Chapter 19 The Forgotten Man

Just surround it. Cao Yan has nothing to worry about now. Xu Chang's wall is extremely dangerous. He gathered it up and could gather at least 70,000 horses. Even if Liu Bei wants to swallow himself in one gulp, he must have a good tooth.

Xu Changcheng, as the former capital under Cao's rule, is not a problem for people's hearts to be stable. The hoarded food and fodder is enough for 70,000 troops for half a year. Many deep wells have been cut in the city, and there is no shortage of drinking water. Cao Qian had enough confidence to use himself as bait to attract Liu Bei's siege, and then waited for Xun You and others who stayed in Hebei to send reinforcements. In cooperation with Cao Ren in Liang County, he could break Liu Bei inside and outside.

As a result, after waiting for a month, I didn't see half of the shadow of the reinforcements. Cao Hen couldn't sit still. Dozens of detailed information were sent out in a row, and only two of them came back three days later, and all of them brought him bad news.

What Jia Xu had been worried about finally happened. Liu Bei sent almost all the sailors to the Yellow River waterway in order to block Hebei's support for Yanzhou. Previously, it was just grain and fodder. Now all the larger wharves in the lower reaches of the Yellow River are guarded by Gan Ning. As long as there is transportation from Hebei, they are all cut off. Just half a month ago, a reinforcement of 20,000 troops sent by Hebei were preparing to forcibly cross the Yellow River, but they were hit by Gan Ning, and more than 5,000 people were buried in the Yellow River.

After several failed attempts, Xun You also had to face the reality: under the resistance of Jingxiang sailors, forcibly crossing the river was simply a dead end. He had no choice but to send someone to secretly cross the river first. Cao Ren from Liang County said that it was unrealistic to cross the river now. He still went to the upper reaches to find a more remote ferry before making plans.

"Damn it, sailor!" Cao Shen threw the military newspaper in his hand on the table and said angrily. To be precise, since Gan Ning seized Wuguan, Liu Bei has never used the navy to compete head-on with Cao Shen. The result of not contacting the sailor for a long time was Cao Yan's paralysis. As a result, he was calculated fiercely. Now Cao's situation is very passive, and it seems that he can only act according to the opportunity.

Cao Wei is unlucky. Naturally, many people are happy. Of course, the happiest one is Liu Bei. Although he failed to swallow Cao Ren, considering that he had the upper hand in the three battles of Guanzhong, Xu Chang and Liang Jun, Liu Bei is in a good mood now. Liu Bei himself, together with Guan Yu, led 120,000 troops to besiege Xu Chang; Li Tong led 20,000 troops to garrison Wancheng, and Li Yan led 20,000 troops to garrison Fancheng to block reinforcements from Sizhou; Zhang Fei and Gao Lan led 20,000 troops to garrison Xu Tian to block Cao Ren from Liang County to come to rescue Cao Jian. There is only one purpose, that is, to trap Cao Wei in Xuchang.

"In a letter from Bo Tao, Cao Qian migrated more than 300,000 people in Longxi to Kanto, so as to stabilize the people's livelihood of the counties. He has now been blocked on the bank of the Jing River, and it is difficult to get out of the customs for a while!" Liu Bei also sighed after reading a letter sent by Zhao Feng. Of course, there is more than that in the letter. Zhao Feng also told him that Ma Chao had just captured Jincheng with the assistance of Fa Zheng. At present, the whole Liangzhou has been captured by Ma Chao. How to treat Ma Chao and even the whole Ma family, Liu Bei should make an idea as soon as possible.

Liu Bei's measures were very fast. Immediately, as the Duke of Qi, without the approval of the court, he directly appointed Ma Chao as the general of the expedition to the west, the governor of Liangzhou, and the marquis of Chencang; Ma Dai as the general of the broken captives, the governor of Wuwei, and the marquis of Beiyuan. The rest of the official positions were handed over to Zhao Feng. This long reward order arrived at Zhao Feng in Jicheng after a long journey on the eighth day.

"Congratulations!" After reading the reward order, Ma Chao, who had just come to Jicheng, suddenly smiled. Although the name of General Shen Weitian was majestic, it was not a formal title after all. Now the governor of Liangzhou, General Zhengxi, Marquis Chen Cang and so on are much better than this false name. He was so nervous that he didn't realize that once he accepted the title, he acquiesced that he had become Liu Bei's subordinate. At least, in the eyes of others, that's the case.

"Congratulations, brother. Now that you have the title of the imperial court, you can be righteous and sit in Xiliang!" Although Ma Dai is a little smart, there is no need to spoil the fun at this time, right? What's more, Ma Teng, who has just recovered from a serious illness today, has also come. With him, there is no need to talk about it himself.

"Brother Bo Tao, now I am the governor of Liangzhou. I think it's better for you and me to unite with all the horses of Chuanzhong and Xiliang, as well as all the horses of the Baqiang Department, and immediately send troops to defeat Xiahou Yuan in one fell swoop!" After Ma Chao's excitement faded a little, he also put forward his own suggestion.

"I also want to do the same. Unfortunately, the west of Jinghe River is already desolate. In addition, the previous march, the grain and fodder hoarded by Xichuan for many years are almost consumed. How can we enter the army? In addition, the previous Xunyou transferred another 40,000 reinforcements, but it was difficult for us to win in a hurry!" Zhao Feng said with a wry smile. Through this battle, Zhao Feng has a clear understanding of the weak combat effectiveness of the Sichuan army. Before making them into the army again, Zhao Feng didn't want to rush into the army again. If Lu Xun hadn't finally raided Han Hao this time, it would have been two different whether he could guard the street pavilion.

Looking at Ma Chao, who was a little disappointed, Zhao Feng comforted him, "Now the Lord's army has besieged Cao Qian in the land of Xuchang, and the land of the Central Plains can be pointed down. Now the people's livelihood in the cool land is withered. Let's stop the soldiers for the time being and rest until the next decisive battle!"

"That's all!" Ma Chao said with hatred. Although Han Sui has fallen into his hands, the culprit of this mutiny is Cao Wei. In addition to myself and my sister and my father, everyone else in the family was killed by Han Sui. Sooner or later, I will take revenge on this.

Wait, Han Sui, Ma Chao thought of this and hurriedly said to his old man, "Father, Han Sui and Han Qi have been captured by me. What are you going to do with it?"

"What else can I do, kill!" Ma Teng snorted. Everyone also knows that at this point, Ma Teng and Han Sui are already immortal, and it is too unrealistic not to kill Han Sui. At present, Ma Chao returned to Jincheng first, but Ma Teng stayed and began to discuss the specific matters of Liangzhou with Zhao Feng.

It's not that they are idle, but because there are too many things in Xiliang. Especially in the area of Longxi, the four counties of Wudu, Longxi, Tianshui and Anding either belong to Liangzhou or Yongzhou. The Han Dynasty has not been stable for 400 years, and Wudu County is a place where people live. Now that Ma Chao is the assassin of Liangzhou, it's better to make it clear now how to calculate these four counties.

Due to Zhao Feng's surprise, Ma Teng took the initiative to transfer these four counties to Yongzhou, but only recommended some candidates for officials, which was quite beyond Zhao Feng's expectation. However, it's normal to think about it. It's really difficult to compete with Cao Wei in a corner of Xiliang. Find a big tree to get close to him.

Ma Teng gave up the ownership of the four counties, but these four counties, together with Yinping and the second counties of Wei Guang, after this war, these six counties are really desolate. Zhao Feng's experience in post-war governance is also quite rich, but this time the situation is too serious. More than 300,000 people were forcibly migrated by Cheng Yu. The whole land of Longxi is now extremely desolate.

Fortunately, there is Zhuge Liang. With him, Zhao Feng can leave these things to him. Zhuge Liang's civil affairs ability is by no means good. After receiving the news from Zhao Feng, Zhuge Liang immediately began to transfer more than 40,000 households from Hanzhong and Xichuan to Longxi to carry out the military garrison with the local garrison first. It is expected that in a period of one or two years, 50% or 60% of the anger will be restored here. Of course, there is still a long way to go to fully restore vitality.

Zhao Feng and Zhuge Liang have entered the post-war reconstruction stage. Liu Bei and Cao Qian in the Central Plains are still fighting, and Xun You and others who are left in Hebei are working hard to rescue Cao Qian. Both intentionally or unintentionally ignored one person.

"Mr. Gongda, something bad!" In Ye City on this day, the young Xiahou Ba rushed over, and his face was full of panic.

"General Zhong Quan, what's the matter?" Xun You looked at Xia Houba, who had always been young and calm, so anxious. He suddenly realized that the matter was a little serious and hurriedly asked.

"This is the military newspaper sent by Yuan's uncle!" Xiahou Ba trembled and handed a military newspaper in his hand to Xun You. Xun You took a look and was also shocked: "Yuan Tan led tens of thousands of troops to invade Youzhou, and he has taken the right Beiping County?"

"Exactly!" Xiahou said astringently. Since Yuan Tan was beaten back to Liaodong three years ago, he has been nesting there for many years. Unexpectedly, now he also came to take advantage of the fire to rob. This time, it is really defenseless.

"Yuan Tan is not worried, but he has the support of Tian Feng and Guo Tu, but he can't wait for it!" Xun You meditated. As soon as he finished speaking, he found that there was a shortage of manpower now. Except for himself, there was no one else who could deal with Ju Shu and Tian Feng. But once I leave Yecheng, who will take the guard? Xun You began to miss his deceased uncle.

"Gongda, wait for me to go to Youzhou and help General Xiahou to block Yuan Tan!" With a somewhat tired voice, a rickety figure appeared at the door.

"Fengxiao, why are you here?" Xun Youyi seemed to be Guo Jia, who was so sick that he almost scared himself. Guo Jia's face was already abnormally flushed, but she still reluctantly smiled and said, "It doesn't matter. I know my own illness. Instead of lying at home and waiting to die, it's better to help you. The tone was indescribably calm.

"No, I'm afraid your body will die before you get to Liaodong. I can't let you take this risk!" Xun You objected unquestionably.

"But except for me, who can help Yuan to let the general deal with Ju Shutian Feng? Youzhou was originally the foundation of Yuan Tan. In case he takes down Youzhou, I'm afraid that the northern Xinjiang will not be at peace!" Guo Jia was a little helpless. Before Xun You objected again, Guo Jia said, "Now that the lord is trapped in Xuchang, who can sit in Ye City without you? I, Guo Jia, am just a counselor. Let me deal with Yuan Tan!"

"Okay!" Looking at Guo Jia, Xun You finally sighed. Next, Xun You asked Xiahou Ba and Cao Zhang to lead 50,000 Jizhou troops to Youzhou to help Xiahou Dun to block Yuan Tan. Guo Jia, a counselor who had been seriously ill for a long time, also went on an expedition with the army to learn about the military.

And when I went there, I never came back.

(to be continued)