The Most Romantic of the Three Kingdoms

Xun Zhen, Xun You, and Xi Zhicai entered the mansion and entered the hall.

Han Liang, the rafter of the five senses, Cao Zhongyao of the county, and Wang Lan, the chief of the county, were already there.

The three of them bowed to Prefect Wen and took their seats. Probably because of something on his mind, and at the same time the officials from the county court who were qualified to participate in the meeting had not yet arrived. Prefect Wen sat on the top of the table, only closing his eyes and resting, but did not speak.

He didn't speak, and Xun Zhen and the others were subordinates, so it was difficult for him to speak.

The twilight is deep, and the hall is getting darker and darker. There was an evening wind, and the leaves of the locust tree branches in the courtyard rustled. A group of officials of the county court sat silently in silence, and the atmosphere in the hall seemed rather depressed.

After waiting for a while, the planner Guo Tu, the thief Cao Ran Du You, the county chief Fei Chang and others came.

The last person to arrive was Fei Chang, the governor. Hearing his salute, Prefect Wen opened his eyes and sat dazedly for a while as if he had woken up. , said: "Oh, oh, are you all here?"

The hall was dark, and as a subordinate, he couldn't stare at Prefect Wen rudely. Xun Zhen couldn't see his face clearly, only hearing his voice seemed more tired than when he saw him in the daytime.

"It's so dark, why don't you light a candle?"

The thief Cao Rafter and Du You, who was sitting at the end of the left, got up, walked to the entrance of the hall, clapped his hands, called the maid waiting on the porch, and said, "Light the lamp."

There are bronze lamp stands with candles in several corners of the hall. Several female maids in dark green skirts filed into the hall and lit candles. As the candle was lit, the drowsiness was dispelled, and the hall became brighter.

Prefect Wen said: "You must have known that you are summoned so late, for no other reason, the cavalry that was sent out earlier has returned."

Fei Chang sat on the right seat and asked, "How many rides have you come back?"

…

Xun Zhen sent out the exploration cavalry, and a total of twelve cavalry were sent out.

Three rides to the east, to the direction of Changshe, Yanling and Yingyin. Three rides to the south, heading to Yingyang, Jiaxian, and Kunyang. The four cavalry went west, two of which went to Luoyang to send "good news" and ask for reinforcements, and the other two went to Yangcheng and Lunshi. There are two horses heading north. After leaving Yangzhai, not far north is the border of Yingchuan County. This way is the best way to inquire, and the task is the easiest.

After sending these troopers out, Xun Zhen reported to Prefect Wen. Everyone in the hall was there at the time, so everyone knew it.

Prefect Wen replied: "Up to now, a total of five cavalry have returned."

"Which five riders are they?"

"The first two cavalry came back to the north to inquire about the enemy's situation. There were no large groups of thieves in the north, only a small number of village rogues who took advantage of the opportunity to make trouble. ... The next one came back to the south. After three cavalry to the south, only one cavalry came back. , they encountered a large group of thieves on the south bank of Rushui, and broke two cavalry. According to the report of a cavalry that came back, Jiaxian and Xiangcheng counties are definitely lost."

When Bo Cai was besieging the city, he had shown more than a dozen heads to the city, among them the heads of Jia Ling Kong Shi, Xiang Cheng Cheng Gu Zhou, and Xiang Cheng Wei Xie Dao. At that time, everyone had already guessed that these two county towns had fallen. Now the news brought back by the horses has confirmed this.

"As soon as the three cavalry came back, I immediately sent someone to invite the lords to come to discuss the matter. Just before you came, another cavalry came back, from the east, Changshe and Yingyin were safe. …, oh, By the way, Yuan Chang, Zhenzhi, you two can rest assured."

Zhong Yao's family was in Changshe, and Xun Zhen's family was in Yingyin. The fact that Changshe and Yingyin are safe means that their clans are safe.

Xun Zhen and Xun You breathed a sigh of relief. Zhong Yao also relaxed.

Long before the Bocai uprising, Xun Zhen persuaded Zhong Yao to transfer his clan to Yangzhai because he knew that there would be a "Battle of Changsha" in the future. Zhong Yao agreed, but the elders in his family disagreed.

His elders thought: Don't say that Bocai has not yet rebelled, even if Bocai is in chaos, as a famous local family, their Zhong family should not flee in fear of the enemy. Guard the village comprehensively.

Xun Zhen still admired the spirit of the elders of the Zhong family.

There is a saying that "do your best and obey the destiny". He has already said what he should say, and neither the elders of the Zhong family agree, nor can he do anything about it.

He unfolded his wide sleeves, put his hands on his knees, leaned forward, and said to Prefect Wen with a respectful attitude: "The subordinate officials sent three cavalry to the east, and now only one has returned. I wonder if there are two other cavalry. news?"

Although he sent the cavalry, he was only a soldier Cao Rong, and the military power was given to him by the Prefect Wen. Although after several days of defending the city, he had established some prestige among the county guards, but it was obviously impossible for the county guards to switch to his sect and instead "allegiance to him, I don't know the prefect". Therefore, when the cavalry returned, it was only natural that he would not report to him, but to report to Prefect Wen directly.

Wen Taishou said: "The east is fairly peaceful, and they encountered few thieves and soldiers on the road, so the two cavalry continued to go east to Chenliu, Chen Guo, and Runan to find out the news of these three counties and countries. ."

Xunzhen sent out these twelve cavalry, in addition to the task of inquiring about the enemy's situation in this county, there was also the task of "inquiring about the enemy's situation in neighboring counties according to the situation". The three cavalry heading south had just left Yangzhai for less than fifty miles, and they encountered a large army of "thieves" on the south bank of Runan. Naturally, they could no longer continue south to inquire about the situation in Nanyang County to the south. The three cavalry were lucky. Since they did not encounter the main force of the "thief soldiers", they naturally needed to continue to the east to inquire about the situation in Chenliu, Chen Guo, and Runan.

Xun Zhen nodded and said in her heart, "The day Yang Zhai cleared the siege, the thieves were scattered everywhere, and now only the thieves who went to the south of Tanma met the gang of thieves, and those who went to the east and north reported that there was no obvious enemy. Say so. Come on, Bo Cai should be gathering thieves in the south."

The location of the seventeen counties in Yingchuan County, the situation of the mountains, rivers and trees in the county are all in his mind, and he can analyze the enemy's situation without a map.

He asked: "Two rides in the north, one ride in the south, and one ride in the east, that's a total of four rides. The Ming Palace just said that there were five rides back in total. I dare to ask the Ming House, did the remaining ride come from the west? "

"That's right. There are four rides to the west, two rides to Luoyang, one rides to Lunshi, and the other rides to Yangcheng. The road to Luoyang is long, and even if the road is peaceful, I will definitely not be able to come back today. Go to Lunshi. The one who came back has not returned. The one who came back is going to Yangcheng."

"How is the situation in Yangcheng?"

"..., alas, it's also lost."

Earlier, when Le Jin, Xiao Xia, and Jiang Hu brought iron officials and apprentices, Le Jin had briefed Xun Zhen about the situation near Yangcheng. He said: The followers of Taiping Dao in the townships near Yangcheng had already revolted, and almost every Passing a pavilion and entering a township, you will encounter groups of uprising peasants. At that time, Xun Zhen expected that Yangcheng would not be guaranteed. Now that I have the accurate news of the horse exploration, as expected.

With a worried look on Zhong Yao's face, he said, "If Yangcheng falls, the Lun Clan will not be able to protect it."

The Lun Clan is in the west of Yangcheng, and the distance between the two places is only fifty or sixty miles.

Du You said, "Mingfu just said that the three rides to the south were broken off twice, and only one came back. So by analogy, the exploratory ride to the Lun's has not yet returned, and maybe it is also on the way."

Du You's inference is reasonable. Starting from Yangzhai, the distance between Yangcheng and Lunshi is not too far away. At this time, the person who went to Yangcheng has returned, but the person who went to Lunshi has not returned, so it is indeed very likely that the person who went to Lunshi has died on the road. .

"The information brought back by the cavalry is roughly like this, gentlemen, what's your opinion?"

…

Master Wang Lan took out the map, spread it on the ground, and spoke first.

He pointed to the map and said: "According to the report of the horse exploration, there are no large groups of thieves in the north and east of the county, while the scouts going to the south of the county and the west of the county have encountered a large group of thieves, and the south of the county has encountered a large group of thieves. Jiaxian and Xiangcheng in the county, and Yangcheng in the west of the county have all fallen. . . . Obviously, the thief Bo Cai must be between Ru and Ying now, and the main force of the thief is here."

Between Ru and Ying, that is, between Rushui and Yingshui. Yangzhai faces Yingshui to the north, and Rushui is less than fifty miles to the south.

Guo Tu nodded and said, "Yingshui is in the north of Yangzhai. On the day Bocai was defeated, tens of thousands of thieves were defeated in a panic. They did not have enough ferry boats to cross the Yingshui, so they could only flee south. Besides, the southern Xiangcheng and Jiaxian fell into the hands of thieves when Bocai was besieging the city, and after the defeat, it is not surprising that the thieves fled in this direction subconsciously and regrouped near them.”

The analysis of Wang Lan and Guo Tu is the same as that of Xun Zhen, and Zhong Yao and others also agree.

Zhong Yao said: "It should be certain that Bo Cai is gathering the defeated troops between Ru and Ying. Mingfu, the current priority, according to the officials, is not to judge where the main force of the thieves is, but to make a decision quickly. , what are we going to do next!"

Han Liang, who does not understand military affairs, rarely speaks during military discussions, but now said excitedly: "Although the thieves and soldiers are defeated, the main force is still there, so don't give the other generation a chance to breathe! In my opinion, it should be quick. The Qi army and horses left the city and headed south, taking advantage of the opportunity when the thieves were defeated by Bocai before they were completely captured by Bocai.

Han Liang's home is in Wuyang, and Wuyang is in the south of Xiangcheng.

Now that Xiangcheng has fallen, it is not yet known whether Wuyang has fallen, but the main force of the "thief soldiers" are all around Xiangcheng, and the distance from Xiangcheng to Wuyang is only a few dozen miles away. He was worried about his home and couldn't help but get excited.

Xun Zhen glanced at him and said in her heart, "'Let's quickly point out the troops and horses of Qi and head south from the city, and take advantage of the opportunity before the robbers are defeated by the waves and attack them bravely'. This may sound reasonable, but It's just a scholar's opinion. There are only a thousand county soldiers left in the city, and the newly formed 'iron camp' has not yet formed a fighting force, so it may be possible to take the initiative to go out to the south of the city to fight in the field, and the way to die is really."

He had the intention to refute, thinking of Han Liang, a famous person in the county, and a high-ranking man with five senses. Sit and watch. Zhong Yuanchang and Guo Gongze are both wise men, and if you think about it, you will definitely see the danger of 'strike out of the city and fight with thieves in the wild'.

- His "sitting and watching" is not because of his slickness, not because he doesn't want to offend people, but it is really helpless. Wuguan rafter has no real power in the county, but in terms of its dignity, its position is still on the right of the county's meritorious officer and the county head, and it is the head of the county officials. Prefect Wen had a bad opinion of him, and Fei Chang, the county chief, even framed him. If he offends Han Liang, the head of the county officials, and Guo Tu, a planner who is hostile to him, he can be said to be an enemy everywhere in the county. , I am afraid that it will be difficult to move in the future.

If it was as he expected, Zhong Yao frowned and said, "After Yang Zhai cleared the siege this morning, we gathered in the mansion to discuss things about 'the aftermath'. Didn't we already discuss whether our army should go out to attack the thieves or keep the city guarded? I remember what Gongze said at the time: 'Even if the thieves and soldiers are defeated, there are many people, although our army is victorious, but there are few soldiers, and if we attack rashly, there may be unforeseen fears'. Duke Han, we have few soldiers and thieves There are many soldiers. We are in the city, and the thieves have nothing to do with us. Once we leave the city, it is difficult to say!"

Zhong Yao then asked Guo Tu, "Gongze, do you think so?"

Han Liang was quite famous in the county, and Guo Tu probably didn't want to offend him, so he didn't answer Zhong Yao directly, but said tactfully: "When the bandit soldiers who have been scattered have not been fully gathered by Bocai, go out to the south of the city and attack them. , Han Gong said, of course it is true. However, when Tu was reading the military book in the past, there was a saying in "Sun Tzu": "It is the general's way to predict the enemy's victory."..., Han Gong, is deciding whether our army will go out to the south of the city to attack. Before that, why don't we speculate on the next move of the thieves? Only after judging and understanding their movements, can we decide our movements!"

Determine your own military deployment based on the enemy's situation. Guo Tu's remarks are very true. Although Han Liang is worried about his family, he has nothing to say about it.

…

Prefect Wen said: "It's good! Gongze said. 'Expecting the enemy to win is the way of the general'. What is 'expecting the enemy'? That is to infer the behavior of the enemy. . . . What will be the behavior of the bandit soldiers next? Will they go north again to surround me in Yangzhai, or go south to **** the south of the county, or go west through Yangcheng and Lunshi, or go east to Runan, Chen and other counties? "

After Bocai gathered the defeated troops, he could either head north, south, east, or west. There were only these possibilities. Prefect Wen asked all the questions, as if he didn't ask.

Guo Tu walked to the map, looked down for a while, knelt beside the map, and pointed at the map.

He first pointed to Yangcheng and Lunshi to the west, and said, "Although the thieves have captured Yangcheng, Tuliubo will not dare to leave the border and go west."

"Why?"

"Yangcheng is at the westernmost point of our county, less than fifty miles from here is the border of our county, and there is Luyuan Pass on the border of our county. Luyuan Pass is the fortress gate of Kyoto, and there are elites stationed there, and the surrounding mountains are dangerous and road. Huanqu, easy to defend and difficult to attack. Bo Cai’s army was originally a rabble, and it was a defeated army. I borrowed ten courage from him and forgive him that he did not dare to leave the country.”

Less than fifty miles northwest of Yangcheng is Luyuan Pass, and after passing Luyuan Pass, another fifty miles is the capital Luoyang.

Luoyang is the capital of the world, where the Son of Heaven is located, and is the capital of the empire. We do not say that Luyuan Pass is easy to defend and difficult to attack, but only that Suwei's troops in Luoyang, such as Hu Benlang, Yulin Qi, and the Fifth Battalion of the Northern Army, are all correct. The world's elite, even if Bo Cai had eaten the courage of an ambitious leopard, with his newly defeated rabble, he would never dare to rush out of Yingchuan and go deep into the tiger's den.

Prefect Wen said: "That's right. Most of the sergeants in the five battalions of Huben, Yulin and Beijun are from good families in the six northwestern counties. If you dare to cross our Yingchuan border, it will be like hitting a stone with an egg."

Guo Tu continued to guide the counties and states of Chenliu, Chen State, and Runan beside him, and said: "Chenliu and Chen State are located to the south of Changshe and Yingyin, and if you want to go to these two places, you can't go to Jingchangshe or Yingyin. No. According to the report from the troopers, Changshe, Yingyin and other places are safe and sound, that is to say, it is impossible for the thieves to go to Chenliu and Chen country."

"Where's Runan?"

Runan, Chen Guo, and Chen Liu are all in the west of Yingchuan County, bordering Yingchuan.

In terms of their positions on the map, Chenliu County is at the top, Chen Guo is in the middle, and Runan is at the bottom.

Without going through Changshe and Yingyin, Bocai really couldn't go to Chenliu and Chen country, but it would be much more convenient if he went to Runan. Seventy miles is Runan Territory.

"Runan, ..., it's impossible."

"Why?"

Xun Zhen heard Prefect Wen's tone, and said to himself, "Listen to his tone, he seems to be looking forward to Bo Cai going to Runan." It's no wonder that if Bo Cai really went to Runan, it would definitely be different for Runan. Wonderful, but it's a good thing for Prefect Wen, who is serving in Yingchuan.

Xun Zhen stared at the map in the hall and said in her heart, "It's a pity..."

It's a pity that Bo Cai will not go to Runan either. Guo Tu replied: "The bandits and soldiers under Bocai's command are all natives of the county. Before the rebellion, most of them were peasants, not soldiers who were used to fighting. The peasants cannot leave their homeland. Even if Bocai wanted to go east to Runan, he These thieves under your command will probably not agree."

Prefect Wen let out a disappointed "Oh".

He was old and had bad eyesight. He personally went to the lampstand to get a candle, went down to the hall, walked to the map, bent over and held the candle to watch.

After watching for a while, he said: "The thief will not go west, nor will it go east. In this way, it can only go north or south. Gongzhang, do you think it will go north again to attack my Yangzhai, or Will you go south across Rushui and attack Fucheng, Kunyang, Wuyang, Dingling, Yanxian and other places?"

Among the counties in the south of the county, Jiaxian and Xiangcheng are currently known to have fallen to the "thief's hand". Both counties are north of Rushui. The five counties of Fucheng, Kunyang, Wuyang, Dingling and Yanxian are all south of Rushui.

"If I were Bo Cai, I would definitely go south."

"Why?"

Because of something in his heart, Prefect Wen was worried about the punishment from the court, so he was obsessed with the authorities. Everyone in the hall, including Han Liang, Wang Lan, and Du You, already understood what Guo Tu meant. Guo Tu explained patiently: "The reason why the thieves broke up and went south is precisely because they lost in Yangzhai. Since they can't defeat the strong city of Yangzhai, in order to reunite their morale, they can only go south and swept the south of the county."

"I see!"

Guo Tu's analysis is like stripping the cocoon. It is meticulous, well-founded, and highly credible. Rao is so, although knowing that Bo Cai is unlikely to hit Yang Zhai twice, for now, Yang Zhai is considered safe, but the look on Wen's face has not improved at all, he stepped on the map wearing foot socks and put The candle in his lower hand swayed a few times in Fucheng, Kunyang and other places. After seeing these places clearly, he sighed and said, "There are five counties in the south of Rushui. If the Bocai thief really crosses the Henan, this The five counties cannot be protected.”

"Yes."

"Adding Jia and Xiangcheng counties on the north bank of Rushui, and Yangcheng on the west side of the county, eight counties have already fallen or are about to fall into the hands of thieves!"

"And Lun's."

"Oh? Yes! The horses that went to the Lun clan did not come back, and the Lun clan may have fallen into the hands of the thieves. In this way, there are nine counties, nine counties! Seventeen counties in my county have already entered or are about to enter the hands of the thieves. . . . The people are ruined, the local area is harmed, the superior cannot repay the emperor, and the inferior cannot reassure the people, this is all my sin, my sin!”

…

Han Liang left the seat and knelt down, put his head on the ground, kowtowed repeatedly, and said, "According to the report of the troopers, the bandit soldiers are still south of Rushui River, and it seems that they have not crossed the river. Fucheng, Dingling, Wuyang, Yan, The five counties of Kunyang may not have fallen into the hands of thieves. There are hundreds of thousands of people in the five counties. Mingfu, must not be ignored! ..., Liang, please send troops quickly to attack Bocai in the south to save The people of the south of the county!"

"Prince, what do you think?"

"The subordinate said just now that only by 'anticipating the enemy' in front can we 'win' in the back. Looking at the current situation, I think that our army should not go south."

Without waiting for Prefect Wen to ask questions, Han Liang suddenly raised his head and asked angrily, "Why?"

"Our army has few soldiers, and it is not easy to defend the city. How can we divide our troops to go south? Even if we can barely separate a few troops and go south, against tens of thousands of thieves, what are the odds of winning?"

"Mingfu, the parents of the people of my county. Now, the bandit soldiers are going to **** the south and poison the south of the county. Hundreds of thousands of people are looking to the north, hoping that their parents will save them. Those who are parents should destroy the city at this time. Go to the rescue! How can we ignore it and not save it?…, Mingfu, there are still more than a thousand soldiers in my city who can fight. With this more than a thousand newly victorious troops, they will attack the soldiers who have been defeated by Wuhe. I won't be defeated!"

Han Liang's remarks are very absurd, but his words "Mingfu, the parents of the people of our county" are morally righteous. Although Guo Tu disagrees, in order to take into account his family's reputation in the county, it is not good to directly criticize him. After finding a way, he turned and said: "The words of the five sense rafters are indeed reasonable, but I would like to ask the five sense rafters: If my city is full of nests, and more than a thousand soldiers are used against tens of thousands of thieves, I may not be defeated, but I will not be defeated. Yangzhai has become an empty city. If the thieves are fighting with me, and one part will be entangled with our army, and the rest of the thieves will go north again to attack my Yangzhai, what should I do with my Yangzhai?”

"..."

Han Liang was stunned for a while, and replied, "How could it be all out! Aren't there more than a thousand new iron officials and apprentices outside the east gate of the city? Zhang, Huang, Chunyu and your Guo family in the city also Each has its brave guests, who have been defending the city these few days. Didn’t these guests and the people who were recruited later also contributed a lot?…, Tieguan disciples, guests of various families plus the people, at least two or three thousand The crowd. With this thousands of people, plus the tens of thousands of people in the city working together, still can't defend Yangzhai City?"

"Tieguan disciples are all sinners and prisoners. Let them come to guard the city? Can you rest assured, Duke Han? Although there are many warriors and brave people in the city, all of them are only ordinary people. If you don’t know the battle formation, it’s like a plate of loose sand, how can it be so difficult to be of great use? As for the people and the people’s ears, it’s not as good as the guests of the various families, let them transport some equipment for the defense of the city, deliver meals to the guards, and let them go to the city to kill the thieves? ..., how is this different from surrendering Yang Zhai to the thief?"

Guo Tu shook his head again and again, UU reading www.uukanshu.com paused for a while, and then said: "The eastern counties of my county, such as Changshe, Yingyin, Xuxian, Yanling and other places, have not lost so far, mainly because of my Yangzhai is not lost. Once Yangzhai is lost, the counties in the east of the county will be rioted by thieves. Duke Han, the people in the south of the county are the people under the rule of the ruler, so aren’t the people in the east of the county?”

Today, of the seventeen counties in Yingchuan County, only a few counties in the east of the county are safe and have not been threatened by "thieves". If Yang Zhai suffered a loss, not to mention the lives and deaths of county officials such as Prefect Wen, Fei Chang, and Guo Tu, the counties in the east of the county would also be in danger. In this way, there is a possibility that the whole county will fall into "thieves".

When Prefect Wen heard this, he shook his head again and again without realizing it. He absolutely refused to take this risk.

When Han Liang mentioned "Tieguan Disciples" before, Prefect Wen's eyes fell on Xun Zhen's face, but when Guo Tu spoke, he turned his eyes away. At this moment, he didn't know what to think, and suddenly his eyes lit up, he turned his eyes back, and looked at Xun Zhen again.

Xun Zhen's heart skipped a beat, and she said, "Oops!"

After Guo Tu finished speaking, Prefect Wen waved his hand to stop Han Liang and said, "Han Gong, Gong Zhe is right. I am concerned with the safety of the eastern counties of the county, and the remaining thousand or so county soldiers must not be sent out. .but,…."

"but?"

Prefect Wen looked at Xun Zhen and asked, "Xun Rong, have you finished distributing the weapons you brought from the armory in the afternoon to the iron officials and slaves?"

Xun Zhen complained in her heart, her face was calm, and she replied, "The distribution has not been completed before the servants come to the mansion."

"Han Gong is also right. Since it is known that the thieves have the intention of going south, as a parent of this county, I cannot ignore it. Hundreds of thousands of people in the south of the county must be rescued. Xun Rong, I will supply you hundreds more. Zhuang, I will gather a crowd of two thousand for you, and are you willing to send my army south to save the south of the county?"