The first snow in the early winter of the first year of Xingping covered Xiaopei's newly built city wall with a blanket of silver. It is said that it has been nearly a year since Liu Bei settled in Xiaopei in February. During this period, Liu Bei did not seem to have any commendable achievements in Xiaopei, except for recruiting nearly 1,000 recruits and repairing the city wall. He neither devoted himself to planning to rejuvenate the county with commerce like Cai Ji, nor did he fight while tuntian like Cao Cao. However, even so, Liu Bei has left a reputation of benevolence in Pei County and even the entire Xuzhou for more than half a year. Because at least Liu Bei did not plunder the people's rations like Yuan Shu and Lu Bu, and he even allocated a part of the military rations to help the affected people. This alone is enough for many people to worship him as the master. As for running out of food? The homeless people can't manage that much. They only knew that Liu Fujun distributed food for them to eat, that is, they did not force them to stay and work for the government, nor did they force them to bear the burden of conscription, where to find such a good person.

However, Liu Bei has been busy for most of the year, and he really only has a good reputation?

No, no.

For Liu Bei, the letter in his hand at this moment is his biggest gain this year!

"Congratulations to the eldest brother, Xuzhou Mu has become the eldest brother's bag." In the study, Zhang Fei hugged his fists and excitedly congratulated Liu Bei, who had just finished reading Mi Zhu's invitation.

However, Liu Bei put the letter away, and said with a straight face, "The third brother is going to talk nonsense. Mi Beijia is just to let us lead the troops to help defend Xiapi. What's more, the Tao makes the Junji people have their own natural appearance, where do they need Xinzhou pastor. ”

But in the face of Liu Bei's righteous and stern reprimand, Zhang Fei was not angry, but grinned and said, "Then the eldest brother is talking nonsense behind closed doors." Since Mi Zhu sent a letter to ask the eldest brother to go to Xiapi to preside over the overall situation, he thought that Tao Yuanjun should not have much time at the moment. Otherwise, there are no external enemies and no internal strife in Xuzhou now, so why should Mi Zhu ask his eldest brother to lead troops into Xiapi. It is necessary to know that there is Cao Bao stationed in Xiapi. ”

Although Zhang Fei kept saying that he was talking nonsense behind closed doors. However, Liu Bei knew very well in his heart that the third brother's words were true. It's just that Tao Qian has not passed away yet, if he impatiently reveals the posture of wanting to replace him, it will not destroy the name of benevolence that he has built up with great difficulty. Therefore, Liu Bei at this time was somewhat hesitant about whether to go to Xiapi.

Jian Yong, who was on the side, saw Liu Bei bowing his head and pondering with an indecisive look, so he stepped forward to echo Zhang Feidao, and Yide was right. Yong also thought that the lord must be ready to take over as the pastor of Xuzhou when he went to Xiapi this time. ”

Jian Yong, as the only strategist under Liu Bei, traveled among the big and small families in Xuzhou throughout the first year of Xingping, and it can be said that Liu Bei was able to receive Mi Zhu's invitation, half of which was due to Jian Yong. Therefore, in the face of Jian Yong's advances, Liu Bei asked in a low voice, "Xianhe also thinks that the people of Xuzhou will be prepared as the main?" ”

When Jian Yong heard Liu Bei ask this, he knew that his father-in-law was afraid that he would not get the support of the local family in Xuzhou, so he would look forward and backward like this. It is no wonder that although Liu Bei is a member of the Han clan, his family has been in the middle of the road for a long time, and his strength is not even as good as that of some local tyrants. Therefore, for Liu Bei, every step he takes needs to be extremely talented. In particular, you can't do something that will hurt your reputation, because reputation is Liu Bei's biggest reliance now. It's just that as Zhang Fei said, at present, Xuzhou's change of ownership has become an arrow on the bow. And Xuzhou lacks both strength and prestige to preside over the overall situation. If Liu Bei can't take advantage of this opportunity to take over as the pastor of Xuzhou, then for a long time, Yuan Shu and others around Xuzhou will definitely take advantage of the situation. Therefore, at the moment, it is by no means a time to care about fame, and it is imperative to strike first. Thinking of this, Jian Yong immediately hugged his fist and cheered Liu Bei up, and now the name of the lord's benevolence has spread all over the world, and the people of Xuzhou have all praised him when they hear the name of the lord. Let's ask who in Xuzhou can take on the heavy responsibility. Jun didn't see Mi Beijia, and also stated in the letter that Chen Yuanlong's father and son both supported the lord to enter Xiapi. It must be known that the Chen family is a public family, and with its support, what does the lord have to worry about. ”

Liu Bei was originally a little worried about what the local family in Xuzhou thought of him, but when he heard Jian Yong mention Chen Deng's father and son, he couldn't help but nod his head and sighed thoughtfully, how can Xuande be able to win the favor of Han Yu's father and son, he is really ashamed. ”

"That's not the fruit of the lord's internal cultivation and external governance in the past year." Jian Yongfu praised sincerely. In Jian Yong's opinion, Liu Bei may not be a talented person, but Liu Bei is an extremely self-controlled person. His ability to step by step from a declining clan to this point is inseparable from his tenacious character. Therefore, what Liu Bei needs most at the moment is not forbearance, but self-confidence, self-confidence in the future. Because Liu Bei had been suppressed for too long before this.

No, Zhang Fei saw that Jian Yong was moved by Liu Bei's words little by little, so he stabbed Guan Yu next to him with his elbow and reminded Second Brother, you also said a few words. ”

Guan Yu was originally just quietly listening to Liu Bei and the others discussing the matter of going to Xiapi. But seeing that Zhang Fei wanted to say a few words, Guan Yu didn't say a word, and hugged his fist and said deeply at Liu Bei, "Yun Changquan listens to his brother's dispatch." The elder brother said that if he went to Xiapi, he would go to Xiapi. The elder brother wants to be the Xuzhou pastor, and Yun Chang will assist the elder brother to be the Xuzhou pastor! ”

Guan Yu's categorical oath completely aroused Liu Bei's ambition. Not! He Liu Xuande didn't fall in love with Xuzhou's position when he came to Xuzhou. If it weren't for Tao Qian's hint in the letter that he would give way, how could he have let go of a good plain and didn't do it, and Xiao Pei came to fight Cao Cao to the death. What's more, once Xuzhou is obtained, Liu Bei will have the capital to recruit troops and horses, and he will have the foundation of the Zhongxing Han Dynasty. Mo Daoxuande led Xuzhou to take advantage of the danger of others, and gave up small sections in order to become righteous!

At the end of the winter of the first year of Xingping, Liu Bei was invited by Xuzhou to lead troops to settle in Xiapi. In the month of the same year, Xuzhou Mu Taoqian was critically ill and asked Liu Bei to explain the aftermath. No one Tao Qian said something to Liu Bei in the house. However, after Tao Qian passed away, Mi Zhu and Chen Deng immediately led a group of Xuzhou officials and people to welcome Liu Bei as the lord of Xuzhou. Liu Bei didn't agree at first, saying, "Yuan Highway is close to Shouchun, and you can go with it." But Chen Deng retorted, "The highway is arrogant, not the lord of chaos, and now I want to ride 100,000 for the king, so that the lord can help the people, and the younger brother can guard the border; If the envoy did not listen to the permission, Deng did not dare to listen to the envoy. Liu Bei was refuted by Chen Deng, and immediately "speechless", so he had to respond to the grand intentions of the officials and people of Xuzhou, and finally humbly appointed Xuzhou Mu. Xuzhou has since changed hands overnight.

Let's say that after a year of preparation, Liu Bei finally became a great prince who ruled a state from a guest general. On the other side, Cai Ji is still working hard to manage the one-acre and three-point land in Donglai. Faced with Liu Bei's appointment as the governor of Xuzhou, Cai Ji did not express much emotion. This is because Liu Bei's leadership of Xuzhou is an ironclad event in history, and the second is that Cai Ji knows that the water in Xuzhou is far deeper than Liu Bei imagined. Regardless of Yuan Shu who is eyeing up in Shouchun. Just the contradiction between the Danyang soldiers left by Tao Qian and the local clan in Xuzhou will make Liu Da'er feel better in the future. Of course, Cai Ji is not Liu Bei's staff and has no obligation to give advice to Liu Bei. In fact, it took her nearly a year to win the control of Donglai from Duan Kui and other local gentry in Donglai. And this qiē is still based on Cai Ji's reliance on Tai Shici to control most of Donglai's forces. It is not difficult to imagine that if Cai Ji had not mastered the military power in the short term, then she would still be a puppet in the hands of Duan Kui and others at the moment.

Therefore, after receiving the investment of Zhen Yao and Wang Han, Cai Ji presided over the construction of Longkou Commercial Port and surrounding commercial facilities throughout the winter, and inspected the military camp from time to time in order to get acquainted with the Donglai soldiers and deepen their feelings. On this day, Cai Ji came to the barracks again as usual to watch the drills of the soldiers.

I saw that on the school ground, Tai Shici stepped across the five-flowered horse, his left hand was ringing the first knife, and his right hand was holding eight spears, like a dragon galloping past. In the flash of the knife and gun, the grass piercing targets on both sides were suddenly shattered. On one side, all the "human heads" were flying, and the grass targets on the other side were all scattered. It is not difficult to imagine that if this was a real battlefield, the blood mist would already be rolling beside Tai Shici.

Such a beautiful martial art naturally attracted a burst of applause from the Donglai soldiers who watched the battle around. However, Tai Shici only bowed slightly at everyone, and then returned the knife into the sheath, signaling the cavalry behind him to practice according to the demonstration he had just made. Under the encouragement of Tai Shici, Li Da and other young cavalrymen present were naturally eager to try. It's just that their martial arts are obviously not as skilled as Shi Ci, and few of them have hit the grass target a few times. However, the cavalrymen were not discouraged by this, but practiced more diligently and repeatedly.

And Tai Shici took advantage of the cavalry practice, turned over and dismounted, and beckoned to Cai Ji, "Fujun, the sons and daughters have all learned to get on the horse and hold three battles. However, it still needs a lot of practice before it can be used freely. ”

"That's also thanks to Brother Ziyi, who has high martial arts and is well taught." Cai Ji turned around and bowed to Tai Shi Ci and thanked him.

As the name suggests, the so-called "three battles on horseback" refers to the use of three weapons on a horse, that is, one hand-to-hand combat weapon in each hand, and the ability to attack with a bow and crossbow at a long distance. It stands to reason that these kinds of martial arts will only begin to be popularized when they are in the history of the Five Wilds. At present, the single-horse tactics of the Three Kingdoms at the end of the Han Dynasty are generally still in a relatively early stage, and the general halberd and spear cannot be used at the same time, and the use of halberds and spears is mainly a fork or thorn, and the tactical action of chopping and chopping rarely appears. As for the bow and crossbow, it is difficult to use it when galloping. In the final analysis, it is the reason why the double stirrup has not yet been applied in this era. However, with the introduction of the double stirrups of later generations to Donglai. The individual combat skills of the Donglai cavalry have been greatly improved. For example, Tai Shi Ci is already good at riding, and when he doesn't have double stirrups, he can do three battles on the horse, and now he is even more powerful with double stirrups. And those ordinary cavalrymen, after being equipped with double stirrups, can also be able to shoot bows left and right with weapons in both hands under Tai Shici's training.

For this reason, Tai Shi Ci specially selected a thousand unqualified cavalry from the middle camp, equipped with ring-headed swords, spears, bronze double stirrups, and armor. Specialized in practicing "three battles on horseback". In addition, this cavalry would put the bronze stirrups in the saddle on weekdays, and march with the leg belt like a normal cavalryman, and only put down the double stirrups when fighting.

Cai Ji deeply agreed with Tai Shici's secrecy measure. Not only that, but she also intends to further expand the size of this heavy cavalry. It's just that due to the cost problem, it can only be expanded by another 500 people at the moment. However, Cai Ji also knows that heavy cavalry is a very valuable type of military in both the East and the West. Otherwise, there will always be people in the future who will talk about things with three thousand iron horses. And even the thousand-heavy cavalry in front of him was already a combat force that should not be underestimated at the end of the Han Dynasty. It must be known that these sons and daughters can each hold two weapons in both hands at the same time, and can also shoot targets with bows and crossbows at a gallop, and their martial arts are much higher than some so-called generals of this era.

Thinking of this, Cai Ji mentioned the expansion plan to Taishi Ci to Brother Daozi, and the government planned to expand the number of iron cavalry by another 500 next spring. ”

"Five hundred iron horsemen? Can the county government afford it? Tai Shi Ci frowned and asked.

"It's unaffordable right now. However, after the completion of the commercial port next year, it will not be a problem to add 500 iron horses. Cai Ji said confidently.

At this time, there was a sudden burst of cheers on the school field, Cai Ji looked back and saw that Li Da and Gu Rui were churning left and right on the horse like the Mongolian knights in later movies, and couldn't help but smile bitterly and shook his head, "These two boys compete all day long." ”

And Tai Shi Ci clasped his arms with his hands and smiled disappreciatively, "Mansion Jun, the sons and daughters respect you, so they will show you their powerful skills." ”

Who knew that Tai Shici's unintentional words just touched a trace of worry in Cai Ji's heart. I saw her sigh faintly and said, "If you know that this house is a woman, will you respect me so much, don't you skip words."

Tai Shici heard Cai Ji suddenly ask like this, and couldn't help but glance at the girl next to him in surprise. followed him but as if nothing had happened, looking back at the two young people who were competing immediately, "Li Da is not a woman who is a prefect of the mansion, still"

"Li Da is the general of the Cai family, which is different. This house is asking other people. It's like Gurui, like Tang Ying. Anyway, Brother Ziyi has not told him the true identity of the two of them so far. When Cai Ji said this, he couldn't help but lower his head and smile self-deprecatingly. It is said that Cai Ji is confident that he will settle bureaucrats such as Guan Tong and Huang Zhen, and dare to play tricks with Yuan Shao and other princes in the world. But for the hot-blooded men in the barracks in front of her, she didn't have enough confidence to win the loyalty of the other party. Because the world they live in is too foreign to Cai Ji.

But Tai Shi Ci turned his head and looked at Cai Ji with a blazing gaze and replied, "Ci doesn't think that the sons and daughters will give up their respect for the prince because he is a woman. The reason why Ci didn't tell Sù Gushan and Shanwei that Fujun was his daughter was because Ci thought that Fujun should explain this matter to Zhongerlang in person. ”

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