In the three years of Jian'an, a garbled word was highlighted. The princes fought each other for more land and population. Not to mention careerists like Yuan Shao, Cao Cao, and Sun Ce, even Liu Bei, who has always been known for his "benevolence and righteousness", began to expand outward. After all, in this crazy and dark era, benevolence alone cannot save the Chinese.

After Yuan Shao withdrew his troops from the Youzhou front, Tian Yu finally came to Guanzhong through Bingzhou after several considerations. Youzhou has long been turned into a huge barracks because of the war, and there are not many people in the countryside. The state is no better, except for some large settlements, where the wilderness is full of wild beasts.

From time to time, rabbits and foxes ran down the road, and when the wild dogs and wolves saw people in broad daylight, they ran into the grass and soon disappeared. However, there are still many differences between Bingzhou and Youzhou, and you can often see alien races such as the Xiongnu and Qiang people here. In Youzhou, it is not a matter of one or two days for the Wuhuan people and the Xianbei people and the Han people to kill each other.

When Tian Yu crossed the Yellow River and entered the Guanzhong realm, everything suddenly changed, as if he had come to another world. On both sides of the road are endless wheat fields, there are often business travelers, as if the glory of the empire still exists, to say prosperous, Hebei is also very prosperous, but compared with Guanzhong here, there are some things missing.

What's missing? Tian Yu pondered all the way, and a vague thought was rolling in his mind, and when he wanted to figure it out, he couldn't catch the flash of aura. Just when he was a little distressed about this, someone on the side suddenly said in surprise: "General, the general has come to greet you in person!" ”

Tian Yu looked up and saw that the smoke and dust were billowing in front of him, and five or six hundred iron horsemen were rushing along the avenue. In the queue, a large flag was raised high, and the word "Chen" was written on the flag. Two miles away, the Iron Rider began to slow down and finally came to a halt on the side of the road.

Chen Cheng rode over on a tall horse, and at a glance he saw Tian Yu, whose appearance had not changed much from before, and couldn't help laughing: "Guorang, you really let me be invited for a while!" The edict of the Son of Heaven has been given to you three times! ”

Hearing this familiar tone, Tian Yu was in a trance, the fierce general brother in front of him, who was more burly than Gongsun Zhan, was really the jade-faced Chen Wenzheng? This change is too big for normal people to expect

But soon, he came to his senses, hurriedly jumped off his horse, bowed to the ground and said, "Meet the general!" ”

Chen Cheng was one step faster than him, grabbed Tian Yu's arm, and said with a smile: "With the friendship between you and me, why bother to worship and worship?" ”

Tian Yu was grabbed by his big hand, as if he was locked in steel, he broke free twice, he couldn't break free, and couldn't help but smile bitterly: "Wenzheng, your strength is a lot greater than before!" ”

Chen Cheng was extremely happy and said with a smile: "Of course, I have never stopped exercising every day over the years, and my strength is greater than before, which is of course." ”

Seven years ago, Tian Yu was just a teenager, but he had the courage and courage far beyond ordinary people. Seven years later, his face has matured a lot, his body has also grown, and his strength and martial arts have greatly improved, but how can he be compared to Chen Cheng? You must know that even a nine-foot-tall animal like Lu Bu has a lot worse strength than Chen Cheng.

The two walked side by side, Tian Yu originally had a sense of rustiness, because the fierce general brother in front of him was too far from what he had in his impression. But after thirty miles of parallel, he immediately became familiar again. Chen Cheng has only changed his appearance, the two have been writing letters in the past few years, and now it is just a reunion.

Chang'an is now the most prosperous place in the world except for Yecheng, and pedestrians are constantly coming and going on the road. When these people saw the general's guard of honor, they all avoided the side and sounded at each other.

"Great generals rarely play full honor guards, do they? Could it be that another prince has entered Beijing? ”

"Silly, which prince will come to Chang'an now? It's too late for them to fight each other. ”

"Who's that? Could it be that Liu Yuanjun from Xuzhou is here again? ”

In the discussion of everyone on the side, Chen Cheng and Tian Yu rode into the city. Tian Yu looked at the scene of pedestrians shuttling in the city, and couldn't help but sigh with emotion: "I haven't seen such a lively scene for a long time, and it is really a blessing for the people of the world to have a general presiding over the government." ”

Chen Cheng said with a smile: "I have prepared a mansion for you in the city, you have a day of rest first, and tomorrow I will pick up the wind and wash the dust for you, and by the way, introduce the local civil and military officials." ”

When Tian Yu faced the huge courtyard and didn't know when to do it, many people came outside, but Chen Cheng sent someone to bring him a lot of cloth, gold and silver, as well as grain, bacon, fresh fruits and vegetables, and other things. Tian Yu didn't think there was anything yet, but the entourage who came to Chang'an with him was overjoyed, and said: "The general is so favored, it seems that I don't have to worry about it in the future." ”

Tian Yu couldn't help but be embarrassed when he heard this, and then said in a stern tone: "The general has always cared about the old feelings, but you can't be a traitor, otherwise, I will let the general deal with it impartially!" ”

"Yes!"

Tian Yu entered Beijing, Chen Cheng was very happy, but for the important ministers in the court, this was just a trivial matter. The top priority now is that Chen Gong has fallen to Yuan Shao, and Yanzhou has been divided between the Cao and Yuan families. Xu Rong only has 15,000 people in his hands, and he is facing unprecedented pressure.

There was no need for the Cao and Yuan families to attack together, Xu Rong was already a little unable to bear such pressure, and asked the imperial court for reinforcements several times, and ordered the requisition of soldiers and horses from Hanoi, Hedong and Hongnong to Henan to prepare for possible attacks.

When Cao Cao sent his troops north, the tooth soldiers had already assembled and secretly moved to the vicinity of Tongguan. At the same time, the imperial court also ordered the dispatch of Zhang Heng, Ma Wan, Ma Teng, Cheng Yi, Han Li, Yang Hao, Zhang Liao, Xu Huang, Yan Xing and other troops to Luoyang, and the grain stored in various parts of Guanzhong was transferred to Henan day and night.

Originally, Chen Cheng and Yan Zhong thought that no matter how bad Yanzhou was, it would be no problem to support it for two or three months. But in less than a month, most of Yanzhou had already fallen into the hands of Cao Cao and Yuan Shao. Only the East County guarded Cheng Yu, backed by Zang Ba's Taishan Army and Xuzhou Mu Liu Bei, and kept half of the East County.

On the evening of Tian Yu's arrival in Chang'an, Yan Zhong, Jia Xu and others came to the general's mansion to discuss how to deal with the affairs of Yanzhou. Yanzhou is in the land of four wars, there is no danger to defend, which is conducive to attack and not conducive to defense. With the combat power of the Liang Iron Cavalry in the west, it can defeat any enemy on the plains of Yanzhou.

But if you want to hold Yanzhou, you have to have tens of thousands of troops. The capture of Yanzhou is tantamount to sounding the clarion call to unify the world, and if Qingzhou, Xuzhou, Yuzhou and other places on the side are not taken down, the only way to fight will be to keep fighting. Even Hebei has to be added, which almost kills all the powerful princes in the world today.

"The problem of Yanzhou cannot be just looked at Yanzhou," Chen Cheng said, "once Yanzhou is occupied, the policy of the imperial court will be fully turned to war. Are we ready for this? ”

Yan Zhong, Jia Xu and the others are all a little speechless, it has been four years since they occupied Guanzhong. Originally, the older of them were still a little worried that Chen Cheng would be carried away by victory after he suddenly ascended to the position of general. But now it seems that the general is young, but where is a little vigorous? Every day, I think about farming, building roads and opening factories, and I don't look like a young man at all!

Liu Qian laughed out loud and said, "Counting from Liangzhou, it has been eight years of preparation. Even if it is counted from the occupation of Guanzhong, it has been four years! In four years, Emperor Gaozu had already forced Xiang Yu to kill himself in Wujiang! ”

"Okay," Chen Cheng said a little curtly, "Since it's ready, what else is there to say?" Just start fighting. ”

The expression on his face became serious, and he said, "Since you want to fight, you must do your best, and you can't fight as a tactic!" ”

Yan Zhong, Jia Xu and the others were all in good spirits and said, "That's right! ”

Chen Cheng said: "Xu Rong has already requisitioned the soldiers and horses of Hedong, Hanoi and Hongnong, and we have also dropped the elite soldiers and horses of Liangzhou, and the number of soldiers and horses has reached an unprecedented 150,000. Coupled with the people who were transported along the way, it was more than 300,000 people, so many people and horses, people eating horses and chewing at least 10,000 stone of grain and grass every day, and it would be doubled when there was a war. Bo Dao, this time I still need you to sit in Chang'an and provide food, grass and other supplies for the army. ”

Yan Zhong's face flashed with excitement, he could be regarded as having waited for this day, so he said angrily: "Don't worry, the prince will never let the supply of the front line have problems. ”

Chen Cheng nodded and said, "I don't have to worry about you doing things." ”

He said to Lu Fang, the head of the household department: "Don't do this Shangshu first, give you 60,000 soldiers and horses, and go to the Central Plains with me to fight!" ”

When Lu Fang was transferred to Chang'an as the head of the household department, he knew that there would be a day when he would be released to lead the troops. Chen Cheng has always been nostalgic for the past, as long as he is loyal, he doesn't have to worry about not having a future. Zhao Yun was worshiped as the pastor of the state, and Xu Rong also became the general of Si Li, although his qualifications were not as good as Zhao Yun, but he was still Xu Rong's top boss before, how could he be forgotten?

Although he didn't expect the opportunity to come so quickly, Lu Fang had already made preparations, he calmed down, exhaled, and said, "No! ”

Chen Cheng continued: "Lu Fang was appointed as the commander of the Third Army Corps, and his treatment was the same as that of the First and Second Army Corps. The officers and horses are chosen by you, the weapons and horses are borne by the imperial court, and now the Third Army has no station, and the military expenses are all borne by the imperial court. ”

"No!"

Chen Cheng turned his head again and asked Xu Wendao, the secretary of the Ministry of War: "How is the production progress of artillery now?" How much stock is in stock now? ”

Xu Wen replied: "The Tiger Squat Cannon can produce thirty pieces per month, and the Napoleon Cannon can produce about five pieces per month. In addition to the 52 artillery pieces of the tooth soldiers, there were more than 60 artillery pieces in the arsenal. ”

"Forget the Napoleonic cannon, can there be more tiger squat cannons? Artillery is also a consumable item in battle, and if the war expands and becomes prolonged, then it may be necessary to equip all infantry battalions with artillery. ”

Xu Wen said unhurriedly: "It is possible to increase the production of artillery, but we don't have so much gunpowder, and even if we increase the number of artillery, we don't have so much ammunition available." ”

Chen Cheng also knew that the amount of gunpowder had not been enough, and he asked just now because he had been busy drawing troops and horses from all over the country since the beginning of this month, thinking that there might be surprises. But now it seems that you still have to be down-to-earth, and surprises are not something that happens often.

"Then forget it, transport part of the Tiger Squat Cannon to the Second Legion, and the Third Legion will also be equipped for him. The First Legion doesn't have to fight this time, so let's wait for now. ”

"No!"