Both Liu Xiu and Liu Ji completed their military orders and captured Deng County and Xiangxiang within three days respectively. The difference was that one of them defeated the enemy by outsmarting them and the other attacked by force.
With Deng County and Xiangxiang being captured one after another, among the three counties around Caiyang, only Tongling, the main attack by Deng Feng, has not yet achieved results. However, in fact, Tongling is the closest to Caiyang, and Deng Feng's commander-in-chief's The number of soldiers and horses was far more than three hundred, but more than two thousand.
It can also be seen from this that Deng Feng is far inferior to Liu Xiu in terms of intelligence, and far inferior to Liu Ji in terms of force.
It was not until the third day after Liu Xiu and Liu Ji captured Deng County and Xiangxiang that the situation in the two counties stabilized. Deng Fengcai led his army to conquer Tongling and finally captured Tongling City.
On the same day, Liu Xiu and Liu Ji also returned to Caiyang to return their orders to Liu Yan.
The two of them arrived from Cai Yang, and Liu Yan personally went out of the city to greet Liu Xiu and Liu Ji, the two great heroes, and even held a grand celebration banquet for them.
Although he won a great victory, Liu Ji was not happy in his heart.
He never expected that Liu Xiu could really capture Deng County in three days, not losing to himself at all. This made him feel that the contribution he had made seemed not so great.
In addition, he felt that he had really underestimated Liu Xiu, an unknown clan brother.
At the celebration banquet.
Liu Yan looked at Liu Xiu on his left, and then at Liu Ji on his right. He was so happy that he couldn't close his mouth. Of course he had reasons to be happy. A Xiu had conquered Deng County in three days. His little brother had indeed grown up. , and he has grown into a general who can stand alone. As for Liu Ji, he is a rare and fierce general, and he also has the ability to stand alone. With these two brothers in the army, they can help him share many tasks in the future.
He was in a happy mood, picked up the wine glass, and laughed and said: "Axiu, Aji, you have lived up to everyone's expectations and returned in triumph, strengthening the reputation of our Zhutiandu tribe. This first glass of wine, I would like to pay tribute to our hero!"
Hearing this, everyone in the gathering picked up their glasses and said in unison: "To General Liu, to Colonel Liu!"
Liu Xiu and Liu Ji also picked up their wine glasses. The former bowed to Liu Yan and everyone present to express his gratitude, while the latter had a sullen face, said nothing, raised his head, and poured the wine into his stomach.
Everyone present could see that Liu Ji was unhappy, and they all understood where his heart was, but it was difficult to say anything. Liu Xiu was able to capture Deng County as promised. Not to mention that Liu Ji did not expect it, in fact, this was beyond the expectations of those present. Everyone’s expectations.
Liu Yan first smiled at Liu Xiu and asked, "Axiu, you have made great achievements in conquering Deng County. What reward do you want?"
Liu Xiu said with a smile: "The victory of Deng County is not due to me alone. I will be exempted from personal rewards, but I have a request."
Rewards or whatever, it doesn't matter to Liu Xiu.
He is already a partial general, and his official position can no longer be promoted. If he is promoted further, he will have to replace his elder brother and become a general. As for money, Liu Yan himself has to live frugally now, so how can Liu Xiu have the nerve to lend a hand? Go and ask for it.
Liu Yan smiled and asked, "Oh? If A Xiu has any request, please tell me."
"General, I hope to retain Wang Chong's position as county magistrate. County Lieutenant Zhao Ying has outstanding abilities and can be transferred to serve in the army." Liu Xiu said.
Liu Yan thought for a while, smiled calmly, waved his hand and said, "Axiu, you can just handle these matters. There is no need to report to me again. Do you have any other requests?"
Liu Xiu shook his head.
Liu Yan secretly sighed, this younger brother of his is too big for a man, which makes people feel comforted and sometimes distressed. He turned to look at Liu Ji again, and asked with a smile: "This battle in Xiangxiang Ah Ji showed bravery and outstanding ability. He killed the county captain and magistrate of Xiangxiang one after another, and led our army to conquer Xiangxiang in one fell swoop, making great achievements. I think Ah Ji can be promoted to the position of general, what do you think? How about next?"
Naturally, everyone present had no objection to Liu Yan's promotion of Liu Ji to the rank of partial general. With Liu Ji's bravery, he could definitely be promoted to the rank of partial general. Everyone raised their hands and said: "The general is wise!"
Liu Ji stood up, walked out of his seat, knelt down on one knee to Liu Yan, stepped in and saluted, and said, "I would like to thank you, General, for your kindness!"
Liu Yan smiled and waved his hand, signaling Liu Ji to take a seat.
He said cheerfully: "Today's reward is that Yuan Zhi also won a great victory in Tongling. Now Deng County, Xiangxiang, and Tongling have all belonged to our department. Our department in Nanyang has finally established its own foundation." !”
Liu Yong smiled and said: "This is the general's good leadership, great blessings, and the blessing of the great ancestor. Our army's great cause is just around the corner!"
After hearing what he said, Liu Yan was even more happy and laughed heartily. Liu Yong looked at Liu Ji and continued: "It's just that my subordinates thought that the general was only promoted to the position of general Chengyu (Liu Ji), which was biased."
"Oh?" Liu Yan looked at Liu Yong in confusion.
Liu Yong said: "Uncle Wen took three days to conquer Deng County, while Chengyu only took two and a half days to conquer Xiangxiang. Comparing the two, Chengyu's ability is obviously better!"
Everyone present looked at each other, but no one spoke.
People can't say much about this matter. Both Liu Xiu and Liu Ji captured the target city within three days as promised, but Liu Ji's time was half a day less than Liu Xiu's. This is also true. It seems that Liu Ji's ability is indeed He is a little better than Liu Xiu.
Liu Yan's face was still cheerful, but his heart was extremely unhappy.
If his younger brother behaves badly, he can reprimand him, but he cannot allow others to make irresponsible remarks.
What's more, Liu Chengcheng is just picking a bone now. To put it bluntly, he is deliberately targeting Axiu to avenge Axiu for severely punishing his son Liu Jin.
Before Liu Yan could speak, Deng Chen suddenly burst into laughter.
Liu Yong's face darkened, he looked at Deng Chen dissatisfied, and asked, "Why is Wei Qing laughing?"
Deng Chen said: "I'm laughing at Mr. Liu because he doesn't know right from wrong and doesn't distinguish between right and wrong."
Liu Yong frowned and asked, "Why did Wei Qing say this?"
Deng Chen ignored him. He first looked at Liu Ji and asked: "General Chengyu, after the battle of Xiangxiang, how many brothers are left in your army?"
Liu Ji frowned slightly and said, "Less than two hundred brothers."
Deng Chen nodded, looked at Liu Xiu, and asked: "General Uncle Wen, after the battle of Deng County, how many brothers are left in your army?"
Liu Xiu smiled lightly and said, "Less than two thousand."
As soon as he said these words, everyone present understood what Deng Chen meant.
When Liu Ji went to war, his number of soldiers became smaller and smaller, from the original 300 brothers to less than 200. However, when Liu Xiu fought, the number of soldiers increased from 300 to less than 200. Close to two thousand people.
The ability of the two people determines whether they are superior or inferior.
Liu Yong said unconvinced: "The defenders of Deng County are not strong-willed and the whole city has turned against them. This does not show that Uncle Wen is outstanding!"
Deng Chen smiled and said: "Deng County didn't surrender earlier than later. Why did it wait until General Wen Shu arrived in Deng County? If Mr. Liu believed that Deng County had long wanted to surrender, why didn't you lead the army to accept it?" ?”
What he said made Liu Yong speechless. He hesitated for a long time without saying anything. Deng Chen continued: "The first is to attack with troops, the second is to attack enemies, and the third is to attack the city. Subjugate the enemy without fighting. Soldiers are the best of the best!"
The implication is that Liu Xiu adopted the best strategy, while Liu Ji adopted the worst strategy. It is precisely because of this that Liu Xiu's soldiers will fight more and more, while Liu Ji's soldiers will fight less and less.
After listening to Deng Chen's analysis, everyone present expressed their opinions and believed that Deng Chen's analysis was reasonable.
Liu Ji frowned, and his face became more and more gloomy. After holding it in for a long time, he suddenly stood up, bowed to Liu Yan and saluted, and said: "The general promoted me to a partial general. I deserve it. Please give me some thanks." The general takes back his orders!"
Although he has a violent temper, he is not an unreasonable person.
It is true that it took him less time to capture Xiangxiang than it took Liu Xiu to capture Deng County, but by the same token, Liu Xiu captured Deng County without losing a single soldier, and he also took over all the county soldiers and government officials in Deng County. , and his own side suffered more than a hundred casualties among his brothers. Comparing the two, his losses in taking Xiangxiang were indeed much greater than Liu Xiu's losses in taking Deng County.
After thinking about this, he felt a bit of admiration for Liu Xiu, and he also felt that he was worthy of being promoted to a partial general.
Liu Yan blinked his eyes, raised his head and smiled, waved his hand to Liu Ji, and said: "Those who have merit will be rewarded, and those who have made mistakes will be punished! A Ji has indeed made a great contribution by conquering Xiangxiang. He promoted A Ji to a partial general. I don't think anyone else Will you object?"
Everyone present nodded together, including Deng Chen.
Liu Ji's victory over Xiangxiang was indeed not as beautiful as Liu Xiu's victory over Deng County, but this does not mean that there is a problem with Liu Ji's ability. It is just because Liu Xiu was too good. If it had been anyone else, he would have been far inferior to Liu Ji!
Liu Yan smiled and said to Liu Ji: "Ah Ji, sit down. From now on, you will be the partial general of my Zhutiandu Department. I hope you can continue your efforts and make great achievements again!"
Liu Ji bowed deeply to Liu Yan again and said, "Thank you, General!" He returned to his seat, picked up his wine glass, walked up to Liu Xiu and said, "Axiu, Brother Ji has offended many people in the past. This time A glass of wine, Brother Ji is asking you to apologize!" As he spoke, he raised his head and drank the wine in the glass cleanly.
Liu Xiu took the wine glass, stood up, drank the wine in the glass, and smiled at Liu Ji: "Brother Ji is serious, we are all our brothers, what can we not offend! Brother Ji is brave, Axiu is also deeply in admiration. If there is an opportunity to go on an expedition with Brother Ji in the future, it will be Axiu’s blessing!"
Liu Xiu had never disliked Liu Ji. Liu Ji had a bad temper, was headstrong, and was not big-minded. He was also a big-mouthed man who spoke freely. He had many shortcomings, but his advantages were also outstanding. Essentially He is not bad, has no hidden agenda, values love and righteousness, has outstanding force, and is brave enough to be the leader of the three armies. Moreover, he is really of the same mind as his eldest brother. Liu Xiu respects Liu Ji very much, both in public and in private.
Hearing Liu Xiu's words, Liu Ji smiled happily, patted Liu Xiu's shoulder and said with a smile: "You kid, you are really getting better and better at talking!"
Liu Xiu was so slapped by Liu Ji that he grinned and felt that half of his shoulders were sore and swollen. If he didn't know Liu Ji's character too well, he might have suspected that Liu Ji was purely seeking revenge on him!
Liu Ji carelessly picked up the wine jug on Liu Xiu's table, poured a bowl of wine for each of them, and said, "Come on, Axiu, you and I, brothers, have another drink!"
"Dry!"
Liu Xiu and Liu Ji clinked their glasses and drank the wine in one gulp.
Liu Ji's temper comes and goes quickly. If he doesn't like someone, it will show on his face immediately, and he won't be able to say anything good in his mouth. But if he likes someone, he will show it immediately.
Put your arms around each other and call each other brothers and sisters.
He never hides his likes and dislikes, and it is precisely because of his character that he caused great disaster in the future, and also implicated many people. Its influence was wide and far-reaching.
