After learning about the situation in Huaiyin City, Zhao Xun explained it, and personally took the guard battalion all the way to Huaiyin City. Three days later, Zhao Xun crossed the boundary of Quyang City and entered the surrounding counties of Huaiyin City. Appear in the places where these events occur.

Jiushan County, the westernmost county, is the closest to Quyang City. Xishan Town, a suburban town in the west of Jiushan County. When Zhao Xun arrived here, there was already a matter of the Yanzhou army settled here.

In the distance, you can see a town that has been burned to the ground, and from a distance, it is black, and a foul smell of burning enters the nose. And outside the ruined town, there are dilapidated shacks all over the roadside, and it looks like there are hundreds of them! The shacks were apparently freshly erected, and they were all short and shabby, leaking on all sides.

A group of soldiers of the Yanzhou Army was cleaning up the ruins, moving the burned broken wood, masonry and stone outside the town, and clearing out the streets.

There was a gloomy cloud.

Hearing the sound of horses' hooves, everyone turned around, and when they saw that it was the self-patriarch who came, the soldiers of the Yanzhou army immediately gathered, and the faces of those people showed a look of fear.

"Which part are you from? Why are you so stinky? Zhao Xun turned over and dismounted, his face cold and steady.

The officer said in a deep voice: "Back to the Governor, the subordinates are the first three battalions and five teams of the Left Guard. The reason why there is only one team of men is because the general has already been assigned to the counties, and there are not enough people. That's why it's like this in this town. ”

"I see!" Zhao Xun nodded slightly, understanding the problem. The county seat of the six counties is the strictest place, and it is also necessary to garrison Huaiyin City.

"What is the situation in Huaiyin City and the surrounding six counties now?" Zhao Xun asked again.

The team leader replied: "The Qi army committed misdeeds in the county seat of the six counties and neighboring towns, rape/adultery/captivity/plunder, and did all kinds of evil. The people in the six counties and counties, young and strong, were driven to Huaiyin City to attack the city and die. Most of the remaining old and weak women and children were also killed or wounded, and very few escaped. The money, grain, and grass of the people's homes were all taken away by the Qi army. ”

"General Wei Dong sent people to disperse the counties, settle the people, and collect the corpses. In addition, the people of the Xuzhou army also rushed to the outside of Huaiyin City and asked us to push out Huaiyin City and give it to them. ”

"Let it be given to them? Don't even think about it! Zhao Xun snorted coldly, and then called the guards of the battalion and ordered: "Immediately give an order to Feng Ziming of Xiangzhou Mansion and ask him to mobilize the garrison army in Yuzhou to come here." In addition, let the recruit battalion recruit another 10,000 recruits to serve as a local garrison. ”

"Han Meng, let the guard battalion leave a part to assist them, arrange them into the county seat of Jiushan, and let them settle in the county seat in the future. Now, the counties are vacant, just enough for them to settle down. ”

Looking at the people who were mostly old and weak, women and children, Zhao Xun felt bitter in his heart, and at this time, looking at their ragged and pitiful appearance, he couldn't help but feel some pity in his heart, and then comforted these people.

After learning that the governor of the Yanzhou army had brought food to help them, these people were even more grateful, kneeling on the ground and kowtowing.

When we got to the town, it was basically burned to the ground, with broken walls and ruins everywhere, and there was not a single intact house left. It looks like it has to be rebuilt.

And in the middle of the town, there is still a blood-stained battlefield from time to time, within a radius of several hundred meters, there are blood stains everywhere, broken human bodies everywhere, broken spears and feather arrows, broken swords and broken swords.

According to the people who escaped the catastrophe, this is the place where the Qi army slaughtered the villagers. Here, these Qi troops have been reduced to robbers, just simply killing in, robbing/robbing property.

Not far away, Zhao Xun saw rows of corpses, their corpses had been packed up by the Yanzhou army envoys and the people, and they were already lined up, waiting to be disposed of. Fortunately, it is early spring, and the time is short, but I am not afraid of rotting and causing plague.

Still, you have to settle down, don't you.

"Murong Cheng, you are too ruthless!" The neighboring towns and villages of this county have all been turned into ruins, so what will the six county seats look like? Every county is inhabited by tens of thousands of people, so how many people will turn into unjust souls?

"Command the whole army, full speed ahead!" Zhao Xun ordered in a deep voice, and now, he is still needed to go to Huaiyin City to deal with the problem with the Xuzhou army.

When passing through Jiushan County, Zhao Xun saw Jiushan County, which had been turned into an empty city by the Qi army. Fortunately, the ruins of the city were not completely burned. However, the fact that a huge city has almost become an empty city is indeed frightening. After explaining the captain here, Zhao Xun rode his horse towards Huaiyin City.

After half a day's effort, Zhao Xun finally arrived in Huaiyin City and saw this important city in the southeast of Huaiyin Mansion.

Huaiyin City is seven zhang high, six miles long, and more than three miles wide. The city is high and thick, and it is indeed an important place that is easy to defend and difficult to attack. But now, the land within a radius of Huaiyin City has become potholes, and there are potholes smashed by catapults everywhere. And the walls of Huaiyin City have also become a little broken, and the color has become black. This is rendered by human blood. Thousands of Yanzhou soldiers and some civilians were busy around here, transporting and removing the remnants of the ruins in the city.

When I entered Huaiyin City, I saw that the city was pitch black, and most of the buildings were burned to black ash.

"I've seen the Metropolitan Governor under the mark!" As soon as he entered the city gate, Wei Dong, who got the news, greeted him.

"Well, good work! Let's talk about getting in and out. Zhao Xun said in a deep voice.

The county office, the old county government and the garrison general's mansion were all prepared and burned to ashes, and the current county government was only temporarily selected from the intact houses in the city.

"How many people are there in the city? How many soldiers? As soon as he entered the county office, Zhao Xun asked in a deep voice.

"The people here are all from the city and the surrounding towns, and there are about 13,000 in total. If we had waited a little longer, we would have been able to gather more people from the surrounding towns and villages. As for the soldiers, when they were ordered to come, they only brought 8,000 soldiers, of which 3,000 were distributed in the six surrounding counties to deal with the aftermath. Five thousand were left here, just in case. Wei Dong replied in a deep voice.

Zhao Xun nodded, very satisfied with Wei Dong's arrangement, "Yes, you have 5,000 soldiers left behind, which is also the reason why the Xuzhou army did not directly attack the city." I don't believe that these Xuzhou troops will weakly send someone to ultimatum us and let us leave immediately. By the way, where is the Xuzhou Army stationed now? ”

"The Xuzhou army mobilized 10,000 new soldiers this time, and they are now stationed in Suiling Prefecture, a hundred miles away in the east. However, for the situation of our occupation of Huaiyin Mansion, they have sent people to reprimand us several times. ”

"Don't bother with it, I've already sent someone to ask Yuzhou to transfer people. Now the Xuzhou Army is busy with the war in Yangzhou and has no time to take care of it here. They don't care about Huaiyin Mansion now, but they are worried that we will attack the rest of Xuzhou from the flank. Don't forget, if we cross the past, we will divide Xuzhou in two. Zhao Xun said lightly.

"Therefore, you are right to show a tough attitude, so that they do not dare to take action lightly. The next time the people of the Xuzhou army come again, they will tell them that this place is taken from the Qi army, and it has nothing to do with them. The Yanzhou Army and the Xuzhou Army were allies, but they could not take the spoils of war from their allies. ”

A few days later, the baggage team transporting grain arrived in Huaiyin City. With the arrival of grain and the arrival of tens of thousands of baggage teams, the aftermath of Huaiyin City was much faster. After some persuasion, the people in Huaiyin City and the surrounding six counties began to gather in the county seat.

"My lord, as you expected, this time the people of the Xuzhou army came again to reprimand us for occupying their Huaiyin Mansion and asked us to leave. After some angry reprimands from their subordinates, their attitude was really much weaker. Not only did he not force us to leave, but instead asked us to lead our army to pursue Murong Cheng's troops who were heading south to Guangling. Wei Dong said with a smile on his face.

Zhao Xun lightly tapped his fingers on the table of the general's mansion, and said slowly: "Sue the other party, just say that our army is now busy with the aftermath of this Huaiyin City, the troops are insufficient, and the grain and grass are also insufficient, so there is no time to go south." However, we can reprimand what the Qi army did in Huaiyin Mansion. ”

Led the army into Xuzhou to attack Murong Cheng? I won't be so stupid. Zhao Xun is very clear that now most of the Xuzhou army has begun to march towards Yangzhou and seize the foundation of Yangzhou. If he went south to Xuzhou, he would become a tool used by Li Chi to delay Murong Cheng. In the end, he and Murong Cheng fought to the death, but his Xuzhou army gained a lot in the rear.

The people of the Xuzhou army already knew that the governor of the Yanzhou army was in Huaiyin City, but so what? They didn't dare to fight against the Yanzhou army at this time, otherwise, the enemy they would face would be the Yanzhou army and the Qi army. And the appearance of the governor of the Yanzhou army in Huaiyin City does not mean that the Yanzhou army has occupied Huaiyin Mansion? The envoy of the Xuzhou army was very helpless and reasonable, the other party ignored it and attacked it, if he didn't dare, he might not be able to resist the other party. After all, now around Huaiyin Mansion, there are only some garrisons and new troops.

As Zhao Xun had predicted, Murong Cheng, the king of Qi, had now learned that the Xuzhou army had captured half of Yangzhou. It was also because of this that he was ruthless in his heart to kill the people around Huaiyin City. He wants to vent, if he wants the Xuzhou army to vent. To let Xuzhou Jun know that he Qi Jun is not very active.

After Murong Cheng solved Huaiyin City, he directly led the army south to Guangling Mansion. Wherever they went, whoever stood in their way was slaughtered. Five days after Zhao Xun entered Huaiyin City, he once again got the news that the Qi army had slaughtered the people of Guangling Mansion. In this regard, Zhao Xun could not do anything. After all, this was the operation of the Qi army on the territory of Xuzhou. Of course, Zhao Xun also hoped that Li Chi could fight Murong Cheng to the death.

"Lord, such a killing will surely ruin the reputation of the Lord, and when the time comes, all the people in the world will never tire of it." Seeing that Murong Cheng let the besieging soldiers wantonly slaughter the people and let them do it, Zhang Tu hurriedly persuaded him. For him, the slaughter of Huaiyin City can be regarded as a deterrent to the Xuzhou army. But if you continue to slaughter like this, it will inevitably lead to endless troubles.

At this moment, Murong Cheng was almost going crazy, and he completely ignored the persuasion of Zhang Tu and others, "Reputation? What is fame for? Now, Yangzhou has been occupied by Li Chi's bastard. This king can't scruple about anything now, this king just lets them know that this king is not so hot. You see, isn't there no one who dares to stop us even after three cities? Saying that, Murong Cheng looked hateful.

Zhang Tu said in a trembling voice: "Lord, although this can deter the enemy, it can make the enemy full of hatred and unite as one." In the past, the lord could order other princes to conquer Situ Lei, and even Zhao Jun did not oppose the lord. Why? In addition to the fact that we have the crime of Situ Lei killing the king, more importantly, the lord is the prince of the Great Yan Kingdom, and he is the most suitable person to inherit the emperor's throne. But now that the Lord is like this, how do the people of the world think about it? Then, the qualifications of the prince to inherit the throne can be ...... But if no one agrees, then there will be no problem for the princes of the world to ask for it. Then, it is not a problem for Situ Lei to set up a new king. When the time comes, the princes will follow suit, and the lord will have no advantage. ”

Murong Cheng was slightly stunned, and said coldly: "Even so, but now we can't even keep our foundation, how can we talk about anything else?" Yangzhou was attacked by the Xuzhou army, and Yuzhou was also captured by the Yanzhou army. Jingzhou, on the other hand, was attacked by the traitor Tang Xian. If you don't turn back quickly, not only will you be looking for an indefinite period of time, but even the land will be difficult to preserve. ”

"Damn, the Yanzhou Army deserves to die, the Tang Army deserves to die, and the Xuzhou Army deserves to die! Only by killing them are afraid, frightened, that they know how powerful our Qi army is. ”

Zhang Tu persuaded bitterly: "But Lord, we have already slaughtered the three cities, and the deterrent effect caused is already enough, since there is no strong resistance here, why not loot their food, let them become outcasts, and increase the burden on the Xuzhou army?" It's much more effective than our slaughter. ”

Zhong Yan and the others also tried hard to dissuade Murong Cheng from suspending the strategy of slaughtering the city.

Although Murong Cheng hated the Xuzhou Army deeply, he was not unreasonable. Several massacres also washed away a lot of anger in Murong Cheng's heart. In the end, they stopped slaughtering the city and plundered grain instead, so that they could harm the Xuzhou army. Of course, everywhere he went, the local government and the defenders were still emptied.

At this moment, Li Chi was shocked and angry, shocked that Huaiyin City was slaughtered by the Qi army, and the 150,000 troops of the Qi army had already reached Guangling Mansion, and it was possible to enter Jiangdu Mansion or return to the northwest of Yangzhou at any time. Angry, the defenders of Guangling Mansion were simply unable to resist the mad Qi army. Angry, Huaiyin Mansion, an important place in the southwest of Xuzhou, was occupied by the Yanzhou army. But in this regard, he was powerless and did not dare to make a move against the Yanzhou army.

"Let the people and horses of Juling Mansion withdraw and stay there and be ashamed! Let them immediately rush to the eastern part of Guangling Mansion to prevent the Qi army from entering Jiangdu Mansion. After thinking about it, Li Chizhi gave up his actions against the Yanzhou army and concentrated on targeting the Qi army.

"Dadu Governor, if the army is transferred to the east of Guangling Mansion, won't it let the Qi army go south? So, Yangzhou? Li Fangzong, the military counselor, asked puzzled.

Li Chi said in a sullen voice: "I thought that the Qi army would fight with the Yanzhou army in Yuzhou, but who would have thought that Murong Cheng would give up the land of Yuzhou and fight to conquer the dangerous three cities of Huaiyin Mansion and go south." Now most of our army is in Yangzhou, and there are very few left in the south of Xuzhou. Jiangdu Mansion is also the place where our army connects the north and south, and it is also the place where the front-line army hoards grain and grass. If something goes wrong in Jiangdufu, it will split us from the front line, leaving the front army surrounded by enemy forces and having no way back. If the Qi army withdraws to Yangzhou, we will at least be able to compete with one in the south. ”

"In this way, wouldn't it be easy to occupy Yangzhou, or even expand to the south?"

Li Chi said angrily: "It's not because the Yanzhou army doesn't cooperate, if they can work with the army of Huaiyin Mansion and trap the Qi army there in Huaiyin Mansion, Yangzhou, and even Jiaozhou in the southwest, will be our meal." It's hateful, it's hateful that the Yanzhou army sat and watched the Qi army go south, but instead occupied our Huaiyin Mansion. ”

In fact, Li Chi also understood in his heart that it was not impossible to work together with the Yanzhou army to take down the Qi army, if he cooperated well and let the Qi army run out of ammunition and food, maybe it would be encircled and annihilated. However, Li Chi didn't want to let himself lose too much in Huaiyin Mansion and let an accident happen in Yangzhou. Therefore, he wanted Qi Jun to fight hard with the other party. However, this Yanzhou army is not a fool, so naturally it doesn't care. As a result, the Yanzhou army occupied Huaiyin Mansion, but he fell into the anger of the Qi army and did not dare to make a move lightly.

Huaiyin City, now it has become a construction base, and it is busy everywhere. As time passed, the city gradually gained some popularity, and many people assisted the Yanzhou soldiers to remove the garbage and waste from the city and rest the buildings in the city. The black ruins in the city are also decreasing little by little.

"There are still too few people, and there is no popularity!" In the general's mansion, Zhao Xun couldn't help but say.

Feng Ziming, who had just arrived in Huaiyin City, said with a smile: "Lord, it is already commendable to let Li Chi back down and leave this Huaiyin Mansion behind. The population is too small, and we can move in part of it from Yuzhou. Just let the people of Yuzhou integrate with this place and reduce their hostility towards us. ”

"In addition, after such a killing by the Qi army, we have countless more fields in Huaiyin City and the surrounding six counties. In this way, a large number of people can be arranged to move in, and so many fields cannot be left barren. If you use these fields as a temptation, you think it will attract many people. The only thing needed is to build a new house. However, these are not difficult problems for those people. In addition, we also seized a lot of money in Yuzhou last time, but it is not that we cannot afford it. ”

Wei Dong also nodded and said: "My subordinates can see that they can, and there are also tenants of those big clans in Huaipu City and Quyang City, let them move here, they definitely have nothing to say." In addition, we can also place some orders for merchants to transport some supplies for the army here, which will quickly make this place lively. ”