Being stared at by everyone, Yang Qiu looked at Chen Cheng first, and said thoughtfully: "I think what Zhang Heng and the others said makes sense. Our Xiliang army has always been good at attacking but not at defending. We can advance but not retreat. Now we retreat.
, maybe just like last year, being chased by officers and soldiers, people’s hearts are broken.”
Han Sui, Ma Teng and others looked a little brighter, Cheng Yi was proud of himself and still had a smile on his face, but Song Jian snorted honestly and unceremoniously. Yang Qiu thought to himself: Why are you snoring? Do you think I am afraid of you?
Not successful?
He looked at Chen Cheng again, and saw that the expression on the latter's face had not changed at all, and he began to wonder again: Could it be that the master did not agree to continue the fight?
So he added: "Of course, what General Cheng Yi said is right. Most of us are cavalry, and we can't use it here. It would be fine if we rushed into the Guanzhong Plain. Now that we are blocked here, we might as well do it first
Retreat a certain distance to the plain and see if Huangfu Song and others will catch up. If they catch up, we will fight to the death with the imperial troops!"
Song Jian sneered and said, "Humph, what's the difference between you saying this and not saying it?"
Yang Qiu glanced sideways at Song Jian and decided to ignore him. Now there were almost as many people who agreed to retreat as those who agreed to continue fighting. The decision-making power finally fell back to Chen Cheng. He pondered for a while and felt that if Huangfu Song could be defeated here,
After fighting with Ding Yuan's army, General Guanzhong will no longer be able to resist. This is really a huge temptation.
However, what if you don't win? Even if you don't lose, but it becomes a stalemate, it won't do you any good. It will only benefit Dong Zhuo who is far away in Bingzhou, and the Kwantung Allied Forces who responded to Dong Zhuo.
Dong Zhongying, the most righteous person in the world... Every time he thinks of this, Chen Cheng feels ridiculous.
He looked inside the tent and said in a deep voice: "I think it's better to withdraw our troops first. General Han, your troops have been fighting since last year and have been fighting this year. The soldiers have long been exhausted. Let them breathe first."
Tone. Although the weather is good this year, the men have gone out to fight, and the harvest in the fields is not good, right?"
Although farming can be leisurely at times, there are several periods when it is very busy. Spring plowing, summer harvest and autumn harvest are all very short window periods, requiring the whole family to work together. If you miss the time period, the crops may be lost.
After a heavy rain, mold rotted in the ground. But it is impossible to calculate so accurately during a war, and it is also impossible to give the soldiers a few days off when the time comes, and let them go back to harvest the wheat before returning to fight like other things.
ah.
On the way here, Chen Cheng had noticed that Hanyang's harvest this year was not very large. Not only was it not as good as Beidi County, but it was also far behind Wuwei County. Otherwise, Han Sui would not have come forward to profess his vassalage.
, and then asked Chen Cheng to transport 200,000 shi of military rations.
Of course, those powerful families still have a lot of grain storage, because these days, big families have the habit of hoarding grain. Not only the big families, but also other people. As long as possible, people will hoard as much grain as possible. Otherwise,
If there is a disaster, many people will starve to death.
However, Han Sui had no way to use these grains and grasses, unless he wanted to imitate Dong Zhuo and attack the powerful people under his rule. Or imitate He Jin and use evil means such as casting "big money" to plunder wealth from the people. If Han Wenyue dares
If he does that, the powerful people under his rule will rise up in rebellion without the princes of Xiliang taking action.
The smile disappeared from Han Sui's face. He sighed and said: "Since Ambassador Chen already knows, then I will tell the truth. Jincheng County, Hanyang County, and Wudu County, these two twists
They are all at war, and there is not much food now. Although there is no war in Longxi, the output is not much. I have hundreds of thousands of soldiers under my command now. If I can't fight into Guanzhong, I'm afraid there won't be enough food to feed them."
He said to Chen Cheng in a sincere tone: "Your Majesty has led soldiers. He knows that if the soldiers have no food, trouble will definitely arise."
As soon as he said this, Song Jian, Cheng Yin, Zhang Heng and others looked at Han Sui with either envy or contempt. Chen Cheng thought about the unfinished meaning of Han Sui's words and thought to himself: This is a threat.
? What a pity, we really don’t want to do this!
He looked at Han Sui calmly and said: "If General Han has too many troops, why not learn from me and recruit fewer soldiers, so that more people can farm the land. If there are more people farming, there will be less food."
That’s a lot.”
There was a burst of laughter nearby, some were sneering, it was Cheng Yin and Cheng Yi; some were laughing, it was Song Jian and Zhang Heng.
Han Sui laughed and said, "Chen Shijun is really good at joking."
Chen Cheng was silent. He was telling the truth. That was what they did in Yinchuan. If Zhuge Liang could reduce his troops by half, how could he ruin the people's livelihood? Many times, telling the truth would actually make people worse.
He was mistaken for a joke. People only like to hear what they want to hear. Did Han Sui really think he was joking? I'm afraid not necessarily.
Han Suidao said: "I think I want to reduce the number of troops, but Hanyang is connected to Sanfu to the east, and Wudu is connected to Hanzhong, so a large army must be stationed. The current military strength is not enough, so how can we reduce the number of troops?"
"I see," Chen Cheng said calmly: "It seems that I didn't think well. General Han sent people to Yinchuan before to ask for grain seeds. They should have been planted by now. By the end of next spring, there should be a harvest.
Then there will no longer be the hardship of lack of food."
Han Sui bowed his hand towards Chen Cheng and said with a smile: "Your magnanimity is so magnanimous. I would like to thank you in advance for the people of the four counties."
Chen Cheng shook his head and said, "No need to thank me."
He raised his head and looked to the east, as if he had thought of something, and said with a smile: "I have a friend who once told me that as long as we can harvest more grain, the people will have more food to eat.
I thought about it later and thought he was right."
"Oh," Han Sui asked, "I wonder who the envoy's friend is? He must be a world-famous hero, right?"
"That man's surname is Liu, his given name is Bei, and his given name is Xuande. Although he is not famous in the world yet, he is a rare hero in the world."
"Liu Bei, Liu Xuande?" Han Sui read the name Chen Cheng said again, and thought about it again. He had never heard of it at all. He was probably an unknown person. He then put a smile on his face and said: "Shi Jundu said
He is a hero, so that's right. It's a pity that we didn't have the chance to meet him."
From the moment Han Sui and Chen Cheng started talking, other people in the tent felt that something was wrong with the atmosphere. Obviously they understood what they said, but they seemed to be a little unclear.
Chen Cheng smiled and said: "Let's not talk about that. I have made up my mind and will start to retreat tomorrow. I ask General Han to hold the line with me here while the other troops and horses retreat westward in order. The order of retreat is as follows: Song Dynasty
After Jian, Cheng Yi, Zhang Heng, Cheng Yin, Ma Teng, Li Xiangru, Yang Qiu and other generals have withdrawn their troops, General Han Sui will retreat with me."
The noise in the tent suddenly became louder, and those who disagreed with the withdrawal loudly told their reasons. Han Sui also shouted: "Why should I be the last to withdraw?"
Although he wants to continue fighting, if everyone retreats, he also wants to run away early. This is the virtue of the Xiliang army. When they win, they will swarm up and retreat. Otherwise, with the bravery of the Xiliang cavalry,
, how come you are still trapped on the western border after more than ten years?
Facing the chaotic situation in the tent, Chen Cheng slapped the desk and shouted: "If you don't agree, then I will break camp and leave tomorrow, leaving you to fight Huangfu Song and Ding Yuan on your own."
Forget it if we were somewhere else, why not fight Huangfu Song here in Chencang? Forget it. Zhang Heng, Ma Teng and others suddenly became silent. When Chen Cheng became angry, they only felt murderous intent coming towards them.
Feeling a chill on the back, they couldn't help but touch the short knife they carried with them. Everyone secretly complained in their hearts, thinking: Doesn't the person named Chen want to start a fight?
No wonder they think so, it's just that Chen Cheng looks so fierce now, and his cold expression is enough to stop a child from crying at night.
Of course, Chen Cheng did not intend to chop up all the princes of Xiliang here. If he did this, Xiliang would be in chaos for several years, and his personal credibility would also be bankrupt. In the original history,
Cao Cao knew clearly that Liu Bei had a great career and would never dare to live under others for a long time, but he still did not kill him. Instead, he entrusted him with important tasks because he was afraid of losing the hope of the world.
It was precisely because Cao Mengde later showed amazing courage and tolerance that Zhang Xiu, Ma Teng, Tian Yu, Chen Deng and other talents rushed to defect to him. Most of these surrendered generals were not persecuted when Cao Cao was alive.
Only Ma Teng gave birth to a cheating son, and he and several other sons died together. Cao Mengde was very courageous and showed no mercy when killing people.
If Cao Cao had killed Liu Bei from the beginning, who among the heroes in the world would still believe in him? Of course, that doesn't mean he can't kill him, but at least he has to be like Liu Bang, wait until all the cunning rabbits are dead before killing him.
It's not too late for the dog.
Although the princes all agreed to withdraw their troops, Han Sui was still struggling. He said loudly: "Even if we have to withdraw our troops, why should our army be ranked second from the bottom?"
"Of course it's because General Han has the most troops under his command," Chen Cheng said with a smile: "If General Han doesn't like this order, then let's change it. You stay at the end, and I'll be second to last."
As the saying goes, "Gongsheng Ming, Lian Yan Wei", Chen Cheng put his headquarters at the last to evacuate, what other opinions can others have? Even Han Sui couldn't say anything else. Others except Li Xiangru also
Everyone agreed. Although Han Sui had the largest number of troops, he could only reluctantly accept it in the face of pressure from everyone.
Chen Cheng added: "Today, there are many wounded soldiers in all the troops and horses. The seriously wounded soldiers cannot move easily. They can be sent to our military camp first. Five hundred people from each army will be left to take care of them early. After the injured soldiers recover, they can return on their own."
There are many soldiers in Xiliang and they are extremely poor. Their attitude towards the wounded has always been laissez-faire. If they survive, they will be lucky, but if they die, it doesn't matter. There are many poor people in Xiliang who want to be soldiers and feed themselves. But now that
Some people are willing to be taken advantage of, and they are also happy to throw away a big burden. As for keeping five hundred people here, that is easier. Which family doesn't have hundreds of old, weak, sick and disabled people?
After the plan was decided, the princes in the tent left one after another and returned to their respective camps. Yan Xing sent Han Sui and Li Xiangru outside the camp gate and said: "Take care on the road."
Li Xiangru complained: "Really, we have to walk at night again! Wenyue, there is no need to rush now, can we walk slower?"
Han Sui looked at the moonlight and said, "Okay, let's walk slowly."
He said to Yan Xing: "My dear son-in-law, I have always known that you are superb in martial arts and well versed in laws and regulations, but under Chen Shijun, you are just a military commander. Why don't you come to our army? Commanding tens of thousands of troops is nothing more than an idle matter!"
"
Yan Xing smiled and said nothing, put the reins into Han Sui's hands, and said, "Everyone has his own ambitions, why force it?"
Han Sui sighed and said, "If you ever change your mind, come and find me. This promise will be valid forever!"
