Chapter 312 Deployment

Chapter 312 Deployment

Chapter 312 Deployment
After Mi Zhi left, Shao Xun went to Xiang County again and met Lu Zhi.

On the way, Cui Kuang, the governor of Xiangcheng, reported that the bandit leader Li Hongyao respected Wang Ru as his leader and entered Wuyang County of Xiangcheng from Runan, looting wantonly. Another bandit leader Hou Tuo and his troops went north from Ye County, eyeing Kunyang, and seemed to have the intention of marching into Xiangcheng.

Cui Kuang successively served King Ying of Chengdu and King Lue of Gaomi, and was later summoned by Lu Zhi to become the prefect of Xiangcheng.

In theory, Xiangcheng has county soldiers, but in fact they are just part of the Silver Spear Army.

When Cui Kuang heard that the enemy was approaching, he urgently conscripted thousands of young men to defend the county city.

Li Chongze led the Yamen Army that had just returned south to Wuyang to quell the rebellion.

As for the route towards Ye County, there are no soldiers blocking them now. Perhaps we can only recruit more soldiers from the government. There is no other way.

In addition, Luyang's military strength is also very weak.

There were originally 7,000 soldiers, but later 2,000 were transferred to Xiangcheng, another 1,000 were transferred to Yingyang, and 2,000 followed Shao Xun to the battle and had not returned, so there were very few people left behind.

If the Nanyang bandits march north in large numbers, they will certainly not be able to hold on and Luyang will inevitably fall.

At present, Lou Quan has followed Li Chong's orders to leave 500 people to guard the camp and personally lead 1,500 garrison soldiers south to Luyang Pass to use the terrain to slightly block the enemy.

The four Silver Spear Armies currently in training in Liang County - most of them are new recruits who have never been on the battlefield - serve as a reserve force, ready to fill in the gaps at any time.

On the 24th, Shao Xun ordered a thousand volunteers to march day and night back to Xiangcheng, under the command of Li Chong, to strengthen the defense of the old nest. Although a branch base in Chenjun was opened, Guangchengze, Luonan and Xiangcheng areas were more important in the short term and could not be neglected.

"My lord, have you experienced the hardships of living in a war-torn area?" Outside Xiang County, Lu Zhi, who had just returned from Ku County, asked with a smile.

"Zi Dao, why do you have to say such sarcastic words?" Shao Xun said with a smile: "There is only war in the south now, and it is hard to say about the north."

"This is why I asked you to rely on the imperial court." Lu Zhi said, "If Wang Ru rebels in the south, if the Xiongnu march south from Henei, and if the enemy attacks from Xuzhou in the east, I'm afraid you will be too busy and unable to resist, right?"

"Pei Dun and Wang Long would not go to this extent." Shao Xun said.

Lu Zhi nodded and said, "These are all the benefits you get from being a loyal minister. This time, you still have to be a loyal minister, but not a loyal minister to the emperor, but a loyal and righteous person to the world. In this way, people of insight will abandon their prejudices and come one after another, because they have no choice."

"Can't we go to Wu?" Shao Xun asked.

"Some may have migrated south, but some also stayed in Zhongzhou." Lu Zhi said, "But where did you hear the news? The Xie family is indeed leaving."

"I heard it when I visited Yuan Jingxuan." Shao Xun said, "Just go, don't make things difficult for me. At this time, Chenjun and even Yuzhou should focus on stability. Don't force them to rebel, otherwise I will be exhausted and lose sight of the big picture."

"I feel relieved if you think so, Your Excellency." Lu Zhi said with a smile.

If the Xie family opposed Shao Xun and started a fight, they would certainly be defeated in the end, but at this critical juncture, not a single bit of energy could be wasted and there was no need to be too drastic.

"Let's find a position for Yuan Jingxuan in the state." Shao Xun added, "It's a good opportunity to bargain with the court and submit the list at the same time. After I leave, I'll have to rely on them to help me stabilize the territory of Chen County."

Shao Xun loves and hates the private soldiers of the aristocratic families.

When they come to you, they can become your aid, help you stabilize local order, and even provide reserve troops.

But once they have second thoughts, they can easily disrupt your rear and even cause your rear to change color.

Cao Mengde suffered this loss in the past.

The army was out on the expedition, and suddenly, the old nest was gone...

Among the three major aristocratic families in Yangxia, the He family has been wiped out, the Xie family is about to move south, and only the Yuan family is left.

First win them over, use the Yuan family's influence in the local area, and consolidate the Chenjun branch base.

There is the Wang family in Chen County.

The Wang family of Chen County was originally a poor family, but after years of development, they have gradually become prosperous, and some powerful people have attached themselves to them, so it is no problem for them to mobilize more than a thousand soldiers.

In the past year, Lu Zhi has also recruited two to three thousand county soldiers.

This is the full strength of Chen Jun.

To be honest, Shao Xun was still a little worried.

Yuzhou was acquired too recently and there was not enough time to digest it. If someone invaded, they could only rely on the gentry and local powerful people to resist - no one organized them before, but now they are reluctantly organized, but I don't know how effective it will be.

Chen County relied on the county soldiers recruited by the Yuan, Wang and Lu Zhi families.

The State of Lu relied on its Prime Minister Yang Chen.

The State of Pei relied on the Liu family.

The Prime Minister of Qiao State was Xiahou Heng, the son of Xiahou Jun, the former Grand Chancellor of Yuzhou, General Anxi, and Governor of Bingzhou, and the great-grandson of Xiahou Yuan.

As such.

After Chen County is sorted out, the next step is Liangguo, Xincai, Nandun and other places. Choose one of the three as the focus for development, and take the other two slowly.

"I will do my best to deal with the affairs of Yuzhou." Lu Zhi sighed, "Your Excellency should fight quickly and not get stuck in any one place for a long time. The nobles of Yuzhou are listening to you now, but once you show signs of fatigue, it is hard to say what their attitude will be."

"I understand." Shao Xun nodded, and then said: "If the grain transport from Guangling stops when it reaches Liangguo and Chenliu, you should organize people to transport it back. I'm afraid you will have to resettle a large number of people next."

"Where did they come from?"

"Dunqiu."

"Le Hongfan can't hold on any longer?"

"He can't hold on any longer. I've allowed him to lead the army and civilians to retreat south." Shao Xun sighed, "It's out of reach. It's good that he can hold on for this long."

Of the two nails that were driven into Hebei at the beginning, only the father-in-law is still holding on, while Lemo, which came a little later, could no longer hold on.

One reason was that he arrived too late and had a shallow foundation, and the other was that Dongqiu County was originally small and weak. When Shi Le besieged it, Le Mo fought to the death to resist.

After Shi Le was relieved, he decided to retreat, and Shao Xun had agreed.

"A total of more than 10,000 households of soldiers and civilians have retreated southward via Puyang and Chenliu. Zidao, please send someone to pick them up." Shao Xun said, "After they return, they will be settled in Nandun County. This place was ruined by Li Hong, and many fields and houses have been vacated. I'll leave it to Zidao."

"It's just my job." Lu Zhi said.

His main job now is to negotiate with the aristocratic families in various counties and kingdoms.

Nandun was a small county that was established relatively late. It was split from Runan State and governed four counties: Nandun, Ruyang, Pingyu and Shangcai. The capital of Nandun was basically the part of the former Runan State east of the Ru River - the eleven counties west of the Ru River were still under the jurisdiction of Runan State.

There was only one prominent aristocratic family in the county: the Ying family of Nandun.

The Ying family is not very popular in this dynasty. The current pillar is Ying Zhan, with the courtesy name Siyuan, the grandson of Ying Yu, the minister of Cao Wei. He once served in the court of Sima Lun and Sima Ying, and was later invited by Liu Hong, the governor of Jingzhou and his great uncle, to serve as the chief secretary of the Zhennan General. He is currently the governor of Nanping County and supervises the military affairs of Nanping, Wuling and Tianmen counties.

Ying Zhan had a cousin named Ying Shao, who had been a minister of the imperial court. He was selected by the emperor. Last year, when Sima Yue returned to the capital, Ying Shao was among the people he arrested in front of the emperor.

A considerable number of the Ying family members, soldiers, and farmhands have already crossed the river to the south. Ying Zhan is working under Wang Cheng and Shan Jian. This family should be disappointed with the north and is easier to deal with.

"I'll go now." Shao Xun stopped and looked at the gray fields outside Xiang County. He said, "Yuzhou is our future. We can't take it lightly."

"Don't worry, sir. I will put Yuzhou in order even if it costs my life," said Lu Zhi.

Shao Xun nodded.

He knew that Lu Zhi had many faults, the most prominent of which was the so-called "forming a clique for personal gain."

Just like a company in the future, after one Indian, there will soon be a large group of Indians. Lu Zhi served as the governor of Xiangcheng and the governor of Yuzhou successively. He called on his friends and brought a large number of people over, which had caused some dissatisfaction among the local gentry in Henan.

This time, Shao Xun asked him to keep a position for Yuan Chong, which was just a slight reminder. Lu Zhi should be able to understand the hidden meaning: everything should be done in moderation.

But Lu Zhi's ability is also unquestionable.

He provided Shao Xun with a clear strategic plan: to create a character that was both domineering and loyal, to rely on the imperial court as a big tree, to avoid fighting on multiple fronts as much as possible, and to quietly consolidate the foundation.

He did two things in Yuzhou: first, he made friends with the gentry and occasionally with powerful families; second, he settled the refugees, compiled their households, and developed production.

It should be said that so far, everything is on track, although Shao Xun will inevitably fall into the dilemma of fighting on two fronts.

Talent is hard to come by, so just make do with what you have.

On September 28th, after a forced march, Shao Xun arrived in Xiangcheng. The young men and auxiliary soldiers were disbanded on the spot and went back to reunite with their families, waiting for the next call-up.

The Silver Spear Army was stationed in Xiangcheng and Liangxian, and was granted leave in batches.

As the situation has developed to this day, it is clear that it has begun to intensify and you can no longer develop leisurely.

Shao Xun even doubted whether he would have a peaceful life in the next one or two years. He might have to go to war all the time, and the frequency of wars would be much higher than before.

On that day, Li Chong returned from Ye County and reported: "Sir, Li Hong suffered a defeat in Wuyang and fled to Ye County. I led my troops to pursue him and defeated him again. He has retreated to Nanyang."

"Are there any spoils?"

"There were only a few grains and broken weapons, and more than 2,000 refugees captured."

"Send someone to Nandun and hand him over to Lu Zidao." Shao Xun said, "Your troops are in Ye County?"

"Yes."

"Okay. Occupy the county town, don't retreat, block this road." Shao Xun ordered: "If I advance in the future, I will take this road."

Tang Jian had spread out the map on the table.

Wanye Corridor is the best route between Nanyang and Xiangcheng.

Liu Xiu fought here, and Cao Cao and Liu Bei also fought here. It can be said to be a place that military strategists must fight for.

To the south of Ye County is Fangcheng Pass, through which one enters the flat Nanyang Basin.

"Is there any movement from Wang Ru?" he asked again.

"The king has heard of your reputation and seems a little afraid. I am not sure whether he will go north." Li Zhong replied.

"How is Nanyang now?"

"Wang Ru conquered many cities, but he lived in peace with the local nobles."

"The gentry are showing signs of weakness again." Shao Xun sneered, "I'm afraid they're just trying to get rid of the trouble by spending money. If Wang Ru wants to gain a firm foothold in Nanyang and Xiangyang, he doesn't want to fall out with the gentry, what a bunch of people!"

The nobles can negotiate.

Ordinary people and less powerful tyrants are not qualified to negotiate.

Wang Ru's base was still the refugees from Guanxi. It was said that there were 50,000 families who worshipped him as their leader, so his strength was quite strong. And they were destined to sweep away the grassroots order in Nanyang and Xiangyang like locusts.

"First, store up food and equipment. At least 20,000 men should be prepared to fight for three months." Shao Xun ordered: "If the king provokes us, we should defend our position and not come out, so as to wear down his spirit."

"Yes, sir." Li Chong replied.

That night he headed south back to Ye County.

Shao Xun returned to Liang County and waited for the imperial order.

(End of this chapter)