As the main general of this trip, since Qiu Yi has set the general policy of "uniting other forces and priing off Zheng Bao to carve up his people", the rest of his subordinates can only create conditions for this strategy and make up for shortcomings.

Li Su and Guan Yu didn't think there was anything wrong with this strategy.

It's just that this strategy is a little more aggressive, but as long as the risk is successful, you will earn more, and the risk is big and the return is great.

With such a strategy, there is room for strategists who play outside the market to divide and disintegrate, pull and pull a dozen, and the imagination space for meritorious service is also more attractive.

In the next seven or eight days, Wuqiu Yi inspected and selected Chuxian County at the junction of Guangling County and Danyang County, set up a large camp to sit in the town, and then the envoys went out in all directions, spending money and flowing water, appeasing and paralyzing Zheng Bao, while successively absorbing the source of troops.

Chuxian County is located between Chaohu Lake, Jinghu Lake, and Shanyang Pond, and is within 100 miles of each of the three marshal bases—by the way, Zhang Duo's entrenched Jinghu Lake and Xu Qian's Shanyang Pond are roughly dozens of kilometers upstream of Yangzhou Gaoyou Lake and south of Xuyi.

It's just that at the end of the Han Dynasty, the Huai River still had its own estuary, and it was not blocked by the Yellow River. As a result, there are no large lakes in the lower reaches of the Huai River, and the topography of the water system is completely different from that of later generations. The area of these two lakes is also much smaller than that of Gaoyou Lake.

By the tenth day of the first month of May, Zheng Bao was accustomed to Wuqiu Yi's arrival, and saw that Wuqiu Yi's bargaining confidence was relatively weak, so he became more and more arrogant, and regarded Wuqiu Yi as a fat sheep who could slaughter customers.

Once, Zheng Bao even paralyzed and carelessly talked and laughed loudly with Liu Ye, who was forced to match, when Lu Su had finished paying the money and had just left, celebrating that he had slaughtered a sum of money.

Zheng Bao commented rampantly in private: Wu Qiu Yi is the most cowardly of the three imperial army recruiting generals he has seen in recent years! It's far worse than Zhu Jun and Sun Jian!

And the two forces of Zhang Duo and Xu Qian also tried to contact Wu Qiuyi at the beginning.

They didn't mention helping Wuqiu Yi fight Zheng Bao, nor did they ask Wuqiu Yi to make decisions for them, but just took a small part of the discounted military resources to sell to Wuqiu Yi.

Zhang Duo's "experience price" at the beginning, a Danyang elite soldier who is more than seven feet tall and good at using a hammer, is worth only 10,000 yuan!

It's a pity that Wu Qiu Yi only bought a hundred soldiers with this kind of big promotion experience price, and Zheng Bao got the news and sent his subordinates to Jinghu Village to threaten Zhang Duo and not allow them to discount.

Zhang Duo and Xu Qian had to temporarily give up their plans to promote and steal business, but they became more and more angry with Zheng Bao in their hearts.

……

On this day, Wu Qiu Yi counted his men and horses in the camp as usual, and together with the 300 veterans he brought at the beginning, he already had a total of 1,500 people - Zheng Bao sold 1,000 people, and Zhang Duoxu Qian sold 100 cheap discounted goods each.

After Zheng Bao sold so much, there were still seven or eight thousand strong, and the gap in strength between the two sides was still a bit big.

Wu Qiu Yi was worried, and when he was discussing further countermeasures with Li Su, suddenly the house leak happened to rain overnight, and an urgent fast horse messenger came from the north, bringing a piece of bad news from the imperial court and Liu Yu's secret letter.

Liu Yu was originally going to leave Luoyang in the past few days to officially go to Youzhou to take office. As a result, in Luoyang, I heard the news of the rebellion of the Southern Xiongnu who broke out to the leader of the various tribes of Hugh Tu, the Marquis of Xubu Gudu, the Qiangqu Shan Yu was killed, and the cavalry of the former Zuoxian King Yu Fuluo had to stagnate.

Then Liu Yu's messenger and the imperial court's official report were delivered to Wuqiu Yi almost at the same time.

When Qiu Yi looked at it, he suddenly felt that his scalp was numb, and circulated it to Li Su to read together:

"Don't drive, Yuvro can't count on it at all! The envoy has increased the amount of our task! It was also said before that 50 million yuan would be used to recruit 3,000 Danyang soldiers, even if the task was completed.

But now it is necessary to raise at least 4,000 to be considered duty, and if only 3,000 is raised according to the original plan, I am afraid that I will be punished...... Alas, this official is difficult to be! ”

Li Su hurriedly comforted: "Since we have already gambled on this and are ready to destroy Zheng Bao, the four thousand will also be completed, and the court is eventful, we should be mentally prepared to be increased at any time - the envoy is a benevolent person, he must know our difficulties, and he will not only punish but not reward, right?" Well done, it might be a chance to stand out. ”

Wu Qiu Yi hurriedly boosted morale and said: "Of course, there will be a reward for doing a good job - the envoy said in the secret letter that if I can raise 5,000 soldiers without additional money this time, that is, an additional 1,000 more than the newly stipulated task, I will be given priority to be promoted to Captain Thief in the future, and after Captain Zou retires in old age, I will replace Captain Zou." ”

Wu Qiu Yi is now a captain, a cut below Zou Jing, the captain of the thief school. And Zou Jing is also old, so it won't be long before he can lead the troops. Historically, Zou Jing, as the thief captain of Youzhou, was mainly active during the tenure of Guo Xun and Tao Qian, and Liu Yu retired soon after taking office.

And Wu Qiu Yi is now among the lieutenants of the counties in Youzhou, his qualifications were originally mediocre, if the lieutenants are vacant, Wu Qiu Yi, Jiao Touch, and Zhang Nan basically have the possibility of competition.

Liu Yu is taking the bargaining chip of "priority promotion right", and exchanging with Wu Qiu Yi "Share more worries for me, and recruit 1,000 Danyang soldiers without adding money".

Although this is not a direct promotion, those who have been mixed with officialdom know that this kind of promise is also very valuable.

It's like a bureau leader is about to retire, and there are several deputy bureaus next to him. At this time, you say to one of the deputies: after completing a certain task, you will be promoted to executive deputy and can take over in the future, which is already very tempting.

It is not necessary to directly remove the adverb to be called a promotion, and adding a "standing one" is also a promotion.

After Wu Qiu Yi explained that Liu Yu gave him his own chips, in order to boost morale, he hurriedly said to Li Su: "Of course, everyone has a share in the reward of 'over-recruitment' promised by the king. Don't drive, as long as you help me exceed the quota, you will also give you other benefits first. As for Guan Sima, as long as he performs outstandingly, he can add 'Yamen Governor'. ”

The rank of "Yamen Governor" is the same as that of Jun Sima, but the power is slightly different.

Because under the account of a commander, there may be four Simas, and there may even be six more.

And the "Left and Right Yamen Governors" are the two Sima closest to the Commander's Zhongjun Tooth Banner. They have a hidden power on the battlefield that other Simas do not have, that is, in case the commander is killed in battle, or if he is injured and loses his ability to command, the left and right Yamen Governors can be substituted in turn to replace the commander in command.

Moreover, if you want to promote the lieutenant from the Sima Zhong, in order of priority, they are all promoted from the left and right Yamen Governors first.

Therefore, Yamen Governor is an "executive deputy lieutenant with the title of military commander".

Li Su thought about it in his heart: it seems that there is no way out, although the challenge is more difficult, but the merit and promotion temptation are also greater.

Done!

Risks and opportunities coexist!

Take Zheng Bao, super promotion, and the extra appreciation of the state pastor, you will have it!

He bothered and continued to discuss the strategy with Wu Qiu Yi.

……

However, this time, they didn't talk for long, and someone outside the tent came back, and this time it was good news!

Li Su heard the movement and looked up, it turned out to be Lu Su, who had been sent to Heqi, Lujiang and other places to find out the news, and rushed back at night.

"Captain! Don't drive, there's good news this time! When Su went to trade with Brother Ziyang this time, he found out about an unexpected military situation! There was a sect commander named Zu Lang, who was active in the Lujiang area before, who was driven out by the Lujiang County government to organize and be forced by taxes, and they couldn't bear the government's levy, so they went further north and entered Zheng Bao's Chaohu lair.

It is very likely that Na Zulang will clash with Zheng Bao and fight for territory. But its strength is not as good as Zheng Bao, if we can win it over, maybe a big arm will come from the sky! ”

Wu Qiu Yi was a little overwhelmed by Liu Yu's task of increasing the weight, and when he heard the words, he suddenly became excited:

"Is that so? Where did Zu Lang come from, you said he was 'Zongshuai'? Not 'Chieftain'? Then what he led was a Han refugee, not Danyang Shanyue? ”

At the end of the Han Dynasty, in Yangzhou and Jingzhou, there were several words referring to local overlords that appeared very frequently.

Generally speaking, if you are called "Zongshuai" or "Zongjiao", you are the leader of the Han people, or the local forces that build docks to resist the government's levy and levy and resist the payment of taxes. For example, in history, when Liu Biao was appointed as the pastor of Jingzhou, an important job he did after taking office was to "eliminate the sect and thieves". (Strictly speaking, Xu Chu's kind of person who builds a dock fort and refuses to pay taxes and serve, is also a thief)

And if he is called "Hao Shuai" and "Hao Chief", it means that he is not leading the Han people. It has to be a Shanyue soldier lord like Zheng Bao, or an existence like the Wuling barbarian king Shamoke.

Regarding Wu Qiu Yi's chewing words, Lu Su immediately gave an affirmative answer:

"Yes, what Na Zulang led was a Han exile who went north from Jiujiang County, and the reason was that when Sun Jian suppressed the rebellion of the district star, he was affected by the war, so he took a boat down the river to the east to avoid the levy.

After arriving in Lujiang, Zu Lang heard that Zheng Bao was quite powerful, and the government around Chaohu Lake never came to collect taxes and levy levies, so Zu Lang wanted to take his clan to a piece of land in the south of Heqi to support the people, but Zheng Bao was unwilling, even if there was a barren and uncultivated vacant land, he was unwilling to give up to Zu Lang Tuntian, and the resentment has deepened recently. ”

Wu Qiu Yi nodded frequently after hearing this, and rubbed his hands.

Li Su also sighed when he heard this: Zheng Bao and Zulang, who are local Shanyue and Han people, will gradually grow like a snowball in the next five or six years, and finally even break their wrists with Sun Ce, who has just started.

I didn't expect it to be five or six years in advance, and now I am still in this state of displacement.

Although in Wu Qiu Yi's opinion, these forces were still not small, but Li Su knew that they were at least four or five times weaker than when he argued with Sun Ce later.

Let them lose both, but they can take the opportunity to get a fat sheep, but I don't know if the butterfly effect will cheapen Sun Ce and cause Sun Ce to lose some resistance from civilian armed forces in the process of subduing Jiangdong in the future?

But it can't be so much, Li Su believes that if he sweeps away a Zheng Bao, Zhang Duo or Xu Qian will definitely grow up to replace Zheng Bao's status in the rivers and lakes.

In the same way, if Zu Lang Huo disappears, the ecological niche he vacated will not be empty forever. As long as the source of those Han displaced people is still there, a new leader will definitely be elected.

At present, it is the highest priority to exceed Liu Yu's tasks and further make meritorious contributions to become famous and promoted.

After understanding these truths, Li Su immediately made a decision, got up and asked Wu Qiu Yi for his life: "Captain! We are worried that the situation cannot be broken urgently, so how can we not take advantage of such a good opportunity?

Although I don't know soldiers, I have a three-inch tongue, and I am willing to take elite soldiers to escort a hundred, and Guan Sima and others to lobby Zu Lang, state the benefits, and attack Zheng Bao.

At that time, in the name of the imperial court, the land of Chaohu will be pseudo-Xu Zulang, so that his people can defend themselves in the field and not be taxed by the government. And wouldn't it be beautiful for us to annex Zheng Bao's subordinates and take what they need?

If the lieutenant is willing to follow this plan, he should calculate the date, and three days after my departure, he will contact Zhang Duo and Xu Qian, and make preparations to send troops together. At that time, the messenger will contact and confirm the itinerary of the troops, and it is best to arrive at Chaohu Lake on the same day and attack from the north to the south! ”

Wu Qiu Yi was also a little excited, and suddenly got up.

As long as he attacks Zheng Bao and orders Zhang Duo and Xu Qian to send thousands of troops to help in the battle, it will definitely be no problem. If there is the help of Zu Lang and the blessing of the righteous name of the imperial court, there is indeed a great chance of victory.

At this point, the time is ripe.

"You only need a hundred elite guards? We don't know the temperament of that Zulang, so there won't be danger, right? Wu Qiu Yi was still a little worried about Li Su's safety.

Although Li Su's official rank is low, Wu Qiu Yi knows that Li Su is now favored by Liu Yu, and if Li Su is in danger, he can't hold back if Jun asks him to settle accounts.

Li Su laughed when he heard this: "What danger can this be, Zu Lang is just a homeless sect marshal, and he didn't pull the flag to betray the court, how dare he be unfavorable to me?" What's more, with Yun Chang and Dian Wei escorting, even if you secretly create an accident, you can avoid it. As long as the lieutenant allows me to reward and deceive, I can deceive Zulang's henchmen one by one. ”

Wu Qiu Yi was speechless for a while, and promised: "That's it, for the sake of big things, petty officials below three hundred stones, you can act and make a price when you see the opportunity, and the envoy will naturally recognize it when the time comes." Even if there are no court procedures, the state will show it. ”

The officials actually appointed by the imperial court may need to pay the money for repairing the palace in order to complete the formal appointment procedures. However, it would be convenient if Liu Yu was only asked to "watch" an official to a meritorious person at that time, but the imperial court did not issue, approve or reject it.

Although the gold content is low, it is not completely deceiving, and there are endless ways to fool people.

Li Su got the authorization, and immediately began to prepare people, took Guan Yu, Dian Wei, as well as 20 cavalry soldiers and 80 Danyang soldiers, and set off to contact Zulang.

Wu Qiu Yi cooperated with him very much, and specially squeezed out an additional 80 horses from the army to ensure that everyone in Li Su and his party had horses.

So much so that after Li Su left, there were not as many horses left in the Chuxian camp as as they could have taken away.

……

After two days of traveling, Li Su bypassed Zheng Bao's sphere of influence near Chaohu Lake and arrived at Zulang's temporary camp between Heqi and Lujiang.

This is a camp governed by the homeless people, but they dare not resist the government. When Li Su and his entourage arrived there, there were only some elite militiamen at the door to block the inquiry, but after Li Su showed the tokens and orders of the court officials, they immediately let them go.

Guan Yu clenched the Qinglong Knife tightly, and always followed Li Su's side, a pair of Danfeng eyes quietly scanned left and right, ensuring that Li Su would not be in danger when he entered this camp of thousands of people. Dian Wei also tightly protected Li Su's other side.

——

PS: Four thousand words of big chapter, all kinds of requests during the Sanjiang period! The competition is too fierce and has already fallen behind.