"Report! -Cao's army increased by 20,000 troops, and the camp advanced one mile! ”

"Report! - Cao's army increased its troops by another 20,000, and the camp advanced one mile! ”

"Report! - Cao's army increased its troops by 40,000 again, and the camp advanced for more than two miles! ”

……………………

After the defeat in the first battle, Gao Gan hung his head and lived in fear every day, bad news continued one after another, Yecheng's reinforcements retreated, but the enemy continued to increase troops, the strength of both sides took a sharp turn, Shangdang City was like a small boat, driving in the stormy waves, and the boat was destroyed at any time!

In order to verify the news, Gao Gan led the officials under his command to climb up to the city to watch the situation, and sure enough, the people in the Cao army camp shouted horses and neighed, drums and trumpets sounded in unison, and reinforcements came every day, and the camp was also advancing step by step, less than ten miles away from Shangdang City!

At night, the campfire of the Cao army camp was lit, like the stars in the sky, which was daunting, and through the calculation of the 'method of counting soldiers', Ma Liu's strength had exceeded 120,000 people, and he built equipment day and night, with a posture of attacking the city!

The art of war: 'Ten are encircled, five are attacked', after the defeat of the war, there are only 40,000 defenders left, most of them are old, weak, sick and disabled, as for the people in the city, they can follow the flag and shout, they really want to fight to the death, which is tantamount to driving sheep and feeding tigers!

What is even more depressing is that the hearts of the people in the city are shaken, and seeing that the party is in danger, many people choose to flee, civilians, soldiers, and petty officials...... They all used ropes to follow the wall, sneaking out of the city, some hid in the mountains, some surrendered to the Cao army, at least hundreds of people fled in one night, and the soldiers defending the city not only did not stop, but also ran with them!

The army was defeated, the aid was denied, the people's hearts were fluctuating, the senior cadres had no confidence to defend the city, and they didn't want to sit idly by, so they convened civil and military officials overnight to discuss the major affairs of the military aircraft, or rather, to discuss the major matters of escape!

"Cao's army is heavily gathered, the spirit is flourishing, our army is unfavorable to the battle, the people's hearts are floating, and if we have to hold on, I am afraid that the situation is not good, but give up the lonely city, retreat north to Taiyuan County, shrink the strength of our army, stretch the enemy's supply line, and when the time is ripe, and then come back with a large-scale counterattack, we will definitely be able to defeat the enemy!"

At the meeting, Gao Gan said very tactfully, and he was advancing by retreating and luring the enemy to go deeper, but in fact, it was just four words - abandon the city and flee!

"Lord Assassin Shi must not abandon the city, Shangdang is the gateway to the state, once the opponent is lost, won't the door be wide open?"

"Most of the defenders are the children of the party, let them give up their hometown, I'm afraid the army will not be convinced, it's better to stick to it!"

……………………………………

A group of civil and military officials resolutely oppose the abandonment of the city, and the bitter persuasion, especially the military generals who are members of the party, with their hands on the hilt of their swords, their eyes are fierce, their wives and children, parents, and villagers are all in the city, who wants to leave their hometown?

"Well...... You are reasonable, go to the party's important town, there is no room for mistakes, this assassin swears to the sky, lead the soldiers to fight to the end, never abandon the city, everyone perform their duties, arrange defense! ”

Seeing that the public was angry, Gao Gan also changed his tone, revealing a righteous and awe-inspiring posture, otherwise, once a mutiny was provoked, his life would be difficult to protect!

"No! - Fight to the end and never abandon the city! ”

Everyone drew their swords and cut their cheeks to show their determination to defend the city, and then returned to the camp to prepare to go.

Gao Gan's tone changed, but the decision was not changed, cursed and swore to defend the city, but it was just a fool, after everyone left, he immediately got ready, not to defend the city, but to escape......

The next night, Gao Gan took more than a dozen concubines, looted gold, silver and jewelry, and thousands of remnants of the 'Tielin Army', secretly opened the gate of Shangdang City, and fled all the way north, he wanted to flee to Taiyuan County, where the city is tall, the grain and grass are abundant, and there is Hukou Pass, which can protect his own safety!

Gao Gan sneaked away, without notifying any officials, and did not do any destruction, the food, ordnance, household registration, more than 30,000 defenders and more than 60,000 people in the city were all left to Cao Jun, which is really quite generous!

The next morning, Li Sheng led the officials to discuss matters with senior cadres, but they searched through the mansion, and there was no trace of Master Assassin, and he asked the soldiers guarding the city, only then did he know that Lord Assassin Shi had slipped away!

"Oh no...... Lord Thorn has abandoned the city and fled! ”

"The assassins have all run away, who are we going to give our lives, let's run with them!"

……………………

After learning the news, the officials discarded the seal letter and fled one after another, some went to chase Gao Gan, and some fled directly to Yecheng, like a lost dog!

The soldiers were unrestrained, and they also scattered in a hurry, some of them lost their armor and fled back to their hometowns, and some of them held white knives and went to the streets to burn, kill and plunder...... Shangdang was in a big mess, and he couldn't hold it anymore, and three days later, he opened the city gate and asked Cao Jun to surrender!

So after the delay of three days, it was all Li Sheng's obstruction, after the Gao Gan escaped, he gathered civil and military officials, tried to unite people's hearts, and continued to defend the city, but unfortunately, the defeat was decided, irreparable, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't stop the surrender!

In the end, several lieutenants staged a mutiny, tied up Li Sheng, and sent the messenger to the Cao army camp as a gift of surrender, along with the seal letter, household registration, and city gate key!

The victor is always tolerant, Ma Liu accepted the seal letter, household registration, rewarded the surrender messenger, imprisoned Li Sheng, ate and drank well without abuse, and then sang a triumphant song, commanded 50,000 horses, and took over the defense of Shangdang City!

That's right, it's 50,000 horses, from the start of the war to the breaking of the city, Xiao Yi didn't send a single reinforcement, the so-called army gathered, ready to attack the city, but it was just a little trick, this is called the soldier is not tired of cheating, the process is as follows:

At night, Ma Liu sent a group of men and horses, secretly left the camp, walked out of twenty or thirty miles, and waited until daytime, and then drove into the camp with great fanfare, so repeated cycles, causing the illusion of continuous reinforcements, at the same time, the camp lit more bonfires, set up more tents, and the sergeants shouted and shouted, as if there were hundreds of thousands of horses, and finally scared the high cadres away!

After entering the city, Ma Liu restrained the surrender of troops and restored law and order, and passed the book to Xiao Yi on the other hand, reporting the results.

…………………………………………………………………………

"Congratulations to the virtuous brother for his victory, and his success immediately, I have already written to the Prime Minister, and I will be rewarded for the merits of the generals!"

"It's just a small victory, compared with Xiao Lang's exploits, it's not worth mentioning at all, it's not too late to take the whole territory of the state!"

……………………………………

Four days later, Xiao Yi led a large group of people and horses, and also came to Shangdang City, Ma Liu took people out of the city to greet them, after the two met, they couldn't help but hug each other and laugh, one was happy that he had made a contribution, and the other was happy that his brother had made a contribution!

After Xiao Yi entered the city, he first set up a celebration banquet to reward the generals and colonels, remember their merits, reward them, and encourage them...... Then he met with the officials who surrendered, and appeased them with kind words, so that they could be reinstated, deal with the affairs of the party, and finally interrogate Li Sheng, this kind of person who would rather die than surrender, or kill or reuse!

"Compete on the battlefield, each with his own skills, it is the will of heaven to break the party city, and I hope that the general will restrain the soldiers, don't kill innocents indiscriminately, kill or chop in the next, listen to it!"

After the two sides met, Li Sheng stood up and did not kneel, with a resolute look on his face, since ancient times, loyal ministers have not been the second master, he is ready to die for the Yuan family, if it is not Xiao Yi who sits down, he is too lazy to say a word!

"Are you the master of the Gao Gan, or the master of the state, you are a slave of the Yuan family, or a courtier of the Han Dynasty, say it clearly before you die, and leave a record on the tombstone!"

Xiao Yi smiled faintly, for this kind of dead-eyed person, there is no coercion by force or good words to bribe, he must convince people with reason and break the belief in his heart, he is just good at this!

"Well...... Under is the master of the state, and it is the courtier of the Han Dynasty, whether it is life or death, it is the same! ”

Li Sheng hesitated a little and made the right choice, Cao and Yuan Shuangxiong confronted each other, and the blood of the killing was like a river, but from the perspective of the legal system, both sides are Han courtiers and loyal to the son of heaven of the Liu family, if they admit that they are the servants of the Yuan family, they are chaotic ministers and thieves!

The other party said clearly, this must be engraved on the tombstone, Li Sheng is not afraid of death, nor is he greedy for wealth and wealth, but he cherishes his reputation and bears the infamy of a 'thief', which is more uncomfortable than death!

"That is, the courtier of the Han Dynasty, why did he help the Yuan family rebel against the imperial court to conquer the army? That is, the main book of the state, I saw the big Sima, why didn't I pay a salute, and I forgot the number of Han officials? ”

One of the advantages of Cao Ying Group is that the Son of Heaven is coerced to order the princes, occupying the political commanding heights, this time sending troops to the Northern Expedition, the little emperor also issued a holy decree, calling the Yuan family a 'traitor', so Xiao Yi is full of confidence!

"Li Sheng, the chief secretary of the state, please forgive me for the rude just now...... Whining! ”

Li Sheng hesitated for a while, the heavens and men fought in his heart, and finally knelt down on his knees, and made a big salute to pay homage, the Han family law system is as big as the sky, and no one can get around it!

Human nature is like this, if you stand and talk, one side of the two sides is high, no one has to be afraid of anyone, if one side kneels down, suddenly the confidence is completely gone, and it can no longer be divided into courts, Li Sheng's will to die for a few days is also gradually dissipating......

"Even if you are a courtier of the Han family, you should be loyal to the court and be loyal to your duties, thinking that you are an ignorant person, this great Sima will not be blamed, immediately take office and handle official business!"

While speaking, Xiao Yi held the pen in his hand and wrote a document, asking Li Sheng to act as the county guard of the party, responsible for the administration of the people, and then stamped the seal of the big Sima, and the appointment officially took effect!

"If you are humble and give thanks, you will be loyal to your duties and live up to the trust of the court!"

When Li Sheng left, he didn't know the leg of the step, his mind was blank, he was ready to abide by the minister's festival, how could he accept the appointment, and the party was too guarded, a high-ranking official with two thousand stones, and wearing a silver seal and red ribbon, it was really tempting?

"I am the prime minister of the Han Dynasty, the Han is also me, what the Prime Minister said is really a wise saying, be an uncrowned king, and command the world!"

Looking at the departing figure, Xiao Yi was proud for a while, accepted the appointment, entered Cao Ying, and under the soft grinding and hard bubbles, are you still afraid that people's hearts will not be submissive, and you will have another talent!

"Send someone to find out, who opened the city gate, knelt on the ground and begged for surrender, in the name of 'entering Beijing to be rewarded', secretly executed halfway, a spineless traitor, this big Sima dare not use it!"

"No!"

(End of chapter)