Cao's army besieged the city for several months, and once led Surabaya and Yishui to pour into Xiapi.

The soldiers and civilians in the city suffered countless casualties, and the walls were ruined everywhere and depressed.

Riding a red rabbit, Lu Bu walked along the street accompanied by Chen Gong and others.

After a fight, perhaps Chitu recognized his bravery and was no longer as anxious as before.

The Cao army, which had besieged Xiapi, withdrew, and the soldiers and civilians who had been nervous for several months finally relaxed.

They cleaned up collapsed houses and searched the rubble for something useful.

In the battle of Xiapi, Lu Bu won a tragic victory, and the gloom that permeated the city was still extremely thick and lasted for a long time.

"Warm." Accompanying him, Chen Gong said: "Although we have defended Xiapi, Pengcheng, Xiaopei and other places are still in the hands of Cao Cao. Once they have prepared enough grain and grass, they will still come to Xuzhou. ”

"What should I do with you?" Lu Bu asked.

"Cao's army grain and grass have been burned, and it will take some days to reraise them." Chen Gong replied: "Wen Hou can just use this time to regain lost territory and stabilize Xuzhou. ”

"We only have 2,000 men, and the soldiers are already exhausted." Lu Bu said: "There are simply not enough manpower to recapture Xiaopei, Pengcheng and other places. ”

"Even if you don't have enough people, you have to do it." Chen Gong said: "If you don't take those places, Cao Cao's march into Xuzhou again will be like entering a no-man's land, and then I am afraid that Wen Hou will not even be able to keep a foothold!" ”

"Do you have a plan to take the city?" Lu Bu asked.

"Cao Cao broke through Pengcheng and slaughtered it, and it had become an empty city. Although he didn't leave anything for Wen Hou, he also cut off the back road of Cao's army guarding Xuzhou. Chen Gong said: "Wen Hou burned their military rations, as long as the defenders of Pengcheng are trapped and they are not given a chance to leave the city, they will definitely surrender in a short time." ”

"Peng Cheng can be trapped to death, what should Xiao Pei do?" Lu Bu asked.

"How to capture Xiaopei depends on Cao Cao." Chen Gong said: "Knowing who he left behind to guard, we can make targeted deployments." ”

"Then wait until Cao Cao is far away." Lu Bu agreed, and then said: "Xuzhou is a place of several battles, since Cao Cao fought against Tao Qian, there have been constant wars here. In addition to retaking Pengcheng, Xiaopei and other places, we have an equally important thing to do. ”

"Wen Hou is talking about ......," Chen Gong asked.

"Recruit soldiers and horses and strengthen Xuzhou." Lu Bu said: "In addition to conscription, we also have to recruit businessmen to come and go for trade, and money is required for conscription, training, and construction. Money is important at all times. ”

"After years of war, Xuzhou has long been impoverished." Chen Gong said: "Even if there are merchants, what do we sell to others? ”

"I'll figure it out." Lu Bu said: "The reconstruction of Xuzhou is under the responsibility of the public platform, and now most of the villages around the country are deserted, so we have to think of ways to let the villagers go home." With no one to plow the land, sooner or later we will all starve to death. Gongtai first handed over the affairs of the army to General Gao and General Zhang, and must devote himself to government affairs. ”

In front of Zhang Liao and Gao Shun, Lü Bu took away the military power of Chen Gong and put him in charge of local government affairs.

Of course, Chen Gong was unhappy in his heart.

Zhang Liao and Gao Shun were also very puzzled.

"General Gao." Looking at Gao Shun, Lu Bu asked, "How many people are there in the trapped camp?" ”

"There are only more than 300 people left." Gao Shun replied.

"All the strong are put into the camp, I want you to use the shortest time to restore this strong team." Lu Bu said: "As for the number of people, it is no longer limited to seven hundred, but five thousand!" ”

Gao Shun was stunned: "There are only 2,000 people in the city......

"There are not so many people now, and there will definitely be in the future." Lu Bu interrupted him: "You will be in charge of the drill camp, and you will not listen to anyone except me." ”

"Obey the general's orders!" When Gao Shun answered, his heart was mixed with all kinds of tastes.

Lu Bu didn't trust him so much at the beginning.

He practiced out of the trapping camp, but was handed over to Wei Xu by Lu Bu.

Even most of the standing soldiers and horses under his command were divided into Chen Palace.

Now he was not only ordered to regroup, but also received the promise of leading this group in the future.

What's more, the trapped camp will only obey Lu Bu's dispatch from now on.

If he hadn't taken him as a confidant, Lu Bu would never have made such a decision!

At the moment of receiving the order, Gao Shun felt that the distance between him and Lu Bu had narrowed, and he was no longer as alienated and slow as in the past.

"Wenyuan." Looking at Zhang Liao again, Lu Bu said: "From now on, you will be my deputy general, except for the camp, you will take care of all the affairs in the army." ”

Although he is one of the eight strong generals under Lu Bu, Zhang Liao has never been reused in the past.

He looked at Lu Bu in astonishment, and actually forgot to bow to the leader's order.

Gao Shun tugged at the corner of his clothes and glanced at him.

Zhang Liaoying, who came back to his senses, said: "I will do whatever Wen Hou wants me to do, even if I am broken!" ”

Patting his arm gently, Lu Bu said: "The generals and soldiers in the army will have to worry more about Wen Yuan in the future." ”

As the main father, Lu Bu can gently pat Zhang Liao's arm, undoubtedly showing closeness.

Zhang Liao, who was once as unvalued as Gao Shun, suddenly felt a warm current surging in his chest.

"Does Wen Hou think that I can't use soldiers?" Gao Shun and Zhang Liao were satisfied, and Chen Gong, who had been stripped of his military power, asked bluntly with some chagrin.

"Of course not." Lu Bu said: "During the days when Cao's army was besieging the city, I kept thinking about why I was powerless to resist, and finally let me figure it out. ”

"What did Wen Hou understand?" Chen Gong's face was full of doubts.

"Cao Cao is so strong because he separates the military from the government, someone is in charge of government affairs, and the local government is governed in an orderly manner. The treasury is full of money and food, and he can use soldiers whenever he wants. Lu Bu said: "At the beginning, we had a lot of soldiers and horses, but we were not Cao's opponents, and the root cause was only because we simply focused on military affairs, but ignored local government affairs. Poverty and a well-to-do family can't compete with them, of course. ”

He grinned at Chen Gong again: "There are not many people available around me, except for the three of you, who else can I trust now?" Who else dare to believe? If you don't clean up the place, who else can take on the heavy responsibility? ”

Lu Bu's words were sincere, and there was no artificiality at all.

Although he was still a little unhappy in his heart, Chen Gong also understood his approach.

"Since Wen Hou can trust me, then I'll give it a try." Chen Gong responded.

He had taken military power away from Zhang Liao and Gao Shun, so much so that relations with the generals were very strained.

Lu Bu arranged it this way, which virtually eliminated Zhang Liao and Gao Shun's hostility towards him.

It's not a bad thing when you think about it.

When he came to the Xiapi Mansion, Lu Bu said to the servants: "I have assigned things to you, and if you want to achieve great things in the troubled times, you have to have a few people with the same heart and mind as me!" ”