At this time, the mountains and forests thirty miles away from Wei County were brightly lit, and the Yellow Turban generals in the simple wooden house were having a banquet with several of his lieutenants. The generals drank all the wine, and in the days they spent in Wei County, the yellow and thin faces of the soldiers under them gradually became oily, and the panic when they fled for their lives was also swept away.

Picking up a girl who had been plundered up the mountain into his arms, the general was happy in his heart, and raised his glass to a middle-aged man in green clothes beside him: "Brother Changyi, thanks to your clever plan, our army has this opportunity to recuperate." ”

This strategist named Changyi hurriedly raised his glass: "The lord has won the prize." "At the beginning, the general wanted to go to Yingchuan to join Zhang Liang, but he stopped him and went to Yingchuan for thousands of miles. And there are many counties and counties on the way, and it is not yet known whether the Yellow Turban Army can break through the official blockade with these troops.

In particular, he found that there were escaped soldiers in the Yellow Turban Army, since Song Liu was defeated and retreated here, there were only 9,000 people left in the 13,000 Yellow Turban Army that he originally brought out, and at this escape speed, there were probably less than 5,000 soldiers and horses left in Yingchuan.

In order to stabilize the morale of the army and recuperate, he made this suggestion and transferred the army to the mountain to station. Raiding the villages around Wei County, plundering materials to feed the army, and absorbing the young and strong laborers in the villages into the Yellow Turban Army, there are more than 12,000 people today.

In this mountain forest can be attacked, retreated and defended, "at this time the situation is turbulent, the lord can sit firmly in the mountains and forests, throughout the changes in the situation, we are here to recruit troops, see the right time will be successful." ”

The general nodded approvingly: "What Brother Changyi said is extremely true. In the past, although he followed Zhang Jiao to attack the city and plunder the land, it was too risky, just talking about the battle of Guangzong, his 150,000 army was shattered by the impact of Lu Zhi's 50,000 official army.

Some people raised objections: "General, when we started the Yellow Turban Uprising under the banner of serving the country and the people, although our side was defeated by the officers and troops, we should not change our original intention. Looking for the general of Tiangong to plan great things together is the right way. And now that we sit in the mountains and forests, and everything we eat and drink is robbed from the hands of the people, what is the difference between this and banditry? "I think how happy it was to follow Zhang Jiao to kill the official and release food, but now the Yellow Turban Army has deteriorated.

"The official army is powerful, our move is just an expedient act, and where is General Tiangong now, we haven't found out yet, where to go?" The general sighed and glanced at the lieutenant general in front of him with a cold gaze. The general is in charge of the life and death of 10,000 people, and for the first time he has tasted the benefits of the power of life and death in the power of the superiors. Naturally, the heart of setting up another door was born.

The heart said that as long as he was a soldier and had enough food, it was very likely that he would achieve great things in this troubled era, so why should he rely on Zhang Jiao. This deputy will be Zhang Jiao's cronies, and if he stays by his side, he will definitely spoil his own big things. Find an opportunity to get rid of this man.

Just when the general was planning to eradicate dissidents, the scout horse sent to investigate the situation in Wei County ran in and knelt on one knee: "Lord, Zhao Yi and Liu Bei led seven thousand soldiers into Wei County at dusk today. ”

Hearing the words Zhao Yi, the bronze jue held by the general fell to the ground, and the wine inside spilled all over the ground. He had never met Zhao Yi, but the name Zhao Yi had long been heard by thunder. The reason why his department failed miserably was because of Zhao Yi.

In the first battle of Guangzong, Zhang Jiao's 150,000 army was defeated by the official army, mostly because of Zhao Yi. The general's face was gloomy: "Closely observe the movements of Wei County, no matter how big or small, report immediately." Tanma bowed down, and the general asked Changyi with a jealous face: "Zhao Yi is here, what should we do?" "I didn't fight against Zhao Yi, and the general lost psychologically for a while. In Zhang Jiao's remnant army, the person hated by the soldiers the most was Zhao Yi, but the person he feared the most was also Zhao Yi.

The soldiers and horses of Wei County plus the 7,000 men and horses brought by Zhao Yi were already comparable to those of the Yellow Turban Army. But the generals knew that if they faced each other head-on, their troops would have no chance of winning. Not to mention that Zhao Yi is like a god in using soldiers, even if he compares the combat strength of the army, the Yellow Turban Army cannot compete with the officers and soldiers with a comparable number of people.

Changyi's face was solemn: "The number of officers and soldiers is already equal to our army, if we face it head-on, we are not Zhao Yi's opponent." According to the current situation, our army should send more probes to closely observe the situation in Wei County, our army is hidden deep in the mountains, and Zhao Yi's soldiers and horses do not dare to enter rashly. As long as we wait in the mountains for more than ten days, I think Zhao Yi will retreat. "The place where these people are is is so nice, deep in the mountains and forests. But whenever there is a little wind and grass, they go deep into the mountains to a cat. Zhao Yi: It must be very difficult for them to find.

Changyi's words made the generals relax slightly, and repeatedly told Changyi to act carefully.

At this time, Zhao Yi and others in Wei County were also discussing how to deal with this matter, and then thinking about how to lure the Yellow Turban Army out. "The Yellow Turban Thieves will know that we have arrived in Wei County, no matter how attractive the bait we have laid is, I am afraid that the Yellow Turban Thieves still do not have the courage to plunder." Gao Shun analyzed, the Yellow Turban Army is not a fool, and Wei County's strength must be guarded against.

To lure the snake out of the hole, there is a necessary condition that the enemy does not know his own strength. "We can first transfer the soldiers out of the city and stay for three or five days, the Yellow Turban Army will lose their guard against us, how about we carry out the plan?"

Gao Shun said that there is a way, but if Zhao Yi is the commander of the Yellow Turban, he will definitely send a scout horse to closely observe the movements of the troops out of the city, if the troops out of the city do not travel far and set up camp, then the fool also knows that this army wants to plot against him.

Zhao Yi thought about it for a long time, and finally rejected this strategy, because it was too easy to debunk. arranging bait to lure the bait, you can only deceive a reckless man like Dian Wei. As long as Zhao Yi's army did not leave Wei County for a day, even if there was a convoy carrying gold in Wei County, the Yellow Turban Army would not act rashly.

Zhao Yi put the map in front of everyone: "I don't know if you have seen it, the time and distance of this yellow turban thief invading the village." ”

Is it just some ruined villages, Liu Bei and Zhao Yi were fortunate to meet when they came to Wei County, at that time, in addition to lamenting that the Yellow Turban thieves had done a lot of evil, only sympathy for the people remained, could it be that Zhao Yi found something from the subtleties?

"Time and distance?" Liu Bei muttered, and his hand kept drawing on the map: "The Yellow Turban Army plundered the villages for about three or five days, and the distance from Wei County is getting closer and closer. But what did Brother Bolai see from this? ”

Zhao Yi explained: "They have to attack the village every three to five days and loot supplies, which means that they don't have much food in the village. The army had to be kept alive by looting supplies. It's actually very easy to find the hiding place of the Yellow Turbans. As he spoke, Zhao Yi used a brush to extend straight lines on the map that probed obliquely into the Taihang Mountain, and these lines finally converged into one point.

"The Yellow Turban Thief must be within this range." Zhao Yi pointed to the corner of his mouth and smiled, "In the past two years, the rain in Wei County has not been good, and there is not much food in the people's homes, and the daily consumption of 10,000 troops is so much. We only need to find soldiers to hide in the village in disguise as civilians, and then the yellow turban thieves will come to rob them, and our army will just capture them. "This method is more clever than the bait method I came up with earlier.

The food in the hands of the people is the bait, the difference is that this method is to force the Yellow Turban Army to act, and the effect is better than the lure.

"Although Bolai's strategy is good, there are dozens of villages in my Wei County, and if our soldiers are divided into dozens of parts, they will not be able to compete with the Yellow Turban Army." The county guard raised a very realistic question, 7,000 people were divided into dozens of parts, each of which was only a few hundred people, if they encountered a large group of yellow turban thieves, then I am afraid that they would not destroy the enemy but send them to death.

Zhao Yi had already considered this question: "Since the Yellow Turban Thieves know that our troops are about the same as them, they will definitely not be reluctant to seek the nearest when looting supplies. So we just need to guard against a few villages close to Taihang Mountain. ”

The county guard kept nodding: "Okay, everything is arranged by Bolai." ”

Zhao Yi, the defender of Wei County, did not move, but let his headquarters go out of the city in disguise and gather in the villages he marked. Liu Bei and the three of them each led 2,000 soldiers and horses.

And Gao Shun was left behind by Zhao Yi. Without waiting for Zhao Yi to speak, Gao Shun asked directly: "What does the general command?" "Take Liu Bei and the three of them, and leave yourself. Gao Shun could naturally guess that Zhao Yi had a special task to delegate to him.

Zhao Yi glanced at Gao Shun appreciatively, and then pointed to the point he had just drawn: "General Gao has been hunting in the mountains and forests for many years, and he must know how to hide in the mountains and forests. When you find it, report it to me quickly. ”

Gao Shun took the order to go down.

At this time, there was a rebellion by the Yellow Turban Army in Wei County, and the displaced people walked back and forth on the streets, and some even shouted loudly in front of the county guard's yamen, asking the county guard to annihilate the Yellow Turban thieves and restore peace to Wei County.

For the insistence of the county guard, some of the displaced people complained and were a little disappointed, and even some lacked confidence in whether Wei County could resist the attack of the Yellow Turban Army, some stayed, and naturally some left. The people of the city gate were constantly coming in and out.

After three days, the news reported by the horse scouts sent by Changyi was surprisingly the same as before, the situation in Wei County was the same as before, there was no sense of urgency that was tense before the war, and there was no sign of the movement of the defenders in the city.

This calmness made Changyi feel very nervous instead of feeling relaxed. The calmer Changyi became, the greater the hidden undercurrent behind this: "What is the difference between those displaced people and the past?" ”

"It's no different from the old days, we have gone into the city to observe, and it is the same as what we have seen before. It was not revealed that any soldier was pretending to be a soldier. Tanma replied.

Changyi stroked his beard: "This is a little strange, tomorrow you will find a way to find out whether Zhao Yi's troops and horses have been transferred." After the horse left, Changyi walked back and forth in the room, feeling still a little uneasy, and beckoned the soldiers to come in: "Set up sentry posts around us to prevent the officers and soldiers from sneaking up." ”

"Brother Changyi, the grain and grass in our village are about to run out, and it is only enough for the army to last for two days. We must think of a way as soon as possible, otherwise as soon as there is a shortage of food and grass, our army's morale will inevitably be in turmoil. The general's sword frowned and sighed helplessly.