At this time, Ling Ning took Jia Huaiying and Huo Zilong to the west of Yanzhou, preparing to inspect Guangyu Pass first.
Guangyu Pass guard Zhang Sankuang, as his name suggests, is arrogant, but his arrogance is for the enemy, but when it comes to leading troops in battle, he is very cautious and very calm.
In his words, the soldiers entrusted their lives to his command. He would not do whatever he wanted and could not act arbitrarily, thereby harming his soldiers.
Three days later, Ling Ning and the others arrived at Guangyu Pass.
Guangyu Pass was also built in a gap in the mountains, and the terrain to the west of Guangyu Pass is low, so Guangyu Pass also occupies a terrain advantage.
If Ling Ning is asked to attack Yanzhou, he will not attack Guangyu Pass, but there is no guarantee that Bai Zhanhou Huang Yuanzhang will attack the east and the west.
At this time, Huo Zilong sent someone to knock on the gate and notify Zhang Sankuang.
Ling Ning looked at Jia Huaiying and asked, "Have all Zhang Sankuang's family members arrived in Yanzhou City?"
"Zhang Sankuang's father died early. He has his mother, wife and children at home. They have all been moved to Yanzhou City. They have allocated a mansion, arranged maids and servants to take care of his elderly mother. They have also arranged a school for his son to study. Learn martial arts." Jia Huaiying stroked his beard and smiled.
Ling Ning nodded with satisfaction.
This move was not only to win over Zhang Sankuang and make him willing to serve Ling Ning, but also to warn Zhang Sankuang so that he would not dare to rebel.
Everyone will have weaknesses throughout his life.
For example, family affection is most of the weaknesses.
If a person has no weakness, then he has no worries, and that is the most terrifying thing, because he dares to do anything.
For example, Ling Ning now!
Ling Ning's grandfather died in the battlefield, and his grandmother died of illness. His mother died early, his father was murdered, and the Ling family has no other immediate relatives. Secondly, Ling Ning has no wife or children. Now he has no worries and no weaknesses.
While Ling Ning and Jia Huaiying were chatting, Zhang Sankuang came out to greet them.
"Zhang Sankuang, a humble official, pays homage to my lord! I didn't know that my lord, the general, was too far away to welcome you, so please forgive me!" Zhang Sankuang's attitude was respectful after he arrived.
Ling Ning saw that he was still wearing his armor and seemed to have traveled a lot, so he smiled and said, "General Zhang, please. I see that General Zhang is very tired. Could it be that he has just returned from customs?"
Zhang Sankuang nodded and said: "I just returned to the customs less than a quarter of an hour ago! I led my troops to borrow food from nearby counties."
Although Ling Ning still had some food left on hand, it was not enough to just go out and not get in.
Each soldier needs at least two kilograms of rice a day to ensure combat effectiveness. If possible, one kilogram of non-staple food, such as buckwheat, wheat, beans, etc., must be added.
An army of ten thousand people needs 200 shi of food a day. Each stone is equivalent to 120 city catties. If converted into market catties, it is 24,000 catties.
This is only 10,000 people. If it were 100,000 people, it would be an even more terrifying consumption.
So Ling Ning ordered the four generals to go out and borrow food from compatriots in nearby states.
After Zhang Sankuang received the order, he immediately led his troops out of the customs and raided... bah bah bah. He visited the three bordering states. He used his strength and mobilized his troops, and he borrowed food as expected.
Ling Ning asked: "Did you borrow food?"
Zhang Sankuang chuckled and said: "Of course I borrowed it. The governors and county magistrates of the three nearby states are very easy to talk to. During this period, I borrowed 2,000 shi of grain one after another. But, the quantity is still too small. I was just about to ask for permission. Lord, can you be more enthusiastic about borrowing food? This way you can get more food."
Ling Ning immediately understood the tone of Zhang Sankuang's words.
To borrow grain now, we use intimidation to force grain warehouses in nearby states to borrow grain. Others will definitely only give a little bit, and most of the grain is stored, so the amount of borrowed grain is limited.
If you increase your enthusiasm, be more diligent, and move it yourself, you can "borrow" more grain.
All right!
No more charades.
Zhang Sankuang wanted to rob it in the name of borrowing food!
Ling Ning thought for a while and immediately said: "You are the guard of Guangyu Pass. The task is entrusted to you. You must borrow at least one and a half months' worth of food reserves. As for how you borrow, I will not interfere."
"Hey, I understand." Zhang Sankuang immediately understood the tone of Ling Ning's words.
Ling Ning is now the king of the Northland County and the head coach of the Anti-Liang Dynasty. Naturally, he cannot let Zhang Sankuang rob him openly. He can only let him realize it on his own.
Subsequently,
Ling Ning entered Guangyu Pass to check the defense situation.
There are 15,000 soldiers in Guangyu Pass and more than 3,000 auxiliary personnel. Fifteen thousand is a full deployment, that is, it has various arms, including cavalry, to facilitate pursuit.
After inspection, Ling Ning nodded with satisfaction.
These are soldiers and horses carefully trained by his father. The whole army has strict orders and strict discipline.
Even if they were to fight on the plains, 15,000 Beiyou troops would dare to defeat more than 20,000 opponents. And now there are powerful passes such as Guangyu Pass, which is enough to withstand the attack of 40,000 to 50,000 troops.
"Hundreds of warlords are raising their troops to attack, and I don't know which level they will attack. So you must also be prepared to defend the city. Therefore, materials for defending the city, such as rolling stones, wood, hot oil, etc., must be prepared in case of emergencies. Yes." Ling Ning reminded.
Zhang Sankuang responded: "Please rest assured, my lord, I have arranged for the soldiers to prepare."
Ling Ning nodded with satisfaction and said with a smile: "Then I will hand over Guangyu Pass to you. If you guard it well, I will reward you heavily. If you lose Guangyu Pass, I will never give you mercy."
"The humble position is with Guangyu Pass, and I will defend Guangyu Pass to the death!" Zhang Sankuang said solemnly.
Ling Ning smiled and said, "I naturally believe in General Zhang's ability."
At this moment,
Jia Huaiying took out a letter and a mahogany sword and said: "General Zhang, when I came with the prince, your wife asked me to send you a letter from home, as well as the wooden sword your son carved for you."
Zhang Sankuang looked happy, thanked him quickly, and took the letter.
"Let's see now. You will miss your family while you are away leading the army. Mr. Jia and I will go out for a walk." After Ling Ning finished speaking, he immediately left with Jia Huaiying.
Zhang Sankuang opened the letter. In the letter, his married wife told about the life after moving to Yanzhou City. There was a new house with three rooms, maids and slaves, and someone to take care of his mother. The prince even found a doctor with good medical skills. Treat mother's old illness.
Moreover, the prince also rewarded many treasures, so the family had no worries about food and drink. In addition, the child also went to school to study martial arts, and the son proudly said that he wanted to become a general like his father!
Between the lines, there is satisfaction with life and longing for Zhang Sankuang.
When a man joins the army, a letter from his family is worth ten thousand dollars.
Zhang Sankuang's eyes were red and he couldn't help but swear: "Lord, don't worry, I, Zhang Sankuang, will defend Guangyu Pass to the death, and I will definitely live up to my trust and respect for my lord!"
…
Ling Ning stayed at Guangyu Pass for a day, and early the next morning, he crossed the entire Yanzhou and headed to Heiya Pass in the east.
The gatekeeper of Black Teeth will be Du Wenwei.
Du Shengheng was a Confucian general who respected his superiors and cared for his subordinates, was both civil and military, and was brave and resourceful.
However, there is no way to treat Du Wengsheng the same way as Zhang Sankuang, because Du Wengsheng's parents are dead and he is not married.
So after Jia Huaiying gave Ling Ning advice, he used other methods.
