The soldiers and horses move forward before the food and grass are moved, and the most important thing in the army is the food and grass.
Zhou Ziru had been familiar with military books since he was a child, so he naturally understood this truth, but this time, he did the opposite.
The grain and grass have not yet been transported to the northern border, Zhou Ziru has led five thousand light cavalry and has already arrived at the gate of Yuancheng. Five thousand light cavalry is not a large number, and the supplies for each city along the way are enough.
That night, the camp was set up outside the original city.
It was rare that Zhou Ziru did not write or draw in the camp. Instead, he walked leisurely in the camp with his hands behind his back. He looked at everyone with a smile and asked softly: "Gentlemen, after running for days, do you still have the strength?"
"Yes!" Prime Minister Zhou asked in person. Anyone with a sound mind would not say "no".
"That's good, they are all my good sons and daughters of Daqi! Ahem..." Zhou Ziru didn't know if he was excited or not, and coughed softly again.
A personal guard next to him immediately brought a bowl of medicinal soup and handed it to Zhou Ziru.
Zhou Ziru took the medicinal soup and was about to drink it when suddenly a soldier asked loudly: "Prime Minister Zhou, why do we have to rush here in such a hurry?"
"That's right! Prime Minister Zhou, why?" The surrounding soldiers quickly asked in agreement.
Five thousand cavalry, not to mention the small number of troops, even if they were to attack the city, no one would send cavalry to attack the city. Even if these five thousand cavalry dismounted and fought on foot, they did not have the corresponding siege equipment.
The army and food were far away, and he only brought five thousand cavalry to the border of the North. No one could figure out what medicine Zhou Ziru was selling in his gourd.
Zhou Ziru thought for a while, drank the medicinal soup in his hand, and said: "This brother has asked a very good question! Why did the prime minister lead five thousand cavalry to attack at night and come to the gate of Yuancheng?" After that, Staring at everyone, as if waiting for everyone's answer.
"Prime Minister Zhou, how can we know? Prime Minister Zhou has great plans!" the soldiers laughed.
"Okay, okay, since you don't know, it's useless for Prime Minister Zhou to talk to you!" The general on the side came forward and laughed and scolded everyone.
Zhou Ziru chuckled, gently lifted up his robe sleeves, sat down on the ground like an ordinary soldier, pointed at the boiling cauldron in the middle and asked, "What is this boiling? Give me a bowl."
"Back to Prime Minister Zhou, what we are cooking is beef bones!" The clever soldier on the side quickly filled a bowl and handed it to Zhou Ziru.
"Beef bones, beef bones are good. Then I will use this cow bone as an example to give you an analogy."
The soldiers all concentrated their attention, wanting to hear Zhou Ziru's explanation.
"If you have a brother, his family has an old scalper. You want to buy it to cultivate the land, but your brother has been unwilling to sell it. Until a stranger comes, he will kill the old scalper when he sees it. , your brother naturally refused, so we started fighting with him."
"Then what should you do now?" Zhou Ziru glanced at the soldiers.
This metaphor was too simple and easy to understand. Everyone recognized the relationship between brothers, scalpers and outsiders, and they all laughed: "Of course I am helping my brothers!"
"But this brother has never trusted you, and he won't even let you go to his house. So if you want to help, don't you have to discuss it with your brother first?" Zhou Ziru followed the instructions.
There was silence in the camp, and they understood what Zhou Ziru meant. They came so quickly because they had discussed it with Beidi.
Seeing that everyone was silent, Zhou Ziru smiled slightly, stood up with the help of the guards around him, and said: "After all, this is still a place in the North. Even if we send troops according to the imperial decree, there is nothing we can do if the North does not trust us. You can’t really attack the city all the way and fight your way back to the city.”
"The army and food are still behind. We are here to win the trust of the Northern Territory. We believe that the imperial court will not have any intention except to drive away the Northern Yi." Zhou Ziru expressed his thoughts.
"But...how to gain trust?" The soldier on the side asked, raising his head.
Another soldier slapped him on the head: "Are you stupid? We only have five thousand people here. Isn't this sincerity?"
"I don't know? You have to tell me! I deliberately talked to Prime Minister Zhou... I have to fight with you!" The beaten soldier was not convinced and jumped on him, and the two started playing and frolicking.
Zhou Ziru smiled, turned around and walked towards his tent, leaving only a group of soldiers fighting around.
"Prime Minister Zhou, there are only five thousand troops. I'm worried..." A general followed Zhou Ziru, but he hesitated to speak.
When a general says he is afraid, he is showing his cowardice, and it is difficult to explain it so clearly.
Zhou Ziru shook his head gently: "I understand your worries, but they won't."
"Why not?" The general wanted to ask for clarity and peace of mind.
"Now that the Beiyi army is approaching, if he is not good for me, he will push the imperial court to the opposite side. He will be attacked from both sides. Why bother?"
"But...if they surrender to Beiyi..." the war general continued to ask.
Zhou Ziru said with a smile: "How could that happen? Beiyi conquered Fengcheng, but they didn't return to the city. If they had surrendered to Beiyi without a battle, then the three lands of Beifan would have returned to Beiyi long ago. How did Daqi achieve these six hundred years of stability?"
"What we should worry about is that in the past six hundred years of Beiyi, a man named Jiemeng Mulie has emerged and unified many tribes in Beiyi. Next, there will be a real battle between Daqi and Beiyi.
"I think the three kings of Bei Fan are also waiting to see if Da Qi can defeat Bei Yi."
The general said angrily: "Another bunch of losers..."
"It is human nature to weigh the pros and cons, so we need to be neither humble nor overbearing during this trip. We should not take the initiative to cause trouble. If it is absolutely necessary, we will only fight."
While talking, the two of them had arrived outside the tent. Zhou Ziru stepped into the tent, leaving the general guarding the door, thinking carefully about the four words "neither humble nor arrogant".
…
"President Zhou is courteous. I am Luo Huafang, the county magistrate of the original city. According to the imperial system, I should go out of the city to greet you. Unfortunately, at this moment and that moment, a confrontation with the Northern Yi is imminent. I apologize that I cannot greet you!"
On the wall of the original city, a thin official shouted loudly.
"Lord Luo, is it inconvenient or impossible to welcome us? Five thousand soldiers and horses, that's not much!" The general on the side took the lead in shouting towards the city wall.
"This general is joking. It is indeed inconvenient to welcome him. Otherwise, once the prince is blamed, the subordinates will not be able to shoulder the responsibility!" Luo Huafang said with some embarrassment.
"Then let's go around the city, okay?" Zhou Ziru said softly, and the general on the side repeated it loudly.
When Luo Huafang heard this, his eyes narrowed in laughter: "That's it, that's perfect!"
"It's just that we all came here on light cavalry, and there is no food in the army. I hope Master Luo can come for your convenience!" shouted the people from the city.
Luo Huafang was lying on the city wall, carefully looking at the soldiers and horses below. There were only five thousand horsemen, and he agreed: "As long as Prime Minister Zhou has orders, I will not hesitate to give up my official position!"
"Oh, I will not give up even if I die..." The general was disgusted with the magistrate's behavior, but he couldn't bear it.
After a while, the gate of Yuancheng opened, and groups of soldiers from Yuancheng escorted the grain and grass out of the city one by one and delivered them to Zhou Ziru.
"Report~" Suddenly a soldier came to the city wall: "Your Majesty has an order. As long as Prime Minister Zhou needs it, he will be allowed to pass! Except for Prime Minister Zhou, no one else can pass!"
Luo Huafang squinted his eyes and said with a smile: "Prime Minister Zhou, this is the prince's will. I hope Prime Minister Zhou will understand."
"By the way, has the prince sent someone to escort him? If not, I will select some people to escort Prime Minister Zhou away!"
"The prince has sent eight thousand soldiers and horses to meet and escort him," the soldier replied.
Zhou Ziru chuckled softly and said, "It seems that the prince is very careful about Zhou." After saying that, he headed towards the original city alone.
"President Zhou, be careful!" the general reminded from the side.
Zhou Ziru didn't even look back and said: "At any time, listen to my orders!"
…
In Baicheng, an official came to Baicheng Mansion Office, entered directly, came to the meeting hall, and whispered softly in the ear of Anxi King Zhang Lizheng.
"My lord, is this too foreign? Isn't it because Beiyi has sent troops and is coming here?" Yi Xiaodao said with a half-smile.
The faces of King Anxi and the official were not very good-looking. After a while, they said: "Wu Dinggong misunderstood. I didn't mean to hide it. It's just that I, Anxi, have the most fights with Beiyi, so the officials above and below are quite cautious."
"What does the prince think now?" Yi Xiaodao continued to ask.
"What do you mean, sir?" King Anxi didn't want to reveal it, but asked about Yi Xiaodao.
King Anxi's reluctance made Yi Xiaodao a little angry, and said: "If we defend Baicheng, the outcome will be the same as Fengcheng. I think it is better to take the initiative than to be trapped here."
When King Anxi heard this, he nodded repeatedly: "I admire Mr. Wu Ding's heroic spirit. I admire him. I wonder how many soldiers and horses he needs?"
"There is no need for soldiers and horses. Although we are not as good at fighting as the Northern Yi, we are more than enough to ambush the Northern Yi." Yi Xiaodao laughed softly and said: "If the prince really wants to help, send troops to the rear and wait for the Northern Yi soldiers." If the horse is defeated and flees, how about the prince intercepting and killing it for a while?"
"Just follow the master's plan!" King Anxi didn't think much about it. Yi Xiaodao and Li Dingxing came to look for him every once in a while. Every time they said something, it was reasonable and well-founded, which gave him a headache.
Now when he heard that Yi Xiaodao was going to lead troops to fight, it was too late for King Anxi to be happy, but he could be considered happy for a few days.
"Your Majesty, send troops quickly, or it will be too late." Yi Xiaodao took a sip of tea and reminded King Anxi.
King Anxi was stunned: "Won't Mr. Wuding go back to the camp and make some preparations?"
"What are you preparing for? My people have already set off. It's better for the prince to send people there as soon as possible." Yi Xiaodao looked carefree, and it didn't look like he was joking.
"Report~" Another soldier came to the main hall: "Report to the prince, urgent military situation. Beiyi led troops to invade Baicheng. They were defeated by the second battalion of Shangwu Camp and Huizheng Camp, and are now escaping north."
King Anxi looked at Yi Xiaodao solemnly. He finally admitted that he couldn't see through him.
