Chapter 336 Pressure on the Great Surname of Wuzhong
After Taishi Ci returned to the city, he immediately informed the entire army that the enemy general Wu Jing had been captured alive.
At this time, the arrow on Wu Jing's thigh has been removed, and herbal medicine has been applied and bandaged.
Wu Jing's value is still high. He is also the commander-in-chief of the military governor recommended by Yuan Shu. He also served as the prefect of Danyang, and he was a proper official with two thousand stones.
Capturing such a senior general of Sun Cejun alive will obviously improve the morale of the entire Southern Conquest Army, but it will also severely damage the morale of Sun Cejun.
Suddenly, the city of Yuhang was full of shouts - the bandit general Wu Jing had been captured by General Taishi, and the bandit army was not prepared to abandon their weapons and surrender.
The more than a thousand Wu Jingjun who participated in the city refused to believe it at first, but Tai Shici directly asked Wu Yang to persuade him to surrender. From Wu Yang's mouth, they got the exact information. Everything the Zhengnan Army said was true. Nothing false.
As a result, the morale of the remaining thousands of Wu Jing's troops completely collapsed. Under the leadership of the officers, they abandoned their weapons and surrendered, and entered the prisoner camp of the Southern Conquest Army.
Subsequently, Taishi Ci obtained information from the prisoners and learned that there were more than a thousand Wu Jingjun escorting grain to Qiantang and were about to return to Yuhang.
So Taishi Ci made a decisive decision and appointed Xu Huang as the full commander.
At this time, Xu Zhao offered himself and offered to be Xu Huang's guide.
Taishici followed this and ordered Xu Huang to be the chief general and Xu Zhao to be the deputy general. He led 400 cavalry and 6,000 elite soldiers out of Yuhang. He set up an ambush halfway and successfully ambushed a thousand people who were about to return to Yuhang.
Since then, Taishi Ci defeated Yuhang in one night and destroyed the Wu army in two battles. Xu Gongming's formation beheaded Wu Da, the Zhonghuan captain of Wu Jingjun, and beheaded more than 600 people. At the same time, he captured more than 3,300 people and captured them alive. The enemy's leader was Wu Jing, the commander-in-chief of the army, his four lieutenants, and hundreds of officers, large and small.
Tai Shici immediately wrote a battle report, and asked for credit for Xu Huang, Xu Zhao, Gao Dai and their meritorious officers, and asked if Wu Jingbei needed to be sent.
Liu Feng was at the gate of Wu County at this time. Without Zhao Yun and Fan Neng, the pressure on the Southern Conquest Army under the gate of Wu County would undoubtedly increase a lot.
In particular, the south of the city had to be blocked in advance, which not only increased the pressure on the conquering army, but also greatly stimulated Xu Kun in the city.
Xu Kun never imagined that the siege of the city would begin the next day, even though the letter had given him a few days to think about it.
It wasn't until Zhao Yun and Fan Neng's armies went south that the defenders at the south gate of Wu County saw the long queue going south and quickly reported it to Xu Kun, who then understood that Liu Feng had divided his forces and went south. .
In this way, Xu Kun's troops in Wu County will be positioned behind the opponent. Once they leave the city and are attacked, Zhao Yun and Fan Neng's troops will definitely be unable to survive.
Xu Kun invited Xu Yi, Zhu Chao, Sun He and others to discuss.
Everyone agreed that Liu Feng's division of troops was probably targeting Sun Ce's main force.
At this time, Wu County's communication with Wu Nan and Huibei was blocked. Although it was not completely blocked, the communication was already very poor.
Therefore, Xu Kun and others in Wu County City did not know that Sun Ce had already walked the Chadu Ancient Road, successfully attacked Gaoqiantun, successfully broke through the Guling defense line, and even captured Shanyin City. , Wang Lang and Yu Fan were forced to float on Jingruo Lake with hundreds of remaining soldiers, in panic all day long.
They thought that Sun Ce was still storming the Guling defense line, but Liu Feng discovered that Wu Jing's troops were heading south, and had no choice but to divide his troops to follow him southward, hoping to contain Sun Ce's main force from crossing the river.
In this way, after everyone discussed it, they felt that they could try a night attack in the south of the city. If they could really defeat the Southern Conquest Army in the south of the city, the situation of the battle would be greatly changed and Sun Ce's army would be able to save many disadvantages.
Everyone had made a decision. Because they were worried that launching at this time would coincide with the time when the Conquest Army was most alert, they set the time at midnight five days later. With Xu Yi as the chief general and Sun He as the deputy general, they selected three thousand elite soldiers. , attacked the south of the city at night to conquer the Confederate Army.
Liu Feng did not know about the conspiracy of Xu Kun and others. He was receiving Prime Minister Zhu at this time.
This time Zhu Xiang brought 50,000 shi of grain, some military supplies and 1,500 civilians. He even hinted that the people in the city were loyal to the court and loyal to the emperor, and were willing to fight to welcome the southern army into the city. Contribute.
Liu Feng knew, however, that it was hard to part with this little thing like Zhu Xiang's good fortune.
If you are really sincere, the four families alone can collect 100,000 dan of food. If you add other families in Wu County, even 20,000 to 300,000 dan is not a fatal figure.
Wuxian County is the most maturely developed area in the entire Jiangdong region, with the most high-quality paddy fields, dense rivers and lakes, and complete water conservancy facilities. The annual grain production in Wuxian County alone must be nearly 10 million dan, far exceeding that of ordinary counties, and even It is several times that of some counties in the northwest.
Liu Feng knew better. Even though the Jiangdong surnames were so arrogant now, these people were very timid and typically timid.
Liu Feng is confident enough that as long as he puts more pressure on himself, the Jiangdong surnames themselves will soften.
So, he sneered at Zhu Xiang unceremoniously and said: "I heard that you have a close relationship with the Sun family, and you have secretly taken refuge with the Sun thief. Are you here to make money from me?"< br>
When Zhu Xiang heard this, he was like a thunderbolt, and he even wondered if there was something wrong with his ears.
Fortunately, Zhu Xiang was also quite capable and quickly calmed down. Looking at Liu Feng who was sneering in front of him, Zhu Xiang panicked in his heart, knowing that if the explanation was not clear at this time, there was a high probability that Jiangdong would have to be replaced.
"Why did Zhengnan say this?"
Xiang Zhu tried his best to make a sincere expression: "We all care about the imperial court and have been oppressed by the Sun thieves. After hearing about Zhengnan's request, The imperial court ordered us to go south to Jiangdong. We were all overjoyed. We were very grateful for the virtue of the imperial court and the power of the general. How could we associate with the Sun thief? Now that Jiangdong has been in war for many years, there are many rumors, and we still invite Nan Mingcha. "
Zhu Xiang's attitude was quite low, and he was obviously frightened by Liu Feng's words.
Although Sun Ce only stayed in Jiangdong for two years, he had already taught the wealthy people in Wu County how to respect martial arts.
Before, they thought Liu Feng was famous from the imperial court, and they were a little self-righteous.
After all, the Central Plains gentry do look down on the Jiangdong gentry, but no matter how much they look down on them, everyone is still a gentry. Gu Yong’s great-grandfather Gu Feng served as the prefect of Yingchuan County, and Gu Yong himself was accepted by the famous Yanzhou scholar Cai Yong. For disciples.
Sun Ce is a traitor, let’s not mention it for now, but you, Liu Feng, are the imperial court’s general conquering the south. You have to obey the orders of the emperor, the imperial court, and all the princes in the court, right?
It is also this illusion that gives them the illusion of wanting both.
One of the reasons for this is that the knees of the Wujun gentry were too weak and they were worried that resisting the Sun family would cause unnecessary losses.
Wouldn't it be nice to lie down and wait for Liu Feng to deal with the Sun family? Wouldn't it be nice for them to come out and trick him again?
But who would have thought that Liu Feng would fall out directly, and he would do it so fiercely, as if he wanted to change his surname to Wu Jun's.
Zhu Xiang was begging for mercy, but he was also thinking about how to increase the stakes. After all, he was just blinded by interests, not really stupid and hopeless.
Zhu Xiang lowered his head, but Liu Feng did not say he would stop.
He snorted coldly and said with a sneer at the corner of his mouth: "Oh? Is it just a rumor? I heard that the head of the Gu family, Gu Yong and Gu Yuantan, had already joined Sun Ce and handled official affairs for him. Although he does not have the name of Wu County Magistrate, he has the actual status of Wu County Magistrate.”
Another thunderbolt sounded in Zhu Xiang's ears, and his vision almost went dark.
Where did this news leak out?
As a core member of the Zhu family in Jiangdong, Zhu Xiang knew very well about Gu Yong's surrender to Sun Ce.
As a representative of the four major surnames, Gu Yong works for Sun Ce in exchange for Sun Ce's protection of the four major surnames. However, at the same time, it has been agreed in advance that Gu Yong only works and does not sit. He can have a real name, but cannot give a name. point. Sun Ce also understood that it was impossible for the big names in Wu County to serve him openly, and he was too short of administrative talents at this time.
Gu Yong, the Gu family, and the people of Wu County saw this and dared to make deals with him.
If Sun Ce agrees, then he still has people available to him, and he has established a relationship. If he really establishes a foothold in Jiangdong in the future, he may not be unable to get their support.
If he doesn't agree, the four major surnames won't do anything for him. You can't kill everyone just because you don't do things for you, right?
Then I’m afraid no one in Jiangdong will work for the Sun family anymore.
The result also satisfied the people of Wu County. Sun Ce's bottom line was indeed very flexible, and he immediately agreed to their request, and also let Gu Yong manage the entire Wu County.
Although the magistrate of Wu County gave it to Wu Jing, it was Gu Yong who actually did the work.
Even Sun Ce’s Wu Commandery Prefect’s Mansion was extremely dependent on Gu Yong.
After all, in this time and space, Sun Ce has no chance to be a licking dog and lick Zhang Hong, Qin Song and Chen Duan.
As a result, Sun Ce could not even find a mastermind, and his administrative talents were extremely scarce. His reliance and compromise on the big names in Wu County far exceeded the original time and space.
Zhu Xiang looked pale, frightened and speechless.
He never dreamed of such a confidential matter. How did Liu Feng know about it?
Is there someone from Liu Feng around Sun Ce?
What’s even more frightening is that the Gu family is vaguely the leader of the four major surnames in Jiangdong. Even when Lu Kang was not dead, the Gu family steadily outnumbered the Lu family.
Otherwise when Lu Kang was the governor of Lujiang, he would not have brought all the Lu family to Lujiang. As a result, they were attacked by Yuan Shu and Sun Ce, killing more than half of them.
Now Liu Feng actually has no scruples or affection for Gu Yong and the Gu family, and directly named Gu Yong. It can be seen that Liu Feng has no scruples or concerns about the surname of Wu County, which makes Zhu Xiang feel cold. .
"Why don't you speak?"
Liu Feng sneered and said, "Is this also a rumor?"
Zhu Xiang's legs softened, and he immediately fell down and kowtowed deeply to Liu Feng. Go down.
"We are guilty, and we ask Zheng Nan to punish us!"
Hearing Zhu Xiang's confession, Liu Feng snorted coldly: "You go back."
Zhu Xiang raised his head in despair, his eyes full of pleading.
"Since you have confessed your guilt and have a heart to repent, then go back!"
Liu Feng continued: "After you go back, we will discuss how to make atonement for your sins."
Only then did Zhu Xiang realize that Liu Feng thought he was in a humble position and asked him to go back to ventilate.
Zhu Xiang secretly breathed a sigh of relief. As long as Liu Feng is willing to give him a chance, he will not be in a dead end.
Seeing Zhu Xiang's expression changing constantly, Liu Feng was not panicked. He really understood the mentality and character of the people in Wuxian County very well.
Although this group of people has a certain degree of loyalty, they are soft-boned and take their family very seriously.
As far as Lu Xun and Lu Kang are concerned, they are both famous officials at the Zhuguo level, but they are extremely indulgent towards their family. The Lu family can be regarded as one of the top families in the Wu Kingdom, but apart from Between Lu Xun and his son, the most common member of the family is actually a playboy.
It can be seen how outrageously Lu Xun and his son indulged the family.
Therefore, Liu Feng felt that even if he threatened to annihilate his clan, the Jiangdong surname would not dare to surrender to Sun Ce, let alone give him a chance now.
Facts have proved that Liu Feng was quite accurate.
After hearing Liu Feng's words, Zhu Xiang's first reaction was not to rebel or simply defect to Sun Ce. Instead, he thought about how to please Liu Feng and obtain Liu Feng's forgiveness so as to preserve the family.
"The Prime Minister is fully aware of the intention of conquering the South. When he returns to the city, he will convey the goodwill of the expedition to the south and make meritorious service to repay the kindness of the expedition to the south!"
Zhu Xiang was moved! He cried bitterly, kowtowed several times, and then stepped back step by step and left the tent.
Xiang Zhu was very respectful, but he did not get any sympathy from Liu Feng.
At this time, if Liu Feng returns the favor and refuses to pay, then why should Liu Feng give them a good look?
As a general conquering the South, am I worth fifty thousand shi of food?
********
Zhao Yun marched very fast, marching sixty miles a day for five consecutive days, almost using up all his strength.
The gap between armies can be seen from the long march.
Also marching sixty miles a day, only half of Zhao Yun's soldiers fell behind. They were gathered up by the officers at the end of the team and continued to move forward. The result was that they would be a few days late at most.
But a full 40% of Fan Neng's side fell behind, and there were even dozens of people who were completely missing and their whereabouts were unknown. It was very likely that they ran away directly.
Moreover, Zhao Yun still retains more than half of his combat effectiveness, while Fan Neng's troops have basically lost their combat effectiveness. They have to rest for at least a day and a half before they can regain some of their combat effectiveness.
If Sun Ce's army appeared at this time, let alone an ambush, as long as they set up their formation, Fan Neng's army would probably collapse.
The reason why Zhao Yun dared to do this was entirely because Zhou Yu opened the way ahead and eliminated most of the risks.
It's not that Wu Jing's troops can't bypass Zhou Yu and sneak attack Zhao Yun, but the intelligence support required is outrageous. Unless Wu Jing could open his eyes, he would not even know about Zhao Yunnan's death, let alone take such a risk.
In just five days, Zhao Yun's troops had caught up with Zhou Yu's former army, and the meeting point was less than half the distance from Yuhang and Qiantang.
After the two armies merged, according to Liu Feng's order, Zhao Yun was the main general and Zhou Yu was the deputy general, with control over Mi, Fan Neng, Zhou Dao and other generals.
At the same time, Wang Sheng was worshiped by Liu Feng to join the army, and took charge of Youquan, taking on the important task of transporting food southward and ensuring the logistical supplies of Zhao Yun's troops.
Zhao Yun still took Zhou Yu's troops as the vanguard, and he led the Chinese army to delay, allowing the troops to recuperate while waiting for the stragglers to catch up.
After marching for another three days, when they were more than a hundred miles away from Yuhang and Qiantang, they happened to bump into the cavalry sent by Taishi Ci.
(End of this chapter)