"Is this true?" Zhang Liao asked in surprise.

Bai Qi also looked at Lu Bu intently.

Lu Bu reined in his mind and said, "Do you think I'm joking?" Cao Cao's army of more than 100,000 attacked Nanyang for two months, although the city was not broken, but caused huge casualties to the defenders of Nanyang, and then Guan Yu led an army of 100,000 to leave Nanyang, to the county garrison, Cao Cao took advantage of the weakness to enter, occupy Nanyang. It can be seen that Cao Cao is really helpful. ”

Zhang Liao asked, "Will Cao Cao dominate Nanyang and not give it to us?" ”

"Possibly..."

"We'll see."

Lu Bu didn't care about this, because Cao Cao's strength was far inferior to him, even if he could occupy Nanyang, he wouldn't be able to hold it, and he would eventually let it out. Lu Bu also didn't believe that Cao Cao would not be so stupid and grab territory with him when his strength was not good.

Jiaozhou.

Longbian County.

(Note: Longbian County is the seat of Jiaozhi and the capital of Sun Ce.) Historically, Eastern Wu was the capital of Moling (Nanjing) in Huiji County, but now that Huiji County is in the hands of Lu Bu, Sun Ce can only make the capital in Longbian County. ）

Xu Shu's First Army, after occupying Nanhai County, traveled under the stars and rushed to Longbian. At present, it has entered the territory of Cochin. The garrisons and roadblocks along the way were all withdrawn. Strengthen the defense of Longbian County.

Xu Shu mobilized five regiments, occupied all the dangerous points and official roads, and surrounded Longbian County to the death.

In the tent.

Generals at all levels were there, discussing the strategy of marching into the army.

Xu Shu said: "I just went to see the defense of Longbian County, and it can be called impregnable. Especially at the gate of the city, there are many boulders, blocking the way into the city. On the opposite side of the moat, there are barbed wire, horse-repellent horses, crossbow machines, and fixed arrow towers. If our army storms, the first thing to do is to fill the moat. Forcibly blast a road with a grenade. But... I asked the people outside the city, and they said... Last year, Longbian County had already replaced the wooden city gate with an iron one. Think about it, can our grenades blow open the iron gates? ”

"This..."

No one dared to guarantee it.

The power of the grenade, although very powerful, can only destroy wood and boulders, and if you want to blast open the iron gates, I am afraid that it will be a little hot.

Cao Xuan stood up and said, "What do you mean... A soldier who surrenders without a fight? ”

"Hmm."

Xu Shu nodded.

Cao Xing said: "But there is news from the shadows that Longbian County is rich in money and food, and I am afraid that it will not give in for a while." ”

Xu Shu said: "The seven counties of Jiaozhou are narrow and the people are widowed, and it is difficult to support the food. Even if the money and grain of the entire Jiaozhou are collected into Longbian County, how long can it last? Half? A year? When he is exhausted, it is time to bow down. ”

"Yes."

Although Xu Shu's strategy will take a long time.

But thinking that the strong Longbian County is indeed difficult to overcome, they all expressed their support.

"Your Excellency."

Hao Meng came out of the ranks, hugged his fists and said: "The current Jiaozhou is almost all empty cities, just send a cavalry, one by one, leave a small number of soldiers to garrison, and implement the new policy, you can recover the entire territory of Jiaozhou within a month." ”

"What General Hao said is extremely true." Hao Meng's words are exactly what Xu Shu wants to say. If the First Army wanted to gain a firm foothold in Jiaozhou, it had to implement a new policy and gain the support of the people.

If it is forcibly suppressed, it is afraid that it will be harmful and useless.

Zang Ba and Hou Cheng said in unison: "The last general is willing to go to the counties..." ”

Xu Shu pressed his hand and signaled the two of them to be calm.

Xu Shu said: "Since you all agree... If you do not encircle Longbian County and do not fight it, I will arrange your future combat missions. ”

"Cao Xing's first division, Zang Ba's 13th Regiment (cavalry) and Hou Cheng's 14th Regiment (cavalry), were responsible for garrisoning Jiaozhou. On the one hand, Sun Ce was besieged and the counties of Jiaozhou were recovered by force. On the other hand, the new policy was implemented to win the hearts and minds of the people. All the goods and grain that were found from the homes of the wealthy gentry were not allowed to be taken away, but distributed to the people on the spot. The sins of the Daoming family, the kindness of the lord. ”

"The rest of the troops, return to Jingzhou with me. I'm especially worried about the lord now, he has tens of thousands of recruits around him, how can he be Zhuge Liang's opponent.... ”

"No."

The people answered.

After the meeting, they dispersed one after another.

Cao Xuan stayed behind and asked, "My lord, you just said that it is a little inappropriate to give the money and grain of the wealthy gentry to the people?" ”

"What's wrong?"

Cao Xing said: "According to the rules, shouldn't you leave half of it?" If the lord blames him, how will the adults answer? ”

"The big families in Jiaozhou are all poor ghosts, how much food can they have? The most important thing for us now is to buy people's hearts, and we don't care about gains and losses. If the lord asks, he will say that I gave the order. ”

"No."

In the early morning of the next day, Xu Shu left Jiaozhi with two regiments of soldiers and headed for Jiangxia. Leave the matter of conquest and delivery to Cao Xing. At the same time, he wrote several memoranda and sent people to Yangzhou to invite officials from the Ministry of Officials to serve as the governor of Jiaozhou.

Jingzhou.

Gangneung Fortress.

Ma Chao, Pang De, and Hu Che'er's soldiers and horses are still storming Jiangling.

It's been more than a month, and the city hasn't been broken yet.

You must know that there are as many as 120,000 soldiers and horses under the command of Ma Chao, although there are no large-scale offensive weapons, it is still easy to take Jiangling City. But Liang Hongyu, who was stationed in Jiangling City, resisted Ma Chao's attack and held the city!

The reason for this is that Lu Bu's policy is good.

Liang Hongyu sent troops to ransack the family in Jiangling City, and all the money and grain obtained were distributed to the people. He also posted a notice to reassure the people and implemented a new policy, so that the people of Jiangling City looked forward to Lu Bu being able to govern Jingzhou.

So, after Ma Chao besieged the city, the people volunteered to join the army to help defend the city.

even demolished the house, and used the stones and wood used to demolish the house to resist Ma Chao.

In this case, Liang Hongyu could only hold Jiangling for a month.

But now Ma Chao's soldiers and horses have gained the upper hand, and the city towers are everywhere, and the damage is serious. It's about to be breached. Liang Hongyu was very anxious and sent many soldiers to report the news, but no one returned.

On this day, Ma Chao attacked the city as usual.

Liang Hongyu wore a red battle robe and held a one-foot short sword, and led a hundred and ten soldiers out of the city to meet Ma Chao.

The generals under Liang Hongyu all stood on the city tower, and their hearts were beating when they watched.

"General, let's go back to the city, with the solidity of Gangneung City, hold on for a day or two... Definitely no problem. There's no need to fight Ma Chao and stall for time. Coming to the other side of the moat, a lieutenant said.

"What about two days from now?"

"In two days, our reinforcements will arrive..."

Liang Hongyu took a deep breath and said, "If two days later, the reinforcements have not arrived, but we lose Jiangling City, wouldn't we be swallowed alive by Ma Chao?" It's better to be cautious, drag Ma Chao first, give the soldiers defending the city more time to prepare, as long as there are boulders, rolling wood and fire oil, they are not afraid of Ma Chao coming to attack. ”

"But Ma Chao is brave and good at fighting, and the last general is really worried."

Liang Hongyu smiled: "Don't worry, he wants to kill me, it's not that easy." ”

(End of chapter)