Zhang Da looked embarrassed and reminded: "General, thirty thousand..."
"What happened to 30,000? The food for the 30,000 army will be too much for us to eat. Let me investigate again. I want to know the details of Xia Houmao." Zhang Fei looked disdainful.
"Wei." Zhang Da clasped his fists and left cautiously.
Zhang Da made meritorious service in Jiangxia and was taken away by Zhang Fei. Following Zhang Fei's several invasions and battles in Liangzhou, he discovered that his reckless boss had become more and more shrewd.
Zhang Da didn't know what had happened to Zhang Fei in the past few years. In his memory, he always liked the black-faced general who acted recklessly, but now he especially liked to play tricks.
As soon as Zhang Da left, Zhang Fei called Wu Er to follow him and said with a serious face: "During this period, Ma Zun has been unable to retreat. The soldiers have nothing to fight, so they have become a little lazy. You can pull them back quickly." Go get some practice."
"Is there a war?" Wu Er asked curiously.
Zhang Fei nodded, "Xia Houmao led 30,000 troops to rescue Tianshui. Seeing that the food and grass were running out, Cao Pi was so considerate of my difficulties that he sent someone promptly."
"That's good. General, I'll go training now." Wu Er left happily.
Outside the peaceful Ji County City, the thunderous sound of horse hooves sounded again. After hearing the news, Ma Zun urgently came to the city with the county officials. When he saw the thick smoke and dust in the distance, he instantly fell into deep thought.
The chief secretary Yin Shang looked at the young man next to Ma Zun and asked meaningfully: "Is Zhang Fei planning to attack the city for Bo Yue?"
Liang Xu, a meritorious official, quickly retorted: "What did Master Yin say? Why should Zhang Fei take his nonsense seriously? Everyone in Jicheng knows that Bo Yue's father is the same clan as General Fuyi."
There was no reason for Zhang Fei to invade Liangzhou, it was just a normal attack between Cao and Liu, but after he introduced Jiang Wei, it caused an incredible reaction within Jicheng.
Zhang Fei's repeated harassment turned into revenge with a clear purpose. He neither retreated nor advanced when the counties were fortified and clear, which seemed to have a reason.
The counties in Tianshui built strong walls and cleared the countryside, and moved all the surrounding people into the city. This made the originally balanced resource relationship suddenly become unbalanced.
The limited land and resources in the city could not support the overloaded people, and the people's lives gradually became difficult.
Life in the city is getting more and more difficult, and Zhang Fei's cavalry is threatening them outside the city. They are in a dilemma, as if they are waiting for death to come.
The conflicts caused by the lack of resources slowly spread from the bottom to the top, causing hatred among the people who originally understood Jiang Wei, and finally spread to the entire Tianshui Jiang clan.
Emotions are like air conditioners. If there is an air inlet, there must be an air outlet.
The suffering people also had anger. They originally had nowhere to vent their anger, but gradually moved to the Jiang family in Tianshui and to the Jiang Wei family.
Some people within the Jiang family also questioned Jiang Ji, believing that Ma Chao would not hold grudges against Jiang Ji without reason, and speculated that Jiang Ji must have done something unknown.
Everything that happened secretly in Jicheng put great pressure on Jiang Wei, who had just turned twenty. If the prefect Ma Zun hadn't tried his best to control it, Jiang Wei and Jiang's mother might have been pushed out to take the blame.
Jiang Jiong died fighting for Tianshui County. Ma Zun did not dare and could not push Jiang Wei out, otherwise he would not be able to face the Tianshui Jiang family afterwards.
Ma Zun did not believe that this was Zhang Fei's conspiracy, because such a complicated alienation plan could not come from the head of a reckless man.
"The enemy is at hand. You don't need to argue. That black guy Zhang Fei really dares to attack. I will live and die with the people of Ji County. But they have no siege equipment. It will not be easy to break into the city." Ma Zun and the county official They analyze the situation calmly.
The chief clerk Yin Shang shook his head and sighed: "My humble position does not mean that I am afraid of fighting. In fact, Zhang Fei is too rogue. He neither besieged the city nor attacked by force. He suppressed several cities in Tianshui just by relying on the excellent mobility of the cavalry. If Zhang Fei really attacked the city by force, I Even if I die in battle, I won’t regret it. It’s too frustrating to be like this now..."
"Zhang Fei doesn't have many troops, and they are all single cavalry. How can he attack the city recklessly? He is now going into battle lightly and using deterrence to consume Tianshui's resources. There must be an expert behind him..." Young Jiang Wei Frowning slightly.
The chief bookkeeper Yin Shang sneered: "People say that Bo Yue is a Qilin son of Tianshui. He is familiar with classics and history and has excellent marksmanship. Why don't you ask for orders to defeat Zhang Fei?"
"It's okay." Jiang Wei replied equally coldly.
Jiang Wei has been treated coldly these days, and he has absorbed so much negative emotions that he can no longer hold on anymore and needs to find a place to vent.
Ma Zun watched the two people bickering and scolded him in a deep voice: "Stop saying a few words, please. I know how to defeat the enemy. Although Bo Yue is a young hero, Zhang Fei is not an ordinary reckless man. He is famous among thousands of people all over the world." Enemies, you must not be underestimated."
Chief Secretary Yin Shang shook his head and explained: "As a humble official, I am also worried about the situation in Ji County. Now that General Zidan has gone to Hexi, Zhang Fei can come and go freely in Tianshui with thousands of cavalry. After the war, he should be punished by your majesty. Alas..."
"As long as you have a clear conscience, Zhang Fei is not something we can deal with." Ma Zun showed a bitter smile.
"If the prefect can allocate some troops to the humble position, he may not be able to fight Zhang Fei." Jiang Wei heard that the two were discouraged, but instead he became more motivated to fight.
Ma Zun patted Jiang Wei on the shoulder and whispered, "Bo Yue, don't show off your bravery. There is indeed a gap between the soldiers in Jicheng and Wudu. This is a visible fact, so it doesn't matter whoever leads the army. Just do your thing."
"Uh... okay..." Jiang Wei is too young now, and it is inevitable that he will not be trusted by others.
Seeing this, Ma Zun nodded happily, and then continued to comfort: "Bo Yue, there is no need to belittle yourself. Even if Zhang Fei is an enemy of ten thousand people, and even if his cavalry is so powerful, there are still only a few thousand people. We can't wait for help." question."
Jiang Wei nodded in response: "The situation is abnormal, there must be a demon. I guess that your Majesty's reinforcements should have arrived, and Zhang Fei is preparing for war."
"It would be great if it is true. Tianshui has already consumed Zhang Fei for a hundred days, and we are just waiting for a combined attack with reinforcements from both inside and outside." Liang Xu agreed with a smile.
Yin Shang was not so optimistic. He reminded everyone: "Everyone is deeply aware of the advantages of Zhang Fei's cavalry. The military strength of the Tianshui counties originally exceeded the opponent's, but they never formed a joint force. In the end, they were led by him. We still stick to it." Ji County is suitable."
"Actually..."
"The chief clerk is right. How many times have we been deceived in the past 100 days? How many times have we lost so much food and yet we still have a long memory? Let the opportunity to make meritorious deeds be given to capable people, and we can work together to provide assistance."
Jiang Wei was interrupted by Ma Zun mid-sentence. The people in the city were dissatisfied with the Jiang family and had spread to the county officials. As the prefect, he wanted to curb the situation.
Zhang Fei asked the cavalry to resume training outside Jicheng. After a few days, the main force slowly moved towards Wangyuan.
The defenders of Jicheng were now frightened. They did not dare to leave the city when they saw the enemy leaving, because the memory of these hundred days was so profound that they would be unable to defend if they were blackmailed any longer.
"Xiahou Mao is really sending troops from Shanggui today?" Zhang Fei confirmed the opponent's whereabouts.
Zhang Da nodded and replied: "Yes, Xia Houmao and other troops from Qishan Road have returned. A total of 30,000 people are heading to Ji County. All the baggage is transported by water from the Wei River. Such a large force is not easy to divide. General, we what to do?"
Zhang Fei did not panic at all. He asked Wu Er to gather nearly a hundred officers under his tent, and said seriously to everyone: "Xiahou Mao has 30,000 mobs, and the number of cavalry is about the same as ours. I thought we could use sparrow warfare to deal with it. This tactic can only be used on the sand table." I've practiced before, you can't embarrass me."
