"Damn it, General, our army has lost more than 600 people today. Zhao Jun's catapults and crossbows are too sharp. We are no match at all. Especially their sudden attacks and sudden attacks from time to time. The soldiers were already suffering a lot from the sudden thunder." From time to time, an angry curse came from the Bingzhou Northern Army General's Mansion.
"General, we must be careful about the messages in this city. So far, our army has lost a lot of soldiers. There are more than 20,000 in our army now, and we have lost four to five thousand soldiers. And the Bingzhou army has only lost a lot of soldiers. However, the loss is less than 2,000, and there are more than 16,000 troops. If this continues, we will sooner or later lose even less than the Bingzhou Army."
"Yes, the Zhao army stormed the south gate where we were stationed, and most of the casualties suffered were our soldiers. But the Bingzhou army was recuperating in the city. According to the spies, the Bingzhou army is now on tight guard in the barracks. And step up training. With the state army stationed in the city, who else can we have besides the general? We can¡¯t just ignore it.¡±
"Okay, Cao Feng and Cao Zhi will stay, and the rest will leave!" Cao Gang, who was sitting on the main seat and said nothing, said coldly. Today's Cao Gang is far worse than when he was in Bingzhou Beidi. In the past, he was so heroic that he was the overlord of the place. Now, Cao Gang has an unshaven beard and a tired look on his face.
After the other generals retreated, Cao Gang said in a dull voice: "Tell me about the news you found out. Alas my Cao family was so defeated! I think back then I thought back then this general also supported me. There are more than 100,000 troops, crisscrossing the north of the state, but now" Immediately, Cao Gang sighed deeply
Cao Feng said in a deep voice: "According to what my subordinates have discovered, Yang Li is probably already planning to surrender to Zhao Jun. In addition, since the Bingzhou soldiers who were captured by Zhao Xun were released last time, many Zhao Jun spies have also Then he sneaked into the city and began to secretly contact the officers and generals of the Bingzhou Army. Although Yang Li later strictly ordered his soldiers not to leave the camp at will, but he did not send anyone to arrest these Zhao Jun spies, nor did he deal with his subordinates and Zhao Jun spies. The officer in contact."
Cao Zhi said coldly: "Not only that, the officers and generals of the Bingzhou Army also hindered our soldiers from apprehending these Zhao Army spies. In addition, they also secretly hid them. This Yang Li and his Bingzhou Army are definitely a thorn in our side."
"What about the situation in Bingzhou? What's the status of your investigation? Is it true, as Zhao Jun said, that the entire Bingzhou has been captured by Zhao Xun?" Cao Gang ignored the news about the Bingzhou Army and asked instead.
Cao Feng's face froze and he said in a solemn voice: "Reporting to the general, if nothing unexpected happens, this is probably the case. Although we have not received the latest news yet, we can already confirm that Zhao Jun has defeated Situ Tai, the governor of Bingzhou. . And the governor of Bingzhou, Situ Tai, had fled to the Fenzhou Prefecture. A few days ago, the Bingzhou army had only two places under its jurisdiction, but there was no movement in Yongzhou. "
Cao Gang gave a bitter laugh, shook his head, and said gloomily: "It seems that Situ Lei has given up on Bingzhou. He is not facing two powerful enemies at the same time. It seems that Bingzhou will eventually fall to Zhao Xunzhi." Hands on."
Cao Zhi saw that Cao Gang was in a low mood and said anxiously: "Uncle, although Zhao Xun has the advantage in Bingzhou now, it does not mean that Situ Lei is willing to lose Bingzhou to Zhao Xun. In addition, the Turks are not willing to be defeated by Zhao Xun." Xun made a surprise attack and lost his troops. As long as we persist, Zhao Xun will be attacked from the north and south. By then, we will be in the middle of Bingzhou and we will be able to take advantage of the situation. "Uncle, you can't lose confidence."
Cao Gang laughed miserably and said: "A north-south pincer attack? Taking advantage of the situation? You, it's better not to comfort me. You two should be very clear about the situation in front of you. It's almost October now, let's not talk about it for now. Have the Turks recovered from Zhao Xun's last raid? Even the weather is not suitable for the Turks to invade south again. Besides, this Xue Nie Khan is probably more concerned about his dominance in the northern prairie. Bar."
"As for Situ Lei, he now wishes that Zhao Xun would not attack him, instead of provoking Zhao Xun. Don't forget, Murong Cheng is impatient to enter Luoyang and sit on the ninth-five-year-old position. Therefore, Situ Lei's focus is still on the east. At least, he won't have any other thoughts about Bingzhou before next spring. How long can you two hold on? Even if it's half a month? Now that Lei and the Turks are taking action, Zhao Xun will definitely deal with us first. We are alone and helpless! We have already lost the support of the people by cooperating with the Turks. This is why we were completely defeated, even if we had the chance. , and it¡¯s difficult to achieve anything. Don¡¯t forget how much money our Cao family has spent in order to gain the support of the people in this city.¡±
"It is also because of this that Zhao Xun is unwilling to acceptAccept our surrender. He wants us to be a means of promoting his benevolence and love for the people. Otherwise, he will definitely be happy to accept the 20,000 elite soldiers in our hands. He will never attack us by force, but has already sent people to persuade us to surrender. "
There was a hint of regret in Cao Gang's words. As for whether he really regrets colluding with the Turks or is afraid of death, only he himself knows. However, one thing is very clear, Cao Gang has understood that Zhao Xun probably has no intention of recruiting him. Otherwise, the Zhao Army spies in the city would not only contact the Bingzhou Army and not the Bingzhou Northern Army. Without him, in the Bingzhou Northern Army, all the officers and generals were from the Cao family, and the soldiers were also slaves of the Cao family and were extremely loyal to the Cao family. Of course, if the defense of the city fails and the general is killed, it is not impossible for ordinary soldiers to surrender. However, persuading individual soldiers alone will not be effective.
"Forget it, these are useless words. Cao Feng, immediately send a message to Yang Li and ask the Bingzhou Army to help defend the city. At least, send half of the army to help defend the city. Since Yang Li is unkind, don't blame me for being cruel. Next, let¡¯s start consuming the soldiers of Bingzhou Army.¡±
"Cao Zhi, increase the surveillance in the city, and kill anyone whose origin is unknown. In addition, post a reward order for those spies of the Zhao army. In addition, let the soldiers from the left and right camps monitor the Bingzhou Army camp, but there are Zhao Xun, if you want to kill me, Cao Gang, I will also let you lose a few teeth. Incorporate the young men we have trained into the army to strengthen our strength. Also, declare it to the people in the city. , Zhao Xun did not accept the surrender of the soldiers and civilians in the city, and intended to destroy the city and massacre it to declare the power of the Zhao army. "
"Let the guard camp patrol the whole city. Anyone who talks about surrendering the enemy will be taken down. They will be incorporated into the death slave camp and guard the city in the south city. By the way, we will capture the prisoners in the prison in the city and we will take control of the city. All those who want to collude with the Zhao army are organized into slave camps and let them defend the city. Let them and the Bingzhou army consume Zhao's soldiers and arrows. "
After all, Cao Gang was the former general of the border army. Although he was not in a high mood before, once he made a decision, he immediately became a decisive person.
Although Yang Li intended to surrender to Zhao Jun, he still did not make the final decision. Perhaps, in his view, Zhao Xun still intended to use their Bingzhou Army and Bingzhou Northern Army to consume internal fighting. Therefore, he gave in at every turn from the beginning. This time, although Cao Gang asked him to send troops to help defend the city, he didn't think too much about it. In his opinion, Cao Gang paid a high price for guarding Nancheng.
However, Yang Li did not expect that at this moment, Cao Gang had already intended to use the Bingzhou Army as cannon fodder. Most of the soldiers of the Bingzhou North Army who defended the city with the Bingzhou Army were prisoners and the people in the city who wanted to surrender to Zhao's army after Cao Gang took over the city. Among them, many are members of wealthy families. These wealthy families just believed that Zhao Xun's occupation of Bingzhou was an irreversible fact. They wanted to establish a relationship with Zhao Jun earlier in order to gain benefits, but they were captured by the Northern Army of Bingzhou.
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"My lord, good news, good news!" Zhang Yuanjing's voice came from afar outside the commander's tent in Zhao Jun's camp, making Zhao Xun feel a little bit curious. Although Zhao Xun has been leading the army, the entire situation under Zhao Jun's rule and some government affairs have been transmitted here from afar, either explicitly or covertly, for him to review one by one.
"My lord, good news, great news." Zhang Yuanjing said loudly as soon as she entered the commander's tent, her face full of joy.
Zhao Xun put down the official document in his hand and said with a smile: "What makes our Lord Zhang so excited? Tell me."
Zhang Yuanjing handed over the official document in his hand and said with a smile: "My lord, Situ Tai has evacuated, and Li Huaiyuan and other generals have led their troops to take over Fenzhou and Changping. It can be said that we have completed the occupation of Bingzhou. We The northern strategy has now been completed. It is the most basic and crucial step. "
"Oh? That's great. Immediately send an order to the Chief Secretary of State and ask them to send additional civilian officials to take over these places. It's nothing if they take them down. Only if we manage this place well and turn it into our stable rear area can we It¡¯s really the most critical thing,¡± Zhao Xun said with a smile. He already knew about these situations. However, that was the information reported by the Shadow Division after all. This was a successful report sent by Li Huaiyuan and others, and the situation was more detailed and clear.
"Yes, very good. After all, Situ Tai cared more about his position as King Yong and left with fifteen thousand personal guards. Wei Chen and others did a good job. Otherwise, I'm afraid this Situ Tai would take him away More people." After reading the detailed report, Zhao Xun said happily.
It turns out that when Wei Chen arrived in Zhenlin County, Situ Tai was recruiting troops and expanding his own bodyguards. After Wei Chen used hard and soft tactics and secretly hinted that his elder brother did not want him to go back, Cai Zhihao put aside the 10,000 elite Bingzhou troops he had just recruited and only took away the personal guards he had brought from Yongzhou.
However, Zhao Xun did not know that Situ Fei really did not want Situ Tai to go back, and also intercepted Situ Lei's messenger.
"My Lord, there is information from Yongzhou!" At this moment, Han Meng brought another urgent report.
Zhao Xun opened it and took a look. The joy on his face was even greater, and he said: "It's really great. Now, Bingzhou is truly worry-free."
"Seeing that my lord is so happy, my subordinates guessed that the result of the negotiation between Mr. Deng and Situ Lei has come out, and Situ Lei has officially given up the land of Bingzhou." Zhang Yuanjing said with a smile.
"That's right, Situ Lei gave up Bingzhou. In addition, he also agreed to the conditions we needed in advance, opening the border restrictions and allowing the people from the south to enter Bingzhou." Zhao Xun said excitedly.
Zhang Yuanjing put her hands on her hands and said with a smile: "This is great. Our land in Bingzhou is vast and sparsely populated, so we are in need of people. However, the land in Yongzhou is full of refugees due to war and the Yong army's wanton taxation. If Situ Lei lets go This restriction will be of great benefit to us. It will also be a great foundation for our future expansion to the north. "
"Yes, that's true! Although I always thought that Situ Lei would agree to our conditions and give up the land of Bingzhou, I just didn't expect that he would so simply agree to let the people under his rule enter. Although he only allows refugees to enter. , but the people in Yongzhou, Liangzhou and other places have already been exploited by him and suffered terribly due to the war. Coupled with the current Yongzhou war, the people here are eager to come under our rule by then. Will enter the country.¡±
"In this case, we must be prepared to respond. Yuan Jing, ask Youzhou to mobilize food and supplies and be prepared to respond. Especially in the southern areas of Bingzhou, which have been recently occupied by us, we must not let anything go wrong again. Let Situ Lei take advantage."
"What are we fighting for? Isn't it just soldiers, horses, money and food? But in the final analysis, the most important and basic thing is the population, the people. Since Situ Lei has made a mistake, we should seize it and absorb it with all our strength. Between the two states The land is vast and sparsely populated, and even if it has a population of one or two million, it can still be accommodated. Besides, between the northwest of Bingzhou and the northeast of Liangzhou, there is a territory with several mansions. The Qiang and Hu will be taken back. At that time, we still don¡¯t know how many Han people can be accommodated to dilute the Qiang and Hu.¡± Zhao Xun explained in a deep voice.
Zhang Yuanjing responded: "Lord, don't worry, the adults at the Government Affairs Department must be prepared. After all, this is also part of our plan, and there will be no problems with food and grass. After all, I, Zhao Jun, have been accumulating for several years. Not only did they not participate in the war with the southern states, they also carried out good trade with the states and accumulated a lot of food. Together with the livestock seized from the Turks, it was enough to accommodate nearly a million people. The newly occupied Bingzhou will completely redistribute the land, which can also be regarded as solving the worries of these people who enter the country. "
"Well, the Battle of Bingzhou should be over. This is the final battle for us."
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"General, in today's battle, more than 2,000 of our soldiers were killed, while more than 1,500 of the soldiers of the Bingzhou Northern Army were killed. It can be said that the soldiers and defenders of Nancheng suffered heavy losses." The Bingzhou Army's camp was led by General Qin Lingzhen. Frowning, he reported the report.
Yang Xiong didn't wait for Yang Li to speak, and shouted loudly: "Damn it, why are the losses so heavy today? Today is only the sixth day of the Zhao army's attack on the city. If this continues, they won't be able to hold on for a few more days. When the defenders are not strong enough, , Zhao Jun can attack any of my city gates and break through it in one fell swoop. Isn't this Cao Gang crazy? It's completely unnecessary. Zhao Jun's attack on the city has been a tentative attack recently, so why did he suffer such losses? How many soldiers did the Zhao army suffer?¡±
Qin Ling smiled bitterly and said: "According to the captain in charge of guarding the city today, the Zhao army only lost four to five hundred people. The loss was so great. First, for some reason, the Bingzhou Northern Army was in chaos and did not defend itself well at all. , and there was a chaotic battle. The second reason is that the general of the Bingzhou Army insisted on shooting arrows with Zhao Jun. In the past five days, we have captured too many arrow clusters from Zhao Jun. "
"It's a pity that Zhao Jun is well-organized and has more than fifty catapults and hundreds of crossbows. Coupled with Zhao Jun's sharp arrow array, we were defeated miserably."
Yang Li¡¯s brows were furrowed and he didn¡¯t speak for a while. He didn't know what to say to Cao Gang's crazy behavior. Yesterday, Cao Gang asked him to send troops to defend the city. As the leader of the army in the city, he naturally had a duty to do so. But now it seems that this Cao Gang seems to be the last act of madness before death, which is really unreasonable.
"General, this Cao Gang is clearly crazy. What he did in the northern part of Bingzhou made King Zhao extremely angry and determined to kill him. He knew that he could not survive and wanted to die with the Zhao army, but we General, the lives of nearly 15,000 brothers are all attributable to General.He was holding it with his fingers, and he must not let Cao Gang continue like this. "General Yang Xing said with a trembling voice.
"Yes, General, it would be fine if we had a real decisive battle with Zhao Jun, but it is absolutely impossible to be sent out to die by Cao Gang. The most hateful thing is that Cao Gang is now leading the defense of the city and let our soldiers Obey his military orders." Qin Ling also said coldly.
Yang Li's face turned cold and he said sternly: "Qin Ling, Yang Xing, you two should still be in contact with Zhao Jun's people. Go meet with them to discuss surrender. Since Cao Gang wants us to die, we Absolutely not. I have decided to surrender to King Zhao and not die with the bastard Cao Gang."
"Yang Xiong, immediately send an order to the entire army to prepare for battle. Since Cao Gang has started to go crazy, he must be very wary of us. No matter what, we must take precautions."
After Zhao Xun received the news from the city, he immediately discussed with the generals how to break the city. Finally, they reached an agreement with Yang Li and decided to raid the city on the night of the eighth day.
The siege of the city for two consecutive days was as usual. Although Yang Li was careful and careful, and prepared and prepared, Cao Gang still killed more than 2,000 people. However, Yang Li also learned that Cao Gang used prisoners as sergeants, which made Yang Li extremely angry. Because of this, he decided to surrender and work with Zhao Jun to deal with Cao Gang. Later, Yang Li personally met with Zhao Jun's spies, made a detailed plan, and sent Superstition out of the city and handed it over to Zhao Xun during the siege.