Take a moment to care about Zhao Meng's department, which should now be called the Eastern Navy garrison, not all of the 500 Eastern Navy soldiers under his command are stationed in the town, in fact, only about 200 people are stationed in the town, and the remaining 300 people are divided into three teams of 100 people, scattered to three relatively important strategic points in the East China Sea territory, preparing to build a new simple city pass there, so as to radiate the defense of the surrounding villages.

This approach was not thought of by Zhao Meng himself, but was formulated by Sima Fuqiang in combination with the current situation of the East China Sea and the experience of the ancients. In fact, the current situation of only one city in Donghai Town in the East China Sea Territory is relatively rare, and it is generally like Wei County with three or four cities. Sima Fuqiang was preparing to set Donghai Town as a seat of governance within the territory, and at the same time build three more cities to guard the strategic routes.

In the future, these three cities will be distributed on strategic points in the northern, central, and southern sections of the official road, forming a chain of defense systems. At present, the only way to do this is to let the three hundred teams of the garrison camp be stationed in these three locations first, and then slowly recruit people to build three small cities that are not very large.

After a day's rest, things in Tokai Town were pretty much settled. With the existence of the Council of Elders, Sima Fuqiang does not need to worry about the construction of the territory, he only needs to set a general direction of development, and the elders will naturally implement it properly. Especially after the dream man implemented the initiative of opening a warehouse to provide food, the elders were even more grateful to Dade and handled government affairs with great care, and there was no need for the East China Sea team to worry about it.

After three days away, the Tokai team finally returned to Dongwei Pass, but was taken aback by the situation in front of them. Not only did the East Navy retreat to Dongwei Pass, but the Lizhou Army, which was supposed to fight the rebels in the middle of Wei County, also hid on the side of the official road behind Dongwei Pass like a lost dog.

The officers and soldiers under Li Wei who left the state capital were all in rags, lost their armor, and looked like the remnants of the soldiers who had just retreated from defeat. Combined with the number of camp tents and marching stoves, it can be roughly estimated that the number of officers and soldiers who have retired from these is about 1,000 people, and it is not even as much as the strength of the two battalions of the Eastern Navy stationed at Weidongguan at this moment.

As far as Huang Zhi knows, Li Wei's army from the state capital in Wei County this time is 5,000, so where are the remaining 4,000 troops?

This question was answered after meeting Li Wei, the Dingyuan general had a haggard face, his eye sockets were deeply sunken reminiscent of a skull, his gray face was not a trace of anger, his beard was messy and his hair was messy, and he looked like he hadn't been able to sleep well for several days. You don't need to ask to know that the remaining 4,000 soldiers and horses who have disappeared are gone, and the army from the state capital has suffered a big defeat.

Speaking of which, the strength of the rebels in Weixian County totaled more than 20,000, and judging from the current financial situation of Weixian, it can be regarded as a lack of force. Therefore, the equipment and quality of the 20,000 rebels are definitely not as good as the well-funded troops leaving the state capital, and even the three meals are a little unsustainable.

Although these two counties are not the seat of Lizhou and Duizhou, there are also a small number of officers and troops stationed in order to contain and contain the rebels. In order to cope with the pressure from the north and south, the rebels had to station nearly 4,000 troops and horses in each of these two directions, and could not withdraw to deal with the levying army of Le Vie.

As for Donghai and Kei counties on the east and west sides of Wei County, although the rebel army originally did not have many garrisons at the adjacent checkpoints, they added up to 3,000 soldiers and horses.

In this way, the number of people that the rebels can really mobilize is only about 9,000, and compared with the more than 10,000 elites who are guarding the four directions, the remaining troops are basically second-line troops with low combat effectiveness. And a considerable part of these 9,000 men and horses are support troops such as baggage troops that lack combat effectiveness, and the real combat effectiveness is only 4,000 or 5,000 people. Under such circumstances, sending 5,000 elites from the state capital to fight against the rebels is already a big advantage.

Under such circumstances, there was still the Eastern Navy in the southeast of Weixian County stirring up the situation, first eating up the 1,500 troops of Weidongguan, and then eating away at nearly 2,000 soldiers and horses in Wanghuicheng and Weinancang. This is an extremely huge blow to the morale of the rebels in Weixian County, in their minds, this Eastern Navy should have four or five thousand men and horses, so that they can eat Weidongguan and Wanghui City so easily, which invisibly increases the psychological pressure.

It stands to reason that there is a disturbance by the Eastern Navy, and the 5,000 troops led by Li Wei should be more at ease, but I didn't expect it to become the current situation, which is really a bit unbelievable.

Looking at Li Wei with a depressed face, although Sima Fuqiang was full of doubts, he didn't dare to ask, so he could only look at Huang Zhi for help, hoping that he could extract some useful information from the mouth of this defeated general.

Huang Zhi was ordered to talk to Li Wei, but he didn't know where to start, this kind of problem of revealing scars is not easy to talk about, so he can only casually say a few words to the other party.

Li Wei also looked like he wanted to speak and stopped, obviously he had a lot of bitter water in his heart to find someone to pour, but he was afraid that he would be laughed at by Huang Zhi after saying it.

The two of them talked about some marginal digressions, until Huang Zhi finally thought of an entry point, "Du Ziteng, General Li, knows, right?" ”

When Li Wei heard this name, he immediately gritted his teeth, "That's a cunning guy!" ”

Huang Zhi was stunned when he heard this, after the Eastern Navy skillfully captured Wanghui City, people in his dream no longer took this general who defended the city seriously, thinking that his level was not enough. Unexpectedly, at this time, Li Wei had a deep hatred for Du Ziteng, obviously he had some grudges with this person, and combined with the current tragic situation of the army leaving the state government, Huang Zhi immediately had a plan in his heart.

He asked tentatively, "Could it be that Du Ziteng mobilized the rebels in the south of Wei County to go north to attack General Li's official army?" ”

The crux of his heart has been revealed by Huang Zhi, but Li Wei has no scruples, like a dam that has opened the floodgates, pouring out all the bitter water that has accumulated for a long time to Huang Zhi's side, "It's not him, who else!" That guy doesn't know which tendon is wrong? He actually abandoned the strategic location in the south of Weixian, completely ignored the threat of the Duzhou army, and actually transferred all the 4,000 troops in the south to the north to snipe our army, forming a flanking attack on us with the main force of the rebels. If it weren't for the enemy on my belly and back, how would I have ended up like this? Wrong! ...... wronged"

Huang Zhi couldn't help but despise Li Wei's exaggeration in his heart, even if Du Ziteng transferred all the garrisons in the southern part of Wei County, it would only be more than 2,000 men and horses, and the rest had already been wiped out by the Eastern Navy. And Li Wei's defeat to the Eastern Navy's subordinates actually condemned Du Ziteng for being cunning, in Huang Zhi's opinion, does this mean that his IQ is a bit problematic.

Of course, these thoughts of complaining can only be hidden in the heart, if he really says it, he will offend Li Wei, and let him know that the real cause of the defeat of the Lizhou army is actually caused by the Eastern Navy.

If it weren't for the three stinkers' plan to fight and raise the war, the Eastern Navy would not have captured Du Ziteng's southern base camp Wanghui City. If Du Ziteng hadn't lost his foundation, he would never have been desperate to dispatch all his troops north. He was fighting for the purpose of atonement for his sins.

In the final analysis, this is the chain effect caused by the training of the Eastern Navy, which eventually led to the great rout of the Lizhou army. The rebels can be said to have lost the eastern corner, and the harvest of Sangyu, although they lost the southern cities for a while, but because of this, they solved the dilemma in the central part. At this moment, the rebels of Weixian County were chasing Li Wei's rebels all the way south, and they had already taken back Weidong Pass, and were stationed outside Dongwei Pass, forming an oppressive trend on the East Navy guarding the pass.

It is precisely because of this that Li Wei, who suffered the defeat, did not dare to withdraw to the state capital immediately, but temporarily stationed behind Dongwei Pass, so that the Eastern Navy could not support it when it could come to support.

After hearing this, Huang Zhi didn't sympathize with Li Wei's experience, but was worried about his Eastern Navy. When Li Wei finished scratching his hair, he found an excuse to leave, and hurriedly went to Sima Fuqiang and Zhang Wei to discuss countermeasures.

At this time, these two people had already taken the first step to visit the enemy on the city wall of Dongwei Pass, and when Huang Zhi arrived, they saw that there were thousands of rebels stationed outside the range of the winch crossbow outside the pass, and they were busy in full swing, looking like they were building siege equipment and preparing to attack Dongwei Pass. The end of the east pass is crowded again, and it is once again guarded by the rebels, and the prosperity is far better than at the beginning.

"The cavalry troops we left behind in Wanghuicheng haven't come back yet......," Sima Fuqiang said to Huang Zhi worriedly. He also did not have the slightest sympathy for Li Wei's plight, but was worried about the children of the Eastern Navy in Weixian.

"We must retake the Weidong Pass, open the passage, and let those cavalry come back!" Zhang Wei was even more simply, directly looking at the thousands of rebels in front of him as if they were nothing.

Although there are only a few dozen cavalry left in Wanghui City, they have experienced several consecutive battles, and their experience and quality are second to none in the Eastern Navy.

It's not that Zhang Wei looks down on the thousands of soldiers and horses of the rebels, but it's because today's Eastern Navy is not what it used to be. At this time, the two battalions stationed at Dongwei Pass had nearly 1,000 troops, holding a large amount of baggage captured from Weinancang, and it was not a problem to hold on for several months. After the pass, there are also nearly 1,000 troops from the state capital, although the morale is a little low, but it can still be used, and it can be used as a replacement when the Eastern Navy is tired.

With these two thousand soldiers and horses in charge, if the rebels want to take Dongwei Pass, five thousand soldiers and horses may not be enough. What's more, the Eastern Navy also has a killer weapon that has been temporarily sealed - the Eight Bull Crossbow, which can not only completely cover the open space between the two passes, but also directly hit the defenders at the end of the Dongguan wall. The last time they attacked Weidongguan, the three stinkers still had reservations about the use of the Eight Ox Crossbows, which were only used to fire "tower arrows" and were not used for attack, so the rebels did not realize that the Donghai Navy had a sharp weapon that could directly deter Weidongguan.

At this moment, there are as many as 500 rebel prisoners of war in the military camp in Dongweiguan, these grassroots soldiers do not have too many personal positions, and the reason for joining the army is also very simple, either they are pulled into a strong ding, or they are just to eat for a while, anyway, it is the same with anyone. As long as Huang Zhi is willing, he can activate the exclusive skill of "social" at any time, and he can turn enemies into friends with a single speech, and transform them into the power of the Eastern Navy. At this time, these prisoners of war were not recruited, but because of the lack of a middle-level commander to lead them.

Speaking of the commander, Huang Zhi immediately found Wu Qiang and asked, "How did you do with Li Erhu?" ”

Wu Qiang's face collapsed when he heard this, "The last general is incompetent, and he can't convince that stubborn guy, and he is willing to be punished by Lord Shixin." ”

"Well, it's the punishment." Of course, Huang Zhi knew that Wu Qiang couldn't handle it, and the reason why he gave him this task in the first place was completely to find an opportunity to "punish" him.

Wu Qiang anxiously waited for Lord Shixin's punishment decision, but Huang Zhi refused to give him an answer immediately, but continued to hang his appetite, "That's it, I'll go talk to him now, if I can't convince him, then it's not your problem, and the 'punishment' can be waived." On the other hand, if he agrees to my invitation, I will propose punishment measures at that time, and I believe you will be convinced. ”

Wu Qiang didn't know what kind of medicine was sold in Lord Shixin's gourd, but he couldn't raise any objections. Although he knew that Lord Shixin was full of charm and first-class eloquence, and that he would definitely be able to convince a guy with a straight intestine, he could only accept his fate.

"Brother, you are so insidious!" It was only when he watched Wu Qiang go away uneasily that Zhang Wei sighed.

"Hehe, if this is not the case, how can he be able to draw elite forces from the soldiers of the first battalion without complaint." Huang Zhi said proudly, "Besides, I'm not here to fulfill your brother's wishes." ”

"Yes, yes, you go and get rid of Li Erhu! Maybe he'll be needed right away. Zhang Wei naturally knew what tricks his brother was playing, so he hurriedly urged.

"Captain, I'll leave it to the two of you here, I'll meet Li Erhu." Huang Zhi said hello to Sima Fuqiang, turned around and walked to the detention room at Dongwei Pass.

In the detention room, Li Erhu has been served with good wine and food these days, and his life is more comfortable than when he was in Wanghui City. However, Li Erhu is a stubborn guy, as long as he can't convince him, even if he may be beheaded, he will always be so stubborn and refuse to surrender.

Seeing Huang Zhi walk into the detention room, Li Erhu didn't even wait for him to speak, he directly expressed his attitude, "You're here to persuade him to surrender again?" I swear to death if you are Uncle Erhu! ”

Smiling at Li Erhu, Huang Zhi walked across from him and sat down before he spoke, "I think General Li is a man, so I have the heart to solicit, if it is someone else, I am not interested." ”

Thousands of clothes don't wear sycophants, even this straight-hearted warrior likes to listen to such words, his face is quite complacent, but he doesn't know that he has been a little loosened under the effect of Huang Zhi's "social" skills. Although he was not going to surrender because of such a sentence, he was already able to listen to Huang Zhi's next words calmly, instead of completely ignoring them like he did with Wu Qiang.

"A hero like General Li is a pearl in the rebels." Huang Zhi sighed, with a regretful expression.

Li Erhu protested dissatisfiedly, "Fart! We are not rebels, we are rebels! If it follows your officers and soldiers, then it is the pearl that has cast itself into the dark. ”

"We are not an officer army, we are the Eastern Navy." Huang Zhi corrected, and at the same time he had found out the crux of Li Erhu's heart, he hated the official army.

"Not an officer? Can you still be a rebel? Although he felt that the person in front of him was very good, Li Erhu still didn't believe what Huang Zhi said.

"Let's not talk about that." Huang Zhi waved his hand, "Let me ask you first, what qualifications does the rebel army of Weixian County have to call themselves righteous soldiers?" In their hands, are the people of Wei County living a good life? ”

Li Erhu couldn't help but stutter, this question made him unable to refute. Since the "Righteous Army" took control of Weixian, not only have the people not had a good life, but it seems that they are not as good as they were at the beginning. Although this is not an intentional act of the "righteous army", we have to admit that this is indeed the case, and the word "righteousness" is somewhat unreasonable.

Huang Zhi did not say "you", but said "they" in order to make Li Erhu unconsciously draw a line with the rebel leaders. This upright man couldn't help but agree with Huang Zhi's statement, it was the rebel leaders "they" who did not let the people live a good life, and it was not their responsibility.

"Whether we are a rebel army or not, we will naturally prove it to you, but those in Weixian County are definitely not worthy of calling themselves 'rebels'!" Huang Zhi instilled in Li Erhu the concept of benefiting himself while the iron was hot, "And in terms of General Li's ability, he is also condescending under Du Ziteng in Wanghui City." I have long heard that General Li is brave and good at fighting, but he does not have an elite army in his hands that can give full play to your talents, which is a pity! If the general can join our Eastern Navy, I promise you an elite army that is good at attacking cities. ”

"Even if your Eastern Navy defeats General Du, it doesn't mean how powerful you are." Li Erhu was unwilling to let the troops he once served in be belittled, so he tried his best to defend himself, but he had forgotten his original intention. "You didn't take Wanghui City with the Lizhou Army."

"The Lizhou Army is the Lizhou Army, and the Eastern Navy is the Eastern Navy, as I said, we are not an official army, how can they send troops to help? Besides, they are not worthy of the state army. "Huang Zhi put on a look of disdain for the Lizhou Army, which is very appetizing to Li Erhu." And it is not us who are outnumbered, but the defenders of Wanghui City. It only took 500 people to take Wanghui City, and you actually saw it with your own eyes at that time. ”

Li Erhu was shocked when he heard this, "Is that the army that came back with us?" No one else? He always thought that there were still troops in the Eastern Navy hiding elsewhere, but he didn't expect that what he saw that day was all about attacking Wanghui City. After talking so much to Huang Zhi, he subconsciously chose to completely believe this person, and he didn't have any doubts about Huang Zhi's statement.

Huang Zhi did not answer Li Erhu's question, which was not a problem, but got up and said, "Now let's go out for a walk, I will prove to you that our Eastern Navy is a righteous army!" ”

At this time, Li Erhu was already full of curiosity about this Eastern Navy, and he no longer had any sense of rejection, so he stood up at the moment, "Okay!" If you can come up with convincing evidence that proves that the Eastern Navy is a righteous army, and can also give me an elite force as you say, I will join the Eastern Navy and die unswervingly! ”

Things have come to this point, Huang Zhi's persuasion work has basically succeeded, and at this moment, he only needs to come up with evidence to impress this guy with a straight intestine, and he can successfully pull him into the gang, and the Eastern Navy will also have one more strong general. Although Li Erhu is not suitable for being alone, he has the advantages that Wu Qiang and Chen Chuang do not have, he has a strong ability to attack fortifications, and the three stinkers have already prepared a suitable position for him, just waiting for Huang Zhi to persuade him.

Although the rebels have been overwhelmed by a large number of troops at this moment, before they arrived, the last batch of Weixian refugees still poured into the two passes in time, and they are being investigated at the Dongwei Pass at the moment, if there is no problem, Zhao Meng's Eastern Navy garrison will send someone to take them away.

Huang Zhi took Li Erhu to the place where he was in a position to interrogate and let him choose the refugees to interrogate at will.

Li Erhu looked at it, so many refugees made him a little dazzled, and finally chose an elderly man to ask, believing that the old man would not be the childcare of the Eastern Navy. "Uncle, did you really flee from Wei County?"

"How not? Those gang of thieves have made the people of Weixian miserable! The old man cursed angrily.

Li Erhu blushed when he heard this, Huang Zhina was quite polite, and only called them rebels according to the official statement, and the refugees in Wei County were obviously full of grievances, and directly and unceremoniously exposed their old backgrounds.

He asked again, "Tail County is very bad now, but is Donghai good?" ”

Speaking of this, the old man was excited, "It's not just good! It's a living bodhisattva! We just heard that the taxes in the East China Sea were low and the world was peaceful, so they not only sheltered us, but also divided the house and land, so we rushed over. Now I've heard that there is a new policy, and until we get our first harvest, they will be able to eat! Old man, I can be regarded as an eye-opener, if Donghai's parents are the emperor, the world will be peaceful. ”

I asked a few more people, and all the answers I got were the same, Li Erhu didn't have any questions, and immediately knelt down and kowtowed in front of Huang Zhi, "Lord Shixin!" Don't say that you don't give me a troop belt, even if you let me be a small soldier to charge into battle, I, Li Erhu, will also follow the Eastern Navy! Swear to the death! ”

(To be continued)