Sun Ce and Zhou Yu completely strengthened their determination to stalemate against other risks, and waited for changes to happen in other directions on the battlefield across the country.

Therefore, from early November to mid-twelfth lunar month, it is estimated that Sun Ce's army will only raise deep ditches, consolidate the Wu army occupied area surrounded by three waters, and increase the blockade of the west side of Hanyang to completely surround Zhou Tai, and there will be no other positive and enterprising actions.

At the same time, the day after the defeat in the Hanjin War, Taishici also brought the remnants of the wounded soldiers and generals back to Yicheng to moor, and then he went to Li Su's camp by land to report the accusation.

"When I met Sikong, I was incompetent. I thought that even if I had a false defeat, I could easily withdraw and not lose more than 2,000 people. I didn't expect that Zhou Yu's water battle could be so exquisite, and I used all my strength to resist it. I was bitten when retreating and lost so much. Please punish Sikong."

Taishi Ci learned his lessons sincerely and realized his arrogance and gap.

Li Su personally helped Taishi Ci up: "Ziyi doesn't have to do this. You haven't encountered famous generals in the water war for many years. The ones you dealt with before were either Guan Cheng or Han Xian. How could those people use military wars and soldiers? Victory and defeat are common in military affairs.

This was originally what I ordered you to test, and even if the process was a little out of control, it was inevitable. Once the battle started, how could it be deduced completely according to the plan?

However, you have summarized Zhou Yu's tactics to defeat you this time? How far has he used various warships and new weapons to the same extent? As long as you find out these clearly, this battle will not be a waste of time.

Anyway, I have to wait until the summer water level drops in the twelfth lunar month before there will be new actions. If more than 2,000 people are lost this time, I can find out Zhou Yu’s tactical background, which is not a loss.”

Taishi Ci breathed a sigh of relief. On his way back this time, he had already reviewed Zhou Yu's tactics and tactical cooperation details, and was waiting to report to Li Su. At this moment, of course, he poured out in an orderly manner and strived for the kindness of his superiors.

After listening quietly, Li Su was also quite rewarding: "I had expected Zhou Yu to use a catapult cart and a crossbow, but he could play to his strengths and avoid his weaknesses, adapt to the situation and achieve this level, which was really something I didn't expect.

Moreover, Zhou Yu's experience in fire prevention and attack in open rivers is so exquisite. He will use iron-packed long poles like our army to block small fire ships. When he encounters fire ships with deep draft, he will be alert and not to surround them immediately. These details are very important..."

During this period, Li Su needs to adjust the decisive battle tactics in two months in a targeted manner.

When Taishi Ci heard Li Su mention this, he thought Li Su was going to liquidate some minor issues, so he quickly defended:

"Sikong, why didn't you tell me in advance that Kuai Qi will carry grain with me and support Zhou Tai at night? If you said that, I would also prepare in advance and let Kuai Qi not be too aggressive. Even if he retreated, he would let him leave early so that he would not be captured by Zhou Yu..."

Li Su raised his hand: "It's not your business. You said everything. I made another arrangement and didn't tell you. I just let Kuai Qi die. Okay, don't have a psychological burden on this matter. You have done everything you should do. Go back and rest, so that the soldiers can also recover."

"The end will be resigned."

After Taishi Ci retreated, Li Su slowly drank the remaining tea in the celadon tea cup in front of him, while thinking about it. After this battle, it should be at least nearly two months of meditation stalemate, so the decisive tactics to finally annihilate Zhou Yu's navy army were not in a hurry to finalize it immediately.

Taking advantage of the stalemate, Li Su should further clarify the internal situation and observe whether Kuai Liang had any abnormal movements after Kuai Qi transported grain by Zhou Yu. It would be better that the other party did not move, and Li Su did not want to kill the aristocratic family without principles, which would be bad.

In addition, we should also take the opportunity to observe whether other newcomers who often preached officials in the autumn examination and were worried about whether Kuai Qi was captured by the enemy and whether Li Su was worried about the use of foreign wars to eliminate dissidents.

Finally, you can also pay attention to the official position of the Bingong Keshi who was more than half a month later than Changke, and see who can be used and who is not available to those who have passed the imperial examination, and who is still dedicated to the country, willing to take on the work of transporting grain in front of the army, or following the front-line vanguard troops to the military aircraft.

This is a touchstone. If used well, it will definitely divide the starting points of the first batch of imperial examination officials into different levels. Those who are loyal to the country and are not afraid of death can be unified and accelerated. Corrupt scholars who want to hide behind will have a sharp start speed.

Moreover, in addition to the affairs under Li Su's own rule, Li Su should also care about Hebei. On the Bingzhou battlefield, it should have been a month since Liu Bei and Yuan Shao started fighting. It was just that the information was transmitted slowly, and no major events should have happened in the early stage of the battle, so Li Su has not yet obtained any valuable information.

However, as Li Su and Sun Ce are about to enter a two-month stalemate, the probability of a change in Hebei has also greatly increased.

If Guan Yu and Zhang Fei and Zhuge Liang cooperated to form an advantage against Lu Bu, Li Yi, Wen and Zhang He, then Li Su would be easier to fight against Sun Ce in the future. On the contrary, if Lu Bu, Li Su had the advantage on his side, Li Su would be under more pressure before the subsequent decisive battle.

If any company's top lane collapses, the bottom lane will be more difficult to fight, which is a natural reason.

...

On November 5th, the third day after the Han army was defeated in the Battle of Hanjinkou.

The news of one's military setback has also been sent back to Xiangyang, causing the originally high morale of the Jingzhou capital to slightly fall into a state of correction.

It wouldn't be said that "people's hearts are fluctuating and morale is low." After all, the Battle of Hanjinkou has been going back three or five days, and the Battle of Changbanpo has just ended soon.

After all, the Han army won a big victory in the land battle and a small defeat in the water battle. Zhao Yun captured Cheng Pu and wiped out more than 20,000 enemies by land, while Taishi Ci only lost more than 2,000 water road, which was equivalent to one-tenth of Zhao Yun's results.

However, Zhou Yu won the final battle. According to the "User Experience Peak Law", the game had the greatest impact on people's hearts, and more or less represented the "future trend".

For example, even if a stock rises three or five daily limits and only adjusts one limit, the leek will "can hold it when it is trapped, but cannot hold it when it is rising", and will be deceived by the dealer to leave the market.

The general IQ of mass gangsters is naturally lower than that of retail investors. At this time, it is a good time to coax people with unstable internal will to leave.

Whether it is the winner of the Qiuxian Changcai who has been newly awarded official positions, or the Bin Gong students who have not had time to give up the exam after the exam, they have been working together in Xiangyang City for two days:

"Have you heard that... Although General Zhao rushed to rescue Dangyang and defeated Wu's army for a while, after all, Nanjun was actually occupied by Sun Ce. Dangyang was defeated because the Wu people were greedy for merit and wanted to occupy more places. When Sun Ce entered the defense, it would be difficult to drive him away. Taishi Ci was defeated. At present, everyone who attacked and who suffered losses, was exhausted."

"Fortunately, we have already been awarded official positions in the imperial examination, and we will not be temporarily taken to the front line to take on dangerous work. I heard that Li Sikong had a good relationship with Cai Mao before and did not report Cai Mao to surrender to the enemy. So now, as for the Kuai family, Kuai Qi was sent to transport grain less than half a month after becoming an official, and was captured by Zhou Yu."

"It's true? I know what happened to Kuai Qi, but was it Sikong's intention? Did the Kuai Fujun know in advance that Cai Mao was going to surrender to the enemy, and he was accomplice and did not leave the head?"

"That may not be necessary. It's probably just a friendship. If Sikong catches evidence that Kuai Liang and Cai Mao collude, it will be more than just sending the Kuai family to the front line to perform dangerous tasks."

In such an atmosphere, on the fifth day of November, Li Su himself had not returned to Xiangyang (the outside world did not know that Li Su was going to return to Xiangyang), and Gongcao from the Governor's Office was the first to release a news about the ranking of the Bingong imperial examination and the proposed official position.

The content of the announcement is roughly as follows: Because the war ahead is tight, during the Bingong imperial examination this year, Li Sikong went to the front line to supervise the battle, so the formal admission and appointment of officials was postponed by several days.

There are now a group of civil and military officials lost to the front, and there are also Hanyang City guarded by Zhou Tai, who was surrounded behind enemy lines, and there are no military-controlled officers, grain supervision officers, and counties such as Jingling in the occupied areas lack civil servants. Therefore, the court hopes that those who pass the exam will volunteer and who are willing to take dangerous positions on the front line can be appointed with a higher level as appropriate.

At the same time, due to the casualties of additional officials, the current department can add a number of Bingong officials based on the number of officials who died in the country. The candidates who ranked second in each county and subject were given priority to those who were willing to go to the front line to take civilian positions.

At the end of the announcement, Wang Lei posted the list of admissions for Jin Kebin Gongke that had been delayed for many days at the gate of the Governor's Office.

No matter what, the Northern Scholars who were exiled to the Bingong were still very concerned about their achievements and rankings. Even if they didn’t want to choose officials according to the court’s wishes, they had to check whether they were admitted or not.

That afternoon, the gate of the Governor's Mansion was so crowded.

The biggest news and farce in the process of listing is naturally the embarrassment of some of the previous crazy scholars who failed the listing.

"Ha! Isn't that very famous madman Miheng? Li Sikong also allowed him to only calculate and criminal law. As long as the scores of these two subjects can rank first in the same subject, he will still be able to become a senior student. As a result, the scores of these two subjects are ranked more than 30 among Maocai candidates! Thanks to this kind of waste, he dares to be so crazy. Labor Sikong made a score statistics table for him alone, which was simply a shame for himself!"

(Note: Previously, Bingong Science candidates were set to be based on the unified examination of candidates in each prefecture in the occupied areas, and no longer had the admission quotas according to the states. Therefore, there are still eight states in the Han Dynasty. Now Kobin Gong has eight Maocai, and the top eight are all recorded in the total score. Miheng has more than 30, and there is no doubt that he failed the exam.)

"Sikong should not have taken personal revenge. Shi Tao, a famous scholar in Yuzhou who was involved in Mi Heng and Cai Mao, also won the imperial examination this time? It can be seen that if you have real talents and knowledge, you will still be won."

"Yes, yes, but unfortunately the court also admitted that the war ahead was not going smoothly, so we gave priority to going to the front line to be an official. Who knows if he had the intention of killing people with a knife...

For example, if Shi Tao goes to the front line and is arranged to the most dangerous place, he may die silently. This subject really makes people love and hate, and it is dangerous to be an official..."

Such whispers cast a shadow on the happy day of being awarded an official.

Li Su revealed his shortcomings, which really made a group of people who were not optimistic about the future of the Liu Bei regime and were not very determined to shake and retreat.

Especially those who have passed the imperial examinations, they want to hide behind to plunder and collect taxes. They don’t want to be an official in dangerous places. How can they be willing to recommend themselves to take on such positions?

...

After the listing was over, the crowd in the square in front of the Governor's Mansion gradually dissipated. Some of the scholars from the premier searched for teahouses and restaurants next to them, and asked for a private room to discuss their future plans.

There were two young men sitting in one of the private rooms. One of them was Shi Tao, who was suspected of "Cai/Mi's accomplices" before, and the other was his buddy Meng Jian.

Meng Jian was worried that his buddy would become a victim of the cannon fodder conspiracy, so he was a little hesitant and didn't know how to persuade him: "Brother Shi, you were more or less suspicious when Miheng scolded Sikong. You have heard of everyone's secret discussion just now.

If you really recommend yourself to the front line to serve as an officer in the military, you will be assigned to the most dangerous lieutenant, and the captain will listen to it. If you are killed by a knife, you should be careful."

Shi Tao took the wine glass and drank three glasses in a row, letting a long breath, then he said decisively: "Li Sikong is a person who does big things. Do you think he will be knocked down by Zhou Yu in just a few small wins?

Even if Zhou Yu has been going well, to put it bluntly: Your Majesty is dominant in half of the world, and even if Jingzhou is lost, there is still a chance to turn the tables. Your Majesty's momentum is like the powerful Qin four hundred years ago. Even if Li Xin and Xiang Yan were defeated by Xiang Yan, they would just find Wang Jian to regain the south again. Moreover, Li Sikong would not be hurt.

Since he is determined to be the world, don’t he want to have a fortune? As long as we work hard, the benefits of revenge on us are far less than setting us up as a model of “exiled northern scholars and diligent in the affairs of the king.”

Meng Jian thought about it and laughed at himself: "I don't care. Am I worried about you? Since you don't even worry about yourself, let's recommend yourself and serve with you in front of the army."

Shi Tao and Meng Jian are just a microcosm of the current Corbin tribute scholars. The enthusiasm of this group of people to serve the country is not too ugly. They have successively recruited some officials who are willing to work on the front line, which is in sharp contrast with the locals in Jingzhou who are Changke.

Of course, those who are competent and are willing to take on the front line are not enough to fill the crowd. During this period, there were also some knowledgeable people who had been awarded official positions, or who were simply fond of fame and wanted to please the leaders and be willing to serve in front of the army.

For example, Yang Yi, who is from the Ming Cash Department of Xiangyang County this year, was actually awarded an official position twenty days ago. However, after receiving the new announcement from the Governor's Office, he took the initiative to find Wang Lei, expressing his willingness to change his position and go to the front line to undertake the food and grass dispatch work.

Wang Lei said that he would report his demands, but this matter did not conform to the common laws of the court, so he had to wait for Li Sikong to come back and decide in person.

...

After the exiled northern scholars all moved closer to Li Su and got more opportunities to be appointed with high-level positions, the concerns and divisions of local families in Jingzhou were inevitable.

Li Su showed weakness in military affairs and tilted in personnel affairs. Many families of aristocratic families began to doubt whether Cai Mao's choice was justified.

On the same day when Meng Jian and Yang Yi were seeking official positions, Kuai Liang's son Kuai Jun, after listening to the announcement from the Governor's Office and inquiring about some information, returned to the prefect's office and wanted to discuss something with his father.

"Father, Yang Yi was better than the child. He had already obtained an official position, but now he still hopes to work on the front line and speed up his promotion. Those exiled northerners are not as proud as our locals. If they continue in a few years, they will be promoted faster than us.

Moreover, my cousin was captured by Li Su before and was captured by Zhou Tai, but Zhou Yu was captured. Is Li Su using a knife to kill people against our Kuai family? Treat us as Cai Mao’s accomplices? If we were cut off by a blunt knife like this, can we still be expected to be rich?"

"Random!" Kuai Liang was in a bad mood these two days. Hearing the words, he scolded his son angrily, then closed the door of the main hall, and slowly taught his son a lesson.

"What do you know? If Li Su had real evidence, he would have dealt with us long ago. It can be seen that he was not a person who killed innocent people because of suspicion. We did not collude with Cai Mao, what are we afraid of?

As for your cousin’s affairs, I have asked someone to inquire about it. Today, there is a clear message. Zhou Yu is also a decent person and will not kill prisoners. In short, don’t be anxious now. If Li Su doesn’t deal with us now, it means that he will not deal with us until there are no new major changes within at least a few months.

Since this is the case, we will watch Li Su and Sun Ce succeed or fail. Li Su won. We insisted on helping him manage Xiangyang well, proving that our Kuai family will not be shaken and that wealth can still be preserved in the future, and it will not be passed on to you.

If Sun Ce wins... I guess your cousin will be caught by Zhou Yu and he will be able to deal with all the things he should do, which can be considered as "abandoning the dark and turning to the light" on the opposite side. There are people in our Kuai family, so don't be the first to be a leader, keep the wealth and honor."

After hearing this, Kuai Jun felt worried secretly, thinking that his father was still thoughtful.

No matter what, the Kuai family is now forced to bet on both ends, so wait until the result is to open the card. Doing any unnecessary operations before the situation is clear will increase the risk.

Do your job well and wait for the times to change!

After Kuai Liang strengthened this belief, he still kept drawing a clear line with the aristocratic family in Xiangyang County and did not participate in anything.

Two or three families who tried to contact Cai Mao because of their recent upheavals. Whenever they were noticed by Kuai Liang or who took the initiative to contact Kuai Liang, Kuai Liang secretly took the evidence and then exposed it through a third party. Then he "had to do it" to catch people.

In a nutshell, it means only doing things and not taking credit. Not only does it not invite the credit of one's own camp, but it also avoids attracting more hatred values ​​in the enemy camp.

Three days later, on the eighth day of November, just in Kuai Liang's anxiety, he actually got a news: Li Sucong Yicheng-Dangyang Army suddenly returned to Xiangyang with thousands of guards.

Kuai Liang hurriedly brought Xiangyang officials to greet him. Kuai Liang took the lead in asking with a flattering expression: "I heard that the war on the front line is urgent, and Zhou Yu's army is fierce. Why did Sikong return to Xiangyang in person?"

Li Su patted Kuai Liang on the shoulder: "Is that right? It turns out that Zhou Yu is so aggressive, why don't I know? Of course, it's because it's cold. Small places like Yicheng and Dangyang are not as warm as Xiangyang. It's enough to hand over the front line to Zilong Ziyi and the others."

Anyway, the big battle cannot be fought. How could Li Su, who is so arrogant and extravagant, be stationed in the military camp in the wild until December? It's too cold. It's not too late to set off when the summer water is dry and the water is dead.

Kuai Liang didn't understand why, and he felt that he was more and more powerful.

Li Su seemed to remember something: "I am not here these days. The exiled northern scholar in Xiangyang City has not caused trouble for the actual official position, right? Is there anything else that is not eye-catching?"

Kuai Liang's spine chills slightly, and he doesn't care about the creed of "performing his duties but not seeking credit". He quickly expressed his intention to seek credit: "Sikong Shenquan, since he heard that Zhou Yu's child won a small victory, Xiangyang has indeed had some people with weak will, and what he does is shameless... But it doesn't matter. I have dealt with anything that really violates the ban. Here is the list of cases."

Kuai Liang had already realized in his heart that Li Su's divine dragon's head and tail were far beyond his expectations. I'm afraid that Zhou Yu's temporary pride was designed by him.

What are you thinking about betting on both ends? Hurry up and add another letter of fame.

Li Su took it with a smile: "I'm really embarrassed about your cousin's affairs, but I heard that he is still alive and will remember his merits after defeating Zhou Yu."

Kuai Liang: "I dare not expect it."

PS: Then just five thousand five hundred words...
Chapter completed!