"Reporting to the Prince Consort, although Zhang Fei said this deliberately, he will definitely kill the prisoners in private. He cannot divide his troops because of the prisoners of war, nor can he let the prisoners of war affect his mobility..." Liang Qian popularized common sense about war to Xia Houmao.
"Since you know the result, why do you still..." Question marks were written all over Xia Houmao's face.
Liang Qian shook his head speechlessly: "The families of the soldiers are all in the city. If I do not meet Zhang Fei's conditions, the relatives of those captives will inevitably mutiny. I am worried that I will not be able to control the chaos caused by that time. I might have to go to Guicheng." leave..."
Seeing Liang Qian's fluent answers, Xia Houmao guessed that in order to avoid responsibility, the other party had prepared his rhetoric in advance so that he could not find any loopholes to accuse him, so he could only nod lightly in agreement.
Liang Qian's expression was calm and unflustered. Xia Houmao couldn't stand the fact that the other party was so 'satisfied', so he laughed at himself coldly: "According to General Liang's description, how could such a cunning general be Zhang Fei? I feel he is comparable to Zhang Wenyuan and Zhou Gongjin." let..."
"Well... although it's unbelievable, it is indeed Zhang Fei's doing..." Liang Qian lowered his head.
"Hmph, a famous general like Zhang Fei actually started to act like a gangster. It's really a bit dirty..." Xiahou Mao spun around in anger.
Liang Qian did not dare to speak, making the situation awkward. At this time, the guards outside the door came in to report that Han Shao had returned to Shanggui from Qishan Road, and the soldiers and horses he brought with him seemed to be undamaged.
Xiahou Maoxin said that someone sent food to Zhang Fei. There was no need for him to go all the way from Wudu to deliver it. Han Shao should have missed it on Qishan Road.
Not long after, Han Shao came to the county government office to return his orders.
"Your Majesty, I have been guarding the Qishan Road for several days, but I didn't find a grain truck. The villages within a hundred miles are deserted. I am worried about supply difficulties, so I dare not go further south..." Han Shao Answered with clasped fists.
"Zhang Fei should not be short of food now. There is no point in going to Qishan after the road is cut off. It seems useless for Zhang Fei to wait and wait. He must take the initiative to go out." bitter? It’s business to finish the fight early and go back to Chang’an to enjoy it.
Han Shao's eyes widened. The prince-in-law originally planned to advance steadily during the march. How could there be such a huge change now?
Upon seeing this, Liang Qian explained: "Zhang Fei has entered Kou Liangzhou several times and is already familiar with the terrain in this area. All the people near Qishan Road have already fled. It is right for the prince-in-law to go to the enemy to fight. Thirty thousand soldiers and horses can definitely defeat him." Restrict Zhang Fei."
"Oh... when will we set off?" Han Shao asked.
"Immediately, immediately, I really want to meet that black guy and ask him where he learned the evil idea..." Xia Houmao felt painful waiting even a moment longer.
Zhang Fei's exchange of prisoners for food was inspired by Jiangdong of Lantian Keng. Sometimes killing living forces is not the best way, and the purpose of his coming to Liangzhou was not for massacre.
Both Cao and Liu were recuperating. Based on Lan Tian's suggestion, Liu Bei asked Zhang Fei to enter Liangzhou with a small number of troops and stir up the situation in the northwest to consume Cao Wei's supplies. Zhang Fei also wanted to hunt rabbits in the grass to see if he could Jiang Wei cannot be kidnapped back.
A black-faced man who loves to smile usually has good luck.
Zhang Fei entered Liangzhou at the perfect time. First of all, last year's severe drought in the north resulted in a warm winter. Zhang Fei did not bring any heavy winter clothes to keep out the cold;
Secondly, the Hu people in Hexi rebelled at almost the same time. Cao Zhen, the governor of Liangzhou, led a heavy army to suppress the rebellion. Otherwise, Zhang Fei's thousands of people would not be enough to watch;
Finally, there are the compressed grains provided by Zhuge Liang and the kelp provided by Lantian. These two foods are easy to carry and light in weight. They are simply artifacts for expeditions.
Among the many generals in Liu Bei's army, Zhang Fei was the only general who studied guerrilla warfare as a core method of warfare. The more than 4,000 elite cavalry he brought to Liangzhou had become well versed in it.
The defenders of the counties in Tianshui County suffered heavy losses in guerrilla warfare. Shanggui, Wangyuan, Xixian, and Jixian all initially fell into the trap and sent troops, but they were all outflanked by the Wudu cavalry.
With Tianshui County's individual soldiers and military tactics at a disadvantage, being 'blackmailed' and 'exploited' by Zhang Fei has become the norm. In the past few months, Zhang Fei has become a 'robbery', 'kidnapping and ransoming' 'Bandits'.
The ransomed prisoners were not complete. The captured war horses became spare mounts for the cavalry. The armor and weapons of the prisoners of war were thrown into the Wei River. The baggage that could not be taken away was destroyed and burned. The prisoners of war had to leave their winter clothes before returning to the city. He returned to his relatives naked, and those clothes became the firewood for Zhang Fei to keep warm.
Through these tricks, Zhang Fei not only replenished his war horses and food, but also seriously weakened the strength of the Tianshui defenders.
The armor, weapons, and winter clothes destroyed by Zhang Fei cannot be replaced in large quantities in a short period of time. That is to say, these prisoners who are released will most likely become soldiers with zero combat effectiveness.
Zhang Fei became richer and richer as he fought, and the counties in Tianshui became poorer and poorer. The defenders gradually lost the idea of attacking.
Even if Zhang Fei ordered dozens of cavalry to dismount and set up a pot to cook kelp soup in the field in front of the defenders on the city wall, the other party would not be fooled because of the opportunity, mainly because they had been tricked in the past few months.
Before Cao Pi's order to strengthen the walls and clear the country came, the counties in Tianshui had already begun to do so.
Except for the four counties of Shanggui, Wangyuan, Xixian, and Jixian that were directly affected by the disaster, the other counties such as Longxian, Lueyang, Xianqin, and Xiandao directly closed their doors to prevent Zhang Fei from spreading like a virus. Harassment.
Zhang Fei spends most of his time around Jixian County, because Jixian County is the seat of Tianshui County, and there are more village communities around the county than other counties.
These thousands of cavalrymen were just like the grassland tribes. In order to maintain mobility, they did not carry too much supplies. They did not have many tents to protect them from the wind and rain when they rested at night, so they had to stay at the homes of 'fellows'.
Many people from surrounding villages were forced by the government to move into the city to work as corvees, leaving behind empty houses that could not be taken away. There were also a small number of old and weak people who stayed in the villages to die. In the end, Zhang Fei's cavalry was really just a temporary residence. That's all, the people were incredibly impressed.
As the chances of fighting became less and less, Zhang Fei calculated the reduction of grain stocks and planned to return to Wudu by the end of February at the latest. Otherwise, he would have no food during the return trip and would have to kill horses to satisfy his hunger.
Zhang Fei sent people to Hebei County every day to scold and threaten him, asking the prefect Ma Zun to hand over Jiang Xu, otherwise he would regard Tianshui County as his hometown, and threatened to return to his hometown every year if he had nothing to do.
Jiang Xu and Yang Fu had a big feud with Ma Chao. Ma Chao killed Yang Fu in Hechi. Jiang Xu, who was in Jicheng at the time, was heartbroken and died of depression soon after.
Ma Zun told the truth about the situation, while Zhang Fei asked the middle man Jiang Wei and his family to be taken away. The reason was that Jiang Wei's father, Jiang Jiong, was also an accomplice back then, and he had to bring back an enemy for Ma Chao.
The surname Jiang is a common surname in Tianshui. Jiang Jiong and Jiang Xu belong to the same clan but are not related. Jiang Jiong was defeated and killed in the battle against the Qiang Hu rebellion. The orphan Jiang Wei got the official position of Zhonglang because of his father's merit.
Ma Zun explained earnestly for a long time, but Zhang Fei outside the city couldn't listen at all, saying that he would not return to Wudu if he could not get his 'enemy' Jiang Wei.
In late February, after Zhang Fei went to Ji County for his usual 'inspection', Zhang Da, his general, sent someone to report: "General, Xiahou Mao has led an army of 30,000 to reach Gui, and there is not much food left at the moment. Do you think it is necessary?" Don’t plan to return?”
"Xia Houmao? Who is it?" Zhang Fei frowned.
"It is said that he is the second son of Xiahou Dun." Zhang Da replied.
Zhang Fei had a calm expression and murmured: "It turns out he is the son of Blind Xiahou. With this yellow-mouthed boy coming to deliver food and grass, I can hold on for a long time."
