He Bai ordered all the siege equipment to be burned, leaving no chance for others to imitate it. He also loaded all the grain and grass obtained in Xingyang City into trucks and transported them, and then led the army to retreat slowly. When Hua Xiong heard this, he immediately sent troops to reoccupy Xingyang City.

When He Bai arrived in Juan County, he turned south and passed through Yangwu to Zhongmu. From time to time, scouts reported that the gate of Zhongmu City was closed, and there seemed to be officials in charge of affairs. He Bai was surprised when he heard this, when the army passed through Yuanwu and Juan County, the officials had already fled, and the people had fled to the wilderness or other counties, and Xingyang was even more empty. Unexpectedly, there are officials in this Zhongmu County, and the courage of this county order is not bad.

He Bai remembered that in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, the county order of Zhongmu County was Chen Gong, and he didn't know who the Zhongmu County Order was after Chen Gong left. So after camping, he sent an envoy to Zhongmu City to invite the county commander to come to the army to talk.

Not long after, the Zhongmu County Commander led two subordinate officials to come, and He Bai said: "I don't know what to call the Zhongmu Order?" Before the confrontation between the eastern and western armies, Ling Ran was fearless, insisted on sitting in Zhongmu City, and appeased the people of a county, this love for the people is also very rare. ”

Zhongmu County ordered a trembling bow and said: "Thank you General Zhaode for your praise, the official name is Yang Yuan, and he is a native of Taishan in Yanzhou." Dong Zhuo was the first to riot, and no one in the world dared to face him. At the beginning, the lower officials also wanted to abandon the officials and flee, but fortunately, the subordinate officials Ren Jun and Zhang Fen dissuaded me and asked me to temporarily serve as Henan Yin and concentrate on dispatching troops from the ten counties in the eastern part of the country to resist Dong Zhuo. ”

"It's just that the hope of virtue and benevolence of the lower officials is insufficient, except for the three counties of Yuanling, Kaifeng, and Yuanling that respond to mutual protection, other counties have long since fled. Now the lower officials have only gathered 2,000 people to guard Zhongmu, just to protect the territory and the people. ”

He Bai hadn't heard of Yang Yuan's name, but he had heard of Ren Jun's name, which was a Tuntian bull under Cao Cao's command. It is a real master of governance who ensures that Cao Cao fights all year round and that the army has no shortage of food and grass. Compared with Cao Cao, he is no less important than the five great strategists and the five good generals, but I didn't expect him to appear here.

As the lord of a force, the strategist who strategizes is important, and the general who charges into battle is important, but the capable officials who comfort the people, supply military supplies, and give food and salary are equally important, and Ren Jun is such a talent. If you don't meet it, forget it, and if you do, you can't easily give it to Cao Cao.

He Baixi asked: "Yang Jun can rise up in the troubled times to protect the country and the people, and when he is stable in the world, it will be the day when Yang Jun will be promoted." In the future, I hope Yang Jun will mention a lot. By the way, I wonder if your family Ren Jun and Zhang Fen are together? ”

Yang Yuan saluted happily: "Being recognized by the general is very comforting to the lower officials." The general is a well-known person in the world, how dare the subordinate be arrogant in front of the general. Ren Boda and Zhang Zhongxiong also came with the officials, and they were waiting outside the tent at this time. ”

He Bai hurriedly summoned the two of them, one of them was a green-shirted scribe, with a smile on his face, and he was about thirty years old, so he should be Ren Jun. A military general, also about thirty, face down and brave, this should be Zhang Fen.

Without waiting for the two of them to salute, He Bai got up and bowed: "Now that the land of Sili and Yuzhou is in turmoil, 100,000 people in the four counties of Zhongmu, Yuanling, Kaifeng, and Yuanling can be preserved. The two gentlemen are righteous, please accept my He Bai worship. ”

After speaking, He Bai bowed deeply to the two, and the two hurriedly replied: "The general's words are serious." We are all local clans of Zhongmu, isn't it just my duty to protect the territory and the people, how dare I thank the general. ”

He Bai said: "Although I am the Taishou of other counties, not the lord of Henan, but this love for the people is not divided between each other and is treated equally. Now that I heard that the two monarchs were righteous and saved 100,000 people in the four counties, I should pay tribute to the righteous people as the Taishou granted by the court. ”

The two of them sincerely thanked He Bai for his respect, He Bai invited the two to sit together, and then asked with a smile: "I came from Beihai from afar, and I am about to go south to Yingchuan and Liangxian to fight with the thieves. It's just that I don't know much about the situation in Henan and Yingchuan, and I want to hire two righteous soldiers to accompany the army and counsel the military for me, I don't know what the two respect? After speaking, he smiled at Yang Yuan and said: "Yang Jun, Yingchuan's military situation is urgent, you must have heard of it, and I hope Yang Jun is not strange, not strange." ”

Ren Jun and Zhang Fen were both Yang Yuan's subordinates, and when they heard He Bai's offer, they couldn't agree or refuse for a while, so they had to look at Yang Yuan. Yang Yuan said hesitantly: "General, it's not that the lower officials are unwilling, but they are guarding the land of the four counties, and they can't leave Boda and Zhang Zhongxiong." ”

He Bai said with a smile: "As long as I lead the army south, the land of these four counties should be as stable as Mount Tai." I don't take one soldier from Zhongmu, only two military counselors, I think the relatively stable Zhongmu doesn't need the two to stay. If Yang Jun is still worried, please let Ren Jun follow me, can I leave Zhang Jun to protect the realm? ”

Yang Yuan responded without embarrassment: "Okay, I hope Ren Boda can make a contribution under the general's command." ”

He Bai was overjoyed and ordered a banquet to summon the three of them. After the banquet, Ren Jun thanked He Bai and said that he would go back to the city to settle the family affairs, and left with Yang Yuan. Yu Lu, Ren Jun saw that Yang Yuan was reluctant to give up on himself, and couldn't help laughing: "County Jun, I don't know what kind of person you think of this General Zhaode, what kind of person is Beihai Xiangjun?" ”

Yang Yuan was stunned for a moment, thought about it and said: "Although it is the first time I have met, He Jun is not overpowered, approachable, benevolent to the people, and follows justice to crusade against Dong Zhuo, he is a rare benevolent gentleman in the world." ”

Ren Jun smiled: "That's right. Previously, I heard the words of the merchants in Luoyang that He Jun, the captain of the military academy under the West Garden, was kind and righteous, and had the appearance of a gentleman. Light wealth and respect for the virtuous, there is the style of Meng taste. And he has both civil and military skills, when he has the talent of the three princes and nine kings, he will get a high position one day. Now because of the crusade against Dong Zhuo, the world is in chaos, and the people of Henan have no place to return. The county gentleman has always said that he is only a shallow learner, and he may not be able to take on a big responsibility. Now that He Jun is here to crusade against Dong Zhuo in accordance with righteousness, isn't it the time to take refuge in He Jun and defect to benevolence and righteousness. ”

Yang Yuan was stunned for a moment, and then turned to Zhang Fendao: "Zhongxiong, I don't know what you think of He Jun, is Boda's words good?" ”

Zhang Fen laughed and said: "Although the sour jujube coalition army obeys the righteousness, but occasionally the soldiers and horses of the coalition army in other counties are extremely arrogant. It is useless to ask for Dong, but the matter of the remnants of the people has been heard from time to time. He Jun has 30,000 people under his command, and he is also a superior person in the coalition army, but along the way, he has not committed any crimes with Minqiu, and the management of the army can be seen. Recently, there is no shadow of the Xiliang thief riding in the north, which shows how powerful its troops are. Therefore, Boda's words are deep and heartfelt, but please make a decision as soon as possible, so that tens of thousands of people in my four counties will not be harmed by the Xiliang thieves. ”

Yang Yuan finally made up his mind and said: "Okay, please ask Boda to turn back to He Jun, just say that my Zhongmu County is willing to respect He Jun as the master, and I will also try my best to persuade the other three counties to submit to He Jun until the arrival of the new Henan Yin sent by the court." ”

Ren Jun bowed his hand and said: "Such a big matter, please also ask the county monarch to discuss it in He Jun's camp......"

He Bai inadvertently got the land of Zhongmu, Kaifeng, Yangwu, and Yuanling counties to return to Shun, which is really an unexpected joy. Being able to have a temporary base thousands of miles away from Beihai, and a lot of civilian and material support, is happier than a big victory over the Xiliang Army.

After statistics, there are more than 130,000 people in the four counties, and there are 45,000 strong men. Among them, there are 1,000 soldiers, 7,000 volunteers, who can support 4,000 volunteers, and about 100,000 stones of grain and grass for He Bai's army.

For the volunteers of the four counties, He Bai could only express his gratitude. Even the Donglai soldiers who have not undergone their own training, He Bai used them as baggage soldiers, let alone volunteers. However, He Bainian said that there are still many brave warriors in the Volunteer Army, who can become middle and lower-level officers after training. So he selected 400 people and appointed them as generals and lieutenant officers of the first rank, and they fought first.

With these four counties as the base in Henan, it is also exempted from the worries of their own grain road, even if they can't get grain at the nearby Yuan Shu in Luyang, they can also retreat to the territory of the four counties to rest in the city.

Leaving the four counties, to the southwest is Xinzheng, and to the south is the Changshe of Yingchuan County. Militarily speaking, going straight to the Lun clan can deter the vital point of the Xiliang army, so that the Xiliang army that is plundering to the east is afraid that the back road will be cut off, and they have to return to fight with He Bai, and the battle will be won or lost.

However, politically speaking, there are many talents in the land of Yingchuan, and most of the talents under Cao Cao and Yuan Shao come from here. If you fight with the Xiliang army in Yingchuan County, county by county, and shed blood for the people of Yingchuan, you will win the favor of the Yingchuan people.

When the time comes, if we try to recruit them, we will get a lot of talent. The crusade against Dong Zhuo was not necessary for He Bai, and the military usually had to make concessions for political purposes, so the previous strategic objectives needed to be changed.

He Bai then summoned the generals to discuss and said: "I know that this person from Yuan Highway in Luoyang, although he is humble, tolerant of others, and advocates righteousness, he sometimes ignores the overall situation. I have always known that the dispute between the descendants of the Yuan clan in Runan has reached a fiery state, and at present, our army has Yuan Benchu as the leader of the alliance, and it will inevitably be deeply resented by Yuan Highway. Our army wants to get food from the Nanyang Yuan Highway, but I am afraid that it is unlikely. Therefore, I want to adopt a step-by-step tactic and fight with the Xiliang Army in Yingchuan County, county by county. I wonder what you think? ”

The generals were surprised, not wanting that the Yuan family would secretly have such dirty, and asked hesitantly: "Yuan Benchu and Yuan Highway are brothers, this time it is not only for the country to seek Dong, but also to avenge the Yuan family, will Yuan Highway be so unwise?" ”

Chun Yuqiong said with a smile: "Yuan Highway is a person who was arrogant and luxurious when he was young, but he was known for being a chivalrous man when he became an adult. Be decisive, dare to take responsibility, and act with great courage. When he was in Luoyang, Yuan Highway also had the reputation of 'defending the ghost Yuan Changshui in the road'......"

"Wait." He Bai asked in surprise: "Yuan Highway is decisive and courageous, and he dares to take on heavy responsibilities, I know. During the removal of the eunuchs, after the careless death of the general, Yuan Kui and Yuan Shao sat in distress and waited to be killed, but Yuan Highway marched bravely and led Wu Kuang, Zhang Zhang and others to attack the imperial city. It's just that I went to Luoyang a little late, although I heard that Yuan Changshui, a ghost defending the ghost on the road, I thought it was a bad reputation, how did I become a good reputation? ”

Chun Yuqiong arched his hand and said: "Lord, 'Yuan Changshui, the ghost in the road' means that even if you inadvertently encounter a ghost bullying in the road, Yuan Highway can quickly help you get rid of it." It is said that Yuan Highway usually likes to be chivalrous and righteous, can save people in danger, and is a heroic man in people's minds. This doesn't mean that Yuan Highway himself is a ghost on the road. If it is something else, Yuan Highway will inevitably help him, but if it involves Yuan's original matter, it will inevitably be difficult to guess the result. ”

"I don't want Yuan Highway to participate in the alliance, I must be complaining that the princes are taking Yuan Benchu as the leader of the alliance, so the lord is worried about the time. If we wait for our army to be short of food and then ask Yuan Shu to transfer food for support, there will be a great disaster. ”

Huang Zhong said solemnly: "In this case, for the sake of insurance, it is also a good strategy to take every step of the way." It's just like this, but the Xiliang army is afraid that the Western Liang army will not fight with our army, but will only guerrilla everywhere, specializing in our army's grain routes, so that our army is like a mud pit, and it is difficult to do anything. ”