The military camp outside Pingyuan City could have accommodated a thousand people, but there were only between 300 and less than 400 soldiers inside. This was only possible after adding in the dozens of recovered wounded soldiers brought back by Chen Cheng.
Chen Cheng was very puzzled by this and asked: "Brother, after all, I have a county, why are there only so many soldiers?"
Liu Bei sighed and said: "Since the Yellow Turbans were raging, Jizhou has been exhausted and the people can't even eat. Where can I raise troops? I can only dismiss most of the soldiers who followed me to the plains."
Chen Cheng smiled and said: "No matter how tired we are, the fields are still there. Is it because there are no hands to cultivate them, or is the output of the fields reduced?"
Liu Bei said: "The fields have been barren for one or two years without planting. The tax revenue in these two years is much less than in previous years."
Chen Cheng smiled and said, "That's it."
Liu Bei felt that Chen Cheng seemed to have a hidden meaning, but after thinking about it carefully, it seemed that he did not. He calmed down and said: "Yesterday when we were drinking, Wen Zheng brought out many crops, saying that they had higher yields than wheat and rice, but he didn't know.
....."
Chen Cheng was stunned for a moment, then realized what he was doing and said, "Brother, do you want to plant in the plains?"
He calculated it over and said: "Pepper, corn, potatoes, peas, garlic, coriander, all of these are available and can be grown here. If brother wants it, I will keep some of them."
Liu Bei was overjoyed and said: "Then I will thank Wenzheng on behalf of the people in the plains. Even if the output increases by 10%, you will leave the people starving and freezing."
At this point, he hesitated again. Seeing Liu Bei's sincerity, Chen Cheng knew that although he was too ambitious for fame, he really cared about the people, so he smiled and said: "I know what brother means, so be it, I'm in Pingyuan
How about staying a month longer and teaching the locals how to plant before leaving?"
Liu Bei took a step back, folded his hands and bowed down. Chen Cheng quickly helped him up and said with a wry smile: "I also know that the people's life is hard, but these things... may not make them live a better life."
Liu Bei said sternly: "Wen Zheng's words are wrong! If the fields can produce one more point, the people will get one more point. When there is no harvest, even if the output is one point, how many people can survive!"
Chen Cheng shook his head and said: "It is of course good to increase output, but the problem now is not the total output, but the distribution method."
Liu Bei frowned and asked, "What do you mean?"
Chen Cheng regretted his words as soon as he spoke them. When Liu Bei questioned him, he laughed and said, "Slip of my tongue, my slip of the tongue."
Liu Bei then stopped asking each other.
For more than half a month after that, Chen Cheng left the seeds of potatoes, peppers, corn and other crops to several veterans in the county government, and taught them how to plant. In fact, they were much better than him in farming.
He just gave a general idea, and people knew what to do. After all, the ruling class these days are all called heirlooms of farming and reading. Farming and reading are the most important things. Except for a very small number of people, there is no one who doesn’t know how to farm.
of.
Of course, Chen Cheng also has admirable things, such as retting, intercropping, rotation and other methods. Others have vague concepts, but he can tell a lot of truths. He wiped the sweat on his forehead.
, Chen Cheng said sincerely: Fortunately, my buddy is good at biology, and he still remembers a lot about photosynthesis and the like.
In addition to farming, when he had free time, he watched Zhang Fei and Guan Yu train troops in the military camp. These two men were both Xionghu generals who were praised by later generations. The methods of training soldiers made Chen Cheng feel that he had gained a lot of knowledge. But he always
He felt something was wrong. It wasn't that the military training methods of the two commanders were bad, but that he kept thinking of the political commissar and the Gestapo.
On the school field, Zhang Fei scolded the soldiers with a thunderous roar, but Chen Cheng was thinking about what he would do if he were leading the troops.
Soon, he thought of many things to pay attention to. The first one is: enough food. Only when the soldiers are well fed can they train well and win the battle. This may seem like nonsense, but in fact it is not. How to ensure that soldiers
Having enough food is a big skill.
Article 2: The strength of a strong army. Li Shimin once said that he was able to win a battle because of the four words "the strength of a strong army". This seems to be nonsense, and everyone knows that weapons must be good. But
What everyone knows does not mean that it can be done. In the Battle of Sarhu in the late Ming Dynasty, General Liu Ting was shot in the head with an arrow, and the helmets issued by the Ministry of War looked like paper. How can anyone explain this?
?Some bosses got so angry that they stabbed him in the court, but nothing happened.
While Chen Cheng was trying to figure it out, a horse suddenly rushed over from outside the camp. The cavalryman on horseback said politely: "Where is Mr. Chen? The county magistrate has called me for something!"
"Oh," Chen Cheng walked away from the camp and asked, "What does County Magistrate Liu want from me?"
The cavalryman was Liu Bei's personal soldier and was familiar with Chen Cheng. He smiled and said: "I heard that someone from Youzhou brought a letter to you, so the county magistrate asked me to call you back."
Well, Chen Cheng was happy at that time. He was the one who brought Liu Bei a letter more than half a month ago, and now someone has brought him a letter. He rode back to the city, and as soon as he walked into the county government office, Chen Cheng saw a familiar figure
, he went up and patted the man on the shoulder, and said, "Wei Ran, why are you here?"
The person who came was none other than Wei Ran. His facial features were the same as before, without any change. Wei Ran smiled and said, "Colonel Tian had a letter for sir. He knew that I was close to him, so he sent me here."
Chen Cheng asked doubtfully: "Is there something wrong with Captain Tian?"
Wei Ran said: "I don't know about that."
"Come in and talk," Chen Cheng opened the door and took a bag of bamboo slips over. The heavy weight made him even more confused, "How many letters do you need to write?"
He casually opened a volume, and what was written on it was Tian Yu's thoughts on using the army. When he left before, he recorded all his experiences and experiences since joining the army on bamboo slips and gave them to Tian Yu. On the bamboo slips, he wrote:
There were many questions, and most of the letters sent by Tian Yu were solutions to the problems he raised.
Chen Cheng laughed and said: "It's true that Colonel Tian has written so much in just one letter..."
As he spoke, his voice gradually became softer, but his brows furrowed. He glanced at the bamboo slips twice quickly, put it down without saying a word, opened another volume and read it quickly, and then another.
Scroll. After reading all the bamboo slips in the bag, Chen Cheng tapped the table with his fingers, as if thinking about something.
When Wei Ran saw this, he said: "Since the letter has been delivered, I will leave first."
Chen Cheng glanced at him and said, "What's the rush? We're already here, just stay here for a few more days."
Wei Ran smiled bitterly and said: "Next time, there is something urgent at home, so I have to go back early."
Chen Cheng sneered and said, "By the way, what happened to Captain Tian?"
Wei Ran was stunned and said: "It's indeed okay, I'm just here to deliver the letter."
"Hmph," Chen Cheng threw the bamboo slips in his hand on the desk and said, "If you don't tell me, don't you know that I don't know? It only takes a few days to ride to Youzhou. Or are you confident that your riding skills are better than mine?
"
Wei Ran saw that he couldn't shirk away, so he knelt on the ground and said, "I didn't mean to deceive you sir, but the captain strictly ordered me not to reveal it."
Chen Cheng said impatiently: "Get up and talk!"
Wei Ran stood up and whispered: "General Gongsun Zan sent troops to western Liaoning, was defeated in an ambush, and is now surrounded in Guanzicheng. Captain Tian was preparing to send troops to rescue, but he had few soldiers and was afraid that he would not survive, so he let
I sent the letter to my husband to prevent it from being lost after his death. The captain will send out troops soon, and if I don't go back early, I won't be able to catch up."
Gongsun Zan was so brave that he was defeated and surrounded in the city? Why does it sound like the plot of Guan Yu's defeat in Maicheng? Chen Cheng was shocked in his heart, but his face was calm and he asked: "What is the news?
When did it come back?"
Wei Ran replied: "Six days ago."
"Then we have been surrounded for at least half a month. How many enemy troops are there?"
Wei Ran replied: "It is said that there are seventy or eighty thousand."
"How many people did Gongsun Zan bring?"
"Less than thirty thousand."
"Humph, isn't Gongsun Zan very good at fighting? How did he defeat so many people? Forget it, I can guess it even if you don't tell me. It's nothing more than luring the enemy deep and cutting off their food routes." Chen Cheng stood up.
, asked: "How many people does Tian Yu have in his hands now?"
"Six hundred."
Chen Cheng said angrily, "He only has 600 men in hand, and he wants to send troops to rescue Gongsun Zan? Where are the soldiers and horses in the state? Are they all dead?"
Wei Ran said: "General Gongsun took away all the elite soldiers in the state."
Chen Cheng was speechless. After a while, he looked up to the sky and sighed: "Gongsun Baima is really doing his own evil, and he will not survive. Even if all the elite soldiers in the state are wiped out, he can't go against tens of thousands of others with 600 people."
He shook his head and said: "That's not to save people, it's to die."
Wei Ran whispered: "It's just because I'm going to die that the captain didn't let me reveal the situation to my husband."
"Hmph," Chen Cheng snorted coldly and said, "He is timid when he sees a small enemy, but brave when he sees a big enemy. He does have the demeanor of Emperor Guangwu."
Wei Ran was stunned and didn't know what Chen Cheng was talking about. Chen Cheng asked again: "Tian Yu wants to die, what about you? You also want to go back and die with him?"
Wei Ran straightened his chest and said: "If a man dies, you will die, so why should you be afraid? Captain Tian is willing to die for General Gongsun, can't I die for Captain Tian?"
Chen Cheng looked at Wei Ran, who held his head high, was generous and heroic, and was definitely not hypocritical. He was silent for a while and said, "I understand. Just wait for me."
After that, he got up and went to the front yard, and said to Liu Bei who was at work: "I have something urgent to do today, and I would like to borrow my brother's mount for use."
Liu Bei raised his head and said in surprise: "What's so urgent? I'll ask Yunchang to help you."
Guan Yu and Zhang Fei took turns to be on duty in the military camp outside the city. Today Zhang Fei was outside the city, and Guan Yu stood behind Liu Bei. After listening to Liu Bei's words, Guan Yu nodded to Chen Cheng. Chen Cheng's heart moved and he thought: Guan Yunchang gave me something extraordinary.
With his help, it would be even more powerful. But this trip is too dangerous, so let’s forget it.
So he shook his head and said, "I won't bother Brother Guan for some trivial matters."
Liu Bei said: "Na Wenzheng left early and came back early."
Chen Cheng said goodbye to Liu Bei, went to the stables to bring out the war horses, and said to Wei Ran who was waiting outside the door: "The matter is urgent, let's hurry back."
Wei Ran said in surprise: "Sir, what is this?"
Chen Cheng snorted and cursed in a low voice: "You are not afraid of death, am I the one who is afraid of death?"
After saying that, he gently exerted force on his legs, and the war horse under his crotch connected with him. He immediately kicked off his four hooves and rushed towards the east of the city. Seeing this, Wei Ran quickly rode on his horse to follow. The two horses rushed out like lightning.
Pingyuan City ran into the boundless wilderness, leaving only a long trail of smoke and dust.
"A Han cavalry has joined your team."
In the county government office, when he heard the sound of horse hooves receding outside the door, Liu Bei raised his head and said, "Wen Zheng is leaving in a hurry."
Guan Yu suddenly spoke and said: "His affairs are very troublesome. How about I catch up with him on horseback?"
Liu Bei thought for a while, shook his head and said: "He has always refused to tell his origin. He definitely doesn't want others to know, so we'd better not ask."
Chen Cheng and Wei Ran took two spare horses and ran to Nanpi without changing horses. After resting for a while, they continued on the road after eating and drinking. Wei Ran was worried that the horses would not be able to bear it.
, said: "Sir, if this continues, the horse will die of exhaustion!"
Chen Cheng said: "Don't worry, you won't die!"
But no, one thing that people often complain about about "Mount and Blade" is that the horses have unlimited physical strength. As long as they are the mounts of the "Son of Prophecy" and his soldiers, there will never be a problem of running out of physical strength. The two of them will never run out of physical strength.
Apart from replenishing food, drinking water and convenience, I never got off the horse. It only took one day to get from Nanpi to Youzhou.
Upon inquiry, Tian Yu had already led his troops to Guanzicheng. Chen Cheng cursed and asked the local officials for two sets of iron-armored swords, as well as ring-headed knives, spears, bows and arrows, especially arrows. He asked for more than a dozen more
Bags. When local officials heard that they were also going to rescue Guancheng, they took the items from the arsenal without saying a word.
Gongsun Zan sent troops to the west of Liaoning, but the news that he was defeated and trapped had already spread throughout Youzhou. It was a time when people were panicking. As long as he said he was going to rescue Guanzicheng, the officials were open to convenience. Moreover, Chen Cheng was in the army.
I've been around for a while, and it's not like no one knows me.
They obtained weapons and equipment, and after another quick pursuit, they finally caught up with Tian Yu's army in Feiru territory.
Feiru County is near Qinhuangdao, on the edge of the Western Liaoning Corridor, where the famous Lulong Town is located in later generations. The terrain here is flat, and it is only more than a hundred miles away from Guanzi City. If it were a small number of cavalry led by Chen Cheng, it could be completed in one day
It covered a hundred miles on the plains. However, there were continuous mountains between Feiru and Guanzicheng. The roads in the mountains were narrow. Even with a rapid march, it would take two or three days to get there.
If you want to take a detour, it will take more time.
When Tian Yu heard the news from the rear army that someone was chasing them, he was worried that they were spies from the Hu people, so he personally led the cavalry to meet them. When he saw his mentors Chen Cheng and Wei Ran, he was stunned for a moment and waved his soldiers to let them over.
He sighed and said to Chen Cheng, who rushed to him and was covered in smoke and dust: "Shouldn't you be here?"
Chen Cheng smiled and said: "The captain is so heroic, he still learns Gulong at this time. Not bad, but I'm still here."
Tian Yu ignored Chen Cheng's nonsense and said: "I have collected the soldiers and horses in the county, but there are only a thousand people. Although the Hu people are weak in combat, there are tens of thousands of them. I'm afraid..."
"General!" Chen Cheng interrupted him, raised the strong bow in his hand, and shouted: "With this bow in the hands of a certain family, one thousand will die, one thousand will die!"
He looked at the dumbfounded Tian Yu and said: "There are only tens of thousands of bastards, they are just ants. Although there are many ants, can they bite a tiger to death? Watch me stretch out my fingers and crush them to death!"
Before Tian Yu could say anything, Chen Cheng said in a low voice: "Morale can be boosted but not depleted. Captain, be careful what you say!"
Only then did Tian Yu understand, so he deliberately said loudly: "Yes, tens of thousands of idiots were thrown away casually. It seems that this time it was God's favor that gave us the opportunity to make meritorious deeds!"
Although he said this, he asked in a low voice: "Can we really win?"
Chen Cheng raised his eyes and said, "As long as you listen to me, you will definitely win!"
