Yuzhou, the city lord's mansion.

At this time, all the people in the Yuzhou City Lord's Mansion had long since lost the vigor of leading the army out of the city some time ago, and they all cried and lowered their heads without saying a word.

Since returning to the base camp the day before yesterday with the remnants of the defeated troops defeated in Yangcheng County, the entire military and political authorities of Yuzhou City have fallen into a state of low morale.

After this battle, it can be regarded as completely defeating the spirit of the Yuzhou rebel army, not to mention defeating Xiao Jiu of Yangcheng County, it is very difficult to hold Yuzhou in the future.

Now Xiao Jiu of Yangcheng County is not moving, not because he doesn't want to fight them in Yuzhou, but because the other party is also waiting for an opportunity.

The Yuzhou army suffered a defeat, and it also let the world see their external strength and middle cadres, not only the nearby Xiao Jiu, but also the Jizhou side is also ready to move, I believe that it will not be long before the army will be raised.

In desperation, Gu Chong could only urgently transfer back the soldiers who went to the Zhili area, preparing to return to Yuzhou, which was about to be invaded.

And those so-called allies in Yuzhou, seeing the decline of the Yuzhou army, their attitude has also become a little intriguing.

Since the contradictions between the local forces in Kyoto Yunbi and Wanzhou have become irreconcilable, they can still be regarded as a firm ally of Yuzhou for the time being, after all, everyone who is cold in their lips understands it.

Xuzhou, which is adjacent to Yuzhou, and Yangzhou in the south, but no one responded, as if they were thinking about whether there was a need for cooperation with the Yuzhou army.

Especially Yangzhou Governor You Yichun, because Xiao Jiu's Lingshui caravan often traded with the southern states at sea, Yangzhou Governor You Yichun can be said to have reaped all the benefits.

If Xiao Jiu and the large and small warlords of Jizhou attacked Yuzhou together, it would be difficult to guarantee that the Yangzhou army would not carry out backstabbing.

What Gu Chong didn't know was that Xiao Jiu had already cooperated with the local families in Yangzhou, and although there were many people in the Yangzhou army who opposed the economic invasion of Yangcheng County, no one was willing to give up the benefits they had received.

However, these are not the most important things, the most important thing at the moment is to stabilize the hearts of the people in Yuzhou City.

The rebel army in Yuzhou was never a centralized organization, and the number of troops was even more varied, not so much a regime as a temporary alliance of peasant armies.

In this loose alliance, the Divine Fire Sect is the line that connects large and small armies, which also makes Gu Chong extremely prestigious among the various armies.

But now that disaster is approaching, it is difficult to guarantee that these military leaders will not defect and surrender.

Today, the city lord's mansion in Yuzhou gathered the military and political leaders of the Yuzhou rebel army, and it was still Gu Chong who presided over this meeting.

Looking at the leaders of the rebel army who were dejected, Gu Chong shook his head lightly and said in his old voice, "Everyone, I have just suffered a defeat in Yuzhou, but you are an example of soldiers, so don't be depressed at this time." ”

Gu Chong spoke, and these leaders of the rebel army naturally couldn't help but give face, and they put away their expressions like ashes, waiting for Gu Chong's next words.

It didn't take long to hear Gu Chong continue, "I'm not looking for you today, but the current situation has indeed reached the threshold of life and death. ”

"I have repaired a letter and transferred back to the 32nd Road Qu Shuai who went to Zhili, and I will return to Yuzhou in a few days to resist the thieves, as for the second point, you will have to practice it."

"Recently, I found that some soldiers have embezzled public land and openly plundered the people's property, and what is even more terrifying is that the commanders of those soldiers not only do not care, but also have to loot another layer."

"Ladies and gentlemen, the reason why my Yuzhou can have today is based on the people, and today's practice is no different from the officials of Kuxia."

Gu Chong's words were mixed with anger and roared, obviously angered.

Listening to Gu Chong's words, all the leaders of the rebel army didn't dare to talk, and stared down at their toes as if there was something on them.

In fact, what Gu Chong said was not just a small part, most of the rebel army was angry at the people in Yuzhou after suffering defeat.

The power framework within the Yuzhou rebel army was extremely simple and crude, and the one-size-fits-all land reform policy gave some people unchecked power.

Not everyone is a saint, and they can be an ascetic like Gu Chong, and many more will quickly become corrupt after gaining power.

In the past, the Yuzhou Rebel Army was able to grow bigger and bigger, relying on the support of the people, but now the various practices of the Yuzhou Rebel Army are completely on the opposite side of the people.

Water can carry a boat, but it can also capsize a boat.

Without the people as the foundation, the Yuzhou rebel army had no food, grass and soldiers.

As long as anyone with a discerning eye can see the current situation, there will soon be an enemy to hit the door, will it be able to withstand it by then?

Not to mention letting the people of Yuzhou help defend the city, I am afraid that those people will not lead the way to the enemy.

Gu Chong's worries were not unreasonable, but he couldn't restrain this group of rebel leaders who had the power to fight, so he could only sigh at this.

Subsequently, Gu Chong promulgated some policies that were conducive to people's livelihood and law and order, and asked the leaders of the rebel army to sign and detain, but what happened after they returned, Gu Chong could not guarantee.

Just when Gu Chong was thinking about how to rectify the military discipline and style of the remnants of the army in Yuzhou, Xiao Jiu also received a response from other forces.

In the city lord's mansion of Yangcheng County, the atmosphere was joyful, and it looked diametrically opposed to Yuzhou.

Yangcheng County, which had just won the battle, could be said to have raised its eyebrows for a while, and Xiao Jiuyi, who commanded this kind of large-scale battle of 10,000 people for the first time, also pushed his prestige to the peak for a while.

The defeat of the Yuzhou army also sent a signal to the outside world, that is, Xiao Jiu is very strong, and the Yuzhou army is strong outside.

Therefore, not long after Xiao Jiu led his army back to Yangcheng County, he received letters from Jizhou and Yangzhou.

Needless to say, Jizhou's letter must have seen an opportunity and was ready to join Xiao Jiu to attack Yuzhou City.

However, the Yangzhou military and political group in Yangzhou, represented by You Yichun, wanted to carry out in-depth cooperation with the Lingshui caravan under Xiao Jiu.

Today's Lingshui caravan is no longer just a group of small businessmen composed of porters, often tens of thousands of tons of bulk commodity trade, of which the profits are even more amazing.

And the Lingshui caravan has been doing business under the nose of Yangzhou, so it is naturally impossible to turn a blind eye to these behaviors.

After a long time, after knowing the profits of the Lingshui caravan, You Yichun and the local forces in Yangzhou behind him couldn't sit still.

In the past, the cooperation between the Lingshui caravan and those small local families was just a small fight, and if it could get the support of the Yangzhou government, it would inevitably make a different situation.

This time, You Yichun wrote to express the idea of wanting to cooperate, and he wanted to get a piece of the pie while also telling Xiao Jiu.

As long as you cooperate with me, I won't care if you hit Yuzhou.

Xiao Jiu was noncommittal about this practice of abandoning allies, after all, the promoters of whether to form an alliance or not were determined by interests.

After thinking about it for a long time, Xiao Jiu decided to absorb the Yangzhou warlord regime into the Lingshui Chamber of Commerce, but only to control the export goods within its territory.

Now only Xiao Jiu's Lingshui caravan has the largest merchant ship on the sea, at least in a short period of time, a small Yangzhou.

Of course, the most important point is that Yangcheng County and Yangzhou do not border, and long-distance and close attack has always been a successful diplomatic strategy that has been proven by history.

Without the support of its allies, Yuzhou is afraid that the situation will be even more difficult.

And according to the information that Xiao Jiu has mastered, although only Yangzhou in the entire southern border is still rich, the Tusi power in Jiangzhou is also extraordinary.

Although the land of the Jiangzhou generation has not been effectively developed, and there is not much land suitable for cultivation under the mountains.

However, due to the historical reasons of multi-ethnic intermingling, these places are rich in border people.

As the saying goes, those who are barefoot are not afraid to wear shoes, and a war with these young people in Jiangzhou and Daizhou is a thankless task after all.

With the collapse of the Great Xia regime, the ambitions of those Shaomin forces that had been suppressed also began to expand.

The most typical is Zhong Asi, the governor of Jiangzhou, who was originally the governor of Daxia, and also has the identity of a young people, and has unparalleled influence in Jiangzhou and Daizhou.

Now Zhong Ah Si has taken the governor of the state again, and his ambition to establish an independent regime is clearly revealed, but now the northern border is not stable, and no one cares about him.

And Zhong Asi wants to expand his strength, and the rich Yangzhou is naturally inescapable, which is also the reason why You Yichun is eager to seek some political capital from the north.

It was only now that the Yuzhou army had suffered a defeat, and these local families in Yangzhou turned their attention to Xiao Jiu.

The forces of all sides are beginning to be restless, and it is foreseeable that the real troubled times have begun, and the era of competing for the world is coming.

It's just that what everyone didn't expect was that it was not these local warlords in the north who opened the door to the troubled times, but the lone army that mastered Zhili.

……

Naoli, Kyoto Castle.

After receiving the news of the retreat of the Yuzhou army from Zhili, the dark clouds that had been hanging over Yun Bi's head completely dissipated.

Xiao Jiu's ability to open up the situation in Yangcheng County was something Yun Bi did not expect, but it did not affect Yun Bi's ambition to recover Great Xia at all.

In the past few days since he took Kyoto City, Yun Bi has been sending people to find the courtiers and members of the royal family left behind in Great Xia.

Through some clues, Yun Bi learned an astonishing news, that is, the bloodline of the former emperor Qin Yu may still be left in the world.

Through the oral account of a palace person, Yun Bi learned that on the eve of the rebel army's attack on Kyoto City, Qin Yu sent someone to send away the infant prince through a secret passage.

It's just that the prince was taken away by whom, and where he went, the palace people don't know, in Yun Bi's heart, there may be a greater probability that he is in exile.

But Yun Bi will not give up searching, and at this time, like a lonely minister, he still fantasizes that Great Xia can prosper from his hands.

Therefore, Yun Bi now attaches great importance to the army in his hands, and this also lays the groundwork for the demise of the last army in Great Xia.

Because today's Zhili has long since lost its prosperity, the successive wars have exhausted its last trace of potential.

Continuing to copy the land policy of Bactria is no longer applicable to today's situation.