Chapter 4 Section 64 Siege

Chen Lin returned to Yecheng, ignoring the ridicule of others, and first reported his suspicions to Yuan Shao: someone in Yecheng secretly reported to Liu Bei, and Liu Bei had something to say, and it seemed that he had already known the content of the text.

Yuan Shao was terrified, the only people who could know the content of the inscription were senior strategists, these people collaborated with the enemy, and Liu Bei didn't know the truth in Yecheng. Yuan Shao didn't think about it, and immediately investigated his subordinates, and for a while, everyone in Yecheng was in danger.

Another piece of news that Chen Lin brought back made Yuan Shao panic even more: Liu Bei's speed of building siege equipment was far beyond people's imagination, and perhaps, three or two days later, the construction of siege equipment was completed.

Yuan Shao couldn't sit still, and immediately went to the city to check the enemy's situation.

Outside the city, Qingzhou soldiers rushed to Yecheng City in an endless stream, on the edge of the camp, kept inserting the identification flag of the general, only one day's effort, the flag on the side of the camp wall has been half full.

"Liu Bei is still continuing to increase his troops" Feng Ji explained, at this moment, the rest of the strategists have been forbidden to climb the city wall, in case they exchange news with Liu Bei: "I heard Liyi say before: Qingzhou soldiers have a military overseer's mansion, in which a group of soldiers are in charge of formulating battle plans, distributing battle maps, and dispatching troops to participate in the battle. When all the participating troops are assembled, the Qingzhou soldiers will raise the command flag. The command flag indicates the rank of each general and the position of each branch of the military. The command flag consists of a series of small identification flags (similar to the fleet command flag in 18th-century naval warfare) that are raised high above the command vehicle. Now, only Liu Bei's banner has been raised in the opponent's camp, which shows that the soldiers participating in the battle in Qingzhou have not yet arrived. ”

"One, two, three, four......" General Jiang Yiqu counted the identification flags on the Qingzhou camp one by one, Yuan Shaozheng felt upset, wanted to stop Jiang Yiqu, heard his next words, and immediately pricked up his ears to listen: "Qingzhou military system, infantry is a group of ten, cavalry is a group of five, called a 'squad', a fourth-class officer leads a regiment (major), and a first-class colonel officer (colonel) commands a division. On the wall, on the right side of the school flag, is the lieutenant he leads. At present, a total of 7 first-class colonel flags have been raised, which shows that 7 divisions and regiments have come, and then counting the captain's flags, the approximate strength of the Qingzhou soldiers under the city is clear. ”

Yuan Shao immediately interjected: "Immediately dispatch soldiers with good eyesight and count the Qingzhou military flags." ”

Jiang Yiqu replied absentmindedly: "With so many military flags fluttering back and forth, I'm afraid it's not easy to count, ah, there is one more military flag!" ”

Yuan Shao asked urgently: "Is there another division?" ”

Jiang Yiqu squinted his eyes and carefully observed the newly raised military flag: "It's a general flag, and a general has come, that is, a legion has come." The emblem on the military flag is a shield, which indicates that one side has been garrisoned, and there is a bear on the shield, which seems to be the earliest person to follow Liu Bei in Izumo. Inside the flag, Tai Shici, Gao Shun, and Tian Chou have this glory. Who else, Guan Hai, must be Guan Hai. He is coming, and the siege is about to begin. ”

Yuan Shao was flustered and asked, "Yiqu, are you sure?" Why did Guan Hai arrive, Liu Bei was about to start attacking the city. ”

Feng Ji asked: "Yiqu, how do you know so much about the Qingzhou military system, are you sure that the siege war is about to start?" ”

Jiang Yiqu's face darkened: "These are all what Lu Yi told me." In order for the generals to know themselves and the enemy, Lu Yi entered Qinghe last year, intending to enter Qingzhou, so he inquired about the Qingzhou military system in many ways, and then told us what he knew. ”

Yuan Shao's face was pale, and he didn't continue to ask. Feng Ji said: "As far as I know, Guan Hai was born as a bandit and is Liu Bei's general, he is here, what does it have to do with the siege?" How can Yiqu be so sure that the siege is about to begin. ”

Jiang Yiqu explained: "Guan Hai, as Liu Bei's general, is extremely brave. Liu Bei fought large and small battles, and he participated in them. Guan Hai arrived at the city, which showed that Liu Bei's military deployment was about to end. Either tomorrow or the day after tomorrow, the siege will begin. ”

Yuan Shao turned his head to Feng Ji and instructed: "Fu Tu, Liu Bei's siege of the city is imminent, we must send more people to Luoyang and ask the edict to mediate quickly." ”

Feng Ji frowned and didn't answer, Jiang Yiqu kindly pointed out: "Lord, look at the scene outside the city." ”

Yuan Shao looked up, and then noticed that outside the city, the Qingzhou cavalry was in groups of three or five, seemingly wandering around, however, whenever the copper whistle sounded, a certain team found the scout horses sent out in the city, and immediately swarmed there, taking advantage of the advantage of being light and fast, and intercepted and encircled those reconnaissance scouts everywhere.

What made the defenders of the city even more annoyed was that these guys were also bold and reckless in provocation. Some of the most daring light cavalry, in groups of three or five, circled the city walls from time to time, and when they saw any lax defenses, they saw an opportunity to shoot a round of arrows at the walls and harass the defenders at the head of the city. However, they are also very cunning, and quickly retreat when they encounter the slightest resistance.

As if to provoke the defenders to go out of the city to fight, the Qingzhou soldiers basked in the sun under the city, some soldiers with loud voices still shouted and scolded under the city, and some soldiers with great acting talents performed all kinds of creative performances under the city, wantonly insulting the defenders in the city.

Yuan Shao's heart was on fire, and he drew his sword, preparing to give the order to attack these abusive soldiers. After only taking two steps, he suddenly calmed down, tilted his head to look carefully at the abusive soldiers outside the city, and slowly inserted his saber into its sheath.

Jiang Yiqu nodded appreciatively and explained: "Although these people seem to be sitting scattered, they don't move around each other, and they all sit together in groups of five or ten, which just fits the configuration of a class in Qingzhou." Judging from the position they did, it was layered on top of each other, mixed with infantry and cavalry, and it was just a defensive formation. Once my assault troops fall into it, and the heavy cavalry in the battalion is killed, I am afraid that the assault army will not be able to return to Yecheng. ”

Yuan Shao was really frightened at this time: "Fu Tu, Liu Bei cut off my connection with the outside of the city and killed the scouts who left the city, does he really want to attack Yecheng?" ”

Feng Ji replied slowly: "I'm afraid yes, Liu Bei crossed the border to kill Yuan Yu and repelled Yuan Shu, it seems that he is very dissatisfied with the lord's order to let the princes enter Qingzhou to eat, this time, his target is the lord." However, Yecheng is strong and has sufficient food, and I hope that the lord will firmly defend his heart and not be tempted out of the city by Liu Bei. We will send messengers to contact Luoyang in succession, and as long as the messengers break through, we will have hope. ”

Yuan Shao asked again: "Fu Tu, Liu Bei once said: I killed Lu Yi and captured my eldest son Yuan Tan, you see, this news is not true." ”

Feng Ji replied: "Liu Bei's military strength is not yet complete, I suspect that they are dealing with Yuan Gongzi, if Yuan Gongzi has not yet dealt with Liyi in Guangping, and Liyi returns to the army, Liu Bei will not be easy." ”

At this moment, on the city wall, the soldiers of the south gate came urgently to report: "Another Qingzhou soldier has arrived, blocking the south gate, and the banner is two legions, the thunder cavalry and the wolf cavalry legion." ”

Yuan Shao and Feng Ji glanced at each other, and Yuan Shao stumbled and fell to the ground: "Yuan Tan, my son, could it be that you really died." ”

It's over, Jiang Yiqu's face is like ashes, it's over, the last reinforcements have been cut off, and Yecheng has become a lonely city.

Under the city of Yecheng, the Qingzhou military camp, Liu Bei received the news of Luoyang and was shocked: "Zhu Jun, the general of the chariot cavalry, was killed, and Cao Cao went to Gucheng to rescue." Woe to you. ”

Zhu Jun was raised by Liu Bei and others to fight against Yuan Shao, and at this time, the news of his death came, which was really a disaster. However, this matter is still not as good as Cao Cao's dispatch of troops to rescue. The garrison of Gucheng was originally a measure to restrict Cao Cao's westward advance, but it was used by Cao Cao to advance westward. When he rescued Gucheng, wouldn't he be allowed to garrison Gucheng, if that was the case, wouldn't Liu Bei become another Yuan Shao?

Lu Zhi, the great Confucian, Cao Cao wanted to coax him easily, and maybe he would hand over Luoyang's private soldiers to Cao Cao and let him go west to conquer. Bring him back? Lu Zhi was very considerate of Liu Bei not long ago, and did not force him to withdraw from Jizhou, and now he doesn't give Lu Zhi face, okay? Then Liu Bei's former face of respecting the teacher was completely overturned. Leave the impression of deceiving the world and stealing fame, how can you mix in this troubled world?

Cao Cao Cao, give you a little sunshine and you will be brilliant, worthy of being a traitor in the world.

"Speed up the construction of siege equipment, start the siege in three days, and ten days later, I want to drink tea in Yecheng Prefecture." To take Yecheng, only by taking Yecheng as soon as possible can we extend our tentacles to the state, and then communicate with Luoyang from the state. The county of Wei, where Yecheng is located, borders Shangdang County of Bingzhou, which borders Hanoi County, and crosses the Yellow River to Luoyang. Occupy Hanoi County and deploy defenses along the Yellow River to control Luoyang. Advance to the west and march south, advance and retreat freely.

Tian Chou pinched his fingers and took stock of the military strength: "At present, there are the Violent Bear Legion led by Guan Hai (the Heavy Axe Division and the Light Cavalry Division composed of tribal soldiers), the Third Legion of Zhang Fei, the Guards Infantry Army (Heavy Swift Gallop Soldiers) led by Dian Wei, the Left Guard Cavalry led by Huang Zhong, and the Right Cavalry of the Guards led by Ye Tian.

At the south gate of Yecheng, there are Gao Shun's Thunder Cavalry Legion, Tai Shici's Wolf Cavalry Legion, and the Linzi Guard Division, the siege force is slightly insufficient, whether to let Zhang He support an ironclad division. ”

Liu Bei shook his head: "Zhang He shoulders the heavy task of advancing westward, and his exhaustive stone corps wants to take the entire northern part of Jizhou and the northern part of Jizhou. Our army attacked the city with its present strength, and ordered: raise the command flag, blow the military trumpet, and summon the generals of all departments to the military tent to discuss the siege of the city. ”

Tian Chou added: "In addition, send people to urge Zhao Fu, Cheng Lian, Geng Wu, Guan Chun and other Jizhou generals to come to Yecheng as soon as possible, plot against the Yecheng guards, and stabilize the people of Yecheng." ”

"Okay," Liu Bei nodded and agreed: "I also want to send someone to urge the Fu army division, and order him to quickly transport the siege ordnance to the city, and our army needs to speed up the siege." ”

Tian Chou continued to state: "Yuan Tan Gaogan, who was captured by Zhang He, it is best to let him be sent here as well, it is useless for these two people to stay, it is better to send them to the city, indicating that Yecheng is cut off from foreign aid, so as to discourage the morale of the defenders." ”

The Qingzhou command flag was raised, causing panic in the city of Yecheng. Feng Ji was puzzled: Qingzhou actually wanted to capture Jiancheng with this military strength, what idea did Liu Bei have?

In the Qingzhou military camp, the generals are discussing enthusiastically. The cavalry is not good at attacking cities, and it is obvious that the gains outweigh the losses by using valuable horsemanship masters in siege. The task of ascending the city indisputably fell to Guan Hai's Violent Bear Legion and Dian Wei's Guards Infantry Army, and the generals discussed the issue of mutual cooperation after opening the city gates.

During the discussion, Gao Tanglong slammed into the military tent and shouted, "What about Tai Shici? ”

Liu Bei asked in surprise: "Shengping, why did you come here?" Qingzhou is fine, right? What trouble did Ziyi cause? ”

Tai Shi Ci walked out in confusion and bowed his hand: "Xiangguo, Ziyi is here, why are you looking for me?" ”

Gao Tang Long first saluted Liu Bei and replied: "Long is transporting siege equipment to the army, Qingzhou is stable, and there is nothing to do." ”

Turning around, Gao Tang scolded loudly: "Ziyi, what kind of battle did you fight?" 120,000 arrows were used in the First World War, 120,000, all money? Loser, you actually wrote on the armory list that 'it cannot be recovered', Qingzhou arrows are all assembly parts, so replace them if they are broken. 120,000 arrows can't be recovered, what do you shoot with arrows? ”

Tai Shici replied suspiciously: "My 5,000 soldiers only shot 120,000 arrows, and each of them only shot more than 20, not much." Besides, after the Guangping War, our army hurried to Yecheng, and there was no time to recover the arrows, of course, it was 'impossible to recover'. ”

Liu Bei gestured with his eyes: "Shengping, we are discussing in the military, and we will talk about it later." ”

The military discussion continued in a dreary atmosphere, and Liu Bei saw that everyone was already distracted, so he immediately ordered the military discussion to be ended: "Let's discuss here today, the Violent Bear Legion and the Guards Infantry Army will attack the main one, please come up with the siege plan tomorrow, and each department will report its location and cooperation plan." Early tomorrow morning, we will continue to adjust the attack steps, and the siege will begin the day after tomorrow. Meeting. ”

The generals left the military tent in a hurry, Liu Bei called Tian Chou and quietly waited for Gao Tanglong's explanation: "Wen doesn't care about the army, Shengping, our army is discussing the siege of the city, you are so reckless to break into the military tent and disrupt the military discussion." It seems that he was too indulgent to you before. ”

Gao Tanglong hurriedly confessed and explained: "Lord, this matter is indeed important, Long boldly broke into the military tent in order to attack the city. In this siege battle, Qingzhou could only come up with 600,000 arrows. ”

"What?" The rich Qingzhou can only come up with 600,000 arrows, and the bow and arrow in the siege battle are the first, 600,000 arrows, how to fight this battle?

Tian Chou was also anxious: "Shengping, this battle is related to Qingzhou's trade route to Luoyang, and even to open up the entire northern trade route, and to Qingzhou's future security environment. ”

Gao Tang Long replied: "How can I, Gao Tang Long, be a person who has misled state affairs because of personal desires, and the lord knows this best. But my lord, think about it, since Qingzhou sent troops to the Tiger Prison, the battle has been defeated from the beginning of the year to the end of the year, and from last year to this year. The lord also supported Sun Jian and Cao Cao, and also helped build Luoyang, the capital division. After the plains were recovered, we distributed farm tools and seeds. At present, the six northern counties of Jizhou are still waiting to be fed.

Qingzhou, only last year collected a tax, this tax to support the 100,000 army to conquer the south and the north for more than a year. There is no income for three years in the newly occupied land, and it has to be subsidized constantly. How many catties of iron does Qingzhou produce a year, and how many armors and arrows can be produced in addition to the production of farm tools, carriages, and daily necessities. 100,000 troops, how much is the annual branch? New County, how much is the annual subsidy?

With the power of Qingzhou as a state, it is extremely rare to do so much work, and what is even more rare is that Qingzhou's tax burden is not heavy. If the lord continues to fight, Qingzhou will have to raise taxes. That's why I'm here: if we don't raise taxes, the government will have no revenue by the end of this year. ”

Liu Bei stopped Tian Chou's idea of continuing to argue - this is the difference between an open democratic government and a dictatorial and violent government, a dictatorial and violent government will not care about the suffering of the people, and the money is not enough, just expropriating and expropriating. Qingzhou, under the discussion of the township elders, wants to ignore the public opinion, which is difficult. It is no wonder that in the game of civilization, the more dictatorial the government, the less likely it is that the war will lead to popular dissatisfaction and a decline in productivity.

Historically, Yuan Shao and Gongsun Zhan fought for Jizhou for eight years; Yuan Shao and Cao Cao fought a great war for another ten years, why did the war last so long, it was that the ordnance materials could not keep up with the supply. The city of Rome was ****** by the Spartan rebellion and was forced to raise taxes to raise military expenses, and it is said that many of the senators bought their jewelry. There is no record in Chinese history of the lack of military supplies that made the war unsustainable, but such a situation certainly existed.

Qingzhou's new policy is not a one-day plan, and it is impossible to achieve immediate results. This year, the most effective thing in Qingzhou is the promotion of new rice varieties. At that time, northern China was mainly cultivated with dryland crops such as millet and millet, and the Three Kingdoms period was the time when wheat cultivation began in the north. Yecheng was the only northern wheat field at that time. When Cao Cao attacked Yuan Shang, there was a record in the history books of "chasing to Ye and harvesting his wheat". There is a folk song in the Northern Wei Dynasty: "Wheat is planted in the high field, and the grain does not become ears; The man is not haggard in his hometown", referring to the situation of growing wheat in Yecheng at that time.

After six years of repeated cultivation, the new rice seeds brought by Liu Bei have been able to be sown in a small area in Guangrao. In addition, the rice varieties planted in Korea at that time were more resistant to cold and drought, and had been widely promoted in Izumo. Rice and wheat are harvested twice a year, which can feed a larger population. It was for this reason that Liu Bei dared to attack and expand his territory. At the same time, it was with the support of Yecheng's twice-year-old rice and wheat that Cao Cao was able to successfully dominate the north and finally establish the Wei State (Yecheng).

Taking Yecheng is equivalent to pulling out Cao Cao's teeth in the future, but unexpectedly, he got stuck in the materials.

The household department under Gao Tanglong held the money bag of Qingzhou, and its income mainly came from five parts. The most is the benefit of salt and iron, the people of the world, must not eat salt, can not use knives, shovels, axes and sickles, and Izumo, Qingzhou sea salt iron armor in the world, coupled with the armed smuggling organized by the Qingzhou caravan, makes the princes unguardable, forbidden and unstoppable, this piece of income is both large and stable.

The second is the interests sought by the veterans' association, not to mention the grain products obtained by renting out the military fields, from tea and wine to silk silk, everything related to the people's livelihood, the veterans' association almost all joins in, and it can even be said that the veterans' association itself is a huge chaebol, deducting necessary expenses, it can provide huge profits every year, but if there is a big chaos today, the princes are eyeing each other, and the business of the club is not the most ideal.

The third part is the tax of industry and commerce, in the past, the princes in various places often arbitrarily determine the amount of tax, and even arbitrarily seize the wealth of merchants, Qingzhou is not, they set up a commissioner under the household department to check the goods in and out of each business, determine the amount of tax of each merchant, and those who have the certificate issued by them can be transported at will in various places under their jurisdiction and have nothing to worry about card interception. Those who do not have the certificate will not only find it difficult to move an inch, but may even be reported and confiscated by others. However, the princes are fighting endlessly, the people's livelihood in various places is withering, and Qingzhou's commercial tax revenue has not been ideal in recent years. There is no external income, just self-produced and self-sold, and the money is just the left pocket for the right pocket, and every time it is reversed, it will be taxed, which is not a good thing for the people. If it weren't for the opening of the Xuzhou trade route last year, there are many wealthy businessmen in Jingxu and Xuzhou, and I am afraid that half of the merchants in Qingzhou would not be able to survive.

The fifth part of Qingzhou's income comes from mineral deposits, mainly the gold mines in Xiamicheng, which was originally the capital of Qingzhou's beginnings, but now it accounts for a small share of Qingzhou's overall income. Because of the circulation of gold coins, it is necessary to control a certain price of gold, which requires the control of gold production.

The last part of Qingzhou's income is farmland rent, and farmers have no income tax, no land tax, but poll tax must be paid. The people can not only convert grain and rice into money and goods to pay taxes, but also sell grain and rice and pay taxes with money, all of which are voluntary. In the winter leisure time, the local governments in Qingzhou still organize the people to participate in military training, which is a way for the people to serve the labor. As for the construction of water conservancy facilities or roads, the displaced people who participated in the construction had to pay for the agricultural tools and acres allocated by the government with this labor, so the government did not have to pay them. However, for participants above the status of civilians, they need to be paid for their labor, so many new civilians often use this to earn extra money in winter leisure. Overall, this income is better than nothing.

With a person like Gao Tanglong who is good at financial management, Qingzhou has a lot of income although he can't accumulate. The area under the jurisdiction of Qingzhou is only one-eleventh of the territory of the Han Dynasty, and the household registration is less than one-fifth of the Han Dynasty, but the income is comparable to that of the entire Han Dynasty, and the people do not feel that the taxes are too heavy.

However, it is such a rich that it still can't support the campaign for more than a year, and the expedition in Qingzhou is really difficult to the point where it is unsustainable? Yecheng, a lonely city, is like a bone in the throat?

Moore's Law says: When something shows signs of going for the bad, it will go for the bad. The news of adding fuel to the fire came, and the sergeant reported: Cao Cao took Xu Rong as the general to resist the entry of Zhang Yan's black mountain thieves, and attacked Zhang Yan on the occasion of Zhang Yan's half-crossing in Puyang City, Yanzhou, and broke Zhang Yan's army, surrendered 200,000 Yellow Turban troops, and Zhang Yan surrendered to Cao Cao.

"Ah, when Qingzhou was tightening its finances and taxes, Cao Cao actually took advantage of the financial and tax support of all parties and began to expand rapidly. In this way, he became the two great powers of the North alongside me. One mountain does not tolerate two tigers, and in this regard, Liu Cao's honeymoon had to end early. At present, there is only one fuse missing between us" - Liu Bei fell into deep thought.

Yecheng, what should I do?