Koto.
The first thing Zhang Zhao did when he took office as the governor of Wu County was that Xu Gong was beheaded by the market supervisor of Caikou Market on Dongjie.
This time Xu Gong's execution was carried out with great fanfare. Zhang Zhaoban was very straightforward and unabashed. He directly sent messages to all the major families, inviting them to watch the execution. All the famous families in Wuxian County were invited to watch the execution. Someone was sent to see it, and even some of the family members came to see it.
Thousands of people surrounded the entire execution ground. Zhang Zhao read out Xu Gong's ten major crimes in public, and then executed him in public. With a click of the knife, his head fell to the ground, and blood gushed three feet away, which shocked countless people watching the execution.
There is a fundamental difference between listening to reports at home and seeing it with your own eyes. This bloody scene is enough to be unforgettable for some people.
Everyone realized that this was a demonstration of Sun Jian's power to them, the Jiangdong gentry in Wu County.
Sun Jian used Xu Gong's head to tell them that the butcher's knife of Jiangdong Army was not blunt, and any person or family who disobeyed his rule would be killed without mercy by him!
However, the whereabouts of Yan Baihu's younger brother Yan Xing and Xu Gong's younger brother Xu Sheng were unknown. No one paid attention to these two little people, but these two people caused a little trouble for the Sun family later on.
And the name of Wu County Sheriff Shi Zhang Zhao also began to enter the eyes of the wealthy families in Wu County.
However, for the Jiangdong aristocratic family and the powerful Wujun family, which have great influence in the entire Jiangdong, Xu Gong is just an insignificant pawn. He will die when he dies. It just lets them feel Sun Jian's force, but Zhang Chu and Gu Zhou are different.
Everyone is waiting for the ending of these two people. What kind of ending will usher in what kind of changes. The ending of these two people is Sun Jian's attitude towards them, and it is also their attitude towards Sun Jian.
However, after Xu Gong was beheaded, the governor's office suddenly stopped talking and kept silent. Zhang Chu and Gu Zhou were still imprisoned, and there was no verdict yet. A group of local gentry believed that Sun Jian was obviously plotting against them. Conspiracy, I started to feel a little restless.
Starting from April 20th, several large markets in Wuxian County became a little chaotic. Prices suddenly skyrocketed. Normally, one stone of new rice cost only about 420 yuan. In less than two days, it had risen to 500 yuan. It’s a stone’s throw, and it’s still going up.
Even ordinary yellow rice and millet are rising, exceeding the usual prices. If grains rise again, other items will also rise. Salt, cloth and silk are all rising. The sudden price hike has caused the city of Wuxian County to suffer. The gathering was chaotic.
Wu County is the core city of Jiangdong, with a population of nearly 200,000. Once the market is in chaos, the people will be in chaos, and some sneaky people will emerge and fish in troubled waters.
A few days later, Wu County Magistrate Zhu Zhi and Wu County Lieutenant Sun Bi began to feel unable to resist, so they turned to the County Sheriff's Office for help.
…………
There were two people sitting in the lobby of the Sheriff's Mansion. Sun Jian was sitting on top, with a gloomy face and cold eyes, but Zhang Zhao was sitting next to him calmly, with a calm expression.
"Zibu, what do you think they want to do?" Sun Jian asked in a deep voice.
Only these local tycoons and local gentry families can bring Wuxian's economy into chaos. These people have money, food, and control the source of goods. Ordinary businessmen dare not offend.
"They want to add some chips to themselves, show their strength, tell the lord about their influence in Wu County, and shock the lord. It is best to make the lord retreat." Zhang Zhao smiled slightly, his expression calm and indifferent, without any trace of anger. Worry.
"How brave!" Sun Jian suddenly became angry, and a cold light flashed across his eyes.
"Lord, don't worry. The more they lose their composure, the more guilty and scared they become. This just gives us a chance to establish our authority." Zhang Zhao is now inferior to one person and superior to ten thousand people. There is inevitably a trace of arrogance in him. With confidence, he becomes more and more calm when faced with problems, and has the pearl of wisdom at his fingertips.
Sun Jian trusted him very much. He often discussed military affairs with him, and gave him full power in political and internal affairs. Wu County was like a big stage, allowing his talents to be put into best use.
"But this is not the way to go. They will cause chaos to the people's livelihood in Wu County, and public anger will inevitably arise." Sun Jian frowned slightly and said with some worry.
"Lord, don't worry, Zhao guarantees that the entire Wu County will be able to return to normal order by the end of the month." Zhang Zhao said confidently.
"That's good!"
Sun Jian breathed a sigh of relief and smiled with satisfaction. He had to admit that Zhou Yu had a good vision. Zhang Zhao was indeed a great talent. His military level was not high, but he was on par with the generals under his command, Cheng Pu. between.
But he is very good at internal affairs. The government affairs that keep him busy on weekdays can be solved in a few seconds in his hands. When Zhang Zhao is in charge of the county governor's house, Sun Jian can free up most of his energy to focus on military affairs. above.
After all, he has only occupied Wu County now, and will soon launch troops to Kuaiji and the south of Danyang, so for him, the most important thing is military, but without a firm rear, he cannot focus on the army.
The emergence of Zhang Zhao made up for the biggest shortcoming of Sun Jian's regime.
Central Plains.
Humphrey led more than 500 personal guards and directed the Huns cavalry in front of the camp gate to enter the camp in order.
"Sir, do you want to take off the saddle and feed the horse now?" A Qian Chang galloped up and asked.
Yuvluo looked up at the sky that was almost dusk, and then at the "Yuan Shu's Army" who were lined up neatly. "Brothers have been tired for a day and the horses are tired. Let's rest our saddles. But as soon as Yuan Shu breaks through Dongjun, he will give it to me immediately." Get up and go to the city to get some food and property."
Qian Chang took the order and left, while Yu Fuluo stood at the height of the camp and watched "Yuan Shu's army" attack the city.
The war drums sounded several times, and the soldiers of "Yuan Shu's Army" just put away their weapons, but there was no sign of attacking the city. Yufro looked a little strange, as if "Yuan Shujun" was missing something.
Yu Fuluo's personal guard Centenary also said strangely: "Sir, Yuan Shu's army seems to have no siege equipment."
Suddenly, more than a thousand cavalry of "Yuan Shu's Army" turned around and ran towards Yuvluo's camp. More than 20,000 infantrymen also turned around and ran quickly towards the Huns camp.
Yuvluo was shocked. Cao Chun and Cao Ren led more than a thousand cavalry to the camp. The rivet hooks were thrown out, the horses dragged, and the simple fence of the Huns soldiers was immediately torn apart.
Yuvluo shouted that it was not good and asked the Huns soldiers to blow the horns and summon the soldiers. But those Huns soldiers were tired for a day and fell asleep one after another after taking off their saddles. Suddenly I heard the sound of the horn, I couldn't figure out the situation, and my actions were delayed a lot.
The infantry of Cao Cao's army were not far from the Xiongnu camp. After a few accelerations, more than 20,000 infantrymen surrounded the Xiongnu camp. And rushed into the camp to seize the stables.
In a hurry, only a thousand Huns soldiers got on their horses and came to Hufro's side. But the camp was too narrow for a cavalry charge. The remaining nearly 4,000 Xiongnu soldiers were squeezed into the center of the camp by Cao Cao's infantry.
Humphrey shouted and asked the two centurions to sprint, trying to break out of the siege.
Cao Cao pressed the formation from behind and saw clearly, so he immediately asked the heavy-armored infantry to resist. Heavy footsteps sounded, and Yu Jin led more than a thousand spearmen wearing iron armor to block the path of the Huns cavalry.
Facing the phalanx of infantry with spears standing like hedgehogs, the Hun knights were also frightened. It is rare for light cavalry to attack infantry head-on. They are good at cavalry and shooting attacks on the flanks.
The first centurion wanted to find a weak point and break out, but Yu Jin commanded the soldiers to gradually tighten the encirclement. The terrain restrictions also made the Huns cavalry restrained.
Cao Cao waved his hand, and the archers behind the pikemen quickly cocked their bows, and bursts of arrows shot at the Xiongnu soldiers.
The first centurion was immediately put in a dilemma, and half of them were shot dead in retaliation with bows and arrows.
Humphrey knew that he was being plotted. In this case, he might be able to escape by sprinting with all his strength, but only a few of the five thousand riders could escape. "Stop! The one in front is not Yuan Houjun. Who are you waiting for? Why are you attacking my Xiongnu warriors?"
Yu Jin shouted, "Master Yu Fuluo of the Xiongnu, listen, we are the Yanzhou army. You and the barbarians invaded our Yanzhou without any reason. The crime cannot be punished. Now that Yuan Shu is dead, you have been heavily besieged by the army, and your death is imminent."
The Huns soldiers who could understand Chinese were shocked. Yuvluo didn't know whether it was true or not, but it was true that Cao Cao's army surrounded them. "We, the descendants of the prairie warriors, are people who are afraid of death. Don't threaten me!"
Yu Jin shouted again, "Try to see if you can get past me, the iron-clad warrior of the Han family. Huh! My General Cao will give you a way to survive. Hurry up and surrender, abandon your weapons and dismount. I will treat you well."
Cao Cao waved his hand again, and a wave of feather arrows came. "Hey! Hey!" the infantry shouted in unison.
Humphrey was frightened, his thoughts were up and down, and he couldn't make up his mind for a moment.
Yu Jin pointed his gun, and the heavily armored infantry slowly closed the encirclement. The heavy footsteps put invisible pressure on the Huns soldiers.
Yuvluo also had his own plans. He didn't have to sacrifice his life for Yuan Shu, so he shouted loudly, "Wait a minute! We are surrendering."
■■■
Yecheng.
Zhang Yan laughed loudly and said sarcastically, "Master Yuan also knows my name, Zhang Yan. I am really lucky, lucky."
Yuan Tan thought things were about to turn around and asked tentatively: "General, what do you want when you come to my city of Ye?"
Zhang Yan kept laughing and said teasingly, "Eldest Young Master, what do you think? Is it because you want to see the Eldest Young Master?"
Yuan Tan laughed dryly and said awkwardly, "General Zhang is joking. You are a Zhonglang General conferred by the imperial court. You and my father are colleagues. The two families should be on good terms."
Zhang Yan's laughter gradually stopped, and suddenly her expression changed drastically, and she shouted: "Then why did Yuan Shao hunt and kill so many times, and where are my brothers from the Black Mountain Army? Is this what a colleague should do?!"
"Ah!" Yuan Tan was so frightened by his sudden question that he did not dare to move. This section of Yuan Tan's cowardice is taken from the history of Jin Dynasty, but I guess it was deliberately done to highlight the wisdom and martial prowess of Emperor Taizong Xuanwu Yuan Xi.
"Bah! You are a traitor to the imperial court. You have repeatedly harassed our counties in Jizhou. What's wrong with annihilating you?" Shen Pei scolded sternly.
Zhang Yan narrowed her eyes and praised, "Hey, this gentleman is very tough. Zhang will definitely greet you politely later."
"Bah! How dare you collude with the scum of our Jizhou army to seize my city and kill my sergeants? How dare you be so rampant? When my lord comes back with his troops, I will definitely kill all the traitors like you."
Zhang Yan sneered, waved her right hand, and ordered, "When Yuan Shao comes back? Just kill him too. Take Yuan Benchu's family and treat him well!"
After receiving the order, more than two hundred Feiyan cavalry rode forward, slashed and killed the Yuan family guards who were blocking them, and surrounded Shen Pei, Yuan Tan and others. The Yuan family was frightened for a while.
These soldiers are the elite of Zhang Yan's army. They are all agile and move like the wind. Although the Yuan family guards were also elite in the army, they were obviously not used to the swift and guerrilla style of cavalry. Gradually there were gaps in the defense.
A flying swallow cavalryman passed through the Yuan family's guard, skillfully controlled the horse, and swept to the carriage. Mrs. Liu had never seen such a fierce enemy soldier. She was so frightened that her face turned pale and she screamed in shock.
The Feiyan cavalry split open a guard and reached out to catch Mrs. Liu.
"Whoosh!"
A heavy and harsh sound broke through the air, and a spear was thrown, directly piercing the chest of the flying swallow cavalry.
Zhang Yan watched with cold eyes and saw two to three hundred riders coming from the north of the city. The man in front of him had narrow eyes, two mustaches on his lips, and was wearing fish scale armor. After he threw the spear, he took a long knife. It was Yan Liang who stayed behind.
Yan Liang split open several Feiyan cavalry with a long sword, and then came straight towards Zhang Yan. Zhang Yan immediately took out a spear and stabbed him. After about ten moves, Zhang Yan suddenly felt that she was outmatched.
However, Yan Liang saw that the infantry of the Montenegrin Army and the rebels were gradually surrounding him, and he knew that he could not be content with fighting, so he used all his strength to "cleave the Huashan Mountain" with his long sword, which shocked Zhang Yan's blood. Then the tip of the knife quickly turned and slashed towards Zhang Yan's chest.
■■■
Pengcheng.
Tao Qian took Mi Zhu, Chen Deng, Cao Bao and other civil and military officials to the post house in the city to appease the wealthy Langya clan who had fled.
The squires among the noble families kept crying to Tao Qian and others about the atrocities committed by the Qingzhou soldiers.
While comforting him, Tao Qian wiped his tears with his sleeves and said emotionally, "It's Tao Qian's incompetence that has caused Langya and his father to suffer."
"Master Tao, don't say that. If you hadn't expelled the Yellow Turbans in the early years, we would all have become unjust ghosts. It was the Qingzhou soldiers and the Yuan family's children who insulted me, the Xuzhou heroes."
Tao Qian stopped wiping his tears, straightened his chest, and promised, "Fellow fellows, even though you have settled down in Pengcheng, I have already sent troops to support the front. The Qingzhou soldiers can no longer leap over the thunder pool. When the Qingzhou soldiers retreat, I will make arrangements for you." Return to the countryside again.”
"With Tao Shijun here, what do we have to worry about, right?" A squire said to the people behind him.
"That is, that is."
Who dares to say that Tao Qian is just a good gentleman? I can’t kill him.
"Sir, the Qingzhou soldiers let us wait and did not attack Yangdu and Langya. I'm afraid they have other plans." A childish voice said in the crowd.
"Huh?" Tao Qian, Chen Deng and others were surprised when they saw that the person speaking was an eleven or twelve year old boy.
"Liang'er, adults are talking, don't talk nonsense!" children and teenagers yelled at the house next to them.
Tao Qian recognized the man and asked, "Mr. Zhuge Xuan?"
The elegant Zhuge Xuan bowed his hands and said, "Master Tao, please be polite. My nephew is young and ignorant. Don't be offended."
Tao Qian saw that although the boy was only eleven or twelve years old, he had a powdery face and lively eyes, which made him very lovable. He did not blame him and said, "Childlike words are unbridled. My nephew is quite talented at such a young age, which is enviable." .”
Zhuge Xuan quickly asked his nephew Zhuge Liang to come forward to greet him.
"Boy Langyayang, Zhuge Liang, I have met Mr. Tao Shijun." Zhuge Liang bowed his hands in salute. It was this Zhuge Liang who caused Yuan Xi to suffer a lot in the following days. This is a story for later.
Tao Qian narrowed his eyes and smiled, and after being polite to everyone, he set off back to his residence.
Mi Zhu said to Tao Qian who was riding on the horse: "Sir, there has been no news from Langya for many days. The movements of the Qingzhou soldiers are indeed unknown at the moment, which is really worrying."
Chen Deng also echoed: "The news from Yanzhou and Yuzhou is that Cao Cao has cut off the retreat of Yuan Highway. The two parties are fighting in the Chenliu area. The situation is unclear. If Cao Cao wins, he may return to Xuzhou at any time."
Tao Qian's expression remained unchanged and he lowered his head to think.
Cao Bao couldn't help asking: "Do you have any countermeasures?"
Tao Qian nodded and said, "Don't forget, there is a hero in the south of Xuzhou. Ask him to help. It will not be difficult to defeat Cao Cao and the Qingzhou Army."
Tao Qian is best at taking advantage of situations, and he is very cunning and calculating.
Cao Bao and Mi Zhu didn't know why and looked at each other.
"Sun Wentai!" Chen Deng clapped his hands and said suddenly.
