Huaiyin City. The county order Chen Deng County Ya Council, as the master, Chen Deng, is not on the main seat at the moment, because just a few days ago, as soon as Han Lie led the army to Huaiyin, Chen Deng declared his allegiance to Han Lie.

At this moment, in the conference hall, although only Chen Deng and Guo Jia were present, there was still one person standing in the hall, that is, Mi Zhu, who was sent to ask for help.

"If General Meng does not give up, Zhu is willing to lead the whole government to serve the general, and give all the money in the family to be used for military use, and ask the general to accept it." Mi Zhu, who was greeted by Chen Deng, when he saw Han Lie, the first thing he did was to express his loyalty, and in order to express his determination, Mi Zhu also immediately took out a bundle of bamboo slips from his bag to the north, and offered it with both hands: "This is all the money accounts of my family, as well as the list of servants and servants, please count them." ”

In the face of Mi Zhu's big move, although Han Lie was surprised, he remembered that when Liu Bei was not as powerful as himself in history, Mi Zhu poured out his money to fund Liu Bei to base himself in Xuzhou, and then he was displaced, followed Liu Bei to fight in the south and the north, and made various achievements, but he was a little relieved.

Guo Jia was also sideways when he heard this, he was not familiar with Mi Zhu, and he only knew that this person was a businessman and was very calculating, but at the moment, Mi Zhu's actions were obviously a big gamble, if he won the bet, his contribution was naturally nothing, but the result of losing the bet was not only bankrupt, but also possible to implicate the family to be destroyed.

And at this time, Han Lie, although he has some advantages, but compared to Cao Cao's strength, it is obviously inferior by three points, and the next battle of Xuzhou is very likely to sink into the sand.

After all, the allegiance at this time is equivalent to sending charcoal in the snow, but if Mi Zhu is compatible after the decisive battle, it will be just the icing on the cake, and the weight will naturally be much lighter.

And Chen Deng's previous allegiance to Han Lie obviously also saw that recognizing the Lord at this time would undoubtedly have more backup than after the war. But this will see Mi Zhu's courage, and it can be said that the shock given to him is still huge. Previously, he pledged his allegiance to Han Lie, although it was a sign of determination, but it was also because of the massacre order issued by Cao Cao that he, a son of an old family in Xuzhou, felt the oppression of death, forcing him to make a clear choice.

But even so, Chen Deng did not give away the family's personal parts, let alone money.

Of course, this is not to say that Chen Deng is selfish, in fact, in this era, even if the children of the big family join the office, they all retain their own private parts, so this is an ordinary thing, and there is nothing wrong.

But at this moment, compared with Mi Zhu's behavior, it fell into the inferiority, and it also made Chen Deng really list Mi Zhu as a respectable person, he had always thought that Mi Zhu was just a mercenary businessman, but now Mi Zhu in his eyes, obviously a person whose wisdom and courage are different from ordinary people.

Han Lie originally didn't want to take Mi Zhu's money, but thinking about Mi Zhu's behavior, it was obvious that he was voting, if he didn't accept it, it would be tantamount to rejecting his kindness, so Han Lie immediately unfolded the bamboo slip with his chin.

15,000 gold cakes, 10 million gold pieces of jewelry and jade, 2,750,000 copper coins, a total of 27,500,000 pieces, about 10 million yuan of silk embroidered cloth, 8,600 shops, 20,000 hectares of fields, 1,000 large and small ships, and a total of more than 100 million yuan, which is equivalent to the income of the entire Xuzhou after three years of tax expenditure.

In addition, the Mi family has 3,000 servants, 5,000 servants, and 9,000 people in the upper and lower houses, of which the young and strong account for most of them.

At first, if Han Lie was still a little hesitant to accept Mi Zhu's property, he would find that when he faced this huge wealth again, he couldn't help but be moved for a while, let alone refuse.

"Bonghyo, take a look." Han Lie's expression tried his best to remain calm, and he gradually handed it to Guo Jia.

Mi Zhu at the next head, seeing Han Lie's calm expression, was somewhat disappointed in his heart, today he gave such a heavy gift, firstly, because he thought that Han Lie was a male lord and worthy of refuge, and he would definitely be able to protect the glory of the three generations of his Mi family, and secondly, he also wanted to win a bargaining chip for himself, and hoped to get a chance to further consolidate the relationship, but now looking at Han Lie's expression, he couldn't help but hesitate a little, should he mention that bargaining chip.

"Mr. Zizhong can't follow Lu Buwei's example?" Guo Jia looked at the bamboo slips, although his heart jumped, but he stood up.

"Guo Junshi Mingjian, Zhu categorically did not dare to have such wishful thinking, and besides, the Lord is not a young Son of Heaven, how can he be at my mercy, and please understand the loyalty of the Lord." In the face of Guo Jia's accusation, Mi Zhu's heart was shocked, and he hurriedly fell to the ground and pleaded with his head.

"Fengxiao, Zizhong is a loyal person, and he cannot be blamed." Han Lie didn't think much about it, his purpose in showing Guo Jia the bamboo slips was just to let him know in his heart, but he didn't want to arouse Guo Jia's suspicion of Mi Zhu, so he smiled bitterly, got up and walked down, helped the other party and said: "Zizhong's heart, can shine on the sun and the moon, I hereby swear to protect Zizhong's wealth and glory, and commit three crimes without punishment." ”

"Thank you for the trust of the lord, and the minister will repay him with death." Mi Zhu was moved, knelt on the ground again, and shouted with his head to the ground.

As soon as Han Lie's words came out, even Guo Jia was really surprised, committing three crimes without punishment, that is to say, as long as Mi Zhu is not treason to the enemy in the future, then he can not be held accountable by the law, which can be said to be equivalent to winning a gold medal for avoiding death.

"The subordinate knows his mistake." Guo Jia will not have to ask for himself.

"Okay, this matter has been revealed, and now we should be discussing the big things in front of us." Han Lie stopped and changed the topic, and said: "Now that Xiapi and Pengcheng are in vain, it is obviously impossible to send troops to defend them, and as soon as Cao Cao's army arrives, hundreds of thousands of people in Xiapi and Pengcheng will inevitably suffer from the flames of war, so at the moment, it is important for us to resist, but it is also our duty to protect our people." ”

"The lord is benevolent, I have thanked the lord for the people of Xuzhou." Chen Deng stood up quite embarrassed, the reason why he said this was because after he learned that Pengcheng and Xiapi were abandoned by Zhenrong, he thought that it was not the suffering of the people in the two places, but how to guard Xuzhou without losing it, and immediately sent people to take all the clan families in Xiapi to Huaiyin for refuge.

This is actually the common problem of the big families in this era, they often have no country in their eyes, there is no Li people, only the wealth of the clan family, in their eyes, the court and the country are just a ladder to enter, and the Li people are the objects of their oppression and exploitation.

"This is not the time to hold accountable, to appease and accept the people, in my opinion, is the top priority to protect Xuzhou, I summed up a sentence, that is, the land is lost, the land is lost, the land can be recovered, if the land is lost, then the people and the land are lost." Han Lie didn't think about changing the minds of these children of the big family for a while, some things were not in a hurry, so he had to boil the frog in warm water and come step by step.

"What the lord said is in line with the truth of the avenue, Cao Cao is far away, and the soldiers are in full swing, so you can't hit it hard, you can only cut its sharpness first, and then find an opportunity to break the enemy. As the lord said, the current relief of the people, winning the hearts of the people, is the key to winning this battle, Pengcheng, Xiapi two counties of the total number of people is not less than 600,000, these people left Cao Cao to slaughter prisoners, the timely accomplice is also the enemy. Therefore, I suggest that we can build longitudinal roads in Huaiyin, Licheng, and Yandu, build porridge sheds, receive help and appease the people, and arrange for the people to settle down in the three places as much as possible. ”

Guo Jia's remarks were not unbelievable, but were well thought out, especially Han Lie's idea of setting up the Diannong Governor's Mansion in Jianye, which opened Guo Jia's mind.

At present, the battle of Xuzhou has been unavoidable, and Pengcheng has been in vain after this battle, and there is no way to prevent it.

In Guo Jia's view, before pacifying the south, the northern defense line can retreat to the Huaishui line, so that the Huaishui can be used as a barrier, and the natural water conservancy conditions around the Huaishui can be used to plant crops in a large area to be self-sufficient, so as to accumulate wealth and win capital for the northward advance.

Guo Jia's idea suddenly opened Han Lie's train of thought, and when Guo Jia's words fell, Han Lie said: "Feng Xiao's words are reasonable, since Pengcheng and Xiapi have been broken, we are beyond the reach of the whip at the moment, and Huaiyin is the ancient city of the pre-Qin Dynasty, with a city defense foundation, I think we can use Huaiyin as the basis to set up the Linhuai Diannong Governor's Mansion, and divide Licheng and Yandu into it, and set up the Eastern Lieutenant and the Southern Lieutenant respectively, what do you think?" ”

"The Lord's policy is deeply in line with my wishes." Guo Jia originally planned this plan, so he nodded happily.

"The establishment of the Linhuai Diannong Governor's Mansion is indeed in line with the current situation, but all of a sudden to establish a three-city mechanism, but also to repair the Chi Road, as well as the smooth waterway, and the resettlement of the people, this will be a huge expense, roughly estimated, at least more than 50 million money, if there is no sufficient financial support, even if the construction starts, in the end it is just a waste of money." As the commander of Huaiyin County, Chen Deng has learned a wide range of things, whether it is military writing, governance, or people's livelihood and economy, he is an expert.

Therefore, when he heard that Han Lie was going to start such a huge project construction, especially when this big war was coming, it was really inappropriate in his opinion.

Although he already knew that Han Lie had intercepted Zhen Rong and seized tens of millions of floating wealth, and Mi Zhu had just donated his family property, perhaps these two sums of money added up to 60 million yuan, but in Chen Deng's opinion, the treasury should have a reserve at all times, so as to be prepared.

And the next battle, I don't know how long it will take, once it falls into a long-term protracted war, tens of thousands of soldiers are spent on the front line, it will really be a bottomless pit, and when the war is not over, he will go bankrupt first, and the result will naturally be defeat and death.

"Yuanlong's concerns are realistic, and they can be described as the actions of the old man to seek the country." Han Lie agreed with Chen Deng's point of view, but did not express his position, but asked Mi Zhu with a smile: "What does Zizhong think?" ”

"Lord Yuanlong's worries are not unreasonable, just now Lord Yuanlong said that it will cost 50 million, but in my opinion, if you want to build a new city along the Huaishui, I am afraid that it is not on this number, but if we can collect refugees and exchange rations for labor, we can appease the displaced people and get a large number of cheap labor, so as long as there is a population, this can be done." Mi Zhu groaned, and said slowly: "Money is not in place in one step, the construction of this project will take at least more than a year, or even two or three years to complete, that is to say, our money is a long-term investment, as long as the follow-up investment is guaranteed, then there will be no problem, as for the start-up capital, there are 20 million enough to support three months." ”

"Zizhong is worthy of being a wealthy businessman, and the accounts can be described as clear at a glance." Han Lie nodded appreciatively, and said: "Yuanlong may not know, this time to block Zhenrong, our department intercepted no less than 50 million money, and just now Zizhong donated more than 100 million property, and although the current war is approaching, but with the current strength of Guangling, Wujun, and Danyang, it is enough to support our department to fight for a year, and there will be no worries, if you count the money offered by Zizhong, we can afford to fight this battle for two years, but in my opinion, Cao Cao's attack on Xuzhou this time, the longest will not exceed three months, once the war drags on for three months, Cao Cao will have problems with both grain and grass and the rear. ”

"The analysis of the lord is indeed in line with common sense, Yanzhou is located in the heart of the Central Plains, surrounded by hostile forces, Cao Cao's army poured out of the nest, a long time, it will inevitably cause the enemy to peep, cause turmoil in the rear, and secondly, Cao Cao's army expedition, grain and grass transportation is difficult, and it is bound to be difficult to hold for a long time, so the reason why Cao Cao issued a document this time and widely distributed the massacre order, one of the reasons is actually to deter the resistance of the people of Xuzhou, in fact, he also did it, and now he has turned Pengcheng and Xiapi into empty cities without much effort." This will Guo Jia once again pick up the conversation, and fully affirm this battle, as long as the posture of attrition and delay is adopted, Cao Cao will inevitably return.

Chen Deng, who was sitting under Guo Jia on the left, would be regarded as truly understanding Guo Jia's skills, and also realized the real reason why this weak scholar of his age would become the military advisor that Han Lie relied on.

That is, this person's insight into the battlefield situation and people's hearts is beyond ordinary people, a war is the coming of disaster in everyone's eyes, but after Guo Jia's analysis and judgment, it has become a must-win situation.

"The words of the military advisor made my mouth open, if the lord does not give up, Deng is willing to take on the responsibility of the Linhuai Diannong Governor's Mansion." Chen Deng was stunned, so he asked for his life in a deep voice, this is Chen Deng's strength, although this person has a somewhat arrogant personality, but he is a character who dares to take responsibility.

"I agree to this matter, but Linhuai Diannong Governor's Mansion, you will have to bear heavy responsibilities in the future, no matter how powerful you are, you will not be able to do it, you must be equipped with a set of team members." Han Lie nodded, and then discussed the issue of candidates with Guo Jia.

After some discussion, it was finally approved that Chen Deng would serve as the governor of the Linhuai Diannong Governor's Mansion, and Mi Zhu would serve as the craftsman's commander and be responsible for the construction project, and Xu Rong, the lieutenant of Licheng, would be promoted to the commander of the military of the Duweifu, and the lieutenant of Licheng would be changed to the post of the eastern lieutenant of the Linhuai Diannong Governor's Mansion, which was still concurrently held by Xu Rong.

Wang Bao, who was originally stationed in Licheng, continued to serve as the commander of Licheng County, Wang Ling was transferred to the post of governor of the Governor's Mansion, and Cheng Bing was appointed to the post of Governor's Mansion, enriching the strength of the adjutant of the Governor's Mansion.

In addition, Sun Qian officially assumed the post of commander of Yandu County, and Zheng Yi served as the southern lieutenant of the Diannong Governor's Mansion, responsible for military affairs and public order under the rule of Yandu.

Han Lie believed that in time, the Linhuai Diannong Governor's Mansion would inevitably become the most prosperous and powerful northern frontier under Xuzhou's rule.

Subsequently, Han Lie ordered the generals of each battalion to go north in batches to receive relief from the people to the south, and it was not until Cao Cao's army entered the territory of Xiapi that the various departments withdrew to the East China Sea to rendezvous.

Pengcheng and Xiapi City were broken, Tao Qian was seriously ill again, Cao Hong, who was panicked, Cao Bao had no way to rule, and finally Chen Qi dispatched 30,000 soldiers and horses from all departments, all of whom retreated to Donghai County, ready to resist to the death.

However, just when the people of the Eastern Sea were panicking, when the middle battalion of the Red Flame Army led by Han Lie was the first to rush to the East China Sea, and when the news of the arrival of 50,000 troops was released, the originally passive and panicked people's hearts suddenly cheered up.

There are more than 400,000 people in the East China Sea, and there are more than 100,000 people in Tancheng alone, and now a large number of disaster victims have rushed in, making the population of the whole city more than 200,000.

Therefore, as soon as he led the army into Tancheng, Han Lie, with the support of Chen Qi, took over the power of city defense, and the Cao Hong and Cao Bao brothers were also happy not to have to fight at this time, but they did not resist at all, and handed over the military power.

Although Mi Zhu was appointed as the craftsman for the construction of the new city of Linhuai Prefecture, this time he came north with the army, and the reason was naturally that he wanted to hand over all the money and property in his family and his servants to Han Lie, so as to enrich Han Lie's combat effectiveness.

As soon as Cao Cao's tens of thousands of troops entered the Xiapi Kingdom, they launched a bloody massacre of the people who were able to or were unwilling to leave their hometowns in the future.

In just a few days, more than 40,000 of the nearly 100,000 people left behind in the territory of Xiapi were slaughtered by him, and the rest were either incorporated into the army or fled out of the territory of Xiapi.

The blood flows like a river, and the corpses are everywhere, which is a true portrayal of the territory of Xiapi Kingdom. So much so that the news spread, and the people in the neighboring Pengcheng Kingdom helped their children and daughters to flee to the East China Sea or to Linhuaili City and other places in the south.

Cao Cao, who raised his horse and whipped, wrapped his head in white silk, and wore a silk suit, raised his short eyebrows lightly, slightly closed his fine eyes, and overlooked the scene of thousands of miles of red land, without any sadness because of the scene of mourning all over the wilderness. When receiving the news that Han Lie led the army into the East China Sea, Cao Cao's heart sank, and he looked around at the generals and said: "Han Ziyang has led his troops into the East China Sea, it seems that if he wants to take revenge and kill Tao Qian, the old horseman, the only way to take Donghai County is to take the three armies. ”

The generals on the left and right, in turn, were Xiahoudun, Xiahouyuan, Cao Ren, Cao Hong, Yu Ban, Le Jin, Li Dian, etc., and they responded violently: "We must swear to kill the enemy and avenge the Lord as soon as possible." (To be continued.) )