Koto.
The battle on the long street was not over yet. Just when Sun Ce broke a crossbow with a violent shot, Xu Gong and the three people in the attic were already frightened.
I originally thought that the assassination was a sure shot, but I didn't expect that I still underestimated Sun Ce, a young boy in his youth. That violent blow shocked the three of them.
Sun Ce is too powerful.
And the most important thing is that the two guards on the left and right of Sun Ce are definitely not inferior to Sun Ce in martial arts. Otherwise, Sun Ce would face three powerful crossbows, no matter how powerful he is, he would still be hated in the long street.
Just when Zhou Tai and Sun Ce exploded in strength, Xu Gong and the others vaguely felt that tonight might be a trap. The three of them looked at each other and saw the panic in each other's eyes. Without saying a word, the three of them He went straight down to the attic, and under the protection of the dozen or so guards waiting downstairs, he immediately evacuated the place that was right and wrong.
However, they had just opened a hidden back door, and when they saw it, their expressions suddenly changed, and they suddenly became panicked.
What they saw were the neatly organized county soldiers waiting outside the house. They were all wearing raincoats and forming an orderly formation. There were at least a hundred of them. Several of them were holding oil-paper umbrellas and holding torches in the rain. They had already heavily blocked the place. surrounded by.
"Zhu Zhi?" Zhang Chu gritted his teeth and stared at the leader, his face turning extremely pale.
The leader was a tall and powerful man, wearing the official robe of a county magistrate. He was very serious and exuded a trace of murderous aura. He was the magistrate of Wu County, Zhu Zhi.
"Everyone, it's been a long time!" Zhu Zhi sneered at the corner of his mouth, looked at the three of them, and shouted coldly: "Should you just surrender without mercy, or let me do it myself!"
"kill!"
The hundreds of county soldiers were obviously elite Jiangdong sergeants. They all pulled out the Huanshou swords in their hands. They were full of murderous intent and seemed to be able to suppress these people.
After Zhu Zhi became the magistrate of Wu County, Sun Jian transferred his nephew Sun Bi from the army to serve as the county captain. He began to reorganize the county soldiers who maintained public order in Wu County. He replaced several soldiers and Cao Cao, and also transferred two hundred soldiers from the army. The foundation of county soldiers.
The faces of Xu Gong and the others turned extremely pale in an instant, and they took a few steps back involuntarily.
"It turns out this is a trap, a good trick!" Xu Gong stepped forward with a ferocious look on his face, staring at Zhu Zhi with red eyes and a burning anger in his heart.
By this time, he already understood in his heart that this assassination was the Sun family's strategy from beginning to end, just to lure them out and catch them all.
The body of the man in the bamboo hat also trembled involuntarily, which made the Sun family catch him. Even with his identity, he was probably doomed.
It’s okay for Zhang Chu to look ugly. He’s not afraid of death, but he’s afraid that the Zhang family will be ruined due to the consequences.
At this time, behind Zhu Zhi, several people were holding oil-paper umbrellas, protecting a graceful young man. The young man's amber eyes shone in the dark night.
"Xu Gong!" Zhou Yu raised his head, squinted his eyes, and stared at Xu Gong in the middle.
"Zhou Yu, you are Zhou Yu."
As soon as Xu Gong saw Zhou Yu's figure, he suddenly realized something. He was a little shocked and shouted loudly: "You designed today's trap? Right? Is it you?"
He had heard a little bit about Zhou Yu's rumors, but he didn't believe it or even didn't care at all. He was just a teenager with no experience and experience. He was just a little smart. He could probably accomplish anything. It was a rumor, but I didn't expect that this time, it would fall into the hands of this young man.
"That's right, you know, I, Zhou Yu, have missed you Xu Gong so much these days. I have even thought about some food and drinks. I finally caught you today." A cold smile appeared on the corner of Zhou Yu's mouth, and he shouted: "Here I will take them all, and if anyone resists, I will kill them without mercy."
"promise!"
When all the county soldiers heard the order, they immediately swarmed forward like wolves and tigers.
"My sons, fight out!"
Of course, Xu Gong and the others would not be captured so easily. In this situation, even if the mantis was acting as a chariot and the trapped beast was still fighting, they still had to fight for their lives, and the dozen or so guards around them took action directly.
In just a few moments, these guards were killed one by one by the elite county soldiers, and Xu Gong and the other two were even tied up.
"Remove his hat for me, I really want to see your true face!"
A glint of excitement flashed across Zhou Yu's eyes, and he looked at the man in the bamboo hat with a playful smile on his lips.
Xu Gong and Zhang Chu had expected it, but this man in a bamboo hat surprised him a little, but he had already guessed the identity of this man.
A county soldier violently tore off his bamboo hat and brought the torch closer, revealing a somewhat fat face.
"Are you the former magistrate of Wu County, Gu Zhou? It's you, I'm going to kill you." Zhu Zhi looked at this man in slight surprise, and suddenly couldn't accept it, and became furious, staring at him hard. He really wants to kill him with one knife.
Gu Zhou looked at Zhu Zhi with cold eyes. Although Gu Hong had repeatedly ordered not to deal with the Sun family, he was still unwilling to lose his official position to Sun Jian all of a sudden, so he secretly supported Xu Gong and assassinated him. Sun Ce.
The three bed crossbows on the long street were provided by him.
"Uncle Shi, please be patient and don't be impatient. You can't kill him yet. I can still use him."
Zhou Yu stepped forward, stared at Gu Zhou with amber eyes, squinted slightly, showed an extremely bright smile, and said with a smile: "Gu Zhou, I really want to thank you, thank you for giving me a chance and giving the Sun family an opportunity.”
"what chance?"
Gu Zhou's expression suddenly changed. He stared at Zhou Yu and his pupils shrank involuntarily. He felt a fierce uneasiness, not because of himself, but because of his family.
"What do you think?" Zhou Yu sneered.
"Zhou Yu, do you dare?"
Gu Zhou immediately understood that he had become the reason for the Sun family to attack the Gu family. At this moment, he regretted it extremely. He shouted coldly. Under the suppression of several county soldiers, his eyes widened and he stared at Zhou Yu. , said loudly: "This is my personal action and has nothing to do with the Gu family!"
"It doesn't matter, what you say doesn't count, what the Gu family says doesn't count, what my uncle says does!"
Zhou Yu shrugged his shoulders, turned his head, and said softly to Zhu Zhi: "Uncle Shi, put the three of them in a prison cell each, and find someone to stare at them for twelve hours a day. You must not do it." Let them die, that’s our leverage.”
"Don't worry, Gongjin!"
Zhu Zhi first nodded to Zhou Yu, and then said loudly to several soldiers: "Take this person down here and watch over him carefully. No mistakes can be made. Do you understand?"
"promise!"
A group of county soldiers escorted the three of them and started to return to the county government office in the drizzle.
Five days ago, Langya counties.
With less than two days of food left in the army, the Qingzhou Army finally broke through the counties.
Half a day after the counties were captured, Yuan Xi entered the county with Guo Jia, Xu Chu and other personal guards.
Yuan Xi and others went straight to the county government office. They found that many soldiers gathered around the government office, and these Qingzhou soldiers made a lot of noise.
Yuan Xi frowned, thinking something must have happened.
"Quiet!" Xu Chu shouted in a rough voice.
The Qingzhou soldiers were stunned by the roar as loud as thunder, and when they saw Yuan Xi and others riding on their horses, they suddenly became quiet.
Yuan Xice immediately stepped forward and pointed with his riding crop, "What's going on? Someone is in charge."
The crowd moved aside, and a wounded middle-aged man with a cloth bandage on his chest walked out, it was Zhou Cang. He stepped forward and said, "Major General, you gave an order earlier, saying that after the city is broken, the soldiers can share half of the money and silk in the treasury. However, who knows that this official family does not have much storage, and this amount is not enough for a thousand brothers to share equally!"
Yuan Xi was surprised. He had thought that Xuzhou was rich and would have abundant stores of money and grain. This made him suspect that Tao Qian had received the information in advance and had moved those stocks.
Gu Yong also walked out of the government office at this time. He showed Yuan Xi an account book and reported back, "Young General, this official family really doesn't have many accounts. There are many private soldiers of wealthy families in Xuzhou soldiers who usually garrison the manor." , to help defend the city during the war, and they also provided food and grass themselves.”
Yuan Xi was caught off guard. He did not expect that the situation would be like this. This was also the result of lack of information.
Yuan Xi looked at the soldiers, then at Zhou Cang, and asked, "What's your name? Were you injured during the siege?"
"In Zhoucang, I just suffered a little arrow injury during the siege. It doesn't matter. I just hope that the major general can give me and other brothers an answer." Zhoucang stared at Yuan Xi closely and said.
"Please give me an answer, Major General!" The surrounding Qingzhou soldiers also echoed.
Yuan Xi was very stunned. This was the first time he encountered such a situation, so he asked coldly, "There is not much inventory here, so what do you want?"
Zhou Cang hesitated for a moment, clasped his fists and said, "The official inventory is not much, but the wealthy families in the city have a lot of money and food."
Yuan Xi was shocked. The Qingzhou soldiers wanted to rob the wealthy Xuzhou family in the city. These Qingzhou soldiers were really difficult to control.
"Major General please fulfill your promise!" Qingzhou soldiers were excited.
Most of these Qingzhou soldiers adapted from the Qing Xu Yellow Turban Army were desperadoes. They were accustomed to the military life of a military commander. Although they had been trained and their combat became regular and professional, their banditry and unruliness remained unchanged.
In history, the Qingzhou soldiers only listened to the orders of Cao Cao. After Cao Cao's death, they were all disbanded and returned to their hometown without being ordered by his successor Cao Pi. From this, we can see some of their characteristics. They are arrogant and difficult to control. This was after they were conquered by Yuan Xi.
Yuan Xi looked ugly. Guo Jiaqi rode to his side and said softly: "The morale of Qingzhou soldiers and the morale of Xuzhou's people can only be one or the other. Young master, make a decision quickly." This is why there were so many rebel armies after the Anshi Rebellion. Historically, it is not unreasonable for Cao Cao to be very strict in managing his army. If he were not strict, he would become a disorderly army that would suppress his superiors.
The troops plundered the wealth, money and food of Xuzhou's wealthy families, completely cutting off the possibility of taking control of Xuzhou in the short term. If you restrain the soldiers, you will lose the prestige of the Qingzhou soldiers. Is it the morale of the military or the morale of the people?
"Major General, please be considerate of our desperate struggle!" A group of Qingzhou soldiers knelt down and said. Maybe their starting point was right, but this was forcing the palace, right? This was seeking death. No wonder Zhou Cang and others were later assigned a small or medium-sized idle position by Yuan Xi.
It is not only important to grasp the morale of the army, but also to run the army rigorously, prestige and clear rewards and punishments are even more important.
Yuan Xi was silent, with a cold expression. He raised his hand but did not put it down. He was hesitating.
Suddenly he waved his hand down and ordered, "All the money and food from the big families who have moved to the city will be collected, and the income will be recorded in the account books. After the statistics are completed, half will be shared with the soldiers!"
"Follow the Major General's order!" shouted a group of Qingzhou soldiers.
Yuan Xi shouted loudly again: "One thing is that our military orders must be true to their word, but if anyone hides property, kills, or commits adultery, he will be killed without mercy!"
The tiger guards behind Yuan Xi cooperated and shouted: "Kill without mercy! Kill without mercy! Kill without mercy!"
The Qingzhou soldiers were restrained, and after a while they all knelt down on one foot again, "Respect the young general's order!"
Yuan Xi's direct descendant Tiger Guards were not vegetarians. This is why in the middle and late Tang Dynasty, during the chaos in the feudal towns, when the generals left the town, they first selected their own troops, in order to prevent the local army from disobeying discipline and being attacked by soldiers.
■■■
Just when Tao Qian was about to agree to negotiate peace with the Qingzhou Army, a man stopped him and said, "Wait a minute! Don't you know what Yuan Xi did in Langya besides robbing money and food?"
Everyone looked and saw that the person speaking was Cao Hong, Tao Qian's confidant.
Cao Hong was quite excited when he spoke, "Yuan Xi sent troops to plunder goods and food in Langya. Not only that, he also forcibly moved local soldiers and people to Qingzhou! Furthermore, where did the money and food to send the Qingzhou army come from?"
Liu Bei was stunned. He had been in Yinping and didn't know about Langya's situation, so he waited patiently.
There is a reason why Cao Hong resented what Yuan Xi did. The Qingzhou Army forcibly relocated not only free farmers, but also tenants of local aristocratic families, which harmed the interests of the Xuzhou gentry.
Moreover, the gentry in Xuzhou was very powerful. Although Xuzhou was rich, most of the money, silk and food were concentrated in the hands of the gentry. The official treasury actually did not have much hoarding. Even the soldiers in Xuzhou were mostly composed of soldiers from wealthy clans. This is the reason why Tao Qian, a Xuzhou pastor, has to act in accordance with the wishes of the local wealthy family.
The wealthy families such as Cao Hong and Mi Zhu were of course afraid that the Qingzhou soldiers would attack and deprive them of their benefits. Moreover, the official family could not afford the money needed for the peace negotiation, so they would definitely have to pay it.
Tao Qian had a headache, so he asked, "What should I do?"
"Then send troops to strengthen the defense of Donghai and Langya so that they cannot cross the two counties." Mi Zhu suggested. Most of his family's property is in the East China Sea, so he would suffer heavy losses if he tried to transfer it.
Of course Tao Qian knew that if these powerful families could not protect their interests, then these Xuzhou nobles would give up on him, and he was the spokesperson of this group of people.
Later, when Liu Bei and Lu Bu came to power in Xuzhou, they were chosen as their spokesmen. They did not really submit to them, but just put them in front to protect their interests. They always only used Liu Bei and Lu Bu as mercenaries, not as mercenaries. The monarch serves, so it is not difficult to understand why Xuzhou often breaks out in chaos.
The Chen Deng family was also one of the powerful families in Xuzhou and understood their thoughts, but he still tried hard to persuade Tao Qian.
In the end, Tao Qian had no choice but to order: "Pengcheng and Xiapi sent 10,000 soldiers to help."
Zhao Yu was originally unwilling to respond to Tao Qian's conquest. Seeing that Tao Qian was unwilling to use his tactics, he said angrily: "In this case, please allow me to return to my hometown Guangling to garrison next time."
Tao Qian couldn't resist him, and he didn't want to bear the reputation of a disrespectful person, so he had to agree.
■■■
Yuan Xi took Guo Jia and others to watch the Qingzhou soldiers move the people in the county towards Qingzhou.
There are still many desolate and unclaimed lands in Qingzhou. Based on the principle of no waste, the people in the county were ordered to be forced to go to Qingzhou. Among the people in Xuzhou, there are also many people who fled to Xuzhou from Qingzhou or other prefectures and counties. As for those powerful people, Yuan Xi had no choice but to let them flee to the East China Sea and other places.
Horse-drawn carriages, bullock carts, wheelbarrows, and all available tools were used. Fifty thousand households in the county town, or nearby farmers who had taken refuge in the city, were escorted towards Qingzhou by 5,000 Qingzhou soldiers.
In the eyes of the soldiers and civilians, they were either indifferent, numb, or resentful, but they had no choice but to drag their families and families to join the migration team under the swords and guns of the Qingzhou soldiers.
In the queue, an old woman carrying a basket suddenly stumbled. An old man pushing a wheelbarrow next to her put the wheelbarrow on the spot and helped her sit up, not caring about the groceries falling on the wheelbarrow.
The other people walking nearby were too distracted to care for themselves, and no one came forward to pay attention to him for a long time.
Yuan Xi frowned and rode forward, calling a soldier, "What happened to them? Are there no other family members?"
The soldier didn't know either and could only shake his head. Suddenly, the old man smiled with an ugly face and said: "Family members? My son was also killed by you when he was guarding the city! Haha!"
Yuan Xi felt a sudden change in his heart. After asking the soldiers to take care of them, he rode away and said quietly, "Feng Xiao, if this happens, the reputation of Second Young Master Yuan for benevolence and righteousness will probably be lost."
Guo Jia shook his head, looked at Yuan Xi and said, "Maybe the young master doesn't care about this reputation."
Yuan Xi's heart turned cold. When the morale of the military and the people turned against benevolence and righteousness, he chose a strong military morale. In this way, he can only continue on the path of iron-blooded unity. Emperor Xianwu of the Northern Qi Dynasty Gao Huan also made the same choice when facing the Xianbei army and people.
Bian Gong, the county lieutenant of various counties, was tied up and brought to Yuan Xi by Guan Hai. Bian Gong was in his forties and had a resolute and upright appearance that was quite majestic. At this time, he was glaring at Yuan Xi and others.
"Untie him." Yuan Xi ordered.
But after the soldiers released him, Bian Gong didn't appreciate it, "Bah! You wasted your reputation as the fourth and third prince of the Yuan family, with high righteousness and uprightness, and you actually led troops to invade our paradise in Xuzhou for no reason, and even plundered it!"
"You are Bian Gong, right? Sir, how can you say that I invaded without reason? Our army came to take revenge at the invitation of Cao Yanzhou. Moreover, your Xuzhou soldiers stationed in Yanzhou and attacked Jizhou a few years ago. That is not an unreasonable invasion. Already?" Yuan Xi smiled silently.
Bian Gong was speechless and didn't know how to refute, but he still glared at Yuan Xi angrily, wishing he could eat his flesh and sleep on his skin.
"Sir, if you don't think about yourself, you should think about your family and the people in the counties. Xi asks you to surrender and help move the people of this county to Qingzhou." Yuan Xi advised.
Bian Gong's eyes widened and he said angrily, "I am Tao Shijun's minister, how can I punish such a cruel and cruel person like you, who is kind-hearted and evil-hearted!"
Yuan Xi was already upset by these things. Seeing how ignorant he was, he couldn't help but get irritated and sneered, "Am I a cruel person? Haha!"
Guan Hai was angry, took out the sword from his waist, put it on Bian Gong's neck, and cursed, "***, you don't know how to behave. If I were still in the yellow turban, I would have killed you with one knife." "
Yuan Xi couldn't help but sneer and said, "Since you are so loyal to Tao Qian, I will help you. Guan Hai! Cut off his ears and noses and those soldiers who refuse to surrender, and then return them to Tao Qian."
Emperor Daowu of the Northern Wei Dynasty did the same thing when he fought with Murong Bao of Later Yan, in order to intimidate the enemy and undermine their morale, but it was indeed cruel.
Yuan Xi's tyrannical order made Guan Hai very happy. After shouting the order, cold light flew and screams and wails could be heard.
Seeing Bian Gong's face covered in blood, everyone present was moved. Yuan Xi's cold-blooded methods really frightened them.
Perhaps Gao Huan in the late Northern Wei Dynasty had no choice but to threaten Doctor Du. For the sake of Xianbei's military morale, he temporarily gave up the popular sentiment and was helpless.
During the Five Hus and Sixteen Kingdoms period, Wang Meng also killed Zhongliang. His purpose was also to disintegrate the morale of the enemy's troops and achieve the effect of forcing the enemy to surrender without fighting. Although it was cruel, it was cruel. .
If the protagonist was not Yuan Xi, if I were in the Three Kingdoms, I would prefer to go to Sun Ce. His personal charm is incomparable to Yuan Xi's, which is a pity.
You see, Zhou Yu is such a handsome man, he is willing to work for Sun Ce, Zhuge Liang works for Liu Bei, but Liu Bei is also suspicious of Zhuge Liang, he is too powerful, Sima Yi works for Cao Cao, but Cao Cao is also on guard against Sima Yi, and is decisive. Only Sun Ce is like Zhou Yu. It's pure trust.
