"Qingzhou and Yanzhou have been resting and recuperating for many years. It is only right that they give out more money and food. If we issue an order again, if the two prefectures can't get food together, just hang up their seals!"
"It's raining again? It's true that Jizhou is exhausted, but some money and grain cannot be transported? Issue an order. If the grain and grass are not available to Sili within ten days, then let him come to see Duke Ming!"
In Xuchang, at the Shangshutai, Xun Yu kept writing and sent orders one after another to all states and counties.
He had received the battle report. Zhao Yan's troops were in a stalemate with the enemy at Miangkou, and the main vanguard of Cao's army suffered heavy losses.
The front line was tight, and he was sitting in the rear. The military expenditure exceeded 100 million dollars every day, which was extremely stressful.
Basically, every penny has to be broken in half and spent, and the entire northern savings are being transported south.
Just like this, when a ban on alcohol was issued, countless wealthy families came to him and complained, but they refused to provide money or food support.
On the other side, another letter asking for help from Wen Hui, the governor of Yangzhou, came like snow flakes.
Reinforcements, reinforcements, even if we get a new reinforcement, where can we get enough money and food for these reinforcements?
He sealed the last document with fire paint, handed it over to his subordinates, and walked out of the chancery.
He stayed in Shangshutai for as many years as the reign of Jian'an.
He sat in this position for thirteen years.
For thirteen years, Cao Cao has been fighting every year, and Xun Yu sits in the rear, ensuring his logistics, working hard and conscientiously.
But now, this war has already spent too much money and food before it has officially concluded.
In this battle, Cao Cao almost lost all his family wealth.
Xun Yu walked home with a worried look on his face.
He didn't need to take a carriage. His mansion was not far from the Shangshu Terrace. It was a mansion specially purchased by Cao Cao for him. It was the closest to the central government among all the officials.
The official position is not the highest, but he has the power of all internal affairs. His voice in the north is only lower than that of Cao Cao.
He walked through the long corridor of Shangshutai and looked back at the peaceful imperial city.
Thirteen years ago, he persuaded Duke Ming to welcome the emperor, abandoned Luoyang, and moved to the small city of Xuchang.
After thirteen years of construction, the city began to flourish. Giant businessmen and businessmen are constantly flowing around, and they have the atmosphere of Chang'an and Luoyang.
The two capitals were overturned and destroyed by war. I rebuilt the capital of Han Dynasty.
In order to protect this peace, no matter how difficult it is, we must continue.
By the end of the tunnel, he had made up his mind.
Only the frontline money and food cannot be cut off, even if Xu Du is squeezed dry with his own hands!
The sword must be extended to those aristocratic families.
A snowflake fell on his head, he stretched out his hand, and it snowed.
The snowflakes were rustling, unable to hide the sadness on his face.
It's snowing and the roads are impassable. It will become increasingly difficult to transport food and troops further south.
He stood in the snow for a long time, and finally bowed bitterly to the south and said solemnly: "Ming Gong, take care of me!"
When he raised his head again, he saw two girls walking towards him and bowing to him.
One of them had a neat bun, his mouth was pursed, and he looked unhappy. The other person, who looked proud, was a little embarrassed when he saw Xun Yu. He twisted his tongue for a long time before saying: "Your Majesty, what happened in the sand table last time was Ah Jiu's fault. Ah Jiu is here this time. He is my general. Let us Here’s money for you!”
A note with the words "Gou or brother personally expresses my gratitude" flew from Jiangxia to Xiangyang, then from Xiangyang to Beifu, and then transported all the way to Xudu, and finally passed to Xun Yu through Cao Ajiu's hand.
Seeing the crooked words "Gou or", the powerful middle-aged minister was stunned for a moment.
In the capital, snowflakes fell and melted.
…
"Buzz!"
In December of the 13th year of Jian'an, Sili Prefecture ushered in the first snow of this winter.
As for the Yangtze River battlefield further south, no one had time to care about the cold weather.
"Buzz!"
Loud horns sounded across the river, and Zhou Yu's general Ling Tong led a fleet of ships galloping on the river, aiming directly at Cao Jun.
Huang Gai, Dong Xi, and Chen Wu, these generals who were known as Jiang Biao's Twelve Tiger Ministers in later generations, held the battle from behind.
Ling Tong stood proudly on the bow of the ship and killed Huang Zu, which made him full of confidence. He stared at the Cao army in front of him with no fear on his face.
The soldiers under his command were different. They had just defeated Xia Houyuan, and they had a certain degree of confidence. However, when they saw the momentum of Cao's army, they were still frightened and their hearts jumped.
Where the other party is a ship, it is simply a moving sail!
Countless large boats are lined up on the river, and their white sails are like waves on the river. Normally they can be called the sterns of large ships, but in these waves they are as small as ripples.
In front of the endless sea of ships was a huge, indescribable warship.
In front of it, the building and the boat are just like children.
"Boom!"
On the battleship, huge drums beat.
Ling Tong held a long sword with sharp eyes and shouted loudly: "My sons, Cao Cao's thieves look down on us and only sent one ship to fight. Can we be afraid of them?"
All the soldiers gathered their strength and responded: "Don't be afraid!"
"Then just let me take this ship..."
With a "swish" sound, a sharp arrow half the length of a man suddenly flew over, interrupting his words.
Ling Tong rolled over quickly to avoid being hit by the arrow. When he turned back, he saw that the arrow had already sunk into the sail pole and was still trembling.
Immediately afterwards, several more long arrows were shot.
Ling Tong's lieutenant saw it clearly and shouted: "There is a hard crossbow on the other side's ship!"
Only then did Ling Tong notice that there were many black holes on the huge battleship, pointing directly at them.
At this time, they were still two arrows away from the enemy.
"Such a long range..."
Combined with the arrow just shot, it was obvious that it was shot by a giant crossbow.
This kind of hard crossbow is too large to be installed on small boats like theirs. Even if it can be installed on a large ship, it can only be equipped with one or two, which will not play any role.
But this ship...
Another sound of "whoosh" sounded through the air.
How many hard crossbows are there on the other side's ship?
Ling Tong took a cursory look and saw that in just these few rounds of shooting, more than ten of his soldiers were killed.
His soldiers have been engaged in water warfare for a long time and have some defensive experience with water warfare weapons such as bows and arrows. They can shoot at each other easily and rarely die.
However, the arrows of this hard crossbow were far beyond normal. Almost every time an arrow came out, someone was injured or died.
Ling Tong gritted his teeth and shouted: "Charge, charge!"
The sail was already full, and the oarsman on the ship worked up his strength and slid the oars vigorously. The fleet moved at the fastest speed and soon reached a stone's throw away.
Ling Tong's fleet fought back with bows and arrows. The opponent only had one large ship with powerful crossbows, but the shooting area of the bows and arrows was narrow.
This should have been Ling Tong's opportunity to counterattack, but all the soldiers on the other side hid in the bunker of the big ship and did not come out.
Ling Tong shot an arrow, but it could only hit the hull of the ship and could not hit anyone. He said angrily: "Is this a turtle ship? Wait for me to jump on board and see where you can hide!"
His fleet quickly came into contact with the big ship, and he repeated the same trick he had used to defeat Xiahou Yuan's vanguard that day. The big ship blocked the opponent's ship horizontally, and the other small ships approached from both sides.
"Boom!"
The war drums sounded on the giant ship.
"Boom!"
Ling Tong's flagship collided with the larger ship.
Something happened that shocked him.
His flagship was actually hit by a big ship and cracked!
Although this ship is not a high-rise ship, its keel is made of the best wood and reinforced many times. It has never been at a disadvantage when it has collided with other ships before.
But this time...
He looked at the visible cracks on his flagship and looked back at the bow of the big ship in surprise. The bow, which was taller than him, reflected a cold light.
Immediately, he came to an almost outrageous conclusion.
His lieutenant also opened his mouth wide and expressed his thoughts for him: "This big ship...has iron on the bow?"
What the hell is this ship?
Zhou Yu, who was watching the battle from a distance, also saw this scene. Although he could not see the details clearly, he suddenly felt an unprecedented oppression.
That was the oppressive force of gathering the financial resources of the entire north to put pressure on the six counties.
It's the power of money.
