Before Sun Ce left Donghai County, he received Tao Ying's reply, he had already left Pengcheng and was leading more than 10,000 people to Xiapi.

Sun Ce was very satisfied with Tao Ying's cooperation, and Tao Ying was surprised by Sun Ce's decisiveness. The marching speed of pure cavalry is beyond the reach of foot soldiers, Sun Ce moves fast at an average speed of 100 miles per day, if not, he will never be able to control Tan County, as long as half a day's effort, the Liu family in Tan County can receive the news and guard the manor tightly, so that Sun Ce Wangwu sighs.

can't hold those family owners, the East China Sea is the East China Sea of the family, not the East China Sea of the Tao family. If you take those family heads, those families will be jealous and dare not act rashly, and Liu He himself is also faced with a dilemma and is afraid.

"General soldiers, fast, accurate, ruthless." When the potter saw Sun Ce, he didn't speak yet, so he gave a thumbs up. "Admire, admire, this is the real quiet as a virgin, moving like a rabbit."

Sun Ce smiled bitterly and shook his head, pointing at the knight behind him. "Brother Zhong Yun, I have worked hard this time, you see, everyone is tired, and the wind blows and falls. It's easy to raise a little horse back in the elk's house, but after running for the past two days, it's gone. ”

The potter looked at the knight behind Sun Ce, envious, but had no intention of following suit. This price is too great, with the conditions of Xuzhou, it is not difficult to build a cavalry of this size, but the difficult thing is to be willing to spend money. In the spring, the horses are thin, and if you want to maintain the horsepower, you can only feed the war horses with grain. In long-distance running battles, the loss of war horses is great, and horses with poor physical strength often die while running. If there is an engagement, the attrition will be even more staggering.

"General rest assured, you have worked so hard for my father and son this time, we will keep it in our hearts. After taking Xiapi, I didn't take any money from the Chen family's property, and used it all as compensation. How is it? ”

Tao Ying patted his chest, impassioned, Sun Ce looked at him, laughed, and pointed at Tao Ying with a horsewhip. "Brother Zhong Yun, no wonder the Xuzhou family doesn't like your father and son, you are also fine. Ling Zun asked me to help beat Liu He and give me the piece of Pengcheng, which looks generous, but in fact, he wants me to defend the left wing for you. Now you want me to help you take Pi, and take the Chen family's property as a reward, you don't pull out a dime. If I can't take this down the next Pi, won't I have to lose my money? ”

Tao Ying laughed. When he received the news from the pottery merchant, he knew his father Tao Qian's intentions, so he gave up Pengcheng without hesitation. At this moment, Sun Ce broke his mind, and he was not angry, but very happy. Sun Ce's joke with him is just a sign of not treating him as an outsider. With the current image, without Sun Ce's support, it would be difficult for their father and son to hold Xuzhou. Tao Qian is over sixty years old, no one knows how many years he will live, and which of the two brothers will inherit Xuzhou has become a problem that Tao Qian must consider. In this regard, he has a clear first-mover advantage, and of course he will not let it go easily.

"General, each other, your business is better, and I also learned from you. The Yuzhou family betrayed you, and the Xuzhou family is not a good thing, so this time you have to rectify it. Tao Ying put away his smile, and his face showed a little hideous.

Sun Ce agreed. Tao Ying is right, on this point, they have a common interest.

The two joined forces. Tao Ying brought a large amount of supplies from Pengcheng, and there were more than 3,000 ships to transport baggage, not only food, ordnance, but also a large number of luxury goods, not to mention wine and meat. Sun Ce had a feeling that Tao Ying, this kid, was ready to give up Pengcheng a long time ago, and he took everything he could take away, leaving only an empty city.

This can also be understood, Pengcheng is a battleground for soldiers, but the main defense is the enemy from Xiao County, since Tao Ying does not intend to be his enemy, there is no point in defending Pengcheng. What is given up is the burden, but what is gained is freedom, just like Sun Ce gave up the country of Lu. Giving up the country of Lu, he won more than half a year, pacified Jiangnan, and his strength increased greatly, and now not only the country of Lu is back, but the Pengcheng he has always wanted has also arrived.

If you are willing to give, you must first give up and then you will have it.

Sun Ce ordered Sun Ben to enter Pengcheng and establish a defensive line. In order to let Sun Ben enter the role as soon as possible, Sun Ce sent a letter to Zhang Zhao and asked him to arrange someone to assist Sun Ben. Zhang Zhao is a famous person in Pengcheng, and his influence is much stronger than Sun Ben. Zhang Zhao is a text, Sun Ben is a Ben, which can reduce unnecessary conflicts and even bloodshed.

——

The previous Xiapi phase was Zhenrong, and after Zhenrong was killed by Liu He in the first battle, Xiapi fell into the hands of Liu He. When Tao Ying arrived, Xiapicheng had already changed its guards, it was Liu He's brother Liu An, and he was assisted by Chen Ying, the son of Chen Qi. Liu An is in his fifties, he has been pampered all his life, he has served two terms as a taishou, his political performance is mediocre, he can't say good or bad, and his reputation is not bad. Chen Ying was just weak, and it was when he was in high spirits, and he was suddenly given a heavy responsibility, he was high-spirited and very active, and he was mainly responsible for the defense of Xiapi.

Speaking of which, the Sun family and the Chen family have intersected. Sun Jian used to be Xia Pi Cheng, and the Chen family was a well-known family in Xia Pi, and the two sides must have had contact, but Sun Jian was a martial artist and liked to associate with Huaisi rangers. The Chen family regards themselves as Confucians, and they don't like to recruit heroes very much, and they are not all the way to Sun Jian. A small county prince can't let the Chen family treat each other squarely. When Chen Deng became an adult and the Chen family began to change their style, Sun Jian had already left office.

After Sun Ce and Tao Ying checked the situation in Xiapi City together, they both felt that it was not easy to attack. They went to see the main garden of the Chen family again, the Chen family had already prepared, and the manor was relatively tightly guarded, and most of the people were concentrated in the dock fort, and Chen Yu's younger brother Chen Cong was fully responsible. Without siege equipment, it is not easy to storm the city.

Tao Ying sighed, still a step too late.

Sun Ce didn't think so. The Chen family didn't support Tao Qian in the first place, and it wasn't a day or two to prepare. Chen Yu ran for Liu He, and the Chen family was naturally prepared for the situation. He asked Tao Ying to be calm and not to be impatient, and set up camp in Yishan in the north of Xiapi City, and think about it in the long run. The purpose of taking Pi was to prevent Liu He from going north, and Tao Ying should bring sufficient supplies and a large number of people to cut down the trees on the mountain, set up a large camp, and defend the mountain, which can also play the expected role.

In the era of cold weapons, because of the limitations of technical conditions, attacking fortifications is often a last resort. The proportion of offensive and defensive casualties is large, usually more than four times, or even higher. As long as the objective conditions allow, the cost of holding on is much smaller than attacking fortifications.

Tao Ying accepted Sun Ce's suggestion and set up camp in Yishan.

Yishan is in the northeast, southwest direction, the main peak is on the southwest side, nearly 100 zhang high, there is a hillside on the northeast side, 70 or 80 zhang high, there is a valley between the two peaks. Tao should set up the main village on the main peak, and set up camp between the two mountains, connecting the two peaks into one.

Standing on the main peak of Yishan, looking at Tao Ying's sketch of the camp, and listening to Tao Ying finish his plan, Sun Ce was very satisfied. Although it is not outstanding, it can be regarded as decent, and there are no obvious flaws.

"Brother Zhong Yun has put a lot of effort into the past two years. For three days, you should be impressed. ”

Receiving Sun Ce's praise, Tao Ying was very happy. "General, this is all thanks to you. The year before last, I fought with you in Xiao County, although it was only a short month, but I benefited a lot, and finally found the direction of my efforts. I'm not like a general, I'm a natural general, so I can only work a little stupid. ”

Sun Ce said with a smile: "You can't help it, being willing to work hard is great wisdom, and people who always want to be opportunistic are just smart." He paused, and then said, "Ling Zun will be very satisfied if he sees your achievements. ”

Tao Ying understood, wrote a letter in his own handwriting, explaining in detail the situation in Xiapi and his own arrangements, and sent someone to Langya.