After listening to Zhang Yuanjing's words, Wei Zilin on the side also nodded and said: "My subordinates also think that this is feasible. If Situ Fei really has any contact with the Qiang and Hu, he will definitely let all the civil and military officials under his command, especially the soldiers who came from the eastern part of Liangzhou, Very dissatisfied. Furthermore, as long as Situ Fei does not send troops directly against us, we have nothing to fear even if he spreads the news to the Qiang and Hu tribes. "
Zhao Xun pondered for a moment and said: "Well, let's do this and let Li Chenfeng's troops start taking action. The Eight Banners of Mohe and the Eight Banners of Khitan under his command are both from the Hu tribe. Attacking the Qiang and Hu tribes can also make these The tribe will better understand our Zhao army¡¯s policies and let them surrender to me.¡±
¡°In addition, we must let Li Chenfeng¡¯s tribes attack separately. All the tribes that once invaded Liangzhou and did serious evil will be wiped out. Those who have a better attitude towards the Han people can be drawn over and used for their own purposes.¡±
"These things are done step by step. What needs to be solved now is the 50,000 coalition troops in Dingping. We are not afraid of these 50,000 people, but if they stay on our side and rear, it will be a big disaster. If they are allowed to attack Running around is even more troublesome.¡±
Zhang Yuanjing smiled and said: "The Lord's method of alienation is the best solution. Ever since we trapped the two of them in Dingping, the two armies have been fighting each other because of the discord between the two commanders. No end. We can let them handle it themselves. We just need to put strong pressure on them. As long as they fight with each other, they will surrender to the Lord sooner or later."
"Well, the army will rest and recuperate, and tomorrow we will go north to the place of peace. Let's go. Tonight, the generals and soldiers will celebrate the victory of this battle, which can also be regarded as a blessing for the two of them." Zhao Xun laughed and said.
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The county seat of Dingping County is the southernmost point of Yunzhou Prefecture. It is neither big nor small. However, since Yang Li and Cao Gang's troops stationed here, it has become a large military camp. Twenty thousand troops from both armies were stationed in the city, making the entire city look much more complicated.
In Dingping County, Yang Li's department has more than 11,000 people, while Cao Gang's department has more than 15,000 people. It wasn't that Cao Gang had more troops than Yang Li, but that this was the area under Cao Gang's jurisdiction, and there were originally three thousand people in the city. In fact, as long as Cao Gang is willing, he can recruit another five thousand young men as soldiers at any time.
Since fleeing here, Cao Gang has understood the importance of military power in his hands. There are more than 25,000 people. In addition to the more than 5,000 people who died during the retreat to the south, there are still about 20,000 people. Together with the Dingping garrison, the number of people under his command has returned to more than 25,000 people, and all the generals are Cao family. In addition, Cao Gang also spent a lot of money to recruit 5,000 local young men and 5,000 refugees and train them into new soldiers.
Knowing the importance of soldiers and horses was also the reason why Cao Gang was unwilling to hand over his soldiers and horses to Yang Li of the Bingzhou Army immediately after being trapped in Dingping. He does not want to become a lamb to be slaughtered after becoming powerless. Later, Zhao Xun went rampant in the northern part of Bingzhou, and after the army approached the Bingzhou army, Cao Gang did not want to hand over his power. Furthermore, the more than 25,000 soldiers and 10,000 new soldiers now can be said to be his private army. They are supplied by Cao's financial resources. How can they be handed over to Yang Li?
It was also because of this that the two armies were delayed at Dingping. As a result, Zhao Xunbing surrounded Meiji City and cut off their retreat. In addition, the Dingping Land could not provide much supplies, which caused many conflicts between the two armies. The fighting between the two soldiers was no longer ordinary.
"Generalgeneralbigsomething bad is going to happen" Yang Li, who lived in the military camp, was worried about the southward retreat when a cry came from outside the house.
Hearing this, Yang Li frowned slightly and said angrily: "What's wrong? Which group of soldiers had a dispute with that bastard Cao Gang's subordinates? Didn't I say that? Don't"
"General, it's not like that. Something happened in the south something happened in the south." The person who rushed in was none other than his personal guard battalion captain and his clan brother Yang Xiong.
"What are you thinking about in a panic? As a captain of the first battalion, you have to be calm and stay calm at all times. To the south? What about the south Where did you say? To the south?" The casual Yang Li suddenly became frightened and asked anxiously, As I said before, if you want to stay calm, you will have already been thrown out of the sky.
Yang Li naturally understood the meaning of his family's face to be pale in the south. This south is not Dingyang City, which is thirty miles away from the designated plain, but Meiji City in Xihe Prefecture. He also knew that Meiji City was besieged by the army of General Zhao Xun. If Cao Gang hadn't refused to cooperate, he would have led his army to retreat to Meiji City.
Yang Xiong looked sad and said in panic: "General, the three counties of Meijicheng, Pingding, and Guangyan have fallen. All the 50,000 soldiers in the three counties were captured by Zhao Xun. Now, General Zhao Xun's army is coming north."
"What?" Yang Li was shocked, stood up suddenly, and brought all the objects on the table to the ground, "How did this news come? Can it be confirmed?" Three southern counties were lost, and tens of thousands of troops were killed. For For Yang Li, it was basically darkness.?. Evacuation to the south is no longer possible.
"General, this news came from the defeated army who escaped from Meiji City. In addition, some common people and businessmen who were preparing to go south also returned and brought this news." Yang Xiong said in a trembling voice. Yang Xiong was also very aware of the consequences of the news about the loss of the three counties in Meiji City.
Yang Li grabbed Yang Xiong's arm and said, "Are the defeated troops, common people, and businessmen who spread the news under guard?"
Yang Xiong nodded and said: "I have put them under my guard. In addition, I also asked my subordinates to notify the south gate. Once they find anyone returning from the south, they will be captured and will be released after verification."
"Fortunately, you did a good job. Immediately notify all the generals and generals to come to discuss the matter." Yang Li said solemnly with a gloomy expression.
"General, something bad has happened" Before Yang Li could finish the military order, the leader, Sima Qin Ling, hurried in with a look of panic on his face.
"Why are you panicking? How can a commanding Sima, who is in charge of thousands of soldiers, be in such a state?" Yang Li, who was already in a bad mood, suddenly became more gloomy when he saw his generals acting like this, "Aren't you in charge of patrolling the city today? Why don't you patrol the city? Come here, General?"
Qin Ling said anxiously: "General, something bad is going on. For some reason, there is news in the city that the three counties of Meiji, Pingding, and Guangyan were captured by the Zhao army, and that King Zhao personally commanded an army to attack."
"What? How could this happen?" Yang Xiong was shocked.
"Have you ever captured the person who spread the rumors?" Yang Li's eyes darkened and he said with a trembling voice. Now, he realized that he seemed to have lost control of the situation.
Qin Ling smiled bitterly and said: "General, the news has spread throughout the city, and the people in the city are talking. How to capture him? Now, the soldiers in the city are a little panicked, and the people in the city are also panicked."
"Damn it! Zhao Jun's methods are so fast. What a great Zhao King." Yang Li shouted angrily, "Yang Xiong and Qin Ling, immediately send troops to inspect the whole city to appease the people. It is best to let the innocent people return home. . The people in the city are forbidden to continue talking about this matter. In addition, anyone who dares to disobey the military order and spread rumors will be killed! Yang Xiong, send people to summon the generals to discuss the military affairs."
At the same time, Cao Gang, who was located in the east of the city, also got the news. After all, how could they not know the news that even the people in the city knew. Furthermore, Zhao Xun intended to let the two people in the city know this news, so how could he just spread it in Nancheng.
Like Yang Li, Cao Gang was also frightened and turned pale. He was defeated by Zhao Xun in the north of Bingzhou. In two months, he lost all his army of more than 100,000 men and fled in panic. How could he not know how powerful Zhao Xun was. Now that Zhao Xun's army has seized its southward passage and cut off the road to the south of Rubingzhou, he is already frightened, not to mention the attack of Zhao Xun's own army.
He did not restrict the passage of the people in the North Gate and West Gate under his control. He knew that he could not stop this news. After all, the south side closest to Meiji City should have received the news earlier. The people who can make the decisions in the city are him and Yang Li. They both know that there is no need to stop anything anymore. In addition, Cao Gang was more aware of Zhao Xun's methods. During the process of the cities in the northern part of Bingzhou being captured by Zhao's army, this kind of attack on people's hearts through messages was already a common practice. Therefore, he believed that this extraordinary news would soon spread in the city.
Sure enough, just as Cao Gang gathered his generals, he learned that the news had spread in the city. As someone who had fought against Zhao Jun and was defeated by Zhao Jun, he still had a certain understanding of Zhao Jun.
"Sigh No matter how much we clean up, there are still Zhao Xun's spies in the city. I regret a little. I should have stopped caring about the few troops and horses in my hands and rushed back to the south." After hearing the news reported by his subordinates, Cao Gang said with some regret.
"Uncle, if we don't have these tens of thousands of soldiers in our hands, when we enter Situ Tai's territory, we are not just letting mermaids eat meat. How can we keep the money accumulated by the Cao family. Putting aside these things, let's talk about Situ Tai now. Zhao Jun is not only in The Bingzhou Army was defeated in consecutive battles on the northern front, and it also crossed the Taihang Mountains in the south and swept across the southern part of Bingzhou. According to our secret reports, Situ Tai had fled to Fenzhou Prefecture and completely abandoned the southern part of Bingzhou. The eastern half. It can be said that after the defeat of Xihe Prefecture, Situ Tai, except Fenzhou Prefecture, and the southern part of Bingzhou are already in Zhao Xun's favor. If we reach Situ Tai's territory, we will be appointed. Aren't you going to become an abandoned son in his hands?" Cao Yun, the former captain of the army, said in a low voice.
The general who used to have an army of tens of thousands has now become a captain with an army of five thousand. The entire Cao clan fled in panic. Cao Yun also became much calmer, dissatisfied with the arrogance of Qian Yun in the north of Bingzhou. It is precisely because of this that Cao Yun now works harder to train the soldiers in his hands. Regarding military power, he now values ????a lot.
Cao ?He said in a muffled voice: "Okay, let's not talk about these things for the time being. You and I already understand the situation at hand. Now is the most critical time for our Cao family. The four of you are all outstanding talents of our Cao family. For Do you have any countermeasures?"
Cao Yun took the lead and said: "Uncle, we have more than 35,000 old and new soldiers in total. In addition to the 20,000 soldiers in Dingping County, there are more than 7,000 soldiers in the other two southern cities. The top priority is, They should immediately be given an order to hold on to the city and refuse to go out to fight. In addition, they should also be told that they are not allowed to leave without their uncle's military orders, even the generals of the Bingzhou Army. Finally, the generals of all departments should be ordered to be on guard against the Bingzhou Army. ¡±
Cao Gang frowned and said, "You mean, what changes will happen to the Bingzhou Army?"
Cao Yun said: "Yes, Meiji City has been conquered, and the Bingzhou Army in these three cities has become a lonely army. Especially the two cities in the south are likely to be persuaded to surrender by the generals or officials of Meiji City's Bingzhou Army. This is the Dingping. , it¡¯s not impossible.¡±
Cao Zhi on the other side also continued: "In addition, we have to come up with a batch of money and food to appease the people in the city, and we must not let any more accidents happen in the city. After all, this is our last place of dependence."
Cao Gang nodded and said: "Very good, you will be responsible for this matter. You are now in charge of the property of our Bingzhou Northern Army, as well as the finances of the Cao family. You are fully responsible for this expenditure matter. Tell everyone, now If you don¡¯t want to give up money anymore, you have to give up your life.¡±
"Cao Yong, you immediately step up your guard. In addition to the west gate and north gate, the south gate and east gate also send people to assist the Bingzhou army to defend the city. I think they will not refuse to agree. In addition, send people to monitor Yang Lida for me. Camp, if you find anything, report it immediately."
The two of them took the order and left.
"Yun'er, I seemed to want to say something when I saw you earlier, but in the end I didn't say anything. It's okay to talk now!" Cao Gang looked at Cao Yun and said loudly.
Cao Yun said in a deep voice: "Uncle clearly sees that, in my nephew's opinion, we can strike first to get rid of Yang Li and seize the 20,000 soldiers of the Bingzhou Army. This place of peace is the last residence of my Cao family. Damn it, if there is another accident, it will really be"
Cao Gang suddenly frowned. Although Cao Yun didn't finish speaking, he understood. If Zhao Xun were to defeat Dingping County, the Cao family would be completely ruined. They would not even be as good as an ordinary person by taking refuge in Situ Tai's name. In Zhao Jun's place, in the northern part of Bingzhou, Cao Gang was on the death list.
After a while, Cao Gang frowned and said, "I understand what you mean, but if we fight with Yang Li, this place will immediately fall into civil strife. How can we deal with Zhao Xun's attack?"
Cao Yun said: "Kill Yang Li with a fatal blow and gather the soldiers in his hands. Although it will fluctuate for a while, it is better than having a tiger beside you that can bite at any time. In addition, as long as we act quickly, the Bingzhou army will not have time to react. , and blaming Zhao Jun's assassins, it is not impossible to stabilize quickly. In this way, the 20,000 Bingzhou troops can share the same hatred. When Zhao Xun attacks, the opposition voices among the Bingzhou troops can be suppressed. In addition, after we are divided and annexed by various tribes, we will have more than 50,000 troops in our hands. "
"Moreover, this Dingping is our territory. When we retreated south, we also brought a lot of money and food with us. With fifty thousand regular soldiers, Zhao Xun wants to take over this place quickly. That is not a problem. It's an easy thing. The Zhao army entered Bingzhou from the Taihang Mountains and swept across the southern part of Bingzhou. Situ Lei in Yongzhou will not remain indifferent. This is a sharp knife on his neck. When the time comes, the Yongzhou army will definitely march north to support him. Our chance has come."
After a pause, Cao Yun continued: "Even if we cannot stand up, with more than 50,000 troops at that time, even if we surrender to Zhao Xun, we will not be in danger of being attacked by weapons. However, with Zhao Xun's methods , At that time, we are just afraid that we will no longer be able to control the military. "
After listening to Cao Yun's words, Cao Gang couldn't help but fell into deep thought. I have to say that Cao Yun's suggestion still makes sense at this moment. But it is quite difficult to operate. In addition to the difficulty of getting rid of Yang Li, it is also very unreliable to rely on the Yongzhou Army to relieve the life and death danger brought by Zhao Xun. Borrowing from others is not a serious matter after all and carries a lot of uncertainty.
What if the Yongzhou Army cannot move north in time? What if Zhao Xun is determined to deal with himself in this peaceful land first? Furthermore, with an army of more than 50,000 people but only a small area of ??land, how could they maintain a stalemate with Zhao Xun? There are too many aspects that make Cao Gang worried. In addition, there are 50,000 troops, and there are more than 25,000 in the two southern cities. Except for Dingping County, which can be regarded as a strong city, the two small towns in the south are difficult to face Zhao Xun's strong attack.
What made Cao Gang feel that this method was difficult to complete the most was the thunder in Zhao Xun's hand. He was aware of the thunder that appeared when Zhao Jun attacked Jiancheng in Chengle County, Dingxiang Prefecture. Chengle County is comparable to DingpingThe county town is much stronger, but what happens? It can't be broken by Zhao Jun's strong attack
Seeing that Cao Gang was deep in thought, Cao Yun thought that he was still deep in thought, so he said urgently: "Uncle, at this moment, it is a matter of life and death for my Cao family, so I must cut it off!"
"Uncle, uncle, the Bingzhou Army in the east and south of the city began to take action. They began to strengthen their vigilance, and more Bingzhou Army patrolled the city, and ordered the people in the city to return home. In addition, the city defenses at the four gates were increased. In order to It seems to my nephew that they are still on guard against our army." Cao Gang's other nephew, Cao Lin, the captain of the rear army, hurried into the house.
Cao Gang, who originally planned to fight to the death, suddenly became weak and said with a wry smile: "Yang Li is not a good person. We are on guard against him and against his ideas. Why doesn't he do the same? That's all, Yun'er, you Forget it. Now, if Yang Li solves the problem, the Bingzhou Army in the city will immediately turn against us and even abandon the city and surrender to Zhao Xun. "
"Cao Lin, cooperate with the Bingzhou Army in the city and cooperate with each other. From now on, our soldiers will not have any disputes with the Bingzhou Army."
Seeing that Cao Yun was unwilling, Cao Gang bitterly told Cao Yun his concerns. Cao Yun didn't know what was going on in Chengle County, but when he heard this, he was shocked by the Zhao army's weapon for attacking the city.
"Not only these, Yang Li in the city is not easy to deal with. If we make any changes, it will immediately cause a lot of trouble. So, what we have to do now is to cooperate with him. Yang Li is A die-hard confidant of Situ Tai, he would never surrender to Zhao Xun unless he was in a desperate situation."h