When Lu Bu returned to the Panshi'ao camp, it was already broad daylight.
After he dismounted, he placed Fang Tian's painted halberd on the ground, spread his arms, and said, "Remove armor!"
The soldiers on the side immediately stepped forward and took off his cloak and armor one by one.
Even Lu Fengxian, who was like a perpetual motion machine, was very tired after such a night of toil. He let out a long sigh of relief as he took off the head-swallowing beast mask weighing more than 30 kilograms.
He walked to the water tank nearby, picked up the water and slapped it on his face carelessly, wiping the marks on his body that had solidified into blood scabs.
It wasn't obvious when he was wearing armor, but now Lu Bu's muscles were tangled and full of formidable strength.
"Marquis Wen!" Xu Sheng ran over quickly.
"How's it going?" Lu Bu was still cleaning the blood stains on his body and eliminating the fatigue all over his body. He just glanced at Xu Sheng and saw that he was smiling from ear to ear. He guessed that he had not gained anything.
"Cao's camp's food and fodder were also burned, but they saved more than 22,000 stones, 1,081 horses, and too much armor and weapons to count."
Not bad, Lu Bu nodded with satisfaction.
"By the way, Marquis Wen, General Gao checked the horses and picked out one hundred and fifty-seven. He said they are top-grade horses. They should be the horses of Cao Cao's elite cavalry."
Lu Bu was stunned. He had more than a hundred horses. Including the top-grade horses he had obtained by chasing down the tiger and leopard cavalry, the number was close to four hundred. This way, he could join the old team of Bingzhou and supplement the supplies for the battle at Donglinkou. damaged.
"Well done, take the more than one hundred horses to Bingzhou Riding's stable."
"Here!"
After Lu Bu washed the blood stains on his body, he walked into the central military tent with his upper body naked and no fuss.
I wanted to take a rest, but Zhang Liao ran in quickly.
"Marquis Wen!"
"Wen Yuan is here, sit down." Lu Bu was still very polite to Zhang Liao and made a gesture of invitation.
But Zhang Liao did not sit down, and clasped his fists with a smile, "Marquis Wen, Wei Xu has already led his troops back to Yangyuan. The general is here to report today's gains. In this battle, Wei Xu and I will kill Cao Jun." There were more than 1,800 people, and more than 400 were ambushed by the enemy. Cao Cao's general, Yu Jin, was also captured by the last general and is now being escorted back to Yangyuan."
With a mediocre record, Lu Bu just nodded silently and said casually: "These scouts have already been reported to me, there is no need to make a special trip."
After many years of habit, seeing Lu Bu being so calm, he knew that the gains at this end of the camp must be extremely rich, so these gains could not make Lu Bu excited, but it didn't matter, he didn't come all this way to report on his achievements.
"Marquis Wen, this is the military expenditure for the general at the end of next season. Please have Marquis Wen take a look at it." Zhang Liao held the bamboo slips in both hands and handed it over.
Lu Bu glanced at him in surprise.
Talking about military expenditures at this time, he threw the bamboo slips aside and said, "It's all a matter of step. If there is anything to see, it will be the same as last season. There will be a lot for you."
"Why don't you, Marquis Wen, take a look?" Zhang Liao handed the bamboo slips to Lu Bu with a smile on his face.
Lu Bu pushed the bamboo slip away half-heartedly, glanced at it casually, his eyes suddenly widened, and he exclaimed: "Twenty thousand gold? Why don't you go and grab it!"
"Marquis Wen, you can't say that. Of course the military expenditure in Jiujiang can't be that much, but my more than 800 old brothers have followed me since Yanmen. Boping also created a trap camp. These brothers like me are good at swordsmanship. Arrows, loyalty, and bravery will never lose to the trapped camp.
Over the past year or so, our territory has expanded so much. It’s time to spend some money to arm them. I have an explanation for the following. "
As a general, it is understandable that you want to create a backbone force of your own, an elite division, especially an old team like this, and no one is willing to treat them badly.
But Lu Bu just sighed, shook his head and said: "Wenyuan, I'm really out of money. You see, the plate is not small, and there are many places to use money. This battle has destroyed all the weapons, food and grass that I have saved for more than half a year." Seventy percent.
In addition, seven of the twelve counties in Anfeng County have become ownerless cities with broken eaves and broken walls. If they want to be repaired, more than half of the taxes after the autumn harvest will be invested. "
Hearing Lu Bu's sincere words, Zhang Liao was not discouraged. After all, twenty thousand gold was indeed an astonishing sum.
He stepped back and asked for the next best thing: "Well, the last general and Wei Xu ambushed Cao Cao and captured more than 80 war horses. I saw that they were all fine cavalry. They were enough to enrich the last general's troops. This shouldn't be too much."
A little is a little less, but a little adds up to a lot.
The more than eighty war horses are all top-grade. If they are well built, they may be able to form a decent cavalry in the near future.
Unexpectedly, Lu Bu waved his hand and refused: "No, I know that the horses you mentioned are the most elite cavalry under Cao Cao's command, and they must be included in the Bingzhou cavalry camp."
"No?"
Zhang Liao was a little unhappy and said quietly: "It's just more than eighty war horses, Marquis Wen. Most of these horses were captured by my eight hundred personal guards. According to the rules of the battlefield, who should belong to whom, right?"
If it had been another person, Lu Bu would have taken advantage of him, but it was Zhang Liao and Zhang Wenyuan. They were different from others.
In addition to being fellow townsmen in Bingzhou, Liao Shen and Lu Bu also relied on him and Zhang Yang to hold up the chaos after Ding Yuan's death, preventing an internal mutiny.
In addition, along the way from Guanzhong to Puyang and then to Xuzhou, the Liao God made great achievements in battle.
To put it bluntly, if Zhang Liao had not supported him since Guanzhong, he would never have achieved what he has achieved today. In terms of credit, he is the first to do so.
Therefore, Lu Bu will be more tolerant of him.
He stood up, walked to Zhang Liao, frowned and said bitterly: "Wenyuan, do you know that more than 400 old brothers from Bingzhou died in the battle at Donglinkou, and now the Bingzhou cavalry battalion is in urgent need of replenishing horses. Ordinary war horses cannot enter the camp at all, only Cao Cao's batch of top-grade elite cavalry are acceptable."
Lu Bu patted Zhang Liao on the shoulder and said earnestly: "If you allow me some more time, I promise you that I will harvest next autumn at the latest and raise 20,000 gold for you to arm your people. Is this okay?"
"In that case, then just follow Marquis Wen's wishes."
In fact, as the coach of this army, Lu Bu certainly hopes to train some elites like the trapped camp, but the cost is too huge, and it really can't be done casually.
While the two were chatting, a person walked outside the tent.
"I would like to pay my respects to Marquis Wen."
Lu Bu glanced at the person coming, then sat back on the handsome chair, "If you don't stay in Xiapi, why are you here?"
"Reporting to Marquis Wen, my brother Yun Wen ordered me to build the Liulichang in Pengcheng. Now that the season has ended, I brought the income and account books here for him to check and accept." Zuo Rong looked proud.
"How much money is there?" Lu Bu knew a little about this, but not very clearly.
"No more, no more, twenty-eight thousand gold."
Zuo Rong's understatement made Lu Bu and Zhang Liao stunned.
Oh my god, are you going to rob someone, so much money?
It's more than 20,000 gold. The entire autumn tax collection in Pengcheng is only 25,000 gold. You have made so much money in one quarter.
"This is all the credit of Brother Yunwen. I'm just running an errand." Zuo Rong was obviously here to increase his presence.
After Lu Bu and Zhang Liao looked at each other, they immediately came up with a plan.
"What did you say?"
"Oh, I'm running errands."
"Not this sentence, that sentence when I came in." Lu Bu asked with a smile.
Zuo Rong was stunned for a moment before reacting, "I have brought Liulichang's first quarter earnings and account books over, and I would like to see Brother Yunwen for acceptance."
"oh"
After Lu Bu let out a long ooh, he nodded and said, "You don't know, Yunwen has given full authority over this matter to Wen Yuan. Wen Yuan, you can handle it yourself."
"Hehe, oops, my wise nephew is giving me too much trouble. Okay, okay, just leave the money with me first." Zhang Liao eagerly walked towards Zuo Rong, pulling him out of the tent.
He did not dare to speak while guarding Lu Bu. He waited until Zhe Rong came out of the Chinese army tent and said with a sad face: "General Zhang, this is absolutely impossible. You have taken all the money. What can I do with Brother Yunwen?" On a business trip?"
Damn it, why did I come to brag in front of Marquis Wen? Now it’s better, I’m going to be finished.
Lin Mo had promised to return half of the money to Zuo Rong. If Zhang Liao took it all away now, it would not only be Lin Mo who would lose.
"What nonsense!"
Zhang Liao looked down from a high position, with a stern look in his eyes, and said quietly: "I am his uncle. If he dares not to give it to me, his leg will be broken."
Then he felt that it was indeed difficult for Zuo Rong to explain, so he whispered: "As for the explanation, I will teach you how to say it. Just say it, just say it. The truth is true and the truth is correct. Never let your opponent guess what you are thinking. , he must not have thought that I would take his money, right?
This is called surprise, bring it to you. "
After saying that, Zhang Liao laughed heartily. This trip was so worth it.
Then he couldn't help but drag Zhe Rong to get the money. He didn't ask for much. Twenty thousand gold weighed ten thousand kilograms, and it would take several carriages to pull it.
So, the money was taken away by Zhang Liao.
Watching the carriages being pulled away, Zuo Rong's heart was bleeding, crying, and shouting, you bastard, if you have the ability to earn it yourself, what's the point of robbing us of our money? You are a barbaric thing, a frontier refugee.
Brother Yunwen, Brother Yunwen, I’m going to see Brother Yunwen.
Before Zhang Liao could go far, Zuo Rong finally came to his senses.
In Lin Mo's military tent, Jia Xu and Liu Ye knelt down opposite him. The three of them were making tea, chatting and discussing military affairs.
"Cao Cao was defeated in this trip and his vitality was severely damaged. What do you think the next situation will be like?" Lin Mo raised the topic.
Now that the Anfeng War has come to an end, it does not mean that there will be long-term peace and stability.
On the contrary, you have to strike while the iron is hot to stabilize the ground under your feet.
After all, Cao Cao stationed hundreds of thousands of troops in Xuchang.
Liu Ye glanced at Jia Xu. The old bastard had no intention of speaking.
In fact, he had not been in Luying for a long time, but he had a rough idea of the three forces here. In addition to Chen Gong, who was relatively close to the group of military generals, they were the Xuzhou family and the family headed by Chen Deng and Lu Su. The Huainan scholars were led by Liu Ye.
In the face of these three forces, his choice was to keep silent and say less.
Liu Ye blew his fingers and analyzed it.
"In this battle, Cao Cao's elite troops were wiped out. The mighty generals Cao Chun and Li Tong were beheaded, and Yu Jin was captured. The 30,000 elite troops only brought back a few hundred people. However, our army is also in critical condition. Ordinarily, after returning to Xuchang, he should be able to Enter a longer rest.
However, the spies who came back from the Northern Kingdom said that Gongsun Zan had defeated seven battles in a row, and the day when Youzhou changed hands was not far away. At that time, Yuan Shao alone had conquered Qingyou and the four states of Hebei, becoming the most powerful prince in the Han Dynasty. You must drink from the Yellow River.
Therefore, after Cao Cao returned to Xuchang, he could either strengthen his troops and form an alliance with Marquis Wen to cope with the upcoming war in the Central Plains; or he could attack Xuzhou with lightning speed in an attempt to annex the two states and then resist Yuan Shao with all his strength.
I personally feel that Cao Cao would prefer the second option. "
Lin Mo and Jia Xu looked at each other, and they both read agreement in each other's eyes.
Liu Ye's analysis is very accurate, and it is certain that Lin Mo and Jia Xu also agree with it.
"To be honest, if he goes out in full force, he will have no less than 120,000 to 30,000 troops. Our combined army only has 60,000 to 70,000 troops. The disparity in strength is almost twice that. If there is a fight, our army will still be at a disadvantage."
Lin Mo didn't say it clearly, but both Liu Ye and Jia Xu understood that if Cao Cao attacked forcefully, the most likely outcome would be to defeat both sides, and then both of them would be annexed by Yuan Shao.
Of course, this depends on how long Gongsun Zan can hold on. As long as all of Youzhou falls into Yuan Shao's hands, he probably won't consider going south.
Even if Gongsun Zan is really defeated, it will take some time to clean up the chaos in Youzhou.
From this perspective, the probability of Cao Cao attacking Xuzhou is very high.
"I also think he will come again. If all three armies attack together, then not only will we be in danger from the front, but the most troublesome person is probably still holding back."
Finally, Jia Xu spoke.
This was not a military discussion today, so he chose to add something after the two of them had finished speaking.
Liu Ye frowned and nodded slightly, "If we and Cao Cao fall into a stalemate in Xuzhou, Sun Ce from Jiangdong will definitely attack."
When Sun Ce was mentioned, all three of them felt melancholy.
Yes, the little overlord of Jiangdong lost his troops and generals in Guangling City, how could he accept such humiliation?
This is a headache.
Last time, he only came with a few thousand people, not just a few thousand people. If he really made up his mind, he could still gather 30,000 or 40,000 people.
There are 30,000 to 40,000 people. How can we prevent them from being suddenly attacked from behind?
Since history had been messed up, Lin Mo did not dare to hope that he would be killed by Xu Gong's disciples like in history.
Therefore, the next thing to consider is not only dealing with Cao Cao's counterattack, but also Sun Ce's sneak attack.
There were not many soldiers and horses in the first place, but if they were divided again, the front line would be even more difficult.
"Liu Biao has always had thoughts about Yangzhou."
Jia Xu suddenly mentioned it, probably meaning that this was also a hidden danger along the way.
Liu Ye shook his head, "Although Liu Jingsheng and I are both descendants of the Han Dynasty, he has many internal problems and may not be able to fully make the decision. In addition, as he gets older, his ambition is gone.
The biggest problem is Sun Ce. "
Lin Mo raised his eyes and glanced at Liu Ye, and said with a smile: "Does Zi Yang think that Sun Ce started from Lujiang or Guangling?"
(End of chapter)
