Chapter 29, the enemy outside the city

The firelight of the camp outlined a red border in the dark sky. The war has completely subsided. Under the light of the fire, the figures coming and going, or running on foot, or riding, gradually have some regularities in the seemingly chaotic scene. The officers and soldiers were busy searching for the booty and sent carts of grain and fodder to the city.

In the south of the camp, Wen Chou is executing the captured yellow scarf army. He is grumpy and has been hating these yellow scarf thieves since he failed to fight for the thief in Changcheng. Shortly after being defeated and returned to the county, he was blocked by these traitors. At this moment, he finally got such an opportunity, and naturally poured out all the anger in his heart.

The captured yellow scarf thieves knelt on the ground one by one under the order of a group of officers and soldiers.

Wen Chou twisted a five-foot-long knife and personally cut off the heads of these prisoners one by one. The prisoners waiting for execution in the back watched the death approaching step by step. Many people had already been so scared that they cried, begged for mercy and even collapsed on the ground. Wen Chou's clothes were already stained with blood. When the knife cut a person's head, the blood from the carotid artery splashed everywhere.

Zu Zhao led the riders of the county's Beiyiyong to meet with Zuling, Kui'an and others. After chasing the escaped bandits for a while, they turned back to the camp and happened to meet Zhou Zhi.

Zhou Zhi praised Zu Zhao with emotion, and it was inevitable to mention the credit of killing the thief chief Zhang Wan in Xiyang County.

Zu Zhao didn't have much time to mention the old story at this time. He symbolically asked Zhou Zhi first, "Captain Zhou, now successfully broke the thief and got a lot of grain and fodder, which is a heavy damage to the vitality of these yellow scarf thieves. Do you dare to ask what to do next?"

Naturally, he had a plan in his heart, but after all, Zhou Zhi is a county lieutenant, and he should give him some face at this time.

Zhou Zhi hardly thought much and immediately said, "The army of thieves will come soon. At present, we will move the grain and fodder into the city as soon as possible, and you and others will also enter the city together. With these grains and fodder, it will not be a problem to stick to it for another month or two. In addition, these yellow scarf thieves lose their grain and fodder. It won't take long to run out of food and naturally disperse by themselves.

Zu Zhao had long thought that Zhou Zhi, Wen Chou and other officers and soldiers would have such an idea. After all, in the face of a strong enemy, they should naturally adopt a more conservative strategy. The fire on his face was calm and calm. After listening to Zhou Zhi's words patiently, he immediately said, "Captain Zhou, I thought I should never return to the city now. Although the thief is powerful, he has been hit hard repeatedly. When the fleeing thieves spread the news, it will inevitably cause panic. We should seize the great opportunity in front of us to stabilize this gap and never let the thief besiege the city again.

Zhou Zhi frowned slightly and said in a low voice, "What does this mean? Obviously, we can avoid more losses and let these thieves retreat by themselves. If we stick to the battle here, the thief is so powerful and there is a new shame of defeat and food. In case of fierceness, we are not only not sure to stick to it. If we are a little careless, we will even let the thief take advantage of the situation to break the city. You and I can't afford such risks.

Zuzuo stressed: "If the two armies fight against each other, there must be this consideration. However, these yellow scarf thieves are just a rabble. There has been no progress in attacking the city for more than ten days. Zhang Wan was defeated in the sunset. Today, it is reasonable for me to wait for me to rob food and fodder. Under the trauma, morale is disordered and people's hearts are unstable. Its sharpness is nothing more than the next first round of attack. If we face the front, break its spirit and seize its military heart, we can determine the whole county in a battle.

His words are very powerful and have an unshakable sonorous power.

Zhou Zhi did not fail to listen to Zu Zhao's words at all. He thought carefully. From the perspective of strategy and the overall situation, Zu Zhao's plan is indeed meaningful. However, after all, he has to consider the current situation of the county government and the whole Youbeiping County. Thieves are rampant, and the two counties in the south of the county have become nests of thieves. If Zu Zhao's plan is not successful, it will even implicate the county government. Such a risk is not affordable.

Immediately, he said in a very serious tone, "Zu Zhao, I know you have won the battle, but you must not be angry at this time. As the saying goes, if you are not careful, you will lose, especially under the county. Any action must be carefully considered and there must be no risk. As for the pacing of the whole county in the first war, we have won a key victory now, and then we can cycle gradually, so there is no need to rush for a moment. Don't worry, you will naturally have a place to use it in the future. When the chaos is over, I will report your achievements truthfully and keep it to eliminate the previous charges.

Zu Zhao can see that Zhou Zhi has made up his mind, and there is some impatience in his heart, but Zhou Zhi is too conservative. His vision is by no means only in Youbeiping County. Now the turmoil in Youbeiping County is not very serious compared with the Yellow Turban Uprising across the country. If you want to make great achievements in the Yellow Turban Rebellion, you must really meet some big battles. He hoped to calm down the turbulence in the county as soon as possible. On this basis, he won three or five points of bravery, and immediately led his own people to go to other counties and integrate into the torrent of history to break out his career.

Zhou Zhi's worries can't be said to be unreasonable, but he can still think about the yellow scarf thief in Youbeiping County, especially since he has caused many blows to the Yellow Turban Army in the early stage. At this time, it is not impossible to face the front. To take a step back, even if the Yellow Turban Army besieged the city is many, it will take time to dispatch, and the number of Yellow Turbans will certainly not be so large as soon as possible. What's more, if the Yellow Turban Army is withdrawing all the besieged troops and concentrated here, the county government can also withdraw the troops still stationed in the city, or kill, contain them from other gates, or move here to support.

However, Zhou Zhi said it in such a tone. Of course, he will not be ignorant, and there is no need to continue to waste time here. He said in a calm tone, "Since the captain has made up his mind, he won't say anything else."

After saying that, you have to turn around and leave.

Zhou Zhi suddenly called again, "Zu Zhao."

Zu Zhao strangled the reins and looked back at Zhou Zhi.

Zhou Zhi asked, "Where is Li Xianyan now?"

I thought Zhou Zhi would have any other ideas, but I didn't expect to ask about this matter. Zu Zhao naturally felt a lot of boredom in his heart, but he still replied, "After the battle in Xiyang County, Li Xianyan rushed to the state government to report the matter and asked the state government to send reinforcements. People should have arrived at the state capital these days.

After he finished speaking, he no longer hesitated and left with Zu Cheng, Zu Ling and others.

Returning to Yingzhai, Zu Zhao found Wen Chou in the south. Wen Chou cut off the heads of more than 20 yellow scarf thieves. At this time, he was sitting on the ground and gasping for a breath. His men had executed all the remaining yellow scarf thieves and dyed a large area of red on the flat ground. Those heads with different heads could be seen everywhere in a straight line. The scene was very bloody.

Although Zu Zhao did not agree with killing the prisoner, he obviously did not have much intention to pay attention to this matter at this time. He jumped off the horse and came to Wen Chou. He told Wen Chou again about his decision to refuse to defend the enemy here.

Wen Chou and Zhou Zhi are both county lieutenants, with almost the same responsibilities and powers, which is nothing more than different jurisdictions. However, Wen Chou and Zhou Zhi have two completely different personalities. Counting the previous failure of the expedition to fight for thieves, Wen Chou was holding back a grievance. After listening to Zu Zhao's words, he already had an idea in his heart. At present, for him, it is not only to vent his anger, but also to restore his personal status and reputation in the First World War.

Of course, he is by no means a man and still thinks about Zu Zhao's ideas. As analyzed by Zu Zhao, he agrees that the current Yellow Turban Army is unstable. From yesterday to today, it has been dispatching troops back and going. Officers and soldiers and Yiyong are in the limelight of winning streak and reversal of the situation. In terms of morale alone, it has gained a certain advantage.

Considering this, he nodded and said, "You're right. Although there are many people, these yellow scarf thieves can't wear them. At most, they only have the last breath. As long as you can meet its front and break its sharpness, the thief's momentum can be determined.

Zu Zhao said at this time, "It's just that Lieutenant Zhou doesn't think so. He means to continue to stick to the city and retreat after the thief's food is exhausted."

Wen Chou's face suddenly turned black and said decisively, "If he thinks so, it's up to him. I ordered my subordinates to stay here from the north of the county, and there is no need for too many people, as long as there are 2,000 people.

Zu Zhao immediately said, "I still have to consult the volunteers of other counties."

Wen Chou thought for a moment and said, "You go first. I'll arrange the people on my side first, and then go to Lieutenant Zhou to discuss this matter in detail later.

Zu Zhao nod his head and said, "Okay, I'll go now."

Although the counties in the north of the county are in the momentum of winning consecutively, after all, they are all rural villagers. Obviously, there is a better and safer way, so they naturally do not want to work too hard. Kui'an used Zhou Zhi as an excuse to claim that he would act according to how Lieutenant Zhou arranged. On the contrary, Gao Huan is very bold, young and vigorous, and he hopes to take advantage of the victory to make up for the loss of his failure to participate in the battle of Xiyang County.

In the end, Zu Zhao could only set up nearly 800 brave troops to stay outside the city to fight against the enemy, while Wen Chou's command now has less than 700 people outside the city. This is far from the 2,000 people, which also makes the plan to take the initiative to fight with the Yellow Turban Army outside the city appear to be a failure. Wen Chou was a little anxious and even planned to send people to the city and transfer them out of the central part of the city. Fortunately, under the final persuasion of Zu Zhao and Wen Chou, they still persuaded Zhou Zhi to agree with their actions. Specifically, they immediately transferred more troops from the city to the northeast gate. Once they failed in the battle outside the city, they could restrain the yellow scarf army from rushing to the city while receiving Zu Zhao and Wen Chou.