Looking at Li Yu and Tian Yan who expressed their loyalty to Gongsun in a serious manner, Wei Xiao was so angry that he could not do anything.
On the other side, Lueyang.
Liu Xiu received a letter from Cen Peng, which contained the latest trends of the Long Army.
Lueyang military camp, Zhongjun tent. Liu Xiu pointed at the map according to the content in the letter and said: "Kui Xiao deployed the main troops at the junction of Hanyang and Anding. Obviously, he was more afraid of Gongsun's expedition to the west.
Army!"
Yao Qi said: "Kui Xiao deployed an army of 100,000 in Boluo Valley on Jitou Road. The commander is Niu Han. I heard that this man is brave and good at fighting and is good at using troops. He will not be easy to deal with!"
Lai She rolled his eyes and said: "Your Majesty, I think that Niu Han can also be won over!"
"Oh?" Liu Xiu's eyes lit up and he asked, "Does the doctor have a personal relationship with Niu Han?"
Lai She shook his head and said: "Weichen has only met Niu Han twice, and we can't say we have any friendship. But Weichen knows that Niu Han and Wang Zun have a very deep friendship, and Wang Zun is leaning towards your Majesty.
If Wang Zun is willing to come forward to persuade Niu Han, Niu Han is likely to defect."
When Liu Xiu and others heard this, they were all surprised and happy. You must know that the Niu Han tribe has the largest number of troops deployed by Kai Xiao. If Niu Han can defect, it will be of great significance to our own side.
After Lai She finished speaking, Liu Xiu fell into deep thought. He paced back and forth in front of the map with his hands behind his back. I don't know how long it took, but he suddenly stopped and said, "It is not appropriate for the main force of our army to enter Hanyang for the time being."
Everyone was shocked and looked at Liu Xiu in surprise.
Liu Xiu said: "First, since Niu Han can be won over, we need to give it a try no matter what. If we can really persuade Niu Han to submit to the imperial court, our officers and soldiers will suffer many casualties."
People nodded in agreement. Liu Xiu continued: "Secondly, if the main force of our army attacks Hanyang now, Gongsun Shu will definitely send more troops to reinforce Wei Xiao, which will be very detrimental to our army, so
, We now need the Southern Expeditionary Army to launch an offensive against Shu in Nanjun. Whether we can win the battle is secondary. The most important thing is to firmly contain the Shu army in Shu, so that it does not dare to reinforce Hanyang!"
Lai She, Yao Qi, and Ji Zun all nodded their heads and said in unison: "Your Majesty is right!"
Liu Xiu smiled, changed the topic, and said: "But in this case, in the next period of time, our soldiers will be alone in Lueyang!"
Yao Qi said: "Your Majesty, there is sufficient food and grass in Lueyang City. Our army can defend Lueyang for a month or two, so there will be no problem."
Liu Xiu thought about it carefully and said: "Although Lueyang has stored a lot of food and grass, we still have to save money. From now on, all the soldiers in the army will have three meals a day instead of two meals a day."
Hearing this, everyone took a breath, and Yao Qi whispered: "Your Majesty, it would be too early to have two meals a day now!" Lueyang's stockpile of food and grass was enough for their 20,000 soldiers.
In the last month or two.
Liu Xiu said: "We are guarding Lueyang alone. We don't know how long we will stay here. The sooner we save money, the easier and more confident we will be in the future."
After a pause, he added: "Also, hang up the notice immediately to indicate to the people in Lueyang City that there is insufficient food and grass in the city. If there are people who want to escape the disaster of war, they can be released from the city together!"
Ordinary people would hoard some food at home, but the quantity would not be too much, and I am afraid they might not be able to eat it for a month.
Liu Xiu didn't know how long this war would last. If the people ran out of food, and we couldn't just watch the people starve to death, we could only use military rations to relieve the people. This would be too much of a burden for our own side.
In order to avoid this situation, it is better to let the people of Lueyang leave the city now. In this way, it is equivalent to removing a big burden from one's side.
Liu Xiu was well prepared for a protracted war in Lueyang. On the one hand, he asked all the soldiers to tighten their belts and save money. On the other hand, he allowed the people in the city to flee the city.
The next day, early in the morning, the Han army opened the east city gate, and a large number of people rushed out.
When the grain merchants in Lueyang wanted to escape from the city with grain, they were stopped by the Han army. The Han army did not rob their grain, but purchased the grain at a price that was 50% lower than the market price.
Of course, the grain merchants could choose not to sell, but the Han army could also choose to detain them and prevent them from leaving the city. After weighing the pros and cons, the grain merchants finally compromised and agreed to sell the grain to the Han army.
The money used by the Han army to purchase grain was not their own, but came from the Lueyang Bank.
In the past few days, people have been escaping from Lueyang one after another. The Han army took this opportunity to purchase a large amount of grain from grain merchants and put it all into the Lueyang granary. In this way, the grain stored in Lueyang was even more abundant.
Liu Xiu has been on the battlefield for so many years and is considered a "veteran" in the army. He is very aware of the importance of food to the army.
If there is food, there will be men. If there is no food, there is no need to talk about anything. No matter how powerful the soldiers and horses are, they will disperse. Even if the soldiers use up all their weapons, as long as there is enough food and grass, the soldiers can rush to the battlefield with fists in hand.
These days, the Long Army and the Shu Army did not launch another offensive against Lueyang. Instead, they sat in the military camp and watched groups of people fleeing from the city. Wei Xiao was quite happy about this and was happy to see the success.
All the people in the city had fled, and the Han army could not capture any strong men in the city, and the Han army could not replenish its strength. In the following battle, the Han army would lose one person to another, and they only had 20,000 soldiers and horses.
How long can it last?
Five days later, the number of people in Lueyang City dropped sharply, from the original population of more than 10,000 to less than a thousand. Even in broad daylight, the streets in Lueyang City were extremely crowded and empty, like a dead city.
This morning, Liu Xiu first climbed up to the gate tower of the West City and looked out. There was still no movement at all between the Long Army and Shu Army camps, and there was no intention of coming to attack. Liu Xiu raised the corner of his mouth and sneered.
Make a sound.
The coalition forces of Wei Xiao and Gongsun Shu each had their own selfish motives. No one wanted to make a contribution, and both wanted to wait for the harvest. This situation is exactly the same as the story of the monks fetching water. One monk can have water, but the two monks have no water.
drink.
Seeing that the Long Army and the Shu Army were going to push each other for a while, Liu Xiu was quite relaxed and took Luo You, Long Yuan, Xu Ying and others, as well as Heimao, to patrol the city.
There is actually nothing to visit in Lueyang City now. The shops on both sides of the street are basically closed. Walking on the street, it is an empty and open place. Even if you walk a few streets, you may not meet a pedestrian.
This situation made Long Yuan and others deeply moved.
When they first captured Lueyang, the city was still very lively. The streets and alleys were bustling with people and traffic, but now looking at Lueyang, it was simply a ghost town, a dead city.
Long Yuan whispered: "Your Majesty, have we let the people go too much?"
Liu Xiu smiled calmly and said: "It is neither safe nor a burden for the people to stay in the city. It is best if they are willing to leave."
While they were talking, a group of people came running towards them. They looked like they numbered twenty or thirty, and everyone had large bags and small rolls on their bodies.
When the group of people saw Liu Xiu and others, they stopped one after another, stretched their necks one by one, and stopped to watch. When the distance between the two sides got closer, the group of people turned around and ran away silently.
Liu Xiu frowned, raised his chin forward, and said, "Go and see what's going on!"
Following his order, six people, Long Yuan, Long Zhun, Long Bu, Xu Ying, Xu Ting, and Xu Fei, all rushed forward. Without moving anyone, the six of them punched and kicked each other. In just a moment,
Then he knocked all the twenty or so people to the ground.
Long Yuan picked up one of them, dragged him to Liu Xiu like a dead dog, and then threw him to the ground. The man struggled to get up, but Long Yuan stepped on his chest to make him move.
No.
Luo You stepped forward, pulled off the package that the man was carrying, and opened it. Liu Xiu lowered his head and saw that it was full of gold and silver utensils, such as silver plates, bowls and chopsticks, gilded candlesticks, etc., in bits and pieces.
, such a big pile.
But it can be seen that every piece of workmanship is exquisite and valuable.
Looking at this young man brought here by Long Yuan, he is in his twenties, wearing short brown clothes and wearing straw sandals. It has turned cold now, and he is still wearing straw sandals at this time. He must be poor. This is different from the gold he carries on his back.
The silverware does not match.
Liu Xiu asked: "Are these things yours?"
"It's... it's mine..."
Before the young man finished speaking, Long Yuan stepped on his feet and shouted in a deep voice: "Tell the truth!"
"Hey, hey, the bone is broken! The bone is about to break!" The young man screamed in pain. Seeing that Long Yuan was unmoved, he quickly said: "These...these were stolen from Li Mansion..."
Liu Xiu said expressionlessly: "You are so brave, you dare to steal in broad daylight!"
The young man hesitated and said: "Everyone in the Li family has run away. These things should be left alone. It's better... it's better..."
"Why don't we give it to you thieves?!" Liu Xiu sneered at these people who got something for nothing.
"We stayed in Lueyang at the risk of losing our heads, just... we just want to make a fortune..." After a pause, the young man looked at Liu Xiu and asked: "Who are you? Why do you care about my business?"
Liu Xiu and others were all dressed in casual clothes, so the young man naturally could not recognize their true identities.
Long Yuan stamped his foot on the young man's chest and said in a deep voice: "You only need to answer the question, are you allowed to ask the question?"
The young man's face turned pale in pain and his body was bent into a ball. Liu Xiu asked: "You just robbed Li's house, which house do you want to rob now?"
"We...we don't plan to steal anymore, we just want to go home..."
"Still telling the truth!" Long Yuan raised his foot and stepped down hard.
Before his feet even landed, the young man was so frightened that he kept saying: "We...we are still planning to go to the Yang Mansion. I heard that the people in the Yang Mansion have almost fled. There are a lot of good things in there..."
It sounds like they are not the only group of thieves in the city, but there are several groups of thieves, and they exchange information with each other?!
It seems that the people who are still staying in Lueyang are either extremely poor and really have no money to leave, or they are thinking of making a fortune.
Liu Xiu was silent for a moment and asked, "Where is the Yang Mansion?"
"In...the...largest house in the northwest!" The young man raised his head and pointed to the northwest.
Liu Xiu took a quick look and did not ask any more questions. He said to Long Yuan: "Get some soldiers to come over and push all these thieves down the west city wall and carry logs and stones."
Aren’t you in the city with nothing to do and just want to steal property? Well, I’ll find you some work to do!
Carrying rolling logs and rocks is a heavy physical job, and dragging these thieves to do the work can save some physical energy of our own soldiers.
Long Yuan agreed and walked away quickly. After a short time, he brought two teams of patrols over. After hearing Long Yuan's intention, the two teams of patrols took away the more than 20 thieves and escorted them away.
To Xicheng.
Liu Xiu shook his head and said: "Let's go to Li Mansion! I want to see how many thieves there are in Lueyang City!"