After listening to Zhang Yuanjing's words, Wei Zilin on the side also nodded and said: "The subordinates also think that this is feasible, if Situ Fei really wants to have any connection with Qiang Hu, it will definitely make the military officials under his command, especially the soldiers from the eastern part of Liangzhou, very dissatisfied." Moreover, as long as Situ Fei does not directly send troops against us, even if he spreads the news to the Qianghu tribes, we have nothing to fear. ”

Zhao Xun pondered for a moment and said, "Okay, just do it, let Li Chenfeng's department start to act." The Eight Banners of the Yan and the Eight Banners of the Khitan under his command are all Hu people, and attacking the Qiang and Hu tribes can also allow these tribes to better understand the policies of our Zhao army and make them submit to this king. ”

"In addition, it is also necessary to let Li Chenfeng's subordinates divide and attack, and the tribes that have invaded the land of Liangzhou and are very evil will be exterminated, and those who have a better attitude towards the Han people can be co-opted and collected for their own use."

"These things are all done step by step, and what needs to be solved in front of us is the 50,000 coalition troops in the land of Dingping. We are not afraid of these 50,000 people, but it is a great disaster to remain behind us. If you let it run around, it will be even more troublesome. ”

Zhang Yuanjing said with a smile: "The Lord's method of discord is the best solution. Ever since we trapped the two of us in a peaceful place, the two armies have been fighting each other because of the discord between the two commanders. Solve them, you can completely let them do it themselves. We just need to put a lot of pressure on them. As long as the two of them fight each other, sooner or later they will surrender to the Lord. ”

"Well, the army will rest and go north tomorrow to the land of Dingping. Let's go, tonight the soldiers celebrate the victory of this battle, and it can be regarded as washing the dust for the two of them. Zhao Xun laughed and said.

…………

The county seat of Dingping County, the southernmost part of Yunzhou Prefecture, is neither big nor small. However, since Yang Li and Cao Gang's troops were stationed here, this place has become a large barracks. The 20,000 troops of the two armies were stationed in the city, which made the whole city seem much more complicated.

In Dingping County, Yang Li's department has more than 11,000 people, while Cao Gang's department has more than 15,000 people. It is not that Cao Gang's soldiers and horses are redundant with Yang Li, but that this is Cao Gang's territory, and there were originally 3,000 people in the city. Even, as long as Cao Gang is willing, he can recruit another 5,000 young men as soldiers at any time.

Since fleeing here, Cao Gang has understood the importance of military power in his hands. More than 25,000 people, in addition to the more than 5,000 people who died on the way to the south, there are about 20,000, plus the Dingping defenders, and the scale of more than 25,000 people under his command has been restored, and the generals are all Cao clans. In addition, Cao Gang also made a lot of money, recruiting 5,000 local young people and 5,000 homeless people, and trained them to become new soldiers.

Knowing the importance of soldiers and horses, it was also the reason why Cao Gang was trapped in Dingping and was unwilling to immediately hand over the soldiers and horses in his hand to Yang Li, the state army. He didn't want to be a lamb to the slaughter after he had no power in his hands. Later, Zhao Xun rampant merged with the northern state, and after the army approached the state army, Cao Gang did not want to hand over the power in his hands. Moreover, now that there are more than 25,000 soldiers and 10,000 new soldiers, it can be said that they are his private army, relying on the supply of the Cao family's financial resources, how can they be handed over to Yang Li?

It was also because of this that the two armies were delayed in Dingping, and as a result, Zhao Xun's troops besieged Meiji City and cut off their back route. In addition, there are not many materials that can be provided in Dingping, so that the two armies are full of contradictions here, and the fight between the two soldiers and soldiers is no longer ordinary.

"Will ...... Checkmate...... Big...... It's a big deal......" Yang Li, who lived in the barracks, was worried about retreating south when a loud cry came from outside the house.

Hearing this, Yang Li frowned slightly, and said angrily: "What's the matter?" Which soldier had a dispute with Cao Gang's bastard subordinates? Didn't Ben say that? Don't ......"

"General, it's not so, south...... Something happened to the south. "It was none other than the captain of his personal guard battalion and his brother Yang Xiong.

"What do you want to do in a panic? As a captain of the first battalion, you must be calm and stay calm at all times. South? How do you ...... the south? Where do you say? South? Yang Li, who was careless, was suddenly shocked, and asked urgently, what he said before, if he wanted to stay calm, he had already run away from the clouds.

can make his clan brother's face pale, or the things in the south, Yang Li naturally understands the meaning. This south is not Dingyang City, which is thirty miles south of Ping, but Meiji City in Xihe Province. Meiji City was besieged by Zhao Xun's army, and he also knew about it. If it weren't for Cao Gang's refusal to cooperate, he would have led his army to retreat to Meiji City a long time ago.

Yang Xiong cried with a sad face, and said in a panic: "General, the three counties of Meijicheng, Pingding, and Guangyan have fallen, and the 50,000 troops in the three counties have all been captured by Zhao Xun. Now, Zhao Xun is commanding the army to the north. ”

"What?" Yang Li was shocked, stood up suddenly, and brought all the utensils on the table to the ground, "How did this news come from?" Can you be sure? "The three southern counties were lost, and tens of thousands of troops were killed, and for Yang Li, it was basically dark. It is no longer possible to retreat south.

"General, this news is from the defeated army that fled back from Meiji City, and in addition, some civilians and merchants who are preparing to go south have also turned back and brought this news." Yang Xiong said in a trembling voice. Regarding the news of the loss of the three counties of Meijicheng, Yang Xiong is also very clear about the consequences.

Yang Li grabbed Yang Xiong's arm and said, "Are the defeated army, the people, and the businessmen who spread the news take care of it?" ”

Yang Xiong nodded and said: "I have taken care of it, and in addition, I also asked my subordinates to notify the south gate, once they find anyone returning from the south, they will all be taken down, and they will be released after verification." ”

"Okay, well done. Immediately notify all ministries and schools to come to the meeting. Yang Li's gloomy face and said solemnly.

"General, something is wrong...... Before Yang could finish the military order, the leader Sima Qinling hurried in, his face was very panicked.

"What's the alarm? The dignified leader of the army, Sima, is in charge of thousands of soldiers, how can he be in such a form? Yang Li, who was already in an unhappy mood, saw that his generals were like this, and his face suddenly became even more gloomy, "Aren't you in charge of patrolling the city today?" Why don't you patrol the city and come here? ”

Qin Ling hurriedly said: "General, something is wrong, for some reason, the three counties of Meiji, Pingding, and Guangyan were taken by the Zhao army, and the news that the army of the prince of Zhao came to attack. ”

"What? How so? Yang Xiong was shocked.

"Have you ever taken down the gossor-mongers?" Yang Li's eyes darkened, and he said in a trembling voice. Now, he found himself seemingly out of control.

Qin Ling smiled bitterly: "General, the news has spread all over the city, and the people of the whole city are talking, how to capture it?" Nowadays, the soldiers in the city are a little panicked, and the people in the city are also panicked. ”

"Damn! Zhao Jun's methods are really fast, a good Zhao King, really powerful. Yang Li shouted angrily, "Yang Xiong, Qin Ling, immediately send troops to inspect the whole city, appease the people, and it is best to let the people who have nothing to do return home." The people of the city were forbidden to continue to talk about the matter, and those who dared to disobey the military orders and spread rumors wantonly were to be killed. Go ahead! Yang Xiong sent people to summon the generals and colonels of various ministries to come here to discuss the military. ”

At the same time, Cao Gang, who is located in the east of the city, also got the news. After all, they don't even know the news that the people of the city know. Moreover, Zhao Xun deliberately wanted to let the two people in the city know about these news, so how could it just be spread in the southern city.

Like Yang Li, Cao Gang was also shocked, and his face turned pale. In the north of Bingzhou, he was defeated by Zhao Xun, and in two months, he lost more than 100,000 troops, and fled with wolves. Now that Zhao Xun's army has seized its southward passage and cut off the road to the south of Ru Bingzhou, it has already made him frightened, not to mention that Zhao Xun's army is coming.

did not restrict the passage of the people at the north gate and the west gate under his control, and he knew that he could not stop this news. After all, the south closest to Meiji City should have gotten the news earlier, and it was him and Yang Li who could call the shots in the city, and both of them knew that there was no need to stop anything. In addition, Cao Gang was more aware of Zhao Xun's methods, and in the process of the cities in the north of the state being captured by the Zhao army, this kind of strategy of attacking the heart was already a common practice. Therefore, he believed that the city should soon let this extraordinary news spread.

Sure enough, as soon as Cao Gang gathered his subordinate generals, he learned that the news had spread in the city. As a person who fought with Zhao Jun and was defeated by Zhao Jun, he still has a certain understanding of Zhao Jun.

"Alas...... No matter how you clean it up, there are still Zhao Xun's spies in the city. General Ben regretted a little, he should have stopped caring about the soldiers and horses in his hands in the first place, and rushed back to the south. Hearing the news of his subordinates' return, Cao Gang said with some regret.

"Uncle, if we don't have these tens of thousands of soldiers in our hands, we will not be able to let people enter the territory of Situ Tai, and we will not be able to keep the money accumulated by our Cao family. Let's not talk about these, let's talk about the current Situ Tai, the Zhao army not only fought and lost the Hezhou army on the northern front, but also crossed the Taihang Mountain in the south and swept through the southern part of the state, as if entering a no-man's land. According to our secret report, Situ Tai has fled to the Fenzhou Mansion, completely abandoning the eastern half of the southern part of Bingzhou. It can be said that after the defeat of Xihe Mansion, Situ Tai, in addition to Fenzhou Mansion, and the southern part of the state, are already the meat in Zhao Xun's mouth. If we arrive in Situ Tai's territory, even if we are appointed, will we not become an outcast in his hands? Cao Yun, the former military captain, said in a muffled voice.

In the past, the generals who supported tens of thousands of troops have now become a captain with an army of 5,000, and the entire Cao clan has fled, and Cao Yun has become much calmer, disobeying the old trend of being arrogant and dry in the north of Bingzhou. It is precisely because of this that Cao Yun is now working harder to train the soldiers in his hands. For military power, he now attaches a lot of importance to it.

Cao Gang said in a sullen voice: "Okay, let's not talk about these things for the time being." You and I have already understood the situation in front of us, and now it is the most critical time for my Cao family. The four of you are all outstanding talents of my Cao family, and you have a plan for yourself, but what can you do? ”

Cao Yun took the lead and said: "Uncle, we have a total of more than 35,000 old and new soldiers, in addition to the 20,000 soldiers in this Dingping County, there are more than 7,000 people in the other two southern cities. It is imperative to give them orders at once, so that they should hold the city and refuse to fight. In addition, I also have to tell them that without my uncle's military order, they are not allowed to go out at will, even if they are generals and colonels of the state army. Finally, the generals of all ministries were ordered to strictly guard against the state army. ”

Cao Gang frowned and said, "You mean, what kind of mutations will there be in this state army?" ”

Cao Yun said: "That's right, Meiji City has been defeated, and the merger state army of these three cities has become a lone army. In particular, the two southern cities are likely to be persuaded to surrender by the generals or officials of the merge state army in Mijiseong. Even this is not impossible. ”

Cao Zhi on the side also continued: "In addition, we must also take out a batch of money and food to appease the people in the city, and we must not let any accidents happen in the city again." After all, this is the last place we will rely on. ”

Cao Gang nodded and said: "Very good, you are responsible for this matter, you are now in charge of my property and the Northern Army of the state, and you are also in charge of the finances of the Cao family." You are solely responsible for the expenses of this matter. Sue the families, if you can't give up your money now, you will have to give up your life. ”

"Cao Yong, you immediately strengthen your vigilance, in addition to the west gate and the north gate, the south gate and the east gate also send people to assist and the state army to defend the city. Come to think of it, they won't say yes. In addition, send someone to monitor Yang Li's camp for me, and report it immediately if I find it. ”

The two took the order and left.

"Yun'er, it seemed that I wanted to say something when I saw you earlier, but in the end I didn't say anything. But now it doesn't hurt to talk about it! Cao Gang looked at Cao Yun and said in a loud voice.

Cao Yun said in a deep voice: "Uncle clearly sees that in the eyes of my nephew, we can strike first, get rid of Yang Li, and capture the 20,000 soldiers of the Bingzhou army." This is a peaceful place, but my Cao clan's last residence, if there is another accident, it will really be ......"

Cao Gang frowned suddenly, although Cao Yun didn't finish speaking, he also understood. If Zhao Xun really breaks this Dingping County, the Cao family will be completely finished, and it is not as good as even taking refuge in Situ Tai's name and being an ordinary person. In Zhao Jun's place, and in the northern land of the state, Cao Gang, that is on the list of deaths.

After a while, Cao Gang frowned and said, "I understand what you mean, but if you fight with Yang Li, this place will immediately fall into civil strife, how to deal with Zhao Xun's attack?" ”

Cao Yun said: "Get rid of Yang Li with a fatal blow and collect the soldiers in his hands." Although it fluctuates for a while, it is better than having a tiger that can bite at any time. In addition, as long as we act quickly, so that the Bingzhou army has no time to react, and blame the assassins of the Zhao army, it is not impossible to stabilize it quickly. In this way, it can also make 20,000 state troops hate the same enemy. When the time comes, Zhao Xun will be able to suppress the opposition among the Bingzhou army. In addition, we are divided and disintegrated, and after the annexation of the various tribes, we have more than 50,000 troops in our hands. ”

"Moreover, this Dingping is our territory, and when we retreated south, we also brought a lot of money and grain and grass. With the addition of 50,000 regular soldiers, Zhao Xun wants to take this place quickly, which is not an easy thing. The Zhao army entered the state from Taihang Mountain and swept through the southern part of the state, and Situ Lei of Yongzhou would not be indifferent, this was a sharp blade on his neck. When the time comes, the Yongzhou army will definitely go north to support, and at that time, our opportunity will come. ”

After a pause, Cao Yun continued: "Even if we can't turn over, at that time, we with more than 50,000 troops, even if we surrender to Zhao Xun, there will be no danger of sword soldiers." However, with Zhao Xun's methods, we were only afraid that we would no longer be able to grasp military power at that time. ”

Listening to Cao Yun's words, Cao Gang couldn't help but fall into deep thought. I have to say that Cao Yun's construction is still very reasonable at this moment. But in terms of operation, the difficulty is not small. In addition to the fact that it is difficult to get rid of Yang Li, it is also very unreliable to rely on the Yongzhou Army to relieve the danger of life and death brought by Zhao Xun. Pretending to be someone else is not the right thing after all, and it carries a lot of uncertainty.

What if the Yongzhou army can't go north in time? What if Zhao Xun is determined to solve this peaceful place first? Moreover, with more than 50,000 troops, but only a large land, how can he stalemate with Zhao Xun? There are too many aspects that make Cao Gang feel uneasy. In addition, there were 50,000 troops, and there were more than 25,000 in the two cities to the south. In addition to this Dingping county, which can be regarded as a strong city, the two small cities in the south are difficult to face Zhao Xun's strong attack.

What made Cao Gang feel that this method was most difficult to complete was the earth-shaking thunder in Zhao Xun's hands, and he knew about the earth-shaking thunder that appeared when the Zhao army attacked Jiancheng in Chengle County, Dingxiang Prefecture. Chengle County is much stronger than this Dingping County, and what is the result, it is not under the strong attack of the Zhao army......

Seeing that Cao Gang was deep in thought, Cao Yun thought that he was still pondering, so he said urgently: "Uncle, at this moment, it is about the life and death of my Cao family, and it should be decided!" ”

"Uncle, uncle, the merger state army in the east and south of the city has begun to move. They began to strengthen their vigilance, and the number of Bingzhou troops patrolling the city also increased, and they also ordered the people in the city to return home. In addition, the fortification of the four gates was increased. From the point of view of the little nephew, they are still guarding against our army. Cao Gang's other nephew, Cao Lin, the commander of the rear army, hurried into the house.

Cao Gang, who was originally planning to fight to the death, suddenly softened, and said with a wry smile: "Yang Li is not good at stubble, we are guarding against him and beating him, why shouldn't he do the same?" That's it, Yun'er, you should forget about this idea. Now, we don't have a chance. If Yang Li got rid of the problem, the Bingzhou army in the city was afraid that they would immediately turn against us, or even abandon the city directly and surrender to Zhao Xun. ”

"Cao Lin, cooperate with the Bingzhou army in the city and cooperate with each other. From now on, the officers and men of our army shall not have any disputes with the state army. ”

Seeing that Cao Yun was unwilling, Cao Gang bitterly told his scruples and listened. Cao Yun didn't know about Chengle County, and when he heard the rumors, he was also shocked by the Zhao army's siege weapons.

"Not only these, but Yang Li in the city is not easy to get along with. If we make the slightest move, it will immediately cause a lot of trouble. So, now we have to do nothing but work with them. Yang Li is Situ Tai's hardcore confidant, and he should not surrender to Zhao Xun unless he is in a desperate situation. ”