Although Cao De needs to make a difficult choice at the moment, Cao De in Liyang City doesn't seem to care much. Pen, fun, pavilion www. biquge。 infoActually, Cao De is waiting, waiting for a piece of news, news from the west.

Although, Cao Cao, Cao De, Liu Bei and others were all taken aback by Yuan Shu's crazy actions and had to stop to discuss Yuan Shu's meaning and their own countermeasures. But Xu Shu and others in the west of Bingzhou didn't have so much thought

Yuan Shu said that he was not the emperor, and he had a few cents to do with Xu Shu and Xiahou Yuan. Therefore, the pace of Xu Shu and others has not stopped.

However, just after Xu Shu led the army into the boundary of Bingzhou, Xu Shu strangely found that Bingzhou seemed to be full of empty cities. What you must know is that Xu Shu and the others set out from Zuo Fengyi's Suyi, and did not enter Hanoi County to the west and then enter the state, but drove straight to the north, and entered the upper county of the state with such a swagger.

Although Shangjun and Zuo Fengyi are only separated by an artificially divided boundary line, the difference in population and economy between the two places is like heaven and earth.

Although the population here is sparse, there are some large and small villages that need to be recruited. However, Xu Shu saw almost no people along the way, except for some burned villages and abandoned gathering places.

Everywhere there is a desolate land, everywhere there are white bones.

In Xu Shu's mind, a question couldn't help but arise, what happened to the state over the years. Even though there is a gap between the merger and the rest of the states and counties, no matter how bad the situation is, it can't be where it is now.

Speaking of which, the situation in Bingzhou and Liangzhou is similar. But the year before last, when he led the army to attack Liangzhou, it was also many times stronger than this desolate Shangjun.

And in the past few years, it is also because there is no strong enemy in the state, so Cao De's intelligence system is the weakest here, almost equal to zero.

The great army cannot stop its advance because there is no enemy. Finally, when Xu Shu was still half a day away from Dingyang County, Xu Shu finally saw the traces of people.

Xu Shu pointed with the horsewhip in his hand, "Invite those old men over!" ”

Xu Shu's personal guards immediately had five horsemen roaring out on war horses, rushing towards the old men who saw the whereabouts of the army and were so frightened that they ran around.

"Run, those people are coming!"

The eyes of several old men were full of fear, and the legs that were not good actually ran a few steps.

Originally, a person's two legs could not outrun a horse with four legs, and a few old men could run as fast as two old legs.

Soon, the three old men were surrounded by five guards. The three old men who had already escaped quickly knelt down, kowtowed and begged for mercy, "Master Jun, don't kill us!" Spare your life......"

"A few old men, don't panic. My military advisor asked me to wait and invite a few people over! The head guard said with a smile that he thought was very gentle.

However, the guards who were accustomed to fighting on the battlefield must have laughed more ugly than crying, so the three old men ignored the guards' words and kowtowed there.

The guards had no choice but to jump off the war horse, divide into three people, one by one grabbed the old man's arm, and walked towards Xu Shu half-dragged and half-pulled.

Although Xu Shu in the back did not know the specific situation, Xu Shu could see the somewhat forcible actions of the guards. Xu Shu hurriedly slapped his horse and stepped forward.

"Strategist! The old man is invited! ”

"Do you know what I said please?" Xu Shu raised his eyebrows and said, "Go to the back and get the ten army sticks yourself!" ”

"No!" The guards who were made to be two people had to touch their scalps and go to the back to be punished.

"Don't be afraid, I've sent someone to invite you, just to ask a few questions!" Xu Shu also said very gently.

However, those old men also kowtowed on the ground and begged for mercy, "Spare your life, spare your life!" ”

Xu Shu looked at it and immediately understood. I can't help but feel some sympathy for the guard who has gone to lead the army.

"Ugh! We are an army under the command of the Left Hussar General. From Zuo Fengyi, don't be afraid! ”

After Xu Shu revealed his identity, several old men were stunned, "You, you, you're not from Shangjun?" ”

"It's not!" Xiahou Yuan also appeared from behind.

"Are you really the men and horses of General Cao, the general of the left hussars?" One of the slightly younger men asked.

"It's like a fake!" Xu Shu let go of his body and pointed to the big flag behind him.

The three old men looked up, "Oh, I said it a long time ago, where did so many soldiers and horses come from in Shangjun City?" ”

"You were the one who ran just now!" Several old men have obviously been friends for many years, and after knowing that their lives are not in danger, they actually began to accuse each other again.

Xu Shu didn't listen to the next words of a few old men, and the previous sentence "There are not many soldiers and horses in Shangjun City" was captured by Xu Shu very keenly.

"Wait! What did you just say? Xu Shu's words were not as polite as before. Therefore, the three old men remembered that even if they were Cao De's army, it was also an army. As long as it is an army, there is no one who does not kill people, and the reason for killing is very simple.

The old man knelt down again, trembling and afraid to speak.

"You just said that there aren't many troops in Shangjun City, what the hell is going on?"

"Go back, go back to the military division. Last year, because of the plague, the population of Shangjun was lost, and the defenders in Shangjun also scattered and fled because of the plague. Later, I don't know how long it took, and the prescription for curing the plague came out of the state governor's mansion. It is precisely because of this recipe that Xiao Lao'er can survive. Less than two months later, another recruitment order came out from the governor's office. The villagers, who had nothing to eat, ran to the recruiting office one after another. "In times of war, how many people fought just to have something to eat.

"Later, all the young people in our pavilion went to join the army. But within a month a bandit came and slew all the people, and robbed all the goods, and took all the food for themselves. The three of us were fortunate enough to go to the mountains to chop firewood and survive. Later, we also went to Upper County to report to the county guard, but we were beaten out. ”

After the old man finished speaking, he lowered his head pitifully, "No way, after the three of us go back." After cleaning up the corpses of the villagers, he was ready to go to the barracks to find the people in the pavilion, but when he arrived at the barracks, the building was empty, and only a vacant lot remained. ”

Another person picked up the topic again, "Later, after many inquiries from us, we learned that all the soldiers in the county were transferred by the state pastor's office, except for the less than 1,000 soldiers in the upper county. Where we went, we don't know. ”

"There are less than a thousand defenders in the upper county?" Xu Shu said in disbelief.

"Strategist, why don't you send a few soldiers to investigate?" Xiahou Yuan proposed. After all, it's better to see it than to hear it.

"Yes, good. General Xiahou sent a few soldiers from the Spirit Point. Xu Shu nodded and said.

"No, this matter is important, let's go in person!" Xiahou Yuan was about to take off the armor on his body.

Xu Shu glanced at Xiahou Yuan, "If you can't do anything, the general must ensure your own safety!" ”

It doesn't matter if there is news or not, if something happens to Xiahou Yuan, it will not be good.

"Don't worry, some thieves can't hurt me! Strategist, wait for news! ”