Chapter 189: Under Pressure

Being stared at by everyone, Yang Qiu first looked at Chen Cheng, and said thoughtfully: "I think, Zhang Heng has some truth in what they said, our Xiliang Army has always been good at attacking and not defending, and it can advance but not retreat." Now that he retreats, maybe just like last year, he will be chased behind by officers and soldiers, and people's hearts will be scattered. ”

Han Sui, Ma Teng and the others were a little pale, Cheng Yi was self-conscious, and he still had a smile on his face, but Song Jian snorted honestly and unceremoniously. Yang Qiuxin said: What are you humming? Do you think I'm afraid you'll not succeed?

He looked at Chen Cheng again, and saw that the expression on the latter's face did not change in the slightest, and he began to wonder in his heart again: Could it be that the lord does not approve of continuing to fight?

So he said: "Of course, what General Cheng Yi said is right, most of us are cavalry, and we can't use it here." If you rush into the Guanzhong Plain, it will be fine, and now that you are blocked here, it is better to retreat some distance and retreat to the plain to see if Huangfu Song will catch up. If they catch up, we'll fight to the death with the court's soldiers!" ”

Song Jian sneered and said; "Hmph, what's the difference between what you said and what you didn't?"

Yang Qiu glanced at Song Jian and decided to ignore him. Now those who agree with retreat are almost the same as those who agree with continuing to fight, and the decision finally fell back into Chen Cheng's hands. He pondered for a while, feeling that if he could stew Huangfu Song and Ding Yuanjun here, General Guan would no longer have the strength to resist, which was really a great temptation.

But what if you don't win? Even if you don't lose, but fight into a stalemate, it won't do you any good. It will only be cheaper than Dong Zhuo, who is far away in the state, and the Kwantung coalition army that responds to Dong Zhuo.

Dong Zhongying, the first righteous in the world....... Every time he thought of this, Chen Cheng had a ridiculous feeling.

He looked inside the big tent and said in a deep voice, "I think it's better to withdraw the troops first." General Han, your troops and horses have been fighting since last year and until this year, and the soldiers have long been tired, let them take a breath first. Although the wind and rain are good this year, the men have gone out to fight, and the harvest in the field is not very good, right? ”

Although farming is very leisurely at times, there are several periods that are very busy, spring ploughing, summer harvest and autumn harvest, the window period is very short, and the whole family needs to go into battle together. If you miss the time slot, your crops risk rotting in the ground after a heavy rain. But it is impossible to be so accurate in the war, and it is impossible to give the soldiers a few days off when the time comes, as is the case with other things, so that they can go back and harvest the wheat and then come back to fight.

On the way over, Chen Cheng had already noticed that the grain harvested in Hanyang this year was not much, not only could it not be compared to Beidi County, but it was also a cut worse than Wuwei County. Otherwise, Han Sui would not have been a minister, and then let Chen Cheng transport 200,000 stone of military rations.

Of course, those Haoqiang families still have a lot of grain in stock, because the big families in these years have the habit of stockpiling grain. It's not just big families, it's everyone else. People hoard as much food and grass as they can. Otherwise, in a disaster year, many people will starve to death.

However, Han Sui can't use these grains and grasses, unless he wants to learn from Dong Zhuo and use the strong under his rule. Or learn from He Jin, and use the evil means of casting "big money" to plunder wealth from the people. If Han Wenyue dared to do that, without the help of the princes of Xiliang, the powerful people under his rule would rise up and rebel.

Han Sui's face was gone, he sighed, and said, "Since Chen Yuanjun already knows, then I'll tell the truth." Jincheng County, Hanyang County, and Mudu County, these two twists are all fighting, and there is not much food now. Although there is no war on the border of Longxi, but the output is not much, I now have more than 100,000 soldiers under my command, if I can't kill in the pass, I'm afraid that there will not be enough food to feed them. ”

He said to Chen Cheng in a sincere tone: "The envoy has led the soldiers, and he knows that if the soldiers don't eat, they will definitely have chaos." ”

As soon as these words came out, Song Jian, Cheng Yin, Zhang Heng and others looked at Han Sui with either envy or disdain. Chen Cheng pondered for a moment the unfinished meaning of Han Sui's words, and said in his heart: Is this a threat? It's a pity, we really don't eat this set!

He looked at Han Sui calmly and said, "If there are too many troops under General Han's command, it is better to follow my example and recruit fewer soldiers, so that there will be more people to farm." When there are more people who farm, there will be more food. ”

There was a burst of laughter on the side, and there was a sneer, it was Cheng Yin and Cheng Yi; There are laughers, those are Song Jian and Zhang Heng.

Han Sui smiled and said, "Chen Yuanjun is really joking. ”

Chen Cheng was silent, he was telling the truth, and he did the same in Yinchuan. If Liangzhou Zhuge can reduce the soldiers and horses under his command by half, why will the people's livelihood wither? Many times, telling the truth can be mistaken for a joke. Man, he only likes to hear what he wants to hear. Did Han Sui really think he was joking? I'm afraid it may not be.

Han Sui said: "I think I want to cut the soldiers and horses, but Hanyang is connected to Sanfu in the east, and the Wudu is linked to Hanzhong, so it is necessary to garrison a large army." Now that there are not enough troops, how can we reduce the number of troops? ”

"I see," Chen Cheng said lightly, "It seems that I was not thoughtful." General Han had sent people to Yinchuan to ask for grain seeds, but now they should have been planted, and by the end of spring next year, there should be a harvest, and there will be no more hardships of lack of grain. ”

Han Sui arched his hand towards Chen Cheng and said with a smile: "Make the gentleman magnificent, I thank you for the people of the four counties in advance." ”

Chen Cheng shook his head and said, "You don't have to thank me. ”

He raised his head and looked in the direction of the east, as if he had thought of something, and said with a smile: "I have a friend who once told me that if I can fetch more food, the people will be able to eat more. I thought about it later and felt that he was right. ”

"Oh," Han Sui asked, "I wonder who that friend of the envoy is?" Presumably he is also a hero who moves the world, right? ”

"That person's surname is Liu, his name is Bei, and his name is Xuande, although he is not famous in the world yet, but he is a rare hero in the world."

"Liu Bei, Liu Xuande?" Han Sui read the name that Chen Cheng said, thought about it again, he hadn't heard it at all, he was probably a nobody, he immediately put a smile on his face, and said, "If you say that he is a hero, it must be wrong." It's a pity that I didn't get a chance to meet each other. ”

From the moment Han Sui spoke to Chen Cheng, the other people in the big tent felt that the atmosphere was a little wrong. Obviously, they can understand what they say, but they don't seem to understand it.

Chen Cheng smiled and said, "Don't talk about that." I have made up my mind, and I will begin to withdraw my troops tomorrow, and I will ask General Han to hold on here, and the other troops and horses will retreat westward in order. The order of retreat is: Song Jian, Cheng Yi, Zhang Heng, Cheng Yin, Ma Teng, Li Xiangru, Yang Qiu, and other generals' troops and horses are withdrawn, and General Han Sui retreats with me. ”

The voices in the tent suddenly became louder, and those who did not agree with the withdrawal loudly told their reasons. Han Sui also said in a loud voice: "Why do you want me to retreat last?" ”

Although he wanted to continue fighting, if everyone retreated, he also wanted to run away early. The Xiliang army is this kind of virtue, and when it wins, it rushes forward, and when it retreats, it also rushes to be the first. Otherwise, how could the brave cavalry of the Western Liang still be trapped in the western border for more than ten years?

Faced with the chaotic situation in the tent, Chen Cheng slapped the desk on the table and shouted: "If you don't agree, then I will leave tomorrow and let you go to fight with Huangfu Song and Ding Yuan by yourself." ”

If it's somewhere else, forget it, and fight with Huangfu Song here in Chencang? Forget it. Zhang Heng, Ma Teng and the others suddenly fell silent. When Chen Cheng was angry, they only felt that the murderous aura was coming to their faces, and they all felt cold on their backs, and they couldn't help but touch the short knife they were carrying. Everyone secretly complained in their hearts, and said in their hearts: The surname Chen doesn't want to start the fire, right?

It's no wonder that they think so, it's really that Chen Cheng looks too vicious now, and when he has a cold face, it's enough to stop the child's night crying.

Of course, Chen Cheng didn't think about chopping up all the princes of Xiliang here. If this happens, I'm afraid that Xiliang will be in chaos for many years, and his personal reputation will also go bankrupt. In the original history, Cao Cao knew that Liu Bei had a rough career and would never dare to live under the people for a long time, but he still did not kill him, but entrusted him with a heavy task, that is, he was afraid that he would lose the hope of the world.

It was Cao Mengde who later showed amazing courage and tolerance, and Zhang Xiu, Ma Teng, Tian Yu, Chen Deng and others would compete to defect. Most of these generals were not persecuted when Cao Cao was alive. Only Ma Teng gave birth to a pit father's son and gave his life together with several other sons. Cao Mengde's courage is very great, and he is not merciless when he kills people.

If Cao Cao killed Liu Bei at the beginning, which of the heroes and heroes in the world would still believe him? Of course, it doesn't mean that you can't kill it, but at least you have to be like Liu Bang, wait until the cunning rabbits are all dead, and then it's not too late to kill the dogs.

Although the princes all agreed to withdraw their troops, Han Sui was still struggling, and he said loudly: "Even if we want to withdraw our troops, why should our army be ranked second to last?" ”

"That's naturally because General Han has the most soldiers and horses," Chen Cheng said with a smile: "If General Han doesn't like this order, then let's change it, you stay last, and I'll be second to last." ”

The so-called Gongshengming, Lian Shengwei, Chen Cheng put his headquarters in the last one and withdrew, what other opinions can others? Even Han Sui couldn't say anything else. Except for Li Xiangru, others also agreed, although Han Sui had the most troops, but in the face of everyone's pressure, he could only reluctantly admit it.

Chen Cheng also said: "Today, there are many wounded soldiers and horses in all units, and the seriously wounded are inconvenient to move, so they can be sent to our military camp first, and each department will leave 500 people to take care of them early, and then return on their own after the wounded soldiers have recovered." ”

The soldiers of Xiliang are numerous and poor, and their attitude towards the wounded has always been laissez-faire. Even if they survive, even if they die, it will be nothing, and some of them in Xiliang are poor people who want to be soldiers and eat food. But now that there are people who are willing to be wronged, they are also happy to throw away a big burden. As for keeping 500 people here, it's simpler, which family doesn't have a few hundred old, weak, sick and disabled?

When the plan was decided, the princes of the tent departed and returned to their camps. Yan Xing sent Han Sui and Li Xiangru outside the gate and said, "Take care on the road." ”

Li Xiangru complained: "Really, I have to walk at night again!" Wenyue, don't rush now, we can go slower, right? ”

Han Sui looked at the moonlight and said, "Okay, then let's go slowly." ”

He said to Yan Xing: "Virtuous son-in-law, I know that you are excellent in martial arts and know the law, but you are just a military master under Chen Yuanjun. Why don't you come to our army? Commanding tens of thousands of troops is just an idle matter! ”

Yan Xing smiled and said nothing, stuffed the reins into Han Sui's hand, and said, "Everyone has their own ambitions, why force it?" ”

Han Sui sighed and said, "When you change your mind, come to me, this promise will always be valid!" ”