With Tong Doulan's clear statement, the big stone in Deng She's heart was put down halfway. Winning over the Jurchens can be regarded as a half-step completion.

Hong Jixun's so-called aid, not only Natong Doulan, but also the Jurchen tribes in Helan Mansion are very numerous, and there is no reason to leave a forest and hang it on a tree. Deng She sent an order to Zhao Guo, instructing him to step up contacts with the local Jurchen tribe. Don't be anxious, treat them with generosity, the Jurchens are poor, and whatever they lack, give; But you can't give it easily, you have to pay attention to strategy, give them what they need most, the icing on the cake is not as good as giving charcoal in the snow, and let them be grateful for what you want to give.

Don't focus on the big tribes, pick a few small tribes, and add up to a lot.

and released the rumor, saying that Tong Doulan, a thousand households, had already voted for Shuangcheng. He also asked Tong Doulan to send a few familiar subordinates to help Zhao Guo win over the relationship. The Jurchens around Jiashan have always paid equal attention to farming, fishing and hunting. When it comes to fishing and hunting, Jiashan is naturally inferior to the twin cities near the sea; And when it comes to fertile land, there is no better place in the area of Helan Province than Shuangcheng and Dingzhou.

Most of the land in Shuangcheng was given to the poor of the Han and Goryeo people. After fighting the local tyrants in Dingzhou, there are still a lot. Zhao passed Zhang Bangjiashan and promised: As long as the Jurchens come, the original local will not be collected, and then the land will be divided according to the capita, and one and a half acres will be given to one and a half acres; For wheat seeds, you can rent government ox plows for free, and the rent is not collected; It is allocated to the fishing ground and distributed to the shooting mountain. The original Jurchen Mouke and Meng'an remained unchanged, Mouke gave the position of centurion, and Meng'an gave the position of Qianhu.

Deng She's successive victories, and the news that the Koreans were beaten with their heads and rats scurry, was also intentionally publicized in a loud way. Coming and going, small tribes greedy for cheap migrated one after another.

They are not stupid, they refuse to move all of them, but only divide half of the people to occupy the land; Nor do you want to fix the land of the state, which is at the front; As long as the twin cities'. Deng She decisively decided to allocate half of the military land to settle them. Anyway, there are not enough soldiers to plant these fields, and they are empty, and the current situation is urgent, so it is better to replace them with soldiers who can fight. With these tribes to vote, by the way, the rear was also stabilized.

At the same time, the recruitment of soldiers in each city came to an end. The construction of the large camp outside the city was completed, plus the southern camp built by the Li army earlier, which was enough to arrange for the new soldiers to move in. Non-commissioned officers and officers with high achievements were selected from among the old soldiers, and assigned to the new army as the backbone, and they were engaged in intense intensive training. Fifteen days have passed since Yao Hao's ancient come.

The January deadline is coming soon. Conquer the city, without further ado.

One day in mid-May, Chen Hu and the others secretly returned to Shuangcheng. Don't enter the barracks, go directly to the Dunshe Mansion. The Twin Cities have been waiting for a long time. Maps hung high on the walls, and a group of people gathered in front of them, pointing and deliberating.

Zhang Yan'er's Ningyuan position was important, and he didn't come back, but Guan Shirong came. First of all, I briefly reported to Deng She the situation in the past half a month. The big and small battles were fought six times, four times for sentry food, and twice for counterattacks to harass the Li army. The scale of the battle was not large, and there were thousands of soldiers and horses dispatched each time.

"The Li army is cowardly, and every time they meet, they turn around and retreat before they have ever clashed. On the contrary, the local youth army organized by those wealthy families resisted more tenaciously. But their equipment and training are not as good as those of the Li army, and they can't do anything except work hard. Not worth paying attention to.

"Four times of sentry food, our army killed hundreds of enemies, and only a dozen people lost themselves. According to the general's order, after each battle, everyone from thousands of households to ten commanders wrote a summary. The secretary sent out by the Thousand Household Prefecture Bullet Pressure Division to write it with a unified reputation. ”

Guan Shirong took out a document, which listed the specific figures of the losses of the enemy and us in previous battles, the captures, and the post-war summaries of more than 100 officers, and said: "The seized grain and grass totaled more than 600 stones, a number of silver, money, and silk, and the rest have been transported back to Shuangcheng in batches except for the necessary. ”

600 stone of grain, save a little, and with wild vegetables, sea fish, and animal meat, it is enough for a thousand people to eat for a month and a half, and the results are okay. Chen Hu's harvest is even greater, the cities south of Dingzhou are rich, with the mud river as a barrier, he faces less pressure, and there are many times of sentry grain. On average, the grain is sentry once every two days, and the total grain and grass are nearly 1,000 stones.

"The Goryeo landlords' warehouses are all full, and the income of our army is only storage in the farms outside the city. I think there will be more food in the private warehouse in the city. Chen Hu finally concluded, "The Li army has no fighting spirit, and no one dares to go out of the city to intercept our army's sentry food." The general did not give an order, and simply plundered a few Goryeo cities, which could also alleviate the crisis of food shortage. ”

That was exactly what Dunsher was calling them back. nodded and said, "The green and yellow are not accepted, and it is difficult to raise food." Only then did the army expand again, and the whole army did not have two months of surplus food! I will think about it, and I often don't feel at ease. I called you back to the city to discuss a solution. ”

He and Hong Jixun agreed that in order to prevent people from being mixed up, the true intention of building Twin Cities as a base is known to you and me, not to a third person. Wen Huaguo heard this, and slapped his thigh: "Rob!" Didn't Chen Laoba say that the Goryeo landlords have grain, and we have soldiers, Confucius said: Heaven makes a pair, and the earth sets a pair! ”

This is straightforward. Deng She was dumbfounded, and said with a smile: "Rob, there must be a charter for grabbing." ”

Chen Hu nodded and said: "You can't rob indiscriminately, you have to rob in an organized way." He usually pays attention to it, pointing to the map with his scabbard, "On the south bank of the mud river, the richest are the coastal cities." Since our army occupied Dingzhou, Wang Jing has given them a lot of reinforcements. If you want to fight, you have to fight quickly, and if you delay, there is a danger of erosion. ”

South of the mud river, it is dangerous, and it is not in line with Deng She and Hong Jixun's plan. "Except for the south bank of the mud river?" Deng She looked at Guan Shirong and asked, "Zhucheng in the west of Dingzhou, how about the storage?" ”

Guan Shirong thought for a while and said, "The villain doesn't know the specific amount." However, Heecheon, Tokugawa, Monsan, Yinshan and other places are also considered rich. Especially in Tokugawa, there is a big landowner, surnamed Pu, whose land is all over the mountains, and the grain storage is hundreds of thousands of catties. ”

Hundreds of thousands of catties are not much. 20,000 people, one person a day and a half catty, a month is 300,000 catties. Deng She is also really worried about food and salary now. The cities south of the Nihe River were fortified because of Dingzhou, but what about Tokugawa? He asked Guan Shirong: "How many Tokugawa defenders are there?" ”

"2,000 new reinforcements from Pyongyang; In addition, there are more than 1,000 local youth troops. However, the combat effectiveness is not high. The villain once personally led the army to the outpost for food, and once he handed over, the Li army was defeated in a battle. The Battle of the Twin Cities scared them into their guts. ”

A total of two or three thousand defenders is a bit troublesome. Deng She frowned and asked the generals, "What do you think?" ”

Wen Huaguo has no opinion, he can fight anywhere. Brother Huang Donkey was in good spirits, squeezed to the map, looked at it carefully for a while, and said, "General, Tokugawa is surrounded by mountains, I'm afraid it will be difficult to fight." ”

He was calmed down by himself, and his mental outlook improved significantly. The position of suppressing is nominally inferior to the deputy Wanhu, but it has real power. The military system clearly stipulates that military aircraft can be counsellors and assist in military affairs. In addition, the Suppression Division must also have a quota of soldiers directly under the central government, and Deng She allocated him 300 men. Although it is not much, it is not much stronger than the short 10,000 households.

Wen Huaguo was not angry: "What's wrong with the mountains? Our army fought Ningyuan and Jiashan, which place is not a mountain? Is the West Pass dangerous? Blocking Lao Tzu? Bird! ”

Brother Huang Donkey touched his helmet and said embarrassedly: "Too thick, too thick." Don't use foul language, don't use foul language. ”

"Lao Tzu's bird is not thick, how do you know?"

Wen Huaguo spoke politely, and Guan Shirong and the others burst into laughter. Brother Huang Donkey didn't say anything, so he simply kept silent.

"What about the situation in Xichuan, Monsan, and Yinshan?" Deng She continued to ask Guan Shirong.

"Monsan is next to the Datong River, and the land is fertile. Yin Mountain is surrounded by mountains; Xichuan is good, and the place with the most sentry grain is here. There are few defenders, and there are not many green troops. ”

Hong Jixun's strategy is easy to say, but it is difficult to implement. It is not as good as taking advantage of the victory to plunder Ningyuan and other places on the same day, and now the situation in each city has stabilized, and they are united in the same breath, reinforcing each other, and fighting with great effort to delay the time.

Is there a better way?

Dunshe was silent. Where there is an army that must be saved, there is a city that must be defended. In other words, there is hope that reinforcements will arrive, and those who defend the city will have the confidence to hold on. If you can defeat their reinforcements and turn them into lonely cities one by one, with the ability of the red turban to attack the fortified several times, it will not be difficult to conquer the city.

How do you get rid of their reinforcements? One way, so that everyone is in danger and dare not come to the rescue.

After thinking about it for a moment, I had a fixed opinion. Comparing the geographical location of Heecheon, Tokugawa and other places, the most significant strategic position is naturally Tokugawa. To the north of the Tokugawa River, the mountains are continuous; South of Tokugawa, the Taedong River can go straight down to Pyongyang. It can be said that Tokugawa is the gateway to the northern mountains of Goryeo, and to take this place is to close the door to the northern mountains and cut off the possibility of Pyongyang supporting the north. This is also the reason why Pyongyang did not forget to reinforce Tokugawa despite the fiasco.

Hong Jixun also thought of this and said, "Why doesn't the general close his door?" ”

The generals in the army basically have a bad impression of Hong Jixun. thinks he is too arrogant, looks down on people, is polite on the surface, and rejects people in his bones. There are pros and cons to civil and military discord. Deng She had the intention of improving his status in the minds of Wen, Chen and others, so he pretended not to understand what he meant, and asked, "Close the door?" ”

Hong Jixun folded the fan and said, "Tokugawa is the gateway." The general can first besiege Tokugawa, and then divide the army into two roads, sweeping Xichuan and Jiangjie in the north, and Mengshan and Yinshan in the south. Without the echo of Tokugawa, these four castles became isolated cities, and in the battle of Yamaguchi, their defenders also lost a lot; It's not hard to conquer. ”

glanced at Wen and Chen a few times, but there was no expression of admiration, only Zhao Guo nodded again and again. Deng She was very helpless, his prejudices were deep, and it was very difficult to change them. He took the lead in clapping his hands and praised: "Sir's plan, it's wonderful!" ”

Wen, Chen and others cheered a few times. Once the tactics are set, the next step is to deploy troops. The defenders of Ningyuan could not move, and the military horses besieging Dechuan and plundering Xichuan had to be sent from Shuangcheng. There are 7,000 newly recruited soldiers, little training, and low combat effectiveness, but you can take this opportunity to go out and practice your hands.

Deng She held his sword and gave an order: "Six thousand old soldiers in Shuangcheng, leave a thousand people to defend the city, and the rest will go on the expedition." Seven thousand new soldiers, two thousand were allocated to help defend the city, and the remaining five thousand men also went out with the army. "Chen Hu and Zhao Guo have the responsibility of defending the territory and cannot be mobilized," attacked Xichuan and other places, with General Wen as the main general. With 3,000 old soldiers, Tong Qianhu and 2,000 new Jurchen troops, plus 2,000 new soldiers.

"I personally led the army to besiege Tokugawa, and Huang Zhenfu was with me. With 2,000 old pawns and 3,000 new pawns. Shuangcheng asked Mr. Hong to guard it. This operation is not to conquer the city, but to take grain and plunder. "That being said, the territory that has been beaten down cannot be thrown away at will, but it is just a matter of putting less garrison military horses.

Chen Hu wanted to replace Deng She. This time the action was related to the overall situation, Deng She was not at ease, his neck injury was also healed, and he did not agree. Set a time and leave the city in two days. During this period, Dingzhou and Ningyuan contracted their forces, suspended the sentry food, and concentrated on defense. lest the Koreans be left empty.

Look out the window, it's dark at night. The meeting was adjourned.

Deng She sent the generals out of the mansion, and everyone got on their horses one after another and took their leave. Brother Huang Donkey didn't go home, made a detour, threw everyone off, and took advantage of the night to sneak into Yao Haogu's mansion. Yao Haogu and Qian Shide have been waiting for him for a long time.

Not long after Yao Haogu arrived in Shuangcheng, they got on the line. It's just that the correspondence is secret, and no one else knows about it.

Yao Haogu has been here for more than ten days, and Deng She is warm, polite, and respectful on the surface, but in fact he is very uncooperative. Wu He is an old fritter, and he got a hint that Yang Fengyin is violated, and his household registration, Tian Mu, Ding Zhuang, Cangli, etc., are unwilling to hand over. Yao Haogu was very annoyed, he originally thought that he would be able to catch it, but he never expected it to be so difficult.

found Deng She's mansion three times and twice, to provoke and urge, and when he had no choice but not to mention business, Deng She was respectful and polite; When it comes to business, if you can't say three sentences, you will inevitably give up, be respectful, and never go back.

When asked, the pro-soldiers either replied to "urgent matters in the army" or "Jurchen personnel". He was ruthless and refused to leave several times. As a result, Dunsher either did not show up for the night; Or come back in the middle of the night and get drunk with the Jurchens. Nothing can be said.

At first, Yao Haogu didn't think much about it. No one wants to release the power in hand, human nature. Slowly, he felt that something was wrong. There are more and more Jurchens; There are more and more new pawns; Large quantities of ordnance arrows were pulled out of the smelter one by one.

The posture drawn by Deng She, which was clearly a race against time. Did he see something? Hong Jixun is right, Guan Duo is going to be opposed; Yao Haogu's task is to guard this shortcut into Goryeo. If Deng She saw the mystery in this, then whether this passage could be kept or not, it would be suspenseful.

For a person who has never been in contact with him, who knows which one he will choose between Guan Duo and Xiao Ming Wang? Or, are you against me, break up in two, simply disobey Guan Duo's dispatch, and establish yourself as the king of the twin cities?

Either way, it's trouble.

Therefore, as soon as he heard that Deng She had summoned the generals yesterday, he immediately told Brother Huang Donkey to come and meet after the meeting. At this time, after listening to the content of the military discussion, Yao Haogu stroked his beard, pondered for a long time, smiled hesitantly, and guessed Deng She's intentions.

He crossed his legs and took a sip of tea: "'Not to conquer the city, but to take grain and plunder. 'Hmph,...... is a good Deng Wanhu, do you want to take the essence of each city, enrich the twin cities, and be the king of the two cities? ”

Qian Shide had a hot temper, more annoyed than him, and slapped the table: "My lord, I have been here for so many days, and there has been no progress at all." In the end, we have to use some thunderous means! ”

Brother Huang Donkey was taken aback, he didn't know the combat effectiveness of Qian Shide's department, and he knew the combat effectiveness of Deng She's department; Qian Shide is only a thousand cavalry, and if he fights, he is afraid that he will not be next to each other. He hurriedly said: "The villain thinks that he needs to think carefully. Make a suggestion, "Why don't you use Guan Pingzhang's order to force him to change his mind?" ”

Qian Shide agreed: "Just use the sword that Guan Pingzhang gave to the adult." He wants to be interested, and let him go; I don't know how to ,...... interesting" sneered twice.

Brother Huang Donkey regretted it a little. If he knew that Qian Shide was here, he wouldn't come. Qian Shide's dog temper was even more irritable than before, and he opened his mouth to fight and kill. Guan Pingzhang, a person who knows people so well, how did he send him.

Brother Huang Donkey looked at Yao Haogu with blank eyes, Yao Haogu smiled and said, "Until the last resort, this step is better to avoid taking this step." ”

After pondering for a moment, he said: "Deng Wanhu went west to plunder grain, for the stomach of the whole army. It's hard to find a reason to stop it. "Those who know the times are handsome, distinguish their shapes, look at their potential, do what they can, and if they can't stop it, they won't stop it.

He stood up, paced a few steps around the room, and said, "If you think about it, it's not an opportunity for you and me. "Ask Brother Huang Donkey, "Deng Wanhu went west, who was left to guard the twin cities?" ”

"Hong Jixun. The defenders were 3,000: 1,000 old soldiers and 2,000 new soldiers. ”

Qian Shide was overjoyed: "Do you want to do it?" patting his chest and assuring, "In half a day, the last general will be able to control the twin cities." ”

Yao Haogu shook his head and denied it. It is naturally best to be able to seize control of the twin cities, but the problem is that Deng She's 10,000 or 20,000 troops can't hold it if they grab it. can only blame Deng She for developing too fast, and he has fallen behind from the beginning. "This official is just thinking, maybe he can take the opportunity to sit on my official hat more solidly." He muttered Hong Jixun's name a few times, and had a little headache: "The natives of Shuangcheng are strategic, and have a good relationship with the Jurchens." …… Fuck, it's hard to deal with. "I admire Deng She's wisdom in employing people.

But who is Yao Haogu? Guan Duo is one of the best capable generals under his hands, known as a man of wisdom and resourcefulness. Indomitable and high-spirited.

Brushing his beard under his chin, he walked around two or three times, speculating on Deng She's mentality: "This official believes that Deng Wanhu is still loyal to Guan Pingzhang. "Liaodong 200,000 red scarves, can you be disloyal?" Setting up the officials and plundering grain in the west is nothing more than personal selfishness. Everyone has selfish intentions. As long as he doesn't make excessive moves that would damage Guan Pingzhang's southward journey to Goryeo, the official can back down. "The situation is stronger than people, can you do it if you don't back down?

This is a beautiful word, knowing what the other party wants to do, but not knowing it. Brother Huang Donkey opened his mouth, swallowed the opposing opinion, and said, "My lord sees thousands of miles. ”

"However, since this official has been ordered to come, the most fundamental one, Shuangcheng and Jiashan must be ensured that nothing is lost. General Qian's military horses are not allowed to move under any circumstances. Deng Wanhu didn't mention that you would go out into the army, so you pretended not to know. Mention, find an excuse to resign.

"And the real power of the civil administration of the twin cities cannot be delayed any longer. Deng Wanhu's army went out of the city, a rare opportunity. He snorted, "Hong Jixun, little white face, let Lao Tzu fight you." ”

After a pause, with a worried face, he said to Qian Shide: "General Qian, you and I are too few people, and we have little deterrent power. Whether it is to control Shuangcheng and Jiashan, or to meddle in the civil affairs of Shuangcheng, at most it will be postponed. It is necessary to send a messenger to inform Guan Pingzhang and ask him to go south as soon as possible. Otherwise, over time, small troubles will become big troubles. ”

He turned around and patted Brother Huang Donkey on the shoulder: "The army will be out in two days, and General Huang will go with Deng Wanhu." This official gives you two tasks to find out the combat strength of the Li Army, the reality of the place; Find out the number of Deng Wan's households plundering grain and Ding Zhuang. ”

Brother Huang Donkey jumped up and held his legs up: "Don't worry, my lord, I promise to complete the task." ”