two thousand, and they will definitely wait." The soldiers of Qu'a returned and joined together to defend the city. "
Cao Cao's vision was quite vicious and he almost guessed the truth directly.
(End of this chapter)