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Before capturing the eastern capital, Ning Baoguan had also captured several cities, the place was not large, there were no people in the city, almost all of them were empty cities, and the food looted was only enough to sustain the army for a few days.

In the eyes of the soldiers, King Ning is always so calm, he knows everything well, no matter how big the threat is, he can always be calm and calm, and arrange the whole army properly, and the only thing the soldiers have to do is to fight bravely.

No one knows, Ning Baoguan's first thought when he wakes up every morning is how much food is left in the army, where can he get more food, the larger the team, the more urgent this problem is.

Therefore, Ning Baoguan tried not to recruit soldiers who dragged his family with his mouth, but he couldn't stop his subordinates from snatching "family", and every time he captured a place, there would always be a little useless population in the ranks, and he could only turn a blind eye, and sometimes he would publicly reward the prisoners to someone.

When there was no gold, silver, food, or officials, rewarding the population was one of the few options he had left.

Therefore, when a granary in the eastern capital was finally opened, and Ning Baoguan stood at the door to check how much, he only felt a rush of blood rushing to the top of his head, and tears almost burst out of his eyes.

This warehouse alone contained more grain than he had scavenged from the entire city.

More than a dozen soldiers stood behind Ning Baoguan, even more dumbfounded, someone stepped forward, grabbed a handful of corn, stuffed it into his mouth and chewed it, when he turned around, he really burst into tears, and said vaguely: "It's true, it's true!" The emperor saved so much food alone, but let the people of Qinzhou starve......"

"With so much food, we can eat it for a few years without doing anything, right?" The other swallowed.

Ning Baoguan finally came back to his senses, "Everyone in the whole army will receive a hut first, don't move the rest of the grain, and don't open all the other granaries." ”

"Yes." The generals were elated, and a little food could satisfy them for a while.

Ning Baoguan turned around and said to the generals: "Follow me into the palace and see what the ladies in the palace look like!" ”

The crowd applauded, and their eyes lit up with excitement.

Ning Baoguan needed their excitement, and his eyes swept over, but he saw a face that was completely devoid of excitement.

"King Wu seems to have something to say." Ning Baoguan calmed down slightly.

"It's not that I have something to say, it's that the King of Jin, the King of the Incarnation and others outside the city have something to say."

Ning Baoguan was not interested, and said to the generals: "Send food first, and talk about other things later, Dongdu is already ours, don't rush at this time." ”

The generals left in a huff, discussing what the women in the palace would look like as they went.

Ning Baoguan motioned for the guards to stay where they were, and walked to the side with Xu Ji, "You persuaded me to be emperor outside the city, but now you don't think it's time?" ”

Xu Ji smiled and said: "I persuaded King Ning to be the emperor, and I talked about several conveniences, but I didn't say that it would be smooth sailing after becoming the emperor, but it was just ......"

Only in front of Xu Ji, it was difficult for Ning Baoguan to keep his composure, and his right hand always wanted to touch the knife, "One moment human talk, one moment ghost talk, what are you?" ”

Xu Ji arched his hand, "Don't care about people's words and ghost words, King Ning chooses the good ones and follows them, why not?" ”

Ning Baoguan turned his head to look at the granary, then at the guards who were still excited, and thought again and again, "You can tell me something more." ”

"King Ning's capture of the eastern capital is like picking up gold on the road, which can be squandered for a while, can be sold for land, can be hidden but not used, and can also be given to others."

"Wait, it's like a human in the front, but it's not right in the back, why should I give the gold I picked up to someone else?"

"Why did King Ning give each soldier a grain just now?"

"They fight for me, of course, they have to share some benefits, not only food, but also good things in the eastern capital."

Xu Ji arched his hand, "No wonder the soldiers of the Incarnation Army are willing to follow King Ning." However, King Ning still wants more soldiers? ”

"Of course...... I see what you mean. Ning Baoguan was silent for a while, not thinking about the meaning of Xu Ji's words, but thinking about whether he was willing to accept it, "Dongdu is considered to be selected by me for nothing, and I can use it to buy people's hearts, and I can also pick up bigger gold." ”

Xu Ji gave up his hand again, Ning Baoguan was by no means an easy person to persuade, but at least he could listen to it.

"But I may not be able to pick up a bigger piece of gold, but I will divide all the pieces I have in my hand."

Xu Ji nodded, and let Ning Huguan think about it.

After a long time, Ning hugged Guan and said, "How many hearts do I have to buy?" ”

"The more the merrier."

"Hey, when you say that, Dongdu immediately doesn't get much bigger, and there isn't much food, it doesn't seem to be enough."

"Those who aspire to the world, of course, will take the eastern capital as the smallest."

"Before you know it, you have gone from human words to nonsense...... Ning Baoguan fell into deep thought again, the gold in his hand has not been used to enjoy it, and it has to be shared with others, which is an extremely difficult choice for anyone.

Ning Baoguan is a little different from others, when he needs to be persuaded, he can listen to opinions, and once a decision is made, he no longer consults with others, but has to make his own decisions.

The generals happened to bring the soldiers of their headquarters to come over to receive food, not all of them came, just a few, carried enough food away, and then divided it when they went back.

Taking advantage of everyone's happiness, he said to the generals: "All the keys to the eastern capital will be in the hands of King Wu in the future, and no one will be allowed to enter any gate, whether it is the gate of the palace or the small door of the people's homes, without the permission of King Wu." Do you understand? ”

All the generals were ordered, and they all looked at Xu Ji with extremely envious eyes, envying him for getting such a fat difference, but with the merit of King Wu, no one raised any objections.

Ning Baoguan walked up to Xu Ji and whispered: "Since you want to buy people's hearts, let's start with you, if it really works, I will consider the 'more the merrier' thing." ”

"If King Ning didn't have great ambitions, I would never say those words."

Ning Baoguan showed a smile, "I am in charge of the city and outside the city, you are in charge of the city and the city, don't let my people be hungry, frozen, and miserable, and other things are at your disposal." ”

"I won't let King Ning down."

This was originally a flattering remark, but Ning Baoguan sighed, "Go find your people, and leave some to help me defend the city." ”

For Ning Baoguan, trusting King Wu is a necessary move, but also a last resort adventure.

Xu Ji gave up his hand and didn't say anything more.

This time, Xu Ji didn't have to make a gesture to call King Ning's subordinates, and directly called the soldiers of the Wu army headquarters, leaving all the Liang and Jin soldiers to Ning Baoguan.

Most of the cavalry of the Wu army were lent to the king of Jin, and there were less than 300 people left, and the leader Chang Shunzhi was executed, and Xu Ji had to re-consolidate the loyalty of these men to him.

This is not difficult to do, Xu Ji has already been in the awe of the Wu army, Chang Shunzhi's death only adds to the "fear" side, after receiving some additional rewards, nearly three hundred Wu troops have no complaints about the ruling king.

There are many departments in the Eastern Capital, there are more warehouses, and no one is in charge of all the keys, if Xu Ji collects them everywhere, he may not be able to complete them in a few months, so he has to find another way.

Zhou Lu ran away, Cao Shenxi was still there, still a prisoner in the army, and was imprisoned in a military camp, because of the care of King Wu, Cao Shenxi occupied a room and did not suffer too much.

As soon as he saw Xu Ji, Cao Shenxi sighed, and he was a hundred times sadter than Ning Huguan.

"The general has fled with his troops, and the kings of the descending army are outside the city, and King Ning is considering whether to let them all in." Xu Jidao.

"Alas, Dongdu has really fallen into the hands of a group of thieves, what else can I say? It's my fault, if I'm ...... Alas, don't mention it, I just hope that you can show mercy to your subordinates a little and leave a way for the people of Dongdu to live. Especially you, no matter what grievances you have with the Lou family, Dongdu is still your hometown. ”

Xu Ji remembered the words of Fei Yu and Tian Jiang, and the people who talked about the people did not think that they were the people, and they just took the opportunity to enrich themselves.

He couldn't help but smile, and then straightened his color, "General Cao doesn't want to go home and take a look?" ”

Cao Shenxi looked surprised, "I can go home...... What are your intentions? ”

"General Cao doesn't have to think about it, I can't let you go free, but you can accompany the general back to the mansion to see if the family is safe, and then you have to come back."

"You...... I'm going to check it out. Cao Shenxi has been in suspense about his family for a long time, and he can't refuse Xu Ji's kindness.

Most of the powerful families in the eastern capital are concentrated in the north city, there are more civil servants in the east, and there are more military generals in the west, on the way to Cao's house, just passing by the streets and alleys where the mansion is located, Xu Ji didn't even turn his head to take a look, Cao Shenxi secretly observed, and sighed again.

The gate of Cao's Mansion was closed, and the soldiers of the Wu army knocked for a while, until Cao Shenxi personally went to call the door, and no one opened the small door, and when he saw the master, he was stunned at first, and then cried loudly.

Cao Shenxi's adult children and grandchildren were all under the general's account, and when the news of the defeat came, the family almost ran away, leaving only the old lady with a few young grandchildren and granddaughters, insisting on not leaving, but she didn't expect to really wait for her husband.

The husband and wife hugged their heads and cried, Cao Shenxi calmed down first, comforted him, explained some things, returned to the door of the house, and said to Xu Ji, who was waiting here: "I understand your intentions, alas, I would rather die than do this kind of thing." But along the way, I see that the streets and alleys have not been destroyed, and you seem to be a real rebel army. I think I can do something for you, but I won't surrender, I'm still a natural minister, please don't think about it. ”

"Of course, I asked General Cao for help, not to recruit surrender, but to keep the eastern capital and not humiliate the people."

"Well, where do you want to start?"

"Start by gathering the ministers, if the Eastern Capital wants to maintain normalcy, it can't do without them."

"I'm afraid there are not a few left, I heard from my wife that my daughter-in-law and granddaughter-in-law all ran back to their parents' house and escaped from the Eastern Capital together."

"How many are few, if it is insufficient, some more can be appointed, and the people of Dongdu should still be willing to be officials, right?"

Cao Shenxi only sighed.

The soldiers of the Wu army ran all over the streets and alleys of the city, loudly announcing that General Cao Shenxi Cao had returned to the city, and summoned the ministers in the palace, down to the small officials without quality, up to the three divisions and three dukes, all of whom had to go to visit, and those who arrived first were rewarded, and those who arrived later were in vain, and those who did not arrive were punished.

There were indeed people coming, not many at first, but after seeing Cao Shenxi, they went to find someone again, attracting a lot of colleagues, most of the old officials, and none of the three divisions and three dukes.

Xu Ji made a book on the spot, recorded the names and positions, reassigned responsibilities, and more than half a day passed, although he could not grasp the key to the treasury of the entire eastern capital, at least he got a rough idea, so he first transferred cloth, grain and grass, and equipment to supply the soldiers of King Ning in the city, and then supplied the people of the whole city, and even did not forget to help the poorest people, and specially designated several places for porridge on credit.

Cao Shen just showed his face, sat on the side and watched, slowly, sighing a lot less, and finally he said: "Stabilize the Eastern Capital, start with the imperial palace, take refuge in the two palaces, and the queen mother is still there." If the Queen Mother can come forward, things will be easier. ”

Xu Ji thanked him and led people to the palace gate, and when he was about to arrive at the door, he remembered that the Queen Mother was the wife of the Emperor of All Things, and he hadn't noticed it for so long.

A soldier ran over, amazed at the grandeur of the imperial city, and looked at it as he ran, came to the front, and arched his hand: "King Ning asked me to inform King Wu that early tomorrow morning, the incarnation king will lead the kings into the city, so that you can find a place to receive them well." ”

Ning Baoguan still has his own ideas after all, Xu Ji admires this person, and at the same time understands that the road ahead will be more difficult.