The news of the defeat of Liu Biao's army soon spread back to Jingzhou, Liu Biao's first move was to close all the passes to Xu Du again, and mobilized troops from the surrounding areas to begin to garrison these passes, Cao Cao's revenge has always been very violent, and now he can only do everything he can to take precautions except worry. Pen × fun × Pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 ｉｎｆｏ

Cao Cao's army that crusaded against Yuan Shu also sent back the news, Zhang Xiu really appeared on the periphery of the army, and carried out a very successful fire to burn the grain and grass, the food needed by the army was burned in this fire, and the soldiers began to be unable to eat, and Cao Caoye, like the general in history, beheaded the grain and grass officer Wang Yu in front of a group of soldiers, and used this to dissipate the grievances of the soldiers, this method really played a decisive role, and the army settled down again, even if the daily ration is only half of the beginning, But no one will complain anymore.

In Cao Cao's case, in addition to the problem of food and grass, there is also a big problem, that is, how to deal with Liu Bei's problem, now the two armies are in one place, Liu Bei brings only some miscellaneous troops, and even the equipment can not be full, but Cao Cao taboos Liu Bei's three brothers, these three people shined as early as when they crusaded against Dong Zhuo, especially Guan Yu, the terrible posture of ten thousand enemies has always made Cao Cao sigh, although he has a fierce general like Xu Chu, but Xu Chu lacks Guan Yu's arrogance and wisdom.

Regretting talent has always been a stubborn problem of Cao Cao, which is like a card game in later generations, he always wants to collect more and better cards, especially when he sees such an outstanding card as Guan Yu, he can't wait to be able to draw it into his hand immediately and collect it, but Guan Yu's death for Liu Bei makes people so desperate, and because of this, Cao Cao feels that Liu Bei should not be underestimated, and can concentrate such two fierce generals under his own hands to be driven, plus the direction of Xuzhou has always had the name of Liu Bei Rende, which makes Cao Cao jealous, Worried again, how can others be allowed to snore on the side of the couch?

"To kill or not to kill?" After Cao Cao finished speaking, he looked at Cheng Yu.

Cheng Yu was silent for a moment, then nodded resolutely and said, "Kill!" Staying behind is afraid of becoming a disaster, and the lord must not let go of such a good opportunity. ”

Cao Cao's eyes narrowed again unconsciously, and he seemed to be a little hesitant in his heart, and he couldn't sit down and decide, so he said to Guo Jia again: "Feng Xiao, can you have anything else to say?" ”

Guo Jia replied without thinking: "Killing Liu Bei now is a great disadvantage to the crusade against Yuan Shu, on the contrary, it will also leave a truth in the future, Liu Bei's reputation for benevolence is far and wide, if we start at this time, it will inevitably make the people of the world dare not come to the lord again, be cautious." ”

Guo Jia has no last resort, he said so, if he kills Liu Bei now, it will inevitably make the world look down on him, how proud Cao Cao is, there is no challenge to kill him with a simple knife, so he began to think, if he can subdue Liu Bei, who in this world can escape from his pocket?

With a smile, Cao Cao shook his hand and said: "I'm just asking casually, now the crusade against Yuan Shu is the key, as for Liu Bei, I also respect his benevolence, wouldn't killing him make the world feel cold, hehe." ”

"The lord is truly benevolent, Cheng Yu admires."

"The lord has pity for the great talent, I think there will be a lot of talents to defect in the future, as for Liu Bei, there will naturally be a lot of opportunities to get rid of it later, after the elimination of Yuan, I Guo Jia will definitely offer a good strategy."

"Let's talk about it again, Yuan Shu hasn't been eliminated yet, we will consider dealing with our own people, this is not authentic, this matter is over, there is no need to mention it during this march, how can I Cao Cao be a person who can't tolerate people?" After Cao Cao finished speaking, he led Guo Jia and Cheng Yu out of the big tent.

At this moment, it is evening, the food and grass in the army is very scarce, and only at dinner every day can barely be accompanied by a bowl of thick porridge per person, and he Cao Cao in order to set an example, he will eat with the soldiers every night, not only him, all the generals in the army must share weal and woe with the soldiers, and before that, because he accidentally trampled on the rice fields of the people's autumn harvest, and cut off his hair to indicate that he Cao Cao had been guilty, this trick immediately made Shouchun around began to recite the good name of Cao Sikong.

Holding a bowl of gruel, Cao Cao asked Guo Jia beside him: "Has Zhang Xiu been informed of Cao Ang in Xu Du about the sneak attack on our army's grain and grass?" ”

Guo Jia nodded and said, "The person who sent the letter has returned, and he also brought news of Xu Du." ”

Cao Cao was stunned and wondered, "How can it be so fast?" I just left yesterday morning and now I'm back? Is the messenger reliable? ”

Guo Jia smiled, and then explained: "Didn't the lord see the kind of stirrup made by Yuan Xiaoxian before? With the presence of this thing, the knight's physical strength can be greatly saved, and the speed will be increased a lot, so it is credible that this messenger goes back and forth every two days. After explaining this, Guo Jia paused slightly, waiting for Cheng Yu to rush to the nearest place with gruel before continuing: "It was Liu Biao's army that attacked Xu Du this time, and sent 100,000 troops to come. ”

Cheng Yu was taken aback, almost didn't hold the porridge bowl in his hand, and immediately asked after calming down, "How is Xu Du's situation now?" ”

Cao Cao narrowed his eyes, completely unable to see his joys, sorrows, and sorrows.

Guo Jia still smiled, took a sip of porridge, pursed his lips, and then continued: "Cao Ang's prince held on for six days, and finally Xiahou Yuan's cavalry arrived, and they combined their troops to defeat Liu Biao's 100,000 army and returned, chasing and killing more than ten miles along the way, and I am afraid that there are not many people who can return to Jingzhou." ”

"A hundred thousand troops were slaughtered and defeated? Even with the addition of General Xiahou Yuan's 10,000 cavalry, it can't have such an effect, could it be that Liu Biao's army is all made of dirt? Cheng Yu had become shocked at the moment.

Cao Cao still narrowed his eyes, and only after a long time did he say, "Did the black powder prepared by Cao Ang work?" Although I knew that the power of those black powders was very strong, I didn't expect that I could be able to block 100,000 people with 8,000 people. ”

Guo Jia also nodded when he heard this: "This time guarding Xudu, the firearms made of black powder played a very key role, I heard that Liu Biao's siege army almost couldn't even touch the city wall, just the siege consumed twenty or thirty thousand horses, and finally the black powder buried in the ground in advance by Cao Ang Shizi blew up the entire camp into the sky in one go, killing and wounding countless generals, most of them were still generals in the army, and then General Xiahou Yuan's cavalry suddenly launched a charge, and scattered all the enemy troops in one breath, so Liu Biao's remaining soldiers could only flee for their lives, Cao Ang's prince has indeed achieved a great victory. ”

Cao Cao's face showed some joy slightly, this son really didn't let him be mistaken, now with less wins, he will soon become a generation of famous generals, with such a son, it must be the pride of every father, plus there is a Yuan Yun who is as close as a brother by his side, the future of the Cao family seems to be very bright.

When thinking of Yuan Yun, Cao Cao still frowned unconsciously, the things in the hands of this little bastard are extremely terrifying existences, it seems that he must keep an eye on them, once this kid leaves his sight, he will feel frightened, this problem seems to be unable to get better, Cao Ang is too sincere, Yuan Kid is as slippery as a loach, alas, is this also deliberately arranged by God?

"After the messenger informed Cao Ang's son Zhang Xiu that he appeared on our side, Cao Ang's prince resolutely decided to send troops to attack Wancheng, preparing to completely wipe out Zhang Xiu's lair." Guo Jia added, and after speaking, his eyes were full of worry.

"What?!" This time, Cao Cao didn't hold back anymore, but was surprised with Cheng Yu.

……

Cao Ang took the lead, followed by a distant team, and the entire queue extended along the road for a long time, and the five thousand men and horses drove towards Wancheng in this way. Although Yuan Yun also wanted to learn from Cao Ang, riding a tall horse to walk in the front of the team, this kind of majesty of the general is really desirable, but after he rode a horse for a day, the inner thigh was so worn that he could only squeeze into the carriage transporting grain and grass.

Shi Shen and Xiao Liu still rode horses and followed the grain and grass cart, which is understandable, but why did Xu Yi, Dian Man, and Xiahou Nan also climb into the car with them? Yuan Yun originally wanted to kick the three gentlemen he hated out of the car, after all, it was full of all kinds of grains, and it would be very crowded if he wanted to stuff three more people, but Yuan Yun's strength was not as big as the three gentlemen, so he was finally pressed to the bottom, and he could only beg for mercy before he could get up and sit up straight again.

Looking at Xu Yi's evil smile, Yuan Yun could only exhale and ask, "Isn't it good to stay in Xu Du well?" If you have to come with you to suffer, why do you have to come here? ”

Xiahou Nan didn't answer this question, but approached Yuan Yun's cheek very excitedly, and then said with a rough breath: "This time, according to Brother Yuan's request, this time a lot of rich children from Xudu were arranged in the team we brought, and Brother Cao Ang didn't interfere much, as long as there are soldiers who are willing to sell their military merits, we can immediately let them make a deal, I calculated, we will take fifty percent of the profits, and the soldiers who sell military merits can still make a lot of money, this is simply a business." ”

Yuan Yun interrupted angrily: "I only asked you to find a few rich people before, and then let the people below us make some small money, you can do well, get more than 100 rich children to follow, in case a few die, I am not responsible." ”

Xu Yi snorted and said: "It's just some rich people who have no power and no power, even if they are unlucky, we have already explained it very clearly when we come, and these more than 100 people can't pick up their shoulders and can't lift their hands, they must be placed in the rear, and when the soldiers in front cut off the enemy's head, they can come back to trade, with a head in one hand and money in the other, clean and neat." ”

On the side, Dianman has always been opposed to the sale of military merits, and when he heard Xu Yi say it so explicitly, he immediately frowned and said unhappily: "How can such a glorious thing of killing the enemy become your mouth full of copper stench, if everyone learns from you in the future to sell military merits, where is there any honor in the army?" ”

Yuan Yun quite disagrees with the grumbling of Dianman, interests have always been closely related to human development, no matter what era, as long as the interests are enough, it will definitely become a driving force, if selling military merits becomes the norm, maybe it can improve the combat effectiveness of the army, in the past, desperately worked to complete the obligations to the fiefdom lords, and now with a little change, it can be turned into a real profession to do, and then produce essentially professional soldiers, this kind of army is the best help for this troubled world, Now selling military merit in Wancheng is just an experiment, once it becomes possible, then Yuan Yun naturally has a bolder plan.

After admiring the disgruntled face, Yuan Yun stretched his waist fiercely, and then explained: "Those lowest-level soldiers are very pitiful, and they don't have any rich money in the army, once they fight, they can't go home to farm, if they come home after the war, maybe the family will starve to death, we are giving them a way to live, fight a battle, get a good reward, and return home to feed the family, isn't this a good thing?" Do they have to take those military exploits to the main book of the army in exchange for some cheap money to be considered glory? Can you think farther, these soldiers are not a few years older than us, if they die in battle, who will feed the old and young in the family? ”

Dian Man nodded again and again when he listened, but he always felt that something was wrong, in the military where the glory of military merit was the first place by selling military merits, there was always a very inappropriate feeling, but what Yuan Yun said was heart-wrenching, if he objected again, he felt really inhumane, and he had no sympathy for those low-level soldiers at all, thinking about it, it became a contradiction of his own, so he didn't make a noise anymore, and he began to worry about it alone.

Yuan Yun saw that his troubles had been transferred, and he didn't care about it, but asked Shi Shen next to the grain cart: "How are the soldiers in the army who let you contact who are willing to sell their military merits?" ”

Shi Shen smiled, then stretched out his five fingers and said: "More than two hundred people have been contacted, and there are many more people who are willing to sell, and they have all agreed that once they get the head, they will be handed over to me to report the number, one head is twenty times, we will draw ten times, and the soldiers will get ten times." ”

Yuan Yun nodded with satisfaction, and then looked at Xu Yi and said: "I don't think we can cheapen those rich children who come, it won't be long before we reach the first pass leading to Wancheng, you will drive the more than 100 rich families to the front at that time, let them see the cruelty of the battlefield, and then increase the price of each of their heads by five times, so that we can still draw ten times, and the soldiers can get fifteen times, which is enough to prove that Lao Tzu is a good-hearted person." ”

As soon as they heard the word 'good man', Xu Yi and Shi Shen all cast a look full of disdain, but no one exposed it.

"The baggage stops, the rear army is deployed left and right, the trebuchet team, and the steel crossbow team move forward!" With the order of a herald, the army stopped advancing, and the first pass to Wancheng was finally reached.