Chapter 106: The Northland (6)

Hearing Chen Cheng say that the local soldiers and horses were worried, Hou Xuan immediately said loudly: "But we are more familiar with the terrain than the Huns, as long as the command is appropriate, even if the Huns have more than us, we will definitely win!" ”

Chen Cheng said with a smile: "County Lieutenant Hou, please don't get excited, listen to me first." ”

He said to everyone: "The enemy is outnumbered, the disparity in strength is huge, and it is difficult to win the battle hard." Even if the war can be won, the casualties will inevitably be large. Fortunately, the Yellow River is very wide, and it is very inconvenient to move troops on both sides, and now the elite of the Huns are on the west bank. We can take the opportunity to wipe out some of the Huns' armies left in the east. ”

Yan Zhong took the lead and said: "I think this plan is feasible, but the top priority now is to integrate the soldiers and horses under the command of Cheng Yi and Yang Qiu, if they do not cooperate, we alone will not be able to defeat the Huns." ”

He turned his head and said to Hou Xuan: "Hou County Lieutenant has been in the local area for a few years, and he should be very familiar with the local geography. ”

The candidate promised loudly, and Yan Zhong said to Chen Cheng: "It's a pity that there is no strong naval army in the north, otherwise the Huns can be divided on both sides of the river, and then each of them will be broken." ”

Hou Xuan said: "We have fought with the Huns several times, but it is not so easy, the Huns are all cavalry, coming and going like the wind." Defeat them, but they can easily run away after they are defeated, and then quickly regroup and come back. ”

Chen Cheng asked puzzledly: "I see that the local defenders also have a lot of war horses, and after defeating the Huns, they can get a lot of gains by chasing them with cavalry, right?" ”

"This ......", the candidate was a little embarrassed and didn't know what to say.

Li Kan on the side stepped forward and said: "The Huns are all light cavalry, and if they miss a blow, they will be thousands of miles away." In the north of Lingzhou, not far west of the Yellow River, there are deserts and grasslands, if we chase into the desert, we will soon lack food and drinking water, and if we are not careful, we will be killed and defeated by the Huns. ”

Chen Cheng smiled: "You know a lot about the Huns. ”

Li Kan paused, and said: "The ancestor of the ministers is Li Ling, the commander of Emperor Wu, who knows a little about the tactics of the Huns. ”

Chen Cheng said in surprise: "So you are after General Fei?" Then you must be very good at archery. ”

Li Kan said complacently: "The minister is good at using a strong crossbow, and he can hit it a hundred steps away!" ”

On the side, Hou Xuan and Liang Xing both scolded in their stomachs: It is okay to brag that you are a descendant of General Fei at ordinary times, but why did you blow it at this time? What you can shoot from a hundred paces away, it all depends on God's will!

Chen Cheng asked, "Do you dare to demonstrate on the spot?" ”

Li Kan raised his head and said, "Why don't you dare?" ”

He looked into the courtyard and said, "It's just that this place is too narrow to be opened." ”

Chen Cheng looked outside, pointed to a big tree outside the courtyard, and said, "That tree is less than a hundred steps away from here, can it be shot?" ”

Li Kan looked at it and said, "Yes." ”

So Chen Cheng turned into the back hall, took out a big yellow crossbow, filled the string with one hand, then put the crossbow arrow, handed it to Li Kan, and said, "If you can really shoot, I will appoint you as Zuo Sima." ”

Li Kan was overjoyed and took the rhubarb crossbow. Hou Xuan and Liang Xing quietly looked at each other and saw the helplessness in each other's eyes. Li Kan grabbed the rhubarb crossbow and said while aiming: "This rhubarb crossbow is well maintained, better than those in the minister's house." ”

He tethered the large tree in the distance into the mountains, then stopped talking, holding his breath. Li Kan's body didn't move, and after a few breaths, his fingers pulled the crossbow machine hard. "Collapse", his body shook suddenly, and the crossbow bolt shot out. When everyone looked closely, the tree trunk in the distance seemed to be unusual, and they didn't know if they had been shot.

Chen Cheng explained a few words, and his own soldiers rushed out, and soon ran back, saying, "The crossbow bolt hit the trunk of the tree and didn't enter three inches." ”

Li Kan laughed, put the big yellow crossbow aside, and then bowed down, and said, "Fortunately, I didn't disgrace my life, and the minister shot it!" ”

Chen Cheng said with a smile: "Then from today onwards, you will be my Zuo Sima, and this big yellow crossbow will also be rewarded to you." ”

Li Kan immediately bowed to the ground and said loudly: "Minister Li Kan, meet the lord!" ”

Hou Xuan and Liang Xing glanced at each other again, but this time, the two of them did not think the same. What the candidate thinks is: Li Kan is a fool who sold himself just for a crossbow. Liang Xing thought in annoyance: I knew this, so I would have spoken first. Don't I know the tactics of the Huns? Isn't my archery skill as good as Li Kan's?

Yan Zhong smiled on the side: "Congratulations to the prince, you have another good general." But I don't know what this Zuo Sima is in charge of? ”

He asked "what does Zuo Sima do", but he is actually asking "what are the benefits of being this official?" "Yan Zhong had already discussed with Chen Cheng before how to deal with the local Haoqiang people in Liangzhou, and at this time, it was just a matter of pushing the boat along the river and taking advantage of the situation.

Chen Cheng pondered for a while and said: "Zuo Sima is 200 stones, and he is the same county lieutenant, so he can be exempted from 5,000 acres of land in his family. ”

Li Kan was first overjoyed, and then stunned. The happy thing is that the county lieutenant is only 200 stones, so he is now on an equal footing with Hou Xuan, and he lives because his family has never paid the field endowment, which exempts the family from 5,000 acres of land endowment, which is meaningless to him.

He was about to speak, and the candidate had already taken the lead and said loudly: "The ministers have thanked the lord!" ”

Chen Cheng said with a smile: "The county lieutenant's family can also be exempted from the land tax of 5,000 mu of land, and the county magistrate Xu is not there, so he can tell the county magistrate that his family can be exempted from the field tax of 8,000 mu." ”

He said to the candidate: "Are there any ownerless mountains and forests and meadows nearby?" ”

The candidate looked embarrassed and said, "There are some, but there are very few." ”

Chen Cheng said disappointedly: "In this way, I am also going to allocate land and pastures to the soldiers under my command, since there is no extra space, then this matter will be stopped first." After defeating the Huns, deal with it. ”

It's okay if he doesn't say it, but when he says this, the other generals are all intent on moving. Most of the people who followed him, except for a few, felt that they could get something from him, either glory, or money, or land, or knighthood, or both, and now they heard that land and pastures were to be allocated to them, and most of them were still free from paying taxes, and their hearts were all warm.

Like Yao Qiong, Li Jun and Wang Ling, they were originally heroes of Hanyang County, why did they abandon their homesteads and run to Lingzhou, which is more than a hundred miles away? Isn't it just to get ahead?

Yao Qiong is the most enthusiastic, he has already incorporated his scholars and subordinates under Chen Cheng's command, and he has made up his mind to press a big one on Chen Cheng. He said eagerly and loudly: "We are still before Zuo Sima to follow the lord, the lord can't favor one over the other!" ”

Li Jun and Wang Ling, and even the leaders of Qianghu such as Bali Bashi also shouted together: "Powerful, lord, there is no reason to take the later ones seriously, and we who came first lightly!" ”

Chen Chengxin said: That's because you have less knowledge, the first one is not as good as the one that came later, and the later one is not as good as the other way around, is this kind of thing still less? Reverse thinking, do you understand reverse thinking?

Of course, he just smiled on the surface and said: "I naturally won't favor one over the other, and when the Huns are defeated, I will draw up articles with Changshi to determine the treatment and welfare of officers and soldiers at all levels, and it will never make everyone feel cold, so good?" ”

He has never been a stingy person, he uses money when he should use it, and his rations and rewards for soldiers are never short or delayed, and he can share weal and woe with the soldiers in peacetime, so he has a good reputation at present, as long as he is not full of nonsense, he will be very convincing.

Everyone in the hall glanced at each other, bowed to the ground together, and said in unison: "The lord is wise! ”

After the generals left, Chen Cheng left Yan Zhong behind, beckoned outside, and said, "Princess, you can also come and listen." ”

After Liu Qian happily ran over and knelt beside him, Chen Cheng asked, "What does Bo Dao think I decided just now?" I didn't consult you beforehand, but since the situation has reached this point, it is not good to delay it any longer. ”

Yan Zhong pondered for a moment and said, "If you lure it with profit, you can get the death power of the soldiers." What Liangzhou Haoqiang wants is just to strengthen the family, and the next step is to shine on the lintel and become famous all over the world. The prince promised to exempt them from their field tax, and with a generous offer, two hundred stones would give five thousand acres of tax. The county magistrate has 400 stones, the county magistrate has 600 stones, plus the generals at all levels in the army, and there are so many soldiers, I am afraid that the prince will not have so many fields to reward the soldiers at that time. ”

Chen Cheng smiled but said nothing.

Yan Zhong looked at the smile on Chen Cheng's face, thought for a while, and then suddenly realized, "What do you mean?" ”

He pointed in the direction of the west and said, "Take the land over there in Hexi Lian County and use it to reward the soldiers?" ”

Chen Cheng stretched out his hand and knocked on the desk, and said, "Yes!" ”

He turned his head and asked Liu Qian, "Princess, do you know what the benefits of me doing this?" ”

Liu Qian's eyes widened, and she sighed for a while, and said, "Let the soldiers fight more bravely?" ”

Chen Cheng smiled and said, "This is one of them, is there anything else?" ”

Liu Qian frowned and thought hard for a while, then raised her head and said, "I can't think of it!" ”

She grabbed Chen Cheng's sleeve and said, "Am I stupid?" ”

Chen Cheng smiled: "It's already good." I'm your age, and you're still addicted to gaming. ”

What he didn't say was that even now, he still loves to play games. In his opinion, isn't life a game that can't be archived or restarted? However, this game of Earth Online is too cruel, too dark and desperate for most people.

Yan Zhong waited until the two of them had a conversation before asking, "Lian County has already fallen?" ”

Chen Cheng restrained the smile on his face and said, "Although I didn't see it with my own eyes, the Huns I met before were very tired, and most of them had participated in siege battles. The besieging team was withdrawn and went to the Yellow River to drink horses, or the siege casualties were too great to be fought. Either that, Lian County has already been captured. Prepare for the worst in everything, and I personally prefer the latter possibility. ”

He sighed and said, "Or maybe Lian County is still holding on, and probably won't be able to hold on to the day when we kill it." ”

Yan Zhong frowned and said, "Then why didn't the Huns take advantage of the situation to sweep west of the Yellow River?" Could it be that they are luring us into a decisive battle? ”

Chen Cheng spread out his hands and said: "I am now half a confidant and half an enemy, if you want to ask me why, my answer is: I don't know." ”